Warhawk's Sacrifice - Ch. 18 - Zara's Plan - Alpha (Patreon)

After taking some time to relax, Seb and Eni showered in Seb’s private room, continuing a round of water olympics. The captain found his comm officer’s sexual appetite insatiable. She was a walking shortstack of horny. Any opportunity she had to tease or play with him she took full advantage of.

He had an inkling as to why. Since he’d built his crew around a harem of beautiful women, they all had to vie for his attention. With the amount of threats and constant stresses that took up his focus, that time was squeezed thin. It’s why he always tried his best to give them everything he had in those brief moments of reprieve.

Once the pair dried off and got dressed, Syn informed them that the other shuttle had just landed. By the time they reached the cargo bay, the rest of the crew was walking up the ramp. Seb took a double look as Iris raced toward him.

She was wearing a yellow crop top that exposed her thin stomach. A bright turquoise thong sat above her dark pants. Her athletic shoes matched her ensemble with a mix of yellow and purple that complimented her hair. It gave her a youthful and sporty look.

“Seb!” Iris shouted. “Look at my new clothes. What do you think?”

“I think you look great,” the captain said, eyeing her up and down.

“Look at my underwear. It matches my bulbs.”

“I can see that,” Seb said, chuckling. “It matches you perfectly.”

As Iris looked up at Seb with a miring look, Eni shouted. “Damn, Iris, you look hot!”

The superweapon twirled in place. “You really think so?”

“Yeah. Did you pick this out yourself?”

“Uh huh.”

“We let her pick her clothes,” Nalla said, setting down a few bags. “We took her to a few different stores. I suggested something more… conservative. Although, Vi and Roja may have been a bit influential on her.”

“I thought she should add a tac-vest, combat belts, and some holsters,” Sister Mischa said, pushing in a floating cart full of boxes. “But I guess she doesn’t need weapons when she is the weapon.”

“She’s lookin’ like she’s got a kick in her step,” Roja said after pulling off her visor. “Just enough spice to entice, but nothing giving the whole meal away.”

“She should be set on clothes for a while,” Vi said. “Most of the bags and crates are hers. She’s got a whole wardrobe now. We purchased a couple of the same pairs of outfits she liked given her affinity to spontaneous combust.”

“Thank you, everyone,” Iris said. “I appreciate everyone’s gifts.”

“Did you all pitch in?” Seb asked the crowd.

“Our sect funded most of the bill,” Sister Mischa said.

“But we all bought her at least one thing,” Nalla added.

“Speaking of… thanks for covering for me, Nalla,” Roja said. “I guess, given my lack of check in, has caused all my accounts to be frozen.”

“It was my pleasure,” Nalla said.

“I’ll pay you back once I figure everything out.”

“No need to make it into a big deal. We finally got paid, and the company takes care of most of my needs.”

Eni sauntered forward with a smug grin. “Well, if you’re feeling generous—”

Seb cupped his hand over her mouth. “Nope. Not happening.”

As the group shared a brief laugh, Nalla asked. “What about you two? Were you able to get Syn a body?”

Before they could answer, the elevator doors opened, revealing their virtual intelligence’s new form.

“Syn!” Iris shouted before racing over and hugging her. “You look just like your hologram.”

“I mirrored my appearance after the first drone I received,” Syn said.

“You look lovely.”

“As do you, Iris. How did you find the city?”

“It was wonderful. The sepix people come in all different shapes and sizes. There was one we saw that had no horns, and another that was completely white and had red spots all over his scales.”

“It seems you’ve had quite the adventure. Why don’t I help you with your bags and you can tell me all about it?”

“Okay!” Iris said, nearly hopping in place with excitement. Syn grabbed some of the bags and walked with Iris, Sister Mischa, and Roja to the elevator.

“Seems like Syn is back to her old self,” Vi said.

“Eh, not quite,” Eni said. “The contractor that I had build her had to make some modifications to her to make room for all the storage and processing requirements we need for the upcoming mission.”

“Meaning?”

“Don’t expect her to be her old gun wielding self. She’s going to be in support roles only. I don’t want her in the front lines. She’s to be protected at all costs. One stray bullet or laser bolt could deactivate her.”

“Well, that’s unfortunate, because she was quite handy back on Gradahar.”

“We’ve got Mischa now, though. And what about Roja? She nearly killed all of us.”

Vi and Nalla shared a glance before the doctor said, “I’d recommend not involving Roja in anything too strenuous.”

“Is she not doing well?” Seb asked.

“She’s doing better. But when we were out, she had an episode.”

Seb cocked his brow and crossed his arms. “What kind of episode?”

