Oz (The Telorex Pact Book 1)

by Phoebe Fawkes

  He tried to let the feeling pass through him, but it seemed to have wedged into his chest like a painful but pleasurable ache.

  She pulled away, severing the connection. “That sounds nice,” she said, her gaze dropping away as though she didn’t like to look at him. As she climbed up the ladder, he watched quietly, feeling lost. Any reassuring words he might say to her remained stuck firmly in his throat.

  “Actually. Haze,” he finally said.

  She glanced down toward him from the landing.

  “If you need anything, Haze…” Internally, he grimaced but pushed on. Why exactly had he gone here? “Haze is our guy. When he goes planet-side, he tends to have good contacts. Maybe he can get you, you know, whatever you might need.”

  She smiled slightly, the uneasiness not quite leaving her eyes. “Thanks. I’ll see what I might have forgotten.”

  After Molly left, Oz studied the sensors and programmed a few more settings, deep in thought. Obviously she was afraid. She had every reason to be.

  Perhaps he could do some small thing to help. Oz reached for one of the spare crew bands and set about programming a few extra settings. He couldn’t control everything, but at least he could give her a way to communicate to him or the crew whenever she needed to. It wouldn’t keep her safe from the things she was truly afraid of, or give her the ability to talk to the people she truly missed, but at least it would be something.

  18

  Molly

  At dinner Molly sat beside Oz again. She sidled her chair closer to him, trying to stay unobserved, like it was just a casual tweak to her chair’s position. She didn’t want to be so far away from him, outside of his relaxed, warm presence where it was safe.

  After dinner, he stayed to sit beside her, the other men gradually moving off in separate directions. Fyn claimed that Oz deserved time off and commanded him to stay, while ordering the rest of the men to work repairs.

  As they left, Oz reached over and put his hand on hers, tracing her fingers gently. His eyes met hers, and she felt her insides do a nervous, little dance.

  “Are you doing all right?” he asked, turning her hand, palm up.

  Molly shook her head, watching him trace her hand, so much easier than meeting his gaze. She didn’t trust herself to hide her thoughts, and she couldn’t bear to have him read her expression.

  “Not really,” she whispered. She could manage that much truth.

  He paused and looked up at her.

  Her gaze darted away, back to her hand where he was still touching her. She struggled on. “I’ve never almost died like that. I mean, in the war, yes, everything’s scary. You go into this suspended life, like hibernation. Nothing matters. But it was somehow remote, even while Joe was fighting them. I just tried not to think about it too closely, so I could function, make it through the day.”

  “What was Joe like? He was your brother?”

  She closed her eyes, pulling her hand away to clasp in her lap. She remembered her oldest brother only vaguely now, but like an open wound that hadn’t healed quite right, the way his absence tore at her parents every day. The way he used to pull on her pony, poke her mercilessly. His big, open smile and loud laugh.

  She glanced back up, smiling softly. “He was a big joker. Always gave me trouble, teasing me. I was just a little kid then. Mostly he was this funny prankster, always making me and my friends laugh. Then he went off to fight for us, and I never saw him again. At the time, my other brothers were young enough that they weren’t called, but it was getting to that point. The Earth forces were desperate, they needed more men or just more bodies. Then you all showed up, rescued us.” Molly clutched his hand, his nearness warming her. She glanced up at him. “It was such a close thing for us.”

  Oz reached forward and touched her face. “I wasn’t there. I was still in Academy, but I know what you mean. It’s what the Mahdfel do. Anything to wipe out those lizards, wipe them from existence. Obliterate them completely.”

  He reached into his pocket. “I made you something that I thought you might like to wear.” He laid a thin band down on the table.

  She reached over to study it. “What is it?”

  “It’s like my own. You can use it to call us, if you ever need anything. If we ever get separated, I can use it to locate you.”

  Oz hesitated and reached over to strap it onto her wrist. He traced her hand again with his thumb and smiled. “I feel better already.”

  She pulled it to her chest. It felt like a precious gift. “So do I, to be honest.”

  “Want me to walk you down?” he asked.

  She met his eyes for a moment longer, and warmth flooded through her. His gaze was so beautiful; she wanted to sink into it. He was like this big, beautiful, quiet force that she wanted to be sucked into.

  “Yes, please.”

  As they reached the bottom of the ladder and turned to go toward her cabin, she fell into step beside him. They stood for a moment outside her door.

  “I should go back to engineering. I have a few small details that I should add to my reports.”

  She nodded silently, feeling somehow pierced inside. “Yeah.”

  “Can we do the…?” He was holding his hand out to her, a mischievous expression on his face.

  “What? Oh.” She couldn’t help grinning. She shook his hand again, turning it to the side.

  He reached up to lightly press his hand against her cheek. “I will see you in the morning, for the break-fast?” Again his gaze burned into hers.

  Whoa. Her cheeks burned. “Yes.”

  He reached around her and swiped her console. “Have a good night.” He stood there to see her in.

  “You too.”

  She took a step into the door, turning to watch him as he strode away from view, her presence keeping the door stuck open.

  She sighed deeply as she moved into her room and collapsed on the bed. He was killing her completely.

