Chapter 11
Major Ontarii followed the human female as she opened up one of the science compartments accessed from the corridor outside the bridge. He couldn't believe that he'd kissed her.
Even more, he couldn't believe how much he'd liked it. The thought of kissing her again consumed his thoughts and he had to beat back his desire to throw caution to the wind and take her in the next available space that gave them privacy.
Although his career hadn't afforded him much time for relationships, he'd been involved with several Zantharian females in his time. That none had ever excited him like the human female did, was unsettling.
Physically, she was nothing like a Zantharian female. She was at least a head shorter, and much curvier. Her hair was silky and smelled of fruit. Her skin was a pure alabaster, as clear as cream. And her eyes. Her beautiful golden eyes...
He tried to pull his concentration back to the task at hand, but being so close to Captain Brooklyn made paying attention to anything besides her very difficult.
The first science station yielded nothing. As did the second. They made for the crew quarters and searched every bunk. There was no sign of the missing crew.
Captain Brooklyn opened the door that led to quarters larger than the others belonging to the crew. He surmised that they must have belonged to the captain herself.
Scanning the room, he looked for any clues into her personality. Her quarters were sparse, featuring a cot much like those possessed by the other crewmembers and a desk that took up one wall. There was a device in one corner for which he couldn't determine the function.
"What is this?" he asked, approaching the device. It had a front stand and a short belt arranged near the floor.
"It's called a treadmill," she said distractedly, bending down to check under her cot. "It's used for running."
Ontarii nodded. It was vital to stay in shape while working on a ship, and one as small as hers had limited opportunities for space.
He wandered over to a short dresser and inspected the content on its surface. One brush. One hair clip. One small piece of jewelry that could go around the neck. So far her possessions had failed to clue him into her character.
Ontarii slid open the top drawer and reached inside, latching onto a piece of soft fabric and pulling it out. He unrolled it, discovering that it was a small piece of underclothing that looked to go over her lower region. It was black satin, and touching it made his mouth water. He had started to lift it to his face as she screamed at him.
"Give me that!" she yelled, pulling the material from his hands and stuffing it back into the drawer, which she slammed shut. "What are you doing?"
"Just inspecting the quarters," he said, shrugging.
"Inspecting my underwear drawer? You think there are enemy agents hiding in my panties?"
"It never hurts to check." He was unable to stop a smile from spreading across his face.
"There's nobody here," she said, heading for the door. "Let's check the infirmary."
There was nobody there, either. Nor in the crew's mess. He followed Captain Brooklyn as she headed into the cargo bay. "I don't know how we could have missed someone in here earlier, but we might as well check again to be thorough."
Ontarii nodded and the pair began to examine storage containers one by one. Once again, their search turned up nothing.
"This is ridiculous," the human said, her face displaying exasperation. "How could my entire crew just disappear?"
"And my guards," Ontarii said. "It doesn't add up." He ran a hand through the tendrils on his head which had become agitated due to his mood.
"Let's think about this logically. There are only a few possibilities that could have happened." Ontarii began counting off options on his fingers. "Your crew could have been moved to the flagship for some reason, but that doesn't explain the ship's absence."
He extended a second finger. "The Hareema have replaced your entire crew, and are now shifted into inanimate object form and are hiding in plain sight. However, we know that not all of your people were Hareema from the beginning, this means we should encounter some of your crew, or their remains."
"And what about your subordinates?" The human crossed her arms over her stomach as if almost embracing herself. A pang went through him at the thought, and the urge to comfort the woman rose uncomfortably inside him.
"They're gone too, remember?" She continued her thought. "Is it possible your crew could have herded mine onto your ship?"
Ontarii frowned. It was possible, but unlikely. His crew should have waited there for his return, or secured the ship and awaited orders from the flagship. Still, if he had returned, or a Hareema did with his appearance, they would have followed any order he gave them.
"We can't boil this down to a few logical choices," the captain said, her tone low. "We just don't have enough information. The Hareema we know is loose on the ship is a wildcard."
Ontarii liked to see matters in terms of black and white. He was disturbed by all the gray this mission contained, and quite irritating that the human was the one to point it out. He could barely think, standing so close to her, but apparently he didn't affect her in the same way.
