28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Faelin

I finish checking on the captured Genixarians. It was Tareq's idea to lock them up in the dark, filthy cells where they'd kept their slaves and it was accepted unanimously. I can't help but grin at them as they squeamishly hand me their waste buckets, demanding proper accommodations. My joke that we can accommodate them in an airlock doesn't amuse them, but they stop complaining, at least.

Fucking slavers. Keeping them in cells without proper facilities is still too good for them. They're lucky that the captain stopped Tareq from strangling every single one of them with his bare hands. They mistreated his female, and that is not something any Syndoran takes lightly. Or any male with a pinch of self-respect, for that matter.

I wish I had a female I could defend. I was never really interested in them before, save for fleeting encounters to quell my basic needs, but seeing how Tareq has changed makes me rethink everything. He seems so happy, so complete, as if he's finally acquired the vital part of him that's been missing.

Me? I'm missing a lot of parts. It's difficult to make a life for yourself while growing up in the slums of Yoka 5. It's even worse when you're a hybrid without a family.

I have never belonged anywhere. I never had the right color to fit in, didn't have horns or scales, not to mention a tail or wings. I'm not a Syndoran, Lakhartan, Karetelan or a member of any of the dozens of known races. I have a bit of everything and a lot of nothing. Until these guys, I didn't have anyone to call my family. It's always been just me. I was on my own for so long I forgot how to trust anyone else.

Captain Zarkan rescued me, and since then, he has been more like a father to me than my own bastard sperm donor. I worked hard to become a Voidstalker and when I joined the Nova squad, I gained something much better than a prestigious job. I gained a family. It's an odd family, but it's the only one I've ever had and I will cherish and protect them forever. Or I thought I would, at least. Now, I don't know what's going to happen, and it scares me.

Hearing footsteps behind me, I turn abruptly, my hand going to the handle of my knife. It's an old instinct but one that kept me alive throughout my childhood.

The person approaching jumps back, sucking in a startled breath. I ease my grip on the knife and smile.

It's the human. Not Tareq's female human, but the male one. He seems a little thin but I've heard from Omni that he fought well. And he was taking care of the wounded, too. Either of those would earn him my respect. Both at once makes me want to befriend him. It's a wasted effort, though, because the UGC will wipe his memory once he goes back home to his planet.

Earth. I've read up on it and it seems nice. He must be eager to go back there.

He looks anxious now, which is probably my fault. I'm a big guy. Also, I'm red. Humans tend to be different shades of brown, none of them are red like me, so this one is probably scared of me. "Hello," I say, keeping up a friendly smile. My teeth aren't as sharp as Tareq or Zarkan's but I try to hide them behind my lips, anyway.

"Oh, um…" He hesitates. "I don't understand you, sorry. Do you understand me?"

I nod. Earth languages aren't a part of the default translator node language pack, but we've all had them added to ours to understand Tareq's new mate. Not that we've talked to her much. Tareq dragged her away the second we arrived on the ship and they are yet to leave their room.

"Good," the human says, giving me a tentative smile. "I'm Nikolai. Can you take me to your leader? I'm not sure if it's Astra's stripey guy or the one with the scales, but I would really like to speak to whoever is in charge."

"Of course. I'm heading to the bridge right now, anyway. We have a meeting, so the captain will surely be there."

Nikolai blinks at me, confused. Belatedly, I realize he doesn't understand me, so I just nod and smile, pointing to the corridor ahead.

"Oh, okay. Thank you. I guess I'll just follow you and hope something doesn't eat me," he chuckles.

Smiling, I point at the hammer I have strapped on my back.

"Hmm," he muses, sparks of amusement dancing in his eyes, "I can't tell if you're trying to say that you'll protect me with that big hammer of yours or smash my head in and eat my corpse."

I roar in laughter, patting his back so hard he nearly stumbles. I like him. He's a little weird, but it's the right kind of weird.

Everyone of my crew, except Tareq and his mate, are on the bridge already. Omni took the Genixarian captain's body away earlier while I'd scrubbed his blood off the wall, so the bridge looks as good as new. It could do with some color, though. Genixarians aren't into decorating, so everything is gray and dull, but I can imagine how much better the space would look if we painted some of the walls.

Zarkan smiles at me, then looks over at Nikolai curiously. "This human wishes to speak to you," I explain.

"Oh, of course," the captain replies. "Computer? Can you translate for this human so he understands us?"

"Affirmative," the AI responds. "I suggest giving him an earpiece so I can send the translation to him without distracting the rest of you."

