Page 51 of Fresh Flesh

I digest the implications of this, but Mlarx thinks a little bit faster than I do.

“Oh no!” Mlarx exclaims. “Does this mean Maisie has been offloaded already?”

My heart sinks with disappointment. Lurg opens up the throttle and we careen from the crest of one wave to the next. This time I do not complain, however.

We signal the ship and come up abreast with it. The ship slows to a halt and a rope is tossed out. We clamber up onto the deck of the larger ship using a rope ladder.

Lurg heads right for the captain, who has come to greet us. The captain doesn’t look too happy about having to stop, but as an Overseer, Lurg outranks him.

“You,” Lurg says. “We are searching for an escapee from one of our farms. We were told you had her on this vessel.”

Lurg gives a description to the captain, whose eyes glimmer with recognition.

“Yes, I do remember a human woman with spotted cheeks.”

I do not like to think of her lovely freckles as ‘spotted cheeks’ but the captain keeps talking before I can object.

“I’m afraid she’s no longer on board. I offloaded her on the mainland.”

“Why?” Lurg demands. Mlarx cracks his knuckles and looms dangerously.

“Because this is a breeding ship,” the captain replies. “And she did not need to be bred, as she was already pregnant.”

My mouth drops open in shock, and Lurg looks devastated. The captain lowers his voice conspiratorially.

“The doctor says that she was carrying a Gren’s child, at that.”

We all exchange glances with each other. It has to be one of ours. Still, that doesn’t mean we don’t want to get her back.

It might even mean we have even more reason to.

We get back onto our own ship and fly toward the mainland. The time we make is outstanding, but it takes a toll. About a quarter mile from land the ship comes down a little too hard and the hull cracks. It starts taking on water, and we barely make it to the shallows before our vessel sinks.

Fortunately, a dock is not far away. We come up and requisition zoomers from the engineer on duty at that hour, and ask about where the nearest farm is.

Then we’re skipping through the air instead of the water, each of us determined to find Maisie at all costs.

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