by Lee Savino
“What do you think I've been trying to do?” Tor snarls. "The High Commander is unwilling to listen and now more of my Vgotha warriors have died because he is too much of a Jabol pawn to meet with me. I cannot send the message without risking the Jabol knowing about it. So now I have you and eventually he will have to agree to a meeting."
"Maybe but... that won't make him a better listener." I look up at Tor, meeting his gaze. "Let us go. We can take him the video and tell him everything you just told us. We can speak for you."
Tor's brow furrows, but I can tell he's thinking about it. He shakes his head. "I would rather speak for myself."
"You can't force someone to listen to you," I say in exasperation. "If you drag him, unwilling, to a meeting, he's not going to be in a listening frame of mind. Kidnapping us was an act of war, that makes you the bad guy in this scenario, even if you're trying to do the right thing in the long run. The Tsenturions lost everyone they loved long ago they're going to be too freaked out to listen to you if you're holding us over their heads the whole time.”
At least Gavrill and Bogdan will be, since they're the most emotionally involved, but since they're also the top two ranking warriors in the fleet it doesn't really matter if someone else might be thinking more clearly. "But if you let us go back, it's a clear peace offering and it's exactly what they won't expect."
Dawn makes a muffled noise behind her gag, like she's trying to talk. Narrowing his eyes, Tor studies her.
"No screaming," he says, and she nods in agreement. With another wave of his hand, the gag recedes.
"I escaped last time, because your ship helped me," she says quickly, like she's afraid she won't be able to get the words out before he gags her again. "Gavrill and the warriors were already confused by that, confused by the fact that you didn't harm me at all, they wondered why. If you let us go, deliberately, that just makes everything you're saying more believable."
Tor begins to pace, obviously thinking about our words but unsure of changing his plan.
“Send Dawn back," I say suddenly. "I’ll stay here.”
“No,” Dawn gasps, but I keep talking to Tor.
“I trust you. Someone has to start trusting around here. It may as well be me.” And my negotiating skills might keep me alive even if this is a trick. I definitely get the impression that Tor likes me better than Dawn. "Maybe if I show some trust, you will too."
“You’re a brave one,” Tor rumbles, pausing beside me. He cocks his head as he looks down at me, studying my expression.
“Thank you?" It comes out as more of a question than anything else, because I'm not sure if that's really a good description for me right now. I don't feel particularly brave. Just out of options.
“I wouldn’t mind a Tribute of my own.” He caresses my cheek with a callused finger. Dawn chokes on a gasp.
Argh. Males. I very gently move my face away from his touch.
“I’m not interested in that sort of relationship,” I say firmly. “I’m already in one and it’s complicated enough.”
A strange sound fills my ears, like rocks rolling into each other, and I realize he’s chuckling.
“So brave. And honest. Very well. I will not claim a Tribute... yet.”
“So, you agree? You’ll let Dawn go?” I persist.
“No,” Tor clicks a finger and both our bonds release. “I’ve decided. Both of you will go back.”
“What’s the catch?” Dawn rubs her wrists, scuttling past Tor to help me off the table.
“If I only send one of you back, it will still seem as though I am the 'bad guy,' yes?" He speaks the slang a little oddly, although he definitely gets the general idea. "So, I will be definitely not-the-bad-guy and I will send you both back. But if the Tsenturions do not listen to you, if they attack us again, we will not hold back this time. We have new ships, new weapons, and we will destroy them. I will not accept any further unnecessary losses of my people. After today, many are already unsure that we should forgive the Tsenturions for their ignorance."
“Fine.” I’m not going to argue with him, I'm just going to have to hope that Gavrill will listen better to Dawn and me than he has to Tor himself. “Can you give us a copy of the video? We promise we will only show it to the high command, in a secure location.” The Jabol definitely won’t like the Tsenturions knowing they’re really the enemy. We need to keep this a secret as long as possible. I can’t keep it from Bogdan though. Thankfully, as Gavrill’s second-in-command, he’s part of the high command.
