Discovered (A Galactic Battle Series Book 2)

by L H Whitlock

  May pulled himself up onto the raft behind Tally and Evin and yanked Evin back. He threw the pirate into the water and dove in after him. Alyssa ran across the deck and jumped in after him.

  “Alyssa! What the fuck?” Brock yelled, but she was already gone. “Tally, you fucking whore.”

  “Ouch! Like I haven’t heard worse, you dipshit. Now listen up and this will be easy. You will get us out of here. Then you will give us a ship and let us be on our way.”

  “How the hell do you think we are going to get out of here?” Brock hissed. “And where will we get a ship?”

  Tally pressed the knife to Gloria’s throat, creating another red line. “It doesn’t matter to me how you do it, just do it. And someone better call that half-human freak off my brother.”

  Bixom sprinted like a silent jungle cat and had Tally’s wrist before she could even scream. His dark brown eyes narrowed and he twisted Tally’s hand. She dropped the knife with a gasp and tossed Gloria to the side.

  Bixom punched Tally and she collapsed. He fell on top of her and slammed his fist into her face. She cried out, covering her nose with her hands and then rolled away from him.

  “Bixom, that is enough,” Ulrick said.

  As though he couldn’t hear, or couldn’t see, Bixom snarled with rage and raised his fist to punch Tally again.

  Gloria grabbed the Hilian’s arm and he froze and slowly turned his head to her. The two locked eyes and Gloria mumbled, “It’s okay, I’m okay.”

  The Hilian stared at her then stood abruptly.

  “Tally, you best be on your way,” Brock growled.

  “You can’t just leave us down here,” Tally sneered. “You’re the good guys, remember? You can’t leave us for dead.”

  “I am not a good guy,” Bixom snarled. “Ulrick, let me end her.”

  “Bixom, it is not our place. We will be civil.”

  “Civil! They tried to kill your friends, my—they deceived us.”

  “I know, and we will handle them accordingly.” The Hilian glanced up at Bixom for a moment before returning his attention to Lily. “Although, I am personally not against it. They did drop us, hoping we would die. I watched Lily…” He snarled and gritted his teeth, his dark eyes boring into Tally’s. Had they always been black? Brock shivered despite the tacky air.

  “You can’t kill them,” Alyssa said as she pulled herself back up onto the raft.

  Ulrick arched an eyebrow. “And who are you?”

  “Hiya! I’m Alyssa,” the Goddess greeted with a smile and a wave.

  Brock shook his head and sighed but didn’t say anything about her greeting aloud. “Where’s May?”

  Alyssa wrung out her blue-black hair and tossed it over her shoulder. “He’s on his way. He has Evin.”

  The platform above them groaned and a chunk of metal broke off, slamming into the water and causing the raft to wobble.

  “Move us away from this platform,” Ulrick instructed. Alyssa stared at him for a moment before grabbing onto the pole and jabbing it into the water to begin the slow process of forward motion.

  May pulled himself and Evin onto the raft, both gasping and coughing and swatting at each other.

  “What the fuck, Evin!” May said. “What the hell did you do?”

  “It’s not our fault; we didn’t want to be on this planet in the first place,” Evin defended. Then he held up a finger as a coughing fit overtook him.

  “Put Tally and Evin next to the pole in the center there. See if there’s anything to restrain them,” Ulrick instructed May.

  May raised an eyebrow at the Hilian, but when Ulrick glanced his way the Developer hefted Evin onto his feet and pushed him toward a pole in the center. It must have at one time held some sort of flag or sail, but it now just ended in a sharpened point.

  Bixom knelt next to Gloria and reached out to brush his fingers over her wound. He paused just before his fingers made contact and suddenly stood and grabbed Tally by the collar to guide her across the raft.

  “This isn’t any way to treat a female,” Tally protested, but she got only silence from the young Hilian.

  “May, help Alyssa steer the ship,” Ulrick instructed without looking up.

  Per usual. The Hilian thinks he’s boss.

  Ulrick glanced over at Brock as though he heard the thought and Brock turned back to Alberta.

