Page 43 of My Big Scaly Alien Naga
He was huge.Hulking.Green.And he had tusks.Actual tusks.
I froze.
Was this another monster?
He caught my expression and gave me a friendly grin.“Don’t worry, I’m the friendly kind of orc.Vruhag.I own this ship, and I’m not here to eat you.”
Venom inclined his head.“Thank you for responding.”
“You sent the right message.Silus is very impressed by your work.But you’ll get to meet him in a click to talk all about coding stuff that I have no clue about.”Vruhag tapped a glowing panel.“We’re docked.Go on through.My crew will meet you.”
“Crew?”I asked, still staring.I’d only ever seen other humans in cryopods or monsters trying to kill me.Not… this.I knew it was rude, but other than Venom and the chii, he was the first friendly alien I’d met.
Vruhag chuckled.“Don’t worry, they’re less green than me.”
Venom took my hand.I followed him on unsteady feet through the opening hatch.
We stepped into a curving corridor that pulsed faintly with soft lights.It smelled of metal and clean air and something vaguely floral.I was still clutching the blanket Vruhag had tossed me during the flight.
At the end of the corridor, three people waited.
The first was a human woman – blonde hair cropped short, jacket military-tight, a blaster at her hip.She looked like she hadn’t slept in a day, but her posture was iron-straight.
“Penny,” she introduced herself.“You must be Clare and Venom.”
The two others flanking her were more relaxed.Another human woman with warm brown skin and a nose ring – Pria, she said her name was – and a third I recognised only from the way Venom slightly relaxed at her presence.
“Fay,” she said with a nod.“I know what it’s like to come out of that hell.”
They didn’t ask questions.They didn’t stare at me like I was strange.They just handed me real clothes – a clean, soft jumpsuit – and offered water.
And when Penny turned to Venom, her voice softened.“Just so you know – an Intergalactic Authority warship is on its way.You’re not alone anymore.We’re not just rescuing people now.We’re going toendthis.”
I blinked hard against the sting behind my eyes.
For the first time since I woke up in that metal coffin all alone, I had hope that this was going to turn out well in the end.
They led us to the bridge for a proper meeting.Fay had offered to let us get some rest, freshen up and have some proper food, but both Venom and I were still buzzing with adrenaline and eager to know what was going to happen next.From Venom's reaction I'd gathered that having a warship here from the Intergalactic Authority, a sort of space police, was very unusual, yet also very wanted.
The bridge was bigger than I’d expected – a hemisphere cut in half by a smooth floor that seemed to suck up the noise of our footsteps, all sleek metal softened by warm lighting and huge windows interspersed with screens.Displays hummed softly across one wall, full of pulsing data streams, while five computer consoles were surrounded by other chairs and benches.This ship seemed to be built for a much larger crew than the presently assembled.
Venom paused beside me as we stepped in.His coils slowed.He looked… tense.
“Sit over here,” Vruhag said, pointing at one of the benches.“Qong is just fixing us some snacks and will be here any minute.And this is Silus.I believe you’ve met.”
A horned alien sitting at one of the consoles turned around, revealing the rest of his body.Holy moly.His lower half was furry and he had hooves.I tried not to stare, but it was difficult considering he was half-goat, half-man.His chest was bare and covered in brown hair, the same colour as his beard.
He grinned as soon as he saw Venom.
“You’re the one who sent the root string with the fake KGM clearance code, aren’t you?”he said.“That was brilliant.”
Venom blinked.“You’re Silus.”
“Yup.”He bounced once on his heels.“Been wanting to meet the ghost in Kalumbu’s security for ages.”
“Likewise,” Venom said, relaxing a little next to me.
“Later,” Vruhag cut in, stepping forward.“Let him breathe before you fry his brain.”
