Page 62 of Shielded in the Shadows

“Can you seal engineering and deploy countermeasures?” Keela asked in a low voice.

Negative, Siber replied via text. Without identifying the species, I cannot determine the type of gas needed to induce unconsciousness. The anomaly is too close to the ship’s engines for any kind of stun field deployment.

“Damn it.” With a fighter’s grace, Keela slid from my arms and rolled smoothly to her feet as if she hadn’t been sound asleep only moments ago. I stood as well, taking my cue from her.

“Jarrix and I will be going into the engineering level via the hatches,” she murmured to Siber. “Once we drop in, lock them behind us and seal the level, then await instructions. And alert Deckmaster Byx we’ve detected an intruder aboard and ask him to review surveillance in the docking bay.”

Acknowledged, Captain.

Perhaps given the threat, her cool aura of command shouldn’t have made blood rush to my cocks, but it did.

My reaction didn’t go unnoticed. None too gently, she patted the side of my stiffening upper cock—whether in reassurance or admonishment, I wasn’t sure.

“No time,” she murmured. “Dress and gear up, weapons master.”

Without waiting for my reply, she spun on her heel and strode from my cabin, headed for her own. I watched the sway of her hips and the hypnotic movement of her ass until she disappeared from sight.

Since speed was of the essence, I opted for my jumpsuit and standard boots, over which I fastened a holster that circled my hips and both thighs. By the time I emerged into the corridor with weapons in place, Keela was standing next to the midship engineering hatch, fully dressed, hair braided, and similarly armed.

She pointed at me and at the hatch, indicating I would be the one to go through it. That meant she intended to use the aft hatch in the cargo bay herself, which would put her much closer to the intruder than me.

I didn’t like it, but it wasn’t my call. She was my mate and my captain. I wouldn’t disobey her orders—not today, and not in the future. Unlike a number of captains I’d served under, she’d earned my respect and my deference.

And besides, I looked forward to any and all rewards she might bestow upon an obedient bat.

I took my place by the midship hatch. She signaled with her hand that we would drop into engineering in one minute. I set the timer on my wristcomm and watched her stride across the cargo bay toward the other access point until she was out of sight.

The engineering hatches remained sealed at all times unless someone was on that level doing maintenance or repairs, but yesterday a scanning crew had been aboard the ship looking for trackers. I assumed that was when our intruder had gained entry and hidden themselves. Perhaps Byx would see something on the bay’s surveillance.

The timer was approaching zero. I crouched next to the hatch, ready to scan my palm.

My wristcomm buzzed.

I unlocked the hatch, watched it swing down to reveal the engineering level, and dropped three meters feet first to the deck below, landing with a solid thud that reverberated.

Above me, the hatch closed and locked. In the distance, I heard the aft hatch do the same. A hum and a hiss indicated Siber had sealed the deck.

I was already making my way toward the starboard engine, moving as silently and quickly as I could manage given how densely this level was packed with all of the ship’s many systems. Neither the passageways nor the ceiling height were designed for a being my size, much less one with wings and horns.

Despite the many obstacles in my path, I tucked my wings tightly against my body and managed to reach the engine in less than a minute, and without banging my head or horns on a pipe.

When I turned the final corner, my plasma gun set to heavy stun because firing a full-power plasma bolt near an engine would be both disastrous and suicidal, I nearly skidded to a halt in surprise.

Given Siber’s inability to identify the intruder or categorize the threat, I’d prepared myself to confront almost anything, but the sight of Keela sitting cross-legged on the deck with a warbling pink…creature…in her lap was not one of them.

I’d never seen such a creature. It was relatively small—maybe a half of a meter in length and round almost like a slug, but with shimmering flesh that changed colors from pink to red and then aubergine before cycling back to pink. It didn’t appear to have any eyes or appendages except two antennae that curved up from the top of one end of its body.

Keela looked up when I appeared, her expression somewhere between bemused and…relieved?

One end of the creature whipped in my direction as its flesh turned dark gray to match the deck. Three enormous, round eyes suddenly opened wide and stared straight at me from what was apparently the being’s head.

A wide mouth opened below the eyes, full of long serrated teeth. A dozen small appendages erupted from the flesh of its belly to form what were probably the equivalent of legs and feet. And it hissed.

I took a slow step back, trying to decide what my next move should be.

“She’s a young gorga,” Keela announced, as if the word should mean something to me. “She leapt into my arms,” she added with a rueful smile. “So now we have a…situation.”

I crouched, hoping appearing smaller would make the creature less likely to attack me or turn all those teeth on my mate. The gorga’s maw closed, but those eyes remained fixed on me in a clear warning.