Page 54 of My Big Scaly Alien Naga
We headed towards the command centre which was right next to the room I had worked in before I’d been discovered.Full circle.
The command centre hadn’t changed since I’d last stood here while reporting to my superiors – not in structure, at least.But the atmosphere was different.The cold weight of secrets and repression had been replaced by something warmer.
Purpose.Hope.Love.
The entire crew was assembled.Vruhag at the helm, arms crossed, eyes scanning the screens with a kind of calm he hadn’t worn on Kalumbu.Fay stood at his side, fingers interlaced with his.Silus lounged at a console, for once not hacking anything – having Pria on his lap would have made that difficult.Penny and Qong sat close together, their shoulders brushing, golden textured skin and dark hair glowing beneath the artificial lights.
Clare and I stepped in, hand in hand.
Vruhag gave us a nod.“Good timing.The IA just sent final confirmation.”
He tapped the central console, and a crisp, authoritative voice filtered through the speakers – Commander Lhu.
“By decision of the Intergalactic Authority Oversight Council, stewardship of Kalumbu and its orbiting facility is hereby granted to the independent vessel Bloodstar and her crew.The facility will be registered as a protected sanctuary.Resources, guards, and quarterly credits will be dispatched effective immediately.All claims to the planet are suspended under IA law until further reassessment.
“You have done what many thought impossible.You have made Kalumbu more than a battleground.You’ve made it a future.Let us hope that there will be no second Kalumbu.We have shown the criminal underworld that their time is numbered.And while the IA will pursue justice in the courts and undercover, the Bloodstar crew has the authority to help the victims here on the former Kalumbu Station.One of our strategists has suggested a new name for it.Beacon.A light in the darkness to guide those who need it to their new home.”
The message ended with a soft chime.
We all stood in silence.
Then Penny exhaled.“Well… I guess this is home now.”
Clare stepped closer to the viewport, her gaze fixed on the pastel marble of Kalumbu far below.“There’s still so much pain down there.So many ghosts.But maybe… this is how it starts.With people who care.”
“We do care,” I said, curling my tail lightly around her legs.“And we’re not alone anymore.”
Qong spoke up, his voice slow and deliberate.“Maybe Kalumbu isn’t just where we were broken.Maybe it’s where we begin again.”
Vruhag grunted.“Then let’s begin.Together.”
The screen dimmed as the station adjusted orbit, the view of Kalumbu slowly tilting beneath us – glowing with clouds, alive with the promise of change.
Clare leaned against me, warm and solid and full of light.I wrapped her in my arms and rested my chin on her head, before whispering so softly that only she could hear.
“I love you.Now and forever.I never thought I’d have a mate.Didn’t think I deserved one.But then I found you.You were my beacon.The star that guided me back into the light.”
She turned to look up at me, her eyes shining with the same love I felt in my hearts.
“You didn’t need me to guide you.You were already in the light.You are a good person, Venom.You just forgot that for a while.”
Together, we looked down on Kalumbu.The planet that had brought us together.It had given us fear and pain but also hope and joy.A planet wasn’t evil.It was the people who ruled over it.
“Home,” Clare whispered.“This is our home.”
“Yes.And even when we leave here, I will always be home.My home is with you, Clare.You are my mate, now and always.”
“You’re so cheesy,” she laughed, but then she wrapped her hands around my hood and pulled me close.Our lips hovered a breath apart when she whispered what I’d craved her to say.
“But you’re also mine.My mate.Venom.”
Epilogue
Tyvaron
Pain.
Heat.
