Page 32 of Einar

Noddingmy head,Iagree withSlavic.

“Atleast now they have a chance at fulfilling that bond.Thatis, ifRuarccan get his head out of his backside before he ruins it.Ifwe had remained onViri9, they would never have interacted with each other.Ourstatus was …”

Slavic’shead snaps up to look at me when my voice trails off.Imust stop speaking as the words feel like broken shards of metal in my throat.Takinga deep breath,Iforce myself to continue. “Theywould not have ever crossed paths, andIthink that is even sadder.Ithink that is whyRuarcis fighting the bond.Hefeels like he is not good enough for her, which breaks my hearts.Somany pray and hunt for their mates, never realizing they may have walked right past them at some point in their lives.Personally,Iam glad this is his fate and burden to bear and not mine.Icannot sayIwould be behaving any differently in his situation.”

“Ruarcshould not doubt the gods.Abond cannot be forced or mimicked.Heis not only hurtingKallenbut angering the gods that gave her to him.Completefoolishness.”

Imeant whatIsaid… if my mate were to be one that was in a station far above mine,Iwould be of a somewhat similar mindset toRuarc.Thecaste system we were raised in is something very difficult to overcome.Wehaven’t been part of our society for many cycles, but the lessons of our youth are still present in our minds.Thedinging of my med bay computer pulls my attention to the results on the screen.Skimmingthrough them,Ianalyze the data and relief fills me whenIreach the end of the report.Lookingover atSlavic,Ihappily relay the news.

“Goodnews,Slavic.Itappears your mate no longer needs the hydration meds.Iwill start unhooking her, which means she should wake up in the next half a rising.”

“Youare just trying to get rid of us.”

Histeasing words make me smile, but my humor does not last long as reality begins to set in.

“Possibly, butIhave a feeling my mate will not be as receptive as yours.”

“Einar, at least yours is no longer multiple colors, and you even managed to get that torture device off her.Ican hardly imagine the purpose of something like that unless it was humiliation or a show of ownership.Allour lives, we prayed for our world’s females to be protected, while others openly abused theirs.”

“Yourwords are trueSlavic.However, the one thingIhave learned as a medic is that the body normally heals quicker than the mind.Agood example isMurgul.Ifyou simply glanced at him as you walked by, you would see a male in his prime.Noone truly knows the power of our minds until they are crushed from within.Haveyou decided what you are going to do about the translators?”

Thatis a question that has been at the forefront of my mind.Mymate has obviously been abused for many cycles.Endingup in the hands of theVelgriddixwas just the culmination of what she appears to have suffered in her young life.Itwould be a far smoother introduction if she could understand whatIam saying whenIspeak to her.Thethought of causing her any undue stress at all fills me with dismay.

“Aftermuch thought,ItoldBikarto head toNavale.Weshould be able to pick up something there.Mybiggest worry is when the vendor asks why we need them, what doIsay?Thefact that we have females on board cannot be known.TheZenithhas substantial fire power, and she can hold her own easily against most others.Butif word gets out once we are onNavale, she would not survive a direct shot from a destroyer, or a swarm ship.Iam going to sendFalonout to obtain them while theZenithrefuels.Heinformed me that he knows of a dealer on the lower level ofNavalethat won’t ask questions if the credits are enough.Wereally have no credits to spare, butIgave him what remained, anyway.BikarandMurgulare going to supervise the sale of the cargo whileIoversee the refueling.Thatleaves you andRuarcto watch over the females.

Therewere some feminine products and garments in one of the crates we procured from theVelgriddix.ItoldMurgulto take the entire thing to the females, but depending on his mood, who knows if he did or not?Oncewe dock,Ihave decided to engage the locks onFalonandMurgul’srooms so that they must remain inside.Thelast thing we need is for them to suddenly get brave and exit the ship.Wewould have to fight every pirate in this sector to get them back.Ihate that the females are scared when there is no reason for them to be.Bikarhas been delivering their meals to the rooms, leaving them at the door, then retrieving them later.Theothers have tried everything to interact with them, but they simply huddle together every time the door is opened.Itwould help ifKallencould speak to them more.

