The Choosing (The Pruxnae Book 1) (26 page)

Ziri perched on
the edge of the pilot’s chair in the
Yarinska
’s bridge, grinning like an
onka-brained lanoo. Ryn loved her, he really loved her, and he didn’t want to
let her go.

She hummed an
old Tersi folksong under her breath as she ticked off pre-flight systems
checks. Life support, engines, landing gear, weapons. She frowned at an anomaly
in the plasma cannon, the only powerful weapon the
Yarinska
possessed.
It was only good for a handful of shots before its charge ran out. Its primary
purpose was to clear the
Yarinska
’s path or deter the occasional pirate.
Ryn had warned her never to use it unless there was a dire emergency, but it
couldn’t be used at all if it wasn’t charged. The
Yarinska
’s smaller,
lighter weapons would be essentially useless without it.

“AI, why isn’t
the cannon fully charged?”

“Belnyin luf.”

Ziri rolled her
eyes. Kraden secondary AI. “Primary AI, why isn’t the cannon fully charged?”

“Belnyin luf.”

She tapped into
the scanner, flipped it onto the viewscreen. No Sweepers, just as she’d
suspected. The secondary AI was acting up again. It reminded her of a
temperamental toddler, sulking whenever it wasn’t given enough attention.
“Primary AI, override the secondary AI and run a diagnostic on the plasma
cannon.”

“That’s not very
nice,” the secondary AI said.

“I’m not aiming
for nice. I need to know what’s wrong with the cannon.”

“It’s busy.”

“Unbusy it. I
need it fully charged before we jump.”

“I wouldn’t do
that if I were you,” the AI warned in a sing-songy voice.

Ryn stepped into
the bridge and settled into the co-pilot’s seat. “How’s the pre-flight check
going?”

“There’s a problem
with the plasma cannon. I’m trying to figure out what’s wrong so we can fix it
before liftoff.” She brought the weapons system up on the viewscreen, studied
the systems monitor, and couldn’t find a single reason why the cannon wasn’t
charging properly. Then again, she wasn’t that familiar with the weapons yet.
“Secondary AI, what would you advise us not to do?”

Dead silence
greeted her question.

Ryn glanced at
Ziri. “I thought it only hated me.”

“If it hates
you, it must loathe me. I can’t ever get it to give me a straight answer.” A
light blinked on the systems monitor, indicating all weapons fully-charged, and
Ziri slumped into her seat. “I think we might need to replace it. It kept
telling me Sweepers were nearby, and yes, I already checked. Tersi’s system is
clear and there’s no chatter on the emergency channels.”

“Must be a
glitch. When we get home, I’ll have a team give it a good shakedown.”

“I’ll pay to
watch that.”

Ryn laughed. “I
bet. Are we ready to go?”

“Almost.”

“Signal ship-wide,
warn our passengers we’re about to lift off.”

She glanced at
him out of the corners of her eyes. “I’m not the captain.”

“You’re the
pilot. Besides, I’m saving my words for you.”

Her heart
thumped once, hard, and flipped over in her chest. Ryn loved her and he wasn’t
hiding it anymore, and the knowledge was so precious to her, so dear, she
couldn’t hide her reaction. She bounced out of her seat and kissed him firmly
on the mouth, lingering as he hooked his hands on her hips and kissed her back.

“Ew.”

Ziri broke the
kiss and glanced toward the open hatch to the bridge. Tyelu hovered there, her
pretty face twisted into a grimace. “Can’t the two of you keep your hands off
each other in public?”

Ryn tugged Ziri
into his lap. “We’re conducting an important pre-flight systems check.”

Ziri snickered.
“Is that what we’re doing?”

“Yes.” Ryn
jerked his chin toward his sister. “I need you in the cargo bay, preparing our
passengers for the jump.”

Tyelu snorted.
“You’re just trying to get rid of me so you can kiss her again.”

“That, too,” Ryn
said mildly.

