Oz (The Telorex Pact Book 1)

by Phoebe Fawkes

  The captain for his part showed nothing to Molly. “Molly, please let me introduce you to our crew. This is our First Officer of Rank, Fyn Toraves. Next to him is Valo Hazryn, although we all call him Haze. He’s our Weapon’s Officer. Seban, you’ve met, is our Medic and Culturalist. Xain is our Pilot. Oz, here, is our Engineer. We do hope you will be in comfort here.”

  As the captain named them, the crew stood and nodded to Molly. Obviously nervous again, Molly took a step back and slightly toward Oz. Oz felt himself swell a bit with pride. She was showing signs of her alliance and trust to him.

  If she had a tail, he expected she would tilt it back toward him. Since she had no way to show her consideration, he could only assume her approval of him as a good mate. Things were going well.

  “Molly, if you’re hungry, Seban has provided items that he has assured us are of a good dietary compliment to your own.”

  Seban dipped his head. “You may find the flavors are somewhat different, but they should be of little trouble to your digestion.”

  Again Molly pressed away from the table and toward Oz as they walked to the other end, next to his seat. It clicked for Oz with a disappointing suddenness: the same as she’d been with the window, obviously.

  At least Oz had been upgraded to the solid wall and not the dangerous windows the crew still represented.

  It seemed small comfort.

  11

  Molly

  Dinner was a nightmare of epic proportions. Molly did her best to swallow politely and listen to the crew banter. It reminded her ever such a tiny bit of home, with all her brothers around the table.

  Seban did his best to explain the food and Earth’s approximate equivalents. Certainly there was no cook amidst the crew, as there were some flavors here but no polished delivery. Possibly the food was just in a style that did not match any Earth region she had tried… or certainly ever wanted to try. But she was stuck for now.

  Although maybe the captain would let her cook her own food, if she didn’t get in the way? It would take some doing to learn a whole new set of flavor and texture profiles, but it’d be interesting to try. What an interesting idea for an Earth restaurant, assuming these foods were safe as imports. At least she could pretend that she could still further her goals, even while real life was paused, however indefinitely that might be. Assuming she survived. …Which would mean she had a son…

  Quickly she brought her thoughts back. Best not to borrow tomorrow’s troubles, especially when there was nothing she could do about it. She was both excited about having a little person to care for and love, and overwhelmed and afraid of the responsibility. Not that she hadn’t helped raise her brothers well enough — she’d been the little hen of her family — but this would be much, much different. A son bred for war, the very war the draft helped end for Earth.

  Her own war child would be the next sacrifice, after her own. Apparently Earth’s sacrifices would never truly end, thanks to the Suhlik and what they forced the Mahdfel to require.

  In the midst of her thoughts, she was also trying to pay attention to the conversation that swirled around her and the rapid fire questions. Seban assisted most with an easy answer or two, but the crew seemed most intrigued by Kansas. Its open fields of grass for miles and the scant appearance of open water didn’t match anything from their birth planet.

  “No wonder your kind is so fragile. How do you expect to be strong with no tree to climb or water to swim?” The man sat on Molly’s opposite side, and he leaned back, one arm over his chair and popping a handful of seeds in his mouth. She couldn’t place his name.

  “There’s plenty of trees,” she explained, “just not as much in my little part of Earth. There are places on Earth with miles of sand and the sun beating down. You can die if you are left without supplies for too long. Other places are near the ocean which is miles of water. Earth isn’t just one thing.”

  The man nodded in approval. “Good. Oz, your son has hope. Although it is good you will raise him in a better place than that. Speaking of… Oz, this new deposit you found… Captain, shouldn’t we be getting back there, so we can get out there first thing tomorrow?”

  The Captain glanced at his first mate, Fyn, and back at the one sitting beside Molly. “We’re working on it, Haze. Just need to go over the charts to make sure the spot’s still secure.”

  Haze leaned forward and tapped the table. “I’ll keep it secure, you know that, Cap’.”

