Caged With The Alien Warrior

58.

Aanya

I stared up at the massive spaceship in front of us. A motherfucking spaceship.

Yes, I'd been on a spaceship with the lizardmen and then the pleasure cruiser we'd escaped with but I don't think either had been this humongous.

I held Lani closer to my chest even though I was with Ronan and Vrux. We'd said some stilted goodbyes to Mae and Korath after a tense breakfast and then made our way here.

As we got closer to the ship, I could make out the sleek metal exterior better, a mix of matte and polished panels. Jeez, this was nothing like a plane or rocket on Earth.

There were windows too that looked like glass but probably weren't because how could glass work in space travel? Anyways, I could see people moving throughout the ship through the windows, revealing a glimpse into the inner workings of the ship. It'd be so fun to explore.

The ship let out a low hum that got louder as we got closer. A steady, rhythmic vibration.

"Just follow me, we'll go to the deck and meet the captain," Ronan told me and Vrux. I nodded, staring in awe as we walked up the ramp into the ship.

I was greeted by a combination of clicks and beeps as people did things, I guess, in the hanger we entered. Every so often I could make out some whirring machinery, or whoosh of air.

The air itself had a faint metallic tang to it with a kind of ozone-like smell, but I'd get used to it. It reminded me of the metallic-y water that the lizardmen used to feed me.

This ship didn't scare me as much as the smaller spaces we'd had to get into before. This ship was so big that it didn't feel like the lizardmen's ship at all and didn't bring up bad memories. Logically, I knew this was a ship and that worried me because I much preferred my feet on the ground, but I knew we had to go. We had to get justice.

We left the hangar into a labyrinth of hallways. I'd for sure need to learn the layout of the ship as soon as possible or I would 100% get lost.

As we walked down the hallway, I ran my hand along the wall, feeling the difference in this ship compared to the lizardmen's ship. It was a cool, smooth metal with the occasional seam or hatch. The lizardmen's ship had a coarser metal that always reminded me of concrete.

We made our way through the ship and I definitely drew some stares, likely from my lack of wings. Or maybe because I was female. My cheeks heated, but there wasn't much I could do about my human woman-ness.

I glanced at Ronan's folded black wings. Surprisingly, for a winged race, I still hadn't seen Ronan fly yet. I guess we hadn't had a whole lot of time on Rhodin anyways and being on a spaceship didn't afford much room to fly anyways.

Ronan seemed to notice the stares and how uncomfortable it made me, so sent glares back, making them shy away. I'd shy away too– Ronan was physically intimidating before you got to know him.

Soon, we made it to what was clearly the hub of the ship. Lots of hustle and bustle.

I didn't dare fiddle with any of the control panels or the holographic screens and buttons, but I was tempted. Even Lani reached out curiously, but I pulled her back. "No, don't touch, Lani."

She pulled her arm back and yanked on some of my hair instead. I winced, shaking my head at her and uncurling her fingers from my hair.

Before we could make it over to the captain, or who I assumed was the captain because of the big serious chair, we were interrupted by someone stepping into our path.

Dr. Krono. Ugh.

"Commander Hawke, I'm glad to see that you're well." Dr. Krono inclined his head.

Ronan nodded stiffly. "Thank you. Yes, my shoulder has completely healed. No residual pain."

"Intriguing." Dr. Krono hummed.

"What are you doing here?" Ronan asked, blunt. But I wanted to know that too. Why the heck was Dr. Krono, who wanted to poke and prod me just like the lizardmen, here?

Ronan continued. "I thought that you would stay on planet as Primary Medical Officer?"

"That is usually the case, but this is a... unique situation." Dr. Krono cleared his throat. "I will be liaising with the ship's medical officer for this mission, at the Council's request."

At the stupid Council's request. Of course.

Dr. Krono looked at the group of us– Ronan, Vrux, Lani, and myself. "All of you will need to report for physical examinations this week. I'll book you in for–"

"No," I blurted out, then sent help-me eyes to Ronan. My cheeks got even hotter and my palms got all clammy.

Ronan looked at me and I remembered our conversation at the waterfall.

"I know I need to get checked out by the doctors here, but I– I just can't bring myself to do it. When I think about it, I think of the lizardmen and all their tests and my heart pounds so hard my chest hurts and I can't breathe and my hands shake and–"

I fought back tears as Ronan took my shaking hands in his. "You're as healthy as can be. Krono's tests can wait until you feel more comfortable."

"Pardon?" Dr. Krono frowned, confused.

Ronan stepped in and I shrunk back, memories of what the lizardmen did to me overtaking my rational thought.

"Aanya won't be getting a physical. She has trauma from medical procedures done while captive by the Szentists. We won't be forcing her to go through something traumatic." Ronan's tone brooked no argument, but of course Krono didn't care.

"That's all the more reason to get a physical done. You don't know what they did and–"

I let out a small, wounded noise at that, cutting off Krono. I didn't know what they did to me. My breathing picked up and I couldn't get it to slow down. They tore me apart and glued me back together. The lasers and the scalpels and the–

"I apologise." Dr. Krono said haltingly. "I do not mean to distress you. But every being on this ship has to be approved health-wise. It's mandatory."

"No, no, I can't!" My voice went high and panicked, outside of my control.

"What is going on here?" a deep voice asked, low and serious.

I drew my gaze to the voice, the tall guy who had been sitting at the big chair. Our conversation seemed to catch the attention of the captain.

Gulp. 

✶ ☾ ✶

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Dun dun dun... time to meet the captain!

For everyone who says I don't write enough description - this one's for you lol I hope that you can literally feel like you're on a Rhodinian spaceship

Anyone have any good song recs? I need some new songs to listen to while I write!!

Don't want to wait until next week to read chapter 59? Get early access to it now through my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/rosinghwrites

Comments and votes are much appreciated.

Virtually yours,

Ro