21. Raptured

TWENTY-ONE

RAPTURED

Naomi

Naomi sobbed as she lay on the mattress on the cabin floor. The pillow still smelled like Faktil and that just made her sob more. She wiped her runny nose with the back of her hand, not caring how gross it was, and hugged herself, pretending his arms were wrapped around her.

"No sad No-me," Bandit chirped.

She looked at the parrot through bleary eyes to find him bobbing up and down and flapping his wings in that goofy way he did when trying to con her into doing something. He recognized she was losing it and was trying to cheer her up. Sadly, it did the exact opposite.

"Oh god! Faktil!" She curled into a ball and cried harder.

Faktil quo Laus

"Thank you," Faktil rasped past the lump in his throat and kissed the side of the pod.

"Her who?" Thorac frowned as Faktil managed to stand .

"She's not pretend." He caressed the glass dome sealing Naomi inside the pod.

"Oh, her!" Thorac's eyes widened when it dawned on him who was in the pod.

Deep down he knew Naomi wasn't some illusion. What they'd shared was way too real. Just as quickly as hope bloomed, a thread of doubt stabbed at Faktil.

What if that Dremin simply used this female's likeness to create my Naomi? The ache in his chest returned. There was only one way to find out.

"Traveler, we need to get this unit open!" Faktil insisted, looking around for his Dremin friend.

Unexpectedly, the Dremin from the maintenance tunnel slithered onto the stasis pod, and one of its tentacles latched onto Faktil's hand.

"Don't hurt her, Bad Pig." The Dremin's tentacles spread out over the clear lid of the pod.

Bandit! Faktil's eyes widened in shock. The Dremin was Bandit.

This was both a shock and not entirely surprising. It also explained why his time on the island had been a series of unfortunate events, Bandit hated him.

"Hurt her! I love Naomi, Bandit!" Faktil got a breadth from the Dremin's big orange orb.

"Bandit?!" Thorac questioned in confusion but Faktil ignored him.

"I know you made the scaly flesh cease function," Bandit accused.

"I believe our new comrade is stating that they know you killed the Jurou Biljana," Traveler explained, joining Bandit atop Naomi's stasis pod.

"I gathered that." Faktil scowled at Traveler.

"I know you damaged No-me. You made No-me scream," Bandit insisted.

Damaged her? Made her scream? Faktil's gaze narrowed on Bandit as he scoured his mind, trying to figure out what the Dremin was referring to. He understood the Dremin was protecting Naomi, the same as when it was a parrot in the simulation, except Bandit was obviously confused about something. Faktil's eyes widened when he figured it out.

"Are you talking about sex?!" Faktil declared.

Thorac's eyes widened and he choked at the mention of sex.

"Flesh beings are so peculiar with this preoccupation of making sex," Traveler declared with a wave of several tentacles.

"Yes, I had to kill one of the Jurou Biljana, but I didn't hurt Naomi. Let's get her out of this pod and we'll ask her," Faktil huffed, tapping the stasis pod in frustration, eager to get Naomi out of the pod. Bandit could make that happen. He turned to Traveler. "Please explain things to Bandit."

"I will try, however, I don't comprehend the complexities of your mating rituals myself," Traveler replied.

"That's not what I meant," Faktil groaned in exasperation, his eyes rolling to the ceiling.

"He meant explain our mission so we can get the female out of stasis," Thorac interjected.

Having already given up on the Dremin, Faktil examined the stasis pod for some way to shut it off. He hated the sight of Naomi trapped in the thing. It looked too much like a crypt.

"I will try." Traveler latched onto one of Bandit's tentacles .

Naomi

Naomi lay curled up on her side with her eyes squeezed shut, trying to hold in the tears, but they continued to flow despite the effort.

"Blossom, don't cry." Faktil's deep voice was like a caress.

The dream was unbelievably vivid, his voice surprisingly crisp. It was hardly comforting, though. Naomi was lucid enough to know it was only a dream as she drifted in and out of sleep. She sucked in a sobbing breath and her tears flowed faster.

