Page 12 of Akur

“Like qrak I will.” E’lot’s nostrils flared as he took a step forward. “You cannot mean to enter that ship alone.”

Akur paused, staring at his friend for a few moments. “There are only two of us, brother. If anything happens, someone must relay a message back to the others—if any remain. Someone must let them know these coordinates. Someone must keep the Restitution alive.”

“I will not allow you to sacrifice—”

“It is not your decision.”

That was it. E’lot’s mouth slammed shut, his jaw ticking because he knew the words left unsaid. They locked gazes, an eternity of their missions together playing in front of his eyes. He loved this male as much as he loved his womb-mate. They’d fought and laughed together. And this may be their last foray.

One of them had to do this, and he was the only one that had a trick up his sleeve.

E’lot’s shoulders sagged. “May the gods guide you, warrior. May the souls of our fallen brothers fight by your side.”

His chest tightened. This was goodbye. He stared at E’lot. With a salute and a nod to his comrade, Akur headed to the exit bay. “See you soon, brother.”

It was a grunt, E’lot’s response, but it was enough.

As the ship ejected him into the void, his body spun with weightlessness for a moment before he righted himself, using the thrusters attached to the pack on his back to face the colossal ship before him.

Hopefully, he was small enough not to tip off the scanners. They might expect a ship heading toward them, but not a single being.

“E’lot, do you read?” The connection warbled in his ear, and there was no response. The big ship before them was causing some interference. The same interference that had hidden them from sight for so long. The fact a blip occurred that led him straight to them was nothing but a miracle. With the sight of that planet now in the distance, he was convinced the transmission that led him here had been a mistake.

“E’lot, if you can hear me, fall back. No matter what happens, do not come in range. Not yet.”

Thrusters at his back firing, he shot toward the monstrosity before him. Pure black metal, blending into the void itself. How many civilizations fell to afford the Tasqals the resources to build such a thing?

As he shot toward it, his entire frame stiffened as he blinked. Was the vessel…was it moving? Qrak. It was slowly turning away from the planet before them. His whole being froze even as the thrusters shot him forward.

Had he miscalculated? Was this not their destination? Ithadto be. An uncharted planet. Signs of life on the surface. Thishadto be it.

His life organ stuttered as he reduced the thrusters, his body hanging in the weightlessness of the void as he stared at the massive vessel turning in front of him.

He should return to E’lot. Plan. No. Too slow. But that didn’t feel like the right course of action. Not now. He had to get on that ship.Find the humans and somehow get off without getting them all killed.Now or never.He turned, about to engage his propulsion, when movement caught his eye.

Something suddenly shot from the enormous ship before them.

No, not something. Somethings. Shuttles. Three of them.

“What in the gods of Tonvuhiri…”

He watched the shuttles shoot toward the surface, his nefre pulsing at the back of his neck with each moment that passed.

Those shuttles were small. Possibly holding one, maximum two, beings each. How many females had been taken? Apart from the female they’d stolen from his arms, he’d seen only two others. There could have been more. And he couldn’t allow the Tasqals to get hold of a single one.

Qef. He had to decide. And he had to make it fast.

A glance over his shoulder and he saw E’lot was angling their shuttle toward the enemy ship that was leaving. He probably expected him to return to the vessel so they could pursue the big ship. That was the logical thing to do. But none of this felt logical.

There was a yellow planet beneath them that shouldn’t exist and three shuttles heading toward it. Something stopped him from returning to the shuttle with E’lot. Something pushed him in the other direction. He made the decision, knowing E’lot would understand. Knowing that, just like those other times, he didn’t have to explain every single detail to his comrade. E’lot would know what to do.

Angling his thrusters, he shot toward the disappearing shuttles, the planet beneath them looming like a great big yellow ball. He didn’t even look behind him. Couldn’t. If he was wrong, that meant he was chasing useless Hedgeruds into the unknown while the females he was after were still on that big ship. He could only hope that if his luck ran out now, E’lot had a better chance tracking the females down.

“Qrak.” He was about to do something reckless. Something completely stupid. The shuttles before him shot down to the surface in straight lines, cutting a path toward the planet’s surface. Following them was beyond risky. The maintenance suit wasn’t meant for this. The turbulent atmosphere and crushing pressure would tear the fibers apart. But he had no choice. Gritting his teeth, he angled his head down and punched the thrusters to maximum.

In the grand scheme of things, he was so small that whoever was piloting those shuttles probably couldn’t see him. Not yet. He put all faith in that assumption as the planet before him grew so large it was all he could see.

The buffeting started immediately as he plunged into the dense yellow haze. A low tone blared in the suit, a warning spreading across the transparent visor before him. He ignored it. Ignored the heat he could feel as he plunged into the atmosphere. Ignored the fact it felt like his organs were simultaneously being pulled from within him, even as they were being crushed into a tight ball.

---