Page 52 of Rebel Fates

“I scanned Gemma for one, and I swept Leva for any trackers too.” Rok paces. “I even air-locked the slaver’s collar.”

“Maybe we should hide and wait for them to pass. We don’t need the extra trouble of engaging with these assholes. Any habitable planets in this sector?” I ask Rok since he plotted our current course.

“Two nearby. One with no known sentient lifeforms. Opposite direction of the Syndicate’s approach and way off from our current course.”

“That one.” I jump out of the way to let Rok work more efficiently than it would be for me to do it.

Leva instantly changes course, her beautiful space-whale body swimming faster than the speed of light.

“Could their presence be a coincidence?” Zeek asks.

“Maybe.”I hope so.

We land on the planet’s surface a few hours later. “Power down all non-essential computer systems. Leva, block any telepathic probes.”

“Gear up,” I instruct and head back to the armory. The drawers open as we enter, giving us access to our battle gear. We haven’t had a true battle or fight in a while. The haunted memories of our planet’s near annihilation flash through my mind. Our species lost so much in that war. I’d like to think I got over the loss of my mate, but I know Rok hasn’t. Sometimes, I’m not sure if Zeek was luckier to never have one.

I suppose the human has stirred up my desire to find a female to cherish again. However, there are only a handful of Hathoran females left in the Universe. And the human probably couldn’t fill that role for me, even on the long shot that she would want to. It’s highly unlikely she’d survive the mating.

Shaking the depressing thoughts from my mind, I grab my standard arsenal of guns and knives while Zeek loads up on guns and explosives. Rok has a set of guns and his specialized tech that can attack from a distance with a hover device.

“What about Gemma?” Zeek asks.

“Don’t worry about her,” I say. “If they come for us, we either eliminate the threat or we die. She’ll have to deal with whatever happens.”

Leva chirps, and I go to the console. It’s times like this I wish she had her voice developed. Maybe I’ll have Rok create and install a program for her console to translate text into audio.

Leva’s display reads: “Syndicate flight path is headed this way. May not see us. No communication detected that they have discovered us.Estimated time of arrival is… ten clicks.”

“Out!” I command. “Leva, camouflage mode.” Her body shifts to reflect the surrounding vegetation and terrain.

We disperse into the forest that surrounds the small, flat landing area we found. My senses come alive. This place isn’t all that different from our home. Under different circumstances and being this close to my shift, I would want to run wild and rut.

I want to run back onto our ship and do terrible, wicked things to Gemma. I want to set her loose on this planet, chase her down, and claim her. Would she want that too?

Focus.

Shoving down my primal urges, I find a spot far enough away to ambush anyone who approaches our ship on foot.

Now, we wait.

23

CHALLENGED

ROK

We have been waiting for hours. I wonder what Gemma thinks is happening. Does she even realize we’ve landed?

Does she wish I had touched her like the others have?

Stop it, I admonish myself. I blame my obsession on my impending rutting season.

My eyes are on the clear sky, scanning for any incoming enemy. It will not be easy for them to find Leva amongst this heavy vegetation, her organic hull won’t read like a regular ship on their scanners. I still don’t understand how the Syndicate found us at all,ifthey found us. Perhaps it’s just a coincidence they are heading in our exact location.

Probably not.

Will the human stay in her room? Will Leva decide to let her out again?

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