TAKEN: Journey to a New Home (20 page)

  “Do you think you could put the empty cell between us? Please?” She asked politely. Legoch regarded her for a moment and then graciously agreed. “Thank you,” she smiled at him and he nodded. He issued orders for the center cell to be disengaged and the other three women quickly moved to the end cell without being told where Ashaa joined them. She nodded to Legoch again in thanks.

  Nogith roared and cursed.

  “Put the silencer on,” Legoch ordered. “I don’t think they want to listen to him roar for the next few hours and I know I don’t want to listen to the stupid suba beast.”

  Suddenly there was silence and then Legoch grinned at the women. He left with the other four. Nogith was now black in the face and throwing himself at the invisible wall but no sound came from the cell. Then there was a bright flash and Nogith was thrown against the back wall and slid down it unconscious. The women breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Wow, you told Wendy the truth,” Rose gushed.

  “Of course, I had no reason to lie,” Ashaa said hugging the petite teen. “Can you reach Vax?”

  “No, I can feel him and he’s furious. All of them are. I can feel it through the link but he’s too far to ‘talk’,” Rose explained.

  “Are the two of you okay?” Ashaa addressed Sienna and Taylor.

  “Yes, we’re just scared and worried for the others.” Sienna’s face was filled with distress. Ashaa hugged her.

  “Why is he in a cell?” Taylor wanted to know.

  “He’s been charged with treason. His father is furious. The attack on Saneera is causing all kinds of problems. His people were already upset about the incident on Earth. He tried to convince his father I was a Zargazian. His father told him to stop believing in fairy tales that Zargarzians are extinct and everyone knows that,” Ashaa explained and then took a long drink from a water bottle. “He’s also been charged in the deaths of nine of his crew who were killed by our Saavin mates. They’re going to drop us a weigh station called Petatay,” she continued on. The relief on the faces of the other women was evident.

  “How long will that take?” Sienna asked in a broken whisper not daring to let her hopes get too high.

  “A few hours from what Legoch told me,” Ashaa squeezed her hand. “
Rose, I want to try something. I want to see if we can extend our reach by working together. I don’t want them to get into an unnecessary battle when they can just pick us up on Petatay
.” Sienna and Taylor looked at Ashaa in surprise. All three women had heard her ‘talk’. “
I don’t want them to know I can ‘talk’. The less they know the better off we are.
”

The other three nodded, understanding.

“
We’ll try for Vax. He’s the strongest.
” Ashaa told them. The four of them went to sit in the far corner of the cell. They linked their hands together. “
I know it’s hard but I want everyone to concentrate on Vax. Try to put your own mate out of your mind for a few minutes and just think about Vax. Picture him in your mind and push that thought toward Rose. Rose, keep it short. Tell him our destination and try to get across that violence isn’t necessary.
”

***

  They were getting closer. Rev was already formulating a plan on how to board the other vessel and deal with the giants. Vax who had been helping at sensors stiffened and turned wide eyes to Dezek.

“
Vax?
” he heard Rose and shook his head. “
Vax, I need you to reach for me,
” she said inside him.

  “
Rose, are you hurt?
”

  “
No. Don’t attack. They’re leaving us at Petatay. Do you understand? Don’t attack. They’re leaving us at Petatay!
” Vax was on his feet crying out, “No!”

  Dezek was beside him. “What happened?”

  “Rose. Rose touched me. She said not to attack.”

  “Why the hell not?” Rev bellowed.

  “She said they’re being dropped at Petatay.” Vax shook his head, pain and grief on his face. “Then she was gone.”

  “Are you sure, Vax?” Dezek asked quietly.

  “Yes, she said it twice.”

  “You’re certain it was Rose,” Rev demanded. “What if you’re wrong?”

  “Vessel is changing course.” Nyman interrupted them.

  “Probable destination?” Dezek asked.

  “Calculating his trajectory,” Nyman responded. “He’s headed straight for Petatay!”

