Chapter 4
5 Days Later —Deep Space
Sharon looked out the large viewing screen on the Katieran transport ship Intrepid. This was her third trip on board a transport. It was a huge spaceship, as big as a cruise liner, and it was fully armed with alien weaponry and small war ships. They had left Kiljor five days ago en route to the meeting place for negotiations with the rebel leader OrIN.
Lieutenant TanAR had upheld his end by taking her to meet Kiljorn interrogator StrykER and his mate, a singer-songwriter from Earth named Melody Song. She had been warned that StrykER’s mutation gave him special abilities, but she hadn’t expected him to be able to read her like he did.
StrykER entered the room and spoke with her for about ten minutes. His questions were intense and deliberate. His steely blue gaze took in her every move. It was like being trapped in a cage with a tiger that was watching for just the right time to strike out at her. She used all her training as a negotiator to keep calm, to not let any of his questions or behavior throw her off. Then, he smiled at her and the tension left the room immediately.
“I got images of weird little yellow creatures in the water,” StrykER said. “What are those?”
“Oh, ducks. I always found watching ducks on a lake very calming and peaceful. I think of those things in tense situations.”
“I think you’ll do just fine for this mission.”
Well, she had received StrykER’s approval even if Lieutenant Commander LazAR barely spoke to her. TanAR told her not to worry about it but she had doubts of the success of her team if all the team members were not on the same page.
Sighing, she turned away from the view of dark empty space. It was beautiful when they were near a star system and planets. But being out this deep in space felt a bit isolated and lonely. Her longest trip was from Earth to Katiera and that took a month. She couldn’t see how anyone would be able to serve on a transport longer than a month. She had been ready for solid ground and swore she wouldn’t leave the planet surface for a while. A couple of years had gone by before she was asked to go to Kiljor so she had time to forget how much she hated being out in space.
“Sharon, are you okay?” TanAR came up to her. She swore that the man either had a nose for tracking or had put a tracker on her so that he would find her no matter where she was. As big as this ship was, she couldn’t seem to find a really private place except in the quarters she was given.
“I’m fine, just ready to get off this ship.”
“You don’t like to travel?”
“I don’t like being out in deep space. It can feel claustrophobic.”
“We try to make sure that crews spend time on the surface of a planet if they’ve been in space for several months. Space sickness is a real thing and can be deadly. Some have been known to lose their minds and become dangerous.”
As they walked down the corridor, she noticed they were attracting attention. She was the only female on board and now she was grateful that TanAR suggested that they act like a couple for her safety. She took his hand when he offered it.
“I guess I prefer solid land.”
“Can I ask you why you would take on this mission?”
“I guess it gives me a purpose, a way to help and to use my skills. I have been restless on Katiera after the past few years and with no mate and no baby, I was ready to return to Earth. Lucy came to me with this mission and I thought this might be what I was looking for.”
“You’re a beautiful female, exotic with that short hair style. It enhances your delicate features, and your gorgeous eyes appear large and entrancing. I don’t see how any male wouldn’t want to mate you.”
She felt heat rise to her cheeks. “I was asked but I refused. I wasn’t in love and that’s a factor I require in a mating. I want to be in love.”
“What kind of male are you looking for?”
“I don’t know and right now, I don’t have time to spend on a relationship. This mission is important. Even if you guys don’t tell me the real purpose of coming here, I want to do my part — even if my part is the distraction.”
“You’re a brave female, Sharon.”
“I answered your questions. Now for mine. Why did you take this mission?”
“I have unique abilities that might aid in the success of the mission.”
“Like StrykER’s abilities?”
“Not quite like his but my abilities come from my mutation.”
“May I ask what your abilities are?”
“I can influence a person’s actions. Sometimes I can calm tensions and other times I can raise anger. I can convince someone to do something that they had not originally intended.”
