by S. E. Weir
“Now, I have these new friends and people in my life who have taken an interest in my well-being. People who show me they care about me and not just what they want from me. They have shown me that I am capable of caring for other people and that I can do more than I thought was possible with my life. People I consider friends and family.”
The anger drained from her eyes, turning to pleading with an edge of weariness. “Put yourself in my place, Link. Could you stay on the ship, knowing they were in danger and your actions might make the difference between life and death for one of them?”
Link cleared his throat and blinked away the moisture in his eyes as he reached out and moved another strand of frizzy hair behind her ear. The damned stuff kept getting in her face. Sighing, he grasped her shoulders and looked into her eyes.
“My dear, I just want to protect you. We’re both doing the same thing—trying to protect the people we care about. It’s possible death out here, but it’s almost certain death if you go too far and your system shuts down. I’ll keep quiet as long as you’re careful and you promise that if you start feeling overwhelmed, you’ll withdraw immediately. Just remember, those people you care about care about you in return. We don’t want to see you dead either.”
Phina stared at him, then gave him a small smile. “Noted. Now, let’s get moving. I don’t know if you’ve been listening, but Ryan’s gotten himself in trouble, Maxim has been toying with those Shrillexians for too long, Braeden’s about to need help, and while Drk-vaen has already taken care of two Skaines, Sis’tael is getting scared.”
Shaking his head but giving her a grin, Link dropped his hands and took a step back. “Obviously, including you at the beginning so we could make plans would have been the smarter choice.”
Widening her eyes in mock astonishment, Phina put her hands on her hips. “Wow, look at that! I guess you can learn new tricks!”
Before he could growl that he wasn’t an old dog, she ran toward the ship, laughter trailing behind her.
“I’ll help Braeden if you help Ryan.” Phina’s voice came over the communicator.
“Hey, wait a second. Who’s in charge here?”
“Let’s think about that for a moment, shall we?” she teased.
“Fine. Braeden, incoming. Ryan, I’m coming to pull your butt out of the fire. Maxim, if you can hear us in there, either finish it or let us know you need help. Drk-vaen and Sis’tael, guard Maxim’s back and be ready if he needs it. Let’s get this done, kids, so we can move on to our actual mission.”
The others assented aside from Phina. As he ran in the direction Ryan had disappeared to, he growled, “Phina…”
“Oh, am I in the chain of command now?” He heard the smile in her voice. “Of course, almighty leader. Whatever you say, almighty leader.”
“I get no respect around here.”
He rolled his eyes when he heard the others laugh, albeit some were out of breath. It did serve to make him feel like less of an asshole.
Chapter Eighteen
Etheric Empire, Planet Lyriem
Maxim groaned inside as he received another blow from the Shrillexian. Okay, maybe he groaned audibly as well, much to his chagrin. He would have a bunch of bruises as well as gashes and slices to heal after this. Normally, he would have won this fight with a few strikes. Normally.
“I’m going to tear you apart, hairy human! Nothing beats Ravid!”
Unfortunately, the two Shrillexians he fought not only were the largest, meanest and most scar-ridden he’d ever seen, and the beast calling himself Ravid also had the light of madness in his eye. Normally Maxim could get a feel for the other fighters and be able to predict their next moves with fair accuracy, which gave him an advantage. However, insanity had never been predictable, which made this fight tougher.
Still, the real reason he hadn’t finished the fight yet was because he was having way too much fun.
He thought about his fights with Empress Bethany Anne and John Grimes, her head Bitch, a title bestowed back on Earth long ago during their own fights to hell and back. Maxim could barely hold his own with the Bitches, but there was something about John that gave him that edge of strength, confidence, and the ability to almost sense movements even as they are thought of. It blew Maxim’s internal sense out of the water. Bethany Anne was worse. She just destroyed you, then made sure you were put back together again. Still, those fights had been worth it to see how much he didn’t know so he could learn to become better.
And again, just plain fun.
“You think you’re so big and bad, but you’re just slow!”
