Ethereal Lives: A Romantic Sci-Fi Novel

Chapter 7

Ax jumped up, nearly dropping Ariane on the floor. He remembered at the last moment they needed to stay in contact and caught her hand, steadying her before she fell.

"Sorry," he murmured, hastening after Kestel and pulling her along behind. "What have they found?" he whispered to Sek, who rushed to his side.

"I don't know," his friend replied, worry on his face.

Ax let out a breath of relief when they passed Ariane's quarters. A quick glance inside confirmed nothing had been touched.

Kestel dashed ahead of them in the direction of the cargo hold. Ax followed in confusion, what could they have found in there?

Ax indicated with his eyes for Sek to take Ariane's hand before releasing her and entering the room. Kestel was in the process of opening crates. He turned to Ax with a self-satisfied smile.

"Would you care to explain why you are docked here carrying weapons which you know are prohibited on this planet?"

Ax looked at the crates and groaned. The guns were indeed illegal here. They'd been purchased for sale on Zagan. The ship had been on its way there when they heard about the planned destruction of Earth. Deciding to take a detour and grab a human, the crates had been left in the cargo hold, temporarily forgotten.

Honesty seemed like his best course of action.

Opening his arms in a friendly gesture, he approached the Xan. "Kestel, we've known each other for a long time. You know I wouldn't bring those guns onto Xanlas, I'm just taking them to Zagan."

Kestel's face was a hard mask. "You still docked here with them. I could have you arrested for this."

"Kestel-"

The other man held his hand up to silence Ax. "I'll let it slide, this once. But let this be a warning, next time I'll not be so lenient." He ordered his men to collect the crates and followed them from the ship.

Ax watched them leave with narrowed eyes, fury burning through him at the loss of their cargo. The guns would have provided enough coin to feed them for quite a while. "How the hell did they know we had those guns?" he asked Sek once the doors were safely shut behind their uninvited guests.

Sek shook his head. "I have no idea, but someone told him."

"It couldn't be one of our men." The statement was made with certainty.

Sek grunted in agreement. "It must be the suppliers."

He glanced at his friend then gave a pointed look towards Ariane, as he took hold of her hand once more. "At least they only knew about the guns. Let's refuel and get out of here before they think of another reason to come aboard."

"I really thought they were here for the human," Sek said, entering the control room.

"Me too," Ax mumbled, glancing at the woman beside him. He was startled by how much Kestel's blatant appraisal of her annoyed him. It seemed he was attracted to the human himself and didn't appreciate other people looking at her.

Sek slapped him on the back. "At least we still have her. A human will bring us much more coin than guns."

Sadness passed over Ariane's face, but Ax hardened his heart to it. "Yes, she's worth much more."

...

Ariane kept her eyes on the window and watched the ship refuel while she listened to Ax. It appeared her worth had increased now that they'd lost some cargo. Any hope she'd had that she wouldn't be sold had been crushed. On the plus side, though, the chance of them hurting her if she rebelled a little more had greatly decreased. She smiled as she stared at the new world before her. This one didn't seem too hospitable but others might, and she intended to see them before she reached the auction block, or before she escaped.