Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 61982 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 310(@200wpm)___ 248(@250wpm)___ 207(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61982 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 310(@200wpm)___ 248(@250wpm)___ 207(@300wpm)
It is at that point I realize I haven’t actually confirmed what the role is or involves at all. They told me I had the post and I couldn’t wait to run down and rub Rustle’s face in it.
“You are going to witness a breakthrough in the divide between physical matter and the function of the mind,” he says. “I don’t know how much of that you’re going to be able to understand, but if you can bring some of that back…”
“I’ll do my best,” I promise.
“Good,” he says. “Just keep in mind that there may be cameras in places you don’t expect, and don’t assume that just because you aren’t confronted immediately, you haven’t been caught.”
He flickers a wink at me to soften the blow about me being a habitually somewhat incompetent thief. I take it with a rueful smile and that’s the last normal work day I ever have.
CHAPTER 2
Evie
The ship that goes to the Daktari Quadrant is sleek and new and mostly alien engineered. I have to get a shuttle to the moon and then it’s a short hop to the space station where alien vessels are allowed to dock. There are no aliens on Earth, at least, officially.
I am escorted to a room by an Antari guard. A lot of aliens turned out to have two sets of arms, and this is one of those species. I think it must be incredibly useful, but then I wonder if maybe they sometimes wish they had three sets of arms.
“Here’s a map of the ship,” she says, handing me a folded piece of paper. I open it up to reveal a very complicated diagram.
“Thanks,” I say.
“You’re welcome,” she replies. “Feel free to relax until dinnertime. Food is provided in the mess hall. You have bathing options in your room.”
I’ve been reading about this trip since I knew I was going to take it. We don’t have a lot of information on the ship yet, because no humans are generally allowed on it, but my employer has paid a great deal to have me accommodated.
The bed is huge, obviously made for a creature at least twice my size. I’m looking forward to getting into it, because when I sit on it, it’s super soft. Oh, my god, I am going to be so cuddled up in this bed soon.
I can’t stop smiling to myself as the guide leaves. I’m doing it. I’m an astronaut. I’m one of the very few humans who is going to get to see space, and come back.
There was a time a lot of humans got abducted and used for either sex, or food, or sometimes both, but all of that is behind us now. We’re respected as sentient creatures, even though we’re not as developed as some of the other species we’ve come in contact with.
I squish down into the bed for a bit, and then I get up, move my bag around. I didn’t bring that much. A couple of changes of clothes, some underwear. A device that can hold encrypted text. I am going to be going so far away that communication won’t be possible, so I don’t need a phone.
The trip covers several hundred lightyears, but only takes a matter of days according to my perception. The technology required to enable this kind of travel remains unknown to humankind. There are many wonders yet for us to discover.
And that is why I get started on my secondary mission almost immediately. I do have a couple more things in my bag. One of them is a small screwdriver set. If they asked me why I have it, I’d say I needed it to repair my glasses. I’ve also got a pair of glasses in my bag. I’ve thought of everything.
I slide onto the very comfortable bed, where I have spotted a panel in the wall. I touch it with my fingers first, see if it will pop open with a light touch. It remains firm, but it has the appearance of something that should open.
I pick up a slim flathead screwdriver and wrangle it into the slot of the panel. If I can start getting material now, before I’m even off the ship…
Someone clears their throat behind me.
“I’m going to have to ask you to stop that.”
I turn around to discover that I am no longer alone in the room. There is a uniformed officer behind me. He’s an Antari. He has two frilled antennae on top of his head that are both pointed forward at me now not unlike a horse’s ears. Two of his arms are on his hips. The other two are holding a pair of human-sized cuffs. The cuffs bother me more than the bulging red muscles.
“Uh, sorry,” I say. “I thought this was a storage port? I need to charge my phone.”