“A driver’s license?”
“Okay,” he nodded. “Consider all those beacons as driver’s licenses. “On the deck of the Horus, a transport controller is monitoring who or what is in range based on their unique identifier. These are identifiers put in place by Warriors on past missions, so it is highly conceivable there are unidentified entities out there. But—” he tapped on the flashing amber light that pinpointed their terra duster, “someone put this on your elephant, and they are watching and waiting to see the signal. Once they latch onto it, they will pull us back in.”
She recognized the anxious spasm in Zak’s jaw.
“There’s a problem?”
Staring at the flashing blip, Zak started. “Well, it’s just that the beacon can only be tracked from a certain proximity. It’s possible that the Horus has already pulled out of range. That was our big rush in getting off of Ziratak.”
“How will we know?” Her breath hitched. “How will we know if they’re out of range?”
For a moment he sat in silence. It was a quiet filled with certitude. “If we’re out of range, then they will never find our beacon. Then they will never pull us in. We will drift out here until the ion thrusters go dry.”
And we will just float away with no food or water—and no prayer.
What had only moments ago looked so beautiful with its kaleidoscope of dazzling jewels, now appeared dark and sinister. That profuse void was a boundless belly, devouring those precious gems.
Distracting her from her melancholy, Gordy, who was oblivious to the conversation asked, “What’s under your seat, Zak?”
Zak leaned over and reached under his legs until his hand wrapped around a fur sack. He pulled it up onto his lap, unfastening the crude laces. Aimee’s view was obstructed by the fur casing, but she saw his cheek plump up into a smile. When he sat back he lifted the item for their inspection.
“It’s a terra duster,” she remarked, her hand extending to touch the finely sculpted wood.
“He told me that when I was young he was working on a functional model for me to play with.” Zak’s fingertips trailed over the bulbous motors hugging the back of the fuselage, all carved from the very same tree bark used to create the dam. “He must have just carved this in the past few days,” he commented in wonder. “It’s perfect.”
It might have been a crude wooden sculpture and not a fully functional miniature, but Aimee could tell by Zak’s smile that he would not trade this model for any fancy operational toy.
“It’s perfect,” she marveled leaning in close to inspect it. The detail was uncanny, with intricately carved panels, and even a lifelike glint to the windshield from repetitive polishing. It bore the emblem of the Horus on its side, an emblem depicted on the side of this very elephant.
Aimee jerked in her seat and her head lolled backwards.
“What the—”
“They’ve got us!” Zak sat erect, his hand on the panel again. “It’s a weak tug. A sweeper must have caught us.”
“A sweeper?”
“A sentinel craft orbiting the Horus, rather than the guardianship itself.” He read her anxiety. “Don’t worry, they’ll pass on the signal and any second now—”
Aimee flinched as she felt the elephant jolt.
“What was that?” Gordy leaned forward in his seat, gaping between their shoulders.
“You’re going home,” Zak announced quietly.
Reaching for Zak’s hand, she searched his face. “And you?”
Warm fingers enfolded hers. “I’m home right here.”
Bleary eyes watched as he tapped on his earpiece and call out to the Horus. The slight heft of his lip revealed that he got a response. The warm fingers squeezed hers again.
Joining them was a hand on her shoulder, as Gordy announced, “We did it, Aimee.” The hand clapped her shoulder. “We are going home as Warriors.”
A Warrior.
Well, I’ll be damned.
* * *
It was a much more effortless approach than the first time he had landed here with Aimee, Zak thought as the terra duster slipped into the flight deck. Piloting beams guided it in for a routine landing. Outside, a congregation had formed, while inside, both Aimee and Gordeelum bore signs of trepidation, certain they were about to be reprimanded.
Grabbing his wooden prize and musing over the man that had carved it, Zak put his arm around Aimee. There was only one goal right now, and that was to get her to the Bio Ward. Until he heard directly from the scientists that she was alright, his demeanor was subdued. If Aimee truly was healed, then he wanted to give Raja the biggest hug in the universe for concocting that serum.
The latch lowered and Gordy approached first, seemingly eager to jump out of the elephant’s tummy. As his boots hit the deck, he searched the sea of faces, locking onto the anxious expressions of his parents. His mother broke from the crowd and swallowed him in an embarrassing embrace. Even from this elevated perspective, Zak glimpsed the exuberance on Gordy’s face.
“Are you ready?” Zak whispered to Aimee.
Wide blue eyes looked up at him with trust that could sap the strength from the most virile of men.
“Don’t let go of me,” she warned, latching her arm around his waist.
“Never.” He kissed her hair.
Together they descended into a sea of welcoming faces...amicable expressions that parted at the shout of a voice from behind. A ripple in the crowd ensued as people were nudged out of the way to let pass the intent figure working his way to the foreground. The last set of shoulders was shoved aside as a platinum head emerged. Stepping forward with his arms crossed, the silver uniform locked into a resolved stance.
“Look who has returned.” Salvan sneered. “We thought you were dead. Surely a hero of your caliber wouldn’t abandon us for as long as you have. I guess you preferred your own kind over the people who cared for you all these years. You never possessed any devotion to the Horus, did you, Zak? It was just a means to feed your ego.”