  Molly pictured him cocking a gun over his head and letting loose a spray of bullets. She could tell he was a ‘shoot first, questions later’ kind of guy.

  At first Molly couldn’t quite place who Haze reminded her of, then it hit her: her eldest brother Joe, who’d died in the war, the one they set out flowers for every Friday that was a ‘draft dinner’ as they called it.

  Haze had the same awkward way of laughing at his own words/jokes and leaning too far forward. Instantly Molly felt drawn to him, even if only in sympathy for her lost brother. Joe had had such a good heart. He’d died too young, almost all the details of his final mission classified, beyond that there was no body to return to them, only an empty box. It was every family’s nightmare which couldn’t be quite put to rest as the uncertainty and futile hope gnawed at them.

  The one sitting next to Oz — Xain the pilot — spoke up. “Sure, Haze. You against a Suhlik warship. Why not?”

  “You doubt it?” Haze’s voice dropped in challenge, with a hint of a war smile.

  “Never.” Xain chuckled. “Assuming they all come out on the asteroid, ten at a time, to fight you.” He chuckled. “It’s only the ship shields and weaps that have me concerned.”

  Haze jutted his chin at Oz. “Nah. Oz’ll take care of that for me, won’t you?”

  “Course.” Oz raised his eyebrows. “Up to the captain though whether he wants to re-start another war tomorrow, out here on the wrong end of the universe.”

  “That’s enough, all of you,” the first mate, Fyn, interjected. “The Captain will let you know his decision before curfew. In the meantime, why don’t you all put that energy to work in The Pit. Oz, we’ll just need a few additional readings on the council’s latest reports, with highest discretion.”

  “Certainly, sir.”

  The Captain and Fyn wished her a good night and left for the Command Center. A few seconds later Seban headed for his quarters, saying he wanted to make a few more readings of a sample that Haze had collected that day.

  It was only Molly, Oz, Haze, and Xain.

  Molly shifted uncomfortably. War ships and asteroids and… It made her head spin. They talked so casually about staying where the Suhlik might come at any minute. What had she been dropped into? “I should get back to my… um…” Molly finished the thought in her head: back to my room to freak out…

  Haze turned to her, leaning forward again in that goofy, friendly way of his. “Stay. It’ll be fun. We’re going to the Pit. We’ll make a warrior out of you yet. And Oz won’t be long before he’s done.”

  “Oh? Okay…” Molly glanced to Oz uncertainly.

  Oz had his hands on the table, and she noticed his wrists glowed slightly. Oz’s eyes met hers, and she felt her breath whoosh out at the sudden intensity of his gaze. He held her gaze a moment longer before standing up carefully.

  “You won’t mind, will you, Oz?” Haze asked, “if Xain and I take her for a spin, right?”

  Molly felt a quick blush come to her cheeks. “Um…”

  Oz’s eyes slid away, and he turned to Xain. “Xain, you’ll keep her in one piece, yes?”

  “Course, brother,” Xain said, standing up.

  Oz turned back to Molly, his wrists glowing brighter and spreading up his arms, bringing out some tribal markings tattooed on his arms. “I’ll see you later, Molly.”

  Molly changed as they waited in the hall, regretting the word ‘okay’ had ever left her mouth. What had she been thinking?

  The two warriors had been too large to fit in the elevator with h
er, so at least she was spared that discomfort. Instead, they only met her in the hall and walked with her back to her room.

  Crap. Crap.

  Once changed, she took a deep breath and opened the door back to the crew hall. Haze and Xain were there, leaning against the wall, chatting easily.

  “Ready?” Haze asked, smiling down at her.

  “…No…” Molly grinned.

  The Pit turned out to be a training room off the dining area. It had a mat area for sparring and various training equipment to the side.

  Xain handed her a staff, calling it a warng and tried to show her how to hold it.

  In the end, Molly only lasted a few minutes. It was heavy. Hard enough just to pick up the fighting staff, let alone try to swing it with any accuracy.

  Xain laughed and sort of steered her around to the dummy. “Here, just aim for this to build up your strength.”

