Untitled (6 page)

"So
rha,"
Jhuun agreed.

   They sat in silence for a few moments, Gabriel still on the floor, Jhuun leaning against the MAlpha. The excitement of this new development soon wore out, leaving them both tired, and Gabriel really should have called it a night, but it was difficult to leave the comforting presence of the workshop.

   Gabriel hadn't realized how close he was to dozing off until he started as warm fingers brushed the hair away from his temple.

   "I'm not an expert on Human grooming," Jhuun said. With his other hand, he indicated his own smooth, hairless head. "But it seems you need a haircut."

   Gabriel smiled. "I do. I haven't had time for that, we've been so busy…"

   He trailed off as Jhuun's fingers did not leave his scalp, gliding behind to brush against the hair that covered the back of his neck. He swallowed hard, trying not to lean into the touch.

   "Apologies," Jhuun suddenly said, his hand falling away. "I've never had the chance to touch a Human's hair. It doesn't feel like a lokun's fur at all."

   Gabriel couldn't help but chuckle. "It's okay. Touch it all you want, I don't mind."

   Shyly, Jhuun reached up to run his tapered fingers through the hair again. "It's quite dark. Does the color have any significance?"

   "In a way. My father was from a part of Earth called India, most people born there have black hair like mine."

   "Enjoyable."

   The touch was beginning to feel rather intimate. As much as Gabriel loved it, he wasn't certain what to make of it, wasn't certain where this was supposed to lead. What he wanted was to lay his hand over Jhuun's, but instead opted for a distraction.

   "I've been meaning to ask," he said quickly. "I've noticed Eunnoians have ridges on their chests. Do they serve any purpose?"

   It was only after he'd finished asking that he realized he hadn't thought about the possibility of the organs being sexual in nature. But Jhuun only smiled, bringing his hand up to brush his fingertips against the soft ridges at his collarbone. "Not anymore. Some creatures from your world have similar organs. You would call them gills. They are…" He mumbled a word in Eunnoian until he remembered the translation. "Vestigible? No longer needed."

   "Vestigial, yeah. Does that mean Eunnoians used to be aquatic?"

   "A very long time ago," Jhuun said. "More than half of the homeworld is covered in large pools of water. Now we dwell on dry land, like you. And these organs have become secondary air-breathing organs. Here—"

   He rose up and extended a hand down to Gabriel. Puzzled, Gabriel took it and was gently pulled to his feet and close to Jhuun's tall body. His hand was then guided to the alien's chest and made to rest just above the supple ridge that covered the left side of his collarbone.

   Through the warm skin, Gabriel could feel the odd
thump-THUMP-thump
rhythm of Jhuun's beating heart, the swells of unfamiliar muscles. And suddenly, with a flutter, he felt a warm, regular rush of air against his palm.

   "I can feel you breathing," Gabriel said, amazed. "That's it, isn't it?"

   "That's it."

   "It's strange," Gabriel said. The regular rise and fall of the skin beneath his hand, the soft warm exhalations, were becoming hypnotic. "And…kind of neat."

   Jhuun continued to hold his hand, cradled beneath his own long-fingered one, against his chest. Gabriel was beginning to enjoy the feel of the soft damp skin and wondered what his hot, sticky Human felt like to Jhuun.

   He swallowed hard, suddenly nervous at the intimacy of the touch. What did this all mean? Jhuun's green eyes were on him. It was maybe his imagination, but the exhalations seemed to be becoming quicker, excited.
Do something
, he urged himself.
It's now or never. Say something…

   Before Gabriel could wonder at his next move, the moment was broken.

   A sudden, shrill klaxon blared and red light spilled into the room. Both started, hands falling

away from one another.

   "Oh God," Gabriel whispered. He knew that klaxon all too well—Maedrom attack. He felt his blood run cold and fought the urge to hyperventilate. If they were under attack, then the Maedrom had not fired a shot yet, though it couldn't be long. Gabriel dreaded feeling the first quake.

   "Come," Jhuun pulled him toward the workshop door. "The broadcast screen is in the main office. Let us see the situation."

   When they got there, the broadcast screen was active, displaying footage of a station under attack. Bianca and Xhani, roused either from latenight work or from slumber, were standing close to it, watching the action unfold.

   "What's happening?" Gabriel asked.

   "Section 26," Xhani said tersely. "The Maedrom began their attack a few minutes ago. We have only just started receiving the feed from the satellite cameras."

   On the screen, Section 26 was bathed in splashes of light as it returned fire. Suddenly, three Maedrom ships, small but fast, flew into view.

   "They're right next door," Bianca said, her hands clenched into fists. "Damn it, why are they even so far inside our network?"

   Their own weapons packed a decent punch. One of the station's turrets mercilessly battered a passing Maedrom ship. Stricken, it sputtered and hung limply in space for a few seconds before erupting in a fireball, causing the satellite camera to flicker a bit.

   "One down," Gabriel murmured. In front of him, Bianca reached out to grasp Xhani's forearm.

   Minutes ticked by tensely as the two remaining Maedrom ships zipped in and out of view of the cameras like angry fireflies, taking hit after hit from Section 26's defenses. Whoever was responsible for manning the defense network certainly knew what they were doing, Gabriel thought. He tried not to think about which races staffed Section 26, about whether or not he knew anyone on that station, any Humans, any friends.

   "The Maedrom are taking a beating here," Bianca said. "They should retreat. There's nothing here for them."

