Arden did as his son asked and kept Zirlo busy. He filled him in on what happened over the last ten years that he had been gone. Zirlo wanted to know about his son and Arden gave him an overview of his son’s ambitious career. He was doing an excellent job filling the colossal shoes Zirlo left behind. They laughed and carried on with stories, old and new until they heard someone knocking on the door. Zeb quietly stepped into the room with a look of relief on his face and Zane followed closely behind him. Catching the emotions on Zirlo’s face were endearing. This would be the first time that Zirlo would actually look at his son since he had arrived home. He stepped back to let his friend have a moment with his son.
“Zeb?” Zirlo whispered as Arden helped him to sit up again. He was still so weak and tired. He had said only a moment ago that it had been years since he had slept in a proper bed. As much as Arden was grateful for the company of his best friend, at times he would catch his friend studying his eyelids. How he had looked forward to this day. Drawn out of his reverie, he heard Zirlo croak out, “Arden, water, please?”
As Zeb made his way to his father’s bedside, Arden went to pour him another glass of water and helped him sip it down. This time he drank it slowly and this satisfied Arden as he poured him another glass and rolled the table closer to him. It seemed that if he continued to drink at this pace he would not become sick. Zirlo sipped half of the cup’s contents and said, “I am starving Arden, when will I be able to eat? I can’t remember the last time I had a decent meal.”
“That is up to your doctor. I am no longer authorized to make those decisions on your behalf. That’s now in the hands of my son Zane.” Arden said proudly.
“Really? I never thought I would see the day that you put aside your medical scanner. Besides, that is a load of crap. You have always been my personal physician. You have my permission to treat me Arden, so go and get me something to eat.” Zirlo laughed.
“Well, there is no need to fire me, Sir. Let me go order you something to eat. If you do well with that, we can see about letting you go home.” Zane stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind him.
“Zeb, Arden told me that you have some exciting news for me?” Zirlo looked up at his son expectantly waiting for what he had to say.
“Yes, there is. I’m sorry. It’s just that I can’t believe that you’re actually here with me now. Even though, I spent most of last night watching you sleep, it is hard to believe that you’re actually here.” Not knowing what he should do, Zeb chuckled and dove right into the current news. “I have been made commander of the largest and newest ship in the fleet. I’ve actually been promoted to the same position that you held when you left us. However, the best news is that I have found a mate on a planet called Earth. Her name is Avery and we are expecting your first granddaughter. She should arrive in about 7 to 8 months. Arden has news too. Zane and his mate Grace are having twins that are due about the same time.”
Zirlo looked over to Arden with a smile. His teeth were yellowish gray and showed visible signs of neglect, but they could fix that when he was settled. Arden nodded at Zirlo and smiled back at his friend. They both had tears of happiness in their eyes. Just when he thought it could not get any better, Yasa barged into the room with Brylon close at her heels.
“Zirlo?” she said through tears looking into the eyes of her long lost lover that until this moment, she never thought she would see again.
The room became quiet and still. Just when the silence could no longer be tolerated by any of the visitors, Zirlo began to recite a poem to his mate. He spoke softly as if she was the only person that he intended to hear what he had to say, but everyone in the room heard the verse as it left his cracked and dried lips.
I sit here awaken from a dream
A dream where you are one with me
The pale light from the moons above
Shines on my unadmitted love
Oh, how I wish you were aware
How I see your skin, so fair
The way your hair shines in the sun
The way your presence renders me numb
Please tell me that I have a chance
That if I declare my love and ask
For you to help me truly see
That our love is really meant to be
“Oh, my Zirlo. I knew you were alive. I knew you would come back to me. I would not let myself believe you were gone,” She ran into the arms of her mate and lover and buried her face in his chest, inhaling his scent and crying happily at his return. “I knew that you would come back to me one day.” Zirlo stroked her graying hair and whispered words to her that were for her ears only.
Arden stood up and grabbed the boys and said, “Come Brylon and Zeb. Let Zirlo and Yasa have some time alone with each other. We’ll have our time with him later.”
They closed the door behind them to give the long separated lovers some time to reacquaint themselves. Arden put his arm around his son’s shoulders who had just returned from ordering his patient some lunch and said, “So Gracie says that you are spending a lot of time here at the hospital. What in the names of the Gods would keep you from your beautiful mate?”
“It seems I’ve been ratted out. You should know that since I found Grace, I have been working on a longevity study. I don’t want to lose her anytime soon Dad, and with the earth women’s lifespan so much shorter than our own, I had to do something. I found something very interesting. It seems that just being on our planet is having an effect on the cellular level of the women of earth as well as some of the other species that live here. Decame is isolating out who benefits from this phenomenon. We are trying to isolate the cause. It could be the water, soil, or the planet as a whole that create the benefits we have seen. If the research continues moving in the way it has been going, I will venture to say that Grace, Emma, and Avery will be here a long time.”
“Really?” Brylon said in disbelief.
“Yeah,” Zane nodded and smiled.
“I’d love to see your data,” Arden said.
“I have some time right now. Why don’t we go down to the lab?” They turned and walked down to the lab together. Brylon was asking questions the entire time along the way.
