He didn’t know. He turned away, rubbing the back of his neck. What should he do? He stood up and started pacing by the end of the bed, making quick, abrupt circuits.
“Zee?” Ellie stood, reaching out to him, but not getting in the way of his pacing.
He stopped and turned to her, his hands dropping to his sides in defeat. “I just don’t know. This is all I can think to do.”
It was early morning as Ellie crouched outside the enemy camp behind Zee. She couldn’t believe he’d convinced her to come out here again. It hadn’t even taken much convincing. He’d just stood there with that lost puppy expression on his face and said he didn’t know, and she’d been lost.
When had she lost her independence?
She’d always made her own decisions and to hell with what anyone else said. It was probably one of the reasons she’d chosen such a solitary profession. Hell, being a cargo ship captain wasn’t even usually solitary. She’d somehow managed to make it so.
Ellie resisted the urge to sigh. They were too close, and she could hear the first stirrings of the enemy rising for the day. Feet shuffled across the arid dirt in the center of camp or stomped down the ship’s ramp. Aliens chattered in a language neither of them could understand. She and Zee were still deep in the shadows of the forest, but she could see the warming colors of dawn on the horizon, casting its fingers into the trees.
We need to get started.
Raising her arm, she tapped on her watch until the bot at her side came to attention and rushed off to do its job.
Before her, Zee motioned her forward. She recognized the action from previous times he’d used it, though he still hadn’t explained it. She suspected it was a military hand signal.
They slinked just inside the shadows of the trees until they reached the command tent, the one with the maps. Ellie turned on the recorder on her watch, and they approached, settling in just behind the tent.
It occurred to her as she settled in for a long wait, the ground hard and dusty beneath her, that it was probably some small miracle that no one had ever come behind the tent while they were there. Did they never do patrols of the perimeter? Were they so confident of their anonymity and the uninhabited nature of this planet that they thought they had nothing to fear?
Her body tensed as she half convinced herself that someone would come around the corner at any moment and yell as they spotted the two of them. She looked to Zee, but he was all business, his expression giving nothing away as he sat at attention next to her, his focus clearly on the interior of the tent.
She sighed quietly and tried to relax.
It was going to be a long day.
Ellie’s jaw cracked as she yawned, trying hard not to make a sound. They’d been sitting outside the command tent for hours now, and she was bored to tears. Literally. Moisture beaded at the edges of her eyes from yawning so much.
Zee, on the other hand, crouched by the thick material as if he’d just arrived. He was like a statue, unmoving and weathering time without issue. She didn’t know how he did it. Ellie was ready to get up and run circuits around the camp just to work off this restless energy, but he just waited.
What drove him? Was it his unit? Her mind summoned another mental picture of the decaying bodies, and she shook her head, trying to rid herself of the image. She released a relaxing breath. There was something alarming about seeing that scene, even though she hadn’t known any of them. It made her heart race each time her brain conjured it up.
Just don’t. Stop.
She pushed on with her previous line of thinking. What else could be driving him? Was it completing his mission? Saving the people of that colony? She had to admit that, at first, she’d just wanted to figure out who’d shot up her ship and why. She hadn’t been real happy with Zee at the time, and if he hadn’t saved her then, she would have wanted to have nothing to do with him. Ellie would have run circuits through the forest indefinitely if that meant he didn’t steal her ship.
But somewhere along the line, something had changed. Was it when she found out about the planned attack on that colony? She didn’t know them. They were just a distant concept to her, but that didn’t stop her obligation to them. It frustrated her a little that there was no one else to help. It felt a little like a noose tightening around her. Her options and choices were being squeezed out of her. She couldn’t just leave. That would make her a monster.
And she liked Zee. She wasn’t sure when that had happened. And it wasn’t just attraction. You could hate someone and still jump their bones. No, she actually liked him, even now when he was being weird and silent. She honestly couldn’t say what she liked about him. He was stubborn, and they had no common experiences. She couldn’t honestly figure how they related to each other.
Or how we’ll relate once this is all over.
Ellie sighed and admitted to herself this was probably a temporary fling. Once the colony was saved, this relationship they shared would probably fizzle out and die a natural death. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that, but it would have to be fine. She would have to get over it.
Zee lifted his hand, and Ellie jerked herself out of her thoughts, stilling like he’d done all day now. There was a rustling of fabric and feet shuffling close by. Ellie leaned forward and checked that her watch was still recording.
It was.
Voices grumbled as they gathered together, unintelligible to her ears. Perhaps they were speaking the Thunnus’s language.
Then the one Zee had identified as a Pardus spoke up. “Show me again your plans. I want to know everything will be perfect before I leave.”
Someone scoffed. “We are Thunnus. Of course, it is perfect.” Feet moved across the tent, and Ellie suspected they were moving to the map table. “Our ships are currently cloaked outside Balaena’s sensor range. In three days’ time, our ships, still fully cloaked, will converge on the planet, taking out long-range communications here. Then we will take out the planetary defense strongholds here and here.”
