The Gorison Traveler Incident (Veslor Mates #1) Read online

  “She informed me of what’s going on when she hailed us.” Brassi’s tone turned gruff again, and fury flashed in his golden eyes. “You did warn me some of your people had no honor, and your captain is one of them. I won’t allow anyone to hurt you. Consider the Brar your sanctuary for as long as you need it.”

  “Thank you.”

  “No need to say that. Now, you need food and rest.” Brassi slid his arms under her and lifted.

  “I can walk.”

  He ignored her once more, carrying her out of their medical bay and back into the hallway.

  Chapter Nine

  Brassi took her to another level and got off the lift, walking past closed doors until one at the end of another straight hallway slid open. It was decent-sized crew quarters. There were two couch-like pieces of furniture, but they didn’t have backs or sides. Just long, plush-looking pads to sit on. A wall of storage took up one side, and there were two interior doors. He carried her to one of the couches and sat her down. Then he straightened and backed up a few feet.

  “I have something to tell you, Vivian.”

  She kept her gaze locked with his, waiting.

  “We don’t have guest space. We must share these quarters. But you are safe with me; I promise. I’ll sleep on the floor, and you can have my bed.” He turned away, walking toward the far wall, and tapped a section of the storage area. It slid open to reveal some kind of machine. His body hid most of it, but soon a tempting smell hit her nose.

  It was cooked meat.

  She thought about what he’d said, about his ship not having guest quarters. That wasn’t unheard of on smaller vessels. Some of the patrol cruisers used for the fleet were like that. Two crew members were assigned to share small, private rooms, which contained bunk beds. Each one came with a toilet and sink, and a communal shower room was used by all.

  “I understand. I’ll sleep on your couch, though.”

  He turned, holding a plate and a mug-like glass with a handle. He approached and crouched down in front of her, handing her the plate first. She accepted it. It was filled with brown meat strips and nothing else.

  “Noma. I hope you eat meat. If not, I’ll get you something else.”

  “Real meat?” That was a surprise.

  “Yes. They are animals from my world. Not smart, but they are abundant and tasty. Is that offensive to you?”

  “No.”

  “Try it.”

  She carefully picked up a strip of meat. It was warm, as if it had just been cooked. The machine had to be some kind of food replicator. It smelled good, almost like beef, and she took a tentative bite.

  Flavor exploded on her tongue. It was delicious, soft enough to bite and chew easily. She smiled at him.

  He grinned back and lifted the mug-like glass. “This is nee. Water with nutrients, and flavored with fruits.”

  She settled the plate on her lap, finished the meat strip she was eating, and accepted the drink. She took a tentative sniff. It smelled a bit like berries. Taking a little sip, she found it chilled, and incredibly tasty. Vivian took a bigger sip.

  “I ordered Vassi to learn everything about your race, and he’ll come up with more things you’ll like to eat and drink. This is my favorite snack, and he’s seen other Earthlings eat it before on the stations we visit. We felt this was a safe choice.”

  She was touched—and amused that he kept calling humans “Earthlings.” It didn’t matter though. He was a thoughtful man. “Thank you.”

  “You say that often. There is no need to show appreciation.” He adjusted his body to sit on the floor, watching her. “What happened after we left?”

  That killed her good mood fast. “I was arrested and put in the brig. Abby got me out of my cell, had me climb into the suit, and here I am. I deeply appreciate that you came for me, Brassi. You didn’t have to. I’m sure it was a pain to turn around and come back, not to mention dangerous.”

  “No pain. It was a simple thing to order Yoniv to change course. We were only two hours from your ship when Abby hailed us.”

  She realized that meant Abby had spent hours planning her escape—and Brassi had been waiting for quite a while for her to get sprung from her cell.

  “Is the noma burning you? Too hot?” He leaned in, frowning.

  “No. It’s perfect. I like it.”

  “You’re doing this.” He bit his lower lip to demonstrate.

  “I do that when I’m thinking about something too hard.”

  “You’re safe here, Vivian. No one will hurt you. I give you my word.”

  “It’s not that. I do feel safe.” It wasn’t a lie. She had far bigger things to worry about than her current situation—like her future. If Abby couldn’t clear things for her, she’d be wanted by United Earth as a criminal if Commander Alderson got his way. “You saved my life, Brassi.”

  He growled, anger transforming his features. “Abby said your people were going to kill you. I don’t understand why. You did nothing wrong, and you hailed us to help them.”

  “Commander Alderson was the one who arranged for the Ke’ters to come aboard the Gorison Traveler. He brought them onto our ship, and they attacked us. That whole mess is his fault, but he needs to blame someone else. Otherwise, his career is over. Abby learned that he was going to destroy all the evidence of what really happened and make it seem like everything was my fault.”

  “The Ke’ters attack anyone they want to eat. And that would be any race not their own. They also never do what anyone else wants. Are your people that stupid?”

  She nodded. “Some of them are. Commander Alderson must be pretty desperate right now. Not only did he let the Ke’ters onboard, but he also allowed four control centers to remain unmanned. Regulations state that they’re to have operators around the clock. That alone is reason enough to be fired.”

  “Your people died, but he’s worried about keeping his job?”

  She liked how Brassi cut through it to get to the point. “Yes.”

  “What is the importance of the control centers?”

  It wasn’t exactly classified information. Anyone could look that information up if they wanted to. “Control centers have access to most of the ship’s systems. A control station operator’s job is to watch over everything on the ship. They usually split up levels to watch, but all control centers can access any camera regardless. They’re also a safeguard in the event of something catastrophic happening. Like, say, if our ship was attacked.” She arched her eyebrow at him. “I took over Control One, put the ship on lockdown, and was able to shut down the engines even though I wasn’t on the bridge.”

  “Your people fear attacks like that? Do they happen often?”

  She shook her head. “No, but they could. We have some trouble with rebels from time to time. They haven’t targeted large fleet vessels, though. Security is too tight on most of them. But there’s a fear that maybe they’ll start using small ships to fire on us, get in a lucky shot, and take out the bridge. You can’t fly the Gorison Traveler from a control center, but you’ve got access to all the main systems in an emergency, to help keep the crew alive until another ship could arrive to give aid.”

  “Why do you have rebels? Are they from other races who hate yours?”

  “No. They’re actually United Earth residents.” She ate another strip of meat and put her drink on the floor, since there wasn’t a table. “UE has settled colonies on a lot of planets and opened tons of space stations. Some of the residents get upset over late supply shipments, or they feel they aren’t given enough resources to flourish. I understand and sympathize with their plight. It shouldn’t be that way. Then again, it makes no sense to me that they’ll complain about a late supply shuttle, and then blow it up in retaliation when it does arrive. Supplies are just delayed even longer then, until a replacement shuttle can be sent. That’s not helpful to anyone, including the people the rebels say they’re doing it for.”

  “That’s hurting them.”

  She nodded and fin