Lin's Challenge

by Mara Jaye

  Everything is too difficult to do. I can’t nod or even open my eyes. I try to send him a message mentally but am so tired. My chin falls to my chest as he says, “Dearest? Lin?” His hands tremble as he takes my face. “I swear I’m not being forward. You need everything I can give you.”

  He tilts my face up with a hand under each of my ears and kisses me. A deep longing kiss and I feel the fear and concern in his touch. He licks my lips before running the tip of his tongue along my front teeth. I open for him, and the rush of endorphins feel almost as good as his caresses. “This has to work,” he says against my mouth.

  I try to smile and reassure him. The pain is already fading to a numbness like I’ve drunk everything in my Mom’s liquor cabinet. “It’ll be fine, I promise,” I manage to whisper before the galaxy dims to black.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Turkh

  I catch Lin before she falls back against the storage box. Pless it all to Tunsa, this is getting old. I should have just given her everything I had in the beginning when I knew what she’d be to me. My body is running a skeleton crew, and if I’d been smart at the start, I’d have had time to regenerate more bionans.

  I settle in against the heavy boxes to make both of us more comfortable. We’re together, and that is good enough for now.

  How is she?

  I have to be vague with G’nar about what I did. She’ll live.

  You didn’t give more bionans to her, did you?

  I had to. G’nar doesn’t respond to my reply for a while. I reach out and add, I couldn’t sit here and watch her die.

  You two will be exiled and probably not together.

  I can’t argue because we both know the rules. Let me send you a databurst from my experiences for the director.

  Good. I’m close to the blocker. I’ll take it out, send our data, and wait for retrieval.

  Stand by for transmission. I send my information from the time we landed until now, personal moments excluded.

  Received. Taking blocker offline now.

  An explosion rocks the building, shaking us both. Was that you?

  Yes. Overdid it with the proth. Sending to Alliance now.

  Stupidly, I nod as if he’s here. Even if our director and his group don’t pick up the signal right away, they will eventually, and the Vahdmoshi will be brought to justice. I give Lin a slight squeeze. “Just hold on and let the bionans do the work.”

  Turkh? Message sent. Pick up point in central cargo bay. Is she better?

  Not yet.

  Send me where you are. We can add my bionans to yours.

  I think of how I added mine to Lin’s body and a flare of jealousy burns in my chest. After glancing down at her, I realize my emotions are petty and useless if she dies. Certainly. If she’s not awake by the time you get here, let’s do it.

  I can feel his slight laugh, and I know he’s figured out my reluctance for the transfer to her. She’s mine. I’m hers. Nothing anyone else does can break our union. I kiss the top of her forehead. The litany reminds me of what’s essential and what isn’t.

  Every minute we’ve been together, she’s amazed me. Her laugh despite the unforgiving surroundings. The way she smiles at me. How tough she’s been through the harsh work we’ve been given. Everything she is makes me love her more with every passing minute. I stare down at her beautiful face. The side of her face where the proth hit her is a little red but not instantly noticeable. The rest of her skin is a bit dirty, yet pale and smooth. She’d be horrified if I admitted to knowing how she could use a bath. Anyone else would smell, well, a little too ripe. But her? I put my nose in her hair and breathe deep. I love her unique smell. It intoxicates me like nothing else can.

  Lin can’t die. If she does, then my soul dies, too.

  The door’s handle jiggles a little, and I think, G’nar?

  He steps in, saying, “Yeah?”

  “Glad it’s you.”

  “Me too. Has she tried to regain consciousness?”

  “Not yet, but then I haven’t pushed her.”

  “Let me try.” He sat down and leaned forward, closer to her face. “Lin, honey, if you don’t wake up, I’ll have to give you a big, sloppy kiss.”

  “You’re not,” I growl.

  “Oh yes, I am. If I don’t, she might never wake up, and we’ll be stuck on this plessed rock. So, I think it’s worth it, even if I have to kiss a disgusting little Earther like her.” He leaned closer. “Maybe she wants my kiss. Maybe she likes all Gharian men.”

