by T. S. Ryder
"Welcome back, Lieutenant," the colonel said instead. "I am glad to see you alive and well."
Sara's brows rose.
"We've been looking for you ever since we got word of your abduction. The T'shav has some nerve, taking a Corps officer as a hostage."
So that was how her actions were being reported? Sara swallowed hard, nodding. If she admitted that she had had the chance to return to her post and instead stayed with Tom, she would be put in the brig along with him. And where would that put their mission? Could she trust him with what they were doing?
"Report to the med bay for a checkup and then come to my ready room to begin your debriefing," Flanard said. He offered Sara a small smile. "It's good to have you back, lieutenant."
Sara nodded at him. The checkup would include scans, which always posed a risk to revealing her identity, but they would be surface scans. As long as they didn't penetrate into her DNA, it would be fine. She saluted the Colonel and let the petty officer assigned as her escort guide her towards the medical bay.
***
When Flanard sat her down for the debriefing, Sara stared at the probes that buzzed around her head, recording her from every angle. She remembered that in these situations the recordings were analyzed by professionals to assess the honesty of the individual. So there was really no point in lying.
"Take your time," Flanard said, sitting across the table from her. "I'm sure it was a traumatic experience."
"Actually, it wasn't traumatic at all,"
Flanard's brows creased. "I have heard of cases where the individual taken hostage begins to identify with their captor."
"That's not what's happening here. Tom never took me hostage."
"Tom." The colonel leaned back in his chair, looking even more confused. "The individual you are traveling with is in our records as Bond. A rather nasty sheet—"
"His name is Tom," Sara interrupted. "He has been going by Bond to keep his mission secret. He was hired by the Ruziers Corporation to retrieve a ship going at light speed full of humans in stasis and bring them back to the core, where they can be awoken and put into a sanctuary, to help them adjust to the shock and protect them from less than savory individuals."
Flanard's eyes widened. "Holy burnt stars!"
Sara had never heard that particular phrase before and stared back at the colonel, hoping that she had made the right call.
"How many humans are there?"
"I'm uncertain of the exact numbers, but it seems to be at least a minimum viable population. I thought it was my duty to aid his mission. Those humans need to be brought back to the core."
Flanard nodded slowly. "Yes… yes, of course. They are of the utmost importance. This could signify a great financial windfall for the United Species."
"Windfall?" Sara stuttered, her heartrate spiking. "Humans aren't just some sort of product. They're sentient beings that deserve respect."
Flanard stood and paced from one end of the ready room to the other, seemingly ignoring her. Sara's hands clenched under the table. Had she just made a terrible mistake that would severely cost her fellow humans in that ship? She should have just kept her mouth shut! But how else could she have begun convincing the colonel to release Tom?
"Sir, I did not abandon my duties to the core so that these humans could end up being sold like lab rats!"
"Of course not." The colonel turned back to her. "And I'm not suggesting that the United Species will treat them as such. But just imagine the possibilities! That many humans—"
"Deserve their sanctuary, where they can live in peace and try to build a new civilization for themselves."
"Humans never had civilization. They could hardly manage light speed."
A well of anger rose up in Sara. She got to her feet and shook her head. "All of the alien species living today evolved from humans. And the ones that we find in these light speed containers most likely were probably from before space travel. But that doesn't mean they didn't have civilization, with government and laws, social boundaries, culture."
"Lieutenant—"
"I know because I am human."
Flanard stopped dead. "Excuse me?"
"I'm human." Sara raised her chin. "Do you have any idea what it's like to be terrified that if you're discovered, you'll end up in a laboratory? A human sanctuary needs to be built, and those humans need to be allowed to live their lives without that constant fear!"
"Human." Flanard shook his head. "Well, that explains how you're pregnant with a T'shav baby."
Sara felt like she had been punched in the chest. She couldn’t breathe. Her mouth fell open, but she couldn’t get the words out. Pregnant? She had known there was a risk, but it had been so long since her cycle… she hadn't really thought that it would be possible anymore…
"You weren't aware that you carried his child?"
Sara mutely shook her head.
"Our scans indicate you're three standard weeks pregnant. You are aware of Corps policy as far as hybrid babies go, yes?" Flanard's voice had become gentle.
Ice flooded Sara's veins. Humans were the only species that could carry hybrid babies to term. Any attempts between the other species to have a mixed-heritage baby always ended in miscarriages, stillbirths, or babies born with horrible deformities that only survived for a few hours. Most often the mothers also died from trying to carry the babies to term.
And so it was Corps policy that as soon as a hybrid pregnancy was discovered in its ranks, the pregnancy was either terminated or the mother ejected from the Corps. It was proclaimed to be for their own safety.
"I'm human. I can carry the baby safely to term."
"And as humans have only recently come to our attention, there is no exceptions made for them."
It was too new. She needed time to think, to decide what she wanted. Closing her eyes, she swallowed hard and nodded. "I need time to decide whether I will end the pregnancy or tender my resignation."
"Understood. I will have you taken to your quarters."
