Page 60 of Alien Peacock

“Don’t. I’ll send some captives into it. They’re motivated enough. None of us will risk being shot.”

“Except you’ll lead the assault, if I know you,” Cerak sighs. “I notice you got shot once more. Has it ever crossed your mind that you’re not the best battlefield commander?”

“No, and it never will because nobody will ever be stupid enough to say that to my face. Get closer. Good, that’s it. Cerak, I’m curious about why that ship full of armed Fresks suddenly arrived just now. The former workers say that nobody was expecting the ore to be collected for a month yet.”

“Coincidence,” Cerak says tiredly. “A surprise inspection. A spot check. A changing of the guards. A delivery of supplies. A friendly visit. Shall I go on?”

I support myself on a console as he takes the ship through some abrupt moves. “You skipped the most obvious answer: someone asked them to come to Sprenk with a squad of armed goons. And it must have happened before we got here. Someone knew we were coming. It’s strange, because nobody knew. Except for everyone aboard this ship.”

“If you say so, Supremacy.”

The other saucer fills the display as we catch up with it. Our ship trembles as it makes contact.

“Ready to board through the regular airlock,” Cerak says. “You can still change your mind.”

I check my ray gun. “After we take it over, I will interrogate the Bululg on that ship. They might tell me exactly why they came to Sprenk.”

For a change, Cerak doesn’t have a snappy reply.

15

- Maeve-

“Getting ready to board a ship,” Bari says excitedly, her tail wagging. “Just like pirates!”

“You may want to stay back,” I suggest as I shift my grip on the ray gun. “There’s going to be fighting.”

“Hey, I can fight if I must. I just choose not to.”

I get the first aid pack out of my jumpsuit pocket. “Exactly. You can also choose to not get in the way.”

“I’ll try. But in the excitement, who knows what might happen.”

Arelion comes striding. “You’re not needed for this, Maeve. Virlu and Sponz will pick a few of the freed males to take part. Some of them have a military background.”

“They’re Bululg,” I tell him. “I was trained to hurt them as much as possible. Stand still. I’ll clean that wound.”

“At least stay in the rear,” he seethes as he lets me tend to his new injury. “Do not take any chances. There won’t be many Bululg aboard a ship that small.”

I cut away the fabric around the wound, then quickly disinfect it and apply the last band-aid I have. “So there’s no reason foryouto be in the first line, either. Some of the captives are big and really eager to take on a Bululg crew. Let them do this. All right, all done for now.” I wrap up the pack and straighten up.

“They might kill the Bululg,” he points out. “I need at least one of them alive. I’d like to know why that ship suddenly arrived.”

Virlu has picked out some of the freed captives and given them ray guns. Now they’re all by the airlock, ready to go into the other saucer.

“Boarding a ship is forcibly entering a vessel,” Virlu instructs them, “often against the will of the captain or crew. This can involve using force or intimidation to gain access to the ship.”

Arelion gets ready by the airlock, big and colorful, grinning and looking excited about the battle, like a pirate captain from the old days. “Just follow me. Don’t kill any Bululg. We need them.” He hits the airlock release, and then we’re looking straight into the other saucer. All I can see is that it’s darker than this one. The specter that is Sponz flickers as he enters the enemy saucer.

Arelion walks fast into the other ship, gun held out in front of him. The freed captives follow right behind him. I quickly join them, not sure how smart this is.

In the corridor inside the enemy saucer, they all turn right, which should take them to the control room where the Bululg will be.

Realizing they don’t need me there, I turn left instead and make my way through its constant curve, aiming the gun in front of me. The curve is much sharper than the corridor on our large saucer.

I hear squealing ahead, suddenly cut off.

Slowing down, my heart pounds in my ears when I turn the final corner and find myself in the small control room.

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