“I’m only going to say this one more time.” I rest my hands on my hips and scan the bridge with the frostiest glare I can summon. “Get the hell off my ship, or I’ll throw you out myself.”

It’s an empty threat, and we all know it. The alien standing to my left reminds me of a Mack truck. Seven and a half feet of bulging muscles, shoulders as broad as a bus, and pecs that look like slabs of granite. Me? Mr. Alien could toss me around without breaking a sweat. Not to mention, there are three of them, and only one of me.

But I’m not giving in. I can’t.

This ship is everything. To me. To my crewmates. To the mission. We need it if we’re going to save Earth. I didn’t spend months flying across the galaxy in the Sparrow only to abandon it at the first hint of trouble.

“It will be dark soon,” the biggest of the Attalan warriors says. I’m completely taken aback that he addresses me in English. “We need to leave now if we are to make it to the wall by nightfall. The storm will only get worse.”

“You can speak English?” I ask. Curiosity replaces my anger for a moment.

“I can speak hundreds of languages, thanks to an implant we all have.” He reaches up and taps his ear. The men behind him shift impatiently and I get the impression he’s tired of waiting.

I raise the plasma gun from my side and point it right at his huge, muscular chest. It was only moments ago that five huge warriors boarded the ship. Two of them carried Natalie off, injured leg and all, and the other three are standing here, waiting for me to follow their orders quietly.

“I already told you, I’m not leaving. But you’re welcome to get the hell off my ship unless you happen to be an expert on spacecraft engineering. That woman you just carried off? She’s our engineer so you’re making my job much more difficult right now.” He crosses his arms tightly across his chest as I talk and I can tell he’s frustrated. Join the club, buddy.

“She will be well cared for within the city walls. She will receive the medical care that she needs. All of your friends will be well cared for.” He’s the only one doing the talking which tells me out of the three of them, he’s in charge.

“We have our own doctor. Oh wait…but you took her as well.” I don’t know if these aliens understand sarcasm but it doesn’t stop me from using it.

He gets sarcasm; I hear his deep exhalation and catch a glimpse of him as he rolls his eyes. A very unexpected human gesture that makes my chest tighten and my already high blood pressure spike through the roof.

His muscles are impressive and I don’t doubt that he could easily throw me over his shoulder and carry me out, but I’m fairly confident that he won’t. Call it a woman’s intuition.

“There’s a reason you were supposed to land inside the city walls. It isn’t safe out here, especially at night. And this storm could trap you for days.”

I decide to completely ignore his comment about not landing where we were suppose to. I don’t need to be reminded that I was the one at the controls when we crashed. “The backup systems are still running. We’ve survived in this spaceship for months in deep space. I think I’ll be okay for a few days if I get snowed in.”

He shakes his head. “And if the backup systems go down, you’ll freeze to death. Your body cannot endure the cold temperatures of our planet.” I’m about to interject when he holds up his hand to stop me. “You’ve crash landed here, on this planet you know nothing about, yet you foolishly insist you can handle anything.” His voice is rising in intensity and volume. “You know nothing of the dangers here. Of the creatures that could tear you limb from limb without breaking a sweat. The ones that would be happy to-“

“Enough of this, Lodyn.” One of the other warriors steps forward, tired of waiting in the background. “I will carry her and we’ll leave at once.” He takes a step toward me but Lodyn’s arm shoots out like a steel beam and stops him. I keep my weapon trained on both of them. A hint of a smile crosses his lips and it sends chills down my spine.

“You will not touch her, Branyx,” Lodyn says.

The ferocity of his tone freezes me in place. Up until this moment, figuring out what is wrong with this space ship and how to fix it has been all consuming. And I want to be able to join the rest of my crew as soon as possible. But, now that they’ve been taken by the other warriors and are on their way to the city, I suddenly realize how alone I am out here. I don’t know what the hell is wrong with the ship and there are three testosterone fueled alien males bossing me around. Well, one of them is being bossy, the others are just looking at me like they’re waiting for the go ahead to pick me up and end this conversation all together.

I turn away from them, holster my weapon, and walk back to the control panel of the ship. I stare at the lifeless buttons and frustration rises within me. The whole system looks fried. No flickering lights, no sounds. Just frustrating silence with the looming presence of three huge strangers at my back. I kneel down and slide the panel aside in order to take a look at the wiring that might have been affected when we unexpectedly flew into the storm. Best case scenario, I’ll see a section that is black and fried from some sort of electrical surge. I’m worried if it isn’t obvious, it will take me much longer to repair. I’d like to get the ship up and running asap. Time is of the essence.

