Chapter 88—Maxx

“Hey, Pete,” Nera said, her voice warm and inviting, yet tinged with an undercurrent of urgency as we stepped up onto the platform. “Uh, we kind of need your help.”

Other than Pete, the platform was empty. Everyone else bustled around the beach below to prepare for our wedding, which would begin in two hours. No doubt Pete was helping by staying out of the way.

He glanced up from his frothy yellow drink with an umbrella in it, surprise flickering across his face. “Does it require hair removal again?”

“Not this time,” I assured him.

Nera looked at me with a question in her eyes, but I shook my head. We weren’t going to get into that. Not now. Not ever. Not with anyone, in writing or verbally. Nope.

“Anyway,” I prompted.

“Yes, uh…” She took a deep breath before explaining our plan to lure Earth Space Fleet into a trap using the Xenoxx scale.

As I listened to Nera lay out the details, I realized how much trust we were putting in Pete. We were asking him to do so much, and if anything happened to him, I would be devastated. We all would be. Over time, he’d grown on me, and once we left here, I would truly miss him.

“However,” she added, “this puts whoever does this at great risk, and we can’t ask you to do this without being completely honest about what’s at stake.”

Her big brown eyes searched Pete’s face for any hint of reluctance.

Pete’s bleached hair caught the bright sunlight as he ran a hand through it, worry etching lines on his usually jovial face. “That’s… That’s a lot to take in. But I know how much this means to you…and I can’t just stand by and let Earth Space Fleet do such shitty things, can I? They took people from you. Important people.”

His words stirred something within me, a mix of admiration and empathy. I knew all too well the pain of loss, and I could see it mirrored in Pete’s eyes as he spoke. We had each suffered at the hands of death, and even though his daughter had suffered a natural illness, he knew that kind of grief well.

“Are you sure about this, Pete?” Nera asked. “We don’t want to force this decision on you.”

Pete took a deep breath, seeming to draw strength from some hidden wellspring of resolve. “I’m sure.”

“You can even film yourself if you want,” Nera suggested.

Pete’s eyes widened. “A hint for next time you want me to help save the universe? Lead with that.”

Nera laughed.

“Thank you, Pete,” I said, stepping forward to clasp his hand. “We’ll have your back the whole time.”

“I won’t let you down,” he replied. “I’m gonna go write myself a script with some stellar one-liners.”

“Um, yeah, good idea.” Nera scratched her head as we watched him hurry toward the crew beach house.

“This is asking too much,” I said, taking Nera’s hand. “What if something goes wrong? What if he gets hurt?”

“We’ll have escape routes in place and backup plans if things go south. You and me will be close by, ready to jump in if needed. Trust the preparations.”

She was right, but still, I couldn’t help but feel the weight of responsibility pressing down on me. We were risking everything to expose the truth, and there was no guarantee of success.

But that would come later. Right now, it was time to prepare for the wedding to my beautiful star.

***

As the minutes ticked away, anticipation grew within me like a relentless tide. I waited on the beach in front of the flower-adorned altar while Alien Love Paradise‘s cast and crew murmured restlessly from their seats in neatly arranged rows. Every once in a while, they turned their expectant faces toward me. Waiting and wondering.

Me too. Nera was over five minutes late.

Miekil, sitting in the front row and thereby blocking the view of those behind him with his large, green horns, leaned in and whispered, “Say the word, and I’ll go check on her.”

“No, it’s fine.” I forced a swallow, my throat suddenly dry. “Her style team’s probably running a bit behind. You know how it is.”

Miekil raised an eyebrow and chuckled. “I don’t, but okay.”

From the second row on the other side of the aisle, Nera’s pilot, Darc, waved to catch my eye and then jerked her thumb to the back, signaling if I wanted her to go check.

I shook my head. Fuxx, just leave it alone already.

She’d be here when she was good and ready. I had no doubts. None. Nothing sat like a boulder in my chest, expanding with every passing second. Nope. Nothing.

Miekil leaned closer. “If there was any way off this planet that wasn’t crashed or damaged, I would tell you that maybe she’s halfway across the galaxy by now, but there’s not, so I won’t.”

“Thanks,” I gritted out.

He sighed and shook his head. “I’m kidding. I’m trying to distract you and failing miserably. She loves you. She wouldn’t do that to you. You know this.”

Did I? Or did she have lingering doubts about marrying her worst enemy?