by Layla Stone
Moving all the orders up onto the top Minky screens so that she could use the rest of her three-hundred-and-sixty-degree wrap-around setup for the upcoming transfers, she was able to get to work. The day before, she had finally compiled the list of the four hundred positions that needed to be filled.
She pulled up a transfer request and added in the several hundred job descriptions then loaded them into the quantum communicator under Federation Job Openings. In less than ten minutes, she was getting pings from those responding to the postings.
She opened one of the applications and started reading when her Minky screen pinged with a request for video communication. From Pax.
Letting her head fall back, she allowed three long seconds to pass before clearing her throat and pressing the accept button.
“Commander,” she greeted. In those few seconds, she saw five new application updates on her list. She was going to be at work all day—and night—to finish this.
“What is this list of weapons for?”
“I sent you the list of everything we have on board for your division.”
“Yeah, I got that—”
More applications kept flooding in, and the total number was now up to one hundred and thirty-three. She really needed to finish the transfers. In fact, the Demon’s interruption was keeping her from getting him any new security transfers.
She interrupted by saying, “You are the only one in your department. Your transfers will be here shortly. I will send you the list when I finish what I’m doing.” Then, she boldly terminated the call and pulled down the applications, doing reviews of each one, weeding through them as swiftly and accurately as she could.
Mentally tallying the numbers, she figured it would be hours before she finished. Hours on her feet, doing nothing but work.
Chapter Five
Survivors
Pax saw an alert that Sasha and Sci were arriving. Leaving his empty office, he headed down to the docking bay on level four. Both Sasha and Sci saw him as they exited the sloop, and without saying a word, Sasha rolled her hand urgently for him to follow.
The hellcat was faster than her husband. At one point, she grabbed Sci’s arm and pulled him toward the elevator.
Pax, Sci, and Sasha were soon in the elevator with the doors still open. “We have survivors down there. We have to help them.” Her words were thick with worry.
Pax let her turn him and glanced at Sci, who looked composed as usual. “You tell Ansel about it?”
Pax knew that Ansel and Sasha were the only people on the team that didn’t wear their cerebral blockers. Sci was a Cerebral, a race of telepaths with telekinetic abilities as well. There were times when Pax saw the benefits of that, but on the whole, Pax didn’t agree with someone being privy to every thought.
Sci answered, “Ansel is meeting us in the captain’s room.”
The elevator opened, and Clalls was suddenly inside. Pax didn’t say a word, and neither did the other two, but Clalls must have felt the energy. “Looks like I’m showing up to the info-party just in time.”
No one answered the Demon, but that didn’t stop him from following the group into the captain’s conference room. If Rannn didn’t want him there, he’d kick him out. Rannn didn’t kick him out. Pax didn’t have an issue with it, so he kept his mouth shut. Clalls communication officer skills would be a benefit to the discussion.
Rannn stood with his arms by his side at the end of the Minky table. No images projected above it at present. It was a simple-looking table. Ansel was the last to join.
Rannn looked at Sci. “Tell me about the survivors.”
Sci turned his ice-blue eyes to the captain. “Sasha ran infrared and noticed a lot of wildlife still alive, but from the visual spectrum, a lot also died. Likely from feeding off the infected bodies. I was able to connect to seven minds in the thousand miles we were able to comb over before you called us back.”
Sasha looked at the captain. “We can go down and pick them up and get them sanitized before they come aboard.”
Clalls shook his head. “They will need a lot of medical care. The medi-ship that was ordered should already be on their way. I put in the request myself.”
Ansel moved towards one of the chairs and grabbed the back. “I could easily help seven. But the math suggests there are more down there. The medical ships should do their job by taking care of the survivors and doing an investigation to find out what and where the disease started.”
Pax pointed at Ansel. “You can sanitize the survivors? Because we don’t want round two of a death ship.”
Ansel nodded. “I already have a lab in the belly of the ship. I can keep them there until they have been cleared.”
Rannn touched the table and made a voice call to Sands. Sands accepted after three rings.
“Captain?”
“Sands, how are the checks going?”
“I’m not going to make the hour deadline, but I will have all the checks done in two hours.”
“Perfect. I’m sending Sasha and Sci back down to the planet to pick up survivors. When they get back, we need to be on our way.”
“Will be ready by the time your Kooyan and Cerebral get back.”
Rannn terminated the transmission. “Go get them. And, Clalls, you’re going with them in case something happens where you have to get them yourself. You’re immune.”
Clalls’ head jerked back, and then he pointed a pale index finger at his toothy mouth. “Not sure if you noticed, but I’m not the most approachable-looking male.”
Rannn exhaled heavily through his nose. Pax decided that this was more his line of work and said, “Cap, I’ve got a guy in hydro and aquaponics that I’m sure would be up to the task. We can take him with us as we do the quick search for the seven. He’s immune and a Hetten.” Pax made sure to include himself on the mission since it was tactical, and he was the commander of weapons and tactical response.
Rannn nodded.