"Naomi, I'm right here. I found you, beautiful." His strong arms wrapped around her and picked her up.

She was suddenly cradled against a strong, warm chest with a rhythmic heartbeat and familiar masculine scent.

This isn't a dream. It's way too real. Her eyes flew open and she gaped at Faktil's handsome face staring down at her. He was real, he was here, and he was holding her in his arms.

"Maybe she doesn't recognize you." A face covered in bony armor peered at her from over Faktil's shoulder.

Her confusion doubled. Faktil obviously hadn't drowned. His people must've plucked him from the ocean somehow, and now they were here to collect her.

A pained expression crossed Faktil's face, and she processed what the bone-armored alien said to cause his distress.

"Faktil!" she sobbed, and more tears burst from her eyes.

Her arms felt sluggish and strange as she attempted to wrap them around Faktil's neck. It had to be due to extreme shock after all that she'd been through the last two days. She settled for pressing her palms to his chest, reveling in the thud of his heartbeat and the way it assured her he was alive .

"Easy, Blossom. Goddess, I thought I'd lost you forever," Faktil's voice wavered, and his whole body trembled as he clutched her tight.

"I thought," sob, "you drowned," she choked out the words.

"I know. I know." Faktil peppered kisses all over her face

When he reached her mouth she melted, pouring herself into kissing him back. She couldn't believe Faktil was really here, that she had a second chance to be with her precious alien husband. She'd prayed for this moment since they were separated, and she was going to cherish every second of it. The desperate nature of the kiss eased, yet neither of them retreated. Her lips brushed against his, rememorizing the texture of his skin and sweet, spicy flavor.

"Eh hmm," the bone-armored alien coughed.

Reluctantly Faktil's lips retreated, though not before getting in another quick peck, followed by another. She grinned at him.

"Naomi, meet Thorac," Faktil gestured to the armored alien, who was Osivoire, if she was correctly remembering what Faktil told her.

"Greetings, Matron Naomi." Thorac bowed.

She was about to say hello when she noticed all the bizarre coffins in the room. There were roughly two dozen of them. Their clear lids revealed the people inside.

"What…what is going on?" she stammered, looking up at Faktil for answers. Why would Faktil's ship have her people in coffins on it?

Faktil cringed, then a sympathetic expression transformed his face. He opened his mouth but someone else spoke.

"I'm Traveler. We just took you out of a Miran Sona stasis capsule and you are aboard a Jurou Biljana vessel."

She craned her neck to see the speaker. There was no one there except for an odd tentacle creature stretched atop one of the empty coffins.

"And you wanted to teach Traveler comedy before tact," Thorac chastised Faktil who was still cringing.

"Dremin," Naomi whispered, recalling what the odd octopus was. "Wait, I was in one of these capsules?"

She stared in horror at the empty coffin and started to hyperventilate.

"Easy, Blossom," Faktil crooned, forcing her to focus on his face instead. "You are safe." He stroked her cheek.

"I wouldn't categorize us as safe. We are aboard an enemy…" the octopus chimed in and Naomi's eyes widened.

Faktil's gaze swiveled to the Dremin, anger transforming his expression from tender to scary.

"Traveler!" Thorac snapped simultaneously.

"Enemy what?" she demanded, her head spinning from all the sudden changes.

She panned the large room with its bare metal walls and futuristic coffins. This was definitely not her cabin. Her brow furrowed. It was like she'd been raptured from her island to this strange new reality. Thank god Faktil was here or she'd lose it entirely.

"The island was basically a dream," Faktil began.

A dream?! Her eyes widened. That hardly seemed possible.

"And do you remember the Jurou Biljana reptiles I mentioned?" Faktil added.

Naomi nodded. She remembered the bad guys who wanted to invade Earth. How could she forget?

"I don't know if this is the best place to discuss all of this," Thorac interjected.

"This hold is as secure as the quarters. I resealed the hatch and Bandit has blocked all access to this space, including the visual feed," Traveler reported.

It was surreal hearing the alien octopus' voice in her head.

