I looked around at the bodies and then at Ohem. Ah, shit. They totally thought I was with the sharks and an enemy. The sound of the ship’s guns powering up confirmed it. I groaned and rubbed my hands over my snout. I really didn’t feel like putting up with this right now.
Ohem stepped in front of me and splayed his arms wide. “She ismine! You will stand down your weapons and land!” He snarled at them. He didn’t yell, so I’m guessing they had cameras that zoomed or something. I’d think that was cool later, after a great night’s sleep and maybe some painkillers. I was more impressed that they immediately followed his orders. No, “but sirs”, no hesitation at all. Just Ohem ordering and them obeying. Damn. Why was that hot? I was tired, in pain ,and I was still probably, definitely, down to fuck him. There should be a concern there, but I couldn’t find it.
The ships landed at the mouth of the valley, right next to the crash ditch. The ramps at the back of the arrow opened and three aliens from each ship walked out. They were all armored in the same red metal as Ohem, but not all of them were the same species. I shouldn’t be so surprised since he’d already explained the whole Unified planets thing, but I was. One soldier had four legs. It had six—count ‘em—sixarms. What a time to be alive! They approached quickly and formed a line. Left fist over chest salutes and then they stood rigid, waiting for Ohem.
He stalked around them twice before coming to stand in front of them again. He twisted around and held his hand out to me, and I placed my bloody claws into his. We both looked like extras from a horror movie. Covered in blood and gore. What a great first impression.
All the aliens’ heads followed my movements. I couldn’t see their eyes. The helmets were the same as Rakis’s forces. Faceless, with grooves that ran vertically over the helmet’s surface, lit faintly with yellow lights like Ohem’s Izi. The helmet blended seamlessly with the rest of their armor.
“This is Jack. My wife.My mate. She rescued me from smugglers and betrayal. There are three other human females hidden in an oasis near to here. We must retrieve them before we leave this planet.” He paused and stared hard at them. They stood straighter. “We have much to discuss. Block all communications and tracking from the Unity. I want the Solus to be completely undetectable. Relay that to Commander Rema immediately. I need one of your links.” One soldier lifted his hand to press something on his helmet and a small ball popped out of the side. He handed it to Ohem who thanked him softly. “Send a transport ship when I send the coordinates.’’ He paused and glanced at me. “And have them bring clothes for Jack.” He missed nothing, I’d shredded my clothes when I’d panic shifted to rescue him. He’d remembered to get me more, even after all the crazy shit that had happened. How did he manage that? I shook my head and gave him my best thankful smile this form could manage.
“Dismissed.” He saluted them with his fist to his chest and they repeated the action back to him. They then did the same to me. It threw me off for a second, but I repeated it back to them. They turned as one and marched off to their ships. They split off and entered their respective crafts, and powered up. It wasn’t until they took off with a blast of heat and sound that Ohem pressed the ball to his neck above his torque. It freakingburrowedinto his skin and lit up. It split under his skin, one half traveling up towards his ear and the other staying in his neck. It was freaky as hell. I was glad for my ear marble. That stayed mostly external and adapted to my changing forms. No burrowing required.
“Change back. I know you are in pain. I will carry you,” he said. He didn’t have to tell me twice. Ihurt. I gritted my teeth against the horrible scream that wanted to tear up out of my throat from the pain that flared when I shifted back to my human body. I slumped and Ohem caught me smoothly in his arms.
“Do not shift again until I can have you examined on the Solis.” He took off at an easy run towards our girls. I couldn’t wait to tell Patty and the others that we were saved! They better have soap on board Ohem’s ship. I’d cry if they didn’t. God, I missed coffee too. So much. Sweet nectar of the gods. A hot cup of coffee would go a long way in making me feel better.
My skin hurt. It hurt to breathe, and as smoothly as Ohem moved, it was still jarring me. That berserker shift did a number on me. Added strength didn’t mean jackshit if I couldn’t function.
????
By the time we made it to the oasis, I was ready to meet my maker. I’d managed not to scream and cry and demand Ohem put me out of my misery like a three-legged dog, but it had been a close thing.
The girls were again hiding behind the waterfall, and Ohem called them out. I just didn’t have the strength to yell right now. That trip had sucked.
“You okay?” Sam asked. She hadn’t approached us, which was a relief. I still didn’t want anyone to touch Ohem, but if she’d laid a hand on me in comfort, I’d have passed out.
“I feel like I’ve been pushed through a meat grinder. Twice,” I mumbled to her. She hummed in sympathy and kept her distance.