  She swung a few times, half-heartedly, then just stood with the top half of the staff resting against the dummy. The warriors swung and dodged in acrobatic wheels through the air as they darted in and out to tap each other.

  Haze glanced over, saw her staring at them, and did a leap into the air. He swung his staff across Xain’s chest, easily getting away from Xain with a grace and speed Molly didn’t think existed for humans.

  “Yours,” Xain managed, his hands to his knees to draw in a few, deep breaths.

  Haze smiled and bowed his head to Molly.

  Molly looked away and began tapping the dummy again. Crap. The guy was not subtle. What the hell, Molly?

  The doors slid open, and it was Oz. Thank all the stars. He was dressed in black training sweats, same as the others, and the dark color looked great against his skin.

  She put down the staff carefully and walked over to Oz. “You’re here!” she said brightly.

  Oz’s face lit up, and he smiled. Molly felt guilty. She didn’t want to mislead him, but man was she glad he was here.

  “There wasn’t much left to do actually.” He smiled down at her. She felt herself relax, and it warmed her heart a little. He seemed so sweet.

  He walked with her to the dummy, picking up the staff easily. He balanced it in his hand, swooping it back and forth, his eyes never leaving her face. He swiped the dummy front and back and did a little turn, hitting it from behind, then swooped it back and forth in front of him again.

  He looked at her appraisingly. “I think this might be a bit heavy for you to start. Perhaps you’d like to try something like…” He walked over to the stands and picked out a thin, long stick, similar to the warng she’d been using. “We use this with the cubs, so it’s practically unused on the ship. Here—” He held it out to her gently.

  She took it, surprised at its light feeling. “Yes.” She smiled at him. “Much better.”

  He swooped his staff again up and down, slowly, demonstrating for her as she tried to copy. As they synched up, he raised his arms and lowered them, repeating the swoop high and low. She grinned as they swooped in synch.

  His eyes never left her face as he smiled encouragingly. “Good, now you just want to—” He demonstrated a few timed jabs at the dummy with more swoops between.

  She copied with a giggle. It felt awkward and unbalanced, unlike his smooth movements.

  “It gets easier,” Oz reassured her.

  And again she glanced over to him and was rewarded with his warm smile.

  “Want to go, little brother?” Haze called over to him from the sparring mat.

  12

  Oz

  Oz felt his heart sink. Argh. Well, she’ll have already seen the great Haze in action. Best to get it over with.

  “Of course, dear Brother,” he said, winking at Molly and turning. He removed his shoes and took his opening stance on the mat.

  Haze started slow with his dodge and parry. Oz, who typically watched the others practicing, had a slight advantage. Haze didn’t realize that he fell into easily identifiable patterns when he wasn’t challenged enough. Oz took the early advantage and leaped in for a quick strike just as Haze was readying to leave the ground in a ‘surprise’ swoop and slide.

  Haze’s eyes flashed. “Very skilled for an engineer.”

  Oz grunted in acknowledgment but didn’t expect the other points to come as easy, now that Haze was alert.

  Sure enough, Oz was soon out of breath without having scored another point.

  The two spun about, Oz only momentarily finding openings that Haze quickly closed and turned to his advantage. Haze moved like magic, and Oz could only try to protect his weak side and keep his dodges a step ahead of the assault. It was only a delay of the inevitable, but he could feel Molly’s eyes on him as they parried.

  Haze’s eyes turned wolf — his only tell — as he swooped in for another point. Oz rolled fast out of the way and back on his feet, darting in for another stolen point… to Haze’s back. It was the best Oz could manage.

  “Ah hah!” Haze crowed. “Is that the best you can do, brother?”

  Oz leaned down, his hands on his knees, completely spent and groaning in exhaustion. “Yes. Yours, Haze, as you well know.”

  Haze rocked on his feet, not even winded. “Damn right, it is.” He turned quick. “Xain, ready for another go?”

  Xain was standing next to Molly asking something of her, and Oz felt himself come up quick and start moving toward them. He was across the mat in a breath, not even sure whether he’d somehow sprouted wings and flown there. Oz took a quick step back, recovering himself.

