Free Ally or Alien: A Sci-Fi Novel by Mars Dorian Page B

have two hours and thirty-five minutes to rest from your travels. After that, we will meet up in the community center where you are able to eat nutritious matter. I'm sure you are hungry."
    "My stomach's a super-massive black hole."
    Dr. Rao supported his gesture. eLoom looked triple-happy.
    "Splendid. We don't have the technology to stuff a black hole, but we do have food printers that can take care of your basic nutritional needs."
    "Thanks for that."
    eLoom bowed again and waved her friend over.
    "By the way—this is eKazumi, my asset. She will stay with you and answer any question you might have."
    Bellrock exchanged a confused glance with Dr. Rao. 
    Asset up his ass.
    The girly Newtype was a security camera in humanoid form.
    A CCTV chick—ready to report on them.
    "Do you mind if we two could have some private time? It has been a long trip." 
    eLoom cocked the artificial place of her skin where an eyebrow would have been located. She looked as if she couldn't comprehend his sentence.
    "eKazumi will not disturb you. She is the definition of helpfulness."
    The asset exposed her cutest smile and looked like a plastic doll. The tech tunic and the circuit pattern on her 'skin' gave her sweet outside a creepy cybernetic flavor.
    Bellrock wasn't convinced in the least.
    "I bet she is the best asset in cosmos. But it's been a loooong way from home, and we're all a bit cranky. It would be awesome to have some...you know...personal time. This place is still new, we gotta adjust."
    eLoom gave him an empty stare.
    "Whatever you prefer."
    She bowed one last time and left the quarters with her so-called asset. Before she traversed the frame, Bellrock called her name.
    "And sorry for the face-puking. It wasn't on purpose."
    "Whatever makes you comfortable."
    And with that, she left the quarters for good.
    Once the door slid down, Dr. Rao cracked up like a little boy from the playground.
    Bellrock didn't get it.
    "What?"
    The young scientist mimicked his partner's scratchy voice.
    "Sorry for the face-puking.”
    He followed up with rebound laughter and added, "that has to be the worst sentence to be ever uttered in outer space."
    Bellrock shrugged.
    "What can I say—I’m not made for tubing around places. That's gonna stay a pipe dream."
    Not the best pun, but he needed to let if off his lips. 
    "By the way, what do you think of this place?"
    He almost stopped himself in mid-sentence and looked up. Even with the asset gone, this perimeter was probably wired to the max. He couldn't recognize any security cams, but the Newtype were so advanced they probably used a more intricate way of spying on their visitors. 
    Either way, Bellrock would make sure not to spill out any sensitive information regarding Earth.
    He flicked a glance at his team mate.
    Dr. Rao understood.
    The scientist pushed his face against the transparent hull and focused on Mars. The planet's glow illuminated each part of the quarters. Beautiful but deadly, because it was infested with the most deadly creature of the solar system. The doc tilted his head and addressed Bellrock.
    "You have to admit this is a friendly welcome, sir. The Newtype representatives are doing their best to fulfill our needs."
    Bellrock unstrapped his EVA suit, stuffed it into the spacious, oval-shaped lockers that extracted from the walls and climbed into the pod bed.
    "Let's wait for the actual investigation and take a rest before we eat with them. Maybe we can squeeze out some vital information."
    Pause.
    "But let's keep it low-key. No need to piss 'em off."
    Dr. Rao smiled again.
    "Says the guy who vomit-shamed the Newtype diplomat."
    "Oh boy, you're going to hold that against me, aren't you?"
    "Till your very last breath."
    They both grinned.
    Bellrock wiped the pod hull shut and dimmed its light. Closed his eyes and pondered the past experiences. 
    One part of him was terrified of the Newtype technology. So far, everything from architecture and infrastructure seemed to surpass the