Chapter 10

 

 

Jeffrey followed behind the alien female, struggling to keep up in his condition. He’d assumed they were going to the bridge, but instead she made the turn to the brig.

“Where are we headed? You said we were going to find out our current course.”

“I will,” she replied without turning back to look at him. “But first you’re going back to your cell.”

“What!” he shouted, jogging to catch up with her. “Haven’t I proved myself to you yet?” he asked, grabbing her shoulder to stop her.

“That’s not what’s going on,” she said, turning around. “You’re hurt. There is a human doctor in your cell. She’s going to check you out.”

“It can wait,” he growled. “We need to figure out what’s happening on the bridge.”
“And I will. But you’re going back to your cell.”

Jeffrey frowned. “You need my help.”

“You’re wrong,” she said, pulling his hand off her shoulder. “You’ll be a distraction. I might trust you, but my men won’t.”

She’s shutting me out.

The realization hurt worse than any blow the Hareema had landed. She got what she needed, and now she’s done with me.

They reached the cell and she opened the membrane, motioning for him to go inside. He looked at her, his gaze searching her features, but her expression was blank.

It seems the fight is over. He stepped through the membrane.

There were four beings in the cell, two human and two Zantharians. His fellow crewmembers were seated on the floor across the room from their Zantharian guards. Both groups seemed to be studiously ignoring each other.

“Lieutenant Cheerful!” Chao shouted, jumping to her feet and rushing to him. “What happened to you?”

“I gave those aliens what for,” he said with a laugh, watching the faces of the Zantharian guards. “You might want to go check on your first officer,” he said, his tone serious. “She’s going to need all the help she can get.”

“Our orders are to remain here,” one of the guards replied.

“Suit yourself,” he said, limping forward.

“What did they do to you?” Dr. Tan was already examining him, touching his bruises and causing him to grimace.

“You should see the other guy,” he said. “He lost his head completely. Well, his head and the rest of his body, I guess you could say. Except he doesn’t exactly have a body.”

“He’s lost it,” Chao said to her companion. “He’s talking gibberish.”

Jeffrey laughed. It was good to be back with his crew. “I assure you, I’m not.” He started to tell them about the interrogation, leaving out the parts where he and the Zantharian lieutenant had explored each other’s bodies with abandon.

Even though those times were the best part.

“We discovered that the man calling himself Major Ontarii was actually a Hareema plant.”

The Zantharian guards were no longer able to fake disinterest. “What are you saying?” one of them asked.

“Your lieutenant ran a charge through him, causing his shape to destabilize and proving that he was a Hareema agent.”
“Did she kill it?” the other demanded.

“No,” Jeffrey explained. “I convinced her to keep it under charge until we can get it back to your home world.”
“That’s too dangerous!” the first guard shouted. “Protocol demands that we—“

“I know,” Jeffrey interrupted wearily. “Exterminate on sight. But your new commander feels, as I do, that we’ve reached a point where it is essential to find out what the Hareema are planning. And that requires taking prisoners, no matter the risk.”

“This son of a shark is lying,” the second guard said. “He has to be. Major Ontarii a Hareema plant? Not likely.”

“Find out for yourselves,” Jeffrey said, pointing to the membrane.

“I’m going to the bridge,” the second guard said. “You stay here and watch the prisoners.”

“Wait,” the first stopped his companion. “We’re under strict protocols. No one should be traveling single. Pairs at all times, remember?”

“Then come with me.”

The guard looked torn. He’d been ordered to monitor the prisoners, but if what was being said was true, then he needed to know. “All right. They can’t get out of here anyway. Let’s go.”

And with that, both guards stepped through the membrane and vanished.

“Now tell us what really happened,” Tan said to Jeffrey.

“That did happen,” he said. “Major Ontarii was a plant. There are Hareema on this ship.”

The women stared at him at a loss for words. “So they’re real?” Chao asked at last.

“Yes. They’re real. I saw one. It beat the crap out of me.”

“If Major Ontarii was a plant, what does that mean?” Tan asked.

“Either he was compromised before or…”

“Or on our ship.” Chao frowned. “Either way, our crew is in danger.”

“We’re all in danger,” Tan replied.

Jeffrey agreed. “That’s true. If Hareema are here, they’re likely on the Earhart as well. And maybe they’re on Earth. Kat seems to think that’s a distinct possibility.”

His words caused a deep silence to descend and cover the cell. They sat there, staring at each other, each lost in their own thoughts of dread and danger.

