Lunai left Kelang in the holding cell with the promise of a speedy return after using the bathroom. Truthfully, she just didn’t want him there when she went to talk to Entropi. The woman may not have been win-gel, but if any alien could teach her to hone biological skills, it would be the GSA’s resident xenophile.

  The door to the captain’s quarters stood with a more daunting aura than it had any right to possess. Entropi seemed to like Lunai, but interrupting her sleep would test that theory. Nula’s base of operations was getting closer every second. It was now or never.

  If she didn’t want to be bothered, she probably shouldn’t have offered to take me.

  Asserting her abilities to Dr. Crux certainly gave her a new boost of confidence. Entropi was another step up. While Dr. Crux did his best to appear down-to-earth and welcoming, Entropi was happy to have the reputation of a grumpy bridge troll.

  I hoped I farmed enough goodwill for her not to be bothered by this. Is saving Bliss a few times good enough payment for me to cross the bridge?

  Lunai knocked once on the door. She wasn’t sure how loud it would actually sound through the ship’s reinforced walls. Pammy was now staring at her, laughing under her breath. Lunai huffed and rolled her shoulders back. Taking a move from her missing colleague, she morphed her arm into a hammer. The door shook as she banged against it. Pammy was now doubled over in her chair with her hand stifling some inappropriate cackles. Lunai could hardly blame her. She looked like a serial killer lurking in the hallway.

  Lunai heard a loud crash coming from behind the door after the third knock. She held her murderous hammer-hand back and prepared to face the angered troll she just woke up. Bliss was pacified by cats. Perhaps Entropi had a similar weakness she could exploit.

  A nice message from Bliss? Every mom wants their kid to call more. Don't know how I'd pull that off.

  The door slammed open. Entropi stood in the doorway with her full hero suit and helmet on. She looked at Lunai’s hand, still cocked backwards in the shape of a hammer. Lunai immediately realized how threatening that looked and changed it back, smiling awkwardly.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” the hero asked her.

  “Do you know anything about win-gel physiology?”

  Entropi’s body relaxed slightly and she leaned against the doorframe. “Don’t insult me.”

  “Is that a yes?”

  Entropi didn’t respond. She just continued standing there with her arms crossed.

  “Ok…I’ll take that as a yes.” Lunai pointed to her finger-tip. “I just did something with the lipid bilayer in my cells to keep water out. The only problem is I have no idea how to do it on a mass-scale.”

  “The lipid bilayer is a decent target for manipulation.” Entropi grabbed Lunai’s wrist and brought it up to her face. “Did you picture it in your mind?”

  “Yeah, how’d you know?”

  Entropi chuckled. “That’s how everyone starts with something like that, but mental images are only training wheels. You have to take them off if you actually want to go anywhere.”

  “So, it’s just gonna take some brute-force training. I guess I was hoping for a magic shortcut,” Lunai sighed.

  Entropi nodded at her. “You’ve been training with the zimyefan guy?”

  “His name’s Kelang, you know!”

  Entropi gently pushed Lunai away from the doorframe and stepped out into the hallway with her. “I’ll supervise. Where have you been working?”

  If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

  Lunai worked so hard to keep Kelang away from Entropi and now the hero was asking to be led straight to him. Lunai brought her to the holding cell and prayed to the spirits. She could see Kelang’s pupils dilate the moment his eyes found Entropi.

  Lunai spoke before he could open his mouth. “Guess what? Entropi wants to watch us train. Let’s give it our all, okay?”

  Focus on working and please don’t talk too much my friend.

  Kelang happily nodded along. “Lunai made some real progress using my water skills!”

  “Sure. I guess she made some,” Entropi relented. “But one fingernail isn’t enough. If she can’t expand her reach, it’s practically a useless skill.”

  Kelang scoffed. “Well, she’s gonna learn. I mean, she just learned to do it today!”

  “Ok, that’s enough speculation! I’m standing right here.”