Tyelu shook her
head and left as quietly as she’d entered.

Ryn brushed the
backs of his fingers over Ziri’s cheek. “Where were we, beauty?”

“Right about
here,” she said, and claimed his mouth in a soft, welcoming kiss.

* * *

Ryn’s fingers
moved swiftly over the
Yarinska
’s controls, double-checking coordinates,
calculating fuel ratios. His mouth still tingled from Ziri’s kiss and his heart
pattered so quickly, he was sure it would leap right out of his chest. Tonight,
he was going to press Ziri into their bed and make love to her so thoroughly,
her doubts would be washed away, never to appear again. Soon, he’d release his
seed into her for the third time since the Choosing, and she would forever
after be his.

His heart, his
home, his family.

He smiled as he
finished his checks, then scooted back into his seat and buckled in. If they
were blessed, his seed would take root in her womb. Their family would grow
with their love and neither of them would ever be alone again, searching for
their place in the wide universe.

Ziri tapped out
her final commands and flipped the com on. “Brace for liftoff.” She repeated
the warning in Tersii Basic, then buckled herself in. “Ready, Captain.”

“At your leisure,”
he said, and she grinned

His thoughts wandered
as the
Yarinska
lifted steadily off of Tersi into its atmosphere. If
Ziri became pregnant within the year, they could go ahead and add on that extra
bedroom he’d been waiting to build. He should pick up softer wool and begin a
wardrobe for their children, sweaters and socks and tiny baby hats. His gaze
drifted to her, always to her. Would their children inherit her red-gold locks
and blue-gray eyes? Would her daughters have her sweet temper and sun-bright
smile, and her sons the determined tilt of her chin?

When they
reached the jump point, she flicked the cover over the activating switch open. “Don’t
tease me if I pass out again.”

“You’re getting
better.”

“Not there yet,
though.” She inhaled deeply and hovered her hand over the button. “See you on
the other side, Captain.”

Her breath
rushed out and her hand came down, rapping sharply into the button. Space-time
distorted in a queasy roil, and Ryn stiffened his hold on his thighs. A tick
later, they popped into normal space, right outside the trading post.

Ziri moaned and
cupped her head in her hands. “Kraden jumps.”

“At least you
didn’t pass out this time.”

She snorted.
“Yes, but—”

A strident alarm
cut through the air and the emergency lights flicked on, flashing a red-hued
warning. “Sweeper alert. Sweeper alert.”

Ryn scrambled
out of his harness and switched the viewscreen to an exterior shot. Sure enough,
three haphazardly crafted ships were orbiting the trading post, firing onto the
moon below.

“Oh, no,” Ziri
said. “No, no, no.”

Ryn muttered a
curse under his breath. “We don’t have enough juice to make another jump.”

“We can fight.”

“With what? We
have one plasma cannon, a handful of shots, some lightweight weapons that won’t
make a dent in those hulls. It’s not enough to take down three Sweeper ships.”

“It’s enough to
give the residents of the moon a chance.” She turned haunted eyes on him. “I’ll
broadcast a distress call, bounce it to Tersi and the surrounding systems. If
we can hold them off long enough, we won’t have to fight them on our own and
nobody else has to die.”

Ryn studied her
carefully. In the red glow of the emergency lights, her skin had paled to a
sickly white and her nails dug into the skin of her palms, and she looked so
lost, so fragile. She’d lost family and friends during the raid on her planet,
people she’d never had a chance to say goodbye to, just as he’d never gotten a
chance to say goodbye to his parents. If they could keep that from happening to
the people below, wasn’t it worth the risk?

He nodded once
and stood. “Broadcast the distress, then pick one ship and locate its weapons
systems. We can spare two shots of the cannon. One would be better.”

“Wait. Where are
you going?”

“To evacuate the
cargo bay. The Sweepers will try to board us first chance they get. I don’t
want to give them any easy targets.”