  She got up slowly and changed into her nightgown, placing her new wrist band on the counter near the bathroom as she brushed her teeth and washed her face. She’d have to ask later whether it was water-proof.

  She clasped the band in her hand as she climbed into bed. He was endearingly thoughtful.

  She hugged it to her. How did I get so lucky?

  19

  Oz

  As Oz worked on a few final adjustments to his reports, he noticed a movement in his peripheral vision. One of his sensors was malfunctioning.

  Could be nothing but… at the same time…

  On the screen, a hazy gray, strong distortion moved across his view. Moved. That’s when he knew.

  He started a coded transmission to the command center and the captain. Then he realized what he was seeing and where the disturbance had originated from, and his body went cold. A fierce, wild anger overtook him like nothing he’d ever experienced before. He was flying up the ladder before his tools hit the floor.

  20

  Molly

  Alone in her room, Molly found that sleep eluded her. Now that Oz was gone, fear rushed back in. She couldn’t believe what had happened that day: the ship and everyone almost destroyed.

  How could she bear the gnawing fear? It was going to kill her to live like this. She felt like her world was crumbling and the ship was closing in around her. What was she going to do on this tiny ship?

  Somehow, she needed to make herself useful, keep her mind occupied on something other than worry. What had Oz said in engineering earlier: that Haze would be able to get her anything she might wish for?

  She pulled herself out of bed and was about to sit down at her desk to make a list when her door made a slight creak and hissing noise. She looked up to see an enormous thing moving toward her, a hideous yet somehow golden and beautiful creature. The sanctioned pictures didn’t do it justice. The horror had been somehow minimized to prevent the population from panicking.

  The thing was at least two times her size, and it stooped to enter the room. As it came toward
her, it opened its mouth. Two rows of sharp teeth stared down at her.

  Molly froze, her breath whooshing out of her, panic clawing through her insides. She took a small step back as though it could make a difference.

  The thing — the Suhlik — brought its head back to strike. Molly closed her eyes and stopped breathing.

  There was a large crash and banging, and she felt wind whip across her face. She drew back, and her eyes opened to see Oz — beautiful Oz — leaping through the air, a small knife in his hand, striking lethal blows at the Suhlik, somehow finding vulnerable spots in the armor-plated sections of its stomach, chest and neck. The Suhlik stretched out talons to Oz, but Oz rolled out of the way, finally pouncing back and sticking the knife into one of its eyes. Oz twisted his knife and withdrew, and the Suhlik twitched and fell to the floor.

  Molly’s legs gave out, and she sank to the floor, scrambling immediately back towards the wall.

  “Oz, you came. Thank God, you came.”

  “Did it hurt you?” Oz asked anxiously. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, I… I think so. I—” Molly took a deep breath. “You came just in time. I—” Molly’s body shook from little tremors spreading out from her core. She looked up helplessly as Oz swam out of focus.

  The large man knelt down, and his hands grasped her shoulders. She heard his words distantly as though approaching from a tunnel. “Molly, we aren’t safe yet. I need to check the ship. I need you to stay here; lock yourself in your room.” The man glanced at the dead Suhlik behind them. “Lock yourself in your bathroom, so you have two locks between you and any danger. I’ll be back as soon as I’ve swept the ship and cleared out any others.”

  Molly gazed back at him numbly. She looked around, confused, trying to decide what that meant she should do.

  He reached over and scooped her into his arms. Her body trembled as she leaned against his chest. She was so heavy and weak, like she would splinter apart and float into the air. He walked into the bathroom and set her gently down on the toilet seat.

  He left for a moment, and she gasped in fear, but he popped back in the bathroom holding the band. “Hold onto this.” He held it in front of her eyes, pausing until she could focus enough to look at it. “Just click here, and it will send a signal directly to me. I’ll be here in two heartbeats. I’ll station Io in your room.” His voice went deadly still. “Nothing will get past Io.” He swiped at the door reader to close it in front of him.

  Molly struggled up, clinging to the band in her hand. She swiped the lock button and sunk to the floor in front of the sink.

  She was wearing her nightgown, she thought, horrified. The thing had seen her in her nightgown.

  She held her arms tight around herself, holding in her body to keep it from melting away.

  She strained to listen but couldn’t hear anything, so she stared at the little band that Oz had given her. It was dark and silent. Molly held the band gingerly, by the strap, not wanting to press the switch by mistake with her shaking hands.

  21

  Oz

  As Oz left, he decided to move first toward Command. The door slid open as he approached, and he tensed, but it was only the Captain heading toward him. “Command Center is locked down,” the captain said.

  The captain’s two frengs followed behind him. “Captain, can I leave Io with Molly? I’d rather not—” He couldn’t finish the words. Something felt broken inside, like the world moved too slow, or time went too fast.

  The captain gave a few commands to station the freng at Molly’s room.

  “Engineering,” Oz said quickly, wondering how this was only occurring to him now. He felt a small tremor run through him as though he’d run a great distance.

