Chapter 14
She'd had enough of the creature before her. At this point, Brook didn't care if he was a Zantharian or a Hareema. He was 100% asshole either way.
No more time for mistakes. Brook thought hard about what he'd told her, attempting to determine whether he could have been telling the truth at any time.
He saved your life, she reminded herself.He could have let you drop.
It was true. And the way his body had reacted against hers. How could something like that be faked?
That still left the dilemma of Ontarii being replaced by the Hareema while they'd been separated. His being able to convince her with his words that he was what he said he was seemed unlikely.
She needed hard proof. But how?
Brook tried to remember everything he'd told her about the Hareema. They were shapeshifters, and such excellent mimics that they could imitate an object or person's molecular structure. The only way the Zantharians had been able to trace them to theEarharthad been the residue they left when they were forced to morph back into their original shapes every six to eight hours.
That's it!
An idea formed in Brook's mind, one that would enable her to ensure that the majorwasa Zantharian, and that he could be trusted.
She spared a glance at the main console, furiously typing in a command. Looking up suddenly, she saw that Ontarii was several paces closer, his hand outstretched and his energy weapon charged.
Brook dropped to the floor, narrowly avoiding the pulse of energy sent in her direction. She rolled forward, kicking upward to tag the alien in the back of his knees.
The Zantharian fell forward, and in a second Brook was on his back, the laser held to the base of his skull.
"Move again and I'll blast you," she growled.
"You're making a mistake," he grunted back at her. "And when you realize it, I'm going to enjoy punishing you."
Punishing me?The idea sent a shiver down her spine, but not for the reason she would have expected.
How dare he speak of punishments when he was the one face-down with a laser pointed at his skull? And why does the promise of punishment excite me?
She blocked the thought as the bridge door slid open. The four FIDOs, NASA's defense robots, plodded into the room, awaiting her command. Brook barely had time to activate them before Ontarii tried to jump her again.
"Intruder alert," all four FIDOs chanted in unison. Their shoulder weapons were revealed and aimed at the Zantharian, giving her some semblance of relief.
"Now, listen carefully," she told him. "You're going to stand up and put your hands in the air. You will not charge your bioelectric weapon. You will follow the FIDOs down the hall and do as I say. If you don't, me and my robot companions will blow a hole in you the size of Earth's moon. Do you get me?"
The Zantharian's reply was muffled, but she managed to make out a "Yes”.
Brook got off the major's back but kept her laser pistol aimed at his head. Ontarii slowly stood, brushing his hands across his chest to clear off imaginary dust.
She risked a look at his face and what she saw there hurt worse than she'd expected.
Ontarii's features were carved in stone. His eyes were colder than the emptiness of space. He was furious that she'd gotten the drop on him.
Brook could admit to herself that she was hurt. If it was Ontarii and not a Hareema agent, she'd hoped that a part of him would be proud of the plucky human captain for getting the upper hand. Instead, he was behaving like an elitist who could never accept a human female as an equal, or maybe he was just one pissed off Hareema. There was only one way to find out.
As they walked along the corridor, Brook wished she could grow eyes in the back of her head. Heck, along the sides too. She swiveled her gaze back and forth, holding her breath for a Hareema ambush at any moment.
None came.
They made it down the corridor, through the mess, and into the hall that led to the crew quarters, the infirmary and the airlock.
They came to a halt outside the airlock door. Brook hit a button to reveal the manual control panel that was a smaller version of the one on the bridge.
Brook set the controls that limited all operations of the airlock to herself, requiring a personal access code to open or close the airlock doors. Then she pressed the button to open the door.
