"They're delaying."
Me and my annoying feminist stupidity. “That's bad, isn't it?"
His silver gaze locked on mine. “I think we should be somewhere else if things shift..."
Since when do men just leave a statement hanging? When they can't predict the future and worry about the outcome! “Alright. Where do you want to go?"
"Back to the gardens."
He pivoted so quickly toward the door I knew something was wrong. I bit my tongue.
The sharp contrast of my warrior's swinging curtain of barely-yellow blond hair across his silver sword blade set against his jet-black armor made me forget I was on some whacked-out extraterrestrial honeymoon. Although, avoiding aliens could have ranked right up there with whacked out. I just kept on his heels, following him back up into the metal track above the gardens.
What made him think we were safer up here? Just what was he thinking anyway? Fight? Battle. War? Probably save his mate after a good millennia of no reproduction. Zilch activity in that department. But the snack bar was open.
God. Did my stupid rat brain just think of that? Somebody shock this lab rat into clear thoughts other than bacon, Keylime Pie, and hot sex.
Vult spun, grabbed my elbow, and yanked me behind him.
"What is it?” I couldn't see a thing. Just silver sword, black armor, and blond hair.
"Quiet.” His mass shoved me back, step-by-step, until hard coldness stopped my shoulderblades. “They're coming."
"What do we do?"
"Stay behind me.” His mass stepped one step away.
I'm just supposed to stand here? I'm the one with the magic touch. Midas’ melt-your-ass hand! “They can't touch me, Vult."
"Stay behind me.” He reached up and grabbed the hilt of his sword.
"Vult?"
"Leave me to think, Cassie. Quiet."
The ching of footfalls rumbled into thunder.
The sound of pounding feet meant the space station had to be overrun by cyborgs with enough mass to mimic the sound of Vult trotting on the cat walk.
Something moved to my left.
A cyborg in silver pants like the ones who escorted me here days ago with Goro. But he hadn't followed the walk. No. He'd stepped through the glass.
[Back to Table of Contents]
Chapter Eight
Something moved to my right.
Another cyborg dressed like the one to my left. Stepping through the glass. What the fuck? “What's happening, Vult?"
Cyborgs stepped from space through the hull up and down the metal grating.
Each wore his sword. No shirt though. Just silver cuffs encasing their forearms.
"They've arrived to allow us an escape route. Come. Quickly.” Vult grabbed my wrist and pulled me down the line of statuesque cyborgs.
All looking about thirty-four in age. Each wore his hair in a long black-leather bound queue. Waiting. As if positioned to strike.
Vult didn't allow me to think too long with his grip dragging me through the garden's ring structure.
But I managed to look back over my shoulder. To catch a glimpse of heated hand-to-hand combat. Aliens. So many different hues and varieties. The red Lignets were among the writhing throng. So my stupid sense of female equality, or whatever, got us into this mess. I'd have to apologize. Somehow. Somewhere. Just not at the moment. I stretched my stride. My nice leather-cloaked stride. Truly, in the end, spandex wouldn't have been good to be captured in.
We'd put so much distance between us and the foray that the cyborg warriors stood waiting at ease. Or attention. They seemed oddly prepared yet immobile. Asking questions would only show Vult I didn't respect his orders. He knew how to handle these situations. I obviously didn't.
Vult's form slammed to a halt. “Here.” He sucked in deep breaths as if his body demanded more oxygen than could satisfy it. He stared one direction then the other, down both curves of the ring, along the line of cyborgs.
"Can you see anything?” I couldn't.
"No. They can't possibly make it this far."
Who are they?
Vult's silver gaze slid to mine.
"Who are they, Vult? And what do they want?” Even though half the answer was obvious.
"The !Dako Goddess is extremely marketable on the black market."
My heart did a swan dive.
He must have noticed.
He pointed down the line of warriors. “Look at them, Cassie."
Okay. I wasn't about to make him think I didn't respect him again. I scanned the hulking forms.
