The man's large brown eyes opened wider. His mouth fell open. “Cea?”
Cea froze then moved to the table to peer down at him.
Malcolm handed her a wet cloth, and she roughly wiped at the black soot on the man's face as Malcolm held down the man's broad shoulders. Rugged Mediterranean features capped with long, dark brown hair and a thick moustache met her gaze.
She gasped and dropped the cloth. “Tal!” For a fleeting moment, her face radiated pure joy, then rage quickly took its place. “You fucking cop bastard! I'll kill you...” she growled while clenching the edge of the table with enough force to leave dents in the soft metal.
Malcolm blocked her arm when she raised it, her hand balled into a fist. “No, Captain. Violence won't help anything. Not our situation or your emotional turmoil.”
Tal's startled, confused look mingled with Cea's look of murderous rage as they both stared at Malcolm. The moment broke when a voice thundered over the intercom.
“Cea Knight, you fucking traitor. If I catch you, I'll kill you personally,” Scorpion's voice boomed over the central comlink. “But that will be after I torture you, make you pay for working for the feds. Do you hear me, bitch? I'll...”
“Transmission blocked, Captain. Inappropriate communication,” Mother's voice reported.
The woman on the bed slowly rose, clutching the blanket around her. She smiled and held out a hand to Cea. “My name is Special Agent Penny Carpelli, Captain Knight. Pleased to meet you.”
Cea glared at the woman then back at Tal, who sat up with Malcolm's help. “What the hell is going on here?”
“We're working undercover to find a man called Crowe. He's working on something that endangers the whole of the human race, Captain. Since our ruse to get in with the pirates didn't work, we need your help,” Penny explained, dropping her hand back to her side. “And, since you already seem to know Agent English, and he seems to know you, I guess it's safe to say we're in trustworthy hands?” Penny glanced between Cea and Tal, her eyebrows cocked in question.
Cea stepped back. Her cheeks hot and fire in her eyes. “The first planet we come to, and I don't care if it's habitable or not, you two are being dumped off.” She locked gazes with Tal. “Malcolm, patch these two up then confine them to a room with a big lock—one that can't be broken or picked.”
Malcolm released Tal and stood stiffly, arms at his sides. “I won't do that, Captain. I cannot be a party to any action that damages a police officer or his mission.”
Tal slipped off the table. He grabbed at his bleeding leg then steadied his stance by holding on to the edge. “We won't hurt you, Cea, and we won't endanger you any more than we have to. I promise.” His voice laced with pleading undertones. “I know you won't believe me, but I've never wanted to hurt you...”
“Fuck you, English!” Cea screamed, aware that she was losing control and hating it.
“I'd like to,” Penny purred as she sidled to Tal's side and grabbed hold of his free arm, allowing her blanket to drop just enough to display two hard nipples.
A proximity alarm rang throughout the room but nobody moved.
“Captain, I think you'd better get back to the bridge,” Malcolm said. “I'll take care of our guests.”
Penny turned her head and smiled at Malcolm with volcanic warmth. “Thank you, handsome. Remind me to reward you later.”
“Don't worry. We lost the Blackbird. She was damaged,” Cea spat, not knowing why the sight of Penny flirting with Tal should bother her so much. No, it couldn't be that. She hated Tal. “What I am concerned with is the danger inside my ship, not outside.”
Tal continued to stare at her with a confused look. “You're not in any danger, Cea.”
“Speak for yourself, Tal,” Penny quipped. “I can be very dangerous.” She ran her hand over his chest.
“This is going to be one, long fucking trip,” Cea blurted with resignation and anger. She turned to head back to the bridge.
“Oh boy, I hope so,” Penny added, eyeing Tal then Malcolm.
Chapter Five
The Blackbird fired wildly at Europa, but the shots fell short of their mark, leaving only puffs of green smoke wafting in the space between the ships as both vessels quickly moved through space. Small chunks of debris left over from the exploding freighter followed the Europa's trail and battered the ship's shields, making the going even harder as Cea fought to outrun the pirates.