  Lunai knew the petty argument from Entropi was only meant to be an insult of Kelang’s usefulness. She did not want to be used to put anyone else down. She had to prove Kelang right for the both of them. Maybe Entropi would warm up a bit if she could do it. Once again, Kelang extended his arms for Lunai’s roots.

  “Don’t picture anything. Just tap into the same feeling you had when you did it before,” Entropi instructed.

  Lunai had to force herself to keep her eyes open. Closing them would make the mental image return too easily. She stared directly at Kelang’s face as the roots latched onto his nerves and blood vessels. Stretching the lipid bilayer felt like stretching a rubber band, except the rubber band was her own flesh and blood. It was painful to do, but manageable, especially when the alternative was cellular eruption.

  The alternative is much worse. Remember the light pain. Slight burning and rubber stretching. Be the rubber! Adapt!

  The modified cells started feeling numb as a key component of their function was disturbed. The sensation started running down her left finger and spread to her entire hand. It was actually starting to work. It was incredibly unpleasant. Lunai imagined it was what a stroke felt like.

  “It’s down to my hand. It sucks. I can feel my cells starving to death.”

  “Lunai, do you know how long a win-gel cell can survive without sufficient water?” Entropi asked.

  “Uh…”

  “A few days at least. Your cells will recover. They’re just being needy.”

  Lunai shook her head. “No way, that can’t be right.”

  Entropi grabbed Lunai’s wrist and started pulling her away from Kelang. “That’s enough for now. Some reading would do you some good. You need to know your species’ alleged limitations before you can break any barriers.”

  “You want me to sit down and open up a book now?”

  Entropi shrugged. “I know we’re low on time, but it’s not my fault you didn’t come prepared. You spent so much time learning where everyone else’s brainstem is that you neglected your own functions.”

  “Ok, but I-“

  Entropi took her by the shoulders and pushed her into the captain’s quarters. She slammed the door shut behind them before Kelang could sneak his way in. Lunai watched as she started searching every cupboard in the room.

  “Aha!”

  Entropi turned around with a scannable microchip in her hand. She held it above Lunai’s wrist and her CellPulse automatically lit up. It scanned the chip and marked the content ready for reading.

  “There you go. Read that before going any further.”

  Lunai raised an eyebrow. “Are you just doing this so you can go back to sleep without acknowledging Kelang?”

  “Out!” Entropi pointed her towards the door.

  I’ll take that as a yes…

  Kelang was waiting right outside the door when Lunai exited. They both returned to their seats in the cockpit next to Pammy. Lunai clicked around on her CellPulse, examining the table of contents of the book that was just downloaded. Kelang was leaning over her shoulder and watching her every move.

  “Entropi gave you that?”

  “You wanna read it with me?” Lunai held her wrist out. “I can project it if you’re interested. We can read the zimyefan section once I’m through with win-gel.”

  Kelang squinted at her tiny CellPulse screen and pointed at the book’s title. “Hey, these are Entropi’s personal notes! Project that shit!”

  Lunai read it for herself. The book was titled: “Notes from Across the Galaxy: Entropi’s Insights on Alien Species.” It would certainly be more interesting than the textbooks the GSA training program required her to read before she started her intern year, though her heart dropped a bit when she saw the page count. The win-gel section was two hundred pages by itself. The entire book was thousands.

  “I hope you’re a fast reader,” she said to Kelang.

  The win-gel chapter was projected in front of them. They started skimming like their lives depended on it. Every bit of information Lunai read possibly held the key to resisting Nula’s water pressure.

  Though she was focused on her reading, Lunai kept an ear out every time Pammy started talking. The pilot gave the rest of the armada following them updates on their position every so often. They were getting close to their target. It would only be a few hours at most before they were in firing range. Lunai and Kelang wouldn’t have time to finish reading and get back to sparring.

  Lunai felt as though she betrayed herself. The information Entropi provided was absolutely necessary to improving her skills. She spent too much time in school focusing on other people’s weaknesses. She wouldn’t make that mistake again.