Chapter 5
As soon as Arden left the hospital, Brylon made it clear to Zeb and Zane that his place was by Emma’s side and he would remain with her the rest of the day. Zeb and Zane walked to Zane’s office and started to discuss the events of the day.
“It still doesn’t seem real that my father is alive. Did you see how happy my mother was? I haven’t seen her that happy in a very long time.” Zeb said as he closed the door behind him.
“If it were you, how do you think it would be?” Zane said as he sat behind his large wooden desk.
“Happy, for sure,” Zeb chuckled. But just like a dark cloud invading a sunny day, his face took on the stress of his leadership position. Zeb was an excellent leader and his emotions were generally masked. It was a rare occurrence to see him drop his guard even for a second. Zeb rubbed at his tired eyes.
Zane had only one question on his mind. “Zeb, what are we going to do with Lars? His leg should be fully mended in the next two to three days. We can’t keep him in the hospital forever, and I am worried about Laura’s safety. You know she’s right about him. He’s evil and definitely not being honest with us.”
“I actually have been working with the council on this matter. They want to know what I feel about it and respect my decision on the matter especially after what he did to Avery. As we discussed this morning, we are going to move him to the cavern. We can hold him there until we find out what my father knows. I will propose that he is executed immediately once we are sure that we no longer need him. I want to eliminate the possibility of him doing harm to anyone, especially our mates and children.”
“You know, it might not be a bad idea to discuss this matter with your father before you make a final decision about what to do with Lars. He can stay in the caverns and sweat it out ther
e for a while. Just for what he did to Grace and Avery makes me want him dead, but we really need to consider that your father might not have been able to escape without Lars’ help. If he could have escaped on his own, he would have made it home years ago. Right?”
Zeb wandered around the hospital for a while to give his parents some time alone. It wasn’t long before he realized how hungry he was. Making his way over to the corner café, he ordered lunch and though about what Zane had to say about Lars. What if Lars had played a part in his father’s escape from Drylon? He surely would have come home earlier if he could have escaped on his own? Wouldn’t he? Zeb honestly felt that sentencing Lars to death was too good for him, especially after what he had done to Avery. But, what if Zane was right? As he swallowed the last of his leppa juice, he readied himself to speak to his father.
He took the longest path back to Zirlo’s room. The hospital garden was beautiful with the fouson swimming in the fountain. Their scales were glittering with rainbow colors which were intensified by the crystal clear water. He was approached a couple of times by random people with questions that he was happy to answer if just for the diversion. The delay would give his parents more time alone, but eventually he would have to make his way up there again. He gently tapped on the door and heard his father whisper, “Come in.”
“Dad,” He noticed his mother sleeping soundlessly with her head on his chest. It was apparent that his mother bathed and shaved the rough patches of facial hair from his father’s face. It looked as if she had even given his salt and pepper hair a quick trim. “How long has she been sleeping?” Zane asked as he watched Zirlo kiss the top of his mother’s head.
“I think the real question is how long has it been since she’s actually slept? When I was in the caves in the prison camp, I could swear some nights that I could hear the sound of her breathing next to me. I could even imagine the smell of the soap she uses on her skin. The only thing missing was the warmth of her body next to mine.” He regarded his son and said, “Zeb, memorize it all. The way your mate smiles and laughs, cries, breathes, even sleeps. Remember the times when you fight, memorize it all. One day you might find that you need these memories to get you through the roughest of times.”
“Dad, we need to talk about Lars. The council wants me to make a decision on what to do with him.”
“Lars and Carel made my homecoming possible. Without Lars, I would have never been able to gain access to that craft and reprogram it. When we left Drylon, everything seemed to be fine. It wasn’t until we reached our sector in the galaxy that his demeanor changed. You know that he is a genius with computer systems and spacecraft mechanics? His hesitation on our approach, when coming to Theron, confused me. It made me question just what he did that would make him avoid returning home. Tell me son. What did he do?”
“He is a traitor, dad. He sold our flight path home from earth to Gatton. Then, he used the diversion of the Drylon ambush on our ship to kidnap Avery and your unborn granddaughter. You should have seen what he did to Avery. As much as I would like to forgive him for all of his traitorous acts because he brought you home, I can still see Avery’s face bloody and battered. When we went to go get her from the Drylon base on UV-49, I remember exactly how she laid all drugged and curled up on the bed that she slept on in that dark room. The only light in the room came from the photon blasts of our warriors taking out the Drylon soldiers that were advancing toward us. Lars is a very evil man. He cares only for his own personal welfare and is hell bent on getting revenge. He shook his head, “You see, Avery was the one who injured him. Because of her, he lost his eye. I don’t ever want to take a chance that he would hurt her again.”
“Okay, you’re right. If you decide that the execution of this man is the way to go, I will trust your judgment. After all, he never mentioned that he was a wanted man on Theron. That explains why he fought to divert our flight plan at the last possible moment.” Zirlo was quietly collecting his thoughts, “Son, this will not be an easy decision for you. Maybe before you make any final decisions, I should tell you about where I have been for the last ten years. You might change your mind when you understand just how much Lars has done to help the prisoners that were taken from many planets in the Universe.” He picked up a pen and began to write on a pad of paper. “First, I must ask that you send this message to this frequency.” He wrote fast and copied the number that was written on his arm. “Carel needs to know that Lars and I made it to Theron.”
