by Stone, Layla
On the way to the elevator, she asked, “Should I grab my things? I have them all packed in my room.”
Ansel stopped. “Why do you have your things packed?”
“I was moving from the officer cabins down to the berthing rooms.”
“Okay, I’ll wait for you at the elevators.”
Quickly, she took off and ran down the hallway, ignoring the way her bare feet slapped against the floor. It reminded her of being home. The automatic doors opened right before she slowed down. She stopped short when she saw Yon stepping out of the elevator.
He was the last person she’d expected to see. She cleared her throat. “Hi.”
Yon had been looking at his Minky pad, but when he saw her, his head tilted to the side, and his eyes roamed her body from head to toe. “Your skin’s no longer glowing.”
It was a significant change, and she understood his shock. However, Ansel was waiting for her, and she needed to hurry. Moving around him, she entered the elevator cab and pushed level three. While doing so, she tried to think of how angry Yon was going to be with her when he found out that she was whole.
Yon grabbed the doors, keeping them open. “Did you just get released from medical?”
“Yes, but I have to hurry because Ansel is waiting for me. I don’t want to miss the flight.”
Yon shook his head. “Where are you going?”
“With Ansel on a scouting mission for Veeda’s lab.”
“Ansel invited you? He doesn’t have the authorization to do that.”
Hoping her voice didn’t shake, she added, “The captain said I could go.”
“Rannn?” He sounded surprised.
“Yes,” she said back then pointed to the doors. “Ansel is waiting for me, but I need to grab my pack.”
Yon moved back into the cab and told her, “I’ll walk you. That way, I can talk to Ansel myself and figure out why he’s being so stupid.”
Yelena didn’t like hearing Yon talk that way about the male who had given her back her skin. “He’s not stupid.” She whispered, but it was barely spoken because she didn’t dare say it any louder. Yon led the way to her new room, and she was genuinely surprised that he knew where it was. When the door opened, the first thing he said was, “You plan on having a sleepover?”
Yelena grabbed her black bag and threw it over her shoulder. “I figured since I’m the only one in the room, I could use both beds.”
“Like I said, for a sleepover.”
Moving around him with her head down, she said, “I wasn’t planning on it.”
Yon didn’t say anything until they met Ansel in front of medical. “Where’s your head at? Yelena shouldn’t be leaving on a scouting mission. It’s dangerous.”
Ansel walked towards the elevator. “She’s the best source we have because she’s been inside Veeda’s lab. You know that. You’re just pissed because you’re not coming.”
Yelena lowered her head, not wanting to be a part of the argument.
“The only reason I want to go is because you need someone who can handle things if a situation happens. You and I both know that every mission is not guaranteed to be safe. Even if it is a scouting mission.”
The elevator opened. Ansel walked in first, followed by Yon. Neither paid attention to her, and she wondered if she could wait for the next one, or if she should take the stairs. She didn’t want to be in the confined space as they yelled at each other.
“Just because you expect the worst to happen does not mean it will,” Ansel contended.
Yon opened his mouth to respond when the doors started to close. He quickly held up his hand and stopped the door without even looking at them. His reflexes were fast and accurate.
The doors slid back and, this time, Yon moved back into the cab, giving her room to stand next to him. Before she was able to take the offer, she noticed that Ansel did the same thing.
Yelena hesitated for a moment. Ansel was her ally in this conversation and had just done her a great service. A part of her thought to stand next to him to show her support, but her feet ignored that and walked straight to Yon.
Even in his anger, she was drawn to his strength and his awareness of her.
Once they were moving along, Ansel added, “Sci’s telekinetic and telepathic. I trust that he will keep us safe.”
“The Cerebral is not Federation-trained,” Yon argued.
Head down, she couldn’t wait until they reached their floor.
Ansel huffed. “And yet I still trust him. Rannn trusts him, and Pax trusts him. If you trusted us, you’d get over whatever it is you’re so pissed about. He’s not the enemy.”
“I never said he was. I just think a more experienced person should be on that ship.”
“I’m experienced,” Ansel said as the doors opened. “But you’re not talking about knowing Federation law. You’re talking about brute force. I’m not an experienced fighter. But I don’t need to be.”
Ansel walked out onto the docking bay floors. Yon’s hand touched her back, guiding her forward. “If your ship is attacked, you will absolutely need to use brute force. Haven’t you learned anything from what we went through?” His hand was gentle, and it was such a contrast to his tone and voice when he talked to Ansel that she was in awe of him.
Yon dropped his hand as soon as they reached a small group standing by a transporter. Sands was also there. When they were close enough, he said, “I updated the medical bay like you wanted. All your testing equipment is inside, as well as four bio-suits.”
Yon growled. “They won’t need bio-suits because they aren’t leaving the ship.”
Sands shrugged, then pulled out a rag from his back pocket. “I was told to put them in, so I put them in. You have issues with that, take it up with someone else, big guy.”
A female with short, curly hair and blue eyes reached forward and held out her hand to Yelena. Her voice and handshake were firm. “Hi, I’m Sasha.”
“Yelena.”