The impacts jarred Cea's teeth, as she manually steered through parts of hull and bodies, evading as best she could. Her goal was a small, dead planet, where she hoped to hide her energy trail as she passed it.
“I thought you lost them,” Tal said, standing behind Cea's chair and leaning forward to watch over her shoulder. The screen displayed the big ship following them.
“We will,” Cea growled. “Just as soon as I can engage the Hop drive. We're almost far enough away from that planet ... ah, now!”
Cea's fingers danced over the control buttons then stabbed down. The scene on the visi-screens flickered and blurred before settling down again. The planet they now orbited, showed as a tiny disc set among the star field. The cloud of debris and the Blackbird were nowhere to be seen.
“Impressive!” murmured Tal. “Your hop drive is one of the most efficient I've come across. We must be nearly two light minutes away.”
Cea nodded. “Now, that damned Scorpion will have to find us visually before he can hop, and I'll lay odds his drive isn't as good as mine. Another couple of hops, and we'll lose him completely.” She scanned the readouts in front of her. “Next hop in about thirty minutes.”
“Too bad short hops are all we have,” Penny murmured, while massaging Malcolm's shoulders as he ran diagnostics on the ship. “We won't get far that way.”
“Do you even know where you're going, yet?” Tal limped to a chair Malcolm had set up for him.
Cea spun her chair around and glared at him. “There aren't any inhabited planets out this way, Agent English. Or, haven't you noticed?” She crossed both arms over the white shirt she wore, emphasizing her braless state. “If you think you can do any better then be my guest.”
Tal reached down and fished inside the sack he'd brought from the sick bay. “I have something I think might help.” He held up two objects. One was a six-inch metal rod, rounded on each end; the other was a round globe, pierced in the middle and mounted on a stylistic base. “This is a piece of alien technology Penny's people instructed us to use, if we could discover how. It's supposedly capable of sending any ship through space at greater than light speed.”
Penny suddenly stood beside his chair. Her flirtatious behavior disappeared. “What the hell do you think you're doing, English? That thing is top secret, and here you are flashing it around like a party favor.” She glared at him with an uncharacteristically unfriendly scowl.
Tal grinned. “It's a little too late for secrets, don't you think, Penny?” He handed the two pieces to Cea. “Besides, the technology won't do us a bit of good if we die out here, now would it? Not to mention we could use the help in figuring out how to use the damned thing.”
“How does it work?” Cea inspected the pieces. She shook her head, while trying to focus on the swirling patterns in the metal. “What is this stuff? It keeps changing, like an oil slick on top of water.”
“It's alien, and we know what it's supposed to do. But we can't figure out how it's supposed to do it.” Tal leaned forward to take them from her hands. “We were going to use this to get inside Crowe's base. We figured he'd want it, even if we couldn't show him how it worked. Since the best minds on Penny's planet and in the Galactic Government's labs couldn't figure it out, we figured we'd be safe from Crowe ever using it.”
“You said it's a gift from Penny's government? Is she alien?” Malcolm asked without taking his eyes off his data screen.
“And, if it's a gift from your government, why don't you know how to use it?” Cea's suspicious stare drilled Penny, whose eyes were guarded.
Cea gave her no slack. Her face remained flat and unemotional. “You were telling us about the object?”
The crooked smile slid off Penny's face. “Yes, the object. My people don't know how to use it, because we didn't create it. We found it in an ancient city we stumbled upon on one of our outer moons. We tried for years to figure it out, but the best we could do was decipher some writings that spoke of light speed travel. We know it takes a male and female to use it, because the object was found with two dead aliens, male and female, and their images were drawn on the writings in an entwined style we've tried to match.” She sighed again. “But, nothing worked so we brought it to the humans. They couldn't figure it out, either. As a last resort, we planned to use it to get Crowe. We know from previous intelligence that he somehow hooked up with our mortal enemies and they obtained a larger starship version of that thing.” She pointed at the object. “If they ever learn how to use it, both of our species are dead.” She shrugged. “That's why I'm here, and why English is working with a female agent. Nothing more.” The last sentence was laden with hidden meaning.
