by Corin Cain
The vessel is an illicit cargo ship, which blasted off from Torelli's lair in The Rhino right after Allie disappeared.
At the time, she’d muted our presence in her mind – and then something had blocked out all trace of her. Her aura had disappeared – and for a terrifying second we’d all been worried that she’d been killed…
Then the AI of our Reaver spotted this cargo ship blasting off, and we all knew it was too much of a coincidence. We’d been proven right.
Allie – stubborn, foolish, but fearless Allie – had snuck back into The Rhino, apparently unconvinced that Torelli had no knowledge of her sister’s fate.
As it turned out, she’d been right.
Well, that bastard Torelli is still down on Salcus, in The Rhino, but not for long. We'll come back for him soon enough – and he’ll pay horribly for his wrongdoings.
As we stalk the corridors of the ship, we come across a man lying sprawled on the ground. His hand still twitches, though it's severed from the bloody stump of his wrist.
Our Orb-Blades don't cauterize wounds. The searing blue-black blade just cuts through flesh and bone like the sharpest knife imaginable.
After all – why would you want a weapon that does the work of the surgeon and the nurse?
We pass by other bodies of slaughtered crewmen – until we finally get to the breach in the hull through which we’d boarded this vessel. We’d literally carved a hole into the vessel – shearing through the hull with our Orb-Beams, and then sealing shut the vacuum by ramming our vessel through the hole like a heavily-armored cork. It’s a standard attack plan for Aurelian Reavers; and remains an effective one.
I scan the controls for further signs of danger – but, according to the readings, we’ve killed every hostile crewmember on the ship.
That means we’ve saved Allie. We saved our Fated Mate.
Gods! When she’d first disappeared from my mind, it was like the sunlight disappearing from the sky above us. The moment it had happened, I’d realized she was either dead…
…or, someone with an intimate knowledge of the Bond, had temporarily severed the connection between us.
In addition to the cargo ship blasting off from The Rhino, that was our other clue as to who had taken Allie. As the only other Aurelian on the planet, only Torreli would have known how to sever our Bond – and possess a helmet which could block her aura from ours.
We all board our Reaver, Allie forcibly pulling Lilac behind her.
“Daccia,” Allie warns, as we seal the hatch behind us, "Torreli said he’d alerted Law Enforcement about you. He said they’re going to come after you!"
I snort bitterly.
“Well, they'd be better off picking up the three agents we knocked out first.”
Allie looks around the cockpit of this Reaver. At first glance, it would be easy to assume it was the same vessel we’d arrived in. In fact, it was a nearly-identical vessel – the one we’d taken from Dantus and his triad, just as planned.
It was a Reaver with a fully operational Orb-Drive.
“Yes,” I nod, “we stole their Reaver – and this one can Orb-Shift safely.” I look to Allie and her sister. “I promise, we're going to get you to safety."
The AI starts to beep. The robotic voice warns: "Ships approaching."
I run to the controls. There are four Aurelian Reavers chasing us. From far out, they start to fire at us – shots intended at first to make us stand down, and then damage our vessel enough to incapacitate us.
There are four ships… One of them is probably our own abandoned vessel. Dantus was clearly more enterprising than we’d given him credit for, and had woken up and come after us in the vessel we’d swapped for theirs.
The other three must be from Law Enforcement. The Empire always sends three triads to apprehend those on the Kill List.
Good.
If those three ships have just Orb-Shifted in, it means their Orb-Drives are still recharging. Dantus and his own triad are in our former vessel – the Orb-Drive of which is still offline.
We, on the other hand, have enough juice for a jump.
We won. We fucking won!
We’ve rescued Allie. She’s been reunited with her sister. We’ve demonstrated to her that our devotion to her isn’t slavery…
Quite the opposite. We can offer her a freedom she’d never imagine before.
Allie is going to love us. She’s going to want to be with us. I swell with pride.
If we survive, that is.
I grab the controls and begin to dip and dodge through space, avoiding the missiles and laser fire. So far, the Reavers have avoided using their Orb-Beams – trying to disable, rather than destroy us.
"Prepare to Orb-Shift," I bark triumphantly, slamming down my fingers on the controls.
Reality suddenly shifts us out of existence.
Nothing happens.
The ship creaks. I peer in astonishment out of the view port. We’ve snapped back right into the same position we’d tried to leave from.
"She betrayed us!" Hadrian wheels around to look at Allie. My eyes are elsewhere, though.
Now those other Reavers have caught up to us. The four vessels surround us – and before I can maneuver, they disable our Reaver with blasts of their ion cannons; temporarily knocking out our controls.
We hang in the emptiness of space as the Reavers approach. Within seconds, they’ll have docked with our disabled vessel, and the Law Enforcement agents will swarm in – Orb-Weapons armed and ready.
We could fight…
…but it’s four to one. We’d die trying to take them down.
I slump into my seat.
"We lost her,” I gasp. I turn to look at Allie, a well of despondency swelling up inside of me.
“Do we fight?” Hadrian demands. His hand is already reaching for the hilt of his Orb-Weapon.
I hold up my hand.
“No!”
