by Liza Probz
He heard Kat’s indrawn breath and followed her gaze to underneath the mess table.
There lie the body of Mike, one of his former crewmates. His face was a rictus of fright, his eyes wide open in shock.
Nothing moved in the mess, least of all Mike. He scanned the area, then jerked his head to motion them forward, toward the bridge.
They moved quietly up the hall, the Zantharians bringing up the rear walking backward to cover their six. Jeffrey led the charge to the bridge, surprised to see the door standing open. A busted open panel spewed crackling wires. No wonder the door’s open.
Carefully he stepped through the entrance, quickly glancing around. The bridge was quiet, lights blinking red all around him.
“There’s no one here,” Kat said, confirming his assessment.
Jeffrey moved to a recessed panel under the center console and pushed the edge to open it. When the door popped open, he bent down to retrieve what was inside.
His weapon safely in hand, he made sure it was powered up and ready to fire. “All right,” he said. “I want two men with me. The other two will stay here with Lieutenant Yarr to guard the bridge.”
“Guard the bridge?”
Goddammit, why won’t this woman just do what I say? Every command was met with a challenge. Although he looked forward to that sort of challenge in the bedroom, at the moment it was most unwelcome.
“You heard me,” he said, his tone curt. “You’re to stay here and make sure the bridge isn’t compromised while we clear the ship.”
Kat’s face tightened, and he knew she was about to launch into another tirade. “I mean it, Lieutenant,” he growled. “I’ve given you an order. Do we have a problem?”
He could tell that she wanted to argue, but it would cause her to lose face in front of the lower-ranking soldiers. She turned away, throwing herself into a seat in front of the console and ignoring him.
Jeffrey motioned to two of the men to follow him. They stepped back out into the corridor, Jeffrey holding his weapon at the ready.
These fucking Hareema are difficult bastards to pin down. He scanned every surface for any hint of something out of place, out of the ordinary. They could be anything or anyone.
He hoped that they’d retained human form while on the Earhart. It would make them easier to find. But the truth was, they could be imitating any number of creatures or objects.
No time to get discouraged now, he told himself. Concentrate on finding them, bagging them, and getting back to Zanthar in one piece.
His thoughts were never far from the beautiful Kat’Chinna, and they flew back to her now. Jeffrey knew she was pissed at being left behind, but the truth was, he couldn’t risk her being out in the open and vulnerable to Hareema attack. The thought of her helpless at the hands of the enemy made every muscle of his body clench.
Jeffrey knew she was a skilled warrior, had experienced her power several times now. But that didn’t help banish the unease he felt when thinking of her going up against a Hareema. He took a moment to wonder why he cared.
Never before had a woman gotten to him the way Kat did. Sure, he’d always enjoyed female company, had shared many a passionate night with a string of girls back on Earth. But the alien female was like no one he’d ever known, and his feelings for her were already a hundred times stronger than anyone he’d been with before.
It was an uncomfortable feeling, needing to protect someone who didn’t think she needed protecting.
They pushed past the mess and headed toward the cargo bay. The bay was in even worse shape than the mess. Parts were scattered all over the floor, and it took him a moment to realize that it was the FIDOs who were laying at his feet.
Apparently, the Hareema didn’t take too kindly to the defense robots. Jeffrey kicked at a broken display in one of their face units. It looked like all the robots had been destroyed here.
The metallic carnage caused an unsettling chill to run over his body. Although he hadn’t been overly attached to the FIDOs, he couldn’t say he was happy to find the evidence of their demise. They were the best that NASA had to offer in terms of personal defense, and seeing their destruction reminded him that humans were massively outclassed compared to other races in the galaxy.
His team worked together to clear every inch of the cargo bay. They moved storage containers, cleared shelves, and opened every compartment to make certain it was empty.
“There don’t appear to be any Hareema here,” one of the Zantharians stated as he closed a storage compartment behind him.
“That’s just the problem,” Jeffrey replied. “There doesn’t seem to be any here, but how would we know. The box could be a Hareema,” he said, pointing to the one near the Zantharian’s feet. “Or that container there. Anything could be hiding the enemy.”
For a moment, the lieutenant was overwhelmed with anger. The Zantharians had been fighting the Hareema for centuries, and they still had no way to detect whether an object was an agent in disguise. It seemed ridiculous to him that they were left having to search the ship, object by object, and they still couldn’t be certain that no enemy agents were lurking about.
“All right,” he said, gathering his team. “We’ll have to move on to the crew’s quarters and the infirmary.”
As he walked back down the corridor, his hackles rose. It seemed like the enemy was all around him, and he was completely unaware. His thoughts returned to Kat’Chinna, abandoned on the bridge, and he realized that any notion of her being safer there was bullshit. Right now they could be closing in on her and the others.
Jeffrey had to keep his head on straight. He couldn’t keep thinking about the alien female being in danger. But there was no way to get rid of the sick feeling in his gut. Thoughts of her being vulnerable to the enemy made him want to rip the ship apart with his bare hands and destroy it all to make sure the Hareema were eradicated.
