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“I wasn’t allowed near the Ke’ters or asked for any input from Commander Alderson. Have you met him?”
“Unfortunately.”
“Then you know how he is. He didn’t give me this job. Big M raved me up to one of the admirals he knows, probably asked a favor to get me assigned to the Gorison Traveler to keep our family together. I just recently got assigned here. The commander was pissed. He had some old buddy handpicked for this job, but when I asked Professor Regal about him, she’d never heard of him before.”
“Professor Regal?”
“She’s basically in charge of all information collected on alien races. She sends cultural specialists updates to keep us current. This guy wasn’t even on her radar, which means―”
“He doesn’t actually know much about aliens,” Abby cut in. “Got it. Met the type. Set in his ways and doesn’t care to learn anything new.” She paused. “It’s a thirty-two digit bypass code. You better be for real, Vivian Goss. I’m risking my ass by trusting you. Keep me updated. That’s all I ask.”
“You got it.” Vivian turned in the chair, facing external coms, and put her hand on the digital pad. “I’m ready.”
She followed Abby’s directions, carefully punching in each number. The long-range transmission station came fully online, giving her access. “I’m in. Now what?”
A hail beeped loudly. Vivian jumped, startled.
“Answer it,” Abby urged.
She did. “This is the Gorison Traveler.”
“Earthling, this is Brassi Korack. I’m from the Veslor home world. My ship is the Brar. We received your automated distress signal and have tried numerous times to hail you. We’re four hours from your location. What is your emergency?”
She was shocked. The Veslors were aliens from an unincorporated world. Little was known about them, but she’d read up on what information they had. The voice was male, very guttural sounding, and held a slight growl.
“Who?” Abby whispered, reminding her that they hadn’t disconnected.
Vivian swallowed and muted the hail to talk to Abby. “They’re a shifter race who trade with one of the space stations out in the ninth quadrant. From what I’ve read, they live by an honor system. You know, their word is their bond. They have a great reputation for being honest. They’re four hours away. Maybe they can help us.”
“The guy sounds dangerous. Are we allied with them?”
“No.”
“Damn.”
The Veslor began to speak again. “Hello, Earthling? Are you there?” The male paused. “Have we lost them? I thought they were receiving finally.”
Someone snarled words the translator didn’t pick up.
“I’m going to talk to them to feel them out,” Vivian decided. “I’ll call you back.” She ended the call with Abby, muted the incoming ship call buzzer, and activated her mic once more to exterior coms.
“This is Brassi Korack,” that guttural voice repeated. “Are you having communications issues? What is your emergency? Are your systems failing?”
She leaned forward, putting her elbows on the station in front of her. “My name is Vivian Goss. I’m on the Gorison Traveler. I just gained access to external communications and am still figuring them out. I apologize for the delay. I’m also surprised to be speaking to Veslors. I was told you mainly stay in the ninth quadrant.”
“That’s true, but we had business in this section of space and heard your distress beacon. We ran long-range scans, only to find no other vessels are nearby. I debated on hailing you. Earthlings normally snub us, but it would be heartless to not offer help if it’s needed. We have compassion.”
“You’re traders, right? What would you ask in exchange for assistance?”
He hesitated. “Gratitude would be nice, but not necessary,” he said dryly. We’re seeking alliances. We’d like to expand business to other quadrants. Earthlings have expanded considerably. Doing a kind deed might open doors for us.”
“I’m not a person of influence who could help you in that way. I’m sorry. All I can do is promise that I’ll try my best to talk to someone about it in fleet.”
“Understood. We’d still like to help you. Some of my males are good with repairs. Your position hasn’t moved. Have your engines gone down? We have some spare parts aboard if needed. No payment necessary.”
“I took the engines offline.” She debated briefly before continuing. “Twenty-two Ke’ters boarded our ship, but ten days into our journey with them, they attacked and took control of the bridge. Cutting engines was the only way I could stop them from flying us to wherever they want to take the ship.”
