by Tracy Lauren
“Rennek… What’s going on?” She asks trying to sit up.
“Nothing, sweet Kate. Sleep. I am taking you to bed,” I tell her.
“Oh… sorry. I thought about going to go to your room, but I wasn’t sure how long you’d be. Or if you’d be in the mood for company,” she tells me sleepily.
“It is our room Kate and I will always crave your company.”
When we get inside I lay her gently in the bed and slide in next to her, she drapes her arms around my chest and it brings me a deep-seated peace in my core. She is still and silent, I assume she has drifted to sleep and I plan to do the same, until she speaks.
“I’m almost scared to ask, but what now Rennek? What’s our next move?”
“You do not need to worry about such things, my Kate.” It is quiet for a tick before she speaks again.
“What is that supposed to mean? Of course I’m going to be concerned with what’s next,” she says, with fire lacing her voice.
I laugh. She is all fire, just like her mane. “I simply meant to alleviate any fears or concerns you might have about the safety of you and your people,” I explain. “I will take care of such things.”
“I’m sorry, when did this turn into 1950’s America? I’m not some passive housewife. I want to be involved,” she tells me.
“That will not be necessary in this instance. I have decided we will head straight to the Mother Planet and present ourselves to the Governing Core. They should be able to sort out this mess.” Now that it is settled, I close my eyes so that sleep may take me.
“Wait, what?” She says, indignant.
“We have set course for Mother World and once we get there my crew and I will surrender ourselves to the UPC and offer you and your fellow humans into the care of the Governing Core. Once you are able to give testimony it will corroborate our stories and I am confident that all will be set right.”
“Wait, what?” she emphasizes and sits bolt upright next to me.
“Come sleep, my mate,” I say, pulling her into me. She slaps at my hands.
“Rennek, are you fucking kidding me?”
I groan and sit up. I encountered arguments from my friends and brother, but somehow, I did not anticipate any from my mate.
“This is the best course of action, Kate,” I say with tired conviction.
“Bullshit. The UPC tried to kill you and your brother and you’re just going to hand yourself and your friends over to them?”
“This is the best way to ensure you and your people are delivered to safety.”
“I sincerely don’t believe that.”
“Well you must. The UPC is filled with honorable enforcers. We will be well. All will be well.”
“No freaking way, I’m not splitting up. Even if I wanted to, I don’t think I could talk the other girls into it--literally everyone else we have met has tried to kill us or turn us into sex slaves…”
“To be fair, I wish to make you my sex slave as well…” Rennek lets out a deep rumbly laugh that would make me melt into him on any other occasion, but right now I’m too mad.
“Rennek! Now’s not the time to be cute. I don’t like this plan and I can’t believe the others even agreed to it.”
I bite my tongue and look away from my mate’s piercing eyes.
“Oh my god! They didn’t agree, did they?” She shrieks. I pull her down on top of me so fast she doesn’t have time to protest.
“It is a blessing and a curse to have a mate who knows me so well,” I say as I bite her neck softly.
“I see what you’re doing! Don’t you try to distract me with sweet talk! We aren’t done talking about this. What were the other suggestions?”
“It is unimportant,” I tell her.
“I’ll decide if I find it unimportant, thank you very much.”
“We have already set course Kate. None of this will change that.” At my words she jumps up out of our bed.
“Oh no. Let me explain something right here and right now.” She jabs her finger at me as she speaks. “You have been throwing around all this ‘mate’ talk and to be completely honest I’m not really sure what any of it means, but if you plan on being together--with me, in any way, this,” she indicates she and I, “This, Rennek, is a partnership. Decisions, particularly the big ones, will be made together and that is non-negotiable.”
“For the most part, I agree. But on this issue Kate, I am sorry. I will not bend. I must protect you.”
“How can you protect me if you leave me? How can you protect me if you give yourself over to the UPC and they kill you?”
I hang my head in my hands, my mane spilling over my eyes. “You do not understand, I must protect you. I would do anything if it meant you would be safe. I would die to protect you. It is all I can think of, it clouds my thoughts. From the moment I saw you--a fire was kindled inside of me. You awoke some buried part of my core. I need to do this Kate, I need to know you are safe.”
“What about what I want? What about how I feel?”
“You cannot live in a world of constant danger, I would go insane.”
“Then take me to a different world.” Her eyes light up. “That’s it! Take me to Elysia,” she says. I look away. Tennir suggested this as well.
“I do not know what awaits on Elysia.”
“But we do know what awaits us on the Mother Planet. We know we would be separated. We know the UPC and the media have painted you as criminal. There are a lot of unknowns with Elysia, but more importantly there are too many things we do know about the Mother Planet. We know there is danger there.”
Beep Beep. The comm interrupts. Kate glares at me passionately.