There’s been enough death already. There’s been enough betrayal. We betrayed our Empire for the sake of our Fated Mate. Apparently, she then betrayed us.
I take a ragged breath.
“No,” I repeat. “If this is the way the Gods will it – so be it. Let us at least gain back one small piece of our honor. We’ll surrender, and accept our punishment. Put away your weapons, men."
As I say that, the bulkheads of our Reaver burst open.
Armed Law Enforcement agents swarm in. I can see they’re prepared to kill us on sight…
…they don’t expect the sight of us on our knees, weapons lying on the steel deck in front of us.
The agents look almost disappointed by our lack of resistance. Silently, they handcuff us. I can't even look at Allie as I am dragged away, through the bulkheads.
All this time, she was just using us.
All this time, she’d never cared for us.
But I won’t ever hate her. I can’t. She’s my Fated Mate.
Yet, I will never recover from losing her...
Not just the physical presence of Allie – but her heart.
We lost her the moment she decided she didn’t want to be with us.
No, I can never hate her – because Allie didn’t truly betray us. We betrayed her – by not being worthy of her.
26
Allie
I wish I could be mad at my sister, but I can’t.
She panicked, in the heat of the moment.
I curse myself for telling her about the device hidden in my arm. She’d been hyperventilating, frantic with panic, and when she’d been dragged onto this Aurelian vessel, she’d done the only thing she could think of.
She’d grabbed my arm, and she’d pressed my hidden shift-blocking device.
Gods! It's like poor Lilac has regressed to the mentality of a child. Whatever Torelli did to her broke her, and left her frantic and nearly mindless with fear.
Even as Law Enforcement drag Daccia, Kitos, and Hadrian away, I cling to Lilac so tightly, squeezing her tight in my arms.
&n
bsp; I will never let her go.
“It's okay,” I promise her, stroking her hair. “It’s okay."
I say it over and over again…
…but it’s not okay.
My own life is fucked.
I’d only just realized that I truly wanted to be with the Aurelians, especially after they’d saved my little sister…
…and now this.
There is nothing I can do now.
Daccia, Kitos and Hadrian are going to be executed for what they’ve “done” to me, and for stealing an Aurelian Reaver. Two crimes punishable by death.
My only chance will be to plead for mercy for my triad – but even if I do, will they accept it?
The three Aurelians must hate me. They must view me as the worst kind of person in the universe. I’d betrayed them once already, and then they saved my life regardless – and the life of my little sister…
…only to be left thinking I’d betrayed them once again.
I claw at the helmet on my head, trying desperately to wrench it off – to bring their auras back into my mind…
…but I can’t. Whatever Torelli used to attach it, it means it’s stuck there.
“Don’t worry, ma’am. We’ll get that Bond-disrupter off of you when…”
It’s an Aurelian Law Enforcement officer speaking – smiling gently, foolishly believing that he’d rescued us.
However, the Aurelian stops talking the moment Lilac starts screaming and crying again.
My survival instincts take over. My grief and sorry get crushed down, and I just try to do what I must to keep my sister and I safe.
I gently motion the officer away. My sister can’t even be near an Aurelian.
As she sobs and wails, I hold her tightly, hating the panic in her eyes. The Aurelians sense her distress, and they lead her into one of the prisoner cells on their Reaver – then tell the rest of the Aurelian Law Enforcement agents to stay far away from us.
I stay with Lilac in the cell, and after an hour without sight of an Aurelian, she finally stops crying. She falls asleep in my arms, and I hug her tightly – squeezing her, thanking the Gods that my sister is alive, even if finding her took everything from me.
Over the course of the next couple of days, I sense us Orb-Shift twice. Even though I can’t see anything of where we are – not in this windowless cell – I know we’re descending down on Colossus.
Colossus is the home world of the Aurelian Empire – and, as such, it’s a planet filled with Aurelians. The species first came from here, millions of years ago, and I fear my sister is going to have a nervous breakdown the moment we leave this cell.
I might not be too far behind. It’s hard to focus my thoughts while I’m being torn between two widely different realities. Because of this stupid helmet on my head, I can’t even sense the Bond anymore. It’s like something was ripped out of me, and I’m back to feeling alone.
Alone? I don’t think I even knew what loneliness was before all this. You can’t feel any more alone than to have three other beings inside your mind…
…and then have them stolen away.
I feel alone, even with my little sister held tightly in my arms.
At least she’s stopped crying. It’s like she finally ran out of tears.
As the vessel shakes and vibrates, suggesting we’re coming in to land, I press down on the comms-link.
“I need you to find a human to escort us to a hospital,” I tell the Law Enforcement officers piloting this vessel. “My sister needs to be treated by human doctors.”
“We can get a human to bring you off the ship,” one of the officers explains, “but there’s no hospital on Colossus like that.” He pauses. “We’ll arrange for a specialist of your species – but this is Colossus. You’re going to come into contact with Aurelians whether you want to or not. I suggest you tell your sister to close her eyes.”
Lilac whimpers. I don’t know if she understands his words or not.
Finally, the Reaver touches down. We’re allowed to leave unaccompanied, and at the bottom of the steel exit ramp is a human male in his thirties. He’s wearing the insignia of the Human Federation, and he reaches out to shake my hand.