"Is that why the Dremin disappeared?" Thorac asked.

"Bandit?" Naomi perked up. "Where is Bandit?" She looked around, relieved to hear her parrot was here, too.

"Bandit hid, worried you would be disappointed," Traveler said with a wave of a tentacle toward the far side of the creepy stasis capsule.

"Huh? Why?" Her brow furrowed in confusion and she looked to Faktil for answers.

"Well…" Faktil grimaced. He was no help.

"Fruit Bandit, where are you? You know I love your fuzzy butt," she cooed.

Several tentacles slowly slithered over top of the stasis capsule and she saw a hint of an orange orb, before the Dremin disappeared from view again. Naomi blinked in surprise. Bandit was a Dremin.

"Be merciful. My kind were abused before we were sold to the scaly flesh beings. Bandit is a juvenile, one of the Dremin spawned in the abductor's lab. You are the only comrade Bandit knows," Traveler explained.

"Oh." A new stream of tears fell from Naomi's eyes.

She squirmed in Faktil's arm and he put her down, but didn't release her until she was steady on her feet. Slowly she went to the other side of the pod and found Bandit huddling there.

"I don't have a fuzzy butt," Bandit said tentatively, his voice echoing in her mind. He sounded nothing like the parrot she remembered and he was more articulate.

"That's okay." She smiled. "And I don't imagine you like eating fruit either," she noted his lack of a mouth, "and that's okay, too. "

"I can consume and use the elements," Bandit offered.

"Okay." Naomi nodded, not that what or how he ate really mattered. "Can I hold you?" She reached out for the Dremin.

"Yes!" Bandit replied, clearly relieved. He then slithered into her waiting arms.

Bandit's orange bulbous body was firm and felt glossy smooth like a polished stone. His tentacles, though flexible, were equally hard. Although the constantly moving cilia on his tentacles felt soft and were a little ticklish.

As she snuggled Bandit close to her chest, she realized she'd been thinking of him as a boy, but the Dremin appeared sexless. Though that was a conversation for another time.

"So, nothing is what it seems, huh?" she asked, glancing at Faktil who nodded sympathetically as he lifted her onto the lid of the capsule.

"No. This vessel is full of scaly flesh beings. They like to destroy each other and other flesh beings. I kept you safe in here, but then Bad Pig tried to get in," Bandit explained.

"Faktil," Naomi corrected Bandit, suppressing a laugh. This was definitely Bandit.

Faktil's lips also twitched in amusement.

"I witnessed Faktil commit destruction to one of the scaly beings on this vessel. I have seen his memories of the thing called war." Bandit shuddered in her arms.

Now she understood why Bandit didn't like Faktil.

"Oh." Faktil cringed. "I didn't recall making it aboard this ship when I saw you, but I had, and I had to kill one of the reptiles to maintain my cover."

She reached out and patted the big guy's arm. He hadn't told her the gritty details of the battles he'd been in, but she'd assumed it involved death. War generally did. At the same time, she stroked Bandit, loving that her friend had protected her, even if it was a little misguided .

"I explained that flesh beings will damage others to help us and the humans. And sometimes the human's pleasure sounds are similar to distress sounds," Traveler replied, one tentacle gently stroking Bandit.

Naomi's mouth dropped open, her gaze swinging to Faktil.

"You don't want to know," he whispered with a shake of his head.

Except she'd have to be a total moron to misunderstand the reference to her and Faktil's sex life. What was embarrassing was that it obviously had been a topic of conversation. Naomi's cheeks heated as she shook her head.

"I guess I don't understand how I, how we," Naomi nodded to the other capsules, "got on an enemy ship."

"We believe you were abducted by the Miran Sona, the people you call the Grays, for one of their colonies. One of their colony ships crashed on a world that is semi-habitable. The Jurou Biljana reptiles landed on that world to steal the ship engine. The reptiles also found a bunch of your people. We rescued the majority of you, but apparently not all." Faktil gestured around the room.