Reaching up, Zak applied pressure to his eyes to battle the headache that suddenly assailed him.
Salvan cocked his head. “You are disabled, aren’t you?” He leaned in for a closer inspection. “Dare I guess, blinded? Our Warrior hero is now tainted in so many ways, isn’t he? You serve no purpose to the Horus after all.” Casting a laugh back over his shoulders for the benefit of the crowd, Salvan added, “What type of hero relies on a woman and a near child to save him?”
Aware that Aimee’s posture had grown rigid, Zak patted her side and smiled down at her.
“You should have stayed there, Zak,” Salvan carried on. “There is no room or need for a wounded hero on this ship. We don’t advocate burdens—”
“Are you through?” Zak asked mildly.
Startled, Salvan hesitated. His pale eyebrows linked together. “No. You are through. You will never pass a physical to resume your duties. You are done. What do you have left to offer this ship—janitorial skills?”
Zak handed Aimee the fur sack. “Will you hold this for a minute?”
“Sure.”
With his left arm still wrapped around her waist, Zak drew back his right fist and pounded it into Salvan’s jaw.
“I’m not that debilitated,” he told the man bent at the waist, clutching his chin in both hands.
“Guards!” Salvan’s shout was muffled.
The crowd poured in around him, reaching out to embrace Zak, Aimee, and Gordy in a united reception. Aimee located Corluss and Wando in the crowd, tugging Zak through the fray until she reached them. Each beamed with pride and collusion.
A blind man. A dwarf. A teenager. A fallen Warrior—and a woman. There was no limit to what they could achieve.
Epilogue
“She is completely healed,” Raja announced. “It took an extensive internal scan to find any indication that she had been injured to the caliber you described.”
Zak slumped back against the counter in relief. Regrouping, he stunned R
aja by wrapping her in a fierce hug.
“You are a miracle-maker,” he proclaimed.
A blush stole over Raja’s high cheekbones. “I am a tinkerer, and it was very dangerous for you to have experimented like that.”
“What choice did I have?” Looping his arm down Aimee’s back, his hand cupped her hip. “I couldn’t lose her.”
Raja’s eyes rounded, but after a second they narrowed conspiratorially. “Would you consider yourself indebted to me, then?”
Aimee and Zak exchanged glances.
“For all time,” Zak vowed with an ardent nod.
“Good.” Raja crossed her arms. “Then you won’t mind taking me with you.”
What? Zak jolted. At his side he could feel Aimee start as well.
“To Earth?” she asked incredulously.
“Yes.” Raja strode up to a wall-length window where her slim profile was framed by stars. “I have reached the highest level I can achieve in the science department here. I want to master new sciences.”
“New sciences?” Aimee squeaked. “Our technology is old compared to the Horus.”
“Old is merely a perspective. Your world’s approach will be something totally fresh to me.” Raja sobered and added, “I have no family here. Sometimes I feel so alone on this ship. Please,” she pleaded. “Please take me with you. It’s only a ren—five years—and then I can come back here and they will have no choice but to promote me with my unique knowledge.”
“Who do I need to speak to?” Zak felt anger at the injustice that welled up inside him. “Who is holding you back?”
“I am,” Raja explained calmly. “I am my biggest hindrance.”
Aimee’s hand inched up his chest, arresting his next outburst. She was looking up at him with a wizened expression. He felt that he was about to be schooled by her....yet again.
“Raja wants to go to college, Zak. Her time on Earth would be just like me leaving for school. When she returns, she will have degrees that will give her merit.” Aimee turned to Raja. “I understand. I completely understand. Yes. Come with us!”
At first the idea made Zak queasy. After seeing the enthusiasm on both women’s faces, he started to warm to the concept. If they were to have a companion join them on their journey to Earth, who better than the one person who made their union possible...a tinkerer.
Following a whirlwind celebration, which included Vodu performing the Anthumian bonding ceremony, Zak and Aimee had discussed their future plans at great length. These plans included his introduction to her family, and an extensive tour of the planet Earth. He was eager to experience it all with her, just as she had shared his world.
Raja had already begun calculating a litany of remedial potions to administer to his affliction. But Aimee accepted his impaired sight, vowing to be his eyes on the sunniest of days. What better vision could a man ask for?
Zak looked down at Aimee still secured under his shoulder, smiling up at him with the tender clarity of love in her gaze. Even if they spent the remaining rens of their lives traveling the cosmos...all that mattered was that they would be together.
“Well then,” he grinned. “The next stop for this trio is Earth.”
THE END
Beyond: Three Paths
Chapter One
Less than two days after her high school graduation, Aimee Patterson walked her Cocker Spaniel along the pond on her parent’s farm. When Ziggy charged into the woods on the other side, Aimee was paralyzed with indecision. The forest was scary, a dark lair she had avoided since childhood. But she was not a child anymore, and something had caught the dog’s attention. Trailing after him into that bleak stockade...Aimee disappeared from this planet.
