11. RAASLA

My superiors were happy enough with the large group of humans I had rescued and taken to the Pandraxian Empire to allow me some lenience over the coming days. I lied to Possedion that I was on my way to intercept an even larger Cryon transporter filled with human cargo. The price I dangled before him was enough that he didn't question my security overwrite as I told him I needed to go dark. In truth, I didn't want him to notice the second lifeform aboard the ship, Zoe.

Sooner or later, he would start to ask questions, but until then, Zoe and I were free to indulge in getting to know each other better in and out of bed.

Finding a trace of Noodar was as hard as I had expected but not impossible. If he hadn't wanted to be found, there would have been no way for me to track him down. But he had left little traces here and there, and I didn't think I was far off the mark when I concluded that he wanted me to find him.

It took six space days to map his location to Rotodex Four, one of the last surviving planets in the vicinity of the Black Abyss. It was a gamble visiting this planet. Living on it was utter madness. One never knew when the Black Abyss would take another deep, hungry breath and fill it with stars, moons, and planets.

"Is that… a black hole?" Zoe asked, mouth agape.

"We call it a Black Abyss, one of the last unexplored phenomena in the universe," I filled her in.

Relying on Noodar knowing more than I did, I brought our spaceship down to Rotodex Four's surface.

"How do you know where to find him?"

"I don't. He will find us." I landed the ship on a large cliff, where it could be seen for miles around. For good measure, I activated a beacon.

"Want to go get some unrecycled air?" I asked Zoe, feeling a slight sense of unease for her accompanying me outside. I hadn't seen Noodar in years, so I couldn't be sure of his reception of us.

"Sounds like an excellent idea," my wonderful mate beamed. I loved the way she was open to any challenge and her willingness to embark on this adventure with me, which wasn't her fight. That she was making it hers told me more about her feelings for me than words would have, although I had to confess I was yearning for her to say the famous three words.

We had barely stepped foot outside when my comm announced the fast approach of an object through the air. I narrowed my eyes and watched a black dot become larger.

"Oh my God," Zoe exclaimed, pointing at the sky behind us. Even from here, the Black Abyss was visible. Like a giant eye in the sky watching us.

"I don't think it's going to eat us today," I tried to assuage her fears, "but soon. We shouldn't stay here long."

A small planetary cruiser landed a few paces from us. I put my arm around Zoe and pulled her against my side, ready to push her toward the still extended gangway, while my other hand rested on the butt of my blaster.

"If I say go, you will run into the ship, understood?" I ordered.

"Yes," she replied between gritted teeth. The fact that we had to fuse one of her molars because of this habit worried me that the ease of fixing her teeth wouldn"t prevent her from continuing to grind them.

I was on the verge of calling her out, but my attention shifted by the unexpected opening of a small hatch on the other ship. Noodar emerged from the extended ladder, his footsteps echoing on the metal rungs.

"About time," he admonished as he spread his fingers at his side to indicate he meant no harm. He was bare-chested to prominently display his black lines. Even though I had already suspected as much, it was still a schock to see.

"Noodar," I greeted him, my voice filled with weariness.

He stopped a few paces away, eyeing Zoe curiously before staring at my marks. I had rolled my sleeves up to allow him to see them.

"It's been too long Raasla, my brother." He opened his arms with a wide grin. He had always been more cheerful than me.

I nudged Zoe behind me before I stepped forward and allowed Noodar to pound my back with his fist while embracing me. I even gave his back a few pats before letting go.

His hands grabbed my shoulders. "I missed you, brother. It's good to see you're still as buoyant as ever. "

Ignoring his sarcasm, I grunted and indicated for Zoe to come forward. "This is Zoe. Zoe, Noodar."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," he replied with a warm smile and bow of his head.

"You too," Zoe replied pleasantly, albeit a bit reserved.

"Noodar?" a female voice called from the hatch of his ship.

"It's alright, Luphelia." A Mantarian stepped out of the hatch. Zoe tried unsuccessfully to hide her sharp intake of breath.

Noodar grinned at her. "Isn't she a beauty?"

Mantarians were anything but pleasant to the eye. Their yellow dotted, dirty-looking gray skin was wrinkled from head to toe. Strands of black hair clung to various body parts, some longer, some shorter, and some braided lovingly. Contrary to most of her species kind, Luphelia walked erect, though, not stooped. Her three legs were long, and her orange eyes burned like fire. As she approached, the darker, black lines on her arms stood out.

"Princess Luphelia. Luph, this is my brother, Raasla, and his mate, Zoe."

"This is the princess you were supposed to protect." My mind formed a picture now, one confirmed by a surprisingly pretty smile from Luphelia and Noodar nodding his head.

"You didn't fail your mission," I stated.

"Never," Noodar admitted.

"Let's go inside and sit down. This seems like a longer conversation," Zoe suggested, looking up at the Black Abyss and shuddering.

"An ominous place you picked." I reproached Noodar.

"Nobody in their right mind will come here. No worries. Luph's species is familiar with the Black Abysses, and there is nothing to fear."

Perplexed, I turned to Luphelia, but we had many other things to talk about besides this, so I let it go.

Zoe led us back into my spaceship, where she had already prepared snacks and drinks. Snacks were not something I was used to. I ate when I was hungry, not to socialize, but Zoe insisted it was the proper thing to do. She seemed right about it too, as our guests took their seats, and Luphelia exclaimed happily over a piece of farock—some delicacy Silla had given us, among other things. Eating and drinking it seemed, broke the last of the tension between Noodar and me.