Chapter 18

They’d just cleared the last of the crew’s quarters when he heard the crackle of the ship-wide communication system. Jeffrey’s heart jolted in his chest when he heard the voice that followed.

“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…”

Jeffrey started bolting for the corridor, pushing past the Zantharians accompanying him. Why had she been cut off? What the fuck was happening?

The comm crackled again. “I’ve located the Hareema. It’s in the engine room.”

The comm went dead.

“Motherfucker!” Jeffrey broke into a dead run, not caring if the men behind him could keep up. He burst into the cargo bay, kicking his way through anything that tried to impede him.

He saw the two Zantharian soldiers he’d left on the bridge. They were attempting to shift a large piece of metal sheeting that was blocking the door.

Jeffrey recognized the sheeting as a piece of the interior hull from the engine room. He had no idea how it could have fallen.

It didn’t fall, his inner voice said. A Hareema bastard climbed up there and tore it off, all to trap your female.

Rage boiled his blood in an instant. “What the fuck are you doing here?” he screamed at the soldiers, who stared at him with identical looks of surprise. “How could you let her go in there alone?”

He beat against the metal with all his might but it didn’t move at all. He realized it was wedged against the railings inside the engine room, and there was no slamming his way through it.

Jeffrey let his fury ride him, knowing that underneath was a fear so black, so deep, that he’d never crawl out from under it. “Get over here,” he yelled at the soldiers that had followed him. “We all need to try and lift this clear of the railings inside. That’s the only way in.”

The Zantharians managed to wedge themselves into position so that all the men could get a grip on the bottom of the metal panel. As one they lifted, using all their strength to push the metal clear of the railings so that it tumbled inward, allowing them entry into the engine room.

What Jeffrey saw filled his veins with ice. Something was crouched over the motionless form of his beloved. Its head turned around completely on its neck to pin him with a fearsome gaze.

The fucking Hareema bastard had taken on the form of his captain. His weapon forgotten, Jeffrey ran forward, ready to tear the thing apart with his bare hands.

“Wait!” one of the soldiers yelled from behind him, but he was beyond reason. He launched himself at the creature, knocking it off Kat and shoving it to the ground.

The thing’s face still smiled at him, disorienting him as it stared up at him while he pressed into its back.

Jeffrey wrapped his hands around the things neck and squeezed with all his strength. The thing continued to smile, and then it began to melt, turning into red jelly that ran through his fingers and through the crevices on the metal grating that comprised the catwalk.

It reformed on the other side, still smiling at the lieutenant, and using its hands to clamber along the bottom of the grating to get to the railing and pull itself up. By then, the Zantharians had reached him. One grabbed the unconscious Kat and picked her up.

Jeffrey wanted to snarl at him and pull his woman from his hands, but realized that would do no good. “Get her out of here,” he shouted instead, then refocused his attention on the creature.

It had managed to pull itself up onto the narrow ledge on the other side of the walkway and suddenly shot upward, clambering over the walls like an insect in human form.

“Blast it,” he yelled at his companions. “But don’t fry it. Only enough to knock it out.”

One nodded, then sent out a blast that hit the thing in its back. It screeched and lost its grip, tumbling down.

Without thinking, Jeffrey reached out and grabbed an arm before it fell over the edge and into the engine works. He recoiled in horror as the creature’s arm became a red tentacle that wrapped itself around his arm.

Then one of the Zantharian soldiers was there, pulling him back so that the creature landed on the catwalk and laying hands on the Hareema. It started to vibrate with the Zantharian’s bioelectricity, and Jeffrey felt the charge run through him as well.

His teeth clenched together as he tried to withstand the voltage passing through them. After what seemed like an eternity the tentacle uncurled itself from around his arm and he stumbled backward.

Another one of the soldiers moved forward and trapped the creature in a beam of current. It squealed as its form began to melt.

“Not too much!” Jeffrey warned. “I want it alive.”

He received a nod from his companions and then turned, lurching down the catwalk and back into the cargo bay.

Outside the entrance to the engine room, one of the soldiers was bent over Kat, who was still lying on the floor, unmoving.

Without a word, Jeffrey bent down and picked Kat up. He then headed toward the exit. “You, grab your partner and come with me. I want you to get the electric cage for our prisoner.”

Jeffrey made his way back onto the scout ship, being careful to not jostle his companion overly much. He headed to the mess, then pointed out the storage container to the men. “Take that back to the cargo bay of the Earhart and set it up. I want the prisoner in the cage immediately. Report back when it’s done. Leave two men there on guard.

“Will she be okay?” one of them asked, gesturing to where Kat lay in his arms.

“She’s still breathing,” he snarled. “Luckily for you. If she doesn’t wake up, though, I can’t vouch for your safety on the ride home.”
“I understand,” the Zantharian replied. “She countermanded your orders. There was a warning light on the bridge console and she thought you were in danger.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Jeffrey said. “You were to keep her safe. You failed.”

The Zantharian soldier shrugged. “She’s been my C.O. for three years. It’s hard not to follow her orders.”

“Well follow mine now and get your asses back over there. I want that prisoner dealt with now.”

