Kat heard the human female make a strange clicking noise. She risked a glance at Dr. Cohen. She held up a finger and was delicately shaking it at the regent.
“Regent, forgive the request, but what I have to say is restricted information. Are you certain I should speak freely.”
Rasveen’s face tightened. “Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of my mate.”
The rumorsweretrue. The Supreme Regent of the planet Zanthar had been snared by the tiny human scientist.
Kat wasn’t sure how to take this bit of information. Her thoughts began cascading.If the regent could mate with a human, then—
“Start talking, Lieutenant, before I throw you in a cell with a spikefin and get my information from someone else.”
The image of her being gored by the massive ocean predator brought her mind back to the task at hand.
“Major Ontarii is not aboard the flagship.”
“My men have already relayed that tidbit to me, Yarr. Try harder.”
“He’s been impersonated by a Hareema agent, either when we encountered the human ship or before.”
“Human ship?” Dr. Cohen leapt forward, staring up into Kat’s face. “You encountered a human ship?”
“Yes,” Kat said, giving a small smile to the scientist before returning her focus to the regent. “I can’t be certain when the major was replaced, but my suspicion is that he was impersonated after he returned from the Earthling vessel.”
“That would support our theory that Earth has been infiltrated.”
Dr. Cohen crossed her arms over her chest and scowled at her mate. “We don’t know that for sure. Clearly we humans are being used as pawns in this intergalactic game of whose-got-the-bigger—“
“Enough, my mate. We’re not going to rehash that same argument.”
“Don’t cut me off, Xiv. I have just as much a right to speak as you. In fact—“
“I don’t mean to interrupt,” Kat said, gnawing on her bottom lip. “But there is one more thing you need to know right away.”
“And that is?”
Before Kat could speak, the small console on the desk started to chirp. “Report,” Rasveen ordered after pushing the comm button.
“There’s a Hareema on the flagship.”
The voice sounded rattled, causing the regent to pin Kat with a dark look. “Did you know about this?”
“Yes.” She hurried to explain the plan to keep the Hareema contained with a constant current.
“You’re aware of our protocol?” Rasveen asked gruffly.
Kat nodded, but Dr. Cohen put a hand on her arm and spoke up. “Xiv, I told you that protocol needed to be changed if we’re to make any progress in our fight against the Hareema. It sounds like she’s caught us our first prisoner.”
For a moment, Kat wasn’t sure how the regent would respond. After several seconds, he pushed the comm button. “Continue to keep the creature contained, as the lieutenant has done. I want it in a secure cell under guard immediately. And keep pumping that current into it. But not too much. I want the prisoner alive. Understood?”
There was fear in the voice of the officer on the other end. “Understood.”
The regent leaned back in his seat and kept his gaze centered on hers. Kat wanted to melt into the floor, but she kept her blank expression and stared back.
“I wouldn’t have expected this kind of creative thinking from you, Lieutenant,” Rasveen said after a pause. “I familiarized myself with your dossier when I heard you’d taken command of the flagship. You’re an excellent officer, but you always follow orders. What led to the idea of taking prisoners?”
Kat took a deep breath. “I can’t take full credit for the prisoner’s capture. It was a human, Lieutenant Jeffrey Brunt, who convinced me to try and hold the Hareema.”
“Lieutenant Jeffrey Brunt,” Dr. Cohen said in a wondering tone. “I’ve met him. He’s known as somewhat of a prankster at NASA. Always telling inappropriate jokes. His crew is devoted to him. He serves under Captain Jennifer Brooklyn. Which means the ship you encountered was theEarhart.”