“Margo,” the Attalan says. I’m thrown by his use of my name. We certainly haven’t been formally introduced. Then I remember, the other women were shouting my name as they were carried away outside. He’s an observant son of a bitch.

“Margo,” he repeats, much more forcefully this time. He’s waiting for me to turn around but I’ve already said everything there is to say. I can’t leave the ship behind. Fixing the ship so we can get off this planet is on me now. I’m the last man standing, so to speak.

“What?” I say, hands balled into fists at my side while I stare at the clumps of wires in front of me. I turn my head so I can see him out of the corner of my eye. He moves closer to me and I can tell by his clenched jaw and jerky movements that he’s not used to having someone disobey him.

“We are leaving. Get your things,” he says.

“Oh no, no, no,” I say, standing up and turning to face him this time. “What was your name again?”

“Lodyn,” he says. “Get your things at once.” My insubordination is really testing his patience. Every muscle in his body is tense, from his jaw down to his massive legs. I know how he feels. My body is a mirror of his, tense from head to toe while I try to stomach all of his bossy demands.

“Lodyn. It’s obvious you’re used to getting your way but you need to listen to me. I can’t leave this ship; it’s our only way home. Your men took the rest of the team and now I’m the only one who can fix it. So, you can help me or leave, but I certainly don’t need you to babysit me.”

“Enough, Lodyn.” The one called Branyx has lost his patience with me again. ”Let’s take her and go. She knows nothing about this planet and the certain death she faces here on her own,”

“I’m standing right here, you know. You can just talk to me.” I’m not a stranger to being talked about like I’m not in the room. Being a part of the military on Earth for four years taught me how to stand up for myself. The male-dominated military is no place for a wallflower.

The other alien is still quiet and obedient, standing off to the side. I don’t like the look he’s giving me but at least it appears that he’s going to follow the chain of command, no matter how frustrating he might find the situation.

“Kjallak,” Lodyn says to him, “go get our supplies ready. We’ll be leaving shortly. Branyx? Help him.”

“Yes, Lodyn.” And just like that, we’re alone. For some reason I relax slightly with the other two gone. Three against one isn’t a fair fight.

Lodyn is looking at me with an angry squint and I feel myself tensing up, getting ready for another round of verbal sparring. He just stands and stares at me, though, and I start to fidget under his gaze. I know he’s trying to figure out how to deal with me and for the first time all of my insecurities are threatening to unravel. They’re here for our protection, it’s his job to keep me safe. But it’s my fault that we’re in this predicament and I can’t leave before I fix my mistakes.

I can’t hold his gaze any longer. Now that we’re alone, I notice a strange tingling feeling floating through my body. It’s probably just nerves. Maybe the events of the last hour have finally caught up with me. These three are strangers, an alien race, and aside from what we studied about their language and culture before we arrived, we really don’t know anything about them. They might decide that I’m too much trouble and just bury my lifeless body in a snow bank.

“Come back with us now. My people are very capable of helping you repair your ship. We won’t leave it long - we’ll return as soon as the storm clears.” It’s as close to a peace offering as I’m going to get from him.

I’m torn between my duty and my manners. It’s my responsibility to protect the ship and get it up and running. On the other hand, this is a diplomatic mission, and I don’t want to be a total pain in the ass to our new hosts.

“I’m sorry,” I say, letting my stubbornness win. “You should have left with the rest of the group. I’m not leaving.”

I run my fingers through my hair and take a deep breath. There’s so much to do before the rest of the team gets back and as the pilot it’s my job to make sure we can get home again. Especially now that Natalie, the ship’s engineer, is injured and in need of medical attention. I’m mentally compiling a list of things that I need to check as soon as these guys head out.

“You have warm clothes?” he asks. I’m not sure of his intentions but it’s clear from his tone that this conversation isn’t over.

“Yes,” I say, hesitantly.

“Where?”

“In the sleeping quarters, down the first corridor.”

He’s standing in front of me, and I take a moment to inspect his clothes for the first time. He wears pants made out of leather. No shirt or jacket, just two brown straps that cross over his chest where he wears an emblem in the center. It is what they all wear so I’m assuming it’s the symbol of the Attalans.