Dawn and I lean against each other, not so much because we can't hold ourselves up, as to just reassure ourselves that we're really okay. That we have support if we need it.
Tor motions and the wall ejects a tiny cylinder. When he hands it to me, my fingers curl around it, gripping it tightly. So much depends on this one little cylinder.
“Follow me." Tor leads us into a long corridor, the rough hewn walls glitter in the light he pulls from a pouch on his waist. The light is dimmer than I would like but it's just enough to see by. Dawn and I stumble along behind him, keeping our eyes to the ground so that we don't trip over anything.
I can't tell how long we walk or how many turns we take. I do know I couldn’t easily find my way back through the caves, definitely not without getting lost. Every so often we hear voices, deep rumbling ones, and I know it must be more Vgotha. I guess Tor didn't have to check in with the others about his plan.
I have to admit, now that I'm here, I'm curious about the Vgotha and how their society is structured. Do they live the same way as they did before they were enslaved by the Jabol? How has their society changed since they escaped? More questions pop into my head—do they have mates? Children? A home?
I keep from asking any of my questions though, unsure of their welcome. I also am not sure I want to know all of the answers. It's too sad. Too infuriating. And I can only handle so much right now.
The corridor begins to get brighter, my leg muscles starting to burn with exertion, and I realize we're going uphill. As the opening appears in the distance, Tor comes to a halt, turning to look at Dawn and me. A little worm of fear wriggles through me; he's not going to change his mind about letting us go, is he?
"Many cycles passed before the Vgotha understood why we were being hunted," he says, his voice sad. "Many more before we discovered what really happened, and even more until we could prove it. During that time, we fought to defend ourselves. But we are tired of living in hiding. My hope is that you will be able to convince the Tsenturions to hear us out.”
“We want to help,” I say, speaking for both Dawn and I. She nods her head, surprisingly quiet. “Thank you for trusting us.”
"If they do not believe the vid, if they do not believe you, tell the High Commander—we are no longer the easy prey they found us to be initially," Tor says, his eyes flashing even in the dark. I go very still, my breathing stuttering a little. The male is an apex predator and right now he is deadly serious. "Tell him, the Riknari gave us the vid. They gave us our new ships and tech. And if we do not prevail on our own, they will be back to help us."
"Who are the Riknari?" I ask, confused and a little scared. Something about the way Tor said their name made me think he was making a really dramatic statement.
"Just tell the High Commander." Tor nods and points to the long corridor. "Now go. Turn right when you get out of the cave."
Glancing at each other, Dawn and I instinctively reach out to grab each other's hands and we run the last long length of the corridor together, bursting out into the forest from a cave. Panting, I look over my shoulder to see that the blackness of the cave swallowed up any sign of Tor, if he is even still there watching us.
I look at Dawn. "So? What do you think?"
She chews on her lower lip. "I don't know. I mean... he did just let us go..."
"They did that with you before though, kind of," I point out.
"The ship did." She rubs one hand over her face. "But... I felt like he was telling the
truth. Or at least, what he believes is the truth. Maybe he’s right. Maybe this was all a frame job and the Jabol are the real bad guys.”
Which is a really hard thing to swallow. Because that means our guys are also the bad guys in a way. Duped. Ignorant. But still fighting on the side of evil.
I reach for my usual standby of dealing with things I don’t want to think about—distraction. Turning in a slow circle, all I can see are trees.
"So, I guess we go right?" Sadly, there's not a path or anything. That would be way too easy, I guess.
"Um... it does look a little less dense. And I guess if we're going to trust Tor, we might as well trust that he's not just sending us out here on the planet to die," she says. Good point. So, we start walking.
I am extra thankful that we got 'planet' clothes. I can't even imagine how much harder this would have been in a filmy Tsenturion gown. I'm not sure that Dawn is right about this direction being less dense, but it's definitely not more densely forested than any of the other directions.
I'm not sure it matters anyway.
"I think Tor definitely liked you better than me," Dawn says after a few long minutes of silence.
