by Abigail Myst
Jane figured he wouldn't turn around as long as they were at least a day out, so she wouldn't have to spend the entire trip as a stowaway. When she had boarded, she had noticed several crew and passenger quarters, all neat and tidy and waiting for a person to occupy them. If Jane could just hide in one, close the door and be quiet for a dozen hours, Zenik would be too far out to return her to the planet. Besides, if he was burned, she knew a fresh face might actually be of some use. They might recognize him, but they'd never connect her to anyone.
Plus, if this ship was known to be piloted by a Terran female pilot, she might be a useful addition to the mission. Jane could impersonate Clover for a while. Sure, they didn't really look anything alike. While Clover was a bit on the short side, now fantastically round with pregnancy, Jane was tall and muscular. Jane might get away with just dyeing and chopping her hair a bit, if one accepted that old stereotype that aliens have difficulty distinguishing people of a different species than their own.
Or she could simply tell a bit of the truth, that Clover had been matched, and she had handed over her ship to her best friend and mate, or maybe sister. With a dye job, sisters might work.
Jane took the cabin in the middle, thinking it was the least likely one for Zenik to choose. He was far more likely to take the more comfortable option of Clover's quarters, or simply the one next to it for convenience sake.
After the engines roared to life and Jane felt the stabilizers and grav kick in, she let out a sigh of relief. The first bit of this stowaway mission was going to be easy. Jane pulled back the covers on the cot, climbed in, and decided to sleep. Her mind was racing with possibilities, but it didn't take too long before she went into a meditation mode and calmed her thoughts. She drifted off to sleep and dreamed of killing large lizards.
When Jane awoke, she realized she had lost track of the time, and any interaction with the ship’s systems might flag a stowaway. She decided that they were far enough away to make it impractical for her return.
She found Zenik in the captain’s quarters. With a cat. He seemed to find it befuddling. Jane thought it was funny. She leaned up against the door and watched the warrior try to negotiate with a cat.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, startled by her unexpected appearance. She couldn’t read his face. There was a flash of emotion. She didn’t think it was anger, but it wasn’t happiness either. Then it was gone.
“Are you talking to me or the cat?” Jane joked.
“A cat. So that is not its name?”
“No. It’s a very common Earth pet. And this one looks quite friendly. Hey, sweetie.”
Jane approached the bed, stripping off bits of clothing as she went. She figured she’d soften the blow with a blow.
But Zenik was not about to be softened, in more ways than one.
“Jane. It is not safe.”
“Zenik. I know.”
“Jane.” It was a less forceful reprimand, considering she had just wrapped her hand around his cock.
“It’s done but you are not. You are just getting started. But first...” Jane said as she scooped up the cat. The tag on its collar clearly read “Data” which was a purely perfect name for a ship’s ginger cat. He was young and lanky and when she scooped him up and dumped him on the floor, he complained once before hopping over to his own pillow bed few feet away.
Now, she could turn her complete attention to Zenik and their little anti-conversation.
“You know you are glad that I am here,” she coaxed. His cock definitely was, but then it was always happy to see her.
“I am not.”
“Whatever.”
Jane positioned her head on his stomach and licked the head of his cock. She reveled in the little sigh that escaped his mouth.
“I am not,” he repeated, probably more to himself than to her. Jane swirled her tongue around his head, tracing the veins and lines of skin. She loved the feel of him in her mouth. His hands came down to rest in her hair and she took more of him in her mouth, sliding her hands up and down on his shaft.
But soon it was not enough for her. Jane needed to be filled.
It was something she had become accustomed to doing, mounting Zenik and riding him until she collapsed from pleasure, but she didn’t think it would ever become routine. The way he watched her as she moved her hips made her feel like the most desirable woman alive. She was Helen of Troy, except without the betrayal and that shit. There was a bond between them, despite the fact that he spoke little, that pulled at her heart in a way she’d never expected possible.
Jane felt pleasure mount as she rode him before finally exploding into orgasm and then collapsing on top of Zenik but he was not done. He sat up in bed and grabbed her hips. With a twist that only a well muscled Mahdfel could manage, he was on his knees, she was on her elbows, and he was fucking her wildly from behind. Jane shouted out her own pleasure twice more before he growled out the announcement of his own, releasing himself deep inside her.
Zenik pulled her close to him, back in the bed, and wrapped his arms around her. “You cannot stay.” He said it with regret.
“Too late for that now.”
Jane knew Zenik wanted to tell her she was wrong, he wanted to tell her that he could still turn the ship around. But if he did that, his intel would get even colder. Two days colder. His duty wouldn’t let him.
“So, you’re going to tell me about what we’re doing, right?”
He sighed and then caved. “We’re going to kill a Suhlik traitor.”
“Must be a pretty bad guy.”
“The Wine Merchant.”
“Pardon?”
