Leila of the Rogue [Book Four]

Quartz

  "Ro, I look like I have a huge ass head. This doesn't fit." I complained as the alien was strapping the helmet to my head. It was dark out now, but there was a sort of town a few klicks from here we'd have to get to for the supplies we needed.

  "Not even a pup bitches as much as you."

  "I see you know about human cursing. Excellent. But that doesn't change the fact this damned thing is huge."

  "It's a Bio-Mask, not 'thing'."

  "Bio-Mask?" I repeated before Ro shook the thing on my head to make sure it wouldn't fall off. He may not have duct tape, but how he had it on my head was pretty much like just taping it to my skull. I couldn't risk it falling off in town- Humans weren't really common off Earth, but according to Ro, there had been a few exceptions to that over the years. That fact didn't really surprise me, though. I mean, with how often his kind came to Earth like it was a game preserve, a human hitching a ride off Earth every now and then couldn't be too shocking.

  But other than that, I'd need the translator and a way to hide the fact that I was human to prevent a lot of attention from coming our way.

  Ro bent over and picked up a handful of dirt and smeared it across my arm and neck, giving me brown splotches before using what looked like grass to give me green stains to make it look as if my skin had markings.

  "I really hope your ship has a shower in that bathroom."

  "That should be good enough." Ro stated, taking a step back to look at me. A solid second passed before he started making a sound that made it seem as if he was laughing. In defiance, I activated the cloaking device and jumped to uppercut him. He was well over 7 feet tall, so I needed the boost to hit him in the face since he wasn't leaning down.

  Ro grunted as he took a step back and stopped laughing.

~

  Walking closer to Ro, I made sure not to get separated from the big guy in the bustling marketplace. The creatures selling things from stalls like merchants all had big eyes and coarse-looking fur, and from the eyes and how they reflected, I assumed these creatures were a nocturnal species. None of my military training could have prepared me for this, but holy shit was I grateful for it. It gave me an edge, a way to keep calm in this rather mind-blowing situation.

  Ro pushed my shoulder, turning me toward a building that had a soft red glow coming from inside. I could feel heat coming from inside and heard a banging noise like metal heavily hitting metal. Was this place like a blacksmith?

  Going through the doorless entryway, there was a front counter that Ro went right up to. He dwarfed the creature on the other side, but I was still the shortest of the species here.

  "What can I help you with today, sir?" The translator spoke into my ear as the shorter of the two aliens placed his hands together.

  "Gear."

  "I'm sorry, sir. As you must know, we don't carry Yautja tech. You'll need to get that from a Yautja seller."

  "Not for me." Ro then pointed. "For the runt." The creature's attention turned to me, and its wide eyes seemed to get wider.

  "My, my. You are quite the small one, aren't you?" The creature placed its hands on the counter while looking back at Ro. "I think we may have some gear that could fit your....companion." They came around the counter and had a blue, rectangular device in their hand. "Stand here." They pointed to a red circle on the floor, and I hesitated, but Ro pushed me forward.

  I saw someone walk in as I went to stand in the circle, but they only took one look at the Predator before quickly leaving.

  "Now, stay still." The furry alien pressed the blue device to both of my shoulders, the forehead on the Bio-Mask, and then to my wrists and knees. The red circle began to glow, and I tensed when robotic arms came down from the ceiling. They latched onto each spot the blue device had touched, and I heard a whirring from above.

  'I swear, if I die from this, I'm killing Ro.' I thought but nothing painful seemed to happen as prehensile wires slithered out of the robotic arms, making my skin crawl as it felt like cold millipedes were wrapping around my limbs. The device in the creature's hand beeped and the arms and wires retracted back into the ceiling.

  "Good news! We have a few things in their size." They stated before turning to Ro. "Unless you would prefer to get customized gear and come back later for it?"

  "No." Ro replied. "Just bring out the gear."

  "Will do, sir." They nodded and walked away, going further into the building in the direction the red glow was coming from.

  "I feel violated."

  "It only took your measurements."

  "I never want to do that again." Ro huffed at me, and we only had to wait a minute before the creature was back with pieces of armor in their arms. Gently setting them on the counter, they looked at Ro and I.

  "What payment method do you choose?" They asked, and I definitely wasn't expecting Ro to pull out what he did and set it on the counter. I didn't say anything, just looked at the quartz rock with a confused expression plainly evident on my face which I was glad was being covered by the Bio-Mask. The creature picked it up and seemed to inspect it before pocketing it and sliding the gear over. "Come again if you are ever in need of more gear!"

  Ro didn't respond, but handed the armor to me, making me carry it as we walked out.

  "....That was just a quartz rock."

  "Yes."

  "You just picked that up off the ground, didn't you?"

  "Yes."

  "Then....?"

  "It's a very common mineral on your planet. However, here, it is the equivalent of gold on your world."

  "Holy shit. How many rocks did you pick up before we left?"

  "Just enough to get what we need here." Ro replied.

  "Wait, I keep hearing the word 'Yautja'. Is that what you are?"

  "Definitely not a 'Predator'."

  "You have to admit it sounds cool, though." I shrugged, but Ro didn't say anything else. Glancing at the big guy, I shifted my hold on the armor while walking past an alien that looked like a mix between a sphinx cat and a blue-tongued skink. "Okay, then where do we go now to get some food?"

  Ro, without speaking, grabbed my head like a basketball and turned it, making me look further up the road to see carts and stalls with what looked like fruits and vegetables.

  "Ah.... Gotcha."