Page 5 of There's an Elf in My Cockpit

Chapter 3

Vi

On shaky legs, I tumbled myself out of the big mountain man’s sturdy lap. I didn’t actually want to leave that warm, safe place, but I wasn’t going to let him in on that secret. The concern for my well-being had been so frantic and genuine that I was all aglow, which was extremely silly considering our circumstances.

“Are all of you okay?” I asked instead, scanning the still-lit interior of the ship. They had all been strapped in and braced for impact, if I survived, surely they had too. I couldn’t stand the thought that any of those boys had gotten hurt because my damn ex was after me. I should have never ducked inside this shuttle, this was all my fault.

“Yes Miss,” the big Tarkan boy said in that typical gravelly rumble. “Count off,” he snapped, and one by one each of the other four teens called out that they were fine. They did it by saying their name and status like they were trained soldiers; it was my first introduction to their names.

“Lirr, all in order,” the Kertinal rumbled, fierce yellow eyes on my face as he spoke. That was followed by a much younger but very aptly named boy announcing that Wreck was fine too. When the third kid said that he was good as well, I had a hard time catching his name. I was startled to notice that this young Asrai was marked with scars all over his arms and face; any visible skin had slashes crisscrossing it.

His glowing golden eyes were defiant as they met mine so I quickly looked at the last kid. My eyes grew huge with shock when I noticed the thick blue pelt that covered him. A young Hoxiam? I could only just refrain from stepping back when I realized what he was. Hoxiam were carnivorous through and through, and their preferred flesh to consume was that of sentient beings. I’d heard it said more than once that Elrohirains were a delicacy to them.

This was just a kid though, he wasn’t as big as the other boys. I had no clue how old to estimate him, but he was a head shorter than me. An adult Hoxiam was close to eight feet tall. Then all fear fled when I realized that though he’d announced his name and that he was fine in a gentle soft voice, he wasn’t actually fine.

“Belal was it?” I asked as I rushed over and dropped to my knees at his side. He was still strapped in, both hands gripping the straps over his chest so tightly that we’d probably need a crowbar to pry him loose. His left leg was at an odd angle, and the culprit, my damn sack of packages, was right next to him.

“Looks to me like your leg is broken kiddo,” Oliver said from behind me. “Grab the medkit Darth.” This was my fault, he was hurt because of me. I felt myself bubbling with frustration and self-loathing. I didn’t have time for any of those feelings, I had to make it right. Except, I knew nothing of first aid so all I could do was gently fold my fingers around his white-knuckled grip and talk to him.

Darth and Oliver worked well together as they administered pain relief despite the kid’s protests. Then they straightened the break and splinted his leg, while Oliver used the tissue generator to speed up the healing process. It wouldn’t be healed overnight, not at his age anyway, but it had to be feeling much better. Once they were done, Belal’s grip finally relaxed enough that we could help him from his seat and get him situated on a cot the other teens had prepared for him.

He wouldn’t let go of my hand so I sat down on the floor next to the kid, watching as Oliver and Darth talked in whispers in the corner. Then they opened the hatch and disappeared outside. I wanted to know what was going on, my curiosity strong, but Belal needed me right now, so I stayed put.

Oliver and Darth weren’t back yet by the time the young Hoxiam had nodded off, his grip on my hand finally growing slack. It was the oldest of the remaining teens, the Kertinal named Lirr, that came to offer me a warm cup of tea and a ration bar. “Thank you,” he said quietly, “You don’t know us, but you can’t know what that meant to Belal just now.”

He was already up and back with his two other friends before I could even ask what he meant, let alone thank him for the food and drink. I felt nothing but guilt, these kids didn’t deserve any of what I just put them through. It was my fault they were now crash-landed on a frozen moon. Oliver might not have said anything, but I knew he hadn’t been able to reach his ship to warn them we were about to crash. How were they ever going to find us?

I had read the pamphlets, this moon was beautiful to look at but not safe to visit. How bad was it out there? The shuttle was intact, and the life support systems were keeping the temperatures inside of it at pleasant levels so far. But Oliver and Darth had been outside for a long time, were they making repairs? Or had something happened to them out there?

I was just starting to work myself into an anxious mess, debating whether I needed to mount a rescue when the hatch hissed and opened and both males ducked inside. It was only when they stomped the snow off their boots that I realized both had donned thick silvery parkas. They hadn’t gone out into the cold unprepared.

The young Tarkan crossed the small shuttle to sit down at Belal’s side. Everything about his posture indicated that he was settling in to watch over the kid as long as he slept. He gave me a chin jerk, indicating Oliver who’d made it to the cockpit area of the shuttle. Getting the hint, I got to my feet, straightened my silly, impractical green dress, and headed for the tall male. I was pretty certain at this point that he was human, a species not native to my quadrant of space and rare to see.

