“It's not going to eat you,” Devika said.
She didn't know who was worse—Keltie’s burst of anger or Eddie’s fear.
Eddie stammered and said something unintelligible.
“Move,” Devika said. She took him by the shoulders, pushed him away from the panel, and pressed a couple of buttons on it.
The airlock hummed to life and the inner doors opened. Metal arms pushed the escape pod toward the outer bay doors. Then the inner doors shut, the outer doors opened, and the pod rolled into space.
“W-W-Why did you bring that thing on board?” Eddie asked finally, pointing to Clark.
“He's harmless,” Devika said.
“Eating a moon constitutes harmless?” Eddie asked, his face hardening.
Devika frowned. “Not you, too.”
Eddie didn't take his eyes off the alien.
“Look,” Devika said. “If you don't like it, then you can leave. The same goes for Keltie. I don't need unnecessary drama, so if you want, I'll drop you off at the next space station so you can figure out your life, and maybe go see a psychiatrist.”
“Psychiatrist?” Eddie asked, offended. “I'm not loco, lady. I'm just trying to find my family. How do you think I feel when I see the aliens that ate my home, eh? And you’re the one that needs to see a psychiatrist, walking around wearing black all day and—”
Devika approached him with a menacing look. He stopped talking and retreated.
Michiko crossed between them.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” she said. “You guys have a lot of pent-up anger. It's not healthy.”
“I didn't have to bring you along,” Devika said to Eddie. “I'm sorry for what happened to your family, but arguing like this isn't going to get us anywhere.”
Eddie leaned against the wall, folded his arms and closed his eyes.
“Guess you're right,” he said quietly.
“Why don't we all take ten or fifteen,” Grayson said. “Let's regroup on the bridge.”
Devika nodded.
“See you all soon.”
Devika settled into the pilot’s chair on the bridge. The warship was nice and quiet as it floated in space. She could only hear the gentle hum of the ship’s ventilation.
She rested her head against the back of the leather chair and breathed in deeply.
Her feet were sore.
Her neck hurt.
But somehow, she'd only noticed the pain now.
Hell, this had been the first time she'd been able to sit down in several days.
She'd been through so much.
She'd chased Tavin Miloschenko to Coppice. Miloschenko shot her down. She fled through the rainforest, running for her life. And now she had a crew with her.
Not what she expected.
She could have done this alone.
All of it.
She closed her eyes, visualized Florian Macalestern. In his white suit, he grinned evilly.
She couldn't wait to arrest him.
On the dashboard, her phone rang once and vibrated.
She glanced at the screen.
Two messages.
Messages?
Who would be leaving her a message at a time like this?
She pulled up her message app and played the first.
A familiar voice calmed her.
“Hey, Devi. It's your mother.”
Mary.
Her adopted mom.
“I haven't heard from you in a week, and I'm just checking to make sure you're still alive. Call me, okay?”
Devika felt a pressure in her head growing stronger.
She couldn't concentrate.
If Mary really knew what she was doing…well, she wouldn't have been happy about it.
Devika reached into her shirt pocket and pulled out three blue pills.
Pain relievers.
She took them, massaged her temples.
Should she call Mary back?
Her finger hovered over the return call button.
No.
It would have to wait.
Mary would be able to sense the worry in Devika's voice. Even if she tried to hide it. She could never hide her emotions from her mother.
Instead, she sent a text message.
“Everything’s fine. I'm on a mission and won't be able to talk for a while. Will send you another message soon.”
She sent it.
Disaster averted…for a little while.
She checked the second message.
It was from a number she didn't recognize.
Restricted area code.
Strange.
She played it.
The message was from a man. He didn't speak at first, as if he were trying to figure out what to say. Then the message began.
“Hey, uh, Agent Sharma, this is Agent Ryan Miller from the Short Arm Crimes Unit. I need to talk to you about a few things, namely some Internet database searches. Call me back at this number.”
Another GALPOL Agent.
She didn't recognize the name.
From the sound of his voice, he was probably older, maybe in his forties. But voices could be deceiving.
Database searches.
He wanted to talk to her about database searches.
A knot formed in her throat.
She'd used the GALPOL criminal database to find Miloschenko. She thought she had been careful.
But why would another agent be looking at the same database searches?
Her first instinct was to call him back.
Again, her finger hovered over the return call button.
It would be better to discuss this in person.
Not over the phone.
But before she could call, Eddie walked in and rapped on the wall.
“I'm not bothering you, am I?” he asked.
She tucked her phone away.
“No.”
Eddie proceeded but stopped far away, as if he were afraid to get close. The digital screens on the wall gave his body a greenish halo.
“I'm sorry about my attitude back there,” he said. “It's just—you don't know what I've been through.”
Devika harrumphed. “I've been through worse.”
The comment took Eddie off-guard.
“It's understandable, what you're going through,” Devika said. “but when the time comes, you've got to be ready for anything. Freezing up like an icicle in the middle of conflict is only going to get us killed.”
