Beyond the Milky Way

5.1: Queen of Buno

Malik sat beside Bradley in the dining facility and wondered why the man had a strange look on his face.

"What's up with you?" his curiosity got the best of him. His real concern was why the artillery specialist wasn't beside him. Ever since the assessment, the two were rarely not together. Malik looked forward to their constant argument: Lindsay trying to shove Bunodic food down Bradley's throat and Bradley fighting her off.

Bradley sighed and gazed at his tray.

"I'm worried about Lizzie." he admitted. Malik's eyes widened as his heart rate increased.

"Everything okay; what happened to her?" he panicked.

"No, it's nothing like that! I mean, she should be fine, right? She's starting to hang out with the other aliens here."

"... I've noticed that. Well, she is the only female human here. They seem to be really interested in her." Malik realized. He struggled to restrain his smirk; Malik always suspected Bradley to have an interest in Lindsay. He guessed that it was bound to happen. Regardless of the fact she had a husband, Lindsay was appealing. Malik even had a small interest in her but it was slight. He didn't know if it was because she was the only human female there. Would his attention move to another woman if there was an additional one on the crew? Perhaps, he admitted to himself.

"Some more than others." Bradley mumbled, distracting Malik from his inner thoughts.

"Wait, what? Who?" he tried to remember who gave the woman any extra attention. Everyone who isn't human, he chuckled in his mind. He paid little attention to what the others did after practice. Malik always concluded that Lindsay would be with Bradley. He noticed that the "vampire lady" Agnab and "bunny rabbit" Naav spoke to her every opportunity they had. The scary "devil woman" Snil as well, Malik shuddered; that one made him as uneasy as General Ehsa! Either way, he saw none of them showing Lindsay more than platonic affections. Extreme fascination but nothing that should've caused Bradley concern.

"The Baron has been taking her out on dates damn near every night..." Bradley declared. Malik choked on his drink at his comments. When he calmed, Malik stared at the man.

"Who?! A what?! Oh, shut the fuck up!" he laughed. Brad was exaggerating, Malik thought. Lindsay was married; Malik expected she would never cheat on her spouse, no matter how far away they were from Earth. A small thought made him blush: if she was to be unfaithful, Malik hoped that it would at least be with her own kind...

"I'm serious! She's always trying to say they ain't that. But I know dates when I see 'em! Well... hear about 'em. The first one they had, he invited her to some recital."

"The first one? How many have they had...?"

"He been taking her somewhere every day this week." Bradley huffed. Malik studied the man and what he said.

"Maybe they're not really dates. Maybe he's just showing her around Buno."

"Okay, so why not let one of us do that?"

"Really? Um, maybe because we've never been here before? Where would any of us take her? The tavern? The marketplace? The bay?" Malik laughed. "I'm just going to say it. I think you really like Lizzie..."

"Of course, I like her; I wouldn't be concerned..."

"I mean, really like her. This is jealousy, man."

"What?!"

"It is! Listen to yourself. The Baron, who's probably been coming here since before we all were born, is showing Lizzie around the place. This is the first time any human has been here; he's just showing her around. And then, there's you: moping because of it."