Page 22 of Aura Awakened
When we finally recover, we lay curled together, hearts pounding. He pulls the cover over us, counteracting the ship’s inherent chill. As I drift off, he kisses my brow, wiping away the sweaty tendrils of hair stuck there.Rest now, he says in my mind.I’ll keep you safe.
I awake to a sort of muffled roar. The spot next to me in the bunk is both empty and cold, telling me that Fillian’s been gone for some time. I stumble out of the bed and shove back my tangled curls. I’m exhausted and feel sweaty and sticky—what I wouldn’t give for a shower and a toothbrush right about now.
Fortunately, there is a small washroom back here, so I avail myself of the facilities the best I can. When I feel a tad more presentable, I search out my missing alien. Absently rubbing my chilled arms, I wander to the cockpit and find Fillian in the pilot’s seat, pressing buttons.
He glances up at me. “Hello,” he says in a tender voice, a grin lighting up his face.
“Hey,” I say. “What’s going on?”
“I just fired up the engines. We’re heading back to the gate. With any luck, a ship will show up once we’re there and we’ll be able to get out of here.”
I slide into the co-pilot’s seat. “Then what?”
“Well, we’ll be back in Coalition space. I need to rendezvous with my partner and make sure my superiors get all the information I collected on the Malifects. After that, I’m not sure.”
“What about getting me home? I don’t suppose you’ve had any revelations about how to achieve that, huh?”
He meets my gaze. “Personally, I have no idea how to get you back to Earth. But I did have one idea. We could try meeting with other members of the Coalition. Non-Acacians, I mean. Maybe someone will have a suggestion. Fifty-two planets are members. That’s a lot of minds and technology. For all I know, some tiny planet in the corner of the galaxy is on the verge of a breakthrough.”
I nod, despite the sinking sensation in my stomach. It’s not Fillian’s fault; he wasn’t the one who brought me here. But if I can’t go home, what the hell am I supposed to do? And what about my business? And Merry? Will she just assume I’m dead? At least I don’t have any family to grieve my disappearance.
“Okay,” I tell him. “I guess we can worry about that once we get through the jump gate.”
He reaches over and grabs my hand. “Whatever happens, I’ll be with you every step of the way.”
6
FILLIAN
We wait, hidden behind another moon near the gate, for a further three days. We pass the time chatting, learning about one another, and giving in to the relentless lust that pings between us. Each time, we grow more in tune with each other, taking our pleasure to new heights.
Aura’s careful to ration the nutrient bars, and we both only drink enough water to get by. Still, by the time the Grim ship finally arrives—apparently no other Malifect ships were in need of Somnambulis—we’re both ready to escape the confines of the nanocraft. She’s mentioned wanting a shower more than once, and she’s not alone; it’s been a long time since I felt this grimy.
When the Malifect ship comes into range, I make sure the nanocraft is cloaked before slipping out from behind the moon. As an extra precaution, I secrete us in the larger ship’s wake. They shouldn’t be able to detect us while we’re in stealth mode, and if they do, we’ll just look like some sort of backwash.
The Grim ship moves slower than I’d like, chugging along toward the coordinates of the gate. I can’t help but wonder what happened after the rebellion. Are the Malifects still in command? Or is there now a Gothelian in the cockpit, holding a weapon to the Malifect helmsman’s head, ordering him to bring everyone home?
When we reach the gate, the other ship stops, waiting for the technology to activate. The jump gate is really just a huge space portal, a glowing blue ring that will zap us back into normal space. With a sigh of relief, I follow the Malifects through. I’d never have admitted it, but I had my doubts that we’d ever get out of this foreign part of space, especially when the Malifect ship didn’t arrive at the gate as quickly as I’d expected.
As soon as we’re back in my home sector, I crank up the engines and head for the asteroid field where I’m supposed to meet Ramp. Even with our increased speed, it’ll take a couple hours to get there.
“So, the Coalition,” Aura says.
I glance at her. “What about it?” In all our conversations, we’ve been careful to avoid discussing the Malifects, my work, or her lack of a way home. Instead, she told me the plots of her favorite books and films, and I described life on Acacia.
“What exactly is it? I mean, I know it’s the organization you work for and that you’re trying to stop the Malifects, but you said fifty-two worlds are involved? How did it come to be?”
“That’s a complicated question.”
“Will you at least try to explain?”
I nod. “Of course. Just bear with me, because it’s a long story. I’ll keep it as short as I can. The first thing you need to understand is that the Malifects are the most technologically advanced species in the galaxy. They didn’t start out that way, but that’s what they do, you know? They steal technology and integrate it into their society. It didn’t take them long to become unstoppable, a threat to every other inhabited world in this sector and beyond. It was pretty apparent to anyone with any sense that no single planet or species could defeat them. Eventually, people from planets with space-faring technology began reaching out to each other. Forming small alliances, that kind of thing. Over time, it grew. Became more official. About three hundred years ago, the Coalition was formed.
“Acacia wasn’t one of the thirty-seven planets involved in the initial alliance, but we joined about seventy years later. My partner, Rampion? His world was one of the first to join. The Malifects attacked Gothel once, centuries ago. It’s one of the few worlds that’s ever managed to survive a Malifect invasion, thanks to their extremely powerful and intelligent queen. Ramp’s mother, in point of fact. But they didn’t come away completely unscathed. Several of Ramp’s siblings were taken, and two cities were obliterated. He’s bitter about it to this day.”
She gives my hand a sympathetic squeeze. “That’s awful.”
I nod. “He’s pretty stoic about it, but that’s just how his species is. They’re the calmest people you’ll ever meet, right up until they aren’t. But I know it eats at him, the thought of his brothers and sisters enslaved on Malifica Prime. Or maybe some other planet, if they got sold off.