Operation: Marauder

Chapter 16

Rowan brushed back his hair, stealing a deep breath from the planet's air. It wasn't the most pleasant smell, damp, musky, but it was different. He wasn't used to breathing the same air all the time; he actually spent more time breathing recycled air than Arthonian air.

Maliki and Cas had the miner up and running where Maliki had detected the biggest and easily accessible Terbium deposit; now all they had to do was wait.
Rowan's favourite part.

He paced his side of the perimeter they had set up, listening out for signs of struggle by Jack or Knox's locations. For a sign for something to do. This planet might as well be barren. Mave informed them there was a settlement not too far from where they had landed, but it was a small inconspicuous group. Most likely traders from other planets exchanging their barely legal merchandise. This planet was as good a place as any to conduct their illegal operations. The Federation hadn't expanded this far yet and probably won't until Earth started exploring the corners of their solar system, so there were no patrols to regulate the dealings taking place. The land was so flat they could see any ships landing near them--unless they were cloaked, like theirs was--which made it easy for the outlaws, or whomever they may be, to spot a patrol and hide the evidence before they touched the ground.

A harsh wind blasted across his face, sending a chill through him and made the hairs on his markings stand on end. Unsure why he felt the urge, he glanced over the hill towards their ship. Further than his eyes could see, he saw someone walking along the bog towards the settlement. They weren't near the cloaked ship, and didn't appear to be looking for it, so he dismissed it and edged down the hill back to the miner.

He glanced at his watch then groaned. They had only been at it for an hour. Maliki guessed it could take up to five hours to get the amount of Terbium they needed. There wouldn't be enough on this planet to fix their hyperdrive--unless they wanted to tear apart the entire planet, which was against Federation Law--but there would be enough to fix their sensors and nearly everything else on the ship.

You can survive another four hours. It could be worse. He could be waist deep in the bog doing surveillance, unable to move. Here, he had the freedom to move as he liked, do a lap if he so chose to. His Fever wasn't so bad now that he wasn't cramped to a confined space with five other males.

Well, he still felt the burn just below his navel, but he found himself much less irritable. He wasn't sure why Zoey's scent still lingered in the ship; scents only lasted a few days and it had been a week since she set foot in it. What he did know, was that it drove him fucking wild. Any hint of her natural scent made the Fever significantly worse, urging him to find her and claim her as his. Making him irritable over the simplest of things.

The sun was beginning to set when Maliki grunted and turned the miner off. "All right, boys, let's cart this stuff back to the ship and get out of here."

He couldn't have said it soon enough.

Rowan helped Maliki shut down the miner and fold it together. On the count of three, they lifted it and carried it back to the Marauder. Knox and Jack walked alongside them, keeping watch, while Cas and Mave hauled a hover cart full of Terbium behind them. They stored the material in the back of the ship, safely secured in two bins. Mave went to the cockpit to begin the preflight check. However, a second later, he came back out, straight faced--but since Rowan knew him well enough, he could see the tick in his jaw he only got when he was pissed.

"We. . . have a problem," he seemed reluctant to admit.

Rowan's hair stood on end. "What kind of problem?" He did not want to be stranded on another planet. If he had to pick between the two, Earth won by a landslide.