Page 45 of Commander’s Mate

I went back to the conference room with my mouth still warm from his and the unsettling realization that, for the first time since I was taken, I had done something because I wanted to.

Chapter Nine

Zared

I should have gone directly from Harper to command business.

Instead, I stood alone in the corridor for three breaths, still tasting her.

She had kissed me back.

That fact had no place in a report, no tactical value, and far too much power over my attention.

I made myself move.

On the bridge, Tivid Lantu looked up from a lower station as I approached. Smaller than most Uatu males, wiry and quick-eyed, he had spent the raid stealing auction data while the rest of us stole captives.

“I have partial records,” he said. “The Ursagans destroyed or encrypted much of the live sale ledger when the alarm triggered. I copied enough to be useful and enough to be angry.”

“Farseek?”

“Some. Breskaa appears multiple times. Sector Six mining concessions. At least two hundred Uatu sold through linked brokers.”

Cold focus replaced every other thought.

“Alive?”

“Alive at transfer. Current status unknown.”

“Prepare the full report.”

“Already compiling.”

“Earth?”

Tivid’s mouth pulled thin. “That is more complicated.”

Degatu turned from the command well.

“Explain,” I said.

“There are four females marked with unknown low-technology world origin. Harper Avery, Scarlet Andrews, Zoe Addison, Nora Reed. Species labeled homo sapiens. Origin designation translates as soil-world, ground-world, or local linguistic equivalent.”

“Earth.”

“Yes. But the coordinates field is blank.”

“Corrupted?”

“No. Deliberately removed before sale.”

I stared at him. “Why?”

“Speculation?”

“Give it.”

“The slavers may be concealing the source world. If Earth is unregistered and contains a population they consider commercially valuable, they would not want competitors finding it.”