Chapter 3
Enemies All Around
The food smelled delicious. She’d not seen many males that could actually cook or that were willing to do it. Mazlans and Phoenix were different from humans. The plates were piled high and she was sure she was going to gain weight if they stayed here long. What he had made tasted wonderful and she finished her all her food.
“That was so good.” She complimented.
“Ladonna sent the best. It’s easy to make a good meal with great supplies.”
“I was wondering if the station had defensive or offensive protection.” She asked.
“Not much. It generally goes unnoticed. Why do you ask?”
“The computer just alerted me to a ship of unknown origin heading straight for us. There is nothing else that it can be headed toward in our vicinity. It will be here tomorrow at the current speed and heading.”
“Do you connect to the computer like Ladonna does?” He asked clearly unnerved.
“Sure I do. This is the part of my brain I connect with. She pulled something loose and tossed it to him. He jerked as he caught her ear phone.
“Very funny.” He commented as she laughed at him. ”You have a nice laugh. It’s good to see you loosen up even if it was at my expense. Here, take it back.” He handed her ear piece back to her.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pick on you.”
“It’s alright. I have a sense of humor. I just wasn’t expecting that from you.”
“What about the ship?”
“That wasn’t part of the joke?”
“I don’t find incoming enemy ships funny.”
“We’ll go sleep for a few hours while the computer does its work. When we get up, we’ll load the ship and send the station in closer to Mazlan territory. Maybe a warship can make it in time. I’ll call Razar and see if that’s possible.”
“Won’t it be dangerous to delay leaving?” She asked.
“Everything about being a soldier is dangerous.” Glint admitted.
“True, but they said to take no unnecessary risks.”
“They don’t tell all of us that.”
“Only the females?”
“Those and the tech heads. They have too few to risk the ones they have. We won’t be taking many risks. Our scout ship has camouflage.”
“So does the station but they found it.” She replied.
“The station is larger and has been sending out unprotected signals.”
“You were hoping to lure them in.”
“Hoping is a strong word. We wondered if they might respond if they feared they would be revealed.”
“You could have warned me.”
“It was on a need to know basis.”
“Yes, yes. And I didn’t need to know my life was being risked.”
“We don’t feel that it is. I’ll protect you if you trust me.”
“I barely know you, Glint.”
“You will before this mission is done.”
“There’s more?”
“It depends on what happens next. Meanwhile we should get some rest.”
She simply nodded unsure of what to say. It was alright to be frightened, she’d always heard. That was good because she was, but courage was to do what you were called on to do anyway. She would do that when the future called on her, hopefully.
Cleaning up quickly with Glint’s help, they parted ways to catch some sleep. She wondered what it would be like to spend the night in his arms. Naughty thoughts for one as innocent as herself. But she had found such thoughts came at her more and more the longer she was around Glint.
Maybe her shy girl ways were being slowly dissolved. Or maybe she was maturing sexually. It was hard not to notice how handsome and exciting Glint was. She felt a warm sizzle when she looked at him. It was something she’d never felt before and she didn’t really understand what it was. Hopefully it would just go away.
Settling in to sleep. She hoped things would go better once they woke. Her mind ran a hundred miles a minute and just when she feared she’d never sleep, she must have drifted off. “Wake up, George.” It was the computer.
“Yes, I’m awake. What is happening?”
“The ship headed here has increased its speed. Glint has told me to wake you and advise you that he needs you to help prepare to take off.” The computer directed.
Hopping up, she dressed in moments and grabbed her duffle. Her computer bag was also ready in moments. Those she would load first then she would help him prepare whatever was needed. A strange sense of movement hit her.
“Computer, is the station moving?”
“Glint had instructed me to move in the direction of the nearest warship which also happens to be away from the encroaching ship.”
Wise, she supposed even if it gave them little extra time. The station couldn’t move at light speed as the oncoming ship was. Their small scout ship could, but they needed to load it and head out. Moving quickly, she loaded her bag and as she was leaving the ship, ran right into Glint’s hard chest.
His arms moved up catching and holding her against him. Breathing in deeply, she loved his spicy masculine smell. When had she ever noticed how a male smelled unless it was bad? “Excuse me. I loaded my personal gear and I’m now ready to assist you.”
“Yes, well let me unload my personal gear and we’ll get to it.” He said and she noticed he had a bag in each hand. She nodded and stepped around him to wait for him to be done.
“We need to get the computer off here. It’s not a huge one, but it’s heavy and we’ll have to haul it on a cart. I’m sure we can lift it together.”
“I’ll help as much as I can.”
“Just follow me to the computer room.” That also happened to be the communication room.
She supposed the computer was an expensive piece of equipment. “Why are we taking the whole computer?”
“We need to be sure we have all the information the computer has.”
“We can take the software and any stored information without taking the heaviest parts.”
“Are you sure we’d not leave anything behind?” Glint asked.
“Yes, it’s even marked so an untrained person can take it in an emergency situation. See those marks here?”
“Yes, I do. How do you know so much about computers?”
“I had a dual degree. I actually started out working with the computers when I was working on my degree then decided communications suited my talents better.”
She hurried and pulled the needed sections that stored information as well as the heart and brain of the computer. They were the lightest parts. “We could, if needed, hook this up to the ship’s computer so we can access anything we need.”
“That was amazing and I liked the way you simplified things so I would understand.” She grinned at him. That he had noticed she had broken things down for him surprised her.
“Let’s get this loaded and we can take off. I’m hoping the Night Wind will get here before the unknown ship does.”
“Will we meet the Night Wind?”
