by T. Cobbin
When they both started as newbie warriors, they had vowed that no matter what rank they rose to, they would be there for each other at the end. Trian had the brains whereas Iryano had the muscle. It was Trian who rose through the ranks faster and received his first command with the Gemorph. True to his word, when Iryano made it as a second-in-command, Trian brought his friend aboard as his second.
“It’s not different. Frinx, Trian. You need a spark more than I do. Why me? Why now?” Iryano fisted his hands on his knees. Trian could feel the static from his friend’s angry energy flooding the room.
“Your spark, she needs you,” Trian said.
Iryano nodded and rubbed one of his middle fingers with his thumb where his iungo was. “I know.” His voice was a combination of sorrow and anticipation.
Trian felt both optimism for his friend and also anger. Here Trian was so close to ending up… No, this wasn’t the time to think about his own life ending. He had a ship and now females of another species to take care of. It was time to awaken Iryano’s anger and get him to care for his mate.
“This has nothing to do with me, and you know it,” Trian snapped out at his second-in-command, his energy boiling underneath his skin. “This is about you not feeling adequate enough to protect a female and your vow to never take a mate.”
Iryano’s angry eyes flamed as he looked toward his friend. “You know nothing!” Iryano yelled, rising to his feet.
Trian stood and countered Iryano’s stare. “I have known you nearly all my life, you stupid fool. You know our history. You know exactly what a male has to do when he finds his spark, and yet yours is in medical now, alone. Her energies are depleting, and you aren’t there to settle her. Get to medical and help your mate. She’s supposed to be the one who will be there for you until the day you die. She needs you. Her mate.” And she’ll help you through your grief when I’m gone. Trian closed his eyes and inhaled deeply a few times then opened them and spoke calmer. “We have been traveling the stars for so long, Iryano. She isn’t your mother. You don’t have to leave her. She will be by your side, on this or any other Gracian ship. Even if we decide to take a planet again as our own, she will be there beside you, helping you build.”
“What if I have…have to leave her as I did my mother? What if we were to ever come across the Gange again?”
“Stop! Trian ordered. “We will combat the Gange if and when it’s needed. In all the years we have traveled, we’ve only come across one of their ships, and it is now space dust. As for leaving your spark’s side, I am the captain of this ship.” For now, he thought. “And as long as I am, you won’t have to leave this ship or your spark’s side. Okay?”
Iryano nodded, and relief flooded his face.
“Go enjoy your time. Get to know your spark,” Trian ordered Iryano softly. “She needs you, my friend. She, as well as any others that come along, will have the protection of all our warriors on the Gemorph. Now that we are certain we have sparks amongst this planet, many more of our people will come.”
“Thank you.” Iryano placed a hand on Trian’s shoulder in a friendly gesture.
“Go get her, Iryano. Stop procrastinating and killing your shit.” Trian motioned to the broken pieces of furniture strewn around the place. “Get your room cleaned up before bringing her home. Oh, and give her a hug from me.”
Iryano zapped from the room, but not before Trian heard and smiled at the possessive growl coming from his friend. Trian zapped himself to the bridge. How long do I have before my time is up?
Chapter 5
“Basup, report,” Trian ordered.
“We are currently on the way back to the planet’s moon. The Kopla brothers entered the wormhole behind the fifth planet. We have placed a beacon there warning any others who enter that this solar system is now ours to protect.”
Trian nodded.
“Sir?” Basup asked.
“Yes?”
“Is it true?”
“Is what true?” Trian said, although he knew full well what Basup was going to ask. With so much hope and the future of their species relying on finding their sparks, news would travel fast.
“That Iryano has also found his spark amongst the females?”
Trian nodded. “Yes. It would seem two sparks might—I repeat might—have been found. We’re waiting for the females to wake. Although both have their iungos growing.”
Broad smiles lit up each of his men’s faces. He gave them a moment to soak up what he’d said before asking about the situation of his ship.
“Koop, did you find me those rooms?”
“Yes, sir. Moving a few males around, I managed to find eleven rooms on C deck, and they’re all together.”
Trian calculated how many cabins were on C deck. He didn’t want the females too overwhelmed by the men around them. They’d been through enough without suddenly finding they couldn’t leave their cabins without being accosted by his men at every turn.
“Okay, that will work,” Trian finally said. “Have the rooms cleaned and ready to move the females into this evening.”
Koop nodded and carried on working.
“Ausk, have two teams of security walk C deck at the start of evening shift. The females are not to be bothered.” Trian glanced at the time. It was coming up to third meal. “The crew are gathering?” he asked.
“Yes, sir.” Ausk nodded.
Trian glanced over his bridge officers. “May I have your attention a moment?”
Each one of his men’s heads turned toward him.
“You are my most valued officers. We do have potential sparks aboard this ship, which means there could be more on their planet. And because of that, our men could become rather over-eager, especially those who are close to flaring.” Trian knew his men were honorable, but when one’s life was near ending, a man could lose himself. “I’m trusting you with keeping those females safe and keeping me informed of any problems. Do not notify any other Gracian ship as of yet—that will be up to me to do. If you have any problems, please see me.”