“That is his name, or the only name he is known by. He was my counterpart. I had posed as an independent merchant. Etlonians are generally small for Mahdfel and with a little bit of creativity, I posed as one with currency to burn and information to buy and sell. The Wine Merchant was to sell me certain secrets and I would provide him with my own. For three years, I traded back and forth with him. He always used a go between, a mediator, and so I but saw his face once. The time he betrayed me.”
“Are you sure it was him?”
“I have since learned that he never shows his face outside of his circle unless he is sure you will die. As I would have.”
“But you didn’t.”
“No. For a long time I wished I had. He left me with a dozen Suhlik. Doctors, mostly, who were conducting experiments. They flayed me alive.”
Jane blinked in surprise. Flayed. Did the translator mess up some word? Or did the Suhlik really peel off his skin?
“I remember watching one. He was holding my skin up to the light, tracing my tattoo, like he was deciding whether it would fit his trophy collection. When they were done, they left me in a garbage pile, barely breathing, flesh burning, tattoos gone. They did not realize I was still alive and my healing, while painful, was complete enough for my rage to take hand. I do not remember much after that. Instinct took over. The only thing that they tell me is that they found me there, in a pile of Suhlik corpses.”
Jane ran a finger over Zenik’s chest. “So that’s why you don’t have tattoos.”
“It is a grim story.”
“It’s a story of survival. I’m glad you survived.”
“As am I, now,” he said.
“You do also realize, that that is the most you have ever said to me? Seriously. I know nothing about you. Your favorite color for example.”
“It is your favorite.”
“Pink?” Jane questioned.
“As you say.”
“It’s blue, actually. Pink is just… well… too pink.”
“The blue of your eyes,” Zenik replied.
“You are sweet. I’m going to kill this wine guy.”
“You will not leave the ship.”
“Zenik, you said yourself, he knows what you look like. You know what he looks like. Would it not make better sense if I went around in your place, the girl that no one knows, and did some surveil
lance? You could watch every move from the safety of the ship. And when we spot, him, I can tail him.”
“You will go nowhere near him,” Zenik said forcefully.
“So what’s your plan, wander onto the station or planet or wherever and wait for someone to try and stab you in the back or poison your meal? If he spots you, he’s going to go into hiding.”
The storm brewing on Zenik’s face said that he knew she was right and that he really didn’t like it. Logic was the way to go.
“Look. My plan has the highest chance of us both surviving and being able to eliminate our target,” he argued.
“It will put me in more danger if you go,” Jane said quietly.
“I do not understand that logic.”
“If you go, they will spot you and kill you. And then I’ll be forced to go on a murderous rampage.”” Jane replied, tracing a finger teasingly down his chest, just barely disappearing beneath the sheet before pulling it away.
“If they kill me, you will run.”
“Think about it a minute. What happened when they killed Paula? Did I run and hide in the water with the rest of the girls? No, I ordered Odette to hose me down and chased after that bastard with a knife. That’s what I do. That’s what I’m trained to do.”
“Then you will train yourself to run.”
“And if they follow your trail? I give myself less than a fifty-fifty chance of survival if they decide to come after me. Because we’re going to have cameras and footage of this guy. He’s not gonna get the chance to run.”
“I would not be surprised if The Wine Merchant ran with his own scrambling field to impair recording devices.”
“True. But there’s a good chance that Earth devices might be useful.”
The great thing about the Mahdfel tech was that is was highly developed and most of it still stumped most of the Earth scientists. It was, however, mostly taken from Suhlik tech, which was spread throughout the system. That meant that it was easy for the scientists on both sides to backwards engineer things to jam the Mahdfel and Suhlik tech. What they didn’t count on was that little old backward Earth would have some nifty spy gadgets that lacked the advanced components, and therefore slipped through the bug cracks. It was one of the trainings Jane had gone through, and although the forces were taught a few exploits, the Earth Guard was keen to leave the Mahdfel out of most of those little discussions. The fewer secrets they knew, the longer the spy devices would be useful.
“I cannot put my trust in such backward devices,” Zenik said. Jane smiled. He had practically just proved her silent point.
“Do you trust me?”
“I do.”
“Then trust me to figure out that angle.”
Zenik sighed under her and Jane reached under the covers for real.
“Now, how long before we get to that place - what’s it called?”
“I-” Zenik was going to object again but was distracted by a well placed hand.
“Where?”
“Uprorion City. It is not generally a place where a warrior brings his mate.”
“Sounds like fun,” Jane said as she started a little fun under the covers. “How long will it take to get there?”
“Eight more-”
“Days?”
“Yes,” Zenik moaned.
“Eight more days, or yes, I should keep doing that to your cock?”
“Yes,” he repeated, now straining.
“Well then, we’ve got a lot of stuff to catch up on, don’t we?”
“There’s not much more to say.”
“That wasn’t the stuff I was talking about.”
Jane proceeded to show him exactly what stuff she was talking about.
Chapter Eight
Zenik
His mate was right. It was simple surveillance. That didn’t mean he had to like it. Uprorion City was a rough and tumble trade spot with few rules and fewer law enforcement officers. That was just the way the local population liked it. Most of the police there were owned by the richest citizens, and basically were no better than armed thugs that kept an eye on the business interests of their patrons.