She woke up on a spaceship so grand and so far from Earth, never imagining that her adventure in space would last five years. In that time she learned new technology, visited a foreign planet, battled aliens, encountered disease—and cured it. Most importantly, though, she fell in love.
When the adventure was over, Aimee was twenty-two years old and confronted with a monumental decision. Should she remain in the stars with Zak and start their life together, or should she return to Earth to lead a normal existence and comfort the parents who never knew the fate of their missing daughter?
Aimee’s heart yearned for one future, but the burden of responsibility argued for another. The truth was that in order for her and Zak to spend a life together without regrets, they both needed to evolve—to mature.
For five years she did her time on Earth, always looking to the stars at night, waiting for the moment she could reunite with her true love. When that time came, she rejoined the Horus only to discover that Zak was not there. Informed that he had been left stranded on his own planet and presumed dead, Aimee was devastated.
Foreign planets and even the prospect of death cannot deter a woman in love. Tackling the odds, Aimee mounted her own mission to rescue Zak. Once reunited with her damaged man, she battled at his side against the Korons who sought to annihilate his race. Triumphant, she and Zak reunite with the Horus, but their next stop as a ‘bonded’ couple is Aimee’s home...the planet Earth.
Only, this time they do not travel alone. This time they have brought someone back with them. The one woman that Aimee can call a friend.
* * *
Aimee opened her eyes.
Her body recoiled against the bleak environment.
Murky. Dark. Wet.
Wet?
With two desperate kicks her head cracked the surface.
At first she thought the Horus had miscalculated and dumped her smack in the middle of the pond on her parent’s property.
A frantic scan of the area revealed that this was no pond, but rather a sizeable lake.
“Zak!” she cried.
There was no response. There was no sound, save for the distant call of a blue jay and the thunderous pulse inside her ears.
“Raja!” she spun in a tight circle, but the lake was empty and the closest land seemed a hundred yards away.
Submerging again, light filtered through in a strobe-effect as she searched in vain for a sign of Zak. Malicious shadows concealed everything in this netherworld. Gnarled limbs climbed up from the depths, reaching for her. She kicked and screamed, gulping a mouthful of water.
“Zak,” she choked.
Could they have made it safely to shore already? It was a far better conjecture than the alternative. What if they were not accustomed to water like this? What if the impact was so dramatic it put their alien composition into cardiac arrest?
“No,” she whimpered.
It simply was not an option to lose Zak—not after everything they had been through together. Not after every obstacle they had overcome. They were bonded. He was her husband now. He was her life, and she would not lose him.
“Zak!” A swarm of gnats took siege on her head. “Raja!”
Part of her wanted to start swimming—but in what direction? If she waded in this spot, then maybe she would have a better chance of locating them.
It had already been five minutes since she first surfaced. Tears now mingled with the mossy residue clinging to her eyelashes. No. No. No. She started crooning. This was not happening.
How many minutes now?
Again she dove beneath the surface using her hands when her eyes failed her. Cold water siphoned through her outstretched fingers.
Wait.
There was a change in the current—a subtle flourish like that of a disturbed school of fish. Try as she might, she could not perceive anything in the nebulous depths. Oxygen failed her, forcing her to climb back to daylight. With a hasty gulp of air she was fortified for the next dive.
On the placid surface, a ripple caught her attention. It could have been the flip of a spotted bass, or the emergence of a curious turtle. She clawed her way towards it, feeling the weight of her clothes bog her down. Even though she expected it, it proved to be a false sign. To confirm, she ducked her head underwater but saw only her own fla
iling limbs twirling like white batons before her. When she couldn’t hold her breath any longer, she once again surfaced and heard—a woman laughing?
Aimee swirled, and there was Raja’s glistening face. A veil of wet hair wrapped around high cheeks that were hefted into a smile. Swatting her hand across the surface, she splashed Aimee.
“What the—” Aimee blinked as the water spattered in her eyes.
“Raja?” It was hard to form the word with jaw muscles that had grown rigid with fear.
Aimee shrieked when two hands clamped on her hips and hoisted the top half of her body into the air. She continued to scream until those same hands gracefully lowered her and spun her around in the water.
“I didn’t realize how much water was on your planet,” Zak marveled, snapping his head to get rid of some of the excess.
It was at times like this that Aimee was upset that Zak possessed only one name. Right now he was deserving of a first, middle, and last lashing to precede the censure she was about to deliver.
Zak must have read her black expression because the coward dipped back below the surface.
“Get up here!” she bellowed.
The crown of his head appeared, with his eyes, nose and mouth still immersed.
“Zak! Up. Now!”
Golden eyes framed with dark eyelashes regarded her, and still the mouth and nose remained underwater.
“What is it?” Her heart had slowed to the pace of a thoroughbred crossing the finish line. “Can you breathe underwater or something like that?”
Behind her Raja let loose an unladylike snort. “Don’t be absurd,” she tittered. “We are just like you. I don’t understand why you are upset.”
Aimee repositioned so that she could condemn them both with one glare. “I am upset because you were underwater for about seven minutes. I—” she patted her chest and splashed herself in the face, “—I was underwater for a minute before I needed to come up for air—which is why I have been terrified for the past six minutes.”
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