Sasha’s fingers squeezed Yelena’s hand. “I heard that Ansel did some awesome work on you. Took away the fluorescent skin.”
“He did really good work.” Yelena smiled.
Sasha pointed to the male standing next to her. “This is my husband, Sci. He goes with me everywhere.”
Sci didn’t hold out his hand, so Yelena nodded in his direction. But then it hit her. This was Sci, the Cerebral. The one who’d helped her during the surgery. “Thank you for what you did for me. I didn’t mean to freak out.”
“My pleasure.”
Yelena looked up at Yon, not sure if she should say goodbye. But he was already looking down at her. He leaned to the side, lifted up his boot, and pulled something out of the side. Slowly, he held out a long, black object, then flipped open the top. A silver knife popped up. He placed it in her hand and said, “Take this and be careful. And be prepared to give me a debrief. Because when I call, you will answer.”
Yelena took the knife and was about to say “thank you” when they heard someone clapping. Both Yon and she turned to see Pax walking up. “Come on, people, we’ve got a scouting mission to start.”
Yon stepped in front of him. “Rannn’s sending you?”
Pax smirked. “I’m sending myself. I’m weapons and tactical. This is literally in the job description.”
Yon said, “Well, at least one of us is going.”
“You can’t think about it. You have to be about it, Yon,” Pax said as he slapped his upper arm and walked towards the ship. When he saw Sasha, he added, “Come on, hellcat, I’m looking forward to playing Where’s the Numan.”
Yon turned around and pointed at the knife. “Keep it on you at all times.”
“I will.”
Then he turned around and stalked back to the elevator. Yelena hated seeing him leave. She wished they could have spent more time together, but that was wishful thinking.
When she turned back around, Sands was gone. So were Sci and Sasha. The only one waiting for her was Ansel. “You d
on’t have to come if you don’t want to.”
“I want to.” Helping to find Veeda’s lab and stopping her from doing whatever she was planning would be great. Yelena could help those who couldn’t help themselves.
Ansel looked at the empty ramp and then back at her. “Sci can scan your memories so you don’t have to go. Seeing the lab where you were experimented on could mess with you emotionally.”
Yelena knew that lying would be nonsensical because a telepath was watching her thoughts. “I am not going to be emotional. What she did to me was undone by you. If we were going back to Brica, that would be different.”
“I know what it’s like to be a slave, and I wouldn’t ever let you go somewhere to experience that again.” Ansel led her up the ramp and then down a hall, taking three right turns into medical. There he offered her a seat on a medical bed. He also surprised her by saying, “When I first met Yon, I didn’t make a good impression. I was sure I had made an instant enemy. As the first Numan in the Federation, everyone was too scared to go to medical, afraid that I would do something to them. Then, one day, fourteen males and ten females showed up saying they were there to get their physicals. I found out later that Yon had ordered his crew to get a medical checkup. After that, Yon showed up himself. We didn’t speak at all, but he didn’t argue or fuss as I took blood samples, scans, and everything else. Little by little, others came in after that, and that was because both Yon and Pax started ordering people to get their mandatory Federation checkups.”
Yelena didn’t understand exactly what Ansel was trying to say, but she did acknowledge it. “Yon is honorable. He wouldn’t have let a first impression stop him from doing what was right.”
“You’re right, Yon is honorable,” Ansel agreed. “He’s also a male who doesn’t have verbal elegance. If you want to know what Yon is thinking, watch what he does.” Ansel pointed to the knife in her hands. “I know that knife. I also know that Yon had me put a tracker in it when he returned from Brica. It’s up to you how you take that, but from where I’m standing, it says a lot.”
Yelena knew that Yon cared, but giving her a tracker seemed personal. She flipped the metal over in her hand and wished she understood what it meant exactly. Did it mean that he didn’t trust her, or that he wanted to know where she was to know she was safe?
14
Forgiveness Not Permission
Yon had not yet calmed down from the time he left the docking bay. Walking into Rannn’s office, his fists were squeezed tight. He should have been on that mission. It was too important to let someone else lead it.
Rannn was leaning on the Minky table, his hands spread as he looked at the hologram of Federation space. When the captain peered over, he said, “You look like you have something to say.”
Oh, Yon had a lot to say, first up was the tip of his ire. “You sent Yelena on the scouting trip?”
“I did. You have a problem with that?” There was an undercurrent of warning in Rannn’s tone. Yon, of course, didn’t care.
“How exactly is she going to help the mission? Because the last time I checked, she didn’t have an ounce of forethought. She won’t be able to help the team get a closer look at the lab if it’s there. All she will be able to do is say, ‘yep, that looks right.’”
Rannn yawned and then turned back to the projection. The Garna was in the middle of the map, and inside was a round, yellow, blinking light. Yon knew that it represented Ship 802 that Sasha would be flying for the mission. According to the map, they had not left yet.
“If you’re done, grab the bottle of jubriaan from my cooler.”