Ellie turned away, tuning out the rest. Her watch was still recording. Their words washed over her, and she looked over at Zee. He was staring back, and the look he gave her made her stomach churn threateningly.
We’re in deep shit.
Zee’s mind raced with the implications of the data they’d collected. Three days. They only had three days. Could they get a message to military command in time? He didn’t know. He didn’t plan missions. People told him where to go, and he went. He’d never been one to pay attention to how long it took to get there. If it took a day Fine. A week? So be it. It didn’t matter to him.
But how long would it take for the military to show up to defend Ezzaruh?
He curled his arms tighter around Ellie as she sped their vehicle toward her ship. They had to launch immediately. They needed to get outside the range of that jamming signal, whatever it was. He needed to either send from Ellie’s ship once they had long-range communications back, or he needed to convince someone in Ezzaruh to cooperate.
Would they make it? He didn’t know. They stopped just outside the ship, and Ellie jumped off, her feet sending up puffs of dust as she ran. She lifted her wrist and tapped her watch. The side ramp opened this time, instead of the one for the cargo bay. She rushed inside and disappeared while Zee was still untangling himself from their vehicle. His joints popped ominously as he unfolded himself.
A quick stretch, and he rushed after her. With his longer legs, he reached the hallway in moments. He spotted her slipping into the cargo bay. Dashing forward, he stopped in the doorway. She clipped her gear to the wall in a rush, none of it in place properly. It was going to flop all over if the ship moved.
She turned and jerked in place when she spotted him. “I think it’s time for us to go.”
He nodded. “I agree. We only have three days to prepare a defense for Ezzaruh.”
“Hey!” She pointed a finger at him. “I’m not part of that. I’m just helping out because there’s no one else. Once we
deliver our message, I’m done.”
Zee stiffened, his heart twisting in his chest. Done? What did she mean by that?
“Come on,” she said, as she pushed past him. “Angus can analyze the new data once we take off.”
He nodded and slinked behind her, not paying attention to where they were going. He felt rejected, though he held out a smidgeon of hope that she hadn’t included himself in her statement.
But should he? Was there any hope? She hadn’t spoken of her feelings, had she?
Ellie stopped at each door, opening them and checking the contents, then closing each one with a click. Galley, machine shop, gym, a room with a bed.
Then Angus broke the pregnant silence between them. “Um…”
Ellie froze and looked up. Zee stopped abruptly to keep from trampling her, but the tone in Angus’s voice sent chills down his spine. He knew that tone.
“I may have been detected attempting to crack the encryption on local transmissions…”
“What?!” Ellie said, her body going stiff.
“What’s our exposure risk?” Zee said, stepping toward the speaker.
“It might not matter. I am also detecting irregular movement in the trees. I believe we are now surrounded.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Zee raced to the control room, Ellie close behind him. Their footsteps pounded on the flooring, ringing out into the utter silence.
Too quiet.
He didn’t like it. Working in the military as long as he had, he trusted chaos. Stillness often preceded death.
They skidded to a halt, his gaze skittering over the display. “Report,” he barked.
“Angus, bring up external cameras,” Ellie said as she reared up beside him.
In front of them, the display filled with small boxes of video. He recognized each, but his brain took precious moments to organize them geographically. Many Thunnus swarmed the ship on all sides, pouring into the clearing around them.
“What are our weapon and shielding capabilities?”
“Um…” Ellie hedged.
He looked down at her, but she wouldn’t meet his gaze. “Ellie?”
“None?” she said, her voice high.
“What? How could there be none? That’s madness.”
“Hey!” She poked him in the chest, wincing as her finger made contact with the unyielding armor and bent. She recovered quickly, glaring up at him as she propped her fists on her hips. “I’ve never needed them in atmosphere, damn it.” She pulled back, counting off points on her fingers. “The shielding works in space alone, and I only have one defensive weapon.”
“What is it?” He ground his teeth, knowing he wouldn’t like her answer.
She looked over at the videos, studying them, and shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. It won’t do us any good.”
“What is it?” he insisted.
She turned back to him. “It’s a pulse generator.”
Zee shook his head, his mind drawing a blank.
Angus piped in. “A pulse generator shuts down all unshielded systems within the generator’s radius.”
He looked up at the speaker. Why would anyone need a pulse generator? He looked back at Ellie. His expression asked the question he didn’t voice. Why?
“In space, I just need to run. It knocks out engines and life support. The other ship is too busy trying to get their systems back online to follow.”
He nodded. He supposed it made sense for a cargo ship. She wasn’t a soldier, probably didn’t have the heart or the skill to take out her enemies. He turned back to the screen where the enemy were lifting their weapons, ready to fire. He sighed. “We’re sitting ducks.”
“Stop shooting my ship!” Ellie screeched, running forward as the little red bastards opened fire from all sides. Hollow thuds echoed down the halls behind her as each shot found its target.