“I know,” Eddie said. “I'm not a hero like the rest of you guys.”
His voice was soft now.
“But I'm in this to save my family. My wife. My son. My parents. My abuela. When the time comes, I want to be able to fight.”
“Then fight.”
“Thing is, I don't know how.”
“You've never fired a gun?” Devika asked.
Eddie rubbed his head.
“Fine,” Devika said. “I'll show you.”
She pulled out her handcoil, ejected the magazine, and unloaded its needle-like bullets onto the dashboard. She motioned him to come.
Eddie approached, his eyes on the bullets.
“They're not going to hurt you,” Devika said.
This guy was too scared. She wouldn't be able to trust him with a gun. Not yet.
“This is a standard issue handcoil,” Devika said. “These are nine millimeter needle bullets. They're electromagnetically charged and they rip through a target.”
She handed him the empty gun. He took it gingerly, as if he might accidentally drop it. Then he pointed it at the windshield.
Instinctively, Devika pulled the gun down.
“Are you crazy?” she asked. “You want to depressurize the ship and kill all of us?”
Eddie’s eyes widened.
“Never point it at something you don't wish destroyed,” Devika said. “Gun rule number one.”
Eddie gulped and nodded.
“To load the magazine, you insert the needles—like this—with the needles facing
the nose of the gun. Then you load it the magazine, wait for the click, disengage the safety, aim, and shoot. Got it?”
“Uh…”
“You have time to practice,” Devika said. “That’ll be your homework.”
Eddie practiced unloading and loading the gun. Once he loaded it the third time, Devika took it and hooked it on her belt.
“Hey, I wasn't done,” Eddie said.
“You have to learn fast when you're traveling with me,” Devika said. “Things happen quickly.”
Eddie looked out the window longingly.
“Yeah, they do.”
The radio beeped.
“This is Romeo Beauregard of the Galactic Guard. State your location.”
Devika put on her headset.
“This is Special Agent Devika Sharma. There are five of us on board, and we’re all safe.”
“Glad to hear it,” Beauregard said. “Maintain your present location. We’ll come and meet you.”
“Got it.”
Devika disconnected from the radio.
“Told you things happen fast,” she said.
Eddie practiced loading a pretend gun.
“I’ll be ready,” he said.
Michiko found the canteen, a small circular room in the middle of the ship.
Her legs ached and her stomach growled.
She opened the refrigerator.
It was stocked with water and fruit—apples and oranges.
She sighed.
Then she moved around the kitchen, opening all the drawers until she found a can of tuna and crackers.
Groaning, she popped the tab on the tuna and scooped it out with a fork onto a paper plate. She mixed in some lemon juice and she ate.
Tasted like rubber.
But it tasted better than nothing.
She sat on the kitchen counter, eating quietly. A black wisp caught her eye—Clark was swirling around the kitchen.
Michiko guarded her tuna.
Clark approached, his red eye blinking slowly.
“Get your own,” Michiko said.
Then she looked down at the can of tuna, and back at Clark.
“Oh, okay,” she said, offering the can.
With a menacing bite, Clark ate the can of tuna, and it disappeared within his insides.
Michiko stared at him curiously.
“So what’s your story, Clark?” she asked. “Why did you get separated from the rest of your kind?”
Clark swirled in place, looking at her.
“It doesn’t make any sense, you know,” she said. “How an alien like you can end up away from your pack. Did you run away?”
Clark blinked.
“Did they kick you out? Did you do something bad?”
Clark blinked again.
“Where are you from?”
Clark pooled on the ground like a galaxy of black smoke.
“Well, I’m from the planet Asiazil,” Michiko said. “And I don’t know if I’ll ever go back. I kinda made a really big mistake. I lied to my parents about dropping out of nursing school and I hid it from them for a long time. They almost died because of me. If that stupid Florian had his way, they would be dead right now, and I can’t even begin to think of an apology.”
Michiko nodded to Clark. “So if you did something bad and got expelled from your home, just know that I understand you completely.”
Clark burped.
“Do you have friends, Clark?”
Silence.
“Guess not, huh? You Planet Eaters seem like a race that sticks together, though. Surely you have someone who must be missing you right now. Even though you’re a different race than me, I refuse to believe you don’t have feelings of some kind. We all deserve friends, you know?”
Her stomach churned, but this time from sadness as she remembered three smiling faces.
“I lost three friends,” Michiko said. “I guess I could say that your race killed them, Clark. But you didn’t so I’m not mad at you. But they died for no reason, and it wasn’t fair.”
She felt heavy, like an anchor. She didn’t even know if she could move. Every time she thought of Rudy, Ashley and Hassan, she wanted to vomit.
“I’m going to stop Florian,” Michiko said. “I don’t care what it takes.”
Silence.
“The people who rescued me seem really nice, don’t they?” she asked. “I can’t figure them all out yet, but I think we’ll get along. I think we’ll get along just fine.”
Clark swirled away, hugging the wall as he exited the canteen.
