by Cook, M. L.
Jannette scanned the area, then saw a dark figure stalking toward them. As whoever it was got closer, the form began to take shape. That’s when Jannette realized it had to be a female Terrapian. She was also tall, but not nearly as tall as the seven-foot male who was now lying at their feet.
The woman stopped beside the gate. Then leaning against the block wall, she asked, “Who are you and why are you here?” When Jannette glanced at the downed male, then back toward the camp, the female said, “He’s dead and everyone else is asleep.”
That’s when Jannette realized just how important hair was, long hair, short hair, brown, blonde, whatever. Without it, how could she tell if this was Naomi? Tiana had told her that Naomi had very light green skin, but under the sliver of a moon, who could tell? Shrugging off her reluctance, she asked, “Naomi?”
That got her attention. She was through the gate while tugging Jannette and Stacy behind her. After walking several feet, she ducked behind a ship, then demanded, “I would imagine since you know my name, Tiana sent you. Now before we get caught, do you want to tell me why you’re here?”
Jannette explained her plan, then pulled the thumb drive out of her pocket. Showing it to Naomi, she asked, “Do you have a way of uploading this to your computers?”
Naomi was silent for a moment, then in a soft voice, queried, “Since Aquino isn’t here with you, I’m assuming something happened to him?”
Jannette gave a sharp nod while choking on a sob. Shaking her head, she chastised herself. She needed to get her shit together before she got all of them killed.
Naomi gave Jannette’s shoulder a quick squeeze, then murmured, “I’m very sorry. He was a good male, a very important male. He will be missed.” She glanced at Stacy, then back to Jannette, and ordered, “Now, stay down, stay quiet, and follow me.” She looked back at the two women, then snorted a laugh and said, “Or just stay quiet. I forgot how short you humans are.”
Jannette fought back the urge to respond with a snarky reply. Giving the alien her complete trust was totally against everything Jannette ever thought she would do. But she did it now. If Tiana said Naomi could be trusted, she could be trusted.
Together the three women wove through row upon row of spaceships. Since they all looked exactly alike, Jannette was starting to get nervous. Had she been set up? Was this even Naomi? If it was, could she have lied to Tiana? Naomi stopped when they reached the last row of ships.
After placing her hand against a plate, Naomi waited until a flashing red light went out. She then waved a hand in front of the same panel. A second later a door slid open. After motioning them forward, she turned around and repeated the process. Once the red light came back on, she turned back to Jannette, then said, “If they happen to glance over and notice one of the ships aren’t locked, we’ll be in trouble. Now we need to go to the communications center.” While they walked, small lights that were hidden in the passage, blinked on, then off. She led them down several corridors before stopping at one of the doors. As soon as they stopped walking, the door slipped open.
Once inside, the small room lit up. Against one wall, Jannette saw a desk in front of the alien equivalent of a computer. Several lights blinked on and off, while a low hum filled the silence.
Naomi sat down, then held her hand out, “Give me your storage device.”
Jannette’s hands were shaking, her palms sweating. Even though this had been their plan all along, she was reluctant to give up her last connection with Aquino. Then she realized she may not have to. Wrapping her fingers tighter around the thin memory stick, she asked, “Are your computers even compatible with ours?” Holding her breath, she waited for Naomi’s startled response, that Jannette was indeed correct.
It never came. Instead, she explained to Jannette, “We’ve been to planets much more primitive than yours. That’s when…,” she cleared her throat, “A program was written that can transfer information from all forms of storage.”
Jannette allowed Naomi’s unspoken words to sink in, then asserted, “Aquino, he was the one who invented it, wasn’t he?” As Jannette dropped the memory stick into Naomi’s hand, her apprehension shot up another notch. What if the only way to transfer that information was to destroy whatever contained it.
Naomi pressed a button and a small drawer popped out. After dropping the flash drive in, she pressed against the drawer, and it was gone.
Jannette’s mouth went dry. While waiting, she impatiently shuffled from one foot to the other while slapping a hand against her thigh. When it didn’t immediately spit the drive out, she exclaimed, “It doesn’t destroy—”
The drawer popped open again. Naomi scooped the small object out and dropped it in Jannette’s hand. “Everything that was on there, still is. If it worked in your devices before, it will again. Even if it’d been damaged before I got it, most of the time we can still retrieve the information.”
Relieved to have her only connection with Aquino back, her breath exploded in a loud exhale. Tilting her head, Jannette remarked, “You sure do know a lot about this stuff. Tiana said the women on your planet aren’t treated the same as the men. Including going to school and learning how to do things like this.”
Naomi smiled, then said, “Exactly. That’s just one of the reasons we’re fighting for change.” A Look of alarm crossed her face. Cocking her head, she held a hand up to quiet them. Fear crossed her features as her light green skin paled even more. Holding a finger to her lips, she motioned for them to follow her.
After stepping into the hallway, she pressed a button. A second later all the lights went out. Leaning closer to Jannette, she gripped her hand and whispered, “I know you can’t see, but you need to trust me right now. In less than a minute the doors will open and every light in the ship will come on.” She pulled them through the dark before stopping.