The membrane opened suddenly, drawing their attention. Two Zantharians stepped through, one carrying a small case.

“What do you want?” Jeffrey asked.

“I’m a medic,” the one with the case replied. “Lieutenant Yarr sent me to tend to your injuries.”

Tan stood and approached the Zantharians. “Let me see what you’ve got.”

The medic knelt, opening his case for the human doctor’s inspection. He pulled out a container and held it out to her. “This salve will speed up the healing process.”

“How do I know it’s safe for humans?”

“We are familiar with human biology. It’s benign, but it will help clear up the bruising and ensure that there is no scarring.”

Tan’s eyebrows lifted. “I’m not sure,” she said, doubtfully.

“Kat’Chinna sent you?” Jeffrey asked.

The medic nodded.
“Proceed,” Jeffrey stated, nodding at the Zantharian.

“But Cheerful, we don’t know what the risks might be. It could—“

“I trust Kat,” he said.

The medic moved closer and began spreading the salve. Tan pulled a blob out on her fingertip and sniffed at it.

As the salve touched his skin, it began to heat up and tingle. Tan took over for the medic, applying the salve to every bruise and scrape. “It smells like steamed broccoli,” he said, turning up his nose at the stink. Once he’d been covered and the cream had absorbed into his skin, the medic closed his case and made to leave.

“Wait,” Chao said, stopping the Zantharians before they could exit. “Can you tell us what’s happening now?”

“I’m afraid not,” the guard answered, his face blank. “Our operations are confidential at this juncture.”

“Please,” Dr. Tan said, grabbing the medic by the arm before he could pull away. “We just want to know what’s become of our ship.”

The Zantharian medic stared down at the little woman by his side. He towered over her in typical Zantharian fashion. “I’m sorry,” he said after a moment. “I don’t know where your ship is.”

“Where are we headed?” Tan asked, refusing to release her grip.

It didn’t seem like the medic minded her hold on him. In fact, if Jeffrey had to guess, he’d say the medic was instantly taken by the small human doctor.

“A new course has been laid in. We’re headed to the home world.”

“Let’s go,” the guard said, his skin starting to mottle with spots of yellow. “You’ve said enough already.”

Tan let go of the medic and he gave her a small smile before both men left the cell.

“Headed to the home world,” Chao murmured.

“But without the Earhart,” Tan added.

Jeffrey nodded. “During the interrogation, Kat mentioned that we’d disengaged from our ship and were headed somewhere. She was locked out of the navigational display, so she couldn’t tell us where we were going. Looks like she’s got things back under control now.”

“So it’s Kat, is it?” Tan said, giving him a probing look.

Jeffrey wanted to sigh. But he was forced to keep up his cheerful demeanor. It was what his crew expected of him. “I told you I’m irresistible.”

Chao laughed, but Tan stared at him a moment longer. Her gaze moved to the floor. “You trust this Kat?”

“Yes.” Unequivocally, he thought of adding, but didn’t want to give away too much of what had happened between him and the sexy Zantharian lieutenant.

Tan was too perceptive by half. “You’re entrusting our lives to a woman you’ve known for a handful of hours. What has she done to earn such trust so quickly?”

Jeffrey pulled up his knees and leaned his head back against the wall. “She was honest with me. Told me about the Hareema infiltration on Zanthar.”

He closed his eyes, not really wanting to see the expressions on his crewmates faces. “She had to make a choice in that room. What she thought was her commander was screaming at her to kill me. She chose to take him out instead, risking her career and her planet’s safety to do so.”

“I don’t blame you for trusting her,” Chao said quietly. “I can’t imagine how I would respond if Captain Brooklyn was taken over by these shapeshifters and started giving orders. She took a big risk.”

Jeffrey opened his eyes and gave a small smile. “She did.”

Tan began to pace. “What worries me is, Captain Brooklyn could have been taken over and we wouldn’t know. Isn’t it true that the real Major Ontarii could be on the Earhart right now? That would mean that the Major Ontarii who brought us here could have been a Hareema from our own ship.”

Jeffrey nodded, following her logic. “The real Major Ontarii could be on our ship right now, battling it out with Hareema who could look like anyone.”

“But that means some of our crewmembers weren’t human.” Chao’s voice wavered as she spoke.

“How do you fight a shapeshifter?” Tan asked the air. “You might not ever know someone’s been replaced until it’s too late.”

Chao’s eyes were wide. “How can we trust anyone now?”

The fear in the cell was palpable. Jeffrey knew that he had to step in now, before morale sank any lower.

