by Elin Wyn
“It’s still too early to celebrate,” I teased her, even though I was proud of how fast we were producing the serum. We were getting better at it with each passing day. “We still need to do two more batches before we can call it a day.”
“Let’s make it four,” she laughed happily, and then sealed the container and signed off on it. “We make a great team, Sa'lok.”
“You bet we do.”
Leena was a consummate professional when it came to everything that happened inside the lab, and she was the most perfect research partner anyone could have.
Obsessed with improving the serum, she’d tweaked my formula until the result became almost immediate, and then she’d devised a production method that ensured we’d be able to deliver at least a thousand vials on a daily basis.
More than just that, she also knew when to crack a joke and how to keep things lighthearted. And after all the things I had been through, lighthearted was exactly what I needed.
I still dreamt of it sometimes, that violent battle of wills when the Puppet Master had faced off against the Gorgoxians.
It was odd, in a way—those two had been battling it out since forever, and I had been there to witness their final confrontation. Some people said I had been lucky to see it firsthand, but I wasn’t so sure. Shit, if only people knew how close the Gorgoxians had been to victory.
Thankfully, that day hadn’t ended in tragedy. The Puppet Master sacrificed himself, but the world woke up the next day to see the sun rising over the horizon.
The Gorgoxians withdrew from the planet, their presence fading until it became non-existent, and all the infected turned into husks. Their primal rage abandoned them, and they became nothing but empty shells.
We were worried, those first few days.
We came across so many of the infected, all of them as docile as sheep, but they weren’t acting like humans at all. They didn’t speak or react to anything that happened around them, and they sure as hell didn’t seem to remember anything about their past lives.
Thankfully, the serum seemed to work on them. Just a few drops under their tongues and all we had to do was wait for a couple of minutes.
I never got tired of watching vacant eyes suddenly start to shine with that human smartness I had come to appreciate.
In a way, it was funny. The first few days on this planet, I never really cared much for the humans.
My mind had been set on the Xathi, and their destruction was the only thing that mattered to me.
Then I came across Teisha, and everything changed. I came to love the obstinate, stubborn humans and everything they stood for.
Maybe that was why the Puppet Master was so willing to sacrifice himself. He saw all the life on his planet, and he deemed it worthy. And I had to agree—for all their faults, the humans were worthy.
“What’s up with you?” Leena elbowed me suddenly. “Spacing out during work hours?”
“Sorry,” I cleared my throat. “I was just thinking of something.”
“Yeah, I bet.” Looking straight at me, she shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Hot date tonight, right?”
“What?”
“Oh, c’mon, Sa'lok,” she laughed. “Don’t be such a prude. I know you and Teisha are going out tonight. She enlisted Mariella to go shopping with her. Apparently, she wants to buy a dress, if you can believe it. Rumor has it that nobody has ever seen Teisha wear a dress.”
“Really?” I had never thought of it, but it seemed like it was the truth. I knew Teisha better than anyone else in Nyheim, and I had never seen her wear a dress, or even a skirt. Now, though, it seemed like that was about to change.
“Lucky you, huh?” Leena continued, poking me with her elbow once more. Blood rushed to my cheeks, and I just looked down and started working on the next batch of the serum. I liked the women I worked with, but I still hadn’t learned how to deal with their tendency to do what the dictionary defined as ‘gossiping’.
I said nothing, hoping that would be enough for Leena to drop the matter, but it didn’t seem like she was going to give up.
“Hey, Sa'lok, remember what I told you about Teisha? That dress thing?”
“Yeah?”
“Well, seems like I was right,” she said, and then she grabbed my head with both hands and forced me to look up. My jaw dropped, my heart doing a somersault inside my chest.
“Hi there,” Teisha smiled as she stepped into the lab. She was wearing a black cocktail dress that embraced her curves in the most perfect ways, the fabric clinging to her body like a second skin.
Her lips were scarlet and ripe, and there was just a faint hint of smoky makeup on her eyes. As for her hair, it had been straightened out and fell over her shoulders like a curtain of gold.
In short, she looked amazing.
“I don’t even know what to say,” I admitted. Putting the vial in my hands back on my workstation, I crossed the room and placed my hands on her hips. I looked straight into her green eyes as I leaned in and kissed her, our lips eager for a dance.
“You look beautiful, Teisha.”
“I gotta say, it doesn’t feel that bad to be wearing a dress,” she admitted with a whisper. “Now, do you think Leena will let you out of the lab? I know it’s still early, but—”
“Oh, get out of my lab, you two,” Leena laughed, shaking her head as she looked at us. “You guys are flooded with hormones. Go get rid of ’em somewhere else, I don’t want you contaminating my lab.”
“Well, you heard her,” I smiled.
“You bet I did.”
And that was it.
Arm-in-arm with Teisha, I walked out of the lab and into the rest of my life.
Teisha
My status as an auxiliary pilot was elevated to that of a fully ranked captain. I was on the regular payroll, had a keycard, and had access to the entire aerial fleet.
None of General Rouhr’s ships could compare to my hovercraft, though.
