Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

BaOBy

Bao held on to his emotions as he helped Cat cross the street. The kiss had shaken him to his core. Her taste branded in his memory forever. Before, because the marking bands moved, he knew she was his mate. But now, after that soul-shattering kiss, every cell in his body recognized her as his one and only.

The light from the second moon—Bao noticed Catalina called it the Midnight Moon—was almost as bright as the midday sun. Before it rose, no one had been out and about, and all the houses and businesses were closed up and dark.

But now, a few men strode down the street. Several houses and the local bakery were lit from within. Bao had to ask his brother Jay, the Master of Illusion, to hide them from sight. He didn't want to take her back. But he understood her need to return. Until the Andraran was dead—she would remain his prisoner.

Hiding places and things, people, was a simple task for his brother, and yet his help made Bao emotional. Catalina had gone her entire life without help from anyone. Now she had him. He just needed to make sure she understood the concept.

Before he said goodnight, Bao leaned down and whispered in her ear. "Thank you, Cat. For telling me your story. I know it was hard, and a horrific nightmare for you to live through. I ask that you do something for me?"

Her eyebrows pressed together, and she frowned at him. "What?" she whispered back. She had tears in her eyes, and she was in a hurry to get away from him.

Pulling her into his arms again, he bent his head until his beard scruff tangled in her blonde hair. "Don't give up your life for anything. I know right now you feel as if your situation is hopeless. You might be tempted to strike out at the Andaran, entice him to kill you. Or risk your life to kill him. Please don't. Let me think about what you've said. Study it from all sides. Promise you'll give me some time?"

She tilted her head back. Green eyes studying his face. Bao could read her expressions. He'd been right. She planned to attack the Andaran in such a way—it would force the evil man to kill her. It would be a miracle if she managed to kill him. But that wasn't the point of her actions. Cat wanted him to kill her. So, she wouldn't have to go through with the Andaran's nasty scheme.

Leaning in, Cat tightened her hold on him. "I can wait for a few days," she promised him.

Bao let his breath out slowly. He understood this was hard for her, yet believed her promise. "Thank you. One more thing before you slip inside the house." He followed her around the corner to the window hidden from the road by a tall, flowering bush. "I need to speak to someone on my ship. I'd like to have more of my brothers come down to help us protect those you've identified as the Andaran's prisoners. The DoMicile is rotating this planet. Do you know where I can go to communicate with them so the Andaran isn't alerted?"

Cat's wide smile gleamed in the moonlight. "I definitely can help with that. The Andaran has an unmanned storage facility at the edge of town. It is actually a hidden spaceport, filled with his larger private ships and a few hovers. Each is equipped with physical cloaking, so the ship can't be seen or tracked. They all have untraceable communication systems, too. Use whichever ones you want and disable the rest so he can't escape the planet. All the information on where the building is and what is in there—is in the bag I left you. Including all the information on ways to get inside. The security on this planet won't see the Andaran's ships or any signal from them. He had them built that way. They are his escape route. Viant's security force is focused on the town only. They don't monitor the fields or outlying areas. If you took one of his ships and parked it in the middle of the Violetta field at the end of the street, the flowers would hide your movements. Harvest isn't for a month."

"He won't know if we take one of his ships?"

Cat shook her head. "No. A maintenance team goes in every three months and makes sure there aren't any issues. But he's never left the planet. Not really. Once in a while, he takes a ship out to skim away from the city. He wants to make sure everyone sees him. Or he'll shoot out into space and orbit the planet. Sending a broadcast message to the masses with some new law he's devised to make them miserable. But that is rare. Be careful, there is video surveillance on the outside of the building. Unless he's done something in the months I've been gone, that is the only hazard."

Reluctant to let her go, Bao kissed her once more. Then helped Catalina slip through the window, back into her prison. He handed her the smaller of the two bags he'd collected. She hesitated for a moment before she closed the window and the drapes. Pain reverberated through his soul.

Now that she was safely back in the house, BaOBy could relax his hold on his temper, and his emotions. Looking at the window, he shuddered. Safely back in the house. The house that was her prison. He wanted to call her back, to take her far away from this planet and the Andaran. He needed a plan.

Turning, he rushed down the street and jogged the several blocks over to the edge of the Violetta field. He wanted to go somewhere alone. Somewhere he could rant, scream, and cry. Alone. As Catalina had always faced her life.

In the moonlight, the tall, purple flowers were beautiful. The stalks rose way over his head. And he was six feet tall. So, he guessed the flower forest rose to a height of close to twenty feet. They were covered in shades of lilac and purple blooms from a few feet above the ground to the top of the plant. He rushed down one row. Allowing his emotional pain to erupt, he screamed at the unfairness of it all and at the pain his mate was forced to endure. The horror. For long minutes he raged at the universe. Screaming and pulling up a few smaller plants by the roots and shredding the Violetta. He stopped when his voice was hoarse, his head throbbed, and his hands were sliced and bleeding.

Going to his knees, he got sick. He emptied his stomach and crawled far away from the mess. Then Bao collapsed on the ground and closed his eyes. Tears seeped from under his lids. He was heartsick. What was he going to do? His mate was in so much trouble. And he didn't know how to help her.

