by M. K. Eidem
"No." The General's short word brought her attention back to him. "You will use our facility if any Warrior chooses to allow you access to what is theirs."
"Then I need to see the kitchen."
• • • • • •
Chapter Four
Jen's mouth fell open as her gaze slowly traveled around the mess that was the Warriors’ kitchen. Good God, it was a disaster zone. How could anyone be expected to produce a meal in here?
Treyvon frowned as he surveyed the room where Last Meal was prepared. How had it been allowed to get this way? He never came here, preferring to consume the self-contained meals allotted to him in his office, so his Warriors would have more of the fresh foods. Reaching to his waist, he lifted his comm.
"Commander Gryf." He watched Jennifer take a hesitant step into the room.
"Yes, General?" Gryf responded.
"What Warrior is responsible for the food depository this week?" he asked.
"The food depository? I will have to look, General."
"Find out and have him report here immediately."
"Yes, General."
Treyvon watched as Jennifer carefully reached out, picking up a cleaning cloth between her finger and thumb before quickly dropping it as if it might attack her.
"There is no one person in charge of this area?" she asked.
"No," he found himself admitting. "Each week a different Warrior is assigned the duty of producing Last Meal."
"I can tell it is a duty they look forward to." It was obvious to her from the dented pans and utensils thrown haphazardly around the room, some looking like they were never washed.
"It is not a duty any Warrior requests," Treyvon found himself admitting.
"It shows." Jen took a deep breath and stepped farther into the room, trying to decide where to start. There was no way she could cook in here until everything was thoroughly cleaned. "Where are the cleaning supplies?"
"Cleaning supplies?"
"Yes. Everything needs to be cleaned, scrubbed, and sanitized before I can even think about cooking anything in here." She spun around to face him. "How could you have let it get into such a state? My God, this is disgusting!"
Before Treyvon could respond, the doors to the kitchen burst open and a heavily breathing Warrior entered.
"You ordered me to report, General?"
Jen watched the Warrior, who appeared younger than she was, stiffen when the General's angry gaze moved from her to him.
"Warrior Gulzar, you will explain," Treyvon ordered.
"Explain, General?" Gulzar gave him a questioning look. "I'm sorry, sir. Explain what?"
"How an area you are responsible for could get into such a state."
"I…" Gulzar's gaze traveled over the room. Seeing him cringe slightly, Jen found herself feeling sorry for the Warrior.
"There is no way all of this mess," she gestured behind her, "could have been created in just the last week. "Could it, Warrior Gulzar?" Her words had two sets of eyes shooting to her. One shocked, the other angry at her interruption. She knew she should just keep her mouth shut, should let the General handle his Warriors; but in the kitchen, she was the General, and she needed to make that known now.
Treyvon didn't like her interrupting him, questioning his Warrior. He was in charge here, not her. But he couldn't fault her truth. Gulzar was only assigned the responsibility of preparing Last Meal two days ago. He couldn't have caused all of this.
"Answer, Warrior Gulzar."
"I," Gulzar swallowed hard then answered. "No, General. It was like this when I was assigned here, mostly." He saw the General's eyes narrow and quickly continued. "I cleaned what I needed to prepare Last Meal. But between training and my assigned time in Communications, I haven’t taken the time to clean the rest.”
"I see. So you left it as you found it."
"Yes, General," Gulzar admitted.
"Where are the cleaning supplies?" Jen asked with a heavy sigh.
• • • • • •
Jen stood up, arching her back to ease the ache growing there. She'd been at the sink for hours, scrubbing the nastiest pots and pans she'd ever encountered. After Gulzar found the supplies she needed, the General ordered him to remain and assist her in cleaning the area. Jen could tell the Warrior wasn't happy, but she wasn't going to refuse the help. Not with the amount of work there was to do. And the heavy lifting.
