Alexis chews on her lip. “At this stage, I’m not sure if you can operate the ship independently. It’s possible those algorithms are used to change sequence as the ship is launching and operating and without it, it won’t work.” She holds up her hand as the clearing devolves into questions.
“Obviously, I’m going to try my best to help you guys get off Agron. But I want to be clear. If you get on this ship, you’re risking your lives.” She takes a moment, scanning each and every face as she lets that sink in. “If you stay on Agron, you can have a good life here. It may not be the life you imagined, but we sure like it. I understand the need for revenge, but you have to be sure this is what you want. Because even if I can get that ship launched, you’ll be on your own after that.”
Sarissa gets to her feet. “So you’re saying at the very least, we need to fix the thruster. And you won’t know more about whether or not we can use the ship without the chip until you’ve examined it, which you can’t do until the Dokhalls are no longer a threat.”
Alexis nods. “Pretty much.”
“If they have that chip, they’re not giving it up,” someone calls out, and Sarissa nods, turning back to Alexis.
“Explain the broken thruster to me. Can we take it off the ship to repair it?”
Alexis shakes her head. “Not the whole thruster, but the part that’s cracked can be removed.”
Sarissa glances across the clearing to where Vivian is sitting, and they have a wordless conversation. Sarissa angles her head, and Vivian nods.
“After the battle, we talked about visiting Arix,” Sarissa announces.
“Who’s Arix?” one of the women pipes up.
“Arix is the king who helped save Dexar,” Nevada says. “He offered to help us. Said he had people who ‘tinker with metal and heat.’”
Sarissa nods. “I don’t trust him. But then, I don’t trust anyone.”
Ellie frowns. “I don’t really want us to be separated again. I want us to stay together.”
I wrap my arm around her. Ellie is a sweetheart, a homebody, and she worries herself sick when we’re away from camp.
Vivian bares her teeth in a fierce grin. “Well, I want to be closer to both a Sephora and a Starbucks, but as life has proven again and again on this planet, you can’t always get what you want.”
She winks as Ellie lets out a wet laugh. “If we take the thruster to him, maybe his people can help fix it while the Braxians handle the Dokhalls.”
“Okay,” Sarissa says. “We’ll go to Arix.”
“I’m going too.” I feel my cheeks heat as everyone looks at me, but I ignore them. Vivian doesn’t look surprised, giving me a nod.
“As long as Moni gives you the all clear.” Nevada stares me down when I narrow my eyes at her, and I finally sigh.
“Yes, Mom.”
She laughs, stroking her bump. “One thing is certain. No one leaves camp alone. We use the buddy system. We know these guys have weapons that can take us down. And we know they’re more intelligent than the Voildi and much more organized than the Zintas. They’re a threat that can’t be ignored.”
Tagiz
I survey the training arena, watching as the human females fight. According to Vrex, many of the new females have declared if they’re going to be temporarily on Agron, they may as well train for their revenge.
Nevada stands in front of the group, hands on her hips. Rakiz glances over at her from where he is speaking with a group of his warriors, giving her a heated look, and she narrows her eyes, sending him a lewd gesture in return.
They both grin.
Something in my chest clenches. What would it be like to have that with someone? I have known Malis since we were children, but our parents’ expectations have always been between us. In some ways, it’s ironic. If not for their insistence we commit to mating, perhaps we would naturally have grown closer.
Now the only thing we have in common is loathing for the very thing our parents want so badly.
My father approaches, and I tense. He slides me a look and then returns his attention to the training arena. Some of the new human females are running from one end of the arena to the other while Nevada orders them to move faster.
“Weak human females,” my father murmurs.
I glance at Ivy, Vrex’s mate. She picks up a knife, which is more like a sword in her hand, and raises her eyebrow at her male, who is leaning against the training arena and talking to Terex.
Vrex smirks, jumps the arena fence, and stalks toward his mate.
“You have not seen these females fight as I have, Father. They may be small, but they can be vicious in battle.”
He snorts. “They die too easily. And their children will be weak. I am glad Rakiz’s father cannot see the female his son has mated with. A tribe king has a duty to choose a Braxian female.”
I grind my teeth. “Be careful, Father. If Rakiz hears you speak this way about his female…”
He shrugs but glances over his shoulder, checking our surroundings. For a moment, I feel sympathy for my mother. It’s no secret their mating was not a love match. My father’s family has been committed to “breeding strong and true” for centuries. The strongest females in the tribe are chosen, along with those who can form ongoing alliances with our own family.
My mother has never said she regrets mating with my father. Has never hinted this may be the case. And she agrees with him that I should mate with Malis. But I wonder, when she sees her friends, when she watches how they are adored by their mates…
Does she wish for more?
I shake my head at the thought. This is the future she wants for
