Page 8 of Alien Abduction for Experts
The guys nodded their assent, while Trish smiled at me.
"This is so exciting! I can't believe I'm actually getting involved in a proper alien abduction!"
I grinned at her enthusiasm. Despite the severity of the situation, she was right, it was a great opportunity to hone our abduction skills.
* * *
Havel
We took a shuttle from the space port to the university. We weren't the only non-Gemi'i, which was reassuring. We wouldn't stand out too much. I hadn't spotted any other Kardarians, but several other species from neighbouring systems. I was sure they'd seen my kind here before.
The university was a in a sleek, spheric building that glinted in the sun. Glass covered all surfaces, giving us a view of the inside. I wasn't sure I'd like being watched like that if I was one of their teachers or students, but that didn't matter.
I was carrying a large case with the letters SAMPLE on it in several languages. It had been Matar's idea, making it extra obvious why we were at the university. The entrance had a simple scanner to detect weapons, but we walked through it without being stopped. Not that we had any weapons on us, that would have been silly. We didn't want to get into trouble, we just wanted to stalk out our target.
Matar headed right to the reception desk staffed by two Gemi'i males. No, wait, one of them had a male and a female head. Interesting, I hadn't realised that was possible. The scientist in me wanted more information, maybe even a sample - how ironic - but this wasn't the time or place.
"We've got a delivery for Hix and Hex," Matar told them. "Can you point us in the right direction?"
The double-male Gemi'i smiled pleasantly, making his wide mouth seem even larger, and looked at a screen. "Third floor. They're not teaching just now, so you might find them in their office. Shall I announce you?"
"No," I said quickly. "I'll have to use the washroom first, it's been a long journey."
The head on the right gave me a sympathetic smile. "Just down this corridor. There are cubicles adapted for various species, but let us know if you need any special arrangements."
To keep up appearances, we headed into the direction he'd pointed at. As soon as we were out of eyesight, we took an elevator up to the third floor. Compared to the bright, inviting reception area, this was just a boring corridor with doors on both sides. Offices, most likely.
We split up, Matar turning right, me left. Luckily, all the doors had name signs written in IG Standard. Our translators weren't fancy ones that had a link to our visual cortex, able to translate writing. Usually, we didn't have a use for that, but thankfully, this university was used to having students and teachers from other parts of the galaxy.
I finally found their office at the end of the corridor and used my wrist comms to call Matar. I didn't want to shout and draw attention.
"What now?" he whispered as soon as he'd joined me. "Do we knock?"
I shook my head. "We don't want to attract their attention. I can hear movement inside, so how about we mark this office on a map and then go outside and watch them from there? We can try flying a drone close to their office window or use binoculars."
"Good idea. Thank A'Ta that they have those glass fronts. Very suitable for reconnaissance."
We made our way back to the ground floor. Just before stepping through the scanner, someone called from behind, "Didn't you find them?"
It was the Gemi'i at the reception. They both looked at the sample box I was still carrying. Klat.
"We found them, and they gave us some new samples in return," I said with a reassuring smile. "Thanks for your help."
"Have a safe journey, then. Come visit us again."
I exchanged a look with Matar, glad that we'd dealt with that little problem. Professor Katila would have been proud - before she turned into a bloodthirsty maniac.
We walked around the building until we got to below Hix and Hex's office. I called Xil back on the Jade.
"Captain, can you dispatch a drone to our location? As small as possible."
"On it. Is everything going to plan?"
"Yes, we've located the targets and will now try and spy on them from afar until they leave the campus."
I felt like a professional abductor, giving him a report like that. Maybe we shouldn't stop abducting altogether. We wouldn't keep our abductees on our ship, but we could deliver them to other people who'd pay us for them. Not slaves, obviously, but there had to be a way to continue doing alien abductions without taking them on as additional mates. Trish wouldn't be happy with that, and to be honest, neither would I. One little human was enough for us.
The drone arrived only a few IG minutes later. I let Matar take control of it, since his comms implant let him have the most precise control of the device. He flew it close to their window and let it hover in the air. Sudden movements would attract attention, but the drone was small enough to not be noticed as long as it stayed in one place.
