by M. K. Eidem
Bursting through the exterior door, Treyvon skidded to a halt. The ground storm that had been growing was moments away from striking, and if not for the glow of the Kevtoof, he wouldn’t be able to find his way.
"Jennifer!" His yell was barely heard over the wind, and he moved deeper into the gairdín. "Jennifer!"
He knew he wasn't wrong, knew she was here, and that if he didn't find her, she would die.
Fighting against the wind that was trying to force him to retreat, he made it to the Crann, grateful it was still there. The large chunks of debris lying around it seemed to have hit it.
Raising a hand, he tried to block the worst of the stinging sand and narrowed his eyes, scanning the area. How was he going to find her in this?
"Please, Goddess!" He openly begged. "Help me find her!"
Just as he was about to move around the Crann, he saw a piece of what he had thought was debris blowing in the wind. Rock didn't blow. Dropping to his knees, he reached under the bench to carefully turn what was there, and found Jennifer… an extremely injured Jennifer.
"Goddess…" he whispered, taking in the awkward angle of her lower left leg and the blood that was darkening her blonde hair. With a shaking hand, he checked the side of her neck for a pulse.
"General!"
Treyvon tore his gaze away from Jennifer and saw Gulzar struggling against the growing wind to reach him.
"Gulzar! Contact Luol! Tell him we need the portable repair bed here! Now!"
"Yes, General!" Gulzar turned his back to the wind so he could relay Treyvon’s order. "Who is it, sir?"
"Jennifer," Treyvon gritted out.
"Jennifer!" Gulzar was instantly on his knees beside Treyvon. "Goddess! What was she doing out here?!!”
"It doesn't matter! Did you contact Luol?"
"Yes, he is on his way. What can I do?"
"Go to the door. Guide Luol here."
"Yes, General!" Gulzar hustled to do as ordered.
Treyvon braced his elbows on either side of Jennifer, lowering his chest as close to her as he dared to block the worst of the wind and sand, then dropped his head to whisper in her ear.
"Hold on, Jennifer. Please hold on," he pleaded. "I need you to be strong for just a little while longer. For me, Jennifer. Please."
"General!" Luol came rushing up, dropping down on the other side of him.
“Help her, Luol!”
“I will, Treyvon, but you must move back first so I can examine her.”
Reluctantly, Treyvon moved back, making sure he still blocked the wind.
Even though he had been a Healer for over twenty years and had seen many horrific things, Luol wasn’t able to contain his gasp at the sight of Jennifer’s injuries. The explosion seemed to have lifted and thrown her against the Crann with her left side taking the worst of the impact, while her right side was riddled with bleeding cuts from flying debris.
“Goddess,” Luol whispered then his training kicked in and he was immediately reaching for the portable repair bed. “I need your assistance, General. Slide your arms under her and gently lift her so I can get the bed under her.”
Carefully, Treyvon slid one of his massive arms under Jen’s shoulders and the other at the top of her thighs, ignoring the shards of rock that sliced him and gently lifted her. His heart nearly stopped when the movement had her head rolling toward him, and he saw that the right side of her face was now as damaged as her left.
‘Goddess!’ he thought angrily. ‘How much did the Goddess expect this female to be able to survive?’
“You can set her back down now, General,” Luol said, having the bed situated under her. When Treyvon didn’t do so immediately, Luol frowned up at him. “Treyvon!” he shouted over the wind. “The bed won’t work if you’re holding her!”
Treyvon immediately but carefully lowered her, and the bed immediately began to glow, indicating it had started scanning her.
“Let’s go!” Luol ordered and with his hand on it, the bed rose with him. “Gulzar! The door!”
• • • • • •
Maysa’s hands covered her mouth, capturing the cry of dismay that tried to escape when she saw Luol rushing past her with Jen, followed by Treyvon. “Oh please, Goddess,” she prayed, “please help her!”
“Help me get her on the deep repair unit!”
Treyvon quickly moved to the other side of the repair unit, then stretching across it, slid his arms back under Jennifer, placing her on the bed.
