Chapter 25

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

It was a little bit difficult, but Margot was on a mission for her man, and she managed to pull her mind out of the gutter long enough to gather a rather respectable selection of berries. She also collected several varieties of the many interesting fruits Braxxos had introduced her to.

She foraged with purpose, looking for specific treats not at random but guided by the type of terrain around her, walking a bit farther than she'd planned to find the best treats possible based on the places they tended to grow.

One in particular was one of Braxxos's favorites. It was a softball-sized fruit and had a dark, thick, and spiky skin, almost like a lizard's protective hide but with cactus-like protrusions. But inside? Inside was one of the most unusual and delicious things she'd ever eaten. Like a mix of several tropical fruits, all mixed together in one firm but custardy bite.

If you didn't know what you were doing, it would be a challenge to access the treasure inside, but once you knew the trick, it was actually quite simple. All you had to do was poke the end with a stick to hold it in place then drag a rock across it to break off the pointy bits and you were good to go. That is, if you could find the elusive fruit.

They were a bit hard to track down, he'd told her, requiring a bit of extra sleuthing on the part of the forager. Unlike so many fruits, these were not bright and easy to find but rather naturally camouflaged and a real pain in the ass to locate.

"He's worth it," she reminded herself when after a particularly long diversion to track down a patch left her with a few unexpected pokes to her hands. "But damn, that stings."

She looked at her hands a half hour later, curious just how efficient their blood-bond healing factor was.

"Well, I'll be," she muttered, amazed as the tiny scabs fell off to reveal pink scar tissue beneath.

Of course, these were tiny, shallow punctures, but even so, it was amazing to see.

"Could have really used that trick when I was learning to roller-skate," she chuckled to herself, remembering the countless scrapes and scratches she'd endured as a young girl.

Margot looked up at the sky. It would be dusk soon. Time to head back. She'd walked a fairly long way in her meandering, weaving search, but heading back would be a straightforward endeavor.

She felt the thrumming heat of her Infala growing slightly stronger as she walked closer to home. Closer to her mate. Her belly was a warm bundle of happiness the likes of which she'd never imagined possible. She was so content. So happy. So in love, despite having really only known Braxxos for an incredibly short time by Earth standards.

But this wasn't Earth. And he wasn't human. And more than that, they had that incredible symbiotic force drawing them together with so much intensity she doubted she could have resisted if she wanted to. But she had already grown fond of him before their blood had mixed. Before they shared pigment. All that had done was serve to cement what she already knew to be the truth of the situation.

She wanted this. Maybe not being stranded in the boonies of an alien world, but their relationship was all she could ask for. He was the most attentive, caring, protective man she'd ever met, and she was proud to call him her own.

A trio of explosions shook the ground thirty meters to her left, weapons fire erupting near the blasts, aimed up to the sky. A ship dropped down hard and fast, crushing through the trees with a sickening roar, splintering the branches and trunks like toothpicks as the mass of metal hurtled to the ground.

Before it was even down the hatch opened and a team of Gromm's men stormed out, firing wildly at the unseen adversary. Margot ducked and ran, trying to get clear of the fight, but another ship came smashing down through the canopy, blocking her path as it opened up with its powerful cannons.

The roar was deafening, the destruction horrendous. Trees exploded from the blasts. Return fire sparked off the hull, but the ship seemed unharmed. Whether there was some kind of force field protecting it or not, she couldn't tell. But whatever the case, the ship clearly held the advantage.

Gruff men with flat, almost noseless faces and gray skin were scattered through the trees, firing at both of Gromm's teams. They wore armor of some sort, and all were very well armed. Better than Gromm's men, even. If not for the firepower of the two ships, there was no telling who might come out victorious in the fight.

Margot's Infala twinged hard as fear flooded her body.

What do I do? She was nearly in a panic, ready to handle so many situations, but this? This was not on the menu, and she had to think fast.

Margot gauged the direction of the heaviest combat and took off running, aiming for the gap between the groups. She was moving fast, but not fast enough. One of the gray warriors turned and saw her, a malicious smile forming on his thin lips. He raised his weapon and took aim at her.

The force with which the beast hit him threw the man into a tree so hard his body exploded despite his armor, his arms, legs, and head popping off, only his torso remaining in the protective gear.

The beast roared, huge and menacing, his enraged eyes glowing with a protective ferocity that made even the hardiest man hesitate. He tore into the fighters, plowing through warriors on both sides without care for his own safety or well-being. His eyes locked on Margot's. He had felt her distress echo in his Infala. He'd felt it, and he was coming for her.

She felt a surge of relief flood her body at the sight of him. That relief evaporated seconds later when a massive explosion erupted, blasting the beast and everyone around him for thirty meters, sending them all flying through the woods in a shockwave of destruction.

"Nooo!" she shouted just as another smaller blast took her right off her feet, hurtling her into the ground with a painful impact. She'd missed the rocks, thank God, but the force was enough to leave her dazed, regardless.

Do I have a concussion? she found herself wondering, her ears ringing from the blast as she tried and failed to rise to her feet, her legs not cooperating, sending her flopping back to the soil in a heap.

She looked with bloodshot eyes as three of the gray men no more than twenty meters away charged right for her. Her limbs were like rubber, unwilling to do what they had to. Unable to help her escape.

Even in her dizzied state she clearly saw the angry looks in the ugly men's faces with horror filling her gut. She tried to move but couldn't. She braced herself for the worst. It was all she could do.

A series of rapid-fire bursts of some different sort of weapon rang out. Projectiles, it seemed, rather than energy beams or pulse. And it was those rather large rounds that slammed into each of the gray men's armor, not deflecting as energy weapons did, but hitting hard, transferring all of that kinetic force into the armor itself. A novel approach to defeat the armor's energy blast dampening traits.

The aliens flew back off their feet. The shots had been to the chest, so they were still alive. Dazed and in pain, no doubt, but had the projectiles traveled just a little bit higher they wouldn't have had to worry about any aches and pains ever again.

Margot rolled to her side, trying to focus on the tall man towering over her. Something about the pattern she could make out was familiar. The colors. The layout. She shook her head, clearing her vision as best she could, realizing in an instant why those colors had sparked recognition.

"Rylinn?" she gasped, both in shock from the explosion that had thrown her off her feet as well as the tracker's sudden appearance in front of her.

"Hello, Margot," he replied with a little grin.

"You-you're here? You saved me! But how?"

"I had to find you, simple as that," he replied with a shrug. "I told you, I'm a rather talented tracker."

She felt a little flare of affection for the man. Nothing sexual. Not after what had happened between her and Braxxos. But she had a soft spot for this man. The first on this planet to have shown her kindness, and a bit more than just that.

I can't lead him on, she somehow managed to remind herself despite her concussion. I'll tell him all about Braxxos once we're out of this mess .

Blasts and shouting filled her ears, the sounds of battle but also more.

"The creature is over there! Get it!" someone shouted. Whether it was a gray man or one of Gromm's team she didn't know. All she knew was she had to stop them.

"Rylinn, you've got to call them off."

"Call them off? Yeah, that's not happening."

He bent down and grabbed her hard, pulling her to her unsteady feet with an iron grip.

"What are you doing? You need to stop them. You need to listen!"

He shrugged, dragging her off toward the ship. "Sorry, luv. A job's a job. And today, you're it."

"But—" she started to say.

His stun blast to her neck put a quick end to her protests.

"Got her!" he shouted to the others. "Move out!"

A moment later the ships took to the air, leaving a world of pain and ruin in their wake.