All the men nodded.
“Keep our cloak up, and a constant eye on the space around this planet. I need to know immediately if anyone else enters the area.”
Trian waited for acknowledgement from his officers then zapped to his office instead of walking. He needed to use some of his building energy up. He also wanted a little time to himself. Sitting at his desk, he began reading Basup’s report.
* * * *
Amelia glanced at each of the women in the room. All but one had calmed down. One of the medics was currently giving her a sedative. Two women had been taken to small rooms on the side, still unconscious. The male who’d introduced himself as Hover, the head medic, had told her they were being carefully monitored.
Since Amelia had spoken up before with the women, she’d been unofficially named their group’s leader. All the women had told her their names and a little of their background. She still had no idea how in the hell she’d been elected. All she’d wanted to do was keep the peace. Now she had a ton of questions to ask this Trian, the captain. However, it wouldn’t be a loss to be in his space. He was like candy to the eyes. In fact, all these Gracian males seemed to be. They were utterly delicious. Get your head out of the gutter. This is a serious situation.
“Amelia?” Hover asked, appearing at her side, shocking her out of her thoughts.
Shit! She’d been so lost in her thoughts she hadn’t seen or heard him coming. Actually, come to think about it... She glanced around the room. She hadn’t seen any of these alien men leave or enter a room through a door. Sometimes she swore she’d seen the men vanish and-or appear. But they’d need some kind of trekkie technology to do that, right?
“How do you keep appearing out of thin air like that?” Amelia asked before she thought about what she was saying. “Never mind,” she said, shaking her head. “What’s up?”
Hover looked up at the ceiling before returning his gaze to her, a puzzled expression on his fa
ce. “Up?” he asked.
Amelia blew out a breath. Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore, she thought, thinking of her all-time favorite movie. “Sorry, Hover, it’s a figure of speech. In a way it means what do you need or want?”
“Oh, okay.” He nodded, his confused look disappearing. “Earlier you informed me that you were a midwife. From the information I have screened from your planet, this is a nurse for the young not born?”
“Yes, I look after the mothers and the babies-to-be.”
“Oh, good. As you already know, we have or are currently scanning each of you to make sure you’re well. We’ve discovered one of your females is carrying young. When we asked her she denied she was…” Hover looked down at the electronic tablet in his hand. “Pregnant?” He lifted his head to look back up at her, his eyebrows raised to the rim of his hair. “Do I have that right?”
“Really?” Amelia asked, concerned. She looked around the room at the women before turning her attention back to Hover. “And yes, pregnant is the correct word. What do you call it when a woman is with child?”
“Fecund. With infant,” he said, glancing across the room with a wistful look on his face. “It has been a long time since our ship has been abundant with infants. We only have five young aboard at this time.”
“I guess your women don’t travel with you then?” Amelia had wondered why there were so few children aboard the ship, but if the women didn’t travel with them, that would explain it.
Hover glanced at her with sad, brown, swirling eyes before looking back down at his tablet. “We built ships like the Gemorph to seek out mates in different parts of space when it was found our females were mainly birthing males. So, our males set off into space to see if they could find another compatible humanoid species to help.” His eyes met hers again, and they told a tragic tale before he spoke. “While we were gone, a species called the Gange attacked our planet and killed most of our females. Those that did survive travel with us now. We currently have ten females aboard the ship, but only five of them are mated. Each one of those is a mother to a son. Our fertility rate is not very high.”
It was Amelia’s turn to stare around the room. She studied each of the ladies to see if she could see any sign they were carrying a child. “Which woman is it that’s pregnant?” she asked, climbing off the small medical bed she was sitting on.
Hover glanced at the tablet in his hand again. “Her name is Bell Waters, and she is over here.” He motioned toward the other side of the room. “Our medical equipment tells us there isn’t anything wrong with her or the infant. In fact, it tells us Bell and the female infant are quite fine. But Bell is denying she is fruitful at this time.”
“Fruitful?” Amelia chuckled a little. “I suppose that’s one way of putting it.” She followed Hover toward a young lady who had introduced herself to Amelia earlier. From what Amelia could remember, she was a college student and had been taken while she’d been out with a friend. But she hadn’t mentioned being pregnant. “How far along is she?”
Hover seemed confused by her words at first, then he looked down at his tablet before meeting her eyes. “She is about twelve wern cycles along.”
“Wern cycles? Is that days or weeks?” It would make a huge difference if Bell was only twelve days, because she probably wouldn’t know she was pregnant.
“In your term, I would say weeks,” Hover replied before stopping in front of Bell.
The poor woman looked so miserable and lost. That’s not surprising in the least.
“Hello again, Bell,” Amelia said. “Hover tells me that you’re pregnant.”
Tears welled in the young woman’s eyes as she looked between Hover and Amelia. She shook her head and stared down at her tightly knitted fingers. “I can’t be. I’m on the pill. Their equipment must be wrong.”