“What’s going on?” I said in a hushed whisper as soon as I got close. “How badly damaged is the shuttle? Any sign of those other ships out there?” If Elphiran found us stuck at the bottom of this crater we would be goners, there was no way we could fight off his gang or outrun them now.

I wasn’t exactly sure what Oliver was doing at the console, but it looked to me like he was reading all kinds of statistics. Had the sensors come back online? Were they working again? That would be nice, although that might mean my ex would be able to locate us too. Unless their crash had been much worse than ours, which I sincerely hoped was the case.

Oliver cast a look over his shoulder in the direction of Darth and the injured Belal. The other three were sitting cross-legged in a corner, laughing softly and talking. They were acting without a care in the world as they played Keflo with a ragged set of cards. I was glad to see that, they seemed far less shaken up about their friend being hurt or about being stranded on an ice moon than I was.

“All things considered?” Oliver said in that deep bass that made my spine tingle. “Good. The shuttle is in one piece and hull integrity is still a hundred percent. All propulsion is down though, it’s beyond my ability to repair.” That wasn’t what I wanted to hear, that definitely meant we were stuck while we waited for a rescue that might not come.

Just the thought of remaining in one place while I knew that my ex was out there, hunting me right now… It made my skin crawl and my body tremble with anxiety. I wanted to get moving, to run and hide. They might let the kids and Oliver live if they didn’t find me here. I eyed the hatch and the thick parka that Oliver had left hanging from a hook near it. My chances of survival out there were pretty slim, was I brave enough to do it? My father definitely would, he was the most honorable Elrohirian in existence.

“Whatever you are thinking, don’t,” Oliver remarked. He had plunked his big body down into the pilot seat, making his head level with my chest. I didn’t miss the fact that his eyes dipped a little lower to stare at my breasts. It was making me tingle, my nipples perking up at the attention. This was the worst moment to be attracted to a man, and I had the worst taste anyway. Look at what my dalliance with Elphiran had caused. It had wrecked my whole fucking life, and now it was wrecking theirs right alongside mine. No wonder I was the black sheep of the family, they were wise to cast me out.

“Stop that, Vi,” he repeated and his hand shot out, grabbing hold of mine. I hadn’t even realized but I’d been fidgeting with the edge of my skirt. “This isn’t your fault, I could have kicked you off, I could have tried to land the shuttle in the Vagabond’s hangar bay and I could have avoided getting us shot. Am I blaming myself? No. It isn’t like you’re responsible for the actions of others.”

No, I wasn’t, but if I hadn’t fallen for Elpherian’s slick charm and gotten to know too much about his criminal activities by being my curious self, I wouldn’t be on his kill list right now. I didn’t say that out loud, I didn’t want to change the way this human male was looking at me. It made me feel warm inside to notice the sympathy and the kindness.

“Vi,” Oliver said with a laugh, “You’re still thinking it. Enough, let’s focus on what we can do right now.” I eyed the parkas at the door again when he said that, the thought flitting through my mind that I should grab one and leave to make sure all of them here were safe. A tug on my hands and I was stumbling forward, I landed hip first in his lap, a squeak escaping my throat that was far too embarrassing to contemplate.

“The fuck? Let go,” I managed more fiercely, and the infuriating male just laughed, his arms settling around my waist to hold me where he wanted. I wanted to wriggle away and protest more, but I didn’t when I realized far too many curious eyes were on us.

“I’ll let you go,” Oliver said, a growl in his voice that was downright impressive considering his species. “When you promise me you’re not going to go off on some harebrained, misguided mission to protect us. I’m not about to let you freeze to death out there.” I fought a shiver, my belly clenching with heat. Human eyes didn’t glow but the intensity in his blue orbs almost made it seem that way. How had he known I was thinking about doing that?

I placed one hand on his chest, feeling the fabric of his gray shirt stretch tight over the warm muscle. “Fine, I won’t go outside alone.” But if I was outside and I saw my chance, I might take it anyway. I had to make this right. No matter what he said, I couldn’t put these kids at risk. My eyes drifted over his shoulder to the prone shape of Belal on the cot, sleeping so he could heal faster, his leg elevated and splinted.

Oliver’s hand cupped my face, his callouses rough against my skin, fingertips brushing along the sigils of my Caratan chain so they gently chimed. “No, don’t look there. Look at me, sweetheart.” He pulled my head back to his face and I felt his breath ghost over me, warm against my chilled skin. My nipples perked, my body tingled. How had I ended up in his lap twice already? Why was he so familiar with me? We barely knew each other. Why was I so attracted to men who were this confident and charming?

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