“We have to get out of here, Ellie. Strap in,” Zee said as he jumped into a seat and strapped in with a grace she couldn’t possibly accomplish.
“Angus, take off!” she yelled as she followed suit, fumbling with her harness.
Where the fuck is the buckle?
Fuck it. Next time she talked to Victoria, she was suggesting magnetic clasps. Better in a crisis.
The thuds and pings of ammunition hitting the hull continued as the engines hummed to life like gale force winds assaulting her ears. She held on tight, her fingers digging into the leather. She ran her thumbs over the stitching, focusing on that detail as the ship took off.
I hate this part.
Her body slammed into her seat, glued there as the ship accelerated at rates that left her breathless.
“Hacht,” Zee said beside her.
She wanted to look over at him, but feared her head would get stuck, held in an awkward angle until the g forces subsided.
Time ground to a crawl as the view before her changed. Trees shrank, and mountains disappeared below. Their nose rocketed through clouds and pulled out the other side, the horizon darkening and turning black.
Ellie let out a slow breath as her body relaxed. At the edge of the display, the planet hovered, big and beautiful in spite of their history together.
“We are now in geostationary orbit,” Angus said.
“That was intense.” Ellie looked over at Zee with a weak smile.
“Just a standard mission,” Zee said.
What the hell does he call FUBAR?
Angus cleared his throat. “I am receiving batched messages.”
Ellie leaned forward. “We have comms back.”
“Aye.”
Ellie sighed, sagging in her seat. “Play them please.”
“I would rather not.”
“Why the hell not?”
“They are from Cass.”
Ellie raised an eyebrow at Angus, wondering what the hell types of messages Cass had left to have Angus not wanting to play them? “Play a sample?”
“Very well.”
Cass’s voice cut through the air. “Why the hell are you ignoring me?”
“Okay, enough.” Ellie didn’t need to hear more. She owed Cass a call, but they had more pressing concerns. She turned to Zee. “So we have comms. Now what?”
He popped his harness, stood, and scratched the back of his neck. “We have the information we gathered on planet.”
She leaned on the armrest. “But you already tried sending. You didn’t have any luck without proper equipment. And we need to compile the new data from today with the rest. Angus hasn’t done that yet.”
“That’s correct. We could travel to Balaena.”
She frowned. “That’s gonna take time, and there’s still no guarantee they’ll listen to us.” How long would it take to travel there? Would it already be too late? How close was it? She’d never thought to ask Angus.
He looked down at her, standing taller than before. “I’m a member of the Ateles military. One look at my face, my uniform, and that will be plain.”
“True…” she said hesitantly. There was something about his stance that made her wonder if he really believed that, but she decided to trust his words. What else could she do? “So we head in that direction?”
He nodded.
“Angus?”
“Plotting a course.”
“Thank you, Angus.” She sat, the armrest digging into her elbow. “Angus?”
“Aye, Ellie?”
“Download the data from my watch and create a data packet to hand over to the authorities. We need to summarize the data for easy briefing.”
“Of course. It’ll be done before we arrive.”
“Thanks.” She sat back in her seat, but didn’t feel relaxed at all. The biggest threat to their own safety was over. They’d escaped the planet and the Thunnus on it. There was no reason to believe they would be followed. Those guys had bigger fish to fry.
But it also didn’t sit well with her to do nothing. After days of information gathering, it felt strange to just sit back and twiddle her thumbs.
“Angus?”
“Aye, Ellie?”
“Is there any way you can search for the enemy ships we would expect to be out there?”
“Good idea,” Zee said. “That would be corroborating evidence of the imminent attack. If we could provide sensor data of the actual fleet, it would confirm the rest of the data and make it more credible.”
Angus cut it. “I’m afraid I do not have sufficient data at this time.”
“What do you mean?” Ellie said, leaning forward in her seat.
“Without knowing the enemy’s capabilities, I cannot say if our surveillance technology is capable or compatible.”
Ellie leaned back and sighed. “They did say they’d be cloaked.” She shook her head, frustrated at being thwarted.
Zee stepped up to the console, undeterred. “Look for these materials.” His fingers moved over the on-screen keyboard before stepping back. “Also, do you have composition data on the ship we surveilled?”
“Aye.”
“Scan for that as well. Also, scan for holes.”
“Holes?”
Ellie leaned toward Zee, whispering at him. “What do you mean by ‘holes’?”
“Most stealth technology in space does a good job of fooling scans looking for specific elements, but it often leaves holes in space, locations where light does not pass through. Essentially, the scans detect nothing, not even residual light.”
Ellie pointed. “Meaning there should be stars behind it, but there aren’t.”
He looked down at her. “Precisely.”
“Aye, that’ll do,” Angus said before going quiet.
Ellie stepped into her bedroom for privacy. She just knew Cass would throw a fit, and she didn’t want an audience for that. She walked up to the wall, hands held behind her back. “Angus, call Cass.”
Shifting Cargo (A Shift in Space Book 1) Page 14