Fighting Chance

by Paulette Oakes

  “You rest for a while and I will get started on supper. I would say it has been weeks since you have enjoyed a home-cooked meal instead of replicated food. Rest your eyes, my dear, and I will wake you when it is time to eat. My doma and your friend should arrive shortly, so enjoy the quiet while you can!” she laughed, heading to the kitchen.

  Mahoney struggled to keep her eyes open, but she soon lost the battle and slid into a deep, troubled sleep.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  It had been two days since they landed on T’Kala and Mahoney had spent most of her time at Mikael’s bedside. The infection had been contained and cured by the next morning, so Marte and Mahoney had made their way back to the hospital to keep vigil. Since only two visitors at a time were allowed, she often found herself having to leave the room from time to time as his family, friends, and crew members came to pay a visit. During these times, she and Jessica would either make their way to the cafeteria or to the rooms of the other warriors who were recovering from their wounds. Thankfully, all eleven of the critically injured fighters from The Ax’Sandre were expected to make a full recovery.

  Many of the families and staff of the hospital seemed to know who she was as word of the attack spread like wildfire. Mothers and lifemates of the wounded would hug her, thank her for her help during the battle, and beg her to come to their home for a meal. The fathers and brothers would eye her skeptically at first, but quickly warmed up as they peppered her with questions about her training and what had happened during the battle. The warriors themselves brightened at her presence in their rooms and pressed her for information about the commander’s prognosis. Doctors and medi-techs would pop into Mikael’s room, obviously pretending to look at readouts from the medi-bed, while shooting her furtive looks and whispering to each other.

  She hated the attention and felt like she had done nothing out of the ordinary that deserved such a response from the T’Kalans. She had done what was necessary to help her friends and get to Mikael’s side. She was gracious, though, and tried to avoid any undue praise while redirecting the accolades to the warriors who had fought and died to defend the ship. In her eyes, no one was a bigger hero than Mikael. Not only had he led his men into battle and defeated the enemy, but he had saved her life almost at the cost of his own.

  Jessica enjoyed much of the same attention, but not because of her celebrity. No one recognized the fresh-faced, makeup-free young woman as the popular movie star from Earth. Instead, they knew her as the curious and friendly human woman who spent her days flitting from room to room to check on “her” warriors, asking a million questions about medical procedures, and chatting animatedly with family and friends of the wounded. Her bright red hair and pale skin caused quite the sensation among the darker skinned and black-haired citizens, and many of them could be caught craning their necks for a better look as she walked the halls singing a tune.

  Late the second day, Mahoney and Jessica were talking next to the humming medi-bed where Mikael was receiving treatment. His color was much improved and his injuries were mostly healed with the exception of the blade wound. A wide, red laser stayed focused on the wound and it was already showing a marked improvement. Though the medi-bed kept him clean and the techs checked him over several times a day, Mahoney still wiped his face with a damp cloth and combed his hair and beard each day, more for her own comfort than for his.

  Jessica was picking at her cuticles nervously. “It’s been two days since we disembarked, Mahoney, and I still haven’t seen or heard from the king. What do you think he’s like? What do you think he wants me to do?” she asked for the millionth time.

  Mahoney put down the comb and resumed her seat next to his bed and picked up his hand. She sighed heavily and responded, “For the millionth time, Jess, I have no idea. I imagine he is very busy interrogating the Warfarer prisoners and reviewing security footage from the ship so he will get a clear picture of what is happening. I’m sure the nobles and their schemes are the furthest thing from his mind right now. Just enjoy the reprieve while you have it. Now that our parents are no longer worried that we’re dead, we can enjoy the hospitality of T’Kala without guilt.”

