Chapter 19

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Arkness was quick in his perimeter search, returning in just minutes, a faint sheen of sweat glistening on his brow from the speedy effort.

“All clear,” he announced. “No signs of anyone in the immediate area.

Rykker nodded, his eyes remaining on his task. “It looks like we came down far from any recorded encampments, so the ship should be safe here.”

“We can hope.”

“I am confident. I also reviewed our last aerial imaging scans and pieced together a rough map of what seem to be the crashed sections of the Raxxian ship.”

Olivia’s ears perked up. “Wait, did you say sections, plural?”

Rykker paused his work, turning to the human. “Yes. There are several that came down in this area, though a few were discernably unsurvivable. You are aware that Raxxian transport ships are designed to protect their livestock, are you not?”

“I am.”

“Then you understand their protocols for preserving as much of their captured livestock as possible in the event of a catastrophic failure of their ship. Or, in this case, an attack, as is clear from the residual blast energy I detected. Now, if you look at this map, can you tell me which section was the one you left your friend in?”

The image hovered in the air in front of her, showing several downed Raxxian compartments.

“I don’t know. I wasn’t looking from above, and all of these seem pretty close to streams, so I can’t really say which it might be. But hang on a minute. You guys are all high tech. Can’t you just scan them for life signs?”

Arkness and Rykker chuckled, a rare, shared moment of amusement.

“What?” Olivia asked with a sour tone. The men’s amusement ceased immediately.

“Apologies,” Arkness replied. “It is just that Raxxians are well known for two things—eating anything that is not Raxxian, and building their containment units out of Blandonium.”

“Blandonium? What the hell kind of word is that?”

“It is the name of the alloy they use to shield their livestock areas from scans. It makes it difficult for anyone to make claim their people have been taken without the ability to prove it. And without proof, most will not dare openly attack without documented provocation or cause.”

Rykker nodded his agreement. “However, we should be cognizant that there are other search technologies running in the general area besides ours. I masked our scan so they would not detect it, but it is clear there are more parties than just us examining the downed Raxxian vessels.”

That was all Olivia needed to hear. “Then we need to get going. Now!”

“The ship’s propulsion system is damaged. It will fly, but at suboptimal capacity. In addition, with the damage to our shielding systems, I think it is fair to say that from what I have detected we will need to make the approach on foot to avoid detection.”

“Can you fix it?” she asked, glancing between the men.

“Do not look at me for this matter. Rykker is the more skilled technician,” Arkness noted, his chest puffing with a little arrogance. “I, however, am the better pilot. I can fly pretty much anything .”

“That’s great, but what about the ship?”

Ryker nodded confidently. “I can fix it, yes.”

Arkness shook his head. “There is no time to waste. You yourself said that others have noted the crash. They could be salvagers. Possibly worse. And if there are injured, I have the most medical training should it be needed.”

Olivia didn’t like the sound of that. Not one bit. “You said worse than salvagers?”

“Yes. Regardless, we are few in number and avoiding conflict is paramount. We must split up to better cover more ground given the situation.”

Rykker walked to Olivia and put his hand on her shoulder a bit possessively, ushering her closer to him. “We will go this direction. You branch off that way.”

Anger flared in Arkness’s eyes. “No. She will go with me .”

Rykker matched his angry look in kind. “No, she will not .”

The tension between them had abruptly flared from a smoldering ember to an open flame, and Olivia could actually smell each of their scents spike in intensity with the conflict. Strangely, the new ink on her chest was also doing something strange in response. The Infala felt like it was churning under her skin, and it was not comfortable at all. In fact, it was a sensation so distracting she had to sit down to compose herself while the men argued.

Arkness’s jaw flexed hard. “I am the senior companion. It is my right,” he growled, fists clenching in anger.

“You are senior only because you are literally days older than I am, not based on skill or merit.”

“The rules are the rules,” Arkness shot back, momentarily silencing his rival with this simple fact of their upbringing.

Rykker thought on it a long moment, his pulse now visible in his neck. “Fine,” he finally replied, his low baritone rumbling with displeasure. “If you want rules, so be it. I invoke the right of challenge.”

Arkness laughed, though to any watching closely his surprise would have been apparent in his gaze. “Challenge? You?”