Watery eyes met Amelia’s, and her heart broke seeing the sorrow and despair in them. Amelia could tell it wasn’t the fact that the young woman was pregnant that was most bothering her, it was something else about being fruitful, as Hover had put it. Bell knew she was pregnant, but for some reason she just wasn’t accepting it.
Amelia sat beside Bell and clasped her hands.
“Who is the father?” Amelia gently coaxed.
Tears fell in a tiny river over Bell’s cheeks. “His name was Tony. We’d been going steady for a while. One night, we…umm…you know.” Bell’s cheeks bloomed.
Amelia nodded and gave her a reassuring smile. “You wouldn’t be in this position if you hadn’t,” she joked, trying to put the young woman at ease.
“We ran out of condoms.” Bell hiccupped. She quietened for a moment, lost in her memories. “We were trying to be extra-responsible, so despite the fact I was on the pill, we used condoms as well. But we ran out of them. He went to get some more, but he didn’t make it back.” Her bottom lip trembled. “A drunk driver hit him head-on, and he died instantly.” Bell’s words broke off, and she sobbed heavily.
Amelia hugged the lass. What were the chances of both condom and pill not working and then the lad being killed, and to top it all off, for her to be kidnapped by aliens?
She stayed with Bell until the young woman fell into a weary sleep. Standing, she covered Bell with one of the blankets that had been supplied. She would come back to the woman later and talk with her more.
Spotting Hover across the room, Amelia walked over and spoke to him briefly, informing him of some of the dangerous things to watch out for in a human birth. He seemed surprised to learn the gestation period for humans was approximately nine months. She was just as shocked to hear that a Gracian female was fecund for a whole year—a yarn in Gracian cycles.
Turning, Amelia wandered around the room, spending a little time with each woman.
She peeked at the males in the room, noting their eyes. They were similar to a human’s, but the colored iris part of the Gracian’s swirled. The more emotional they were, the faster the color twisted. She’d seen a whole palette of colors, from black to the faintest of yellows. One Gracian even had red in his eyes, which looked rather frightening. When she’d first seen their eyes it was hard to look at them for very long being they just seemed…weird. But now, as she casually watched, they were fascinating.
“You are admiring our men, no?” Hover asked, appearing at Amelia’s side, making her heart thump heavily in shock.
“Good God, man, could you give a girl a warning before you creep up on her?”
Hover’s eyebrows raised into his black hair. “I’m so sorry, I meant no harm.”
Amelia ran a hand over her face. It was turning out to be a really long day. She glanced down at her wristwatch before remembering it was missing. Had the aliens taken it or had she lost it when they’d taken her?
“What time is it?” she asked.
“I guess you wish for your time, not ours.” Hover chuckled.
Amelia nodded, and he looked down at his tablet, running his fingers quickly across the screen.
“There are a variety of times here for your planet. How strange,” he mused. “Which time frame do you wish for?”
“May I look?” she asked, looking toward his tablet.
Hover held the tablet in front of Amelia. There were several small boxes over the screen. In the center one she found a list of time frames of Earth. Finding the one for Britain, she saw it was just after midnight. Was it the same day she’d been walking in Scotland or the day after?
“Can you bring the date up too please?” she asked.
Hover pressed a few icons on the screen, and the date appeared. September the 28th. She and the majority of the women had been missing for over twenty-four hours.
“No wonder I’m tired,” she muttered to herself. She glanced around the room at the faces of the other women. Some of them looked just as weary as she felt. “Is it possible you might lower the lights in here and hand out some blankets? Some of the women could be pretty exhausted, even if we were knocked out.”
Without another word, Ho
ver touched his screen and the medical lights lowered. The women looked up, surprise on their faces, and Amelia quickly spoke up to calm them.
“From what you’ve told me the majority of us are either American or British. As you and I both know, our time differences are varied, but for those who are British, it’s pretty late. Even for those who aren’t, being knocked out and kidnapped isn’t what a normal day is for you.” Amelia chuckled even though she didn’t feel like laughing. She was just trying to put the women at ease. “Hover has lowered the lights at my request, and his people will hand out blankets. The beds are pretty comfortable from what I’ve felt myself. I’d take this chance to rest. I don’t see any of these men in this room harming you.”
She watched as a few women chose to take her advice and lay down, where others didn’t. It was then Amelia remembered Hover had sought her out for some reason.
“What is it you needed before?” she asked the medic.
“You asked to see the captain. He will be joining us momentarily if you would like to come into my office?”
Blowing out a weary breath, she looked at the bed she’d been sitting on with Bell, wishing she could, herself, lay down and close her eyes.
“Okay.” She nodded to Hover. “Lead the way.”
The head medic paused with a vague look on his face, before stepping forward again toward another room. How weird.
Hover led her to a small, white room with no decorations or furniture in it other than a single white desk and two chairs. Numerous screens, similar to the one Hover held, were scattered on the desk. As the door whooshed closed, Hover walked around the desk and sat in a chair, then motioned that Amelia should take the single chair opposite to him.
Once she was sitting, Hover said, “The captain shouldn’t—” He stopped and stared over Amelia’s right shoulder. “Captain, I was just about to say you wouldn’t be long.”
Chapter 6