Page 61 of Alien's Challenge
The male in question chuckled from the backseat.
“I will give you the things you have lost. Earth. Your friend,” Faris said. Accomplishing those goals was now more difficult than when they started, but the impossible jobs were the only ones worth doing.
He glanced down at his mate. Her eyes were closed, but a smile lingered on her soft lips.
He’d do the impossible for Alice, and they’d make their home among the stars.
Epilogue
Perrigaul
Perrigaul and Alice watched the monitor, the atmosphere tense in the control room. Since Faris decided to take a human for a mate a year ago, their lives had been…interesting, which was not a compliment. The last year had been violent, explosive, painful, and expensive. Extraordinarily expensive. Now they chased rumors to find a single stalk of grass in a field.
A lost stasis pod, drifting in space, originating from a point they did not know. Impossible.
Yet here they were.
“You should be out there,” Alice said.
“For once, I agree,” he said.
Faris took too many risks. Whether it was the older male’s nature to act without considering the consequences, or if he had been conditioned into this behavior, Perrigaul could not say. He only knew that he did not trust his friend to act judiciously while on a spacewalk. The tether was sturdy but could be severed with jagged debris.
He leaned forward, studying the scan of the debris field. They had confirmed the debris as part of the ship that transported Alice and the other human females. Whether this section contained what they sought, scans alone could not say. Faris suited up and went out into the black to visually inspect the wreckage. It was a slow, tedious process, and a male known for risky decisions would be bound to do something foolish.
Faris’ impulsiveness had benefited Perrigaul, specifically when they were both on the prison transport all those years ago. Faris traded his boots to take possession of a young Perrigaul. It had not been an act of kindness. Faris exploited the scrawny Perrigaul to crawl through the ventilation system to spy on the ship’s crew.
He glanced up at the ventilation ducts. It seemed impossible that he had ever been slender enough to crawl through such a thing.
Faris also took a foolish, impulsive risk in liberating Alice. Perrigaul resented her presence at first, not trusting either Faris’ instinct or her. Yes, if pressed, Perrigaul would admit that Faris had little choice. Did he leave the female to the kindness of the wilds? Dump her off at the nearest settlement and call it a job well done?
No. Even Perrigaul knew that would be wrong, but a good partner did not add a member to the crew without discussing. They were partners, but Faris had an arrogant, imperious streak and did not always behave as a partner.
“You don’t like me,” Alice said.
Perrigaul sighed. They were having this conversation again. Initially, he disliked her, which he felt was fair as she did not trust him. His position had softened over the last year. It was hard to resent the female when she made his friend so deliriously happy.
It was disgusting, honestly, the way Faris doted on his mate. Perrigaul did not feel resentment. His nest did not feel empty at night. He had never needed anyone. From an early age, he learned to take care of himself, and he remained self-sufficient. He did not need a mate to be content.
He didnot.
“I do not dislike you,” he replied.
“Oh, that’s cold. No like, no dislike. Only ambivalence.”
“I tolerate you,” he replied dryly.
The corners of her mouth curled upward. Truthfully, he had grown to like Faris’ mate.
“I’m not fishing for compliments here, but you could be nice,” she said.
“Fission for compliments sounds highly irregular and dangerous. Do not do this on our ship.”
“Fishing. You know—” She held an invisible rod and cast it over a shoulder.
He blinked, forcing a blank expression on his face. “I do not know.”
“Fish. Aquatic animals.” She paused, and he kept the blank expression. She continued, “You catch them with a net and eat them. Yummy yum.”
