Page 35 of Saving the Sautiitions

“I believe you do. I did some research before coming to you, and from what I understand, you have managed to make long-range comms that work across the universe. That is most definitely something I need for moments like this when I’m galaxies away from my lieutenant.”

He grins and nods. “Yeah, you definitely need my comms. I have some other things I can get you too. I have a friend who’s a genius with stealth comms and whatnot. We’ll get you hooked up. Anyone who’s out to save the universe like my best friend is worth helping.”

He holds up a finger and rushes away, turning and disappearing through a doorway. I turn to Vahru and sigh, relaxing my shoulders. “I’m so glad he’s going to help us. I was worried there for a minute that he wasn’t going to.”

Vahru brushes some hair from my face and smiles softly. “He saw the truth in your eyes. I saw it. He may be young, but he isn’t stupid.”

“That he is not.” I sigh and lean my cheek into his palm. I close my eyes for a few breaths before turning and kissing his palm. I smile at him and turn just in time to see Charlie come back, followed by his father.

“Hello, I’m Kalvin Varquetta, Charlie’s father. It seems you’re looking for portal technology, am I right?”

“Are you the inventor? I’m sorry if I’m out of line to be requesting purchasing it, but as I explained to Charlie, it could be a matter of life or death. If I need to be across the cosmos to save aliens in need, this is the fastest way. I can assure you that if you were to trust me with this technology, it would only be used by me and my most trusted teammates. I won’t give it out to anyone, nor would I sell it. And if I need to keep your name a secret when it comes to this, I will do so.”

Kalvin looks at his son, and Charlie nods. Kalvin takes a deep breath and turns back to me. “I appreciate that, Captain. My problem is actually that this tech is not for sale.” He pauses, chewing his cheek for a moment before he continues. “I would, however, be willing to provide you with a portal watch that I’ve invented. I’m just unsure of the pricing on this.”

“Dad, I have an idea.” Charlie grabs his dad’s arm, pulling him away as he whispers hurriedly to him. I glance at Vahru, nervous about what they may want in exchange.

Vahru working in the city but living in the village means that he’s saved almost every penny he’s earned. He has more than enough to buy us whatever we need, but I get the feeling that they won’t just ask for money. They seem like good people, but I have nothing to offer them.

They glance at us before nodding to each other and stepping back over. I glance nervously between them before Charlie clears his throat to speak.

“Okay, so my best friend, Ethan, has created an underground railroad among the stars to help free child slaves. We’ve been working hard to find these kids homes, and despite the massive house that my parents fund to give some a home on our planet, we’re running out of rooms. Many can’t go back home due to being sold and need a place to go.”

He pauses, waiting for me to catch on, but I’m not understanding exactly what this means for me.

“You are going to be traveling all over the universe, helping aliens and finding homes. If you can help us find homes for some of these kids, you can have the portal. Just promise to help them find suitable homes, somewhere they can learn and work and grow up happy. Can you do that?”

I look at Vahru, and he shrugs, not seeing the problem. Thinking, I nibble on my bottom lip, unsure if I can make a promise that big. I want to, but if I’m not successful, what happens then?

“We’ll help you, Charlie. My planet, my village, would welcome any children looking for somewhere to go. There are always jobs to be filled. Willa loves to teach others to make clothes. The hunters could always use help feeding the village. They’ll be safe and loved. If nothing else, my village is open.”

I gape at Vahru as he speaks for me, a grin on his face. I grab his arm and give him a what the fuck look. He looks at me and smiles softly. “It’s okay. Father would love to see more children in the village, and even when you fix the rift in our society, there will still be room. Our population is not nearly as large as yours. Our planet has plenty of room.”

His knuckles brush my cheek, and I sigh, unable to fight that logic. He would know his planet and what it can handle better than I. I turn back to the Varquettas and take a deep breath.

“I’ll do what I can and try to find other homes as well, I promise.” I smile at them as they smile back, Kalvin patting his son’s back as he steps past him and disappears through the doorway.

“Okay, let’s get you some comms.” Charlie leans down behind the counter, grabbing things and setting them in front of me as he talks. “I’m also going to provide you with some special stealth comms that allow you to telepathically communicate with those close to you. They are long range, but only on planet long-range. I can also give you some stealth suits to protect and hide you if you need that. How many of each do you think you’ll need?”

“Uhm, me, Vahru, Jeff, Willa, maybe a comm for Criido and one for each of the girls? Oh, we should probably get some sort of comms for Jeff and his hunter team to utilize.” I look at Vahru, and he nods, agreeing with me. “As far as the special stealth tech, just four of each should be fine. If missions get that dangerous, it’ll only be us four who go. The girls will stay back.” Vahru nods in agreement as Charlie gets everything out for us.

When he’s got everything set out, he explains what capabilities the suits have to protect us. He gets our long-range pocket watch comms up and running, programming each with the others’ information for us and labeling each one so we can easily use them before he explains all the features. He then explains the telepathy comms just before his father comes back with the portal watch and teaches me how to use it.

Charlie then makes sure that my comm is equipped with his information and vice versa so that if we ever need anything, we can keep in touch. Vahru pays for everything, giving Charlie a generous tip.

“Thank you, Charlie, for everything. Hopefully, we’ll be in touch soon.”

“Good luck, Captain!” He salutes me with a smile, and I return the gesture before heading out to the ship.

It takes me a moment to get the portal programmed to the right location, but once I do, we head home. It’s unnerving to go from one section of space to another so quickly and will take some getting used to. My stomach attempts to come up, and I’m forced to sit back while Vahru pilots the ship home.

Chapter 23

Tavionna

Three Weeks Earlier

I watch as my 6-year-old self walks into the kitchen to find my mother meditating and communing with the ancestors at the table. Her long purple hair flows around her as her pink skin almost glows. Two of her hands are resting on her knees, her forefinger and thumb touching, while her other two hands are pressed together in front of her chest.

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