Instead, he led his team into the infirmary where they once again methodically pulled apart everything that wasn’t bolted down. Once they were finished there, they entered the crew’s quarters and began again, going room by room, checking every surface, every compartment, under every bed and inside every damn toilet.
While in his room, he slid into a fresh flight suit, glad for a change of clothing. He was tired, on edge, jumping at shadows, so even the comfort of a new suit did little to abate those feelings.
“Still nothing,” the Zantharian closest to him said, pulling all of his clothing articles out of his dresser.
Jeffrey nodded. There didn’t seem to be any sign of the Hareema. “There has to be at least one more Hareema on this ship,” he said. “Major Ontarii and Captain Brooklyn saw it before they were trapped on the alien vessel.”
“Maybe it left,” one of the soldiers volunteered. “Maybe another ship came by to pick it up?”
“Perhaps,” Jeffrey replied. “But then why keep the human ship puttering along toward the Hareema base?”
“They could have wanted to confuse us,” another soldier put in. “Have us waste our time searching this vessel while they attacked something more vital?”
Jeffrey considered his words. Maybe the Hareema were using this ship as a diversion. Still, it didn’t seem likely. His gut told him there was still a Hareema on the ship somewhere.
And everywhere they searched cut down on available options. Every moment they spent searching made it more likely that the Hareema would be forced to take some kind of action.
Unable to help himself, he thought again of Kat stuck on the bridge. She’s a big girl, he tried to tell himself. She can take care of herself.
Those words didn’t help the sick feeling he felt inside.
Not one bit.
Chapter 17
Kat stewed on the bridge. Left behind, stuck sitting here like a little girl on the beach who was too young to play with the flipper fish.
The Zantharian soldiers with her didn’t seem to mind their position. One stood guard at the bridge door while the other trie
d to familiarize himself with the controls.
“Have you had a look at their faster than light drive?” he asked, his voice full of humor. “It’s little more than a Zantharian child’s toy.”
It figures. A little girl trapped in a toy ship.
Kat’s anger grew until she was tapping at the armrests. Her legs were bouncing around with nervous energy.
Every second I sit here means another second wasted.
She had to admit, she was feeling unbalanced after what had happened on the scout ship. How easily the human male had broken down her defenses, how quickly she had succumbed to her lust for him.
The sex was incredible, there was no denying that. It was the most exciting and most satisfying experience she’d ever had. But it left her unsettled, unsure of what to do with her overwhelming feelings.
Could she admit to herself that what she cared for the lieutenant was more than simple attraction? Could she believe that maybe he felt more for her too?
It was all too confusing.
She was forced again to consider what that more might be. Even if she admitted that she wanted a relationship with Jeffrey Brunt, she wasn’t sure what that relationship would look like.
They were two vastly different beings, thrown together in crazy circumstances. Would their feelings even last once the threat was over?
And if they did persist, how could they manage to build a life together? They were both officers in different fleets. They’d tied themselves to careers that meant vast swaths of time spent in space. There was no way they could truly be together unless at least one of them sacrificed a career they’d spent their lives building.
And what about a family, she asked herself? Zanatharian females had a single egg. One chance to pass on their genes. Could a human male even fertilize that egg? Could they have a family together?
If the answer was no, then she would have wasted her chance on a male that could never reproduce.
Even though she wasn’t sure she’d ever have a child herself, the thought of not being able to made her feel empty.
And if the answer were yes, then what? They’d have a half human, half Zantharian hybrid. A child torn between two worlds for the whole of its existence. What kind of life would that be?
Would their relationship ever be accepted by either race? Would their child, if one came along, be accepted?
Kat couldn’t curse a child to a life on the fringes, never belonging to either side.
Alone.
Her thoughts were eating her up from the inside out. She couldn’t just sit there, dwelling on all the unanswered questions that were haunting her. She had to do something.
Kat leaned forward, looking for something to take her mind off her circling thoughts. The control panel in front of her was labeled with several words she didn’t understand. There were a few words she recognized, here and there, from her crash course in Earthling operations. One said ‘infirmary,’ and she recalled that’s what humans called their sick bay. Another said ‘engine’ and one said ‘exterior.’
She’d exhausted her Earthling language training and put her chin in her hands, staring down but not really seeing anything.
Suddenly a light blinked right about the word ‘engine.’
“Look,” she said, startling the Zantharian beside her. “There’s a warning light for the engine room.”
He shrugged, unsure of what she meant.
“The other team could be in danger! We should check out the engine room.”
The soldier tapped at the console, bringing up a display of the ship’s interior on the view screen. “That’s the engine room there.”
“We should check it out.” Kat stood up suddenly. “I refuse to wait here any longer.”
The Zantharian at the console straightened and gave her a questioning look. “Lieutenant Brunt ordered us to remain here and secure the bridge.”
“The bridge looks pretty damn secure,” she spit back. “There’s nothing here. And besides, even if a Hareema got to the bridge, it could do nothing to escape. It’s tethered to the scout ship, and it has almost no engine power, remember?”
