by Rose, Renee
“I…I…three…other human men. They have ground-to-air missiles, class 5 Midrian missiles. Radar. Have at least… two women in captivity. If they’re not dead.”
“Very good.” He flicks me again on the other cheek and for a crazy second I wonder if the two wounds match in length. “I’ll cut your neck if I don’t like your answers. Remember.”
My head swims.
He tosses me back to the floor and I cry out at the pain everywhere.
“Stick her in the cage,” he orders.
One of them grabs my leg and drags me, and my head bounces on the floor as he tugs.
I must have blacked out, because when I open my eyes, I’m locked in a small metal cage. It’s dark in here, but lights flash on some panel outside my bars; red, green.
It’s too hard. I didn’t think it would be this hard.
I try to get up, but only flop back down.
Mother Earth, how could my mother have done this? It’s impossible.
I lie there panting, tasting the blood on my tongue, swallowing hard so I don’t vomit. I don’t even know if I can hold my hands to my mouth long enough to do what’s necessary.
I black out again as the craft throbs and thrums, and when I open my eyes again, we’re vibrating softly, the feeling of hovering.
Muffled shouts ring out. “Bring them on board.”
A muffled scream—humans.
It’s Mandy and Tess, and the sound of it jars me into full consciousness. I’m doing this for them. I am a freedom fighter.
Desperation sends adrenaline through my veins, and I use my last bit of energy to raise my hands upward, leaning my neck down to my thumb. I’m in so much pain elsewhere that I don’t feel a thing as I rip open the skin under the nail with my teeth and extract the capsule there.
I flop back, and the motion forces my jaw down, crushing the poly exterior of the capsule, and it’s immediate. The mix of herbs and medicine in there surges into my bloodstream, giving me a boost of energy so raw and powerful that I cry out, a guttural hoarse shout.
My heart pounds erratically, but it’s good, because the medicine floods me entirely and the pain fades just enough to allow me to put my hands back to my mouth. This time I go for my index finger, and when I pull out the little metal shard with my teeth I know I can do the rest of it.
I drop the shank into my hand and get to my feet. I’m shaky, but the pain continues to recede, and my mind is sharp. It takes only a minute to unlock the cage, and then I’m out of the dark hold, blinking in the light of the main cabin.
It’s unattended. Hubris, always a downfall of the Ocretions.
I already assessed my surroundings earlier, and I remember the code he typed to unlock the war panel. I enter the symbols and the door hisses open, showing me a beautiful array of deadly weapons. I grab the most lethal one I can hold with the cuffs still on, lift it to my shoulder. Look through the sight, and wait. I’ll have one chance, and I need to do this right.
He doesn’t see it coming, not even for a second. The first two of them come in, loud, excited, dragging Mandy and Tess by their arms. Tess’s arm is overextended, probably popped out of the socket, but there’s a clear shot to both Ocretion heads, and I take it. One, Two.
Two soft rushes of air, and their skulls explode in a beautiful firework of red and white, splattering the walls.
The third one shouts, grabs his weapon, but just as he aims at me, surprise in his face, I fire the laser into his chest, and he drops, leaking like a sac of blood.
“Mirelle?” Mandy is dumbfounded. Tess is in shock.
“Yes. We don’t have time. Grab his hand and unlock my cuff.” I point to the first one, lying in a pool of blood.
“But—”
“Hand. Cuff.” I make eye contact. “Do it. Now.” I make a grunt of frustration at her blank gaze. “Only his index fingerprint will unlock my cuff. You need to press it to the flashing light.”
She moans a little but obediently grabs his arm, and I inch myself closer, extend my arms. She presses his index finger to the metal and my cuffs pop open with a little click.
“How are you…I don’t…”
“We have to go.” I stagger to my feet, slipping in the blood. “Mother Earth.”
“Go where?” Her eyes are wild.
“To the master ship.” I point upward.