“I’m assuming there was some kind of trigger, but all of a sudden she groaned in pain, dropped to her knees, and gripped her head. When I approached her, she had broken out in a cold sweat. I helped her to a nearby bench and stayed with her for a few minutes while the others continued shopping.”

“It freaked the guards out.” Vi snorted. “They got all serious and took up defensive positions.”

“Yeah, I had to tell them she has a condition, and they eased up. Roja did not take that well.”

“Why?” Seb asked.

“She’s still as prideful as ever,” Nalla said with a slight grin. “She keeps trying to push and push and push. But I think she’s having a harder time that she’s letting on. And of course I feel helpless. I don’t have the knowledge to properly care for her. I doubt many do, given the kind of cybernetics that are within her.”

“I’ll never understand humanity's obsession with cyberware,” Vi said, shuddering. “The thought of having a bunch of metal inside of me makes my insides bubble. And that’s coming from someone who has to wear a suit everyday just to walk around.”

“We know you’re doing everything you can.” Seb said, rubbing Nalla’s shoulder. “Did everything else go okay?”

Nalla cupped her hand over her mouth and giggled as she asked Vi, “Do you want to tell him?”

The pilot rolled her eyes, grinning. “I messed up by not wearing a helmet.”

Nalla’s laughter infected Seb as he asked, “What? Did someone recognize you?”

“Yeah, a fan did. I don’t know how that still happens. I’ve been out of that scene for a while now. Well, publicly, anyway.”

“Did they ask for an autograph or something?”

“Yeah, I signed what he had. He told me he was a lifelong fan, and that I did nothing wrong, which was the first time I think I’ve heard a fan say that.”

“Maybe now that the wound has healed, people are becoming more sympathetic to what happened?”

“Maybe.” Vi shrugged. “But I doubt it. It was nice to hear, though.”

“Anything else happen while you were out?”

“No. It was pretty uneventful. Iris definitely had the most fun out of all of us. Her naivety and excitement about the simple things kept all of us in a good mood.”

“That’s good.”

“Is everyone hungry?” Nalla asked. “I was planning on cooking now that we’re all back.”

“I could eat a karasaur,” Eni said.

“Same,” Seb added.

After everyone picked up the bags, the group walked to the elevator. When Seb went to press the button for the kitchen floor, he froze. He noticed a lone figure walking from the manor toward the ship.

“Who is that, Zara?” Eni asked, cupping her brow.

“I think so,” Seb said.

Their caretaker was wearing a business suit that had hidden buttons on one side of her chest. The top was unclasped, revealing a white laced bra. A small skirt exposed her long legs. The clicking of her heels echoed throughout the bay as she approached the elevator.

When she entered the cabin, she nodded at the bags on the floor. “How was your shopping day? It looks like it was fruitful?”

“It went well,” Nalla said. “Thank you for asking.”

“And did our… special passenger get everything she needs?”

“We took care of her,” Vi said.

“Wonderful,” the princess said.

“What are you doing here?” Eni asked, crossing her arms.

Zara ran her tongue over her teeth as she looked down at Eni. “I’m here to discuss our next steps. However, it’s best that we discuss it with everyone, so I don’t have to repeat myself.”

“I’m going to make dinner. Would you care to join us?” Nalla asked.

Zara hesitated before smiling. “Sure. Why not?”

When the elevator doors opened, Seb, Eni and Zara headed toward the kitchen while Vi and Nalla dropped off their things.

The captain grabbed three glasses before opening up the fridge. He pulled out a bottle of chilled alcohol before presenting it to the pair. When the two nodded, Seb poured everyone a glass before sliding them across the table.

They each raised their drinks and downed the shots before setting them on the table. He poured them one more before moving to the couches in the common room. Nalla shouted for everyone to gather in the living room as she walked down the hall.

Once everyone gathered around the table, Zara looked over at Seb and pointed to Roja. “Is she safe to hear this?”

“I don’t know whatever this is,” Roja said.

“If you don’t know then I’m guessing you shouldn’t be here.”

Both women glared at Seb. He wasn’t sure how to answer. From everything Nalla had told him, Roja had been mind controlled or indoctrinated by someone. Whoever it was had the technological prowess to fill her body full of cutting-edge cyberware. While Nalla reassured him, the connection was broken, he still had his reservations.

She was a walking enigma on his ship. They didn’t have time to have their talk. To discuss what her plans were and what that meant for him and his crew. Or how she saved him and he saved her.

Yet when he looked into her green vertically slit eyes, he still saw Francisca. The same woman who took a chance on him by allowing him to repair a stolen ship. The one he’d flirted with over drinks when she offered him a spot on her own crew. While their history was brief, without her, he wouldn’t have escaped the frozen wasteland of Inoi 3, met Nalla, or became the captain of his own crew.

“She can stay,” Seb said.

