And then Alder’s voice floated back to me as he stormed away. “Godsdammit!”
16
Morpheus
“Are all the female-gendered species safe and secured, Blue?” I sat in Lise’s too-small chair, working the controls like mad. We’d cleared the empress’s compound and jumped into hyperspace at the bare minimum of a safe distance outside the planet’s atmosphere.
“Yes, Morpheus,” Blue chimed, “All are accounted for, except for one female who is unwell. I fear that her biology is too damaged. She is joined by your egg sac and chitin sharing warrior as one.”
“My what?” I asked, curiously, staring up at the low-profile speaker through which the AI’s voice was pouring into the space.
“It is what the Chilchek calls you and the humanoid one.” Blue’s programmed voice was even, with little inflection.
“Warriors made one through adversity,” I corrected, shaking my head slightly as I adjusted our trajectory. Evik had always used those words to describe our relationship with him. We were his… collective. His de facto family. Of course, that one mating season, he wanted a bit more than monogamy. On my planet, though we would take a new mate if our original died, we adhered to the constructs of male and female relations. On Evik’s planet, they were more fluid, more codependent on one another. The sexual rituals were a group performance, the males interacting as much as the queen.
“No, Altered One, your Chilchek very specifically says ‘egg sac and chitin sharing warrior as one’. My translators are as perfectly-tuned as any in the many known galaxies.”
I frowned, thinking that over. Egg sac and chitin sharing...
I’d stick to my translation, even if it was flawed.
“Don’t call me ‘Altered One’,” I finally responded, noting the irritation in my voice, but unable to cool my tone. “Go back to Morpheus.”
“As you wish.”
For some reason, the quick agreement of the AI only further stoked my agitation. Moxyclorate, my species’ version of human adrenaline, still coursed wildly through my veins and even my calming hum could not take the edge off. We were flying with stolen slaves, out in the middle of enemy territory.
It would be minutes before we were into the neutral zone. And from there?
Where did one go with a ship full of females from many, many different galaxies and worlds?
I knew the answer, but it was not one that my companions would like. As a general rule, Alder, Evik, and I avoided the United Galaxies safe haven on Nimbus Prime. It was a strict place, where broken laws were met with quick and severe punishment. No doubt our mugs were up on some sort of giant cyber billboard. ‘Warning. Criminals. Cavorters. Lotharios. Citizens, avoid at all costs. UG agents, capture by any means necessary’.
But, for the molting damn life of me, I could not think of anywhere else we could take so many rescued women. They had entire units devoted to helping displaced people from their home planets. They would be equipped to handle this sort of thing. We certainly weren’t. We didn’t have the capital or the fuel. All we could do, and I’d gone over the logistics in my head many times already, was go to Nimbus Prime.
May a black hole swallow us, I thought derisively. That would be preferable to docking on a planet filled to the gills with UG consulates. We were, the three of us, wanted for numerous crimes.
My wings fluttered slightly, the tips scraping harshly against the metal floor. I needed to calm myself down, but ever since the experiments on my body, I’d noticed a marked decrease in my ability to self-regulate.
“Blue, chart a course to Nimbus Prime. The path of least resistance. And land us out of scanner range of the United Galaxies haven. I don’t want to be on their radar.”
“Yes, Morpheus. I will contact Lise for permission to access navigation and override manual piloting.”
“Tell her the UG is the only place that makes sense to help these women find their ways home. We have enough fuel to get there, but then we’ll need to go directly to a refueling station. That’ll eat up most of our remaining currency.”
“I will pass on this message,” Blue confirmed, and the speakers fell silent.
Quiet, for a little while. I rolled my shoulders repeatedly, trying to work out the tension they held. I was just beginning to feel the sharp bite of the moxyclorate fade away when Alder stomped onto the bridge. His expression and posture were tight as he slammed his body into the co-pilot’s seat next to me. Instantly, the dark cloud of his aura floated against me, stoking my fight-or-flight response.
“And your problem is?” I snapped out, swiveling in the seat to face the fae Prince.
“Lise… Evik… they...” he sputtered out the three words, looking stricken by some form of space insanity. “They…” he started again, and then threw his hands up in the air and jumped from his seat to pace the bridge.
“If you cannot speak sensibly, please leave the bridge. You have caused enough discomfort as it is, Alder.” My wings scraped the floor again, the screech of metal tips against metal panels painful to the ears.
“I’ve caused discomfort? Me?” He shouted the questions, his face going red with anger even as his body began to pulse with a pale blue hue. Sparks popped from his fingertips. I had not known he had that much magick left in his body. He had been complaining for months that he was losing his edge and needed to return to his planet or lose the very thing that made him fae—the product of human colonists mating with the natives of his colonized world.
“Alder.” I stood up, drawing to my full height, which nearly made my head brush the ceiling of the bridge. A lower part of it, where ductwork clung to the ceiling. I looked down at Alder, and I waited for him to focus on my figure. I did
