The Last Narkoy: Gathow: Book 2 by Elizabeth Price (good e books to read .txt) 📗

“I need volunteers for another mission,” she began.

Zion hesitated to answer right away. “Am I rescuing any more Marisheio? If that’s the case I’m not interested. I still have a headache from the last one you brought home,” he asked with a scowl.

Sedom shook her head, holding back her chuckles. She knew secretly he liked Ratisha, even if he claimed otherwise. “No… no more Marisheio. There's enough roaming around Gathow. This time it's more dangerous. I don’t want to order anyone to join us if they don’t want to.”

“You make it sound... intimidating. I didn't picture you the type to add drama to a situation. You know my answer is always yes.” He shuffled his feet uneasily, causing Sedom to do so also. “You’re nervous?” he questioned, finding her demeanor rather shocking.

“Slightly,” she admitted.

He continued to watch her, waiting for her to elaborate further. When she didn’t he asked, “How many, who, and how much fire-power?”

Sedom glanced around the empty streets of Gathow. Even though she had allowed more people in Gathow, the city’s enormous size still made it feel empty. “It’s more of a where. I want to find the Oslo and bring it back here. The problem is that the ship is cloaked around a moon in the Domaris system.” She removed a computer pad from her jacket and handed it to him.

He stared tensely at the screen for a moment. “Domaris? We have to cross through the Cha’lan system in order to reach the Domaris system,” he pointed out.

She nodded as she took back the computer. “Yes. This leaves me in quite a dilemma. The ship won’t operate without me on board. We can’t take a Narkoy ship even close to the Cha’lan system without the Marisheio taking notice of us. I’m going to need a team to help me planet-hop and get me safely on board that ship. It’s not going to be easy.”

Zion’s eyes turned to the ground as he thought. “I thought you said the Oslo was in the Nevet system?” he mentioned.

Sedom grinned a grin of someone caught in a lie. “My most powerful ship is docked on the backdoor of my enemy’s planet. Would you volunteer that information?” she asked coyly.

“Suppose not,” he agreed, but still his eyes remained tensely on her as if telling her he knew there was something else.

Sedom flipped to another image on her computer pad, handing it to Zion. He examined it, his eyes widening. “Two ships?”

Sedom exhaled an unsteady breath. “The Azeran. The Oslo’s sister ship, which is docked in the Nevet system. It sustained massive damage about thirty years ago when my grandmother used it to attack a Marisheio outpost near the Cha’lan boarder.”

Zion’s dark skin flushed. “Peaceful? I thought--”

Sedom shook her head. “So did the rest of the galaxy, including me. I just recently learned about this. Apparently my grandmother had been using this base for military operations and hiding it under the guise of peace. She was the one who reopened the main floor. We all thought it was peaceful negotiations between rival worlds. We were wrong. The Marisheio attacked us because we attacked them. It just took them thirty years to figure it out,” she whispered low. “Something I wish to keep between us,” she hinted.

“Understood. So why not fix this…”

“Azeran? I need the Oslo to know how to fix it. The ships main computer is fried. I need to copy the Oslo’s main computer and install it into the Azeran,” she explained. She wrapped her hand around his right bicep, her hand only able to hold half of his bulging muscle. “I need your help to convince Noral and especially Dranium to come along. I need a doctor and a technology expert just in case.”

Zion turned back to Lolum's apartment smirking. “Noral’s not combat ready. If I were to choose, I’d choose Orion. As for Dranium, it took a damn miracle to get him out of his tower to play poker. The man's still afraid of his own shadow and I don't like the idea taking him into a potentially dangerous situation. I’ll find someone else. How about asking Rosanheer?”

“Thinking about it, I’m going to need Qilo to pilot the Oslo home. Refrain from bringing Rosanheer if you can. He’s a traitor to his people and if we are caught, they will show him no mercy. No more than eight. I’m going to ask Tremble and see if she’d be willing to come along. We'll need a little muscle just in case.”

“I thought that's why we have you around?” Zion joked.

Sedom blinked several times, attempting to understand what he meant. “Oh, funny, little muscle. Ha... ha,” she said with a scowl as though she still did not quite understand. “Gather your team together by tomorrow afternoon. We'll meet in my quarters and I'll explain what we're up against then.” She started to walk away, but in mid-step paused. “And Zion, don't lose to a human. It's embarrassing.”

“I wasn't going to lose,” Zion called back in protest.

“Never hold aces and eights, you're asking for trouble,” she said with a wink then continued to walk away.

“How the hell did she know that?” Zion asked himself, shaking his head in amusement.

Rosanheer poked his head out of the door, seeing if the coast was clear. “She gone?” he called to Zion who grunted in response. “What did she want?”

“New mission—“ he started to explain when suddenly three orbs dropped down beside him, all three glowing red.

“Intruder alert. There is a perimeter breach in the forest,” the lead orb announced.

Zion rolled his head across his aching shoulders. “I better go see what’s going on.”

“I’ll join you. I need some fresh air. You can explain to me in route,” Rosanheer offered.

TWENTY

Inside her quarters Sedom relaxed back on her