Mrax

by Layla Nash

  Of course, the Earthers tended to have a different understanding of what constituted “sensible.” He growled and started packing his medical equipment. They would have to leave the planet ahead of schedule to avoid paying for Rowan’s little bargain. He’d throw a bag over her head and drag her kicking and screaming back to the Galaxos. Even if she was his mate.

  Especially because she was his mate.

  He caught a glimpse of his shoulder as he stripped off his robes and pulled on a set of coveralls so he could work on the ships that Rowan had gotten nearly flightworthy. The prosthetic scales distracted him with a memory of Rowan’s gentle touch and intense concentration as she hooked the fabricated scales into his existing ones and hammered them carefully into place. His heart grew a little at the thought of her creativity and thoughtfulness. She filled a part of him he hadn’t known was empty.

  And his words hurt her. His attitude caused her pain and put an injured expression on her face. Made her doubt herself and how special she was. Mrax’s anger vanished and he sank onto the couch as regret overwhelmed him instead. She was his mate and he’d hurt her.

  He was lower than a sandsnake. Worse than a haugmawt.

  How would he ever make it up to her?

  Chapter 30

  Rowan

  Rowan moved frantically through the boneyard, driven not only by the need to fix the ships but also by the pace of her own thoughts. She replayed the entire day down to the last second and searched for where things had gone wrong. She knew the others were angry about the engine or at least how she’d gotten it, but there wasn’t much she could do about it that moment.

  Her sinuses prickled as she hopped out of the repaired cargo bay of the large transporter they’d identified as salvageable. But Rowan pushed away even the possibility of tears. She’d never been so prone to crying in her life. Maybe it was being with Mrax. He made her feel vulnerable and... soft. Delicate. She hadn’t minded so much when he was being kind and protective, but his anger made her deeply uneasy.

  And... hurt. His rejection hurt, especially after what they’d shared, and worse than getting cooked medium well by a faulty nanobridge. He hadn’t said a word the whole flight back from the headquarters building, and then shouted at her in front of Jess and Trazzak.

  Rowan shook her head and wiped her forehead with her sleeve. She should have changed into coveralls after they returned, but she couldn’t face the cabin and the possibility of running into Mrax. She took a deep breath as her toolbelt rattled and a concave piece of metal fell out of where she wedged it near the pliers. Rowan picked it up as her vision blurred. One of the scales she’d been testing for Mrax.

  Before she could decide whether to leave it in the scrap pile or continue working on it, something moved in the open field behind her. Rowan looked back and frowned when she saw Yraz, the Dablonian salesman, and two others of his kinsmen. She faced them, still holding the scale, and tentatively smiled back as they approached.

  Yraz held his hands out and bowed from the waist yet again. “Miss Rowan, I am glad we found you. We have prepared the engineering bay for your work, and the shield array is ready for your knowledge and expertise. Our engineers have not been able to deploy the arrays while maintaining the cloaking capability. It has been quite a challenge.”

  Her spirits lifted. A challenge. It would be perfect to get her mind off Mrax and everything else. Although... no doubt that would just irritate Mrax and Jess even more. They’d think Rowan put herself in danger by going with the Dablonians. When she hesitated, the Dablonian’s head tilted to the side in an inquisitive cant. “Surely you still wish to hold up your end of our bargain? We can certainly take that engine prototype back.”

  Rowan couldn’t tolerate that. She already had big plans for the engine, even if the rest of her team couldn’t see it. She took a deep breath and shook her head. “No, we intend to keep the engine. I thought the lab wouldn’t be ready until tomorrow. I planned other work for the rest of the day.”

  “We didn’t expect to have sufficient lab space,” Yraz said. His smile never slipped. “And I must admit to an additional motive in seeking you out this way, Engineer Rowan.”

  Her heart jumped to her throat and made it harder to breathe. She didn’t have a blaster or other weapon on her, and she couldn’t hear any of the team moving around in that far-flung corner of the boneyard. “Oh?”

