Page 97 of Game on Askole

“About a week. Thor is utterly fearless. You wouldn’t believe the places I’ve found him.”

Adan picked Thor up carefully.“Why is he chewing on me?”

“It’s called teething,”Kaylee said, rescuing her son.

“A shape-shifter could come in handy,”Zoey commented.

Aunt Tess asked,“Can you do an Askole?”

“I can take any form.”Adan transformed into Sariel.

Musa jabbered happily.

KeeKee hopped up and down on my head.“Do again. Do again.”

Poof. Lilkee stood there.

Oh, gag me.“Anything but her.”

The wizard kid appeared.

Zoey laughed.“He’ll be our ace in the hole.”

“You will only eat those who try to harm us, Adan,”Detja warned from the pilot’s chair.

“Yes, daughter.”

Bree chortled.“Pity the fools who get in our way.”

Haki asked,“Are we there yet?”

“No, we are not,”Kaylee answered patiently.

KeeKee whined.“When we get there?”

Without batting an eye, Kaylee grabbed a backpack. She handed Thor some silly putty to play with and rolled marbles for Haki, KeeKee, and Musa to catch and bring back.

“My mom gave me an Etch-A-Sketch when we went on road trips,”Zoey said with a smile.

Bree grinned.“My dad would hand me a Glock to field strip.”

Me? I read romance novels. The smuttier, the better. Mom was not pleased when she found the heroes were aliens with big dicks.

* * * *

Four hours later, we went into orbit around the frozen world of Epsilon. There were only two settlements on the ice-covered landmass. Sirte, the rebels’ stronghold, and Murdo, which was inhabited by a few hardy souls who harvested the feathery yellow Eugleanophyta. It was a type of algae that grew on the ocean bottom and was worth its weight in gold. Eugleanophyta reversed the effects of aging, and people flocked to the planet, hoping to strike it rich. Few did. The only way to get to the Eugleanophyta was to drill through a thousand feet of ice. A one-man submersible was then lowered into the water to harvest the algae. Not only were there severe rip currents that could tear the submersible apart, there be monsters. Hungry whalelike critters that chased down the mini-submarines and swallowed them whole. Their digestive juices could eat through anything.

“We have a problem.”Detja tapped the command console. A hologram of Sirte appeared.

I groaned. The rebels had erected an energy shield over the stronghold. One that could withstand an intense bombardment from space.

Detja brought up the schematics“The shield prevents anyone from teleporting in or out, and it blocks transporter beams.”

“I can get through the shield,”Adan said smugly.

I had to ask,“With a passenger?”

“Or two?”Bree was equally interested.

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