“I hope so.” Becky unhooked her arm and faced her, lifting her hand and gently placing her palm on Darla’s forehead. She frowned. “You’re still hot. I read the employee information packet; you should go to the Med Bay and have a doctor take a look at you if Jessa is busy.”
“I’ll do that tomorrow if I’m still feeling bad, promise. I’m just rundown.”
Becky nodded. “Okay. Come get me if you need me, or use that communications device thing for ship calls. I’m still trying to figure it out.”
“I haven’t even messed with it. Their technology is something, isn’t it?”
“Way better than what we’re used to.”
They hugged, and Darla walked to her own cabin, Becky watching her until she went inside. She bypassed the kitchen and went straight to her room, showered, and went to bed. She just needed to rest and give her body a chance to recover from everything she’d been through.
But a part of her wished Gnaw was there to hold her.
Chapter Twelve
Gnaw had spent another restless night in his bed staring at the ceiling. Abby had sent a few messages to Darla, but she hadn’t responded in two days. All his plans to talk her into becoming his mate, or at least spending lots of time with him until he could convince her, were unfulfilled.
He finally climbed out of bed and got ready to go to the training room, where they worked out every morning. When he walked into the shared living space, Maith was the only male there. He glanced around, looking for the rest of his grouping. They normally ate together, either in their cabin or the cafeteria.
“Drak escorted Abby to work. Roth left to meet with Clark. He sent a message that they needed to speak about a mission.” Maith inhaled deeply, clearly picking up on Gnaw’s anxiousness. “Perhaps the female just needs time to think about seeing you. Humans don’t listen to their instincts.”
Gnaw appreciated Maith attempting to make him feel better. “She could associate me with the Elth. Humans like to forget bad experiences. Her instincts might be telling her to avoid me.”
Maith’s features softened. “No. You are nothing like the Elth. Humans just overthink everything. Give her more time. It’s only been a few days.”
“Do you mind if we eat here?”
“That’s fine.”
Gnaw nodded, spun away, and entered the kitchen to get breakfast. He warmed a few meat pastries that Abby kept stocked for them. He sat at the table and began to eat. Maith did the same, sitting across from him, digging into his own breakfast while watching him closely.
“I’m a strong male. I will not go hunt for Darla. She needs to come to me willingly.”
“I know. I have no fear that you’ll do that. But you’ve been depressed. That is not like you. Perhaps you should take a few days off and not train with the human males.”
“I refuse to sit around in our home doing nothing. The exercise helps. I hope our next job is challenging. Did Clark give any information to Roth?”
“Not that Roth shared. He just let me know that Clark had messaged him and he needed to go.”
They were almost finished eating when both of their communications devises buzzed. Gnaw removed his from his pocket and looked at the screen. Roth had sent a message that they were to meet immediately in the situation room.
Gnaw stood quickly and headed to the door, Maith at his side.
Five minutes later, they entered the large room, finding Drak already there. So were four other human tactical teams. There was no sign of Clark or Roth. Gnaw and Maith took seats just as the back doors to an office swished open and the missing males entered. Both wore matching grim expressions. Roth came to sit with them while Clark took the podium in the front.
“Our trip to handle the trouble happening on Torid has been delayed.” Clark cleared his throat. “We’ve received a distress signal from the Blaze. Their ship has been heavily damaged after fighting off attackers. They’ve had to set down on a prohibited planet, and we’re currently the closest to their location. We’ll be dropped off there to provide protection to their crew and our repair teams, while Defcon Red tracks down the bastards who attacked them.”
The large screen behind Clark came to life, showing a planet. “This is…well, I can’t pronounce it. Whoever named it didn’t believe in vowels. Let’s call it primitive as hell for now. Blaze avoided landing near any of the established alien settlements and parked their vessel in what amounts to a valley surrounded by mountains. It’s very remote. As in, these aliens are still using clubs and spears for weapons. We’re talking cavemen status. You know we try like hell to not influence inhabitants like that in any way, though the Blaze had no choice but to break protocol when they lost life support and suffered a few hull breaches that need to be patched.
“First and foremost, we will only stun any aliens that might approach. No killing. We’d also prefer that they not spot us. Stun from a distance. Roth?”
Roth stood, addressing the room. “We viewed scans of the planet from some drones a research vessel sent down six years ago, when they were collecting data. The captain of the damaged ship chose a smart, defensible landing spot. Clark and I both agreed it would be best to assign our tactical teams to the tops of the surrounding mountains,” he explained, pointing them out on the drone scans. “We’ll be able to spot any approaching aliens and stun them before they can reach the valley.”
Clark changed the view on the screen, illustrating a large mammal with sharp-looking tusks. “It’s mostly the animals
