Page 48 of Her Alien Cyborgs
She’d die first.
With that upbeat thought at the front of her mind, she sat down and buckled in. Then she got to work.
TheFalconwas still far enough away that they shouldn’t be able to intercept her communications. Especially not if she used a tight beam to relay the message directly to her intended recipient.
The downside? The receiver would be easy to identify. Or they would be, if Flek wasn’t good at his other profession.
“Ship, you’re off mute. Please locate one of Flek’s data buoys. You have the list of codes and transponder keys in your database. I need one close enough to hit with a tight beam communication, and I need you to find it fast.”
“Scanning now.”
While the AI did its thing, she composed a quick letter summarizing the situation and asking Flek to grant her another favor. If he came through, she’d owe him more than she was comfortable with, but it would be worth it.
She read through it once, corrected a couple of misspelled words, and called it good enough. “Hey, ship? When you find the buoy, send the message I just encrypted and saved to memory.”
“Confirmed.”
“Alright. Then it’s time to start the show.” She took a deep breath and composed her features into what she thought of as “serious captain mode.”
“Ship, is theFalconstill hailing us?”
“They are.”
“Then open the channel. It’s time Lieutenant Commander Heath and I had a chat.”
The officer in charge wasted no time with pleasantries. Not even a hello. Her voice came through even before the visuals were established. “Who am I speaking with?”
Since the entire point of this conversation was to stall for time, Hezza didn’t answer until saw the other woman’s face on her screen. She was young for her rank, which immediately made Hezza wonder if talent had earned her the promotion or something else. The military claimed it was immune to nepotism and bribes from the corporations. She’d be more likely to believe them if they claimed the heart of every star was filled with chocolate.
“This is Captain Bratt of theDesperate Gambit. I don’t think we met while I was traveling on theArrow. What can I do for you, Lieutenant Commander?”
Heath’s ice-blue eyes narrowed, and Hezza could swear she saw one eye twitch slightly. Good. A high-strung young officer looking to make a name for themselves was something she could work with.
“Captain Bratt. You are under arrest for the illegal transport of restricted alien weapons and the attempted sabotage of an Interstellar Armed Forces vessel. I am ordering you to shut down your engines and prepare to be boarded. Any resistance will be met with lethal force. Do you understand?”
Hezza had to repress the urge to laugh out loud. Was the lieutenant commander’s bun so tight it had cut off blood flow to her brain? Sabotage? Alien weapons? Was that the best they could come up with on the long flight here?
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’ve done nothing to any IAF vessel.” That much was true. Archer was the one who’d somehow managed to convince the entire task force they were under attack.
“Are you refusing to comply?” Heath demanded.
“I’m not refusing anything. I’m just stating my innocence for the record. I assume you are recording this.”
She flicked her gaze to the small screen that showed an outline of theGambitand a progress bar. The scans were underway, but so far there was no sign of thefraxxingtracker.
Hezza held up her hands. “Look. I’m willing to let you come aboard so we can have this discussion face-to-face. I’m not willing to shut down my engines this close to Taza Four. If we drift too close, gravity is going to make this difficult for both of us. Plus, if I’m adrift without engine power, traffic control will designate me as a hazard. That comes with a bunch of paperwork I don’t think you want to deal with.”
“No one else is out here,” Heath protested.
Hezza shrugged and tried to look innocent. “Rules are rules.”
Heath pointed to someone off screen and asked. “Is she right?”
Hezza scoffed at the woman’s confusion. Ofcourseshe was right. That was the whole reason she’d chosen this flight path.
A male voice confirmed what she already knew, and Heath’s expression turned sour. “Get yourself into a stable orbit, Captain. Then my team is coming aboard to secure you and the cargo you stole.”
Hezza cocked her head to one side and tried to look puzzled instead of pissed off. “What stolen cargo?”
