by Lynnea Lee
“I don’t think the Dominion got close enough to our ship to place a tracker unless it was done on New Rhea. Has the Second Chance jettisoned all their shuttles?”
“We’ll contact Captain Walker.” Calix focused on the comm panel. “I promised to establish contact once you were free.”
They opened a private communication channel with the illegally acquired, recently converted vessel. Another human male answered and shouted for Trenton. He came on-screen moments later, looking weary and tired. The male looked as though he hasn’t slept for days.
“Captain, any idea on how we can lose our unwelcomed guest?”
“We think they are tracking us through some sort of signal. Are you sure all the shuttles have been launched?”
“I’m sure we lost every single one on Vosthea. You took one, and the fleeing crew took the other three. There are only four shuttles, right?”
“Four is standard for a ship that size. We have a way to scan for a signal, but it gives off a strong signal itself.”
“If there’s already a signal going off and you are sure we are being tracked, what difference will another signal make?”
“You’ve got a point. We will scan my ship first to make sure the signal isn’t coming from us, and then we can dock the two ships and scan the Second Chance.”
“Sounds good. How long will scanning your ship take?”
“Maybe two galactic hours at most. In the meantime, why don’t you see if you can get some rest? Your crew needs you fully functional.”
“Says the one moping around like a lovesick fool,” Calix muttered underneath his breath.
“Pardon?” It was Trenton who asked. Zey, having the more acute Tallean hearing heard every word.
“Never mind,” Calix replied quickly. “We will contact you when we are ready to dock.”
Trenton nodded. “Second Chance, out.”
Zey turned to his old friend and trusted companion. “I was not moping.”
“Stars! You were the definition of moping. You two better have worked everything out. I don’t think I can survive one more day of you feeling sorry for yourself.”
“She agreed to be my mate.”
Calix beamed at him. “Congratulations, my friend!” Then with a mischievous grin, “But I figured as much after what happened in the simulator.”
“Shit, don’t tell her you saw the feed. She is still very shy about sex, something I plan to take care of eventually. How did you know about that anyway?”
“Who do you think helped set up your meeting?” Calix gave him a punch on the shoulder and turned to walk away. “I didn’t watch the feed, though. Oh, and you’re welcome,” he shouted over his shoulder.
Two hours later, with the Defiant confirmed clean, they docked with the Second Chance. The two ships stayed joined for the entire sweep of the ship, giving both groups a chance to get acquainted. Ashe waved to Trenton, glad to see a familiar face. When he strolled casually through the airlock, Ashe felt Sophie stiffen up beside her.
“If he says one word about it being improper to send a woman over to a ship full of alien men, I’m going to deck him. I’m a doctor, damn it. I need to learn how to use the equipment.”
Ashe didn’t blame her; no woman wanted to be talked down to, no matter how well it was meant. But she knew that Trenton must have meant well. After all, he had come to make sure she was okay back in the hold.
An hour into the sweep, they found the source of the signal. It was a portable personal computer console in the captain’s quarters, Ulrek’s personal device. The unit required retinal scans to access, and even Tanith was unable to access the information stored within. The device was built in such a way that any attempt to tamper with it to access the hardware destroyed it. Considering the illegal business Ulrek ran on the side, it wasn’t beyond their scope of imagination that he had rigged the device to explode or otherwise cause harm while erasing any incriminating evidence. They opted to send the thing out the airlock. Free of the tracking device, they separated again and continued on their way to Reka 5.
The rest of the trip went smoothly. While Zey was on shift, Ashe spent the time learning how to read the Tallean language from Moira. While the translator implant helped with learning the language, she doubted she would ever master the alien tongue. The syntax was just too foreign. Sophie, on the other hand, took to the language like fish to water. It helped that she was a polyglot to begin with and had many language syntaxes to draw from.
Moira also insisted that they spend time in weapons and defense training with Calix. When Ashe had first requested that Calix train her, Zey had given her a gut-wrenching look.
