Kanook waved his men on down the next corridor. They had work to do. He highly doubted they would find Aviore now. The Commander had come back for her. Somehow, he had known how to find them.
It was lucky he had. He would not have believed it if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes. One ship against almost 50. The odds were impossible, but that didn't seem to matter. The Commander had taken out every last one of them. Kanook only hoped they had the tracing logs, even if they were only partially intact, in order to expose the tactics the Commander had used. It would be invaluable for training the rookie pilots - and humbling for the rest of them.
He could only hope they were OK.
Where was the Dancing Queen going?
* * *
The cleanup took days. The main drive was online within a week. The Freedom limped back to Xeronia for a full overhaul, this time with a fully armed escort.
At the colony, Tsaurau was there to answer the first hail but was saddened when he heard the news about Ryan and Aviore. He found it hard to join in the celebrations that roared through the colony the following days, keeping himself busy by watching for a report to come in that they had finally found the Dancing Queen. But days soon turned to weeks with no news. The search party returned empty-handed. The Dancing Queen was lost.
It was Tsaurau's wife that finally lifted his spirits. She suggested to him that maybe he should go and find Ryan himself. Why hadn't he thought of it? It had been so long since they had been able to move freely through the galaxy without the threat of the Xi-Empire. Indeed, freedom was a remarkable thing.
It did not take long to get a ship and crew organized. He had ample volunteers for the mission.
Some of his friends, more than once, asked him if he knew where they were. He didn't know for sure, but he knew just where to start looking.
* * *
“Aviore!”
He awoke with electricity surging through him, ready to fight. Recollections from the Freedom were vivid and unforgiving.
“She is doing very well, Commander,” answered Gem.
"How long have I been under?"
"Exactly 43 hours, 7 minutes, 28 seconds. Your vitals are strong, but you still need rest.”
"How much longer?"
"Go to sleep. Everything and everyone is alright."
His eyes were barely open, just slits, but the light seemed intense. Sleep seemed a great idea.
Sounds. Warm and regular. A pulsing in his ears. She was breathing softly beside him, asleep.
"Gem?"
"It is good to talk with you once again, my friend."
"What's our status?"
"We are enroute to where you asked. The Dancing Queen’s current course will bring us into the Sol system within the next 72 hours."
“Earth?"
"You wanted to go home. This was my best guess."
“I understand that – but 72 hrs, how’s that possible?”
“Ziggy and I have been implementing a number of improvements with the capacitors, anti-grav feeds and main drive. Given the maintenance we needed to perform, it only made sense to upgrade. We’ve effectively multiplied the velocity capability of the Dancing Queen by approximately 10 times.”
“Amazing… but how?”
“Improvements, are you sure you desire all the details?”
Ryan thought for a moment. “No, perhaps later, how is Aviore?"
“She is recovering quite well. All her organs have been repaired. The damage was significant. Because of this, her recovery will take longer than yours. And yes, before you ask, she will be able to walk again, but this will require therapy.”
Ryan let out a breath. “Thank you.”
“I have implanted within you an artificial heart. Your original organ was diseased. I am authorized to inform you that a natural replacement can be regenerated by a Xeronian medical team if you wish to remove this unit. I have stored the removed organ for required tissue samples."
"My heart? You replaced my heart?"
"Yes. You experienced a massive myocardial infarction. Before the incident, I had instructed Ziggy to manufacture a replacement device."
"And the Xilozaks?"
"The Galactic Alliance fleet was inbound to the Freedom as we departed. The enemy, I am certain, has been defeated."
"It's over?"
"Yes, the war is over."
He felt tension shrink away with the last few remnants of his discarded breath.
It is over. All of it. It wasn’t a dream. The Empire is defeated. Zorlog is dead.
He turned toward Aviore, who was now lying adjacent to him. The light did not seem so bright now, and he was able to focus on her features. His eyes followed her graceful curves. She seemed at peace.
"Aviore." He did not talk. He spoke directly into her mind.
Her eyes opened, brown, sparkling, and a smile stretched wide over her face, yet still, it did not fully reach into those eyes. There was a sadness there. Maybe one day she could find peace within herself, and those eyes would truly smile.
She reached for him, closed her hand around his. Her warmth pulsated within his palm. He tried to shift his body, but his efforts were only slightly effective. He could feel the top of a sharp mountain of pain, previously subdued by suppressants. His arms throbbed, his body leaden, robbed of all energy, muscles seemingly spongy. He stopped struggling.
"Don't, Ryan," she said softly. "Stay relaxed. You need to heal. We both need to heal."
She was right. Neither of them were going anywhere soon. His eyes left hers to inspect their surroundings. They were both nestled into the auto-surgeon's barren, tiny, stainless-steel room, on their backs, in graviton suspension. He could see that her lower abdomen was wrapped under a mass of mechanical devices, all probably designed to aid in the healing of her spinal cord.
Luckily, he was not so burdened with only large square pads of bio-gel stuck to his chest and lower abdomen, and his left arm held rigid in a transparent cast.
"How long do you think we'll need to be cramped up in this little room?" He asked her, dreading the thought.
"Long enough."
"Long enough?” He laughed. “For what?"
"Long enough to decide where we are going to raise our child."
He turned to her, and her eyes smiled.
The End
* * *
Acknowledgments
Firstly, and most importantly, thank you for reading ‘A Bellicose Dance’. If you are a fan, and I truly hope you are, please feel free to provide your feedback about this title on your favorite social site, on Amazon, or on my website.
Cover art was provided through vikncharlie at www.fiverr.com.
A special thanks to my family (and especially my wife), for their ongoing support during this time consuming endeavor.
Feel free to visit my website at www.patrickmjlozon.com for blog updates and information on upcoming novels.
Other Titles Available
Of Days Gone By, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-7753222-0-7 (ebook), 978-1-7753222-1-4 (print)
A Bellicose Dance Page 66