Desperate Measures (2 page)

last thing they needed was to find a mate, especially one in a pack.

After a fast ride in a hover taxi, Nara, Gianna and Raine arrived at the trade port. They

entered the port through the large gray metal and tinted glass customs building and were

practically waved through the checkpoints to the huge fenced area behind it. Shuttles lined the

black landing pad and they all looked so similar from the front. With rows and rows of shuttles,

finding one among them seemed almost impossible. They had to ask where to find the shuttle

from the
Raitan
. When they finally did find the right shuttle, a man waited near it and he didn‟t look like he was the most patient of men.

“I‟m Rennick Marsac, second in command of the
Raitan
. I need your names so I can

verify that you‟re the women who were hired. Please show me your ID.” The dark-haired man

stood stiffly next to the black-and-white shuttle. His light gold eyes were narrowed and his lips

turned down into a scowl. The crisp white shirt he wore did nothing to hide his broad shoulders,

and pants as tight as his dark blue ones should restrict movement, but she doubted they did.

Raine bit back a grin at the demands. She didn‟t doubt that he expected and was

accustomed to full cooperation. Raine fished her ID out of her bag. She held it out and waited to

see if he‟d take the step forward to get it. He looked at her and raised a brow.

“You‟ll have to step closer.” He held out his hand and remained unmoving.

She moved forward and handed over her identification chip. “I‟m Raine Iallat.”

The Raine part was true. Since this was going to be such a short stint under a different

name, keeping part of it close to reality was important. They didn‟t have time to get accustomed

to responding to a fake name. Iallat wasn‟t even close to her real last name, but it was a play on

her second name Talia. Raine was certain she could answer to it on the short haul to Forunes.

He looked at the info on the small screen of the handheld comp. “Where are you from?”

“Jovala. It‟s a planet in the Dr—” She blinked when he shook his head firmly and cut her

off.

“I know where it is.” Commander Marsac slanted a glance over at her. “Most people

don‟t sign on for one-way tours. Care to explain why you‟re doing it?”

“I have a friend on Forunes who‟s with one of the trade ships. She‟s going to get us a

position.” Raine knew this could be a tricky point, but hiding their friendship and being

discovered later would draw more questions.

“You know each other?” Commander Marsac looked from Raine to Nara and Gianna.

“Yes, we grew up in the same district and became friends in academy.” Raine smiled.

They‟d known each other since they were cubs, but it was their standard answer when going in

as acquaintances.

The commander nodded and handed her back her chip. Raine stepped back and watched

as Nara stepped forward. The short woman grinned. The man‟s eyes slid down her body and

locked on Nara‟s breasts highlighted by the very feminine shirt. Raine wasn‟t surprised. There

were very few men who didn‟t react that way to Nara‟s curvy beauty.

“Your name?” the commander asked. His voice sounded like a croak.

“Nara Lions.” Nara cocked a hand on her hip after giving him her chip.

“What district did you grow up in?” Rennick looked back at the computer screen, but his

eyes returned to Nara in moments.

“Milarn. I really loved living there. It was so active. There was always something to do.”

Nara‟s voice faded off as if she was remembering some really happy memories.

“Now I need your identification.” The commander looked over at Gianna who was

waiting.

“Gianna Valent.” Gianna handed the documentation to the commander and stepped back.

Her coral shirt and white pants really stood out against the dark landing pad and dull gray of the

shuttles.

It didn‟t take long to finish with his verification. Raine was almost certain that he was

completely satisfied with their stories. She doubted he‟d bother to do a deep search, but even if

he did they should be safe. The identities would hold under any search he performed. She‟d just

rest easier if he left things here. After Krissa was safe and they were away from the area, the

false names and histories would disappear from all records.

They were on their way up to the
Raitan
in a short time. Nervousness curled in Raine‟s

belly. They were going up to a ship filled with
Feiral
and a captain notorious for grabbing any
Feiral
who came near him. She sat in her seat near the back of the shuttle and gripped the arms of it. It was the definition of hostile territory. She wanted to run out just before the hatch closed, but didn‟t. The thought of Krissa, alone and in danger, kept her in her seat in spite of her fear of

the situation. She‟d do whatever it took to get there.

The trading ship
Raitan
was spacious. Of course, since it was a trading ship, it had a huge

cargo bay, most of which was filled with large silver containers. The containers were stacked

high along two walls and in precise rows across the floor. After only a glimpse around there,

they were escorted to the lift and rode it to the personnel level to the quarters they‟d share for the ten-day journey to Forunes.

It was a utilitarian room with four slim beds anchored to the floor, a rather small closet

and small dark gray cabinets with deep drawers. The creamy white color of the walls did surprise

Raine. Gray was the standard on ships. It did reinforce her research about the captain and crew.

They were successful and had money. She‟d bet the permanent crew had personalized their

rooms even more.

Raine unpacked her clothes, taking them out of her bag and placing them in the drawer.

She‟d just finished when a tone sounded. Gianna went to answer it. A blond man stood outside

the door. He looked at the women in the room and the open bags on the bed.

“I‟m here to give Nara Lions a tour of the ship. There will be a man here to give the other

two of you a tour shortly.” The big blond man stepped back although his eyes swept over

Gianna‟s lithe body more than once.

Nara stepped forward with a smile and a greeting. He moved away from the door. She

walked out and then the panel shut behind them. As soon as it closed, Raine reached for her

makeup case. These men were far more suspicious than she‟d expected unless she was being too

paranoid. But she wanted to know if they were going to search and how thorough they were if

they did.

“I‟ve got the gossamer string.” Gianna rushed over to Raine‟s side.

