Shades Query 15

  Emerald

  The speech offered few surprises for the Gamma Hounds, the information that Ace was providing to the gathered hunters roughly matching what Victor had told them. The only thing that had surprised Emerald from that meeting was a new set of scars running down the duplicitous doberman’s face. Emerald stared at them throughout the speech before a smile finally dawned on her vulpine face, as she concluded the likely source.

  “...which is why I ask all of you, as fellow nobles of Gerral and their loyal entourage, to lend us your support and skills in reclaiming this crucial trade lane,” Ace said in an impassioned manner, earning a round of applause and vows of support. Emerald and her team remained unmoved by the display, each of them having reason to doubt his sincerity. “With our current projections, we are looking to deploy within two days. Until then, stay within the exosphere and await notification from the Crown.”

  With that, the lights over the stage dimmed as those over the rest of the auditorium went to full illumination. Everyone took that as their cue to leave. All at once, the numerous squads began to leave their seats, shuffling toward the exits.

  “God, I hate crowds,” Evan commented from her side as he gazed at the throng of people.

  Emerald had no doubt the Thall was extremely uncomfortable, as not only were they stuck in the middle of the departing crowd, Evan also stood out like a sore thumb, his height placing him a head above everyone else in the room aside from a few Urs.

  “You think this is bad, you don’t even want to see downtown in the capital,” Nia said teasingly as she smirked at the armored hunter.

  “I know where we’re not going,” Evan responded without humor, which got a smirk from Nia and a sympathetic pat from Ratchet. The latter of whom was still thoroughly embarrassed at having needed to sit in Nia’s lap to see, something Emerald and Evan had internally resolved to tease them about.

  After another two minutes, the group was finally able to leave their row. As they did so, Emerald suddenly noticed movement in the room. She saw that the guards were leaving their posts at the other doors, moving to another one. As she traced her eyes to the destination, she realized they were all beginning to congregate at the door her squad was bound for.

  “Evan…” she said with some concern, grabbing for her blaster. Taking hold of it, she found some small measure of comfort. She then let cooler thoughts prevail and released it.

  The Thall nodded before saying, “I see them. Just stay calm.” Though he said that, Emerald could see his left hand clenching and unclenching, a tick that he seemed to fall into when stressed.

  Emerald had no doubt they were moving in to intercept their group specifically. The location and crowd played against them, as she knew the nobles were more likely to side with her father or Ace in this ploy, whatever it was. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much of a choice as to what to do at the moment, as their group was currently being surged forward by those behind them.

  When they arrived at the door, the guards acted as expected and stepped out in front of them. “Lord Gault has asked that your group remain behind for further discussion,” one guard said, holding out a hand in a halting gesture.

  “We have no interest or obligation to stay and have said discussion with Adam Gault,” Emerald said with a snarl. The guard opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by an obnoxious and condescending voice.

  “Come now, Emmy. Is that the tone to use when speaking of your fiancé?” Ace said from the back of the group, still behind them. “Now why don’t you and your ‘friends’ step out of the line so that these fine folks can leave?”

  “I am not your fiancé, you flea-covered prick,” Emerald spat, though she stepped out of line along with the rest of the Hounds and let the boxed-in nobles and hangers-on file past.

  Ace smiled in a smarmy manner as the team acquiesced. “See, that wasn’t so hard. Already you’re being more obedient, like a good little housewife.”

  “It’s called common decency, mutt,” Nia spat, to which Ace responded with a sneer.

  “I’d call it deference to your betters,” he retorted as he slid his hands into his pockets and looked down his nose at the team, though like many others he ran into the problem that looking down your nose was a difficult prospect when faced with a 6’6” man in power armor.

  “Better at what? You’re just some puffed-up dickhead who crawled back planetside when space became too scary,” Ratchet mocked.

  “Who are you exactly, the engineer? Like some laborer has any right to speak to me of—”

  Nia snorted out a laugh. “Of course you of all people would consider someone having a job to somehow make them lower.”

