“Where did you find that?” Tension poured out of Deuce’s voice as he confronted someone ahead of him.
Richard edged around to see a teenage boy holding a small furry white animal with big bright eyes, short perky ears, and a pink nose.”
“He hopped out of the shuttlebay. He’s awfully cute, don’t ya think?”
The animal wiggled his nose at them.
“What have you brought on board?” Richard turned accusingly to Deuce.
Deuce went stiff. “The Lady help us, it’s a gebbit. How in all that’s holy did a gebbit get into the shuttle?” He glared at the kid. “Give it to me.”
Before the kid could do anything, Deuce reached to grab the critter, which immediately leaped out of the boy’s hands. It gave a squeak, and the last Richard saw of it was its small haunches pumping up and down, short tail flicking, as it headed down the corridor and disappeared into a grate.
Richard and Deuce stared at each other.
“A gebbit! You let a gebbit on board? Do you know how fast those things reproduce?” Richard shouted. “They are incredibly fertile.”
Deuce’s face held wide eyes and an open mouth. A pause, and he gave an abrupt, terrified nod.
Richard brushed his hands through his hair. “We need to talk to Commander Fujeint about this right now.”
***
Richard found Elise in her headquarters talking on the comm. She looked exhausted. As he walked in, she raised her head and a worried expression flashed across her face.
“Don’t always look so worried when I show up,” he said, attempting to inject a light tone into what could become a troublesome conversation. He waved Deuce away. “Find those station clothes,” he ordered.
Deuce nodded and left.
Elise gave him a wan smile. “I’m learning that your unexpected appearances usually presage trouble. What’s up?”
“Well, it’s not a big deal. Rather small actually.” He shaped his hands to the size of a gebbit and explained what had happened.
“Sounds like a cross between a rabbit and a mouse.” She tapped fingernails on her makeshift desk. “We need to catch it right away before things get out of hand.”
“That’s the problem. It’s gone and hopped out of the kid’s hand already and has probably reproduced several gebbits in the meantime. We need to catch it before we’re up to our eyebrows in gebbits.”
She shook her head. “All right. I’ll make an announcement. I was about to anyway. I want to test Chay T’Sang’s new station-wide communication system.”
She stood up and walked over to a collection of electronics. Flicking switches, she began. “Attention all personnel. Attention. This is your commander speaking.”
She paused. “First, welcome to your temporary accommodations on this Alysian space station. You should have gone through decontamination, received fresh clothes, and found your living quarters. I realize the situation isn’t ideal, but try to cope as best you can. Any serious problems should be addressed to Administrator Cameron or his associates. I do not as yet have a determination of how long we will be here. We are negotiating and evaluating. We do have a signed guarantee of a large parcel of land once we’re released.”
She took a deep breath. “I also want to apprise you of a recent development. It appears a small rodent, think of a cross between a mouse and a rabbit, has made its way on board the station from Alysia. We need to catch it and make it our first guest in the animal husbandry habitat. I hear they are particularly tasty in a stew.”
She waited a beat to let that sink in. “I suggest our younger people might form teams to find this animal. I’m offering a generous reward for its capture. Parents, this might provide a welcome distraction for the kids while you settle in and a way for them to get to know kids from other ships. However, adult monitors for each team will be required.”
She twisted to look at him with a smile and continued, “Now, I’ve been informed the kitchens plan to serve first dinner in half an hour. Mr. Deuce Card has brought up generous portions of fresh fruits and vegetables donated by our new Alysian friends. There is also a rumor of cake for dessert. As this food is unfamiliar to your gastric system, go easy. Eat sparingly and share generously with your fellow stationers. Again, welcome aboard. Commander Fujeint out.”
She stretched and stepped over to a chair across from where he sat. Slumping into it, she closed her eyes momentarily, long lashes dark against her pale skin. He wanted to take her in his arms and kiss those beautiful eyes, but he stayed put out of self-preservation.
“Would you like me to go rustle up a dinner for you?”