Cea ignored it.
“How intriguing,” Malcolm said, turning away from his console to stare at her with renewed interest. “Three species struggling for power over a mode of transportation so they can gain ascendancy over the other.” His eyebrows moved up and down as his brain worked on the quirkiness of human and alien logic.
“It sounds stupid, but if Crowe and the Malfois learn how to use light speed, then we really are doomed,” Penny said with a softer tone. “The criminal element of my people are just as bad. We found out about Crowe and his alliance from them. They don't care what other races they run with or what it does to anybody's galaxy when they use technology that might be dangerous.”
Cea crossed her arms over her chest and threw mental daggers at Penny, who returned the favor with her eyes. “I don't give a shit about you, the Malfois, Crowe or Earth. I just want you off my ship as soon as possible. Both of you.”
“No sweat off my tits, sister,” Penny grated from between stiff lips. “We'll find another ship, and any other Captain is bound to be a step up.
“Look, we don't have a choice,” Tal interrupted. “We don't have time to find another ship or another Captain. We have to trust each other if we're to have any hope of infiltrating Crowe's base and getting that damned transporter destroyed. We know he plans on making some kind of big move within the next few weeks. We just don't have the time for this shit!” He gave each woman a hard stare then nodded at Malcolm, who smiled back. “Agreed? Truce? At least, until this situation is over?”
“You're right, cupcake,” Penny purred, reaching out a hand to caress Tal's cheek. “As usual.”
“Oh, give it a rest, will you?” Cea snapped, setting her jaw, a muscle pulsing in her cheek. “Okay, truce. But only until we get to the bottom of all this. After that, I want to be rid of you both...” she turned her attention toward Penny and slowly scanned her up and down, “...whatever you are.”
“Tsk, tsk, Captain. No need for cat's claws and jealous words with me,” Penny laughed, a deep and warm sound. “I'm willing to share everything, all the time.” She patted Tal's then Malcolm's head. “Are you?”
“Oh, brother. You women act like we males are lowly creations, put here for your amusement. And, I must say, I resent it.” Tal snorted.
“Bravo! Although that's exactly what I am created for, so I suppose I shouldn't protest. Not to mention, I don't have any emotions, so I can't feel your resentment, either,” Malcolm cocked an eyebrow at Tal and tilted his head. “Since you're a male, would you teach me how to be insulted with women? It might be helpful in the future.”
“Sure will, brother. But, for now...” Tal picked up the two pieces once more and turned them around in his hands. “For now ... we have to figure out how this thing works before your patch job falls apart or the fuel core dries up.”
Penny clapped her hands in delight. “Are you an android or a cyborg?” She felt Malcolm's skin and hair, then she knelt next to his chair and began to feel his limbs and other assorted body parts with total abandon. “Android! No biological materials, here. You're too perfect. How fascinating! I was hoping to find one of you and study your ways. You see, my field on my planet was human culture, and I've been watching you for a very long time. I'm fascinated, especially with the human sex drive...”
“Shut up, you nympho, alien slut,” Cea growled. “We have better things to do then worry about your runaway sexual fantasies.” She pointed at the alien object. “We need to get out of here and find parts and fuel. Is that too much for your pea brain to grasp, Fishbelly?”
Tal ignored them and continued to study the two alien pieces. Malcolm tilted his head and began to record the event in his data bank for further analysis.
Penny laughed. “Oh, I get it! Carpelli becomes fishbelly! How cute!”
Cea groaned and rubbed her temples. Shutting Penny out of her thoughts, she focused instead on Tal and the object. “Okay, what did the brainiacs on Earth test it for? And what do we know about it?” Her manner was stiff and formal. She had to take this situation to a more professional level, yet images of sexual encounters stubbornly refused to leave her mind.
Tal held the two parts up. “They did every test they knew of. Nothing. They tried everything they could think of to get it to work. Nothing. We have very little to go on. All we do know is Penny's people found documents that state this thing should work.”