“Thanks for listening,” she said, rolling her eyes. “We’ll have to work on your conversational skills.”
Clark disappeared.
“Don’t eat anything else!” she shouted. “Absolutely no carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen, or any other building block of life, you hear me?”
But Clark was gone.
Michiko sighed. She grabbed another can of tuna from the fridge and ate it, trying to ignore the rubbery flavor.
“I’m tired of repeating myself,” Keltie said. “I said go away.”
Keltie sat on a bunk bed in her small living quarters, looking out at the stars.
For the last two minutes, she had been trying to get rid of Grayson.
But he knocked on the door again.
“Listen, Keltie, why don’t we talk this out?”
She pursed her lips.
“Do you even understand why I’m mad?”
Grayson went quiet.
“Exactly,” she said.
“Hey, hey,” Grayson said. “You didn’t even give me a chance to respond!”
“Then respond,” she said.
“I should’ve warned you about the Planet Eater thing,” he said. “I know it brings back hard memories. I’m sorry, and for what it’s worth…”
As Grayson spoke, she swung off the bed and walked to the door. She couldn’t even listen to the rest of what he was saying.
She placed her door on the handle, tried to gather herself, do everything she could from exploding.
Then she whipped the door open.
Grayson’s eyes widened.
“You’re so wrong it’s not even funny,” she said.
Grayson gasped.
“You’re sorry for not warning me?” she asked. Her voice was quiet but angry. “Thanks for your consideration.”
Grayson rubbed his head.
“Uh, I guess I'll stop talking, then.”
“I guess you forgot that those aliens destroyed an entire planet and killed my best friend in front of my eyes,” she said. “They're the reason I can't sleep, they're the reason I can't do anything other than be here on this journey because I want to avenge Claire. So when you bring one of them on board and expect me to be happy, and then apologize and completely miss the point—”
“Did I?” Grayson asked.
She paused.
“Did I miss the point?” he asked. He pointed down the hallway. “Okay, so I blew it. But maybe this is an opportunity. Maybe it's a chance to find some answers.”
Keltie leaned against the doorframe, her arms folded.
“Who knows,” Grayson said. “Maybe we’ll be able to use Clark to find the mother colony and wipe those things out. But if we expel him, we’ll never know. I don't want to take that chance, do you?”
“I'm just not ready for this.”
“None of us are,” Grayson said. “And I still deserve a slap, I suppose. But we've got to work together, right?”
SLAP!
Grayson’s cheek stung and he looked at Keltie, flabbergasted.
She was grinning.
“I was just going to give you the cold shoulder,” she said. “But since you suggested—wow, that was really cathartic.”
Grayson rubbed his cheek.
“Glad I could be of service,” he said.
“Just be a little more considerate,” she said. “Because we all know Devika won't.”
“Deal,” he said. “Are we good, then?
”
She brushed past him, close enough that they almost touched.
“I'm still not letting you off the hook about what happened on your ship.”
Grayson thought for a moment, then smiled.
“You talking about the kiss?”
“No, the lack thereof.”
“Ha,” Grayson said. “I was waiting to do it after one of those damsel in distress moments.”
“Keep waiting,” Keltie said, waving her hand as she walked toward the bridge. “Because it's a girl’s world.”
“Let’s level set,” Devika said.
Everyone was in the bridge now, gathered around Devika, who straddled the pilot’s chair.
Grayson and Keltie leaned against the wall. Eddie sat on a railing, balancing himself. Michiko sat on the floor, eating a can of tuna, and Clark hovered over her.
“First, our target is Florian,” Devika said. “We've got to find him at—”
Michiko cleared her throat.
“What?” Devika asked.
“We’re a team, right?” Michiko asked. “Kind of hard to be a team if I don't know everyone, right?”
“Make introductions on your own time,” Devika said.
“I barely know your name!” Michiko said. “For the longest time, I thought you were Lara Stella.”
Devika sighed.
“She has a point,” Eddie said. “Nobody ever starts building a house with the roof first, you know?”
Everyone stared at Eddie, and he shrugged.
“Heh heh, guess it sounds better in Spanish,” Eddie said.
Michiko sprang up.
“Okay, let's do an activity,” she said, smiling. “Everyone introduce yourself, where you're from, what brings you here, and…just because it'll be hilarious to listen to, answer this question: would you rather win a billion dollars or get fifteen IQ points added to your mental capacity?”
Grayson laughed. “Man, you're a bundle of energy”
“A bundle that is going to get deposited at the next space station,” Devika said.
“Lighten up, Devika,” Grayson said. “We’re killing time right now anyway.”
A voice inside Devika's head told her to relax, to calm down and let things take their course.
But she couldn't listen to it. There was so much at stake. She didn't have time for silly games!
She started to speak, but Michiko interrupted her.
“I know you want to talk business,” Michiko said. “but if I'm going to be on a space mship with all of you guys—no offense, but I want to know if you're ax murderers.”
Orbital Decay (Galaxy Mavericks Book 7) Page 14