Her eyes fluttered open. “That would be very kind of you… Richard.” She yawned. “I just don’t have the energy to deal with anyone in the commissary with questions.” She rubbed a hand over her face.
“Stands to reason as you’ve been busy juggling ships all day. Sit tight. I’ll be back with dinner before you know I’m gone.”
She nodded and waved a languid hand at him.
He left, closing the door behind him. Questions and comments bombarded him as he strode into the dining hall. Quickly, he gathered up an appealing meal. No one stopped him except one scruffy looking fellow, and Richard politely told him that he was taking dinner to an exhausted commander. The man backed away.
When he returned, he found Elise fast asleep in a chair with her head cradled by one arm, her knees bent, and feet tucked under her body.
Carefully, he put the hot dinner down, leaving the cover on. He settled into the chair opposite to study her. Starting at the top, he gazed at her tousled, auburn hair. The unbelievable lavender eyes stayed closed. Her slender neck and trim shoulders sat over generous breasts that dipped to a slim waist. His eyes traveled all the way down to delicate feet and started the circuit over again. He pushed up, walked over, and locked the door. Now, no one would barge in, letting her rest. Returning to the comfortable chair, he studied her again, nibbled a bit of food, and let out a deep sigh.
The most amazing woman he’d ever met slept before him. How was he ever going to make her his? Because he knew it was fated to happen… the problem was: he wasn’t sure how he would go about it.
***
“I’m not letting any kid younger than twelve be on my team,” announced a tall, gangly teenager with a mop of bright red hair and a face littered with freckles. He addressed a collection of seven kids, ranging from eight to fifteen.
“So, how do we catch this critter, Dazz?”
Dazz waved his hands in a circle. “I’ll give the signal and we scatter. First one back with the animal wins.”
A few lowered eyebrows and wrinkled noses greeted this dubious strategy.
A throat cleared, and they all turned to stare. Before them stood a twenty-something girl with a pert nose, twinkling blue eyes, and honey-brown hair. “To start, you might want to have earbud communicators so as to keep in touch with each other.” She unfurled two fists filled with the small electronic gadgets.
Dazz’s eyes widened. “Where did you get those?”
“Carter Wright let me have them. I told him I thought you might need them.” She handed out one to each kid. “You attach it to the edge of your ear and the button nestles inside. Just say ‘testing one-two.’ It recognizes your voice and, anytime you talk, it will broadcast on the team’s channel.”
“These are cool, Dazz,” said a ten-year-old scrawny kid with big ears and a crew cut.
“Yeah.” Dazz turned the earbud over in the palm of his hand. He narrowed his eyes and squinted at her.
“Right.” She rubbed her face, thinking. “Now, a small animal will most likely take to the conduits to avoid large stamping feet and snatching hands.”
She reached into a bag and pulled out a small pair of binoculars. “These are night vision binoculars with zoom capability.”
All eight kids shuffled in closer to study the pair dangling from her fingertips.
“Strap this around your head,” she slipped a strap over
a tall blond kid’s head, “and position over your eyes like glasses. Tap the right cylinder to enlarge and the left to diminish. The red button activates the night vision mode.”
The blond swiveled his head left and then right. He tapped the right cylinder, followed by a tap on the button. “Dazz, these are fantastic.”
“Here, let me try them.” Dazz yanked them off the guy’s head and put them on. “Whoa! You can really see far away and real clear.” He pulled off the binoculars. “How many you got?”
“Jacob gave me five, but only small kids will be able to crawl the conduits. So, you might want to reconsider that above-twelve rule.”
“You’re not talking about Jacob Monroe, head of security, are you?”
“That I am.” She nodded.
A young brown-haired girl with a long ponytail and bangs that brushed her eyebrows, wrinkled her nose. “You’re his daughter, aren’t you?”
“Got it in one.” She grinned. “Call me Jennie. Anyone here brave enough to crawl around in a dark tunnel?”
All hands went up.
“It would be awesome with those glasses.” A petite blonde gently tapped the swinging binoculars.