Nikolai looks around with curiosity rather than with fear. A brave man. I gather an earpiece and activate it, holding it in front of him while gesturing at his ear. He briefly examines it before putting it into his ear canal, tapping at it to make sure it stays in place.

"You should be able to understand us now," Zarkan says. When Nikolai nods, smiling widely, my captain continues, "Are you well? Do you require food? Water? Something else? We will provide all of you with whatever we can until we arrive at the Farpoint Gateway. The United Galactic Congress has an embassy there and they will make sure you return home safely."

The human shifts his weight, looking nervous. "Yes, I heard the translated message saying you'll send us all back home. It also mentioned something about a memory wipe?"

"It's completely safe," Zarkan assures him. "They will only remove your memories from the time Genixarians took you. You'll be able to return to your prior life unaffected."

"Yeah, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. What if…what if I don't want to go back home?"

I'm taken aback by his question. His planet sounds lovely and rather peaceful, certainly safer than most in the galaxy. Why wouldn't he want to go back? Before I can ask, though, Tareq and his mate join us on the bridge.

Lyriana grins. "Didn't think you'd get out of bed any time soon. Is your stamina that low, Tareq? We can get you some pills for that on the black market." A round of hearty laughter follows.

"Shut up, Lyri," Tareq scowls, pulling his blushing mate closer to his chest. "My stamina is just fine, thank you for asking. I'm taking my Myále back to bed as soon as we're done here."

Astra smacks his chest. "Assuming, much?"

"Oh yes, I am," he retorts playfully, stealing a kiss from her. "So, what is it you wanted to talk about, Captain?" he asks, turning to Zarkan.

I wonder about that too, so I wait quietly. Nikolai shuffles his feet. "I should probably wait outside," he says, heading for the door.

"No, stay," Zarkan interrupts. "You should hear this too, if you wish to stay."

Astra casts her fellow human a curious look but says nothing, returning her gaze to our captain instead.

Zarkan takes a deep breath, scratching at the scales on his chin. "You call me Captain," he starts, "but I'm not your captain anymore. We are no longer Nova squad and I am no longer your superior officer. I have no authority over you. Not that I ever had much," he adds jokingly. "My point is, each of you is free to go and do whatever you want. There are no rules binding us together anymore, and I do not want to keep you anywhere against your will."

I feel like my heart is shattering. Is he saying that we shouldn't be together anymore? Sure, he's probably right. After all, we are technically nothing but colleagues. Were. We were colleagues. Now, we're…what exactly?

Lyriana snorts. "With all due respect, Captain ," she stresses the word, "that's a load of karli crap. We might be on the wrong side of the law now, but that doesn't change anything about us being the Nova squad, the best fucking Voidstalker squad in the entire galaxy."

"Aye," Omni chimes in.

I clear my throat. Tears threaten to escape my eyes, but I will them back. I'm a Voidstalker, not a crybaby. "You are much more than just my squad," I admit, hoping I'm not making a fool of myself. I need to say it, though. "You guys are my family, and I don't care what we do or where we go. I will stand by your side for as long as you'll have me."

A hand clasps my shoulder, and I look to see Tareq's smile. He gives me a nod before turning to Zarkan. "I agree. We all do better when we stick together. Unless you want to kick us off your new ship, we're staying. We need to stop by a spaceport to resupply, though, because my mate and I need a bigger bed."

"You're such an idiot," Astra chides half-heartedly. "I want you all to know that I really appreciate what you did for those of us that were stranded down on that terrible planet. I know you got in trouble because of it and I hope that one day, I can make it up to you. Until then, I just want to say how grateful I am."

"There's no need to thank us, Astra," Zarkan says. "We joined the force because we wanted to help people. Saving you and the others was never a question of if, but rather, how."

Tareq nuzzles her hair. "Told you," he tells her. "So, what do we do now? We drop both the slavers and their former captives on the Farpoint Gateway, and then what?"

"Mercenary jobs?" Lyri suggests, shrugging. "We can pick the ones we like."

"We will need a new signal transmitter for the ship," D'Aakh says. "We need to rename her and make sure she's not tied to her previous owners. I know a guy on the Farpoint Gateway who can do that for us, but it won't be cheap."

"I have a credit stash there," Tareq offers.

Omni nods. "Me too. I don't need the money. We can use it for whatever the ship needs. Except for Tareq's new bed," he adds with a grin.

"He does have a mate," Zarkan objects, his smile wide.

"So? I have wings! I need a big bed too. Do you hear me complaining about it?"

Lyri places a hand over her mouth to stifle a snort. "Yes?"