  With Ax’Sandre’s permission and Officer Felonia’s help, they had sent a video email to each of their parents explaining that they were alive and safe, but unable to return home at the present. They had apologized for the abrupt nature of their departure, vaguely stating that it had been out of their hands, and assured them that they were happy, healthy, and safe and would contact them weekly with updates. The responses had been swift and full of relief, anger, joy, and concern. There were questions they couldn’t answer and pleas for them to come home, but the overwhelming feeling had been one of supreme thankfulness that they were, in fact, alive and well.

  “Well, I just hope he is half as handsome my warriors from the ship and not some pansy wimp like you see in the movies. I’ve already been asked out on dates by three different warriors, including Zandar, so I hope the absent king doesn’t cause me any problems on that score. If I have to be stuck here for a month, I at least want to have some fun!” she declared with a wicked eyebrow waggle.

  Mahoney chuckled as she twisted her hair back away from her face. She couldn’t wait to find a hairdresser to have it cut back off in her stylish, angled bob. “Just be careful, Jess. If this king is anything at all like Mikael, he may have something to say about you running off with other males while under his protection. Get the lay of the land first before you make any hasty decisions, okay? If all goes well with Mikael, I may be making this place my home, and I would hate to have to injure their king in my first month here.”

  Jessica’s tinkling laugh floated across the room as a knock sounded on the door. They both looked up to see a handsome younger T’Kalan warrior standing in the doorway. He was roughly about 6’4” and thicker across his shoulders than most of the warriors that they had encountered. His hair was also slightly longer than the shorn locks that the ship’s crew sported, and his black locks waved gently away from his sculpted face. His clothing was plain, but clean, with a skin-hugging hunter green shirt tucked into creased black slacks. The most arresting part of his appearance, though, were his eyes. They were also the same ghostly pale as the rest of the citizens, but they were a lovely shade of pale lavender.

  “I am sorry to intrude. I am a friend of Mikael’s and was hoping to visit with him for a moment. Is now a bad time?” he requested politely, his eyes glued to Jessica’s.

  The young actress popped out of her seat and bestowed a killer smile on the handsome young man. “Not at all. I was just going to walk down to the cafeteria for some drinks. You can come in and keep Mahoney company since she’s probably getting tired of mine!” she laughed, ever the consummate flirt.

  A slow, devastatingly sensual smile creeped up his face as she brushed past him. “I look forward to our next meeting and wish you a happy visit on T’Kala,” he replied with a deep rumble. She winked saucily and sailed out of the room with her vivid red hair flipping behind her.

  Mahoney chuckled and said, “Please forgive my friend. Being surrounded by all this testosterone has sent her hormones into overdrive,” she explained. “Would you like me to go so you can have some time alone with the commander?”

  He shook his head in the negative as he approached the bed and peered down at his friend. “No, please stay. I am here to see you as much as him. I have heard so much about the famous Katsuko Mahoney that I had to come meet her for myself.”

  “More like ‘infamous,’” she countered with a deprecating shake of her head. “I don’t understand what all the fuss is about, to be honest. Commander Mikael and his warriors are the ones who did all the hard work. I was just trying to help any way I could.”

  He studied her carefully with his hands held behind his back and his head tipped to the side. “That is not the story I heard. I heard that they were grossly outnumbered by the enemy and were in danger of losing the ship until a squad of training bots
arrived equipped with a protocol that you had designed and downloaded into their programming. I heard that you followed behind them with more of those bots and fought with speed, skill, and determination while stopping to aid the wounded. I then heard that you gave the commander stun flares to disable the enemy reinforcements so that the hull could be repaired before you took command of the ship after the commander’s injury,” he summarized accurately, his gaze like a laser focus on her own.

  Her face flooded with color. “I’m sorry, who did you say you were again?”

  His eyebrow quirked. “I didn’t, actually. Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Korian Alexi Ak’Falin, Warrior King of T’Kala.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Mahoney jumped to her feet and stood awkwardly while trying to decide if she had said anything embarrassing in front of Mikael’s king. “I’m not sure what to do here,” she confessed. “Do I curtsy or bow? Should I call you ‘Your Grace’ or ‘Your Majesty’?”

