Chapter 22

ZAHHN

Days of terrifying silence pass. No matter how often I attempt to reach out, I'm unable to reestablish a conversation with Leona. I don't understand why our mind-connection has faded. Perhaps it's because I only rutted her once.

Typically, a heartbond between a Darrvason male and female takes about three moon cycles to fully form. It's unusual that it's already happening for Tornn and his mate, Ellie, just as it's not typical that Leona and I were able to share a connection, however briefly it lasted.

I sigh as I consider traditional Darrvason mating practices, which are no longer applicable, as there are no young Darrvason females left.

Shortly before a Darrvason female turned nineteen, she would be relocated to a safe location, usually a locked room in her family's home, in anticipation of her first heat. Once her first heat occurred, she would be given to a mate, a male of her father's choosing, and the male would take her home and rut her until she was drenched in his scent.

If the female wasn't properly drenched in her mate's scent, she might encounter a ravenous unmated male when she ventured out in public. But if she was adequately covered in her mate's scent, or the heartbond had already formed and her mate's ancestral markings were glowing on her arms, she would be safe.

My people never believed it would be possible to share a heartbond with a human female. But now that we know it's possible, the rules have changed. Admiral Tornn and his mate are proof that the heartbonds will likely develop much sooner than three moon cycles' time.

I stand at the viewscreen in my quarters aboard the Rorrsa , staring at the Jansonna , wishing I could transport myself there in an instant. Well, I could, if I knew how to do it. But the first and only time I astral projected onto the human worldship, I did so by accident. Perhaps now I am trying too hard.

My attempts to search our database for information about Project Xeera have proved futile. Chief Kameer wasn't lying when he said all information about the secretive project had been wiped from our records.

If only my father had confided in me about his involvement with the project. Perhaps then I would know something useful, such as the technique he used for astral projection. I assume he achieved some sort of trance or vibrational state of mind that helped him send his spirit to whatever enemy ship or planet contained his target.

I'm one of the brightest minds in the history of the Darrvason Empire. Why can't I figure it out?

I curse and turn my back on the viewscreen. It's early morning, and I'm due in the laboratory soon. My assistants are probably awaiting my arrival so we might analyze yesterday's progress in our fight against forlonggsa .

But just as I head for the corridor, a brief shudder goes through the Rorrsa . A glance over my shoulder at the viewscreen shows we're no longer in a shared hyperdrive bubble. All fifteen ships in the Darrvason fleet, as well as the Jansonna , hold position in open space.

The lights go out, and a moment later, the emergency lights activate. A glance around my quarters shows no information screens are working. It would appear our systems are down.

I approach the viewscreen again and take notice of the other ships in the Darrvason fleet. The outer lights lining our vessels aren't illuminated as usual, indicating a fleet-wide power failure.

Alarm fills me when a beam of red shoots from the human worldship and impacts the Haxxal .

Star Gods, what is happening?

Not only does the red beam hit the lead ship in our fleet, but it appears damage has been done to the Haxxal , which means shields are down. A second red beam soon impacts the Haxxal . I also witness twelve shuttles exit the human worldship's docking bay.

All twelve shuttles head for the Haxxal .

An attack. The humans have decided to attack us.

My thoughts immediately go to Leona.

Is she all right? Did she know about the attack ahead of time?

My worry for her deepens, and I bolt out of my quarters and head for the laboratory, which also contains a viewscreen where I can continue watching the attack unfold.

It's my hope that some of my colleagues might be privy to information that I don't yet know. Especially the security officers who guard the laboratory. Perhaps they can divulge the specifics of the attack.

I race through the corridors to the laboratory, where I join my assistants standing near the viewscreen. We watch in stunned silence as a beam of red shoots from the Haxxal and grazes the Jansonna .

"That must be a warning shot," someone says, and I agree. The Haxxal could've destroyed the Jansonna with one shot, yet they only grazed the starboard with a less powerful beam.

A security officer steps in from the corridor and clears his throat. We all turn to face the male, and it takes all my self-control not to shout at the officer to immediately reveal what he knows. He peers at his wrist comm, then says, "The attack is nearly over. Captain Warren of the human worldship has just yielded command of his vessel to Officer Brute. According to an initial report from engineering, the humans remotely hacked our systems using Xorrshanan technology, which was likely acquired at an outpost. Most of the humans who boarded the Haxxal are already dead, about two hundred of them. Those who remain alive will soon take their last breaths."

"Why did they attack us?" asks Doctor Yemm, one of my most valued assistants. "What was their end goal?"

The security officer focuses on his wrist comm again, squinting at the small screen. "The humans, a rebel group who call themselves The Saviors, apparently thought most Darrvasons aboard the Haxxal would be dead or dying of the virus they attempted to deploy using one of their females. Needless to say, they were in for a shock when they found all our males alive and ready for a fight. Some good news: No Darrvason casualties have been reported. Only a few minor injuries. It sounds like the humans tried to separate the Haxxal from the other ships in our fleet, but it didn't quite work, and all of our ships were pushed out of the hyperdrive bubble at the same time."

The overhead lights flicker back on, and all the screens in the laboratory instantly brighten and display various experiments-in-progress. I move to a console to assess any possible damage, and it's a relief to discover no data has been lost. Everything looks in order, and we are closer than ever to establishing a treatment for the great madness.

Leona. I back away from the console and glance out the viewscreen. The Jansonna remains intact. The warning shot that grazed the human worldship's starboard likely only caused a brief shudder, but I still find myself worrying about my mate.

But is she truly my mate?

Six days have passed since I astral projected into her bedroom, and it's been five days since we've communicated via our minds. My people mate for life, and I still have every compulsion to steal her away from the Jansonna and keep her as mine. It bothers me that I never got the chance to drench her in my scent.

The need to take possession of her, train her to be an obedient mate, and keep her forever burns in my soul.

But most of all, I want to make sure she's safe. The human attack on my people is worrying for a variety of reasons. What will this mean for the alliance? Will Emperor Radakk demand extra females in compensation? Will the humans try to back out of the treaty?

The uncertainty eats at me until I'm sick to my stomach and grumpy as fluxx . A growl rumbles from my chest as I survey the room and discover not a single one of my assistants have started their assigned work for the day.

I pound a fist on the nearest console. "The show is over. Get to work!" I appoint the more analytically minded doctors to study yesterday's data, while I gather the more personable doctors to join me in the secure wing of the Rorrsa that houses our patients suffering from forlonggsa.

Every time we walk by a viewscreen, I can't help but glance at the Jansonna . I also can't help but call Leona's name over and over in my head, trying to establish a mind-connection with the pretty human. Only silence greets me, and a gaping emptiness that causes my soul to ache.