Page 62 of Krin

She was wearing what appeared to be a night gown, clutching it with both hands.

I gave her a polite smile.

“I’m Riley. Is there anything I can do to help you?”

She shook her head and took a step back.

I wanted to reach out to give her hand a supportive squeeze, but I doubted that was the right thing to do. Maybe they wouldn’t want to be touched, after all they’d been through.

If Grace was here, she would know exactly what to do.

Instead, I clenched my hands and tried again.

“Where are you from?” I asked hesitantly.

Her voice came out a whisper. “Terax 2.”

“I’m so sorry.” My voice caught, realizing it was a human colony she’d been taken from.

I was curious if all the other victims were from colonies, or if there were others like Grace, Olivia, and myself, who originated from the Sol system.

“I’m Iris.” The woman tucked hair behind her ear. “I wasn’t with the... they only took me a couple of galactic days ago. The Krilex and Voletti attacked the colony.”

“Oh. I didn’t know.”

She glanced around at the dozen women filling the room.

“There are some who were taken months ago. I am one of the lucky ones.” She pursed her lips into a frown and closed her eyes. “If you could call it lucky.”

IT DIDN’T TAKE LONGfor us to dock on the Tempest and leave the small shuttle.

More medics were waiting for us when we arrived. They joined the one medic who had been doing his best to help the victims of the Voletti.

Krin found me while the women were being led away.

I looked up at him, still stunned by the situation. “Did you know Terax 2 was attacked?”

He nodded and chewed the inside of his cheek.

“Yes. I was going to mention it once we were back on Alara. Captain Stusa sent out a message asking for available Protectorate ships to report to Terax 2 to assist them. We were already too far away to respond.”

I hugged Krin tight while he smoothed a large hand down my head. “Thank you for letting me stay on the ship.”

He pulled back and took my face in his hands.

“You were never going to be dropped off on a colony. You know that, right?”

I shrugged.

“I guess... These poor women though, Krin. They are traumatized.”

He smoothed the back of his hand along my cheek. “They will be safe now. They are being taken to Alara and other Alliance planets to be relocated and to heal.”

His sensitive eyes met mine as I let go of him.

“The emotional and mental damage has already been done. They will never be fully healed,” I said sadly.

Some wounds were internal, and no amount of medicine or medical tech would change that.

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