The Space Spoon novel Chapter 70

With a plan already crawling inside his mind, Tejeda called for a team meeting. This time, he needed everyone to pull their weight and help.

He stopped swirling in his chair only when E00 announced, “Everyone has arrived.”

"It seems we have a new mission." Tejeda pointed to the massive screen that had now taken up the whole wall behind him. Shayla's photo covered the entire display. C1313 and Cato scowled, while Hanga whistled, most likely because he saw her embroidered, princess-like attire. Jackeye maintained his uninterested demeanor.

"We must find the king of Southern Beridian's lost wife," Tejeda added. "She has gone missing, and it is our responsibility to locate her."

The team meeting only amplified Tejeda's anguish. Shayla's empty chair made his chest heave as he breathed heavily. He could not understand why she had left him, but the explanation was obvious enough: she did not consider him to be worthy of her trust. He didn't work hard enough to build on the fragile confidence she had in him. For some unknown reason, he could not bear the thought of losing her because of his fake shallowness, a skill he fought so hard to master.

"I'm not sure whether you've noticed, but we're missing one of our team members. Shayla had departed the Space Spoon escorted by Interplanetary Police officers. She might have been forced to go with them. This task provides us with the adequate excuse to pursue her."

His eyes glinted with an intensity that looked out of place as he scanned the room. It seemed like a heavy storm cloud on the horizon hovering over a beautiful spring day.

Gritting his teeth, he leaned back, the metal chair echoing his groan. Lights from above, as well as the stares from his crew, urged him to continue to explain.

"Our Shayla is the Princess of Northern Beridian and the Queen of Southern Beridian. Her husband, King Astin, placed a huge bounty for anyone who brings her to him."

"Do you have any leads?" Hanga asked, his hand hovering over the small screen with the mission details in front of him embedded on the table.

Tejeda turned with his chair toward the screen and leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees as he stared at Shayla’s picture.

"The ship that took her was the thing that bothered me the most. No marking of any type, not on the transmission when they hailed us, nor on the hull. This led me to believe they're Black Onyx."

“Black Onyx?” C1313 tilted her head, blinking with her usual neutral expression. “None of my files mention that name.”

"Black ops intelligence, a very hushed branch of the Interplanetary Police. Exactly like an onyx’s hexagonal system, the Black Onyx is formed of six officers and their teams. Not many hear of them and still make it out alive. But being a colonel has some perks. I accessed their mission reports, and apparently, they are also hunting Shayla, but on behalf of her father. So, we’ll be covering both possibilities at once." His eyes jumped to the Ferali. "Cato, do you still have the uniform and hat you had when we first met? And no, this is not a fetish."

“Yes, I still have those. Why?” she asked.

"When you travel to see King Gurst of Northern Beridian, you must dress as an Interplanetary Police officer. I'll go with the hubby. Moving about with the face of a wanted guy might cause issues. I despise complications. Hmmm…"

Hanga placed his elbows on the table. “You thrive when complications arise.”

"Yeah." Tejeda sighed. "But not right now. Now I don't want anything to go in our way. So I'd rather go as a man rather than explain why my credentials refer to me as a 'he.' So far, we've just got Jackeye and Hanga. We need more guys. Haha!"