Chapter 14
Zyair proudly pointed out his ship, the Top Asteroid. It sat on the landing pad atop Darina Indorsha’s mansion looking like a sleek silver bullet. It had been his one true love when he got it to celebrate coming of age. He knew if he wasn’t careful, though, his human lover might usurp its place as number one in his heart.
“It’s beautiful,” Layla breathed. “Are we really going to ride in that?” She looked up at him with her big brown eyes.
Her praise made his chest swell. “You like it?” he asked. “It goes warp thirteen and has the Fn51G cloaking device fitted.”
“Really? That’s amazing,” she said as they walked across the landing bay toward it.
He wasn’t quite sure if she was just humoring him or if she really was impressed with his number-one toy. But he loved that she seemed to be excited about it. Anything he could point to that connected them outside of the maddeningly good sex made him feel better about the soft spot in his heart for her. “Open,” he said as they approached.
A hitherto invisible section of the craft slid open and gently touched the ground before them, allowing them access to the interior.
“Astrid, meet Layla,” Zyair said as they walked up the gangway. “She’s to be given level-three clearance.”
“Hello, Layla,” said a female voice from within the ship. “Welcome aboard the Top Asteroid.”
“She’s outfitted with the Lt12Astra Hospitality Program. If you need anything, just ask Astrid.” Zyair decided he was going to enjoy showing his new lady around his ship.
“That’s so lovely!” exclaimed Layla. “Hi, Astrid. Great ship.” She smiled broadly as she said the words.
“Why, thank you, Layla. I hope you enjoy your stay.”
Zyair led Layla to the bridge, pleased to hear her gasp at the sight. The Top Asteroid did that to people. It was cutting-edge.
From the outside, it had a seamless silver hull with no windows or doors visible. From the inside, every wall, floor, and ceiling on the bridge was a clear panel with an unobstructed view of the outside world. It felt like you were standing in the air.
“Only H.G.31 InterGalatic Fighters and the Top Asteroid are fitted with this level of tech,” he told her, although he knew he was probably omitting others that existed in that class. He wanted to impress Layla, and his words accomplished the job.
“Astrid, prepare for liftoff.”
“Sure thing, Captain Lorrz. Where are we going?” There was barely a hum as the engines started.
“The QanTar space station.”
One of the spectacular features of Astrid was her ability not only to hold profiles for passengers but to shift modes accordingly. When the main objective was aeronautical, she referred to him as “captain.” When he relaxed, she referred to him as Zyair.
Two chairs materialized on the bridge. Zyair motioned Layla into one as he took the other. Her wide-eyed expression as she sat made him smile. He thought he’d impress her a little more.
“Astrid, I’ll take the controls, if you would.”
In the same manner as the chairs, a control panel materialized before him. “It’s the latest holographic technology,” he explained to Layla.
“This must have cost a fortune,” she whispered.
It had. It had cost a quarter of his trust just for the deposit. He was hoping to pay the final installment with the money from this job or investment dividends.
“She’s worth every credit. Don’t you think?” he asked proudly.
Layla looked through the floor and watched the planet Kona disappear beneath her. She was not in the least bit sad to see it go.
“Did I tell you the lab results came back on the footage with the Desolation Stone?” Layla looked sharply at him when he said this. “The video had been tampered with. It was cleverly done. Nearly got past my guys at the lab, but they cracked it in the end.”
Layla shot him a quick tight smile, but she didn’t respond. She sat back in her chair quietly for a minute in contemplation. He figured it must have been playing on her mind more than he’d realized. He’d gotten a bit distracted with the fun they’d been having and hadn’t really thought about her situation.
He glanced back at her, but she was staring out through the viewing panel in the opposite direction. He hoped all the fun hadn’t just been a ploy to stall him until her name was cleared. He was becoming fond of her, and he didn’t want to lose her now.
Kona was just a distant speck beneath them. He edged the controls to the left and pushed on the throttle. Suddenly the stars around them were a blur as the Top Asteroid sped forward.
“A Jorvlen ship is docked on that space station according to my intel,” he said, pointing. “Apparently it’s in dock five, so I thought we’d come into dock six and make our way there by foot so as not to be noticed.”
“Good plan,” she replied. She seemed quiet still, which worried him.
“You can stay on the Top Asteroid if you’d like?” he said. “Now that you’re no longer under a cloud of suspicion, you don’t need to be under monitoring or anything.”
“Oh, no. I want to help bring down the bastards who set me up,” she said vehemently.
They docked and made their way through the space station to dock five. “Watch this,” said Zyair from their hiding place behind some crates. He held out a small, black, matte ball.
“What’s that?” asked Layla.
“That is our tracking device.” He passed it over his wrist comm and made a few adjustments. The device vanished from sight, leaving only a transparent shimmer between Zyair’s fingers. He turned his palm over and released it. It was barely visible at all now, just a vague shimmer in the air.
He made another adjustment to his comm set, and the ball shot off toward the Jorvlen spaceship. “That should do the trick.” He glanced at his comm. He was satisfied the tracker was in place and working.
They were barely back on the Top Asteroid before the Jorvlen ship left the station. As soon as the Jorvlen ship was clear of the dock, Zyair initialized the cloaking device on his own ship, and they shot off in hot pursuit.
“I don’t understand the course they’re taking,” Zyair said after a while. “It’s so erratic. They’ve passed by three different destinations so far and not stopped at any of them.”
“Do you think they could be looking for something? Another ship maybe?” she replied.
“I think Layla could be correct in her assumption,” Astrid cut in. “The Jorvlen craft we are following has made contact with another vessel.”
They peered out of the screen and saw that, indeed, the Jorvlens were preparing to dock with another, much larger spaceship.
“What do we know about that ship, Astrid?” Zyair spoke to the ship.
“The vessel has not been on record since it was reported missing by the Tragan Army, more than ten Lorr years ago, Captain Lorrz. At the time of its disappearance, it carried a cache of weapons and components for a super weapon.”
“I think I remember that,” Layla murmured. “It was all over the news at the time.”
“You are correct, Layla,” the ship said. “They were worried that in the wrong hands it could be devastating.”
“So, what’s it doing here?” mused Zyair. “If the Jorvlens have gotten a hold of all that equipment, we’re in serious trouble. Astrid, see if you can lock into their comms. I need any information you can discover about what they’re up to.”
Layla stood, looking out through the viewing panel closest to the two docked spacecraft. Zyair went and joined her, putting an arm around her shoulders. She leaned her head against his broad chest and slipped her arm around his waist. He felt some of the tension in his body release.
So, she is still up for being intimate then, he thought. That’s a relief. He’d been worried she would pull away now that her name was clear.
His thoughts were interrupted by Astrid making her report. “It’s not good news, I’m afraid, Zyair,” she said. “I have intercepted a transmission talking about transporting materials for a weapon of mass destruction to use against Lorr.”