“You don’t need to learn to shoot or fight. I will protect you.”
“But what if something happens when you’re not around?”
“You don’t trust me to protect you.” Zey had clenched his jaws and ground his teeth, clearly agitated by the thought. “Do you doubt my ability to protect you after what happened on Vosthea? Do you doubt my ability to be a good mate?”
“That’s not how it is, Zey. You are wonderful, more than I ever expected to find in a man. Believe me. I think you’re a real catch.” She smiled a warm, genuine smile that reached the corner of her eyes. “Please just let me learn. I want to be strong. I want to be helpful. It’ll mean a lot to me. Please?” She shot him her sweetest pleading look. His lips firmed into a strict line, but he nodded his head once. Ashe understood, he wasn’t happy about it, but he didn’t say no either.
Chapter 15
Reka 5 was generally a Dominion-safe colony, but Zey thought it best to spend the extra credit so the two ships could share a private hangar. After all, he was wanted by the Dominion, and the Second Chance was a stolen Dominion ship. The colonists at Reka 5 took no time at all to set up the displaced humans. Anyone who wanted to stay could, as long as they followed the established rules. There were already humans at the colony, escaped slaves from the Dominion’s prior captures, and their presence went a long way to ease the newcomers.
However, officials at Reka 5 deemed the Second Chance a hazard to their colony. They gave Captain Walker and his crew two cycles to help their fellow humans set up, after which they must leave the colony and not return until the ship was rebranded and unrecognizable as the stolen Dominion vessel. Two cycles were all Trenton needed. He was eager to take his first mission to earn some credit to keep him and his crew alive. Zey and Calix knew just the male for him to see.
Ashe was grateful to see that Reka 5 was a bigger, more established colony than Zey had described. The colony had grown much since the last time he had visited. As Moira had surmised, the large merchants had already opened shop in the newly built market districts. She took Ashe and Sophie for a visit. Although both women enjoyed seeing all the interesting foods and items for sale, none of them bought anything. Zey had told Ashe to charge anything she wanted to the Defiant, which made her feel uncomfortably like a kept woman, so she kept herself happy, just looking. And Sophie had no access to credit at all. Eventually, Moira suggested they stop for a drink at a Tallean equivalent of a coffee shop, except the shop sold drinks and refreshments of all types.
“I don’t exactly have any credits to spend, but if they don’t mind me just sitting, it’ll be nice to rest my feet.”
“Don’t be silly, Sophie, I’ll pay for your drink,” Moira offered.
“Honestly, I don’t feel comfortable spending Zey’s credits,” Ashe confessed. “I hate feeling like some housewife using my husband’s credit card.”
“Don’t human males care for their females? Tallean males are expected to provide everything the female needs once mated. The females usually have extra credits saved up from before the mating, and some choose to continue to work, but it’s not expected. Most males actually prefer those who choose to rely on them. Some males view it as an insult to their ability to care and provide if the female decides to continue working. I think it stems from the days when ou
r males fought physically for the right to take a mate.”
“That’s pretty similar to our culture a few generations ago. I mean, aside from the fighting part. But on Earth, women historically were oppressed and had no rights.”
“No rights?” Moira was aghast. “That’s not similar at all! No oppression here. At least not towards females. It is a female’s right to feel safe and be cared for. And it is the male’s responsibility to provide for her and her offspring. That’s why this colony has a rule that all colonists must either find work within two planetary years or be mated to another who is already employed. They understand that some mates choose to stay home and care for offspring.”
“Back home, some people send their kids to daycare or pay for a nanny if they have the money. Most women I know continue working through their whole lives,” Sophie explained. “I can’t imagine stopping my practice to be a housewife.”
“Or a shipwife!” Ashe agreed.
Moira turned a shade more serious. “I think you better get used to Zey spending credits on you. He seems to take being able to protect and care for you very seriously. It’s not because he thinks you can’t earn credits yourself, or because he wants to oppress you. He just wants to care for you. Just try your best to help out on the ship when you can.”
