by Lily Thomas
“Excuse me?” Susan glanced over at her as she struggled to find a new position in the cramped space.
“Well, who would be willing to pay millions of credits to get their hands on you? Surely you have some ideas. Maybe an enemy you made during super-secret ambassador negotiations?”
Susan rolled her eyes. “There could be any number of people. I deal with hostile situations every day. I’m supposed to be the one who diffuses those situations, but that doesn’t mean I give everyone what they want in the end. There are plenty of people who could be holding a grudge against me.”
“But millions of credits?” Zoe rose an eyebrow. “Someone wants you, and they want you something bad.”
Susan shrugged. “No one particular comes to mind. You’d think they’d prefer to get their hands on the president rather than the ambassador.”
Zoe smiled suddenly.
“What?” Susan raised an eyebrow.
“We’re all raised to think the president and the ambassador are these special people working on a higher level than the rest of us, and yet here you are in an escape pod with me.”
Susan chuckled. “Well, I guess the truth is out. I’m sorry to disappoint you.”
“Oh my god!” Zoe burst out.
“What? What is it?” Susan twisted in her seat, trying to look over at the display next to Zoe.
“The pod’s sensors just picked up an outpost on an asteroid! It’s small, but it’s there.”
“I hope they’re friendly.”
Zoe’s brow creased. “Why would you even say that?”
“Sorry. In my line of work, you have to consider all the possibilities. The more angles you can see, the better you can predict people.”
“Well, we don’t have much of a choice,” Zoe said. “I guess you’ll have to turn on your ambassador charm and convince them to help us.”
Zoe turned back to the display and keyed in instructions to land them on the asteroid.
Susan sighed beside her.
“Are we landing?” Susan tried to peer over Zoe’s shoulder.
“I have no idea what’s going on. I’m trying to understand what the escape pod is telling me, but I can’t read the written Daen’su language.”
“Scoot over. I know enough to probably get us an idea of what it is saying.”
Zoe wiggled to the side in the cramped pod and exchanged places with Susan.
“How do you know Daen’su?” she asked.
Susan shrugged as she settled into her new seat. “I’ve picked up the basics of a lot of languages. I have to in order to do my job. It’s a bad idea to rely fully on translators. They can have their own agenda, or be bribed or blackmailed.”
Zoe let out a low whistle. “I never thought about how someone working for you might purposefully give you the wrong information,” Zoe said.
Susan smiled. “Most of the time, if a translator skips something, they’re just being lazy, summarizing main points and ignoring things they don’t think matter. But when you’re working out agreements on behalf of billions or trillions of people, you want to know the details. I try to know enough of the basics to be able to point out a phrase that my translators didn’t mention and ask them to explain it.”
Zoe frowned, but before she could say anything, Susan spoke.
“Someone’s pulling us into their shuttle bay.”
“What?” Zoe had a sinking feeling. “Is it Je’lak’s ship?” she asked, disappointed.
“I don’t think so,” Susan said. “This ship is about the same size, but it looks different.” Susan pulled the ship up on their small screen.
Zoe peered at the image. “Maybe it’s some sort of security for the asteroid?”
“Could be.”
Zoe watched as the ship’s shuttle bay grew closer, like a mouth that was about to swallow them whole. Whoever they were, she just hoped they would be friendly. She didn’t want to be put in a situation that was worse than the one she was already in.
The escape pod landed inside the ship and the shuttle bay doors closed.
“Should we pop the hatch and find out who pulled us in?” Zoe asked.
Susan gestured to the handle. “Go for it. They’ll probably let themselves in anyway.”
Zoe reached over, pulled open the hatch, and slid out of the escape pod. Behind her, she heard Susan exit as well, but she couldn’t move.
“I think we might be in trouble,” Zoe whispered.
“Why do you say that?” Susan asked as she plopped down next to her, then turned around from the pod. There were several Daen’su pointing plasma guns at them.
“Oh dear.”
“Yeah.”
