The Tarantula Nebula by David Kantrowitz

Author:David Kantrowitz [Kantrowitz, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kyrie Devonai Publishing
Published: 2019-12-22T22:00:00+00:00

__________

“She’ll be fine. The sedative wasn’t harmful.”

A door slid shut. Ari resisted the urge to jump at the noise, instead remaining motionless. She listened carefully to her surroundings. She’d spent enough time aboard a space ship to know she was on one now. It wasn’t the Faith.

“I know you’re awake,” said a voice nearby. “You don’t have to pretend.”

Ari opened her eyes. The room was dimly lit, with a blue light on one side and a red light on the other. There was a desk with a single chair in the center of the room, and a man was seated there. He had a crew cut and a goatee, and wore a jacket with a high collar. It was too dark to make out any more. Ari was lying on a cot, so she sat up.

“Where am I?”

“You are aboard my ship.”

Ari could guess the results, but she checked anyway. Her Glock had been removed from her holster.

“Who are you?”

“I am Aldebaran.”

“Is that supposed to mean something to me?”

“You haven’t heard of me. That’s good.”

Through one of the four windows, Ari could see that the ship was still on Delta. She sensed they weren’t far from the Faith.

“Why have you taken me?” she asked.

Ari felt a presence poke at her mind. This was nothing new, she’d joined with Seth before. This time, however, there was something strange about it. It didn’t feel alien or uncomfortable like Seth. It felt warm, safe, and pleasant. Ari suddenly knew exactly what Aldebaran looked like despite the darkness.

“You will answer my questions,” he said.

“Okay.”

It seemed like a perfectly reasonable demand to Ari. She felt like she had just taken the first sip of a hot cup of tea after skiing all day. Or was it a rum toddy?

“Where are you from?”

“We’re from Earth.”

“How did you end up on an Umberian ship?”

“A probe was sent from Umber during the last days of the war with the Zendreen. It ended up on my planet and showed us how to build a ship. We were supposed to build ten thousand ships like it and return to liberate Umber. Seth was damaged, though, so we only built the one.”

“Seth?”

“The artificial intelligence computer from the probe. It became our central processing computer once the ship was built.”

Aldebaran stood up slowly. “You will help me capture your ship.”

Despite feeling like she was getting a backrub from the world’s most skilled masseuse, Ari resisted. It reminded her strongly of the first time she was able to resist Silas’ advances. It angered her, and the good feeling went away.

“Sorry, bub. No can do.”

Aldebaran pushed at Ari’s mind. He’d failed to grasp it and had lost it entirely. This was going to be more difficult than he thought. He cleared his own mind and began to passively listen to Ari’s brain patterns.

“You’re a player,” he said.

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

“You’re an... actor. This world is your stage. You play the part of the strong and capable female. This earns you respect, if not admiration.

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