by Ava Ryant
“We are investigating but right now our priority must be to leave this area. The Yiiane ships fled but they will surely be back with reinforcements and we are no match for them. I have sent a secured communique to our fleet but it will take time for a rescue. We only made it three-fourths of the way.”
“Suggestions.” The Ambassador said coldly. His voice taking on a stern and forbidding tone.
“There is an asteroid belt close by. It will provide an ideal place to hide but it is an obvious choice. The Yiiane will surely guess where we are concealing ourselves.”
“It is still our best chance to wait for rescue.” The Ambassador said after a moment of thought and nodded. The Captain left and Alexa spoke.
“Does anyone really believe that the shields malfunctioned?” She asked incredulously.
“No.” Ryhs said in a furious voice.
“The Shields have multiple fail-safes and backups. I have never heard of them malfunctioning.” Ambassador Lyric said in a tight voice.
Great. Just great. There was a traitor on board.
Chapter 18
Anabel put her hands on an injured Laren male, he had sustained burns on the left side of his body from a blast in a console he was working near. She was leeching off his pain as they waited for the Sana-cylinder to be available. A truly amazing piece of tech that could basically heal anything. There were three in the infirmary but two were in use with critical patients and the third had been damaged in the attack. She and Healer Simin were doing the best they could to treat the injured as they waited but there were so many.
Thankfully, the battle was over and they were now hiding in some asteroid belt. Ryhs had come to check on her after ensuring Alexa was resting in the Ambassador's suite, he was taking his role as “big brother” very seriously. He had wanted her to come back with him but Anabel refused. She needed to help as best she could. She wasn’t a fighter like Alexa, her ability wasn’t aggressive - not usually anyway - but this was something she could do. Anabel was using her ability to ease those who were not critically injured since they were forced to wait for treatment. Simin came up next to her and gave her a soft, thankful smile.
“He is resting easily now. Your ability...it is a great gift. Thank you for your help.” She whispered and Anabel nodded. She would need to stop soon, she was close to burnout.
“You should rest now. He was the last.” Simin said and urged her out of the infirmary.
“Do you know the way to the Ambassador’s suite?” She asked and Anabel shrugged. She had no clue. Simin gave her a rueful look.
“Take this corridor until you reach the lifts, take that to level two. Then take a left and follow the corridor until you reach suite number A-201. If you have problems ask anyone you see for directions.” She said and Anabel nodded, stifling a yawn with her hand, exhaustion was tugging at her. She went down the corridor, stepping over debris and ducking under rubble. The ship was a wreck. Anabel didn’t know how they were going to continue. They were literally lost in space and adrift, hiding from pirates. She let loose a panicky giggle as her mind raced. Keep it together, Anabel! You can’t lose your shit now! She took a deep breath and continued. Getting into the lift and called out - level 2 - and felt the lift hum as she leaned back and closed her eyes...just for a minute.
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Ryhs uncurled from Alexa as she slept. They had been asleep for about nine hours but she had been exhausted and he would not awaken her unless it was absolutely necessary. He slowly got up, gently placing the covering over her and smoothing away her hair, gazing down at her serene face. His Spark. She was glorious, gorgeous and his. He kissed her forehead and heard her sigh in her sleep and he knew their bond was in full effect. She could feel his emotions, even in her sleep and was responding. He smiled softly and left the bedchamber.
He found his father and the captain reviewing star charts and going over their options when he entered the common room for the suite. They looked up at him and he went over, looking at the display 3d-holo.
“Have we heard anything from the fleet?” he asked.
“No. Our communications are down.”
“What? When?” Ryhs demanded and Captain Neroine grimaced.
“The communications vane exploded shortly after we entered the asteroid belt. We believe it was damaged during the attack. Most of the ship’s systems are disabled and we’ve been forced to block off areas due to breaches and fires. Many of the crew are in the infirmary so repairs are going slowly.” Captain Neroine said gruffly and Ryhs winced. None of that was good news.
“Are we sure a message was sent out before communications went down?” He asked grimly and Captain Neroine nodded.
“Yes, once we came under attack the ship sent an automated secure communique to our fleet. It’s encrypted at the highest level.” He said staunchly and Ryhs knew Neroine also suspected foul-play with the shield malfunction.
“Our best course of action is to stay hidden, run at reduced power levels to decrease our detection signature and make repairs.”
“I agree.” His father said and Ryhs nodded. That seemed all they could do.
He went over to the other bedchamber and pressed the open button, he wanted to check on Anabel. Simin had contacted him last night that she sent Anabel to the suite for sleep but Ryhs had drifted off before she arrived. He felt guilty for doing so…she was his sister now. Every time he thought that he got a little boyhood thrill, he had always wanted a sibling. The door slid opened and he peered inside the bedchamber but the bed was empty...looked unslept in. He looked around but there was no one there. Where was Anabel? Had she stayed in the infirmary after all? He checked the bond between him and his Spark, Alexa was still sound asleep and probably would remain so. It gave him time to go up the infirmary and check. He would carry his his new sister back if necessary, it seemed she was as stubborn as his mate. It must run in the bloodline. He shook his head and grinned.