   On the broadcast screen, the second Maedrom ship, too heavily damaged to risk another attack, flew into an arc and disappeared from view, retreating. The third one, obviously damaged but still functional, flew to a distance from Section 26 and stopped. The station fired two shots—one glancing blow that left a deep gouge in the ship's hull, the other missing entirely.

   The nose of the Maedrom ship opened and expanded like the petals of a flower, revealing a glowing center.

   "Oh God," Gabriel said, instantly recognizing the telltale amber glow. He'd seen it from the viewport of the Section 14 evacuation ship. Marcus had probably seen it from the viewports of the
Northumbrian.
They'd seen tiny, weak versions of it all throughout the past few weeks. "Did they have time to evacuate? Did they? Did we see any escape ships?"

   There was no answer. Bianca covered her mouth, staring at the screen while Xhani angrily waved her hand in front of her face. They all watched as the glow intensified, deepened and the Maedrom ship fired the M-Alpha.

   The charge struck the station. For a moment there was nothing, no reaction. Even the engineering office was deathly silent. But then an amber wave rippled over the damaged station. Jhuun looked away—Gabriel couldn't, watching as Section 26, their ally and close neighbor, exploded in a blinding fireball.

   Wreckage and fire filled the broadcast screen for a moment before the satellite camera was destroyed, leaving the screen blank, plunging the office into heavy, grieving silence.

   A moment later, Section 27 was rocked by a heavy blow. Gabriel felt at once too numb and terrified to brace himself, fearing the remaining Maedrom ship had decided to focus its attentions on them, but as the floor pitched and rumbled under him, he realized they were being struck by the resulting shockwave and debris of Section 26's destruction.

   Xhani fell backward into him. He could hear Bianca cursing as she hit the floor, Jhuun yelling as he was thrown around as well. Unable to recover his balance, Gabriel crashed into the desk, catching his shoulder on the edge, and landed on the floor in a graceless heap.

   The office lights stuttered, gave out entirely for a few seconds, then flickered back to life as the tremors subsided.

   "Is everyone okay?" Bianca asked, breathing hard. She was sprawled out on the floor on her stomach, her long hair knocked loose from its tie by the quake.

   Gabriel clutched his throbbing shoulder. It was the same one he'd wrenched a month earlier. "Fine," he gasped.

   Jhuun scrambled to his feet, assisting Xhani back up, who then waved him away angrily. An instant later, he was at Gabriel's side, helping him up.

   "You hurt yourself," he said, brushing his fingers over Gabriel's shoulder.

   "It's fine," Gabriel murmured.

   Xhani switched off the broadcast screen, spitting a string of words in Eunnoians that sounded awfully like some very creative curse words. Gabriel was fairly certain he recognized
Anarkh so
mewhere in there.

   "Why destroy Section 26?" she growled. "There is nothing of interest for the Maedrom there. They are only scientists, like us!"

   "Perhaps that is why," Jhuun offered. "They know, or at least suspect, that we have the M

Alpha."

   "That's why they attacked my old station," Gabriel said darkly. "They were trying to destroy it before we had a chance to figure out how it works. Damn it, we always wondered if they could monitor our broadcasts. They must have figured out the survivors were brought to this area, though I bet they don't know where exactly. They're going to pick us off one by one until they're convinced they destroyed the M-Alpha."

   "Then we could be next," Bianca said. She looked as though she wanted to kick something.

   Gabriel sighed, still shaking from the recent events. "What should we do? Take the weapon off the station?"

   "No," Bianca said. "No, that would be too risky. You think they might be monitoring our broadcasts? Then fine, we'll use that to our advantage. I'll make a request to send out a broadcast on all frequencies, sharing the unfortunate news that the destruction of Section

26 also resulted in the destruction of the captured M-Alpha. Until they figure out we're lying, it will buy us some time."

   Xhani clucked. "The idea has merit. Jhuun, I hope Gabriel and yourself will continue your research on the M-Alpha."

   "Yes," Jhuun said. "But Gabriel is injured and it is quite late. He should be allowed to rest before we can continue."

   "We really shouldn't wait—" Gabriel started to protest, only to be interrupted as Xhani waved her hand by her head.

   "I will make it an order," she said. "You cannot work efficiently if you are injured."

   "It matters not," Jhuun said gently. "I will need to submit a request through the translation service for the Fnorn technology before we may continue. There is very little we can do until then."

   "We could all use a bit of a rest after today," Bianca sighed, tensely winding her hair into a braid. "I'll go check the workshops, make sure none of our equipment was damaged, then see about making that broadcast. Gabriel, try to get some good sleep."

   Gabriel nodded. Truth be told, his shoulder was aching fiercely and he wouldn't mind standing under a hot shower and then laying down with some analgesic.

   "I will accompany you to your quarters," Jhuun said softly.

   After bidding Xhani and Bianca good night, they left the office and walked the hallway to Gabriel's quarters in silence. Jhuun's hand was delicately wrapped around his elbow, providing support. Gabriel didn't mind, he was sore, still rattled from the attack, and a little contact was a comfort.

   As they arrived, Jhuun pushed open the door to his quarters. "Please rest," he said. "Don't be concerned about the delay. It will be a day or so before we have the tools necessary to continue."

   "Sounds good to me," Gabriel said. A paused dragged on. Jhuun didn't move to leave or wish him a goodnight. The alien stood before him, those strange green eyes flickering up and down Gabriel's body. Had he been Human, Gabriel would have believed him to be nervous…like a teenager too shy to ask for a kiss on the first date. And that particular thought sent Gabriel's pulse racing again.