by Liz Paffel
“My Prince. You are to be detained for imprisonment.” Quixx caught his gaze and nearly lost his hard mask. “On the charge of treason.”
Chapter Sixteen
Hahn clenched his eyes. His worst fears were coming to the surface. Had his father said something to tip them off?
“Wait.” Hahn held his hands palm up at his old friend. “We need to copy the recall drive on this craft. It can lead us back, but we have to do it now. Do you have a chip?”
He didn’t wait for Quixx to respond before going back into the craft and tapping the console to life. He opened the recall ability in the navigation panel. As Becca had warned, the navigation path was empty, save for their coordinates to Axxeon 9. Everything before that was wiped.
Entering the recall drive, he tapped on the directional mapping. If the drive was still active, he should see a map retracing their path to Yala. It blipped, but nothing populated.
His eyelids fluttered. “No. No!”
It was empty. The only way back to Yala, the women and any clue to the missing Zeph crew was gone.
Quixx looked inside. “Hahn, you have to come with me now. I’m sorry.”
“E’on is alive, Quixx. The crew; they’re alive.” He stared at the console, breathing hard, fighting the rage building inside him. It was all for nothing. A quiet warrior came inside to collect the Estrals. Hahn held himself tightly until he’d left. Finally ripping himself from the ship, he lightly touched Sasha’s back before following Quixx.
He caught Sasha’s eyes. His nostrils flared. He’d failed her. He’d failed them all.
He wasn’t expecting to find Tryllin and his mate Alora waiting outside the detainment room. Priya, Quixx’s mate, was there too. Probably called to accompany Sasha.
Hahn met his brother’s eyes, drinking in the relief and sadness he found there.
“Everyone inside.” Tryllin gestured them all in.
Sasha paused and looked up at Tryllin. He was imposing with his bright green and red hued skin, his strong physique clad in black metafabric pants and shirt with his royal blue cape hanging off his shoulders. He looked down at Sasha, hands clasped behind his back, and gave her the barest nod.
“Your name?”
“Sasha Black.”
“Please, join us.”
She looked from Tryllin to Alora, who stood quietly beside her mate in a blue dress and wrap. She gave Sasha an anticipatory, warm smile as if she couldn’t wait to sit down and talk.
“Sasha Black, what is your acquaintance to the Prince?”
She was about to sit but paused as Tryllin questioned her. “He… saved my life. So, friends, I guess?”
Tryllin gestured to her seat. “Sit.”
“Okay.”
The Queen and Priya sat on either side of her. He was relieved that Sasha didn’t look terribly uncomfortable. She leaned forward slightly and toyed with her fingers, twining them around and around. She was worried, and he hated that he was the cause.
Quixx stood by the door like a silent sentry.
Hahn sat at the end of a long metal table. His brother went to the other side but didn’t sit. “We received two communications from the Threv while you were gone. One with coordinates that we couldn’t decipher.”
“I had the comm channel wide open and running with a continual navigation sequence transmitting. I’d hoped something would get through.” He explained the tear in the galaxy that he’d gone through, the atmospheric storm, and how he’d intercepted the distress call from Sasha’s compound.
The story spilled into finding the females inside the breeding facility and how they’d been captured by the Meshuuks and woken up on Yala on the hem of Hanasha-Yala.
When the conversation died down, he recalled something Tryllin had said. “What was the second communication you received?”
He didn’t miss that his brother hadn’t said. Tryllin shifted his weight.
“You were speaking to someone about rescuing Metetto from his fate. You admitted your intention to disobey the ruling of the Council.”
Of all the fucking transmissions to get through! “I did, yes.”
“When you left here in the Threv, what was your intention?”
“To scout a planet where I could take father to live out his years without starving to death. Enroute to Escapat, I intercepted a transmission from the ghost planet. It led me to a tear in the galaxy. I needed to investigate in case there was any sign of the Zeph.”
