Page 21 of Argen Mate
Chapter Ten
Zoey
This time around, our job checking in Uatu people was made simpler by the records we gleaned from theRedid Rauner. We could tell them almost immediately if any of their family members had already been rescued. Although lack of information didn’t necessarily mean their loved one was dead, it wasn’t encouraging.
Before analyzing the records from the Pican ship, we didn’t have reliable information of where and how many Uatu people were taken from Farseek alive. Sadly, it meant that at least half the population was killed in the raids. Even if they were taken alive, there was no guarantee that they were still alive. But there were more worlds where a thousand or more had landed.
Many of the Brigade members wanted to keep going, not wanting to leave anyone enslaved by the Sargus Empire. After seeing the thousands of faces coming in through the landing bay, I felt the same way. My friends and I and nearly a hundred other female humanoids had been minutes away from being sold as slaves when Commander Maktu walked into that auction house.
Harper, Scarlet, Nora, and I were just like these people. Except, we were luckier because we were never enslaved.
I was glad for the task of logging the people in as they arrived. It was especially exciting to find family members to reunite or tell them that their loved one had returned to Farseek on the last trip.
I didn’t start to get nervous until I learned that Argen was overdue and the fighting had intensified. I couldn’t even think that he might not come back, or I would have a panic attack. Instead, I kept telling myself he was coming back. I looked up to check the entryway with every person I checked in.
Argen was an hour overdue, and we had no news. I knew there was too much going on to bother them to account for his whereabouts. I kept hoping that I would look up and find he was standing beside my table looking down at me with that sexy smirk of his.
That didn’t happen. I kept remembering when we were back in our quarters that morning, holding each other tight before we went to our separate duties. I desperately wished he would get back.
Then I felt the ship shift. Oh my God! We were blinking out an Argen wasn’t back. How could they leave him?
I looked around wondering if anyone else realized what was happening. Momentarily, I saw Commander Maktu approaching, and I got worried.
“What happened? Where’s Argen?” I blurted as he came to my table. I jumped up suddenly unable to sit still.
“His shuttle got knocked out of orbit, and made a forced landing on Deng Yar,” he said.
“No!” I sobbed.
“Zoey, I have every reason to believe that Argen landed safely, but it was too dangerous for us to wait for another shuttle to bring them up.
“Dread One took a real beating. I didn’t hear whether the damage was superficial or minor enough so they could still blink out,” Maktu said. “The last I heard they blew one cruiser apart and disabled two of them. I’m guessing before they jump they will probably disable them all.
“I promise you, they will not leave him behind,” Command Maktu told me.
“Then will we rendezvous with them and regroup?”
Commander Maktu sighed, and I knew he didn’t want to tell me the rest. “It doesn’t look like we will regroup until we get to Farseek. With all the damage to Dread One, they’ll probably be at least two weeks in repair before they will go very far. It could be even longer before we even know the outcome.”
“But you don’t know for sure that Argen is all right,” I murmured shakily. “And it could be weeks, even months before we know?”
I was really trying hard not to cry. We hadn’t been separated for more than half a day since we mated. Now I didn’t know if he was alive or not and wouldn’t know for weeks. I started hyperventilating trying not to freak out.
Commander Maktu gently gripped my upper arms. “Calm down, Zoey,” he said gently. “We just have to have to believe they’ll make it. Those dreads can take a lot before they’re completely disabled. They’re the best starships money can buy, made by the Consortium.”
“Did we lose anyone or was anyone seriously hurt?”
“Not that I heard,” he assured me. “I heard Argen commed after they landed, but we blinked out before I learned more.”
“You’re really scaring me, Commander,” I admitted unevenly.
He let go of my arms. “You have every right to be. What we do is fucking dangerous. But we’ve been doing it a long time, and we’re good at it.”
“I know,” I said.
“Can you finish here, or do I need to have someone take over?”
“I will finish,” I assured him.
“I didn’t want to tell you before you finished, but I realized that you would know Argen wasn’t back and worry.”
“I am worried, but these people are tired, and they need to get assigned their quarters so they can rest. Taking care of them will keep me busy so I’m not just obsessing about Argen,” I told him.
I believed he would be rescued along with his passengers, but it could be months before I would see him again. We were at least three months away from Farseek. It was going to be a long, lonely trip.
The final count of our rescues was ten-thousand-one hundred souls. Some of them had to double up in the cabins, and some were already paired off. We could have squeezed in a few hundred more if necessary. I’m glad we didn’t have to.
I was completely drained by the time I returned alone to my quarters. I pulled off my clothes and fell into bed alone. I wished for Argen’s arms around me as I fell asleep and dreamed that they were.
After the long hours, we put in the previous day, we didn’t have to report for duty until after second meal. We were to eat second meal with our team, and Commander Maktu would give report afterward.