“I don’t know…” the soldier replied. “We’d be disobeying a direct order.”
“From a human! Who knows if he’s even still alive. They could all be dying in the engine room right now!”
Kat hated the words as soon as she said them. He better be alive, she told herself.
“I agree.” This came from the soldier guarding the door. “Nothing’s happening here. I’m tired of waiting like sitting seagulls. Let’s find these Hareema sharks and dispatch them.”
Kat moved forward and slapped the soldier’s shoulder. “Good man. Let’s go.”
They started out into the corridor. “You coming?” she asked, looking back at the remaining soldier.
He followed after them. “No one should be alone. It’s against protocol. But if we take any heat for this, I’m telling the human that you countermanded his order. So it’s your ass on the line.”
“Understood.”
They proceeded with caution down the corridor. Kat relied on her memory of the ship’s interior map, walking in a straight line, through the mess, past the entry hatch, until she found a door. It was open, and she and her soldiers stepped inside.
There were what seemed to be broken machine parts all over the floor, as well as containers that were opening and spilling contents everywhere.
It must be a storage hold of some kind, she told herself. They picked their way around containers and human junk, searching for any sign of movement.
“It seems all clear,” she said.
“That’s the engine room back there,” her team member said, pointing to a door in the rear of the chamber.
“Let’s check it out,” she said with a nod.
The made their way back to the door, which was closed. The door panel looked like it had been smashed, wires hanging out loosely. Pushing buttons did nothing to make the door function.
She took a deep breath and let out a tendril of energy, right into the panel. There was a shower of sparks, and then door finally opened.
Kat stepped forward, motioning for her team to wait while she checked that things were clear. She could see a metal walkway before her, could hear the engines grinding and groaning, but couldn’t see anything that seemed dangerous.
She moved into the room, checking to the left and to the right. Then she turned around, about to give her men the all clear.
Suddenly a metal blur fell from above her. Kat threw herself back, then watched in shock as a metal panel, several feet square, slammed down in front of the door. It blocked the way out, cutting her off from her team.
Looking upward, she could see nothing above her that could have dislodged the metal. A strong chill passed over her body, almost making her shake. Perhaps it had come loose, and that was what the warning light was about.
Or maybe the Hareema had cut her off purposefully.
Still, with no enemy in sight, there was nothing to do but to try and get out. Kat moved forward, considering whether she could lift the metal. She could hear the soldiers banging on the other side. The metal was obviously heavy, wedged against the door by the narrow railing that circled the room.
She turned and headed for the walkway that spanned the engines. Maybe there’s another way out of this room.
She stepped out onto the walkway, looking down to the see the fiery insides of the engine as it chugged along. Kat doubted that any Hareema could be hiding down there. It was too blasted hot.
Reaching the other end of the walkway, she searched the room for another door. But there appeared to be nothing there. Only more panels with flashing lights. The railing that circled the room provided only a narrow gap. She could slide through if she pressed her front to the panels and her back to the railing, but it would leave her vulnerable.
Kat stood there, unsure of what to do. There did not seem to be any way out of the engine room besides the one that was blo
cked. Staring at the panels, she realized that one read ‘comm.’ Grateful for her crash course in Earthling operations, she took a deep breath and pressed the button.
“Hello,” she said, her voice sounding more tentative than she liked. “This is Lieutenant Yarr. I’m trapped in the engine room. My team is trying to move the obstruction but it’s too heavy. Please send reinforceme…”
Her words trailed off as a shadow covered her vision. From the ceiling, something swung down. Something red.
It landed on the railing, then quickly changed shape. Suddenly she was staring at Captain Brooklyn, or at least a Hareema that looked like her.
The saliva dried up in Kat’s mouth.
The Captain Brooklyn thing came forward, an evil smile on its face.
“I’ve located the Hareema,” she said, raising her voice and hoping to Noruma that the comm system was working. “It’s in the engine room.”
Quick as lightning, the Hareema lashed out at her. A red tentacle whipped next to her head, knocking her hand away from the comm button.
Kat dropped, turning around and flinging a hand out toward the creature. Her bioelectricity had been at the ready since she’d come aboard the human vessel. But the creature was damned fast and it twisted, avoiding the blast entirely.
Kat jumped to her feet, charging forward and laying out another disabling blast. Before it could make contact, the Hareema threw itself into the air, landing with a foot on each railing, straddling the walkway and again dodging her bolt.
If she couldn’t hit it soon, she’d exhaust her bioenergy. Throwing herself to her back with some momentum, she slid down the walkway, aiming upward at the creature.
It somersaulted in the air, coming down with a foot on either side of her head and a fierce grin on its face. “Missed me again,” it said, kicking her in the head. “I’m getting good at dodging your pitiful little jolts.”
Kat rolled over, her head ringing. She scurried forward on her knees, throwing up her hand in an attempt to send a blast through the creature before it could get away. Unfortunately, her head hadn’t cleared from the kick and the Hareema dodged easily, coming back to kick her in the face.
