Page 36 of Rescuing Mara (Warriors of Arracate #2)

CHAPTER 36

Mara

D ’Var suggests I clean up before I join them in Command. I quickly do so. My face looks like a mess, but I clean it with a wry smile. I don’t care. All I want is O’Rec.

When I return to Command, D’Var, and T’Rak are having a heated conversation with what appears to be multiple other Arracate Warriors on different screens. The conversation ends abruptly when I enter.

A couple of Warriors bow their heads, and the words “My Queen” are mumbled. Shocked to my core, I look at my mate’s crew for reassurance, and D’Var gives me a nod.

I walk up to the screens. It is time to show them I am a worthy mate to their future King.

“Warriors,” I begin. “O’Rec is out there. The bond tells me he is still alive. I cannot reach him, nor can his crew.”

“He could be unconscious - there are dozens of escape pods drifting, he could be in one of them.” A warrior with a stern face says.

“How do we know which one? Should we bring them all onto our ships? What if there are Sterno in them?”

“WE KILL THEM!” Another shouts.

I raise my hand before anything can get out of hand. The discussion halts, and everyone’s eyes are on me. Suddenly it’s my decision whether the Sterno live or die?

“First, we find O’Rec, and then we decide what to do with the escape pods. Is it possible the bond can lead me to him?”

“Absolutely,” D’Var speaks up.

“We will try that first. If all fails, we will round up the pods. We will check them one by one. If there are Sternotheri in them, we will imprison them. If they attack first, you can kill them.”

Approving sounds come from all around, and I glance at D’Var and T’Rak for support, and they give me affirmatory nods.

“Okay, we keep communications open, and I’ll just…” I look back to the guys once more, and T’Rak steps forward. Taking command.

“We keep communications open, try to round up the floating pods, but be aware of hidden Sternotheri ships. We cannot let them get away. We are positive Ananta is dead, but we need confirmation for the High Commander. Marra will guide our ship, and I will let you know once we have a lead for our future King.”

The Warriors nod in agreement and the screens are shut down. I hug myself, feeling lost and alone, my bravery leaving my body. T’Rak places his hand firmly on my shoulder.

“You did well, Marra,” he says, then pauses. “You are a worthy mate to O’Rec. We will find him and bring you both home. You are exactly what he needs to take charge and be the King our people need him to be.”

Stunned, I turn to look at him. “Don’t you want to keep him with your crew?”

He shrugs. “Our people need him more, and we have had him for so long now. It is time.”

He pivots and walks to his chair. I take a moment to pull myself back together. I breathe in deeply and focus on the bond.

Just as I felt Ananta’s chains inside my mind, I can see the bond as a pulsing ray of light shooting from my heart. It’s a cord woven of light and love. Happiness sparkles, and I think of the images O’Rec showed me - the future he saw for us. A tear escapes my eye, and I put both hands on the glass, having no recollection of how I got there.

The light is shining bright, and I can see a clear path through space. It goes right through debris and rocks. I squint my eyes, looking into the distance where it ends. A grin splits my face in two, and I turn around to T’Rak and D’Var, giddy with joy.

“There!” I point. T’Rak slowly sets the ship into motion. I guide him towards a lonely escape pod and my heart thumps like a maniac when he pulls it in with a retractor beam. I want to rush towards the cargo bay, but D’Var stops me.

“We need to be careful Marra. We need to wait until the airlock is closed.”

My smile drops, but he is right, so I wait until T’Rak is done before I follow them into the cargo bay.

The pod is located at the space side, on a wall I haven’t explored yet. I never thought to look there before, but now I can clearly see the airlock compartment where the escape pod lies inside.

T’Rak pushes a couple of buttons, opening the airlock. We carefully walk towards the pod. I can feel the bond pulsing and screaming at me. He performs a couple of scans, and when he gives the all-clear, he opens the lid. We’re not there yet because he immediately calls out for D’Var; together, they pull out my mate’s limp body.

“He is injured,” T’Rak growls. They carry him to the medical bay as soon as they can. I run after them but pause when we pass Command. They will tend to him with nanos and healing injections. I can’t help them right now. What I can do is inform the other Warriors that we have found their Prince. The only issue is that I don’t know how everything works.

