Nicole Krizek (9 page)

Ty stood for a moment, thanking whoever may be listening for the gift of his little Earther, then chased her into the bathing chamber, where she was laughing and fumbling with the buttons of the control panel. 

They eventually got cleaned, but not before getting even dirtier than before.
             

“There she is,” Kor said with pride and motioned to the main vid-screen, “the Adastra.”

Lacy sat at her console in the Command Center and looked up at the image on the screen. For a moment, the
vid-screen showed nothing but distant twinkling stars, then a huge black shape seemed to emerge from the shadows. She gasped, covering her mouth with her hands, mesmerized by the sight. The ship had materialized out of the darkness like a wraith.

“How did it do that?” She asked, fascinated and awed.

There was no mistaking the pride in Kor’s voice as he explained, “Instead of the standard gray or silver usually seen on spacecrafts, Arathians build black ships. This feature allows them to blend in with the void of space, especially when the windows are shielded and the interior lights are masked. The Adastra also has a shell that imitates the stars on the opposite side of the ship so we can blend into space perfectly.”

“Camouflage.” she murmured under her breath.

“Yes, exactly. We’re one of the only races that use this technique. It’s most common on our research vessels, like the Adastra, whose primary role is not to engage in combat, but to stay under the radar.”

“Lieutenant
Simdon to Captain Kor’ijak.” Said a voice over the comm-link, startling her out of her admiration of the ship.

“Captain here.
How are things on my ship Lieutenant?” Kor asked.

“Just fine
sir, and I’m glad that you and your mate are back safely.”

“Not as glad as I am.” Kor said, sharing smiles with Ty and Lacy. “Gather all of the senior officers in the Command Center. Once we dock I will have an announcement to make and I want all present.”

“Yes sir!” The reply came immediately.

“We will be with you momentarily. Captain out.”

He ended the communication and began to manually guide the shuttle closer to the Adastra. As they came around the far side of the massive ship, the docking bay at the rear of the Adastra came into view. She saw men walking around inside and had a moment to wonder how they were accomplishing their work without space suits and helmets.

Ty smiled at her surprise and explained, “There’s an environmental barrier. We just passed through it, in fact. It’s an invisible shield that allows the docking bay doors to be open for shuttles, while still keeping the bay safe from the dangers of space.”

“Yeah, oxygen is a good thing.” She said, smiling, more focused on Kor and how he was maneuvering the shuttle to safely touch down inside. The moment the shuttle was docked, men hustled over to the craft and began all manner of tasks. She strained to keep them in her sights, but the vid-screen wasn’t meant for spying.

Kor felt intense relief that they had made it safely aboard the Adastra without another run-in with the
Voro-Anim. There had been a good chance that the scouting ship they destroyed hadn’t been the only one in that sector of space. Apparently they were in the Gods’ favor since they had arrived without further incident.

Now he had his mates safely aboard a ship that had fire power and defenses far superior to those of the shuttle. With Lacy aboard he was sure they’d get orders to leave the quadrant immediately, and take her to Arath as fast as their engines would allow. But, for now, he needed to introduce her to the crew and contact his superiors on Arath for orders.

When he finished his post-flight shut down he stood up from his command chair and motioned for Ty and Lacy to join him. He held their hands as they walked to the exit, but when Lacy started to slow as they got closer to the door he realized that she looked a little paler than usual. He stopped and made sure she was looking him in the eye.

“What’s wrong?” He asked gently.

Lacy knew that she was being irrational, but couldn’t stop the fear of what lay beyond shuttle’s door. The shuttle had become a safe haven for her, a place of refuge after she’d been auctioned off. It was also where she had mated with Ty and Kor, so the shuttle was special. She knew that beyond that door there was an entire alien universe, and it freaked the hell out of her.

“Lacy, tell me what’s bothering you. Why are you scared?”

She was afraid that it she told them the truth they’d think she wasn’t a strong woman. They’d think her weak, and those strong men didn’t deserve to be stuck with a weak female as a mate. She could lie, and tell them that everything was fine, plaster a fake smile on her face and march out that door with bravado that she sure as hell wasn’t feeling, or she could come clean. Tell them the truth and trust them to not think any less of her.

“I know it’s irrational, but I’m afraid to leave the shuttle. There’s a huge universe outside that door and I’m not sure I’m ready to face it.”

Kor took her face between his hands and held her steady while he gently brought his lips down to meet hers. The kiss was tender and she knew that he was conveying more in touch than any words could ever speak.

He took his time with the kiss and only pulled back once her mind had settled down and she had relaxed in his hands. He looked deep into her eyes. “Lacy, you know that I will protect you at any cost, that includes from my own people if need be. Ty and I will be by your side, every step of the way, and I promise that you won’t be alone unless you wish it.”

She looked over at Ty and he nodded in agreement. She reached out and took his hand, feeling more confident from the touch.

“Alright, let’s go face the universe, together.”

“Together.” Kor agreed.

“Together.” Ty repeated.

With Lacy in the middle and her men on either side, holding her hands, Kor pressed the panel and the shuttle’s door opened.

*****

The first thing Lacy saw were the overhead lights, the other shuttles lined up in perfect formation, and the twenty crew members lined up outside the hatch. They stood at attention, in tightly-fitted black outfits with large black boots that came up to their knees. They also wore belts from which various tools hung, along with the tools was something that looked like a sort of weapon. She bet they weren’t just for show either. Along with the matching clothes and weapons, they all had similar expressions of surprise and were staring at her, so she gave them a small nervous smile.

Kor wasted no time, “Greetings everyone.” He said to the assembled men. The one closest to them stepped forward and bowed to Kor.

