by Isabel Wroth
“Indeed, my One. We host prisoners from several of our allies. Those prisoners work the mine. In exchange, our allied systems receive a small percentage of ore, and the assurance that their most dangerous criminals are being housed away from their population. We also trade with those allies. Commander V’ar, you have changed the duty rotation, explain.”
V’ar cleared his throat uncomfortably. “After another season without mates, Asho, my warriors grow restless. They required more activity, so fifty at a time rotate down to the planet to patrol the colony. Another fifty volunteer to work in the mine to put their building aggression to productive use.”
Tarek grunted and continued to read the report, thoroughly doing right by his people, his pride, by reading all the details.
For the past hundred cycles or so the council, not the former Asho, had been present for the Armada’s meeting.
It was not lost on Kalix that even as Tarek gave the report his complete attention, a few quiet moments passed and he shifted to blindly reach down just below their view sight, presumably to place his palm on his mate somewhere.
Most of his fellow warriors were rabid with the desire for a mate, their patience growing thin after so long when the bounty of a possible human mate was offered to them. But not him.
Kalix had just received everything he had ever desired. Status elevation from a primary warrior among tens of thousands to commander of his own warship. Someday perhaps, he would desire to relinquish that position he had worked so long for, but not yet.
“Commander Cavil, at the conclusion of this meeting, we will discuss rotation of the ships. If the warriors of the Sixth are becoming restless enough to request to work in the mines, they have been at their duty station for too long.”
The dark-haired First Commander gave a sharp nod, looking around the table with the same sort of calm, ruthless edge as their Asho.
“Agreed.”
V’ar looked as though perhaps he would object, but before he even was given the opportunity Tarek looked up from his data unit and lifted his chin at the Sixth Commander.
“V’ar, you and your warriors have tirelessly and without failure protected one of our most vulnerable installations. I find no fault in your command, but your warriors cannot be restless.
“Despite your well-placed landing maneuvers, never in the same place twice, the changing of the guard is now a routine.
“Routines are vulnerable to attack. Has anyone else been experiencing a rise in aggression among their warriors? If so, it is time to discuss our options.”
Two other commanders reported an increase in aggression and more time spent in the holo-rooms to relieve the feeling of confinement. It was discussed, a solution decided, and done. And then it was time for Kalix to share his findings.
“I have come to the end of Captain Yuri’s daily reports-”
Clary jerked in her seat, anticipation and hope plain in her expression. “Did you find the planet?”
It was his turn to send his report to Tarek’s personal unit. The Asho didn’t even look at it, just took it off his wrist and gave it to his mate.
“I don’t know why you won’t just link up mine to yours,” she grumbled.
Tarek cleared his throat while the warriors around them tried not to grin. “Security, my One. We have discussed this.”
“Yeah, yeah.” She waved her hand at him dismissively.
Tarek rolled his eyes, a gesture of annoyance he seemed to have adopted from his female. “Continue, Commander Kalix.”
“Sir. My second, Dax, has calculated where the human vessel might have come from and we have narrowed down the area to five solar systems.
“Captain Yuri states that he took only as many crew as was necessary to man the Sestrenka and after the colony was stable, he once again set off into space.
“He states his intention to find the other four human ships and give them coordinates to Moika. He left in charge a Lieutenant Commander Sully of the Starsong, and his mate Sage to—”
“What?” Clary interrupted again, only this time her voice was a strangled shriek. Tarek jerked up from his relaxed position to put his arm around her, but she stared at Kalix from across the holographic table.
“What did you just say?” she demanded,
“That Captain Yuri left in command Lieutenant Sully of the Starsong and his mate, Sage, in charge of the colony.”
Kalix’s chin jerked back to see tears fill the Asho’na’s eyes. How pale her skin had gone and how her hand shook as she lifted it to her mouth to cover the sob that hitched.
Tarek drew her tighter to his side. “Clary? Do you know these names?”
Kalix wished he had been able to scent the emotions clearly affecting her, worried that he had delivered unwelcome news.
“My parents. M-my sire, my mother. Oh my god! They’re there, on Moika?”
Kalix shifted uncomfortably, not having that answer at this time, and seeing the Asho’na’s hope he felt the weight of a warship settle on his shoulders.
“At the time of the Captain’s report, Asho’na, yes. Until I locate the planet itself, I apologize, but I cannot with accuracy say it is so. There is a crew manifest included in my report, should any other names be of significance.”
Clary nodded, leaning heavily on her mate. She rested upon his lap now where Tarek had unashamedly taken her into his arms to offer her what comfort he could.
“Thank you. I um, I haven’t heard from them since I was ten years old.”
Her voice caught and she tried to not show them what he was certain she perceived as weakness, but they all could see her joy, her grief, the strength of her bond with their Asho when she allowed him to soothe her with the special rumble their beasts only ever made for their mate.
Unable to stand her upset, Tarek called the meeting to a halt. “Commander Cavil, I will contact you regarding the rotation schedule at a later time.”
