Free Eban's Command: Scifi Alien Abduction Romance (Science Fiction Alien Romance) (Survival Wars Book 2) by Hana Starr Page B

maze of busy workers all tapping at a multitude of screens.
     
    “Yes. It is a detachable miniature pod with an appendage
attachment. Remote-flight-controlled, of course.” He stopped by someone who
only glanced at them before focusing on their screen again. The screen showed a
capsule which looked very much like the one Eban landed on earth in, only with
seven attached flasks to show how small it truly was. It also wore a flight
harness and a pair of green wings, which she found to be somehow adorable. “We
don’t have the energy to waste on second chances. We can spare the flight down
and the flight back up, with enough room for seven samples of whatever you
find. Garem here is the pilot. When we are in position, I will have the craft’s
captured images shone up on the front screen. Guide him.”
     
    “Okay,” she agreed, and he moved away with authority in his
steps. She spared his butt a glance or two before paying attention to the shy
Icari known as Garem, who immediately because submissive and timid despite the
fact that she tried to be gentle when talking to him. If she knew how to
control his panels and everything, she had no doubts that he would hand it
right over to let her do whatever she wanted.
     
    Garem was simply going through the systematics of the little
sample receptacle, checking it over with an extensive list. That wasn’t her
area of expertise at all and she let her gaze wander to the big front window
screen, which was showing the vastness of space and a miniscule amount of
stars.
     
    Are they sure there’s a planet out there?
     
    Then, a few minutes later, she saw it. At first, it looked
like nothing but a humdrum little asteroid. And a bit after that, it looked
like a slightly larger asteroid. The surface was lumpy and misshapen,
surrounded by bits and pieces of broken stones. Light was shining along one
edge, pale from an elder star. Her excitement faded a little bit as she scanned
what she would see, which was not much at all. A vast expanse of solid brown,
covered in craters and mounds. As far as she could tell, there wasn’t a lick of
earth to be found down there and it was consequently of no use to them.
     
    The engines dropped down to just a whisper. Eban’s back,
which was devoid of wings now, rippled as he pulled at the console which
controlled the throttle. They weren’t approaching quite as swiftly now, which
meant as they were snagged in by the little planet’s gravitational pull that
they just began to drift and turn very slowly.
     
    Beside Saffron, Garem finished his preparations. “We’re
ready to go, sir,” he said briskly.
     
    Way down in front, standing amidst a group of workers she’d
been observing, Karree looked up at her commander. Saffron caught the
admiration in her gaze and bristled, but she kept her feeling to herself as the
first mate called out, “Everything’s ready to go whenever you are, Eban.”
     
    “Elevation dropping at the expected rate,” someone else
called out.
     
    The answer came swiftly, “Stabilizing for lock-on and entry
preparation.”
     
    Garem looked up. His voice rang out, startlingly sweet and
pure in her ear. “Receptacle prepped. Drop into position?”
     
    There was silence as Eban stared out at the planet. His
chest heaved, his eyes wide, and then he went still and closed his eyes. When
he opened them again, the mask of calm was back over his face. “Drop.”
     
    “Drop is a go,” Garem echoed, and hit a button on his
screen. Immediately, the view on the window swapped, becoming slightly less
clear but growing in detail as the receptacle dropped and began to glide down.
     
    Meanwhile, Karree was working her way through the rows and
looking over shoulders. “Gravity is a bit high but not out of bounds. Results
on air are coming back. Temperature is higher than we prefer.”
     
    “Out of bounds?” Eban asked. “Should we pull up?”
     
    Garem’s hand adjusted, bringing the receptacle to a halt. It
hovered,