  Ace scowled, then stepped forward. “Get out of my way. Lord Strauss has ordered I take his daughter home.”

  Evan wordlessly stepped forward, placing himself between Ace and the rest of the Gamma Hounds. His prodigious height and black armor projected an intimidating presence that was instantly felt by the guards and Ace. Ace and a number of the guards subconsciously felt for their weapons. However, Evan simply stood there, acting as a barrier.

  “You think you can intimidate me? Some lowborn hunter with no family or backing,” Ace said as he regained a small amount of composure, his cropped ears perking up to their maximum height as he puffed out his chest and stepped toward Evan. “I have the authority here, not you, and if I want to take my future wi—”

  Emerald stepped forward and placed a supportive hand on Evan’s arm. Wordlessly, she motioned for them to go. So, ignoring Ace, they turned to the exit, but the half dozen guards still stood firm.

  With a growl, Emerald gave an order of her own. “Ace isn’t the only noble here. Move.” The look on her face as she said this promised retribution if they failed to comply.

  The guards looked at each other, unsure of what to do, until Evan left his vantage point and approached them instead. The guards, already unsure after Emerald’s threat, were easily shouldered aside by the large man. With a clear path, Evan finally spoke. “Come on.”

  Emerald gave a hateful glare at Ace, but decided trading any more words with him was a waste of time. It all seemed to be going well until Ace opened his mouth again.

  “Don’t forget to visit your sister, Nia. I’m sure it gets lonely in Mulgan Prison,” Ace taunted, causing Nia to stop and turn toward him, a look of anger and confusion on her face.

  Ace sneered at her. “Oh, did you not know? She got sentenced to two years for assaulting a noble.” The doberman’s paw went up to the scars over his eye. “Walked in on me ‘introducing myself’ to my new secretary, a nice little leporid woman. She wasn’t very happy about that, decided to show her displeasure by giving me this.”

  Nia took a few threatening steps forward before both of her wrists were grabbed, one by Ratchet, the other by Emerald. The fox shook her head at Nia. “Not here,” Emerald said.

  Nia puffed up, all of her white fur standing on end before she promptly deflated. She then turned to Ace. “Less than you deserved,” Nia spat, turning to leave again, not rising any further to the provocation.

  Upon seeing the dismissal, the doberman took several steps forward and reached past Nia to grab Emerald’s wrist. “No need to rush. Besides, Senator Strauss is on his way and asked to see his daughter.”

  Emerald gave the dog a death glare and said only two words in response. “Let go.” The venom in her words caused the doberman to flinch back, but his grip remained.

  “What’s wrong? We’ll be much more intimate than thi—ACK.”

  The arrogant speech was interrupted as a black-armored hand suddenly wrapped around the doberman’s neck before hauling him up with shocking ease.

  The sudden action caught the guards by surprise. Panicking, all of them unholstered and leveled their weapons at the power-armored man.

  Evan’s speakers then emitted his voice. “The next time it happens, I snap your neck,” he announced, causing the struggling doberman to begin flailing even more spastically in his grip.

  “Drop that man this instant!” a voice sounded from behind them, causing the whole squad to turn, including Evan, who still held the doberman suspended by his throat. There, between the panicking guards, stood an auburn fox dressed in finery.

  “On what world do you think you can lay your hands on a noble man?” the enraged fox asked. He then turned to Emerald. “And you, why aren’t you calling off your man? That’s your fiancé he’s strangling.”

  Emerald snapped at the man, causing him to jump back with shock and indignity. “That arrangement was annulled by the Federation, and I will never even so much as look at that man fondly, let alone tie myself to him,” she said hatefully, as a thud sounded behind her. This was followed by the sound of shuffling and wheezing.

  Emerald turned to see Ace on the floor much farther from Evan than before, having crawled away when he was dropped. The doberman grabbed his neck as he sent a hateful glare at Evan.

