He was fingering his mustache again, which put Betta on edge. What exactly did that mean?
“I suspect you don’t know much, like Jadis. Do you know how many females I put before Jadis? These were the king’s orders, mind you. I mean, originally, I thought he would like Drafer companionship, given his closeness with the princess. The first few cycles I placed several Drafer females in his path. Not even a glance. In fact, he hid himself in his chamber. Then I tried Human females. He was more comfortable with them. Still, there was no real interest. Lyten females are far more aggressive and their mating practices could disrupt the station. This meant I never really gave that much of go.”
“What about my father?” Betta sighed.
“That’s the part I was getting to. Top employee for Pilo’s pharmaceutical division on Old Earth. He had ties to the black-market back then. He didn’t have a name then, but even out here, I knew there was someone that could get you the top pharma on Earth. Everything changed when his family finally got the virus. You think the deals I made for Jadis were impressive. The deals your father made to rebuild you were spectacular.”
“Rebuild me?” Betta nearly dropped to her knees.
Tylen rose then, moving close enough that she could smell his sweat. “One wonders how much of one remains when one is rebuilt. That’s the fascinating part. The method that was used to rebuild you was based on the work of the scientist that made Jadis. The two of you trapped alone on his ship together and you ‘get closer’ to him than any female in nearly a century. What kind of deal did George Reganta make? Not that it matters, I believe I have one better.”
Betta would’ve fallen to her knees were it not for Tylen’s firm arms to hold her. There was a pain in her shoulder and she looked into his dark eyes in surprise.
“Deep breaths. Slow. Deep. Breaths.” His words became muted and jumbled as she went limp.
The moving and chittering of mandibles were the last sounds she heard.
Consciousness came sudden. One moment it was complete blackness, the next her eyes were wide open. Her face lay against the hard exoskeleton of an Antogin. Betta didn’t hesitate, striking with a hard fist against the soft flesh below its mandible. She was rewarded with a grunt and a toss that sent her spiraling to the hard titanium floor, her shoulder striking the side of an oblong container, a stasis box.
Ignoring the pain in her chest and sides, Betta made it to her knees in time to see two Antogin charging to her position from opposite ends of the room. Again, as had happened the last time she feared for her life, all movement slowed. She had time to assess her surroundings. The area was vast with tubing and ventilation sweeping across thick titanium walls. She could feel a rhythmic hum that was not the familiar vibrations she’d come to attribute to the machinery of a station. The dress she wore clung to her flesh even tighter and she knew that she was on a ship. Not only that, they were in flight.
Rising with both arms raised, Betta surrendered to her captors. “Take me to your Queen?”
The chitter of mandibles and the bobbing of antennae gave no indication that they understood her words. Still, they slowed their advance and one of them roughly threw her over his shoulders, smashing his hard exterior into her ribs. Letting out a cry of agony, she attempted to remain limp, concentrating on the strange spots of light that masked her vision.
In her mind, she continually reassured herself that she would be fine, that someone would find her, and that these wouldn’t be her final moments. The Antogin was anything but gentle as he tossed her into the stasis box. She felt something in her chest give and a new, sharper pain dug into her side.
“Please!” The tears came without her permission along with the words. “Don’t do this. Please. I’ll do whatever you want. Just don’t put me—”
Betta’s words were ignored, as she thought they would be, and the top of the stasis box slid closed. There was the release of air and her mind went blank.
Chapter Thirteen
The Rescue
His hand gripped empty air. Jadis opened his eyes to the spot where Betta had slept, finding her chair vacant. The taste of her was still there, lingering, teasing him, and he rose. The drowsiness threatened to take him away again, but he held on, focusing his eyes on the transparent pantry a few steps away.
The stimulant implant he’d attached to his wrist had been removed. Betta was such a distraction that every opportunity he had to ask for it was lost in becoming a part of her. The last time they touched, he’d gotten a glimpse of her intentions. If she was right, and he grudgingly allowed that she was most likely right, Tylen was dangerous. Cornering him would be a mistake.
A chill of numbness crossed his spine and his breaths came in vigorous snorts. His lids threatened to drop him back to sleep, yet he held on, clinching every part of his body that could hold tight. A few more steps and he was there, breathing heavily against the cabinet. His vision blurred while he tried to find the right container.
Second shelf. He reached in, his hands knocking other medicines to the floor until he had a shaking hold on the stimulant. An applicator was on the table nearby and in a few simple moves it was under his skin. A few quick heartbeats later and the drab color of the med bay was bright, the sounds of beeping intensified, and the scent of Betta inspired him into movement.
Halfway to the door, he turned back and secured a few more bottles of the stimulant and two more applicators. Better to be prepared. He was wearing the paper-thin material the med-techs normally garbed the emergency patients. It was dampening in various spots, but instead of making his way to his own chamber to change, he hurried to Tylen’s, attempting to ignore the looks of those that bowed in his crossing.
Standing in the corridor, Jadis pressed the chime several times. Never had Tylen had him wait more than once when he was present. He closed his eyes and opened his inner network to the station’s interface. None of the video gadgets he’d planted were operational. In fact, he had limited access to his own database. He put a call into Tylen and the image of his manager appeared in front him.
“Tylen. Where’s Betta?” Jadis asked.
Tylen’s mustache twitched. “She’s safe. Alliances were made, trades completed. The Queen of Five is now ready to negotiate.”
“I don’t understand, Tylen. Why would you work with the Antogin?”
“I’m certain none of you understand the danger that faces us. You think of the Antogin as insects that can easily be put underfoot, but warring with the Antogin would lead to the annihilation of the Drafers. I cannot allow that.” Tylen nodded slowly as though agreeing with someone Jadis couldn’t see.
“Why take Betta? You could have taken me.”
“If I take you to the Queen of Five, she would destroy every atom that is Jadis Ter. I cannot allow that either. I took Betta to make a better deal for you, for the Drafers, for the king. One day, I believe, you will understand.”
“What deal?” Jadis pressed.
“You’ll be hearing from me soon. In the meantime, prepare yourself,” Tylen warned.
“To die?” Jadis realized the connection had ended too late. He kicked at Tylen’s closed door, his matted paw driving a light dent into the material.
Manager Li’em was the next contact he made. The reptilian face that greeted him offered a formal bow. “Sal’um Pe, how may I be of service?”
“First, inform the feds that Manager Tylen has abducted Betta Reganta. Are you in contact with D’yanna?”
There was a hiss and the image froze. Jadis waited, leaning against a wall in the corridor of the residential heart of the power station. Not for the first time, he was aware of how much better Betta’s Station was on the whole. Here the floors were the lackluster grey of standard metallic flooring. The walls the same and the doors fitted with numbers for identification. The décor of Betta’s Station was all plush and colorful, and even her employees were fitted with uniforms that, while he considered them childish, fit the overall nature of the station.