Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

Anna

S inking? Lashe and I rushed to the front of the ship where the screens were alive with warnings detailing what was happening. I could read Destran, so I took in the information alongside Lashe with dawning horror. Something beneath the surface was dragging us down, crushing us into the surface.

Lashe threw himself into his seat. His hands flew over the controls he knew so well after all this time. “It’s trying to crush the ship,” he said. “I’ve never seen an asteroid increase its gravity before.”

“Asteroids aren’t even supposed to have much gravity,” I said.

“This one does,” he said between his teeth. “Or rather, the creature inside of it does.”

The ship was making some interesting noises. A groaning sound, along with a sickening vibration, made a shiver of fear run up my spine. “How is the ship holding up?” I asked nervously.

“Hull integrity is holding. Whatever this creature is, it didn’t count on slagrian alloy, which is one of the newest and strongest metals produced in your quadrant. It would take tremendous effort to crush us.”

I glanced out the viewport and saw the sharp shine of metal glinting through the sand. The remnants of past doomed ships were newly exposed, as the vibrations shook up the dust outside. “It looks like others have not been so fortunate.”

He grunted. “ We will not be so fortunate if we cannot break free of this place. Our captor is getting impatient.” He glanced up at me. “We’re not going to be able to wait for someone to answer our distress call.”

“Suggestions?” The moans and groans and creaking sounds from the ship were getting louder. The ship was beginning to shake. I gripped the back of the other chair.

“I will do a thermal burn to the ventral hull. If this is, in fact, an organism, that won’t feel good.”

“Assuming it has pain receptors.” I’d encountered plenty of unique forms of intelligent life as an ambassador, enough to not assume that other beings felt things like humanoids did.

“Yes, assuming that.” He shook his head. “It’s risky. It’s going to get hot in here real quick.”

“Just do it,” I said. “This creature is way too determined to kill us.”

“Agreed. You should sit for this.” His hands moved over the controls quickly as the shuttle listed to one side. “Hold on.”

The lights inside the cabin turned crimson, and I gasped as heat engulfed the cabin. It was hot, suddenly. A roaring sound whooshed beneath us. Dust bellowed, obscuring the view.

“Just another moment,” he said. “This is going to leave a burn mark.”

I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth as the red light throbbed through my eyelids and alarms wailed through the cabin. “Stelis, can you turn off the noise?”

“Yes, Anna.” It immediately went quiet, except for the outside noises. “Temperature approaching thirty-nine degrees Celsius,” said Stelis in an alarmed tone. “Forty-two degrees and rising. Forty-four—”

“Stelis, stop,” I gasped.

“Almost done,” said Lashe, and he disengaged the burn. The shaking and groaning stopped. The shuttle was quiet, as if the whole structure—and us—was releasing a breath of relief. “The gravity has returned to its previous levels,” said Lashe. “I don’t think it liked that.”

“ I didn’t like that,” I said, wiping sweat off my brow. My hands were shaking. I felt a little lightheaded. That was hot .

“It was far hotter out there,” he said. “As I hoped, the being that has us trapped here didn’t like that.” His eyes moved over the readout that now gave a diagnostic of the state of the ship. His brows rose. “Well, here’s one positive thing,” he said. “One of the two remaining clogged exhaust ducts has been cleared, thanks to that.”

“That’s great news.” I sat up straighter. “Does that mean we can do another burn and clear out the other one?”

“No way. If we do that again, we will lose half of our electronic systems. That was a one-time burn. As you heard, by the alarms, the ship was not pleased by that action.”

“Crap,” I said. “We have one more duct to clean out and then we might be able to get off this horrible creature.” I was done calling it an asteroid. There was nothing inert about the thing we were trapped on.

“It’s patient, but not for much longer,” he agreed. “It wants us. I don’t think it’s used to ships as fortified as this one is.”

“If we take off or try to, do you think it will increase the gravity again?”

“It’s possible,” he said. “So we will need all the power we can get.”

“Hold on.” I held up a hand. “Can we take off with one clogged exhaust duct?”

“Not without burning up,” he said. “Look. I’m going to go out there tomorrow to finish the job.” He looked at me, face determined. “It has to be done.”

Fear leapt into my chest, tightening my heart. “It will know you’re out there and will start up that wind again. I can’t risk losing you now.”

