Page 30 of Star Defenders (My Alien Mates 2)

I held it at the end of my arm and grimaced. "They're a powerful weapon."

"In the wrong hands, they are. Imagine what we could do with them if they let us."

I arched an eyebrow at him. "Like what?"

"I don't know. Maybe they could break down old ships and rebuild them from scratch. Or crawl into tight spaces to fix engines. Or… Things like that."

"I can see their value there," I agreed. "But I think I prefer they stay banned."

"I guess so," he said reluctantly. "I might be out of a job if they do any of that anyway."

"Yeah, that would suck."

"In the worst way." His gaze settled on my mouth and he smiled.

I was about to say something when the clump slid a millimetre across the dish.

I stopped mid step. "I must have let the dish slip a little." Yes, that must be it.

Why then, did it move a bit more while I stood perfectly still?

"I thought you said these things were dead?" My voice sounded high to my own ears.

"I did. They are." Slek sounded just as worried. "The dish is glass, the lid is on tight. They should be contained in there."

That should fill me with confidence, but in truth I was terrified.

"Engineering or airlock?" I asked. I dared not move a muscle.

"I don't know. We should be able to keep them contained in engineering, but…"

"Yes, it's thebutI'm worried about," I said.

Slek marched past my vision. The clump moved as if to follow. He pressed a button on the wall and waited.

"Just keep as still as you can, help is coming."

I licked my lips and nodded. "I hope they hurry."

Not a minute passed before the sound of booted feet approached from behind.

"What's the nature of the emergency?" I didn't recognise the voice of the security officer who spoke, I knew the one who followed.

"I should have known," J'avet drawled. "Whenever there's trouble, Edie isn't too far behind."

"Fuck you too," I muttered. "None of this is my doing."

"And yet, you're always right in the middle." He moved around in front of me and peered at the dish. "Activated nanobots."

"It would seem so," I replied. They moved around the dish more freely now. "You're welcome to take them from me if you like. I'm not too attached to them." My hand started to ache with the effort of holding still. No matter how much it hurt, I wouldn't drop them. Not for all the credits in the IF.

"Sir, what are your orders?" The security officer also stepped around me and stared at the dish with curiosity.

"We might never get another chance to study them," J'avet said thoughtfully.

"With all due respect," I said ironically, "if they escape, they'll chew their way throughHalcyonand enslave every Freytaurian on board."

"I'm not an idiot," J'avet said coldly.

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