It’s great to have choices.
“Be careful!” I cry. “Tyr?”
There is no answer.
Chapter Fourteen
Tyr
I know exactly what to do.
And Harrison knows geometry in his bones just as well as I know how to swing a perfect punch.
So I let the Merrel take control of angles while I take off at a sprint. I trust him completely, and when the ship ducks to the right height to pivot and aim its laser blasters at me he squeaks his confirmation.
The FMS Prototype — that is, the Firosan military ship on his majesty’s orders, with the top notch technology sent to us from Paxia’s almighty mind herself — aims its state of the art weaponry right at me. The black, soulless windows into the interior betray nothing of the occupants.
The blasters glow.
“Now!” I roar, as I can’t wait a second longer. The Merrel behind me on the platform risks his tiny life to leap from obscurity and slam down the rusty lever until it makes contact with the panel at the bottom.
“Behind!” Harrison wheezes at the top of his lungs, barely above a Mahdfel whisper.
The train is coming. It’s rusty, and it’s old and hasn’t been operated in five years, but it chugs along behind me.
It’s headed straight for the fallen branch along the tracks. It slices through the vines that curl around the tracks, but it won’t be able to do anything about that sturdy trunk ahead. That’s the plan, anyway. It speeds up, hurtling towards a violent collision.
The blasters explode in a flurry of neon red light. I leap out of the way at the last possible second, landing first on my palms, and then on my feet, and then using my considerable new jumping power to launch from the ground — ten feet into the air — and landing painlessly on top of the moving train.
“Tyr!” I hear my mate scream. “The Mahdnium!”
I look around, having no idea what she is saying. I’m moving too fast to think about anything else, almost clearing thirty miles per hour on the back of a clunky, rusty shell.
We collide with the tree, and as the train launches through the air, Alyssa shrieks as the wheels slice across her backpack — what did she have in there more important than her life?? — Harrison whoops, and I flip my electrogun from my holster and snap the mode. From stun, through fatal voltage, to EMP blast.
Electromagnetic pulse. Yeah, that’s right.
Alko really thought that I, General Tyr, walked around all day with no way to destroy errant technology?
Of course not.
His greatest weakness was staying behind the desk. Never getting to know us.
I have to hand it to the Merrel — I’m diving straight for the ship’s hull at a crazy speed: he got the angle perfectly. Merrels can do math, alright.
But I can pack a goddamn punch.
I swing the electrogun with the EMP setting and crash the muzzle straight into the side of the Prototype just as I set it off.
A bright blue ‘boom’ erupts from the core of the weapon, and ripples through the little military ship. There is a pause, a soft hum, and then a thousand tiny ‘pop’s one after the other.
And then the FMS Prototype nosedives straight for the ground, with me clinging to the side like a crazy-eyed purple bug.
I always knew that when I eventually went out, it would be in a spectacular blaze of glory … but I never knew it would be up against my own species.
And I never, in a millennium, would have guessed it would be because of love.
Chapter Fifteen
Alyssa
The plan seems to work. I watch it all unfold in under ten seconds before my very eyes, but I can’t be happy about the death of the enemy spacecraft.
Because, in quick succession, my backpack containing my final dose of lifesaving Mahdnium is destroyed, and then the ship crashes to the ground, sending a teeth-chattering shockwave that reaches me under this platform, and Tyr is gone in a cloud of dust; his voice lost in an echoing ‘boom’.
In ten seconds I lose everything.
My love, my baby, my life.
My love.
There’s no hope for me, but I can’t accept that he could be gone. Just like that. Without having said goodbye. When the dust settles, I sprint from my hiding spot and begin to clear the debris. Harrison is already there, already hauling metal from place to place. His eyes are shining, and I don’t know if it’s because of the same horror and grief that is electrifying me right now, or because of the excitement of this new tech haul. I don’t necessarily want to know.
“Master Tyr,” he squeaks after some time, pushing rubble from one place to another several feet away from the main crash.
