Page 48 of Bred

Chapter Fifteen

Talon

For the past year, I have been miserable. I have tried as hard as I can to not let any member of my crew see it, but they know. The mood aboard the Virility has never been as heavy as it is now. We are leaving the solar system where we first encountered Lyra, heading past the final orbiting planetoid, and saying farewell to the little human who changed our lives forever.

After we sent Lyra down to Earth, we watched and waited as long as we could, but as of two Earth months ago, her condition remained stable yet unresponsive. I began to realize that I could not keep my crew in high orbit around Earth forever, watching over the insensate body of the woman I loved. We had become shackled to the planet, with no hope of ever being reunited. It was time to let go.

Her sacrifice made it possible for my crew to finally return home. I wanted to wait for her. On my own account, I would have waited a thousand years for her to waken, but I could not hold them any longer. Being a captain means putting the needs of my crew ahead of my own.

Still, giving the order to leave orbit nearly tore me apart. I sit on the bridge as an empty, broken man. I know how to be captain to this ship. I know how to get my crew home safely. Once that is done, I do not know that life will hold anything for me. The little human was only in my life for a matter of months, but she changed it, and me, forever.

I barely hear the pilot speaking to me. It’s not until he raises his voice far past acceptable volumes that I respond.

“Captain Talon!”

“Shout at me again, and I’ll rip your spine out through your nose. What is it?”

“There’s a shuttle about to collide with our hull. Less than a minute until impact. There is one life sign aboard.”

I heard those words once before, and they heralded a love like no other. There is no way they mean the same thing twice, but I feel hope rising anyway. I have felt hope a hundred times since sending Lyra away, so many times it now feels like nothing but betrayal in the making.

“Bring her aboard.”

Seconds later, the transport bay is communicating with us. Those seconds feel like eternity, even though my orders were carried out near enough instantly.

“We have one in the bay, sir.”

“Genetic profile?”

“Human, sir. It’s Lyra.”

My eyes fog as an explosion rocks the ship gently. Her shuttle must have exploded against the hull. I have no idea why she insists on making her appearance by flinging her craft into mine as if it is disposable. If we weren’t scanning, or if the scanners had malfunctioned, she could easily have killed herself, and then I’d never see her again. My last sight of her would be seeing traces of her DNA scrubbed off the hull by the cleaning bots.

The most incredible relief turns to anger. I love Lyra more than life, but after a year of waiting and hoping, my first instinct is to whip her ass for her recklessness.

* * *

Lyra

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