  The Thall in question then turned to the newcomer. “Tell me, if someone unconsensually grabbed your daughter right in front of you, what would you do?” he asked the auburn fox.

  The fox was stunned for a moment before answering, “I would obviously deal with the person in question immediately. No self-respecting man would let his daughter be grabbed or groped right in front of him.”

  Evan nodded in agreement. “You’re welcome,” he said, the snark in his voice unmistakable, as the auburn fox, Arnald Strauss, turned to Adam Gault with a look of anger.

  “Mr. Gault, please tell me this man is lying and you did not lay your hands upon my daughter,” the fox said with severity.

  Ace looked at Arnald with surprise. “She’s my fiancé. Besides, all I did was grab her wrist when she tried to leave,” he argued, the suave mask of confidence he had worn on the stage now completely eroded.

  Arnald’s arms shook. “It doesn’t matter if she’s your fiancé, you twit. She’s still my daughter, regardless of her foolish decisions, and there is no reality where you lay an aggressive hand on her.” Arnald huffed as he took off his small spectacles to wipe them down. “Get out of here. Tell your father to be expecting a letter from me requesting both compensation and additional concessions if he wants your engagement to stand.”

  Emerald couldn’t hide the look of disgust she leveled at her father. “A man lays a hand on me and you still want me to marry him.”

  Arnald frowned but stepped toward his daughter. “Come now, my little gem. I understand your reticence toward him, but you’re putting yourself before your obligations,” he said with exasperation.

  “We’re leaving,” Emerald said as she stormed past her father, teammates in tow.

  “You can do that, of course, though Mr. August will have to stay,” he said with mock regret.

  Evan tilted his head. “Why would that be?” he asked.

  The fox tutted. “Unfortunately, you laid your hands on a Gerralian noble while inside the capital. While the charges would no doubt be dropped due to him being the aggressor, legal cases like this could last for months, and as a noble, he has the right to request your detention until legal proceedings are dealt with—which you’ve seen how petty he is.”

  Arnald shook his head, as if decrying the outrage of the situation. “Oh, but I could step in as a character witness for you, which would allow you to avoid detention. All I ask is that all of you come have dinner at our estate.”

  Evan looked to Emerald for an answer and saw the fox shaking with fury. “We will stay for dinner, and that’s it. No surprises or little add-ons,” she told her father with a look that brooked no argument.

  Arnald just smiled sweetly at his daughter. “Of course, sweetheart. Your mother and I would just like to see you after all this time.”

  Evan POV

  Oh god, I fucked up so bad. Why’d I have to grab him by the throat? Why’d he have to be so chokeable? Why’d her dad show up? Dickhead was probably waiting. God, he’s a prick too. We’ve met a handful of people on this backwards-ass planet, and aside from Victor and his aide, they’ve all been assholes.

  My internal lamentation aside, at least the ride was comfortable. Emerald’s father had oh so generously provided us with a private shuttle to the Strauss estate. Too bad that was ruined by the sheer anxiety and fear running through me. I looked at Emerald, whose nervous anxiety was replaced by a burning fury that she wore openly. The only deviation from that was the fact that every so often she would place a paw on my leg, and her face would morph into a smile for just a moment—an action that continued to bring me immense comfort.

  God, I feel like such a coward. Inside my armor, I felt my leg jittering up and down. Thankfully, my armor lock hid it away from the rest of the world. The spacious vehicle had four back seats and arranged them around a central table, so it was extremely luxurious. Across from me sat Nia, whose typical laid-back expression was replaced with a stern glare that she directed out the window.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  At least Ratchet appeared to be enjoying the luxury, pressing every which button on the door panel, at one point even revealing a soda fountain.

  “Oh sweet,” he said as said fountain emerged from the center of the table. “No way they even have Diet Dr. Pupper.”