“Is he…” I say, swiping tears from my eyes, my shoulders shaking. I run to Harrison and help him yank a sheet of heavy debris from a sweep of purple shoulder, and finally we uncover my lifemate.
His mechanical legs are drawn up and I press my ear to his chest, and then to his mouth.
“He’s…” I begin, my eyes flooding with tears. “He’s breathing.”
The Merrel lets out such a sigh of shuddering relief that I realize he was upset all along. Just like me. Screw the AI here — Harrison is as emotive, quick-thinking, generous creature. Why aren’t they officially classed as a sentient race yet?
“Aphrodite,” I say. “Help me with Tyr.” She knows more about their sturdy physiology than I do. With her help and my general medical knowledge, maybe we can fix him.
“He appears to have blocked the crushing rubble with his bionic prostheses.”
“Tyr,” I sniffle, patting him on the cheek. “Wake up. We have things to figure out. I have to tell you some things.”
I don’t know how to break it to him that his plan saved us, but killed me too. I need to figure out a way to tell him without letting him think in any way it was his fault the serum shattered in my bag, which I clutch desperately in my hand now. I empty it out at my feet. Shards. Drips.
No hope.
I kneel, stroking his cheek, and reach forward and kiss the tip of his nose. His lip twitches, and I wipe my eyes again. “I love you,” I whisper. “Wake up. I don’t know how much time we have left together to figure this out. If you’re not my match, I don’t…”
I trail off. His lips are against mine and I don’t remember leaning forward. His tongue lashes my lower lip, and then his hands are tangled in my hair and he lets out a growl.
“I love you too,” he says quietly. I grip the muscles on his back and bury my face in his neck.
“Tyr,” I sob. But I’m happy.
I’m not sure I’ve ever been happier, or sadder, before in my life.
“I have something I’ve been trying to tell you,” he says, cupping my tear-stained face in his hands and pulling me closer. “I am your genetic match.”
I screw up my face and lean back to look him up and down.
“You are?”
He nods slowly, painfully. But he’s happy. His eyes are twinkling, and he strokes my skin with his thumb. “I’m so sorry I lied,” he croaks. “I thought … I thought my life was too dangerous for a mate or for a child. But you have changed my mind thoroughly and completely. Because yes, there is more at stake now. Yes, I will have to make changes. But that is OK.” He gestures at his legs while he speaks, and he smiles wide. “Change is OK. Especially if those changes mean I get to be with you. Forever.”
I look down at the shards and the droplets of Mahdnium, and my eyes widen with realization.
“I’m not going to die,” I whisper. “You’re my match. My 99% match.” I let out a cry of happiness and clap my hands together. “Tyr!” I yell. “We’re going to be fine! We’re going to have a family and I’m not going to die and you’re not going to die!”
He chuckles and pushes himself to a sit. “No, no dying.” He grabs my hands. “Alyssa. Together, we can start to live.”
I pull him into a tight hug and we stay there for a long time. The burning remains of the military ship se
nt to kill me crackles behind us.
“General.”
I get to my feet and Tyr brushes himself down and does the same, standing in front of me protectively.
“Men,” he says, eyeing up each one of the three Firosan Mahdfel in front of us. “There is plenty to talk about. Stay where you are.”
Chapter Sixteen
Tyr
“You must be the human sent to tame our general,” says Vyken. “You have your work cut out for you.”
“Is this your crew?” Alyssa whispers.
“Act normal if you can,” I say softly, my lips brushing her hair.
“I think I’ve done a pretty good job of taming him already,” Alyssa responds loudly, squeezing my bicep. Vyken raises his eyebrows.
“Tyr?” he asks me. “Have you accepted our gift, then?”
“Your what?” I snap. There is a silence where they all look at each other and look nervous, but pleased. “You did this?” I gesture at the love of my life angrily and she glares back at me.
“Hey,” she mumbles, sorely.
“Yes,” Ashok says finally, stepping forward. I resist the urge to step back. They all stand roughly ten feet away. Who is the traitor? Is it all of them?