“We hadn’t figured out the search grid for the Zeph yet, Hahn. Why did you go looking on your own?”
“Because, finding the Zeph would allow me to declare Nanakka-Rak in our father’s name.”
Tryllin looked stunned. “That was your plan all this time? To claim honor in Metetto’s name to clear him of his charges?”
“Yes! Why wouldn’t I try to save him from a death of starvation on a wasteland?”
“Because, brother, he created his fate when he betrayed his people and allowed genocide to nearly end us!” Tryllin pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead and spun away. He took a few breaths and turned back to Hahn.
“Saving the human females was an honorable thing to do.”
“Yes, but they were not enough. None of them are worth enough to convince the Council to overturn our father’s fate.”
Hahn’s face tingled the moment the words flew from his mouth. He didn’t look at Sasha. Her chair squeaked as she shifted. Damn it, he hadn’t meant it like that! He kept his eyes on his brother. Tryllin’s jaw clenched, but Hahn detected a softness in him. After a moment, the King stood to his full height and waved a hand.
“Clear the room.”
Alora and Priya took Sasha away, the guards and Quixx following behind. The door slid shut and Tryllin crumpled into a seat across from Hahn. “Do you know the pain this is putting me through? You left, unauthorized, and disappeared. Completely. We only recently ended a war with our enemies that could have killed us both. I’ve tried to keep you from the front lines, but you refuse. Instead, you throw yourself into trouble.”
“I won’t apologize.”
Tryllin’s hand came down so hard on the table that it rattled. “You were all that I have left of my own blood!”
Hahn clenched his eyes and turned his head. Tryllin’s words sunk in slowly. “Did you say, “were?”
One corner of his brother’s lips pulled up. “Alora is carrying my kinder. We’ve just completed the incubation period.” Tryllin grabbed Hahn’s hand and squeezed. “I thought that I would never be able to tell you. That you would never know.”
Hahn burst from his chair and grabbed Tryllin with one arm, looping it around his shoulders and pulling him in. They breathed hard in tandem for a few beats before drawing apart.
“There’s a kinder on Yala, half human, half Axxeon. A female. I saw her with my own eyes. Sasha helped the mother deliver. A female, my King. Do you know what this means for us?” Hahn pressed his lips together and held back his emotions. “I may never see your kinder, but at least I have a beautiful memory to imagine as yours.”
Their eyes met. Hahn hurried on. “I found E’on’s mate on Yala. She is human, she knew he was the Zeph’s pilot, and that the rest of the crew was alive. Don’t you see? They’re out there, but we can’t get to them now. Yala’s coordinates are cloaked. Our men are alive, and we can’t allow them to be lost to us.”
Tryllin sank into the chair. “That’s the best news. And, it might be enough to convince the council to overlook your transgression.”
“How long until father’s exile?”
“A day or two. We slowed our speed to allow you to catch us in the event you reappeared. You jumped ahead two full rotations, Hahn.” Tryllin stood and paced as if restlessness had overtaken him. “I will speak to the Council. And the GU. They may be able to help us find Yala.”
“What about father?”
“What about him?”
“Tryllin.”
“You need to let him go, Hahn. I’m sorry, but you’ll b
e shown to a detainment chamber. I can’t allow you to return to your quarters. What… shall I tell your female?”
Tell her? He’d insulted her. They’d mated and his biggest fear had come true. He was arrested for treason. Soon, every Axxeon would know what he’d done. He could make no claim to her now.
“She’s not my female.”
Tryllin paused and looked back at him. “You forget, brother. I can read your face down to your smallest emotion. You may be able to fool yourself with your denial, but you’re not fooling me.”
Chapter Seventeen
Sasha couldn’t stop pacing the room she’d been given.
She’d taken an honest to goodness bath, in a tub and everything. Washed and conditioned her hair. Ate until she thought her insides would explode. Yet, sleep evaded her. She couldn't sit still or stop worrying about Hahn.
What he’d said… it ripped her to little pieces inside.