“No, Mirelle, no. They’ll just…”
“But first I need to fix myself up. You need to help me without question, or we’re all going to die.”
She starts to pant. “No! We need to get off this ship and hide in the cave systems. At least that way we have a chance.”
Without thinking, I step forward and grab her chin, look into her eyes. “You need to trust me. I’m a warrior. I’m a pilot. I’ve been out there; you have not. This is the only way.” If only I could send my thoughts into her brain, make her understand.
For a split second, I understand why Lanz and Domm felt an existential terror, probably, when they first urged me to behave for the king. The utter reliance on another complicated being able to do what is necessary to avoid something tragic.
There’s not time for diplomacy and cajolery. Hopefully I won’t have to somehow restrain Mandy or use force to keep her from leaving this craft and running back to the caves, which would be a death sentence for all of us.
Thank Mother Earth she settles down. Nods.
“All right.” She jerks her head. “Tell me what to do.”
I point to the side cabinet. “Find me some energy med caps, and a fluid tube. I need one in my mouth. It will sustain me while I do this.”
To my utter relief, she gets up, somewhat mechanically, but goes to the cabinet and does what I asked.
“Here.” She pushes a cylinder to my mouth. “Drink it.”
I suck it down and blessed relief rolls over me. More energy.
I sit down at the control panel and blink. “Get me a chest wrap for my ribs. And I binding for my leg.”
When I’m a little more stable, I assess her and Tess. “You both need fluids and energy pods too. Thank Mother Earth you’re not injured.”
“They said they were going to sell us at auction.” Her voice is flat. “And what makes you think we’re not injured? We’ve been with Garrett’s crew.” She gives a short laugh that’s not funny. “At least the Ocretions killed him and his gang. The only good thing they’ve probably done in their wretched lives, for a human.”
“I have somewhere safe to take you. A place you can live in peace.”
“Mirelle, there is no place like that for humans.”
“I came from Zandia.” I sink into a seat at the main flight panel. “That’s where I was these past months. And that’s where we’re going to go.”
“Zandia?” She sits beside me, wiping her face with a ripped cloth. “But, slavery? Aren’t humans slaves there?”
I shake my head. “Freedom.” I cough. My ribs ache, the pain trickling back in. “I’m fading again.”
“How many doses of this can your body handle?” She holds up another vial. “It’s already been three.”
“I have no idea. But I need it, so…” I gesture. “Hook me up.”
Each time she doses me, the adrenaline makes my heart race faster, and it wears off more quickly. I know it’s no substitute for adequate medical attention, and I probably can’t take another one without having my heart stop entirely. I will need to get us to Zandia before that happens.
“So what’s the plan?” Mandy glances at Tess, who isn’t able to help at all. Panicked, she’s sitting on the floor, sort of shaking and rocking.
“We’re going to give Tess a few doses of a painkiller to get her settled. Then the three of us are going to take weapons and dock with the mother Ocretion ship. We’re going to kill the Ocretions, take their craft, and fly it back to Zandia.”
“We can’t do that alone.”
“We have to and we will.” I glare at her. “It’s our only chance to get out of this.”
> “Why is your thing flashing?” Her eyes dart to my wrist.
“What?”
“That.” she points. “Your other cuff. It’s flashing.”
I glance down. The cuff is flashing with the little blue light, the one that only comes on when Domm and Lanz are nearby.
“It must be malfunctioning.”
“What is it?”
“My mates put it on me. It’s a sort of electronic control system.”
Despite myself, my heart flips. “It’s not possible that it’s actually…”
“What if they followed you here?” Her face lightens up. “They can help us!”
“They wouldn’t have. They’re on another mission. Anyway, I can’t tell, because if they did, they’re cloaked.”
But unease surges. If for some reason they were here, yes, their ship would be cloaked. And they’d attack this little pod first before the Ocretions on board could dock with their mother ship.
“Just in case.” I grab the control panel.
“What are you doing?”
I flash the landing lights. “It’s a signal.” I flash the signal they taught me.
