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

  “I believe you.” She did. Brassi had a lot of both, and he hadn’t hid them from her since they’d met. The Veslors weren’t an emotionally detached race.

  He smiled. “We’ll talk of this more later.” His gaze traveled down her body again. “I’m very eager to learn everything about you, Vivian.”

  She reached up and clicked on her earpiece again. “I look forward to that, too.”

  “To what? You have got to tell me later what was said!”

  Vivian ignored Abby as she watched Brassi put on his gloves and his helmet. He closed the shield over his face. He lifted his weapon last, and then motioned her toward where his men had gone.

  Vivian walked in front of him. She was learning the Veslors liked to keep someone at her back. It might be an alien thing they did to everyone, or perhaps it was just females. A protective thing.

  The males all stood leaning against the walls just around the bend. She blushed, wondering if they’d been able to hear what was said. It wasn’t as if she could see their expressions to take a guess.

  Vassi straightened first from his relaxed stance and nodded at them. “We’re ready when you are. What’s next?”

  “The bridge,” Vivian answered. “I just don’t know how to get the Ke’ters to come out. It’s pretty secure. We can’t override the doors there.”

  “It’s a design flaw, in my opinion,” Abby muttered. “I told my parents that there should be an override code added for the bridge doors when we created the security systems, but my father and the decision-makers said no.”

  “Just take it off lockdown from our side and maybe they’ll open up if we make some racket at the doors,” Vivian suggested. “We’ll figure it out when we get there.”

  Brassi touched her shoulder.

  She stared at his helmet. “I was talking to Abby. The bridge doors are locked from both sides. We can release the locks on the exterior side, but they need to open them from the inside to come out. Otherwise, they could remain sealed inside until they run out of food and water. That could take weeks.”

  He remained silent for several long moments. Then asked, “Can you remove the air in there?”

  Vivian wasn’t sure. “Abby? Do you know?”

  “No such luck,” the woman responded.

  Vivian shook her head. “We can’t do that.”

  “Get us there, and we’ll think up something.” Brassi sounded certain.

  “Let’s return to the lift. We’re going all the way up to Deck Ten. That’s where the bridge is located.”

  Chapter Five

  Vivian stopped their group before they reached the bridge doors. “Once we round that bend up there, the Ke’ters will be able to see us on the monitor near the doors.”

  “You’re certain?” Brassi remained close to her.

  “I’ve been up there dozens of times, so yes, I’m sure.” Vivian thought about it. “They can see the corridor on a large screen. It’s a security measure when changing shifts. The doors won’t open until someone inside views and confirms any visitor. No surprises that way.”

  “How did the Ke’ters gain entry, then?”

  She looked at Vassi to answer him. “I wish I knew. I’m guessing maybe the commander ordered someone to give them a tour of the bridge, and they attacked once inside. That’s pretty much the only time anyone who doesn’t work there officially gains access.”

  “Unless they bribed someone with a shit ton of money to betray us and let them in,” Abby added.

  Vivian didn’t want to mention that option to the Veslors. It didn’t matter anyway, since every crew member currently on the bridge had been eaten. Whoever let them in had already paid for their crime, if that was the case. “My dad mentioned once that there’s an option to backtrack footage to review what happened anywhere a camera is recording, but I didn’t have access to do that. All I could see was the live feed. The control centers have access to two cameras inside the bridge in case of a catastrophic event.”

  “Catastrophic event?” Brassi questioned.

  “You know, if a bomb went off or the bridge stopped responding for whatever reason.” She paused. “There’s no sound, of course. The cameras are positioned in places that don’t pose a security risk in the case of hackers. But there are views inside to check on the condition of the crew if shit goes wrong.”

  “Only an admiral can open those doors.” Abby paused. “DNA verification. We’re screwed if the Ke’ters don’t open up, since I checked the crew and passenger manifest. We’ve got no admirals onboard. Commander Alderson won’t even have access, or I’d suggest getting him. Do you want me to release the lockdown from your side?”

  Vivian glanced around at the armor-wearing Veslors. “Abby wants to know if she should unseal the doors on this side. It means they can come out if they want.”

  The men growled at each other, discussing options. At least she assumed that’s what they were doing. She hated that they weren’t talking in English, and wondered why. It was in her nature at times to be suspicious, but she’d been given no reason not to trust them so far.

  Brassi viciously snarled, stepping closer and putting his hand on her shoulder. He seemed angry at one of his men, in particular.

  “What are you saying?” She stared up at him.

  He stopped snarling, took a deep breath, and blew it out. “Kavs suggested we use you as bait. I told him no.”

  Vivian thought about it. “It’s not such a bad idea, actually.”

  Brassi released her shoulder and opened his face plate. She shivered at the way he glared at her. “No. You will not be put at risk, female.”

  Vivian held up a finger. “Abby?”

  “You’re not seriously considering it, are you?”

  “I have a plan.”

  “No,” Brassi insisted.

  “Fuck no!” Abby hissed in her ear.

  “Hear me out. The Ke’ters attacked us…what? Eighteen, nineteen hours ago? They killed and fed off the bridge crew. I figure they would probably love to grab me.” She waved her hand down her body. “Fresh meat.”

  “Are you insane?”

  “What are you thinking, female?”

  Vivian flinched from being yelled at by both Abby and Brassi at the same time.

  “Abby can distract them by closing the engine vents. They’ll see the engines coming back online. She could then open them again right away, so they can’t move the ship, but while they’re busy, I’ll run up to the door, push the button to let them know someone wants access to the bridge, and then run out of sight. They’ll see me, since there’s a good seventy feet of corridor in their view. I’m betting they’ll come after me. Again…fresh meat.” She kept her gaze locked on Brassi. “You and your men will be waiting for them right here.”

  “No!” Brassi snarled, still looking pissed. “They move quickly, faster than you do.”

  “You want to play ding-dong ditch with the Ke’ters? I’m with the big hot alien on this. It’s nuts,” Abby muttered. “It also won’t gain us access to the bridge if all of them come after you. We’ll still be locked out.”

  “You’re right, but it also means they can’t fly us anywhere. We can bring engines back online, and with it, full power to life support. We’ll have plenty of time for our people to arrive. Including an admiral who can get in there with his precious DNA match.”

  Abby sighed. “Fuck. If it works, it would be great for us…but you could die. What if a Ke’ter gets ahold of you?”

  “What is the other female saying?” Brassi asked.

  “You can see inside the bridge, Abby. Is a Ke’ter anywhere close to the door?”

  Abby paused. “No. Maybe ten feet from it.”

  “What are you talking about with the other female?” Brassi demanded, gripping her shoulders.

  “Abby can see inside the bridge. They don’t have someone near the door. She can warn me if that changes.”

  “We’ll storm the doors and challenge them,” Brassi said. “Ke’ters hate us as