“Ok.” She
swiveled toward the viewscreen and the scene unfolding outside the
Yarinska
.
“Come back to me, Ryn.”

“Always, Ziri.”

He snagged a gun
out of the mini-weapons locker beside his chair and strode through the ship. This
time, those kraden Sweepers wouldn’t get the better of him and they would by
Wode never hurt Ziri again.

The cargo bay
was a ruckus of panicked women and children when Ryn entered. Tyelu and Enel
were both in the center of clusters of frightened passengers, and Ryn bit back
a curse. Ziri was their translator. She was busy saving their collective hides,
though, so he’d have to find a way to deal with the Tersii on board without her.

He pushed
through the crowd toward Tyelu, ignoring the pleas directed his way. He
couldn’t understand Tersii Basic, but he didn’t have to. Everybody wanted to
know what was going on. He just didn’t have time to explain right then.

Tyelu picked up
a toddler clinging to her legs and cuddled him against her chest. “How many?”

“Three ships.
Ziri’s relaying a distress call.”

Tyelu’s eyebrows
shot up. “We’re fighting?”

“The Sweepers
are attacking the trading post. We may be able to disable one ship. If nearby
systems can get ships here in time…”

“We won’t have
to fight long.” Tyelu sighed and shifted her weight from one leg to the other,
gently rocking the boy she held. “We need to get these people out of here.”

“Lock them in
the galley, then bring Enel back here. As soon as Ziri shakes free of her
duties on the bridge, I’ll send her there so she can explain what’s going on
and calm everybody down.”

“Can’t have
crying and fussing with Sweepers on board,” Tyelu murmured.

“They’ll hear,
and we’ll all be in danger.”

“Eh, tell me why
we’re doing this again?”

Ryn pulled his
sister into a tight hug, trapping the boy between them. “Because nobody
deserves to die at the hand of a Sweeper.”

“I know, Ryn.
I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Get
these people to safety. I’ll see you soon.”

Tyelu slipped
away, still holding the boy, and grabbed a woman by the arm. She jerked her
chin toward the hatch leading into the ship at large. “Comira a’au.”

Ryn narrowed his
eyes into slits. “You’re learning Tersii.”

Tyelu shrugged
and grabbed another woman. “It keeps me busy.”

Maybe it did,
but he’d never known his sister to do anything simply to pass the time. He
shrugged it off and waded through the Tersii passengers to Enel. “How’s your
aim?”

“As good as
anyone’s,” Enel said.

“Tyelu’s moving
our passengers to the galley. Help her out. Make sure you get her to grab
weapons for you out of the armory on the way back.”

Enel nodded and
herded women gently toward the
Yarinska
’s interior.

A loud whoosh
filled the air and the
Yarinska
lurched violently. Ryn stumbled into two
women, nearly knocking them over, and high-pitched screams ripped through the
cargo bay.

“What was that?”
Enel shouted.

“Ziri fired our
cannon.”

Ryn pushed past
the other man. He needed to be on the bridge with her, helping her elude the
Sweepers, would’ve stayed there if she knew the ship as well as he did. She
didn’t, though, so it was up to him to manually lock the airlock. It wouldn’t
keep the Sweepers from boarding. They’d eventually find another way in even if
they had to blast a hole in the hull to do it, but it would delay them,
hopefully long enough for help to arrive.

The ship jolted
again and metal scraped along metal. Ryn’s heart sank to his knees. Too late.
The Sweepers were there. The only thing left to do was stall them as they
boarded the
Yarinska
and pray that somebody heard the distress signal
Ziri had sent.

* * *

Ziri activated
the emergency distress beacon, then recorded a tersely worded request for
immediate aid and set it to continually loop and transmit. One of the Sweeper
ships, an oblong mix of shiny and rusted hull plating, broke off its attack on
the trading post and swung slowly toward the
Yarinska
. Ziri’s heart leapt
into her throat and a cold chill wrapped itself around her spine. Showtime.