“Rennek, we have incoming ships on radar,” Tennir voices through the comm.
“Evasives. Full shields. Cloaking if possible. I’ll be right there.”
I turn to Kate. “Stay here, I will return.”
“Rennek, I mean it. This is a partnership or it’s nothing. Take it or leave it,” she tells me and her voice quivers with such sincerity, I have no doubt this is her line in the sand. So, I take my tiny human mate and throw her over my shoulder.
“Rennek! What are you doing?” she squeals.
“I am taking it. I will need your help on the bridge, my partner.”
Chapter 32
Rennek
“Seven UPC ships, coming from the direction of the Mother Planet. They have not made any attempts to hail us,” Kellen reports.
I study the monitors.
“Orders?” Kellen asks.
A battle inside me wages.
“They will be within firing range in ten seconds,” Dax shouts.
Kate’s eyes search me.
“Five seconds.”
“Set course for Elysia. Maximum warp,” I tell them and even in just speaking the words I feel my core resonate with the rightness of this decision. It is as if some part of me knows we are finally on the proper path.
But my peace is quickly shattered. There is a resounding boom that shakes the ship, the lights cut out and I hear Kate’s scream. I struggle to maintain my footing and grip blindly in the dark at my captain’s chair.
“Kate!” I bellow.
“Engaging warp!” Dax shouts over the sound of bending metal. Sparks start spilling from the control panels illuminating small pockets of the room.
“Rennek!” I hear Kate’s voice calling to me and see the small shadow of her form. I dive to her and envelop her body her in mine. I feel the ship shifting, the loud hum of the engines revving up into a roar.
The ship has been badly damaged and we are about to enter warp. I know the everyday risk in warp--it becomes exponential in a compromised ship. In this moment, I am thankful Kate comes from such a primitive planet that she does not know the extent of the danger we are in. I breathe in the scent of her hair and clutch her close to me. These might be the last sensations I ever have… this ship may not survive the next few seconds. We might not survive the next few seconds.
Everything seems to
bend and twist around us, there is no up or down. We lose gravity stabilizers and I push off from the ground to get Kate and I to a hand hold to keep us steady. The sparks and flames from the control panels seem to suddenly move in slow motion and the flames billow out into orbs.
My hand hits the wall and I punch into it with all my might, digging my claws into the metal. This ship would have to tear in two before I let go of my Kate. She clings to me just as tightly. Then, there is the telltale snap, like a band of rubber and gravity kicks back in. Kate gasps out a small scream and I swing us down to the floor.
“Dax! Report!” I yell, praying to the Goddesses that my friend still lives--that all my friends still live.
“I am driving blind Rennek! We lost the majority of our systems.”
“Are we alone? Did the UPC lock onto us before we engaged warp?”
“I cannot tell for sure, but considering we are not dead yet I think we made it. They sent an array of missiles when they anticipated we were going to make a run for it.”
“Our shields?” I ask.
“Blocked some, failed for others, non-existent now,” he tells me. “We are lucky we are not dead in the water. We are running on only one backup engine now and frankly I do not know how long it will last.”
“Kellen, can you give me a read on all life signs aboard the ship?” I ask but there is no reply.
“Kellen?” I shout.
“Rennek, over there!” Kate says as she runs to Kellen’s side. He has been thrown from his post, there is a gash on the side of his head oozing blood. Kate pulls off one of her new garments, leaving only a thin strapped top underneath. She holds the cloth to Kellen’s wound and elevates his head onto her lap.
“I am… alright...” he groans and I breathe out a sigh of relief.
“The others Rennek, can we check on them? Are the comms working?” Kate pleads.
“Da’vi, report? Tennir? If anyone can hear me please respond.” I say, but I am met with silence.
“Dax, do we have any indication where we are? Are we anywhere near Elysia?”
“We will have visual in less than a minute, from there we will have to guess,” he tells me as I grab the nearest bottle of flame retardant and begin spraying down the stations. I am able to extinguish all the flames, but sparks still fly from the equipment.
“Is there any way to cut power to these systems so another fire does not ignite?” I ask.
“You have to speak with Bossan about that, the links on my unit are all nonfunctional,” Dax tells me.
“I will head to med bay, gather supplies and retrieve the others,” I say.
My eyes scan the chaos and disarray on bridge. Dax works furiously at the controls. Kellen seems to barely cling to consciousness in Kate’s lap. My poor goddess looks like heaven amongst all this hell. She is my glimmer of hope when all else seems lost. Her fiery mane is tangled and she sweeps it out of her face, tucking it behind her ear. I see a bruise developing across her precious cheek bone. Her arms are smudged with dirt and blood. She nods to me, giving me a weary, but determined smile. It gives me strength like I have never known.