Hearing the softest shift of clothing and dirt, Bao sighed. Realizing he was no longer alone. Turning over—he opened his eyes. Four of his brothers surrounded him. BOlaBe, his fuchsia-skinned brother. Bol was the Master of Destruction. He could blow up anything. Including this entire planet if it became necessary. Bao took a shaky breath and looked up at his cherry red brother, BeOBard. Bard was the Master of Sound. Not only could he recreate any voice or bird call, but he could also suppress any noise. This brother had probably kept the sound of his captain's psychotic meltdown… contained to the area surrounding him.

He held out his hand, and Bard helped him to his feet. "Thank you, brother."

Bard nodded his acceptance of those words.

"Captain. ReBOrB and his new mate are on their way," JayBOrB told him.

Bao frowned and met his purple-skinned brother's gaze. Jay was their Master of Illusion. When he was around, no one would see them, unless the brothers wanted to be seen. "Reb and his mate Cameron are coming?" Then he realized why. Not just why Reb was coming, but why the other brothers surrounded him now.

The twenty brothers were clones. As the Father created each of them, their connection expanded to include the new brother. They had an unbelievably strong mental connection. Able to share thoughts… and feelings over long distances. Through their mental connection, they all felt the anguish in his soul. "I'm sorry. I didn't think to block you all from that."

His lilac-skinned brother, LanBeOB, stepped closer and clapped him on the back. "Remember, you are not alone. None of the brothers are ever truly alone. And that means that you have twenty minds to help you find a way to save your mate. More. As your mate will be involved. And from what I've seen, she is a very smart woman. Plus, Brode and Reb have mates now. And we can't forget Father. He will help guide us."

Lan was right. As their Master of Technology, he could talk to machines. He could boost the power of any mechanical device—and pilot any type of ship. Bao looked at Lan and nodded. "You are right. The first step is getting all those minds together. My very smart mate suggested we use one of the Andaran's ships, and park it here in this field. It will provide our home base."

Lan grinned. " One of his ships? He has more than one? Do I get to choose the one we take?"

Bao felt a surge of optimism. He was not alone—he'd never been alone. Catalina didn't know it yet, but her life was about to change. She wasn't alone anymore, either.

As they walked out of the Violeta forest, Jay pointed to their right. A large rectangular warehouse looked abandoned. His brother jogged over and looked in the window. "It's huge, with one big empty area and some smaller rooms at the far end. And it is for rent," he added, holding up a small sign that had been in the window.

Lan nodded. "With it situated right at the edge of the field, we can set up an entrance into the flower forest coming out the back of the building. We won't be noticed. And it's big enough for just about anything. It doesn't really matter what is inside. We can make this work."

Bard grinned. "Give me the information. I'll take care of renting it. If I need to, I can replicate the Andaran's voice, or close to it anyway. I studied it for the password at his house. It might come in handy for this if they won't agree to terms."

Bao slowed when they neared the house Cat was in. Everything looked quiet. But he wouldn't leave her without backup. "We need to have someone near Cat and these other women at all times. Preferably by the window she goes through at night. Just in case she needs help."

Jay agreed. "It's a good idea. I'll set up a blind so that no one from the street will see us when we're in that little alley. And I'll block it from the other end of the house. We can change out every few hours. More when Reb gets here. I've got the first watch." He walked away and soon disappeared from their sight.

Bao knew he was using an illusion to hide his body. Jay could set small mirror-like illusions, like what it would take to keep anyone seeing them in the alley, and anchor the magic, so no matter which brother monitored Cat, they would remain hidden. Having someone watch over Cat, right outside her window, made him feel so much better.

Catalina said her top priorities were to ensure the Andaran couldn't escape the planet on one of his many ships and to empty all his caches of money and credits. Knowing this gave Bao a place to start. Her third action item was to locate each slave and set them free. If they couldn't be freed immediately—at least when the time came, they would know where each woman was located and if she were healthy. Cat wanted some of the Andaran's money to help each of the slaves.

BaOBy would bet his own money that all the slaves would turn out to be women.

Contacting the DoMicile and all his brothers was Bao's first priority. He needed them all to brainstorm how to help his mate. Plus, if more of them were back on the planet, it would ensure he had the resources to handle Cat's list. He figured if they could land one spaceship in that field, they could land two.

Bao climbed the stairs to the rooftop garden. Lan and Bol sat next to him on the blanket. Lan stuck his hand out. "I'll take the list of ships in his personal spaceport. Let's see what we have to choose from."

Bol held his hand out, too. "Give me the building information. I'll study the layout and before the sun comes up, I'll go check the location and security."

This meant Bao could study the list of locations where the Andaran had stashed away credits. It made sense to him that besides needing a ship, he'd want plenty of money, too. Why trust that he'd have time to get to another stash? There had to be money on or around the ships. When they went to the hidden spaceport later today, Bao planned to take care of his number one priority and a couple of Cat's at the same time.

It was quiet for only a few minutes before Lan whistled. "Siluthien Hell, Captain! That kacking Andaran has an Astro Stealth Cruiser 3000!"

