Epilogue

Z aandr strode onto the bridge, eager to report that his friend had woken. K'alvek was standing with his legs wide and his arms clasped behind his back as he stared at the wide view screen. They were hurtling through space, the stars streaks of white light, as they flew to their next destination.

The Dothvek with black slash marks down both sides of his chest pivoted on one heel, inclining his head at Zaandr. "Any word?"

"Rixx is awake and well." Just saying the words made them even more real to Zaandr. Like the rest off the crew, he had been worried when they'd gotten Rixx back to the ship, but Rixx was still his closest friend and he had felt responsible for him being left behind on Kurril. Every moment the Dothvek had laid in the med bay without waking had been torture.

K'alvek released a heavy breath. "The goddesses be praised."

"He will not be ready for battle yet, but Tegan assures me he will fight again."

"Let's hope there isn't a reason to fight again for a while," the pilot, Caro said as she swiveled around in her seat. "Our next bounty should be an easy one."

Danica, the human captain and K'alvek's mate, groaned from the captain's chair. "Don't jinx it."

Caro laughed. "It couldn't go worse than our simple supply stop on Kurril."

Danica stood, to reveal that she was wearing her sleeping baby in a sling across her chest. "If there was any wood on this ship, I would be touching it."

Zaandr did not know what that meant, but since working with the bounty hunters, he had learned that they held some strange customs and beliefs.

K'alvek walked to Danica and gently touched their baby's head, murmuring words in Dothvek. Before Zaandr could leave the bridge, a sharp beep startled them all.

Danica quickly jiggled the baby and made shushing sounds while Caro tapped her console.

"Incoming transmission," the pilot said, furrowing her brow, "from the Dothvek home world."

K'alvek stiffened and glanced at Zaandr. There was limited communication with their planet because the Dothveks who had remained preferred not to embrace technology, which meant that if they wished to get a message to the bounty hunting ship and any of the Dothveks aboard, they had to do it through the Cresteks, who were their former enemies. It meant a trek across the sands to the Crestek city and a trip up to the top of a tall tower where the communication hub for the planet was maintained. It was not a small thing to send a transmission off-world to the bounty hunting ship, which meant it was either very good news or very bad.

"On screen," K'alvek and Danica said at the same time.

Caro grinned as she tapped her console again, and the view of space vanished, replaced by the image of a gold-skinned female. But she was not a Dothvek female. She was Crestek.

Zaandr's pulse spiked as he recognized the beautiful dark-haired female.

"I am Linnea," she said, her voice every bit as regal as her expression. "I am the new Crestek chancellor."

"I am K'alvek." He paused, as if choosing his words carefully. "Is there a reason you have contacted us?"

Linnea's expression changed and she darted a glance behind her. "I need your help. I fear for my life—and for the life of the Dothvek ambassador."

Dothvek ambassador?

K'alvek seemed as startled as him. "There has never been a Dothvek ambassador. No Dothvek has ever wanted to leave the sands for the city."

"This one did not either," Linnea admitted, "but I persuaded him."

Zaandr had a feeling persuaded was not the right word. There was a Dothvek who had been forced to serve in the Crestek city, and now he was in danger?

"Change course," K'alvek ordered, his voice humming with anger. "We are returning to the Dothvek home world."

Thank you for reading GUARD!