We all laugh. Those two bicker all the time, but it's still amusing. "Alright, guys," Zarkan interrupts them before they can get lost in their favorite pastime. "It's settled then? Everyone wishes to stay together? With me in charge? You know I'm ready to step down and hand it over to someone else."

"Someone like Tareq?" Lyriana snickers. "We'd be dead within a week. We want you, Captain."

He seems pleased, his eyes a little watery before he swipes his third eyelid over them. "Very well. And the humans? I assume Astra still wishes to stay with Tareq?"

"Definitely," she replies with conviction, squeezing Tareq's hand.

"Good. And you?" Zarkan addresses Nikolai who has been standing aside, quietly observing us. "You said you do not wish to return to your planet."

He's clearly nervous about being at the center of our attention. "I don't want to go back home," he admits, giving us a shy look. "My family, they are…bad. Bad people. Criminals. My whole life, they wanted me to be like them. I fought back however I could, but sometimes, there was no choice but to be bad. I don't want to go back to that. I'd much rather stay here, with you, if you…I don't know, are you hiring?

"I'm not a super-soldier like you, but I can cook or clean or do whatever you guys need. I've studied some medicine, too. I know it means nothing out here, not with all the alien species and physiologies and with all the equipment I don't understand, but I'm a fast learner. I'm sure there are some alien biology textbooks I can read so that I can be a little bit of help? Just, please, don't make me go back home."

His words strike a chord with me because he reminds me of myself. I didn't have a family, and I grew up like a criminal. Nikolai has a family, but they're forcing him to be a criminal. No wonder he doesn't want to go home. "Nobody will force you to return to Earth," I say, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Of course not," Zarkan adds in agreement. "But you don't have to stay here with us either. In case you haven't noticed, we aren't on the right side of the law at the moment." He gives a rueful smile. "The UGC would set up a life for you, if that is your wish."

Nikolai contemplates it briefly before shaking his head. "I'd much rather stay with you, if that's an option."

"It certainly is an option," Zarkan replies, giving Nikolai another of his warm, toothy smiles. "Welcome to the crew of…what's this ship called again?"

"GN-13 Cruiser 3Alpha-X," D'Aakh supplies, rolling his eyes.

Lyri shakes her head. "The Genixarians are truly awful at naming shit."

"Yeah," Astra chuckles, "it sounds like one of those auto-generated secure passwords. Does the computer have a name?"

"My designation is Central Artificial Intelligence Command Unit," the AI responds.

"That's a mouthful."

The AI is quiet for a few seconds. "The former captain often referred to me as ‘the fucking cunt', if you want something shorter," it offers eventually.

That causes a round of laughter from everyone.

"Central Artificial Intelligence can be shortened to Cai," Nikolai suggests timidly, as if unsure if he's allowed to speak.

"I like that," I say, wanting to support him. "Do you like that name, computer?"

There's another moment of silence. I normally don't mind AIs, but this one is a little different. Creepy, if one can say that about a computer program. I hope it doesn't snap one day and murder us all.

"As an artificial intelligence, I do not possess the ability to like or dislike things," it replies. "You may call me whatever you wish to. However…I believe that the sound of the name Cai is pleasing to most species. It is a good choice."

D'Aakh's antennae twitch and he frowns, surprised by the computer's answer. He doesn't say anything, though, so I guess it's just the tinkerer in him, curious about the system.

"Should we use the same name for the ship?" Tareq asks.

"Eh," Lyriana smirks. "It's a good name for a whacky computer, but not for a ship."

Tareq's mate gives a timid smile before saying, "You guys are the Nova squad, right?" As we nod, her smile grows more confident. "What if you based the ship's name on that? Something like…The Supernova?"

"I like that," Tareq replies, casting a loving look in his mate's direction.

"Of course you like that," Lyri snorts. "You're fucking her. You'd agree to anything that comes out of her mouth just to get some. I like it too, though. It's pretty badass."

I give an approving nod, even though I couldn't care less about the name of the ship. All I care about is that my family stays together, and that everyone is happy. My family has suddenly grown, I realize, watching the humans smile and chat with the rest of the squad. I like it.

I'd like it even better if there was a mate for me, too. I'm happy for Tareq but also strangely envious of the love he's basking in. I'd love to experience that too. Maybe next time when we dock somewhere, I'll see if I can get myself a nice female too. Perhaps even a human one.

There must be more human slaves out there. If I rescue an enslaved female, she will surely love me, just like Astra loves Tareq.

Satisfied with my decision, I join the lighthearted conversation and laugh along with the others when Tareq announces that he is taking Astra away to ‘rest'. I'll have that too, one day. I just have to be patient.