“A couple of human women?” A stocky Daen’su, obviously in charge, strode past the men with the guns. He regarded them with amusement. “This was an escape pod from Je’lak’s ship, was it not?”
Zoe wasn’t sure whether to confirm or deny his question, but she’d have to choose an answer and hope it was the right one.
“Yes. We came from Je’lak’s ship.”
“Ah, she speaks.” The Daen’su clapped his hands together. “Now what was Je’lak doing with two human women?”
Susan stepped up beside Zoe and opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Zoe blurted out, “I am a doctor from Guit’re and this is my assistant.”
“And why would Je’lak need a doctor and her assistant?”
Zoe felt a pinch on the back of her left arm and turned in surprise. Susan continued to stare forward at the Daen’su with interest, but her hand hovered at Zoe’s side in warning.
“Merchant,” Susan said, “You have us at a disadvantage. We were indeed on Je’lak’s ship, but we are not familiar with this vessel or her captain. As you can see, we present no threat to you. Can we not discuss this without the weapons?” Susan gestured at the Daen’su around them who continued to point the plasma guns at Zoe and Susan.
The Daen’su listened carefully while Susan spoke. When she finished, he smiled and shook his head. “No. You will answer my question.” He held up a hand, before Susan could speak. “And before you ask, I will kill both of you if I don’t get answers.”
Zoe bit her lip. She couldn’t let the Daen’su harm Susan. She had to draw their attention to her to prevent them from discovering who Susan really was.
Stepping away from Susan to avoid another pinch, she confessed, “I’m a prominent doctor from Guit’re. I can only assume that Je’lak planned to sell me for my skill.”
The Daen’su’s silver eyes slid away from Susan and over to Zoe. He crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I don’t believe you.” Turning away, he called back to his men. “Let’s take them to the brig. We’ll see if a few days without food makes them any more cooperative.”
“What!” Zoe and Susan backed up against the hull of the escape pod. “We’re telling the truth!” Zoe insisted to the two Daen’su who came up and grabbed her.
“Don’t fight it, Zoe,” Susan called out, as she was dragged out of the shuttle bay.
Zoe was primed with the urge to fight, but she submitted to the Daen’su without a struggle. It wasn’t like she could take on a full crew of armed Daen’su and win. Heck, based on past experience, she couldn’t even take on a single Daen’su and win. And she really didn’t want to do something foolish and get Susan killed in the process.
The Daen’su led Zoe and Susan through the ship until they came to a room with multiple cells in it. The Daen’su tossed them into the cell nearest the door. Almost immediately, a blue force field activated over the cell entrance, and their captors began to exit the brig.
“Wait!” Susan called out. “Can we at least know who captains this ship?”
The stocky Daen’su stopped at the doorway and waited for the rest of the group to exit. He walked up to the cell entrance and examined them for a moment. “I captain The Lance. My name is Zrirc.”
“You seem pretty interested in the ship that was holding us,” Susan said. “May I ask why?”
Zrirc stepped closer to the force field and met each of their gazes with a hard stare.
“He has something I want,” he declared.
“Could you be any more vague?” Zoe arched an eyebrow.
Zrirc smoothed a strand of silver hair behind his ear. “I heard he had the ambassador of Earth on board his ship.”
Zoe couldn’t help the look of surprise that crossed her face, but she was impressed when Susan didn’t so much as flinch at the captain’s words.
“That’s absurd,” Susan scoffed. “No one could steal the ambassador of Earth. She has to be one of the most guarded people in the Earth Alliance.”
Zrirc shrugged his shoulders. “Let’s just say I find it at least somewhat possible that one of you could be the ambassador. I happened to hear that Je’lak’s buyer is willing to pay quite a hefty sum for her safe delivery.”
Susan crossed her arms. “There could have been other captives on his ship. We weren’t exactly afforded the luxury of a tour.”
Zrirc smiled at her. “I suppose not.”
Without another word, he turned on his heel and left the women alone in their cell.