She and the others hadn’t been worth it for him. All this, all the work he’d put into saving her had meant nothing because none of it had helped him reach his goal. A small part of her knew that he hadn’t meant the words quite the way her heart was taking them.
He’d warned her that this might not end well.
He’d warned her that he be driven away from her.
He’d warned her that she might lose him.
A couple of times in the night, she thought she saw Darren’s smiling face in the corner of the room. It was just her subconscious, but it was trying to tell her something. Hahn had been her hero, but his warnings had come true. He was lost to her now. There was no denying what had been between them had been real. Her heart ached for him.
It didn’t do any good to wallow in desperation in her want for him. Yet, she couldn’t stop it more than she could stop breathing.
A soft rap at her door pulled her attention. The best she could tell, it was early morning. Her internal clock was so screwed up, it was hard to tell. Padding to the door in her flowing pants and top, she pressed the button that slid it open. The Queen stood there with a sheepish look on her face. Her long, dark hair curled around her shoulders.
“Do you mind if we come in?”
We?
Priya peeked her head from behind Alora and gave a little wave.
“Of course.” She stood back so the women could enter. They’d been kind to her earlier, ushering her out of the detainment room when Hahn was being questioned and showing her to these quarters. They’d insisted she soak in the baths and get anything she wished from the food synthesizers. While kind, they’d kept a bit of distance as if to give her space.
She’d had enough space.
Alora sat in a plush gray chair, her youthful face dotted with freckles and a healthy, pink glow on her cheeks. “On a scale of zero to fifty, how overwhelmed are you?”
Sasha took a seat too and shrugged. “One hundred?”
“Well she’s got me beat,” Priya laughed. “I was a solid ninety-nine.” She sat beside Alora. “Look, both of us were in your shoes. It feels like a lifetime ago, but it’s really been a handful of months.”
“Um, we heard that, you delivered a hybrid Axxeon baby.”
“I did.” Sasha smiled at the memory before a pang of sadness robbed it away. She couldn’t think about Becca and E’La without serious anxiety. “She was perfect.”
“Did she have, you know, the solarderm pattern?”
“What color were her eyes?”
“Was she unusually big for a baby? Like, bigger than a normal human baby?”
Sasha laughed and looked between the women. “Okay, which one of you is expecting?”
Priya raised her hand and smoothed her flowing red gown over her enviously cute baby belly. “They tell me I will deliver any time, but I’m not sure they know. Despite all the human brides here, I, apparently, will be the first to deliver.”
“I would just be happy to be able to drink water without throwing it up. Morning sickness is a bitch.”
“Congratulations to both of you.”
The sadness was almost too much. She stood and took a sip of water from the glass beside the bed.
“Listen,” Alora said gently. “My father in law, whom I’ve never met, is being exiled today. He’ll be transported to this horrible planet we’re coming up to today. Hahn goes before the Council to plead for his life in less than an hour. Is there anything you can share about your time with him that could be used in his case for his freedom?”
Tears hit her eyes fast. She shook her head helplessly. “Everything he was trying to do was to help his father, which I know is against the rules. I’m sorry. Anything I have to say will only strengthen the case against him.”
“I understand. One day, if you’re up to it, I want to hear all about your adventures.”
“Can I see him?” Sasha burst as a tear ran down her face.
The women looked at each other before Alora smiled sympathetically. “He’s requested… not to see you. I’m very sorry.”
Well, that stung like a son of a bitch. “I guess, I’m not surprised.”
“It’s not what you probably think, Sasha. He refuses to attach to you because of everything going on. He’s afraid that the council will condemn him. If you’re together, that means a downfall for you, too. With your skills, you could easily join the Galax Union and have options. He wants you to have options.”
“I know. He told me all of that. I know, but I still… I shouldn’t…”
“But you do.”
She nodded at Priya. “But I do.”