He leaned over from his seat to be closer to mine. “Anna, we are running out of water. We are running out of time. Eventually, we will also run out of air.” He reached out, took my hand, and brought my knuckles to his lips. “I will not lose you. If anything happens to me, Stelis can fly the ship. She knows what to do.”

“Yes, I do, Lashe.” Stelis’ voice sounded through the cabin. “But I am also not in favor of you risking your life, considering how much Anna’s hormone levels fluctuate when you are near her.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “That’s very illuminating, Stelis, but I’m sure Anna’s safety is your highest priority.”

“Of course,” said Stelis. “But your death would have a deeply negative impact on her well-being as well. Anna’s heart rate rises and her levels of estrogen and oxytocin increase when you are in physical contact. Since I am an adaptive AI assistant, the needs and desires of my primary owner highly impact my priority level and courses of action.”

“Oh my god, Stelis,” I moaned, my face burning. “I’m having this implant removed the moment we’re back on Earth.”

“Negative. As an ambassador to Earth and the Destran people, you are bound by contracts and laws to have your health monitored by an external assistant, such as myself.”

“Fuck me,” I muttered.

“I am not programmed to do that, Anna,” Stelis said chidingly. “However. Lashe may be more than willing to—”

“Stop talking, Stelis,” I said, shutting that down. I didn’t want to even think about the color of my face, which had to have been nearly purple. Even Lashe’s skin was quite the interesting combination of red and fuchsia. It was riveting to see the different changes on his skin after so many years of seeing him in shades of dark blue and gray.

“Can I talk you out of this?” I asked. “What can I do to make you change your mind and find another solution?”

He shook his head. “Nothing. This is the only thing that makes sense. We stay here, we die. Stelis, you’ve analyzed the situation. Do you disagree? Can you think of another solution?”

There was a pause before the AI responded. “Lashe, we have independently and cooperatively explored every option. Without releasing that fourth duct from the irradiated dust that is clogging it, there is no way we can break free of this being, considering its capabilities. Unfortunately, manual cleaning is the only way to ensure that this shuttle will break free of this creature.”

He spread his hands. “There.”

I grimaced and dropped my face into my hands. “Fine,” I snarled. “ Fucking fine. But we’re finding a way of doing this where we can get you back on this ship. This living asteroid is not taking you from me. I only just found you.”

Wide hands gripped my shoulders. “Are you saying you care for me?”

I looked up, surprised he was even asking that question. “Of course, I care for you.”

He frowned and shook his head. “There’s nothing ‘of course’ about it and you know it. Don’t give me hope if there’s none to be had. Do you care for me, Anna?”

Ah, so here it was. A moment of truth. I took a deep breath, knowing that if there was ever a time to speak from the heart, this was it. “Yes, dammit. I care for you. These past few days on this shuttle with you have meant more to me than the last five years of dating idiots who broke up with me because I wasn’t able to cancel a trip to go to their cousin’s wedding, or because I wasn’t enough in some indefinable way.” I looked up at him, gazing into his green eyes that all but sparked with desire. “Knowing those marks are on you means something to me. I’ve been around Destrans long enough to know that the mate marks are not a joke. They’re not a choice, and I don’t want to lose out on a chance for both of us to find happiness by losing you out there to this creature.”

“Anna,” he said in a ragged voice. “I don’t want to lose you either. Don’t you understand that? But I would rather die out there, if it means you will be able to find your way safely home.” The colors over his face were brilliant, chaotic. “My choice is made. I need you to accept that.”

My emotions overwhelmed me, flooding me with feelings of injustice, anger, frustration. I finally found someone who was meant for me. My soulmate. My fated mate. It was so rare to have the mate marks. I had seen happiness on my friend Sybil and her mate, Damiron.

I wanted that, too—a partner to share life with. I had found it with Lashe, and I could potentially lose him tomorrow. There was no talking him out of his decision. I knew in my heart and soul, and in my brain, that it was the only solution. The creature holding us was probably already recalibrating its strategy. The next time it attacked, it may have a way to take apart the ship and devour us. All that would remain would be a few scraps of metal on the surface.

“Stelis, start working on the safest way for Lashe to do this tomorrow. Highest probability of him getting back in the shuttle alive.”

“Already working on it, Anna,” she replied.

I turned back to Lashe. “Tonight is Christmas Eve. It’s a very old, special holiday for many people on Earth. I have a few gifts that I intended to give, but I don’t know if I ever will, so we might as well enjoy them.”