"Um..."
"He's kind of hot, right? In a weird, Dark Elf kind of way."
Huh. Now that she mentions it, he does kind of look like a Dark Elf. A little furrier than I pictured them, but close enough.
"Do you think he has a weird penis too?" she muses.
"It would be kind of disappointing if he didn't," I respond with a laugh.
I guess if we have to hike across a weird alien planet, looking for our alien mates, we might as well talk about weird alien peen.
Unfortunately, it's a hot weird alien planet and I'm sweaty and thirsty within twenty minutes... which is, thankfully, when we hear someone yelling our names.
26
Bogdan
"Pareena!"
I can't believe my eyes.
The High Commander had set the ships to scanning the planet at regular intervals, but we hadn't actually expected it to pick up anything. Not after the first scan when we realized the Vgotha had managed to not only hide themselves, but to obscure the nanotech signals from the bride training belts.
At best, we thought we'd catch a ship as it lifted into the air.
Instead, suddenly, the bride trainers flashed their location on our scans. They were not on the island, which means all our searching there had been useless. Even knowing it could be a trap, Gavrill and I had immediately led a team to where their signatures had been picked up. The forest was too dense for a shuttle, but we landed as close as we could and he and I began running straight for their location, shouting their names.
If the Vgotha were there, we wanted them to know we were coming, in hopes of springing the trap. The other warriors hung back, waiting to see what happened.
"Bogdan!" My Pareena runs through the trees, joy on her face, streaking toward me. The relief that I feel upon seeing her is so overpowering that when she jumps forward and against me, wrapping her legs and arms around me, I fall to my knees. I can feel her again, feel her joy, her love, warming me from the inside out. The sparkles on my armor swirl and flash like tiny nebulas moving over me.
Close by, Gavrill and Tribute Dawn are having a similar reunion, his hands running over her as if he cannot believe that he's touching her again. I know how he feels.
"How did you get away from the Vgotha?" I ask, holding my Pareena so tightly that it is a wonder she can breathe. Pride surges through me. I already knew my Tribute was a wonder, but even I would not have expected such a wonder from her. Unless perhaps the ship somehow helped them again? I am rather skeptical of such an idea. I cannot imagine the Vgotha are so incompetent that they would fail to block an avenue that had already been utilized.
“Not now," Gavrill says, his voice snapping out as he becomes the High Commander again. "We're too vulnerable here on planet. We’ll head straight back to the ship. Medik is waiting and you can tell us your story there.” He turns to our other warriors. "Go back that way, find where the Vgotha are hiding and destroy them."
Strangely, I feel my Pareena tense, feel her uncertainty and... I am not certain what else, but I do not think it is good.
"Wait!" Tribute Dawn yells out and all of the warriors freeze. "Um, you should all come back with us, okay? You shouldn't go after the Vgotha until Pareena and I tell our story."
The High Commander gives her a long look, his face stony, but he nods before lifting her into his arms, refusing to let her walk. He looks at the warriors, who are waiting for his order. "Guard our retreat."
Since I am already holding my Pareena, I begin to move toward the ship as quickly as I can. The skin along the back of my neck prickles, as though there are watchers in the woods, but that is impossible. The scans did not see any Vgotha and there is no sign of them now. Perhaps they were pursuing the Tributes and fell back when they saw us? I tighten my grip on her, eyes scanning the trees for further threat.
“You’re safe now,” I kiss along her hairline, moving quickly through the forest. As soon as I get her back on the ship. “The Vgotha will never touch you again, I vow it.”
For some reason, I swear I can feel her consternation increase. I tighten my grip on her, picking up my pace as the small clearing where we landed appears. I don’t understand the emotions I am picking up from her and that causes me even more concern.
The shuttle door opens as we rush toward it, the warriors around us alert for another Vgotha attack. Medik is waiting inside with two warriors he’s been training as his assistants. Transport platforms hover beside them. Gavrill and I both ignore the platforms, electing to carry our Tributes and set them on our laps for Medik to scan. Pareena leans against me, the side of her face nuzzling into my shoulder.