"Thank you." She smiled tentatively, glad her people were rescued, though she was still shellshocked by the news that she'd been abducted by the Grays.

"We think the reptiles brought you on this occupation mission to use as some sort of leverage when they arrive on Earth," Thorac added.

Panic suddenly filled her. "But they don't know where Earth is yet, right?"

"No. They are still searching through the viable planets in this quadrant," Traveler confirmed.

"Thank god." Her shoulders eased and she resumed leisurely stroking Bandit. "So then how did I get on the island? Are all of these people on some island?"

They certainly weren't on the same island she'd been stranded on, otherwise she wouldn't have been so damn lonely until Faktil showed up.

Bandit froze on her lap. "I was curious about flesh beings," he admitted softly. "You are different from the destructive scaly ones."

"We believed that all flesh beings are similar to the scaly ones, before we met Faktil, Thorac and your kind," Traveler filled in some information. "No, none of the others are in the simulation," the Dremin added.

"The simulation is the dream world the Dremin are able to create from our memories. It's one of those miraculous capabilities I just learned about," Faktil provided.

Wow. Naomi blinked in awe. They're mind-reading dream weavers.

"I feel dumb for thinking I simply fell asleep while kayaking and didn't wake up once while floating all the way to some island." Naomi incredulously shook her head.

This also explained why the island was conveniently equipped like the nature preserve she visited, with everything she needed to survive, minus a satellite phone. Then there was how skilled she'd suddenly become at fishing, and the abundance of fruit trees. It was all make-believe.

"Don't." Faktil squeezed her knee. "I thought I traveled several days and crashed in the ocean. We filled in our thoughts with the most logical scenario." Faktil then looked at Bandit. "Although I'm confused how I got put into the same simulation as Naomi, since you were worried about me hurting her."

"I don't know." Bandit's tentacle wrapped around her arm .

Naomi tilted her head as she got an impression that felt like it was coming directly from Bandit.

"Is Bandit talking privately to you?" Faktil asked.

"No. He can do that?" Her eyes widened.

"Yes. When we touch you," Traveler stated.

"Oh. I just got the impression Bandit was panicked and confused. That's why he tossed Faktil onto the island with me," she explained.

"You are able to discern more because of the symbiosis you shared with Bandit. It connects you," Traveler explained. "And Bandit, you will learn control in time."

"Okay." Naomi nodded, although this was still confusing as hell.

She panned the three wildly different species of aliens surrounding her and one thing was for sure, this new reality came with a steep learning curve.

"I don't mean to rush this conversation, but we really need to come up with a plan to get everyone off this vessel." Thorac waved to the room full of pods.

He was right. They didn't have the luxury of waiting for her to catch up, which would take days, correction, weeks.

"Are you doing all right?" Faktil worriedly asked her.

"I am. I did plan to come with you and meet these people," she reminded him. "I understand there are more pressing issues."

"You're amazing, Blossom." He cupped her cheek and she leaned into his hand. "I love you."

"I love you, too." She sighed, leaned forward and kissed her wonderful alien husband.

Things weren't what she expected, but Faktil was alive, she was no longer stranded, and her little buddy Bandit was by her side. She was truly blessed .

Faktil quo Laus

Kissing Naomi, being able to smell her floral perfume, touch her soft skin, and hear her lyrical voice was such a relief. Faktil couldn't get enough. He wanted to whoop in elation. She looked better than he imagined. Maybe a little paler and thinner from being in a stasis pod for so long, but he hardly noticed he was so ecstatic to have her back. His chest ached for a very different reason now. His heart was so full of joy, solace, love, and a dozen other emotions that had him shaking.

"Too close." Bandit shoved him with a tentacle, forcing him to halt their kiss.

He couldn't be mad at Bandit, even though the Dremin put him through the wringer with all the mishaps on the island. As he parted from Naomi, he took one of Bandit's tentacles.

I know you don't like me, but I want to thank you. You assured Naomi and all these people were safe. You may have just been curious, yet you kept Naomi company and she needed that. It sounds like you did, too. It was unintentional, but you led me to the female I treasure more than my life and I'm deeply grateful for that, he silently relayed to Bandit.