Bol clutched his chest as if he were having a heart attack and fell back into the basket of Yama fruit.

Bao blinked, and a grin spread across his face. He said a quick thank you prayer to the universe and sighed, knowing none of them would sleep tonight. There would be no rest until the brothers discovered if the ASC 3000 was in that building.

Spoils of war…

What his mate called the hidden spaceport warehouse turned out to be larger than most cities. They walked past the Andaran's compound until the street ended and there were no more buildings. They walked in what was essentially a desert for several more miles. Then climbed a small hill and looked down. At a huge, shiny… retractable roof.

There were no guards and only a few cameras on the outside of the building. There was no alarm system. It made little sense to Bao. Cat's notes said Jacanas believed no one but his mechanics knew the building existed. And he trusted they wouldn't try anything. Because they knew the Andaran would kill them.

Lan got the brothers through the door without detection. They waited in the dark while he verified there were no cameras on the inside.

When the lights went on—every single one of his brothers gasped—and ran for the center of the building.

"I call spoils of war," Lan whispered.

Bao ginned. His brother wasn't afraid of calling attention to them. The awed whisper was a sign of respect. "We aren't fighting a war."

Yet, he knew if they ever needed to, this was the ship that would keep them all alive. This ship had several layers. The outer layer was not only extremely resistant to damage, but it was also self-repairing. It could take a massive blast or run through a meteor shower and within hours, all the damage would be fixed.

Lan scoffed. "We will be. Even if there is just one casualty, it's a war. I want that ship."

"We all want that ship," Bao agreed. "But is it the best choice for the job?"

All four brothers turned away from the ship of their dreams and looked out at the enormous building filled with all sorts of spacecraft. After only two seconds of comparison, they all said, "Yes!" then giggled.

It was amazing what the sight of the top-of-the-line Astro Stealth Cruiser could do to all of them. Jay wasn't here. He watched over Bao's mate while the rest of them checked out the private spaceport full of… well, pretty much everything any pilot or space explorer needed. Even though Jay wasn't with them, he was hollering Yes in their minds.

Bao already knew this big, matte black, beautiful ship was exactly the right one for this job. The med bay was state-of-the-art, there was no communication system harder to track, and… the 3000 was big enough to hall a city full of slaves to safety. He didn't want it just because it was beautiful. It had a transportation bay, a large storage hold, and several floors of crew bedrooms that could be configured into single or family units. The kitchen was modern and had every convenience, including high-end replicators designed to mimic the food from any planet.

The navigation deck had every feature available. The security system not only provided cloaking for this ship, but it could also track any other ship out there… regardless of whether or not the ship was supposed to be invisible. The only spacecraft it couldn't track was another ASC 3000. There weren't enough of them to worry about. This ship was the newest model, and the most expensive. While he may have dreamed about this ship, he would never spend the amount of money it would take to buy one. But he sure as hell planned to take this one from the Andaran.

Bao didn't just want the Astro Cruiser. There were several additional items in the building that were on his list as well. Pointing to the far corner, he told Bol, "There are two six-man hovers over there. I don't see any larger ones. If the ASC doesn't already have something that big, load those in the transportation bay."

He turned to Lan. "See that big airjack? Jacanas has a hidden safe in the side bathroom. We have the password, but I think we should just load the entire thing, including the airjack. Stick both of them in the hold."

Bard pointed with his chin. "Look at that wall. There are jet suits, spacesuits, and more tools than any mechanic would ever use. Our brothers would never forgive us if we didn't take those, too."

Bao nodded. "We have six hours before dark. Decide what we are leaving behind and make sure it won't fly or work. Then load everything else inside the ASC. I'm going to go through the larger ships that won't fit in the ASC's transportation bay and check out the Andaran's cabins. Cat's notes indicate that each of his private cabins has a safe with cash and information discs. We want everything of value and any records he decided were worth secreting away."

Bard threw him a big black duffle. "Here, use this. If you fill it up, just set in on the floor and I'll load them on the Cruiser. I'll scatter empty duffels throughout the warehouse so we can all just shove smaller items inside them if we see something we want."

For the next several hours, there were no words spoken. The brothers did what came naturally—they used their inherent mental connection. If they didn't know if they needed an object, the brother would look at the item and sketch a question mark. The others would nod or shake their head for group consensus.

Starting at the walls, they quickly worked toward the middle.

Which was right where the Astro Stealth Cruiser 3000 was parked, under the retractable portion of the roof. After they finished going through the building, finished taking parts and pieces off the other spaceships to ensure they wouldn't fly without a great deal of work, and finished loading all the spoils of their particular war onto their new spaceship—they headed for the navigation deck.

Captain BaOBy sat in the extremely plush captain's chair on the incredibly luxurious ASC and took control for the first time. His heartbeat raced when he put the ship into stealth mode. Once they cleared the hidden spaceport, he headed right for the Violeta forest.

Lan reached out to Reb and his woman to see where the hover was, while Bao contacted the DoMicile. He wanted a video call with all his brothers and their new mates within thirty minutes.