  He laughed lightly and waved her back into her seat. “None of the above. I am only another warrior who happened to born into the right family. I believe that you have more than earned the right to call me Korian.”

  “Okaaay,” Mahoney drawled suspiciously. “Then, please, call me Mahoney. Only my mother, Mikael, and his gamma call me Katsuko. Let me be frank here, Korian. Am I in some kind of trouble?”

  He shot her a confused look. “Why would you think you are in trouble, Mahoney? You have done our people a great service with your deeds. I have spent the last two days interviewing witnesses, reviewing the ship’s logs, and interrogating the prisoners and I have seen a clear picture of what has occurred over the last two weeks. It is clear to me that had you not been on board The Ax’Sandre, we would have not only suffered a mass casualty, but we would still be ignorant of the stolen cloaking tech that the Warfarers have acquired in order to launch another attack on our world.”

  Her eyes widened at this latest development. “What will you do? How can you fight against and enemy that you can’t see?”

  He rubbed his temples, the past few days of stress beginning to show on his young face. “We have contacted The Great Alliance with our intelligence and are awaiting a response. Our interrogation leads us to believe that this attack was not planned and that the raiding party took advantage of the situation without the knowledge of their leaders. Now that they have shown us their hidden daggers, we believe that they will bide their time until a more opportune moment to launch a full-scale attack.”

  Mahoney puzzled over the odd phrase, before she brightened. “On Earth, our expression for that situation is called ‘tipping their hand.’ It refers to card games where someone inadvertently reveals their strategy in the middle of a game. I think I actually prefer the T’Kalan way of stating that, though,” she added thoughtfully.

  He nodded his head in agreement before continuing, “I hope to learn more about your culture on Earth while you stay with us, Mahoney. Am I correct in thinking that your stay may be permanent?”

  Her eyes swung to the bed where Mikael rested peacefully. “I’m not sure yet, Korian. Mikael and I had a nasty fight right before the invasion. He may no longer wish to have me,” she replied, her voice clogging with tears.

  The king’s eyes twinkled with mischief. “I have known Mikael my entire life and I think of him as a brother. I know how stubborn he can be, and from the footage I have viewed on the ship’s server, I would say that you have nothing to fear. He will not let you go so easily.”

  Mahoney groaned and hid her face behind her hands. “Please tell me this footage didn’t include his quarters.”

  His laughter was loud in the small the room, but he hurried to assuage her fears. “No, but it did include the training room, conference room, hallways, and several meeting rooms. Have no fear, Mahoney. Officer Felonia has assured me that any compromising footage will mysteriously disappear from the record.”

  “Thank God!” she exclaimed, her face flaming with embarrassment. “He never told me that there were cameras everywhere!”

  “I would say he was not thinking clearly for most of the journey when it came to you, so I hope you do not hold it against him,” he commented. “It has been my honor to meet you, Mahoney, but I must take my leave to attend to other matters. Please give Mikael my best wishes on a speedy recovery, and I expect to see you both at my compound soon.”

  A sudden thought had Mahoney shooting to her feet. “Wait! What about Jessica? What will you do with her?” she asked, her body vibrating with tension.

  His gaze moved to the empty doorway where her vivacious friend had recently departed. “For now, she may remain at your side until Mikael has been discharged from the hospital. That should give me time to address the current situation and prepare for her arrival. She will be treated with the utmost respect and care at my home. I give you my word as a T’Kalan warrior on this.” When Mahoney seemed satisfied, he tipped his head to her and saluted her with a clenched fist to his chest. “May the stars bless your union with many young, Warrior Mahoney. T’Kala is ever in your debt.”