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“What do you mean she’s missing? How can she be missing?” Alexa asked a bit hysterically. Ryhs had awoken her moments ago from a sound sleep, grim-faced and she could feel his alarm. She had jerked awake, thinking they had been found and needed to fight again but no...it was worse than that. Ryhs had just told her no one could find Anabel. That Simin had sent her back to the Ambassador’s suite the night before but...it looked like she never made it.
“We are doing a search now but have not located her.” He said grimly.
“Surely she must just be in another room or something! It’s not like she could go anywhere! We’re in freaking space!” Alexa ranted, panic at the edge of her voice. Anabel had to be alright. Ryhs came up to her immediately, his hand cupping her neck his forehead on hers, instantly warmth and calm flooded her.
“We will find her, my Spark.” He soothed and she took a deep breath. Of course they would. As she said, they were on a ship in space. Where could she go?
Hours later a grim-faced Captain Neroine came to the suite as Alexa paced back and forth. Alexa had wanted to help in the expanded search but with so much damage done to the ship only experienced crew members were allowed in the less stable areas. She and Ryhs had already searched all the sleeping quarters and suites on their level, as well as the infirmary. It was the least damaged and Alexa had searched high and low. Checking behind every nook and cranny, no matter the unlikelihood that Anabel was there. It wasn’t like they were playing hide-n-seek, for-gods-sake, but she couldn’t stop herself.
Ryhs had not tried to stop her but rather supported her in her efforts, much to the dismay of the Laren crew who were giving her strange looks as she peered under their beds. Alexa knew she was being irrational but really didn’t care. Anabel was missing. Ryker and Owen had gone beast and tried to sniff her out but with so much debris and smoke-damage it was impossible to track her. They too were pacing with her around the Ambassadors suite. The Laren were giving them...a wide berth. Tension and anxiety radiated around the ro
om in the fraught silence as everyone watched and waited.
“I am sorry to say...we found a shuttle missing. A security override was entered into the docking system and it launched last night. We believe your sister was...taken aboard.” Captain Neroine said in a shaken voice. She almost felt sorry for him. His ship had been attacked by pirates, boarded and raided, then a traitor was obviously working against them and now...this. But of course she couldn’t, because this was her sister's abduction they were talking about. She couldn’t feel anything but panic. Terrible thoughts began to race through her mind and her body began to shake a little. Alexa hadn’t felt this helpless since she found out her parents and family all died during the invasion. Not since rocking a sobbing, hysterical Anabel as they mourned their loss.
Alexa stood frozen as she stared blankly at the Captain in stupefied shock. Everything in her was...screaming but she couldn’t move. She gazed unseeingly forward as the room started to shake, loose items began to lift off the floor, then the heavier items...then the bolted down furniture, all floating in the air around her. Alexa could see people ducking and looking alarmed but she couldn’t process it, it was like having an out-of-body experience. Her mind was on the verge of shattering. She heard more yelling but it was just background noise to her senses. All she could see in her head was her sweet sister. Her baby sister. The one who annoyingly followed her everywhere when they were kids, who took the blame for the broken window Alexa had hit with the baseball when she was ten, who was the last of her blood family. WHO WAS NOW MISSING!
Painful emotion and rage broke through her control and a loud shrieking was everywhere. A concussive wave blasted out of her as she fell forward under the onslaught of her terror and panic. Everything was out of control. Her hands rested on her knees as she gasped, unable to breathe, her chest was too tight. A whirlwind of...stuff was swirling around her now and Alexa didn’t care. She saw Ryhs trying to reach her, clawing his way across the floor towards her. The others were down on the ground as well, grabbing at anything they could to hold themselves still. She heard a screeching sound as the walls began to buckle and more terrified yelling. Alexa knew this was her doing but she couldn’t seem to stop it, her Tk was a thrashing, bucking, wild...thing.
Alexa looked up in alarm and her eyes connected with Ryhs’s. She felt him through their new bond and it balanced her. It was enough to make her sane, she grabbed a hold of her out-of-control Tk with a painful jerk and suddenly everything just stopped. Halting in mid-air and falling to the ground in a fierce crash as she regained control of her ability. Ryhs was up and to her in seconds, pulling her into a tight embrace as tears leaked from her eyes. Her breath coming out in heavy, painful gasps. Her baby sister was gone.
Chapter 19
“We must go after her!” Ryker roared out, his face red with rage as he got in the face of the Captain. Alexa was too busy sobbing into Ryhs to care if he tore the male to shreds. Her emotional core was ruptured and needed an outlet, it was either cry or tear the ship apart. It was Ryker’s turn to go ballistic and in a way his hostile behavior was helping her, kinda like a living-vicariously moment. As long as he was freaking-out she didn’t have to. And that was good for everyone. He was just managing not to shift thanks to Justine, who was grabbing his hand and whispering to him fervently to “keep it together”. She understood that too, if it hadn’t been for Ryhs she might have ripped the ship apart during her loss-of-control moment.
