Page 58 of Star Defenders (My Alien Mates 2)

"Yes, Ithink," J'avet said. "It's not foolproof, but it's picking up clusters of nanobots. The good news is, if it's picking them all up, they're centred in the mess and galley."

"What's the bed news?" Zarex asked.

"The bad news is, it might not be picking them all up," J'avet replied.

"I prefer to assume they are," Slek said.

"There!" Brinley spoke suddenly. "One pod away. They may not buy that we're on it, but—"

"A dozen clusters of bots are moving away from the mess, toward the pod bay," J'avet said. "They must think there are others down there."

"Are there?" I asked.

"As far as I can tell, only a few others made a run for it when we did," J'avet said. "They're scattered around the ship. I can't tell them to come here without drawing attention to our presence."

I sighed and nodded. We would be more help to them if we stayed hidden.

"As it is, I have our position blocked, so anyone searching will find an empty room," J'avet added.

That was good to know. My friends and lovers were all so smart. I couldn't help but be impressed.

"There, I've found it," Zarex said.

"A human woman's G spot?" Slek asked. He gave me a smug look over his shoulder.

I flashed him a smile and had to force my eyes back to the screen. I would much rather he was exploring my body than sitting here trying not to die.

"Oh, I know where to find one of those," Zarex said lightly. "I found the source of the Iritauri signal. It's on a planet not far from here—Tarathu."

"Give me the coordinates," Slek said. "I think I can cut the ones on board off from that signal." He scratched his head. "We need to do more than that though."

"Can you take control of them?" Zarex asked. He tapped the coordinates for Tarathu into a tablet and handed it to Slek.

"I— Maybe. I'll need more time." Slek leaned over the screen, his nose almost touching the glass.

"That's strange," Brinley said. "Another pod left the pod bay."

"Who's on board?" Zarex asked.

It was J'avet who responded. "Six clusters of nanobots."

"Six Iritauri," I said softly. "Are they going after the other pod?"

"They're going in the same direction, yes," Brinley said.

"Shit," Slek muttered. "I can't cut them off if they're not on board. Or take control of them."

"Focus on the others," Zarex said. He sat back and cracked his hands over his head.

Slek nodded. "I'm going to try to cut them off, then take control. If I'm too slow, they may react badly."

"By react badly, you mean…" I ventured.

"Kill the non-Iri on board," Slek said.

"Ah. That would suck," I agreed. And hard. If anyone died because of what we did, that would be difficult to live with. Assuming we lived much longer. Which I was assuming, because I wasn't nearly ready to die yet. Not even close. Nope.

"Yes, it would suck, and not in a good way," Slek said. "Ready—"

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