Both women gasped.
“They’ve got augs aboard?” Echo spat. “Fucking augs?”
It seemed we had something in common as they clearly shared my distaste for the augmented.
“Unfortunately,” I grumbled. “Last I heard, there were sixty-eight of them aboard. I tried to escape when I found out, but I was drugged and then brought here.”
Both sisters widened their eyes.
“The Maji said they’d keep us safe,” Envi said, her eyes welling up with tears. “It was in the terms of our rescue.”
“I was assured that I was kept on board for my own safety,” I said with a wave of my hand. “Something along the lines of violent earthquakes taking place around the world.”
Envi began to cry.
Echo glared at me. “Don’t say shit like that offhandedly; this is serious.”
“I’m aware it’s serious.”
“You don’t sound like you’re taking it seriously,” she snapped.
She pulled her crying sister towards the door that automatically opened.
“Where are you going?”
“If there are augs aboard, we’re getting as far away from this craft and the Maji as possible.”
The doors closed, and they were gone.
“Good luck,” I said to the empty room.
Not long after the sisters left my room, Kol appeared, but I made sure I kept my attention on my non-existent fingernails. I heard the door opening followed by heavy booted footsteps as I sat on my bed with my back pressed against the wall. I swallowed and cleared my throat to keep my ‘tough girl’ act intact.
“Ten minutes,” his voice rumbled. “That’s all it took for you to run not one but two females out of your quarters.”
As expected, he was pissed.
“I wasn’t informed that I would be sharing my quarters, so you can imagine my surprise when I wake up to two strangers in my presence. The last time I was around more than one human, I killed one of them and was almost killed by the other. Sorry if my lack of social skills has caused problems for you, Shipmaster.”
“Nova.” He sighed. “You cannot remain hidden; you need interaction with other humans.”
I jerked my gaze to his.
“You don’t know what’s best for me, so stop pretending you do.”
Kol’s eyes darkened. Literally. The almost neon violet turned to a dark shade of lavender, and it freaked me out.
“Keeping you alive is what’s best for you, and I’m doing that, so give me a little credit, human.”
I turned my back to him. “Leave me alone, Maji.”
“No,” he replied. “You’re my charge while you’re on my craft.”
“So are however many other humans you roped into getting onto this stupid craft.”
“My spacecraft is not stupid.”
I laughed at his very male response and shook my head. Kol remained mute, and after twenty seconds of the stretched silence, I thought he had left the room. Until I felt fingertips brush over my neck. Goose bumps broke out over my skin, and I fought a groan that desperately wanted to break free. My reaction to him both embarrassed me and scared me to death.
“Why’re you sad, Nova?”
He continued to slide his fingertips over my neck, and it distracted me. I moved my head, stretching my neck to give him better access, and I heard his breathing hitch.
“Stop touching me,” I said, not really meaning my words.
Kol hummed softly, but he did as I asked.
“You’ll be happy to know that the human females, Echo and Envi, will remain aboard the Ebony.”
I didn’t move. “Did you have them drugged, too?”
“No,” Kol replied curtly. “We explained away their worries about the augmented.”
“How?” I asked, turning to face him. “How did you explain away the constant worry of people who terrify originals?”
“I explained to them how I explained it to you.” He said, his tone clipped. “We’re going to help the augmented females. These females don’t ever want to harm anyone, they just want to be saved from the chips inside of their heads.”
“I think it’s wonderful that you’re trying to help them, I really do, but I think you’re kidding yourself about the augs. If those chips could come out of their heads without killing them, don’t you think human scientists would have figured out how to do it by now? There is a kill order out for augs, it’s why they hide their augmentations. They’re on death row.”
“Not on Ealra they’re not.”
“Bringing them to your world is going to bite you in the ass,” I said. “One day you’re going to see exactly what I’m talking about.”
“We won’t,” Kol said firmly. “And do you want to know why?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Because Maji don’t give up on our people like humans do. You and your females will become the people once we arrive on Ealra, you will be Maji when you mate a male and you will see what a functioning society is supposed to be like. The people accept the people, the people take care of the people and the people love the people!”
He sounded so passionate, so confident that I couldn’t help but feel some hope when he spoke but then I thought of the war, and I remembered what the augs did all because horrible people rewrote a code and it brought me back to reality.
“The twins believe in you, and the Maji people, but I am clearly struggling to believe so why won’t you just give up on me?”
After a pregnant pause, he said, “Because you’re an enigma to me, Nova.”
“So that grants you permission to hold me captive?” I asked, hating that my voice was thick with emotion. “That’s a sucky excuse.”
“I’m protecting you,” he angrily replied. “Thanas only knows why because you’re more trouble than you seem to be worth!”
I didn’t respond.
“Look”—he exhaled—“why must you continue to fight me?”
“Because I can’t just allow you to take me without a fight,” I replied. “It’s not who I am.”
It’s wasn’t who I was raised to be. I could never rely on anyone else is my adult life, I always had to rely on myself and just accepting that the struggle and pain of my life was supposedly going to disappear because of the Maji was impossible to comprehend. It was too good to be true.
“I don’t want you to be anyone other than yourself, but you must realise that if you stay on Earth, you will likely die in the next few days. I’ve never seen such high readings for planetshakes, nor so many of them. Your planet is dangerously unstable.”
My palms got sticky with sweat.
“Do you want to die, Nova?”
I was a survivalist, and that meant I’d do just about anything to keep my life.
“No,” I said quietly. “I don’t.
“Then stop fighting this. Fighting me.”
I couldn’t think of anything intelligent to say because he was entirely correct, so I remained quiet.
“Echo and Envi will be returning to share your quarters with you,” Kol continued. “We have many females aboard, more than expected, and housing will be a problem if there is no sharing. The Ebony is a destroyer vessel, it’s not equipped with thousands of free housing quarters like a cruise craft.”