Chapter 20 - Curiosity
595 Words
Mira woke slowly.
For a moment she didn’t remember where she was.
The room was dim, the faint hum of the ship vibrating softly through the walls. The large bed beneath her was warm, the blankets heavier than anything she had ever owned back on Earth.
Then the memory returned.
The stars.
The observation room.
Talking with Rethan.
Her eyes blinked open.
She shifted slightly and realized she was alone in the bed.
All five aliens were gone.
The room was quiet.
Mira pushed herself up, rubbing sleep from her eyes as she swung her legs over the side of the bed.
“Well… that’s new,” she muttered softly.
No towering alien men nearby.
No curious observers.
Just silence.
She stood and stretched slightly before heading toward the door.
The corridor outside was calm, the same soft blue lights glowing along the walls.
Mira walked slowly, glancing around as she moved through the ship.
She wasn’t exactly sure where she was going.
Instinctively, her feet carried her toward the command deck. It had become the most familiar place aboard the ship besides the bedroom.
But halfway there—
She stopped.
A doorway sat slightly open along the side corridor.
Inside, the lighting was darker.
And something inside caught her attention.
Rows of sleek metal structures lined the walls.
Mira leaned slightly closer to the doorway.
“…What is that?”
Curiosity tugged at her.
She glanced down the corridor.
No one.
The ship remained quiet.
Slowly, cautiously, Mira stepped closer.
Then she peeked inside.
Her eyes widened slightly.
Weapons.
At least… she thought they were weapons.
Long metallic devices rested in secure racks along the walls. Some were shaped like rifles, others smaller and more compact. A few looked nothing like anything she had seen before.
Her curiosity grew stronger.
She looked over her shoulder again.
Still no one.
“…Just a quick look,” she whispered to herself.
Mira stepped inside the room.
The air smelled faintly metallic, and the lighting reflected softly off the polished weapons.
She approached the nearest rack.
The device resting there was long, sleek, and dark with faint glowing lines running along its frame.
“Okay… definitely a weapon,” she murmured.
She reached out carefully and lifted it from the rack.
It was heavier than she expected.
“How does this even work?”
Her fingers moved cautiously over the unfamiliar shape.
No trigger like a normal gun.
Just smooth panels and small glowing symbols along the side.
She turned it slightly in her hands, examining it from different angles.
“Maybe it’s voice activated?”
Nothing happened.
She frowned slightly.
“Or maybe—”
Her finger brushed across a small recessed panel.
The weapon suddenly hummed.
A sharp pulse of blue light shot from the barrel.
Mira gasped.
The blast struck the far wall with a bright flash and ricocheted violently off the reinforced surface.
The energy bolt bounced across the room—
Straight toward her.
Pain exploded along her arm.
“AH—!”
The weapon dropped from her hands and clattered against the floor.
Mira stumbled backward, clutching her arm.
A thin line of blood spread across the fabric of her sleeve where the blast had grazed her.
Her eyes filled instantly with tears.
“That— that hurts!”
She pressed her hand against the injury, panic rising in her chest as the sting burned across her skin.
Her cry echoed through the corridor outside.
And on a ship this quiet—
It wouldn’t go unnoticed.
- Writer
