“How many Teroks are there? Just the ones we can see?”
“The four we can see plus three others. Wait.” Norkov narrowed his eyes as he stared at something she couldn’t interpret. A bunch of dots moving on the screen made no sense to her, but the cyborg seemed to know what it meant. “The beings from the ship are attacking the Teroks. They’re helping us.”
He sounded a little dumbfounded, which didn’t make Suki feel any better about the situation. Were they helping because they were good, or were they just wanting the ship to themselves? When one of them came into view on the large screen she gasped. He looked like the cyborgs except his hair was black and his skin was a deeper shade of purple, and she didn’t see any cybernetic parts.
“A Zelthranite?” Norkov asked, his eyes going wide. “We were told they were extinct.”
“What’s a Zelthranite?” she asked.
“Our ancestors. Or part of them. My world, the one we came from before Xpashta, once held a life form that was pure white with blue hair. A ship of Zelthranites crash-landed there and mated with the natives. Zelranians, my people, today are a paler shade than the Zelthranites and have blue hair. Only those who were part of the Cy-Con program have white hair,” Norkov said. “I’ve never studied the inside of a Zelthranite so I’m uncertain if we have the same internal organs. In looks, we’re very similar aside from our coloring. For a while, we heard rumors of Zelthranites in another galaxy, then our government told us they were extinct. It seems they lied about yet another thing.”
The Zelthranite was joined by another like him, and they took out the Teroks outside the door. Norkov paused a moment, then pressed the button to unlock the doors. He stepped out to greet the Zelthranites and Suki hovered in the doorway, wanting to see and hear everything without being in the middle of it. Unknown aliens, ancestors or not, still made her nervous. She was still adjusting to the cyborgs and she’d been with them for days.
The Zelthranite who seemed to be in charge, cocked his head as he studied Norkov, and then two more of his people joined them.
“I’ve heard rumors of cyborgs,” the leader said. “Never met one.”
“I was part of the Zelranian Cy-Con program,” Norkov said, “as were all of my shipmates.”
The leader’s eyes narrowed as he studied Norkov more intensely.
“I’m Ryx. Are there others like you inside the brothel? We only detected three life-forms on board, aside from the Teroks. You and your female, and the med tech.”
“Suki isn’t mine,” Norkov said. At the gleam in Ryx’s eyes, he quickly amended his statement. “But she is mated to my crewmate, Tark, who is inside the brothel. We heard of human females inside and came to rescue them.”
“And return them to Earth?” Ryx asked. “Or do you hold them hostage and force-mate them?”
Suki gasped and felt the blood drain from her face. “No! They would never force themselves on a woman! I don’t care if you did save us. Don’t you ever speak of them like that again!”
Ryx’s lips twitched in amusement. “I see. Very well, fierce female. I apologize for offending you.”
“We don’t know how to reach Earth,” Norkov admitted. “We were going to take the females to our planet. Only three of our males are mated and we hoped they might bond with someone. But we would never force them to choose a male. They would be free and their every need would be met.”
“Every need but going home?” Ryx asked, his eyebrow raised. “Earth isn’t difficult to find.”
Suki blinked. “You’re a Terran, aren’t you? But Norkov called you a Zelthranite.”
“To humans, we are Terrans. We hoped to appear less threatening if we used a term familiar to your people. Anyone who mates with us is told the truth,” Ryx said.
“They’re the Terrans you mentioned that had a Bride program on Earth?” Norkov asked, turning to face her. “You’re certain?”
She nodded.
“Our people stopped birthing females,” Ryx said. “We made an arrangement with Earth’s government. We pay the females who consider mating with one of our kind. They’re paid a fee, then travel to our world at no cost, and if they don’t find a match within a certain amount of time, they’re sent home. They keep the money. There’s an application process.”
“Could the cyborgs join the program?” Suki asked. “If they’re part Zelthranite, it makes them your people too, doesn’t it?”
Ryx didn’t say anything for a moment. “It’s something to discuss with the council. I’ll bring it up to Chief Councilor Borgoz at the first opportunity. How would we reach your people?”
“We’re on Xpashta,” Norkov said. “One of our Commanders is in the brothel. He joined the mission, even though the Commanders typically stay on our world. You could always speak with him.”
“Then let’s get your cyborgs back to your ship,” Ryx said, turning away.
Norkov looked down at Suki and she could tell he was about to tell her to stay behind. She shook her head and straightened her spine.
“I’m not staying here while you go after Tark,” she said. “He’s my mate and I should be there in case he’s hurt. He saved me, and now it’s my turn to help him.”
Ryx snorted and muttered something about females not knowing their place. Suki narrowed her eyes at him.
