by Zara Zenia
The days on Vurt were much shorter than on Jatra. It still took two of those days to finish doing everything in preparation for the rescue. They knew that was cutting it close, but there were only the two of them to get this done. They managed to complete their preparation in time though. Just as they were getting into position for their planned rescue—the explosives went off.
They weren't overly impressive, but the sound was thunderous. A handful of booms echoed through the icy slopes that surrounded them. The way the ground shook and the powdery snow puffed up in various places, Treasure half-thought they were going to cause an avalanche.
She covered her ears and ducked her head like they were about to be swept away in falling snow and rock. That didn't happen. What did happen, was Tr'Zerza and his goons came running out of the prison camp to see what was happening. They must have thought they were under attack, since they appeared from the opening with their blasters at the ready.
That was all the time Dariux and Treasure needed. They rushed into the ice-cave and blasted open the lock on the cell. Oszul's expression when he saw Treasure was warming, yet somehow crushing. He seemed elated and smiled at her. He rushed over and it was easy to tell he wanted to hold her in his arms. But he restrained himself. She smiled at him too but didn't want to think about the unfinished conversation they'd had. She still didn't know how she felt about him wanting to be her mate.
"We have to go," said Dariux. It was like he knew the two of them wanted to finish their unfinished business right there and then. "There will be time to talk later." Another barrage of explosions went off, and the group escaped quickly in a barrage of fire.
The group of them rushed away from the prison camp and went behind a large rock-face that jutted out from the snow. They carefully moved away, weaving between crags and around crevices. This ensured that they were hidden from view. And that it would be difficult for the terrorists to follow them once they realized they were gone.
As the Scorpius came into view, Treasure felt her heart begin to lighten. She was beside Oszul for much of their trip back. She wanted to reach out and take his hand, walk together. But part of her also wanted to keep her distance. A few of the freed Hjotts were ordered to head to the hidden camp that Treasure had been hiding out at with Dariux and Kezon. The others headed back to the Scorpius.
They moved so quickly that Treasure was sure the taller and faster Hjotts would leave her behind. She did her best to go quickly through the snow, but it was almost painful. Still, she kept up and proved that she was just as capable.
Chapter 15
Oszul
It all happened so fast. First, they heard the explosion, just one at first. It didn’t seem like anything that would be caused by an attack from a ship. Right away Oszul’s mind went to Treasure. She’d told him about a plan to rescue the imprisoned Hjotts. This had to be the start of it. It was around the right time for them to begin.
So, they must have rigged some explosives as a distraction. There was always the chance that someone else was assaulting the escaped terrorists. If another mission had been sent out from Jatra, things might have gotten lost in communication between them. Maybe they didn’t realize there were friendly Jatrans inside the terrorist camp. If that were the case, this might be the end for all of them.
The Terud guards, as well as their leader, all took up their weapons and ran outside to see what was happening. No doubt they too assumed they were under attack. But then Treasure and Dariux appeared through the smoke and chaos. The moment Oszul saw her, his heart jumped. If only they could get through this alive, he would be happy. If he could just hear her answer about wanting to be her mate. He hoped that answer was the one he’d been longing to hear. Everything would be fine in his world, if that happened. Then he could die without a heavy regret in his heart.
She didn’t seem overjoyed to see him though. There was a conflicted look over her face. Like she was fighting what to say to him; how to react at seeing him again. Oh no. She must have decided to decline my offer. He was almost glad now that there was no time to find out, not just yet.
Dariux blasted the lock on the prison cell and the Hjotts were free in no time. They ran from the ice-cave and headed away into the nearby rocky crags. They provided the perfect cover in case the Teruds came back sooner than expected. They didn’t want to be spotted running away and get gunned down—shot in the back by the coward terrorists.
Treasure didn’t come too close to him. There was no time to discuss anything, and they had to remain silent until they were farther away. He wanted to take her by the hand, to help her keep up with the taller and faster Hjotts. For some reason she was holding back from him. He didn’t want to force himself to be close to her. Not if that’s not what she wanted. He just tried to focus on the task at hand instead. Getting back to the Scorpius.
Once they were well on their way back to the ship, they were able to speak without risk of being overheard. “They probably won’t be able to track us,” he said to Dariux. “That was an excellent escape plan. Perfectly executed.”
“I wasn’t the only one to carry it out,” replied the Hjott. He nodded at Treasure, who was too busy pushing herself to keep up to respond. Her face did lighten at the acknowledgment though. She nodded back to Dariux, then her eyes met with Oszul’s. For just the tiniest moment, he could have sworn she smiled at him. But that was quickly lost, and her face returned to one of concentration, possibly of concern.
“We have a plan worked out,” Dariux continued, “if you would like to hear it, Sir?” Oszul nodded and Dariux went on to explain. "The men who went back to our small, secret camp are going to keep tabs on the on goings at the Terud's base. They can alert us to anything they do."
"That's a good idea."
"We're going to take the Scorpius and head to Less Prorr. We'll pick up the backup ourselves."
"Why not just wait for backup to come to us?" asked one of the Hjott warriors.
