| |
Etterian Battleship Valiant
Speeding away from Etteria
The Common
12254 Years, 9th to 10th Month
Seated in the common, with his kreso cooling and momaberry sauce congealing, Oyaz nursed a hot chocolate as he waded through endless communications. Flicking a finger, he scrolled through the holographic texts his O.D.I. displayed.
He paused mid-comm and raised his head. Something had disturbed his concentration. With their advanced hearing, it was rude to eavesdrop, yet one word had snagged his attention. He tilted his head to listen.
“...Macera...”
Following the voice, he narrowed on a warrior sipping giyua juice, an empty plate before him.
Oyaz pushed off his seat, crossed the common, and flattened his palm on the Maloidian steel table. “What about Macy?”
“Supreme Commander Oyaz.” The warrior saluted with a fist against his chest.
Oyaz winced at having broken protocol. “My apologies for listening in, warrior. What of Macera?”
“Queen Macera is King Xeus’s Dar Eth.”
Oyaz grinned, the smile claiming him before he could thwart it. “Truly?”
“Yes, which bodes well for us, Supreme Commander.”
Oyaz rubbed the spot over his heart. “That it does. You too may find your Dar Eth, warrior. We need only protect Earth.”
Sauntering off, he headed for his quarters, wanting privacy to comm Macy. Why hadn’t she, Nuos, or Azan let him know? Scowling, he paused in front of the large display vid mounted to the wall in his quarters.
“Macera Mitchell.” Nothing happened. Not a flicker or a connection. “Pilot Krist, what is the meaning of this?”
The male’s face appeared on the vid. “My apologies, Supreme Commander, all communication with the queen follows the same protocol as with King Xeus. Patching you through to Adviser Cales.”
Oyaz gritted his teeth, and his nostrils flared. She was his friend... He sighed. And not his queen? Drawing in calming breaths, he worked through his unusual reaction. The last time he’d been so volatile was when Macy had demonstrated how to slow dance. Thankfully, he and Illan had talked her out of ever doing that in front of his males.
“Supreme Commander Oyaz, how may I assist?” Cales focused on his O.D.I., but when Oyaz hesitated, Cales raised his gaze.
“I wish to...” Oyaz grimaced. “Chat with Macy... Queen Macera.”
“Chat?” Cales’s eyelids fluttered. “Yes, of course. My queen is with the children. Let me convey your request. I am certain she will comm you as soon as possible.”
Cales’s image vanished.
Oyaz shook his head. Macy had been so worried there wasn’t an Eth for her, that she wasn’t beautiful like the other human females...women.
“Nuos et Dinuos.”
Pink sunlight bathed Nuos’s face when he answered the comm. “Supreme Commander Oyaz.”
“How is Macy?” What Oyaz wanted to demand was an explanation for their silence.
“She is well. Calls me a gorilla.” Nuos chuckled. “King Xeus has rescheduled her training sessions to later in the day.”
“Why would the king involve himself?”
Nuos’s eyes widened, and warmth burst through Oyaz’s chest. Yes. At last.
“I commed you with the news, Supreme Commander.” Nuos frowned. “Macy insisted, leaned over my shoulder, and told me what to say. Said she was too lazy to type.”
“What news?” Oyaz activated his O.D.I. to scan through his comms. There, under low priority, waited a comm from Nuos. “My apologies, Nuos. I had yet to see it.”
The warrior smiled. His easy emotions were indicative of the time he spent among human women. “She was most disappointed when you did not respond.” He tilted his arm for Oyaz to catch a glimpse of Macy jumping from one leg to another, her hair blazing around her when she spun. “They are playing a game called hopscotch.”
At her bright smile and joyful laughter, the tension in Oyaz’s shoulders eased. “I will read your comm and respond.”
“Thank you, Supreme Commander.”
Oyaz ended the call, dropped into the closest comfy, and ignored it as it adjusted to the shape of his backside. He chuckled when he skimmed through her comm, hearing her voice in his head as he read it. She was well and happy. That was all that mattered.
He drafted a quick response, more formal as he congratulated her on finding her Eth.
Leaping off the comfy, he strode into the cleansing room, stripping his armor with efficient movements. He stepped under the spray, intending it to be a short cleanse. Restlessness plagued him, yet the void had been held at bay the last week, his life filled with too much for it to grow, to strengthen, to remind him he was alone. Unclipping his hair, he let it unravel and tipped his face into the water. He was en route to Earth, to assist where needed. As daunting as it was with so many females available, it was a matter of time before he found his Dar Eth.
As he mused over the available options, what color hair she might have, her general size, he settled on one definite. She had to be as energetic and joyful as Macy. The time he had spent with her on board the Phoenix, he would always cherish.
“Supreme Commander Oyaz, urgent transmission from Prince Enyl,” Pilot Krist’s voice reverberated from the O.D.I.
Oyaz touched his forehead to the cold white tiles of the cleansing room while the water flowed over him. “Does the prince require a visual?”
“I do not, Oyaz.” The voice was Prince Enyl’s.
Oyaz winced and stifled a grumble.
