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Beating the Genixarian captain to a bloody pulp can wait. My Myále needs my help. “It’s going to be alright, I promise,” I tell Astra. “I’ll pick you up. Just sit tight and enjoy the ride.”
“Oh, okay. That’s good, because I think we’re going to land on some planet. And, um…I didn’t get a good look at it because it just briefly flashed by the window, but it kinda looked like a rocky wasteland. So, not my ideal vacation destination, if you catch my drift.” She giggles nervously.
She’s frightened, and it’s all my fault. I should have never left her. “It’s okay. This is what the pod is designed for, Astra. It will land and keep you safe until I can get to you. Just stay inside and you’ll be fine.”
“Oh, okay. No biggie then. I’ll just put on my damsel in distress slippers and wait for my hero to come rescue us.”
“Exactly.” I can’t help but smile. I love the way she thinks. And talks. And laughs. And murmurs in her sleep. “I’ll be there before you know it.”
Her voice is a tiny whisper as she asks, “Promise?”
“I promise. After all, I didn’t get to taste you yet.”
Astra giggles. “You can have me the second you get here. Now … think … …”
The signal’s breaking up, which means the pod is descending through the atmosphere. I won’t be able to talk to her until the pod lands and by then, I plan to be in the Dart, heading down to retrieve her.
I’m shaken out of my reverie by the sudden grabbing of my arm, but I suppress my snarl when I realize it’s my captain. I respect Zarkan too much, even if he is keeping me from going to my mate right now.
“Tareq, wait,” he says, gripping my arm tighter. “You can’t go.”
“Like hell I can’t!”
Lyriana runs her hand through her short hair, scratching at the base of her horns. She does that when she’s nervous. “Ralax 8a is a forbidden planet, Tareq,” she says slowly. “We can’t land there.”
D’Aakh and Omni nod, and Faelin looks devastated. No one disputes her ridiculous claim. “These assholes just went there,” I say, pointing at the smug Genixarian captain. “I’ll just take the Dart. I’ll be there and back in an hour.”
“Look,” Zarkan says and I hate how fucking calm he sounds, “how about we contact headquarters. We’ll get permission to land on the planet and everything will be fine.”
I don’t want to wait, but other than punching Zarkan and running off, I have no other option, so I grunt my approval and glare at everything and everyone while he establishes a secure connection to Voidstalker headquarters. He quickly explains the situation, still calm and composed. It’s a good thing he’s making the call because I’d be yelling at the person on the other end the entire time.
Astra will be fine, I keep repeating to myself. The pod’s purpose literally is to get the occupants safely to a nearby planet. It will land and they’ll all be safe inside until I arrive to pick them up. Then I’ll take Astra away somewhere for a week. Or several weeks. We’ll do nothing but have sex and talk and sleep.
The voice from Zarkan’s comm draws my attention away from my pleasant fantasies.
“Negative, Nova 1. You do not have permission to land on Ralax 8a.”
Zarkan frowns. “This is an emergency, General. Over two dozen creatures are stranded down on the planet. A very inhospitable planet with dangerous fauna. Surely—”
“I’m sorry, Captain Zarkan, but the answer is no. The Non-Interference Directive strictly states the cases when rules can be broken, and retrieving a bunch of primitive creatures is not one of them.”
I punch the wall, roaring. “Primitive creatures?! Give me that comm, let me talk to that idiot!”
Naturally, Zarkan doesn’t hand the device over, he only mutes it so that the stupid general on the other side doesn’t hear my outburst. The captain raises his hand to silence me, then activates the comm again. “Sir, with all due respect, I’m sure an exception could be made. These are not primitive creatures, but highly intelligent lifeforms. We’re sentencing them to death over a bureaucratic oversight.”
The general sighs. “Look, Zarkan, I hear what you’re saying and I understand. But you know just as well as I do that I cannot give you the go ahead. I can’t, my friend. I’m sorry.”
“Copy that,” Zarkan replies solemnly. “Nova 1 out.”
“Well, that was a ginormous waste of time,” I scoff. “I’m taking the Dart and getting Astra. You can fucking arrest me when I return.” They’ll have to. Right now, I’m disobeying a direct order. Seems like my days as a Voidstalker are over whether I want them to be or not. I can’t find it in myself to care, though.
D’Aakh looks up at me from his datapad, the tips of his antennae glowing softly. “You can’t take the Dart.” Seeing I’m about to yell at him, he gives me a solemn smile. “It’s a UGC ship, which means they can take control of it remotely. You’d never make it to the planet. Headquarters would just cut you off from the controls and direct the ship back home, straight onto a prison landing pad.”
“Fuck!” I run my hand through my hair, tugging desperately on the strands. What do I do?! “What about the second ship in the hangar bay? The one these assholes used to get down to the planet?”
D’Aakh just shakes his head. “Damaged during the fight. Someone,” he scowls at Lyriana, “shot the cargo hatch circuit board. I can fix it, but it will take time.”
I punch the wall again, ignoring my bleeding knuckles. “Are you telling me there are two fucking spaceships here, but I can’t use either fucking one of them to save my mate?!” This is a nightmare.
