Star Side

Chapter 39

Stellar date (Earth Time): 07-03-2914

"I miss fireworks," said Levi.

We were knee deep in one of the dirtier maintenance jobs of the station. The compost machine which kept up with all the decay of the bio dome so that stuff kept growing had clogged up, which meant someone had to get in there and unclog it. And, well, since the bio dome was HUGE, the compost machine was more of a room than just a tank that ground stuff up. And before you mention it, yes, it had been thoroughly disconnected from the power circuit so Levi and I didn't get munched up with yesterday's zucchini peelings.

That didn't stop Gilrack from protesting and glaring down from the opening in the top of the room. Levi had finally gotten the hang of ignoring him, or at least pretending to. I didn't miss the way his lips curled whenever he met Gilrack's gaze.

"I can see that," I said as I tore off a particularly long chunk of wood from the blades. Our jumpsuits and gloves were already stained green and brown. We'd be smelling like much and mold for the next week. "You strike me as a pyromaniac deep in your Toe Lord soul. That would definitely get neglected out here where fire is a big no-no."

He hummed and scooped out some more dirt mush from his side of the room. Room was a very loose term for the walls made of giant corkscrews—what we called the blades. They weren't all that sharp, built more like the molars of a cow than actual blades. You still didn't want to get caught in them.

"I take it this is because tomorrow is the fourth?" I asked.

"Yeah." He swore as he pulled out something that looked distinctly hairy. "You wash your hair in here or something?"

"If I could produce a hairball like that, I'd have shown you." I looked up. "Gilrack?"

The yellow eyes blinked down in confusion, though both Levi and I knew he could see perfectly clear in the dim light of the compost. His kind lived underground. It didn't take a genius to figure out he had eyes like a cat.

"Black hair," he said. "Mukka tree?"

"Mukka—shit, this is from Josh's lab?" Levi wrinkled his nose. "It's been months since we threw anything from down there. Does it never break down?"

"I don't know, that looks pretty broken down."

"It's everywhere." Levi cussed again as he pulled out more black hair. "Think we found our problem."

Sure enough, it wasn't long before I started pulling out my own clumps of what looked like neverending black hair, but which we now knew came from one of the stumpy trees growing in which had become Gilrack's den.

"Still kind of morbid that Josh's pride and joy is now the bedroom for what killed him," said Levi.

"Just because we're all thinking it doesn't mean you have to say it. Besides, it was someone else that killed him, not Gilrack. Right?" I called up.

Levi snorted. "Like aliens can't lie."

"Alien can understand you," said Gilrack flatly. "And I did not lie."

"Good for you." Levi flung back a raised middle finger over his shoulder before going back to hair pulling.

The lines of hair stuck, but the beefcake she-man that I was wasn't deterred. I grounded my feet through the yuck to the floor and yanked.

Something twanged in my abdomen, making me yelp in pain.

In an instant the compost grinder was filled with too much winged alien, demanding to know where I was hurt while Levi barked at him to get the hell out.