Page 9 of Across The Stars
We were leaving Earth. Leaving the only world we’d ever known. We were going to the stars.
4: Vahko
“The Yutan was destroyed,” Salukh said. “Their escort, too. Atom just picked up the distress messages from the escape pods.” He paused for a beat to take a breath. “They said it was gek.”
My hearts sank into my stomach. I turned from Salukh to peer through the window on the observation deck toward Valer, our beautiful, blue planet where a very important shipment was supposed to be transported. Security measures had failed. Our enemies had returned and they’d taken from us again. I ground my teeth together, but kept my calm, flexing my hands just to keep them from tightening into fists. I refocused my vision onthe faint reflection staring back at me in the glass, watching as faint, warm hues of anger pulsed through my skin.
Some valerians were good at controlling their emotional response. I was not one of them. When I was focused, my complexion was a pale, moon-white. But when I felt something intense, the color changed and I couldn’t help it. No matter how placid my expression, my colors always gave me away.
Salukh noticed my hues shifting and placed a hand on my shoulder. He was used to being the hotheaded one, but at the moment, I was the one barely holding it together.
“This was not your fault,” he said. “We will be more careful with the next shipment. We got too comfortable because the gek'tal haven’t made any moves in a long time. Now we know.”
“We should fight back,” I said. “Show them we can. They think we’ve become frail. They need to know we’re not.”
“It’s something to discuss with the humans. There’s a trade coming up. Akasa will speak to their ambassadors.”
I cursed under my breath and started down the narrow passage to the bridge. My ship, the Irlos, wasn’t large. Not as large as the cargo crafts, but it was fast and I was in need of speed. I slipped into a black seat in front of a control panel and swiped my fingers over the glass. The watch pilot, Roosh, glanced at me and relinquished control, sitting back and stretching his legs out.
“What are we doing?” Salukh said.
“Visiting the wreckage,” I told him. “If we can salvage any of it, we will.”
“Temperatures in space will have destroyed any usable tissue.”
“Atom? Where was the Yutan destroyed?”
“In the Ofan quadrant,” Atom’s youthful male voice said over the ship’s intercoms. I watched as the glass in front of me showed the whirlwind shape of our galaxy and then zeroed in ona small portion filled with specks of a ship’s recent destruction. “Debris spans over a massive area.”
“Any casualties from the security escort?”
“I’m unable to access that data.”
“Any signs of organic matter from the Yutan?”
“I am picking up trace signs of organic matter, but it’s deteriorating rapidly.”
“Map a course to the debris field.”
“Yes, Captain. Mapping a course.”
“You sure?” Salukh said. “Maybe we just accept the loss and not get wrapped up in something we can’t get out of. It could be an ambush.”
“A shipment of fertility enhancers isn’t just a loss. It took too much time for those to test positive with our DNA.” I stood and let Atom take over control. “And maybe we can figure out more about the attack if we look into it. An assault like that is asking for retaliation. If the gek'tal want our attention, they’ve got it. We’ll pick up the escape vessels on our way back.”
Salukh nodded and took my place in the pilot seat. “You know I’m with you. I’ll check out the debris field, but we’re not an investigative force. This should be left up to Zeerfa’s people. She’ll have scanner droids out there sweeping the debris better than we can. If any of the vials managed to survive, she’ll find them. We’re a security vessel. Besides, we do have to be in the Gama Quadrant soon, you know. We have a shipment to deliver and a trade to make with the humans.”
I wrinkled my nose at the thought. I never really liked humans. To me, they were fragile and thought too highly of themselves, but they had valuable genetic specimens to offer and valerians had syfer, which could fuel their station far longer than their own resources ever could. Knowing the results of our genetic research with the humans was floating in the wreckage of one of our ships made the thought of the upcoming tradegive me a headache, though. Thus far, humans had benefitted greatly from our resources and we had yet to experience a real breakthrough with theirs.
I retreated to my quarters to compose myself as my frustration grew. It should have been me escorting the Yutan. The Kalpuh’s captain was inexperienced, but with the lack of gek’tal attacks over many cycles, we’d let our guard down.
I paced in my cramped quarters, hands low on my hips. Fury was like a parasite. It fed on me every day and now it had me by the scruff of my neck. I spun around and slammed my fist into the metal wall, making a shallow dent. The pain shot up my arm and I immediately regretted it. Not because the pain was too great, but because I needed to be more levelheaded. I was a soldier and it was time to remember how to act like one again. I’d let myself get comfortable in the stagnancy of valerian life. All valerians had.
But that just made my anger flare hotter. Anger towards one’s self was always the most potent.
“Approaching the Yutan’s debris field,” Atom announced.
I made my way to the bridge and peered out into the black to see a plethora of floating metal parts.
