20. Anomaly

TWENTY

ANOMALY

Naomi

"What do, No-me?" Bandit fluttered after her as she tied the rope to the kayak.

"We're leaving the island, Bandit."

She couldn't stay on this island any longer, not without Faktil. There was no way she could go back to the way things were before he arrived. He reminded her of all that she'd been missing. Faktil showed her a passion and love she never could've imagined. If she actually made it home, she'd never find anyone like him, or a life nearly as exciting as the one they planned, but she couldn't stay here.

Naomi double-checked the knots attaching her water jugs to the kayak, then made sure she had enough food. A sob burst out when her gaze landed on the pork jerky in the bag. She stared at it as she relived the way he saved her from the rampaging boar. After a minute she shook her head and rubbed her eyes, forcing back the memories so she could get out on the water.

"Come on, Bandit." She started tugging the kayak into deeper water and climbed aboard.

"No-me, what do?" Bandit asked again from his perch on the bow. From his subdued twitter she had a feeling he understood what was going on despite the question.

"I can't stay here any longer. It will kill me." Tears ran down her cheeks.

"No want kill you." Bandit rubbed his head on her leg.

She cast him a wan smile as she again scrubbed her tears away. "That's why we're going to try to go home."

Naomi began paddling into the open ocean. In theory if the current brought her to the island in an afternoon, going against the current she'd be back home in a day, two at most. The journey ahead of her was a daunting one, but she felt galvanized, or perhaps she just didn't give a shit if she died.

Faktil quo Laus

"These quarters aren't bad," Thorac commented as they entered. The comment was serious yet also sarcastic. Jurou Biljana ships were always rundown, unsanitary, disgusting messes, and this was no exception.

The room was the same one Faktil had been assigned when he'd first arrived on the enemy ship. He glanced around, skimming over the two bunks and the attached washroom.

"I programmed the cleaner after I killed the reptile," he replied, his voice monotone. A part of him acknowledged how pathetic he sounded, except he didn't really care.

It didn't look like anyone else had been here while he was incapacitated in the maintenance tunnel. No one had messed up what little clean-up he'd done. Either way, this vile place, with its bare metal walls, persistent layer of grime, stained bedding, and stagnant air, was a far cry from the cozy island cabin he'd started considering home.

"I can tell you cleaned. My feet aren't sticking to the floor." Thorac dropped his reptile disguise. "Before taking off to find the Dremin, Traveler reset the security on this door, so we shouldn't have any surprise visitors."

"Good." Faktil, dropped his disguise, too, and plunked down on one of the bunks.

Hopefully, since they were the same race, Traveler would get the other Dremin to evacuate with them faster than the message being transmitted by the virus they planted. As much as Faktil hated what the Dremin did to him, he didn't want it to go down with the ship. This was as much a rescue mission for the enslaved Dremin as it was intended to take out the reptiles before they found Earth.

"Maybe you should eat something." Thorac walked over to the replicator embedded in the wall. "Being in that simulation couldn't have been good for your body."

"I'm actually not hungry. Thank you." He didn't feel like he'd missed a single meal, though he obviously had.

"Then how about a stiff drink?" Thorac eyed him.

"Aye," Faktil snorted with a mix of surprise and derision at himself. He was so spun, the notion of alcohol hadn't even occurred to him, and it sounded like a damn good idea at the moment.

Thorac called up two beverages then passed him one as he sat on the neighboring bunk. Faktil raised his cup to his fellow warrior, took a gulp, and winced as the alcohol burned all the way down. For just a moment the sensation warred with the ache in his chest.

"You don't need to stay with me," Faktil said after another swig.

Thorac arched a brow at him .

"I do appreciate you showing up. It was good timing." Faktil mustered an appreciative smile for his friend.

"I wonder if Traveler coming aboard and accessing the systems surprised the other Dremin, making it release you," Thorac mused.

Faktil shrugged, not sure what the cause had been. All he knew was that he'd been ripped away from Naomi, and it was going to take more than a quarter rotation to rectify that she was merely a beautiful daydream. Faktil took another swig of his drink, trying to wash down the lump in his throat.

"Regardless, I'm not staying because you're a charity case. I thought you were dead, Faktil!" Thorac reached out and grabbed his arm. "We're going to give Traveler a rotation to convince this Dremin to join us, then you're going back to the freighter, so Jorg can look at you."