The portable bed hit the wall as Luol shoved it aside rushing for the control panel. In seconds, the unit closed, and dense white, blue, and red vapors filled the chamber.
“Luol…” Treyvon growled at no longer being able to see Jennifer.
“I don’t know yet, Treyvon,” Luol told him, his gaze remaining on the control panel, his fingers flying over the controls. “She has so many life threatening injuries that I don’t know if the unit can repair them all in time.”
“No!” Mac denied, hearing Luol’s statement as she rushed into the room. She’d still been in Command Center with Nikhil when word had come in that Jennifer was injured and being rushed to Medical.
“Mackenzie…” Nikhil said quietly, moving to stand behind her, supporting her with an arm around her waist as she rested her hands on the glass over Jennifer.
“I can’t lose her, Nikhil. Not now. Not after she’s survived so much.” Tears streamed down her face.
“Luol is doing all he can. You know this, my Mackenzie,” Nikhil whispered as he kissed the top of her head.
“I have been able to stop the worst of the bleeding. The unit is replenishing her blood supply. Once that is completed, I will be able to focus on her internal injuries and the multitude of broken bones she has.”
“Multitude?” Mac’s questioning gaze went to Luol.
“The force of the blast threw her against the Crann, Mackenzie.” It was Treyvon that spoke, not realizing he hadn’t used Mac’s proper title. “After that, debris rained down on her.”
“Oh, God,” Mac’s eyes widened in horror.
“It will be some time before we know,” Luol quietly informed them.
Treyvon wanted to ignore the ringing of the comm at his waist, but knew he could not.
“Rayner!” he bit out.
“General, what are your orders?” Gryf asked.
“Orders?”
“Yes, General. The Emperor’s battle cruisers were able to destroy one Zaludian ship and damage the other two but did not pursue them as they did not want to leave the Emperor unprotected. If we leave now, the Defender will easily intercept them.”
“The ground storm?” Treyvon demanded.
“Has ended,” Gryf informed him. "General?"
For the first time in his life, Treyvon wanted to ignore his duty as his gaze tried to penetrate the thick vapor that worked to heal Jennifer. He needed to see for himself that the unit was working before his duty forced him to leave her.
His heart told him he must remain.
His mind told him he must leave.
He wanted to be the first thing she saw when she woke, so she wouldn’t feel like he had abandoned her in her time of need like he had when she’d worn the educator.
But he was going to.
Abandon her, that is, and all because his honor wouldn’t allow him to neglect his duty to the Kaliszian Empire.
Maybe he was more like his ancestor, Aadi, than he thought. Sacrificing an innocent female, for his own needs.
His fist clenched as he finally responded, “Get half our Warriors into the transports. That includes you, Commander. The other half will remain here to protect the Emperor under the command of Squad Leader Kozar. I’ll meet you at the transport.”
“Yes, General.”
“General,” Nikhil began.
“Your place is here, Squad Leader,” Treyvon told him, his hard gaze unrelenting. “Not only because the Emperor is here, but because your True Mate, Luol’s Ashe, and… Jennifer are too. You are
the only Warrior I would entrust them with.”
Nikhil’s gaze searched Treyvon’s for a moment, then he took a step back from Mackenzie, place a fisted hand across his chest and gave Treyvon a slight bow. “As you command, General.”
Treyvon turned to Luol, but Luol spoke first. “I will do all I can, General. My vow.”
Treyvon nodded stiffly and then with one last long look at Jennifer still shrouded in the repair unit, left.
“Mackenzie…”
“Go, Nikhil.” Mac gave him an understanding if sad smile. “I’ll be here with Jen. Go do what you have to do.”
Leaning down, Nikhil gave her a hard, quick kiss then followed Treyvon.
• • • • • •
“I ordered Gryf to have my transport prepped first,” Liron told Treyvon as he entered Treyvon’s resting quarters.
“Why?!! You are not accompanying us.” Treyvon began shoving his knives and sword into their proper places.
Liron couldn’t stop a quick smile from crossing his face at Treyvon’s words. They were an order and Treyvon didn’t even realize it.
“No, I won’t be. I’ll only be a distraction. But as my transport is still on the landing pad it only made sense.”
