That was one way to put it. I’d lost weight between my churning gut and my inability to sleep. It was starting to affectmy work. Concentrating was becoming difficult, and out here on the edge of Drakcon space, that was dangerous. I couldn’t in good conscience endanger my crew.
I had two options: pass temporary command to Commander Bimwoxcol, or confess to my parents and superiors who Vince was to me. The latter presented its own issues. My parents would never allow Vince to leave, at least not without explaining exactly what it meant that he was my mate. They would present him the information, much like if I’d sought the Crystal and it revealed Vince as mine, then allow him to make a decision. But Vince would never choose his happiness or safety over my life.
Nevertheless, I had to do something.
“Commander, when are the support ships arriving?” I asked.
Construction on the moon base had begun, but additional ships to patrol the area had been requested. The Immortal Planet was out of phase for the moment, but the satellite showed anomalous readings consistent with xoi technology as well as some readings consistent with the Crystal. We couldn’t allow anything else to infect the planet. When the planet returned to our sensors, we would find a way to extract anything that didn’t belong.
“Ten days.”
My tail flicked in acknowledgment. When they arrived, I was going home. Vince wouldn’t be there when I returned, but I was still going. I could do this no longer. I opened my mouth to say as much, when a light flashed on the main screen.
A sudden flux appeared in the sensors, originating from the planet. It wasn’t supposed to come into phase yet, and it didn’t appear to be doing so. But these readings…
“Take the ship back,” I ordered. We moved further away from the planet, but the wave kept coming. “Full speed.”
It didn’t help. Whatever this wave was, it was moving faster than we were.
“Brace for impact,” I ordered.
A charge went through the ship and raced along our systems. Sparks shot into the air and a fire erupted from one of the consoles. I gripped the arms on my stool and rode it out until the whole ship went dark.
“Report,” I barked.
Bimwoxcol said, “Most of our internal and external sensors are offline, and NAID is not responding.”
“Life support?”
“Operational.”
I allowed myself a moment to collect my thoughts, then began issuing orders. “Form a search team to look for injured crew members, then our first priority needs to be reinitializing NAID.”
“Understood.”
“And someone tell me what that was!” I snarled as I started working on my console.
Vince
“Please,” I asked again.
Seth groaned and chucked another onesie-like baby outfit into a metal container. “No, Vince. Do you know how busy I am? Do you know how much shit babies require, and how much I have to pack up to go on the ship to Earth?”
True. Babies seemed to have a lot of accessories. Bob was currently with Kal and Fyn, who were walking through the garden; Fyn and Kal needed some time to actually hang out together. Often they got busy with their mates and lives, but the brothers needed each other. I thought it was sweet. Besides, Seth allowing Bob outside without him was a huge step.
“I did a tarot reading, and it even helped me decide this,” I said. Finally, I’d been able to do a reading for myself… and it had felt liberating. I was reclaiming parts of myself that I’d thought were lost, and I was no longer afraid of the future.
“I forgot you did that,” Seth commented, glancing at me.
“Want me to do one for you?”
“So it manipulates me into doing what you want?” he asked with a chuckle.
I shrugged.
He sank to the couch beside me, scrubbing a hand through his hair.
“What?” I asked.