  “We wait,” Dezek said. Rev growled low and deep behind him. He turned to the big man. “If we can get them back without violence then we stand a better chance of getting them back uninjured. It also puts us in the pilot’s seat to file a complaint and be the wronged party.”

  “Understood.” Rev acknowledged.

  The wait was nearly unbearable. They shadowed the large ship just out range of any sensors. By the time they reached the outer markers of Petatay hours later, everyone was tense and stressed. 

  “Hold back, Nyman. Let’s make sure he’s actually going to dock” Dezek ordered.  They watched tensely as the big suPonick vessel docked at the space station above the planet. “Bast, do you have the shuttle ready?” he called.

  “Affirmative we’re ready,” Bast told him.

  “Go get them. If this is trick we’ll follow them without delay. We’ll come back and get you as soon as we can,” Dezek ordered. More than anything else he had wanted to be on that shuttle. To hold Sienna is his arms as soon as possible but the leader in him knew if it was a trick he needed to be here at the helm. They waited tensely as the shuttle docked.

***

  Legoch entered the brig. “Are you ladies ready to depart?” he grinned at them.

  They stood and the big gray giant signaled the crewman to cut disengage the cell wall.

  “Thank you for letting us leave,” Ashaa told him.

  “You’re welcome,” he told her with another toothy grin. Ashaa wondered what drove his jolly demeanor since she knew nine of his own crew had been killed by the mates during the abduction. But she was willing to bet it had to do with Nogith being locked in the brig. The women followed him through the huge ship at nearly a run to keep up with his enormous stride. He strode down the ramp and stopped at the bottom. “Ladies, welcome to Petatay space station. I believe that is your ride over there.”

  The women turned to look where he was pointing and saw Bast and Zorn standing at the bottom of a ramp several hundred feet away. Gold had never looked so good. The women ran. Legoch’s bellowing laugh could be heard as he re-boarded his ship but the women didn’t look back.

  “
We have them!
” Bast sent the message once he had them through the shuttle door, locking it behind him. He could feel relief from his shipmates even at this distance.

  The ten minutes to receive clearance and get back to the ship seemed to take forever. The minute the bay doors closed and Bast confirmed the shuttle bay was re-pressurized the women were out of the shuttle into waiting arms. Sienna pulled back to look at Dezek.

  “Is everyone else okay?” She asked.

  “Yes, they were unconscious when we reached them but unharmed. Holly is fine and the others were too hidden to be found,” Dezek assured her.

  “Legoch told me he left her behind because she was obviously with child and he didn’t want trouble,” Ashaa told him from Rev’s embrace.

  “He had no idea how much trouble he had already,” Rev growled. Ashaa smiled up at him.

  “Come, I promised Samantha and Wendy that I’d bring you to see them the minute we had you back. They nearly lost it when they woke up and we had to tell them you were taken and by whom.” Dezek pulled her toward the lift. When they entered the lounge on Eighteen chaos broke out. Dezek stood back and let the women hug each other. They were a tight-knit group despite their differences. Even Blanca had been glad to see Rose. After about an hour he could see all of them wilting. It had been a tense stressful twelve hours.

  “Ladies, I think it’s time for everyone to turn in. You all looked a little peaked,” he told them softly pointing at Holly who had gone to sleep in Axon’s lap. There were smiles of agreement and they hugged again and headed for their quarters. Axon carried Holly to the lift and he and Moz along with Taylor took the first lift to Sixteen. Sienna, Dezek, Ashaa, Rev, Wendy and Fazon followed. Sienna knew Vax was in Rose’s quarters and she fully expected him to stay there tonight. She couldn’t blame him. She hadn’t wanted to let go of Dezek since they exited the shuttle. They said goodnight to the others and entered Dezek’s quarters.

