Boarding Party: The Boarding of the USS Invicta (Astrid Amundsen Military Science Fiction Series Book 2) by Alan Householder

Author:Alan Householder [Householder, Alan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-01-13T22:00:00+00:00

32

On the Invicta With the Enemy

This Kerleegan was the first with whom we on the Invicta had come into direct physical contact. I knew in my gut that this had to be connected with the ceasefire in some way. Procedure called for the deposit of prisoners into a section of the ship we called “the dungeon,” which could house a dozen people. Well, there were twelve racks (beds, not torture devices), but I assume the dungeon could hold quite a few more than that in a pinch.

But this Kerleegan was more a guest than he was a prisoner. I asked the MAAs to take him to my quarters, where Banning was to meet us. The Kerleegan sat on my rack. One of the MAAs was near him, and another stood outside the entrance. I sat on one of the chairs, facing the Kerleegan.

This particular Kerleegan would probably be considered typical. First, he looked frail. His head seemed a little large in comparison with the rest of his body. He was pale, and his skin had a waxy, almost translucent look. His head was smooth and hairless. He had small ears, and his nose barely protruded at all. I’m not sure what his eyes looked like, since he seemed to be perpetually squinting. He wore a white uniform with various insignias, the meaning of which was anything but clear to me. I assumed they were simply Kerleegan emblems.

He had not yet spoken a single word, as far as I could hear. But now he said, “Your captain will be here soon?” His voice was soft, and high pitched. And, of course, his pronunciation was a little weak, but it was easy to understand him.

I said, “Yes, he’s on his way.”

The Kerleegan seemed to be staring at me through his half-squinting eyes. Finally, he said, “You are the woman from the spacecraft, weeks ago.”

I figured he was referring to me being the pilot of the fighter whose missile had largely incapacitated one of their ships, but I wasn’t certain. But I couldn’t think of any way the Kerleegans could have learned that.

I said, “Could be. I’m not sure what you’re referring to.”

“If you are that one,” he said, “you are the reason I am here.”

“Again, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“No,” he said, good-naturedly. “I know it is you. I saw the video images. I am brought here by the mercy shown by you and your friend.”

“Mercy?”

“Yes, when our craft’s weapons systems were nonfunctioning. You could have destroyed our ship. We know that from the hull-penetration bomb you affixed to our ship.”

I said, “Oh, that.” I was glad that was what he was referring to. I hoped he had no inkling that I was also the one who had launched the missile at one of their large ships. I then said, “Well, I was just following orders.” After I said that, I realized that it wasn’t true, since there were no orders concerning whether to detonate the bomb or not.

The Kerleegan nodded.

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