  The Dablonian bowed again. “My leadership wishes to offer you a job.”

  “A job?” Rowan laughed, rubbing the back of her neck. “They don’t know anything about me. How could you offer me a job?”

  “We know all we need to know,” he said. “You are a brilliant engineer who fixed one of our most annoying engineering problems in less than an afternoon, and far more elegantly than our engineers could have. And you are an Earther, a species known for daring and occasionally baffling problem-solving. My leadership would very much like to entice you to stay and assist us.”

  She shook her head with just a touch of regret as the memory of that wonderful lab crossed her mind. “I’m flattered, I am, but I can’t leave—”

  “Please only consider it.” The Dablonian bowed once more and held out his hand to gesture behind him at a sleek surface runner at least five generations more advanced than what she’d flown up to their building. She’d never seen anything so beautiful in her life. Rowan took an unconscious step toward it, aching to examine all the fantastic tech it no doubt carried. Yraz’s smile spread, like he could read her mind. “We would like to show you the lab that would be yours and some of the technology we wish your assistance with. And of course we can provide you more information on your salary and benefits. I’m certain we can come up with agreeable terms.”

  Rowan didn’t want to be tempted. She really didn’t want to be tempted. But at least Yraz appreciated her work. The Dablonians weren’t the nicest or most trustworthy of species, at least from what she’d seen in the Fleet, and they were known for associating with all kinds of nefarious renegades, including slave traders. But if she were just working on engineering, she wouldn’t have anything to do with that.

  It still didn’t feel right.

  Rowan gestured behind her at where the cabin and the rest of her crew waited. “I’m happy to go with you to work on the engineering problem you have with the shield arrays, but I should tell my colleagues.”

  Yraz made a thoughtful sound, almost mournful, as he shook his head with disappointment. “Ah yes. The Xaravian. We were concerned to see his unwillingness to support your negotiations and clear technical talent. Despite their ability to travel the universe, they are still quite barbaric. They live by less civilized rules, Engineer Rowan. He may not be able to tolerate a female as independent and clever as you are.”

  She wanted to read into his phrasing and what felt like manipulation, but part of her agreed with him. She’d been concerned about Mrax’s lack of support, too. If he wasn’t willing to take her input on something as simple as an engine purchase, how could she possibly expect him to support her in anything else?

  But Rowan didn’t want to reveal her inner turmoil to the Dablonian. She forced a smile and made up her mind, picking up her toolbelt once more. The scale fell out of her grip and she left it there in the dust; she didn’t think it would work out, anyway. “I need to be back before dark, though. I can return to the lab tomorrow if I’m not able to fix the arrays today.”

  “But of course,” Yraz said. He bowed once more and led the way to the beautiful, sleek surface runner. “Would you like to fly our newest test plane? It is supposed to be a secret project for the Alliance, but I thought you would appreciate some of our modifications.”

  The ship took her breath away, particularly once the Dablonian and his minions opened the gate and let her clamber aboard. Rowan whispered a good luck charm under her breath and completely missed when Yraz’s expression hardened into a predator’s attention.

  Chapter 31

  Mrax

  Mrax waited longer th
an he wanted to to go out into the boneyard and search for Rowan. He’d practiced the apology in his head over and over until he knew it by heart. Apologizing did not come naturally to Xaravians. He couldn’t remember the last time he told someone he regretted how he spoke to them. Possibly never.

  He searched in the usual places he’d found her—some of the mostly-repaired ships, some of her favorites to take apart, and some of the quiet areas where she gravitated for relaxation. None of them showed any signs of Rowan’s presence.

  All he found was her absence.

  Silence reigned in the boneyard. Nothing moved. His hearts pounded a little faster and he moved with more purpose to the center of the boneyard and started searching methodically. Her scent lingered in some of the areas she’d spent more time, but the scent trail had aged to the point he couldn’t use it to find her. A strong breeze stirred the dust but brought nothing new.

