Chapter 19
Jamie tried to keep her breathing under control. The ship was hurtling through space towards a planet filled with enemy shape-shifters. For the last few hours, Drake and Herman had worked together to mine the data and give their plan shape. And she’d sat to the side, trying to get her fright under control.
She watched Drake, her eyes never straying far from his handsome form. His ebony skin still worried her. It hadn’t changed once in the all the hours she’d been watching. Coupled with Herman’s prognosis, she feared that he was hiding something important.
Although she was pleased that he’d finally listened to reason and allowed her to come with him, she wasn’t sure what had caused his motivation to change. Jamie realized now that she loved the giant alien. She hadn’t known him for long, but already she couldn’t imagine her life without him.
And if he was destined to die in the near future, she didn’t know how to accept that fact.
“So they captured the mole, but they haven’t moved against him?” Drake was murmuring to the robot, pointing to a row of lines on the view screen.
“Correct. They were plotting to use him to set up a gathering of rebels so they could arrest them all at the same time.”
Jamie’s brows furrowed. Herman had somehow determined that the Hareema had their own group of rebels, shape-shifters who didn’t believe in their expansionist policies. Drake had surprised them by admitting knowledge of the rebel faction, but the Zantharians hadn’t had any means of contacting the rebels.
Now Herman had uncovered data on Danner Thompson’s computer that had given them a glimpse into the Hareema’s plans. It had taken the little robot over an hour to break the code the shape-shifters had used to encrypt their data and make it resemble more mundane NASA business, but now they were privy to the Hareema’s plot against their rebellion.
“If we can get word to the rebels before Thompson and his goons make their move, we’ll have the upper hand,” Drake mused.
“Correct,” Herman replied. “Further, if we can rescue both Dr. Lakewood and the rebel operative, we have a chance of turning the tide of the war.”
There was another period of quiet as the pair continued to dig through the data. Suddenly, a loud, repetitive beeping broke the silence.
“What is that?” Jamie asked. A row of red lights on Herman’s surface had started blinking in time with the alarm.
“I have routed my GPS locator through the ship’s array. I believe I have just located Dr. Lakewood’s position.”
Drake punched some buttons on the console and a star map appeared on the view screen. There was a blinking red point on one of the planets.
“There?” Jamie asked.
“Correct,” Herman replied.
“The prison planet. I was right.” Drake frowned. “We’ll be there in less than an hour. We need to make sure we have our plan ready to go.”
As she listened, the alien and robot laid out their ideas for infiltration. Jamie knew that what they were attempting was risky, but she had faith in her friends. They went over the plan multiple times, dissecting it from all angles. They’d be relying on chance at several points, but there was little they could do in their circumstances.
Drake came over to her, cupping her cheek with his large hand. “Are you sure you can do this? Say the word and I’ll turn this ship around.”
Jamie nodded, touched by his kindness. “Yes. I want to do my part to save my planet. I’m tired of my sister getting all the credit for good deeds.”
Drake laughed. She could see that he wanted to say more, but he remained silent and returned to his console.
It wasn’t long after that another alarm rang out, this time from the central console.
“Approaching craft, report.”
“It’s the Hareema,” Drake stated. “Here we go.”
He hit a button on the pad and began to speak. “Patrol reporting in. I have a prisoner.”
“We have no record of your ship,” the voice returned, its tone tinged with anger.
“I was stationed on the Zantharian home world. I’ve been in deep cover for several weeks. I was charged by the Zantharians with scouting the outer sector for our people. Instead I came across another human rescue mission. They reacted badly to my presence and attempted to use their inferior weapons on me. There was some sort of malfunction and their ship was destroyed. But I managed to capture a prisoner before it blew.”
There was silence from the Hareema. Jamie held her breath. Everything hinged on them accepting Drake’s story. Finally, after what seemed like ages, the voice replied. “Affirmative. You’ve been cleared for landing in the central compound. You are to bring your prisoner directly to Command.”
“Acknowledged.”
