“What?”
“That’s great for the locals, but what about me? I’m not from here, or anywhere nearby from what I gather. I’m stuck without a home to go to.”
Darla looked at Heydar. He nodded, all but reading her mind. “Come with us if you want. We’ll be heading back to the Oraku, at least for the time being. It’s not an advanced culture, but at least they’re kind people. And I for one would welcome the company of another person from back home. Us Earth gals have got to stick together, right?”
The look of concern on Shalia’s face began to fade, replaced with one of hope.
“I think I’d like that,” she said. “I think I’d like that a lot. After this mess, first with the Raxxians, and then the damn Dohrags, I could really go for some good people right about now. But just for now. I mean, yeah, we’ve got to worry about the here and now, but I’d still like to get back to Earth, if at all possible, you know?”
A ponderous look flashed across Heydar’s face. “I have confirmed that the Dohrags have been using this world as a supply depot of sorts. Larger interstellar craft stop over periodically to resupply but only the stationary transit hub in geosynchronous orbit remains. It will be some time before the next ship arrives.”
Shalia shrugged. “That’s a lot of information, but I don’t see how?—”
“It gets better. The transit hub is sparsely crewed, and nearly all the guards were stationed on the surface when we took their shuttle.”
“Meaning that even if another ship were to come down, it wouldn’t be an assault group,” Darla mused.
“Exactly. We are safe. At least, until the next of their ships arrives to resupply. But therein lies another interesting possibility.”
“Oh?” Shalia wondered.
“Thoseships are capable of traveling across star systems. All we would need to do is capture one.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“Rest assured, it would be nothing of the sort. But it is, at least, a potential source of interstellar travel. But that is a discussion that requires much more thought, intelligence, and planning. For now, we take it slow and properly assess our options.”
Kuxx entered the dining hall and spotted the trio. He grabbed a plate and headed over to join them.
“Ladies. Commander.”
“I asked you not to call me that.”
“Apologies, Heydar.” The blue-skinned man’s eyes glanced appreciatively to Shalia. A blush rose to her cheeks, a warm glow forming in her belly. “The shuttle has been cleared for flight. No trackers or self-destruct mechanisms were found aboard. It would seem the craft is ours.”
“This is good news,” he said, looking at Darla with a smoldering passion he simply couldn’t hide. “We will help divide the freed prisoners into groups and begin returning them to their homes at once.”
Kuxx and Shalia looked at the couple then at one another, each of them reaching the same conclusion at the same instant.
“I agree that we should begin repatriating those released,” Kuxx said. “And I am familiar with piloting Dohrag craft.”
“Then we should set to it,” Heydar agreed.
Shalia shook her head.
“Hey, listen, you guys should go on ahead back to that village,” Shalia said. “Take your time and enjoy yourselves. I think everyone would agree, you’ve earned it. We’d all still be captives if not for you. I mean, you’ve already done so much.”
“Much still remains to be done,” Heydar objected.
“Yeah, sure. It’s going to be a lot of work returning the freed captives to their people, but I’ll stay with Kuxx and help out. He can drop me off when he’s all done making the taxi runs.”
“Don’t be silly, we can wait for you,” Darla objected.
Kuxx flashed his human counterpart a quick look.
“No, really, it’s okay,” Shalia said, leaning in close to Darla’s ear. “Besides,” she whispered, “we want to leave you two free to enjoy some quality alone time.”
Darla blushed, but only a little this time. Her shame had been replaced with the delightful idea of hot and wild forest sex that her new friend had put in her head. Shalia saw the thought register and somehow managed to keep her mirth in check.