“To whom?” she frowns. “The Ocretions?”
“The Zandians.”
“They can see us this far away?”
“No.” I don’t have time to explain. “It’s a secret code. In case they're here.”
“Now I really don’t understand. What if the Ocretions see it?”
“They will see it. They just won’t understand what I’m doing. Hopefully they think I’m just testing the lights.” I send a message across the screen. “Testing light system.”
“But it’s a message?”
I blink the lights.
“Yeah. A secret message. Only my mates would know what it really means.” I flash the code again. Again.
Nothing happens.
“Well, it was worth a shot.” I sigh. “Were going to have to go with Plan A after all. Dock with the Ocretion craft as if all is normal, and then kill them all.”
The doubt on her face is enough to stop me, when suddenly a message appears on my dashboard. One only my craft can see.
“Greetings, vipn.”
I laugh in relief. “Mother Earth, they’re here! Mandy, they’re here. My Zandian warriors are here.” It’s only now, with this rush of love and relief, that I realize how much I needed them.
“What does it mean?” Mandy presses closer. “Aren’t the Ocretions going to see this?”
I shake my head. “It’s masked communication. We’re using their own tech against them. Ships of this caliber can mask themselves and communicate with other vessels to whom they’ve made themselves known.”
“But there’s no other ship. Just the Ocretion ship.” she points at the screen. “I’m no expert, but even I can see that.”
I force patience. “Only one that we can see. Naturally the Ocretion ships don’t mask to each other. But Domm and Lanz are here in a high-tech Zandian warship, and it’s invisible to the Ocretion tracking systems. They can also choose to communicate with specific ships they see, as they choose.”
“So you’re telling me.” She crosses her arms. “There’s an invisible ship here, full of Zandians, and you're communicating with them from this Ocretion shit pod, and they know it’s you and they're not going to kill us?”
“Yes.”
“Well, Mother Earth.” She sits back down. “I am officially flabbergasted. Please excuse me while I die, quietly, right here.”
“Hold off on that.” I answer the message. “Because we still need to kill the Ocretions on board that mother ship.”
“Of course we do.” She leans in. “What now?”
* * *
The next minutes unwind like a strange fantasy.
I communicate to the mother ship, saying we’re testing the cloak feature before we dock. Apparently they’re not suspicious yet, because I send holograms of Mandy and Tess with the message, “Humans for auction, killed all males, mission complete. Permission to dock.”
Then I turn off the protect feature and allow the hidden Zandian ship to suck our small transfer craft into the belly of their hull. Domm and Lanz board our craft and barely have time to exclaim in horror over my appearance before the mother ship starts to flash alerts.
“They’re onto us. Their tech figured out the masking. Veck.”
Domm grabs the controls. “Mirelle, sit down. We’re going fast.”
“They see the Zandian ship?”
“Sporadically, and they’re going to try to take us over.”
“Not if I have anything to do with it.” My voice is firm. “We have access to their weapons.”
“And ours.” Domm hands out armor. “We’ll take their ship. Pirate ships have a skeleton crew, so I expect no more than five.”
We dock with the Ocretion ship and Lanz and Domm storm on. It’s a simple ambush, as far as attacks go, and soon they’re all dead.
The Ocretion pirate ship is ours.
* * *
“Vecking stars.” Domm stands in the carnage, and when he meets my eyes, I’ve never seen anything more beautiful.
“Do you…” I gasp. Sink to my knees. “By any chance. Have one of those…medical packs?”
My eyes shut, and they’re heavy. Locked. Not going to open again. The medicine has run out and my body is shutting down.
“Take care of her.” Lanz grabs me; I recognize his scent, and I breathe it in as my brain starts to turn off. I think I hear him murmur, as I pass out, “We have to stop meeting this way, little warrior.”
