Page 58 of Guardian's Heart

"Ah!" Nock’s eyes lit up. "So I was… verbally activating him?"

I blinked, then smirked. "Sure, let’s go with that."

"Something like that, yeah," he confessed, making me smile.

"What do you think about Zaarek not knowing what species he is and his headaches whenever we ask questions about his years before he became a Space Guardian?"

"I don't know, but it makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. They did something to him," I confessed my deepest fears. And they would pay for it. Nobody messed with someone I cared for. The Ohrurs would soon find out that they bit off more than they could chew.

ZAAREK

I half expected mymating marks to act up when I entered the space station, but nothing happened. Not even when I moved in deeper and further away from my ship. I was curious why they didn’t activate again like they had in the forest, but I resigned myself to the fact that this was another little mystery that we needed to explore later.

Space stations were not my preferred place to go unless I wanted to celebrate the successful finish of a mission. Species of all kinds roamed the halls, stores, establishments, and offices. It was a steady coming and going, all under the watchful eyes of GTU security forces. Besides them, I also noticed a large presence of Pandraxian Superior Imperial Forces. They didn't have any authority on GTU stations or planets, making me wary of their presence.

I wasn't the only one, it seemed, as all patrons and visitors hurried to take care of whatever business had brought them to ZP45A, legal or not.

Earlier, I had taken the measurements of all my charges and filled in orders with various businesses, ranging from clothing to shoes and tablets, to entertain myguests. While here, I also planned to restock on a few items I was running short of that had already been ordered by the ship's computer.

A train of drones, carrying all the items, was already on the way to my ship when I stopped dead in my tracks as my eyes fell on a blue dress that would bring out Nova's eyes. Deep cut, it would allow me to peek at her luscious breasts, and the V shape of the dress would enhance her long legs. On impulse, I went inside and purchased it, together with a pair of matching shoes and sparkling gems for her throat, ears, and wrist.

By a delicatessen store, I stopped again, to purchase several items that I hoped would be to her liking since all she had experienced so far was the food from the nutrient dispensers. Funny how I had never given any thought to what I ate. But come to think of it, the best food I remembered ever having were the critters I had slain on Morrakbarr. The flavor of the meat had reminded me of… and here came the headache again. Frygg. What in the name of the seven suns was going on? The nagging feeling that the Ohrurs had done something to me grew in my gut, and I couldn't shake my increasing resentment against them.

The sound of a youngling's laughter rang out and incited a strange sensation in me. I turned and watched a Pandraxian couple walk arm in arm into a store, followed by a skipping youngling playing with a hover ball. A deep yearning seared through my guts and heart. I could almost picture this couple being Nova and me, followed by our offspring. A feeling of warmth spread through my chest, increasing my yearning for this exact picture. A son or daughter, I didn't care which, as long as they were mine and Nova's. What would they look like?

Another sharp pain moved through my head when I wondered why I had never seen anybody like me other than the adultmaleSpace Guardians. There had to be kids of my kind? What about females?

The pain and the raised voices of a handful of Pandraxian Forces clashing with Cryons distracted me from my musings. The hate these two species held for each other was well known, and I decided to give them a wide berth lest I be drawn into their altercation. The only other way was through a seedier part of ZP45A, but that couldn’t be helped.

As usual, just the sight of me had people scramble out of my way and back into the holes they had crawled out from. Word must have spread as I didn't see another soul until I reached the hangar where my ship was docked. I was still half inside the alley and half out when my comm beeped.

Without preamble, Possedion yelled, "Where in the name of the great nebula are you?"

"ZP45A. I had to restock and get some things for your precious humans."

"Well, those precious humans are trying to hack into the main Ohrur database," Possedion continued his yelling.

I leaned against the wall, half amused, half outraged. I cursed Nock, knowing full well it had to be him and probably Nova. Why would they take that risk, though? They had to know the Ohrurs would be monitoring the system.

"I'll shut them down," I promised Possedion.

"I want to know who and why. Do you understand?"

I disliked Possedion with every fiber of my being and wished Moddekdum, my previous minder, hadn't been recalled. Possedion's bossiness and condescension made me want to introduce my fist into his stupid face. Alas, I had never actually met him or any other Ohrur face-to-face other than through a holocomm, which made my wish impossible to come true.Then again, I must have, right? At some point? At least during my training? Without giving him an answer, I disconnected the comm and hurried to the pressure locks to enter my ship.

"Nock!" I yelled the moment I stepped foot aboard, uncaring of the drones who would leave their wares in the storage area, where my drones would pick them up and distribute them. They would leave them in front of the locked doors to myguests,from where it would be up to me to hand them out.

Or Nock. Now that was an entertaining idea.

"Nova?" I yelled, stomping through the hallway, passing the mess hall, and sighing when I realized they had to be on the bridge. I was right; they were sitting in my chairs, going through databases they had no business poking into.

"What in the Starfleet’s name is going on here?" I yelled, startling both of them, who had been so engrossed in what they were doing that they had neither heard me yelling nor my stomping footsteps.

"Hey, you're back." Nova jumped out of the seat and rushed to my side. Automatically, I pulled her into my arms, kissing the top of her head and holding her as if we had been separated for days, not mere hours.

"I missed you." Her words took most of my ire away. It was becoming increasingly impossible for me to be mad at her, especially when she was in my arms.

"I missed you too. I have a surprise for you and…" I stopped myself and shook my head. "What in the seven sun system are you two doing?" I finally remembered why I was irritated.

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