She still wasn't back to her full strength or stamina yet, even with the better quality of food she was being given. She probably never would be either, not with the extent of her injuries, but she wasn't going to let that stop her from doing what she could.
First, she cleared out a sink, cleaned it, and then organized what needed a hard scrubbing, what needed to be soaked, and what was beyond all hope. There were rows of pots along the walls filled with steaming water. And one of the tables that she'd scrubbed down now held what she'd managed to clean so far, mostly utensils and smaller pots.
Not much for as hard as she'd worked. But it was a start.
"I need to get started on Last Meal," Gulzar told her, the most words he'd spoken to her since the General had left.
"What are you making?" she asked, watching him head for a door she had yet to explore. There were three of them, each on a different wall. She assumed they led to the dry storage room, a refrigerated chamber, and a freezer. She would never have allowed a freezer in the restaurant she'd wanted to open, but back then she'd been something of a food snob. Everything was going to be fresh, farm-to-table, nothing processed, and never anything frozen. That had been before she'd ever experienced real hunger. Before, she would have gladly cooked anything as long as it kept her and her friends alive.
"Last Meal," he told her as if that should be obvious, then opened one of the doors.
"I realize that, but what…" Jen's words trailed off as she followed him into what ended up being the dry storage room. A very large, very disorganized room with partially open containers everywhere. However, what had her really shocked was the slab of meat he was pulling off a high shelf. It had to be at least thirty pounds of meat, sitting on a pan with a very shallow lip. As he slid it from the shelf, blood spilled over the rim of the pan, falling onto the floor and into the open containers.
"Are you fucking crazy? Are you trying to give everyone food poisoning?!!"
• • • • • •
Treyvon found himself striding toward the human area when he should have been doing other things, but Jennifer's words had stayed with him for some reason. He needed to verify that they were truth.
Entering the area, he ignored the human males that had stopped what they were doing and let his gaze travel over the newly repaired area. There were still blaster marks on the walls, but at least the walls were solid again.
Craig watched the General walk through their area as if he had the right to be there. And he did. While the Kaliszians had treated him and the others very well, they were still under their control. Just like they had been with the Zaludians.
"Can I help you, General?"
Turning, Treyvon saw the male called Craig standing in the doorway.
"Doubtful," Treyvon told him bluntly and watched as Craig accepted the verbal blow.
"You don't think very much of me, of any of us," Craig gestured to the males forming behind him. "Do you, General?"
"No," Treyvon gave him his truth. "I don't."
"Then why are you here?" Craig questioned.
Treyvon just looked at the male for a moment before answering. "Tomorrow you will leave for Kalbaugh. Jennifer has decided to remain here on Pontus.
"What?" Craig couldn't hide his shock.
Treyvon just looked at him, not repeating himself.
"Why? What is she going to do here?"
"She is going to…" Treyvon searched for the word Jennifer had used, "cook for us."
"Jen's going to cook? For you?"
"Yes, Chef Jennifer is currently working in our… kitchen area." He watched Craig
take a deep breath before he looked Treyvon in the eye.
"I need you to promise me that you will watch over her," he demanded.
"I vow nothing to one that willingly abandons his duty to a female because it makes things easier for him." Treyvon was surprised at the rage that filled his words and watched the male pale.
"You don't understand…"
"No, I don't, and I never will. She kept you alive!" Treyvon pulled himself up short. This was not the way to get the information he wanted about their time spent with the Zaludians.
"She did." Craig looked to his friends who had silently come to stand inside the room. "None of us would be here if it wasn't for Jen… Jennifer or Mackenzie." A rumble of agreement went through the men.
"Yet none of you assisted them… when they needed you."
"No," Craig admitted.
In that one word, Treyvon heard all the anger, and disgust Craig felt for himself.
"You will never know… can never know what it does to a man to discover he is so flawed." Dark, anguish-filled eyes looked at Treyvon. "To learn that everything you thought you were… your values, your beliefs, could be stripped away. All because you want to survive. Jennifer's husband…"
"Todd," Treyvon supplied quietly.