He snarled viciously. “Ke’ters?”
He spat the word as if it were vile, and his anger was clear. They had something in common, if the Veslors didn’t like the lizard race. “Yes.”
“They eat other races. Why would you trust them?” He paused. “They’ll fly you to one of their outposts, enslave your people, and use them as a food source.”
She flinched. “We’re aware of that now. I didn’t make the decision to let them onboard. I’m dealing with the fallout.”
“Fallout? I don’t know that word.”
“Um, the consequences. Your English is pretty good.”
“I downloaded your language from the distress call. It was simple to decipher.”
“Wow. Your computers are amazing, then. I thought I was speaking directly to you.”
“You are, Vivian Goss. We have implants. I learned your language in seconds with an instant download to my mind.”
That surprised her; it was something she didn’t know their race was capable of. It implied some of their technology was better than what United Earth had access to.
That part wasn’t a surprise.
“Our laser rifles were useless against them.”
“Their skin is tough.”
She nodded, then realized he couldn’t see her. “Do you mind if we do a visual? I’d like to see who I’m talking to.”
“I don’t mind.”
She tapped on the panel, located the camera and waited. In seconds, he accepted the transmission, and his live image came on the monitor in front of her.
The sight of him took her breath away. She may have read about Veslors, but had never seen what they looked like.
Brassi Korack had a very manly face. It wasn’t quite human, though he had similar features—two eyes, one nose, and a mouth. But he had slightly animalistic traits. His golden eyes were like nothing she’d ever seen. He had thick black eyelashes to match the long mane of hair she could see. The sides of his head were either shaved or he didn’t grow hair there. His ears were pointed, his skin dark. The brightest, lightest thing about him were his eyes.
He studied her back intently. “Hello, Vivian.”
It reminded her that she probably looked like crap. She had slept upright in the chair for maybe an hour or two, and hadn’t even brushed her hair afterward. She glanced down, realizing she was in the comfy jumpsuit she wore in her quarters. It was pale blue in color, shapelessly covering her from her neck to wrist to ankle, and was about as unsexy as an outfit could be. “Hello, Brassi. It’s nice to see you.” She smiled briefly.
He leaned in closer. “Your teeth.”
She ran her tongue over them, hoping something wasn’t stuck. “What about them?”
“They’re small, and not sharp. Apologizes. I was just surprised. You’re the first Earthling female I’ve ever seen.” His gaze roamed her face. “You appear fragile and tiny.”
“Thank you?” She wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Was he insulting her or just making a general assessment of her appearance? She recalled what her professors frequently cautioned about first contact with alien races. Misunderstandings were bound to happen and to never take offense. All ego should be set aside to properly learn their customs.
Veslors were normally far away in the ninth quadrant. It wasn’t surprising he hadn’t seen any human women out there. Human fleet ships
only sent males that deep into space. A few alien races in that area were known to steal and sell females for sexual slavery. Fleet wasn’t willing to risk a war if any members were taken, and it would make United Earth look weak if they didn’t try to recover lost female members. They just avoided the risk altogether.
The Veslors weren’t on the list of avoid-at-all-costs species known to be doing anything so heinous.
She glanced at his lips. They were wide, and appeared a bit pouty because of their fuller size. He opened his mouth—and she tried to hide her reaction.
“You definitely don’t have small or smooth teeth. They look dangerous and sharp.”
He chuckled and smiled, revealing more of them. “You appear frightened, Vivian. No need. Veslors never harm females.” His humor vanished as quickly as it showed. “It’s cowardly to hurt someone incapable of defending themselves equally.” His eyes flared with emotion that looked similar to anger. “Cowards have no honor. Veslors don’t tolerate such species. Do Earthlings?”
“My race has honorable and dishonorable people. It varies by person. But I have honor.”
“You have good and bad people?”
“Yes.”