Treyvon grunted his agreement as he strapped on his blaster. “I’ve put Squad Leader Nikhil in command while I am gone.”
“Understood. Get me some answers, General.”
“I’ll do my best, Majesty.” And with that Treyvon was gone.
• • • • • •
Maysa walked up to stand beside Mackenzie, slipping an arm around her waist, giving her a hug and her quiet support. She remained quiet as her gaze went to her Dasho, seeing how focused he was on what the repair unit was telling him. She’d seen him work before, but never like this, never in combat, and never on someone they had both come to care about so deeply.
“I can’t see her, Maysa,” Mac whispered, and she found herself leaning into Maysa.
“It is the way the repair unit works,” Maysa told her. “The vapor helps the unit repair internal and external injuries at the same time.” She saw the surprised look Luol gave her and smiled slightly. Did her Dasho really think she hadn’t been listening all these years? Males.
“Did you see her when she came in?”
Mac’s question had Maysa’s humor and smile disappearing to say a quiet, “Yes.”
“Was she really that bad?” Mac looked to Maysa hoping for a denial. “The last time she was in the unit it only used the blue mist while it repaired her.”
“Only the blue?” Maysa looked to her Dasho, and he nodded slightly.
“Yes, Luol said it was for pain. For it to be this blue for this long,” tears clogged Mac’s throat, “she must be in so much pain.”
“It is being managed, Mackenzie,” Luol told her quietly even as his fingers continued to move. “She will remember very little of it. My vow.”
“Good, that’s good,” Mac said trying to get herself back under control. “Because I know she remembers every moment of pain she had in that damn mine, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.”
“You did what you could, I’m sure,” Maysa reassured, hugging her tighter.
“Did I? Maybe if I had gone to the Zaludians, they would have helped her," Mac whispered.
“You know that is an untruth, Mackenzie,” Luol immediately told her, his tone giving her no room for doubt. “They would have taken you and ended her. They would have had no use for one so severely injured, male or female.”
Mac said nothing, just watched as the red swirls slowly began to dissipate. “What does that mean?” she demanded, looking to Luol.
“Her blood supply has now been fully restored and no longer needs replenishing.”
“So why isn’t the unit opening?”
“Because I still need to repair her other injuries, mend her broken bones. Mackenzie,” he gave her a sympathetic look. “It is still going to be some time, and I can still not guarantee…” Luol found he had to swallow hard to finish, “that she will survive.”
“She will,” Mac said confidently, coming to her full height, as slight as it was, and moved away from Maysa to lower her forehead to the glass separating her from Jennifer.
“You will, Jen, because we’ve come too far to give up now. Survived too much. I need you. Kimmy needs you. The Kaliszians need you. And even though I don’t think he knows it, General Rayner needs you too. I’ve seen how you look at him. How he looks at you when he doesn’t think anyone is watching. Fight, Jen. If not for Kimmy, then for Treyvon.”
• • • • • •
Two days later, the Defender and two of the Emperor’s battle cruisers had finally caught up to and surrounded the damaged Zaludian ships. The delay had only honed Treyvon’s rage until it was as hard and cold as his glowing gaze.
The Zaludian ships had managed to elude capture by flying into an asteroid belt that surrounded a small, uninhabited planet and even though it did have an atmosphere and plant life, its atmosphere was thin enough that it was bombarded by the asteroids that encircled it.
Treyvon ordered the Defender and the ships he commanded to surround the planet and wait. There was no reason for their ships to incur unnecessary damage. Either the asteroids would destroy the Zaludian ships or the Zaludians would withdraw from the belt and surrender.
They had been able to monitor the Zaludian ships, even with the interference created by the swirling rocks, and witnessed the heavy damage they were taking. Finally, the ships began to maneuver their way out of the belt.
“How many life forms, Matteo?” Treyvon demanded of the Captain of the Defender.
“Twenty Zaludians on the larger ship. Sixteen on the smaller one,” Matteo frowned at the screen in his hand, “and one Ganglian.”
“A Ganglian?”
“Yes, General, definitely Ganglian. But the reading is strange.”