  Unable to help myself, I took a moment to rain on his parade. “How are you planning to drink that, buddy?”

  He looked at me with a confused expression, cocking his head to the side and causing his ears to flop slightly. “What do you mean?”

  “Do you have a cup?” I asked simply.

  His large eyes widened in both realization and despair. “But… my Dr. Pupper,” he said as his ears slowly went down, deflating like balloons.

  Emerald rolled her eyes and pressed another button on the door panel, causing a series of clear cups to rise in front of each of us. The display instantly rekindled Ratchet’s mood.

  Fifteen minutes later—or in Ratchet’s case, seven cups of Dr. Pupper later—the shuttle pulled into the estate. The plot of land inside the large city surprisingly had a large yard, and it took us a good minute to make it from passing through their gate to their front door while driving in a straight line at a decent speed.

  At a leisurely pace, we exited, climbed out of the shuttle, and were let inside the massive front door by a butler who was also a gray-furred schnauzer. “Welcome home, young madam,” he said with a slight bow, ignoring the rest of us entirely.

  “I understand you will only be here until after dinner. So if you would like, the sub-foyer is currently stocked and furnished to accommodate you and your squad,” he offered while gesturing to an open area right to the side of the entrance.

  Emerald sighed and nodded. “That will do for this evening, thank you, Peter,” she said plainly.

  “Of course. If you require anything else, I’m only a ring away,” he said while tapping a device inside his ear. With that said, he bowed and headed off to some other task.

  The sub-foyer ended up being a mid-sized sitting room comprised of two chairs and a leather loveseat. It also had a decent-sized coffee table, on which sat a large selection of snacks, a few of which I wouldn’t have minded trying if not for my helmet.

  All of us understood we were essentially in hostile territory, so we drifted into small talk, which ranged from discussion about our upcoming movie night to interesting ship modifications that had started to become popular. We purposefully avoided talking about any sensitive topics, though truth be told, I doubt any of us were in the mood to discuss such things regardless.

  After half an hour, my nerves started to recover, but unfortunately this was immediately undone by Peter walking into the room.

  “I hate to interrupt you and your friends, young madam, but dinner will soon be ready, and the lord and lady have requested that you all join them in the dining room,” he announced, his posh accent lacing every word.

  We all stood up and followed the butler out of the foyer and through a large living room that was more for show than actually being lived in, with trophies, paintings, and other expensive knickknacks decorating the thing in a manner even the most debased person would consider gaudy.

  Upon entering the grand dining room, my eyes were immediately drawn to two figures. A snow-white fox who could have been Emerald’s twin if not for twin indentations in the fur to the side of each eye. If I had to guess, they were likely from the scowl she was currently wearing, which was undeniably pointed at me. Her father was unchanged in the few hours since we’d seen him.

  Once again, I found myself thankful for my helmet, though I had no doubt they’d try to force me to remove it. Hopefully, they were more concerned with wasting their effort trying to get Emerald to reconsider. But there wasn’t a chance in hell I was showing my face to these people.

  Soon we were all seated at the oversized table, with our whole squad and her parents only taking up the final fourth of the oversized thing. The first few moments of the meeting were tense, to say the least, as Emerald and her parents stared each other down.

  Her father was the first to speak. “Well, even though the invitation was given under… less than civil circumstances, I do hope you all enjoy dinner. We will be having smoked Gerralian horst, in addition to blackened Northsea dillards.” All he did was state the menu, but he still wore a smug look on his face. Underneath my helmet, I felt myself frowning, though I’m unsure if it was due to my general disdain for the man or his tone specifically.

  Seeing that no one had any objections, Arnald looked over to one of the staff by the entrance to what had to be the kitchen. He made a quick hand gesture, to which the staff member nodded before turning and heading into the kitchen. Not even a few seconds later, a stream of waiters filed out of the double doors and began placing plates of food in front of each of us that looked genuinely delicious.