"Todd," Craig's head nodded slightly. "He was my best friend my entire life. He was a great guy, not perfect, but he loved Jennifer. That first night when we realized what the Ganglians did to females… Todd sat beside me, with an exhausted Jennifer sleeping in his arms, and made me swear that if anything happened to him that I would protect her."
"But you didn't."
"No, I didn't. It happened so fast, but that's just an excuse." He took another deep breath. "When I saw that Zaludian attack Todd, all I could think about was that I didn't want that to be me. How pitiful is that? He was my best friend, and we'd always had each other’s backs."
"But not this time."
"No. Then the next thing I knew, Jennifer was attacking that bastard. She was doing what I should have, and still, I didn't move. I failed both of them."
"You did."
"You're a hard bastard, General," Craig bit out angrily.
"I am, but speaking truth," he told him. "You failed your friend. You failed his Ashe. You stood by and did nothing, all of you…" his eyes shot to the males standing behind Craig. “And Jennifer was injured. If it were not for Mackenzie, she would not have survived."
Craig let his gaze travel over the General, taking in the bulging muscles in the arms he'd crossed over his chest. He was someone you knew better than to cross or to argue with, but Craig knew he had to.
For Jennifer.
For Todd.
And yes, for himself.
It was time for him to try to become the man he always thought he was.
"I know that," Craig told him, "which is why I want your vow that you will take better care of them than we did."
Treyvon knew he would do that, at least with Jennifer, as Nikhil already saw to Mackenzie. But he felt no need to inform Craig of that. "I will consider it if you tell me truth."
"About what?" Craig asked, his eyebrows drawing together.
"How were you able to survive for so long with the food the Zaludians gave you?"
"Jennifer found a way to make the food go further," Craig immediately told him. "She never told us how. I just assumed she and Mac had found some indigenous ingredients in the smaller cave."
"Indigenous?" Treyvon's eyebrows drew together.
"Yes. You know, the things found on this planet."
"There are no longer any indigenous things on Pontus."
"Really?" Treyvon saw the honest confusion on the male's face. "Then I don't know. It must have been because she is a trained chef. All I know… all any of us know is that there was always enough to fill us up."
"Where is your planet?" Treyvon asked the other question he wanted answered. "This Earth."
"If we knew, do you think we'd be going to this Kalbaugh?" Craig demanded. "We'd be going home. All of us, including Jen." The males grumbled their agreement.
"What about Mackenzie?" Treyvon questioned quietly.
"She has already stated that even if Earth were found, she would be staying here with your Warrior."
"And you do not know how long you were on the Ganglian ship?"
"No, we already told you that!" Craig ran a frustrated hand through his now cut hair. "We had no way to judge time on that damn ship. Did you ever ask one of those Jerboaians that were on the Ganglian ship with us?"
"We spoke with the Jerboaians we found with you. None arrived when you did."
"What? None of them?" Craig's eyes widened as what Treyvon wasn't saying sank in. "I can't believe none of them survived. They were small but fierce."
"The Jerboaians? Fierce?" Treyvon didn't try to hide his disbelief. Jerboaians were a small, timid species, which typically lived in tight-knit communities underground. They only traveled when hired by planets with untapped mineral deposits to dig tunnels. In return, they were allowed to build their communities in the tunnels left behind.
"Yes," Craig told him resolutely. "I know they are small, but you should have seen how they tried to defend their females whenever the Ganglians came and took one."
"Females… the Jerboaians had females with them?!!"
"Yes. Did no one tell you that before?" Craig turned to look at the men behind him.
"No," Treyvon said, his mind racing. "Jerboaians never travel with their family unit," he told them. "Not unless they were moving to a safe, established community." Finally, Treyvon had a place to start his search. He needed to reach out to the Jerboaians and see what family units never arrived at their destination.
