mythical being like a mermaid or fairy—a few seconds of intense eye contact before she escaped forever.
“Jared,” Evie whispered. “Put your eyeballs back in your head.”
He lifted a finger to his lips. He didn’t want to scare the woman away.
The alien woman must have taken his gesture as if he were telling her to be quiet. Wielding a knife, she stormed the screen. So much for thoughts of a fairy or mermaid; she looked more like an avenging warrior princess off the pages of a manga comic book.
“Uh-oh,” Evie said. “Now she’s pissed.”
“Actually, a little more than pissed. Given half a chance, she’d probably cut out my heart and eat it for dinner.” Against his better judgment—and Evie’s—he stayed put.
The woman stopped inches from the screen to finish telling him off, but he couldn’t understand a word she said. Lights blinked on the armrests. “Maybe one of these is a translator.”
“What if it starts the engines? What if it makes it fly?”
“Don’t panic. The tech may be a lot more advanced than what we have, but some things stay the same. Controls on a seat are usually for convenience or comfort items.”
He tapped them one by one, figuring he’d keep trying until he found one that translated. It was worth a shot. The REEF would have needed a translator for two-way language understanding of radio calls, so likely there was something in the cockpit for that purpose. Down the bank of lights he went. “Talk to me, baby. Talk to me…”
The alien warrior-chick reared back, startled. A spark of fear in her eyes disappeared almost as quickly as it showed up. “Trespasser. Barbarian!”
Jared coughed out a laugh. “There’s only one barbarian around here, and it’s not me. Look at you. We stopped dressing like that a thousand years ago. Daggers are pretty much passé too. So, is this a retro fashion trend, or are all of you Coalition types this primitive?”
“Jared, you’re going to start a war,” Evie hissed.
“We’re already almost in a war,” he whispered back. “I’m just adding a little fear and awe.”
“I will see you brought to me in chains!” the alien chick yelled to him.
“I haven’t had an offer that exciting in a while, sweetheart. Do I get to see you in chains too?”
The woman’s mouth dipped in a sneer as she looked him over from head to boots. Stripped naked, he doubted he would have felt more exposed to her scrutiny. “I’d rather cough up blood.”
“Nice.”
“Jared,” Evie warned. “Don’t make me come down there and get you.”
“I’ve got to go,” he told the alien woman. “But I’d like to chat more sometime. I have to admit, the chains thing really got my imagination going.”
The woman’s mouth tightened. She had very expressive eyes, Jared noted. In them, it was very easy to see every detail of his excruciating death should she get her hands on him. But that would never happen because he’d fight to the death to keep her people from taking over his world.
Even if every Coalition woman was as hot as she was.
“Jared?” Evie interrupted. “You’re doing it again.”
“Doing what?” he whispered back.
“Staring at each other.” Evie’s face was centered in the open hatch above, framed by blue sky. Her hair swung just above his head.
“I’m not staring at her. I’m contemplating her contemplating my death.”
“Who are you talking to?” Warrior-chick demanded.
“My staff. And some members of my harem.”
Evie made a sound that was strangely close to the one Warrior-chick made.
“Who are you?” the woman asked.
“You don’t know?”
“Careful, Jared,” Evie warned.
I know what I’m doing, he told his sister with a frown.
He leaned forward. “I’m known as the Prince.”
“Oh, jeez,” Evie muttered. “I can’t listen to this anymore.”
“You are a prince?” Warrior-chick’s chin came up as she asked the question, her nostrils pinching.
“I’m the Prince. And my message to you is this—if your people come back for another try at landing on Earth, we’ll be waiting. A billion more guys like me, waiting.” Trash talk. But sometimes the most effective weapons were psychological.
“Earth?” Her eyes widened.
“Yeah. Mess with Earth and your defeat will become your reality. Got that? Now, have a nice day, baby,” he said and powered down the ship.
Jared pushed free of the pilot seat’s glove-tight hold. He pulled himself out the hatch and slammed it closed behind him. “What the hell just happened?”
“What just happened? I don’t know, Jared, you tell me.” Evie dropped down next to him on the spaceship’s wing. Side by side, they sat, legs dangling. “Who