Coral

Jade flicks two sets of fingers up at the weird contraption, something which looks like it was made by a steampunk aficionado on magic mushrooms. We both hear the whirr and the click which indicates it's taken our image.

It feels vaguely old-fashioned, but at least Jade is having a good time, although her suggestion of weapons has me slightly on edge.

The holographer, a pale blue-skinned alien swathed in brightly colored fabrics who doesn't say much but smiles with a mouth full of shark-like teeth way too much, scuttles past us.

"What now?" I ask Emilie.

"The images will be processed, and you'll get an activation plate."

"Full size?"

"Full size."

"And then what do we do with them?" Jade asks.

"We put them on Emilie's ship, make sure the Bognarok and any others see us." I put bunny ears around us for Jade's benefit.

"Then I set the autopilot, and they follow the holo-stamp of you!" Emilie claps her paws together.

"She's got it," Jade says, flipping her long hair over her shoulder.

We've both been able to have a long shower as well as being fitted out with the most amazing outfits, in a place where we were measured by machine and then told to describe what we wanted to wear, then allowing the machine to deliver us a set of clothing we might like, based on the options we chose.

Jade is sporting a black stretchy jumpsuit and the leather biker jacket she was craving, along with a pair of boots which were definitely made for stomping.

I admit, I was very tempted by Jade's outfit, given she looked appropriately "bad-ass," as she put it. I'm pretty sure Ruby'll have a fit when she sees her, given I'm sure this is the look she wants but due to her pregnancy has had to give up.

I was going to go for practical trousers, but the second I saw the dress, I knew it was mine. Short at the front, long and swishy at the back, it's the most impractical pale green, and I love it. I'm wearing it over a pair of leggings which are so soft it's as if I'm not wearing anything and a pair of biker boots which I know I'll have to fight Jade for when this is all over. The outfit, all topped off by a butter soft suede-like jacket in a dark gray, flows in a waterfall over me.

I am absolutely ready to face down anything and anyone who gets in the way of my plan.

"She has got it." I grin back at Jade.

"What does a girl need to do around here to get something to eat?" she asks.

I'm just about to ask Emilie when a bright orange biped with what can only be described as tubes hanging out of his back rushes into the holographer's suite, trips and slides across the floor on his front, and comes to a halt at our feet.

"Human females!" he says, his all black eyes blinking up at both of us.

"Fuck!" Jade throws her head back and looks up at the ceiling. "Will we ever be anything else in the universe other than fucking ‘human females'? Gah!"

"Probably not," I reply, distracted by the weirdness of this new species.

The tubes actually seem attached to his skin, in the places not covered by a stiff white toga. My mind is officially boggled.

"There are Sarkarnii, looking for you," he gasps.

My heart nearly stops. I might be a doctor, but it's the only way I can describe the feeling of freezing so hard I'm not sure I can move.

"What color?" I whisper hoarsely, amazed I can even make a sound.

"Green," he replies.

My heart rolls over and drops into my boots. At least Draxx is alive.

"And pink and…" He sucks in a deep breath. "A purple one who is going to eat us all alive, including you, female!" he garbles out.

Jade doubles up with laughter.

"Oh, one of us is going to get eaten alive, I'm sure of it." She guffaws. "But not all of us."

"Seriously?" I look at her, and she flaps a hand at me, holding her middle, now unable to speak.

"Are you absolutely sure one of them was purple?" I ask.

The strange orange tube man nods vigorously and then checks over his shoulder, causing me to peer outside of the holostudio in the hope Drasus might appear.

"You should leave. The Sarkarnii are trouble," he says and then, scrambling to his feet, the tubes flopping everywhere, he takes off at top speed.

"What a very strange…alien," I say to no one in particular.

Jade throws her arm around my shoulder. "But it sounds like big, bad, and purple has come to save you, so it was worth the weirdness."

"It does, doesn't it?" I say, unable to stop myself from grinning like an idiot. "Drasus is here."

Drasus is here, on Harbar. I have a plan which means we're no longer a threat to the Sarkarnii freedom. Even a strange orange alien who seems to think the Sarkarnii are going to eat them is not a downer. I don't want to believe it, but I want to believe it.

"If the Sarkarnii are here, then it's time for my revenge,," Jade says with that slightly manic look in her eye. "I can't wait."

"Coral!" Emilie comes skidding into the holosuite.

"Did you hear? Drasus, Draxx, and Drelix are here! In Harbar!" Joy bubbles up inside me. A joy I wasn't sure I'd feel again.

"I know, and the Golden Orion is on its way, but so are the Bogarok, and they're coming with reinforcements."

"Fuck it," I swear. "Can we get your ship away in time?"

"I'm not sure. Is the holo-disc ready yet?" Emilie looks around for the holographer.

"I'll go check," Jade says, clearly ready to kick someone for something.

"We've got to let them think we left. It's the only way to ensure the Bogarok don't use us against the Sarkarnii."

"If Draco is coming, he will be able to defend Harbar for a short while. The ship needs restocking. We just have to hope it'll be long enough," Emilie says, but from her tone, she has doubts.

"And I need to get to Drasus. Which way should I go?"

Emilie points down the broad boulevard which is lined with traders. "Follow the signs shaped like this." She makes a triangle shape with her furry fingers. "They'll take you to the main hangar where your mate is."

"Tell Jade where I've gone when she gets the disc," I call over my shoulder, already running out the door. "And come and meet me."

The Sarkarnii are here! Drasus is here! I'm almost singing it out loud because my body is filled to the brim with pure, pure light.

I should have never doubted my feelings for him, my desire for him. Drasus is as much a part of me as I am a part of him. He promised he would keep my safe. I know now I need to make a promise to him. I need to promise we will always be together.

Then everything turns sideways as the first blast hits and the ground seems to crumble under my feet.