Page 53 of A Mate For Matrix
She straightened. “Matrix? What’s happening?”
He tapped a few keys on the console. The screens responded like loyal soldiers.
“Everything’s back online,” he replied, his voice still edged with tension.
Her eyes returned to the looming presence out the viewport.
The approaching ship hovered in the darkness like a question waiting to be answered. It was close now—close enough to make out its unusual design. Not sleek. Not industrial. Something in-between. Familiar yet foreign.
“K-Nine,” Matrix barked, “cloak, full field. Prepare for immediate departure on my command.”
“Engaging cloak. Calculating possible safe jump vectors,” K-Nine responded in a clipped voice, sharper than usual.
Matrix turned to her. “Strap in. This might get tricky.”
Her heart thudded as she slid the harness over her shoulders. “What are you going to do?”
Matrix gave her a grim smile, all edges and shadows. “Depends on what they do.”
At her feet, the kittens meowed—anxious and confused by the shift in mood. She scooped them up, tucking Butter and Biscuit into her lap while Honeybun scrambled up to her shoulder, hiding in her hair with a trembling purr.
Outside the ship, the approaching vessel slowed—hovering just beyond weapons range. No IFF ping. No obvious threat. But the silence made it worse.
“Matrix…” she said softly.
He didn’t respond. He was watching the screen. And then—he stiffened.
Jana leaned forward, trying to read his expression. Confusion. Suspicion. A flicker of… hope?
Matrix reached forward and opened a comm line.
“Unidentified vessel,” he said coolly, “you are approaching a Confederation-class long-range military starship. Identify yourself.”
Static.
Then—
A sudden blast of alien voices—overlapping, cursing, arguing. It sounded like at least two men on the other side were bickering about something, one voice deep and deliberate, the other smooth, but more agitated.
K-Nine snorted—a mechanical wolfhound’s version of a laugh.
Matrix’s lips twitched.
“…Is this an alien version of a bitch session?” Jana asked, her eyebrows rising.
The smoother-pitched voice barked something about not trusting “what might be a long-range starship or a damn Alluthan trap.”
“Alluthan?” Matrix asked, pressing a control. “What’s an Alluthan?”
The comm went silent for a beat.
Then the deeper voice replied, this time in perfect Confederation Standard—so clear, Jana’s translator didn’t even need to adjust.
“My name’s Seal. My companion is Bulldog Ti’Death.”
Jana blinked. “Ti’Death? Is that… a real name?”
A rustle, a curse, and more bickering came from the speakers.
