“Whelon said if my mate flew by me, he couldn’t have kept going. He said it was impossible.”
“No,” Penelope said, gently. “Not impossible. You’re looking pretty beat, Renay. Are you sure you don’t want to stop at medical?”
“No,” she protested, stubbornly. “Get me to the ship! He must be there.”
“Okay, but I can’t teleport you, which would be instant. You’ll have to take a shuttle.”
“Teleport?”
“Oh, yeah. Well, that’s the usual method. The thing is, they’ve taken the ship up to a higher atmosphere. Not in orbit or anything like that, just further from the tower. People who are teleported up aren’t as easy to screen. Lots of strangers will be coming and going soon and the top brass want it all to be on shuttles.”
“But I can’t fly a shuttle!”
“I’ll fly it for you. All you have to do is get on board.” Renay gasped as she tried to stand up, and the door was already sliding open for her. Penelope was quick on the controls. That was for sure.
“That’s it, only a few steps now.” Penelope’s voice came from the shuttle console. Willing herself along, Renay finally reeled into the shuttle and collapsed onto a seat.
“Gotcha,” Penelope crowed. “Hang on, Renay. I’m getting you out of here!”
The shuttle surged to life, and this time, when the dreams came to get her, Renay knew she was close to actually seeing her mate’s face.
Chapter Fifteen
Tyff jogged along the halls of the ship, listening to the rhythmic pounding of his own feet. It was still very early hours. The ship kept the same day cycle as Earth, and the lights weren’t up to full strength yet. Penelope liked to use the inner illumination to represent the day cycle accurately.
He had jumped out of bed and immediately done twenty push-ups. He didn’t go to the dining hall for breakfast because the first training session was too early. They had to train their bodies to be battle ready without the luxury of food. They would eat later, after the first round of exercises and chores.
While the women had been on board, the kitchen had been full of such good smells the warriors couldn’t help but indulge in sausages, eggs, and bacon. Tyff was going to put a stop to that. Breakfast may involve protein, but not so much fat. To hone their bodies into effective instruments, they had to suffer. His greatest fear was that the mighty Preor army had grown soft in its entirety.
As he listened to his feet pound the floor, he went over the training regimen for the day. He planned at least an hour of synchronized work, each warrior carefully practicing the main hand-to-hand moves to train their muscle memory. Then they would do some sparring and chores. After that, he would allow them breakfast, and then it would be time to hit the training platform for aerial maneuvers.
And I’ll be doing it all as war master! He still couldn’t quite believe it. He knew he could stand before his troops and point and shout if he wanted, but he wouldn’t be. He would be neck deep in it with his warriors. He swore he would sweat twice as hard and work until he could barely move. He would earn his right to the position and remake the Preor army into a force to be reckoned with.
He was almost to the training area when a soft alarm began to play through the speakers. It was a yellow alert.
“Penelope,” Tyff asked. She had been strangely quiet this morning.
“You need to get to the dock, Tyff.”
“What’s happening?”
“A shuttle is coming in.”
“No travel has been authorized! What the hell are you doing?”
“Just get there, Tyff. It’s better if you see.”
Tyff turned around, growling angrily. He picked up his pace and ran hard toward the dock. Other Preor were doing the same and some of them had weapons. He couldn’t fault their logic. All too often these situations turned out to be more than just headaches. Though, he was becoming alarmingly familiar with those.
It’s the resistance again. It has to be.
Radoo had said something about the ship appearing to loom over the city like a cloud of menace. Perhaps they wouldn’t be satisfied until they finally blew it up for good. He set his jaw and rushed into the wide docking bay, ready to throw himself on the intruder who dared to attack his ship.
He would not tolerate another human being putting others in danger. He was aware that the Preor had been somewhat careless with human life, and they were trying for a better public image, but they were on his ship now. He would do what he had to, and no one could stop him.
Warriors surrounded the small shuttle parked crookedly in the bay. Some held spears while others held guns. Tyff approached on light feet, looking for clues as to what might be inside.
It could be a bomb, set to blow the second we open the door. There might not even be a human in there.
“I think we should blow it,” he said. “It’s the safest way.”
“I agree,” Choler said, standing nearby. His usual cheery smile was gone, and worry twisted his features.
“Don’t!” yelled Penelope. “You can’t! Open the door, Tyff!”
“I can’t Penelope. It’s too dangerous. We could shoot it out into space, I suppose. Then it could blow itself up or at least trap the assassin inside where they could do no damage.”
“Tyff,” Penelope spoke urgently. “You have to open that door. Please.”
“Tell me why,” he demanded.
“You need to see. I’m sorry, but you won’t believe me any other way.”
Tyff frowned, looking up at the ceiling. It was impossible to look Penelope in the eye, but he gave it a damn good try.
Sighing, he moved closer to the ship. The other warriors rocked back and pointed their weapons at the door. He was pleased by their synchronicity. At least they were well-organized.
He touched the door latch and held his breath, his stomach rolling over and over. He didn’t really think Penelope would put him in danger, but she might not be aware of it herself. It had happened before and Tyff was not going to let anything like that happen ever again.
He pressed the latch and felt a rush of air as the shuttle’s air pressure equalized before the door slid slowly up. As it did, that whirlwind inside him fell curiously still.
Shocked gasps flew around the room. Most of the Preor lowered their weapons although some stayed on task.
It was a woman. Tyff found himself fascinated by her. He took a step closer. She was crumpled on the seat and she looked unconscious. Her hair was long and wavy, glinting gold and brown in the pale light. She was exceptionally curvy and somehow, he could feel those swelling hips under his hands. He was drawn closer, desperate to touch her. The world fell away and narrowed to her, only her.
As he leaned close, she opened her eyes. They were blue, blue like the purest form of Syh. She blinked and smiled.
“Shaa kouvi,” she whispered. “You’re here. I made it.”
The words struck him in the heart. He couldn’t draw a breath. He knew it—he knew it—but there was no Knowing. Images danced through his mind, but they were jagged and broken, with no flow. He couldn’t understand them.
This is not how it’s supposed to be.
Even so, he gathered her up in his arms, cradling her against his chest. Through his skin, he could feel that something was wrong with her, and everything in him cried out to make her right again.