Before Treyvon could ask what Matteo meant, the larger Zaludian ship hailed them.
“This is General Treyvon Rayner, Supreme Commander of Kaliszian Defenses. Who is hailing me?” Treyvon demanded. His tone and gaze were cold as he stood before the screen, his massive arms crossed over his even larger chest, the blades strapped to them gleaming.
“This is Captain Treg Knajyq of the Zaludian ship, Vlokelm. Why are you pursuing us, General?”
“Why are you fleeing and hiding?” Treyvon demanded back.
“It is widely known that the Kaliszians are blaming the Zaludians for what has happened on Pontus.”
“Do you mean the illegal mining of our power crystals or the fact you used slaves, acquired from the Ganglians, to do that illegal mining?!!” Treyvon demanded.
“Untruth!” Knajyq started, only to stumble back in shock when Treyvon’s roar cut him off. Treyvon was renowned throughout the universes for his cold, rigid control. He wasn’t cold or controlled right now.
“Truth!” Treyvon couldn’t contain his rage. “You also enslaved and harmed females!”
“What?” When shock passed over Knajyq’s face, Treyvon realized Knajyq hadn’t known what those above him were trying to cover up.
“Two females!” Treyvon bit out. “Both severely harmed! At your hands!”
Knajyq paled. It was well known that Kaliszians protected their females fiercely, nearly as fiercely as the Tornians did. For not one but two of them to be harmed by a Zaludian would bring the full force of their rage down on the Zaludians.
“Shut down your engines and prepare to be boarded, Knajyq, and know this,” Treyvon's tone was as dark as the space outside the ship. "If we encounter any resistance, it will be met with deadly force."
"Deadly?" Knajyq squeaked out that single word.
“Deadly,” Treyvon said shortly, then turned his gaze to Gryf. “Prepare the transports, Commander.”
“Yes, General.” Gryf crossed a fist across his chest, bowed, and then exited to do as ordered.
“Prepare your people, Knajyq.” With that, Treyvon end
ed the transmission and left the bridge.
• • • • • •
“Gryf, I want you to take the Emperor’s transport, ten Warriors, and board the smaller ship. Find out why the fuck they have a Ganglian on board and get me all their navigational and comm history. I want to know who is informing them about Pontus.”
“Yes, General, and you?”
“I’m going to go have a very up close and personal conversation with Captain Knajyq and do the same thing. And I spoke truth to Knajyq, Gryf. Deadly force. I’m tired of fucking around with these sons of Daco!”
“Yes, General!”
“Warrior Gulzar!” Treyvon shouted out, and Gulzar was immediately at his side.
“Yes, General?”
“You are with me.” With that, Treyvon turned toward his transport. It could carry the amount of Warriors necessary to take control of the larger Zaludian ship.
• • • • • •
Treyvon’s Warriors poured out of the transport as soon as the hatched opened in the docking bay of the Vlokelm, their blasters set to kill, and found it empty.
“Matteo!” Treyvon bit out into his comm to demand. “Where are they?!!
“There are ten on the bridge, and then groups of two spaced out in rooms on the way to the bridge, General. It looks like they are planning an ambush.”
“Stupid sons of Daco!” Treyvon muttered. While he’d told truth that he would use deadly force if necessary, it wasn’t his first choice. Liron wanted answers and Treyvon couldn’t give him any if everyone was dead. “Inform Commander Gryf so he is prepared.”
“Yes, General.”
“We go to the bridge,” Treyvon told the Warriors surrounding him, “be ready for sudden attacks from behind.”
“Cowards!” Onp spat out.
“Agreed,” Treyvon said, “but even a coward can kill a Warrior if the Warrior drops his guard. No one does that!”
“Yes, General!” The instant response from every Warrior had Treyvon nodding.
“Move out!”
The halls and corridors remained eerily quiet and empty as they moved through them. The only sound was of their own feet. As the door to the bridge slid open, half of Treyvon’s Warriors spun around, their blasters aimed down the corridor, as the rest filled the bridge pointing their blasters at the ten Zaludian officers facing them.