“No internal trauma,” Medik announces. “And no external wounds as far as I can see.” He frowns, pausing as he runs the scanner over my Pareena’s stomach.
“What is it?” I snap out the question, too wound up to be polite.
“It looks as though…”
“I was hurt,” she says, and my chest tightens. “The Vgotha healed me.”
Emotions clash inside of me. She was hurt—fury and hate. She was healed—reluctant gratitude. I might not want to be grateful to the Vgotha for anything, I might not want to think one single good thing about them, but I cannot be angry that they spared my Pareena any pain. Even if they were the ones to cause it.
“We should get some armor,” Tribute Dawn says. “Why don’t our belts work as armor like your nanotech does?”
“Because they were made for Tributes, not warriors,” the High Commander says.
“And so we don’t need armor?”
The High Commander nods. “Exactly.”
“Okay, but I keep ending up in situations where armor would be handy. I’m just saying.”
I growl, not liking the reminder. Perhaps we should speak with the Jabol about adjusting the Bridal Trainers to also have protective functions. I do not like to think that it would ever be necessary, but I will choose my Pareena’s safety over my own pride without hesitation.
“Okay so...” Tribute Dawn looks up at the High Commander. She seems paler than usual, although that is not entirely surprising. Both Tributes have been through an ordeal. “When we get back to the ship, we need to speak with you and Bogdan. Alone.” She glances at Medik. “Medik too, would probably be a good idea.”
I would rather take my Pareena back to my room to check her over thoroughly myself, but she’s already nodding. I can feel how serious she is through our bond. As happy as she is to be reunited with me, there is something weighing heavily on her mind.
“Yes,” she says quietly. “I think just the three of you to start.”
Pareena
It ends up being four of them gathered in Gavrill and Dawn’s room, because Arkdhem was waiting for us as soon as the shuttle docked. He apologized over and over to Dawn for allowing her to be taken, eve
n though she told him it wasn’t necessary. I was just relieved that the warrior who had been guarding me wasn’t there doing the same. She ended up telling Arkdhem to come too. Possibly to reassure him that us being taken wasn’t actually a bad thing.
I don’t protest because Arkdhem is part of the high command, but I’m glad that it’s just them. This is going to be hard enough and I think it’s best the leaders decide how to present the information to the rest of the warriors. Dawn and I are really only observers to Tsenturion culture, I can’t begin to predict how they will react.
Gavrill sits down in his chair, Dawn on his lap, and Bogdan does the same with me. Despite the seriousness of the situation, I can’t help but be a little amused. Then again, it’s not like I want to let him go either. I lean against him and I’m not sure whether it’s to draw on his strength or because I’m preparing to comfort him.
“What is it you need to tell us?” Gavrill asks, his expression serious.
“A message from the Vgotha,” Dawn says in a rush, speaking even faster when Gavrill’s expression changes. I can feel Bogdan stiffen beneath me—and not in the fun way. Neither of them wants to listen, but unlike with Tor they aren’t immediately interrupting her either. “They’ve been trying to meet with you because they didn’t dare send a message that might get intercepted. They aren’t the bad guys, they didn’t destroy Tsentur, the Jabol did.”
There is dead silence in the room. I can feel Bogdan’s emotions—they go straight to denial and fury.
“Lies,” Arkdhem snarls, getting to his feet and glaring at us. Beside him, Medik sits as if frozen, his expression completely blank. “The Vgotha are dishonorable cowards, they are scum, and the Jabol are our allies. Why would you believe such a thing?”
“Because they showed us this,” I say quietly, pulling the small cylinder Tor gave me out of my pocket and holding it up. It’s only as I do so that I realize, I have no way of knowing how to access the information on it. Fortunately, Medik suddenly begins to move again, and he reaches across the table, plucking it from my fingers. After a long moment of examining it, he twists, and a hologram leaps out of the end of it… I recognize the scene immediately, a smaller version of what Tor showed us.