Pax smiled, happy to be leading a rescue mission. And if he were honest, he was darkly curious about what the planet looked like. He slapped his hands together. “All right, hellcat, let’s go for a quick flight.”
Chapter Six
Unauthorized Access
It was dark, and the moon had not risen yet to give much light. On the bridge, Pax watched the Minky screen that was connected to a night-vision camera. Lumps of half-eaten and half-decayed bodies covering the ground showed on-screen as they passed.
Pax’s upper lip curled at the sight.
Dol, who stood next to him looking at the bodies whispered, “This is exactly what it looked like.”
Sci stood off to the side near his wife, but still close to the Minky screen. “Two survivors hear us and are making their way towards the sound.”
Without Sci having to say a word, the ship slowed to a stop. Pax watched carefully for any movement. Three minutes later, he saw two males running their way.
“Dol.” Pax pointed to the container. “I want you to know I really appreciate you doing this. I know you may not want to live in a container until all the survivors are sanitized and cleared, but it’s better that they have someone to talk to. Someone who knows what’s going on.”
Dol nodded his head. “I hated not knowing what would happen to me. I’m just glad I can help someone else.” Then he turned and walked to the end of the ship and went through the double air-locked doors to the container that Ansel had set up. It had basic supplies, food, and the ability to wash, destroy their dirty clothes, and get new ones. It also would seal itself and be safe for transporting through the atmosphere and into space.
The transporter touched down. Sasha closed off the walkway from the aircraft to the container so the survivors couldn’t get inside the ship. Then she opened the door for the quarantine area. At the sound of Dol calling out to them, the men sprinted forward even faster than before.
Dol had his hand out and pulled both men up into the container,
and then Sasha closed the doors.
She was silent, but Pax knew that Sci was giving her telepathic directions. The ship began moving, and Pax turned on the audio for the container so he could listen to Dol explain who he was and what they were doing.
Dol also asked if both men had been to Yerg.
Both admitted they had, and had sworn never to return because they had gotten so sick.
Pax looked at Sci. “Ansel figured it out, didn’t he? He knew exactly where the cure would be.”
Sci turned. “Ansel is very smart and very driven to help others.”
“Do you harbor any resentment for him messing with your head?”
Sci turned back to the screen. “No. He did what he was told to do. And he did so thinking I would hurt the crew. “
Pax hadn’t trusted Sci when they first meet.
He was happy that Ansel had been able to disrupt his telepathic and telekinetic tendencies. But after they had been captured together by space pirates, Pax saw the benefit of having a telepath in the group.
Sci’s eyebrows flinched. “There is another survivor here. But she is terrified. She’s trying to hide until we leave.”
“We can send Dol,” Pax said and flicked on the voice call to tell the male to go and get the survivor. Being an empath, Dol would be able to control her emotions and lull her into feeling safer so that she didn’t fear coming on board.
Sci stopped him and pointed at the screen. “She’s armed, and she shoved herself into a hole between the walls.” Sci tapped again. “And she just realized that we’re not moving on. I can bring her to us, but she’s not going to like it.”
“How do you plan to do that?” Pax asked, wondering if this was when he’d find out that Cerebrals really could take over someone’s mind.
“I’m telekinetic, remember? I can lift her up and bring her here.”
Pax whistled, pleased with Sci’s answer. “She’s going to be pissed.” Then he smiled. “Do it.”
***
All seven survivors had been gathered. Pax was with Sci when he reported the names of the survivors and all of the information he’d gleaned from their minds to the captain. Ansel was already processing their vitals.
Inside the container next to the lab on the outside of the ship, all the survivors had been cleaned, fed, and re-dressed. All seven, including the female who Sci had lifted out of her hiding spot, were grateful to be off the planet.
Six hours had passed since Garna took off towards Brica, and Pax assumed that Vivra would have more information for him.
In his empty office, his Minky screen was on, playing Kirca music because he hated the silence. There were some things that he couldn’t abide, one was quiet. He could endure being alone, at least for a time, but silence for any amount of time was too much.
He cracked his neck by tilting his head to the side and tried to focus on the weapons inventory.
Main tactical weapons: railguns, torpedoes, cannons, and anti-torpedo measures.
Fighter ship weapons: nebula missiles. Magnetic pulse missiles. Sensor-disruptor missiles. Chaffs. And angle flares.
Land defense weapons: toy-crawlers, Red Windsors, and fully armored medical transporters.
Hand-held weapons: multi-phasers.
The weapons list was fine, but Pax needed to know more about Brica.
Selecting Vivra’s name, he initiated a voice call on the Minky screen, lowering the music but not turning it off. Three prompts later, he heard her voice. “Commander.”
“I need the numbers for how many workers are in that mine. Their schedules, everything.”
He heard her exhale loudly as if he were putting her out. “I’m working on it.”
“Still working?” he asked impolitely, letting her know that he thought she was taking too long. He still needed her to know where he stood.
There were several moments of silence. Pax wished he had initiated a video call.
