Page 53 of Relyn
“Yes sir,” Nora said.
“Good, ‘cause I really hate dragging dead weight,” he said.
Nora shut up. She definitely wanted to be awake while she entered so she’d be ready to find her way out.
As she walked down the hatch ramp, the cold wind hit her and Nora felt her vest kick on, protecting her core from the cold. There was no snow, but it was definitely cold enough. It was just rock and desert as far as the eye could see. Her breathing became labored and she knew the air was definitely foreign to her system and didn’t have enough oxygen.
He pushed Nora onward through a gate and sealed it behind them. Immediately breathing became easier. She looked up and could see the shimmer of a dome high above their heads to encompass the entire compound in a more comfortable atmosphere. Here the temperature began to rise and she could see the green of potted plants scattered around the brown and silver buildings that lay within.
The buildings looked newly placed, like those portable classrooms they put out in the parking lots of overcrowded schools. They were modular and meant to be more functional than pretty to look at.
The alien escorted her through an outer ring of these buildings and into what looked like a center ring that formed a courtyard. She went through the doorway in the center and the alien did not. He shut the door behind her without another word.
Women began pouring out from the rooms around the courtyard. Nora had to blink twice, but she realized most of them were human.
“Hey, look. This one came in on her own two feet. Most of us were dragged or carried in,” one woman said as she looked Nora over. “I’m Denise, by the way. Nice to meet you.”
“Nora. How many-”
“Let me guess, you were wandering on a station, or a planet, and this woman approached you,” Denise said.
“And she was human and told you how much she missed seeing other humans and how homesick she was, and she invited you over for dinner,” one woman said.
“Or lunch, and so you said sure, and you went over there, and the next thing you knew, you woke up on a ship,” a third one continued.
“And then they brought your ass here,” Denise finished.
“No,” Nora said. “How many of you are there?” she said, trying to count.
“You are lucky number fourteen.”
Nora looked over the growing crowd and spotted three in the back. They were clearly Etlonian, but she didn’t see any other species.
“What about the Etlonians? What happened to you?”
“You know about Etlon?” the nearest one perked up. “I am Pari of Etlon, mother of three sons.”
“I’ve been to Etlon Two,” Nora said. “In fact, I was traveling with Bright. Do you know her?”
“Of course. Our first sons were of the same age. I do not know if mine yet lives.”
“Hers does. He is living on Etlon Two, along with a good number of other Mahdfel, but don’t worry. She’s going to rescue us.”
“Sweetie,” Denise said. “We’ve all been waiting for a rescue. Some of us for months. Just don’t get your hopes up. No one even knows we’re here.”
“Relyn does. And he’s going to get what Alana wants to trade for me. And trust me, we’re not leaving all of you here, either.”
They didn’t look very impressed.
Chapter 24
Relyn
Relyn docked with Rutra’s ship with more than a bit of trepidation. There was a good possibility that Rutra would just shoot them all on sight. Relyn was banking on the fact that they had information, and Rutra was not going to do anything drastic until he had that information. They all knew the plan. Whether they went by that plan or not was yet to be seen.
Relyn walked through the hatch tunnel with Grom by his side. Relyn was relying on Grom’s special affinity for Wendy to keep him from turning on them.
“Rel! You are back sooner than expected!” Rutra shouted. Relyn surveyed the circle of pirates. There were about twenty crew members, including Ketle in the hangar. That was way more than needed for a friendly visit.