  I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit jealous watching the others eat what was no doubt well-prepared, high-quality food.

  “It’s rather rude to continue wearing your helmet inside my house, let alone at the dinner table, boy,” the older arctic fox said from beside her husband as she sent me a look of haughty disdain. Though that passed over me for a moment as I mentally added humiliating this woman to my list of life goals.

  “So is inviting someone under threat,” I responded, ignoring the food—or at least trying to, as my stomach growled inside my power armor. Thankfully, the sound was only audible to me.

  She rolled her eyes at the remark and then decided to ignore me. I expected Arnald to follow up, but he didn’t. Instead, he went back to eating his food, leaving me to suffer possibly the most boring fifteen minutes of my life as I was forced to watch and listen to five other people eat some of the best food I’d seen since leaving home.

  Ratchet was the first to finish, as he attacked his plate like a man possessed, which left him with enough time to become almost as miserable as me as he spent ten minutes waiting on the others. Emerald’s parents were obviously unimpressed, but to be fair, I doubted there were many engineers who gave a damn which fork was the oyster fork. Though, to be fair, they only brought out a fork and knife with dinner, so at least they didn’t copy the esoteric table manners of human high society.

  Nia and Arnald finished next, both of them eating their food at a steady rate, neither acting overly posh or rude and simply enjoying their meals.

  Emerald and her mother finished last. Emerald took so long because she genuinely seemed to be relishing a meal that I now had no doubt was nostalgic for her. She also kept putting the hand not holding a fork out of view. Her mother, on the other hand, spent the entire dinner rotating between shooting looks of disdain and sending Emerald looks of disappointment. The latter were so intense they made me uncomfortable. Emerald’s lack of reaction to them made me realize that her mother had probably used that look a lot, which served to further my disdain for the woman.

  With everyone done eating, Arnald decided to force what everyone had been avoiding: conversation. “Well now, I hope you all enjoyed that. I know that horst is one of Emmy’s favorites,” he said with a smile that made my skin crawl.

  The earlier bliss that had been on her face while enjoying the food was now gone. Instead, Emerald looked at her father with a gaze that carried only hate.

  “Don’t look at your father like that. He had this dinner as a favor to you, and also as a message. You could have this and any other number of luxuries every day. All you’d need to do is fulfill your obligations,” her mother said with disappointment.

  I let out an intentional snort through my helmet, causing both of her parents to level their stares at me.

  “I don’t need the interjection of some backwater bounty hunter,” Arnald said to me, the irony of the statement causing me to outright giggle.

  “Backwater, huh? Yes, I suppose the father telling his daughter to spread her legs for wealth is truly the enlightened one in this conversation,” I mocked.

  The auburn fox gave me a baleful look while his wife decided to jump in. “What a reductionist view on things. Though I suppose I’d be wrong to expect much more from some outsider who is likely a rimworlder,” she said with a sneer.

  Not one to sit on the sidelines, Emerald slammed her paws on the table as she jumped in. “You don’t know a damn thing about him!”

  Leela’s sneer turned toward her daughter. “Oh, so he’s shown you under the mask? I’m sure he’s some forgotten noble or even a precursor who’s simply hiding his identity,” she mocked.

  “Even without taking his helmet off, he’s accomplished more than Ace ever has,” Emerald snapped back.

  A more neutral expression formed on Leela’s face. “I don’t disagree with that. But when it comes to nobility and pedigree, merit doesn’t trump blood. Besides, you’ve built up enough of a reputation that it’s common knowledge you’re not courting or pursuing anyone at the moment,” she said, essentially dismissing me from the conversation.

  Emerald took on a smile that could only be seen as sinister as she sent me a knowing look. In response, I carefully reached behind my helmet and undid the vacuum seal, leaving the lock in place but allowing smells and clean air to reach me. In this case, it was more about letting my smell leak out.

