Page 94 of Enslak

"I know."

"And you fought anyway." He shook his head, something like awe flickering across his face. "You're tougher than I remembered, brother."

"My mate is the tough one," I insisted, finding the strength to lift her hand to my lips and press a kiss on her knuckles.

A low hum announced the arrival of another shuttle, descending from the Bardaga on anti-grav pulsars. It settled beside us with barely a whisper of displaced air, the ramp lowering to allow a young Aljani to exit, his arms loaded with supplies.

Charick took the medi-kit, a regeneration wand, and a case of dermal sealant from the Aljani's arms. "Sit," he ordered, pointing to a fallen log.

I obeyed, too tired to argue. Niki stayed close, her hand never leaving mine.

The regeneration wand hummed to life, and Charick began working on the worst of the plasma burns. The sensation was strange—not quite pain, but something tingling as the wand accelerated my healing, knitting flesh together at an unnatural pace.

"Your turn," Charick said to Niki once he'd finished with me. "Don't think I didn't notice those cuts on your arms."

Niki hesitated, but I nodded at her. "Let him help."

She sat beside me, and Charick's touch gentled as he examined her wounds. They were minor compared to mine—defensive wounds, mostly. But each one made my chest tighten with a mixture of pride and guilt.

"She fought well," I told my brother as he sealed a particularly deep cut on her forearm.

"I wasn't going to let them take him," Niki said simply.

"I can see that." Charick's expression softened with approval.

More supplies arrived—three large containers lowered from the shuttle, packed with everything we might need. Food rations, water purification tablets, thermal blankets, a portable shelter unit, weapons, ammunition, and more medical supplies than we could use in a month.

Charick's men began unpacking and organizing everything with military efficiency. They worked in silence, but I caught them glancing at me, their expressions a mixture of curiosity and something that might have been respect.

"That should hold you," Charick said, stepping back to survey his work. The worst of my wounds were sealed now, the regeneration process well underway. I'd still need time to heal fully, but I was no longer in danger of bleeding out. "Use the regeneration wand on the deeper wounds every six hours. And rest. Actually rest, Enslak. Your body needs time to recover."

"I will," I promised.

He turned to Niki. "Keep an eye on him. If he starts showing signs of infection or if any of the wounds reopen, contact me immediately." He gestured toward the supplies his men were organizing. "The comm unit in the supply cache has a direct line to the Bardaga. We'll remain in orbit until you're ready to come home."

"I will," Niki said. "Thank you, Charick. For everything."

She paused, then added, "How did you even find us? Did you pick up our distress beacon?"

"We had ships searching the sector," Charick explained, his expression growing more serious. "Standard search patterns after you disappeared from the Bardaga. But we didn't know where to focus our efforts until..." He glanced at me, then back to Niki. "We got a report of an Ulkommenian ship in this sector. That prompted Binwee to confess what happened. She said she'd rather face the consequences than let you both die if the Ulkommenians found you first." His jaw tightened. "Turns out she was right to worry."

"Tell her..." Niki started, then stopped. "Tell her thank you. Tell her she saved us."

"I will. She's already asking when you'll be ready to return to the Bardaga." Charick's expression softened slightly. "I think she's worried about you both."

He nodded at us both, then looked at me one more time. "Call Mother soon. Don't make her wait too long."

"I won't."

He turned to leave, then stopped, his gaze falling on the bodies scattered through the clearing. Fifteen Ulkommenians, all dead.

"How did they find you?" he asked. "Binwee said she disabled the ship's tracker."

"DNA tracker," I told him, grimacing. "Implanted years ago. Injected directly into my bone marrow. It replicates with my cells, becomes part of my genetic code."

Charick's expression darkened, his jaw tightening. "We'll need to neutralize it. Can't have them tracking you across the galaxy."

"George might know how," Niki suggested.