“Come with,” Alora said hurriedly. “I have to sit in on Hahn’s assessment with the Council. You can observe from the back. He’ll never know you’re there if you don’t want him to.”
Could she really stand by and watch him get condemned to exile? Yet, how could she leave him to do this alone? She’d never wanted to be there for someone more in her life. She nodded as she rose and scrambled for something to wear. All the clothes were the same-- loose fitting pants, form fitting top, or a flowy dress thing.
“I’ll just change.”
The women were standing by the time she came out of the cleansing room, changed into a pale green pants and top set, not unlike the scrubs she was used to wearing at the hospital. She’d found a band and twisted her hair into a braid that hung down her back.
In the hallway, Priya went her separate way and Sasha followed the Queen to a hallway done in an opulent silver paneling with a floor that appeared to hover slightly off the ground. The end of the hall opened into a large room with two rows of raised half-circular seats. It reminded her of a mixture of a courtroom and college lecture hall. Alora directed her to a spot in the back where she could view the room while sitting unnoticed.
King Tryllin came in and Alora moved to join him. Hahn followed behind. Sasha gripped her knees with her hands until her fingers hurt. Hahn had a metal collar around his neck and shackles on his wrists. A thick length of chain connected them. His back was ramrod straight, but his head was slightly bent.
He couldn’t let his break him.
This wasn’t right! His crime was loving his father unconditionally. It’s the type of love humans claimed to crave. Here it was in its truest form and he was being punished.
Metetto had committed a heinous crime. She still didn’t know the full ins and outs of what he’d done, but his own people had ruled it severe enough to sentence him to exile. Perhaps Hahn shouldn’t have taken his father’s sentence in his own hands. It was a choice he’d made out of pure, unadulterated love.
The rows of seats partially filled with Axxeon draped in red robes.
An uncomfortable silence filled the room. And then Quixx walked in with a tall, thin Axxeon in similar chains as Hahn. He clanked to a stop. Everyone turned to look, all eyes widening with surprise.
“This man requests to be present at the assessment of his son. It is a request our laws will not allow us to refuse.”
Tryllin’s shoulders softened as the man w
alked the center aisle and approached.
“How did he come to know about the assessment?” One of the Council members asked.
Quixx shrugged. “I may have mentioned it in passing.”
Metetto broke free of Quixx’s lax grip to rush to Hahn. He pressed his forehead against his son’s, neither of them saying a word. Then he turned to Tryllin and gave a respectful dip of his head. His expression was eager to for some physical touch, but Tryllin stood resolute.
Quixx took hold of his chain and guided him to sit.
“Prince Hahn, this is a position we’d hoped to never repeat. Yet, here we are, trying a member of the royal family in our court.”
Sasha swallowed the lump in her throat.
The charges were read. The situation explained. Hahn repeated what he’d seen on Yala, the promise that the crew of the Zeph was alive and residing inside the city wall. Becca and the infant. The recovered Estral spawn.
The Council didn’t react to any of it. Nothing. Until Hahn was done speaking and an awkward stretch of silence filled the space.
Finally, a man in the center stood. “Your charge is the intent to release an executive prisoner, which is an act of treason against this court. There is nothing in your recounting of events that can untangle you from your intended misdeed. I am sorry, my Prince—”
“Wait!” Metetto stood with great effort, as if the chains were much too heavy for him.
“You are a prisoner. Sit down.”
“I claim Nanakka-Rak in honor of my son, Prince Hahn.”
The council member’s mouth gaped. He was momentarily speechless. “You claim an act of honor? You’re convicted of treason. You have no honor.”
“Perhaps not, but I know how to access entry to the planet Yala so our men can finish what my son started. Without him, you would have no idea that the crew of the Zeph survived. Because of him, you have a verified account. And I have the way inside.”
“No, we have only his word that E’on and the others were there. His word cannot be collaborated.”
Sasha took a hard breath and stood. “I was there. I delivered the human woman’s child. The child of E’on. It was an Axxeon infant. I held her in my hands.”