He knew Jane could take care of herself, for the most part, but that didn’t make him feel any easier. He didn’t like being left sitting in the cockpit just watching . They had placed four cameras on Jane, disguised in a gem coated scarf that she wore nearly covering her face. It would serve to hide most of her physical features as well in case her questions brought any undue attention her way.
Jane could not just go through the market randomly and ask for The Wine Merchant, though. There were a series of code words and phrases that might seem innocuous to anyone who might be listening in but would alert him that someone wanted to meet. Zenik sat waiting to fill Jane’s ear with the correct responses, even though it was possible that none of his codes were good anymore. The Wine Merchant had a bad habit of wiping out any long term cells that he became suspicious of and Zenik was a very suspicious character.
“Do you have any Minuscas melons this season?” Jane asked a fruit vendor as Zenik had instructed.
“I am sorry but they are all gone,” the vendor replied, eyeing her up and down with a certain caution.
“Oh, that is terribly disappointing. I promised my grandmother I would make her a pie.” Again, it was a phrase that was used to ward off any actual buyers of Minuscas melons.
“I should not want to upset your grandmother. Perhaps if you wait here, I can contact my supplier and see where you can get some.”
“Thank you so much.” Jane continued to browse the fruit while the vendor disappeared behind a curtain.
“If he is gone too long, walk away,” Zenik directed through the com.
Jane hummed a short tune. It was a prearranged symbol of affirmation. Jane could not be seen talking to herself. It would be a giveaway that she had someone whispering in her ear.
When the vendor reappeared, he was carrying a small piece of folded paper. Jane took it, but didn’t open it.
“Thank you, ever so much. You have made my grandmother very happy,” she said and walked away.
After a few turns and a bit of distance from the stand, Jane pulled up against a wall and looked at the paper.
“It’s a number,” she said through the com, “but that’s about all I can get from it.”
Zenik was impressed that she even recognized it as that. The translator under her skin didn’t translate handwritten text, which is why it was much more secure to write on a piece of actual paper than a tablet. The tablets automatically translated everything for the reader according to their DNA tags.
“It’s a code,” he told her.
Zenik transposed the code and then looked at the message it revealed. It sent a shot straight to his stomach.
“Jane, get back here.”
“Why? What does it say.”
“Jane, no arguing. Come back now.”
“I’m on my way, but what did it say, damn it?”
“Run.”
“I’m coming. Keep your britches on.”
“That’s what it said. That’s all it said. It said run.”
“Gotcha,” Jane said as she smoothly walked toward the shipyard. She didn’t actually run, which was good, because a running female was bound to attract attention in other ways, but her gait was determined and quick.
Zenik recognized the path she was taking out of the market and through the upper town. It was the cheapest place to live, because it was near the spaceport with its engines and pollution and dirty business. There was a dive bar on the corner that Zenik had spent a number of hours in, trying to make connections or waiting on ones to show. She was about five minutes from the spaceport. That is when three large hulking forms appeared in front of Jane. It was also when the links fizzed out and there was nothing in his ear but static.
Their cover had been blown in a major way and all the Terran technology in the world hadn’t stopped The Wine Merchant from getting to Jane.
Ze
nik sprinted out of the ship, not even bothering to cover himself. He had, fortunately, changed out of his Mahdfel uniform into something a little more planetary, just in case he’d have to make a quick run like this. The Mahdfel weren’t exactly welcome in Uprorian City. They always followed the rules and the rule of law and expected them to be upheld. The people here were fond of bending them if not out and out breaking them.
He made the five minute journey in three minutes flat, not caring how much attention he drew. He reached the outside of the bar. There he found nothing. No Jane, no thugs, no Wine Merchant, and no sign of a struggle. It was if they had just vanished.
“Jane,” he pleaded into the com. Still nothing but static.
Chapter Nine
Jane
Jane kept her cool. Those three thugs didn’t have to be up to no good. They didn’t have to know who she was or what she’d been up to. They were, however, closing in pretty fast and when she giggled and stepped aside for them to pass, they stopped up short and stared at her.
“Excuse me, boys.”
“We don’t want to hurt nobody,” the first one said. Somewhere in her panic she wondered how bad a thing’s grammar had to be before the translator translated double negatives. He was the tallest but definitely not the widest. His skin was a sort of diarrhea yellow color that made Jane queasy to look out. The second was the widest, nearly twice the width of a normal human. He was a dingy gray with a thin coat of gray hair covering his face. The third was the same species, but he was not as wide. They were all wearing large black overcoats with a neon green patch sewn onto the front. Jane thought it was probably some sort of security badge.
“That’s good to know. I got my shopping done, so I’m just headed home,” Jane said as she made a move around them. The wide one blocked her path.
“The Wine Merchant wants to see you.”
“Oh, why didn’t you say so?” Jane threw up her hands. “I’ve been trying to buy a bottle of 1927 Clucot for three years!”
