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The screen goes blank.
“Dammit.” I smack the video comm a few times and keep pressing a button to return Ellie’s call, but nothing happens.
“Technical difficulties?” Mom blows out a long breath and rakes a hand through her hair. She glances toward the entryway. “Maybe we could get one of the engineers who installed it to come back and have a look.”
“Yeah, maybe, but…” I lose my train of thought when a shudder affects theJansonnaand a beam of red light flashes in my peripheral vision.
“Fucking hell,” Mom says. “We’re attacking theHaxxal.”
We rush to the viewscreen and watch as red beams shoot from the worldship toward theHaxxal, causing the alien ship to quake. We’re no longer in hyperdrive and I’m not certain when we paused our travels. I didn’t feel the jolt like last time, but perhaps I was too preoccupied with Ellie’s call.
I gasp at what happens next. About a dozen shuttles zip away from theJansonna. They head straight to theHaxxal’sdocking bay.
Why haven’t any of the Darrvason ships returned fire?
“This is bad,” Mom whispers, clutching my arm. “Very bad.”
“Captain Warren is a power-hungry idiot,” I say, “though I never imagined he was this stupid. But I don’t understand why the Darrvasons aren’t fighting back. Nathan says they possess weaponry that’s far superior to ours. He once told me they could obliterate theJansonnawith the press of a button.”
“They want women of childbearing age. They’ve only received thirty so far, and they’ll be wanting the other two thousand one hundred they were expecting. As badly as they seem to need females, I don’t think they would destroy our ship. Maybe that’s why they aren’t returning fire.”
“Yes, but why aren’t they firing any warning shots? Or firing directly at our weapons systems?” I shake my head as disbelief courses through me.
“There’s no news on the info screen,” Mom says with a frown. “Let’s head into the corridor. Maybe we’ll run into a security officer who’s in the know.” She grabs my hand, and we take off.
But we run into a problem before we’re halfway out the door. A huge Darrvason blocks our path, but it’s not Brute. It takes me a second to place him, but I soon realize he was one of the engineers who’d installed the video comm. I don’t know his name, but I remember he’d glanced at my mother too frequently for my liking.
“Remain in your quarters where it is safe,” he says in a commanding tone. He speaks in Galactic Common, though his accent is thicker than Brute’s.
“Tell us what’s going on,” Mom says, stepping closer to the huge male. I try to tug her back to my side, but she doesn’t budge. She lifts her chin and glares at him.
“Your people are attacking the Darrvason fleet, with a focus on theHaxxal,” he replies slowly, as though he thinks we’re dumb.
“Why are you here?” I ask, though I think I know the answer.
“Officer Brute sent me to make sure you both remained in your quarters. He’s authorized me to use physical force to keep you inside until the danger is over. I hope you won’t make me do that.” A smile tugs at his lips as he peers down at my mother. “I hope you’ll be willing to return to your quarters where you might wait out the danger in safety and comfort.”
Mom huffs, then glances at me. “I figured your boyfriend was behind this,” she says in Italian, our go-to language when we don’t want anyone else to understand what we’re saying. Less than one percent of the worldship’s population is familiar with the language. Like many Earth tongues, it’s dying out as many parents opt to only teach their children Galactic Common and perhaps one additional language, usually English.
“He’s not my boyfriend,” I reply in Italian.
“We’ll return to our quarters in a moment,” my mother tells the Darrvason male. She gives him a curious look. “What’s your name?”
His eyes darken with unmistakable lust as he moves closer to her, and I start to worry I might have to place myself between them. He’s staring at her in the same ravenous way Brute tends to look at me. Awesome. I was really hoping for one more problem to add to the list.
“I am Chief Xorrsa,” he says in a deep rumbling tone, his nostrils flaring as he takes a deep inhale. “I am in charge of Engineering on theHaxxal. You may call me Xorrsa when we are alone, but when we’re in the company of others, decorum dictates you should address me as ‘Chief Xorrsa’.”
“She’ll only be calling you ‘Chief Xorrsa’,” I say as I finally succeed in yanking my mother across the threshold of our quarters. “Because there’s no reason for the two of you to ever be alone.”
The door to our quarters zips shut, and we return to the viewscreen. We sit on a sofa and watch, waiting to see if theHaxxalor any other vessels in the Darrvason fleet will attack theJansonna. I really hope not. But what Mom said makes sense. The aliens probably want to avoid causing any serious damage to the worldship. They need human females, after all.
Anxiety twists my stomach as we wait and watch for what feels like hours. Nothing more appears to be happening. TheJansonnadoesn’t fire at theHaxxalagain, which is a relief. I really hope the situation can be resolved peacefully. Whatever the situation is. I still find it difficult to believe Captain Warren ordered an attack on the Darrvasons.
Like it or not (and I definitely don’t like it), humankind needs the powerful alien race to ensure our survival. And the Darrvasons need us to help continue their race—they need fertile women so they might grow their population instead of dying out completely.
To my horror, theHaxxalfires at theJansonna, a quick beam of red that grazes the starboard. The worldship only gives a light shudder, and I doubt it caused any damage.
“That was just a warning shot,” I say. “Just a warning. Don’t be scared, Mom.”