“No, we will go to the right instead of straight as we intended to all along. There is another place we will check out. Several actually are where messages were intercepted from by locals acting in the best interest of the Mazlans and themselves.”
“I’m not very good at secret spy stuff.”
“You’ll just pretend to be a boy. That way no one will notice you. You can carry a bag for me like a porter. They’ll assume what they wish, but they won’t think you are anyone important.”
She didn’t know how she felt about that. It was true she had perfected the art of disappearing from notice. That meant she shouldn’t be offended if Glint appreciated that talent now. He’d noticed her in the bathroom the other day. There had been no doubt that he had. Her cheeks pinked at the memory.
They finished loading the ship and locking everything down to make it harder to access by unauthorized people. As soon as that was done, they hurried away to their scout ship. Glint went through launching protocols and they were shooting off the station in minutes. She should be excited about seeing things she’d never seen before and going places that were unexpected. That might be the case if danger didn’t hang over everything they were about to do.
She stole a glance at Glint and recognized the look of worry on his face. It seemed he wasn’t confident about their plan of action either. As she observed him, a flutter in her stomach distracted her. What did that mean? It only occurred when she looked at him. Hopefully she wasn’t becoming drawn to him. This was the worst time to become attracted to someone. They both needed their heads and hearts clear and their eyes on the prize. Otherwise they might not live to tell about this adventure.
“Tell me, where are we headed?”
“We are going to Bell View. It is on the very edge of the space the Mazlans have control of. It’s a strange place where Mazlans mix with creatures from worlds beyond here. Many are from races we don’t even know a thing about. I’ve been there, but not in recent times. We have allies that will take us in and help us get the information we need. Once we have it, we will move on. It is but a day away.”
“Is it a station or a world?”
“It is both. The station is where all must check in at. Then we will ride a shuttle to the surface. Some do there trading on the station and never head to the surface. The messages originated on the surface and we must follow them.”
“What is the world like?”
“I believe you should form your own opinion when we arrive.”
That only made her wonder if he was hiding something. They stopped talking as they journeyed on. She fell asleep and must have slept a while. When she woke, she was covered by a blanket. Glint was asleep too and also sitting up front instead of lying in the back. The back wasn’t comfortable, but neither was sleeping in these seats. It would only be a few hours before they made it to Bell View. It was an odd name for a planet, but not the oddest she’d ever heard of she supposed.
The only work she’d accomplished was making sure the computer had translated a large section of the messages and forwarded them on to Razar. She would have thought he’d have an assistant but he seemed to do most things himself. Now he would have even more work to do ferreting out all the spies hidden among his people.
At some point the boredom put her to sleep again. “Wake up, George. We’re here.”
She woke and leaned forward on her seat. Here she assumed was Bell View. The station was like a wheel with spokes running from end to end. Windows were plentiful and it was obvious the inside of the station was well lit.
The planet below looked like rust. That was the color of the land and the water was an even darker rust color. “Why is it that color?”
“It’s a mineral that covers everything, but it’s not harmful. It will, however, effect the color of those who go to the surface and spend much time outside. It even colors the eyes.”
“Does it go away once they leave here?”
“It fades, but I don’t believe it goes away completely. That’s why few live on the surface for long periods of time. They’ve built massive complexes where they grow food and do whatever work is required. The planet had no original inhabitants, but now there are colonist’s offspring that were born here. This planet falls under the Mazlans’ rule.”
“How did they get such a large piece of space when they started off with just Oison?”
“They bought some planets while others wished to fall under their jurisdiction. This planet has become wealthy under the Mazlans’ rule.”
“Why? How?”
“They are wealthy and have a large military. They can invest in business and protect their investment.” Glint explained.
“That’s why these private parties inform the Mazlans of spies.”
“Yes. They don’t want any other to rule them. The Mazlans let the Viewers do as they wish unless problems crop up. That’s when they step in to help.”
“That sounds almost too good to be true. Helpful without taking control.”
“Ah, but it’s true. They are making a fortune from their investment and have ownership of a large land grant. Why mess with what works?”
She started to answer but realized Glint was piloting them onto a small enclosed bay where their ship would not be visible. “How long will we stay here?”
“As long as it takes. These spies need to be drawn out and dealt with.”
“Okay. Are we leaving the ship now?”
“That would be best. We’ll go to the surface and get a room there.”
“A room? As in one?”
“Yes, if we got two it would look suspicious. Most males with young male slaves keep them close.”
“Don’t many of them use their slaves for other purposes?”
“They do and we want them to think I do as well. It will make me seem more like the average business man. You can do this, can’t you?”
She nodded but many thoughts ran through her head. Spending the night in the same room, maybe the same bed? Dear Lord that would be a test. Maybe this mission wouldn’t last long. That was what she hoped.
“Come on. We need to go. And remember I’ll have to treat you like slave.”
“Slavery is illegal.” She pointed out.
“It doesn’t matter what you call it. Porters are treated much like slaves. When they get older many of them are released to a rough life with little hope. The Mazlans rescue many of them and give them a home and a trade.”
“Why? They do all these good deeds for what purpose?”
“They are building their own world and helping others. Why not help others if you can?”
“Do you help others?”
“We adopt unclaimed children if we find them. I have two that I brought to my family to raise. They are ours now.”
“They are slaves?” She asked shocked.
“Of course not. Chad is seventeen and attending the Mazlans space academy. We aren’t sure what he is, but he looks similar to us and is smart and capable. He’ll be an officer. Sheri is five and wants to be something different every other day. She talks nonstop except when she is asleep.”
“It’s a good thing your people do.”
“People can do good things.”
“They can also do bad things.” She said as a shiver ran over her. On Earth she’d seen many of those kinds of things.