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I roar in laughter, patting his back so hard he nearly stumbles. I like him. He’s a little weird, but it’s the right kind of weird.
Everyone of my crew, except Tareq and his mate, are on the bridge already. Omni took the Genixarian captain’s body away earlier while I’d scrubbed his blood off the wall, so the bridge looks as good as new. It could do with some color, though. Genixarians aren’t into decorating, so everything is gray and dull, but I can imagine how much better the space would look if we painted some of the walls.
Zarkan smiles at me, then looks over at Nikolai curiously. “This human wishes to speak to you,” I explain.
“Oh, of course,” the captain replies. “Computer? Can you translate for this human so he understands us?”
“Affirmative,” the AI responds. “I suggest giving him an earpiece so I can send the translation to him without distracting the rest of you.”
Nikolai looks around with curiosity rather than with fear. A brave man. I gather an earpiece and activate it, holding it in front of him while gesturing at his ear. He briefly examines it before putting it into his ear canal, tapping at it to make sure it stays in place.
“You should be able to understand us now,” Zarkan says. When Nikolai nods, smiling widely, my captain continues, “Are you well? Do you require food? Water? Something else? We will provide all of you with whatever we can until we arrive at the Farpoint Gateway. The United Galactic Congress has an embassy there and they will make sure you return home safely.”
The human shifts his weight, looking nervous. “Yes, I heard the translated message saying you’ll send us all back home. It also mentioned something about a memory wipe?”
“It’s completely safe,” Zarkan assures him. “They will only remove your memories from the time Genixarians took you. You’ll be able to return to your prior life unaffected.”
“Yeah, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. What if…what if I don’t want to go back home?”
I’m taken aback by his question. His planet sounds lovely and rather peaceful, certainly safer than most in the galaxy. Why wouldn’t he want to go back? Before I can ask, though, Tareq and his mate join us on the bridge.
Lyriana grins. “Didn’t think you’d get out of bed any time soon. Is your stamina that low, Tareq? We can get you some pills for that on the black market.” A round of hearty laughter follows.
“Shut up, Lyri,” Tareq scowls, pulling his blushing mate closer to his chest. “My stamina is just fine, thank you for asking. I’m taking my Myále back to bed as soon as we’re done here.”
Astra smacks his chest. “Assuming, much?”
“Oh yes, I am,” he retorts playfully, stealing a kiss from her. “So, what is it you wanted to talk about, Captain?” he asks, turning to Zarkan.
I wonder about that too, so I wait quietly. Nikolai shuffles his feet. “I should probably wait outside,” he says, heading for the door.
“No, stay,” Zarkan interrupts. “You should hear this too, if you wish to stay.”
Astra casts her fellow human a curious look but says nothing, returning her gaze to our captain instead.
Zarkan takes a deep breath, scratching at the scales on his chin. “You call me Captain,” he starts, “but I’m not your captain anymore. We are no longer Nova squad and I am no longer your superior officer. I have no authority over you. Not that I ever had much,” he adds jokingly. “My point is, each of you is free to go and do whatever you want. There are no rules binding us together anymore, and I do not want to keep you anywhere against your will.”
I feel like my heart is shattering. Is he saying that we shouldn’t be together anymore? Sure, he’s probably right. After all, we are technically nothing but colleagues. Were. We were colleagues. Now, we’re…what exactly?
Lyriana snorts. “With all due respect, Captain,” she stresses the word, “that’s a load of karli crap. We might be on the wrong side of the law now, but that doesn’t change anything about us being the Nova squad, the best fucking Voidstalker squad in the entire galaxy.”
“Aye,” Omni chimes in.
I clear my throat. Tears threaten to escape my eyes, but I will them back. I’m a Voidstalker, not a crybaby. “You are much more than just my squad,” I admit, hoping I’m not making a fool of myself. I need to say it, though. “You guys are my family, and I don’t care what we do or where we go. I will stand by your side for as long as you’ll have me.”
A hand clasps my shoulder, and I look to see Tareq’s smile. He gives me a nod before turning to Zarkan. “I agree. We all do better when we stick together. Unless you want to kick us off your new ship, we’re staying. We need to stop by a spaceport to resupply, though, because my mate and I need a bigger bed.”
“You’re such an idiot,” Astra chides half-heartedly. “I want you all to know that I really appreciate what you did for those of us that were stranded down on that terrible planet. I know you got in trouble because of it and I hope that one day, I can make it up to you. Until then, I just want to say how grateful I am.”
“There’s no need to thank us, Astra,” Zarkan says. “We joined the force because we wanted to help people. Saving you and the others was never a question of if, but rather, how.”
Tareq nuzzles her hair. “Told you,” he tells her. “So, what do we do now? We drop both the slavers and their former captives on the Farpoint Gateway, and then what?”
“Mercenary jobs?” Lyri suggests, shrugging. “We can pick the ones we like.”
“We will need a new signal transmitter for the ship,” D’Aakh says. “We need to rename her and make sure she’s not tied to her previous owners. I know a guy on the Farpoint Gateway who can do that for us, but it won’t be cheap.”
“I have a credit stash there,” Tareq offers.
