Alien Coffee (4 page)

“What
is
it with you two? Can’t you
control yourselves for even a moment?” Buffy chided in disgust.
Jillian just stared at Nyxulla incredulously.

“The coffee helps deal with being on this
planet,” Nyxulla explained in exasperation. She stood up to pace
back and forth. “Jillian makes the best coffee I’ve ever tasted.
I’m not as bad as Sclurp, but I
need
it every once in a
while to stay sane.” Sclurp nodded enthusiastically in
agreement.

“I’ll make you coffee if you promise not to
drink out of my cup anymore. There are plenty of cups in the
cabinet. Get your own,” Jillian said craftily. It would be
wonderful if she could actually drink a full cup of her own coffee
for once.

“Then it’s a deal,” Nyxulla agreed
immediately. Sclurp nodded eagerly and did an odd sort of dance on
his three legs.

“What wonderful quality control,” Buffy said
dryly. “Give me my fix of coffee and you can get away with
anything. If she didn’t seem like such a nice human, I might
protest.” The BEM stood and walked out of the room.

“Don’t mind Buffy,” Sclurp said. “We all like
you.”

“Yes, we do,” Nyxulla agreed. Her voice still
had the seductive quality and Jillian made a decision not to
introduce her to Raymond. It helped that she wasn’t allowed to talk
about them. Her husband probably wouldn’t believe it anyway. The
gorgeous alien took Jillian’s hand and led her to the wide hallway
on the right. The fingers were long, but there were four of them
and a thumb just like a human’s. “Would you like a tour of the
station? You won’t be able to tell anyone about it of course.”

“Sure. Why not?” Jillian was already there
and had never seen an alien observation station. Of course, she
figured extremely few humans ever had. “Does the government know
you’re here?” she asked suddenly.

“The government . . . you mean your human
government? No,” Nyxulla assured her. They entered a chamber with a
bed, desk, two padded chairs and a comfortable looking couch. It
was decorated with odd items and had changing pictures of a world
with blue grass and green skies. A couple of the pictures showed
Nyxulla with others of her race. “This is my room. To answer your
question, you’re the only person on Earth who knows we’re
here.”

Jillian wasn’t certain how to feel about
that. “There’re just all those stories of UFO sightings and secret
government labs like Roswell. Some people say aliens run the scenes
behind the government and have for centuries.”

There was an unreadable expression on
Nyxulla’s face. “I’m just here to study deep space signals and
advance my career. I’m not pulling the strings of human
governments.” She led Jillian back into the metal hallway and
through a large door without clarifying any further. “This is our
hangar where we keep our ship and some of the bigger
equipment.”

In the middle of the dimly lit area was a
spaceship that looked oddly like a snail. It had a long front
fuselage with antennae in the same place as a snail, and a curved
shell in the back. Jillian stopped and frowned at it while Nyxulla
moved to a screen on the wall and touched some symbols. Lights in
the ceiling and along the wall turned on. “Why does your ship look
like a snail?” Jillian asked.

“Actually, snails look like our ship not the
other way around,” Nyxulla corrected her.

“What do you mean?”

“This is a fairly standard ship design
throughout the Amalgamation, which is what our galactic
civilization is called. They come in all different sizes and
models, but the drive technology is the same.” She walked over to
the craft that was five times as high as they were tall on the main
body and ten times as high at the shell. The entire thing was about
a hundred twenty feet long. “They don’t cost much to make, but they
do break every once in a while. It’s a pain in the butt to be
stranded, so spare ships have been scattered on planets throughout
the galaxy.”

“That makes sense I suppose,” Jillian agreed.
She tentatively reached out to touch the ship. When Nyxulla didn’t
stop her, she ran fingers along the smooth cool metal. “Are there
extra ships on Earth?”

“Yes. They are the snails you speak of.”
Nyxulla grinned at Jillian’s look of incredulity. “A special device
is needed, but they contain the basic building blocks and codes to
transform into a perfectly functional ship just like this one.”

“Are you serious?” Jillian asked flatly.
“Snails are really spaceships?”