“What now?” Zoe turned to glance over at Susan Mallery.
Susan shushed her quietly. To Zoe’s surprise, Susan came up to her and hugged her.
“Um…Susan…” she said. “I’m all right.”
“Careful, Zoe,” Susan whispered into her ear. “They could be listening in.”
Zoe glanced around. She didn’t see any cameras, but she appreciated Susan’s caution.
“Okay, what now?” she whispered back, raising her arms to look like she was comforting Susan.
“We sit and wait,” Susan replied. “Maybe that oaf believes our story, but even if he does, he might try to sell us to a different buyer instead.” Susan sighed. “Worst comes to worst, we tell him what he wants to know.”
Zoe pulled away and looked Susan directly in the eye. “That’s not an option,” she said. “I didn’t go through all the effort to save your life and get you off that ship only to watch you get sold by someone else.”
Zoe smiled crookedly. “You sure do attract a lot of problems.”
Susan smiled back. “Maybe you’re the one attracting trouble,” she teased.
Her expression sobered quickly, though. “Look, Zoe, I knew the risks of my job when I accepted it. I can handle being sold, but I’m not about to put your life in danger if we can avoid it.”
Zoe hung her head. “Great. I tried to get you back to safety, and all I did was land us with a different bunch of money-hungry Daen’su.”
Susan lifted up Zoe’s chin. “Usually, I’m surrounded by a lot of bodyguards to handle these sorts of situations.” Susan looked away thoughtfully. “Your Je’lak took my ship and my guards completely by surprise. He really is good at what he does.”
Zoe pulled back, releasing Susan from their feigned embrace and crossing her arms defensively. “He’s not mine,” she insisted.
“Oh, come on! You were a lot more than just a captive.” Susan wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. “I know what you did to get ‘rid’ of Je’lak so we could escape.”
Zoe threw her hands in the air. “Sure, I slept with him, but it wasn’t anything special.”
Susan’s green eyes pierced straight through Zoe. “Pfft, don’t lie to me. I was trained to read other humans, and you loooove him.”
“You’re acting like a child.” Zoe rolled her eyes.
“I have nothing else to do.” Susan ticked off on her fingers. “I’m trapped in a cell, going to be starved for several days, and will most likely eventually give myself up in defeat.” Susan winked at Zoe as she slid down the wall to sit on the floor. “Too bad I don’t have better company.”
“We can’t tell them.” Zoe repeated. There was no way to predict what Zrirc would do with that kind of knowledge.
“We might not have a choice.”
“At least give Je’lak a chance to find us,” Zoe urged.
“One day.”
“How are you going to tell when a day passes?”
Susan frowned. “Fine, I’ll give him until I get bored just sitting here in this cell.”
Chapter 8
“Ok. It’s been long enough.”
“What?” Zoe raised her head from where she’d been resting. “It hasn’t been more than a couple of hours,” she said.
Susan stood up and started banging on the side of the cell.
“Hello!” she called out. “I’m the ambassador of Earth! You wanted me? Ok! Here I am!”
“Susan, give it a few more hours,” Zoe pleaded.
Susan shook her head. “There’s no point in drawing out the inevitable, Zoe,” she said. “If we wait much longer, I’m fairly certain that unpleasant Zrirc fellow is going to get impatient. There are more direct methods of obtaining information than slowing starving us. Do you want him to start torturing us?”
“I thought you were taught ways to withstand torture,” Zoe insisted stubbornly.
“Yeah, but you aren’t, and even I won’t last forever. Let’s deal with this on our terms. There’s a good chance he’ll let you go, and then maybe you can get the word out to the Earth Alliance.”
The door to the brig opened, and Zrirc strode in. He grinned widely as he eyed Zoe and Susan in their cell.
“I hear one of you has confessed to being the ambassador of Earth.” He leaned forward on his toes, and Zoe’s lip curled. He was practically bouncing in excitement.
