Page 17 of Protected By the Alien Knight

Through the canopy, I catch a final glimpse of Ven’ari staring up with undisguised hatred as we streak into the twilight sky. A withering barrage of turbolaser fire lances after us but comes up short as my countermeasures erupt in spectacular flashes.

“Cutting it close, weren’t you?” Annie’s voice is impossibly calm as the crash couch restraints hiss tightly around her.

I bare my teeth in a savage grin. “You knew I’d have us dancing on the razor’s edge, starlight.”

For a moment, the chaos and adrenaline of our desperate escape falls away. Annie’s eyes find mine, shining with a mixture of resolution and sympathy. Her hand comes up to tenderly cup my cheek.

“I know what a sacrifice this is for you, Crux. Turning your back on everything you’ve ever known, your brothers, your entire way of life...” She shakes her head slowly. “I can’t begin to comprehend how difficult this choice must be.”

Leaning in, she presses her brow to mine, the gesture achingly intimate. “But I want you to know that I see you, my knight.I see the immense burden you’re shouldering for me, for us. Whatever comes next, we’re in it together.”

Her fingers trace the line of my jaw with a featherlight caress. “Thank you... for choosing me. For choosing this path, no matter where it may lead. I only hope I can be worthy of such selfless devotion.”

Then she pulls back, that familiar spark rekindling in her gaze as she offers me a soft, determined smile. “Now, no more stalling, yeah? Our destiny awaits!”

I gaze at her in awe, my throat tightening with the depths of emotion surging through me. This remarkable woman—brilliant, compassionate, fierce—has chosen to inexorably bind her fate to mine without hesitation.

I pull Annie into a searing kiss, trying to convey every ounce of my devotion and profound gratitude. She returns it with equal fervor, her fingers threading through my hair as our mingled breaths quicken.

When we finally part, I rest my brow against hers, savoring this perfect moment before the coming storms.

“My destiny began the moment you blazed into my life, Annie,” I murmur reverently. “I will never cease following your path, no matter where it leads us next.”

Then, with a feral grin, I punch the final initiation command, and we rocket forward in a maelstrom of thunderous energy. I angle the battered freighter’s nose toward the atmosphere. Somewhere back on the planetary surface, Ven’ari’s pursuit teams will be moving in, intent on dragging us back into the Order’s smothering darkness.

But for now, there’s no more orders to follow, no more rigid doctrines shackling us. It’s just me, Annie, and the endless night that stretches ahead, awaiting our light. In the lurch and rattle of our breakneck ascent, Annie’s hand finds mine across the dimly lit banks of instrumentation separating us, and ourfingers entwine desperately. When I risk a look over at her silhouette thrown in sharp relief, she musters up a tremulous but reassuring smile. Then her chin dips in a subtle nod.

The activation of the engines created twin streaks that split through the darkness, turning it into swirling ribbons of starlight blurred by speed. With a last thunderous roar of the engines, we depart Avenia’s swirling emerald and russet form. We watch as it shrinks away behind us, supplanted by the infinite sea of possibility awaiting our heading.

For a long, steadying moment, I simply allow my ship to drift in space. But the solitude doesn’t last for long. My comm pings with an urgent, encrypted transmission, coded scrambler tags showing it’s a level-one alert at Annie’s personal estate on Venturis.

Unease coils in my gut as I engage the decryption protocols. Annie tenses beside me, sensing the gravity of the situation. The holo-display flickers to life, revealing her stately manor house in disarray—furniture overturned, windows shattered.

Security drones lie sparking and disabled as a towering lone Huxarian figure stalks into view, dragging two captives behind him. With a lurch of horror, I recognize Annie’s children—Alice and Max—bound and beaten.

“No!” Annie cries out, fingers clenching around mine painfully. “Alice! Max!”

Alice seems to cry out out as the Huxarian brute forces them to their knees.

The Huxarian sneers, his jagged maw splitting open as he activates a comm link. On his armored chest plate, the fanged sigil of Kavil’s regime is clearly visible.

“Ambassador Agnew. Your foolish human ideals have crippled our people long enough. While you enjoy comforts with the STI elite, many struggle to find their next meal.” He gesturescontemptuously at Alice and Max. “Your children’s lives will be the price for your arrogance.”

Annie’s face drains of color as the implications become clear. The Huxarian’s talons flex against Max’s throat as his bestial features contort in pleasure at Annie’s silence.

“You have twelve standard hours to resign your position and publicly denounce the Stellar Togetherness Initiative. Refuse, and your wretched offspring will be made an example of. One that even humanity cannot ignore.”

The link severs with an ominous crackle, leaving us shaken. Annie’s jaw is set in a rigid line, but her hands tremble almost imperceptibly.

“Kavil’s emblem,” she mutters, fury and dismay warring across her features. “These are Radicals from his hardline loyalists, lashing out over the reforms I’ve set in motion.”

I curse under my breath as the gravity settles over us both. “Zealots hellbent on preserving their leader’s oppressive hold over Huxaria at any cost... even using your children as leverage.”

Annie’s gaze is blazing with that familiar ferocious determination I saw when she refused to abandon Orion Station, no matter the risk. But now the stakes are raised exponentially higher.

This time, her children’s lives are the stakes on the razor’s edge she walks.

“We have to go back,” Annie states immediately, as if that is the only course of action available.

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