Year: 2219
On Ceres
Orbiting the Planet Jupiter
SeatednexttoDrafewas the only opportunity Nenn had had to fire his questions at the male.They were en route to some dwarf planet called Ceres to investigate the contents of a pod they’d captured.
In his tribe and with the symbiotes, all knew who was mated to whom.Here, in the wilds of outer space without the Qaldreth soil beneath their feet, Nenn could only hazard a guess what had happened between Drafe and Vic.And if they’d shared…time together, then it had to have happened on the Lunar Base.
He leaned in and whispered to Drafe, “As a maed, I would like to know how the robotic creatures got into your body?”
Drafe glanced at him, his eyes brightening to a blinding yellow.“None of your business.”
“Fine, can you explain the face-latching to me?”
Drafe jerked back, his scowl turning ferocious.“The what?”
“Vaen and I observed the way the humans greeted each other.”Nenn glared, not prepared to demonstrate what he meant on anyone, especially not the crew.
“Kissing is what it is called.”A smile formed, changing Drafe’s demeanor to approachable though Nenn knew better than to push.“It is most enjoyable.”
“Oh.”Nenn stared at the moon’s marbled-gray landscape whizzing past.
“Laying with a human is worth it, if you get the chance.”
At Drafe’s words, Nenn’s focus shifted.“Thank you.”He grinned.So, Drafehadmated with a human female.“Does she have your symbiotes?”
“Yes, though she calls them organisms.”Drafe chuckled and turned his focus elsewhere, ending the conversation.
When Caah landed the shuttle miles from any civilization, they waited.A frowning Aehort stayed seated, staring at the hovering pod in the center of the shuttle’s compartment.Drafe rose and tapped his throat, activating his shield.The crew did the same.Nenn lingered, choosing to trail Aehort Uz to where Vaen had pulled the pod meters away from the landed shuttle.
Its red exterior hinted at the danger within.
“The last one detonated after a few hours of breaking the seal.”Drafe met each male’s gaze through his shield.
“Work fast.Gather what information you can, and do not disturb me.”Aehort’s eyes rolled back when he splayed his palm above the capsule.
Vaen opened the pod, needing Caah’s help to do so.Inside lay a naked female.Nenn inched closer, intrigued by her unmottled gray skin.She could’ve died days ago.If he compared her to the humans on Lunar Base, parts of her were missing, exposing metallic bones.
“Mm,” Aehort hummed.“She endured great pain.”He winced.“Even in death, her cries for mercy fall on muted ears.”
“Her body has been enhanced.”Nenn ran his arm over her, scanning and recording details visible and unseen.“Every inch, including her organs, has been altered.What remained human was removed.”He jerked back when he caught a glimpse of her five-fingered hands, so similar to a Qaldreth’s bone structure.
Caah frowned, shifting on his feet.“I do not like this.Some of her enhancements have been stripped from her.”He gripped the edge of the opening.“The pod has been fitted with an explosive device.I would need to remove it for Gusin to study it.”He spun the holographic representation of the pod shining from his arm.“If I hazard a guess, once the pod is unsealed, there is a time limit to reseal it before it explodes.”
Drafe stiffened as if preparing for battle.“That makes sense.If they have to open a pod, they need a bypass.”
“They expect these pods to be destroyed upon impact.”Vaen stroked a lock of her brown hair, though he’d feel nothing through the shield.“Why do this?Why not burn or bury the bodies?”
“Burying would require soft soil, a mine, or a cavern.”Nenn captured his conclusions on his arm.The why was logical to him.The Borven searched for caverns to entomb their dead which often meant expeditions some didn’t return from.Fire was the simplest solution if they had access to a crematorium.“They would need immense fuel reserves.”
“This near to Jupiter?”Drafe gestured to the massive planet.
Nenn shrugged and deactivated his arm.
“Hydrogen gas is volatile, and mining it would be hazardous.”Caah ran his forefinger across the human’s skin.
Drafe lunged forward to peer at the female.“What the foq?”
