Page 10 of BaOBy

Now that she was safely back in the house, BaOBy could relax his hold on his temper, and his emotions. Looking at the window, he shuddered. Safely back in the house. The house that was her prison. He wanted to call her back, to take her far away from this planet and the Andaran. He needed a plan.

Turning, he rushed down the street and jogged the several blocks over to the edge of the Violetta field. He wanted to go somewhere alone. Somewhere he could rant, scream, and cry. Alone. As Catalina had always faced her life.

In the moonlight, the tall, purple flowers were beautiful. The stalks rose way over his head. And he was six feet tall. So, he guessed the flower forest rose to a height of close to twenty feet. They were covered in shades of lilac and purple blooms from a few feet above the ground, to the top of the plant. He rushed down one row. Allowing his emotional pain to erupt, he screamed at the unfairness of it all. At the pain his mate had to endure. The horror. For long minutes he raged at the universe. Screaming and pulling up a few smaller plants by the roots and shredding the Violetta. He stopped when his voice was hoarse, his head throbbed, and his hands were sliced and bleeding.

Going to his knees, he got sick. He emptied his stomach and crawled far away from the mess. Then Bao collapsed on the ground and closed his eyes. Tears seeped from under his lids. He was heartsick. What was he going to do? His mate was in so much trouble. And he didn’t know how to help her.

Hearing the softest shift of clothing and dirt, Bao sighed. Realizing he was no longer alone. Turning over—he opened his eyes. Four of his brothers surrounded him. BOlaBe, his fuchsia-skinned brother. Bol was the Master of Destruction. He could blow up anything. Including this entire planet if it became necessary. Bao took a shaky breath and looked up at his cherry red brother, BeOBard. Bard was the Master of Sound. Not only could he recreate any voice or bird call, but he could also suppress any noise. This brother had probably kept the sound of his captain’s psychotic meltdown… contained to the area surrounding him.

He held out his hand, and Bard helped him to his feet. “Thank you, brother.”

Bard nodded his acceptance of those words.

“Captain. ReBOrB and his new mate are on their way,” JayBOrB told him.

Bao frowned and met his purple-skinned brother’s gaze. Jay was their Master of Illusion. When he was around, no one would see them, unless the brothers wanted to be seen. “Reb and his mate Cameron are coming?” Then he realized why. Not just why Reb was coming, but why the other brothers surrounded him now.

The twenty brothers were clones. As the Father created each of them, their connection expanded to include the new brother. They had an unbelievably strong mental connection. Able to share thoughts… and feelings over long distances. Through their mental connection, they all felt the anguish in his soul. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think to block you all from that.”

His lilac-skinned brother, LanBeOB, stepped closer and clapped him on the back. “Remember, you are not alone. None of the brothers are ever truly alone. And that means that you have twenty minds to help you find a way to save your mate. More. As your mate will be involved. And from what I’ve seen, she is a very smart woman. Plus, Brode and Reb have mates now. And we can’t forget Father. He will help guide us.”

Lan was right. As their Master of Technology, he could talk to machines. He could boost the power of any mechanical device—and pilot any type of ship. Bao looked at Lan and nodded. “You are right. The first step is getting all those minds together. My very smart mate suggested we use one of the Andaran’s ships, and park it here in this field. It will provide our home base.”

Lan grinned. “One of his ships? He has more than one? Do I get to choose the one we take?”

Bao felt a surge of optimism. He was not alone—he’d never been alone. Catalina didn’t know it yet, but her life was about to change. She wasn’t alone anymore, either.

As they walked out of the Violeta forest, Jay pointed to their right. A large rectangular warehouse looked abandoned. His brother jogged over and looked in the window. “It’s huge, with one big empty area and some smaller rooms at the far end. And it is for rent,” he added, holding up a small sign that had been in the window.

Lan nodded. “With it situated right at the edge of the field, we can set up an entrance into the flower forest coming out the back of the building. We won’t be noticed. And it’s big enough for just about anything. It doesn’t really matter what is inside. We can make this work.”

Bard grinned. “Give me the information. I’ll take care of renting it. If I need to, I can replicate the Andaran’s voice, or close to it anyway. I studied it for the password at his house. It might come in handy for this if they won’t agree to terms.”

Bao slowed when they neared the house Cat was in. Everything looked quiet. But he wouldn’t leave her without backup. “We need to have someone near Cat and these other women at all times. Preferably by the window she goes through at night. Just in case she needs help.”

Jay agreed, “It’s a good idea. I’ll set up a blind so that no one from the street will see us when we’re in that little alley. And I’ll block it from the other end of the house. We can change out every few hours. More when Reb gets here. I’ve got the first watch.” He walked away and soon disappeared from their sight.

Bao knew he was using an illusion to hide his body. Jay could set small mirror-like illusions, like what it would take to keep anyone seeing them in the alley, and anchor the magic, so no matter which brother monitored Cat, they would remain hidden. Having someone watch over Cat, right outside her window, made him feel so much better.

Catalina said her top priorities were to ensure the Andaran couldn’t escape the planet on one of his many ships and to empty all his caches of money and credits. Knowing this gave Bao a place to start. Her third action item was to locate each slave and set them free. If they couldn’t be freed immediately—at least when the time came they would know where each woman was located and if she were healthy. Cat wanted some of the Andaran’s money to help each of the slaves.

BaOBy would bet his own money that all the slaves would turn out to be women.

Contacting the DoMicile and all his brothers was Bao’s first priority. He needed them all to brainstorm how to help his mate. Plus, if more of them were back on the planet, it would ensure he had the resources to handle Cat’s list. He figured if they could land one spaceship in that field, they could land two.

Bao climbed the stairs to the rooftop garden. Lan and Bol sat next to him on the blanket. Lan stuck his hand out. “I’ll take the list of ships in his personal spaceport. Let’s see what we have to choose from.”

Bol held his hand out, too. “Give me the building information. I’ll study the layout and before the sun comes up, I’ll go check the location and security.”

This meant Bao could study the list of locations where the Andaran had stashed away credits. It made sense to him that besides needing a ship, he’d want plenty of money too. Why trust that he’d have time to get to another stash? There had to be money on or around the ships. When they went to the hidden spaceport later today, Bao planned to take care of his number one priority and a couple of Cat’s at the same time.

It was quiet for only a few minutes before Lan whistled. “Siluthien Hell, Captain! That kacking Andaran has an Astro Stealth Cruiser 3000!”

Bol clutched his chest as if he were having a heart attack and fell back into the basket of Yama fruit.

Bao blinked, and a grin spread across his face. He said a quick thank you prayer to the universe and sighed, knowing none of them would sleep tonight. There would be no rest until the brothers discovered if the ASC 3000 was in that building.

Spoils of war…

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