“Hello. My name’s Charles. I know about everything that’s happened to you.”
I give him a weak smile. “I’m Allie. This is my little sister, Lilac. She can’t be around Aurelians. She’s terrified of them – beyond terrified.”
He nods. “I get it. We know all about the abuse that triad subjected you to. Did they also hurt Lilac? If so, we need her testimony for the trial.”
The trial?
“What trial?”
He smiles, which I assume is his attempt to reassure me.
“I’m a representative of the Human Federation. I’ve been working on cases of abuse within Au…” He pauses mid-word, realizing it might set Lilac off. “…within harems. I’m well-suited to the relevant laws.” Charles’ eyes narrow. “What that triad did to you is a grave crime. I’ll be pushing for the death penalty.”
Horror hits me. “No! No, you don’t understand!”
Demonstrating that lack of understanding, Charles misreads my panic.
“It’s okay, Allie! Everything is going to be okay. There’s a medical ship docked in the bay next to this Reaver. It’s got all the facilities needed to take care of your sister – and an all-human crew. You’re not going to find that anywhere else on Colossus.”
I hate the idea of being separated from my sister, but she needs a mental break. So do I.
I nod, and Charles snaps his fingers. A moment later, a woman in a stern suit steps forward, her heels clicking across the steel landing pad.
“Lilac, you can go with her,” Charles said soothingly to my sister. “She’s safe.”
Lilac looks up at me with hose big, trusting eyes of hers. I nod, and my sister reluctantly follows the woman towards one of the landing bay doors.
“Now,” Charles turns to me, and his voice grows more serious. “You and I need to have a discussion. You’re Bonded to this triad, correct?”
I nod. “Yes – but it’s not what you think.”
He smiles. “Actually, that’s all the evidence we need. No further testimony will be needed – nothing other than the color of those Aurelian’s eyes. On Old-Earth they used to talk about catching thieves ‘red-handed.’ In the case of Daccia and his triad, it’s caught diamond, brown or green-eyed.” Charles actually looks quite smug. “This is going to be a slam-dunk case. Let’s go to my office and discuss it further.”
I shake my head. “I need to go to a medical bay and get this helmet off, first. It was put on me by that scumbag back on Salcus – and then I need to see my triad.”
It’s killing me that the three warriors are no longer in my mind. I’d got so used to feeling them there – each one a living, breathing consciousness within my own. Now they’re gone, it makes my own mind feel so lonely.
Then I realize I called them “my triad” in my head.
I’d finally accepted them as mine.
But I wonder if they could ever see me in that way again.
Charles shakes his head.
“I’m sorry, but that’s not going to happen. You’re the victim in this case. Daccia, Kitos, and Hadrian aren’t going to be allowed to see you again – not until you’re watching them in the arena of the Gods as judgement is passed. Their heads will roll, I promise you that.”
My stomach twists and turns as I imagine Kitos head lying severed on the blood-soaked sands of the Arena of the Gods – a brutal place where Aurelians pass judgement upon the perpetrators of the most severe crimes, and matters of honor are resolved with brutal battles; live feeds from which are broadcast all across the universe.
“When is the trial?”
“Tomorrow,” Charles states coldly. “Queen Jasmine is going to send a message by punishing these rapists. Human and Aurelian relations have been going the right way ever since she took the throne, over two-hundred years ago
– but allowing these three Aurelians to get off easy would send the wrong message to every Aurelian who disagrees with her policies.”
Oh, Gods – politics will be the death of my beloved trio.
“Rest assured – justice will be swift for those three. Now, please - follow me. I’ll take you to the hospital. We have the best doctor in the city awaiting you for removal of the Bond-disruptor.”
I nod mutely - reluctantly following him out of the landing bay and into the bright sunlight of the Aurelian home world.
I’m already grieving. I can’t feel the auras of the three men who care so deeply for me – and that makes this all so much worse. I can’t even explain to them what happened.
They must think that I orchestrated this betrayal. They must be living with such a hatred for me at this very moment. They must be cursing the day they’d ever Bonded with me.
If only I could convince Queen Jasmine not to execute them.
Charles’ words suddenly echo in my mind. My triad is going to be made an example of...
I feel like I’m walking in a trance as Charles helps me into a shuttle. We fly straight to one of Colossus’ premiere hospitals. I try to stay alert as we travel there, but I’m just dazed.
We arrive, and the hospital is spotlessly clean and sterile – typical of the high standards of Aurelian society.
There, an Aurelian doctor explains how the helmet was affixed into my skull. Torelli placed it there through a crude operation. It will need actually surgery to remove.
That should have been a horrific thought – but in truth I barely register his words. All I can think about is the image of my beloved triad, each having their heads cut off one-by-one in front of a baying crowd of thousands.
I’m sedated in a medical chair, just like the one on the Reaver, while the huge, Aurelian doctor looks down at me with implacable eyes.
I feel the sting of sedation, and I let myself fall into the abyss before the surgery begins.
As long as my triad is there – in my head, when I wake up – everything will be better.
