Page 44 of Truthful Deceptions

Fear was making me sound anxious rattles as I checked the ship's system. It only read Talins, no smaller Opal-sized heat signatures.

I slapped the display to connect to the command room. “Opal is gone. Meet me outside the ship.”

We all got there about the same time. I was bombarded with questions I couldn't answer, so I sounded an angry rattle to quiet my crewmates.

“She wasn't taken, she ran,” I said. “It's our fault. We should've told her our plans even before we were sure it was possible. We gave her no choice, and she acted.”

“Marpers aren't ones to be gentle,” Narmuna said. “We need to find her quickly.”

Lexarit sounded a frustrated rattle. “This isn't a small station. Where should we start?”

“I wish we could ask the Marpers for help,” Mieshorum said. “They would be as likely to use her to prove something about strength as they would be to turn her over to us.”

“She would want to go home,” I said.

Narmuna sounded a questioning rumble. “Home?”

“She considers the station we picked her up from as her home,” I said. “I'm sure she would try to find passage back there.”

“There aren't any passenger ships at this station,” Lexarit pointed out.

“But she could work on a ship to pay for passage,” Mieshorum said. “She's knowledgeable. I'm sure there are plenty of captains that would be willing to take advantage of her.”

“There's a passenger broker on this station,” Narmuna said with an excited rattle. “I passed by his office on my way here.”

“Take us there,” I demanded.

He didn't need to be asked again. He took off running, and the rest of us followed. We went as fast as we could until we hit a more crowded area and were forced to slow to a walk.

The broker’s office was small with only one Marper. Even if I didn’t see Opal’s familiar bag sitting on a table with all of her things scattered around, I’d know her scent.

With an enraged rattled that startled the Marper, I advanced on him. “What did you do with the human?”

“What human?” he asked, trying to stand tall in the face of my anger. He might be bigger than me, but his anger and determination could never match mine.

“The human you stole,” I growled. My friends crowded in around me, helping me force the Marper back against the wall.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.

I didn’t bother arguing, I unsheathed my claws and punched them into his round belly. Marpers had a large layer of subcutaneous fat over a massive amount of muscle. I knew I could dig my claws in deep without doing any real damage.

He yowled in pain and tried to get away from me, but my crewmates were quick to hold him in place.

“I have two hands,” I warned him, waving the claws on my other hand in his face. “Where should I puncture you next?”

He let out a very un-Marper-like whimper. “No, please don’t.”

“Where is the human?” Mieshorum snarled.

“Tell us or we’ll all take turns putting holes in you,” Narmuna added.

“B-b-bay thirty-four,” the Marper said, struggling to get the words past his rapid, panicked breathing. “Slip 309.”

None of us needed to talk. As I pulled out my claws and let the Marper drop to the floor, Lexarit gathered Opal’s things and we all rushed out of the office. There was a ring of bays running along the outside of the station, and thankfully this bay was one of the closer ones.

I could only hope the ship hadn’t left yet.

We got to bay thirty-four, sprinting down the length to a ship at the very end. The ramp was still down so I didn’t even hesitate to run up it and slap the hatch display. To my shock it opened.