However,Ruarcwon’t letKallenout of his room, stating that she is too weak, andIblame him not.Frack,Iwould react the same way, if not possibly worse.Shet,Ialready am.EvennowIam changing things to protect our mates at all costs.Thiswhole experience is new to me and nowIam doubting every decision, somethingIhave never done in the past.Oneof the things rolling through my mind is the fact that theZenithis not big enough for all of us.Ifwe remain on the same path, we will be forced to start making some serious modifications or possibly need to trade her for something larger.Thenthe next issue is, how are we going to continue to fund this little adventure if we are all too scared to put our mates at risk?”

Frowning,Irealize that we are in a predicament.I’vebeen so busy with trying to save our mates thatIhave not had time to think ahead likeSlavicobviously has.Thisis a specific example of why he is our captain.Itis not just because he is the oldest, it is because he looks at a problem from many different angles before making a decision on how to proceed.Ifwe knew whereKallenwas taken from, several of the issues we are facing would be solved.

“HasKallentoldRuarcwhere she was taken?”

“No, and he has been such an ass she has withdrawn and is now refusing to speak to him.Eventhough that is frustrating, it does not really matter in the scheme of things.Iam not going to take her back to a planet that has been invaded, just to have her recaptured.Goingback to see if we can find any survivors is agreeable, butKallenwill not be returning permanently.Weeither need to find a home planet to call our own or obtain another ship.Althoughright now, both of those options seem unattainable.”

“Thisis a path new to both of usSlavic.Leaveit to the gods and all will be answered in time.Letus go find some sustenance because my innards are rumbling.”

“Yougo onEinarIwill stay and watch over them.”

We’vebeen in the med-bay long enough and both of us need a break.Ourmates are not going anywhere, and we cannot afford to let our bodies weaken, soIimmediately rejectSlavic’soffer.

“No, you are going to come with me.Themoment either of them awaken the problems you think you have now are going to be laughable in comparison.Takea tic to quiet your mind, because you are going to need your wits about you sooner rather than later, my brother.”

“Thiswould be much easier with translators.”

“PossiblySlavic, but then maybe not.Eitherway, they will wake terrified and confused.Wordsalone will simply not make those emotions disappear, only our actions will.”

“Whathas made you so wise all of a sudden, brother?”

“DealingwithMurgulhas taught me to look inside a problem.Ithas given me insight into thingsInever wanted to know.”

Slavicnods and glances away from me.Ican tell he is fighting with his anger and self-loathing over what was done to our younger brother.Hereluctantly follows me out the door, his smaller frame trailing behind me.Myinability to healMurgulis a burden that weighs just as heavily on me now as it did when we first found him as a broken mound of flesh.Evenwith all the knowledge theAynarshoved into my brain,Iam not a deity.Thereare things thatIcannot repair, mend or correct.Fleshcan only take so much abuse before it is beyond the help a medic can provide.

AsSlavicandIturn the corner, we meetBikarjust as he is about to enter the dining hall.Hislarge arms are full of trays empty of food.Aslight smile creasesSlavic’sface as he calls out toBikar. “Isee the females are eating.Thatis a good sign.”

“Theywere more receptive this rising, andIeven managed to get a few words from the one with twirly hair.Wewill be docking this rotation with theNavale, andIwanted to make sure that they were fed before we lock the ship down.”

Slavicnods atBikaras we both walk into the dining hall.Movingover to the replicator,Iwait forSlavicto make his selection and move away before entering the code for my favorite comfort meal.Thesmell of roasted meat makes my mouth water a bit asIpull a chair out at the table across fromSlavicandBikar.Slavicis absently shoveling an unappetizing-looking gruel into his mouth in giant bites, as if he does not taste what he is eating.

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