Page 4 of Her Alien Captain
THREE
Sajh Tyreed sat at the dining table in the combination dining/mess hall/conference room of the Be’Kal Zephyr a passenger freighter starship. He sipped his morning java while his boss, Captain Farzeke, “Zeke” Be’Kal perused their shipping manifest on his tablet. They had just picked up their last load at Mars City in the Sol System. Before they headed out, they wanted to plan their itinerary to make the most efficient use of their time and get their deliveries made on time.
“Man, I wish we hadn’t agreed to fill that order on Se’Nar,” Zeke murmured and reached for his mug to take a sip of his Java. It was coffee from Earth plants grown at Mars City. They called it Java.
"I know, Zeke, but it was the quickest way we could make up for the losses on our last run," Sajh replied.
“But I just hate going into Drayid space. Those bastards are almost as bad as the Alliance enforcers,” said Zeke. “What am I saying? The Alliance stops us every chance I get."
“At least they won’t stop us in Drayid space. They won’t even go there."
“But those bugs are creepier than the enforcers. They don’t play games. They just grab you and send you off to the slave auctions,” Zeke muttered.
“Don’t think about that. Just think about all the money we will make, delivering those delicacies. We’ll be in and out of there in no time," Sajh said.
“We’ve got four stops, and then back to Eridani Four,” Zeke commented.
“We get in and get out, then two weeks at base and start all over again.”
“How many passengers?”
“Pick up one at Rhamda, two at Tau Ceti," said Sajh. “We’re going to start at Se’Nar.”
“Okay then," said Zeke. “Are we ready for liftoff?"
Sajh nodded.
“Bella, set course for Se Nar, lift off, and take us there,” Zeke commanded their AI unit.
The two men push their chairs out from the table and locked them in. They picked up their mugs and took them with them as they headed up to the bridge to monitor their progress.
“Captain Javitt, we’re coming into range of theBe’Kal Zephyr. They’re still inside Alliance space. We can hook them with a tractor beam before they cross over into Drayid space.”
“Do it,” he replied. “Have security bring Farzeke to the conference room when they get him.”
“What if he doesn’t have the contraband?”
“It’s there,” Javitt said confidently.
“Right, sir,” the young Ensign replied. She knew better than to ask more questions. Javitt’s reluctance to offer further information let Ensign Brace know to shut up and do her job. She guessed it was a setup but, didn’t know why.”
“We got an Alliance Raptor on our tail, Zeke. We got nowhere to go,” Tray Morikin second in command called over the intercom.
“Are they talking to us?”
“They want to board for inspection---say it's routine.”
Fuck!What was it going to cost him this time? Damned Alliance Enforcers. He was tired of their silly games. They were certain to find something that they would conveniently forget if he would just cooperate.Fuck, fuck, fuck!
“Which Raptor this time?” Zeke called back.
“Three,” Tray called back.
“That’s Ark’s ship,” His older brother was an Alliance Law Enforcer. He shoved his fingers back through his longish, pale blue hair to get it out of his face. “They must want something bad. Let ‘em come. We can’t outrun them, and there’s nowhere to hide. Let’s get this over with.”
#
While Raptor Three was locking the boarding tube on to the cargo bay ofZephyr, Zeke went down to the cargo bay to meet the enforcement officers. When the hatchway opened, four officers came through the opening. Two of them were wearing body armor and armed with ion rifles; the other two wore the regulation Kelly green uniforms.
