Xeno Love

Chapter 12: Accommodations

Garry’s eyes were drawn to the sky as a meteorite burned brightly in the atmosphere.

“Hey Tom, check it out!” he called excitedly. Another man stepped out of the house behind them and stood by his side.

“It’s beautiful,” Tom murmured, sliding an arm around Garry’s shoulders. They silently watched as it arced towards the surface until it burned out.

“This is gonna be a rough landing!” Jake shouted, both mentally and verbally.

“Landing? We’re crashing!” Jeica cried. They broke through the atmosphere, causing the flames that had been flickering across the view screen to die out. They pierced the layers of clouds, revealing a large expanse of ocean ahead. With a tremendous splash, they impacted, causing the hull to buckle and dent, but eventually they bobbed along peacefully on the surface. Jake sighed and leaned back in his chair. “Well done smart-ass, now we’re stuck in the middle of the ocean!”

“It’s all right,” Jake tsked. “I’ll send out a distress signal. We’ll be picked up in no time.” Jeica rolled her eyes and sat back in her seat grumpily. Good thing they were still floating, otherwise she would’ve strangled him. Jake pressed a button, flipped open a glass case and flicked a switch. A silent distress signal echoed throughout the planet’s surface.

Ten minutes later...

“Are you sure there’s actually anyone on this planet?” Jeica groaned, quite sick of just sitting around and waiting.

“Yes actually. This is a small planet that is occupied mostly by water. As you can understand, it’s a fishing planet. The mainland has a small village of people who will be along any minute to pick us up,” Jake replied matter-of-factly. Jeica gave him a questioning look, causing him to shrug. “Me and my brother used to talk about retiring here. We always preferred the quieter places.” Jake grinned, absorbed in his childhood memories. Jeica, getting increasingly bored, moved out of the cockpit and into the cargo bay where the Xenomorphs were residing. Most of them were reclining on the floor or occupying themselves through interaction with each other, i.e. fighting. Jeica sat next to Mozart and leaned her head against his side.

“Hi,” she greeted.

“Hello Jeica,” Mozart purred, pulling her closer with his tail. “What brings you here to the realm of the incompetent?” he asked sarcastically. He was obviously fed up with the other Xenomorphs’ antics.

“Something tells me you don’t like these guys,” Jeica giggled.

“Meh,” Mozart grunted indifferently. “One needs some peace and quiet from time to time. A room occupied by a bunch of Xenomorphs would be the last place to go for that.”

“Well, hang in there. Jake says we’ll be rescued soon.” Mozart nodded, not looking too happy. He stretched out his front legs, then folded them in front of him and laid his head on them. Jeica studied him, realising those ‘legs’ actually doubled as arms too, but had stronger muscles built for running. Mozart smirked at her.

“You seem to be staring at me. Like what you see?” Jeica blushed and looked away. “Or is it this ‘Jake’ that makes you tick.”

“Not in a million years,” Jeica pouted.

“Good, because he’s married. Just making sure you knew because his wife would slice you to ribbons if you made a move. And that is something I would never want to see.” Mozart shuddered. Jeica wondered if he was a pacifist or if it was the fact that she was the one dying that made him act that way. Just then, the ship lurched. Oh god, we’re sinking! Jeica panicked. She rushed to the cockpit, only to see Jake reclining on his chair watching a boat in front of them tow them towards the mainland that was barely a speck in the distance. Jake had his eyes shut and he chuckled lightly to himself. Jeica scowled at him and folded her arms.