"Thank you, Thorac. I can't say I am well, but I am alive," he conceded.

As much as he wanted to push on with the mission, Thorac was probably right. He needed a break until his head was in the right place, if that was even possible.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" Thorac asked.

Faktil looked at him flatly, drained the rest of his drink and rose to get another.

"Understood." Thorac held his hands up in resignation. "So, would you like a progress update?"

Faktil nodded. It would be a nice distraction from his turbulent thoughts.

"We're starting to get Dremin responding to the signals in the viruses being planted. The two shy Dremin on our freighter…"

"The pair who created the virus," Faktil interjected, before taking a sip of his second brew .

"Aye." Thorac nodded. "They befriended Thunder and are interacting more. Their virus gives us full access to these vessels, full access," Thorac emphasized. "It's starting to transmit a lot of detailed information, so we know the Jurou Biljana's full invasion plan down to basic communication on what meals the captains are eating. Thunder has had quite a time explaining to the Dremin we don't need to know how much koftu the reptiles are eating," Thorac snorted.

"That's good." Faktil managed a smile, imagining Thunder tearing his fur out as he waded through tons of pointless data with the Dremin.

"Our Anguis allies commandeered a Jurou Biljana vessel full of incendiaries which they destroyed."

"An occupation vessel," Faktil growled.

He should've expected as much from the vile reptiles. They were predictable with how they operated when approaching planets they planned to pillage. They started with trade, using the goods he'd found on this vessel. They'd feign good intentions to determine what resources and defenses the planet had. Usually bringing in occupation ships full of incendiaries was the last phase, though.

"Aye. From what we've learned, they brought the incendiaries to assure the bombs were on this side of the rift, but I don't put it past the bastards to use them at the onset!" Thorac spat.

"Then it's good there's one less occupation vessel."

"Yes and no." Thorac nodded. "We shared our plan, so the Anguis won't instantly destroy the next one they find."

Faktil smirked. Sadly they would find another occupation vessel with bombs. There was never just one.

"The Anguis approved the plan of getting the Jurou Biljana to converge, then letting their incendiaries take care of the entire fleet." Thorac cast him a maniacal grin .

"It is a good plan. With the Dremin on our side, manipulating the enemy fleet won't be a problem." They are more than capable of that. But Faktil kept that sarcastic comment to himself.

"Truth," Thorac agreed. "One thing we haven't shared yet with our allies is the existence of the Dremin."

"Wasn't Mercy going to be the ambassador?" Faktil recalled. Mercy was another Dremin.

"Aye. But I think Mercy is still on Osi." Thorac shrugged. "Also, there's apparently a secret human colony not far from here."

Faktil's eyes widened. Now that truly was news.

"Secret human colony?" he asked, not sure he heard right.

"Aye, Kepler Refugee Colony. It's made up of a bunch of humans hiding from the Miran Sona. They are willing to welcome us and are acting as a local base for anyone protecting Earth."

"How? I didn't think the humans had the ability to create off-world settlements yet?" Faktil's brow furrowed.

"They don't. They liberated themselves and have been stealing the Miran Sona's tech," Thorac chuckled.

"That sounds about right." Faktil nodded, appreciating the way the humans turned the tables on their abductors.

The way the Miran Sona were snatching humans and scattering them across the cosmos never sat right with him. In many ways the Miran Sona were as bad as the reptiles, except for the fact their intent was to colonize rather than subjugate the humans. Although, if it weren't for the Miran Sona bringing humans to the Delta Quadrant, the Jurou Biljana would've never known of Earth or acquired a rift drive to travel through wormholes. Basically, the Miran Sona could be blamed for this whole mess.

"Is there anything else?" Faktil asked, impressed that Thorac actually distracted him from the constant depressing loop playing in his mind.

"Well, while I was with Traveler, I learned the scientist who abducted the Dremin tortured them to reprogram them for use as security hardware." Thorac cringed.

"No!" Faktil held up his hand. "I don't think I can handle hearing about that right now."

"Thorac, Faktil," Traveler's voice projected through the room comm.

"Aye. Did you find the other Dremin?" Thorac replied.

"Not yet. They are being elusive and stubborn. I have found an anomaly, however. Please return to the passage where we located Faktil."

"On our way." Faktil drained his second beverage and was on his feet.