“My ship is in orbit. I have already sent details of our location to the transport crew and they will be here in two minutes.”
I worried Callie might pass out in relief. Patty looked nervous and Sam just had a dazed expression on her face, like she couldn’t believe it was almost over.
I just wanted whatever medical doohickey they had better have on an advanced alien ship to make me feel good. I swear to god if Ohem’s ship isn’t up to Sci-Fi standards, I would riot. There better not be any fucking green buttons that open doors. Or mops!
I was still ranting in my head when we emerged from the trees in time to see another sleek black ship landing about two hundred yards in front of us, its engine stirring up the dust in big swirls. The side was open and aliens in red cloth shirts and pants jumped out to assist. These looked like they should be underwater somewhere. All blue/green scales and long frilled tails. They had two legs and two arms, but long betta fin like hair. It was waving around like a betta tail underwater.
They were pretty aliens. They had human looking lips and eyes. No nose though. Fish hole ears too. No gills though, and they didn’t have webbed hands. Their feet were encased in red leather boots, so I couldn’t tell if they were webbed or not. Callie, Patty, and Sam all stopped and stared until one alien trilled uncomfortably. It spurred the ladies into motion and they allowed the two helpful betta aliens to strap them in very rubbery black bucket seats. The fabric of the seats looked like they were made of rubber lava rock. There were six chairs. Three on either side of a wide aisle.
It was weird and alien, and I was here for it. Finally! I had a good feeling about Ohem’s big ship. This was a transport ship, and it looked absolutely like nothing on Earth. Ohem sat on the lava rock chair with me still in his arms. I caught the betta aliens eyeing me with curiosity. I was in my human form and naked. If I’d been able to, I’d shift to really give them something to look at. Instead, I bared my sharp teeth and growled at them. One trilled loudly and almost fell over its copilot. Patty snickered from her seat in front of me. One of them came and cautiously handed me a red bundle of clothes and Ohem helped me pull them on. I had been dubious when I’d shaken them out and noticed how small they were, but to my surprise, they stretched and fit perfectly. They stuck uncomfortably on all the blood on my body, but they fit. Ohem scooped me up into his arms again as soon as I was dressed and re-situated me on his lap.
“Stop terrifying my crew,” Ohem said. He was both amused and exasperated, but I could tell he was satisfied that I was clothed when his shoulders relaxed.
I smiled up into his face. “That’s gonna cost you, General. My compliance will have to be bought.”
His Izi had been glowing a nice neutral yellow, and they flared to that aroused brightness that I liked. “After you see the med bay, I will take pleasure in reminding you who is the alpha on this ship,” he growled softly into my ear. I shivered and gave his smooth jaw a lick. He tasted like fish blood.Hmm. Should have licked him clean when I’d had the chance.
A solid black door dropped over the opening and enclosed us in darkness for a few seconds before yellow lights flared to life in the ceiling.
The loud but smooth take off stopped me from answering him. The black shielding pulled back from the door like Tetris in reverse and revealed a large window. I watched with the others as we rose above the desert. The path of the crash could be seen from this height. We’d really slid a long way. We must have clipped one of the mountain tops. It was damaged and there were burn marks on the rock of its shattered peak. We rose over the mountain range, and I gasped. On the other side, impassable from the desert by the solid wall of the mountains, was the remains of the Vrax ship. It was shattered into pieces and burned to a crisp. The final resting place of sixteen human women stolen from their homes and families.
I’d make sure we wrote all their names down, Callie and Sam remembered them all, and made some type of memorial that could make its way back to Earth and to their families.
Chapter 12
The transport ship was fast. It only took ten minutes before the planet could be seen in its entirety, a horrible brown ball of hatred and contempt for life. I wouldn’t be sad to see the last of it. Then there was the black void of space. I hated space. What I didn’t hate though, was the damn monstrosity that was Ohem’s ship. The Solus Geshgid was absolutely gigantic. It was an obsidian arrowhead at least five miles long and that was just me taking a wildly inaccurate guess. It was also bristling with guns. Huge two pronged cannon type things attached above the bow with so many other weapons that I gave up counting.
“The Solus Geshgid, fondly called Solus by her crew. The finest, largest warship in our fleet. Her shielding is impregnable and her proton canons can break planets. She is Sollaris’s pride. I have had the honor of being her captain for many years,” Ohem explained to us. We were all gaping at the sheer scale of the thing. The closer we got, the more like an insect I felt. Or like a single cell organism trying to hitch a ride on a blue whale.