  Xain glanced over, a quick compassion on his face. He’d obviously meant no challenge to Oz. Xain took a casual step away from Molly and toward Oz as though to include him in the conversation. “Oz, I was just asking Molly about her family. She has five brothers, so she should feel right at home on this bucket of bolts.”

  “Five brothers?” Oz asked. “Plenty of vouch-safe brothers then. Your family must have been held in high regard.”

  Molly glanced up at him shyly and took a step closer, completing the circle. “My oldest brother, Joe, died in the war so I have four now, but…”

  “I’m sorry.” Oz felt his heart squeeze for her. It was hard to hear of a lost warrior brother, of any species.

  “I’m just glad you all came to help us when you did. It’s been hard to know he’ll never come home. It nearly killed my father, and it would have actually done it to lose any more of them. But we were luckier than most.”

  Her voice drifted off as she glanced toward the mat. “You all fight so well. It’s hard to believe anyone can fight like you do.”

  Haze called over from the mat where he was stretching. “If you’re done yapping your traps over there, don’t we have some sparring to do? Anyone?”

  Oz waved Haze off. “Xain, you’re up.”

  Xain bowed his head to Molly. “Molly, I’m glad of the connection. We shall bond again soon, little sister.”

  13

  Molly

  The big brute took another deep breath, recovering from the most amazing fight Molly had ever seen.

  Not that Xain had been any less impressive. They each had their own style. Haze was definitely the best, almost a magical fighter, but Oz was crazy talented too. Molly could only imagine what they were like with real weapons.

  A whole race of warriors. The Suhlik had definitely enslaved the wrong people.

  Molly had trouble taking her eyes off the massive man. He was so muscular and built. This little voice inside of her gloated: and he’s mine.

  Ugh. Well, for a night — or until he got her pregnant — at least.

  This thought did plenty to kill it for her.

  Still, she felt her eyes being drawn sideways to stare discreetly at his form as they walked back to her room. He was certainly something to look at, and knowing now how he could move… Molly felt a slight quiver run through her.

  As he stopped with her at her room, she wanted to ask how this was supposed to work, but instead she just blushed furiously. Well, crap, how
embarrassing is this?

  Oz cocked his head to the side in confusion. “You’ll be all right?” he asked.

  Molly nodded mutely, not trusting herself to speak, not daring to look him in the eye lest she give herself away. Instead she stared at his muscular chest. Unfortunately he had great definition under the thin tee he now wore.

  “I should…” she managed.

  Oz held out his hand to her palm up.

  Molly hesitated.

  “You don’t have to, if you’d rather not.”

  “Don’t have to what?” She glanced up at him.

  “I wished to touch hands, if you are amenable. I saw it was your custom with the captain. I thought perhaps it would be acceptable if we also—”

  Molly grinned. She’d thought he was offering her some alien gesture, but he was the one trying out the ‘alien thing’.

  “Okay, so you gotta turn your hand sideways like this….” Gingerly she reached out to turn his hand. “And lift your thumb a little. And usually it’s your right hand but… um, this is okay too.”

  Molly slid her hand into his and shook it lightly up and down. “It’s nice to meet you, Oz.”

  Oz didn’t let go but instead placed his other hand on the outside of hers. “It’s nice to meet you, Molly.” He pulled her hand close against his firm chest. “Sleep well, mah lo ma.”

  It translated a moment later in her head to ‘Is my woman’…‘mate’.

  Oz took a step back and released her hand, stepping back into the corridor. The door slid closed in front of him.

  Molly put her hands to her warm cheeks as she walked to the huge bed and fell on it. She covered her face. Thoughts of “This is barbaric” and “I can’t believe he called me his woman” raced through her mind, fighting for supremacy.

  It was later, after she’d put back up the comforting forest scene and gotten ready and fallen back into bed, that the loneliness closed back in on her. She held her mother’s note in her hand. She wasn’t ready to read it yet, but she held it close. She would save it for a special occasion, like her birthday.