Zrirc hooked his thumbs in his belt. “I can’t tell you how pleased I am that we’ll be able to deal with this matter in a civil manner.” A smile teased his lips. “Now, which one of you is the ambassador of Earth?” He glanced back and forth between the women.
“Me. I am.” Susan stepped forward.
Zrirc eyed her. “Can you prove it?”
“Show my face to the buyer, and he’ll know it’s me.” Susan raised an eyebrow. “Assuming the buyer knows what he’s purchasing.”
Zrirc laughed. “Good point!” he admitted. He rubbed his hands together. “Well,” he said. “Let’s find out if you’re telling the truth.”
“I thought you said we knew their location.” Je’lak pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to take deep breaths.
Kynt looked up. “We saw the pod, but after we set our course, it disappeared.”
“What do you mean disappeared?” Je’lak was nearly at the end of his rope.
“It just vanished off our radar without a trace.”
“Someone on the asteroid must have seen what happened. Hail them and find out. They didn’t just disappear on their own.”
Je’lak felt an unpleasant sensation build in the pit of his stomach. What had happened to Zoe and the ambassador? If he hadn’t been so on edge, it would have amused him to realize that he was more worried about Zoe than his cargo. As it was, he could only focus on the fact that she had once again executed an escape attempt that was more likely to kill her than get her to safety.
Je’lak stilled as a thought crossed his mind. Maybe her escape pod had exploded? But, no, if it had exploded, then there would still be debris at this location.
“What can we help you with?” An alien appeared on the screen, interrupting Je’lak’s line of thinking. The alien’s face was marked with green circles and four antennae that rose high above his head.
Je’lak didn’t waste any time on pleasantries. “There was an escape pod near your asteroid, but it disappeared from our sensors. Did it land?”
The alien’s eyes narrowed. “And why would I tell you?”
Je’lak didn’t have time for this. He signaled Ji’hun and Kynt. “Right now, our weapons are trained on your base. Unless I’m mistaken, you don’t have any weapons with which to defend yourself.”
The green circles on the alien’s face changed color, turning darker. Je’lak could tell he was afraid.
“Now, will you tell me what I want to know, or should I blow your asteroid in
to smithereens?” He was bluffing, but he was betting the alien would cave.
As expected, the alien’s antennae began wiggling frantically, words spilling from his mouth. “We saw the pod, yes, we saw it,” he babbled. “It was coming in for a landing, but another ship came out of nowhere and took it before we could do anything.”
“What other ship?”
“They didn’t identify themselves. I can send our scans of the ship to you though.”
“Do it.”
The alien disappeared from the screen for a second, and then reappeared. “You should have it, any second.”
Kynt raised his head. “We have it,” he confirmed.
Je’lak strode over to Kynt’s console.
The alien interrupted. “Can I assume our asteroid is safe?” he asked.
“Yes.” Je’lak had gotten want he wanted. There was no reason for him to harm any of these people.
The alien immediately broke the connection and disappeared from the screen.
“Shit.”
“What is it?” Je’lak peered over Kynt’s shoulder. “Is that the ship?”
“Yes.”
“Shit,” Je’lak parroted.
“Looks like Zrirc got them.”
Across the bridge, Ji’hun raised his eyebrows.
Sparks flew as Je’lak slammed a fist against the console. “Find their ship’s trail and get us moving,” he ground out. “Now!”
“Right!” Kynt said, swinging into action and laying out a course.
Zrirc had better not harm Zoe, or Je’lak was going to kill him with his bare hands.
All Daen’su captains were at least passing rivals, since they competed for the same jobs. Zrirc, though, had it out for Je’lak. If he realized that Je’lak cared for Zoe…
Je’lak fell back into the captain’s chair. His fingers tapped impatiently on the chair arm. He’d just have to wait and see what Zrirc was up to.
“I can’t believe you did that.”
“At least we have food now.” Susan munched down on one of the bars they’d been given.
“I wouldn’t call it food.” Zoe eyed her bar dubiously.