Page 29 of Einar

“Ifyou do not let me in and tend to my mate immediately, you are no longer going to be needed.Iwill personally flush your worthless hide out the airlock.Ihave my very soul in my arms, andIneed you brother.”

Mate?

Slavic’swords strike a chord in me.Ifhis mate was in there with mine, then she must be in deplorable condition.Movingmy bulky body rapidly across the room,Iunlock the door and glare down at my older brother.NormallyIwould crack a joke about my “little older brother” but neither of us are in a joking mood right now.

“Yourmate,Slavic?”

Steppingaside,Imotion forSlavicto follow me back into the medi-bay, immediately prepping the nearest bed.Ido not want to be any farther from her thanIhave to be, so puttingSlavic’smate in the closest bed to her makes the most sense.Iabsently note his surprised expression to see thatIhave another human female in the bed next to his.

“Puther down here, quickly.Iknow not what games ourGodsare playing with us right now, or if we are merely being tested, butIhave never been so terrified in my life,Slavic.Whileof courseIknow what humans are, and where they originate from,Ilack any real knowledge of their anatomy and treatment.Iam at a complete loss.Therumors circulating about their species is that their planet of origin was destroyed by a world ending storm.Bikaris doing his best to track down any information he can on their species that’s left, via the normal back channels, but he has already warned me that if he stretches his reach out too far, we may inadvertently bring some unwanted attention from theCommandersthis way.Itis believed thatCommanderDaRhas put their race under his protection, but he would have to kill me beforeIwould allow him to take her!”

AsIrelay whatIknow toSlavic,Iam rapidly pulling supplies off shelves and out of drawers around the beds our mates lie in.

“Whatare you talking about?”

Inod my head toward the bed that is now fully prepped for his mate andIsee him shoot a glance over at my mate’s battered form as he is in the process of laying the precious bundle in his arms down on the soft surface.Surprisefills his eyes. “Doyou think they are sisters,Einar?Shewas distraught when she saw the nest next to her was empty.”

“Thatis somethingIcannot verify right now, butIwould bet a sizeable number of credits that they are.Theresemblance is too uncanny for them not to be.”

“Iagree,Einar.Whatgames are the gods playing here?Thiscannot be a simple coincidence.”

Theconfusion in his voice is not somethingIam accustomed to hearing in my steadfast older brother’s voice, but nothing we have faced before in our lives could have possibly prepared us forthis.

“Ihave no clue, brother, butIwish they would have watched over them a little better.Mymate’s lungs were almost completely collapsed, and she has numerous other injuries, butIhave managed to get her stabilized.Ihave a few minutesIthink, so let us see what we can do for your mate while mine is resting.Firstthing we need to do is get these leaves off and out of her.Whoeverdid this knew that the leaves would slow down the blood flow, but unfortunately infection has set in.Youcan already see where her skin is turning red around the edges.”

Slavicmoves back out of the way soIcan assess his mate.Iattempt to run my handheld scanner over her to ascertain what needs attention first, but it comes back inconclusive and frustration fills me asIlook over at him. “Ineed you to take her to the sanitizer unit.Themixture of bug guts and your blood combining with hers is corrupting the scan.Iwill not get an accurate read on her while she is covered in so many viscous fluids.”

“Willit hurt her?”

“Ihave no ideaSlavic, but she is unresponsive right now, so hopefully the pain will be minimal.Donot get out until you are positive that she is clean.Itdoes me no good to work on her only for her body to be exposed to foreign bacteria that will rapidly reinfect her wounds.Andbe careful with her leg.”

Iwatch as he picks her up with a gentlenessIdid not know he was capable of and takes her to the sanitizer at the back of the room.Theclatter of metal hitting the floor catches my attention andIsee his swords lying on the ground in front of the alcove.

WhileSlavicis tending to his mate and ensuring she is clean enough for me to treat,Ifocus on the small silver chain that is defiling my mate’s body.Themere sight of it fills me with rage, soIcannot fathom how she has dealt with having such a thing attached to her andwithinher.Openingthe drawer full of surgical tools,Ifind whatIam looking for and remove the cutters.Theyare sharp enough to cut through just about any metal in the known universe, so they should have no issues severing the links of this small chain as well as the hoops that piece her flesh.

Pickingup the chain,Iinsert that part of it into the mouth of the cutters and then press the handles down, being extremely careful not to pull up or down as there is very little slack.Thecutters make a soft ‘snick’ as they cut through the chain andIpull the length of it out of the hoops in her nipples, navel and cunny.Shamemakes the tips of my ears burn.Shehas not invited me to look at her most private places and it galls me thatIwill have to spread her nether lips to usecutters to remove a metal hoop from her cunny!

Ihear the dryer in the sanitizer turn on and knowIdo not have long beforeSlavicreturns.Nofemale would wish a male she does not know to see her in such a state, and ifSlavic’sfemale is her sister … she need not be aware of this either.

Quickly, but with precision,Ipart her nether lips, cut the hoop from the top of her hood and gently remove it from her flesh before repeating the action at her navel and both nipples.Reachingfor the hand scanner,Iuse it to seal the small holes left by the metal in her flesh.Nano-tics later, it is as if the hoops and chain never graced her flesh.Imay not be able to remove all of her scars, butIcan at least fix these small areas since they have more blood flow than other parts of her damaged form.

Shiversbegin to wrack my mate’s tiny body, soIpull a heated blanket out and adjust it over her asSlavicsteps up next to me with his mate in his arms.

“Doyou want me to put her back on the bed?”

“Yes, just let me get this heater set on my mate andIshould be able to take a breath without fear she is going to die beforeIever know her name.”

Fiddlingwith the heated blanket untilIhave it the wayIwant it takes a few moments andSlavicstands there, holding his mate while he waits on me.Turningto him, empathy fills me.Iknow how he is feeling right now and there is no judgement from me that he clings to his mate so.Eventually,Slaviclowers her to the bed next to my mate and stands there looking down at her abused form.Angerfills his face and a vicious growl rumbles in his chest.Grabbinghis arm with my giant fist,Ijostle him a bit to get his attention.

“Shedoes not need your rage; she needs your love and attention.Lockthatshet down for later.”

Pushinghim back out of my way,Iuse the scanner to assess her body.Theinformation it relays to me is just as concerning as the reports it gave me on my mate. “Frack, these two are a mess.Bothare dangerously dehydrated and starved to the point that they are nutrient deficient.Theirdelicate skin has been exposed to the elements and ultimately, that will lead to permanent scarring.Iwill do my best to reduce it, but saving their lives is more important than a few scars.Ontop of that, it looks like your mate also has a nasty infection, and by the shape of the wound, it was aVelgriddixthat did this to her.Hershoulder muscles are torn, and that was probably caused by fighting back.Notto mention, her wrist is angled wrong, which indicates a broken bone.Imust give these little humans one thing, they are tough.Manytimes,Ihave seen lesser wounds bring a male to his knees.”

Slavicruns his meaty, gray hand over the top of his mate’s head of clean, yet tangled and matted hair.Themotion gives me an idea.Slavicwill be calmer if he has some sort of task, andIhave just the one for him.

“Here.”

IhandSlavica hair brush and almost laugh at the perplexed look on his face.Hehas not had any hair in years, so he has had no use for such things.

---