“Alright, fine. I guess a drink won’t hurt.” Ashe felt a weight lift as she gave herself permission to spend her mate’s credits, telling herself that it was part of accepting his culture. But still, she intended to find a way to make herself useful.
They sat down and ordered their drinks with Moira making recommendations.
“You’re lucky you can stay on the Second Chance as their medic, Sophie.”
“And not to mention Trenton is a pretty fine specimen, for a human. Just don’t tell Sidas I said that, or he might start a fight.”
Sophie shrugged and feigned disinterest.
“The tension between you was so thick. You could practically cut it with a knife, Sophie. Don’t tell me you aren’t interested,” Ashe prodded.
“She was, I scented it.” Moira grinned.
“Oh, alright,” Sophie sighed, exasperated. “So he’s hot as sin, but come on, a guy like him is nothing but trouble. He’s the last type of guy I need, getting all protective for no reason at all. I didn’t become a doctor to be coddled. I’m only staying on board as a medic to travel the galaxy. Or at least that’s the plan.”
“Why not just have sex with him a few times, but keep him at arm’s length after?” Moira asked. “I can’t understand the avoiding of sexual contact with someone you obviously find sexually attractive. An unmated Tallean female would have jumped at the chance.”
“It’s not that easy. And anyway, if I’m going to be a medic on his ship, wouldn’t that be like sleeping with your boss?”
“What’s wrong with that?”
Ashe and Sophie stared at their Tallean companion, unsure if it was a joke, but her question was genuine.
“It’s not socially acceptable to have sexual relations with your employer in our culture.”
“Well, you’re not on Earth anymore. I say you adopt our cultural norms regarding sex. It’s much more fun!”
“I don’t know. He’s hot, but he kind of reminds me of my pa. And that’s kinda weird.”
They were returning to the ships when a general feeling of unease snuck in around her. By the time they left the market district, Ashe was sure that they were being followed. She looked around but didn’t see anyone peculiar, but the feeling remained.
“We are supposed to be pretty safe in this colony, right?” she asked.
“Yeah, Sidas and Zey would never have let us out by ourselves otherwise. Reka 5 is out of Dominion jurisdiction. But right now, I wish I had brought my blaster,” Moira admitted.
“So it’s not just me. You feel it too?”
“If by ‘it’ you mean the sense of being followed, then yes,” Moira agreed. “I feel it too.”
Sophie nodded her agreement but added, “Let’s hope we’re just paranoid.”
They rounded the corner, and Ashe froze. Ulrek was standing right in front of them. He was not wearing his uniform. Under his tank top, Ashe could see the faint scar, which was all that was left from Zey’s boot knife. He had two thugs at his side. It looked as if they were waiting in ambush for them to return to the ship.
“Hello, gorgeous.” Ulrek grabbed Ashe’s arm aggressively. “I think we have some unfinished business.”
“Shit! Call Sidas now!” Sophie cried.
But as Moira reached for her comm unit, one of the thugs knocked it out of her hands. It clattered to the ground. The same hand then covered her mouth, and she was helpless as she was pulled into a large ground transport. She struggled hard and managed to kick the male with her clawed feet. But her love of satin sheets meant she kept her claws dull, and it didn’t do much damage.
The last thought that went through Ashe’s head before the thug knocked her out was that Moira’s comm unit with which Sidas could trace her was lying useless on the ground outside as they drove away.
“What do you mean they are gone?” Sidas bellowed, his normal calm and collected nature completely lost in his fury.
“We found her comm unit at the side of the road. There was a small patch of blood near it. All three females are missing.”
Zey clenched his fists at his side. Ashe was in danger again. Kidnapped, and he had failed to protect her. Maybe Ashe was right to request weapons training. With the bounty on his head, Ashe would always be a target, a way to get to him. The only way to keep her safe was to keep her under lock and key inside his ship, and Zey knew that Ashe would never be happy like that. She would eventually view him as her jailor.