  May grabbed a second pole lying across the raft and stood next to Alyssa. Another piece of metal crashed into the water. A wave of oil and trash washed over the deck of the raft.

  Lily coughed and groaned. Ulrick pulled her head onto his lap and stroked the side of her face. Brock’s breath caught as he watched his friend come back. Thank the gods. Her eyelids fluttered, flashing aqua irises, and then she choked and sputtered. Ulrick banged on her back and she retched water over the deck. It immediately mixed with the cold, filmy water lingering on the surface. The Hilian held her in his arms, stroking his fingers through her hair as she vomited. He whispered to her under his breath, privately, though Brock imagined it was words of encouragement.

  Alberta then coughed and Brock nearly cried. He wrapped his arms around the pilot and crushed her to him in a tight hug.

  “Brock…” Alberta managed before she vomited down the front of his slender suit. His immediate reaction was to gag, but then he bellowed with laughter and rubbed the pilot’s back as she hung over the edge of the raft dispelling her stomach of water.

  Alberta lay back on the deck, breathing heavily. Water poured out of her nostrils and she turned onto her side, allowing the water to drain out.

  “Glad to see you!” Brock said with a slap to her back.

  “Gods Brock, baby death grip, gentle, I almost die,” Alberta mumbled.

  Brock laughed again then turned to Lily.

  She lay on her side, her chest rising and falling heavily, her wet hair clinging to the side of her face. She opened her eyes and gasped.

  “Brock!” she struggled to her feet, despite Ulrick’s protests, and ran towards him. She only made it a few steps before she collapsed, but Brock was there to catch her.

  He crushed her to his chest and she clung to his shoulders. “Brock! I’m so sorry—”

  “I’m sorry. I’m a fucking idiot.”

  “I should have told you—”

  “I shouldn’t have gotten mad at you. I was just scared and angry and hurt, but you need to be happy. I want you to be happy. You love him and I want that for you.”

  Lily cried. “I thought... I thought…”

  Brock grabbed the sides of her face and crushed his lips into her forehead. “I thought so too. I’m so glad you’re okay. The Developers, they were after you and I thought... I thought you drowned.”

  “Fuck, gentles, she almost dies too,” Alberta said from her spot lying on the water-logged wood.

  Lily laughed and Brock helped her over to Alberta. She lay next to the pilot. Alberta and Lily looked at each other for a moment and then Lily spotted the twins.

  “What the fuck!” She raised herself onto her elbows but Ulrick gently stopped her by placing a hand against her chest.

  “You need to lie down.”

  Lily nodded and then scowled. “What the hell are they doing here?”

  “That’s a goods questions. They drop me mid-air!” Alberta said.

  Brock pinched the bridge of his nose. “We found them down here. They said that the Developers had captured them and made them jump off the bridge. They didn’t mention anything about you guys.”

  “In our—” Tally began, but Ulrick glared at her and she smacked her lips shut.

  “What happened?” Brock asked.

  “They were trying to steal a ship on the asteroid trading post when the Developers attacked, but they didn’t know it was Ulrick’s so we took off with them inside,” Lily said.

  “If we had known we would have thrown them off then,” Alberta said.

  “We weren’t able to stop, so they ended up coming with us. Our ship was being contr
olled by the Developers once we got here. Tally and Evin can fly and they agreed to get us off the ship, but then they dropped us,” Lily explained.

  “What the fuck!” Brock growled, glancing over at the green twins. They looked like wet morgas with Bixom towering over them, his arms crossed over his chest. His usually young face appeared wild and animalistic.

  “I don’t understand, why would they do that?” Alyssa asked.

  “I don’t know, baby. Tally, Evin, care to explain?”

  Tally and Evin stared at him for a moment, but then Tally gasped, “You have to understand! The Developers would have killed us if we helped you! We were only trying to get away!”

  “And kill us,” Alberta said.

  “There wasn’t another way. We were just trying to stay alive. You would have done the same.”

  “No, we wouldn’t have,” Lily said.