“Snails aren’t spaceships exactly, they’re
the biological coding for spaceships. A device is needed to
transform them. The good news is that they reproduce quite well,
which helps keep costs almost non-existent.” Nyxulla turned the
main lights back off, leaving only the few that were on before they
entered. “Every planet and moon in the galaxy has snails.”

“You mean the ones that can support life,”
Jillian clarified, going back through the doorway into the hall
with Nyxulla right behind.

“No. There are snails that can survive in the
vacuum of space.” The alien took the lead again. “Each one adapts
to its environment. The important thing is that there’s always one
available in case anyone gets stranded.” They passed through the
sitting area into the other hallway.

“That’s extraordinary. How slow are the
spaceships?” Jillian asked. Everything was so intriguing and odd.
It was an adventure more fascinating than many of the stories she
edited.

The question puzzled Nyxulla. “Slow? Why
would you think they’re slow?”

“Well . . . they’re snails . . . snails are
slow, so it stands to reason that the ships are slow.” It made
complete sense to Jillian. They entered a large control area with a
bank of windows overlooking the cliff out onto the lakes. It was
right where her favorite spot had been. Buffy was sitting at a desk
protruding from the left wall in a u-shape with multiple screens
and was tapping on them more rapidly than Jillian had ever seen
anyone move.

Nyxulla walked over to the windows and leaned
on a metal bar running along the length. “Space travel has nothing
to do with speed and everything to do with the manipulation of
space and energy while avoiding mass and time. I’m not going to
tell you much more about it. It’s basic education in the
Amalgamation, but would take quite a while to explain and you’re
not technically supposed to know any of it.” She stretched, which
emphasized each perfect curve in her body.

Buffy chimed in. “As far as snails being
slow, if you crashed on a strange planet and had to find a new
ship, would you want to have to chase it down?”

Jillian laughed at that. “I guess that makes
sense. Why are you telling me all of this if I’m not supposed to
know? Why are you giving me this tour?” It was making her nervous
that they were telling her so much. A part of her wondered if they
really would release her.

Nyxulla shrugged. “Honestly? I don’t have
anything else to do at the moment. I’ve been on this planet for a
year and there’s not a whole lot of work necessary for the studies.
I’ve done as many classes as I can to further my education for now.
It’s a pretty planet, but I need more than walks through the forest
to steal a cup of coffee in order to stay entertained.”

“So you’re telling me all of this because
you’re bored?” The concept stunned Jillian. They weren’t acting
like aliens. They were acting like humans in a lot of ways. She
came to the conclusion they must be terribly lonely on a planet far
away from wherever they each called home. Jillian wondered if she
could handle being on a planet far away from humanity for any
length of time.

“And because I like you. You play interesting
music and work hard when you could be goofing off. I like the sound
of your voice too,” Nyxulla told her. “And you make the best coffee
ever. I’ve never tasted any so wonderful.” The alien woman turned
and leaned seductively against the bar and window. “I don’t suppose
there’s any way I can talk you into a walk back down the hill for a
cup? . . .”

Jillian wondered if Nyxulla was coming on to
her. The squishy-lipped Sclurp was bad enough, but an exotic,
green-skinned alien woman was much more than she could mentally
handle.

“You should leave Jillian alone. She has a
life to live and I seriously doubt she wants you or Sclurp invading
her home all the time,” Buffy stated. “We also have a message
coming in from the Hub. It has emergency status on it.”

Nyxulla quickly went to a similar desk on the
right side wall. Sclurp chose that moment to enter. “Hey there,
Jillian,” he said with a small wave of a hand as he sauntered over
to the windows.

“Hi, Sclurp,” Jillian responded politely with
a wave of her own. They were treating her well and she felt
welcome. It was the oddest experience in her life, but instead of
freaking out like a normal person might, she was enjoying their
company and truly hoped they would come down for coffee every once
in a while.

“Hub Command is ordering us to rescue some
teenagers that crashed here on Earth,” Nyxulla said loudly. She
looked closely at a message on the screen. Jillian didn’t know if
there actually were alien teenagers or if that was just the word
chosen by the translators. Sclurp and Buffy went over to stand
behind Nyxulla while Jillian stayed back, figuring they would send
her home.

