I placed her on the plants a third time and used all in the vicinity to cover her body.Water, fire, food.I worked on auto-pilot. Gathering more water, building a fire, and eventually, seeking food for my mate. I snagged a few fish that swam in a shallow pool toward one end of the spring. It wasn’t much meat, but it would sustain her. Although I would have cut up that tentacled beast’s body for sustenance, I dared not for fear the rest of the carcass would be poison. “Medicine. I need medicine.”
I had never been so angry with myself. This was my mate. I would not let her die. “Think, drav you.” My mind reeled and rebelled. But I was on an unknown planet, and my options were limited. With little else to do, I turned her toward the fire, her face highlighted by its orange glow. I laid down beside her and cocooned my body around hers. Between the fire, the plants, and my body heat, her skin warmed and her shaking ceased.
I’d watch over her, hold her, guard her for as long as it took to see her well again. By the stars, I would not fail.
* * *
Spans passed with infinite slowness,every beat a painful reminder of my inability to help my mate. The green sunlight filtering from the cavern’s ceiling above shifted to a deeper hue, until it faded from sight. Our temporary shelter was plunged into darkness. Yet tiny crystals peppered the walls, casting a subtle glow like far off stars that winked in the blackness of space.
My pajuara slept like the dead. Her groans had quieted and her trembles stopped. I did not wish her pain, but I yearned for any sound or movement to let me know she was healing. Instead, I was met with silence that reminded me too much of the grave. “You must live, my Truxoria,” I whispered into her hair. “I have only just found you. Do not leave me alone.” I reached over her still form to stoke the fire, not daring to release her from my embrace. “If you must go, then you leave me no choice but to follow.”
A murmur reached my ears. I dropped the stick I’d been using to prod the firewood. “Elena?”
“Where are…” She sucked in a huge breath, her chest expanding against my arm that clasped her to me. “…you following me to?”
My muscles loosened at her question. Relief a palpable feeling in my bones. I didn’t answer her question right away. Grasping her hips, I turned her to her back and rose to my knees to inspect the wound on her side. It had shifted from a sickly gray pallor to a warmer hue, not quite the same as Elena’s skin tone, but on the path to health. “My mate,” I took her face in my hands, “I will follow you wherever you wish to go.”
Her lips stretched into a smile. “I’m glad, but for now, I think I’ll stay right here.” She patted the space beside her. “Will you stay with me while we sleep?”
I doubted I’d be able to rest. The nearness of her brush with death lingered too close. Even if she was out of the thick of it, I’d find no comfort until she was fully healed. But, I’d deny her nothing. “Of course, my pajuara. It is my greatest pleasure to hold you.”
“Good.” She sighed and wiggled against me as I laid beside her. Her back to my chest once more, I replaced the plants around us to provide her a blanket. “This is nice.”
The weariness in her voice belied her condition. She needed rest. “It is,” I said and kissed her on the cheek. “Rest now. Safe in my care.”
Elena hummed at my words and quickly fell into slumber. Although my body had released much of the held tension with her free from death’s grip, it would take me a long time to overcome the memory of this night. Emotions, as it turned out, were a troublesome thing. Yet, as her soft snores and dream-filled sighs washed over me, I would not trade the fullness of the feelings for the emptiness of life without my Elena.
* * *
ELENA
The ship’s alarms blared. The computer’s voice intoned over the com system, “All hands to stations.” I stared at my friend, Chief Security Officer Brielle Gilbride, who was making the rounds in the hangar bay with me. The dark freckles speckling her nose stood in contrast to her fair skin. A wild jumble of curly auburn hair was tied tightly atop her head in a messy bun. Her crisp navy jumpsuit was decorated with patches on her arm and chest, denoting her rank. Her penetrating hazel eyes bore into mine and a tick formed along her clenched jaw.
“What’s happening?” I yelled over the whining of the alarms.
But Brielle was already in motion, coding in her ID to a weapons storage locker on our side of the hangar. “Take this.” She handed me a blaster and retained another for herself. “Let’s get to the science team.”
“Right.” My training kicked-in with her actions. The majority of the team would be in the labs, two decks up from our current location. We’d find them and guard them from whatever was happening on the ship. Our main objective was to protect the scientists. They held the keys to our mission’s success in creating a colony on a viable planet somewhere in the endless cosmos.
A tremor cascaded across the deck floor as we ran, rocking the ship hard to the right. Brielle grabbed my arm, and I held fast to a bulkhead. The shaking ceased after a moment, but the ship continued to vibrate as if awaiting the next attack. Giving me a hard look, the chief jutted her chin toward the exit. “We make it to the scientists.”
“No matter what.” I nodded at her, then headed for the doorway. Our boots pounded the stairs when we reached them and took the steps two at a time. Seconds ticked on, every one precious. My heart beat too fast, and I struggled with the adrenaline coursing through me. “What if—”
Another jolt sent the ship into a steep drop before it leveled out again. My stomach rolled.
“Almost there,” Brielle gritted out. Her grip turned white on the blaster as she held it in front of her. I mirrored her movements.
We ascended the second set of stairs to find the scientists standing in the hall outside their labs. Clustered together in their gray jumpsuits they appeared like a raincloud. On the outskirts of the pack stood our ship’s medical officer, Dr. Iris Greyhelm.
She jogged toward us with her med bag tucked her arm. “Are either of you injured?”
“No, we’re all right, doc.” The chief motioned toward the exit. “But we have to get everyone out of here.”
“Right.” The no-nonsense doctor used the hand not holding the med bag to smooth her long black hair away from her face, not missing a strand. Although both the chief and she ranked the same, and either could take charge in an emergency, she didn’t bother arguing over hierarchy. “You’re in command then.”
The chief nodded at her and then yelled, “This way!” It set the frantic science team into motion.
My skin turned clammy as I feared the descent with so many in tow would be too slow, but it was far quicker than I imagined. The scientists were used to the crew’s commands after spending four months in space together. Although we’d trained for all types of scenarios, they were still civilians, and it was a crap-shoot how any of them would react in an emergency. But I found myself grinning inwardly at their response.