“Very well,” Zara said, shrugging. “As you all, hopefully know already, Seb has informed me of these… Songless. They’re supposed to be creatures that may or may not already be here, but pose a potential threat to our galaxy.”

“They’re real!” Iris shouted.

“She knows,” Seb said, holding up her hand. “She didn’t mean anything about it.”

Zara’s eyes widened and glanced at everyone in the room. “Did she just speak?”

“Oh yeah,” Seb said. “Eni pushed out an update to our universal translators. If you want to hear her, then you’ll need to give her access to yours.”

“No, I heard her.” Zara looked over at Eni with a furrowed brow. “Did you push the update to mine without my knowledge?”

“What?” Eni shrugged. “I was doing you a favor.”

“You and I need to talk about boundaries. But that can be discussed at another time.”

Eni let out a brief gremlin laugh as Zara continued. “While the FLS has their hands full of the war with the sectorum, I am empathetic to your plight of investigating this potential threat. As such, I’ve procured a way off of Mahad for you all.”

“That’s great news,” Seb said. “When do we go?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? Why so soon?”

“Tomorrow was the window that I had. There’s so many moving parts to this that it has to be tomorrow.”

“I don’t know. Are we even going to have time to prepare?”

Zara’s lip curled. “You asked me to put this together, and I have done so. Do you understand the risk that I am putting myself in just by having this conversation? It’s treason. Do not think for a second that I have not put together a foolproof plan that was going to fail.”

Seb raised his hands. “All right, my bad. Go ahead.”

Zara cleared her throat. “So as I was saying, tomorrow a Merovingian Luxuria will land, which we will presumably take to the Gran Amberscale Resort in Kitsmouth Bay. I’ve coordinated a fake vacation for all of us. It’s booked for seven days.”

“Seven days?” Eni said. “That’s it?”

“I was told the communication station or wherever you’re going was in this system,” Zara said.

“Well yeah, but having more time would have helped.”

“The costs and risks of this are already exorbitant. Having you all gone longer will only increase the chances of you and me being found out.”

“How are we supposed to be in two places, anyway?” Seb asked.

A smug smile crested Zara’s lips. “I’ve hired my own crew. A crew of Zerandians.”

Seb cocked his brow. “Zerandians?”

“They’re an Orlano native species,” Vi said. “They’re bipedal creatures that have the ability to change their appearance. But they absolutely hate the heat. I’m surprised to hear that they are on Mahad.”

“There is a small community of them located on Mahad,” Zara said. “Their gifts are perfect for espionage and infiltration. Both of which are as common as sneezing. They demand a hefty price but for times like this are worth it.”

“So they’re going to become us?” Seb asked.

Zara nodded. “That’s exactly what’s going to happen. The ship will arrive with them acting as the flight crew. You all will board in casual clothing with your gear stowed away in luggage. I’d recommend wearing something you don’t care to lose, like a skinsleeve. You’ll swap outfits with them mid-flight. I will stay with your decoys for the seven days in Kitsmouth Bay, ensuring there are no issues or questions.”

“There’s one for each of us?”

“One for each of you. However, I didn’t know if she was coming—” Zara nodded toward Roja. “—however, I’m sure the one I had planned for Syn could use her and you could just stow the drone in one of your crates.”

“What about the guards?”

“Security will fly with us from here to the destination. They won’t be in the rooms, but will be stationed outside. I’ve already cleared it with them and the resort.”

“And then we just take the ship?”

“Yes. The ship is registered through one of Merovingian’s subsidiaries. I’ve worked out the details to have it loaned to us temporarily and staffed with my own private crew, but to everyone else, it’s just a third party shuttle service providing us with a luxury flight. You’ll just need to make sure you’re back within seven galactic days.”

Seb leaned forward on his elbows, rubbing his hands together. “Seven days… we’ll have to work quickly.”

“If we run out of time, couldn’t we just do it again?” Eni asked.

“Absolutely not!” Zara said firmly, swiping her hand. “This is a one-time thing. I cannot risk anymore than I have already done so. You will need to get whatever you can and come back as soon as possible. I will do my best to open up our travel arrangements as liberally as I can, but going forward it must be all legitimate.”

“We understand,” Seb said, eyeing Eni. “Don’t we?”

The blue and green eyed pracovi huffed. “Yeah, whatever.”

“It seems straightforward,” Seb said.

“Does anyone have any questions?” Zara asked, looking around the room.

When no one responded, Seb looked up at her and smiled. “We appreciate everything you’ve done putting this together, Zara.”

“You’re welcome,” Zara beamed back. “I hope you find whatever it is you’re looking for.”

“Should I ‌prepare dinner?” Nalla asked.

Seb nodded. “Yeah, and after that, we’ll need to start packing.”