I offered up my first week’s pay in exchange for having my beloved hovercraft returned to me and placed in a shop where I could fix her up. The general agreed and swiftly sent soldiers to get the task done.
Now that I think about it, I probably could’ve negotiated a better deal. But, at least I had my hovercraft back.
In addition to securing my air vessel, General Rouhr graciously gave Sa'lok and me some much-needed time off. Eager to get away from anything that reminded us of work, mountains, and the Puppet Master, we went to my sister’s house.
Syra wasn’t sure what to think about the idea at first. She didn’t like anything she didn’t have absolute control over. Luckily, Lyrie and Lyle took to Sa'lok right away.
He sat on the floor with them now, showing them how to build something out of twigs and dried leaves. The children were loving every moment of it.
“I never expected you to bring home a man,” Syra said to me as we stood in her small kitchen. I carefully stirred a thick, creamy soup on the stove while Syra peeked in the oven to check on the bread she was baking.
“I didn’t,” I winked.
She rolled her eyes.
“I’m just not sure about this whole thing.” She cast a look over her shoulder at Sa'lok and the children.
Lyrie settled herself in his lap, content to watch while Lyle clumsily rearranged whatever project he and Sa'lok were working on.
Every so often, Sa'lok would reach up and absentmindedly brush Lyrie’s wild hair away from her face.
“What whole thing?” I asked carefully. “The alien thing?”
“What?” Syra looked at me in confusion. Her eyes widened when she realized my meaning. “Oh, goodness! No. I don’t care about the alien thing. I’m worried about you.”
“Why?” I tilted my head.
“You never brought a man home before,” she said. “You didn’t even have a romantic interest in this one until a few weeks ago. It just seems rather sudden.”
“I know it might seem that way,” I said. “But it’s not. I�
�ve had feelings for him for a while. I just made the mistake of trying to put them off for a more convenient time.”
“Oh,” Syra chuckled. “That was foolish of you. You can’t put those kinds of feelings off.”
“I know that now,” I replied. “Though, in my defense, the constant threat of death from an aggressive alien lifeform kept me fairly busy.”
“Excuses, excuses,” Syra tutted. “Don’t stop stirring. It’ll get lumpy.”
I realized my hand on the ladle had gone still. I was too busy watching Sa'lok. It was nice watching him play with Lyrie and Lyle.
I had danced around the question of wanting children my whole life, but now that I saw him with the twins, children seemed more appealing.
“Speaking of aggressive aliens,” Syra drew my attention back to her. “How’s work coming?”
“Technically, I have time off,” I said.
She snorted.
“Since when do you take time off?”
“Exactly,” I grinned and pulled a miniature datapad out of my back pocket.
The screen glowed with messages from Mariella, Alyssa, Maki, and Amira, my new coworkers. I’d joined their loosely formed research team.
They each had some kind of anthropological background. I fit right in with them.
“Remember those things that were taking over people’s bodies in Einhiv?” I asked.
“How could I forget? Cousin Marsha lives there,” she said.
“Oh, right.” I blushed. I’d completely forgotten about Cousin Marsha. “Is she okay?”
“As far as I know. I sent a message the day before yesterday. Haven’t heard anything back.”
“That’s not unusual,” I shrugged. “Isn’t Cousin Marsha part of that holistic living group? No tech, no medicine, no modern conveniences?”
“Yes, but I figured she’d have the good sense to leave us a way to contact her,” Syra huffed. “But, go on. What about the body-snatching aliens?”
“Well, we believe they erected temples last time they visited this planet.”
“Last time?” Syra balked. “What is this? A vacation planet for them?”
“I hope not,” I chuckled. “Anyway, there’s writing all over the temples but it’s a dead language. Hardly anyone has info on it. We’re trying to translate it.”
“Any luck?”
“Let me put it this way,” I smirked. “I’m having as much luck understanding the text as you had when Lyrie and Lyle invented their own language.”
“They still speak in that gibberish occasionally.” Syra heaved a long-suffering sigh. “They do it just to vex me. I know it.”
“Send them to me, I’ll put them to work,” I joked. “I think the soup’s done.”
Syra nudged me out of the way so she could stir the soup a few more times. When she was satisfied, she took it off the burner.
“I long for the day when I can get high-quality fruits again,” she sighed. “It’s too damn expensive. I have to either pick good food or electricity. Some months, I’m highly tempted to break out the candles.”
“Things will get better soon,” I assured her. “Provided another race of aliens hell-bent on screwing us over doesn’t show up, of course.”
“What are the odds of that?”
“Don’t make me think about it,” I joked. “I like to think the rest of the universe understands that our poor planet needs a break.”
“There’s that relentless optimism.” Sa'lok appeared beside me and pressed a kiss onto my cheek. “Can I help with anything?”
“Grab bowls from the cupboard,” Syra directed. “Ladle the soup. Don’t fill up the kid’s bowls too much. Less in their bowls to start with means less on their shirts and my floors. Lyrie will fill up after two bites anyway, no matter how close to starvation she claims to be. Lyle will just eat the bread.”
“Should I not fill a bowl for him?” Sa'lok asked.
“Please do,” I said. “If he doesn’t get a bowl, he’ll feel terribly left out and remind us constantly of it for the rest of the night.”