“Welcome back captain. The officers are assembled in the Command Center as requested.”

“Thank you Lieutenant
Simdon.” He raised his voice slightly and turned his attention to the rest of the bay. “I would like to introduce you all to Lacywoods. She has agreed to mate with Ty and myself and is to be treated with all due respect and courtesy.”

All of the men bowed as one and Lacy smiled at the respectful gesture.

Kor did not wait for a reply, and walked down the shuttle’s ramp, still holding her hand. She felt strange to be walking through the shuttle bay in only her bare feet, but the area was kept so clean and tidy that she probably could have eaten off the floor.

She was led into what appeared to be an elevator that the three of them shared with
Simdon. Kor pressed a symbol on the control panel and the door shut. She couldn’t feel the floor moving, but was willing to bet they were being taken to the Command Center.

She turned towards
Simdon when he cleared his throat. He bowed deeply to her and said, “I hope I’m not being presumptuous by introducing myself to you. My name is Lieutenant Simdon and I am Captain Kor’ijak’s second-in-command. If there is ever anything I can do for you, please don’t hesitate to inquire.”

She smiled at
Simdon and let go of Ty’s hand to hold it out to shake Simdon’s. When he stared at it without knowing what to do she realized her mistake and laughed.

“It’s a custom on my planet to shake hands when you’re meeting someone for the first time.” she explained.

He smiled back at her and gently took her offered hand. She gave his a few pumps while saying, “It is very nice to meet you as well Simdon. Please, call me Lacy.” She let his hand drop and hers was immediately taken within the warmth of a familiar palm.

“What an interesting custom.”
Simdon said. “What planet did you say you were from?”

“Earth.”
She said brightly a moment before the elevator doors opened. She caught a fleeting look of shock on Simdon’s face before Kor was guiding her out of the elevator and into what was clearly was the brain of the ship.

*****

Lacy took a moment to look around the Command Center. It looked like the one on the shuttle but on a much larger scale. There were some fifteen consoles and the crew seated at the consoles were performing various tasks. She saw vid-screens, everywhere, that showed everything from ship schematics to charts, and things she didn’t recognize. On the far wall was a bank of windows that showed nothing but the blackness of space and twinkling stars.

There were also other crew members, presumably the officers Kor had requested, standing around the room. All activity stopped as they stepped farther into the room and all heads turned in their direction. Lacy reminded herself to smile at the various expressions of shock, awe, and confusion that surrounded her.

Kor let go of her hand and took another step forward. “Since I have all your attention, I’ll get right to the point. Let me introduce you all to Lacy, our new mate.”

She gave them a smile and a small wave while Kor paused to let the information sink in before dropping the bombshell.

“Lacy is an Earther that Ty and I rescued while on Vox. She has already been tested for compatibility, and the tests were positive.”

Surprised gasps and murmurs of wonder swept the room at Kor’s announcement and Ty squeezed Lacy’s hand in reassurance.

Kor continued, “I don’t have to explain what this could potentially mean for our race. Lacy is the first real hope we’ve had in over a decade. She is a treasure, not only to Ty and myself, but possibly to our entire civilization. As soon as we are underway I will be contacting the Arathian Council to share this news with them, and Ty will take Lacy to the Medical Center to further ensure her health and well being. She is our new primary mission, so I trust you’ll all treat her accordingly.”

He turned to face her and Ty again and bent to kiss her forehead. “Why don’t you take Lacy to the Lab while I get us out of here and brief everyone on the
Voro-Anim attack?”

“Agreed.”
Ty said. “I can’t wait to put this quadrant of space behind us.” 

“Then let’s get out of here.” Kor turned back to the room and began issuing orders. Lacy thought that he looked completely natural directing people and was glad that his position suited him so perfectly.

“Are you ready to go, little Lacy?” Ty asked, breaking her out of her thoughts.

“Yes, let’s let our mate work.” She said with a smile.

*****

A few hours later, Lacy wanted to run screaming from the Medical Center.

She was exhausted from all of the scans Ty had insisted upon, but was trying to be patient. Finally, she had had enough and had to tell him how worn out she was.

She couldn’t leave fast enough!

He led her though the halls of the ship, past crew members that looked at her like she was the Holy Grail.

It’s going to take some serious time to get used to this
, she thought.

When Ty finally stopped in front of a door, she was more than ready to take a break from all the attention and sleep for a bit. When the doors whisked open, however, she found a renewed interest in staying awake a little bit longer.

The men’s room was not at all what she had expected. There was a small dining area and cooking space over on the right side of the room, the left side had a large lounger and oversized, comfortable-looking chairs for socializing. Beyond that, through an archway, was the sleeping area, equipped with a bed big enough for all three of them. Her favorite part of the room, however, was beyond the bed.

The entire wall was made of windows that looked out to the vast infinity of space. She slowly moved towards them, as if in a trance. The ship was currently passing by a nebula cloud that seemed to hold all the colors of the rainbow.

“It’s beautiful.” She said in awe. Ty came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. They stayed like that, silent and staring out at the stars, for a long time before Lacy started yawning and leaning back on Ty for support. She felt him chuckle before he led her backwards to the bed. He helped guide her under the covers and she lay there, on her side, facing the windows for several minutes before her eyes drifted shut and she fell into a peaceful sleep.

Ty stood back, admiring his little Earther for a few more minutes before sitting at a console he used for work, adjacent to the sitting area. His work area was a mess of tablets that contained various books and other publications by geneticists back on Arath, as well as databases of alien anatomy. He took the memory drive out of his
flightsuit’s pocket and inserted it into the console, immediately bringing up all the data he had gathered about Lacy’s anatomy and genome.