  “So, what are we going to do with them?” May asked.

  “You’re the Developer who helped them, I assume,” Lily asked.

  “Yes,” May said with a curtsey. “I’m May. I am the one who helped them escape their cages with the understanding that they take me with them when they get off this horrible planet, just so we are all on the same page.”

  Lily nodded. “And that is Bixom?”

  “Yes,” May said when Bixom didn’t respond. “He is the Hilian who was de-materialized.”

  “I am Lily, this is Alberta, and that is Gloria. I assume you know Ulrick already.”

  “Shit! I thought it was Ulrick!” May said. “Dude... huge fan.”

  Ulrick’s dark eyebrows knitted. “How do you know of me?”

  “Your reputation precedes you, let’s just leave it at that,” May said.

  “Greats, now all introduced, whats fuck do with Tally, Evin?” Alberta asked.

  “Well, we could leave them somewhere, or take them with us and drop them off as soon as we get out of here.” Lily said.

  Brock shrugged. “So, we take a vote?”

  “You can’t be serious,” Evin said.

  “He’s right,” Alyssa agreed. “If we leave them here, they are as good as dead and that would be very hypocritical of us.”

  Brock growled. “All right, we take them with us. But I don’t like it.”

  “Well, it’s only a matter of time before the Developers find us. They will be scanning the area. We need to gather our strength,” May said.

  Brock nodded and settled against a pole. “I’ll watch the twins first, we will rotate shifts.”

  Everyone nodded their agreement.

  51

  Alyssa sat next to Brock. His forehead glistened with sweat and his black hair was curled with humidity and oil.

  “Thank you,” she said softly.

  “For what?” he asked, wrapping an arm around her.

  “For not killing them.”

  Brock sighed. “I still think the safest option would have been to throw them overboard.”

  “I know. It’s just... I feel like if we did that we would be no better than the Developers.”

  “It’s war.”

  “What is?”

  “Death—it’s all part of war. Sometimes you have to do bad things to keep the people you love alive.”

  Alyssa nodded slightly and dropped her head. She looked over to where Lily sat with Gloria and Alberta as the three of them watched the twins.

  Alyssa found herself watching Lily for a moment. She was the woman Brock claimed was his best friend. The one he had gotten into a fight with before he was de-materialized. A new sensation struck her, making her wonder what Brock really felt with the other woman. Was this jealousy? Lily seemed the complete opposite of her. She was short, with light skin and blonde hair, aqua eyes, and a slight dusting of freckles. Though she was short, she was muscular, and markings covered her right arm in a mixture of deep brown and black swirls. She must be a Hilian, like Bixom.

  “Do you... uh... care for her?”

  “For who?”

  “Lily.”

  Brock looked down at Alyssa and brushed his thumb over her cheek. “I care very much for her. I’ve known her for a long, long time.”

  Alyssa’s eyes felt heavy and itchy. She glanced away, but Brock caught her chin and tilted her to look at him.

  “But I care for you in a different way.”

  “A different way?”

  “Yes, there are lots of ways to care for someone. You care for Bixom, right?”

  “Well, yes.”

  “And you care for me.”

  Heat rushed to Alyssa’s ears. “Yes.”

  “But the feeling is different, right?”

  She nodded.

  “See, I care differently for you than I do for her. But I care for both of you. Except the way I feel for you is much, much different.” He said the ending softly and followed it up with a soft kiss.

  She closed her eyes and focused on his velvet-soft mouth and the way her body eased against his and her nerves unraveled. He made her feel weak with just a simple kiss.

  “Why did you and Lily get in a fight before you were de-materialized?”

  Brock sighed. “She fell in love with Ulrick, a Hilian who we thought at the time was an enemy.”

  “Why would you be mad at her for falling in love? You can’t help who you fall in love with, right?”

  “Well, I guess that depends on your beliefs. But for Hilians it’s different. They are biologically matched. That’s why they have the markings on their arms. You saw Bixom’s, right?”

  “Yeah, those black spirals?”

  “Right. Well, when they meet their other half, the markings start moving and fuse together.”

