“And I’m very grateful for it,” I say, trying not to dry-retch at the words.
“Anyway, this girl you’re with. We’ve been looking at her. She doesn’t seem to have any place in the time strand. Best guess, she was supposed to die before you stopped that from happening. So you can keep her without destroying the world.”
I’m smiling. Broadly.
“Thank you, Krave.”
“Just kill the Galactor peons and get this done, Vulcan. You and I have a lot to talk about when I get you back up here.”
The communicator powers down, and I am alone again. Alone, but with a future finally in sight. We are going to leave this planet, start our lives among the stars. There will be so much to teach Tres. So much to show her. She’s going to love the future.
In the meantime, Krave is clearly irritated with me, which is unfair. The timesplosion was not my fault. The Galactor ships were in orbit because they were attacking our station, built over the location of the old Earth. Whether I was here or not, they would be. In fact, if I think about it, the fact that I am here might be the only thing standing between humanity and the end of the world. I’d like to point that out to him, but the communicator is, as Tres would call it, nothing more than a silver rock right now.
I am not going to be rescued until I have rid planet Earth of the Galactor aliens. I should be furious that my rescue is conditional; instead, I do not mind nearly as much as I would have thought. This primitive planet needs protecting from the other invaders of its soil, and none of the humans are capable of protecting themselves.
Tyank called me a hero the other day. Maybe I am becoming one.
Tres is stirring.
“Was the mean one yelling at you again?” She opens her sleepy eyes and brushes some of the fiery mop of hair out of her eyes. “I thought I heard his voice.”
“He was,” I say. “I have to go hunt these creatures. I want you to…”
“Stay in the cave,” she sighs. “I know. I’m starting to feel like a rabbit in a burrow.”
“That’s temporary,” I say. “Just until we find somewhere safe.”
“Somewhere else to hide,” she sighs.
“It has only been two days since you were pulled from a plank,” I remind her. “We won’t hide forever, but right now I want you out of the way. I need to keep you safe.”
“But the only place I am safe… is with you.”
Tres
He gives me one of those looks that I can’t understand. Sometimes his expressions are obvious. At other times, I don’t know what they mean at all. This is one of those times. Is he angry at me? Does he know what he means to me? How helpless and lost I am in the world now that he took me from my dying place and forced me back into life?
“I’m not going to let you be hurt. Ever,” he says, putting his big hand over mine. His claws extend out, his massive palm curling over my fingers. “I’m going to keep you safe. No matter what I have to do.”
His incomprehensible alienness fades and I feel the connection between us strengthen. I trust him. He saved my life. I hope it wasn’t for nothing.
“Stay here,” he says, more gently. “I will be back as soon as I can.”
“How long will you be gone?”
“If I am not back by the time the sun sets…”
“Yes?”
“Wait longer,” he growls with a wink.
I would wait an eternity for him. As he turns and descends from the little nest of love which has become my home, I feel a little tune coming to my lips. He has returned my song to me, and for that, I love him.
Vulcan
I have to deal with Galactor. Quickly. I want to go back to Tres. I have never truly been attached to anyone. I am supposed to be forever bonded to my clutch, but I left that to travel alone without a second thought. Being away from Tres is not so easy. Every moment away from her is pain. I feel it in my chest. I feel it in my bones.
I try to focus on my mission. The Galactor peons must have been thrown down to Earth at around the same coordinates I was. They made their sign in almost the same place I found Tres for the first time. So they must be nearby. I am surprised I didn’t encounter them. Surely they would have made for the high ground too. They should have found the same caves I did.
The only other place I can see to hide is the woods. It is a less advantageous position, but that is Galactor all over. They always choose the inferior approach, because they always care about cost, and reducing it. The woods are easier to reach than the mountains, so that is where I start my hunt.