Page 7 of Chosen By the Alien King
I pressed a kiss to her temple, another to her cheek.“How many do you want?”
“My answer used to be one.But now, with you, with the Xenoxx so close to extinction, I’ll settle for two hundred.”
Laughter burst from the depths of my soul.
Goddess help me, this woman might just kill me.And I would enjoy every second of it.
Chapter four
Nera
Earlythenextmorning,I found Rain dressed in a striped overall dress in what was left of my ship.I’d been restless, nervous, not so much about the wedding, but about what came after—the downfall of Earth Space Fleet.
Brought about by a single Xenoxx scale though?No, I needed something more, like Rain’s proof.
“Nera.Hello.”She smiled, her whole face brightening like she was surprised I was here.
Well, me too.
I closed the brig door behind me, one of the few that still worked.My crew had arrived long before to start the repair process.
“Congratulations on your engagement to Maxx,” she said, her voice almost musical.“He’s quite the catch.”
“Uh-huh.Thanks,” I replied as conflicting emotions surged within me.“Did you know that I would end up with Maxx, a Faid like you, when you signed me up for this show?”
She tilted her head, causing her silk-spun blonde hair to swish against her cheek.“Why do you say that?”
“That’s not an answer, Rain.”
“But…I didn’t make him love you,” she said softly, shuffling her feet in her sensible shoes.“I can do some things, but not that.Love can conquer even the most complex of obstacles, even him being a Faid.Besides, it’s not that hard at all to love you.Even me.Especially me, even though I didn’t have emotions already built into me like Maxx did.”
My stomach twisted while a strange sense of sadness washed over me.I didn’t want to talk about this anymore.Despite the tension coiling between us like an invisible thread, I pushed on to what was most important—the plan.
“That’s it?”Rain asked after I explained it.“You think a maximum of twenty years in prison for one person who might—might—try to sell the Xenoxx scale on the black market will bring about the end for Earth Space Fleet?”
“Yeah, that, and all the proof you have once it’s leaked.”
She shook her head.“Most of it’s encrypted.”
“So decrypt it.”
“It’s not that simple.Their firewalls and anti-hacking measures are a lot more advanced than the word search I emailed you.”
I blinked.“The what?”
“Never mind,” she said, gazing down at the floor.“I can decrypt everything, sure, but decrypting and leaking the files from their original source will hold much greater weight than a Faid doing it.That way, Earth Space Fleet can’t say the files were tampered with.”
“Not if it comes directly from them,” I said with a nod.“Okay, so what do you suggest?”
“Plug a decrypter into any of their computers and then send them out to every news agency in the universe via the same computer.That can be done at the same time the Xenoxx scale is planted, if you still want to go that route, but I would suggest you bug and track the scale.”
“In case we overhear any tasty nuggets of Space Fleet wisdom,” I agreed hesitantly, trying to quell the doubts gnawing at the back of my mind.This was a lot to ask of Pete to do for us.“Mosely can get me a tracker and a bug.”
“And I can get you a decrypter small enough for transport.”
I nodded slowly and couldn’t help but wonder if I could trust her.Was she really as dedicated to our cause as she claimed, or was she simply using us for her own gains?But what kind of gain would that be?Continue existing on a rogue planet that she’d created while in her weathered house with furniture and decorations from our old home?Avoid being killed by me?Punish herself for ripping away my favorite part of life ten years ago?
I glanced over at the computer in the corner billowing up blue bubbles, all of which popped steadily.This was part of Rain’s anti-hacking measures to prevent herself from being taken over by Earth Space Fleet again, and since she hadn’t tried to kill me once, I supposed it was working.