“Dazz, you’re too big to fit in a conduit,” big ears sneered.
Jennie placed her hand on the suddenly red-faced youth’s shoulder. “Oh, he can be the one to coordinate everyone as we herd the gebbit to a trap.”
A smile emerged. His shoulders straightened. “I’ll be the team captain.”
A few frowns emerged at that comment.
“Got anything else?” A heavyset, brown-haired boy of about thirteen stepped forward.
She nodded. “The key to a successful hunt is good intel.”
“Intel?”
“I happen to have pro… cured,” she trailed out the word, “a blueprint of the station.” From an inside pocket, she pulled a folded piece of paper and squatted down to smooth it out.
Everyone hunkered down around her, heads almost touching. On the paper were dotted lines of different colors.
“Where’d you get this? Who would give you blueprints to the station?”
“Actually, no one gave them to me. Sometimes, a good operator must be resourceful. From the hallway, I noticed the blueprints on Commander Fujeint’s desk, so I created a reason to be in her office. When she wasn’t looking, I carefully took a few pictures with my camera. Then a quick visit to the printer, and we have our own copy.” She showed a small camera in the palm of her hand. “Carry it with me all the time.”
“That’s really tiny.” A small finger lightly touched the device before Jennie whisked it back into a pocket.
Jennie smoothed out the paper some more.
“Then you know Commander Fujeint really well, too?” the older brown-haired kid asked.
She looked up. “My original did some favors for her original way back.”
“Oh. You must know everybody.”
“Nope. Don’t really know you guys that well, but maybe we can change that.”
Members of the group exchanged approving grins.
“Now, here’s where it was last headed.” She tapped a black dotted line. “The different colors indicate different routes the gebbit might take and various spots we could set traps.”
She looked up. “We’ll need to sneak some cheese from the kitchen first, however. Who’s up for that?”
The ponytail and bangs raised her hand. “I happen to know someone who works in the kitchen… my mom. She’ll let me have some.”
“Very good. Now, we bait here and here and here. Then position some team members who can stay really quiet. I mean really, really quiet. Anyone know somebody like that?”
“Me!”
“Me!”
They all chorused in.
She stood up and brushed off her pants. “So, what are you kids doing hanging around here for?”
“We’re waiting for some stupid guy to come and tell us what to do. Every team has to have an adult to make sure they’re doing things safe. It’s a rule of the game.” Dazz appeared none too happy with the setup. “So, we’re waiting for him to show and boss us around.”
The little blonde tugged Dazz’s shirt.
“What is it, Chrissy?”
“Dazz, I think that person is here.”
Dazz whirled around. “Where?” He put a hand up to his brow as he searched left and right. “I don’t see him, do you?”
“Right there.” She pointed at Jennie who wore a grin.
“Is that true?” he asked, swiveling back to stare at her.
She nodded. “Yep. I’m Jennie Monroe, and I wanted to be on the winning team. So, I picked you guys.”
***
“Station alpha, report in,” Dazz whispered. Razzle Dazzle, known mostly as Dazz, crouched next to Jennie in a storage closet not far from the kitchen.
A woman’s shriek erupted two units over, accompanied by shouting and the crashing of dishes and metal pots.
“Sounds like our quarry has entered the kitchen,” Chen reported. Due to his inherited small stature, Chen had received one of the tunnel rat assignments. He hunched down in a nearby conduit prepared to get a visual on the scurrying gebbit. He pulled a broom-like apparatus from his back pocket and adjusted the zoom on his night goggles.
“Anybody, sweep him my way if you see him,” Chrissy whispered from the next tunnel over.
“Okay, station B. It appears he’s exited the kitchen and is coming your way. Be ready. Don’t let him double back like he did on Tommy.”
“Not my fault that he’s little and fast,” Tommie protested. “He just slipped through my legs and skittered the other way.”
