Page 161 of Return of the Nine

Murmurs began and she lifted her hand. “You are all going to be on different ships, each run by a different species, but they are all members of the Nine. Nine distinct races, shaped by the very same world shaping us. Be polite. Not all of them speak Gaian yet.”

The men nodded and most were obviously weary and just wanted to return home.

None of them were a match for the warriors that had accompanied Ianka, so she was satisfied in that at least.

She kept her arm around her father’s waist. “Come on, Dad. Mom is waiting.”

His shoulders flexed in relief. “You did go to her first?”

“We did.”

The stream of scientists was confined between banks of the Fury, but Derion and two others waited for her. He was still in his battle form, and she blinked at the enormity of the transformation.

He was huge. Much larger than he had appeared in the ship. Now, she knew that that first ruckus had been for discipline. This form was all about destruction.

“Father, this is Attack Master Derion of the Fury. Derion, this is my father, North Senior.”

In a low rumble, Derion answered, “It is an honour to meet you; your daughters are extraordinary.”

North smiled. “Beeda and I have always been proud of our girls. It is an honour to meet you as well. Ianka’s tone has informed me that she is more than a casual acquaintance.”

She was going to slap herself in the face and cover her eyes but she was still carrying the Tokkel hand. With a wet thud, she dropped it and sighed. “Enough of that, let’s get back to the ship.”

North patted the hand she had around his waist and smiled. “Derion and I can discuss it later. I am sure that the flight will be long enough for one conversation.”

Ianka winced. “I don’t know if you want to do that. Why not just enjoy cuddling with Mom for the twelve hours back to the mother ship. From there, you will be medically checked out and you can return to Gaia right away.”

They started walking with Derion in front and two members of the Fury behind them.

“Wecan return to Gaia? Where will you be?”

She cleared her throat when Derion looked over his shoulder at her with a grin.

“I will be visiting with Vida. She has married a member of the Balance and seems quite happy about it. He boosted her signal so that she was able to reach you.”

North nodded and then scowled. “How much time has passed?”

“It has been six years.”

He stiffened. “That is unexpected.”

“How long did you think it was?”

“Six months. This base is brand new. They opened it up to use us as weapons researchers. Until six months ago, I believe we were in cold sleep.”

Ianka’s mind felt eased. They didn’t know how long they had been gone. They hadn’t counted on a rescue that never came because the Gaians didn’t have spacecraft.

They exited the base and were on their way to the ship when a Tokkel body sat up and took aim at their party. Moving on instinct, she threw one of her knives at him and it struck him between the eyes, knocking him back.

Derion was staring at her in shock and she shrugged. “What?”

Chapter Eight

Derion was staring and a strange tingling was moving through her body.

Suddenly, her arm around her father’s waist went limp. She looked down and there was a large smoking burn on the left side of her torso.

The guards behind her grabbed her father and hauled him into the ship while Derion carefully lifted her, sprinting into the ship and directly to medical.

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