Page 25 of Einar (The Brigands of Ruk #2)
Chapter Twenty-Five
EINAR
Pacing back and forth on the bridge, I impatiently wait for Slavic and Falon to get here. Ruarc and Bikar are bickering back and forth while Murgul , in typical fashion, is leaning silently against the far wall, watching the rest of us with a calm facade. The whooshing sound of the door opening announces Slavic’s arrival, and I whirl on him with a snarl the second he steps into the room.
“ How the frack did they figure out we were the ones who took the females?” I feel foolish the moment the words leave my mouth, and the derision in Slavic’s voice only makes it worse when he snaps back at me.
“ Well apparently, they could smell them on us, Einar . It did not help that the Velgriddix put a huge reward out for their return and half the frackin galaxy is out looking for any sign of them. Like untried youths, we put ourselves right in their sights rather easily, as I am sure they contacted any and all spaceports within their ship’s last known location.
Ruarc , you and Falon go through those crates and separate the items acquired for the females. Einar , before you sneak off, you will tend to the other females hiding in Falcon and Bikar’s room. I do not care how you do it, but get it done. All females are precious, and we will not neglect them. Falon , I need you to verify that those translators are working. Do you know if they are the temporary or permanent ones?”
Nodding my understanding to Slavic , I glance over at Falon to gauge his response. All the females need the translators, but it is imperative that mine and Slavic’s Starshines get them. Our lives depend on it and all my other brothers know that. “ From my understanding Slavic , they are permanent. But my informant told me that implanting them could be painful.”
“ Einar , do we have anything that would assist with this?”
Slavic’s question makes me wince a bit. He is not going to like hearing the answer any more than I like giving it to him. “ Not really, and I fear they will only be more distressed when we subject them to the procedure.”
“ Frack , these females have been hurt enough, the very thought of us harming them once again has me torn.” Slavic’s ’ words are full of dismay, but to my surprise, Murgul inserts himself into the conversation.
“ Fear is caused from lack of knowledge, brother. They will be temporarily upset but will calm quickly once it is finished and they can understand us.”
We all fall silent at his words, and I take a nanotic to let them sink in. Murgul , more than most, understands the importance of knowledge. To be honest, those two short sentences are the most any of us have heard our youngest brother speak in many, many rotations. His voice is hoarse with disuse as well as jagged due to the damage he suffered at the hand of the Velgriddix .
“ Bikar , where is that Pyrkyne ship?”
“ They left right after we did. I kept us cloaked once we departed Navale , and now we are following behind them just out of their scanner’s range. At this speed, we will overtake them in a few tics.”
Slavic shoots a hard look over at Murgul before he says. “ Murgul , looks like we are going to have to do this alone. Suit up. I will be down momentarily. Bikar , hold back until I return to the helm.”
Murgul nods his understanding and straightens from his nonchalant slouch against the wall as we all watch Slavic turn on his heel and stalk out of the helm room before any of us can say anything else. Glancing across the room, I begin implementing Slavic’s orders. “ Falon , meet me at your rooms with the translators for the females. I need to stop by the med bay for some supplies. Bikar and Slavic both reminded me that the other humans are in rough shape with wounds that are in need of medical attention.”
Without waiting for his reply, I stomp out of the room, my mind occupied with all the things I need to retrieve to assist the other humans. Making my way down the hall, I am at the med bay before I know it. To my surprise, Slavic’s mate is here, and she is softly singing to my mate as she strokes her hair. My abrupt arrival makes the other female jump before she glares at me.
Putting both hands out, I show her I mean no harm. I do not have the time to engage in any sort of altercation with her right now and if I know my oldest brother, he has reached his quarters and discovered his female missing. Slavic will be here shortly, and both our females will have supervision while I am attending the rest of the humans. Peering around her, I see that my mate is still in the same position I left her in, but her sister seemed to figure out how the heated cover works because my mate’s frail form is obscured from sight.
Grabbing my travel bag, I hurriedly shove a variety of tools, medicines, and items in it before glancing back at my female one last time as I walk out the door.
These three cowering human females really know how to make a male feel like a pile of excrement. I have not even entered the room, and all three of them are huddled on the far side of the room, trying to stay as far away from me and Falon as possible. I cannot imagine what the two of us look like to them.
“ We are going to have to do this slow and steady. They are already terrified and do not understand what we are trying to do. Remember what Murgul said. Better for them to be scared and in pain for a short time than for them to remain ignorant.”
“ I understand, Einar .”
Easing into the room, we move toward the females with deliberate exaggerated motions, stopping at the table in the middle of the room. When they see what we are doing, and that we halted midway across the room from them, their body language changes from outright terror to apprehension. Taking the travel med bag off my shoulder, I place it on the flat surface next to me, and start taking things out one by one, ensuring that all three of them can see what I am doing.