He ignored the continuing taunts as he exchanged blows with the two Shrillexians. Maxim felt a light buzzing in the brain by his ear, indicating the others were talking over his implant. During fights he could usually tune them out, but he wanted to hear a status update about everyone else. Luckily, he tuned in just in time to hear Greyson Wells’ arrogant tones.
“Fine. Braeden, incoming. Ryan, I’m coming to pull your butt out of the fire. Maxim, if you can hear us in there, either finish it or let us know you need help. Drk and Sis’tael, guard Maxim’s back and be ready if he needs it. Let’s get this done, kids, so we can move on to our actual mission.”
Maxim growled and his fur rose. Orders always made him bristle in his Pricolici form. Only his boss Peter successfully gave him orders without receiving a swat in the face. Commands from anyone else upped his aggression and desire to do violence, causing him to push toward the end of his control. He took advantage of that lack of control by pummeling the Shrillexian in front of him, swiping his claws at the other one when he could do so to keep him back. Ravid grimaced and winced at the pain, though it wasn’t enough to take the light of madness from his eyes.
“Raaaviid? Yooouu laaack ooorrrigiiinaaaliittyy.” Maxim’s words were slightly garbled but still understandable.
“Don’t talk about my name, you Imperial dog!” The green alien’s muscles tensed as he circled Maxim. His brother—Maxim mentally called him Scarface—circled on the opposite side. “I’m going to take you down and tear you in two. Then I’m going to go after all your little friends and tear them apart if they fight me or take them as slaves if they submit. If they are strong or attractive, I can make a lot of money off them. I’ll have everything, and you’ll have nothing. What do you say to that, you nosy little bitch?”
Maxim took a deep breath, then settled into the rage that was always there when he was in this powerful form. “Thaaat iiss noott aann iinnssuult tooo meee. Yooouuu taaaalk toooo mmuuuch. Pllaaayttiiime iissss ooveeerrrr.”
Before Ravid could say anything else, Maxim used his powerful arms to propel a fist into the Shrillexian’s mouth. After that he let go, let his control slip. Ravid thought himself a big bad monster?
Maxim would show him how wrong he was.
Etheric Empire, Planet Lyriem, SS Revenge
Phina’s feet beat a light tapping rhythm as she sprinted up the ramp and slid into the cargo bay of the Skaines’ ship. She sensed Braeden fighting two at once, with a third about to ambush him and a fourth sneaking down from the upper level of the ship. Braeden was an amazing fighter, so he could probably handle them all just fine. Probably. She just wanted to make sure.
It was simple math.
Since Braeden had remained silent since the first few minutes of the fight, only her mental senses had informed her of his status and location. The cargo bay was much larger than she’d expected for the size ship, but then, the ship was wider than many other designs, which yielded quite a bit of space.
Her enhanced hearing caught the sounds of fighting echoing from behind the crates and pens in the middle of the bay. Every few steps, she glanced above, to the sides, and behind her. Training with Maxim and Link had shown her she needed to maintain situational awareness at all times, but especially when approaching a fight.
However, due to her growing mental abilities, she was fairly certain the only creatures around were either in the pens
or in the direction of the sounds that got louder the closer she came. After passing a few pens filled with silent but watchful Aurians, Phina had begun to move past one only half full when she froze in shock.
Drk-vaen and Sis’tael hesitated as they came closer to where Maxim was fighting the two Shrillexians in his Pricolici form. The three creatures were fierce and aggressive. The Pricolici stood a head above the Shrillexians, but the shorter aliens were quick, fierce, and determined. The scene might have looked odd to anyone other than a Guardian. Drk focused on the movements of the three fighters, trying to decide how long until it was over. He already knew who would win. Sis’tael stood next to him but a step back, her hand lightly holding his arm.
“He looks bad. Look at the drips of blood from the slices and gashes he’s gotten.”
“Maxim is fine, don’t you worry. He’s already healed from those.”