“My line connects into the kitchen,” piped up Lexi. “I’ll send him on to you guys.” She brushed back brown bangs from her eyes and got set. “I see him coming down the line now. Chrissy, get ready to sweep him on to Chen. He’ll push him to Dazz and Jennie. They have the bag positioned at the exit in the supply closet.”
Jennie waited at an open grate, baited with cheese.
“Ya! There he goes. I got him headed your way,” Lexi shouted.
“I see him!” Chrissy murmured. “Wow! He’s past me now, moving fast, and headed your way, Chen.”
“I’ll sweep him on down.” They heard an intake of breath, a grunt, and a triumphant shout, “He’s on the way.”
Suddenly, a small, fast moving gebbit darted out of the grate into the waiting bag.
“I got him. I got him!” Dazz chortled.
“Tie him tight and give me a high five,” Jennie said proudly.
Down the corridor and in the kitchen, people continued to shout, but Jennie knew her team would claim the prize.
***
"Come in." Jacob looked up from his latest report to see Jennie walk in with a motley bunch of kids straggling behind her. He stepped away from his consultation with Merek to greet her.
“Jennie!” He felt love pour into him at the sight of his adopted daughter’s face.
“We won, Dad.” She held up a bag that jumped and jerked while emitting strange squeaking noises.
“Hold him, Jennie.” A redhead emerged from behind her. “Good to meet you, Mr. Monroe.” A hand shot out.
Absently, he shook the sweaty palm and faced his daughter. “Won what?”
“The contest. I trapped the gebbit. Rather, my team trapped the gebbit. I wanted to be on a team, Dad. And here they are.” With a flourish, she swept her hand over the grinning kids. “My team.”
I want to be on your team, Jacob.
The memory tore in, sharp and cruel. He gasped with the sudden tsunami of emotion that flooded him.
I have no team, Jeannie, he’d answered her. But he had. They’d made a fine team. A wonderful partnership, but now she was gone. Dead. His life was changed, shaken to the core… but part of her remained, standing in front of him. Her clone.
He choked and his shoulders shook. He couldn’t speak. Words stuck in his mouth.
“Dad, what’s wr
ong?” Jennie reached out her hand to touch his arm. “They said they wanted us to do this.”
He spun around and walked blindly over to Merek who put down the report he was reading and stared in alarm.
“Should I call a medic?” Merek asked. “What’s wrong?”
He stopped, gathered himself. He couldn’t act this way in front of kids. He breathed in, straightened his shoulders, and held out a warding hand to Merek. “I’ll be fine. Give me a minute.”
Gathering his composure, Jacob turned back to the eager group. A twelve-year-old girl with straight brown hair stepped forward and held out an object. “We brought back your ‘noculars, Mr. Monroe.”
A light brown crewcut joined her and dangled a pair from his hand. “They work real good in those dark corridors.”
He blinked. The ears on that kid are amazing.
The bag jerked up and down, then sideways, but the noises grew muted. He glanced at the bag.
That gebbit has had a long day.
“What is the prize?” he asked, curious as to how this contest worked.
“We have to take the gebbit to husbandry first, so it can start a family,” Jennie said matter-of-factly. “Dr. Steele promised to get us another gebbit to keep him company. Then we can help take care of the babies.”
A petite, pale blonde with a cherub’s face chirped in, “They agreed that each of us could pick out a pet to have for our very own to take care of when they get enough.”
The redhead spoke up, “Director Steele said it doesn’t have to be a gebbit. They plan to have chickens and goats and pigs. I myself prefer a pig. It’s bigger and smarter.”
“Tastes better,” commented ears with a smirk.
That drew a glare.
“Well.” Jacob really didn’t know what to say.
Then, he did.
Looking over at Merek, he drawled, “I could use a crack team in my security operation.”
“Really?” Everyone started to chatter excitedly.
“You’ll need to bring in kids from other ships, of course.”
“We could do that.”
“And you would report to Merek.”
“What! Sir!” The panic on Merek’s face was laughable.
Somewhat Alien: The Station (Terran Trilogy Book 2) Page 5