"They came to protect the Goddess. You're the !Dakos’ hope. Our chance to change the future and become whole again."
A chill skittered down my spine.
They all seemed so complete without my intervention. So capable of making choices and feeling emotion. Especially my mate. But they believed their lives were so empty. Why? Now, I had to help them somehow find that place in their existence to live in a manner they felt normal. What though?
The din of clanging metal and cries of males exerting themselves in desperate attempts to achieve their goals crescendoed.
The ring shook beneath my feet.
The framework holding the glass in place grew fuzzy with the jarring vibrations.
Vult whirled, grabbed my arm off the grating, pulled my body against the hard armor covering his chest, and scanned the trembling greenhouse structure.
He had to hear a second-by-second report of what occurred in his head. I snaked an arm around his formidable shoulders and looked into his pinched gaze. “What's happening?"
"More trading vessels have arrived. Primarily Lignit. Some have detonated explosives trying to dock with Anwa."
The central spherical command center, within the garden ring, began sinking beyond the glass.
"Anwa's trying to save the gene bank. She's detaching the sphere.” Vult turned to the cyborgs to his left. “Clear the ring heading to the desert cell. We must take the Goddess to the shuttle.” Nobody knew about the four-seater the Five kept space-ready for emergencies. I shoved my soul's curves over my shoulder, grabbed the back of one of her solid thighs, and ran toward the warriors knifing into motion.
"Vult! I can run.” She pounded on my back's armor. “Put me down before your big-ass sword shaves my head."
"Not now. I'll give you back your feet when I know you're safe."
"Damn you! All this wicked repetitive pressure on my gut caused by your enormous stride is going to make me hurl. I swear. On you!"
She used that strange term for vomiting often. “Better to need to clean up a mess than have you taken by the enemy."
"Enemy? What in the hell do they want with me?"
My huv'ria didn't sound so nauseated when her mind was engaged. “Your power. You're a Handler. They want to trade you on the Black Market."
The warriors leapt to the sandy floor of the desert cell and filed out, ringing the space along the path to the shuttle with absolute !Dako efficiency. I halted a second at the top of the stairwell.
"The bastards can't trade what they can't control. Put me down. Let me at them. I'll melt their asses into piles of mush."
I would have chuckled, but her frustration was about to skyrocket. “Hold on, huv'ria.” I jumped off the metal cat walk.
Cassie shrieked the most godless sound.
My boots hit the sandy deck.
Thanks to the sand, a softened impact.
"When I get down from here...” she groaned.
"You'll be safe and alive.” I hopped back into a trot.
"Vult, the sphere is detached and at a safe distance,” Anwa announced. “What is the plan?"
As if there could be much of a plan. With two extra warriors along for the ride, we could only run. Attempt escape without serious weaponry until they tried to board us, forcing us to kill them off one fool at a time. At least, the Goddess would keep them from blasting us into space dust. “Prepare the warriors for transecting space. They'll need to attack within th
e traders’ spacecraft. Or we'll be overtaken."
The curve of three large boulders met in a shadowy space with a hidden lever. Anwa whisked the camouflaged hatch open for us. And I planted my huv'ria's sacred ass into a passenger's seat.
The look of shock I received could have killed me. I ignored it, thrusting each of her arms into the safety harness and buckling the two-point structure. “Tvrist, you're piloting. Sok, you're guarding the door."
Before I could blink, Tvrist's black topknot thrust into the small space. Sok, who could have been his twin, followed on his heel. “Launch. Now.” I fell into the other pilot's seat and strapped in.
Tvrist thrust his hand into the pilot's glove and the shuttle whirred to life.
"Is there anywhere to go?” Cassie's voice had calmed.
Excellent point. Treusch would be the best option. “Let's head to the mother world.” I spoke aloud more for Cassie's sake than the others. I peered over my shoulder.
She studied Sok who sat buckled in beside the hatch.
