Chapter 16

Jeffrey stood near the view screen, strange feelings at war within him. The Earhart lay not far out of range, barely limping along. It seemed the Hareema weren’t so good at piloting human vessels.

Although he should be preparing to board the ship, he couldn’t keep his thoughts straight. His entire mind was occupied with the beautiful female that was leaning over the console beside him.

“Its engines appeared to have limited power,” she said, glancing up at him.

Jeffrey nodded, unable to pull his eyes away from her.

She was back in Ice Queen mode after their interaction in the corridor. He guessed it was to be expected. She was a consummate professional, after all.

Jeffrey couldn’t banish his feelings so easily. His cock still throbbed at the memory of being inside her tight heat. It was like nothing he’d ever experienced, and he couldn’t wait to be inside her again.

Unfortunately, there was a lot to do before he could possess her again. Just retake your ship, capture the enemy, and come back to claim her. He stifled the desire to laugh.

Or cry.

Instead, he focused on the task at hand. “Lieutenant Yarr, you’ll stay here with the ship. The rest of you, you’re with me.”

The five Zantharian soldiers stood, but froze at the sound of Kat’s voice.

“You can’t be serious,” she said, her tone like ice.

“I am,” he said, heading toward the bridge entrance.

“I’m going with you,” she said, hurrying after him.

“It’s too dangerous.”

He froze when he heard her gasp. “Too dangerous? Let’s not forget who stopped the Hareema from killing you on the flagship. If anyone should stay here, it’s you.”

“And yet you’re not the one in charge, are you?”

He turned to find her shaking, yellow forks lighting up her skin. “Don’t do this,” she said, her voice urgent. “I’m the only one who knows how much current to run through those bastards. You leave me here, and you’re risking killing your prisoners.”

Her words twisted a knife in Jeffrey’s chest. She had a point. Zantharians had been trained since birth to kill any Hareema on sight. Although he believed the soldiers would try to follow his orders, he couldn’t guarantee that they’d be able to help themselves when confronted with their age-old enemy.

“Fine.” He pointed at the navigator. “You stay here. If any one of us tries to come back on board, you zap them first to make sure they are who they say they are.”

The navigator nodded and retook his seat at the central console. “The rest of you, come with me.”

Kat was right behind him as they entered the corridor. Jeffrey waited impatiently as the scout ship pulled alongside the Earhart, attaching itself to the human vessel’s entry hatch.

“Stay close,” he said to Kat, his voice rough. “We take no unnecessary risks.”

She nodded. He could tell she didn’t like what he had to say, but she wouldn’t chance being left behind.

The navigator announced that they’d attached to the Earhart and gave the all clear to open the hatch. One of the Zantharian soldiers tapped a code into the entry panel and the hatch slid open.

Jeffrey moved forward, working at the Earhart locking mechanism until the hatch light blinked green. He glanced over his shoulder, ensuring that his companions were ready. Each had the sheen of bioelectricity racing over their skins.

It was time.

Jeffrey opened the hatch, wishing he had a weapon. Find a gun, first priority, then hunt down the Hareema bastards.

He crept down the corridor until he hit the crew’s mess. Mess is the optimal word. He eyed the strewn about dishes and trays. Cabinets were yawning open.

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.