  Mahoney placed her hands on her thighs with fingers touching and bowed low at the waist. “The honor is mine, King Korian. Thank you for gracing us with your visit.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  The following morning, Mahoney was in a fit of anticipation. Dr. Bak’Nar had informed them just two hours earlier that Mikael’s prognosis had improved so quickly that they were terminating the stasis protocol. His stomach wound was still healing, but it had shrunk considerably as the corrective treatment regenerated the cells and tissue. The wound had closed from the bottom and was now just a deep gash that got smaller with each passing hour. The doctor had cautioned Mahoney not to get excited if he didn’t wake on his own for some time. In severe cases like his, it could take up to 24 hours for the patient to regain consciousness. She encouraged Mahoney to talk to him or share memories since T’Kalan studies had shown a marked increase in the time a patient had awakened when loved ones were vocal. After the doctor left, Ax’Sandre had seconded her opinion, and could not hide the glint of happiness that lit up her pale green eyes.

  After giving her son a kiss on the forehead and whispering her love into his ear, she departed the room to report for duty aboard the ship where repairs were being made and the medical ward was being upgraded with better equipment. Mahoney promised to send word as soon as Mikael woke if it should occur before she returned. Marte was on her way to join Mahoney, but was stopping at the air dock to pick up his other grandparents who had retired to a tropical city halfway across the planet. She hoped that the arrival of so many people that loved him would pull him out of his slumber all the quicker, because she couldn’t wait to see his beautiful eyes again.

  Mahoney had never talked so much in her life as she did for those two hours. She covered everything that had happened in the last few days, how his crew were faring, and how much she had grown to love his mother and grandmother in such a short span of time. She told him about Japan and her parents, and how beautiful the cherry blossoms were when they bloomed in late January and how they picnicked beneath their colorful blooms each year. She even spoke in Japanese and recited poems from her youth.

  Growing weary, Mahoney laid her head on the bed next to his arm and encircled his large hand in hers. Very softly, she began to sing. Her voice was not star-quality, but it was light and pleasant to the ear. She reached her favorite verse and sang quietly, “If I had a box just for wishes/And dreams that had never come true/The box would be empty except for the memory of how/They were answered by you…” Her voice trailed off when she thought she felt his hand twitch in hers. She glanced at his face, but his eyes were still closed. She leaned toward him and ran her hand down his face and started the whole song over again. “If I could save time in a bottle/The first thing that I’d like to do/Is to save every day till eternity passes away/Just to spend them with you.”

  His eyelashes fluttered against his cheeks a
nd Mahoney’s voice dropped away. “Mikael?” she whispered, afraid that he would fade away again. “Mikael, can you hear me?”

  His eyes opened slowly and blinked lazily as he tried to focus. His lips moved, but no words came out. She reached over to the table and brought a cup filled with the zala berry-infused water that his mother had left and carefully fit the straw into his mouth. He drank clumsily at first, but had soon emptied the cup as his eyes finally focused on her face.

  “Little warrior,” he whispered, his voice fractured from being silent for so long. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Where are we? Is the crew safe?”

  Tears ran down her face and splashed against his chest and she struggled to contain her emotion so she could reassure him. “We’re at the hospital in P’Hartha, my love. We made it to T’Kala and your crew and ship are safe. You were seriously injured while saving my life. Do you remember?”

  His eyes searched hers for several moments as if drinking her down into his soul. “Am I your love, Katsuko?” he answered instead.

  She laughed through her tears, happiness bursting from within, and leaned down to press her lips lightly to his for a soft, lingering kiss. “Yes, yes, yes,” she whispered into his mouth. “You are my love, my heart, and my soul. You are my everything.”

  His lips met hers for a deep, heart-melting kiss. He pulled back reluctantly, his head having grown heavy on his shoulders, but his grip on her hand was strong. “I thought I would never hear those words from your lips and my heart despaired, for I knew I would never love another as I do you, sweet one.”

  She cried harder and peppered his face with kisses. “I’m so sorry, Mikael. So very, very sorry. I was on my way back to tell you when the alarms sounded, and I thought I would never get the chance to tell you how much I love you.”