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The transmission garbled before clearing."...more than that. To sweeten the deal, I have a compatible pair ready to mate."
"I have no use for bonded spirit mates, Gretolic!"
"They have yet to bond. You can sell them to a pleasure cruiser. The wealthiest beings in the Luartick Sector will pay handsomely to witness the forming of shawras when they bond. Maybe even enough rillium to trade for the tellic needed for the creation of kript you're so desperate for."
"Twelve!"the trollis shouted."That is my final?—"
The transmission abruptly cut off. Across the way, a Huren warrior named Alexxon pulled his brightly maned spirit mate, Breena, closer. I had been told they were the couple who had been sold as the compatible pair.
I had caught fragments of their tale, snippets of how they had escaped the pleasure cruiser with Ruze's help, and found themselves on a prison moon, only to be delivered to Valose by one of three reavers, Lizordian brothers scouring the cosmos for humans and Valosians.
Zaku had been the one who had made contact with the reavers and placed bounties on the heads of the missing people in hopes some would be found and returned to Valose.
“Tirius is where I last saw my mate, Zorin,” Nara spoke out. Flesh of a brilliant blue with a mane of a shocking red, she was a species called Mayran, and another member of my small group who had escaped the clutches of the giant alien. “Now that Zaku has removed all tracking devices from our vessel, not even the Moktian can track it while it’s cloaked. We need to fly to Tirius. Someone there has to know where my mate and your people were taken.”
“I agree,” Ruze stated. “Tirius is a good place to start and I can search for my missing people along the way.”
"Then it's decided." The words spilled from my lips, each syllable a declaration of war against the Gretolics who had stolen those who did not belong to them. "We journey to Tirius. Find and reclaim all those who have been unjustly taken."
“You can’t mean to go with them, Gunnox,” Drekkor rounded on me. “We have just found our way back home. Your feet have barely touched Valosian soil and we have yet to return to our home in the Trisess Forest.”
“I cannot keep from thinking about those who are still out there, somewhere lost.” It didn’t matter if they were Valosian or humans, or even Nara’s people. “This very sec, they could be fighting for their lives or praying to the Spirits to be saved. I can’t remain on Valose knowing there are so many trying to find their way home.”
“Gunnox—”
“You have a spirit mate to protect while I do not,” I interrupted, knowing Drekkor would insist on going with me. He and I shared a bond akin to brotherhood, our lives intertwined from the earliest days as younglings, a connection honed on the warrior training field. “Remain here with your mate and when I return, we can celebrate the homecoming of all the others we find.”
My gaze dropped to the soft glow of his shawra, the mated flourish etched in his scales the same as his spirit. There were hundredths of human females out there waiting to be rescued. Humans who couldn’t return to Earth because of the Yulineon patrollers Ruze spoke about.
According to Universeval Rule, the Yulineons were charged with eradicating humans on sight, but they were safe on Valose. After the germ decimated our female population and my spirit mate along with them, the human females were a chance for my species to avoid extinction.
I still couldn’t get over Sia Jakkar and his mate, Lily’s youngling, Aurra. The tiny hybrid had the silver scales and pointed ears of her sire with the dark mane of her human mother. For the first time in a long while, I felt a surge of hope for the future of Valose.
As the decision hung heavy in the air, a flurry of activity and chatter erupted within the hangar. With a sense of purpose driving each step, I accompanied Ruze, Tyrk, and Nara out of the hangar and over to the dome’s gate where the Moktian Galaxy Cruiser waited. Behind us, followed a collection of all three clans. The hum of anticipation filled the air, mingling with echoes of resolve as we exited the dome.
“Are you certain this is what you want to do?” Kyrran narrowed eyes on me.
“There are more of us out there,” I nodded. “Lost. Not just from Clan Trisess, but from all the clans. I want to help find them and bring them home. Look at where we had found ourselves, Kyrran,” I said hotly. “As Nara said, if the Gretolics can manufacture kript, they can distribute our people all over the uncharted Universe. The Lizordians might be out there looking, but they don’t have kript to journey to unknown planets.”
“I know and I understand but still hate that you’re leaving.” Kyrran offered me his forearm to clasp in a show of respect. “May the Spirits show you favor.”
“And you,” I clasped what he offered then turned to his mate, Raven. "I was mistaken. I underestimated the Valosian people and their acceptance of you as Kyrran's spirit mate. But what do I know? The Spirits have their own plans. If only I could be half as fortunate as Kyrran."
“Thank you, Gunnox.” Raven stepped forward, shocking me when she kissed my cheek. “That means a lot.”
Kyrran’s scales flashed in warning, a low growl erupting from his throat.
I recoiled, putting some distance between us. “Fucking Helios, female. Are you trying to get me killed?”
“Sorry,” she giggled. “It was just a harmless gesture of thanks to a friend.”
“Earth has some odd customs,” Kyrran cleared the warning from his throat as he spoke to his female. “You need to give me fair warning me next time you decide to gift another male a harmless gesture.”
I bid my new friends farewell and navigated through the throng of my clansmen congregated near the shell of Huren’s protective dome. Drekkor, Sia Tikkot, and Synnox stood by, their expressions mirroring a mix of worry and pride.
"May the Spirits show you favor, old friend," Drekkor's deep voice rumbled with genuine concern.
Sia Tikkot clasped my shoulder firmly, his eyes reflecting unspoken words of brotherhood. "We'll be waiting for your return."