Clicking her mandibles, Sis’tael nodded and took a few steps back into a guard position, causing a swell of emotion within him for his mate. She had been right in saying that they had already chosen each other and their parents couldn’t keep them apart. Though the Yollin culture valued many things when choosing a mate, the influence of the humans from Earth had permeated it over the last few decades. The human ideal of finding love in a partner had been slow to spread at first, but the younger generations that lived, worked, and grew up with the humans had given the Yollins a different perspective.
The sound of fists hitting flesh pulled Drk-vaen from his thoughts. Looking at the fighters one more time caused him to relax.
“It won’t be long now.”
“What makes you say that?” If he knew her, she was studying the fighters, trying to figure it out.
“Maxim’s getting mad.”
Sis’tael paused behind him, her shifting about sounding nervous. “Why does that sound like a bad thing?”
“It isn’t. Well, except for the Shrillexians. For them, it’s bad. Maxim was just playing with them before.”
As they spoke, their friend in wolf’s clothing increased the frequency and speed of his attacks, as well as fending off the counterattacks more quickly and easily. The power behind the blows caused the two Shrillexians to grunt, wince, and even yelp. Finally, when the bigger hairy slaver staggered back, Maxim pulled his massive arm back behind his massive shoulders and punched Ravid in the head, torquing his body for greater momentum and power. He twisted back and shoved his other fist into the face of the smaller Shrillexian.
The two aliens slammed to the dusty ground in a heap, leaving Maxim heaving for breath.
“Took you long enough.”
Maxim whirled with a ferocious snarl, toning it down when he saw the two Yollins. Baring his teeth in a wolfy grin, he took a few steps forward, then turned back to kick one of the aliens when he moaned. He cocked his head to one side, and his wolfy eyes looked amused.
“Nooot faaaast ennnoouugh forrr yooouu?”
Drk-vaen clicked his mandibles. “I’ve seen you go faster.”
He received a shrug. “Waaasss haaavinng fuunn. Aat firrrst.”
Sis’tael spoke up, her voice subdued. She hadn’t seen this side of Maxim before, so she didn’t know how to handle his intensity when he was in his Pricolici form. “What changed your mind?”
Their friend growled and turned his snout toward the unconscious and bleeding Shrillexian who had called himself Ravid.
“Heee taallkksss tooo muuch.”
Link moved quickly in the direction Ryan had headed. He heard English and Yollin swearing up ahead among some rocks and Skaine slurs being thrown, punctuated by occasional laser fire by the Skaines.
“Come and get me, you little rat! I bet you can’t hit the broad side of a battlecruiser! You all so big and bad going around picking on those who can’t defend themselves, huh? Well, I bet you were taught better by your mother! Then again, since you’re a son of a goat and three times as ugly, you probably got screwed over in that department.”
The barrage ceased briefly while a scratchy voice called, “What’s a goat?”
Link took advantage of the pause to move carefully toward Ryan.
Through a gap in the rocks, Link saw Ryan reach up to scratch his head and wince. He must be injured. Ryan caught a glimpse of Link and hissed, “Hey, how do you explain what a goat is to someone who has never seen one?”
Link raised an eyebrow. “Bison are like bistoks. Taliks are like chickens. Maybe goats are like plonkets?”
Ryan shouted to the Skaine behind the rocks, “You’re the son of a plonket and three times as ugly! No, wait, that’s your mom.”
Another barrage of laser fire erupted, spraying tiny pieces of rock everywhere.
Ryan shrugged his good shoulder. “Guess he can’t take a mom joke.”
“Skaines are clones raised with no mother. You must have touched a nerve.” Link rolled his eyes and continued his crouched movements over to the Marine. He finally came within a few feet and paused to see a laser blast across Ryan’s shoulder. He spoke in a low voice between bursts. “You good, Marine?”
“Walk in the park.” Ryan waved airily.
“Oh? Aren’t we confident with a laser blast in the shoulder!”
Ryan glanced down at the wound as if surprised. “What, this old thing? Pshh. That ain’t nothin’. I got the Skaine right where I want him.”
