Page 36 of Star Defenders (My Alien Mates 2)

I only caught snatches of the conversation, enough to understand. Slek's voice on the other end was soothing.

I jumped at a sudden banging on the door. I backed away, half expecting it to crash open. An army of Iri, with silver faces and glazed eyes, would pour in and eat our brains—

Oh wait, that's zombies. Iri have a normal diet of fruit, vegetables and fish. Still, when the pounding came again, I looked around for something to use to defend myself.

"Let me in," a voice came from the other side of the door. Specifically, the comms beside the door, which delivered the sound into the infirmary.

"Zarex," I said with some relief.

J'avet scowled. The two men seemed to hate each other with a passion, although I didn't know why. Maybe because Zarex was nice.

"What is your status?" J'avet replied. He hadn't moved from the comm panel.

"Nanobot free, as of the last scan," Zarex said. "I have someone here who requires medical assistance."

I thought J'avet might refuse, but he nodded to the security officer who opened the door.

Zarex stepped inside, his arm around Brinley, who looked dazed. Blood covered her forehead, but it had already begun to dry.

I hurried forward, but J'avet waved me back.

"Scans first, then we decide if you're welcome or not," he said coolly.

"It's good to see you too, J'avet." Zarex smiled. It broadened when he saw me, but then his attention was on helping Brinley onto the scanner bed.

"What happened?" I asked from a safe distance.

"We met an Iri," she said weekly. "He tried to get onto the bridge. We managed to push him into an escape pod and eject it, but…"

"They have a whole pod to devour," J'avet said darkly.

"With any luck, they'll deactivate before they meet anyone," Zarex said, but he didn't seem confident of that.

"No nanobots," I reported when the scan was finished. I helped Brinley off and gave her a hug before Zarex climbed up in her place.

"We really need a handheld version," I said. I led Brinley over to a cubicle and started to clean up the gash in her head. "How are you feeling?"

"A bit wobbly," she replied. "I didn't lose consciousness and I don't feel like vomiting."

"Good. Those would have been my next questions." I smiled briefly and wiped away the last of the blood. "That sounds like it was scary."

She shivered. "It was. He was nothing like the relatively nice Iri on Calig."

"You mean the ones who wanted to turn every Freytaurian into one of them?" I asked ironically.

She snorted softly. "Yes, them. At least they weren't violent. Except Selvia."

"I didn't see any of her companions try to stop her," I said. That made them just as bad, in my book. "I know what you mean though. Danec tried to break the door down."

For the first time, she noticed him out cold in the isolation room. Her mouth formed an O.

"Shit, this has all gotten out of hand, hasn't it?" She frowned and winced. "Ouch."

"Sorry." I finished a last swipe and reached for a bandage. "You'll need to lie down and rest for a while."

"That might teach her not to be too heroic next time." Zarex placed a hand on my shoulder.

When I glanced at him, he smiled. "Still bot-free."

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