  I am afraid, Oz thought to himself. Oz pulled himself to attention, to focus, but he felt shame run through him. The girl Molly. She was, it was… distracting. All he knew was that she needed to be safe. He didn’t care about anything except that. He would need to find a better solution than here on his ship. She couldn’t be safe here.

  As they reached engineering, they fanned out and checked each station, weapons still drawn. There were no signs of any more of the Suhlik.

  The captain sent out a coded status message to the crew.

  “It must have gotten on board when the Suhlik ships approached us, that’s what they were waiting for; why we survived at all. He must have been in the Cargo Bay, waiting for more of them to come over. They were hoping to take it from the inside, while we were distracted by them on the outside.”

  “I don’t think they saw your paper on Warp Breach Twists,” the captain joked.

  As the Captain circled back to Oz’s position, Oz mentioned, “I wish Haze had been there. He could have—” Oz broke off unsure what he meant. All he knew was that Haze was three times the warrior that Oz himself was. There was something that Haze had, which no other Mahdfel that Oz had ever known, had. It was as though he were some warrior even beyond normal Suhlik coding.

  “Oz.” Captain Vren placed a hand on Oz’s shoulder, looking at him intently as though to brook no argument. “We’ve had a warning because of you, twice now, that’s more than we could expect. We should check on Seban. The others are checking the Pit, and I believe Xain is in the cargo bay.”

  Oz tried to let the shaky feeling pass beyond, but it clung to him like a misfired torpedo in orbit, waiting to explode at the first disturbance.

  As Oz continued with his system checks, the Captain sent a coded message to Seban. Oz heard Seban’s ‘all clear’ response.

  Oz cleared a few more status messages from the ship. He hesitated. “I can’t detect any signs of tampering with the instrumentation I have on-hand, but I’d prefer a more thorough check. The Suhlik didn’t have a lot of time and would have been unfamiliar with this design. I could be more thorough though if we were docked and could use some of the working sensors at Barvah station. It would mean leaving the ion cloud but…”

  Oz tried to sound professional, hide the hopeful rise in his voice. He could only hope the edge of panic he felt was not painted over his face in neon letters: He must get Molly out of this place; he could never let her be in this position ever again. There was no other option.

  Captain Vren studied Oz for a moment, considering. “We’re overdue for an external check of the ship anyway. Once there, I’ll have Xain and Haze do a walk around. Hopefully, we are being overly cautious and won’t find anything. I’d hate to lose any more safe havens after we dock there.”

  “Captain, it’s just—” Oz glanced at the ladder heading up to the crew level, instead of at the door to the cargo and medical bays.

  The captain nodded with quick understanding. “Go. The crew and I can handle the rest.”

  Oz felt his heart expand as he rushed up the ladder to check on Molly.

  22

  Molly

  Molly felt another quake run through her, leaving her body slowly. She kept picturing Oz’s fierce look as he flew through the air to save her, to stop the Suhlik; the way his tail whipped around; the way he was all feral like an enormous cat. Molly felt like her heart would break in gratitude.

  “Shah la mah lo ma,” she whispered, and the translation played back for her. This woman is my woman. A potent thrill went through her. How could someone so powerful be hers? Was that even possible? Could someone like that even want her as she cowered shaken in the ship?

  Suddenly, Molly wished to learn his language, to not have a translator handle their talking for them. Maybe one day she would say the equivalent back to him? Yikes, maybe not.

  These men were the guardians, the warriors, the saviors, and here was one to protect her alone.

  Many long minutes later she heard a soft knock and heard the sound of Oz commanding Io “Return!”.

  Molly pulled herself up from the floor, still feeling shaky. She reached over to slide the door open, and Oz peered in at her, concern etched on his face. He took a step toward her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
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  “Let’s get you out of here, Molly.”

  Molly looked over as they left and saw that he’d laid a sheet over the dead thing, keeping it from view.

  “Oz, thank you for saving me. I—”

  “You never should have been in danger.”

  “It’s okay.” She squeezed his hand. “Just get me out of here.”

  They walked down the hall, and he led her into different quarters. “You’ll be safe here, just sit down.” He made a quick search of the cabin, then flipped on a scene of a tree canopy under an orange sky.

  He sat next to her stroking her arm gently.

  Molly leaned into him, feeling the strong man beside her, the warmth and solidness of his body chasing away some of the chill and tremors. She looked down. “I’m in my nightgown.”

  “It’s all right, Molly. They’re searching the ship. They’ll be very thorough. Mars and Io are also doing the rounds. Nothing will escape their notice.”

  She stared at him like he was her life raft. His soft eyes seemed to move through her, propping her up, lifting her out of her terror.

  Then it was like gravity changed, and she was falling toward him, her face tipping up to kiss him. His lips were soft and giving against hers. She felt heady desire ripple through her and across her stomach, pulling tight at her chest.

  For a moment he kissed her back, then he pulled away, his hands reaching up to pull her hands down gently. “Molly, you’re in shock. I—” He pressed his lips to her hands.

  “I’m alive,” she said. She felt like her body was floating and trembly. “Kiss me,” she asked her dark green protector, finding the courage to meet his eyes. She pulled her hands out of his, so she could pull his mouth back to hers. As they kissed, her fingers entangled through his hair.