“Is he cleansing? Sounds like a shower,” a human woman’s softer voice came through.
This time, Oyaz didn’t bother smothering his dismay.
“Yes, he is cleansing.” Enyl’s voice hardened. “End your cleanse, Oyaz.”
“His showering doesn’t bother me,” Princess Oriana said. “Just tell him about Malo. Quit waffling.”
Waffling? Oyaz’s closed his eyes and bit his lip to swallow a chuckle. Prince Enyl’s protectiveness toward his Dar Eth was renowned, as was Princess Oriana’s stubborn streak.
“Waffling? You will pay for that later,” the poor prince threatened.
“I look forward to it.” The princess’s voice turned breathless.
Oyaz coughed. It was a career-ending move to laugh at one’s superior. “With what may I be of assistance, my prince and princess?”
“Operations Commander Malo has been attacked,” Prince Enyl announced.
Oyaz jerked, stunned to hear of this. Humans? Yithians? Who would dare?
“He was on Earth in an ambassadorial role,” Princess Oriana interjected.
“We need you there, Supreme Commander,” his prince ordered. “I want this situation contained—”
“And you get those bastards, Oyaz,” Princess Oriana blurted.
Prince Enyl sighed. “Adviser Cales will forward what information we have.”
A smile twitched Oyaz’s lips again. “Understood.”
“I do not know why I let you talk?” Prince Enyl whispered.
“Because you love me...and my mouth,” she rasped.
Neither realized Oyaz could hear them loud and clear. “Will that be all, my prince?”
The transmission ended on a throaty moan.
Oyaz laughed and finished the cleanse. Malo? As an ambassador? What had led to such a decision? He was the most unsuitable male to act as a diplomat when his go-to was to inflict the maximum amount of pain.
Oyaz didn’t air dry by pushing the blue button on the cleanse console. Instead, he traipsed across his quarters, naked and dripping wet. Sprawling onto his bed, he activated his O.D.I.’s holographic buttons and punched in new instructions. This would ensure Krist increased their speed to maximum, destination as before, Earth, but faster.
He browsed through the data, how and why Malo had been tasked, their objectives. Oyaz frowned. Yes, it made sense to send Malo, if Etteria didn’t trust humans. En route to Earth already, his hands were tied as to immediate assistance. Malo could handle tracking down who’d attacked him. It wouldn’t surprise Oyaz when he reached Earth that Malo had resolved everything. But he would do as his prince asked and ‘contain’ the situation.
He sent off a message to the Gladio, informing the pilot that he was on his way. The response was swift and as confounding. Joy struck, bright and warming, that Malo had found his Dar Eth. It was her he was hunting, stolen from his embrace. They still didn’t know who’d attacked him, though he was well. And as a precaution, they were heading to Yithia on the scimitar. Oyaz added the message to the report. Adviser Cales would no doubt see it.
Oyaz winced when he caught the time on his O.D.I. His next shift would start soon, and he’d yet to find his rest. He stared at the ceiling, trying to wrap his mind around all that had transpired in the past two weeks. The rescuing of prisoners from a captured Yithian slave ship had been the catalyst for the craziness that had become his life. Unexpectantly, three human females had taken the ship, followed by one of the females sparking his Supreme Commander Xan’s Ethera. Since Princess Oriana and Prince Enyl’s pairing, humans had triggered the lifeforce bond with more and more Etterian males. Oyaz did want a soulmate—Macy’s word, not his, but acceptable, nonetheless.
Two Durn had also been on that ship. Only a few hundred of their species existed after a plague ravished their planet. Their highly intelligent, strategic minds were valued, and their lost culture mourned. Xan had escorted them to Issneen to meet with King Xeus.
Thankfully, Oyaz had made it to Etteria, with the sole focus of ensuring his treasured friend Macy was protected. After which, he and Medic Flad had transferred to the closest battleship Valiant heading to Earth.
Fortunately or unfortunately, he was undecided on which one, Oyaz had also been promoted to Supreme Commander and given the Valiant to command.
As part of the fleet of Etterian battleships, the king tasked them to guard Earth against future Yithian abductions. Now this. Operations Commander Malo, known for his elite skills in interrogation, negotiation, and infiltration, was head of their espionage units. He’d acted as the ambassador and had been attacked by unknown forces. If they’d known who was behind this, Prince Enyl would have changed the Valiant’s destination.
Oyaz frowned. The tricky nature of this situation didn’t sit well. Complications meant unpredictability. With a sigh, he pressed a few buttons on his O.D.I. and let the soothing sounds of Beethoven fill his room. Macy had introduced him to music after she had discovered it in the Etterian’s informational database on the subject of Earth. It was something he would need to thank her for when next he saw her.
Once he’d called her friend, but with her status changed, her happiness and protection secured, he had to free her from their friendship.
He rubbed his chest where the restlessness settled. His experiences with her had solidified his decision to find his soulmate sooner. Earth was the first step. Once there, he would offer his assistance to the Gladio and Malo, and perhaps, Maker willing, stumble upon his Dar Eth.
Page of 117