“Clalls has pinged the Cenlura mine every fifteen minutes. We can verify the transmission’s being received, but there has been no response.” Pax didn’t miss that the action had been done by Clalls and not her.
“Cenlura can’t be the only mine on that planet. How many others are there? Have they been attacked, too? It’s hard to plan a mission with no information.”
He heard her breathing but nothing else. He hoped that she was doing something productive, but she sounded scattered. Pax felt that a ship only ran as efficiently as the least-productive crew member. If she couldn’t keep up with her job, then something needed to be done.
She had a lot of responsibilities before and during his mission. He would need to depend on her.
“…I don’t know.”
Not helpful. “How did you find the contact number for Cenlura mine? Where it located on the planet?”
Silence.
“Vivra?”
“I don’t know current specifics, but about fifty years ago, there were thirty-eight active mines. Cenlura had just over fifteen hundred workers, and it’s an underground mine.”
Fifty years ago? What good was that information? “I’m going to need something a little closer to this star year, sweetheart?” The sweetheart just came out because he was from Kirca, and Demons calling things they liked sweet things was natural. He also knew it would be an issue the second it came out of his mouth.
“I’m not your sweetheart, and if you call me that again, I’ll file a report.”
He was not afraid of her report. So, he continued, “And I’ll file a report if you can’t do your job. Now, get me something I can use, not a history report on what happened fifty years ago.”
The line went dead.
She had terminated the call.
He stared at the black screen. “How very unprofessional, Vivra.”
Sending out another request for communication, he initiated a video call. She accepted but ignored him. Speaking to another Minky screen, she said, “Clalls, the Merimore just arrived to pick up their shipment from Ula.” Vivra’s eyes looked at another screen, then they narrowed, and she whispered something to herself.
Pax was about to say something about her terminating the call insubordinately when she cursed and then cut her eyes at the video call he had established with her. “I’m busy right now, Commander, you’re going to have to wait for more information.” And then the video communication ended, as well.
Pax stood up. Stuffing his Minky pad into the side pocket of his pants, he left his office.
Vivra, sweetheart, I don’t think you understand how this whole thing works. He wasn’t going to stop being a commander. He had a job to do, and he would push her until he got the information he needed. Besides, he was a Red Demon….
Vivra’s office was on level six. Stepping inside logistics, he saw a wall of transparent Minky screens. There had to be at least forty of them, and one that wrapped in a full circle around her desk with only a space to enter. Vivra was in the middle, her fingers typing furiously, her eyes switching back and forth between three screens to her immediate right.
Her nose flared before she said, “As I said, Captain An-Kor, Brica is off-limits until the threat is contained.” Then she touched something on the screen, and the video communication with Clalls popped up. She told him, “The captain says the Ula mine is nowhere near the Cenlura and should be out of the danger zone.”
Clalls’ voice echoed from one of the Minky screens. “What’s the ship’s name again?”
“The Merimore.”
“Got it. It’s an eve cargo ship…initiating ping.” A few moments of silence passed. Pax watched the two of them working, and wasn’t sure when and where to interject his authority to get some sort of control over the lack of security on the planet.
Clalls’ dragon teeth were exposed as he spoke. “Captain An-Kor. This is Garner’s communications officer, Clalls. Under the orders of Admiral Orin, I’m ordering you back to your ship. You need to relocate to s
tar point 43.546 immediately.”
A male voice carried over the Minky screen. “I have a shipment to pick up, and a deadline to make. I am aware of the threat and take full responsibility for my crew. But I am approaching, and unless my instruments are broken, you’re nowhere in the vicinity to stop me.” An-Kor’s voice sounded old and scratchy.
Clalls responded threateningly. “There is a full stop for Brica. You are entering unauthorized airspace. I am sending you the orders now. You will not enter that planet’s atmosphere.”
Vivra touched her earpiece, and Pax heard her say “Yes, I’ll wait.” Then she gave him a small shrug and moved her head to the side as if shielding the noise from the Minky screen with her voice call.
With a smile on her lips, she then said, “Hi, Admiral. It’s Vivra.”
The crotchety captain also spoke, but he was responding to Clalls. “I may not be Federation, Clalls, but you should understand the meaning of keeping your word. And I’m keeping mine. You can’t stop me. And that’s justification enough for me to keep going.”
Pax had missed what Vivra had said to the admiral, but he didn’t miss the lighthearted laugh before she added, “I’ll patch you through now.”
Pax really had no control over the situation. And, he had to admit, it was being handled decently, so there was nothing to be gained by interjecting himself.
“Captain An-Kor. This is Admiral Orin.” Way too many calls going on at the same time, in Pax’s opinion. “I’m ordering you to back away from Brica immediately.”
“Well, Admiral, we have a little bit of a problem then because I am already descending and unable to change trajectory until I’m out of the planet’s thermosphere.”
That made sense, the cargo ship was enormous, but the captain shouldn’t have entered in the first place. Pax was enthralled by the resourcefulness of the sweet beauty who didn’t hesitate to call up an admiral. It made her even sexier. Bold and resourceful? He might need more than one night with her.