Page 6 of Alien Knight Teddy Bear Troubles

Greig nodded to the others and they moved with speed, their bodies blurring as door after door slid open and people stumbled into the corridor, some human, others not.

Above them, somewhere in the ship, Taeger felt more Dark Ones stirring, their minds ramping up with energy and eagerness to kill. Directing his next words to Cassandra, or “Cassie” as Ion referred to her, he held out his arms to Ion. “We don’t have time to argue. Ion, come with me.”

Ion nodded but hesitated, his sweet face looking up at the female with the same trust and adoration he’d just given Taeger. “Promise is a promise, right Cassie?”

“Right.” She ruffled the boy’s hair.

Ion took a single step away from the comfort of Cassie’s embrace toward Taeger, but refused to let go of her hand. “Uncle Taegie, she has to come with us. She promised.”

Taeger scowled. He didn’t have time for this. The Dark Ones would be on them at any moment. “Very well, but we must go now. No more arguing.”

Cassie pulled her cloak closer, ready to go. She needed to retrieve that data chip. Her mind spun with options.Try to backtrack on her own and leave Ion with his very capable looking uncle, or accompany them to make sure Ion gets out first?She looked at Ion and her heart melted.Ion. Ion has to get out of here first. Then go for the chip.Decision made, she nodded.“No argument here. Let’s go! What can I do to help?”

Cassie locked her eyes to his, her whole face lit with mischief. It was like a punch to his gut. He should not be reacting to a female in the middle of a mission. What the hell was he getting himself into here?

Every protective instinct Taeger had roared to life. Combat trained or not, she was a small, weak human with only a Lumerian dagger to defend herself and a three year old boy clinging trustingly to her leg. Help? “Keep him away from the fight and stay close. When it’s time to get off this ship, we will have to move quickly.” He didn’t sayifwe get off this ship.He couldn’t afford to think that way.

“Some of your men are dead?”

“They fell on the level above us. Their wounds were too severe to continue.” Taeger was already looking around, planning an exit strategy. Ships like this had escape pods built for the much larger masters these Dark Ones served. So large, in fact, that if he packed them tight, they might all fit in the pods.

The woman grabbed his arm. “Taeger, I still have some Maju water. If they aren’t dead, maybe we can save them. I know what it does now.”

Marcano’s water. The water she said Ion had been trying to get Marcano to drink. He did not bother to ask how she had kept possession of the water. It was well known that the Dark Ones did not strip search their prey. They did not care what the people they rounded up had with them.

Perhaps all was not lost.

“Give me the water,” he said, holding out his hand.

When she handed it over without complaint, he nearly sighed with relief, calling for Greig. As soon as the Knight appeared, he handed the container to him. “Find the others and get them to the control center. I’m sure that’s where the evacuation pods are kept. By the time you get there, we’ll either have control of it or we’ll all be dead. We’re not leaving anyone behind.”

“Understood.” Greig took the Maju water and was gone before Cassandra had time to blink.

Taeger turned back to face the woman with Ion. He looked past her to the gathering people rising to their feet. Some were pushing forward, causing others to stumble.

Panicked and afraid. Each and every one of them.

Before he could say anything to the gathering crowd, the human female turned around and held up her hands.

“Listen up,” she ordered, “we are getting out of here, one at a time, in an orderly fashion. Everyone grab a buddy. We’re going to line up like school children, two by two. Come through the door together. Stick together until we are on the evacuation pods. Got it?”

“Who put you in charge?” One of the males at the back asked, a young man, probably not yet twenty.

“Be quiet, Srivak.” One of the older men took the young man to task and Taeger relaxed a bit. He did not have time to deal with overly aggressive young ones right now.

To his surprise, Cassie answered the young man as well. “I did. You got a problem with that, stay here and die.”

Taeger blinked. Slowly. He had not been expectingthat.He liked her a bit more already.

She turned back around to face him, her expression calm and controlled.

Taeger nodded, accepting the fact that he was dealing with a soldier, no matter that she looked like a small, defenseless female. Still, he couldn’t help the note of concern in his voice as he asked, “You ready? We are going to have to move fast. And we won’t be able to wait for anyone who falls behind.”

She nodded and glanced behind her. He did the same, taking count of who was elderly or young. Injured. Who might need assistance and who could help. Fortunately, it seemed the pragmatic people of Mora Five had already paired off wisely, the fit helping those that needed it.

When he returned his attention back to her he found Ion’s hand firmly in hers and her gaze fixed on his face. “Let’s go.”

In the corridor his men had fanned out as the captives stumbled into the main hallway. He activated his comm so all of his men could hear him. “We’re heading for the escape pods. They’re two levels above where we transported in.”

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