  Panic bubbled up in his chest as he moved faster and faster, into a near run, and called for Trazzak and Jess to join him. He grew wild with worry, desperate to find a hint of Rowan’s presence, and he didn’t care if the others knew it.

  Trazzak skidded up, weapons out, and his scales practically glowed red and orange. “Brother. What’s going on?”

  “She’s gone,” Mrax said. He didn’t want to stop moving, stop searching, because every wasted second meant Rowan got farther away from him. “She’s gone. I can’t find her.”

  Jess sucked in a desperate breath. “What do you mean? What the hell happened?”

  “I meant to apologize. I searched.” Mrax turned in a circle, still scanning the surroundings in the hopes he’d see Rowan hop out of one of the rusted ships. “I can’t find her. There’s no trace.”

  “Where have you searched?” Trazzak put away his blaster but kept his knife in hand. “We’ll help. Jess, can you fly the surface runner above the boneyard and search for her that way?”

  Jess gave him a dirty look and muttered, “I’m a better pilot than you,” then took off at a run to get the ship.

  Mrax prepared to do the same but paused as Trazzak caught his shoulder and squeezed. “Brother, we will find her. If she is not here, if someone has taken her... We will not rest until she is safe. I swear it to you.”

  It should have reassured him, but Mrax feared in his hearts that he’d driven Rowan away and she would be lost in the desert thinking he disdained her incredible talent and enthusiasm. He could only nod and breathe and wait for Trazzak to help him decide what to do next. The other warrior glanced up as the surface runner circled close enough to kick up more dust, working in ever-widening circles, and a pair of radios dropped from one of the ports.

  Trazzak handed one to Mrax, checked that they worked, and pointed into the boneyard. “You start there. North and then south. I’ll take the other half. We converge if there are any signs. Would she leave anything behind?”

  Mrax didn’t know. It just drove home how little he knew about Rowan, and the possibility that he might not have the chance to discover all of those little quirks and thoughts. “She would not leave her tools or something half-finished. Other than that... I don’t know.”

  Trazzak nodded, squeezed his shoulder once more, and set off at a jog. Mrax turned and did the same. Some of his panic receded as the surface runner kept making passes and Jess provided a few updates as she flew lower to search for signs. They would find her. They had to find her.

  He reached the border of the boneyard once more and found signs of work on the massive transporter ship they’d considered repairing. Mrax sucked in a breath and immediately radioed the others. Trazzak arrived at a run and the surface runner began to search the surroundings.

  Mrax pointed at a half-finished weld along the hull of the transporter. “This wasn’t here before. She would have come out here, since it’s…far away from the cabin and where we were. And this was the last ship we discussed getting ready. I know she was here.”

  “Then we search,” Trazzak said. “There will be footprints. Some kind of disturbance.”

  It didn’t take long before Mrax found the glint of metal, half-hidden in dust and sand from the desert surrounding the boneyard. He picked it up and his hearts sank. One of the scales she’d been working on. For him. “Here. She wouldn’t leave this.”

  “Even if she were pissed at you?” Trazzak asked.

  Mrax shook his head, though he wondered why he was so certain. He didn’t deserve to be that certain, not after what he’d said and done. If she truly thought he’d given up on her, maybe she gave up on him as well. “I like to think not. She would have finished it because it was…because I was an engineering challenge. Something she could fix.”

  Trazzak radioed to Jess and the surface runner rose and sped off to search the desert. Mrax inhaled deeply, searching for a clue, and froze as a hint of semi-familiar scent reached him. Dablonians. The Dablonian salesman. The stink of their clammy skin and the vaguely serpentine disturbance in the air... He growled. “It was them.”

  “The Dablonians?”

  “Those weapons dealers. They took her.”

  The other warrior scanned the area, then glanced at him. “There’s no sign of a disturbance or struggle.”

