Luther felt incredulous.
What the hell did the alien mean by saying his particle transmitter malfunctioned and he was beamed into an alien spaceship?
For a moment, it almost felt like a joke.
But when he looked at the embarrassed face of the marble skinned alien scratching his bald head in sheepishness, Luther knew it was all real.
A few seconds ago, he was just a normal, random university student on earth, going to get some food.
Now he was on an alien spaceship. Life sure moved fast.
'So can you… beam me back?' Luther asked cautiously.
The alien shook his head. 'Not as of yet. I'll have to make some adjustments to the particle transmitter but that will take a couple of hours.
Even then, it's not guaranteed you'll be able to return to your home planet.'
Luther couldn't help but face palm.
Great, now he was stuck on an alien spaceship with an alien. Who knew what was going to happen to him?
As if sensing his despair, the alien comforted him. 'It's not so bad. Wandering in space isn't actually boring. It's rather nice.'
Luther nodded but his face showed he wasn't convinced one bit.
'I forgot to introduce myself. I am Bernoni Jopapolos, galactic explorer, a Borrussian and citizen of the Golden Light Federation.' The alien patted his chest with pride.
His voice was strange, almost bordering on a weird high pitch as if sound came from the back of his throat.
'So there is indeed other intelligent life outside earth,' Luther muttered to himself.
Bernoni snorted and said, 'What, were you expecting to be the only inhabitants in the galaxy? How funny! There are quadrillions of races in the Milky Light galaxy!'
'You mean the Milky Way,' Luther corrected.
Bernoni the alien shrugged. 'Same thing.'
Luther took in a deep calming breath and ran his fingers through his hair.
So there were indeed other races apart from humans in the galaxy. And from the looks of it, they were rather advanced too, far beyond earth.
At least based on what he had seen from Bernoni so far.
'But how presumptuous; your home planet hasn't even reached the interstellar era yet but you've already began to name the galaxy and believe you're the only inhabitants.'
Luther resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
Inwardly, his shock and curiosity kept getting greater and greater. Those scientists on earth would literally go crazy if they discovered this.
'Right… if I can't return to earth, can't I journey with this alien or something? This is a one in a jillion opportunity! I mean, out of the 8 billion people on earth, only I got beamed up here…'
A crazy thought began to creep into Luther's mind.
He was temporarily stuck here for now. He had to make the best out of his situation!
What better than to ste- no borrow alien technology and ideas to help his home planet advance?
'This place is the transmission area, it's not conducive for talk. Follow me,' Bernoni waved at Luther and walked away.
Just before he got to the wall, it opened like a door, allowing him to step through.
Behind him, Luther hesitated for a few seconds then steeled his resolve. Whether he liked it or not, he was now a guest on an alien's spaceship.
The least he could do was follow his host's commands, especially when he wasn't hostile.
Calming his nerves, Luther followed after Bernoni and behind them, the wall closed up, returning to its previous state.
After passing through more silver corridors, they arrived in front of a weird double door which split into two to let them in.
Though the room wasn't as large as the transmission area, it was still magnificent.
Golden marble pillars supported a construct which looked like a Grecian temple. What could only be golden tables and chairs were organized neatly under the roof of the temple.
It overlooked a supremely serene natural environment with lush green shrubbery and a crystal clear lake.
'A garden in a spaceship?!' Luther exclaimed.
Bernoni chuckled and motioned for him to sit down. 'This isn't even the latest spaceship module. Larger ones have whole forests. What would you like to eat?'
Luther looked down at his stomach.
Ever since he got beamed up here, his stomach had stayed quiet but now it sensed there was no danger, it was about to misbehave.
'Give me a little of everything. I want to see how alien food tastes like!'
Bernoni nodded in appreciation as his impression of Luther increased. 'That's the spirit! You must always be willing to explore new things.'
With a snap, metallic bots with large trays floated into the Parthenon.
'There are golden berries from planet Nubbis, phoenix gizzard from an actual phoenix, those purple vegetables you see are from Mozilla, oh and don't forget to try out the abalones too!'
While Bernoni passionately introduced the food, Luther ate like a starving beast.
How fragrant!
How delicious!
God, the way the tastes burst and melted into his mouth almost drove him crazy from bliss. How could food be so sweet?!
And the wine… oh heavens. Luther's eyes rolled to the back of his head as if he was having an orgasm, only from food.
It had a unique grapey flavor, cool and moist. It sent pleasant shivers down his spine and he felt like he was floating on clouds.
How wonderful!
Before Luther realized, he had cleared all the trays. Only mere bones remained of the once grand feast.
'Damn, I ate all that?' Luther burped in astonishment.
'Hahaha, I've met a kindred spirit! Friend, you truly did the food justice! Burp louder though. In my culture, the louder the burp, the greater the appreciation you have for the food and chef!'
*BUURRRRRRRRRP!
A thunderous belch answered like thunder and Bernoni clapped in glee. 'That's more like it!'
'Hah, I'm so stuffed…'
Luther leaned back in the comfortable chair. No matter what happened next, he felt at peace.
'So young friend, how will I address you?'
'I'm Luther.'
Bernoni nodded. 'Weird name but I've heard weirder.'
Luther's lips twitched involuntarily. How on Earth was Luther a weird name? Ah well, probably it sounded weird to those outside earth.
'So Bernoni, you're a galactic explorer right? I want to be one too!'
The alien leaned forward curiously. 'You're not afraid? Many people would faint from despair if they realized they were on an alien ship.'
Luther shrugged. 'I'm stuck here so I might as well see the galaxy before I return to my home planet.'
The alien observed him for a few seconds which stretched on, almost like eternity.
Finally, he leaned back and broke into uproarious laughter. 'Interesting! Truly interesting! I like you already, my young friend!'