  A smell that was currently heavily mixed with that of Emerald’s, thanks to her marking me back on the Gamma Ray. Her mother’s reaction was immediate as she took on a scandalized look, covering her mouth.

  Her father sent me a look of rage that could melt steel, if that were possible. “Do you understand what kind of concessions I’ll have to make if Ace or his father finds out about this?” he yelled, ignoring the actual issue once again.

  Emerald smiled smugly at that. “Oh, should I send them a letter? I should have told that dipshit dober what me and Evan have been up to just to see the look on his face,” she said very convincingly, purposefully leaving out details and forcing me to remind myself that all we did was hug.

  “Do not taunt me, young lady. Do you realize how far you may have pushed back your marriage?” he asked, slamming a hand on the table.

  “In what world do you imagine she would ever want to sleep with Ace?” I couldn’t help but ask, drawing his attention and ire.

  His lips drew up, revealing a sharp set of canines. “No, in what world do you imagine that I’d ever allow her to bind herself to some rimworlder hardly above a savage?” A statement that forced me to laugh at its absurdity, further infuriating the man. “What is it you find so funny? You realize I hold the power here? So I’d be very careful about prodding me further, boy.”

  “What’s funny is that someone participating in a system most civilized races outgrow before electricity has the gall to call anyone a savage. You’re talking about selling your daughter for political clout.” I fought off the urge to spit in disgust, as I’d done that in my helmet before and it’s not a fun time. “Slavery and the viewing of others as property to be traded are also aspects most societies outgrow. Considering most Gerralians I’ve met in the Nova Galaxy don’t seem to fall into your outdated mindset, I can only imagine what holds together your primitive society and worldviews.” The disgust in my voice was unmistakable as I finished speaking.

  Arnald grabbed a knife off the table, causing me to tense up and ready the command to activate my funnels. But rather than lunge at me, he used the sharp implement to prick his finger. He held up the drop of blood, angling it to catch the light like some sort of religious idol. “This is what holds our ‘primitive worldview’ together. In the veins of our nobles flows blood blessed by the precursors. Each noble line on our planet directly served our uplifters in ages past. It is the reason only we can access their ancient wonders,” he said with awe before turning to Emerald.

  “We must keep this blood pure of the untouched masses lest we dilute it and lose our blessing. All she has to do to continue to fulfill this is spread her legs for some guileless fool she could easily manipulate.” The statement escaped his lips as if there were no other sensible avenue.

  Emerald glared at her father and mother. “I am not some object to be traded, and I will never ‘spread my legs’ for anyone I don’t choose myself. I’ll be damned if you think I’m going to do so out of obligation to a loveless family like some sort of whipped servant.” She stood as she said this, knocking her chair over. She then looked to me and the other two Gamma Hounds. “We’re leaving.”

  Her mother opened her mouth to protest, but Arnald raised a hand, silencing her. “Go then. Have your last bit of fun before your marriage,” he said, condescension dripping from his voice. As the rest of the squad stood, I resealed my helmet. As the other two followed Emerald, I was the last to pass through the doorframe back into the main foyer, only to be stopped by a word from Arnald.

  “Don’t think for a moment you’ll ever have a chance with her. Anything you build will be fleeting and ephemeral. You are unworthy of her blood,” he said to me.

  I looked at the man, reminded once again that assumptions made in ignorance drive the egos of the delusional. Shaking my head, I denied him a response and followed Emerald outside, where a shuttle was already waiting for us.

  Inside the shuttle, I was surprised to find Oscar, who looked at our squad in confusion. “I’ll be honest, I thought I’d have to make a scene to get you all out of there. What happened?” he asked.

  Emerald frowned and waited for the shuttle to start moving before she finally answered. “They just let us leave,” she said, still wearing her frown.

  Oscar looked taken aback. “That’s it?” he questioned.