“Primary AI, can
you calculate probable schematics for the approaching ship and display them on
the main viewscreen?”

“Affirmative,” a
smooth, feminine voice said, and the viewscreen switched abruptly to an overlay
of the Sweeper’s ship. “Schematics on display.”

“Where are the
weapons systems?”

The schematics
rotated and three sections lit up at various points along the ship’s hull.
“Weapons systems located.”

Ziri bit her
lower lip and studied the schematics. Three targets, one shot, two at the most.
Where could she do the most damage? “Primary AI, target the strongest weapon
and highlight it onscreen.”

The schematics
rotated again and two of the lit sections darkened, leaving a large rectangular
section attached to the ship’s lower hull lit. Ziri zoomed the view in. “Lock
the
Yarinska
’s plasma cannon onto that section and fire as soon as it’s
in range.”

Almost
immediately, the cannon fired and the
Yarinska
lurched backward. Ziri gripped
the edge of the control panel, righting her balance. Kraden inertial dampeners.
As soon as they reached Abyw, she was having them upgraded.

“Primary AI, did
we take out the weapons?”

“Negative.”

Ziri cursed
under her breath and flipped the viewscreen back to an outside view. The rear
section of the Sweeper ship floated past them and the screaming wrench of metal
on metal vibrated through the hull. Her breath froze in her lungs. She knew
that sound, knew exactly what it heralded. The Sweepers were trying to connect
their airlock with the
Yarinska
’s. It wouldn’t take them long to figure
out how and less time than that to board.

Her mind whirled
and stuttered. Their passengers. She had to get them to safety.

No, Ryn was
doing that. What could
she
do, though? She was stuck on the bridge and…

The first
Sweeper she’d ever met popped into her mind, and with it, the remembered feel
of its unsheathed male organ sliding over her skin. She retched and shuddered
and sweat popped out on her skin. No, she wasn’t staying on the bridge. She’d
be cornered there, trapped, helpless, and Ryn would have to rescue her again.

Her resolve
hardened. She wasn’t big, she wasn’t strong, but she could fight. She could
protect herself and she could help Ryn protect the
Yarinska
and the women
and children they were ferrying to a new life, thanks to the very alien race threatening
the nearby trading post.

She inhaled a
shaky breath and fumbled with the latch holding the weapons locker shut. Ryn
had only taken one blaster. She knew how to use the other, and Onu’s beard,
would she ever.

“Primary AI,
hold this position. Monitor incoming communications and reroute them to the
cargo bay.”

“Affirmative.”

Ziri palmed the
blaster and inhaled a deep, fortifying breath. She could do this. She
would
do this.

She opened the
bridge’s door and stepped into the corridor. A jumble of frightened voices
echoed to her from deeper within the ship. Good. Ryn was moving their
passengers to safety. That would make holding off the Sweepers a lot easier.

She hustled down
the corridor, following the noise made by women and children who’d seen too
much hardship already. Near the galley, she stumbled to a halt. Tyelu and Enel
were herding people into the galley. Ryn was nowhere to be seen.

Ziri caught
Tyelu’s eye around the heads of the people moving between them. “Where’s Ryn?”

“In the cargo
bay. Last I saw, he was heading toward the airlock.”

The blood rushed
out of Ziri’s head and she swayed. “The Sweepers are trying to lock on,
probably so they can board.”

Tyelu swore
under her breath. “Why didn’t he jump out of reach when he had the chance?”

“No juice in the
engines. I’m going to the cargo bay to help him hold the Sweepers off.”

“I’m coming with
you.” Tyelu grabbed Enel’s arm. “Lock them in. Make sure at least one of them
knows how to get back out again, just in case.”

Enel nodded.
“I’ll be right behind you.”

Ziri pushed
around the perimeter of the crowd slowly entering the galley, then broke into a
run, heading toward the cargo bay. Ryn had to’ve heard the Sweeper’s ship
banging against the
Yarinska
. He had to know what that meant and found a
safe position away from the airlock, and he was ok. Everything was going to be
ok.

