We really were best friends!
I pulled my clothes on and draped an arm around both Patty and Callie’s shoulders, steering them out of the sparring room. Sam trailed behind us discussing the fight with an overly enthused Rema. Ohem stalked behind us, his eyes burning holes into my ass. I added some extra sass to my steps.
“Have y’all been to the nightclub yet?”
Chapter 20
Theblue-grayplanettookup the entire vid screen on the bridge. It was probably twice the size of earth, with more landmasses, and what looked like a nasty storm system brewing right over where we were supposed to land. Detritus looked like a hellhole of mass proportions, and reports from the drones the Solus sent out told a story of high humidity, violent thunderstorms, and enough jungle to make this trip extra shitty.
The week had flown by, so much so that looking at the planet now, I didn’t know if I was quite ready to leave the girls behind. I swallowed hard. My hands shaking where I had them tucked into the crook of my elbows. What if something happened on the ship while I was down there? We’d run the girls ragged with hand to hand training, learning all the various weapons Ohem thought they could handle, like the plasma rifle they’d tested out when I’d first visited Dr. Ghix.
Callie was a crack shot and would be armed while we were investigating the surface. Patty had improved a lot fighting with Rema instead of Aga. Rema was more patient, though no less hard on her. They’d been adorable to watch. Sam was still hopeless, the poor thing. She worked hard, though, I’d give her that. The woman didn’t quit. She’d earned a lot of respect from the instructors we’d had working with them just by taking her licks and getting back up every time.
We’d run through security checks a dozen times, with Aga questioning anyone who threw up flags. We’d set up monitoring systems that ran an algorithm that would raise alarms if certain trigger words were said by anyone. Aga had an entire crew of thoroughly vetted members monitoring the feeds at all times. He was sure the ship would be fine. Security was up, guards were on alert. The Solus was on top of its people.
So why couldn’t I shake the feeling of dread? Maybe I was nervous of finding the ruins of my people down there, or nervous we’d find nothing and all this a waste of time. I didn’t know for sure. Something had my hackles raised. Ohem had sensed my restlessness over the last few days and done his best to fuck it out of me, to no avail. We’d gone to the nightclub, I’d danced all over him and been pulled into a dark corner with his hand clamped tightly over my mouth while he made all my dreams come true and I still had a stone of anxiety sitting heavy in my stomach.
The girls and I had explored all over the ship, finding some wild stuff. A jungle in a room that gave the illusion of having no end. They had the tropical version of Central Park on a damn spaceship. It had walking paths, animals, and different kinds of flowers. It really felt like we were in the jungle and not in space. Ohem had said it was necessary for some aliens on board, so they could relax in something close to their natural environment. The Solus had literally everything.
Callie had taken us on several simulated flights, where I discovered I got violently air sick when multiple barrel rolls were performed.
That was a fun revelation.
Callie was one hell of a pilot and had all the flight officers fighting over her. I was happy for her. I just never wanted to fly with her again as long as I lived.
She’d gotten a kick out of finally having something over me. I was still tempted to smack her around a little. She’d been way too maliciously gleeful during those sims. Patty had cackled her head off the whole damn time and screamed for more. She and Callie had bonded while I vomited into a bucket provided by a grinning Sam.
I’d had my double date with Ket’ak and Izari. That would have been a lot more fun if Kat’ak’s eyes didn’t split in so many directions when more than one person was talking. Ohem had been overly amused at my valiant efforts to keep my dinner down. Izari had winked at me and hadn’t seemed bothered by my reaction to her husband’s eyes. They were obviously deeply in love with each other. It was nice to have a couple to hang out with until Patty sealed the deal with Rema.
The highlight of the past week was the weight lifting competition Patty had egged Ohem and Aga into. They’d had to bring in crates from storage when the metal weights weren’t heavy enough for the two males. The training room had filled with aliens shouting and taking bets. Patty and I had made out like bandits. Why anyone bet again Ohem was beyond me. Aga was a tank, to be sure, but Ohem was amonster. He’d trounced Aga in the end. Aga had laughed and been good natured by the whole thing. He hadn’t been put out at all about losing. We’d become very good friends during this week, since I was always with him, helping with security.
I’d gone to a few therapy sessions with one of the Healers. It was helping. I still had nightmares, and if I was lucky, nothing on Detritus was going to make that worse. Looking at the planet, I didn’t think I was going to get that wish. The dread ball in my stomach was warning me of something bad.
I squeezed my eyes shut and took a deep breath to calm my anxiety. I was a big bad Rijitera. I could handle my shit, dammit. I would protect Ohem and my girls. Nothing bad was going to happen to them. I repeated that mantra in my head over and over until Ohem’s hand on my shoulder had me opening my eyes to look up at him.
“It’s time to go, Jack. The shuttle is ready.”
I nodded once, my heart pounding in my chest and I turned to give Patty and the others’ a bone-crushing hug goodbye.
“You stay safe down there, Jack. Don’t make me come and get you,” Patty whispered to me.
I kissed the top of her head. “I’ll be fine. Stay on the bridge with the others. Love you guys,” I said and left the bridge before I changed my mind and turned this ship around.
“They will be fine. The bridge is on lockdown while we are gone,” Ohem said.
I just nodded. The sooner we got to the planet’s surface and got this done, the sooner we could get back on the ship. We took the portal to the hanger the humans had dubbed Hanger Force One or HFO for short.
Please God, don’t let any of these alien motherfuckers on this ship try anything.
Rema was waiting for us with Dr. Ghix in front of a mean-looking transport shuttle. Two large rail guns mounted underneath it and were heavily armored. Ohem was taking no chances. There were thirty of the same transport shuttles all being filled to bursting with red armored aliens carrying big guns. We were taking a small army down with us. What was really badass was Aga. The big green crocodile was in the deadliest looking armor I’d ever seen. It was dark forest green with nasty spikes over the shoulders. He had a sword over his back.
What medieval fuckery was this?
I moved closer so I could get a better look at the sword. He was standing behind Rema and Dr. Ghix, directing crew members into the right shuttle, so I stepped between the two males and tilted my head. Itwasa sword, in a scabbard and everything!
Aliens had swords? That was some mind bending shit. Did all of us evolve from the same person or something? Green buttons, kissing, club dressing, and now swords.
Aga glanced over his shoulder and caught me inspecting his weapon and turned to face me. He reached over his shoulder, pulled the blade out of its sheath in a smooth, practiced motion, and held it up for my viewing pleasure. The blade was blue metal and looked wicked sharp, like a razor blade. It was thinner than I expected.
