“There is no debt. You saved our lives,” I said, in a trembling voice.
“No, Janelle. You survived on your own, and kept all the others alive as well,” Doom countered gently. “We only let you out. Never doubt what a tremendously strong female you are: a true woman of the Vanguard. Welcome to the family.”
With these final words, he gently pressed his lips to my forehead before releasing me with a gentle smile. Turning on his heels, he joined his Soulcatcher, Jessica, who was tending to Leyi.
When Reaper’s arms closed around me from behind, I gratefully leaned back against his strong, muscular chest. Surrounded by his warmth and the loving embrace of his consciousness wrapped around mine, I listened mesmerized to the purring chant of Stran singing a lullaby to his sons.
13
Reaper
Although the adult Creckels had taken much longer to come out of hibernation, their full recovery happened a lot faster than with the young. According to my mate, it was due to their far more developed endocrine system and the fact that they had much better control over these complex functions of their bodies. Watching Stran rekindle his romance with his long-lost mate and bond with his sons moved us all to the core.
The Vanguard’s frigate arrived the day after Leyi’s awakening. Its landing had lured more Zebiers in the vicinity of the base. Thankfully, Thanh and Madeline had repaired the ship’s broadcast system, allowing us to scare them away without a fight. While I would have enjoyed the battle, it would have been a gratuitous slaughter as we had no need of additional meat supplies.
We didn’t leave for another two days to both give the adult Creckels more time to regain their strength and let them enjoy some sun as they hadn’t seen it for over three decades. In the meantime, with Madeline’s assistance, I downloaded all the records and files of the research Janelle’s parents had done so that she could refer to it as needed as she cared for the modified Creckels going forward. To my utter distress, Brees and her companions still hadn’t decided to come to Khepri. Reuniting with their original Creckel friends had alleviated all of their fear about settling on Dreija.
When we finally set off from the Moon of Melibos, Janelle bawled her eyes out, putting me on the verge of panic. I didn’t quite know how to handle such grief. Only, it turned out joy, and not sorrow at leaving her homeworld, had provoked such a display. Although she’d been freed for two weeks, as long as we had remained on ‘that wretched moon’ as my mate eloquently put it, she’d kept fearing something would happen, like the trap that had damaged the ship, that would keep us stranded there forever. When I asked Janelle why she hadn’t told me sooner of her fears so that I could have appeased them, my mate said that she worried saying it out loud might cause it to pass.
Adorably silly woman…
However, our departure wasn’t all happiness. Although he showed himself quite supportive of Stran deciding to travel back to Dreija onboard the frigate instead of in our chaser with us, Doom was devastated not to get to spend those last few days with his best friend and long-time war companion. But who could blame the Creckel for wanting to be with family and friends he had believed dead for more than thirty years?
Thanks to my mate, our team leader was given another opportunity to see his friend one last time. We’d initially planned on parting ways on Melibos, with our team flying straight back to Khepri while the frigate went to Dreija. However, Janelle pointed out that this could be her modified Creckels’ only opportunity to see the homeworld of their ancestors—should they decide to continue to Khepri—and for her to see where her mother had worked before her abduction. Our entire team wholeheartedly agreed. It was not only for the modified Creckels’ sakes, for my mate, and for Doom’s, but also to sate our own curiosity about the planet. Sadly, we couldn’t stay for more than a couple of days. Our mission had already far exceeded its planned duration and other missions required our attention elsewhere.
Our arrival on Dreija was rife with emotion. Although we landed in the authorized area, the Creckel welcoming party that awaited us would have sent most newcomers running for the hills. Deceptively, a single female Creckel approached, bigger than Stran by a good head, her scales the thickest I’d ever seen, and the bladed darts protruding beneath her scales, long enough to be daggers. I had heard of the Creckel Battle Maidens, but never dreamt to meet one in the flesh nor that she would be so impressive. She had to be at least eighty-years old to be this tall and this thickly armored. I couldn’t wait to see how impressive Brees would become as she matured.
Although the female had certainly recognized our ships as belonging to the Vanguard, she kept a semi-aggressive stance until we disembarked, Doom and Stran in the lead. As soon as she saw them, she sent out a powerful wave of psychic energy, and then at least a hundred humongous Creckels of both genders seemed to appear out of thin air as they simultaneously dropped their camouflage. Their tails were already raised, ready to launch a barrage of bladed darts at us. Very little scared me, especially when it came to my own safety. But I would lie if I didn’t admit to feeling a little unnerved by this display of power. The memory of getting turned into a sieve by the modified Creckels was still far too fresh in my mind.
Two of the largest males—the size of a rhinoceros—came to flank the Battle Maiden Matriarch, although they remained a couple of steps behind her in sign of deference. At his current age of sixty, Stran still had fifteen years to go at least to match the size of the Matriarch and likely another five or ten to rival those males.
The impressive trio then approached Doom, their bladed darts receding back under their scales, and their regal, draconic faces taking on a friendly expression. Doom grinned and walked towards the female with open arms. She was so tall, despite Doom’s height of 6’8, he barely had to bow his head to gently rub his cheek’s scales against hers in a gesture reserved between very close friends or relatives.
When Stran came down the ramp with his mate and offspring, followed by the other original Creckels, the emotion that swept through the Matriarch and her troops was so raw and so deep it turned me upside down. Our hosts barked a series of short, rhythmic growls that were undeniably some type of chant welcoming victorious warriors home—in this instance, incredible survivors. With a sign from her head, the Matriarch gave her blessing for the Creckels to break rank and mingle with the newcomers. Judging by some of the almost desperate embraces, long-lost friends or family had been reunited.
Despite his imposing size, Stran almost looked like a teenager in front of a parent as he walked up to the Matriarch and exchanged with her a similar greeting as she had with Doom, except this time on both of Stran’s cheeks, expressing a deeper bond still. But it was her reaction to his mate Leyi that floored me. The frantic embrace, and the way the Matriarch rubbed her face all over Leyi’s left me confused.
“Leyi is her daughter,” Janelle whispered, just as the Matriarch was finally letting go of Stran’s mate to turn her affection towards his two sons: her grandsons.
But even as she spoke those words, my mate’s hand tightened nervously around mine. Psychic energy swirled around her. I didn’t need to ask who she was speaking to. The clicking sound of the modified Creckels’ claws on the ramp as they waited their turn to be introduced to their ancestors was all the answer I needed.