Page 19 of Asmodel

“How do I know you won’t just leave me here and escape by yourself?” Asmodel grasped the man’s upper arm.

“Wait.” Raxx unclasped a compact, egg-shaped contraption from his belt. The thing flickered a soft, pulsing light. “This is Echo. Without her, I can’t navigate my ship.” He nodded to JR13. “Trust me, I wouldn’t be alive today without her.” He put the device to his face and whispered to it. “Echo, you stay with this man until we meet up. Okay?”

The light on Echo’s surfaced throbbed with each word Raxx spoke.

Asmodel’s eyebrows rose. That was interesting.

Tilting his head to JR13, he whispered, “Analyze that. Is it what he says it is?”

“Analyzation complete. What the human described to you is true. It is a sentient AI, similar to me, who is an integral part of his ship's navigation. Instead of verbally communicating, she has access to him by an implant in his head.” The bot’s voice was low.

“Can you understand her?” Asmodel asked. While he could read the man's mind if he wanted, he couldn’t infiltrate an implant.

“Somewhat. I will continue to work on opening communications with Echo.”

Raxx handed him the oval device and thumbed over his shoulder. “I’ll go out this way and meet up with you.” His eyes narrowed. “Are you sure you want to fight the Vargrux? They’re stupid but deadly.”

Angry yells headed toward them.

Raxx took a step back.

“Don’t worry about me.” Asmodel put Echo into an inside pocket of his leather jacket. “We’ll be just fine.” He nodded to the exit. “Go! I’ll take care of this.”

With one last glance at Asmodel, Raxx spun around and hurried through the small doorway.

Asmodel picked up the indecision that warred with the man’s inclination to stay and fight.

At a boisterous yell, the crowd behind him parted. A strange assortment of ugly and just-as-ugly aliens surrounded him. All growling and spitting with raised weapons in his direction.

Asmodel smiled. This was going to be fun.

Chapter Four

“Um,thankyou?”Izzyrubbed her arms, keeping them crossed. She studied the creature, Jaltaar. So far, he seemed nice enough. But she had to remind herself not everyone was. Her tendency to take everyone at face value made things hard for her more than once.

But he hadn’t attacked her or anything. That had to count for something. Right?

He stood with his elbow clasped in one paw while he petted his whiskers with the tip of an extended claw of the other. He tilted his chin at the smoldering spaceship behind Izzy. “Were you in that?” His large, bright-emerald eyes with their black vertical pupils narrowed. “Are you hurt?”

“Yes, I was, but no, I’m not hurt.” She glanced at the smoking ship behind her. “At least I don’t think so.” She shivered as hot adrenaline rushed through her, making her shiver. Biting the side of her bottom lip, she studied the alien. “Do you know what happened?”

Jaltaar frowned and stepped closer. “No. My crew and I were sent here to investigate that ship after it entered our atmosphere. What can you tell me about it?”

Izzy gave him a wan smile and looked around. Where was his crew? Not that it mattered at this point.

“Believe it or not, I can’t tell you much. Like I said, a small alien kidnapped me and put me into stasis on that ship before we left.” She rubbed her arms again. “I don’t know how I ended up here.” The stench of the burning ship made her cough.

He tilted his head, and his whiskers fanned up. “Sit here while I check out the wreck as much as I can before the flames become too much.” He placed a paw on her shoulder and guided her to the root of one of the large trees.

She sat with a grateful grunt.

“You’ll be okay here, but don’t move.” Jaltaar removed the bow from the harness at his back. “This area is an undeveloped sanctuary for wild animals. You’re lucky the crash kept most of them away. Before we head out, I’ve got to contact the rest of my team.”

He turned to the side and touched a claw to the front of the black leather collar around his thick neck, growling and hissing.

The words translated in her mind.

“Yes, I’m on site and I haven’t found anything yet.” His ears twitched. “No.” He chuckled. “Stop nagging, I’m not in any danger. Of course I’ll let you know after I finish sorting through this wreck. I suspect it’s an Ozevroc ship.” He snorted. “Yeah, incompetent as always.” He gave Izzy a quick glance. “Don’t worry, I’ll let you know if I find anything.”

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