  Mrax growled and lurched toward the warrior. “Are you saying she went with them willingly?”

  “Maybe.” Trazzak didn’t back down. “She was upset. Why wouldn’t she run, if she thought she didn’t have any support here?”

  Mrax shook his head to deny it, though his hearts knew that Trazzak could have been right. The temptation of the fancy lab and interesting challenges... Whatever the Dablonians offered her must have truly dazzled compared to the austere life of the rebellion. He took a deep breath and picked up the scale to tuck in his pocket, then headed out into the desert to search for tracks. She couldn’t have disappeared into thin air—although there was no telling what kind of cruisers those Dablonians had developed.

  “No. They took her. They stole her. If she wants to stay there, then fine. I will find a way to survive it. But I want her to tell me to my face that she’s leaving the rebellion and her friends. Me.”

  Trazzak didn’t speak but followed him back to the cabin. Mrax’s spikes rattled as he strode toward the cabin. Those fucking Dablonians would learn how Xaravians reacted when their mates were stolen.

  Chapter 32

  Rowan

  Rowan thought her mouth would hang open forever after Yraz’s tour. There was so much more to the company than they’d seen when Mrax negotiated for the weapons. Lab after lab opened up before her with technology she hadn’t even dreamed of. Servants ran up to her with snacks and drinks and fantastic cuisine. Yraz handed her a tablet with schematics and test results and bug reports, and talked her through their entire process for developing new engines and ships and cloaking and weapons. She’d never seen anything like it, even in the experimental labs in the Fleet.

  Yraz smiled and followed her around with an obsequious degree of bowing and murmuring about what a talented engineer she was. Some of the tension in her chest eased as all the opportunities distracted her. And then Yraz paused in the largest lab she’d ever seen, filled with test equipment, spare parts, and a massive set of shields connected by quantum bridges. She breathed, “Holy cow,” under her breath as she hustled over to examine the array.

  She hadn’t even thought that was possible. She’d never seen anything like it in the Fleet or among the rebels. Whoever deployed that first would be invisible to the other side. Rowan glanced over her shoulder at where the Dablonians watched her, the servants poised to fulfill her every whim. “This is fantastic. How did you…Who came up with this?”

  Yraz didn’t blink. “We have some creative ways of modeling and developing concepts before we produce them. Any wild idea you have, we can test the parameters immediately and create a prototype within a day. Imagine all that you can do with these capabilities, Engineer Rowan.”

  She could imagine. She already had. Rowan had often pitched ideas and w
hat her leadership called “harebrained schemes” but no one ever let her build what she really wanted. Everything she ever wanted surrounded her. Waited for her wildest whim.

  “And you would have a whole team to execute whatever you want,” Yraz murmured, like he could read her mind. “Engineers, data scientists, modelers, test pilots... whomever and whatever you need.”

  Rowan cleared her throat as she gazed at the shields. “This is all very generous.”

  “Let us discuss it more over a meal,” the Dablonian said. “I would like to discuss the many benefits you can expect.”

  Rowan glanced around, wondering how long she’d been inside and mesmerized by all the technology. “I really should reach out to my colleagues. Make sure they’re not worried.”

  “Why would they be?” he asked almost gently. “That Xaravian didn’t seem very concerned when you wished to barter for our prototype propulsion system. He only wanted to leave. Perhaps they have not even noticed you’re gone.”

  She hated to think that but part of her feared he could have been right. Maybe the three of them were all sitting in the cabin, waiting for the heat of the day to dissipate, while letting her run around in the boneyard alone. She’d been the only one helping the rebellion. It felt like being back in the Fleet—most people slacked off and only a few got the work done.

  So she nodded and gestured for the Dablonian to lead the way. “I think I have a little time. But after the meal, I should get going.”

  “Of course,” he said, and bowed once more. “We will be happy to take you back to that graveyard of technology.”