Page 4 of Human Reclaimed
“The target is secure,” I replied stiffly.
Tegan snorted from the copilot’s seat. “Is that what we’re calling the way you were cradling her like she might break?”
Heat crawled up my neck. “I was ensuring efficient transport.”
“Efficient transport,” Sage repeated, catching Tegan’s eye. “Is that what they’re calling it these days?”
“Stick to the mission parameters,” I growled, dropping into the third seat and strapping in.
Sage’s laughter filled the cockpit. “Oh, come on, Rune. Even your biometric readings coming in from your wrist communicator spiked when you picked her up. I haven’t seen your heart rate that elevated since?—”
“Since nothing,” I cut her off. “Focus on getting us out of Earth’s atmosphere without detection.”
Tegan leaned closer. “You know, there’s nothing in the mission parameters prohibiting appreciation of?—”
“Don’t finish that sentence if you want to keep all your limbs functional today,” I warned, though there was no real heat behind it. The banter felt normal, almost human—and I needed that grounding right now.
The ship hummed to life around us, the deck plates vibrating subtly beneath my boots as Sage guided us upward. I activated the comm system, eager to redirect the conversation.
“Contacting Commander Helix. Alpha Team Sigma reporting in.”
The screen flickered before displaying Commander Helix’s striking features. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a severe bun, but I noted a softness around her eyes that hadn’t been there before her daughter’s birth six months ago.
“Report, Rune.”
“Package secured,” I stated, my professional mask firmly back in place. “Captain Reed is in our custody. Extraction executed on Earth without complications. We’re returning to Planet Alpha now.”
Helix’s gray eyes narrowed slightly. “Any unexpected variables?”
I hesitated, thinking of Talia’s fierce resistance despite being outnumbered, and the intelligence in her eyes even as the sedative took effect. “The target… exceeded expectations in terms of combat resilience.”
A knowing smile curved Helix’s lips. “I see. And your assessment of her potential usefulness to our situation?”
“If her strategic capabilities match her physical resistance, she’ll be invaluable against the pirate threat.” The words came out clipped and analytical—safer territory than acknowledging how her scent had momentarily scrambled my thought processes.
“Good. We’ll prepare for your arrival.”
As the screen went dark, Sage swiveled her chair toward me, her blonde ponytail swinging. “So, just to clarify—you’re absolutely not attracted to her at all. Right? Because that was the most robotic mission report I’ve heard from you in months.”
“She’s a mission asset,” I insisted, though the words tasted false.
“A mission asset that smells like lavender,” Tegan added innocently.
My head snapped up. “How did you?—”
“You might’ve mumbled it when you were tucking her in,” Sage supplied, not bothering to hide her grin.
I leaned back in my seat, staring at the panorama of stars opening up before us while trying to ignore Sage and Tegan’s teasing. Earth shrank away, a diminishing blue marble nestled in infinite blackness. For two days, I’d held a singular focus: successfully extracting Captain Reed from her life. Now that she lay sedated in our hold, my thoughts kept circling back to her—the fierce defiance in her eyes before the sedative took effect and the surprising warmth of her body against mine.
To silence these distracting thoughts, I pulled up the holographic display in the cockpit. “Let’s review the latest pirate raid data,” I said, swiping through the report Commander Helix had sent before our mission.
Tegan shifted in his seat, leaning forward. “Three settlements targeted in the neighboring systems within the last month. They’re getting bolder.”
The casualty charts materialized in crisp blue light. I enlarged the section detailing their primary targets.
“Three pregnant women taken in the Beta settlement raid,” Sage noted, her voice tight. “Two hybrid infants from the outpost on Theros. They’re specifically hunting for our future.”
“Exactly why we need Captain Reed.” I traced my finger along the attack pattern map. “They’re using a warfare strategy that’s remarkably similar to what Earth employed against the Nescots during the later years of the war.”