“Explain your insubordination,” I address him. I wonder if any of them will pick up on my double meaning.
It’s Axion’s turn to speak. He smiles at me, raising his palms. “General, please. We meant no disrespect. The three of us … when we learned we were to be trapped in that tin can with you once again, we wanted to ensure your mood was lifted, for our sakes.”
Vyken nods. “We thought this the most efficient way to lighten you up.”
I scowl at them, but Alyssa beams at the three of them. “Great thinking,” she says. She squeezes my butt and leans over to kiss me on the cheek.
“Sorry about that,” Ashok laughs. “And truly, really, sorry about this.”
He reaches into his holster and before I can blink, breathe, or think a single thought … there is a blur of spines and brown fur, and Ashok is suddenly riddled with thick needles from head to toe.
He blinks twice, stunned, and his electrogun drops to the ground.
“Ashok!” I roar. The other two crewmembers round on him, guns drawn and pointed right at him as he falls to his knees.
Harrison waddles up, face contorted in fury.
“Hurting pregnant woman!” he squeaks. “How dare?!” He kicks Ashok with his tiny foot, which barely registers.
“Aphrodite says the Merrel have paralyzing chemicals in their spines!” Alyssa gasps. “Was he the traitor?”
Ashok slumps onto his side, stiff as a board.
“Why?” I roar, storming over.
“General, sir, what’s happening?” Vyken yells, circling Ashok with his gun. “He drew on the human!”
“Alko,” I say. “He got to him. How?” I ask. “What did he have against you?”
“Alko?”
“The admiral sent the Prototype up here to kill us.” I gesture through the trees at the wreck. “He must have sabotaged the Paxian transporter. When he learned Alyssa was sent to Aeo instead he tried to get me to go up in the ship he implanted with his own orders. I am sure the ship would have killed us just like it killed my parents.”
Ashok screws his eyes shut and doesn’t respond, his jaw tightening with pain and effort.
“His son,” Vyken says, lowering his gun and shaking his head. “Alko knows about his young child.”
A tear escapes Ashok’s eye and I know it’s the truth.
“Oh, Ashok,” I say. “This is disappointing. We could have figured this out together, as a team. We have always been a team.” I holster my gun and look away.
“How do we get back to Paxia without the Eclipse and without the Prototype?” Alyssa asks.
Harrison raises his paw into the air eagerly. “Combination!” he squeaks. “Combine, combine!”
I look at him, and then I wheel around and stare at the rubble.
Combine.
All the best parts of the Eclipse. All the best parts of the Prototype. None of the overrides. None of the intrusive AI. I look down at the legs that saved my life.
“Alyssa,” I say, knowing that whatever she thinks is best will be the right choice. “Combine?”
She turns to me and rests her palm on my chest with a smile. “Let’s do this. It’s time for a change from that old ship, don’t you think?”
Three days ago a comment like that would have made me furious, for hours. Now … the thought excites me.
Time for a change, indeed.
“Harrison,” I say, and the Merrel squeals with joy. “Would you and your people like to…”
“Please! Please, please!”
I laugh. “We will speak to Wrax about Alko and Ashok. Alyssa you organize the … the combination.”
We nod at each other, turn, and make our way through the forest together.
Chapter Seventeen
Alyssa - one week later
The Aeon farmers put us up for the week it takes almost the entire working Merrel village to combine the two spaceships into one.
Their farmlands are large, rolling, lush and plentiful. They missed contact with the world, and they lost the use of the tram system. To make ourselves useful while the Merrel were taking care of the ship, Tyr and I helped them clear the trees from the tracks and we got the tram system going again. I performed light surgery to pop the cybernetic keys into the Mahdfels’ hands. Turns out I can come in useful out here after all.
The ship is pretty much done now, too, so it’s nearly time to leave.