I’m preoccupied with my thoughts about how little they wear on such a cold planet. He turns around and leaves the room.

Attala is an ice planet, so we came prepared with cold weather gear. On a normal day the average temperature is zero degrees Fahrenheit but during the frequent storms that plague the planet, the temperatures drop to dangerously cold levels. I’m hoping he was just checking to make sure I’ll have plenty of things to keep me warm when they leave.

I turn back to the main controls, checking to see what functions are still working and which sections of the main board are dead. Things aren’t looking good so far. I hear the sound of clothes rustling behind me and I turn around. Lodyn is back, and he’s holding a pile of my winter clothes in his arms. He drops them to the floor in front of me and crosses his arms again.

“Put these on and then we’re leaving. If you refuse to put them on yourself, I’ll put them on for you and carry you off this ship over my shoulder.”

He turns and stalks out of the room after giving me my marching orders. I guess I’m out of options. It isn’t a question of whether or not he could make me do it. It’s obvious he can; he’s all muscle from head to toe. He’s also quite bossy which really rubs me the wrong way. I don’t like being ordered around.

Exhausted from this fight, I pull on my snow pants and secure my winter coat tightly to my body. I’m willing to acknowledge my defeat. When I think about it rationally, he’s probably right. I’m sure they do have the technology and the alien power to help get this ship back up and running.

The three Attalans are standing at the main doors when I emerge. Before leaving the deck, I detached the small box that looks like a remote. It will show me on the screen where the ship is if we have a hard time finding it again. I have no idea how fast the snow can accumulate or if it’s possible for it to bury a ship as massive as The Sparrow.

“I’ll carry you on my back,” Lodyn says with complete sincerity when I walk back to rejoin the group.

A noise that sounds like a mixture between a laugh and a snort escapes my lips before I can stop myself. But really, does he think I’m that helpless?

“No, thank you. I’m perfectly capable of walking on my own.”

Once again he stares at me just a little too long. I’m not sure what these looks from him mean. Maybe he’s deciding whether or not I get to make any of my own decisions or if he’s going to continue to take control. I meet his gaze unflinchingly.

Finally he extends his hand and says, “I’ll carry your pack for you at least. The snow drifts will be high and you’re short.”

There’s no reason to argue with that. Anyone would seem short compared to their seven foot massive frames.

I shrug out of my pack and hand it over to him. He throws it on his back effortlessly.

One of the other aliens is standing in front of the door, seemingly at a loss as to how to open it. I push past him and grab onto the door handles, manually turning them so the locking mechanism begins to turn and unlock.

“On the backup systems all of the doors need to be manually opened and closed,” I say as I turn the wheel around several times.

With a final click I’m able to push the door open. Barely. The wind is pressing heavily against it, threatening to slam it closed right in my face. Then Lodyn is next to me, using his body to push the door open. He makes it look easy, like opening a screen door on a breezy summer day.

He exits the ship and I follow. The wind hits my body and punches the breath out of me. I almost go down before my feet even reach the snow. When I inhale for the first time, the air is so cold that my lungs feel like they’re burning. This is a cold I’ve never felt before. Lodyn was right, it’s a cold that could easily kill me.

He turns to me and fastens a belt around my waist. Now I’m tethered to him. He knows how easily the planet could consume me. In my right hand I’m gripping the homing beacon, the small square box the only thing making sure I’ll be able to find my way back to the ship again.

As we start walking, I keep my head down, focusing on my feet and following in Lodyn’s steps. The snow drifts are huge and I practically have to jump over them with each step. It doesn’t take long for me to regret turning Lodyn’s offer down of a piggy back ride.

When I pause for a moment before taking the next step, the belt around my waist jerks me forward, nearly pulling me down face first in the snow. As my body lurches, I instinctually throw out my hands, trying to catch myself as I fall. The beacon drops from my grip. When I hit the snow, my body is pulled forward again. Without thinking, I reach down and unclasp the belt around my waist to keep from being dragged face first. My only thought is of finding the beacon before it’s lost in these huge drifts.

Once I’m free from the tether, I turn my body to search for the blinking red light. A huge gust of frigid air hits my body, lifting me clear off the ground and into the swirling vortex above. My lungs hurt too much to even scream. Then everything goes dark.