Petr's Mate Read Free Page A

just past him then and saw the men being carried from the decking of her
ship. “Oh God .
He’s l-lost his mind, ”
she stammered, the shaking once more taking hold. Shock, she realized. “Dillon.
He was going mad before but now he’s completely lost it.” God, why was she trying to tell him? She
tried in Italian, the same words. She tried the other languages she knew and to
no effect. “How do I communicate to you when we don’t speak the same language?”
She leaned her head back against the wall of the craft, hitting her head a
couple of times, tears flowing freely down her face.
    She ’ d seen the damage, the skeletons
of the remainder of her crew, and knew that this was more than crossing into an
inhabited galaxy. This was her lost to time. She looked up at the console and
asked the computer, “Computer, what is the date?” She didn’t know if the thing
had enough power to tell her or not, but she had to try. She had to know what
she was facing, aside from men who were practically giants to her.
    When
the screens that had been flickering went black, she rested her head against the wall and cast her gaze to
the man before her. He looked kind and gentle as he watched her with care. Sam knew, however, from the time around SEALs and Rangers that while he
might look soft he was probably deadly as well. He had that look to him, the
look of a predator, of a man that could and would kill if the situation called
for it.
    He
tipped his head slightly, his expression telling her he was trying to figure
something out. Suddenly the two guards close by with their weapons both jerked to
face the same direction, on full alert. A woman all in white, with a large case, said something in a tone that had the
men looking to the one before her. A nod from him had the weapons lowering.
    The
woman came in closer to Sam, going off in the language the man had spoken in
such a way that Sam was pretty sure she was telling the guy off. He didn’t seem
bothered by it. Vaguely amused, but otherwise unaffected. He said something to
the woman that had her attention on Sam. Out came some device that reminded Sam
of the inoculation guns back home. A sharp jab, and Sam felt woozy.
    “You could have checked her over
before sticking her, Doctor.” The man’s words suddenly made sense even though
the situation didn’t.
    “It’s
more efficient if I can speak to the patient, Admiral. I find it limits the
amount of time I have to uselessly gesture in a foolish attempt to make my meaning
known.”
    “I can understand you.” Sam
touched the place where the woman had jabbed her. “Subdermal translators? How
is that possible? The technology wasn’t anywhere close to being put into
production.” She looked from the man, the admiral, to the doctor and back
again. “I’m Doctor Samantha Henry. The former commander of our vessel, he
killed those men. He’s lost his mind.” She didn’t know if the man who had given
her the jacket had understood her or not earlier when she’d spoken to him.
“Where am I? When am I?” She had a feeling it was the when part that was
going to be the hardest to get used to.
    “You’re
safe,” he told her. “The rest we will have to figure out since we have no idea
where you came from, let alone when. First let’s get you to safety, where the
impatient doctor can give you a full examination while the security team
continues to search for your commander.” Standing, he again held out a hand to her and waited.
    Sam
reached out and put her shaking hand into his. “Haven’t you heard that doctors are the worst patients?” She
was lifted easily to her feet, which shouldn’t have surprised her with as large
as he was, but it did all the same. She didn’t stay on her feet long. Her legs had been unused for
far too long and were now filled with pins and needles, making her wince. “ Crapballs , I hate pins and needles,” she muttered, then
gasped when the man lifted her into his arms. “Holy balls, you are