  Her nose wrinkled and she shook her head a little. “Eh eh.”

  G’nar chuckled and glanced at me. “You’ll have to do better than that.”

  Like a child not wanting to face the day, she rolled over so her nose touched my chest. I give a glare to G’nar in case he thinks of getting closer to us both. “Dearest, if you wake up now, we can leave here and ditch G’nar along the way. Sound good.?”

  “Yeah.” She put a hand on my chest. “I’m trying. It’s so hard ‘cause I’m tired.”

  G’nar eased away from us and stood up. “Start moving now, and you’ll become more alert.” He clapped his hands. “Come on, let’s go so I don’t have to kiss you and get a beating from Turkh.”

  She sighed before struggling to sit upright on my lap. “All right. We’ve probably been here too long as it is.”

  “Did you cut the securbots?” I ask.

  “For now.” G’nar opened the door and looked both ways. “Once the lead guy discovers what I’ve done, it’s going to be ugly and shoot to kill.” He stepped out of the room and made a come on motion.

  We follow him out. Lin holds on to me while asking, “Do we have a plan?”

  “We do,” G’nar says. “The Alliance has the evidence, and we need to meet them at the pickup point.”

  “How far away is it?” I ask aloud but think him a message. She’s weak. The bionans don’t have a lot of extra building material to work with.

  There’s a mess hall of sorts. G’nar sends the location to me. It’s small, but there should be something for her to eat. He gives Lin a brief smile. “We won’t need to go far. Right now, we need to get you some food for the nanos to fix the gaping hole in your waist.”

  She tries to close the burn in her shirt as if doing so will hide the wound. “Sorry to be such a problem. I’m jeopardizing the mission, and Turkh should have left me in the fields until all of this was over.”

  “Yeah, we’d leave you just like you’d leave one of us,” he says.

  Lin glances at me, and I add, “We’re all a team now. Get used to it.” I pick up a whirring noise and hold up a hand. Hear that? I send out to both of them. The securbots are online again.

  Pless, we don’t have long now.

  No matter what else happens, we know the Vahdmoshi won’t risk their dug up proth. If they shoot and miss us? Everything would be gone. I tilt my head. Let’s get to the mess hall, grab some food, and find our way to the cargo bay for pickup.

  We could skip eating. I’m not that hungry, Lin offers.

  Neither G’nar or I acknowledge her. She doesn’t know how much she needs the nourishment for repairs. I take her hand, and we follow G’nar down the empty corridors to the mess hall. Or, as he opens the door, the tiny room of a mess hall. The three of us duck inside as a securbot goes by.

  “This looks like a fridge.” Lin heads for the cooling unit and opens the door. “I suppose some things are the same everywhere.” She begins going through the contents, reading the sides of cans and cartons.

  I go to the doorway to keep watch for stray bots or angry guards. Lin’s saying something to G’nar before he opens a can of juice for her. I try to stay focused on what’s happening outside. Her face as she drinks Arnsa lite is adorable. The sour brew is an acquired taste. Soon, she’s gulping the stuff down like a kid. G’nar’s peeled a couple of rills for her. The rinds come off easily. He gives a leftover one to me. “Thanks. How soon can we make a break for it?”

  “Whenever we
’re done.” He bites into the fruit. I do the same, enjoying the first non-goo I’ve eaten since landing here. “They have a huge mess to clean up in the control room first.”

  I can’t help but grin. If there’s anything G’nar knows how to do better than any other Alliance Enforcer, it’s making a mess. I finish my last bite while checking to see if Lin’s good. She gives me a slight smile. I’d take more for her to eat on the way, storing them in my pockets, but rill doesn’t travel well. “Want more before we leave?”

  “Maybe a few more drinks.” She hurries to the food cooler and grabs another can of Arnsa lite, opening the bottle with a twist.

  “Bring it. You can toss the bottle anywhere when you’re done.”

  G’nar steps past me to leave the room as I hold out my hand for Lin. “He’s right. Littering won’t matter in another hour or two.”