"Family unit," Craig whispered. "You’re telling me that those females that the Ganglians raped were...”
"Family members. Yes."
"Dear God… no wonder."
"No wonder what?" Treyvon demanded.
"They fought so hard, were so devastated each and every time one was taken. To know that it was your wife, your daughter, your sister they were doing that to."
Treyvon said nothing because there was nothing to say.
"Is there anything else you need to know?" Craig asked hoarsely.
"No."
"So we have your vow that you will take care of Jennifer? Will make sure she doesn't overdo? She tends to do that."
"Overdo?"
"Yes. You don't know Jennifer. She's going to work until she drops to prove herself, especially now that your repair unit can't heal her ankle. She needs someone to watch out for her and that someone needs to be you."
"Why me?" Treyvon demanded.
"Because you’re the General. You're the one in charge. She's going to have to listen to you."
Treyvon was quiet for several moments, his gaze slowly traveling over every male there. He still believed they had done Mackenzie and Jennifer a great wrong, that they had not done enough to protect them. But in this, they stood united for Jennifer. As he had already decided that he would be keeping an eye on her, he slowly nodded.
"My vow that I will watch over your Jennifer. No harm will come to her while she is under my protection."
Craig just stared at the General for several moments, his eyes searching Treyvon's. Finally, he found what he was looking for and nodded. "Thank you. I know my words don't mean anything to you, but still… you have it. Jennifer… well, she is special. Something you'll learn soon enough."
The men behind Craig mumbled their agreement then stepped aside as Treyvon moved to leave. Halfway across the room, Treyvon paused, his honor allowing no less. Turning, he looked at the males watching him leave.
"Jennifer told me that you, all of you," Treyvon let his gaze encompass every male there, "worked double shifts to keep her and Mackenzie safe. It was an honorable thing to do." With that, Treyvon left the human males.
• • • • • •
"Are you fucking crazy? Are you trying to give everyone food poisonin
g?!!" Jen demanded watching the blood from the pan Gulzar was moving spill into the open containers below. She could hear her mother in her head as a few more choice words left her mouth.
"Jennifer Dianne Teel! Ladies don't know that kind of language!" She'd say in that special mother's tone that told Jen she was disappointed in her.
Well, Jen did know those words and a few new ones since she'd been taken from Earth.
"Food poisoning?" Gulzar gave her a confused look. "What is food poisoning?"
"It's what can happen when you improperly handle food. It makes those that eat it sick. In some cases, it can even kill." She stepped farther into the room, inspecting what was in the open containers on the floor. They appeared to be mostly staples like flour, sugar, and salt. Surprisingly, they weren't that different from their counterparts on Earth and used in the same way. She'd learned that when Mac had brought her some shortly after she'd moved in with Nikhil. The lack of respect and care they were giving the items angered Jen.
"Food gives life. It does not kill," Gulzar told her.
"It can if it's not properly handled and prepared which includes what it's cooked in. It can also occur when the food isn't stored properly." She gestured to the contents of the storage room, some of which had spilled onto the floor.
"Our foods are properly stored! Just look at this room!" Gulzar told her angrily.
"Seriously?" Jen spun around, ignoring the pain that shot up her leg. "Does your weapons room look like this?"
Gulzar's face flushed at her question. "Of course not! It is vital that our weapons are properly cleaned and stored."
"And you think it’s not for your food? Food is supposed to be a precious thing to you Kaliszians, yet you treat it like this!"
"I...”
"How would you have us treat it?" Treyvon's quiet question had both of them turning to find him standing in the doorway of the storeroom.
"With respect, General," Jen told him, "at least as much as you give your weapons that only kill life. Food gives life."
Treyvon was silent for several moments thinking about her words. There was truth in them. A truth that couldn't be denied. The Goddess had taken away the life her food provided because Aadi hadn't respected it, using it to hide a heinous crime. Looking at the condition of the room, it seemed he was doing the same thing.