I bite my lip and cock my head, then decide to just try.

“Hello? Can anybody hear me?”

“Loud and clear.” Comes through the ship.

I smile in relief. “Good, uhm, this is Mara. We found O’Rec and brought him on our ship. He’s still unconscious, but he’s alive. T’Rak and D’Var are tending to him right now. We will update you when we know more. Uhm for now, I think it’s a good idea if we just round up all the escape pods and keep them centered somehow. And be safe!”

“Thank you, we will.” Is the static response, and I quickly make my way to Med Bay.

* * *

O’Rec

Fogginess clouds my brain as I slowly wake up. Where am I? Suddenly, I jerk up. Marra! The Sternotheri, they were going to execute us and…

“Easy, my love.” Marra’s sweet voice calms my panicked body down instantly, and I feel someone tugging me down again.

“Marra?” I croak, and then I feel her soft hand touching my cheek, brushing away a lock of hair. I blink again, her lovely face coming into view.

“Marra.” My voice breaks, and I somehow find myself crying. I pull her down and rest my foreheads against hers as our tears mingle.

“I was so scared, O’Rec,” she whispers. “Don’t ever do that to me again, don’t you ever sacrifice yourself for me again.”

“I will always sacrifice myself for you, my star.” I cannot lie to her.

She laughs through her tears. “I was afraid you were going to say that.”

She sits back, letting me look around. Relief hits me when I see where we are.

“We are home?”

“Not yet.” She gives me the biggest smile. “We were waiting for you to wake up. We have some big decisions to make before we can go back to the Ring.”

“You think the Ring can be your home?”

She gives me an indignant look. “Where you are is my home, and if you are going to be King, our home is at the Ring.”

Taken aback, I stare at her. I haven’t told her about it, or did I?

“You promised me a future, O’Rec. I intend to keep you to that promise.” She leans in and gives me the sweetest kiss.

“Now, how are you feeling? There are dozens of ships out there waiting for your command.”

I stretch my limbs and ball my fists. I feel good. A little bit sleepy, but that is what the Nanos do to you.

“I am fine.” And she helps me sit up. I cup her cheek, my fingers brushing across the mangled skin. “Are you okay?”

“Now that you’re awake, yes. This is just a little scar”

I stroke the scar with my thumb. “It shows your bravery.”

She huffs and reluctantly gets to her feet, taking my hand. “Come on, let’s go.”

When I walk into Command, the entire screen is filled with faces of Warriors, and emotion clocks my throat.

“You are well.” One of the elder Warriors says. I cannot believe he is here. I look at all their faces, I cannot believe they all came. All my captains assembled their crew to fly out - for me?

“I am well.” Suddenly I have to clear my throat. “Thank you for coming for me. Thank you for being here. It is an honor.”

“The honor is all ours, my King,” another Warrior replies. One by one, they make a fist and place it above their hearts as they shout out. “MY KING.”

Marra squeezes my hand, and I look down at her, feeling immense pride at having her next to me.

“Thank you, my friends. I cannot wait to officially be your King. As long as I have my Queen by my side, we can handle everything the universe gives us.”

Loud cheering echoes all around us, and even T’Rak applauds, looking smugly at us.

I raise a hand to silence them. “Now, I believe we have pressing matters to attend to before we can return to the Ring?”

“The escape pods.” I look around to see who spoke. I see it was T’Kar, T’Rak’s little brother.

“How many are there?”

“There appear to be around a hundred. There is also a large part of the Sternotheri mothership still intact. I do not think you can see it from your angle, but -”

His words are cut off by a blast that makes all the ships shake. For a moment, we lose connection, and when I look out the window, I see another blast close to an asteroid. We are all taken aback by the sudden explosion when a big Sternotheri Cruiser appears and starts shooting. Chaos erupts on all screens; I am powerless to see the cruiser shoot their way out and disappear into space.

T’Rak lets out a howl and frantically tries to recover the lost connections. I feel Marra’s anxiety through the bond and hold onto her tight. We get everybody back, but two ships are unreachable. Reports and scans come in, making it clear that the Sterno left us with one last act of destruction. Not only did they destroy their own escape pods, they destroyed two of our ships, including the one led by T’Rak’s brother.