Zeb touched his communication button and said, “Connect me to Brylon.”
“Zeb, you do realize that I am not the only engineer capable of doing engineering work on Theron. There are other fully capable people to do anything you request.” Brylon said in a huff.
“There is nobody that I trust more than you Brylon. I need you to transmit a message for me. The nature of the message is…very sensitive.” Zeb said pleadingly.
“Fine,” He paused. “Emma is sleeping anyway. Where are you?”
“I am in my father’s room.”
“I’m on my way.”
Zeb looked at the message that he wrote, IFFBGMX DEQTDBA KMMZBTJ ZEKEFFEU. Frequency 30275-Q8372. “What does this mean?”
Zirlo looked up at him, “We set up a substitution code. He needs to know that we made it.” Zeb heard the tapping on the door and went to open it.
“You owe me big time Zeb. Believe me when I say this, I can’t wait to make you pay up.” Brylon said as he snatched the note from Zeb’s grip. “This is the super sensitive message you eluded to? It looks like gibberish to me.”
“Just send it until you receive a response. You can do it from Emma’s bedside if you wish.” Zeb tried to suppress a smile. Brylon looked aggravated as Zeb added, “Please do this for me and be sure to take care of it yourself. Let me know the moment you hear anything.”
“Alright, alright,” Brylon said as he stomped off punching the message into his handheld computer system.
Zeb returned to the chair next to his father’s bed. “Alright, the message will be sent. Let’s talk about the camps.”
Zirlo took a deep breath, “It was not an easy life there. I’ve watched many people die with my own eyes. At first people died of diseases that we haven’t seen in centuries. Then, I watched them starve to death utterly unable to help them. I have seen our women raped as we stood by and were forced to watch. Any child that was born to a prisoner of the camp was removed once delivered and never seen or heard from again.” Zeb could see the tears of suffering building up behind his father’s eyes. “I can’t tell you how many of my days were spent in the dungeons of Gatton’s palace after being beaten to a pulp for standing up for the people of my camp. The only thing that kept me alive was my duty to keep the prisoners safe. For the first time in my live, you and your mother were not the reason I had to stay alive. I knew that you both would understand and respect my sacrifice. I was confident that you would keep your mother safe against harm. The prisoners, on the other hand, had no one to look after them. Just like me, they were most likely presumed dead by their families at home.”
“I can speak for the other prisoners when I say that it gave us peace that our families presumed us dead. We wouldn’t have wanted you to imagine us suffering, but instead at peace in the heavens. You see Zeb; I never imagined that I would actually leave that Gods forsaken place. Now that I have escaped, we must move quickly. I am positive that Gatton will demand evidence that Lars and I are deceased. He is a smart man and I am sure that he will doubt that we are dead. Carel and I discussed a plan before Lars and I escaped that may buy us some time. If the plan doesn’t work, it will put Carel and potentially many others at risk including Jenaya. We need to tell the council that they need to move quickly. We need to get our allies in this fight as well. While I was being punished in the dungeon for insubordination, I saw many other races and heard of several other camps on the planet. If we work fast, we may even save Drylon from a fate similar to UV-49.”
“No, I didn’t want to upset him. He wouldn’t be able to do anything about it anyway and I need him focused on the big picture. He may be angry with me for a little while, but he will understand why I’ve done this. Listen, Brylon’s mother Mattie is also doing very poorly. She may not make it back alive.” Zirlo was eyeing him as if looking for some kind of strength in his character. It was enough to make Zeb uncomfortable. Would he find the characteristics in him made one a good leader? Was Zirlo looking for a bit of himself in his son? “When you lead your people, sometimes you have to put the suffering of a few aside if it serves the greater good. You are the commander now and that requires you to make tough decisions that may not be the best for everyone. After all is considered, you just have to pray that whoever feels slighted will understand your reasoning behind your decisions and agree to sacrifice whatever is asked of them.”
“Jenaya’s ship checked in and was expected to return in several days. We tried to make contact yesterday. When we hadn’t heard back from them, we assumed that they were in an electromagnetic storm or some other space anomaly that was interfering with the transmission of messages. If what you say is true, that would explain why we lost contact with her captain.” Zeb was already calculating a plan in his head. “What other races are being imprisoned on Drylon?”
“I heard that Gatton has the Murmods from Poseidon, the gilled people from Wondran and the Squiddies from Schulpture searching in the oceans looking for diamonds and corals among other things. The Uvites, as well as the Sanganese, are stationed in the deserts harvesting and processing radioactive materials. The Pernmocks, Uvites, and Theron warriors are mining in the mountains for precious metals and stones because of our immense strength and endurance. On occasion, I would be thrown in a cell with one of the little people of Blacknor. They are working in the forests processing the mushrooms and flowers to make the potions, medicines, and the salves that they are famous for.”
The Theron Residency (Brides of Theron Book 4) Page 7