I couldn’t help it, I grinned. It wasn’t the first time Dorian had said those exact words to me, and I doubted it would be the last.
“Thanks for saving my life. And what’s left of my crew. How long do we have before my ship explodes?” Dorian asked, wiping his brow.
I glanced at the countdown in my helmet’s visor. “Two minutes.”
He grinned back at me. “Plenty of time.”
Moving in teams, we rushed to the emergency evacuation shuttle, six Prillon warriors carrying the unconscious Atlan between them. The transport rooms would be crawling with Hive and we didn’t have time for another fight.
Dorian threw himself into the pilot chair and I stood behind him as Trinity took the seat to his right. She was a flyer. I wasn’t.
The two went through their checks in seconds and my knees buckled for a moment as the shuttle detached from the freighter. The shift caused anyone not strapped in to lose their balance.
“Clear?” Dorian asked.
“Clear,” Trinity confirmed, her hands moving over the controls with practiced skill. I was too tired to even try to follow her actions. The shuttle lurched forward as the blast caused by the freighter exploding hit us from the side, throwing me into the control panel behind Dorian.
Alarms sounded from the wall to my left and Dorian reached back with an irritated flick of his wrist. “Don’t touch anything, Mills.”
“Shut up and drive,” I grumbled back.
He chuckled and Trinity’s shoulders relaxed, the tension in the air draining away as we moved farther and farther from the wrecked remains of the Hive occupied freighter.
When we were back in safe space, within the protection zone offered by Battlegroup Karter’s patrols, Trinity reached for the communication panel. “This is ReCon 3 for the Karter.”
“Battleship Karter. Status ReCon 3.”
Trinity looked at Dorian, who sighed. “We lost eight crew and all the cargo on the freighter.”
“Seven survivors?” She was right, and she knew it. Hell, it wasn’t hard to count that high. I’d been surprised that seven had held out as long as they did.
When Dorian nodded, she relayed the information to the control deck on the Battleship Karter. No doubt, Commander Karter himself was listening over the communication officer’s shoulders.
“This is Commander Karter.”
Hearing his voice had me rolling my eyes. Yup, he was listening.
“I’d like to know the status of Captain Seth Mills.”
Trinity looked up at me, shocked. That was a first, Karter asking after a specific member of the crew. I leaned forward and she nodded that I could go ahead and speak. “I’m here, Commander.”
“Excellent.” There was a shuffling sound and Commander Karter spoke again, but his voice was quiet, as if he was speaking to someone behind him. “Tell Earth to go ahead and initiate transport.”
“Earth?” I asked.
“Your matched mate will arrive in a matter of hours, Captain. Congratulations.” The commander sounded pleased, but my heart was like a lead weight in my chest as my body filled with dread. Oh shit. Battling a Hive integrated Atlan hadn’t been as bad as this.
An Interstellar Bride.
From Earth.
“Send her back,” I blurted.
Dorian turned in his seat and pulled off his helmet, his golden eyes huge with shock. “What the fuck are you talking about, Mills? A bride is a gift.”
“Not for me.” I looked at the control panel as if I could will the commander to obey me. “Send her back, sir. I can’t accept a bride.”
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