“Noted,” Sa'lok chuckled. “Rearing human babies is a science, isn’t it?”
“More like a war,” Syra laughed. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything, though.”
“Ma,” Lyrie bounded into the kitchen. “Can we eat outside tonight?”
“I’m not sure about that, hon,” Syra said. Lyrie couldn’t see from where she stood, but I saw the flash of nervousness in my sister’s eyes. Sa'lok saw it, too.
“The planet’s safer than it’s been in a year,” Sa'lok said. “I think we should take advantage.”
“Besides,” I chimed in, sidling up to Sa'lok. “We’ve got a professional planet protector to keep watch.”
“Please, ma?” Lyrie begged, slipping her hand into Sa'lok’s.
Syra smiled and sighed.
“I know when I’m outnumbered,” she laughed. “All right. I need you and your brother to set the table, Lyrie.”
“Okay,” she nodded and bounded back out of the room.
“She’s not coming back, is she?” I joked.
“Nope,” Syra chuckled. “Sa'lok, fill their bowls, but leave them here. They need to get better about doing things on their own.”
“You got it.”
Sa'lok filled all of our bowls while Syra took her loaf out of the oven. My mouth watered at the sight of it.
“That smells amazing.”
“I should hope so,” Syra said. “I followed grandma’s recipe down to the letter.”
“Is that her rosemary butter bread?” I gawked.
“It sure is,” Syra grinned.
“I haven’t eaten that since before she passed.”
“That’s why I made it. You almost died too many times this month. We’re celebrating your survival.”
Out of habit, I tested my ribs. They were healing up nicely but were still sore to the touch. Sa'lok, on the other hand, was completely healed.
I didn’t hide my jealousy. I could be healed up, too, if I had teeny robots in my bones repairing me constantly.
We carried our plates and bowls outside to the backyard. Syra had a porch that looked out into the forest. The sun had set only moments ago. The sky was still orange and pink, but the bioluminescent plants of the forest had started glowing already.
“How pretty.” Sa'lok and I shared a smile as we took our seats across from each other. Lyle wanted to sit beside me. Lyrie made it clear she wanted to sit next to Sa'lok. Syra took the head of the table.
“Ma, where’s our food?” Lyle asked.
“Back in the kitchen,” Syra said. “Did you expect me to serve you?”
Lyle knew a trick question when he heard one. Without another word, he and Lyrie went back inside to retrieve their dinner.
As Syra had predicted, the twins took no more than two bites, then insisted they were full. Sa'lok quickly finished his dinner so that he could play a round of tag with the kids.
“He’s good with them,” Syra commented as she helped herself to another slice of bread, thick with butter.
“He really is,” I nodded. “I’ll have to bring him around more often.”
“I don’t think you’ll have a choice. The kids have adopted him as one of their own. You’ll be lucky if you’re allowed to leave with him.”
“Perhaps, we can stay the night?” I suggested. “If it’s no trouble to you, of course.”
“You’re never a bother, sister.” Syra squeezed my hand. “Not even when you’re flying all over the planet, dancing with death.”
“That’s a highly poetic way of describing what I do,” I chuckled.
“I’d rather say that to the neighbors than tell them you’re a hellion who gets trapped under rocks far too often for someone who’s supposed to be a pilot.”
“Yeah, stick with the poetry,” I laughed.
Something on the ground caught my eye. I glanced down at it. Growing between the cracks of the wood patio was a small, bright green vine. Thinking of t
he Puppet Master, and how he’d saved all of us, I reached down and gently stroked the little vine.
To my surprise, it wrapped its tendril around my finger.
Life hummed through the little plant like a tiny heartbeat.
The Puppet Master was still with us.
And life, here with my mate and my family, was good.
Letter from Elin
Thank you.
Thank you so much for coming with me on this crazy ride!
From the very first moment I had the image of Vrehx and Jeneva in the cave, to planning out the final battle, this has been a writing adventure unlike anything I’d ever attempted.
I’ve loved every minute of it - even when it was tough.
And you’ve been with me from the beginning, making all of this possible.
What’s next?
I’m returning to the world of the Star Breed - if you haven’t visited keep reading!
Given: Star Breed Book One
When a renegade thief and a genetically enhanced mercenary collide, space gets a whole lot hotter!
Thief Kara Shimsi has learned three lessons well - keep her head down, her fingers light, and her tithes to the syndicate paid on time.
But now a failed heist has earned her a death sentence - a one-way ticket to the toxic Waste outside the dome. Her only chance is a deal with the syndicate's most ruthless enforcer, a wolfish mountain of genetically-modified muscle named Davien.
The thought makes her body tingle with dread-or is it heat?
Mercenary Davien has one focus: do whatever is necessary to get the credits to get off this backwater mining colony and back into space. The last thing he wants is a smart-mouthed thief - even if she does have the clue he needs to hunt down whoever attacked the floating lab he and his created brothers called home.
Caring is a liability. Desire is a commodity. And love could get you killed.
Keep reading for a sneak peek or click here to get Given now!
http://myBook.to/StarBreed1