“Can’t they just grab a snail, or are they
hurt?” Sclurp asked. “This station isn’t supposed to be here and a
rescue could compromise its secrecy, dude.” He looked genuinely
worried. Jillian didn’t like the way they kept mentioning that they
weren’t supposed to be on Earth and wondered what was so wrong with
the planet.

“They’ve been captured. Nothing else matters.
We have to rescue them and destroy their ship. I’ll go over details
once we’re on our way.” She tapped the screen in a few places and
it went dark. Buffy went over to turn off the screens at its
workstation too. Sclurp was the first out and passed Jillian on his
way to the ship.

Nyxulla stopped in front of Jillian who
asked, “I’m guessing it’s time for me to go?” Her stomach clenched
in a moment of panic, thinking they might change their minds about
letting her go free. The stunning alien studied her for a moment,
making Jillian worry all that much more.

Long lashes blinked over the emerald eyes.
“Would you like to go with?”

“What?!” Buffy exclaimed in outrage. “We
can’t take her with. That violates so many rules . . .” The
sharp-toothed mouth moved up and down angrily as it sputtered at
the suggestion.

“If you want to come with, you can, Jillian.”
Nyxulla smiled at her. “I need a female friend. Buggy Eyes here and
Mr. Kissy Lips just can’t have a decent conversation. Plus I really
like you. You’re nice. I’m going to give you a hug like humans do.”
She promptly fulfilled the pleasant threat.

Jillian stood there in shock for a moment
before returning the hug. The alien woman smelled nice. “I like you
too.” Jillian thought about the offer. It would be absolutely
foolish to get in a spaceship and try to help rescue more aliens.
“I’d love to go with if you’ll let me.”

What her husband didn’t know was that Jillian
had spent many hours in the desert where she was raised just
looking up at the stars, wishing she could explore the universe and
meet fascinating beings. Suddenly she was meeting those beings even
if she wasn’t exploring the universe in the process. There was no
way she was going to turn down more of the adventure even if it was
foolish.

“We’re not seriously going to take a human
with?!” Buffy protested again, coming up behind her. “I like
Jillian too, but taking her on a dangerous rescue mission is
irrational.”

Nyxulla parted and looked at the BEM. “I
don’t care. I want her to go with and she wants to come. I’ll keep
her safe.” The tone of her voice was defiant and her stance
challenging.

Buffy help up hands in surrender. “Very well,
I won’t protest further, but your job is to rescue the teenagers.
I
will keep her safe.” At Nyxulla’s glare, he flexed the
taloned parts of his hands. “You know I can protect her better than
either of you.”

“True.” She nodded at that and then turned to
Jillian. “Stay with Buffy and follow all instructions.”

“I will,” Jillian agreed readily. Nyxulla
headed down the hall at a fast pace and Jillian turned to Buffy. It
was hard to decide where to focus with all the facets in the large
compound eyes.

“This is an absolutely terrible idea. I would
report it if we wouldn’t all be reprimanded and sent for
reconditioning. Follow me.” Buffy went down the hall, motioning her
to follow. She noticed a faint earthy smell of pepper wafting from
the alien. The BEM stopped in its room to grab something while she
waited in the hall. From there they went to the hangar.

A ramp was extended from an entry portal into
the shell part of the ship. It drew in and the door closed right
after they walked inside. She followed Buffy through a thin passage
toward the mid-section of the ship. Nyxulla was sitting at a group
of screens near the front of the section. There were seats of
different shapes and size to either side of the main walkway and a
door at the end leading to what Jillian guessed would be the
cockpit, if the spaceship had such a thing.

“Have a seat here.” Buffy gestured to the
right near the back of the section where Jillian wouldn’t be able
to read the screens Nyxulla was working at. “There’s a window here
you can look out while we travel.” The BEM pushed a lighted screen
in the wall. A panel slid to the side and Jillian could see the
interior of the hanger through clear glass, or whatever material it
was.

Buffy went to sit across a small table from
Nyxulla and they began discussing what was on the screens, making
the translators stop communicating English. There was no sign of
Sclurp and Jillian wondered if he was coming with them.