  “Is that how long it’ll take for the Alliance to get here?”

  She’s whispering, but it’s not quiet enough. I reply, Yes. Once they received the data, they knew to be on their way.

  We creep down the hallway with Lin between us. G’nar’s first, peering around corners before we follow him. I hear a securbot’s whine as it approaches, but the machine is flying fast. By the time I’m in front of Lin to protect her, it’s already gone. The noise fades as I say, “That’s not supposed to happen.”

  Lin nods and looks from me to G’nar before easing down to set the empty bottle on the floor. I’ve seen them move like that on the way to kill troublemakers.

  G’nar gave us a slight grin. Yet they didn’t stop at us. Odd.

  I grin, too. We’re lucky the bots are preoccupied but it worries me. They’re focused and I hope to Tunsa it’s not what I think it is. Lin’s hand slips into mine, and I give her a reassuring squeeze. Her coloring is returning to normal with every minute. We just need to get her off of this cursed rock and into second world care.

  By the time two more securbots fly by us, we’re dangerously used to their presence. I send a thought to both G’nar and Lin. We need to worry more about the bots.

  I’m not bothered at all, Lin thinks to us. I’ll just pull you two in front of me this time.

  Ha. Ha. I don’t have a death wish, G’nar replies.

  I look ahead at the cargo bay doors. We’re close and no guards anywhere.

  I’m keeping them busy with a fire in the control room.

  Nice. I feel a bit of guilt for how much he accomplished while I was busy with Lin. He is too distracted to say so now, but we both know she’s worth the delay.

  We stare out of the huge windows lining the other side of the hall. Each of us had a perfect view of the mine’s opening and the fields beyond. We slid along the wall toward the cargo bay doors. A line of securbots fly toward both work areas, side by side. Various people stop and look up as the bots open fire.

  “They’re liquidating.” I grab Lin’s hand. “Fuck what our director wants. We need to leave now.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Turkh

  My internal display lights up directions for me along the floor and walls as I lead Lin and G’nar to the cargo hangar. The automatic door is open. Shouting and jet blasts echo out as we hurry inside. No one notices us at first. They’re all too busy making sure the delivery ships are able to take off for a safer place.

  There’s no roof other than the dome high above. Lin squeezes my hand, and I look down to see a guard pointing a gun at us. He takes a step forward, his eye up to the sight. “I should save time and just kill you all now.”

  G’nar glances up at the dome. “Or, you could run for cover because the Alliance is almost here.

  The guard looks up as shards of the canopy fly everywhere. One of the escaping ships is hit, almost cut in two, and the pieces go in different directions. Lin’s gaze follows the smoking parts down while I look for shelter. If the Alliance follows procedures, every ship in the area will be scrap in an hour or so. The broken up craft falls into the fields, exploding on impact. The guard holsters his gun. “I’m out. You’re on your own.” He takes off for one of the cargo ships as its engines begin to fire.

  “I don’t blame him,” Lin says. “Nowhere is safe.”

  “Empty proth box to our left,” G’nar says and sends the image to us. “Let’s go.”

  Lin hangs back but doesn’t let go of my hand. “How sturdy is the box?”

  “They transport proth across the galaxy safely.”

  “Good enough for me.”

  She runs with us into the empty container. G’nar and I put stand with her between us. We’re facing the battle going on above our heads. Lin startles with every solid blast hitting the dome. The transparent pieces fly everywhere, bouncing off the Alliance ship’s shields before tumbling to the ground. Most land all around the main building we’re in. Others fly up before bouncing off of the outside and sliding down the dome.

  “Do they know we’re here?”

  “Yes,” I reassure her. “We included a meetup point in our reports.” The three of us watch as the Alliance ships pick off the smaller Vahd vessels as they try to outmaneuver the shots.

  “Should they be destroying the fuel we worked so hard to mine?” When I look at her, she’s frowning. “Thousands of people died to dig for the stuff and if it’s so valuable, why doesn’t the Alliance use it for themselves?”

