Page 31

ALICE

The plan was to sneak the cleaning drones in with us when the hatch opened. I'd done some research on them and discovered that most cleaning drones looked alike. They might differ in size or color, but nobody should pay Vader and Maul—I know, too much Star Wars —any mind if they kept to the floor and entered after us. They would go straight to cleaning, fitting in with the others.

I had worried that Xyrek would not allow me to come along, and I didn't want him to be walking into a possible trap on his own, not without backup. So, I had worked diligently on enhancing two drones while simultaneously turning the fighting bot from the training room into a Xenomorph. Again, yes, too much sci-fi TV. But hey, give a girl a break. What else could I have called them? The first one I made ruthless, efficient, and calculated—Vader. Maul, naturally, I programmed to be fast, aggressive, and, yeah, slightly unhinged. It also had several blades in its arsenal.

Honestly, by the time I was done, the fighting bot freaked me the hell out. If that thing had actually been real, I would have instantly died of a heart attack.

I took a deep breath. Xyrek gave me one more questioning glance, a silent question about whether I wanted to stay behind. I shook my head and squared my shoulders as he opened the hatch.

On the other side stood the human female we’d been communicating with, Hannah. Next to her, hovering close by, was a Space Guardian. By the way he immediately positioned himself in front of Hannah, I gathered it had to be Tharaax.

"Xyrek?" The Space Guardian asked.

Xyrek nodded.

"I'm Tharaax, and this is Hannah. Welcome aboard." He held out his hand, and Xyrek grabbed him by the elbow. Hannah eyed me curiously from behind the towering man. She tried to sneak by him, but he held her back.

"Thrax, it's fine," she protested.

"I'm Alice." I moved forward. Instantly, Xyrek pushed himself in between me and Hannah, which in turn made Tharaax flare.

"Oh, for crying out loud," another human woman entered the cargo hold. She was taller than most women and held herself with a commanding presence. Her flaming red hair was tugged back in a tight ponytail that whipped as she moved straight toward me. "I didn't know you had a mate, too. Welcome. I'm Sloane, the commander of this distrustful gang." She held out her hand.

I moved around Xyrek. Commander? Wow!

"I'm Alice," I said, taking her hand.

Xyrek growled.

Another Space Guardian stalked in quietly, his eyes glued to Sloane.

"That's Vraax," Sloane said without turning, as if she had sensed his presence.

From the corners of my eyes, I noticed Vader and Maul making their way in unnoticed. For a moment, guilt rushed through me; this didn't look like a trap at all. I soothed my feelings by telling myself that I would introduce the others to the drones later. They might still come in handy.

"Come on in," Sloane waved down the hall. "We've got some snacks in the breakroom."

Hannah sidled up next to me, "When you see Luph, don't scream," she whispered, instantly flaring my alarm bells back up.

"Why, and who is Luph?"

"She's mated to Noodar, and she’s the only one of us girls who isn't human. She's an alien, alien." She did that thing with her eyes that people do when they want to tell you something without using actual words.

"Is she a Xenomorph?" I asked.

"No," Hannah snickered. “She's really nice, but she does look kind of scary."

Elephant Man came to my mind when I saw Luph for the first time, and I was grateful that Hannah had warned me. She was a frightening sight, from her three legs to her elephant-like skin, but the moment she smiled at me, all that fell away.

"Oh, another mate!" She exclaimed, rushing for me.

"She's a princess and has no clue that she might look scary to us," Hannah whispered right before Luph enveloped me in a tight hug, eliciting another short growl from Xyrek.

"I'm Luph. We'll be best of friends in no time." Her orange eyes gleamed with happiness.

"Alice," I replied, hugging her back, because… because there was such an aura of warmth and love emanating from Luph, it was impossible not to.

"Okay, Noodar, Raasla and Zoe, Nova and—" Sloane was in the middle of introducing us when Xyrek moved forward.

"Zaarek!" My mate pulled the surprised-looking Space Guardian into a big hug and slapped him on the back. "Brother, I missed you."

"You didn't tell us you knew each other," Vraax stated, perplexed.

"We don't." Zaarek's brow creased.

"You don't remember me?" Xyrek didn't show the hurt I was sure he must be feeling. He’d told me about his brother Zaarek and how anxious he was to see him again.

"Should I?"

"I don't know," Xyrek replied, reluctantly letting go of the other man. "I don't understand most of it yet, but I remember everything from Darlam."

His statement caused pandemonium. Everybody seemed to be talking at once.