Maybe after this, he should lay low for a while and let Calix run a few missions with the crew. It wouldn’t be safe to return to the compound, but Zey had a few hideouts ready. With Ashe along, it wouldn’t even be that bad. It would feel more like a vacation than an imposed hiatus.
Zey knew just the place. A beautiful moon with temperate weather and a beautiful landscape. In his early years as a mercenary, he had, with the help of Sid and Calix, transformed a cave at the side of a mountain into a comfortable hideaway. They had built reinforcements to keep the cave secure even through natural disasters. The entire cave complex was powered by a waterfall nearby and had all the comforts required for an extended stay.
He planned on hiding out there for a while until the search for him died down. But first, they needed to find Ashe and the other two females.
Trenton entered the room; his eyes were serious and brooding.
“Earlier today, a message came through the hangar’s communications addressed to the captain of the Second Chance. It was from Ulrek, the ship’s previous captain.”
The other males in the room turned to the human male. The whole room was suddenly extremely tense, no small feat considering the atmosphere was not in the least bit relaxed to begin with.
“He offered to report the ship destroyed rather than stolen and allow me to keep the ship without a fight if I delivered Zeylum to him alive.”
Calix stood up abruptly, knocking over his chair.
“Now hear me out before you lose your shit, big guy. I didn’t agree to it. Actually, if I recall correctly, my reply was, ‘Go fuck yourself, asshole.’ I don’t trust that slimy bastard. He reminds me of a used car salesman. This means Ulrek knows we are here, at Reka 5, in this hangar. Our ladies went missing shortly after I turned down his offer. If I had to make a bet, I’d say he’s got our women, um, our females.”
“Our females?” Zey raised an eyebrow at him.
“Sophie was supposed to be my ship’s medic. The only other trained doctor is insufferable, and I’m sure he’ll end up in his own med bay if I had to spend any time with him.”
“I see.” It was Calix who replied. Then after righting his chair, “I don’t think he will be able to land a large Domin
ion force on Reka 5 considering the people here are not exactly Dominion friendly. We can’t let them get off the planet where their reinforcements wait. He probably landed a personal ship and then hired local help. If we can find out who he hired, we may be able to—”
“Captain!” Tanith’s voice rumbled, interrupting Calix’s thoughts. “A pre-recorded transmission is coming through the hangar bay system.”
“Patch it through, but see if you can put a track for the location.”
“Sure thing, boss!”
They all turned to the screen as it flickered on to show Ulrek’s smug mug.
Zey turned his gaze to Sidas. His friend was tense, his jaws grinding, and his hands clenched in tight fists at his side.
“Ah, gentlemen!” Ulrek smiled broadly at them on the screen. “I assume I must be speaking to Zeylum and Trenton Walker. You seem an intelligent bunch, so let’s not beat around the bush. I have three of your females.” The camera panned to show three small bodies sitting side by side. They were bound hand and feet and guarded by two armed thugs. “Now, Zeylum, I know you have a wretched reputation, but I also know that you are not half as heartless as they say you are. Let’s make a trade, shall we? You, a criminal, for these three sweet innocent females.”
He grabbed Sophie by the hair, and Zey felt Trenton tense. On the screen, Ulrek pulled her close, pressed his face into her neck. Instead of fear, anger shone proudly in her eyes. She snapped at the Dominion captain’s ear with her teeth, but Ulrek pulled away in time.
“Spirited, just how I like them. But still very sweet, yes, very sweet indeed.” Ulrek turned to face his audience. “Meet me at the location encoded in this message. Come alone. Once you are in custody, we will send the females out in rescue pods to be retrieved by your crew. Take the offer, and no harm will come to them. Ignore it, and these three will become ship whores on Dominion vessels. The choice should be easy. See you in three cycles.” The screen turned black, the pre-recorded message completed.
It was Tanith who spoke first. “Sir, along with the location, there is a message hidden in the encryption. It says, ‘It’s not hard to escape the Dominion lockup. Let me collect your bounty. I will help bust you out after.’”