He cocked his head, studying her with those golden eyes. Then he smiled again. “You’re very honest. Most races wouldn’t admit some of their kind are flawed.”
“Humans can be very flawed.” She thought of the commander. He was a total dick.
“Long ago, in the very distant past, my people were the same. We fought each other for stupid, greedy reasons.” He blinked a few times. “Then other races came, and we learned to work together to save our planet and people. We recognized the flaws and deceptive ways of other races, learned to detest those traits. It made us better as a whole. We pride ourselves on honor and truth now. The dishonorable are quickly removed from our ranks.”
She understood what he was saying. They’d evolved to a point that it was probably extremely shameful to be a shithead in his culture, and they didn’t abide by it.
“Do you need our help, Vivian? We offer it with compassion and no deception. No race should be eaten by the Ke’ters. They are cruel, unfeeling creatures.”
He looked sincere—and she made the decision to trust him. “I’ll be honest with you again, Brassi. I’m just a female whose job is to learn about and profile alien races for the people who make decisions.” She raised her hand, motioning to the room around her. “It’s not my job to run stations or send out distress signals. I ended up here when the Ke’ters turned on my crew. I’m not a fighter, though I was trained to defend myself against attack. But I don’t know how to save my people from the Ke’ters.”
She leaned in close to the screen. “Either I turn the engines back on, and risk the Ke’ters transporting us to their home world. Or we’re all eventually going to die while waiting for help from our own people. They’re too far away to reach us before our backup system goes down. I want to trust you so badly because I’m desperate. My crew is depending on me to save them, and to make the right decisions. I can’t offer you anything of value. Knowing that, will you help kill the Ke’ters? And also promise not to hurt humans or take over this ship if I let you onboard?”
He appeared shocked, since his eyes widened. He blinked a few times before masking all emotion from his face. “We don’t steal ships or enslave other races, Vivian.” He grimaced slightly. “And we are rather exceptional at killing Ke’ters. They’ve attacked some of the planets in our system in the past, attempting to capture our people. We slaughtered the invaders.”
He lifted his hand, and she watched as sharp, long claws grew from the tips of each of his four fingers and thumb.
“We’re able to rip through their hard skins. Their greatest weaknesses are their necks, and we also have weapons that will blow holes in them. I give you my promise—we’ll board your ship, exterminate your Ke’ter problem, and then leave. No harm will come to your people. I don’t want you to die at their hands. It’s an agonizing way to go.”
Tears filled her eyes. “Thank you. Please hurry.”
He turned his head, growling at someone. Then he faced the screen again. “We’re coming, Vivian. Are you safe where you are? I can give you fighting tips if need be.”
“I’m locked in a secure room. They can’t get to me.”
“Good. I ordered my pilot to fly to you as quickly as possible.”
“Thank you, Brassi. I’m going to take our auto-defenses offline to allow you to dock with us, and I can manually override each section to allow your crew access to where the Ke’ters are trapped.” She paused, trying to recall first-contact procedures for face-to-face meetings. There was nothing normal about what was about to happen. “We breathe oxygen. Is that going to be a problem for you?”
“We’ve been on your Earth stations and had no difficulties. We’ll be wearing armor to protect us against the Ke’ters. They include life support in case of chemical attacks. We’ll be fine.”
She felt relief for the first time since the attacks began.
“I’m having all my men download your language to help them communicate with your survivors. Please ask them not to attack us.”
“Of course. Again…thank you, Brassi.”
“I’ll contact you when as we make final approach to ask where you’d like us to dock.”
“Okay.”
He stared at her with those golden eyes, gave her a nod, and a slight smile. “We’ll be there soon, Vivian. Be safe.”
He ended coms, and she sagged in her chair.
What if she’d made a mistake by trusting the Veslor?
Did she really have any other option?
The answer came quickly. No.
She turned on the sound for incoming calls. It immediately buzzed. She figured Abby wanted an update and answered.
