Drasus

She is gone. My mate and one of the other females, an unmated one, has gone. I glare at Draco, staring out over the control center of the Golden Orion. I'm being held by two Sarkarnii because otherwise I will kill him.

"Can we activate the launch codes with just Drasus, or do we need his mate?" Draco says calmly.

I snarl as loud as I can.

"Nev it, Drasus, we want to get your mate as much as you do." Drega works over a brightly lit console, which I have a vague memory of using. "If you could put as much effort into remembering how to be a Sarkarnii warrior as you do snarling, it would be more assistance."

There is a soft chime from his console, and he looks over to where Daeos stands. "Try now," he says.

Daeos presses a sequence of codes into the console in front of him as Draco stares out at the wall in front of the ship.

"Mags are detaching," Daeos says, not lifting his head from his work.

"Are the hangar doors opening?" Draco asks, tilting his head.

"Not yet," Drega says.

"They need to open if we're detached, or we will hit them," Draco says, folding his arms.

"I am aware of how the Golden Orion works, brother," Drega says through gritted teeth. "Give me a moment."

"Nev it to the ancestors," I growl. "Release me and let me do it."

Draco gives those holding me a nod, and I shove Drega aside, the knowledge of what I need to do flowing into me and out of my fingers as I add in what is necessary in order to hold the ship where she is and find the relevant frequency and codes within the system.

Nothing is going to keep me from my mate, not a useless band of nevvers who don't know how to operate their own ship or my memory.

Coral is mine, and anyone who dares to take her from me will pay the ultimate price. Death is too good for them.

Ahead, there is a crack in the wall and the doors to the hangar slowly shift outwards.

"Good to have you back, Drasus." Draco grins at me, smoke curling from his nostrils.

"I'm here to get my mate, nothing more, nothing less," I respond, guiding the ship through the opening and out into the stars.

There is a collective cheer from all around me.

"We are free, my warrior." Drega grabs my shoulder, his tail lashing with joy.

"Freedom is nothing if they have my mate." I snarl.

Draco walks straight up to me. Only the tip of his shifted tail gives away his agitation.

"What did you say, warrior?" he asks in a voice which can only bode ill.

I care not for myself, for my body. I made a promise to Coral, and I will keep it.

"Freedom is nothing if they have my mate," I repeat, emphasizing the growl. "All of this is naught if others in the galaxy think they can take what belongs to the Sarkarnii."

There is absolute silence on the ship. Not a rustle of wings, not a rasp of scales. Draco narrows his eyes. He looks at his two brothers, Draxx and Drega.

I brace myself for the onslaught, readying for a fight I will not win, but by the ancestors I will try, even if I have to negotiate the emptiness of space by myself.

Smoke issues from Draco's nose as he considers me carefully.

"This is what a warrior should be," he says. "No matter what he has been through, he battles for his mate and for the Sarkarnii. This is the reason I brought us to the Kirakos, not only for the fight, but for the mapping system which will allow us to find our mates, no matter where they are in the universe."

He places a hand on my shoulder and looks hard into my eyes.

"I know you are in there, Drasus. We all do. And we will find your mate, no matter what."

I feel the smoke rising within me, the anger I felt at what seemed like an empty victory for these warriors disappearing.

"For that, Captain, I thank you," I reply.

"He remembered I am his captain!" Draco grins at the others.

His claws dig into my shoulder, and I'm pulled close to him.

"I will do anything for my warriors, Drasus, but I will not stand insubordination. Do not question me again," he rasps in my ear before pushing me free of him and clapping me on the back.

If I had no memory of Draco as my leader, I do now.

He was the Sarkarnii we followed, the one who saved us, if not the rest of our kind, from the destruction of our planet. He led us into riches and into the Kirakos.

And he will never leave a warrior, or his mate, behind.

My heart swells this time at the thumping of feet on the floor and tails against consoles as the rest of the crew struggle to contain their shift.

"Draco." I dip my head to my leader.

He nods in response.

I have the whole of the ship and the best warriors in the galaxy.

Now all we have to do is find my mate before I end up doing something I regret.