Beyond the Stars: INEO (38 page)

I pounded my hand on the floor in disappointment. “I hate this. I don’t know why they want the Ineo so bad. It’s useless. I tried to use it to help us and nothing happened. I’m sorry to disappoint you,” I cried to Gaelan as I held him.

He looked up at me. “Never. Don’t worry about it. It’s not your fault. We’ll find another way out,” he said before letting out a groan as he reached up and rubbed his forehead.

Urit slid over to us on his hands and knees. Gaelan put out his hand to stop Urit from getting closer. “I’ll be fine,” he stated, refusing help.

I think he knew Urit was hurt by the choppy way in which he moved. Urit nodded and scooted himself to the nearby wall and rested his back against it for support.

I followed Gaelan’s eyes. “There’s our answer. Help me up,” he said, looking up at the latticed square panel in the center of the ceiling.

I stood and pulled him to his feet. He stumbled slightly before he steadied his gate. He appeared to be undaunted by his injuries. He clasped his hands together to make a step and lowered them in front of me.

“Climb up and see if it moves,” he told me.

I looked at his battered body and reluctantly stepped on his hands and let him lift me like a spring board. Despite wanting to hide his injuries, I knew he was masking his pain when I saw his face cringe as he endured my added weight on his.

“I think it’s solid. It might be welded,” I said, following the seam in the hard mesh with my fingertips while I tried to push it open with all my might.

“I have just the thing,” Urit said quietly. He was passively watching us while he leaned his head against the wall for support.

I hopped down. “What? Don’t tell me you have a crowbar or wire cutters in that jacket of yours.”

“No.” He clenched his jaw. “Forget it. No more fighting or trying to escape. We need to get a message to our ship. They need to know where we’re headed. Let the Grulanti put us on the auction block. I’m pretty sure I will be able to outbid anybody out there, but I need access to my resources aboard the ship,” Urit said with conviction.

Gaelan and I looked at one another with puzzled expressions. We were stunned by Urit’s claim.

Gaelan shook his head and scoffed. “How much money
do you
have?” he asked, as he allowed his lips to fall open.

Urit sighed. “Enough.”

Gaelan gave him a confused look. “Urit, they took my communicator. Didn’t they get yours?”

“Sure, but I always have a back up, only it’s not going to be fun to retrieve. I forgot to bring my local anesthetic.”

We watched him open the lid of his mini penlike scanner to reveal a hidden compartment holding a thin knife. Next, he lowered the waistband of his pants and revealed his left hip. Without delay, he drove the knife into his skin and sliced a two inch long incision, gritting his teeth with the pain.

I gasped. “Ah,
jeez,
what are you doing?” I said squeamishly at the sight of the buried blade and drizzling blood running down his groin.

“Urit, you better have a good reason for cutting yourself because that is really gross,” Gaelan added in a tone of disbelief.

Urit dug his finger inside the open wound and felt around.

“Doesn’t that hurt?” I asked.

“Yes, but suffering is optional. Besides, I already downed all of the pain reliever I had with me. Oh dear, it’s a little embedded. It’s been in there for some time, though I should be able to free it,” he said, digging deeper as he broadcasted his actions.

Finally, he pulled out a beige, egg-shaped container. We watched in amazement as he tore through its skin like it was made of dough. Once open, out fell a miniature ship communicator, about a quarter of the size of the ones commonly used, followed by a small tube of paste. He opened the tube and squeezed the clear gluelike substance on his skin and pushed the wound edges closed with his fingers. Urit tossed the communicator to Gaelan, using his less bloody hand and wiggled his pants up, covering the incision.

“Whoa,” Gaelan said with a smile after he caught the device. “This is an old one, voice only, but I’m glad you thought of it. You really are a sick, smart, and somewhat demented man.” He wiped the remnants of blood off on his pant leg and started to fiddle with the communicator.

“Thanks,” Urit said, as though he had received the highest of compliments.

“Sam,” Urit called to me. “Could you put what’s left of this on my back?” he said, sliding the tube of glue to me across the floor.

Urit struggled to move his arm back to lift his shirt in order to expose the wound.

“Wait, stop, don’t move,” I ordered him as I knelt down beside him and cautiously lifted up his shredded shirt to get a better view. “I don’t want you to strain yourself.”

Being up close, I discovered he had a nasty gash running seven inches long that was a quarter inch deep on his lower back. It looked as though he’d been whipped. I was mortified. He needed surgery. I squeezed a few minuscule drops of the liquid on the wound and pushed the edges of the skin and tissue together. It fell open like a filleted piece of meat. Surely I would need gallons of the stuff to make any headway here. “Urit, I don’t think I can fix you with this.”

Urit lowered his shirt. “Very well.”

Gaelan held his attention on the communicator. “Good, it still works.” His eyes brightened when the communicator’s light started to flicker after picking up a signal. “Starship Thirty-three, we are in need of assistance.”

We all waited eagerly for a reply. There was nothing but silence.

“Come on.” He tapped it and gave it a hard shake.

The device squeaked and hummed. A moment later, we heard a click and some rustling followed by, “It’s them. Gaelan?” It was Zaric answering back. “Are you all, um, is everyone alright?”

“Yes. We’re fine. Are you close?” Gaelan’s eyes brightened.

“We are better than close,” Zaric reported with optimism. “I’m glad you called. We’re in the process of trying to rescue you. We’ve been tailing the Grulanti ever since you left the ship,” he explained.

