Transmission Lost Read Online Free PDF Page A

she tied the cord around his feet. When she was finished, he was trussed up securely in a kneeling position, unable to move very much at all. Jack felt a tug at his waist as she pulled his pistol from its holster, and she tucked it into her own belt. That done, she yanked him up, setting him down upright by the fire.
    “Agh!” Jack yelped, pain blossoming at his shoulders at her rough treatment. “Bitch...” He was hoping for some kind of reaction from her at that, but she gave him no satisfaction.
    She came back around him, carrying her rifle to the other side of the fire, where she sat. She stared at him, the hatred still burning in her eyes. Jack stared right back at her, defiant now that he was reasonably sure that she didn't mean to kill him, at least not yet. The Ailian had her rifle settled across her lap, though it would be easy enough for her to aim it back at him if he tried anything.
    Jack took a moment to look her over. He had seen pictures of Ailians before, but he'd never given them too much thought. They were the enemy, but an enemy in a war that he'd counted himself out of almost eight years ago. She was tall, of course, and built very strongly, though her femininity was evident in the curve of her hips and the swell of her breasts. The fur was the main difference, and the tail, as well as the shape of her head. She had a short, tiger-like muzzle with thin black lips and a black nose, and her furred head was crested by two short, pointed ears. Her eyes were an intense yellow, flecked with spots of gold, with thin catlike black pupils.
    The Ailian appraised him in probably much the same way he was doing to her, with the difference that she maintained a calm air of superiority, considering their situation. Finally, after about ten minutes of this, she spoke again.
    “Name,” she hissed at him.
    “What?”
    She swung her rifle off of her lap, aiming it squarely at his chest. “Name. Your name. You will tell me.”
    Jack tilted his chin up. “You first.”
    “I tell you that already,” the Ailian said. “Before. You tell me yours.”
    “And I already told you, I can't understand a word of your language,” Jack said. He shrugged his shoulders as much as the cords would allow him. “If you want my name, I want yours.”
    “Could kill you now,” she pointed out, flicking a switch on her weapon. A red sighting laser projected a gleaming dot on his chest. “Then your name not matter, yes?” She shrugged back at him, and she smiled for the first time, her white razor-sharp teeth gleaming.
    Jack held her gaze, sweating a little, but he wasn't willing to risk that she might be serious. “Jack Squier,” he said finally, grudgingly.
    The Ailian switched off her targeting laser, laying the rifle across her lap again. “Good.” She leaned back a little, curling her tail around her waist. She winced a little as her body tilted back, and Jack noticed for the first time that her flight suit was stained with wet patches of what looked like blood. “Why you are in this sector of space?”
    “First tell me your name,” Jack shot back at her. “I told you mine, so you tell me yours. Fair's fair.”
    “And I tell you I already say my name,” she insisted again. “Be-”
    “Yeah, I get it. You told me before.” Jack was getting very frustrated with this woman. “And I told you before that I can't understand your language one bit. So if you happened to mention your name while we were blasting the shit out of each other in space, it kinda escaped me.”
    The Ailian gnashed her teeth for a few moments, internally debating her response. Jack wasn't entirely sure that she wasn't thinking of the best place to put a bullet hole in him, but then it seemed she took another calming breath.
    “Aria Me'lia,” she said. Her tail twitched. “Lieutenant Aria Me'lia.” Aria nodded her head. “Now you have my name. You tell me why you are here. You are human military, yes?” She gestured at his clothing and his