Oszul smirked knowingly. "I think you've already though that through, right?" he said to Dariux who nodded. Oszul continued, "If we wait for backup, the Teruds will no doubt come to the Scorpius and attack us. There will be losses on both sides, and the ship will be damaged. Also ... I think Dariux knows there is something special here that I would hate to risk."
Dariux nodded in agreement but didn't voice the reason. They both knew the 'something special' was Treasure. He'd been distracted by discussing the mission. It felt great honestly. Now his attention was drawn back to her though. She'd been acting shy and avoiding him, not wanting him to help her through some of the deeper areas of snow they had to get through. It was hard to see her struggling at times with her shorter legs. Still, he was proud of her for keeping up so well with the much larger Hjotts.
Oszul feared the worst—that Treasure had decided she didn't want to be his mate. There was nothing he could do about that though, not yet anyway. They needed to focus on their new plan. It was a good plan too. He was proud of Dariux as well.
Once they got to the Scorpius, Oszul called for backup. A group of Jatrans and the Qetesh would join them. He told them about the change of plans and gave the Less Prorr base an overview of what had happened. It was an anxious flight back. During that time, things were amiable between Treasure and himself. They got along fine, but there was no more romance. She tried to remain perfectly nice but didn't allow herself to be left alone with him.
Oszul had no choice but to respect her wish not to talk about it. She didn't need to tell him directly. If she needed to think about his proposition, then he would let her. And he didn't want the rest of the crew to find out about it. That would only make things awkward for her.
They landed a day later, they met up with the Qetesh and a small group of Hjott warriors as well. They would travel back to Vurt to help finish the mission. It all happened too quickly, even though they were traveling for a fair while. It must have been the feeling of being unsure, of being in limbo. Oszul felt more excited and forlorn. He didn't k
now what Treasure's answer would be yet, so he didn't lose hope. On the other hand, he wasn't very hopeful.
Jatra would send out another force of ships filled with warriors. Their primary task would be to capture the escaped prisoners and escort them back to a high security prison biodome located on Dathee.
"I hope that this conflict with all be over soon," Oszul said to his crew on the bridge. And then I can have some alone time with Treasure. Not knowing was killing him, but he was more than used to putting his personal feelings aside.
As they were heading back to Vurt with their reinforcements onboard, there was a shout from the bridge. Oszul went rushing in to find out what the problem was. "Sir, I just picked up the Rigel on the radar. It's taken off."
"What? Can you tell me any more information?" asked Oszul.
"Why would they do that?" added Dariux.
Treasure came up beside the two high ranking Hjotts. It was the first time she'd been that close to Oszul this whole time. He could smell her, painfully so. Oh, how he longed to be able to touch her. "Do you think they found the three warriors we left behind?" she said.
"Do you think that's what happened?" Oszul replied to her. He wanted to say so much more. Keeping a professional facade was painful.
"What should we do?" asked the crew member piloting the Scorpius.
"Follow them," said Oszul.
"Wait," Treasure. "Can I suggest something else?"
Why was she asked permission to voice her opinion? That was entirely unlike her. It was confusing, but Oszul nodded.
She said, "I think we should land on Vurt anyway. We'll send out a search party on the Triumphant scout ship."
"And the Scorpius can look for Kezon and the other two officers?" replied Oszul. "That's a great plan." He went to reach out and place his hand on her shoulder but managed to stop himself. At least she was acting normally with him again now. It was something.
Chapter 16
Treasure
She didn't enjoy avoiding Oszul. It must have been tearing him up inside not to have the answer he so clearly wanted from her. What was she meant to do? There was a lot going on, despite the time it took them to travel and pick up the reinforcements from Less Prorr. Causing a big argument and a possible rift between them was not going to help the mission. She didn't want to risk the lives of good officers just because a guy asked her to be with him and she didn't give him the answer he wanted to hear.
It's not that simple, she reminded herself. Maybe she was being selfish, but this was a tough situation. There was no place for romance during a military operation. Besides that, Treasure just wasn't sure how she felt about being claimed as a mate by anyone, even though she had wanted just that before. She was all mixed up now about how to feel. What if it was just a biological thing for the Hjott to claim mates who suited their DNA? She wanted more than that.
They landed on Vurt without any issue. The Triumphant was sent out with three Hjotts on it. It wasn't long before it returned with Kezon and the others who had been left behind. "We thought you had been taken hostage about the Rigel," said Oszul. "I am glad that didn't happen."
"Being killed would have been worse, I suppose," joked Kezon. He and the other two were cold and hungry, but otherwise not harmed.
"I'd like to have a private meeting," said Oszul. He and the three Hjotts who were just picked up went into one of the empty rooms. They sat at the table and talked. Treasure was asked to join them of course.
"It's good to have you back with us," said Oszul. "And I'm sure your mate will be overjoyed that you're safe." That was odd for Oszul, bringing up matters of personal relationships during a military debriefing. Treasure knew why had said it though: he was in love himself. It seemed that he couldn't take the idea out of his thoughts.
Kezon was still recovering his wits. "Thank you for saying so."
"Can you tell me what happened when the Rigel took off?" Oszul said.