The shortest of the three has curly hair the color of rich soil and must recognize at least one of my medical devices because she pushes herself up from the floor, using the wall as leverage before inching her way toward me, holding one of her arms close to her body with each tentative step. Her soft voice ends with an upward lilt, indicating a question.
“ Little female, I do not know what you said, but I am here to help you if you will allow it.”
I keep my deep voice as gentle as I am capable of, motioning at the chair and medical supplies I have assembled on the table before her. She glances back at the other two before she climbs up in the chair. It is then that I realize just how small these females are in comparison to us. She looks like a youngling perched on the edge of the chair as her eyes dart back and forth between Falon and I .
When the remaining two humans see that no harm has come to their friend, they both ease forward; one taking the other chair, and the final one sits on the floor next to the curly haired female. Running my eyes over the three of them, I assess their condition, and what a sorry sight they make. The one with spiraled, soil-colored hair has what appears to be a dislocated wrist, is missing several of her tiny claws, and one of her eyes is swollen completely shut. Examining the female in the other chair, I note that she has hair the color of the sun and is thinner than the others. Even though they are all emaciated, this one is nothing but skin draped over bone. I have never seen a being so thin that still took a breath and functioned.
Golden hair, aside from being dangerously underweight, has minor scrapes, bruises, and a few cuts that will require sutures. The last female sitting on the floor has a dazed look in her eyes and a dark purple swelling on the side of her head, indicating some sort of head trauma. Continuing my observation of her, I note that one of her miniscule hands has several digits pointed in irregular directions, and that one of her knees is twice the size of the other one.
Keeping my voice low to keep from alarming the females, I tell Falon my plan.
“ I am going to treat all of their wounds first. That way they will not suspect anything when we go to apply the translators. The insertion is going to be extremely painful; you will have to hold them and hold them firmly. Do you understand?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see him nod in agreement.
One by one, I treat the females and their varying maladies. Once they all figured out I was trying to help them, they relaxed considerably, even though some of the things I had to do were quite painful. That included setting broken fingers and a dislocated wrist. By the time I got to the smaller wounds that needed the stitching unit or just some antiseptic along with bandages, they were all chatting quietly amongst themselves.
Flicking my spines, I get Falon’s attention and signal to him that I am ready to implant the translators. Reaching into my bag, I pull out all three of the delicate pieces of equipment, being very careful not to contaminate them. Falon eases up behind the curly-haired one and gently grasps her by the shoulders, holding her in the chair. Using tweezers, I get the first translator, sweep her hair behind her ear, and in the blink of an eye, insert it into her ear. Less than a nano-tic later, her piercing screams rend the air in the room.
Curly passes out in the chair and before the one on the floor can get up, Falon snatches her up while I snag the second translator with my surgical tweezers and insert the translator in her ear only to be met with the same pain filled, tortured screams. Golden hair, seeing that Falon is tenderly laying the second female down on the bed, jumps down from her chair and darts toward the door that Falon and I stupidly left wide open.
She gets as far as the hallway when she runs into Murgul’s scowling countenance as he exits the armory, her pale form a stark contrast to his hulking, dark bulk. Big hands snap up, wrapping around her withered arms. The second their skin makes contact, her head snaps up and I watch his face go slack in astonishment for a split second before she passes out in his arms. Murgul’s face resumes its normal scowl as he tenderly scoops the golden-haired female up and brings her back into the room before laying her down on the bed next to where Falon deposited the other two females. Falon shoots a glance at me from where he is hovering next to the bed, uncertain what our youngest brother is doing, and unwilling to provoke him.
Murgul stands there for a nano-tic, almost glaring down at her before he steps back away from the bed and stalks across the room, taking up his normal slouch against the wall. Shrugging off his abnormal behavior, I get the final translator and insert it into Goldie’s ear. To my relief, her only response is a faint whimper. What does shock me is the fact that Murgul snarls at me in response.
“ Well , that is done. Falon , I will leave you and Murgul here. I see that you brought at least one of the crates for the females. They are in desperate need of additional attire. It is on my schedule to come by periodically to check on their wounds and to see how they are healing. I am off to the med bay to install translators for mine and Slavic’s mate. Falon , please make sure that you deliver one of those crates to Slavic’s room for his mate and one of them to my quarters for mine.”
“ I will make sure the crates are delivered to both of your quarters, Einar .”
Grinning at him in thanks, I glance over at Murgul , whose eyes are locked on the frail figure laying upon the bed, in speculation before exiting the room.
And the plot thickens…