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“How fucked are we, Captain Jacks?” Michelle asks quietly, and as soon as I meet her eyes, her tired, angry eyes, I know she’s already figured out the answer to that question and has likely been waiting for me to deliver the news.
“You look like shit,” Bex adds unhelpfully.
“I had an encounter with a toxic alien species. And as far as I see it, we’re only as fucked as we want to be.” I wince. That didn’t come out right.
A few chuckles and sidelong glances go around the room.
“Here’s how I see it, and how I bet Michelle has already figured, too. Earth sold us out.”
No murmurs, no shock, nothing.
“The Suevans are dying out. Some kind of virus mutated their genes, and females stopped being born. They reached out to Earth, and Earth promised to send compatible humans in exchange for their tech, which, after being here, I can agree we need desperately.” I clear my throat. “The Suevans didn’t know that we weren’t informed about our purpose here.”
“How do you know that?”
“Have none of you talked to your—” I pause. “Your Suevan?”
“You mean our accidental husbands? Our arranged marriage spouses?” Bex provides sweetly. I glare at her, and she winks at me.
“We can’t talk to them,” Michelle says. “Our translators failed.”
I open my mouth. Close it again. “What?”
“Our translators didn’t take,” Tati, our medic, repeats. “The tech failed. Have you been able to talk to them?”
“Fucking hell,” I mutter, ru
Fuck.
“They’ve been communicating with us through binary,” Carmen says, patting the curly pouf on top of her head. She’s wearing a pretty coral top and pant set that looks gorgeous against her skin. “It takes a long ass time for us to translate it, though.”
“They’re trying to find us tech that will work or update the receivers we already have.” Tati’s nimble fingers dance across her long, glossy black hair as she braids it off her face. “But as far as the wedding shit goes, we haven’t bothered asking about any of it. What’s the point? They think we belong to them.”
“Did your… Are you sure none of you were hurt? At all?” I ask again, putting on my no nonsense face.
Despite the seriousness of my question, Bex snorts. “I’m sorry. But that expression and that outfit do not match.”
“It’s not fu
Bex’s smile disappears, and she crosses her arms over her chest.
“When can we get back to Earth?” someone calls out.
Michelle meets my eyes, her expression grim.
Yep. She already figured it out.
“We can’t get back to Earth.”
Conversation explodes, angry words and shouts slamming against my ears. I wait for it to die down, to explain.
“They’ll kill us,” Michelle says softly, and half the room shuts up.
“What?” one of the crew in the back says, glaring at Michelle. “What did she say?”
“She said they’ll kill us,” I tell her. “And she’s right. Think about it. They sold us out. It’s fucked up, but that’s what they did. Earth is desperate for the tech, and…” I grit my teeth, exhaling as I decide to tell them everything. Michelle’s eyes grow even more alarmed. “And they should be. Earth is going to be enslaved or worse if they don’t get it. And even if they do get the tech they need, we can’t just show back up.”
“Why not?” It’s my surly mechanic talking, her hands on her hips and her face a rictus of frustration.
“Because no one can find out the truth of what the Federation did, selling us to Sueva. If we go back and they think for one minute we’ll talk, they will kill us. That’s what will happen. As soon as we got into Suevan space and took part in that ceremony, we became persona non grata to the Federation. So unless you want them to take us all out as collateral damage, we can’t go back.”
Stu
Tati’s face is drawn, and Bex looks murderous.
I glance around for Gen, waiting to hear her rant and rave.
Shit.
“Gen’s the one who didn’t make it back,” I say softly.
Michelle nods, and Carmen pinches the bridge of her nose.
Fucking hell. My best friend, lost in that jungle, with Crigomar rampaging through it, with a bad attitude and an unwanted Suevan husband.
It’s less than ideal.
“We were taking bets on whether or not she’s killed her husband by now. We did for you, too, but it seems like…” Bex trails off, clearly at a loss for what to say next.
I heave a sigh. “The Suevans are good people.”
“They’re fucking lizard people!” someone shouts, and a few of my crew laugh.
“Draz saved my life,” I tell them. “I fell in love with him, and he loves me. I am honoring the mating ritual, and I’m going to become a warlord of Edrobaz.”
Bex’s eyebrows lift so high I wonder if they’ll take flight. No one says anything, but Michelle purses her lips speculatively.
“What’s the sex like?” Bex asks, a manic gleam in her eyes.
Some of the tension dissipates at the question, though Carmen looks near tears. Tati’s hands are clenched so tight her knuckles are white.
“Listen, team, I am not going to force any of you to remain married. No one will. Draz was disgusted and furious when he realized we hadn’t volunteered for this mission, that we didn’t even know what we were here for. But these are good, honest people, and they won’t force you to do… anything you don’t want to.”
Bex nods, like she’s all too well aware of it. “And now you can translate for us,” she adds.
“I’m working on a solution for that, too,” Carmen says. “Tati and I both are. There’s no real reason why they shouldn’t work, according to the tech scans we’ve made, so we’re just going to keep at it.”
“Okay, that’s good.” My chest heaves. “I can’t begin to tell you how relieved I am that you all made it safe to Edrobaz. But there’s another problem.” My lips are dry, and I lick them, wishing Draz was here to help me explain this.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Bex says, raising an eyebrow. “It’s worse than being sold off to Suevans for tech?”
“The Roth know we’re compatible with them, too. With their species.” Yeah, nothing like ripping off the Band-Aid.
“Oh, fuck,” Michelle says, rubbing her eyes. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”
“Don’t say that in front of any Suevans once you have your translators working,” I tell her. “Or better yet, just don’t say it at all.” I nod my head.
Bex eyes take on a mischievous gleam.
“How do the Roth know that?” Carmen asks, and her lashes bat like she’s fighting back tears.
“Because there was one here. After us.”
“Earth has to get that tech,” Michelle says.
Nods of agreement meet her assessment.
“It’s already on the way, according to Draz.” I resist wringing my hands in worry. All it would take is one well-placed Roth ship to kill any hope for Earth.
“If it doesn’t get blown up.” Michelle’s mouth twists to the side, like when she’s presented with a particularly tangled problem. “We need these translators to work.”
“I agree,” I tell her. “Getting your translators working is top priority.” I raise my voice making sure everyone can hear me. “Making sure we can communicate with Earth is the next priority. Carmen, Tati, and Bex, you three are my science officers. You’ll need to partner with the Suevans to ensure we can get plans to Earth to engineer their own defense system should the Suevan transport be shot down by Roth ships.”
I take a deep breath, and everyone’s eyes are on me, purpose in their eyes, in the way they stand.