“We can’t.” Captain Neroine said with a fearful look at Ryker. Most of the Laren were looking at him that way now, they had seen what he had done to the Yiiane pirates in his beast-form and were wary. If this wasn’t such a serious situation she would laugh at their expressions.
“Why the fuck not?” He roared, looking ready to go for Neroine’s throat.
“The other shuttles were disabled and more over, we have no idea who took her or where they went. We need to wait for the fleet.” Neroine whispered out bravely.
Great, more bad news. How had this happened? Who would do this? The traitor or was it a Yiiane pirate they missed? Both notions terrified her. Ryhs drew her closer as he felt her fear take hold. She was holding in her Tk by the thinnest of threads.
“Surely there is something we can do?” Ambassador Lyric said desperately but the Captain just shook his head.
“I’m sorry.”
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For five days they hid in the asteroid belt repairing the ship. At first the Captain had not wanted to let her team help at all but after she told him where to shove it, he relented and allowed them to assist in cleanup since they didn’t know the systems or the Laren technology. Alexa was grateful. Lifting beams and debris out of the way with her Tk was helping the engineers get to damaged parts of the ship faster and giving her an outlet for her fear and frustrations. Everyone was pitching in, in some way but the mood in the group was grim.
Ryhs was skilled enough with the Laren tech that he and the Ambassador were helping with rerouting systems and whatever. Ryhs was usually nearby, he refused to leave her side for long. He could feel her desperate despair and panic and would appear right when she needed him. He would take her in his arms and whisper to her. Like he was doing right now.
Ryhs’s arms pulled her into a hug and her head tucked into his chest, silent tears leaking out. She didn’t care if she looked weak. Her terror was nearly overwhelming her and it was either cry or...well...or wasn’t an option. She would obliterate the entire ship with or. He rocked her back and forth and whispered in her ear.
“Do not lose hope, my Spark. We will find her.” Alexa nodded and clung to that hope. It was all she had.
“Distract me. Tell me about your Ainm, your family bonds. Anything.” She whispered. Alexa was desperate to keep her mind off the horrible possibilities that seemed to constantly circle through her thoughts.
“We are born into a familial network. A hive-like connection that picks up bonds from our Ainm before birth. As younglings we are completely open, our parents shield us and we are linked to our Ainm’s, our family groups. I have hundreds of connections but only some I am close to, some bonds that are thick cords while others are threadlike. I can block them out or open them at will, sending emotions and intentions through them. Our bond is the strongest, the one that will never break or weaken.” He told her and she nodded.
The only good thing to happen was that nothing happened. The Captain moved them stealthly through the asteroid belt. They were running at very reduced power to have almost no signature to locate. It had come close, several times, when a Yiiane ship came near but they went undetected. Repairs were coming along but the warp engine was unsalvageable, which meant they were forced to wait for the fleet, if they were even coming. Alexa had her doubts. What if the traitor had managed to block the transmission and it was never sent? That thought scared her since that meant no hope for rescuing Anabel, so she forced it out of her head every time it popped up.
Since they had low reserves they were forced to share quarters on one level. The Laren grumbled about this but, in truth, she didn’t mind. Alexa liked the idea of having her people so close. They bunked out with cots, sharing rooms and food together in the Ambassador’s suite. It made her feel safer to be close together, even if it was a false sense of security.
WHA! WHA! WHA! An alarm blared out suddenly, jerking her apart from Ryhs as she heard it blast through the ship. Not good!
“All crew to your stations. Possible incoming threat!” Captain Neroine’s voice sounded out and they ran. She and Ryhs heading towards the viewing room. If they were in for another battle she was ready. Her Tk had been shredding her control for days, just waiting for a chance to lash out and if it was the Yiiane...well...she was going to let it rip.
They burst into the viewing room, she saw massive ships approaching, a good ten-times their size and dread filled her but...they didn’t look like the Yiiane ships. Another group of pirates? Geez, how many space-pirates were there in the universe?
She looked at Ryhs and felt relief flash through him. He turned to her and gave her a huge smile.
“It is the fleet.”
Admiral Cassian was a freaking giant. She thought Ryhs was built but this male was massive and a bit intimidating. At least seven-foot tall, wide-chested and strapping in pitch-black armor, with short, ebony hair dipped in rose-gold at the tips. He radiated tension and intensity as he listened to Captain Neroine, the senior officers and Ambassador Lyric give a detailed report on what happened. Everything from the time they were abruptly awoken from stasis during a pirate attack to the kidnapping of Anabel. Alexa got the impression that, this Admiral, was someone important because everyone was hopping-to and anxious as hell in his presence.
Alexa listened and watched silently but her patience...was at an all time low. It had already been five days since Anabel was taken, they needed to get going. Now. Ryhs took her hand in his and gave her a look. He knew she was on the brink of losing it and he was restoring a much-needed calmness back into her. Alexa took a deep breath. Admiral Cassian lasered in on her, his gaze a coiling mass of smokey grey and plum and Alexa stiffened under his perusal. She stared back at him determined not to quake as the others in the room were.