This time when I awaken, I feel marginally better. The pain in my ribs is a dull burn, and my knee throbs. My face pulses with the beat of my heart, the two twin lines down my cheeks, but the beat is steady and even again. The injuries hurt, but they’re not life-threatening, and the med pack—this time—was able to get me nearly to 100 percent.
I take a deep breath. “Where are we?”
“Entering Zandian airspace. Holding for boarding.”
“Don’t they know it’s you?” Mandy’s eyes are wide. She’s been holding up well, and I’m impressed, but she’s at the limit of her ability to take in strange new things.
“They are taking precautions. We’re waiting in a holding pattern for army takeover. Just in case it’s a trick and we have Ocretions on board.”
“So there’s still a chance we’ll all die.”
“There’s always a chance we’ll all die,” Lanz says. “They’re smart and careful. Everything will be fine.”
“Great news. Great.” Mandy rolls her eyes. Despite the situation, I like her humor. I don’t think she’ll have any problem fitting in on Zandia.
I force myself to my feet. “Let me talk.” My lips are dry.
Lanz catches my elbow to hold me steady.
Domm holds a fluid tube to my mouth. “Let’s get you fully healed first.”
“No, I need to tell you both something. I didn’t mean what I said. I don’t hate you. I love you. I want to come home.” My eyes swim with tears.
Domm strokes my cheek with his thumb and looks into my eyes. Lanz crowds against me from behind. “We love you, too. We need you. And you’re coming home, whether you like it or not.”
I give a watery laugh and fall into Domm’s arms, my tears wetting his tunic. “I missed you, you overbearing, bossy male.”
He kisses the top of my head while Lanz strokes up the sides of my waist. “We missed you, too, sweet little vipn.”
* * *
The ship is full of Zandian warriors with weapons; they’re at partial ease, after having searched the Ocretion ship, but still alert. Tense.
The king’s holo flashes up in front of us and flickers to life.
The Zandians aboard the craft give the Zandian salute—their fists in the air, elbows bent at ninety degrees.
“Mirelle. Speak for yourself.” His voice rings out.
“My lord.” I bow my head in respect. “I have returned. I would like
to be granted, re-granted asylum.” I cough. “To live permanently on Zandia.”
I gesture to Mandy and Tess and they come stand beside me, a little shaky but firm. “I have rescued two humans who also request asylum here. And we have brought you an Ocretion pirate warship with their latest tech, so you can reverse engineer it.”
“Lanz? Domm?”
They step forward.
“She initiated, on her own, a plan to obtain the Ocretion ship. We assisted in the ultimate takeover, but I do believe she could have done it on her own.”
“We wish to have her back with us,” Domm says.
The king gestures and I come forward. “You left Zandia and your mates.” He narrows his eyes, and I swear, it’s like he’s looking into my soul. “You are not committed to Zandia.”
I swallow. “It’s true, last time I held something of myself back. I left my father on Jesel and I yearned to get back to him and to my work of saving humans. I felt”—I glance over my shoulder at Domm and Lanz—“trapped by my mates, who gave me everything but my freedom to return.”
Domm and Lanz shift behind me.
“My father is now dead and I realize my work is here, contributing to Zandia. This time I bring my entire self.” I gaze at him, letting him see the truth of my words. “I see things differently now. I wish to join with Zandia and help other humans find a home here, too.”
Domm clears his throat. “My lord, may I speak?”
The king nods.
“Mirelle may be human and female, but she is a warrior like us. Lanz and I tried to keep her from battle, but it went against her nature. Battle is where she belongs.”
Warmth flows through my chest, expands it to the point of bursting.
“I believe if we’d allow her freedom and took her on missions from the beginning, she will prove to be as trustworthy and capable a warrior as any you employ.”
The king considers me, his expression inscrutable.
“My lord, when I first arrived, part of me was back on Jesel, and I was unable to commit to Zandia until I’d finished my work there. That work is now complete. I can come to you, to this planet, without reservations now. Before, I was only giving part of myself. Now I will give 100 percent. There is no need for me to go back to Jesel, or anywhere else.”
