Crath moved fast to grab hold of her, pulled her against his body, and protected her as much as possible. “That is how. The last time The Vorge had to come for me, I was also being held inside a mountain. We’ve upgraded our equipment since then in case it happened again. It’s how I knew they’d be able to reach us deeper inside. We now have a way to scan the interiors of large masses and cut through rock.”
She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. “By bringing down the cavern around us? We’re going to die!”
“We won’t. That was a fracking scan. Hold still and do not move.”
“A what?”
“They have located our life signs but realized we aren’t on the surface. That was them running a scan of what is underground. They will do one more. Pre―”
The ground shook again but it wasn’t as strong. “Prepare,” he finished. “The first one mapped our location. The second one was to make certain we know to stay in place and haven’t moved since the first scan. Now they will make an opening to reach us.”
Kelsey buried her face against his chest. “You’re all crazy! This damn cavern is going to cave in. We’ll be crushed to death!”
He chuckled, amused. “Our technology is much more advanced. Prepare to hear a loud, annoying sound. Do not move.” To be certain, he wrapped his arms tighter around Kelsey to prevent her from panicking.
The high-pitched whine had him wincing when it sounded. “Close your eyes,” he yelled over the noise, protecting his own eyes. The laser used to cut a hole into the surface would be blinding. He lifted one hand to protect Kelsey’s face just in case she didn’t follow his order.
He could see the light even through his closed eyelids. A slight burning smell and dust filled his nose. The noise stopped seconds later, and he opened his eyes, viewing what had happened. There was no bright light coming from anywhere.
It confused him for a moment. The Vorge’s updated lasers should have been able to slice through the mountain…
Fresh air entered the cavern, and then he saw a flicker of blue light. It came from the roof over the pooled water.
Kelsey pulled her face away from his chest and turned her head. “What is that?”
“I’m not certain.”
Suddenly, something large dropped into the cavern, dangling from the roof. He chuckled when he identified the blue male wearing a black jumpsuit. “York!”
The male lowered a few more feet, turned on pale lighting that surrounded his body, and located them with his gaze. “We’re here. Is the water safe or are there dangerous creatures?”
“It seemed to be safe when we were in it,” Crath called out.
“Then swim over to me. I’ll have to lift each of you out. Cavas is piloting the shuttle I’m hooked to.” York reached up and touched his ear. “I have Crath and the human. They both appear mostly unharmed. I’ll bring the female up first and let you know when I have her secured.”
Crath didn’t like that plan. “Can’t you cut another hole where we don’t need to go into the water?”
“This was the safest option,” York replied. “We had to bore through a large piece of solid rock to prevent it from crumbling and collapsing on you. The section where you are isn’t as stable. Have the female swim to me.” York did something to the harness he wore and tilted forward until he hung upside down, just a few feet from the water’s surface. “Have her come to me and I’ll take her out. If you’re lucky, I’ll come back for you.”
Crath knew the Parri joked, but Kelsey tensed in his arms. He immediately soothed her. “That is York. He’s a Parri who believes he is very humorous. He will come back for me. Swim to him.”
She still hesitated.
Crath released her and nodded. “York is an honorable male with a human wife. You are safe, my Kelsey. Swim to him. I know the water is cold but we’ll have you warmed soon.”
“We don’t have much time,” York yelled out. “We had to take out a Cristos vessel and there were traces indicating more were in this area recently. It’s possible the ones we killed got a distress signal out.”
“Go,” Crath ordered.
Kelsey softly muttered something but then she went into the water with a splash. Crath was tempted to strip but he didn’t want to abandon his clothing in the cavern. He watched as his female made it to York, treading water.
“Now what?” she asked, just as York reached for her.
“Give me your arms, female. You are safe. I’m going to grab you and lock on. Don’t worry. All of our equipment is safe. We have much more advanced technology than your Earth.”
“So I keep hearing.” Kelsey sounded angry but she reached up an arm toward York.
The male grabbed her at her elbow and lifted her a little out of the water. He used his other hand to grab hold of her upper arm on the other side. “I’ve got her, Cavas. Yank us up.”
“Aren’t you going to harness me in?” Kelsey screamed as she and York were quickly pulled upward.
Crath snarled, diving into the water. He swam to where Kelsey had been and stared up at the large hole in the cavern roof. He saw stars in the distance. It explained why he hadn’t seen daylight. It was already night on the planet.
He tread water, impatiently waiting. York suddenly lowered from the opening minutes later and grinned at him. “She’s safe. You ready to take a ride? I’m so glad to be a part of this rescue to see our updated tech in action. Cavas is feeling a little jealous that reaching you in a cave is much easier this time.”
“Get me to my female.” Crath lifted his hand toward the Parri.
York flipped upside down again. The male grasped his forearm and Crath felt the strong bond that formed where they touched. The male obviously wore Kippy restraints. The race had created technology to literally lock prisoners together with an invisible forcefield through touch. Crath held up his other arm, locking it to York’s.
“Where did you get Kippy restraints?”
York chuckled. “Marrow owned some. I bought them off her to show my Sara how they work. She believes they are kinky. That means sexually appealing to her. We locked our upper bodies together once.”
“I don’t want to know. Get me to my female.”
“You heard Crath,” York called out. “Bring us up, Cavas.”
There was a slight jerk, and then Crath and York were rapidly being hauled upward. He realized the crew had to laser through at least ten feet of solid rock. They were in the air in seconds, giving Crath a view of the planet at night and the shuttle above. It was one of their shuttles for supplies. The back of it was open, with a crane extending outward that York was hooked to. It pulled them to the shuttle door leading into the cargo area.
“Watch your feet,” York warned.
Crath drew his legs up as the crane swung them inside the shuttle. He was grateful he’d listened or his lower legs would have smashed against the floor on entry. They stopped, swinging a bit from the movement. The restraints released. Crath crashed to his butt but it didn’t matter. He rose fast as York spun his body upright and then began to unharness himself from the cables. All Crath cared about was his Kelsey.
She sat huddled in the far corner with a blanket wrapped around her. He reached her side and crouched. She made small chattering noises with her mouth and didn’t appear well to him. “Were you hurt?”