“You heard me. Do you accept? Or do you concede?”

“You know the answer.”

“An answer which must be spoken aloud. As you say, the rules are the rules.”

Arkness pulled his shirt off and rolled his shoulders. “I accept.”

His counterpart did the same, doffing his top and loosening up with a quick shake-out of his arms and neck. “Then let’s get to it.”

Arkness was already in motion before Rykker had uttered the last word, his massive fist flying square at his opponent’s chin.

Rykker expected no less from him, having trained alongside his rival his entire life. He ducked aside, delivering a quick punch to the ribs as he moved laterally to gain a better angle. Arkness, however, had also paid attention to their training sessions, and he’d taken the blow in anticipation of countering his opponent’s counterstrike.

His elbow flew in a quick arc, hammering Rykker across the jaw. The sturdily built man took it with ease, a low kick to the leg flying immediately, followed by a spinning hammer fist. Arkness blocked the former but was forced to absorb the latter, his thick neck acting as a shock absorber for the impact.

The taller man hooked his arm over Rykker’s shoulder, throwing his hip hard against him, pulling with all his might to yank him off his feet. Rykker, however, was familiar with the move. They had trained under the same teachers, after all. He pushed his forearm against Arkness’s lower back and slid to the side, stepping back to gain distance, but not before landing a parting jab.

The two lunged forward, grabbing one another hard as they transitioned into violent wrestling, each trying to force the other to the ground.

Olivia, though still a bit dazed from her churning Infala, nevertheless pushed up to her feet, forcing her way into the mix.

“Stop it, you two!” she shouted.

Incredibly, the men’s aggressions ceased immediately as soon as she was involved. They stepped back, breathing hard, skin chafed in a few places from the encounter but otherwise unharmed. But Olivia wasn’t done with them. Not by a long shot.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? What are you, a couple of twelve-year-olds?”

“He issued a challenge,” Arkness meekly replied.

“Oh, and you just have to accept it? This isn’t some dick-measuring contest.”

“Mine is longer,” Ryker quipped with a little grin.

“In your dreams,” Arkness shot back.

“For fuck’s sake, will you two stop it? Knock it off! You’re ridiculous. Both of you.”

Arkness picked his shirt up from the ground and slid it back on. “I am senior. You should accompany me.”

She got a good whiff of him as he donned his clothing, and the combination of sweat and combat had made him even more appealing than before. Even after her prior night with Rykker, she couldn’t help what her body was doing of its own accord.

“The challenge still stands,” Rykker countered, reluctantly putting his own shirt back on.

Olivia sighed. I’m going to have to be the adult here, it seems . “Okay, listen,” she said, moving to Rykker.

He smiled victoriously. It would not last.

“We need this ship to be able to fly when we find Harper, right?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re the only one who can fix it, right?”

He did not like where this was going. “Yes, again,” he replied.

“Then it’s settled. This isn’t playing favorites. This is the logical, tactical decision. Rykker, you get this ship fixed while I go with Arkness to rescue Harper.”

“But I can make the repairs quickly,” he protested.

“That’s great, but we don’t have time to wait. If you get it working, you go look at the other crash sites. Arkness was right. We need to cover as much ground as we can, as fast as we can. If there really are others searching the area, we can’t afford any more delays.”

Arkness managed to keep his victorious grin to a minimum. “She is right,” he said. “Especially if Raxxians might be in the mix. We would not want them finding her friend before we do.”

Rykker hated to admit it, but the logic was sound. He took a breath, settling his mind and pounding heart, then nodded once. “Very well. Go.” He locked eyes with his rival. “And Arkness, you will be on your best behavior.”

To his credit, Arkness didn’t smile or laugh, but the amusement in his eyes was clear. “Of course. I always do my best.”

“That’s not what I said. I?—”

“Enough. We all get it,” Olivia interrupted. “Let’s go already. Lead the way, we’re wasting daylight.”

“As you wish.” Arkness replied, then shouldered the small pack with a day’s worth of supplies and stared walking, the human woman following close behind.

Olivia looked back, meeting Rykker’s defeated stare. She flashed him a grin and a wink, then was gone, vanishing into the woods, leaving him to his task.