  “Oh... Bixom’s don’t move.”

  Brock shook his head. “No, he has not yet met his other half.”

  Alyssa nodded and distracted herself from her thoughts by weaving her hair into a braid. “Do you think May will betray us, like Evin and Tally betrayed you?”

  Brock sighed. “It’s a possibility for sure. I think everyone is on edge about it. But all we can do right now is work with it. He has done quite a bit to help us these past few days.”

  “Yeah, you’re right.” Alyssa leaned on her side to rest her head on Brock’s thigh. The deck felt damp beneath her but Brock’s thigh provided warmth, even through the slender suit.

  Brock’s fingers brushed through her hair. She sighed and tried to focus on his soothing fingers. The others on the raft were rotating between steering, watching the twins, and resting.

  She watched Gloria cross the deck and tap Bixom on the shoulder. The Hilian jumped and fumbled with the steering pole, nearly dropping it in the water. Gloria said something to him and Bixom hurried away from her. Gloria shrugged, took the pole, and jabbed it into the water.

  Bixom sat against a pile of wood and crossed his legs out in front of him. He stared at Gloria, turning away from her any time she looked over her shoulder at him.

  “You said you think Gloria and I would get along?”

  Brock nodded. “When this is all over and the two of you get a chance to talk you will like her.”

  “I like the colors she has on her face.”

  Brock laughed. “Yeah, they’re something, all right.”

  “Maybe I’ll have her show me what program she uses to do that.”

  Brock idly rested his hand on her hip. “I think you would like that.”

  52

  Water washed over Lily’s face. She peeled her face off the water-logged deck and forced her heavy eyelids open. Lights glowed overhead, and the city above seemed lower than before and the bulbs more dense. The golden glow shone off the filmy water, making the oil reflect a rainbow of colors.

  Water washed over her hand and she rolled to look behind her. There weren’t any waves, but water covered the deck.

  “We are sinking,” she said as more of a statement to herself than anything else.

  Alyssa’s lips twisted and she dropped her gaze. “Yeah... there’s too much weight. We
started taking on water a few hours ago.”

  Lily pressed her fingers to her temple. Her head throbbed but she wasn’t sure if it was from hunger, the smell, or exhaustion. Alyssa seemed to have the same superpower as Gloria. The woman looked fantastic despite being covered in oil and filth. Alyssa’s striking emerald eyes glistened against the glow of the golden light, and when she turned just the right way a shimmer of blue shone over her long black hair. Her pale cheeks had a slight rosiness to them, and she was tall and thin. Her jumpsuit didn’t leave anything to the imagination, though she seemed completely naive to that fact.

  Maybe it was selfish, but seeing Alyssa with Brock—and the look he had in his eyes—made her feel relieved. She had hoped he would find someone so things wouldn’t be so awkward between them. And they weren’t. When she saw Brock, she didn’t even remember their fight or the things he had called her. All she cared about was that he was alive.

  “So, do you have any idea how we get to the top?”

  “May thought we could maybe make a ship at the junkyard or find a way to climb the pillar to the top.”

  “But you don’t think that will work?”

  “The ship won’t. I tried to make one before, but there was barely enough power to get it to the top. And that was when there were just a few of us.”

  “Ah. Maybe we can somehow trap one of their ships when they come after us.”

  Alyssa’s eyes widened and she bit her bottom lip. “What do you mean ‘trap’?”

  “I do not know.”

  A smile spread across Alyssa’s face and her emerald eyes widened. “Hmmm…” she muttered, placing the tip of her pointer to her lips. “I think I have an idea.”

  53

  Brock looked over at Alyssa and Lily. “They’re scheming, scheming somethin’ bad, I’m sure.”

  Gloria looked at Brock as she steered the ship. “Well, Lily is pretty smart, and what does Alyssa do?”

  “She’s an engineer.”

  Gloria laughed. “Wouldn’t have guessed that.”

  “What’s that mean?”

  Gloria shrugged. “You wouldn’t have ever guessed that I can use bio-energy without a converter, would you.”