The Harvest: Taken by M.A. Church

Author:M.A. Church
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-62757-068-8
Publisher: Storm Moon Press
Published: 2013-10-29T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

We were three days out from Keyno's home world when we ran across a distress signal from a ship that was being attacked by space pirates in our vicinity. The situation was serious, for space pirates were nothing to joke about. The emergency signal sounded through the ship. Chad and I had stopped by to visit with John. Gibor contacted Chad—making sure we were still in Dosstkal—and told us to stay there, then commed Doc to warn him there'd be incoming wounded.

"Who?" Doc demanded as we eavesdropped on the conversation.

"You heard me!" Gibor snapped. "Wounded from a damaged Onfre ship. They were attacked by space pirates. A few simple pulse laser shots from us had the pirates retreating. I don't know which shocks me more—that someone attacked an Onfre ship and managed to disable it, or that Keyno offered assistance to the Onfre, and they accepted."

"Is it wise to have our mates here, then?"

"No time for them to leave. The Onfre are being transferred now. Keyno and I will escort them to Dosstkal. Lock the group of them behind a holding field if you have to."

"Our mates, or the Onfre?" Doc hissed.

"Funny. Keyno and I are at Freight Hold Two to meet them now. We'll bring them to Dosstkal shortly."

I immediately remembered that name from my studies. The Onfre were the ones responsible for seeding the atmosphere of Tah'Nar and causing the problem that led to me being harvested in the first place.

"By the gods, never thought I'd see the day we'd willingly help an Onfre warship," Doc snarled under his breath.

Doc launched into action, getting ready for the wounded. The tension was thick. Tah'Narians and the Onfre had declared an uneasy truce after what happened many years ago. The truce mainly consisted of the two species avoiding each other as much as possible. This had the potential to be either the first civil interaction between the two species since the attacks had occurred—or it could end up in another war.

"I hope the captain knows what he's doing," Doc mumbled. "This could backfire, placing the whole ship in danger."

"Keyno may see this as a way to have peace between the two species," I replied. "It's time to put the past where it belongs—in the past."

Ten minutes later, Keyno escorted the Onfre into Dosstkal.

"Doc, this is Captain Ti of the Onfre star cruiser Beylord." Keyno turned to the other captain. "Captain Ti, this is Chief Medical Officer Tanlor Kere. Will you allow him to treat you?"

Ti nodded his head slightly.

After permission was given, Doc moved closer. Several of the Onfre stiffened, their hands playing over weapons when Doc touched Captain Ti. That, in turn, had Keyno's officers tensing, their long tails skidding across the floor and their ears lying back on their heads. One of the Onfre officers allowed a bit of fang to show and another narrowed those strange red eyes in warning. Tension coated the room. I caught myself shifting from foot-to-foot, my breathing picking up. All we needed was the right spark to ignite the situation into a fireball of aggression.

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