Page 25 of Alien Knight Teddy Bear Troubles

“Any trouble?”

“Only you.”

She sagged with relief. “Good. Let’s get it and get the hell out of here before the Dark Ones come back.”

“What about the ship?”

She stood and walked over to inspect the ship, Taeger right behind her. She’d forgotten just how badly the hull and cockpit had been damaged. “There’s no way to repair this in time. We don’t have replacement parts and we have to get the hell off this planet as quickly as possible.”

“You piloted this craft?” Taeger asked.

“Yeah. If you can call spiraling to the ground piloting.”

She was making a joke, but Taeger was not amused. He inspected the ship, his gaze lingering on the scorched hull and missing chunks of metal. He ran his palm along the edge nearest one of the engines, reached up inside and twisted, withdrawing one of the two crystals that somehow powered the ship. How it worked, she had no clue. She wasn’t a physicist or engineer. She was a pilot.

He tossed the crystal to one of his men who looked at her like she’d grown a second head. Ignoring him, she followed Taeger around the edge of the ship to the other engine and watched as he removed the second crystal the size of his fist.

“What are you doing?” She asked.

“This is Lumerian technology.” He inspected the crystal, rubbing the edges with his fingertips before tossing it to another one of his team. “Where did you acquire it?”

“You first. What’s Lumerian?”

Taeger and Cassie stood staring at one another, neither answering questions while Smith disappeared inside the ship and returned moments later carrying a large black case. “Let’s go, Cap.”

Cassie weighed her options and quickly realized she had none, not if she wanted to have any chance of getting off this planet with her package intact. Her mission was to get the weapon to Earth at any cost. And since Taeger had been willing to take her there before, he was her best option.

Except now he didn’t budge.

The sound of small rocks tumbling to the ground drew her attention as Charlie climbed out of his hiding place, the small canteen of Maju water in his hand. “Who cares. This stuff is magic. We need to find out where to get more.”

Cassie turned to find Taeger watching her, the softness she’d seen earlier gone from his gaze.

“Where did you get this ship?”

“What difference does it make?”

“Did you get it on Earth?”

She shouldn’t tell him, but she couldn’t stand the coldness in his eyes. “No.”

Behind her one of his men cursed and she realized that was the wrong answer.

Smith stepped back into the ship’s entrance and raised his weapon. “Captain? We good?”

She looked from Smith to Taeger to Charlie--who was carefully moving his hand to his own weapon--to the five men who’d come with Taeger to help her.

Shit. This could go sideways fast.

She raised her palms into the air and shook her headnoat Smith. “Put it down, Smith. Charlie, you too.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Smith said.

Me too.Aloud, she said. “Taeger, listen to me. I know you are Caldorian, but your friends on Earth have been lying to my government. They lied about the Vilitos threat. They lied about the black market operating on Earth. We agreed to their occupation of our planet because they promised to protect us--and they failed.”

Taeger listened, the coldness in his gaze replaced with doubt. “Earth is being protected, I know this to be a fact. If not for Falden and his men, all humans would already be on one of the Dark Ones harvest ships.”

She shuddered, irritated that he was so sure when he’d told her Earth was not his home. “I do not know who this Falden is. The Caldorian king is Dagan. And he’s been lying to us, keeping secrets. My people don’t trust him and so they made...other arrangements.”

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