9
Wrathin stepped out of the chamber to give Veta her privacy. She needed her time to rest and heal. The trek to the nearest settlement was a day and a half walk, and far enough that trying to do it in a weakened state would be difficult. Especially over unfamiliar terrain.
Maybe only a day away on foot from their location at his pace. Though he wasn’t sure what Veta’s normal speed would be. Extrapolating from what he knew of her already, he imagined she would be faster, but not much.
He might have better luck carrying her.
But he did not think she would allow it.
Fascinating, Veta was. She intrigued him, and he felt very protective of her. Had she not done what she did, he would have done it, just to keep her guarded. But that was protocol. To make sure the ambassadors are alive and well. What her exact position in the arriving dignitaries party was, he did not know. And it mattered not.
She was one in the pod.
She was who he protected until he got further instructions. His protocols were more vivid for this mission than previous ones. Being disconnected, he would not be able to get his regular uploads. Therefore, he would continue on his current instructions—to protect the ambassadors at all costs.
Could it be Veta that caused this? She certainly was different from other females he’d encountered. Of course, his experience with females was limited to the last Terran visit when he was an adolescent and still training. And then, he merely saw them.
The memory recalled.
All the arriving group, wearing their cloaks of red, with their towering headdresses. In the middle, between the tall red, were two small ones.
Children.
Both dressed in their own red cloths.
He had been standing in a hallway and watched them approach. It was quite a remarkable sight. Adored in finery depicting her station, the one with the tallest headdress—The Empress—walked like she was on wheels, her body barely moving with each step. It was as though she floated.
As they came closer, he admired the way she moved. The way they all moved.
For a moment, the Empress turned toward him.
And smiled.
It was warm, gentle, and genuine. The sensation touched his heart in such a way that he made a point of being around where they had walked. If only to catch a glimpse of them again.
Of her again.
If she might have smiled again.
And then the accident happened.
He shut down the memory, ending it before the chaos exploded in his mind, ruining the memory’s feeling. The past was gone. As was Terran Empress. Nothing he could have done would have prevented it.
Though he, like many, wished more could have been done to save her.
Perhaps, if they had saved her, then, the war would never have escalated. The war had dominated Wrathin’s existence, as well as his fellow Rhimodians. They were few of them before that had managed to survive. Now their population dwindled even more.
They must have peace. For their people would be gone if the war continued.
He rubbed his head. It had been a long day.
He headed back to the entrance of the cave, just inside, and attempted yet again to reach his squad. Or anyone, for that matter.
“This is Wrathin, Respond.”
Nothing but static.
“This is Wrathin, Respond.”
