Hold the Star: Samair in Argos: Book 2 Read Free Page A

He gave her a quick hum of reassurance, but Jax made a growl and he hustled outside the cell.
                  It took some ten minutes or so for the shaking to get under control to the point where Tamara could sit up.  Five more minutes and she had climbed onto the bunk, pulling the tray up next to her.  The bowl was filled with nutrient paste and the cup with water.  There was no silverware, probably an idea of Jax’s so that she would have no weapons to attack her jailers or perhaps harm herself.  She didn’t care.  Digging her hand into the bowl, she scooped out some of the paste and began to eat.  It was bland, cold and squished when she touched it.  It had the consistency of clay-filled mud, but it would keep her alive.  Tamara ate every bit of it and sipped the water until it was gone.
                  She wasn’t looking forward to tomorrow.

Book 1 – Slow Ride, Rough Ride

 
    Chapter 1
     
                  “So what the hell are we going to do?” Ka’Xarian demanded, throwing his arms in the air.  A small meeting had congregated in the Acting-Chief Engineer’s quarters, people who had gathered to try and brainstorm ways to get out of their very serious predicament.  The insectoid zheen’s antennae were straightening and bending, indicating that Ka’Xarian was in great distress.  Chef Raoul Duchagne (“Call me Cookie, everyone does,”) was here, his stocky form seated in one of the insectoid engineer’s chairs.  Taja Mbuto, the ship’s purser and Cargo Specialist sat next to him in another chair.  She was a very small attractive woman, very slender, but there was a fire in her eyes that refused to be snuffed out. 
                  The last member of their little steering committee was a surprise, someone who had shown up late to the meeting, but had refused to be left out.  Captain Frederick Vosteros, former commander of the tramp freighter Emilia Walker and now passenger aboard the Grania Estelle sat on the edge of Ka’Xarian’s bunk.  He was slightly uncomfortable, as he had only been released from sickbay that morning by the ship’s doctor and he wasn’t entirely 100% yet.  He also was not entirely comfortable, emotionally, to be sitting on a zheen’s bed.  There was nothing vile or creepy about it, and while Vosteros was accustomed to close quarters (his old ship was far smaller than the kilometer-long Grania Estelle), he wasn’t quite used to being out of command.  Normally, he’d be the one hosting this meeting and it was quite a paradigm shift for him, one he was still getting used to.
                  There were some missing faces in this little committee.  The lupusan siblings were among the most prominent.  As Chief of Security, Corajen Nymeria would of course be welcome in any sorts of discussions on how to evict their unwanted passengers.  Her sister, Saiphirelle Hyjae, was also sadly absent.  Both of them would have been able to contribute valuable insight and ideas on how to move forward.  But they were sharing a cell in the brig at the moment, so getting them released would have to be a serious priority for the group if they hoped for success.
                  Another one conspicuous in his absence was the Captain.  Vincent Eamonn had not emerged from his quarters since Tamara had been summarily dragged through the ship and then tossed in the brig.  Within minutes from that meeting in the wardroom between the ragged engineer, the Captain and the Armsman, Eamonn had retreated from his duties as Captain and retreated to his quarters and essentially sealing himself in.  He hadn’t taken any meetings face-to-face with anyone, not even Taja, his lover. 
                  “We can’t wait for the Captain to get out of his funk,” the zheen went on.  “We need to start thinking of what to do now.”
                  “Well, I can tell you what we can’t do,”