Finding Jess (First Wave) Read Free Page A

to be as quiet
as possible and for you to stay as close to us as you can. Do you understand?”
He felt like a complete idiot squatting down and talking to a cat, but he
really didn’t have a choice. He just hoped Gibly understood.
    Gibly stood up and put his front
paws on one of Niklosi’s bended knees and bowed his head to him. Taking this as
a sign that the animal understood, he continued as he stood up.
    “Follow closely, and no matter what
happens do what I say.”
    He walked quietly along the tree
and shrubbery line with cautious steps, avoiding any obstructions that may give
them away and was relieved to see Amun and Gibly doing so as well.
    *****
    “Anything from Balduen yet?” Ivint
asked again.
    “No, sir. I think we need to
consider sending in a team for him.” Reven suggested, more worried about
Balduen the longer they went without hearing from him.
    “What the hell is going on?” Ivint
huffed in frustration, running his fingers through his hair.
    “Scaden, assemble a team. Randor,
you’re the most familiar with the area…”
    “I’ll get ready now, sir.” Randor
said standing up.
    “Father! Get them out! It’s a trap!
She’s trying to warn us that it’s a trap!” Cari yelled standing so quickly her
chair tipped over behind her.
    “Amalaya, are you sure?” Scaden
asked putting his arms around her to calm her.
    “I’m positive! I don’t know
anything more than that… I’m sorry. We have to get them out of there, pull them
back or something and try a different way to get her.” Cari said emphatically.
    Scaden looked at his father and saw
the frustration etched in the wrinkles in his forehead and was grateful that
this decision wasn’t his to make. He watched as his father went to open the
comm to Niklosi’s team.
    “Sir! We’re being hailed!” A bridge
officer shouted through the ship’s comm to the conference room.
    “By who?” Ivint asked startled. Who
the hell is in this quadrant?
    “Sir, it’s a Relian battle
cruiser!” Was the last thing anyone expected to hear.
    “Get Niklosi out of there
NOW!!!" Ivint yelled to Scaden as, he, and Reven ran from the room to the
bridge of the ship shouting orders as he went.
    “Initiate Battle Station Protocol
NOW! Ready all Tact Teams! Contact our men on planet and put them all on high
alert!”
    *****
    Amun could have sworn that it had
taken hours to get close enough to hear her, but he knew, in reality; it only
took minutes. Her beautiful, almost musical voice was at odds with the
seriousness of her words.
    “It’s a trap! They know you’re
here. They know you’ve been following them. There are three of them trying to
surround your men, you must go!” She repeated the same thing over and over
again.
    Amun couldn’t believe how
incredible she was. Her full lips were dried and cracked from lack of
hydration; it had to be painful to continue trying to speak. Even so, there she
was risking her own life to try to warn them. He couldn’t let her continue to
put herself through that.
    He started to speak to her when
Niklosi slapped a hand over his mouth and glared at him, when Scaden’s voice
came over the comm.
    “Get out of there! It’s a trap!
Fall back to a safe location and be ready to port if necessary!”
    Unable to speak so he wouldn’t give
them away, Niklosi tapped the appropriate response into the comm and pulled his
hand-off Amun’s mouth.
    Using hand signals he told Amun
that they would stay by Jess and port out if necessary, but he was sending the
team away. At Amun’s nod, Niklosi tapped the instructions to his team into the
comm and waited for the reply.
    When he knew the team was heading
to an alternate location, he turned his attention back to the camp and Jess.
She was continuing to repeat her warning, obviously still unaware that they
were so close.
    They watched quietly as the largest
Relian that had tied Jess to the post moved towards her. Amun tensed as the
human looking creature drew closer to her, and