Jannette heard the soft whoosh of a door sliding open before she was tugged inside. She tried to quiet her suddenly too loud footfalls against the metal floor. A minute later, Jannette was shoved against the wall. She felt Stacy’s shoulder bump against her own, then Naomi whispered, “Don’t move and no matter what, stay quiet!”
She didn’t know where they were, or what was happening. Squeezing Stacy’s hand, she leaned closer and whispered, “I thought the lights were supposed to come on. What do you think is happening?”
She felt a thump against her head, before feeling a cheek brush against hers. A palm locked over her mouth before Naomi’s words whispered in her ear, “Does quiet not mean the same thing on Earth as it does everywhere else?”
Jannette stood stock still and waited while trying to keep her breath even. She knew that now would be the worse time to start hyperventilating. The absolute darkness brought flashbacks of being trapped beneath the same wreckage that had taken everything from her so many years ago. Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to focus on something else. The absurdity of what came to her almost caused a laugh to burst out. The names of her animals, along with the images of each one, was exactly what she needed to calm down. She was halfway through naming her chickens when she realized the floor was vibrating. Tilting her head, she listened and waited. Then along with the vibrations came the low hum of engines. While the minutes ticked off, the vibrations increased, as did the rumble of motors coming to life. Several minutes passed and the floor went from a steady tremor to outright shaking. The low hum was then replaced by the roar of engines pushed to maximum. A minute later, her feet left the floor. Jannette’s hands frantically swept the empty space in front of her as she grasped for something, anything to latch onto. Just as she’d given up hope of saving herself, a hand encircled her ankle and yanked her down a few seconds before gravity was restored.
When the lights came on, Jannette realized they were in a storage room. The crates were stacked floor to ceiling with just enough room for them to squeeze in behind. Staring up at the stack that had to be at least twenty feet high, Jannette found she was grateful for the Terrapian’s attention to de
tail. If the containers had been thrown up haphazardly, the three women would have been crushed. Then as her gaze swept the room, she realized how wrong she was and how close they’d come to dying. Several stacks had fallen backwards, leaving only a hair’s breadth between the crates and the walls.
Naomi stepped from behind their stack. Then looking at the two women, she declared, “We are, as you humans would say, screwed.”
Chapter Sixteen
Brooke grumbled then threw the flap of their sleeping bag aside, “What the hell?”
Sitting on the edge of their shared sleeping bag, Dante turned around and mumbled, “Sorry. I need to get ready to go. Are you going to see us off?”
Growling in frustration, she grabbed a pair of sweats and disappeared beneath the covers. A moment later she crawled out and started searching for her slippers. Of course, if she’d opened her eyes, the search might have gone faster. Slapping her hands around the edges of the tent, she mumbled, “Where are they…”
She sat back when Dante shoved the illusive fuzzy slippers into her hands.
Mumbling her thanks, Brooke laid back and shoved her feet into the warmth.
Dante chuckled while he watched his mate. “Why don’t you go get us some coffee while I start loading supplies into the SUV?”
Brooke stared at him through the tangled mess of her long brown locks. Blinking, she tried to focus on what he was saying. Finally giving up, she shook her head and told him, “I’m going to go get us some coffee, while you go and do whatever it is you have to do.” When she turned to crawl out of the tent, she heard Dante’s laughter.
“You do that, fearless leader,” he said crawling out behind her.
She laughed, wiggled her ass, then said, “And don’t you forget it.”
Standing beside the tent, she struggled to get her balance. Just as she was about to topple over, Dante grabbed her arms and began guiding her toward the house. The house where she’d find her much needed coffee.
Dante pulled her into his arms when they got to the porch, kissed her, then said, “Go inside and get your coffee. After that, sit down and get awake before you attempt to do anything else.”
Smiling up at him, she nodded, then said, “How did I get so lucky?”
He bopped her nose, then said, “Go fierce warrior. I’ll be back in for my coffee in a few minutes.”
Stepping through the door, Brooke knew at once that something was wrong. After backing out, she whispered, “Dante, something’s off.”
Her huge Felidian warrior leapt onto the porch, immediately followed by his brother. She knew their hearing was good, but damn.
The two males rushed inside to search for any threat. They prowled from room to room. They searched behind furniture and in every dark corner, leaving nothing to chance. They paused only a moment outside the closed bedroom door. The last thing they wanted to do was disturb the new parents and their children. Before they got a chance to step away, the door was pulled open.
Travis looked around, then in a low voice, he asked, “What’s wrong?”
The only scents Dante detected was coming from the bedroom. They were alone in the house. Shaking his head, he replied, “Brooke said something’s wrong. I scent no danger.”
Travis glanced toward the dark kitchen, then asked, “Well do you smell breakfast cooking? No? Do you know why?”
Dante studied the male for a moment before alarm filled him. “Where’s Jannette?” He glanced back at his brother, then ordered, “You check her tent. Travis—”
Travis stopped him, “I’m not leaving my family.”
Dante nodded, then replied, “Of course. Does Tiana know—”
Tiana pushed past Travis, “I’m on it.” She stabbed a finger in Dante’s face and ordered, “You just find my friend!”
