Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 58483 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58483 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
But even as I go through the maneuvers I’ve learned by heart, skillfully adjusting our craft, she’s in the back of my mind. Her shining eyes, her taut skin, the taste of her mouth. The way she matched my body perfectly. How I yearn to make her mine.
Suddenly the comm in my ear beeps. “Captain Drayk? It’s Dr. Daneth again.”
“Yes, Doctor?”
“I’m here with Master Seke. You may be able to complete a mission for me. It’s one of personal nature… but important to me.”
“Anything, Doctor.” Dr. Daneth holds a highly respected position in Zander’s palace. As high as Master Seke, our war commander. To refuse him a favor would be career suicide. Besides, he just helped me with the human.
Dr. Daneth clears his throat. “My human mate gave birth to two human young as a slave breeder for the Ocretions. They were taken from her. I have been seeking them through normal data logs and diplomatic channels to no avail. I have concluded the only way to determine their present location would be to break in and steal the physical records from the breeding facility where Bayla was held.
My heart beats faster, my warrior-trained body already eager for a new mission.
“We would be pleased to undertake this mission for you, Doctor.”
“Thank you.”
Master Seke’s voice comes through. “Remote monitor shows that you have sufficient fuel for at least two hyper jumps, and supplies to last a lunar rotation. Correct?”
“Affirmative.” I switch the comm so that my crew can hear as well.
“And you are near the planet Fonquin?”
“Affirmative.”
Tarak sits straighter beside me, probably equally excited by the new mission.
“Is the human on board contained and stable?”
“Yes.”
“Divert to sector A-47 to the planet Fonquin. We intercepted a masked communication that physical slave records are going to be moved to a new facility, a more heavily guarded one. This is the only chance we’ll have to sneak in undetected and steal the ones we need.”
“Understood.” My body courses with energy.
“Bayla’s children are still enslaved somewhere in the universe,” Dr. Daneth says. “My hope is those records reveal their location, or at least their barcodes so I might seek their location through other data channels.”
Master Seke speaks. “If you can upload these records, we will then have the locations of each child, and can determine whether and when to undertake a rescue mission for each.”
“We can do it,” I promise.
“You are the only warship ready in the vicinity. Even the hour it would take to prepare a second is time wasted.”
“Dr. Daneth, tell your mate we will get those records.”
Master Seke speaks, “Set course, fastest speed that all life-forms can tolerate on board. We’ll send you the necessary info as you go.”
“It will be done.” I set the new course in the computer. “We will need to prepare a plan of attack. Tarak, are you on this?”
Beside me, Tarak is deep in concentration, his headset beeping and his closed lids flickering as his hands race over his keyboard. I still find it hard to understand how a blind Zandian can be so good at navigation, but he’s developed a unity with the tech that is unparalleled. I trust him 100 percent and have never feared to have him at my side. In fact, he’s one of the best star-techs on Zandia this planet rotation.
“Yes.” He nods. “I’m tuned into the sonar and visual transcription and I’m plotting the best route to avoid asteroids in the Delta belt.”
“Better you than I.” I chuckle, but it’s no joke. “Until Dr. Daneth approves brain implants for all of us, that is.”
He snorts. “Don’t hold your breath. It’s far too dangerous to try the operation on an unhandicapped Zandian. We were lucky it didn’t kill me. Remember I lost all feeling in my legs for a solar cycle and had to do heavy rehab to rebuild the disrupted nerves.” Then his mouth sort of twists before he regains his usual positive expression. I’ve never heard him complain about his lack of sight, but sometimes I wonder if it bothers him. Clearly he’s a great asset to Zandia, disability or no, but he’s never taken a mate. Never even seems to show interest in it. Even if he liked our new human’s voice.
I focus on our task at hand. “Best two routes?”
“We can go around the Delta belt. If we go straight through, and I use my link to avoid asteroids and debris, we’ll get there in half the time.”
“Do it.” I know he can handle it—he guides us through places that even smaller, more nimble ships can’t go. Even our best human navigator, Mirelle—who has some kind of extraordinary gift of concentration that makes her a perfect fit for starship nav—can’t do better than Tarak on his best planet rotations.
“Captain.” He nods and closes his eyes again.
A Zandian crew member enters. “Sir. The human is calling for help. She asks for you.”