Outside the entrance to the engine room, one of the soldiers was bent over Kat, who was still lying on the floor, unmoving.
Without a word, Jeffrey bent down and picked Kat up. He then headed toward the exit. “You, grab your partner and come with me. I want you to get the electric cage for our prisoner.”
Jeffrey made his way back onto the scout ship, being careful to not jostle his companion overly much. He headed to the mess, then pointed out the storage container to the men. “Take that back to the cargo bay of theEarhartand set it up. I want the prisoner in the cage immediately. Report back when it’s done. Leave two men there on guard.
“Will she be okay?” one of them asked, gesturing to where Kat lay in his arms.
“She’s still breathing,” he snarled. “Luckily for you. If she doesn’t wake up, though, I can’t vouch for your safety on the ride home.”
“I understand,” the Zantharian replied. “She countermanded your orders. There was a warning light on the bridge console and she thought you were in danger.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Jeffrey said. “You were to keep her safe. You failed.”
The Zantharian soldier shrugged. “She’s been my C.O. for three years. It’s hard not to follow her orders.”
“Well follow mine now and get your asses back over there. I want that prisoner dealt with now.”
The two men departed, leaving Jeffrey alone with his female. He remembered her saying that there were bunks beyond the mess, so he pushed his way through the membrane on the other side of the room and ended up in a chamber with eight berths lining the walls, two lower and two upper, on either side of the room.
He headed to the closest lower bunk and carefully settled Kat into it. Jeffrey made room for himself to sit beside her, then began to assess the damage.
Her face was swollen, her lip cut and bleeding.I should kill that fucking Hareema asshole.He fought hard against the rage inside him. If they didn’t need the information it had so badly, he’d say damn the breach of protocol and murder it with his own hands.
Seeing her bruised and battered face made his insides feel like they were being cut apart by a billion pieces of jagged metal shrapnel.I should have been there to protect her, to keep her safe. Now she’s been beaten like a piece of meat and I…
He forced himself to focus on something else before he entirely gave into despair. Then Jeffrey remembered the salve the medic had spread on him on the flagship. He scurried around, pulling open hatches and searching for anything that resembled a first aid kit.
He finally found one in the mess, and yanked the case open, exposing several containers full of liquids and unguents. Unscrewing the lid on the one that looked closest to the salve he remembered, he held the contents to his nose.
“That’s it,” he cried. “Steamed broccoli never smelled so good!”
Jeffrey rushed back to the bunk room, sliding to a halt in front of Kat’s bed. He went to his knees and, as gently as he could, he began spreading the salve over all of her bumps and bruises.
“Wake up, precious,” he muttered as the salve began to absorb into her smooth skin. At long last, her beautiful eyes fluttered open.
Kat started away, trying to sit up in bed, but Jeffrey pushed her back down. “No sudden movements,” he said. “You’ve had quite an encounter.”
“Encounter?” she croaked. “Is that what they call a back alley brawl on your planet?”
Jeffrey laughed with relief.
She’s okay.
Then his mood suddenly became darker. “You stubborn little fool,” he growled. “You could have gotten yourself killed!”
Kat frowned. “Where’s the Hareema?” she asked.
“We caught it, with little thanks to you. What were you thinking?”
She tried to sit up again, and when he went to stop her, she pushed his hands away. Kat swung her legs over the bunk, giving him a grimace.
“I was thinking that I didn’t like being left behind while the big boys had all the fun.”
“I gave you a fucking order, Kat.”
“A fucking stupid order, Lieutenant!”
“I swear to God, if you don’t—“