"We did think they might find us. When then Rigel started to take off, we half expected to be blasted with their onboard weapons." He and the other two Hjott officers at the table shared looks that were part relief, part worry. They knew they had been close to death out there, so close to the Teruds who were out looking for blood.
"It was brave of you to remain so close to gather intel. You will be recognized for your honor," said Oszul. "Where did they go?"
"The escaped prisoners left their camp, all the while cursing our crew for 'stealing' the Scorpius, as they put it." Kezon laughed when he said the next part. "I might add that Tr’Zerza had a few particularly vile things to say about you to his men. Once they realized the Scorpius wasn't there to take or attack, they left Vurt in their own inferior ship. They were heading toward a neighboring binary system, Omega Tror."
"There's only one planet there they could possibly be heading for," said Oszul.
"Arthexei," added Treasure.
"Then that is our next destination," said Oszul. They headed for Omega Tror. Much to his surprise, Treasure approached him while they were walking down the hallway. Instead of just smiling and sharing a few polite words, she actually stopped and talked to him. "Oszul, I need to speak with you in private. Please?"
"What? Yes, of course." He couldn't hide his enthusiasm and felt like a boy again. They went to his chambers; the only place they knew they wouldn't be interrupted. "Are you sure you're comfortable coming in here with me?" he asked before they went through the door.
"Yes, I want to speak with you ... alone." Once they were inside, Treasure seemed more and more anxious by the second.
"You might be wondering why I haven't tried to speak with you in private yet," he began to say. "It's just that—"
"No, I understand," she said. Then, realizing that she'd cut him off rudely, she stopped speaking. "Go on..."
"I want you to know that I still wish to be mated with you. It was only right to give you time to think. Also, it is a difficult thing to discuss in front of the rest of the crew. I did not wish to make you feel uneasy or pressured."
"That was thoughtful of you, thanks. I figured you were just giving me some space. Okay, and I was also a bit worried that you were mad at me." She bowed her head and avoided making eye contact with him.
"Why would you think I was angry with you?" he asked with a confounded look on his strong, broad found. "I have already told you we are fated to be together. If you wished for me to leave you alone, or to be away from me forever, I would still care enough to respect those wishes and harbor no ill feelings."
Treasure peered up at him, looking deep into those bright eyes. "You really mean that, don't you?" she said after a time. "I'm nervous about the whole fated mate thing, to tell the whole truth."
"Why?" They were standing near the door, away from the table and chairs or the bed. The lighting in the commander's chamber was mellow and relaxing. It wasn't the same kind of bright, blue-tinted light that was around the rest of the ship. That could really start to wear on a person's eyes after a while. This was much nicer, warmer, and much inviting.
"Can I see it?" she blurted out.
"See what?"
She reached out and landed one delicate fingertip gently on his hard chest. "This uxormea of yours. That makes me nervous too, I don't know why. I guess it's just a very alien concept to me. As a Terran I mean. We don't have anything like that where I'm from. I assumed it was all just a myth."
He started to undo his shirt, but then shrugged his shoulders and grinned. "Here, I'll make it easier for your to inspect." He hoisted his shirt up over his chest and impossibly wide shoulders. Before seeing a Hjott man up close, Treasure had never even thought anyone could be so strongly built. Now she was alone in the bedroom of a man who was so much larger than life. An alien man who claimed his endless love for her. It was enough to make her feel dizzy.
And so was the sight of Oszul without his shirt on. He tossed it to the side where it crumpled into a heap on the floor. There it was—his uxormea—his fated devotion to her. Pla
in and simple in biological form, where it just couldn't be denied or hidden away from. She imagined what it would be like to be rejected by the woman a Hjott man's uxormea burst forth for. They would have to live the rest of their life with that constant reminder of their unrequited love, glowing brightly every time they changed outfits or took a shower.
Treasure shuddered a little at the incredibly sad thought. Yet it was still very romantic to think about. This was true love, like the kind of thing that had only ever existed in fairy tales in her mind. Terrans had never thought that such a thing was real, not since way back in the ancient world. When people still believed in things like magic, fate, even love at first sight.
"I can see it still makes you anxious," he said. "I'll put my shirt back on." As he was reaching down to pick up the item of clothing, she reached out and stopped him.
"No, please, it's okay. I don't want to you cover it up. It's beautiful, I promise." The strong blue glow emitted from right about where his heart would be. The light wasn't enough to shine through a relatively thick shirt, let alone a jacket. That was good though, or it might prove to be very distracting to the Hjotts. It could also be a source of embarrassment. It most likely did still cause some pretty interesting social situations, Treasure mused.
"It was a huge shock to me as well," he said. "I was in denial about the way I felt about you. That is ... I'm ashamed to admit this. That is the reason I acted in such a harsh manner toward you."
"You've never been in love before," Treasure said knowingly. "I understand that. I—"
"But that does not matter right now. I just wanted to be able to spend some time with you. The last thing I want to do is give you an ultimatum, especially not with the mission we have to carry out."
"Are you sure I'm the one who caused your uxormea to burst forth?" she asked. The idea that someone else might have done it hadn't really occurred to her. Not on a conscious level anyway. It suddenly came to the forefront of her thoughts now though. "Oh, that didn't sound good."