He slowly inserted the rounded-end of the rod into the hole in the middle of the globular base. “What we know is that these two parts...” The two pieces made a ringing noise when the insertion was complete. “...magnetically attract each other. When joined, the whole thing glows and pulses.” Tal held the united piece with both hands as they all watched it change colors and morph slightly in shape. It hummed and glowed with a pulsating rhythm.
From her chair, Cea reached out and laid her hand on an area next to one of Tal's hands. “It's warm,” she said, as its shape changed slightly and the pulsing hum picked up its tempo.
The ship lurched. Cea swung her chair around to check the view screen and the data readouts. Malcolm ignored Penny's groping hands, now under his clothes, to check his data screen. And, Tal placed the artifact down to swing around to check the weapons screen.
“What was that?” Penny asked, thoroughly inspecting Malcolm's groin while peering up at his screen.
“I don't get a readout for other ships or anything else in the area. It's just open space,” Cea murmured while pulling on her headset. “Mother, report ship status and proximity of any objects in surrounding area.”
“Starboard shield is degrading due to hull separation in section 28Z. No other objects in proximity,” Mother reported.
“Malcolm's patch job is falling apart,” Cea translated. “Looks like we'll all die out here after all.” She peeled off the headset.
Penny stood and smoothed down the short shift she wore, her attention now fully on Cea and the ship. “What can we do?”
“Nothing. Another patch wouldn't hold, and we don't have the spare parts to repair the hull,” Malcolm replied. He turned his head to look at the three humans as if he were trying to gauge their reactions. “The ship will slowly come apart until we lose total hull integrity and the oxygen escapes.”
“There's got to be something we can do.” Tal glanced between Cea and Malcolm. “Anything is better than just giving up.”
“We can attempt another pat
ch, but Malcolm's right, it probably won't hold long. Plus, every time we go outside the ship, we lose more oxygen,” Cea said, refusing to meet his challenging gaze. She stood and moved toward the passageway. “I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm going to the galley and find myself a full bottle of brandy.” She left the room without a backward glance.
Tal stood and followed her, leaving Penny and Malcolm to stare after them.
“Maybe he'll tell her how he feels, now,” Malcolm commented, watching Tal's broad back as he disappeared down the passageway.
“I hope so,” Penny replied. “This is his last chance, I'd say.”
Malcolm took a deep breath then turned back to the view screen. His mind worked on analyzing the data he'd stored, trying to find a solution to their predicament.
Penny turned to Malcolm, her face wholly serious for the first time since her arrival. “Well, my friend, looks like life really is short, as the humans like to say. I don't know whether to be relieved or pissed off about it.” She sank into Cea's seat and propped her elbows on her legs then rested her chin on her hands.
“Why would you be relieved or pissed?” Malcolm asked, as he swiveled around to face her. “Why not just accept the facts instead of wasting energy with emotions that won't change the situation?” He mimicked her pose and leaned forward, truly curious about her answer.
She sighed. “My race lives hundreds of years, love. I'm only about a quarter of the way through my life, so dying now is a big cheat. I should be pissed off. But...” She paused and gazed deeply into his eyes. “...I also don't have much to live for anymore.”
Her gaze dropped to his hands. She reached out and took one of them, drawing it to her chest and holding it there. He didn't resist. “You see, my people bond with our mates at birth. We spend our whole lives with that mate and, when a mate dies, the one left usually doesn't live long. My people do not thrive alone. When my mate died...”
“How did it happen?” Malcolm interrupted.
“He was an agent, like me. We were tracking the group of outcasts who are now threatening this galaxy. He was captured and killed. I felt it when he died. We killed the ones responsible—and we found that.” She nodded at the alien transporter device, still joined together, but its humming had decreased in both volume and motion. “A part of me, deep inside, died. That's why, when my government wanted an agent to come here and help the humans I volunteered. I knew I wouldn't be going home again. Ever. And that was just fine with me.” Her voice became raw with emotion, and she held Malcolm's hand more tightly against her chest.
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