“There are ways to tell,” he said, drawing their attention. “Major Ontarii began acting strangely, and Kat and I picked up on it. He started doing things he wouldn’t do, like ignoring protocol and brutalizing his prisoner.” He didn’t need to indicate his injuries for them to know he was referring to himself.

“So if Captain Brooklyn comes back and punches me in the face, you’ll know she’s a shapeshifter.”

He’d intended his words to be a joke to lighten the mood. No one laughed.

“We just have to be extra vigilant,” he finished lamely.

“What about you?” Tan asked. “How do we know you’re human and not a Hareema plant, put in here to get us to lower our guard and reveal something.”

Jeffrey was surprised at the sharpness of her tone. She wasn’t kidding. “Well, I can assure you I’m the same smart ass I ever was.”
“Prove it,” Chao said, moving to stand next to Tan.

Jeffrey wracked his brain, trying to come up with something to convince them before the tide of sentiment turned against him completely.

“Hareema can take on human form, but they don’t have our memories. Which means a Hareema wouldn’t know that Chao, you like chocolate chips on your dehydrated pancakes. And it wouldn’t know that you, Dr. Tan, are a secret fan of a certain cartoon mouse.”

Tan had the decency to blush, but Chao was unwilling to let the thread of doubt go. “If the Hareema agent was on our ship for any stretch of time, it could have found those things out easily.”

Jeffrey sighed. “Okay, Chao, I didn’t want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice.”

The small woman braced herself, as if Jeffrey was going to launch himself at her physically. Instead, he continued to speak in a serious voice.

“Three missions ago, when we were parked off the rings of Saturn taking samples of ring dust for that scientist at Yale, you and I were stuck on off-ship duty together, gathering dust. Remember?”
Chao nodded, but her eyes remained distrustful.

Jeffrey continued. “You’ve always hated being on ‘spacesuit patrol,’ as you call it, because you’re terrified of becoming untethered or of your suit depressurizing. We had just collected the last of our samples when you felt something hit your suit.”

Chao’s eyes widened. “Yeah.”
“You swore it had caused a microfracture and started to panic, eating up your oxygen in heavy breathing. The depletion of your oxygen at a more rapid rate than normal reinforced the idea that you’d sprung a leak, remember?”

“Okay, Cheerful, I believe you. You can stop now.” A blush was stealing its way onto Chao’s face.

“Oh no,” Tan said. “The story’s just getting interesting.”

“Chao knew she was going to die, even as I told her that we’d be back on the ship before her suit could depressurize. She made me promise that when she was gone, I would tell Mike that she’d always had a thing for him, and that she regretted never making her move.”

“Shut up, Cheerful, before I punch you harder than that Hareema did!”

Tan doubled over laughing. “Oh man, I knew you liked Mike.”

“I don’t think you ladies need to worry about me being a Hareema plant,” Jeffrey finished, a shit-eating grin spreading across his face.

“No, but you need to worry about where I’m going to plant my fist!” Chao said, shaking her balled-up hand in his face. “You promised never to tell anyone!”

“You made me!” he replied with a laugh.

“You better call that medic back,” Chao growled. “I’m gonna add to your array of bruises.”

Tan stopped laughing long enough to give Jeffrey a serious glance. “I think you’ll be giving him all new bruises, Chao. His old ones have already healed.”

Jeffrey touched his face. It should have been swollen beyond recognition. Instead, everything felt normal.

The lieutenant let out a loud guffaw. It felt good to laugh, now that his body no longer ached. The laughter helped banish the pall that had hung over the cell.

Tan put an arm around Chao, shaking her out of her funk until she was able to smile about the situation. “I think Mike’s cute. Big deal. At least I don’t wear mouse ears in my bunk.”

Tan chuckled, then gave Jeffrey a wink. “Count on Lieutenant Cheerful to perk things up around here.”

“Just doing my job,” he replied, keeping up the pretense at merriment. Inside, his thoughts were less pleasant.

What’s going to happen when we get to Zanthar, he wondered. Would they be released, or would the Zantharians insist on keeping them prisoner?

That question wasn’t the only one that kept his nerves on edge. What about the lovely Kat’Chinna? Would he be allowed to see her again?

Even more than that, would he be allowed to taste her once more? She’d shocked him after he’d felt her climax on his lips, pushing him away faster than light speed. Why had she turned cold again, just when they were getting close? What had he done to drive her away?

Jeffrey hoped he would have a chance to learn the answer to that question. For now, he sat in his cell and waited, memories of their time together replaying over and over as the hours ticked past.