Bandit stilled in Naomi's lap, and he knew the Dremin heard him. Surprisingly, Bandit's tentacle coiled around his hand, the tip stroking his wrist. Faktil smiled. This felt like it was a truce.

"I don't think we should wake everyone in here up, because then we'll have to deal with their reactions, too. Except I don't know that these stasis pods will fit in the two cruisers we have aboard," Thorac commented.

"Oh, I can guarantee that my people will freak out if they are suddenly awoken on an enemy alien spaceship," Naomi confirmed.

As much as he wanted to bask in the elation of being reunited with his precious mate, Faktil forced himself to switch gears, though he continued to hold Bandit's tentacle and Naomi's hand.

"Even if they were to fit in the cruiser holds, I'm not certain how we'd get the pods to the hangar, with all the reptiles between here and there," Faktil added.

"And whatever we do, we can't tip off the Jurou Biljana that anything is wrong, or it will ruin our ultimate plan," Thorac groused.

Faktil nodded. Their plan depended on them being able to keep the reptiles ignorant of their presence until the virus was planted on every ship in the Jurou Biljana fleet.

"We could purge the oxygen from the entire vessel except for this hold, exterminating the scaly beings," Traveler suggested.

"Whoa, that's harsh," Thorac declared.

Faktil's eyes widened in shock. The Dremin were generally very peaceful and abhorred blatant murder. It was something they didn't know as a race until they were stolen from their world and introduced to flesh beings. So, this suggestion came as a surprise.

"I do not see how my suggestion is harsh. The ultimate plan is to decimate the scaly beings' fleet all at once. I have come to terms with the fact that this is necessary for the benefit of countless others. Once the Jurou Biljana are deceased, we commandeer this vessel for use, the same as we have the freighter," Traveler reasoned.

"It is an idea." Thorac tapped his bony chin thoughtfully.

Faktil considered the idea. Traveler was right. The Jurou Biljana aboard this vessel wouldn't make it out of this mission alive. However, there was something that didn't sit right with him about this plan.

"I'm not comfortable with the idea. Right now, we have our people pretending to be the Jurou Biljana bridge crew on the freighter. If we take this cruiser, that's another set of commanders we'll need to impersonate, and all that goes along with it, like the day-to-day communications that are expected. Eventually someone is going to get suspicious." Faktil shook his head.

"Very well, so we keep thinking."

"Bandit and I could create a new docking door off this storage bay," Traveler suggested.

"That sounds risky." Thorac's brow furrowed.

"I would suggest you stay in the sleeping quarters while we do it, in case the bay depressurizes," Traveler added.

"That's a problem even if we're not in here." Faktil cringed.

"Aye. And what happens when the enemy vessel two clicks to our starboard notices a new set of bay doors?" Thorac asked.

"I preferred it when we were in our simulation," Bandit commented to Naomi.

"I'm inclined to agree, even with the, er, special wildlife ," Faktil snorted as he alluded to his string of bad luck with the nature on the island, and gave Bandit's tentacle a knowing squeeze.

"I did enjoy reenacting some of Naomi's more fascinating memories," Bandit admitted and made a sound of laughter, which he'd never heard a Dremin make before.

Naomi burst out laughing, which only encouraged him and Bandit. It was a great relief to see her mirth. He worried this discussion was distressing her, when she already had so many things to come to terms with .

Faktil then noticed the confused look on Thorac's face and laughed harder.

"You three are truly no help," Traveler announced, which only fed their fit of laughter.

"Okay, okay. We aren't helping," Naomi said after a minute and rubbed the tears of joy from her eyes.

"Agreed." Faktil nodded, his cheeks aching.

Bandit's tentacles abruptly stopped wriggling. "I think I have an idea," the young Dremin whispered tentatively.

Everyone looked toward Bandit, slightly surprised, though curious. Even Traveler, who didn't have eyes or a face, seemed to turn that way.

This ought to be interesting.