  Emerald nodded. “That’s it,” she said. For a fleeting moment, she allowed her emotions to surface. Her lips quivered as she held the tears in her eyes, refusing to let them fall. My mind built the image of a lonely girl who had grown into the woman before me—a small white fox trapped in a gilded cage built by parents who saw her as glorified chattel. Alone she stood, with no friends to confide in and only Oscar to rely on.

  Unwilling to let her bear it alone, I pulled off the gauntlet of my power armor and grabbed her paw with my bare hand, startling her. As she looked up at me, the image of the lonely girl faded, replaced by the confident bounty hunter in front of me. The smile she sent at my show of support set my violet heart racing.

  The exhausted vixen was asleep by the time we made it to the space elevator, her head resting on my shoulder. The reluctance I felt at waking her up was near crippling, though I’d be lying if I said it was for her comfort rather than wanting to savor the moment.

  By the time night fell over the capital of Gerral, we were already asleep aboard the quiet comfort of the Gamma Ray.

  Intermission

  Shadows receded as I greedily sucked in ragged breaths. The image that formed when my vision stopped swimming made my breath hitch. The soldiers that had picked me up were haphazardly scattered around the cabin in various broken states. The ship’s cabin was ruptured in multiple areas, grass and foliage visible but darkened, indicating it was still nighttime. The only thing they had in common were the violet flowers sprouting from every opening in their suits.

  I tried to get up, only to realize how bruised I was and that my hands and feet were bound to the bench I was sitting on. I thrashed for a moment before a weight suddenly fell on my shoulder.

  Turning my head, I nearly jumped out of my own skin as a helmetless soldier’s skull rested on my shoulder, flowers jutting out from every orifice of the featureless bone. At the front of the cabin, I saw the pilot slumped over his flight stick, his visor cracked as flowers slowly tried to push out from the inside. All I could guess was that he was probably infected when the ship had crashed, though what caused the crash I could only speculate.

  The same could be said for my relatively uninjured state. There was nothing I could do, however, as the bindings on my hands completely enclosed my fingers, and the bench I was bound to was part of the ship itself. So I waited.

  And waited.

  It was at least a day before anyone found me. Dehydration was already starting to set in when a man wearing a similar suit to my captors stuck his head in through one of the ruptures. Slowly, he scanned the havoc until his eyes reached me. He looked at me in what I could only assume was confusion, though that was heavy speculation on my part, as his visor hid everything.

  “How are you alive?” his distorted voice asked.

  To which I shrugged. “I guess I’m just lucky,” I sarcastically responded.

  He shook his head. “We both know I’m not referring to the crash,” he said.

  Rather than answer him, I just continued to level my gaze at him. After a few moments, he walked over to one of the dead soldiers and broke off a violet flower. He then approached me with the piece before stopping to examine me. Soon, he saw a cut on my side, and he slowly brought the stem down onto it. When nothing happened, he took a few steps back before calmly leaving the ship without a word.

  From outside, I heard muffled voices, though I couldn’t make out a word of what they were saying. A bit later, the same armored soldier entered the ship and gave me a bottle of water. Again, we exchanged no words, but I did give him a grateful nod.

  At some point, I must have drifted back to sleep, as the next time I woke up, the bodies were gone and instead three soldiers stood in front of me.

  “...straight to the most secure research facility we can find.”

  The voice was unfamiliar, though the one that responded was from the soldier I had been interacting with. “Of course, sir. We already have another transport on the way.”

  The central figure was in what could only be described as power armor—far more advanced and expensive than what the other two donned. “Make sure all his guards have vacuum-sealed suits. I don’t want this happening again,” the power-armored man said, motioning to the vehicle I had been confined to for days.

  The other two soldiers responded once again with nods before departing. After they left, the power-armored man stopped for a moment to look at me. “I’m not sure how you ended up like that, but rest assured, I’m going to make sure you’re a boon for humanity.”

  He didn’t wait for a response—not that I’d give one to a Son of Mars. They had more to answer for than they could ever repay.