There was a knock at her door, and then the sound of her visitor letting himself in. Sarah was turned away from the door, and as the intruder turned on the overhead light, his shadow was cast over her body and onto the wall in front of her. The Kylen’s shadow was near twice as large as his actual size, and the outline of his massive, deadly horns forced Sarah out of her previous nightmare and into her present one.

“Come with me.” Grom’s gruff voice pierced Sarah’s ear like a dull knife.

She rose from her bunk with defeated indifference and adjusted the doctor’s coat, making sure the dull knife she had taken from Wex’s stash was still securely tucked in her back pocket. Keeping her head down, she made her way past the captain and stood in the hallway, silently awaiting his next order.

“This way.” Grom pointed to the left and Sarah walked obediently. The Kylen attempted to strike up a conversation as he and Sarah weaved their way through the poorly designed maze of the Slipsteam’s hallways. “Wex has removed the gravity drive from the ship and taken it to the repair shop. They are reviewing the damage and should have a report for us when we get there.”

Sarah nodded without looking up from the floor.

“I spoke to him this morning. Wex, I mean. He said you fixed the intercom system?”

“Yes.”

“Right, well, good.”

The two walked in silence. Just as they were approaching the ship’s exit, Grom grabbed Sarah’s shoulder roughly and turned her around. “Hey! Look at me.”

Sarah obeyed.

“I don’t have to take you on this little field trip, you know. I thought you’d be grateful for the chance to get off the ship.”

“Thank you,” Sarah answered methodically.

“I don’t want your empty thank yous!” Grom shoved Sarah’s shoulder lightly. “What’s wrong with you? Are you sick?”

“No, sir. I’m fine. Let’s go, we don’t want to be late.”

Grom’s breath shortened as his irritation began to bubble over. He stepped closer to Sarah, but even the threat of his physical presence fell short of rousing her. He loomed over her, his gray eyes burning a hole in the top of her skull, for near a minute. Finally, his stare broke, and he slammed his fist into the red button by the door. The large, airlock door hissed as it opened, revealing the loud and crowded hustle and bustle that had overwhelmed Grendle Port 6.

Grom drew his weapon and pushed it into the small of Sarah’s back. “No funny business, you hear me?”

“I hear you.”

They approached the security checkpoint for docks 26-34. The line went fairly quickly, seeing as the markets had closed and everyone was pretty much on their way out of Grendle Port 6. There were two security personnel. One was an average sized alien, with four arms perfect for searching multiple pockets and bags at the same time. The other was a massive, red-eyed alien with slimy skin and missing teeth.

Sarah counted out the aliens in line in front of her and, with dismay, realized she was likely to be searched by the larger, scarier alien. She forced herself to snap out of her depressed haze and focus. This was a dangerous planet, and she stuck out like, well, like exactly what she was: a human in an alien’s world. Not to mention she had a weapon hidden. How could I have been so stupid! The line moved forward and suddenly she was next.

The red-eyed alien motioned for her to come over. She couldn’t move. Grom pushed his gun into her back again and growled. “What are you waiting for. Go.” Then he pulled the gun back and shoved her with his hand. She had to take a few steps in order to keep herself from falling, and by the time she found her footing she was close enough for the alien to wrap one of his slimy hands around her.

“Well what do we have here?” The alien started running his hands along her arms. “You’re a little late for the markets, sweetheart.” He searched all the pockets of the lab coat and then spun her around to face him. “But if he’s still looking to sell you, I might be interested in making an offer.”

“I’m not for sale.”

“Everything’s for sale, if you can offer the right price.” The alien reached to remove Sarah’s coat, but she crossed her arms so he couldn’t. “I have to check your pants pockets,” The alien said, in a tone that inspired no room for arguing.

“I’ll just lift my jacket up.” Sarah demonstrated how she could lift the bottom of the lab coat, high enough that he could check her pockets.

“What’s taking so long?” an alien in line behind them yelled.

“It takes as long as it takes!” the four armed security personal yelled back. She looked over to the red-eyed one. “Hurry it up there, would you? I want to get home before the game starts. It’s the galactic cup.”