The two men departed, leaving Jeffrey alone with his female. He remembered her saying that there were bunks beyond the mess, so he pushed his way through the membrane on the other side of the room and ended up in a chamber with eight berths lining the walls, two lower and two upper, on either side of the room.

He headed to the closest lower bunk and carefully settled Kat into it. Jeffrey made room for himself to sit beside her, then began to assess the damage.

Her face was swollen, her lip cut and bleeding. I should kill that fucking Hareema asshole. He fought hard against the rage inside him. If they didn’t need the information it had so badly, he’d say damn the breach of protocol and murder it with his own hands.

Seeing her bruised and battered face made his insides feel like they were being cut apart by a billion pieces of jagged metal shrapnel. I should have been there to protect her, to keep her safe. Now she’s been beaten like a piece of meat and I…

He forced himself to focus on something else before he entirely gave into despair. Then Jeffrey remembered the salve the medic had spread on him on the flagship. He scurried around, pulling open hatches and searching for anything that resembled a first aid kit.

He finally found one in the mess, and yanked the case open, exposing several containers full of liquids and unguents. Unscrewing the lid on the one that looked closest to the salve he remembered, he held the contents to his nose.

“That’s it,” he cried. “Steamed broccoli never smelled so good!”

Jeffrey rushed back to the bunk room, sliding to a halt in front of Kat’s bed. He went to his knees and, as gently as he could, he began spreading the salve over all of her bumps and bruises.

“Wake up, precious,” he muttered as the salve began to absorb into her smooth skin. At long last, her beautiful eyes fluttered open.

Kat started away, trying to sit up in bed, but Jeffrey pushed her back down. “No sudden movements,” he said. “You’ve had quite an encounter.”

“Encounter?” she croaked. “Is that what they call a back alley brawl on your planet?”

Jeffrey laughed with relief.

She’s okay.

Then his mood suddenly became darker. “You stubborn little fool,” he growled. “You could have gotten yourself killed!”

Kat frowned. “Where’s the Hareema?” she asked.

“We caught it, with little thanks to you. What were you thinking?”

She tried to sit up again, and when he went to stop her, she pushed his hands away. Kat swung her legs over the bunk, giving him a grimace.

“I was thinking that I didn’t like being left behind while the big boys had all the fun.”

“I gave you a fucking order, Kat.”

“A fucking stupid order, Lieutenant!”

“I swear to God, if you don’t—“

A Zantharian soldier peeked his head through the door. “We’ve got the containment field up and the prisoner is inside it. What are your orders?”

Jeffrey stood, crossing his arms over his chest and trying to calm his breathing. “I want all four of you to remain on the Earhart. Keep watch over the guards in rotating shifts. Stay in the cargo bay at all times. I don’t care if you have to piss in the corners, don’t leave that room.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“There could be other Hareema on the ship, ones we don’t know about. So just stay there and watch the prisoner. Don’t let him escape. Am I understood?”

“Yes, Sir.”

The Zantharian sped away. “At least one of your kind knows how to follow orders.”

Kat rolled her eyes, then made to stand, swaying slightly on her feet. Jeffrey grabbed her. “You shouldn’t be moving around.”

“I’m fine,” she said. “I feel much better,” she said, wiping a bit of salve off her neck. “Thanks for treating me.”

“Of course,” he said. “Look, Kat, you scared me half to death earlier.”

“Please,” she said, stopping him with a spearing glance. “We need to get underway to Zanthar. Let me inform the navigator of our progress.”

With that, she walked out of the room. Jeffrey stood there, his insides on fire. How easily she dismissed him, like he wasn’t even there.

He stalked after her, down the corridor, and onto the bridge.

“We’ve captured the Hareema,” he heard her say. “Plot a course back to Zanthar, as quickly as you can. You’ll have to account for the extra weight of the human vessel. We’re going to have to tow her back.”
The navigator nodded, punching in coordinates and studying his display. “We can be back to the home world in 6 hours,” he said.

“Good,” Jeffrey said, grabbing Kat’s arm. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, the lieutenant and I need some rest. We’ve been up two days running and we’re pretty exhausted.”

“I’m fine,” Kat started to interrupt, but he shoved her toward the bridge entrance.

“Do not disturb us unless the damn ship is being fired upon. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Lieutenant,” the navigator said, his eyes wide.

Jeffrey turned on his heel and headed for the corridor, dragging Kat along with him.

“There’s no need to be an asshole about it,” Kat said, trying to pull away from him. He only tightened his grip and sped up, pushing through the mess and back into the bunk. When the membrane closed behind him, he rounded on her.

“Now I’m going to say something, and you’re going to shut up and listen.”

Her eyes narrowed, and she opened her mouth to fire back, but he slammed a hand over it.

“I said listen. You disobeyed a direct order earlier, one that almost led to your death. I realize you’re not a fan of taking orders from a human, but for once you should have fucking obeyed!”

Kat surprised him by biting the palm of his hand. He yanked it away, glaring at her furiously.

“Obey? You? What makes you think I would ever obey you willingly?”