Another burst of laser fire sprayed more rocks in their direction as Link reached into his pocket for one of the bandages the doctor had insisted they take with them. It had been infused with both numbing and healing agents. After glancing down at his wounded arm, he took out two. “Well, hurry it up, will you? It’s been too long since I heard from Phina.”
“Ease up there, Pops. Aren’t you a little old to be chasing Phina?”
Link heard a tone in the question he didn’t like and had a knife at the man’s throat before he could blink.
“First of all, be respectful of your elders, boy. I’ve earned every gray hair and then some.”
Ryan met Link’s intense gaze and nodded. “Sure thing, man.”
“Second,” Link continued as he moved the knife and sliced open the cover of the bandage as if that had been his intention all along. “I am not only old enough to be her father, but I consider myself to be in that position to her.” He thought for a moment, then shook his head. “Okay, more like the crazy but dedicated uncle. One who knows everything about his kid and will kill anyone who harms her in any way.” He shot a pointed glare at the Marine before he began wrapping the man’s injured shoulder.
“Huh. Okay.” Ryan looked like he was mulling something over.
“What?”
“Well, Phina indicated that there was someone she was interested in, but she didn’t say who it was. You and Maxim are the only ones around her all the time, and I doubt Maxim is two-timing Alina for Phina, even though she’s hot.” Ryan shrugged, forgetting his shoulder, and winced as Link double-glared at the idiot.
“Of course Maxim isn’t two-timing Alina, you plonket. Neither of them would do that to her.” Link cuffed the young man in the head. “You watch yourself! You’re going to get a knife in the throat if you aren’t careful.”
“Hey,” Ryan yelped as he clutched his head. “I need that. My dad said I need all my brain cells.”
Link snorted and tied the bandage extra tight, causing Ryan to wince. “Max Wagner is smart. If he’s telling you that you need them all, you better start protecting yourself by not acting like an idiot.”
Ryan flashed a faint smile. “Come on, you know you love me.”
Link rolled his eyes, as had become his habit in conversations with Ryan, and applied his own bandage. “You must have me mistaken for a young woman.”
The Marine grinned. “Speaking of one, you said you knew everything about Phina. Does that mean you know who has her attention?”
As he pocketed the bandage covers, Link slowly nodded. “I’ll give you a hint. He’s a Marine.” He paused and looked around. “It�
�s too quiet.”
Ryan whirled, and in one motion, he braced himself on his bad arm and fired at the Skaine. The armored alien appeared shocked and dropped the weapon he had just begun to raise. The body clattered on the rocks. Link’s eyebrows rose. Huh. The kid had skills he covered with his bumbling idiot routine.
The soldier turned back with a half-grin. “So, about this Marine. I could probably take him. There’s only one Marine I haven’t been able to beat, and that’s Todd, my boss.”
Link stared at him with a half-raised eyebrow before standing since they no longer had to hide.
Ryan’s eyes bugged out. “Shit, seriously?” He scrambled up, whacking off the dust and rocks that clung to his clothes. “Does he know? Have they talked a lot? Damn, I really thought it would be one of those smart guys in R&D.”
Link’s mouth twitched as he walked away, and he let his voice flow back. “I’ll let Todd know you don’t think he’s smart.”
The footsteps behind him stopped suddenly. “Shit!”
Link’s grin dropped off his face when Phina pinged his communicator. “Everyone, we have a problem.”
Etheric Empire, Planet Lyriem, SS Revenge
Phina halted in surprise as a small Aurian child in the pen beside her noticed her and clapped in delight.
Alarmed, she froze and waved an urgent hand to stop the child. Seeing her distress, a nearby white-haired Aurian gently but quickly shackled the young female’s wrists with their hands. Undeterred, the little one gave Phina a huge smile, her eyes shining with excitement. Phina couldn’t keep from returning the smile even as she waved her hands downward, hopefully to indicate that they should keep the volume down. To reinforce the idea, she tapped her finger on her lips.
