Page 85 of Aria's Ascension

“They were considered defective. They had genetic conditions that might pass to offspring should they have been purchased by someone with intentions to breed. They attempted to…fixboth without success.”

“Why couldn’t they have planned to sell them to arenas as gladiators?”

“One was considered entirely unfit. The other showed considerable aggression yet did not show any aptitude for combat.”

“What the fuck were they doing? Just abducting as many people as possible and sorting through them later?”

“I believe that is exactly so.”

Glaring at the bodies they’d piled up in the corner, Aria sneered, “I hope you died in pain, you bastards.”

Forcing herself to draw in a deep breath and calm down, she asked, “What about the ship itself?”

Rellik answered, “They were able to patch the hull breach, but it tore loose for some reason upon entry into the planet’s atmosphere. Inferior technology, perhaps. Most of their tech appears to have been cobbled together from many different sources. I am not surprised to find such badly integrated mods failed them.”

He cast an unimpressed look back at the console and flicked a loose wire with his finger, shaking his head as though personally offended by the state of it.

“Can it be repaired?”

Looking back at her, Rellik bobbled his head side to side dubiously. “Perhaps, with time, if Zhrovni has repair modules But, the repairs will have to happen here. It has enough power for me to dislodge it from the ground, but not enough to fly.”

“Alright, we’ll need to patch the hole in the retaining wall so no one’s tempted to steal it while it’s undergoing repairs. Right now, I need to know if you’ve figured out how to open the cells.”

“Ah… ”

“What now?”

“There is another cargo area, below the one in which we entered, for aquatic captures.”

“Great. People, animals, or both?

“Both.”

“Of course, there’s both,” she sighed. “Do we have somewhere to put them? Does Zhrovni have anything set up to hold aquatic beings?”

Kix answered, “I do not believe so,aessa. The logs give reference to an arena that specializes in underwater tournaments. That is who requested the… shipment.”

“Okay, let me think.” Aria paced the length of the flight deck, one hand falling to stroke the grip of her resonance gun. “First things first, we need to get everyone out of the hold, transport them back, and get them settled in. Treat anyone with severe injuries, get them fed, clothed, and bring them up to speed on what kind of world they just crashed upon. We need to patch the wall as soon as possible and get to work on repairing the ship. And figure out where the hell we’re going to house water-breathing people and animals.” Pausing, she turned to face the three of them. “Do any of you ever remember Zhrovni having an underwater tournament? Or transforming even part of the arena into a lake or an ocean?”

Tirox and Kix shook their heads, but Rellik offered, “If he had, we would be able to discover that information. I would imagine he kept records of the tournaments. If any featured a water element, that would be programmed into the reformer.”

“Good. We need to interview the prisoners down there, too. See what kind of skills they’ve got. I don’t imagine all of them will want to actively fight, but everyone can contribute in some way. If we can get this ship fixed or maybe steal another, we’ll need a pilot to fly them so we can return these beings to their planets and retrieve those people these assholes threw away.”

Aria could feel the muscles of her shoulders kinking themselves into knots once she voiced everything that needed to be done aloud. Bowing her head, she blew out a breath but looked up again when she felt bodies surrounding her.

Tirox cupped her cheeks and smiled softly, the sadness at finding one of his people dead still visible on his striking features, but determination and love filled his eyes. “We are with you, myrwy’n la. Tell us what you need, and we will see it done.”

Laying her hand over his, she turned her face into it and kissed his palm, then looked at Kix and Rellik.

“You know you need not question,aessa.I am yours, in all things,” Kix murmured, leaning down to press a gentle kiss to her lips.

Rellik gave her his trademark cocky smile. “I am with you,sarasha.How else am I to woo you, if I am not by your side?”

Aria shook her head and chuckled even as Tirox growled.

“Alright, then. Let’s get to work.”

Chapter 46

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