It didn‟t surprise Raine that Gianna knew what she was thinking. They‟d worked together

enough that sometimes they almost read each other‟s mind. Gianna handed Raine a fine fiber.

She draped it over the seal of her bag, rubbing the edges of the thread to fix it in place. They

placed the tiny strings on all the bags and drawers. Once in place, they were invisible to the

naked eye. Giana concealed the gossamer threads in the tines of a hair brush. It was the one place

little strands of hair-like threads would be expected and most likely overlooked. When they came

back, they‟d have some answers. Raine hoped she was being too suspicious. They‟d know if the

bags were opened and if they had it was probably going to be a long trip. Just as they took a last

look around the room, the tone sounded again.

* * * * *

“Their stories seem to check out and they say all the right things, but something‟s

nagging at me. It‟s not just that they‟re not human.” Rennick leaned back in the muted green

chair at the end of the black table. His fingers drummed on the tabletop.

Connal looked at his second in command. He could tell the man was agitated. He trusted

Rennick‟s instincts. If Rennick felt that there was something more than the obvious verifiable

story to these women, then there was. Connal didn‟t doubt it. He had only seen the women on the

monitor and they‟d seemed too calm and too focused. That reaction had fostered the feeling that

there was something not quite right about them. Maybe it was a bit of the famed
Feiral
intuition, but he knew they were hiding something.

“We‟ll watch them closely, but let‟s see if we can narrow down what they‟re looking for.

What about their scent?” Connal stared beyond his friend at the tan wall, but he didn‟t really see

it. Those women were hiding something.

“Nothing. They don‟t smell like anything. Not the
Anjuri
,
Corlan
or shifters from the area they claim. The scent is muddy unrecognizable.” Rennick grimaced. “I‟ve never smelled

anything like it. I thought maybe they were of Dain descent, but the scent‟s wrong there too.”

“That‟s sign number one and there will probably be more that they need watching.”

Connal wondered what the women were doing on his ship. “We‟ll know more after their room is

searched.”

“Do you think they knew what we are before they applied for the positions?” Rennick

asked.

“Who knows? They definitely do now and they came up to the ship with you. Either

they‟re running from something, have a secret of their own or they just wanted to get to Forunes

as they said.” Connal drummed his fingers on the table.

That question had occurred to him. If they had known before they met Rennick, they had

to have been either desperate for transport off the planet or they were focused on a mission. He

wanted to know which. Had the women been sent to spy or possibly even attempt to kill one of

them? He hoped for some answers from the search of their belongings.

A tone sounded at the door. Rennick rose and opened it. The men who had been sent to

search the women‟s room waited there. Rennick stepped back and allowed them to enter. Connal

waited patiently as the two men walked over to stand in front of the large table.

“What did you find?” Connal eyed Dale and Hart. The blond men stood side by side with

their hands hanging loosely.

“Nothing that shouldn‟t be there. They don‟t even have a stunner with them.” Dale

looked a little surprised by that last part.

“What do they have?” Connal sat forward. Almost everyone carried some form of

protection. It was almost universally accepted practice. He‟d expected some kind of defensive

weapon. They seemed determined to draw as little notice as possible.

“Clothes, the usual female goops, powders and scents, brushes and a few handheld

devices. Nothing suspicious on them.” Hart‟s hand lifted, palm up, and he exhaled. “No bugs,

nothing.”

Connal‟s brow furrowed. No contraband of any kind. They were just too clean to be

believed. He hadn‟t met a woman who didn‟t carry some kind of protection even if it was a small

knife. They‟d wanted to seem normal and unremarkable, but they‟d failed. “You can go.”

Connal was distracted by what he‟d just learned. The women definitely merited a much

closer look. If they were hiding something, they‟d show their hand eventually. He didn‟t care

what they were doing as long as they didn‟t endanger his crew. Until he knew what their secret

was, he‟d have them under close observation.

“Do you have a plan?” Rennick asked, returning to sit at the table as soon as the other

two men left.

“We‟ll see if any of the men find the women attractive. I‟d prefer the upper level single

men to try first,” Connal said.

A lot of the lower level crewmen were young and vastly inexperienced. The experienced

men were delivering some goods on one of his other ships,
Orclan
. Some of that crew had been

badly injured in an accident, leaving the ship understaffed and without solid leadership. When

the men were healthy again, the men from the
Raitan
‟s crew would return and the balance would be restored.

“I‟ll inform the appropriate men and they‟ll find a way to be near the women. I‟ll make a

point of it too.” Rennick nodded.

“I‟m not going to shirk the duty either. Although they may wonder why, they won‟t find

themselves short of company on this trip.” Connal smiled. He was happy for the shortage that

had required them to take on extra crew. The mystery they were providing was a welcome

change from what had been a rather monotonous trip.

Raine sat at a small round table with Gianna in the crew‟s galley. It was actually nicer

than she expected. The tables and tiles gleamed and the food was actually edible. The walls and

the floors were a light blue and the tables a stark white. The food also wasn‟t the machine

prepared, preportioned slop she‟d expected. It was actually prepared by a cook and was good.

That was about the only positive she could think of in this entire situation. She was

feeling more caged than ever. She‟d seen more men today than she‟d seen in weeks. It wasn‟t

just passing them in the hallway that made her feel so nervous. The older, more experienced men

in the crew seemed absolutely determined to talk and be near them. Her tension had very seldom

been higher and she wanted to scream.

They hadn‟t dressed to attract any of the men. In fact, they‟d wanted to keep their

appearance almost neutral for a while so that the men wouldn‟t be too attentive. She‟d dressed in

black pants and a short-sleeved black shirt. With her build, it shouldn‟t have attracted too many

stares. Gianna‟s clothes weren‟t that different from hers and definitely not the stare-invoking