"Untie me," Possedion called from the table.
"Not a chance in the universe," Thrax replied through gritted teeth.
"At least let me sleep," Possedion begged. "Call that drone off."
"Not until we finish our little conversation," Thrax informed him, and we left the room.
Instead of going to our quarters, Thrax directed me to help him to the bridge.
"You should get some rest."
"We need to follow up on the information Possedion gave us," he argued.
A red light was blinking, announcing an urgent message when we entered the bridge.
"Strange, why didn't this come through my comm?" Thrax mumbled as he gave the orders to read the message.
Arrest warrants have been issued for the following persons:
Space Guardian Raasla Garjed, SG5289 and Space Guardian Zaarek Taloor, SG99853. Both Space Guardians are wanted fortreason and considered extremely dangerous. This is our number one priority. Abandon all other missions and report to your minders immediately.
"This isn't a new message," Thrax mumbled, opening a couple of cubes and moving through the screens. "Strange why it came through now."
"Maybe because you just went back online?" I suggested, but in truth, I had even less of an idea than him. I wasn't very technically savvy. Most of my free time at home I spent browsing through social media, catching up on the newest fitness routines, or working on my profile to entice new prospective clients.
"You're probably right," Thrax agreed.
"I am? I mean, yeah, I'm probably right," I agreed quickly. How often does a man tell you that you're right? I had every intention of absorbing the credit.
He looked at me, and we both chuckled for a moment, and it felt good. So good. Ever since this morning, we hadn't had any time alone, especially after his dream last night. I mean, I was sure he loved me. I could feel it, but him calling out another woman's name was still… unsettling at best. No matter how much warmth her name brought up in me.
"I love you, Thrax," I said.
He took my hand. "I love you too, Hannah."
We sat quietly for a moment, just staring at each other, holding hands. He was the first to pull back, and I'm not gonna lie, it hurt.
"Why would they issue arrest warrants for these Space Guardians?" Thrax mumbled, searching through screens.
I realized he would do this until he found answers to numb his mind from Possedion's last words. I also knew we wouldn't be returning to Possedion until the next day to give Thrax time to research and clear his mind. I would demand his blaster just in case, though.
Since I wasn't about to just sit around, I pulled up two cubes too and began searching through the GTU database since Thrax was going through the Ohrurs'.
I had memorized the names, and nobody was more surprised than me when, within a few minutes, I hit pay dirt.
"Thrax, I think I found something," I announced, staring at the holovid from Nock, the alien holostreamer, the one we had watched before.
On the screen, Nock was grinning before he pointed the camera at another Space Guardian. "Don't mind him. He's a bit shy today. It's not every day that he's being called a hero! But that's what he is. You all know I'm not a big fan of the Space Guardians, but Zaarek has opened my eyes to the fact that these brave males are more than just exterminating machines. We just returned from Astrionis, where we unloaded eight humans Zaarek rescued. Eight! Let me tell you, the work Lord Protector Garth and Lady Silla are doing is invaluable. Those poor humans are being used for slavery, medical experiments, and the gods only know what else." Images of a strange planet appeared. Humans were waving at the camera, and my heart constricted at the sight that they were free and happy. Someone had been touched enough by our plight not to just build a refugee camp but an entire planet for us. One of the metallic shimmering aliens I had seen before stood proud with his arm around a woman, a human woman. Both were finely dressed, and it was easy to see that they were important and very much in love.
"Is this live?" a voice demanded.
Nock reappeared. "From what I understand, Emperor Daryus has not shied away from paying a fortune to hire four Space Guardians to rescue even more of these humans. We should all follow this shining example of Emperor Daryus.
"Something completely unrelated. I want to follow up on my mating marks show, especially the ones that emerge unexpectedly.Zaarek has offered me a ride to UX938, where I heard of an outbreak of unexpected mating marks affecting the most unusual couples. Couples of different species! You know me, I need to investigate this a lot further. I'll be sorry to leave Zaarek, but this new development is calling me, and this holo streamer has to go where fate takes him."
The feed stopped and Thrax looked at me with the same aghast expression on his face that must have been mirrored on mine.
"Zaarek is using a holostreamer to reach out." He shook his head as if he couldn't believe it.