And she was about to walk into a trap. Wasn't she?
No more time to debate with yourself. It’s time for decisive action, Captain.
With a deep breath, Brook pushed the button that opened the door to the bridge.
Ontarii, or what looked like Ontarii, was bent over the control panel, pushing buttons with a look of frustration on his face.
“Step away from the controls.” Brook filled her voice with as much backbone as she could muster. She pointed the laser pistol at the major and prayed he’d obey her orders willingly.
She wasn’t sure if she could take him in a fight. Even with the laser pistol.
Ontarii didn’t bother to look up. “According to the log, someone activated the airlock from the bridge. That means the Hareema agent could still be in here, right now.”
“Step away from the controls,” she repeated through gritted teeth.
“Don’t be foolish.” He tapped the console rapidly. “I’m attempting to modify your scanners to see if they can isolate organic matter from inorganic. I’m not sure if the scans can pick up Hareema DNA, so—”
“Step away from the controls!” she screamed loudly.
The time for patience was over. Who knew what that thing could be doing to her ship from the main console? If it was a thing, and not the major.
Ontarii finally looked up. His eyes widened when he realized she had him at laser-point.
“What are you doing?” His voice was deadpan.
“If you don’t step away from those controls in the next five seconds, we’re going to find out if a Zantharian can be killed by an Earth laser beam.”
Ontarii moved slowly away from the console, his face blank, but his skin a bright yellow that bordered on neon. “Why are you doing this?”
“We can’t be out of each other’s sight, remember?” She moved toward the console and debated glancing down to see what he’d been doing. It might give her a clue to whether he was who he said he was, but the risk was too great. Given an opportunity, he could clobber her in an instant.
The major frowned. “What are you talking about?”
Brook sighed. “You ran down the corridor from the airlock and around the corner before I could catch up with you. I can’t even be certain you made it to the bridge.”
His midnight eyes narrowed. “You think I’m Hareema.”
She nodded. “I can’t take the risk that you aren’t. I have to behave as if you’ve already been replaced.”
Too many of my crew are dead, she wanted to add.Dead or missing. I can’t risk letting my guard down or I’ll end up just like them.
The thought that she couldn’t trust him filled her with a sadness that surprised her. The handsome alien had saved her life in the engine room. He’d supported her when she’d discovered Mike’s body. He was the only person she thought she could trust, now that she knew at least one member of theEarhartcrew was a Hareema agent.
For the first time in her life, Captain Brooklyn had been able to share the burden of the command. A spaceship captain’s word was law in the abyss of space, and orders had to be followed. The responsibility of running a crew during dangerous missions weighed heavy on the captain of the ship. For a moment she’d thought she might have someone with whom to share commonality and experience.
And it doesn’t hurt that he’s handsome, she thought.And he kisses like a playboy.
Still, there was too much riding on her being smart and making the right choices. Brook couldn’t trust anyone at this point. Everyone and everything could be the enemy.
“Captain Brooklyn,” Ontarii said, moving closer.
She straightened her arms, making sure to accentuate the pistol in her grasp.
The major paused as a frown marred his perfect features.
“I’m not Hareema,” he said, his words like ice.
She stared him down. “Prove it.”