Sara felt numb as she followed her escort. He chatted blithely, completely unaware of her turmoil. What was she going to do? Did she tell Tom, or did she keep it to herself until she decided? Did she want to be responsible for a child, another living being? Where would her career be if she decided to keep it? And where would she be? Military life was all she knew, could she even get a job as a civilian?
"And our brig is just one floor down," her escort said, his constant chatter bringing Sara out of her thoughts.
The brig?
Tom.
Well, there was certainly one thing that she could be absolutely certain mattered, that she knew she needed to do. Those humans on that ship needed to be brought in by someone who would make sure that they would be safe and be able to live their lives.
Before the thought was even fully solidified in her mind, Sara had grabbed the petty officer in a chokehold. The little alien squirmed, attempting to fight her off, but she held on tightly, cutting off his air. Soon he slumped. Her heart was in her mouth as Sara laid him down and relieved him of his weapons. The brig was right below them, and she had a jailbreak to complete.
Well, I guess this solves one problem, she thought grimly as she took off, running as hard as she could. After this, my career is definitely over.
Chapter Ten: Tom
Tom sat in the brig, head against the wall, eyes closed. If worst came to worse, his father would get him out of this trouble he found himself in. If that happened, though, the mission was over. It would then be a race against time to get to those humans first.
Ideally, he would talk with this Colonel Flanard, and strike a deal with him. The Ruziers Corporation thought that he was working for them, why couldn't he convince Flanard that he would get a cut of the profits. Bribing was also an option, as were threats of his father's might and power.
Would he be allowed to speak with Sara? She knew details about him and his mission, and she might just tell Flanard about it if she thought it would he
lp his case. They had had a little time to speak in the escape pod coming over to this ship, but not enough. Tom hadn't even considered that she might tell Flanard about the mission and his real name until they were being separated aboard the USC ship.
And if she was going to have a chance to keep her career after this was over they had to believe that she was his hostage. So he had kept his mouth shut.
The energy barrier that made up the door to his cell blinked and went out. Tom got to his feet, mind racing as he tried to decide what to do with Flanard. His eyes widened as Sara strode into the cell instead.
"They let you see me?"
"No. This is a jailbreak. Hurry. I rejigged the internal sensors to go haywire and I started a fire the floor above us, but we don't have much time before Flanard figures out what's going on." She grabbed his hand. Her palm was sticky with sweat. "We have to move."
This meant the end of her career, but it was too late to change that now, so the two of them headed down the corridor. Sara handed him a weapon, which he gratefully took. They didn't encounter anybody on their path to the docking bays. There they had to stun a few workers but quickly found his ship. Tom ran to the pilot's chair at once and navigated the ship through the barrier that kept the cold of space out.
Everything was going smoothly. Too smoothly. Flanard's ship didn't even chase after them.
"That was easy," Sara said once they were on their way. "I am good. They didn't even see us leave."
Tom sat in the pilot's chair, plotting in a course. The ship's computer was a specialized one that wiped out his navigations whenever he stopped, or if other ships came too close. It was a safety precaution he had learned well years ago.
Now he wondered if it was going to be enough.
It was far too easy to escape Flanard's ship. Which could only mean one thing. "What deal did you strike with him?"
Sara turned her golden eyes on him. "What?"
Tom strode to the panels that accessed the ship's navigation controls. His hands trembled as he ripped them open and began poking around inside. Sara watched him, her eyes wide. Because she found his behavior surprising, or because she knew it meant he suspected? He wanted to punch the wall until the bones in his hand shattered. His Starmate had betrayed him.
"They let us go. Or at least they let me go." There were no tracking devices in the navigation controls, and so he went to the weapons, another easily accessed point. "Did you tell him about my mission? Did you agree to split the profits of selling off the humans we find there?"
The silence between them weighed heavy.
"Are you seriously accusing me of selling out my own people?" Sara's voice was low and furious. "After everything we have been through together, you really think that little of me? I thought we were supposed to be Starmates and all that crap! Or was that just a line you've been spinning to convince me to jump into bed with you?"
Her accusation was like a knife to his heart. Tom paused in his frantic search. His heart hammered in his chest. He had longed to find his Starmate for so long, what if he had been wrong? What if he was tricked by his oncoming musth, and Sara wasn't the one meant for him after all? What if he was so desperate to find a woman to love that he picked out the first one he saw that was in need of help?
"Tom, seriously. I thought that we…"
He snarled and renewed his search.
It took him five hours of searching, but eventually Tom found a small tracking device tucked in underneath the food processor.
He crushed it under his heel and whirled on her. "As soon as we got away, you were boasting about your escaping skills. Was it to make me think that you were really so good, so I wouldn't think of that?"
Sara stared at the crushed tracker, her normally blue skin a faint turquoise. "He was going to follow us. I should have known."
"You told Flanard about my mission." Tom's hands clenched, his breaking heart making him all the angrier. "Worse than that. You told him where to find us, didn't you? Is that what you were doing on that planet when the scorpion attacked you? Contacting your USC ship to tell him where to go next to get me? But the ship's navigation wiped itself clean, so you couldn't calculate my trajectory. And so you have to have me lead you straight to the ship. You thought that my feelings for you would blind me, making you above suspicion."