Curse the fools who thought they could kidnap my huv'ria. “Everything will be alright, Cassie."
She turned those burning brown eyes to me. “I'm not afraid of those scrawny bug-its. Just get out of my way and let me handle the situation."
Nice play on words. “There's no need now. These two honorable warriors will assist if there is need for combat."
Sok shot me a glowing green glance and nodded.
The majority of the trade vessels couldn't pursue us simply because Anwa had taken off with the crew-less spacecrafts. That in itself kept me chuckling internally. Their remaining ships stayed behind to try to salvage the crew members they could before the !Dakos ended their miserable existences. But !Dako warriors didn't get to fight often. They'd be hardpressed to just allow the fools to walk away.
"Vult?"
My huv'ria sounded calm. I turned from the large view port and found her almost smiling.
"So where did the !Dakos come from when they stepped through the window into the gardens?"
I should have expected the question by her sinister mask. Deceiving her now would only anger her.
Sok's curious green gaze locked onto mine beyond her head.
The young warrior had proven his worth many times over. But he undoubtedly wondered if I'd reveal the truth to the Goddess. I had to. She was my mate. Our savior. And the only way I could deserve her trust is to trust her in return. I slid my gaze back to Cassie's. Just how could I deny what she'd seen anyway? “They travel through what we believe is a wormhole from one point to another."
"What?” Her jaw dropped. “Just like walking? But that's outer space out there. A vacuum...” Her words simply died.
I propped my arm on the back of the chair. “It's a long story, Cassie. But something happened a long time ago. Something to permit our !Dako bodies to transect space."
She stared at me.
Probably thinking I was insane with this explanation. “I haven't learned what truly causes the process. But I am always searching."
"The nanites?” she asked, her gaze sinking somewhere inward.
Did she fear the nanites coursing through her veins? It would take at least a century before her skeletal system was replaced cell-for-cell to prepare her body for movement through the Rift, if at all. After the two huv'rias died passing through the fissure in space, no !Dako risked taking his soul through the deadly crack.
"Does your silence mean I'm going to be able to travel the same way one day?” Her unwavering tone noted she completely understood her position.
I'd rather avoid discussing how to attempt transporting females through the Rift. “Theory suggests yes. But the few huv'rias we have on the other side haven't been with the Colony long enough to have had total bio-metallic conversion of their skeletal systems."
She blinked, slow and steady. “So, you're saying you can carry females through this crevasse in space?"
My soul's curiosity obviously couldn't be ignored. “No."
Tvrist flicked an assessing glance between us.
Older and much wiser than his younger sibling, Tvrist mostly likely wondered if I'd share everything we knew. Everything that happened to him. There was no sense tormenting the warrior with a confession. “Sok, explain to the Goddess what happened to your brother's mate when he carried her through the Rift."
Sok shifted his broad shoulders against the sterile gray wall where he sat.
Probably wishing he didn't have to discuss his brother's misfortune.
Cassie followed my gaze.
Sok nodded and met her stare. “My brother's huv'ria died as all unprotected organisms do in space when traveling through the Rift. We no longer risk our mates by bringing them to the Colony as my brother did three hundred years ago."
Cassie whipped a furrowed brow back toward me. “Three hundred years? You've had a colony without wives for three hundred years?"
Now there's a positive shift in subject. “There are a few mates, hu'vria. This is why we must cleanse the home world. So we can live normal lives. Beyond simply existing on what appears to be another planet, young warriors spend two centuries building until they've earned the right to serve on our home world or other outposts. Until...” Maybe now wasn't a good time to mention Mate Quests. What would she think of the warriors departing to seek mates?
"What do you mean until?"
"Until they depart on Mate Quests,” Sok flatly stated.
Her bright eyes flicked from the younger warrior to me as if the information was discomforting. “Um, maybe I don't want to know. But explain Mate Quests."
