Page 37 of Zahhn's Mate
I curse and turn my back on the viewscreen. It’s early morning, and I’m due in the laboratory soon. My assistants are probably awaiting my arrival so we might analyze yesterday’s progress in our fight againstforlonggsa.
But just as I head for the corridor, a brief shudder goes through theRorrsa. A glance over my shoulder at the viewscreen shows we’re no longer in a shared hyperdrive bubble. All fifteen ships in the Darrvason fleet, as well as theJansonna, hold position in open space.
The lights go out, and a moment later, the emergency lights activate. A glance around my quarters shows no information screens are working. It would appear our systems are down.
I approach the viewscreen again and take notice of the other ships in the Darrvason fleet. The outer lights lining our vessels aren’t illuminated as usual, indicating a fleet-wide power failure.
Alarm fills me when a beam of red shoots from the human worldship and impacts theHaxxal.
Star Gods, what is happening?
Not only does the red beam hit the lead ship in our fleet, but it appears damage has been done to theHaxxal, which means shields are down. A second red beam soon impacts theHaxxal. I also witness twelve shuttles exit the human worldship’s docking bay.
All twelve shuttles head for theHaxxal.
An attack. The humans have decided to attack us.
My thoughts immediately go to Leona.
Is she all right? Did she know about the attack ahead of time?
My worry for her deepens, and I bolt out of my quarters and head for the laboratory, which also contains a viewscreen where I can continue watching the attack unfold.
It’s my hope that some of my colleagues might be privy to information that I don’t yet know. Especially the security officers who guard the laboratory. Perhaps they can divulge the specifics of the attack.
I race through the corridors to the laboratory, where I join my assistants standing near the viewscreen. We watch instunned silence as a beam of red shoots from theHaxxaland grazes theJansonna.
“That must be a warning shot,” someone says, and I agree. TheHaxxalcould’ve destroyed theJansonnawith one shot, yet they only grazed the starboard with a less powerful beam.
A security officer steps in from the corridor and clears his throat. We all turn to face the male, and it takes all my self-control not to shout at the officer to immediately reveal what he knows. He peers at his wrist comm, then says, “The attack is nearly over. Captain Warren of the human worldship has just yielded command of his vessel to Officer Brute. According to an initial report from engineering, the humans remotely hacked our systems using Xorrshanan technology, which was likely acquired at an outpost. Most of the humans who boarded theHaxxalare already dead, about two hundred of them. Those who remain alive will soon take their last breaths.”
“Why did they attack us?” asks Doctor Yemm, one of my most valued assistants. “What was their end goal?”
The security officer focuses on his wrist comm again, squinting at the small screen. “The humans, a rebel group who call themselves The Saviors, apparently thought most Darrvasons aboard theHaxxalwould be dead or dying of the virus they attempted to deploy using one of their females. Needless to say, they were in for a shock when they found all our males alive and ready for a fight. Some good news: No Darrvason casualties have been reported. Only a few minor injuries. It sounds like the humans tried to separate theHaxxalfrom the other ships in our fleet, but it didn’t quite work, and all of our ships were pushed out of the hyperdrive bubble at the same time.”
The overhead lights flicker back on, and all the screens in the laboratory instantly brighten and display various experiments-in-progress. I move to a console to assess any possible damage,and it’s a relief to discover no data has been lost. Everything looks in order, and we are closer than ever to establishing a treatment for the great madness.
Leona. I back away from the console and glance out the viewscreen. TheJansonnaremains intact. The warning shot that grazed the human worldship’s starboard likely only caused a brief shudder, but I still find myself worrying about my mate.
But is she truly my mate?
Six days have passed since I astral projected into her bedroom, and it’s been five days since we’ve communicated via our minds. My people mate for life, and I still have every compulsion to steal her away from theJansonnaand keep her as mine. It bothers me that I never got the chance to drench her in my scent.
The need to take possession of her, train her to be an obedient mate, and keep her forever burns in my soul.
But most of all, I want to make sure she’s safe. The human attack on my people is worrying for a variety of reasons. What will this mean for the alliance? Will Emperor Radakk demand extra females in compensation? Will the humans try to back out of the treaty?
The uncertainty eats at me until I’m sick to my stomach and grumpy asfluxx. A growl rumbles from my chest as I survey the room and discover not a single one of my assistants have started their assigned work for the day.
I pound a fist on the nearest console. “The show is over. Get to work!” I appoint the more analytically minded doctors to study yesterday’s data, while I gather the more personable doctors to join me in the secure wing of theRorrsathat houses our patients suffering fromforlonggsa.
Every time we walk by a viewscreen, I can’t help but glance at theJansonna. I also can’t help but call Leona’s name over and over in my head, trying to establish a mind-connection with thepretty human. Only silence greets me, and a gaping emptiness that causes my soul to ache.
Chapter 23
LEONA
I awaketo a faint shudder that courses through the worldship. Sitting up in bed, I listen carefully, but the steady hum that accompanies hyperdrive travel is absent. Hm. We must’ve left hyperdrive for some reason.