Cavil nodded his assent, but Clary shook her head and tried to get up. “No, I’m sorry for disrupting. Please, I can leave and get it together,”
Tarek snorted and stood up with her in his arms, murmuring to his mate as the hologram faded.
For a moment, all fifteen of the warship commanders sat there in silence, staring at the space where their ruling pair had been with awe and reverence.
“How many humans were left to colonize this planet?”
Kalix turned to the hologram of V’ar beside him, clearing his throat to free the odd feeling lump that had formed.
“Five thousand, five hundred and twenty four. Males, females and cubs.”
“How close are you to finding the planet?” another commander asked.
“Do you require any assistance?” demanded another.
“One of our ships may be close enough to the planet to offer aid.”
Question after question came from the eager males all around him. All of them so ready for the other human ships to be found, their demands became almost comical in their fervor.
Commander Cavil slammed his fist down onto his table, the loud bang of it enough to capture their attention.
“Enough!”
His peers fell silent, shifting uncomfortably in their chairs while their first commander glowered at them all.
“I understand your eagerness to find potential mates among these humans, but until further notice Commander Kalix answers directly to the Asho, and no one else.
“We will be kept apprised of his progress and no doubt if he requires assistance, it will be delegated to the warship in closest proximity.
“You are to focus on your assigned duties and ensure that if you are blessed with a human mate, our territories will remain indisputably secure. Am I clear?”
All gave their confirmation, and were dismissed. Kalix found himself alone in the holo-room, Commander Cavil now only one seat away from him, instead of four.
The commander blinked, leaned back in his seat and regarded Kalix with cool interest.
“This is your fi
rst mission as commander. Do you feel you are doing well, thus far?”
There was nothing in the tone of that question to suggest that Cavil was questioning his ability, but it was undeniable that Cavil was indeed doing just that.
Kalix clenched his jaw to withhold the immediate response that wanted to escape. Struggling to withhold the challenge the first commander seemed to be waiting for.
Kalix had to remind himself he had been chosen for this mission, not any of the other primary warriors among Brennaugh’s crew.
There had been grumbles among some of the other candidates to take over command, and Kalix knew the reason was because his clan still bore the stigma of their long since passed dishonor.
When T’kalis had still been Asho, he had cut a bloody swath through the clans in order to unite them. He sought to end the warring between clans in their push for territory or dominance, the warring that had taken the life of his mate. Kalix’s clan had fought the hardest to retain their independence, or so he had been told.
Kalix had been a small cub when it began, at the age of being drafted into military service when it had ended, and one of the few remaining of his clan to have survived their resistance. His first few years as a warrior had been brutal.
At every turn his motives had been questioned, and his markings had identified him as a clan member who had refused supreme sovereignty. It mattered little to the others he had been too young to even lift a claw to resist.
Kalix’s sire, grand-sire, and his elder brothers had all fought, resisted, and died during the wars. He remembered how his mother had spoken of their honorable deaths.
How proud she was to have been the mate of such a strong male, the mother to strong sons, unbent and refusing to take a knee before T’kalis.
The last time his mother had spoken of it was right before she had taken up her mate’s claws and left to fight and die for a cause already lost.
They had all died before Kalix could truly know his family. He remembered little of his sire. Even less of his brothers beyond knowing they had cared for him, played with him as a cub, and taught him to hunt small lykarra in the woods of their territory.
By the time he was old enough to truly understand, his clan had been entirely wiped out and Kalix had been inducted into warrior training.
Over and over, he had had to prove himself.
Prove his loyalty.
Kalix and his beast both had chaffed at the self-restraint, the control it had taken for him to endure the distrust and disdain of his fellow warriors, but his patience in the end had been worth it.
Brennaugh had seen him training, fighting to not let his beast loose on the warriors who had been taunting him with his shameful heritage, their intent to make him lose control and prove his weakness. Prove he was unworthy to be chosen for duty aboard one of the warships.
Brennaugh had walked over to the knot of warriors and watched as Kalix methodically, ruthlessly defeated all eight of the males. With his fellows lying in a heap around him, panting and groaning in pain, Kalix had faced the commander.
He had braced for what he was sure was to be a brutal dismissal, but instead Brennaugh had asked him how far he had progressed in his training.
At his answer, Brennaugh had nodded and turned his attention to the warriors just gaining their feet behind Kalix, then to his wrist unit.
“I am requesting your assignment to my warship. Expect orders for deployment by the next rising.”
Brennaugh had never explained why he had specifically chosen him that day, but from the moment Kalix had put his boots on the deck of the warship, he had experienced a sensation of relief.
The warriors aboard the warship had accepted him despite the obvious clan markings on his skin. They welcomed him into their fold and like brothers, had been proud of him when he had advanced. In no time at all Kalix was promoted from a warrior among many, to a primary in the squad of ten that served directly under Commander Brennaugh.
When Asho Tarek had discovered the humans, when his mate had been found among them, the request to the council for a ship to be sent out into space to find the remaining humans—if any remained—the Fifth had been chosen to undertake the mission.
