Page 23 of Rebels Rising (The Intergalactic Union #3)

Tormik

I picked my way carefully over the myriad of tiny, wayward limbs, desperately trying not to step on fragile little fingers and toes. It was a magical event. Every last child was sleeping, the cafeteria was completely silent, but it was a delicate, precarious balance. If anyone so much as breathed wrong and woke a single child up, that would be it. They’d all rouse, we’d all be stuck with hundreds of crying, needy little bodies while we scrambled to comfort, soothe, feed, and change them.

Volunteering in the makeshift nursery may have been a rewarding job in some ways, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t hellish. It was akin to the horror stories from the Forbidden Planet, my race’s old home that we’d abandoned due to the dangers it posed. A warrior race we may have been, but even we could only take so much before we’d snapped.

It had come at a most opportune moment as well with the enemy closing in on us from all angles. We were going to have to work damn hard to ensure the kids remained calm and quiet, though I had a feeling Artemis would know the best way to ensure that. Unfortunately, she was busy performing her duties as our captain, so it fell to us to keep things controlled and contained.

My eyes connected with Foryk’s from across the room and I held in a wince. I imagined my own expression mirrored his, with pinched features tight with anxiety. There were so many lives on the line and Mother had chosen this moment to break down. His concern for her matched mine, though I was sure his was more about the chaos she would cause whereas I was more worried about her wellbeing. Her mental state was deteriorating, and while I didn’t blame her, her actions could very well destroy everything.

I’d checked on her earlier to make sure she actually was resting and had found her asleep, curled up in a ball and hugging a pillow to her as if it could replace Father. My heart clenched even now at the memory of that sight, but I was glad she had listened as was getting the rest she needed.

Unfortunately, it had come at a most inopportune time. We were all hands on deck, and she wasn’t even aware of what was happening. I was loathe to wake her, but someone needed to fill her in.

Just a few more clicks, I kept telling myself. Let her sleep just a little bit longer. I would go to her when we couldn’t wait any longer.

A crackling over the ship’s intercoms preceded the voice that came next. Everyone stopped moving to listen as Artemis informed us of what was coming and our instructions. I didn’t think it was possible, but the hush in the room quietened even further into an almost sentient, oppressive being. My skin felt itchy. My protective instincts screamed at me.

I was out of time. I needed to talk to Mother.

When the other volunteers began moving once more, I picked my way over to Foryk. Disgust twisted my stomach as I approached, though I kept my face placid and locked those emotions away for the time being. Now was not the time to broach the subject of my ire, but instead to work together for the better good.

He met me with his own stoicism, though he raised a single eyebrow to indicate his curiosity over my choice to advance. It took everything in me not to punch his eyebrow right off his face, but that wouldn’t be beneficial to anybody so I refrained.

It hadn’t helped assuage the betrayal the first time my fist had connected with his flesh, either.

I leaned in close, holding my breath so I wouldn’t have his scent filling my nostrils, so I could speak in low tone that wouldn’t disturb the sleeping children. ‘Mother doesn’t know.’

His inhale was sharp, understanding alighting behind his eyes. He tipped his head to the side, indicating we move towards the exit. I followed, torn between relieved that I didn’t have to give him my back and insulted that he had so easily given me his.

When the door shut us off from the cafeteria, he didn’t bother turning around. Instead, he marched on as if I wasn’t even there.

I was scowling at his back, imagining lasers beaming from my eyes and burning holes into his head, exploding it in a gory mess all over the walls. The imagery didn’t soothe me, however. Instead, it merely added to the guilt that had become my constant companion these past few solars. Guilt and shame. He was once my brother, by blood he still was even if I refused to acknowledge him as such.

The harsh reality was I didn’t want him dead. Suffering, yes, but I assumed he was after all this time. It was his fault she was dead, after all. His fault that both our families were disgraced. His fault we’d felt the need to take the damn job with The Program in the first place.

Yet, when I thought about it, I struggled to hold onto that rage, the emotion slipping through my fingers like water whenever I tried to grasp it again. The ultimate truth was that I never would have met Artemis if it weren’t for the unfortunate chain of events that led us here. She may have hated my guts, the love I held for her unrequited after my own actions, but that was something I could live with. The love was bittersweet, but it was still a hell of a lot more potent and wonderful than the constant battle between numbness and fury.

She made me feel again, and if it hurt then so be it.

As we turned the corner, another figure appeared. Almost as tall as me and Foryk, Alexander Hironimus paused as he caught sight of us, his thick black eyebrows dancing high on his head.

‘Aren’t the two of you supposed to be in the cafeteria?’ he chastised.

I’d seen him and Foryk speaking privately not long ago and wondered if perhaps he had been given a task by Artemis that he had abandoned for this. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

‘Morgrid is resting,’ he began the explanation. ‘She is unaware of what is happening.’

Xander blinked. ‘I see. Well, make it quick. You heard the captain. We need to be in place for the plan to work.’

‘Yes, sir,’ he responded, immediately walking around the man he’d once called captain and headed straight for the room I was sharing with Mother.

I moved to follow but a hand on my arm halted me before I could take more than a step. My eyes raised to meet Xander’s, confused why he would stop me.

‘Your feelings for our captain are apparent,’ he stated, the comment freezing the blood in my veins. ‘How deep does your devotion go?’

I gaped, stunned at the audacity of his questioning. Who was he to demand such person answers from me?