"Enough!" All eyes turned to Sloane, and the room went instantly quiet. I had no idea how she did this, but I was envious. "Let me finish the introductions, then we can talk."

She glared from one to the next before she continued pointing at people in the room. That's when I noticed a human male. His presence was unexpected, and it startled me.

"That's Tucker, Nova's brother." She pointed from him to another woman and then to Zaarek. “Zaarek, obviously, and Nova. Zoe and Raasla. Did I get everyone?"

The sound of a throat clearing made me turn my head toward another, more alien-looking alien—one I recognized. "Nock!"

Nock grinned from ear to ear, "Seems like my fame precedes me."

"Ah, frygg," Zaarek groaned. "Not again."

"Your holocasts on mating bonds were really helpful," I said.

"Your holocast telling us where to go was genius," Xyrek added.

Nock threw a triumphant glance at Zaarek. "That's twice now."

"You're a genius," Zaarek deadpanned.

"Alright, let's have a seat. Let's talk," Sloane waved to a long table set with food and beverages. "Help yourselves."

"Let's get to the part where you remember everything ." Zaarek eyed Xyrek curiously. The resemblance between the two men was uncanny—more than the silver skin and black, short-cropped hair. They both had the same nose, even though Zaarek's was more crooked. The same lips and high cheekbones. Even the same square chin. "Why do you think we're brothers?"

"I don't think it. I know it," Xyrek said. "Once upon a time, we were brothers on Darlam. None of you remembers anything?" He looked from one to the other, and all of them shook their heads. Tharaax massaged the side of his head.

"Actually, I do remember seeing you," Vraax said, looking at Tharaax. "In one of my dreams. But I wasn't sure if it was a memory or something my mind made up. But I saw you carrying Suahaana in the forest."

Tharaax narrowed his eyes. "You never said anything."

Vraax shrugged, "Like I said, I wasn't sure if it was a dream or a memory."

Tharaax rubbed his head harder, and Hannah scooted next to him. "It's okay."

Noodar and Zaarek were rubbing theirs, too.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Headaches," Nova explained. "Whenever they try to remember, they get terrible headaches."

I looked at Xyrek, who raised his shoulders and said, "Zapharos said mine were gone because I regained my full memory."

"Zapharos?" Sloane asked sharply. "You met Zapharos?"

"Not so much met. He decided to enter my head one night. I still want to kill him."

"You and me both," Zaarek suddenly laughed. "He came to me, too, warning me to stay away from Darlam until we were all united . Creepy bastard."

Suddenly, everyone started talking once again. I met Sloane's gaze, who looked thoughtful. She allowed the racket to go on for a few moments before she slammed her fist on the table. "People, this is not helping!"

I really wished I could learn how she did that.

"We—" noise of what sounded like a battle had all of us moving to our feet.

"Intruder!" Raasla yelled, looking at his comm. "It came from your ship," he glared at Xyrek suspiciously.

"Oh shit," a surge of heat rushed me, born from guilt. The drones. Vader and Maul, they must have done something. "I'm sorry. This is probably my fault," I said, running toward the cargo bay.

"Alice! No! Wait!" Xyrek yelled behind me, grabbing me by the wrist and pulling me back. "We don't know for sure."

"Know what? What did you do?" Zaarek accused, running by us.

Seconds later, we were all in the cargo bay, where everyone stopped dead in their tracks.

"Please, someone tell me that's not a Xenomorph?" Zoe yelled.

"Fuck me," Sloane pulled her blaster.

"What in the Black Abyss is that?" Noodar exclaimed.

"This is a creature no one has ever seen before. I'm standing here with five Space Guardians, and they are just as surprised as me." Nock had his comm pointed at the scene.

"Turn that off, Nock," Zaarek bellowed at the holostreamer.

"Oh, come on, I still have an audience to satisfy!" Nock protested.

"Turn it off," Raasla reiterated.

With a pout, Nock adjusted his comm. "Do you have any idea how many credits you're costing me?"

"Do you have any idea how lucky you are to still be alive?" Raasla countered.

In horror, I stared at the Xenomorph robot that had made its way onto Luph's ship.

"I don’t understand," I mumbled, using my comm to get it back under control. "I shut it down."

"It? You? Explain!" Raasla demanded.

Just then, Vader and Maul appeared and, without my input or orders, began attacking the Xenomorph.

"What in the frygging Abyss?" Tharaax stared, fascinated, at the bots battling.

"Alice, shut them down." Xyrek grabbed my arm.

"I'm trying. You holding me doesn't help." I pulled my arm back. "There!"

All three bots stopped.

All eyes turned to me.

"Oops."