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"There's a logical explanation for why they're not answering," I rush out. "Maybe Drax dropped the comm or it was damaged somehow."
"Yeah," Stacy chimes in. "Or they're too busy fighting the creature they found to answer."
"I like Zoe's scenario better." Darcy rubs at the gooseflesh pebbling her arms. "Maybe Drax dropped the thing and they're chasing the creature they found out of the lab. I mean, it is five against one."
"Yeah, but we all saw the fight against Gruxt. I would've thought three huge Ziarian males could have taken him down. If Drax wouldn't have had that confinement collar, one of them could have died." Tasha reminds us all of what we don't want to consider.
Without warning, the door slides open. We all leap up from the bed to huddle together in the far corner of the room. Tris lets out a little screech of her own, tucking herself under my hair.
Drax is first through the door. Stacy breaks away from our group, flinging herself into his arms. He effortlessly catches her up, enveloping her in a strong embrace.
Mordox is next, a little noise of relief mixed with excitement erupts from my throat as I race to meet him halfway. Tris leaps onto his head, wrapping her little clawed fingers around one of his horns. I throw my arms around his tight waist and bury my face in the hard planes of his stomach.
Mordox wraps me in strong arms, holding me close and tight against him. His spicy scent envelopes me, calming my nerves, melting away my anxiety until all that's left is the sense of safety I always feel when I'm with him.
"Thank God you're okay! What happened?" My words muffle against his abs. "We were so sacred with all the noise."
"We found the last miner, or the creature he had become, inside a specimen tube," Mordox says. "We turned on the power in that room and think that's what woke it up. It got loose and ran into the forest before we could kill it.
"It's not safe down here." Mordox turns to Drax. "You saw how easy it was for that thing to tear its way out. We need to get the females out of here."
Rooke rushes in next, ruby eyes immediately searching the room for Darcy as he speaks, "We should leave in the shuttle. It's short-ranged, but it has enough power to get us to Kyler 4 or one of its moons."
"There's nothing on Kyler 4, pirate." Drax's brow scrunches into deep furrow. "It's barely habitable."
Rooke pulls Darcy into a relieved embrace. "It's safer for my mate than here," he says, cupping her face before capturing her lips in a tender kiss. To see my friend so obviously happy in love warms my heart.
"We don't have to stay there forever," Rooke goes on to say. "We can rapidly recharge the shuttle with the power in the energy shields we found and make short flights to various planets until we find one to settle on."
"What of the prisoners still collared?" Bruke asks from the door, his purple eyes seeking out Romy. Slye pushes past him to stand with Tasha. "Don't they deserve the same chance at freedom as us? Some of them in Annex 2 have more than done their time, the same as me and Drax."
"We should leave them the key collar Drax found on our way off this rock," Rooke says. "Maybe leave it in the common area during lockdown."
"So they can be stuck here to fight the lab creatures still on the loose?" Mordox scowls. "They have no weapons and no idea what they're up against."
"Maybe Bruke and I can figure out how to turn the stunners into something more lethal," Drax suggests. "Leave them something to fight back with."
"They'll be trapped on Zune with no way home," Slye points out, Tasha leaning heavily on his arm.
"None of us are going home, Slye," Rooke reminds the males. "It's no longer safe for any of us on Ziaria. Not with what our government had planned for us here. We were never meant to return home, and even if we did try to go back, they would kill us for knowing too much."
"Rooke's right," Mordox says, hugging me tighter. "Besides, we can't take the females to Ziaria. Humans are considered an inferior species. Yulineon patrollers would be alerted, and the females would be killed."
"If we can retrieve the computer you have from your hideout, maybe I can pull the files from the ether and expose the officials responsible," Drax theorizes. "A transport ship would be sent to gather the remaining prisoners and return them to Ziaria."
"Are we seriously talking about taking on the Ziarian government?" Bruke scoffs. "You realize the depth of the corruption we would face."
"There aren't enough decent people left in charge of our world to care about saving a group of castoff criminals," Rooke affirms. "We need to think about the females. Take them someplace safe."
"For now, we leave the key to the collars like Rooke suggested," Drax decides. "Bruke and I will try and modify the stunners, but we use the scanners we found to hunt down and kill the creatures from the air."
"As much as I hate to admit it, I agree with Bruke." Mordox's throat works through a hard swallow. "The five of us are no match for the corruption of the Ziarian government. If we kill the lab creatures before we leave, at least the remaining prisoners can safely live on Zune. If we find ourselves in a position to return to Zune with a large enough ship, we can transport the ones who want to leave someplace else."
When the chatter dies down and all remains quiet, Drax peers around the room. "Then it's settled?"
"We have a lot to do, best we get to it," Mordox says. "The longer we remain here, the likelihood of the lab creature returning increases."
"And the females are safer in the air than on the ground," Rooke adds.
