Page 39

ANDI’s holo form disappears, and I press my face against the glass, my eyes devouring the small figure lying below me.

She seems so small, prostrate there. I cannot hear what is happening, but I can see the arms of the medical center moving all over her.

Several seem to be thoroughly cleaning damaged areas before bandaging them up.

At the same time, another arm is putting sutures in her leg.

As the arms move her around cleaning the dirt from her skin, I could have sworn I saw a bright mark on her hip.

But they are in the way, and they move her again before I can make sure.

Two separate arms are maneuvering her wrist back into the proper position.

And I am thankful she is sedated and not experiencing any further pain.

Tears fill my eyes as I look over her bruised and battered body.

All of this is my fault. If I hadn’t ignored her when mother came.

If I had simply realized how much I enjoy and need her, she would have been safe by my side.

The light on my comm unit goes off, and I hit the play button.

A holo recording pops up in front of my face.

The pieces seem to be fragmented, but my eyes instantly seek out Lacie as she walks cautiously through the brushy, wooded area, wearing the clothes I had thrown at her as I was trying to hide what I felt at the time was a sin.

Pieces seem to be missing, but the words come through clearly.

The more I see the angrier I get, and when that male strikes Lacie , I slam my fist into the wall, splitting my knuckles wide as I picture it is his face instead.

The feed completely cuts off after she starts running through the Timbers , but I can still hear him taunting her and their combined screams when the rockface gives way.

But it is her cries for help that their speakers were picking up that have me sliding to the floor.

I pull my knees up, gripping my hair tightly as I fight through all the emotions flooding my system.

One thing is for certain, if that male had survived, nothing would stop me from tearing him to pieces.

My comm unit goes off several times, and simply by the sound, I know it is my mother.

But before I can answer her, I need to get myself together and figure out my path forward.

Standing back up, I see that Lacie’s wrist is now in a bubble cast, and for the most part, all of her other wounds seem to have been healed completely.

At first, I thought ANDI was the one doing all this, until I see LeX’s face on the screen.

Hitting my comm unit, I request a call from him when he finishes, and I am relieved when I get a confirmation.

Right after she is covered with a heating blanket, I watch as the equipment begins to return to their normal positions.

LeX’s face appears, and I project it onto the glass in the room.

“ Brother , you commed?”

“ It is about the female you were just working on. Will she be all right?”

“ Yes . She had a severe wrist fracture and lost a lot of blood, but I was able to patch her up. There will be a slight scar on her leg, but that can be removed at a later time once healed. Why ?”

“ I believe she is my mate.”

“ Are you not sure? Because I believe you should know.”

“ Mother always told me that our people do not form bonds like that. So … well wait, let me show you.” I jerk the pants I have on down far enough that he can see the glowing mark on my hip.

“ But right after we were intimate, this showed up. Honestly , if I think about it … it has been bothering me for several rotations now, but it did not fully form until afterward. Does she have something similar?”

“ Yes , she does, MeK . However , you need to realize that you are more than just your mother. Those runes that cover your body are a gift from dear old dad, as my Rylie would say. None of us have reacted in the same manner when it comes to our mates, but we all have one thing in common. The pull toward that one person, the very thought of them coming to harm or being unhappy, bothers us way before the physical confirmation shows up.”

“ I do not understand, LeX .”

“ Okay , let me say this another way: Did you miss her when she was not around? Or did she overly aggravate you because she was always in harm’s way? Did you find yourself seeking her out in crowds?”

I close my eyes and shake my head before nodding. “ Yes , to all and more.”

“ MeK , do not beat yourself up too bad for not knowing. We have all messed up one way or another. However , before her surgery, Father quickly briefed me on how this occurred and your part in it. Brother , I hate to say this, but you have done a fine job of royally screwing this up.”

“ Can you help me, LeX ? I must speak to her, even though I have no idea what to say.”

“ Even though I should not I know I would have gone on a rampage if they had kept me away from Rylie . I will unlock the main door right after the ship’s sleep schedule commences, but you have to leave before the rising.

I am not getting in trouble with father.

Your female should sleep throughout the night, but at least you can sit with her, and this hopefully will give you some time to figure out your path forward. ”

“ Thank you, brother. I will not forget this.”

“ Yes , well don’t let father or anyone else catch you, or we will both be in for it.”

“ Are you on deployment, LeX ? I can see you are back on the ship.”

“ Yes , I am. I know you are aware that we picked up some pod signals in an area that is not yet mapped in our solar system; an area that appears not to have any planets at all.

We were discussing this with Father when suddenly, SCOUT and ANDI both received an incoming alert that someone in that area was researching Earth and its inhabitants.

So , we are on our way to that sector now.

It is quite a journey, but Father demands that we be back before the Warrior Trials , whether we find anything or not.

There are rumors of some sort of veil hiding the planets in that sector, and you know, several times, the Jynrel , Korgons , and Velgriddix have just disappeared off the radar.

We believe it may be a pirating region where they have been hiding all this time.

So , the weapons system you designed for Destiny just might get its first test run. ”

“ I wish you and the others safe travels, and thank you for assisting remotely with Lacie .”

“ ANDI did the majority of the work, I simply oversaw the procedure from Destiny . I hope when we speak again, it will be about more favorable matters. Strength and honor, brother.”

The screen goes blank and I hear the lock on the door disengage a short time later.