“You fucking bitch,” a familiar voice slurred. “I’m going to see you court-martialed!” Commander Alderson laughed. “You ruined everything—and for what? Because I wouldn’t let you talk to the fucking Ke’ters? Big Mike isn’t going to be able to protect you anymore, little girl. You’ve fucked yourself almost as badly as this assignment. You stole my ship and ruined our chances with the Ke’ters!”
“They attacked us, sir. People are dead. The Ke’ters are eating people, Commander. I’m not joking. This isn’t me being a sullen, silly teenager. I’m an adult. I wouldn’t lie about something this grave.”
“You and your fucking pranks!”
She took a deep breath. “I admit, as a teen, I did some things I’m not proud of. But it’s one thing to set up motion sensors in the corridors to make farting sounds as people pass by, or put pink dye in the laundry washers. I would never lie about dead people or aliens attacking us.”
“Bullshit! You were always trouble. Wouldn’t be the first time you made me drink. Pink fucking outfits on our security officers… You don’t forget something like that.”
She ground her teeth together, frustrated. “You’re drunk, sir.”
“You bet your ass I am. That’s because I’m locked in my quarters and can’t get out!”
“Sober up. Hopefully, you’ll be back in charge soon if things work out.” She hung up on him and reversed the call from Abby to reach her quarters. It was time to update her, and then she’d have to make another ship-wide announcement.
They would soon be boarded by the Veslors.
Chapter Three
Vivian turned on ship-wide coms and tried to remember the speech she’d prepared. The Veslors should be arriving at any time.
“This is Vivian Goss again. I have good news. A rescue party is on the way.”
She didn’t want to say too much, or warn the Ke’ters about who they were about to face, even though they were trapped. It wasn’t as if they could flee or take hostages, since they’d already eaten any humans they had access to. But Abby had agreed with her about discretion when they’d talked over what to broadcast.
The Ke’ters were likely thinking it would b
e a long time before that rescue team arrived.
“Once the Ke’ters have been rounded up, we’ll go section by section to check on everyone and slowly remove lockdown. Just hang in there, and if you hear weapons fire at some point, don’t be alarmed. It’s the rescue team.”
She blinked back tears, choking up with emotion. “Many people have died. I want to prepare you for that once lockdown is over. There are bodies in some of the corridors. Medical has been destroyed, so avoid that area. It’s not safe. There’s massive blast damage. Every crew member assigned to this ship has specific training. Some of you are going to need to use your skills to help reestablish order. Just remain calm, don’t panic, and if any remaining medical personnel could meet in Cafeteria Two, it should be large enough to run a triage area. If you’re injured, go there once your section is cleared. Thank you.”
She ended the broadcast and sighed, hoping the crew and passengers would listen. Most of them were going to be shocked when their rescue team ended up being unknown aliens instead of other humans, or even an allied alien race. She’d handle that situation later.
The external coms beeped and she spun in her chair, accepting it. “This this Vivian. Are you ready to dock?”
“We’re approaching from the front.”
She glanced toward a panel. “Auto-defenses are down. Come in on the port side of the ship, to cargo seven. I’ve made it easy for you to find. I’ve also depressurized it. When you dock, wait for me to ensure it’s safe before you unseal your doors. Otherwise there won’t be any air waiting for you.”
Brassi chuckled. “That was smart. We see the hole.”
It probably looked like that to him. She watched the camera closely and saw a dark ship approach the open cargo doors.
Commander Alderson would have a fit if he knew she’d not only allowed unallied aliens to dock with them, but she’d basically opened doors into space inside a cargo hold. Donny had suggested it to her when she’d called him, swearing those large cargo holds were designed to take an exterior breach if they were sealed off from the rest of the ship first.
The Veslor ship docked with the Gorison Traveler, completely encompassing the open doors. She tapped on the controls, sending air back to that section once it read the breach had been sealed. It took a full minute before it was pressurized again.