I slam down into the ground and race on all fours. I head first to the living quarters, grabbing a sensor as I go. Sprinting down the halls, I come across Da’vi and Allison first.
“Tennir and the human called April went to check on the animals in the cargo holds,” he tells me. “Bossan is already headed to the bridge.”
“Good. The other females?” I ask, but before he can answer we hear their calls.
“Help! A little help over here!” We hear Reagan yelling nearby. We race toward the sound of her voice. She and Clark stand in the hall clawing at a malfunctioning door. “Vivian is in there!” She yells when she sees us. I push my way through them and they give me the space necessary to free the door. I dig my claws in and peel the panel away. Vivian, the one who cries often, lies motionless in a heap on the floor--her arm bent behind her in an unnatural position.
“Oh my god,” Reagan gasps and the human females start speaking wildly in their native language. Tears spill from their eyes and I do not blame them, if it had been one of my friends… Allison pushes me aside and quickly sets to work on Vivian.
“I feel a pulse guys! She’s breathing, but it’s shallow. Can anyone do anything to help?” She looks up at us with pleading eyes. I take the scanner and run it over the injured human. Her arm is broken, as is her collar bone. She has a head injury, a mild concussion, but she will live.
“She will be fine.” I tell them and Reagan collapses into Clark crying. “She will be in pain when she wakes, but she is likely unconscious due to a head injury. We will need supplies from medical. Da’vi, Allison. Can you secure what we need and meet us on the bridge?”
“Yes sir,” Da’vi replies.
“Kellen has a head injury as well,” I tell them.
“We will meet you there shortly,” Da’vi says before they race away. I bend over and scoop up the injured human, relieved she lives.
“Follow me,” I tell the other humans and we head back to the bridge.
When Kate sees us enter, with me carrying the unconscious female, she covers her mouth in horror.
“She is only injured,” I tell her quickly.
“Oh, thank god!” she exhales. “Is everyone else alright?”
“Yes, there are no other significant injuries,” I assert.
“Oh, poor Vivian,” she says as I lay her injured friend near her and Kellen.
“We will need to set her arm before she wakes,” I let her know. “I will need help. Someone to hold her body steady while I fix the position of the bone.” We all look to Reagan who lingers nearby, but she turns pale and grips a control panel to keep upright.
“I don’t think… I can’t…” she shakes her head vehemently.
“Here, trade me. Keep Kellen’s head elevated and pressure on his cut?” Reagan considers this and finds it more palatable than the task I offered her. She takes Kate’s place with Kellen, gingerly tending to his wound. Kate helps me as I set the bone in Vivian’s arm. The human does not wake, but her flesh becomes a sickly color and sweat covers her body. Soon Allison and Da’vi are here with supplies and they help with our two wounded. Tennir and April join us, but there is no time for an update on our neglected cargo.
“We have visual now on Elysia. Everyone is going to want to see this,” Dax hollers.
Kate and I are drawn together as the view window before us fills with the lush blue and green hues of my people’s planet. It is the world they dreamed of seeing. I feel unworthy, a bastard son gazing upon this symbol of hope. Kate’s fingers entwine with mine and it settles my torrid thoughts. I may not be worthy, but I can work to become so--as I have done my whole life. I look to my friends; their faces are filled with reverence making me that much more determined.
“Can the ship make it through the atmosphere?” I ask, fearing the answer.
“It will be close. If she does make it she will be scrap after,” Dax estimates.
“We will have to split the group and send as many as possible in the pod,” I say. “The males will remain on the ship and all the females will…”
“Whoa, slow down there. You can’t send us alone in the pod. First of all we can’t pilot it. Not to mention the fact that we wouldn’t know what to do on the surface alone. Second, Vivian is injured. She needs to be with someone who can care for her medical needs,” Kate challenges.
“Why don’t we all take the pod?” Reagan asks.
“There is a limit on the capacity,” Dax tells her. “It could take you females and possibly two males, three max. But even then, there would not be enough harnesses for everyone to wear during entry.”
“I’ll stay with Vivian. She needs someone to translate once she wakes up,” Reagan offers.
“There might be a way I can manually create a language upload without the chip implant,” Tennir suggests while Reagan works to translate to the other females.
“Whale eye wahnt too stay wit heem!” One of the human speaking females says.
“Okay, well all the non-alien speaking girls want to stay with Tennir now,” Reagan laughs.
“It’s only a possibility. I can try my best, but cannot make any promises,” Tennir explains.
We all go back and forth over who should take the pod and who wants to be paired with who until I am crazed with how particular everyone is being. They should all be fighting for a place on the pod. They could die upon entering the atmosphere in this ship. I pace madly and rake my claws through my mane, trying not to snap at the minute requests being brought up.