The mission meant the warriors on board would miss the upcoming breeding festival, and likely several others. But the news had not been a deterrent to Kalix in the least.
So he missed another breeding festival. It wasn’t like any of the females would choose a male from his clan willingly, even if their beasts connected and bonded.
Commander Brennaugh had done right by his warriors, asking permission for his males to be given opportunity to discover whether or not one of the humans aboard Tarek’s warship was a potential mate before the Fifth accepted the mission.
Kalix had been stunned, shocked, when one of the human females wound up calling Brennaugh as her mate.
He had truly felt joy for his commander. Pleased beyond measure to know the little female had been strong enough to overlook the terrible battle scars the male had carried for most of his life. That she had found beauty in them and welcomed him with curiosity.
Paired with a mate, Commander Brennaugh had retired from active service and set out to choose a warrior from among his crew to take his place.
It had never occurred to Kalix that he would be put forth by Brennaugh as his choice, or that Tarek would accept. Or that the council would accept Tarek’s approval.
For an entire cycle, Kalix hadn’t believed it.
Not until Brennaugh had given Kalix his data tablet with a proud grin and told him not to wreck his warship did he believe it.
Commander Brennaugh, with his exemplary military service award, his flawless pedigree, had chosen Kalix to take his place.
First Commander Cavil was one of the eight warriors Kalix had put on their asses the day Brennaugh had personally chosen him to serve on his warship.
Now it was as if they were back there on that sandy yard, green, not yet having earned their armor, Kalix’s loyalty was questioned, his ability questioned.
“Do you feel differently, Commander Cavil?” Kalix managed to murmur evenly.
Cavil lifted his shoulder in a casual roll, shaking his head with a quick jump of his lip.
“Much is riding on the success of your mission, more so now that the Asho’na has kin waiting to be safely recovered.”
Kalix remained seated and calm. Cavil was now in control of the Armada, and once this mission was completed Kalix would no longer be reporting directly to the Asho.
It would not do Kalix any service to remind the First Commander that he had been chosen twice, before Cavil.
“My mission from the beginning has been to discover the location of the remaining human starships, discover if any humans remain alive, and return those willing to Saraz. I will complete it with as much haste as possible.” Kalix would have continued, except an alert chimed from his wrist unit, summoning him to the command deck. “We are within proximity to the first possible planet. I take my leave, Commander.”
Cavil inclined his head and watched Kalix from his side of the hologram until Kalix passed the open door and out of his sight.
*****
After a brief, yet oddly satisfying skirmish with the Adiveeze who took exception to the Sarazen presence within their territory, they discovered the first planet having fit their search criteria was not a match.
Not a hint of the unique human metal was detected from orbit, and neither was it detected when Kalix had sent a squadron of close contact fighters to do a fly over.
The second planet on their list was also not a match and Kalix was beginning to feel the strain of failure.
News of the Asho’na having given birth to a pair of healthy cubs not long after had caused their ship wide sour mood to lift with joyous celebration.
Their rulers had cemented their place within the pride, providing the next generation not only with the son of their strongest warrior, but also a daughter of a hybrid female with yet unk
nown potential.
He lay staring up at the ceiling of his quarters almost a full rotation later, thinking about his brother warriors volunteering to work in the ore mines on S6 in order to relieve their aggression. The option would have been nice to have right now.
Three of Earth’s months, one of theirs, and they were not yet within range of the third planet on their list.
“Commander?”
Kalix sat up with a groan, rubbing the heels of his hands into his tied eyes, longing for a few revs of good rest.
“Yes, Dax?”
The warrior never seemed to sleep, and yet always seemed perfectly on point and ready to attend to his duties.
“Apologies for disturbing you, but we have detected a communication frequency coming from a system on our list.”
“On my way.” Kalix jogged into the command deck and ordered the frequency to be brought up on screen. He frowned when he saw it, confused by what he was seeing.
Dax inclined his head to the screen. Eagerness lighting his eyes. “It is broadcasting a distress signal, and there are periodic uploads of more data. More recordings.
“I have compared the two and confirmed, the voice recordings made by the captain of the Sestrenka and that of this beacon were made by the same human.”
Kalix gripped the railing, all but vibrating with the promise of victory within his grasp.
“The most current, when was it uploaded?”
Dax’s fingers flew over his terminal screen, touching here and there, nodding when he had deciphered the codes used to identify time. “Three human months. Would you like for me to play the recording?”
“Yes.”
“Accessing.”
Kalix waited, feet braced as he silently prayed for good news. There was no image, but the voice was distinctly female, though very distorted. Dax cleared his throat when Kalix shot him a nonplussed look.
“One moment, I can get better reception.”
“August 4th. The year is 3210, I think. It may be September, I’m not quite sure anymore. There was another raid last night.
“We have ten personnel dead, two of the five Scylla confirmed dead and three humans infected. Early stages, but in total, we’ll be burning eighteen bodies come morning.