Yon walked to the back of the office and took the rear exit that led into the captain’s room. His bed was made, the corners were tight. Nothing on the nightstand or the desk. The Minky screen was off, and there wasn’t a single embellishment that identified the room’s occupant. Yon walked between the desk and the bed to the cooler, then opened it and grabbed the Demon alcohol and a bottle of Macallan that had been left in there for Yon and Pax. Although he was sure that Pax had no idea that they liked the same type of whiskey.
With his free hand, Yon grabbed two glasses from the top counter and walked back out into the office. He set the glasses down and poured the drinks. Rannn grabbed his and stood, bowing his back in a stretch. “Thanks.”
Yon held up his glass in a way that said, “you’re welcome.” Taking a sip of the smooth and earthy drink, Yon enjoyed the subtle flavor it left on his tongue. “Is this your way of apologizing?”
“I have nothing to apologize for.” Rannn took a sip of his jubriaan and then grabbed a chair to recline in. “Yelena was with Veeda for two years. She knows more about that lab than any of us.”
“You say that like they will be going inside.”
Rannn shrugged, then looked at his glass and took another sip. “They will be.”
“What?”
“Ansel had an idea to go in virtually. He had Sands install the equipment before they left.”
Yon nodded because that was a good idea.
As the room fell silent, he watched the small transporter leave the ship and head towards the Baton system. The entire Federation galaxy map was stretched out in a hologram, floating above the table.
There were three blinking blue dots inside the Banton system. Yon touched the table and brought up the communication between the transporter and the Garna. He read the transcripts and saw that Sasha was following procedure to the letter. Not bad.
Yon sat at the table for another hour, watching the yellow light moving to the blue light. Rannn watched the Minky table, drank, and checked his Minky pad occasionally. Right before Yon was about to head to his cabin, he watched Rannn pull up the manifest for 802’s flight.
“That tarq. I should have known Pax was up to something when he didn’t ask why he wasn’t assigned to the scouting mission.”
Yon forced himself not to smile when he said, “You’re right, he’s a tarq. But he was right to go, and you were wrong to try and keep him off the mission.”
Rannn tossed the remaining liquid into his mouth and swallowed. He set down the glass and refilled it. “If you keep telling me I’m wrong, I’m going to drag you down to the training room and wipe your face with the mat.”
Yon finished his drink and stood up. “I’m ready when you are.”
Rannn rolled his eyes. “Take out your medscope first. No cheating.”
“Sure, let me reach inside my chest and pull it out.”
Rannn sat back and half-smirked. “Go ahead.”
Snorting, Yon said, “Good night, Captain.”
“It would be a good night if Yelena was here.”
“Excuse me?” Yon said, barely keeping his tone in check.
Rannn smiled as if he knew something was between them. But he didn’t call Yon on that. Instead, he said something even more disturbing. “If she was here, she could use her illumia to put me to sleep. I haven’t slept that good in years.”
“She kept her illumia?”
“I would have thought you checked her medical records. Ansel updated her account before he left.”
Yon hadn’t thought to read that, but he should have. Either way, he was still spinning the fact that Rannn talked favorably about getting hit by her light bursts. But then Yon thought about what lengths Rannn would have to go to in order to get Yelena to release them since they only came out during times of great distress, and that pissed him off. Which, belatedly, he realized was Rannn’s intent. But it was too late, the words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. “They are a defense mechanism, and if you do something stupid enough to activate them, I’ll break your jaw.”
15
Abandoned Lab
Yelena held her Minky pad while sitting on a medical bed as Ansel tinkered around the room. She was looking up ways to find people on Earth. If she could, she planned to find Decoud to let him know what had happened to his sister. If it were Yelena, and her family had been taken, she’d want to know.<
br />
She didn’t bother to contact her family, though, because she had left home at eighteen as was customary in the small mountain village she’d grown up in. Her parents would have assumed that she’d found a mate and started her own family.
They wouldn’t have expected to see her again. Even now, she didn’t miss her parents. But she did miss Cami, and by default, she missed Decoud. For fifty years, Cami had talked so much about her life and family that Yelena had memories of Earth that felt like her own.
“Would you like to see the planet?” Ansel’s question interrupted her thoughts and her quantum search.
“We’re there?”
“The pods are there taking inventory. By the time we get there, they will have finished x-raying the surface. I thought you might like to see what I’ve captured so far, and you can tell me if it’s the same planet as the one you were on.”
Yelena looked at the two tubes past the bed. They looked big enough for two of her or one of Yon. They were pink on the outside, each with an open section on the side.
Ansel held out a large pair of goggles. Yelena cleared out of her search and set the pad down on the bed before grabbing the flimsy band.
Ansel pointed at the first tube. “The goggles will activate when you step inside. You can filter between the video images of each pod.”
Tentatively, Yelena stepped in and pulled down the goggles. Immediately, she could see a three-dimensional representation of herself, the inside of the tube, and Ansel.
“Wow.”
“It’s a full-body immersion, so when you’re ready, move your hand to touch the blue, blinking light at the far-right corner. It will take you to the video feed. When you’re finished, hold out your hand and tap the far left red circle. The tube will respond to your hands as a driver.”
Yelena moved her right hand and saw that the tube illuminated green with purple swoops. With her other hand, she saw that it was blue and yellow.
