Page 30 of Desperate Measures

Earth II

Reporter Blythe Nelson sat at her computer, tapping her fingernails on her desk as need warred against indecision. She had a job to do, but personal concerns threatened to derail her usual determination to see it through.

For once, those concerns had nothing to do with her blossoming intimate relationship. She’d become involved with Clan Deram, a group of Kalquorian spies who operated on Earth II. Having discovered they worked undercover to guard the infant planet from those who’d threaten the lives and liberty of its residents, she’d chosen to maintain their secret…and their newfound love affair.

It was a difficult tightrope to walk for someone who lived her career as a journalist as gospel. But the threats to Earth II, Kalquor, and the rest of the galaxy had grown exponentially in a matter of months. Blythe had found her desire to keep its many species safe from destruction greater than exposing the unadulterated truth.

Her assignment on Earth was a cover, unknown to her fellow humans. She was, in truth, an undercover reporter for the Jedver News First Bureau. Her employer was based in the Galactic Council, which had been subverted by an alien force from another dimension. It was worry for her chief editor and friend Retoft, whom she referred to as “Rob” for those who might choose to listen in on her conversations, which made her pause before steeling her resolve and hitting his private frequency on her com. Even a scrambled conversation, of which no record could be or was kept, did little to alleviate her concerns for his safety in these tumultuous times.

He answered after a couple of seconds. She didn’t miss the anxiety in his voice, though she noted he tried to cover it. “Jedver News First Bureau. Retoft speaking.”

“Hi, Rob.”

“Blythe.” He whispered, as if he were afraid of being overheard. “Lovely hearing from you. Can you make it fast? I’m…busy.”

He was afraid, all right. Possibly of someone questioning him about an untraceable com. “The GC is threatening an orphanage of Armageddon kids. Kalquorians are attached to the facility. Both worlds are throwing a shit fit. You aren’t reporting on it.”

“Can’t. Upper brass quietly emptied the bureau of Earther and Kalquorian journalists through layoffs and long-distance assignments. No one left has any interest in a few hundred human kids…or they’re too afraid to bring it up.”

“Fuck. Are they controlling everything?”

“They have no choice. Listen, there are protests breaking out all over various settlements in GC space.”

“Which has leaked, thanks to those fleeing the GC.”

“Few are getting out now, unless I miss my guess.”

“The flood of refugees has slowed to a trickle where Earth is concerned.”

“Then you may not know of the level of military force being used to put down the demonstrations. Soldiers are firing on civilians, Blythe. Ground troops are everywhere. I have no doubt I’m being followed throughout the day. I’ll be hauled in to answer for this com, make no mistake.”

Blythe swallowed. “You need to leave Jedver. I have resources that could help.”

He chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’ve concocted a number of plausible stories to cover my ass when my undercover reporters com me.”

“Rob, you have to leave.” She could taste the trouble he was in. Her instincts, rarely wrong, screamed his circumstances were dire.

“Would you? Or would you stay until the job was done or you were unable to do it any longer?”

Her silence answered for her. One of the reasons they got along so well, this reptilian man from a world named Perta and all-too-human Blythe, was because they were more alike than different.

“Tell them out there what I’ve told you. I’ll pass along what I can when I can. Until then…take care, Blythe.”

He was gone, the com ended. She wondered if she’d ever hear from him again.

Her heart heavy, she sat in her cubicle in the newsroom. She faced her computer screen and its half-finished script for her latest report, as well as half a dozen vids of the news from across the galaxy. She’d silenced them for the duration of her conversation, and she could hear various reporters and editors in the network of cubicles and desks muttering conversations, sneezing, and coughing.

She touched the filtering mask she’d taken to wearing in the company of others. Some debilitating flu was going around lately. The last thing she needed right now when so much was plunging into hell was to get sick.

“Stay safe,” she whispered belatedly to Rob, whose problems were no doubt more dire than any flu.

* * * *

Alpha Space Station

“Matara Charity? We’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

Charity turned at the voice coming from behind her. Three handsome Kalquorians and a gorgeous, well-dressed Earther female had approached from behind as she’d prowled the public area of the space station orbiting Earth II. Her heart sank as she recognized them, but she put on a smile, as if pleased to run into the group.

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