Page 80 of Fractured Souls

“Don’t worry,” he murmured softly in her ear, not really knowing how to comfort a human but trying his best anyway. “I’ll find them. I’ll deal with them. You shouldn’t be afraid to set foot on your own planet. Never again. When we’re finished here, I will take you back to Earth, and you will go wherever you please.”

He wanted to give her all the assurances in the Universe, but this was the best he could do.

“Hey, Nythian.” She brought her Tharian-changed hand around the back of his neck and drew him down, kissing him tenderly as the Mhyndin dropped through the stratosphere. She pulled back and looked at him; really looked at him, her startling brown eyes capturing the essence of his soul and twisting it round and round and round her little finger. “I think I get what you’ve been trying to do now.” There was that canny look in her eyes again, the one she got when she’d figured out some critical truth about him. “I just wanted to say thanks. Like, really fucking much. I mean that.”

“Unnecessary,” he growled, “but noted and accepted.”

“Hmm, I get the feeling we’re starting to understand one another.” She kept her hand on his neck, her nanite-covered skin emitting a faint buzz of energy that awakened his lust.

A deep, animalistic rumble escaped him. “There is much to learn yet. I look forward to it. Now let’s go down and release this restless spirit of yours so she can find some peace. Has she said anything since we left the Fleet Station?”

“No. She’s still asleep.”

“You’re certain she’s still there?”

“I can feel her. It’s hard to explain. You wouldn’t understand unless you’d had one yourself.”

“Hm. A minor inconvenience. You see, now we’re going to have to talk with the locals, and that’s going to be a pain-in-the-ass. They don’t take too kindly to our type.”

“I wouldn’t either, if someone had bombed my civilization into dust.” She made a face. “You sure we can convince them?”

“Nope. That’s your job, human.” Her earnestness made him smile. No other species did empathy quite like humans.

Nythian leaned back as the Mhyndin came to a complete stop. The motion suppressors were almost faultless, but he knew.

He always knew.

“You actually paying attention down there, brother, or has the Mating Fever turned your brain into plasma?” Lodan’s calm voice filtered through his comm. His partner sounded slightly amused. “The Stealthstalkers are ready to go. Marenja’s about fifty kuliks north of here. The sylth has found evidence of life. These Tharians look like they’re either trying to hide or pull an ambush on us. It’s not safe for your mate to go down there yet. Better we go catch one of them and bring them back here. You want to guard or capture?”

“Guard.” Nythian didn’t have to think twice.

“Thought you’d say that. I’ll go alone.”

“Do me a favor and bring us one that speaks Universal.”

“I’ll find one. Any other requests? You want me to bring back some Veronian sweets and a bunch of Earth roses too?”

“Get your ass into gear, brother. I don’t want to spend a siv longer on this cursed dust-pit than what’s absolutely necessary.”

“This place isn’t so bad. It has a stark beauty to it, don’t you think? It’s really not too different from Kenna’s landholding on Earth.”

“It isn’t too different from the hundred other dust planets we’ve been to. Anyway, I hate that place,” he growled, remembering Earth’s infernally hot sun. The only reason he tolerated working in the desert was because it made logistical sense; it was easy to guard and far from most human civilization. The cold, crystal-clear nights weren’t so bad, either.

“I know. If it were up to you we’d all still be sitting on some sunless ice-planet. I’d find that boring as shit. Armor up if you have to go outside, brother. I won’t be longer than twenty sivs.”

“Twenty. Got it. Don’t kill any Tharians if you can help it.”

“I don’t kill anything I don’t mean to kill.”

“And don’t be late.”

“Idiot.” Lodan laughed. Nythian grinned.

Lodan was never late. They were all drilled in efficiency, but Lodan made punctuality an art form. It was part of his obsessive nature.

Nythian did a quick mental calculation. It would be more than enough time for what he needed to do here.

Alexis was looking at him with her head slightly angled, her eyes narrowed, one eyebrow raised. “You know, your eyes go all funny when you use that thing.”

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