Page 48 of Zalis
She liked him. A lot. She was in so much trouble.
ZALIS
“It is time to cease looking inward and look out.” Arms behind his head, Lorran propped his feet on the table.
Zalis was unsure if the male disrespectfully mocked the warlord’s words or was quoting them for a far less treasonous reason.
Havik grumbled and knocked the male’s feet off the table. “Do not. My mate is eating. Show respect.”
“Apologies,” Lorran said to Thalia, who was busy consuming several cookies.
“These are amazing. Thank Gemma for me,” she said, crumbs falling from her mouth. She shrugged her shoulders, as if abashed, and swept the crumbs onto the floor. “And Lorran’s just being salty because his permanent vacation is over.”
“It was a good assignment.”
“Yet here we are without a spymaster,” Thalia said. She excelled at analyzing the data the intelligence team brought back. However, she was from Earth and lacked a deep knowledge of the quadrant. They needed someone who had contacts on everyplanet. Someone to lead the team. Thalia was, as she put it,a spy minion, not a spymaster.
The warlord had a spymaster in mind: Caldar. A clanless male well known for his meddling and a talent for slipping away from consequences. The problem was recruitment. The male needed proper motivation to join the clan. Lacking that, the warlord needed leverage.
That was Lorran’s assignment. Caldar had been pursuing Sonia, the friend of Lorran’s mate, for nearly a year. His behavior did not violate any treaty or law. Barely. Lorran was to find that evidence to use as leverage.
“He did not make contact?” Zalis asked.
“He never does,” Lorran said.
“Are you certain? Would the female inform you?”
Lorran gave Zalis a sour look. “Sonia would tell my mate.”
“Will we discuss our new assignment or will we have to sit through more photos of Lorran’s holiday?” Ren asked.
“That wasart. My mate painted landscapes,” Lorran protested.
“Yes. We have a complicated mission.” Zalis captured the team’s attention long enough to highlight the various tasks they would need to accomplish and the supplies to requisition before reaching Val Mori.
“This is a very sophisticated printer,” Ren said. “Engineering will not want to share.”
Zalis debated the high-end printer. Engineering had several printers to manufacture components for the engine and ship maintenance. While Zalis had made do with smaller models withlimited functionality and only occasionally asked Engineering to supply parts, there were too many unknowns waiting for them on Val Mori.
“We are going into this project with limited knowledge. We cannot anticipate the components that we will require, and we will be separated from theJudgment, thus we cannot rely on Engineering to print and supply what we need,” Zalis said.
“Which means I will be the one to ask Engineering,” Lorran said. He bumped his wrist comm against Zalis’ tablet, transferring the relevant data.
With their assignments, the team broke apart.
Zalis lingered in the doorway. He should have retreated to his workspace, but a personal issue made him hesitate. “Thalia, I need to speak with you.”
“Sure. What’s up?” Thalia remained seated at the meeting table and waved him back into the room.
“Tell me how to make Gemma love me.”
Surprise flitted over her face. “Wow, you’re just going for it. Didn’t even bother to beat around the bush.”
“That idiom makes little sense and that is why I seek your help. There is a significant cultural difference between Gemma and myself.”
“Okay, that’s too much to unpack and have you stand in the door. Sit your butt down.”
He did as directed.