“How are you planning to get us out?” Gaelan questioned.

Zaric hesitated. “We can’t exactly get to you yet. The Grulanti’s security is too tight. We are planning on letting you go to the auction and breaking you free there. We were able to get an invitation to the event.”

Urit gave me a nod and a weak smile.

Gaelan tipped his head back and looked at the ceiling with defeat. “You know they might
kill us
before then. They already came pretty damn close.”

We heard some unclear whispering on Zaric’s end of the call.

Urit moaned as he adjusted himself. “Zaric, what’s your plan?” he asked weakly.

I overheard a muffled voice in the background say, “Don’t tell him we haven’t the foggiest idea.”

“No, they need reassurance,” whispered another.

After more rustling, Zaric’s regular voice came back clearly. “We hailed the Grulanti’s planet. The auction’s center of operations answered our request to attend almost immediately with some surprising news. Apparently, getting invited to the auction isn’t going to be as hard as one would expect because they already had us on their list of attendees.”

“
Really?”
Gaelan said, sounding shocked.

“I’m guessing it was Loic’s doing because we’re the only Katarian Starship in range. Nia promised to bring them some irresistible technology in exchange for her pick at the auction. They accepted the offer without hesitation. They’re all about adding to the event’s excitement,” Zaric explained.

“You mean my vaccine?” Urit asked.

Nia answered. “Father, do we have your permission?” she asked respectfully.

Urit sighed. “It may not be enough. The sleaze balls won’t understand its significance, and they won’t know how to personalize it. You can offer my savings.”

“No,” she refuted. “They have more money than they could use. They are after knowledge, resources, or gadgetry.”

“Give them the Dreons’ tracker technology,” I volunteered.

Gaelan looked at me and furrowed his brow. “I don’t know, Sami. They are already in the market for selling people and the like, and sharing another civilization’s technology—that’s a direct breach of protocol. It’s considered unscrupulous for good reason. The Grulanti may be even
more
dangerous than the Dreons if they had access to something so intrusive.”

I bit my lip. I could tell he was appalled that I would even suggest such a thing. “What other choice do we have? Do you have a better idea?” I asked getting discouraged.

“Sam does have a point,” Nia said in agreement.

Urit interjected. “That technology in the wrong hands could be catastrophic.”

I knew they were right, but I was feeling desperate.

Gaelan sighed and paused. “And, if it was ever traced back to us, the Katarian Council would make us pay with our lives. No. There has to be another option. One we won’t later regret. Find another way.” Gaelan ran his hand through his hair.

I looked at him with admiration. His body and face may be bruised and scraped. His shirt may have been in shreds, but his spirit was strong and shining intensely with his undying resilience. It helped to preserve my confidence in the Katarians onboard. I knew the rest of the crew members were just as persistent when it came to overcoming obstacles.

I racked my brain for an easy solution. “We need a miracle. Is there anybody that can help us? Can’t you ask the Farni for their assistance?”

“No,” Zaric answered. “They’re too far away. We only have three hours before the auction starts. We’ll think of something,” he promised. “We’ll be sending in Nia and Azil to do the bidding. After researching the market, we discovered that women historically fare better than men. Listen, don’t worry. Your only job is to make it to the auction. Be careful, you three. Don’t provoke them. Do
you
hear me?”

“Mmm-hmm,” Gaelan grumbled. “That’s easy for you to say.”

I think he knew Zaric was probably referring to him.

“Don’t worry. We’ll get you back before you know it,” Zaric said with gusto.

I imagined the worst scenario. “I have a terrible question,” I muttered. “What if they consider each of us separate commodities?”

Zaric breathed heavily on the extension. “Then we implement plan B. We are prepared to rely on good old-fashioned, brute force. They may leave us no choice. They will never know what hit them,” he said coldly.

Gaelan’s eyes narrowed fiercely. He must have interpreted Zaric’s words the same as me. Zaric and the crew were preparing themselves for an impending war with the Grulanti.

I knew how desperate the Katarians were when it came to avoiding a battle with their foes, however, I was glad to learn they were willing to go to such extreme measures, since it was our lives on the line. Although I hated the whole idea of being stuck in the middle of dangerous crossfire with powerful weapons capable of causing a catastrophic death toll, I dreaded a lifetime of torture by some ugly green aliens even more.

Gaelan bit his lip. “Zaric, please tell me you are
carefully
orchestrating this attack?”

“Yes, Tyden’s all over it. He’s busy mapping out a strategy for battle with Pascal right now. And my overzealous, control hungry wife, I mean your lovely sister, Azil, is helping, too,” Zaric said before lowering his voice. “She’s actually quite horrifying right now. Remind me to never piss her off. She is quizzing Noah and every crew member on their knowledge of alien starship vulnerabilities so that our strikes will be most effective. Hey, I need to cut out. The Grulanti are slowing down and might be able to intercept our transmission.”

“I’m counting on you,” Gaelan said with faith.

“Gaelan.” Zaric was still on the line.

“Yes.”

“Just stay alive,” he instructed before his voice cut out.

CHAPTER 25

COMMODITY

Gaelan held me close while we waited for our arrival at the auction. The ship jerked a few times. We all stood, knowing we had landed. A Grulanti drone came to the doorway, shadowed by a large green Grulanti on its heels.

“You, woman, come with me. Loic would like to talk.”