  She turned to him the minute the door closed. “I love you. I don’t know that I’ve told you that yet. But I do. I love you and I have never been more scared in my entire life. I think I was even more scared of never seeing you again than when I thought I’d be eaten by the Mirkndaks,” she told him as her tears spilled over. He kissed her, gently. He stroked her face with his callused hands to brush away her tears.

“I have never been afraid of anything. But today terror reigned in my heart and soul at the thought of losing you. I would have fought to the death to get you back.” He cradled her in his arms. “Let’s get you clean and into bed.”

  “You’re always trying to get me into bed,” she sniffed and teased.

  “It’s your own fault for being so damn sexy,” he told her playfully as he lifted her and carried her into the lavatory.

***

  Axon lowered Holly to the bed. He removed her shoes debating about her clothes. She usually slept in a tiny little outfit she called pajama shorts. He knew she wouldn’t be comfortable as she was and began to undress her. He peeled off his own shirt and slipped it on her. She roused.

  “What’s going on?”

  “I’m putting you and my little women to bed,” he told her gently. “I wasn’t sure I could get you into that tiny outfit you call pajamas so I thought you could just wear my shirt.”

  “I like that. The top is starting not to fit any more.”

  “Any more?” he teased her. He slid into the bed with her, spooning against him. He liked the vision she made wearing nothing but his shirt and her silk panties.

  “Okay, so it hasn’t really fit for the last couple of weeks. Blame the little women. They keep stretching.” He laughed and pulled her close. He felt her drift back into sleep and said a prayer of thanks to the Heavens that she and the babies hadn’t been injured or taken today. He knew he wouldn’t have survived if she had been lost to him.

***

  “You need to let it go,” Ashaa’s voice sounded behind where Rev stood staring out at the stars on the view screen as she exited the lavatory. She slid her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek to his back.

  “I’m trying, but I want to kill that bastard!” He growled. She slid around him without releasing him and started backing him toward the bed. “What are you doing?” he looked down at her realizing she wasn’t wearing a stitch of clothing.

  “I’m going to distract you,” she smiled and continued to push him back until he backed up against the bed and sat when she pushed him.

  “Don’t you think you should rest?” he asked with a soft smile.

  “Oh, I’ll rest after,” she climbed onto his lap straddling him. “I’ll rest after.” She kissed him then. After several minutes he forgot how angry he was and concentrated on the beautiful creature in his lap who had removed his shirt and was working on his pants.

***

  “You never did tell me how you reached me,” Vax said to Rose. They were in her quarters, lying in her bed. He was still dressed but barefoot. Rose was in her pajama shorts as she had told him they were called. Sienna would just have to understand, he couldn’t leave her tonight. He just couldn’t.

  “Ashaa used Taylor, Sienna and herself to boost me.” She told him sleepily. “I’m still not entirely sure how we did it but I felt power from all of them surge through me. I’m just glad it worked and I reached you.” She was quiet for a little while and then asked, “Will you stay tonight?”

  “My beautiful flower, it would take a nuclear blast to get me out of here tonight.”

  “You know you sound a little corny when you call me that, right,” she giggled.

  “Yes, I know but it makes you giggle and I love the sound,” he smiled and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Sleep,” he told her. When her breathing evened out he let himself fall into sleep.
 

***

  Moz and Taylor returned to his quarters after seeing Zabyss. The small creature had been upset all day at the thought of Taylor in the hands of the “ugly teethy gray giants”. Taylor had reassured her all was well.

  “Do you want to cleanse?” Moz asked kneading her shoulders.

  “I’m too tired. I just want to lie in your arms and sleep,” she told him. He scooped her into his arms and carried her to the bed. He removed her shoes and helped her remove her clothing. They pulled down the covers and she slid in. After removing his own clothing he slid in next to her. She draped herself over him and pillowed her head on a shoulder as was her habit. She was a cuddler in bed. He didn’t mind one bit. He stroked her back and went very still and very tense. “What’s wrong?” she asked him.