Page 24 of Jewel of the Alien Bandit
“Bounty hunters are barely above an outlaw,” she remarked, but she had a glint in her eyes like she was considering the deal. “But if you can help me get the…”
She was testing me, her brow lifted now waiting for me to fill in the blank.
“Scientist,” I revealed that it wasn’t merely a technology, but a person who was stolen from a different star system, and helped research the technology of the scan that detected anomalies for the necia. The same kind of person that would be needed to help pinpoint compatibility and discover how to solve their mating crisis on Estreldez.
It’d also be beneficial to return that scientist to their planet, and create a treaty with them to prevent the necia or krelins from invading. That planet is also rumored to be protecting the last of the shols from my planet. Win-win.
Not missing a beat she continued, "I refuse to hire outlaws to snatch a person from their home. We just need to know where they are so we can talk with them, or make an agreement with the leader of their clan.”
“Not all species have clans,” I mused.
“Then we will offer the scientist an agreement, personally.”
The gravity simulator turned off, and I gripped the handle on the wall. It made me happy that she was so pure that she had no thought that the scientist wasn’t already stolen from their home, but she’d find out soon enough the better offer was to steal Brinny from the necia, and find a mobile lab for her. Unless the Estreldez were prepared for a fight they couldn’t bring her back to the planet or to her home planet either.
“We’ll look into it when we get there,” I delayed. There was no need to tell her Brinny has been part of my escape plan for a while now, she was only going to go back to Estreldez when this was all over anyway. I already had a deal with Brinny to have her remove my tracker, and with her access steal the data necessary for me to make my ship disappear from their database.
That would be it.
She’d get her scientist, I’d start a new life in a new star system.
Why did that feel so off now that she was here? I dismissed that sensation as a lack of gravitation steadying my stomach.
Luan bit her lip contemplating before deciding to ask, “Were the books about Necias correct? About there not being a moon?”
Why didn’t I think about that beforehand? Of course she would be concerned about whether there was radiation for her loh to absorb. Would she be okay being away from Estreldez? There was no moon orbiting Necias… only many satellite docking stations, and even permanent mobile bases for various businesses. Necias was only thriving because of the constant trade, and fluctuation of outlaws and hunters. The planet was a mecha of all things technology, and had absolutely nothing going for it in terms of export, unless you counted being the hub of trade between black market deals.
“There are no moons there, but plenty of technology. Will you need a radiation pulser?”
She didn’t know, it was plain as the moon’s light that she had never left Estreldez before. Fuck, would I have to bring her back to her planet before finishing my escape plan or freeing the scientist?
How was I supposed to get her back without the krelins finding me? I’d have to send her back by herself.
“I should be fine,” she clearly lied. That was good to know, lying wasn’t in her skill set. I’d avoid putting her in a situation where she had to answer questions.
The ship jolted, and yanked me from my loose hold on the wall handle. I had been distracted, and jerked through the pod. It was Luan’s arms that reached out and pulled me to her before I could grab for another latch to secure myself. Gripping the holds beside her seat, I didn’t have time to strap myself in for the warp, and even Luan knew that as she squeezed me to her tightly. Her hold alone, even with the handles I clung to, wouldn’t be enough to stop the warp from flattening me outside of the cockpit. The transportation deck wasn’t designed with comfort in mind, it was for prisoners and securing supplies. We would both pass out from the constant spin of the ship without being in the main living quarters. Pushing my boots to the bottom of the pod, I activated the magnetic locking to secure my feet, and with one hand removed my belt to strap my hand to the other latch.
All of this extra effort, and bruises I’d get at the end of this to spend a few more minutes with her.
“See you on the other side,” I joked, already feeling the strain of holding myself in place.
“How long?”
“Carmen might wait until we’re passed out to transfer us, or it could be hours before we reach a satellite requiring her to end warp for long enough to gain access to the main cabin.”
“Hours…”
“I’m sorry,” I said sincerely as my vision blurred from the forces pressing me against the wall, and possibly suffocating Luan with my chest.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Luan
VAREO’S LARGE BODYpinned against me, and became heavier as his muscles stopped fighting against the warp’s pull, his head cracked with a thunk as he passed out.
Now, that he was unconscious I wiggled against him to unlatch his hand from the belt securing his arm so he didn’t drift along the walls bumping along when the warp fluctuated by degrees. I may not have been a pilot, but I knew enough through my studies to know hours of rotating around at high velocity was going to take time to recuperate from. Time we didn’t have if Carmen didn’t have to take the same delay to grab us. I also didn’t like the idea of seeing him banged up when we woke.
Undoing my own straps I clung onto his torso, and shimmied down to reach the magnetic boots and deactivate them then pushed off to the center of the pod. It was barely enough room to stay in the center and not touch the walls, but I could do it. I knew I could. It would just take my reserved energy, and I had no idea what would happen to me if or when I no longer had the radiation of the moon inside of me.