It’s small. It’s a little bigger, apparently, than the Eclipse was and a fair amount smaller than the Prototype. There are quarters for five crew members and no more, but there is also a nursery, and a playroom for any children the crew might need to bring aboard, and each room is big enough for a family.
This new family-friendly ship needs a name.
As we stand and look at it, the Firosan system’s sun glowing over the horizon as the chill is swept away breeze by breeze, I tap my chin and rub my tummy. I can’t feel anything yet — I’m only a week gone, after all — but Aphrodite assures me I am perfectly healthy, and Tyr can still smell my pregnancy stronger every day.
“What about the New Horizons?” I ask. “The New Beginings. Or the … are we still an FMS? Is it a ship of the Mahdfel military?”
He nods firmly. Back on Paxia stuff is going crazy. Wrax has had Alko arrested and waiting trial to find out if it was actually his call to have the ship attack us. Apparently the last traitor was part of a group. Kivak wasn’t the only Mahdfel who wished for the Suhlik to mine Paxia’s resources — killing the planet and all of the ‘weak’ inhabitants.
These people, who call themselves something that translates into the ‘New Order’, which is totally one of my favorite bands and makes me crack up every time, want to end the bloodline of the Firosan Mahdfel. Since the Mahdfel believe in strength above all else, they hate the way the purple brutes live generally peacefully, thinking them weak. The Suhlik want to wipe them out, and the New Order are happy to help them out.
Sounds insane to me, and to Tyr too. But then I found out that the New Order have a pact with the Suhlik to be spared. So I figure that it’s a couple of crazy radicalists who want to wipe out the Firosan Mahdfel … and like 99% cowards who believe the Suhlik will win the war and want to be spared.
I look over at Tyr, who is staring down at me, smouldering, delicious, perfection, and I can’t imagine a world in which the Mahdfel will lose. They are power incarnate. I can feel it radiating from him.
If I concentrate really hard — maybe I’m making it up — I feel like I can feel it radiating from my core, too. His baby, as well as his influence in me. I feel stronger when I am with him.
“I have a name for the ship,” he says, holding my small hands in his big purple ones and leaning down to kiss the top of my head, stroking my hair. “I will not take no for an
answer.”
We are leaving tomorrow and I am emotional about it. Merrel youngsters scurry back and forth and giggle, and the adults wave and greet us whenever we pass. They have treated us like royalty here for ‘letting’ them have so many mechanical bits and pieces. With the unusable rubble of the two ships, Loper projects a significant increase in the size of Merrelia. I’m so happy we were able to do something to pay them back.
“What is it?” I press, nudging him playfully in the ribs until he curls his thick arm around me and presses his lips against my earlobe, nipping before pulling back.
“In this vessel we will save your mother,” he murmurs. “In creating this vessel we learned who you truly are. There is no other name for her.”
I look at him expectantly.
“Meet the FMS Spitfire.”
I look back at the ship, and my eyes well up with tears.
“Oh,” I say. He pulls me in to a tight hug. “That’s fine, I guess,” I say, hiccuping as I try to remain stoic. He laughs and rocks me from side to side.
“I love you, Alyssa,” he says. “I was petrified you would change everything … and you did. And I can’t thank you enough for it.”
I laugh into his chest and feel the firm heat from his body. The radiating strength. “I love you too,” I say.
Epilogue
Alyssa - one month later
“Tyr,” I say, my voice echoing all around me. He has bounded a step ahead of me from the FMS Spitfire onto the big old space rock. At the sound of my voice he jumps and spins 360 degrees in the air, hovering for a moment before touching down again. I can see his now-trademark smile inside the thick space suit material.
“My darling?” he asks me, in English. I love that. Hearing his voice without Aphrodite’s modifiers. My Tyr might have accepted change in many facets of his life, but he’ll always be the same man. He is afraid that Aphrodite has too much power, and she might twist the meaning of his words to me, so I have been teaching him English for a month and he’s getting pretty good really quickly.
Tyr: Warriors of Firosa Book 2 (Warrior of Firosa) Page 10