‘How deep does your devotion go, Tormik?’ he asked again.

Something about the desperation in his tone, hidden beneath layer upon layer of forced nonchalance and stoicism, had the answer wrenching from my chest with such velocity it was impossible to contain them. ‘I would die for her.’

He scrutinised me for a beat, his eyes boring into mine while he searched for any sign of deception. He would find none. Finally, he straightened his spine and nodded once, satisfied with what he found.

‘Good. Come with me.’

‘Sir?’ I asked, unsure of his thoughts or intentions. I glanced behind me towards the door Foryk had disappeared, where my mother was resting blissfully unaware of the encroaching danger, but I trailed behind him, nonetheless.

He spoke without inflection, but the tense set of his shoulders told me he was feeling more wound up than he was willing to let on. ‘Artemis is used to doing things on her own. She doesn’t trust easily, and while she trusts me on some level, I still haven’t earned it completely. Unfortunately, that means she is more than willing to put herself in harm’s way. I want you to keep her focused on her job. I need you to be her guard.’

I scoffed in disbelief. ‘Artemis would never accept a personal guard, let alone me ,’ I told him.

‘Which is why we won’t be telling her,’ he said decisively. ‘Plus, I have a feeling you were already planning on doing so regardless. Now, you won’t have to hide it, and you won’t be doing it alone.’

I huffed out an exasperated breath. ‘I don’t understand why you would care.’

He halted in the middle of the corridor and spun to face me, a fierce determination and protectiveness shining through. ‘Because she is friends with the woman I love, and I have come to care for her wellbeing just as much as anyone else here. She is our only hope at getting through this alive. She is our leader, and I will not stand by and watch while she continues to sacrifice herself for others, especially when she is more important than all of us combined.’

He sighed, his shoulders slumping forward slightly as he peeled back his mask to show me just enough vulnerability that I would take him seriously.

‘We need her, Tormik. We cannot win this war without her. She is the glue that holds it all together. If she’s captured…’

‘She won’t be,’ I practically snarled. ‘Where do you want me?’

While his spine straightened once more, his shoulders were no longer as tense as they were before. ‘Those with enhanced abilities are in the cockpit performing duties the rest of us cannot. You will be stationed near her at all times.’

I snapped to attention at the order. ‘Yes, sir.’

The rest of the journey to the cockpit was quiet, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. We had come to an understanding between us. He saw me for my truths, and I was beginning to see him for his, as well.

As we approached the door that would lead us to the woman I loved, I paused. Sensing I needed to say something, he stopped with me and waited patiently for me to speak.

‘You care for her, too,’ I said, only to receive not reaction. I didn’t expect one anyway. ‘More than you’re willing to admit.’

‘She is important to our cause.’

‘She is important to your woman,’ I amended. ‘Which means she is important to you . This is now personal for you, too, whether you like it or not.’

I wasn’t sure why I’d decided to confront him about it, but the burning need to ensure she was surrounded by people who were loyal to her, who genuinely cared about her won out. There would be no moving forward until we could all be honest with ourselves. He may not love her like I did, like Prince Brommyt and potentially even Cadmus did, but we were all a part of her unit.

Even when she tried to push us away, we would remain steadfast by her side. She deserved nothing less.

He didn’t respond, choosing to ignore my words and their truths in favour of walking inside the cockpit. I followed him inside, leaving the discomfort from the interaction outside. I pulled up short at what greeted me.

Dave Junior was in the corner, pretending to snooze but the single eye peeking open gave him away. The pilot was tapping away on the holo-screen, the controls lighting up under the contact of her fingertips. The weapons specialist was poised and prepared to fire, but his wide-eyed gaze was set firmly on the people seated around holo-table in the centre of the room, each one of them with their heads bent, eyes closed, and emanating a telltale blue glow.

Artemis, Adara and Reece were whom I expected to see in such a state, but Bromm and Cadmus were the reason for my shock. While everyone was aware of Bromm’s collapse and his recent awakening, the fact that the two of them were somehow a part of the Cyborg Club was news to me. Blindsiding news.

‘Take your position by the wall, Tormik,’ Xander ordered, and I snapped back to the present to obey.

I positioned myself so I could see all angles of the room and the door, but that also allowed me full view of the holo-screen and its contents. Currently, there were images displaying our ship and the surrounding areas as the scanner picked up on potential dangers. In front of us was a large, cloud-like congealment of rocks that was undoubtedly the asteroid field stretching for miles ahead of us like a wall of doom. Behind us, a fast-approaching ship larger than our own was gaining ground at an alarming rate. It was clear that whatever time we’d thought we had was up sooner than anticipated.

My eyes connected with Xander’s as he took the last remaining seat around the table beside his girlfriend, the gravity of our situation digging deep grooves into the lines of his face that I had no doubt was mirrored on my own. Adrenaline coursed through me as my body prepared for the coming fight, and I my gaze finally rested on Artemis. She looked deceptively frail with her head bowed over the table, hands reaching out to the men on either side of her, and a part of her was. The part of her that still longed to belong, to have family and friends and lovers alike. To be surrounded by people who cared for her just as much as she cared for them. And she had that here, whether she realised it or not. She was building her dream, and pride rose to the surface as I gazed upon them all.

She may not have needed me to protect her body, but she still needed someone to protect her heart. Whatever happened, I would protect it at all costs, even if she didn’t want me to. That was my real assignment.