"We have learned through the generations since The Changing Times that !Dako sons face greater challenges in their heightened strength and longevity. Many took mates before they were mature enough to have one. Now, a young warrior must prove he is worthy of caring for a huv'ria. When he is ready, he sets off on a Mate Quest."
She nodded soberly. “So how did the few females arrive at the colony planet?"
She missed nothing. “They were taken by Crellon slavers."
"Slaves? Sex slaves?” her voice amplified with distaste.
Would she understand how the females were spared slavery? “Apparently, the Crellons found their way to the Colony through the Rift. I wasn't present—"
"So, the !Dakos purchased huv'rias?” The disgust in her voice only heightened.
"No, Cassie. Please, listen while I explain everything."
Her stunned expression was relentless. “I'm waiting to hear about these sex slaves."
At least, I wasn't allowed to partake of the historical mating. Or I'd be cooking under her blistering stare. “Some warriors were fortunate enough to win the favor of the females."
She snorted and shot us each a hard glare. “There is no winning favor with pheromones. Come on, Vult. You're the head scientist. So, who drew the winning straws?"
From what did her anger stem? “What do you mean by straws?"
She smacked her lips. “You males live the lives of immortals. Gods! This changes your lives. Your purposes. You train younger !Dako generations into controlling their desires.” She gasped, throwing her head back, then impaled me with that relentless stare. “And then you act like using your pheromones to seduce females is perfectly acceptable. Vult, you may control the behavior of your egotistical people with behavior modification, but there's definitely something wrong here."
"That's what I've been telling you. Help us change the madness, Cassie. I promised you I'd help you. Remember my promise."
Planet Treusch seemed a bit more arid than Earth with a sky the color of pale yellow grading to white to Cassie. Or we arrived during a time of day the sky seemed like lemonade. Plenty of conical trees grew to the left of the shuttle's hatch. But the leaves were anything but needles. More like large green stars fluttering in the brisk wind.
"This way, Cassie.” Vult nudged me with the palm of his hand at my lower back.
Tvrist stepped down the gangplank and scanned
the foot-high grass bending in the wind.
Fine. I stepped off toward Tvrist's shadow.
To bend with the purple grass now. I had given up my rage at learning the !Dakos took innocent victims as mates. Or I would be cuckoo by now. Maybe the women were happier than they could ever be elsewhere since they'd mated gorgeous males who kept them drunk on pheromones. However, I didn't feel drugged. Maybe the pheromones wore off a bit as time passed after the male and female bonded? How could I ever know?
I was just like those sex slaves.
Dammit.
"You're quiet,” Vult noted softly.
Trying to ensnare me into another bout of ticking-me-off. Maxed out and blew that gauge long ago. Hell, I needed to keep a level head. Be prepared for the new world rushing to sucker-punch the lab rat with each of our footsteps on the gravel path leading down to a high stone wall encircling many tall multi-floored stone buildings. “Just taking in the view.” A beautiful one at that after spending so much time with night sky backdropping every angle one looked on the space station.
"I'm just realizing I should have brought you here sooner to grasp the intricacies of the !Dako culture."
Or not. We wouldn't have had the time we had alone together on the space station. No bonding beyond sex and pheromones. I wouldn't be in a mental place I need to be to emotionally welcome !Dako lifeways if I hadn't spent a few days with Vult to see he was as human as an extraterrestrial could be. Not just a machine hell bent on breeding. Oh. Shouldn't have thought that. Forget it. “We're here now. Let's see what can be done to set the wheels of change reeling backward.” Or forward.
Tvrist led us through a stone gateway, along empty stone-paved streets, between half a dozen buildings, and into a dark subterranean space lit with some sort of hanging conical lamps casting artificial light.
"This is where the council members meet each month to discuss issues in person,” Vult stated.
Probably to curb my curiosity. I'd thank him for the information later. “Is the Council meeting? Are you taking me there?"
"No. We'll be staying underground where it's safest for the highest ranking society members."
Feral Series V: Feral Foretaste Page 10