Chapter 11

Major Ontarii followed the human female as she opened up one of the science compartments accessed from the corridor outside the bridge. He couldn't believe that he'd kissed her.

Even more, he couldn't believe how much he'd liked it. The thought of kissing her again consumed his thoughts and he had to beat back his desire to throw caution to the wind and take her in the next available space that gave them privacy.

Although his career hadn't afforded him much time for relationships, he'd been involved with several Zantharian females in his time. That none had ever excited him like the human female did, was unsettling.

Physically, she was nothing like a Zantharian female. She was at least a head shorter, and much curvier. Her hair was silky and smelled of fruit. Her skin was a pure alabaster, as clear as cream. And her eyes. Her beautiful golden eyes...

He tried to pull his concentration back to the task at hand, but being so close to Captain Brooklyn made paying attention to anything besides her very difficult.

The first science station yielded nothing. As did the second. They made for the crew quarters and searched every bunk. There was no sign of the missing crew.

Captain Brooklyn opened the door that led to quarters larger than the others belonging to the crew. He surmised that they must have belonged to the captain herself.

Scanning the room, he looked for any clues into her personality. Her quarters were sparse, featuring a cot much like those possessed by the other crewmembers and a desk that took up one wall. There was a device in one corner for which he couldn't determine the function.

"What is this?" he asked, approaching the device. It had a front stand and a short belt arranged near the floor.

"It's called a treadmill," she said distractedly, bending down to check under her cot. "It's used for running."

Ontarii nodded. It was vital to stay in shape while working on a ship, and one as small as hers had limited opportunities for space.

He wandered over to a short dresser and inspected the content on its surface. One brush. One hair clip. One small piece of jewelry that could go around the neck. So far her possessions had failed to clue him into her character.

Ontarii slid open the top drawer and reached inside, latching onto a piece of soft fabric and pulling it out. He unrolled it, discovering that it was a small piece of underclothing that looked to go over her lower region. It was black satin, and touching it made his mouth water. He had started to lift it to his face as she screamed at him.

"Give me that!" she yelled, pulling the material from his hands and stuffing it back into the drawer, which she slammed shut. "What are you doing?"

"Just inspecting the quarters," he said, shrugging.

"Inspecting my underwear drawer? You think there are enemy agents hiding in my panties?"

"It never hurts to check." He was unable to stop a smile from spreading across his face.

"There's nobody here," she said, heading for the door. "Let's check the infirmary."

There was nobody there, either. Nor in the crew's mess. He followed Captain Brooklyn as she headed into the cargo bay. "I don't know how we could have missed someone in here earlier, but we might as well check again to be thorough."

Ontarii nodded and the pair began to examine storage containers one by one. Once again, their search turned up nothing.

"This is ridiculous," the human said, her face displaying exasperation. "How could my entire crew just disappear?"

"And my guards," Ontarii said. "It doesn't add up." He ran a hand through the tendrils on his head which had become agitated due to his mood.

"Let's think about this logically. There are only a few possibilities that could have happened." Ontarii began counting off options on his fingers. "Your crew could have been moved to the flagship for some reason, but that doesn't explain the ship's absence."

He extended a second finger. "The Hareema have replaced your entire crew, and are now shifted into inanimate object form and are hiding in plain sight. However, we know that not all of your people were Hareema from the beginning, this means we should encounter some of your crew, or their remains."

"And what about your subordinates?" The human crossed her arms over her stomach as if almost embracing herself. A pang went through him at the thought, and the urge to comfort the woman rose uncomfortably inside him.

"They're gone too, remember?" She continued her thought. "Is it possible your crew could have herded mine onto your ship?"

Ontarii frowned. It was possible, but unlikely. His crew should have waited there for his return, or secured the ship and awaited orders from the flagship. Still, if he had returned, or a Hareema did with his appearance, they would have followed any order he gave them.

"We can't boil this down to a few logical choices," the captain said, her tone low. "We just don't have enough information. The Hareema we know is loose on the ship is a wildcard."

Ontarii liked to see matters in terms of black and white. He was disturbed by all the gray this mission contained, and quite irritating that the human was the one to point it out. He could barely think, standing so close to her, but apparently he didn't affect her in the same way.

He refocused himself, closing his eyes. The facts of the case are these: According to the ship's log, no external hatches have been opened save the one that led to his ship. The escape pod is still attached to the ship. And after searching the ship twice, there is still no sign of the crew or the Hareema agents.

What was to be their next move?

For the first time in his decorated military career, he had no idea.

"We should head back to the bridge. Perhaps re-evaluate our course. I don't think we should land on your planet with our current situation." She touched his arm.

Ontarii opened his eyes and nodded, willing to follow her suggestion since he had nothing to offer at the moment. He'd always been in command and had grown used to everyone following his orders. Even his superiors treated him with a level of respect that was unusual in the service. Yet this little human female had first refused to follow his orders and was now dictating their course of action. It was a tough pill to swallow.

Captain Brooklyn looked over her shoulder at him as she led the way back to the bridge. "You know, I don't think we should discount the possibility that the ship's log has been tampered with."

They were walking through the crew's mess hall. Ontarii placed a hand on her shoulder, forcing her to pause.

"What is it?" she asked, her face confused.

"We should check the compartments here as well," he said, indicating the many cupboards that stored her crew's nourishment. "Some of these cabinets are large enough to hide a human."

The captain frowned but squatted down next to one of the larger compartments and opened it. Inside were packets that must have contained the human's rations. Freeze-dried, from the looks of things. Yuck.

Ontarii walked to the opposite end of the mess and opened a cabinet. Inside he found several containers of liquid. Water, mostly. He moved down to the next. This one held several small containers of thin wafers. Some sort of nutritional supplements.

All of a sudden, his companion let out a gasp. Ontarii hurried to her side just in time to see a shape tumble out of the compartment nearest her.

It was the one she'd called Mike. The one who'd been terrified of being electrocuted. The only other member of the crew that had been confirmed as human.

His face was locked in a permanent scream, his eyes wide and bulging. There was a ring of dark bruises around his neck. Mike had been strangled to death, then stuffed in the cupboard.

"Oh my God," she screamed and moved back quickly, falling on her rear and scooting away from the corpse. Her small hands shook as she held them up to her beautiful face and let out another cry.

Ontarii moved in quickly, putting his hands under her shoulders and pulling her to her feet. Then he wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly out of instinct.

"They killed Mike," she whispered, her tight voice indicating the level of her shock. "They killed him."

"Shhh..." Ontarii whispered, stroking her hair softly. "I know."

"You were right all this time." Her voice broke. "These jelly things are dangerous. I didn't listen, and now two of my crewmembers are dead. This is all my fucking fault."

"It's not your fault. You've done the best you can, so don't blame yourself. These creatures are new to you, Brook."

"They're my crew." She moved back as a trail of tears rolled down her face. "I'm responsible for them."

"Don't," he said, his heart breaking for her. He knew exactly how she felt. "You have to be strong, for the rest of your crew."

Captain Brooklyn sniffled, then wiped her face. She sucked in a deep breath and nodded, putting on a brave face which would likely cripple him.

"You're right." She straightened her shoulders and pulled away from him. “I can do this.”

He started to reach for her again, but decided against it. The fact that he missed her touch already was something he would have to work through later.