Caged With The Alien Warrior

70.

Aanya

"Let's explore the ship, huh, Lani?" I asked her in a high-pitched baby voice. I know, the annoying baby voice. But I couldn't help myself! With Lani's squishy little baby cheeks and big eyes, I really couldn't not use a baby voice.

Lorcan's brow furrowed. "Does the youngling... understand you?" He seemed genuinely puzzled.

I burst out laughing.

"Sorry," I said between gasping for air. "I'm not laughing at you, I swear. That's just so funny though. She's only like two months old– she can't understand a lick of what I'm saying. Well, I like to think she gets the gist of things sometimes but, no, all she does is reply in her baby babble."

"Ah," Lorcan looked at Lani a bit calculatingly, like a puzzle he wanted to solve. "I have never met a youngling before. I am not aware of their developmental stages. I shall endeavour to research them further." Lorcan made a note on his comm.

"You can ask me whatever and I'll tell you if I know." I shrugged. "Vrux is really the baby expert though."

"Noted." A small smile grew on his lips. "Thank you, I will ask you to fill in any gaps in my research."

"My pleasure," I smiled as we strolled along.

I could tell Fox and Lorcan were both infinitely fascinated by Lani but neither were comfortable enough to interact with her much.

"Is there anywhere you'd like to go in particular?" Fox asked eventually after a while of companionable silence.

"Nah, I just want to wander around. Maybe while we walk you guys can explain to me how to navigate the ship?" I rubbed the back of my neck. " I honestly could be taking us in circles right now."

As we strolled around, Lorcan and Fox explained the different areas of the ship. Lorcan showed me how to pull up the schematics of the ship on my comms. It was so cool! Real time, it would pinpoint where I was. He showed me how to pin my room so I'd always know how to get back there.

"And now we're getting close to the engine room. Mainly mechanics down here." Fox waved a hand at the men nearby.

Even though Fox was a bit flippant at the idea of the engine room, I was amazed! This was so cool, right out of a sci-fi movie!

The room was a technological marvel, a labyrinth of pulsating energy and intricate machinery that hummed with the power to traverse the cosmos. Holy shitballs!

A soft glow emanated from the heart of the room, revealing an otherworldly spectacle. I tentatively stepped closer.

The walls were covered with pulsating patterns of bioluminescent energy. So cool. I fought the urge to reach out and touch it. Strange symbols and holographic displays danced across the surfaces, providing real-time feedback. Wowza.

The air was filled with a faint hum, a symphony of harmonious vibrations resonating from the machinery.

The centrepiece of the room was a colossal, crystalline engine core. Luminescent energy pulsed through intricate channels, creating a mesmerising display of colours that shifted in rhythm with the ship's movements. The core was surrounded by an intricate web of conduits. I stared at it all with wide eyes.

Rhodinian engineers moved with confidence amidst the complex machinery. They opened and closed panels to work on them, revealing the intricate mechanisms within, all of which worked seamlessly to convert and harness the energies that propelled the spaceship forward.

Despite the advanced technology, there was an almost organic quality to the engine room, with energy flows resembling living currents. The room pulsated with a sense of life, as if the spaceship itself possessed a consciousness and heartbeat derived from the energy coursing through its technological veins.

I stepped too close and accidentally bumped into an engineer. I jumped back. "Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to disrupt you!" I said quickly.

"Not at all, ma'am." The big, gruff mechanic said. "I was just startled to see you down here."

I shook my head. "No ma'am, just Aanya."

"I am Zeg." He bowed his head. "Well met, ma'am. Aanya, I mean."

"Nice to meet you too Zeg! And this is Lani." I lifted her arm in a little wave.

The big, gruff mechanic alien stood tall, his robust physique covered in dark blue oil-stained overalls that had no doubt held up through countless repairs and modifications. His skin, a mosaic of tough, weathered scales, reflected a life of hands-on work in the gritty corners of the spaceship. A pair of imposing, jet-black wings unfurled from his broad back.

Lani held out her arms at him, in the universal baby 'pick me up' way.

"Would you like to hold her?" I offered, already undoing Lani from her spot tied against my front.

Both Fox and Lorcan tensed behind me, but I ignored them.

Zeg looked at me with awe. "You'd allow me that honour?"

"Lani's in charge here, and if Lani wants you to hold her, you're holding her." I laughed lightly.

Fox and Lorcan watched the interaction with hawk eyes.

Zeg looked over his shoulder in askance to another male, who I assumed was his manager. The other male nodded quickly, eagerly watching. Zeg carefully cleaned off his hands.

All the males gasped when they saw Lani's little wings.

Lani squirmed in my hold, wanting Zeg.

I handed her over and he cradled her carefully. Lani's little wings mirrored his own, and as he gazed down at her, an unexpected tenderness softened his gruff exterior. His rough hands, accustomed to handling heavy tools, now gently supported her tiny, winged form.

As Lani looked up at the mechanic with innocent eyes, the stern lines on his face morphed into a mixture of awe and emotion. Tears welled up in Zeg's eyes.

His black wings framed the scene with a certain vulnerability. He whispered words of comfort and reassurance to Lani, his gruff voice soft.

In this touching moment, the juxtaposition of the gruff, oil-stained mechanic and the delicate winged baby created a poignant scene of unexpected tenderness.

She fell asleep in his arms and he gently handed her back to me.

He looked up at me, wiping away his tears. "I never thought I'd see a youngling, let alone hold one! The chances of this for me were about as high as me finding my soulmate," Zeg chuckled along with a couple other males.

"Your soulmate?" My brow furrowed. "What's that?"

Zeg's mouth fell open. "You don't know what a soulmate is?" 

✶ ☾ ✶

AUTHOR'S NOTE

What're soulmatesssss?? 

Whaddya think about Zeg? He's a gruff cutie patootie

Who's your fave book boyfriend? If I say Ronan, is that cheating bc I wrote him? 

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Virtually yours,

Ro