Naomi

Naomi yawned as daylight filtered through her eyelids. It got late and she simply couldn't paddle any more. She intended to just rest for a moment. Naomi's eyes flew open, realizing she'd fallen asleep. She stared in horror at the familiar sandy beach and tiny mountain at the far end of the island. She'd drifted back to the island.

"No!" she screamed.

Bandit flew from the edge of the forest, landing on her lap. "No-me," he trilled softly, while nuzzling her, but it didn't help.

"No! No! No!" Tears burst from her eyes.

She was trapped here. She couldn't even recklessly paddle away from her island prison.

"Just kill me!" She screamed to the heavens. "What is the point of keeping me alive like this! Fuck you for taking the man I love, and fuck you for trapping me here, and…" she raged on and on while Bandit stared at her with sad eyes.

Faktil quo Laus

"What anomaly?" Thorac asked as they found Traveler in the tunnel a few paces from where Faktil had been.

"The anomaly is in the storage bay above us." Traveler climbed up the wall and tapped on the hatch overhead.

"All right, so what is the anomaly?" Faktil probed, recalling how tedious it could be pulling information from the Dremin.

"In my search for the new Dremin, I have been able to easily access all the holds but this one. The Dremin is intentionally keeping me out," Traveler relayed.

"That seems odd," Thorac mused. "Maybe this is why the Dremin attacked you." Thorac looked at Faktil.

Faktil nodded, noting how close he'd come to the access hatch. Something in his gut screamed they needed to get into the storage bay. It was as vital as his next breath.

"Traveler, open this hatch!" Faktil insisted.

"As I said, this Dremin is stubborn," Traveler stated with a hint of annoyance. "I am working on access. Floof and Poof are remotely assisting me. We nearly have it."

"Floof and Poof?" Thorac cocked his head.

"The pair of Dremin aboard the freighter who created the virus," Traveler clarified. "They are fascinated by Thunder's prolific fur, and heard one of the human crew use the rhyming adjectives. So, they have chosen these names."

"Ah," Thorac chuckled.

It was amusing. The Dremin didn't need names when communicating strictly among themselves. They did use a type of name, but the way Traveler explained it, it was similar to sharing a mental image of an individual. They chose names to appease flesh beings, and they tended to latch onto ideas or things that they found fascinating. Unfortunately, Faktil was too focused on getting into the hold to appreciate this bit of news.

"I just conveyed to Floof and Poof that you found their names to be amusing and therefore approved. I hope this was a correct assessment," Traveler stated.

"Traveler! The hatch!" Faktil groused, impatiently jabbing a hand at the port in the ceiling.

"Yes, it is a hatch," Traveler said as if Faktil were a youth learning a new word.

Thorac chuckled. Faktil growled as he glared at his friends.

"The hatch is unlocked. Tada." Traveler dramatically waved a tentacle and the hatch slid open. "I have been researching magic," the Dremin added.

Faktil ignored the random comment and was up the ladder in no time. He froze the moment he saw what was in the storage bay.

"What is it?" Thorac called from below.

"Stasis pods," he muttered, shocked by the find.

"What?" Thorac asked as Faktil climbed the rest of the way into the bay.

"There's about twenty stasis pods." Faktil looked around the room, then gazed into the nearest unit. "With humans in them."

"Infernal torment!" Thorac cursed as he climbed into the room. "What are the reptiles doing with humans aboard?"

"Maybe they plan to use them like the trade goods, as a means to curry favor until they get their claws embedded in human society," Faktil growled.

Faktil's heart sped up as he walked up and down the rows, peering through the clear lids at the sleeping occupants. He honestly didn't care what the reptiles were doing with the humans, because it was never anything good. These pods were the same as the ones they'd rescued from the volcano planet a moon ago, when they invaded the Jurou Biljana base. Though, the question of where the stasis pods came from wasn't the question hammering at his mind. He was desperate to know who was here.

"We need to come up with a plan to get them out of here," Thorac continued rattling on as they toured the room. "I don't think we can wake the humans. It would be too jarring and we'll need them quiet if we hope to get off this ship."

Faktil ignored his fellow warrior, his breath coming out faster and faster, the invisible hand gripping his heart tightening further as he went from pod to pod. He froze as he stared into the unit at the end of the middle row, then his legs buckled beneath him.

"Faktil!" Thorac barked in distress and came rushing over. "What's wrong?!"

"It's her," Faktil reverently murmured.