Sara stared at him, her expression incredulous. "You're an idiot."
"I am," he agreed. "I'm an idiot for thinking that you actually wanted me."
"You're an idiot for thinking that I betrayed you! I'm—" She stopped, seemingly choking on her words. Her shoulders slumped. "I am starting to have feelings for you, Tom. Beyond simple lust. I had no idea Flanard did that."
Tom turned away. Her reluctance to tell him that she was developing feelings was all he needed to know it was a lie. What was he going to do now? His heart felt like it had been shattered into a million pieces, his very soul ripped in two.
"Why would I betray you?" she asked.
"You're part of the Corps. This could be you proving your loyalty to the United Species. You're human, he could have threatened you. Who knows? Like you've been saying all along, we don't actually know each other."
"If that's what you think, then lock me up. Drop me off on some forsaken planet, just abandon me!" Sara grabbed his arm, making him face her. "You're a fool. But I won't try to convince you of something that you clearly have no desire to believe."
Tom studied her. He wanted to believe that she was on his side. He wanted to believe that she didn't actually betray him. But he was a fool to think that just because he believed they were Starmates, it meant she loved him.
"There aren't any planets between here and my destination," he said, grasping her arm.
She yanked away. "So where are you going to lock me up, then? The bedroom or the cargo bay?"
Both had panels that could be accessed. No, there was only one room on the ship where she couldn't sabotage him. He hated thinking of her being cramped into the bathroom, and it would present problems to take care of his daily needs, but it was the only place he could put her. He pointed towards it. Sara stared in disbelief for a moment, but her face hardened and she walked in, slamming the door behind her.
Tom closed his eyes. Why? We're meant to be deliriously happy. Not this. What did I do to deserve this?
Chapter Eleven: Sara
The one good thing about being locked up in the bathroom was that Sara could throw up all she wanted, without Tom becoming suspicious about why she was so sick. The only time she saw him was when he brought her food and neither of them talked when that happened.
If he wasn't being such a pig-headed moron, she might have told him she was pregnant. But she wasn't about to share something like that with an idiot who found a tracking device on his ship and decided that she must be the only reason that it was there. For everything he said about Starmates and whatever else, he showed that he had zero trust in her.
And that, in her opinion, was unforgivable. Even if she did tell him that she was pregnant with his child, she doubted that he would believe her.
Sara wasn't sure how long she was stuck in the bathroom when Tom opened the door and gestured for her to come out. A rush of desire washed over her the moment she saw him like it always did these days. Another reason to keep their interactions to a minimum. The bitter scent of his musth filled her nose and she had to fight to keep herself from throwing herself at him. His knuckles were thick with layers of flesh seal, and judging from the dents in the walls, he was having a hard time controlling the aggression that came with musth.
Good. Served him right for not trusting her.
"We're getting visitors," Tom snarled. "Don't make waves, and don't tell them you're human. Actually, just don't do anything at all."
"Who are they?"
"None of your business."
Sara glowered at him. "Then I think I'll tell them that you kidnapped me and that they need to contact the USC right away!"
"I just told you
to—" Tom closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His tense shoulders slowly unknit. "The Ruziers Corporation sent a ship. They said it's to check for updates, but there has to be something more going on here. Just… just don't do anything stupid."
"You should tell yourself that," Sara muttered. She glared back as Tom glared at her, but nodded stiffly. "I'll be the most charming, vapid female you could possibly hope for."
If the atmosphere between them was already thick, it only got thicker once Tom's 'visitors' boarded. It was a mix of species, but their leader was a T'shav. This one wore the traditional var'ki skirt and had vivid black tattoos on his chest and arms. Swirls and spikes surrounded skulls, and oddly a flower right over his heart. There had to be some sort of significance to that, but Sara put on her most air-brained smile and tried to ignore the desire to get a gun and fight them off.
"Bond," the T'shav greeted, nodding at him. "Ruziers hears that you ran into a little trouble with the USC."
"Hardly trouble, Rayo," Tom replied, waving a hand airily. "The colonel was an idiot. He already knew about the shipment and thought I wouldn't find the tracking device he planted on my ship when he let me escape. Laughable, really."
"Hmm." Rayo's gaze shifted from Tom and focused on Sara.
His gaze swept down her in a way that had the hair on the back of her neck prickling. She shifted closer to Tom unconsciously. After all that had happened would Tom still defend her from his employer?
Of course he will. We're Starmates. Her heart jumped a little. Where had that thought come from? They weren't Starmates, no matter what Tom thought. The fact that he could so easily mistrust her was only proof of that. Wasn't it? Musth does play with their heads. All those hormones…
"Who's the female?"
"Nelly. I picked her up a while back to help me through my musth," Tom said, though his voice took on a dangerous tone. "She's of no consequence to you, Rayo. Why did the Ruziers Corporation send you? Because of my little run-in with the USC?"