Page 24 of Neverwylde 6
Chapter 11
Outpost Delta Six
For much of the next two hours no one spoke as Kelen piloted them through a sector of space she and her fellow Terrans had never ventured into before. Massapa pulled the emergency rations from the shuttle’s hold and passed them out.
Unable to remove her hands from the depressions while they were in flight, Dox ventured forward to squeeze the contents of the food and water pouches into her mouth. She started to thank him when she saw him place part of the thick goo onto one finger and shove it inside his jumpsuit. Not saying anything, she continued to keep an eye on the young man’s movements. When he did it again, removing a clean finger after leaving it there for a minute or so, she remarked about it.
“Dox, what’s inside your jumpsuit?”
Dox started. His face turned pink, and it was then she knew what he was hiding.
“Dox, are you feeding Five? Did you bring him with you anyway?” Her questions roused the others, some of whom had begun to nap.
Mellori grabbed him by the shoulder and gently swung him around. “He brought Five with him?”
A tiny nose poked out from inside Dox’s jumpsuit, followed by a wide-eyed look of apprehension from the little furry.
“He held on,” Dox explained. “Wouldn’t let go. Didn’t have a choice.”
Mellori glanced at Kyber. “Don’t believe there’s a chance we can return the little guy back to his planet, is there?”
“We have a bigger worry to think about first,” Sandow remarked. He twirled a finger over his head. “This Seneecian shuttle isn’t going to sit well with some people. Once we get on the outpost’s sensors, they might fire first and ask questions later.”
“I have been deliberating about that,” Kyber admitted. “So far, we seem to have avoided being recaptured. Which means Duruk is going to have to find a way to do damage control once we get out word about the neverwylde.”
“Why?” Sandow inquired. “Why is keeping the existence of that half planet so important?”
“Kyber?” Mellori leaned forward in his seat. “Did you know there was such a thing as a neverwylde?”
Kelen looked over her shoulder to see her husband shaking his head. “No, I did not. But, to be honest, there are many things a D’har is privileged to know that a Por D’har does not. As for why the need for secrecy, I have no idea.”
“That’s a fair conundrum,” Sandow muttered.
Jules sat up straighter in his seat. “Reaching the outer periphery sensors of the outpost.”
“Where is it?” Kyber asked.
“Ahead twenty-three degrees port.”
“Kelen?”
A buzzing came over the console speakers. Gaveer adjusted the input until they could understand the incoming message.
“Seneecian cruiser, veer off. Veer off. You are encroaching without authorization. Veer off, or we will be forced to fire upon you.”
Kyber reached for the communications toggle to respond, when Fullgrath snatched his hand and pulled it away. “Better let me. Ain’t no way they’re gonna mistake my voice for a Seneecian,” the man explained.
Kyber silently agreed and got out of the seat to give the comm over to him. Parking himself in the chair, Fullgrath pointed to the toggle. “This one?” At Kyber’s nod, he flipped the switch.
“Hey, is this the outpost bordering the Bak Dur Bak system?”
Several seconds passed. Kelen could only imagine what might be going through the minds of the people overseeing their communications.
“This is Outpost Delta Six,” came the reply. “This is a territorial post, granted by the Bakkite Grand Council, and maintained by the Terran Spacial Military. Again, we strongly urge you to veer off from your present course, or we will have no choice but to fire upon you.”
“If ever there was an ‘eat shit or die’ answer, that’s it,” Cooter wryly observed.
Fullgrath hit the toggle again. “Uhh, Outpost Delta Six, yeah, we’re in astolenSeneecian shuttle, but I can assure you we’re not the enemy. My name is Lieutenant Winston Fullgrath, military ID number seven two seven Alpha five nine six zero. I was the weapons master aboard theManta,which crash landed on a remote planet several parsecs from here. We’re asking permission to dock.” He hit the switch to await their response.