She burst
through the open entrance to the cargo bay and froze. Ryn hadn’t found a safe
place away from the airlock. He was six ceg from it, fighting off a Sweeper,
ducking around the metal-encased tentacles whipping through the air around his
upper torso. His hand flashed out, quick as a laser pulse, and the end of one
tentacle broke at an odd angle and flopped limply to the Sweeper’s side.

Its fury roared
out of it in a deafening wave of sound and all of its tentacles reared back.
Ryn stabbed his hand into the Sweeper’s bulky side, and the tentacles snapped
forward, piercing into Ryn’s body, lifting him high off the ground.

“Ryn!” Ziri
screamed. Her legs buckled and she collapsed to the floor. No, not Ryn. Not her
beautiful Ryn. They were just starting their life together, just finding their
way to love. He couldn’t die now. He just couldn’t.

The tentacles
shoved Ryn back and popped out of his body, and he staggered and fell to one
knee. Bright spots of blood bloomed across his clothing. Ziri scrambled to her
feet and lurched toward him. She could save him. They had bandages, lots and
lots of them, enough to stop a hundred men from bleeding out if she could just
get to him.

A second Sweeper
appeared behind the first, and a third. The first Sweeper shambled forward, its
tree trunk legs barely lifting off of the floor. A red beam streaked past Ziri’s
head and hit the Sweeper square in the gullet, and she flinched away from it.

“Don’t stop,”
Tyelu said. “Get Ryn out of the way. I’ll hold off these kraden Sweepers.”

Ziri nodded and raced
toward Ryn and the Sweepers pushing their way into the
Yarinska
, and her
world narrowed to a litany of things to do. Get Ryn to safety, bandage his
wounds, hold off the Sweepers, make sure he never did anything so foolish as
taking on a Sweeper single-handed again.

A Sweeper
stepped into her path.

Ziri skidded to
a stop and faced it squarely. It reached behind itself and grabbed a tentacle,
and her grip tightened on the blaster she held. Ryn didn’t have long. She had
to reach him soon and staunch the blood seeping out of his body or he’d die.
Therefore, this Sweeper had to go. She raised the blaster, aimed at the broad
bulk in front of her, and fired. A burst of red feathered over the Sweeper and
it tilted to the side. She fired again and again and again, and at last, it
tumbled over and thumped onto the floor.

She stepped
around it, kicking writhing tentacles out of the way, and hooked her hands
under Ryn’s arms, blaster and all. “Come on, big guy. Be ok for me. You have to
be ok.”

She threw her
weight back and dragged Ryn slowly away from the Sweepers. There was a med pack
around there somewhere, if she could just find it.

The intercom
crackled to life, startling her, and she almost dropped Ryn.

“
Yarinska
,
cease fire and prepare to be boarded.”

Ziri eased Ryn
onto the hard floor. Help had arrived. Thank the gods.

A handful of
people popped into existence around the cavernous bay, weapons drawn, their
gray armor glinting dully under the
Yarinska
’s steadily flashing warning
lights. Tyelu whooped and yelled, “It’s about time,” and the new arrivals’
weapons shot beam after beam straight into the chests of the Sweepers crowding
around the airlock.

Ryn stirred and
his eyes slit open. “Ziri?”

His voice was
thread thin and so weak she could barely hear it over the din of the battle
taking place around them. She slid her hand into his and leaned close to him.
“I’m here, Ryn.”

“Love you.”

His eyelids
fluttered shut and his head lolled to the side. She groped along his neck, searching
for a pulse. Her fingers hit the slow, steady throb and she sagged.

“Oh, Ryn.” She
pressed a soft kiss to his mouth, then pushed herself into an unsteady stand.
Bandages. She had to find bandages, and then he’d be ok and she could tell him
how very much she loved him.