Page 67 of Alien Barbarian's Little Human

“So do I.”

And thus, the unspeakably evil villain from our live’s stories was taken care of with a vacuum cleaner and a space toilet. Nerita gave him another jolt from the suture device before we flushed him just to be sure.

I slide my arm around Nerita’s shoulders. She rests her head against me and sighs.

“Now what?”

“Now?” I kiss the top of her head, warmth spreading through my chest. “Now we live our lives to the fullest.”

Nerita purrs and snuggles up close.

“I could get used to that.”

She suddenly pushes away from me.

“After we rescue Jessica.”

I don’t bother trying to argue. Besides, I do not want to. The girl does not deserve such a cruel fate.

Getting down to Horus IV is much easier than getting out. Thanks to the hover tank’s small size and weak power signature, it doesn’t register on sensor arrays as a possible starship. This does mean it can be mistaken for a missile, however.

I’m about halfway through the atmosphere of Horus IV when the HUD flashes.

“We’ve got incoming…looks like Rippers. Six of them.”

“Ataxian fighter craft,” I grumble. “They believe we’re some kind of missile or bomb launched by the Alliance, no doubt.”

“What are we going to do?”

“They have superior speed and maneuverability, so we cannot outrun or outfly them.”

“Great, and they probably outgun us, too, right?” Nerita sighs.

“Affirmative.”

“Then what chance do we have?”

“Only one path remains open to us. Subterfuge. My implanted knowledge includes considerable amounts of Ataxian intelligence. Please open the communications array to channel 66.589.”

“Say what? I thought channels were always whole numbers.”

“Set the channel manually.”

“Oky, if you say so.”

The ships draw ever nearer. Soon they will be in weapons range. I must enact my plan, and quickly.

“Channel’s open, not that anyone will be listening,” Nerita says.

I deepen my vocal chords to sound more like a Grolgath and speak into the comms.

“This is Veyderut, call sign Red Harvest. Break off your pursuit immediately.”

Nerita covers her face with her hand.

“We’re doomed.”

I watch the heads up display, barely daring to breathe. Is my intelligence up to date? Or have the Ataxians changed their protocols for undercover operatives since I was grown and cryogenically frozen?

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