“He looks a lot like Cavas,” Sara explained.
Nara jerked slightly, then reached down, lifting a round disk. She pressed it. “What’s up?”
“Mandatory meeting in the dining hall,” a gruff male voice stated.
“We’ll be right there. I’m with Sara and Jill. Thanks, Dovis.” She pushed the button and stood.
Sara did too.
Jill hesitated, unsure what to do.
Nara motioned to her. “Come on. You’re part of the crew now.”
“Okay.” Jill got up from her seat. “What about shoes?”
“You’re fine. We’ll replicate some for you later.” Sara closed her eyes and got a weird look on her face…like she was concentrating really hard.
Jill glanced at Nara. “What is she doing? Is she okay?”
“She does that when she’s thinking at the Pods.”
“The aliens who can read minds?”
“Yes. Brace yourself when you see them. They look like eggs with thin arms and legs. The Pods are super nice, though. You don’t have to be afraid of anyone on this ship. I promise. We really are like a close family. I can’t say it enough.”
Sara opened her eyes and moved toward the door. “I asked them to make her shoes and reminded them she was scanned in medical, so they can get the sizing right.” She glanced at Jill. “It’ll be after the meeting, since we’re all needed now. Sorry.”
Jill followed behind them as they left her cabin and headed toward the dining hall. She felt a lot better after talking to the women. Cavas had seemed nice enough, but he was an alien. Her trust in them wasn’t the best after all she’d been through. But now she knew he’d been telling her the truth. She was safe on the ship, with aliens who wouldn’t hurt her.
*
Cavas took a sip of his fruity drink and scanned the data that had been uploaded to his handheld device from one of the drones they’d sent down to the planet. He looked up, scowling at Cathian. “Are you sure you need to keep your entire crew apprised of our plan?”
His brother nodded. “We’re going to need their help, and we don’t keep secrets from each other. This isn’t the military, Cavas.”
He inwardly winced. It was another reminder that his life had been drastically altered. He didn’t feel regret, so much as a sense of shock. It had never crossed his mind to resign from his duties. He’d been in line to command their entire military within a few years. That had been his ambition for as long as he could remember.
Now that future was gone.
Cathian seemed to read his thoughts. As brothers born in the same litter, they had a strong bond and knew each other well. “Are you certain you don’t want to replace our father when he’s forced from his position? It would give you great power, and you’d be in control of our entire family’s empire. You’re second born of the first litter our parents birthed. It’s your right, since I sure as hell don’t want to live full time on our planet.”
“No. Let the litter born after ours take that duty. I’d rather stay here.” He studied Cathian’s face. “If you’ll have me.”
“You always have a place by my side.”
That was a worry off his shoulders. “Crath sure as hell won’t want to take over father’s position, either.”
Cathian snorted. “No. He would consider it a punishment. All three of us have been great disappointments to our father.”
“You and Crath, perhaps. You refused to step down as an ambassador when he wanted you to. It was supposed to be a temporary position for you to learn how to play nice with aliens. Father planned to personally groom you to take his place in the next few decades at home. And Crath has always had wanderlust. Once he learned how to fly a shuttle, there was no keeping him at home. I was the only one in our litter to follow the path our father wanted. He looked forward to me leading our military.”
Cathian grinned at Cavas, knowing he was being teased. “Not anymore. You resigned. You’re a disappointment to him now, too.”
“I don’t feel bad about that. He’s not who I believed him to be.”
“No shit.” Cathian growled, his humor gone. “I want to kill him with my bare hands.”
“As first born, it’s your right. He’s brought shame to our entire family with his actions. Let’s get Crath back first.”
“Agreed.”
The doors to the dining hall opened, and Cathian’s crew began to enter. Cavas studied them. York, Dovis, and Raff were fierce fighters. The rest of them though were weak links. None of them would cut it in the military except for the Pods. They were an asset with their mental abilities.
All three of the small aliens glanced at him with smiles, reading his mind.
He gave them a nod and placed his data pad on the table.
Everyone else arrived, including the thin cook. She sat far from the others. He’d be leery of trusting her, with the standoffish way she acted, but the Pods would know if Midgel were a spy.
Cathian stood, giving his life-lock Nara a kiss before moving to the center of the room. He motioned for everyone to sit.
Cavas couldn’t help but throw a few curious glances at Jill. He hadn’t expected her to attend. She sat between Sara and Nara, keeping her chin down.
He shot a glance at One, thinking at the Pod. Is the new human a threat?
One mouthed no.
That was enough for Cavas. He trusted the Pods. He knew their history and the absolute loyalty they felt toward his oldest brother. Cathian had rescued them from criminals and kept them safe. Mind-reading aliens were in high demand on the black market. Their lives would have remained hellish if they hadn’t found safe harbor on the ship.
“We have found the arena. It’s a few hundred miles from the colony, situated very close to a mountain. Scans from the drones we sent down have shown a large cavern in the side of that mountain. It’s probably where their prisoners are being held.” Cathian tapped his data pad and flattened it in his hand. An image appeared on the wall next to him. It was a vid the drone had taken of the large outdoor arena, and two massive doors in the side of the mountain, hundreds of feet off the ground. A thin walkway connected them to one of the platforms near the top of the arena. The doors to the mountain were open. “There are fifty-four life signs inside the mountain. One of them is hopefully Crath.”
“We’re hopeful that Crath isn’t being forced to fight deadly opponents, since our father will want him alive. It’s a secure place to hold him, though.” Cavas stood, moving next to the image. “I plan to go down to see one of the fights and hopefully sneak inside that cavern, to search for our brother.”
Red dots lit up. There were dozens of them. “These are the guards posted,” Cathian informed the crew. “The drone tagged them because they wear uniforms. It won’t be easy to get past them. We’ve scanned the side and back of the mountain. It appears there are no other alternative ways inside. That means entering the arena, reaching a high point where that bridge is located, and crossing it into the mountain cavern.”
Cavas took over again. This was the difficult part of the plan that he hated most. “I’ll play the role of a wealthy slave owner going to see the fights this evening.” He glanced at Jill, but she kept her chin down. “We had our drones scanning life signs on all the shuttles coming from and going to the arena. There have been three fights since we got them in place. There are mass transports to bring spectators, but those people are most likely seated well below the walkway. We’re certain those higher platforms are viewing options for the wealthy. They’re closest to the walkway. Life scans confirm the wealthy assholes in private transports travel with females. Probably a sex slave. Jill, is that correct? Your source of information said it was a status thing among the wealthy males, bringing a female?”