The alien searching Sarah groaned then stuck his hand into one of her front pockets. His nails were short, but filed into tiny, razor like points that poked holes in the fabric of Sarah’s favorite jeans. “These pockets are so small!” The alien complained as he struggled to get his hand out. While he was distracted, Sarah took the opportunity to subtly grab the knife from her back pocket and slip it into one of her coat pockets. Sending a silent prayer to which ever sexist fashion designer decided women didn’t need to carry things, Sarah looked around to make sure no one saw her little maneuver. She spotted Grom waiting to her left, but he was looking the other way. His security search had been completed in a timely matter, unlike hers, which was still happening with no apparent end in sight.

The alien took his time checking her back pockets. He kept Sarah facing him, his arms wrapped around to her back side, and smiled at her the entire time. The few teeth he had left were yellowed and his gums black. Sarah knew any escape attempt would be futile, but the knife still burned a hole in her pocket. It took everything in her power not to reach for it and plunge it deep into the alien’s slightly protruding belly.

When he was finally done searching her person, he commanded her to open her mouth.

“Excuse me?” Sarah instinctively reached a hand to her lips.

“I need to check and make sure you’re not trying to smuggle anything in that pretty little mouth of yours.”

“Nobody else is having their mouth checked!” Sarah argued.

“Nobody else is human.” The alien pulled Sarah into a close embrace, “Now this will go a lot quicker if you just open up.”

Sarah closed her mouth tight and shook her head. She had been poked, prodded, and otherwise violated too many times the past few days. She was not going to willingly let this disgusting slime ball put his fingers in her mouth. Unfortunately, he wasn’t taking no for an answer. He kept one arm tight around her, pinning hers to her side, and with the other hand he reached for her mouth. He skillfully wriggled his nail between her lips and teeth. This clearly wasn’t his first time dealing with an unruly patron. His strong fingers forced Sarah’s jaw open and he clawed around carelessly. He tasted like dirt and old cheese.

“You know, human tongues go for a lot at the market,” he whispered in Sarah’s ear and then without warning used one of his nails to slice the side of her tongue. The skin broke and blood filled Sarah’s mouth. She bit down hard and the alien screamed in anger. He released her, and, without thinking, she called for Grom. The Kylen was at her side in a flash.

“Your slave bit me!” The alien was holding his sore hand as if it had just been crushed by the wheel of an industrial rover.

Grom grabbed his wrist and examined the hand. “Seems fine to me.” He turned to Sarah. “Are you okay?”

She was holding the side of her face, and even though her entire mouth was throbbing, Sarah already felt embarrassed enough that she had to be saved. She nodded yes and tried to push back the oncoming tears.

“Good. Then we will be on our way.”

“You most certainly will not—”

“Vaniv!” the four arm alien called to her partner. She had heard all the commotion and was walking towards the group. “Let them go.”

“But boss, you don’t understand—”

“Vaniv!” she yelled even louder. She moved her head in Grom’s direction, prompting the red-eyed alien to take a better look at his challenger. Whether it was Grom’s size, or simply the fact that he was a Kylen, Sarah wasn’t sure, the alien immediately stopped cradling his hand and gave Grom a winning smile.

“I’m sorry, sir. This whole thing was entirely my fault. You folks go on ahead.”

Grom offered nothing in the way of thanks or pleasantries. He grabbed Sarah by the arm and led her away from the checkpoint. Once they were out of earshot, Sarah swallowed her pride, and a little bit of blood, and said something she felt needed to be said.

“Thank you.”

Grom didn’t hear her at first. “What?”

“I said thank you.” She spoke a bit louder, still unable to look at him.

The captain cleared his throat. “I didn’t do it for you.” He shifted his weight awkwardly from one foot to the other. “I did it for the sake of my ship. I can’t have you getting yourself killed before we get this new gravity drive. But don’t get used to my protection. Once the Slipsteam is back in tip-top shape—”

“Still,” Sarah interrupted, completely uninterested in listening to another one of Grom’s failed intimidation attempts. “Thank you.” She started walking ahead of him, forcing him to get over whatever angry feelings were brewing, and follow her.