Alpha Rising by G.L. Douglas Page A

just
inside the door. He passed through a darkened alcove leading from
the holding area to the cockpit where the aliens from Ulwor all
spoke in hushed voices.
    Elaborate surveillance systems clicked and
flashed around the crewmates. Deni whispered to the others, “Watch
what you say … recorded.”
    G.R. tried to sit upright, but grabbed his
lower back with both hands and groaned through clenched teeth. “I
don’t care who they are, as long as they give us medical
attention.”
    Kaz groused at Lynch, “You and your big idea
of making contact.”
    “ We didn’t contact them,”
he replied in an iron-edged whisper.
    She sighed forcefully. Her crewmates stared.
Staring back, she suddenly realized Bach wasn’t there and leapt up
with a shout. “Bach? Where’s Bach?”
    Deni grabbed her. “Kaz, no!”
    The tall agent appeared in the inner
doorway. He pounded his open hand with his fist and scrutinized the
crewmates’ faces one-by-one. “What’s bok?”
    The earthlings made no eye
contact. When silence grew uncomfortable, Lynch spoke out. “She’s
askin’ for her books, the ship’s logs.” He exaggerated his twangy drawl. “She
maintains the books .” He nodded toward Kaz. “She hit her head when we crashed.
She’s not right.”
    The agent walked away. “She won’t need
books.”
    The man was barely out of
sight when Kaz inched from her seat and, before her crewmates could
stop her, backed toward the open door and slipped outside like
human liquid. She rushed toward the AstroLab, looking for Bach on
the way. “I’m not leaving without him . ”
    Footsteps closed in strong from behind and
the tall agent grabbed her with a powerful overhand grip. “You’ve
jeopardized your future.”
    She stiffened in his grasp. “I need … I need
my books.”
    The man stared from steely dark eyes.
“You’re lying about books. What are you after?”
    Trembling, Kaz turned on a girlish charm.
“No, honest. There’s nothing else of value except our journals.
They have specs and communications frequencies.” Then came a
brainstorm. “And there’s data on the lab experiments.”
    “ Lab experiments?” He
hesitated for a moment. “All right, find the books.”
    With the agent at her side, Kaz plodded
toward the earthships, covertly searching for Bach on the way. On
the chance he’d made it back to the ship, she stopped walking as
they neared and talked loudly to the agent. “You’re so nice to let
me get my books from the ship.” She touched his bicep. “Will you
get one of my crewmates to help me, or will you help? I’ll have
trouble finding them by myself.”
    He pushed her forward, air huffing from his
nose. “You wanted the books, you get them.”
    The alien looked on as Kaz searched the
disarrayed cabin and complained.
    Bach was nowhere to be found.
    Within minutes, the agent grew impatient.
“That’s it, long enough.” He grabbed Kaz’s arm just as she found
the first book in a pile of trash.
    “ Gosh, you seemed nice at
first, but now….” She shoved the book to his chest, expecting him
to hold it. He pushed it back. Her temper flared. “Don’t you know
how to treat guests in your solar system?”
    “ It’s not a solar system,
it’s a zone.”
    “ Zone? Who cares? You’re
supposed to be nice.”
    “ Nice, like the people on
your planet?” he said.
    “ Yes, we would treat aliens
to the best of everything.”
    He smirked. “That’s not what happens to the
blue planet’s alien visitors and you know it.”
    “ The blue planet? It’s
Earth. And what would you know about Earth? You’re just a grunt who
works your planet’s security.”
    “ That shows how much you
know.” He puffed up with pride. “We’re Rooks—Rulers of other
kingdoms. Now if you want your books, hurry up, and shut
up!”
    Rooks. Rulers of other kingdoms. His words
hung in the air. Heart pounding, Kaz searched in silence for the
other journals as the irritated Rook looked on. When she found the
third book, he