Dante nodded, then headed for his mate. Stepping onto the porch, he found Brooke and Aubree huddled together on the swing.
When Brooke saw Dante, she rushed toward him. Then grabbing his arm, she looked into his eyes, and pleaded, “Where’s Jannette?”
He shook his head, then said, “I don’t know. But you can bet we won’t stop looking until we find her.”
Fifteen minutes later, everybody was awake and searching for the missing woman.
Everybody was still searching when Macie stepped into the house. The young girl had blossomed in the past few months, all thanks to Lacey.
Since coming to the farm, she become one of their biggest assets. They soon found out there wasn’t anything she couldn’t fix, cars, radios, and everything between. Her people skills had come in handy more than once. She had a sense about people, knowing who needed to be encouraged, who’s position needed to be elevated, as well as those who couldn’t be trusted.
She was on a first name basis with every person in the camp. Not only that, but she knew everything about them. She knew who’d suffered losses, small and large. Brooke remembered the day she’d found Macie talking to an older woman. After the attack, she’d lost her dog when the house fell. Macie was busy explaining to her about what good pets chickens made. The woman walked away with a smile on her face and a baby chick in her hand.
The grim look on Macie’s face told her that there was more than just Jannette’s absence to worry about. “She’s not the only one missing. Stacy’s gone as well. Jannette took a pack, Stacy took nothing.”
Brooke was stunned, “How… how did you…?”
“Jannette had a backpack sitting in the corner of her tent. It’s gone. Stacy had a lot of mementos that were important to her. You might not know it, but Stacy had a sister. Let’s just say things didn’t end well for her.” When Brooke looked like she was going to question it, Macie shook her head and said, “Not my story to tell.”
Brooke nodded, then said, “Okay, so two women are missing.”
Macie held a hand up, “Three. Roni’s also missing.”
Before Brooke could ask more, Jay walked in. He nodded at Macie, then said, “Would You tell Lacey I’ll be there in just a few minutes.” He stepped back and watched her head toward the big barn in the back. Turning to see the quizzical look on Brooke and Aubree’s faces. He grinned then said, “Did you know there’s an old wood stove set up in the barn? Anyway, I’ve got to get back to Quin. I just wanted to tell you there’s a car missing. My guess is that Jannette decided to either go looking for Aquino or to get some revenge.”
Brooke nodded, then asked, “Quin?”
Aubree grabbed Brooke’s arm then explained, “When he asked for name suggestions, that was mine.” She choked on a sob, “After Aquino.”
Jay put an arm around Aubree’s shoulder, then said, “It’ll be okay. I have a good feeling about Aquino.”
She looked up at him, then said, “That’s not what you told Jannette.”
He shook his head, then continued, “Now you know why I didn’t tell her what I thought. If he’s alive, he’ll find his way back here. Jannette’s his mate…” He cursed, “Damn, you’re right. I should have. But I didn’t want to get her hopes up. If she’d gone back to that wreckage, no telling what would have happened. Anyway, I wanted to tell you… Dante left with a few others to search for a place to move our camp. Pete got a few others and went looking for Jannette. She made quite an impression on him.” He laughed, “He’s a pretty big guy and Jannette scared him.”
Brooke gave him a sad smile, then said, “She has a way of doing that.” She laughed, then added, “But never doubt that she’ll back her threats.”
Jay paled. Then his smile fell. With a single nod, he murmured, “Carson.”
***
Dante sat on the chair facing the couch. He leaned forward while his hands hung loosely between his legs. With a grim look on his face, he studied the people he’d gotten closest to since arriving on this planet. After a heavy sigh, he declared, “I’m sorry. We’ve waited as long as we can. Every minute that passes puts us in more danger. We need to leave. Now. Today. It’s been a week. If Jannette was coming back, she would h
ave been here by now.”
Brooke crumbled, weeping into her hands while loud sobs racked her body. Looking up she shook her head, then wailed, “Oh, Jannette, what am I going to do without you?”
***
Jannette leaned around the corner, then ducked back when laser fire narrowly missed her head. If she’d been just a few inches taller she’d be toast by now. It was one of the few times in her life she was grateful for her small stature. Closing her eyes, she pictured each of the Terrapians that were standing in the hall. Lunging around the corner, she dropped to her knees and fired. One, two, three, and four. A small round hole appeared in each Terrapian’s head half a second before they dropped.
Standing again, she stalked toward the last room. A narrow white beam shot past her and into a tall puke colored Terrapian that had just rushed into the hall from the crew quarters. Turning around she said, “Thanks, Wyatt.”
The seven and a half-foot Terrapian smiled down at Jannette. “My pleasure mate of my cousin.”
Jannette frowned, “I told you not to call me that.” Jannette felt a moment of regret when he smirked then winked. Wyatt was as opposite from Aquino as one could be. Wyatt was nearly a foot taller than her Terrapian. Where Aquino was a dark mossy green, Wyatt skin fell between the normal greens and browns, landing somewhere around the color of dark, slimy, green mud. When she’d heard he had a cousin, she was beyond thrilled at the prospect of finding someone who would remind her of the man she’d lost. She had no idea that she’d find someone more like her, instead. He got her sarcasm, which was something Aquino never had.