  “Search for proth use and application within the Alliance members,” I say, and her eyes go blank.

  “Ah. Makes sense. Too unstable to be practical. The hundreds of disasters while trying to find a safer way to use is awful.” Her focus sharpens as she glances at me before going back to viewing the battle outside. “No wonder you were so intent on shutting down all of this.”

  G’nar mutters, “Never mind the slave labor the Vahdmoshi used. So many of these people can’t be repatriated to their home worlds. I don’t know which course the Alliance will take with them.”

  One last proth cargo ship stands empty at the far end of the hangar. I don’t move as an Alliance ship drops down, obliterating our view of everything above. Nothing happens for a few moments. For Lin’s sake, I tell the two of them, They’re making sure no one’s on board. A sweep of the entire area is done. I feel the signals as a physical touch when they pass over us.

  Several times, I’ve heard Lin begin to ask a question over the innercom before stopping to access her database. The bionans’ advanced programming has given her everything I have. I want her independence for her sake but need her dependence on me for mine. I glance down at her while she watches the Alliance ship land. She’s perfect, and I want the best of everything the galaxy has to offer for her.

  I stop staring at Lin to watch our ship’s loading ramp open. Our director comes out with several newly promoted Protectors behind her. They fan out while Director Tira heads for us.

  The ship’s engines wind down and sounds of the battle outside bleed into the area. G’nar shakes his head. “We’re done.”

  “Who is she—” Lin begins before saying, “Oh shit. We’re done.” She turns to me. “Whatever happens, I love you and am your bondmate.”

  “She won’t care,” G’nar says as her boot steps echo across the large room. “She’s a Leader. They can’t be soft.”

  Director Tira stops in front of us. “So. This is what you two call a covert operation?”

  “Not really,” I reply.

  She looks at G’nar. He shakes his head. “No. We hadn’t planned for some of the events here.”

  “Good. Glad to hear what’s supposed to be one of my newest Enforcers tell me he failed to plan.”

  “I planned, just didn’t anticipate a few of the obstacles.”

  “Like what?” She stepped over to Lin. “Like your partner would be too busy playing hide the post with an Earther? Or that you’d be separated and unable to communicate?” She stares at me. “Both of you should have anticipated losing touch with everyone and anyone Alliance related during this mission. We discussed comm blocks and the proced
ures around them.”

  Her comment about hiding my dick in Lin continues to enrage me. I want to object about everything, but the director is right. I let myself get distracted by a union when I should have waited until after the mission. “Ma’am, you’re correct. We didn’t perform as expected. We should have anticipated some things and worked harder to correct others.”

  She begins to say something before her mouth snaps shut and her eyes go slightly glassy. Subconsciously, she nods before her vision clears. “Nice. Thank you for telling me what I want to hear. There’s a huge pile of dead sixth and seventh worlders all over the place. A hell of a lot of others are dying or traumatized by the massacre. All of this was preventable.”

  “You don’t think the Vahdmoshi had an exit strategy at the least sign of trouble?” G’nar asked and took a step toward her. “You think we could have stopped how they programmed the securbots to eradicate any living witnesses?”

  She looked down at his shoes before staring up into his eyes. “Do not use that tone. Not after all of this mess.” She glanced at Lin. “The Earther comes with me on my ship. Her illegal bionans need deprogramming.”

  “And us?” I ask and don’t think I want to know the answer.

  “I’ve decided to leave you two here with the mess you’ve made. Contact me when you’ve rebuilt everything and terraformed the planet, and I might let you live out your days here.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Lin

  “No.”

  The director stops and stares at me. “Pardon? Do you not understand standard Alliance? You’re to come with me. Now.”

  How the woman stayed alive as long as she has with being such an asshole is beyond me. If I were either one of the men, I’d have told her where to go by now. But then, she’s not my boss, either. If they were with me at the Super Save, I’m sure they’d be back talking Mike, too. “I think it’s you who doesn’t understand.” I take a step toward her. “Turkh and I are bonded. I wouldn’t be alive without him or G’nar.”