Alpha One - Chris Burton [128]
“I need to find Carla. If there’s any chance she might be out there, I need to find her. If it’s okay with you, I am going to refuel and then go out and look for her.”
Hoskins immediately regretted the impression of desperation he created. “Enson, I cannot allow that. The Sabre is Alpha property and I need every ship I can get. That includes you. Your skills and knowledge of Winterburn make you a prized possession. I need you to stay with the ship while we continue our pursuit of Winterburn. A number of private vessels docked with the AUSWAS ship prior to the blue wormhole opening. Joely was likely to be in board the AUSWAS ship already; there is a fair chance Carla is on board too.”
* * * *
Winterburn saw the pursuing freighter on the ships scanners. The AUSWAS ship should try to outrun her, but he was intrigued as to why a ship of this kind, a non-Alpha ship, would pursue at all. He turned towards his new crew. They were all Kryl.
“We must take nothing for granted. The humans are intelligent, yes. They are also complex and would stop at nothing to rescue one crew member when they might be putting other lives at risk. We will allow them to come a little closer, but must be wary. It is possible there is an Alpha contingent aboard and that would not be good. How long until we reach the Queen’s Ship?”
“Not long. Should I prepare the cargo?”
“No. I need to speak to them first. I owe them that. Let me know if there any changes with the freighter and when we are in communication range of the Queen’s ship.”
Winterburn was in command, although he was a warrior. He was a Kronan, part of the Kryl hierarchy second only to the Queen herself. He was a cut above the workers and drones who attended him. Right now it suited him to remain proactive. He approached the main cargo hold and two soldier drones moved aside as he entered. Within the hold sat two large storage containers adapted to accommodate the ‘live’ specimens.
“What the hell is going on, Winterburn?” asked a bespectacled man in his fifties standing at the entrance of the storage facility as Winterburn walked in.
Winterburn moved towards the center of the main reception area.
“Patience, please. I am about to explain. There will be an opportunity for questions afterwards.”
There was none of the God-like adoration Winterburn previously coerced his captives with. They were free to make up their own minds, draw their own conclusions and pour scorn on everything he was about to say. He turned to Joely first. “My dear girl. I see you have reunited with your sister.”
“Don’t you dare call me ‘dear’ Winterburn. You brought us all here under false pretenses. Are we to die at the hands of you and your crew?”
Winterburn laughed. He assumed many of the personality traits of his human ‘friends’ over the years and learned to understand the nuances of human behavior perfectly.
“You have no reason to fear me. You are the lucky ones. We will shortly arrive at our destination and you my friends will be presented to the Kryl Queen. You are, I can assure you, all safe.”
Winterburn’s own natural personality began taking over and his physical attributes were already showing more of a significant resemblance to the other Kryl onboard. “Be absolutely certain, if you step out of line, I will kill you personally.”
“Alpha will come and rescue us,” Carla broke the silence. She had hardly spoken for the last forty-eight hours, but she was happy to put herself at risk to ensure her point was recognized.
“Don’t push me, Carla. You are only here because your sister is important to me. You are also being naive. This is Kryl space, in our galaxy not yours. Alpha has but one ship in the entire galaxy. The Kryl have tens of thousands.”
Just then a communication message came from the Bridge. The Alpha freighter launched three jump ships, and they quickly closed the gap. Winterburn left the humans to their accommodations and