No sooner do I speak those words when the first antenna alien is in range. I squeeze the trigger, feeling the metal against my finger, and the alien drops.

But they return fire, blasts landing all around me. One hits my shoe, burning through the front of it, but fortunately, my foot remains unharmed.

“Go!” I shout to Vex.

He gives me one last look before he's off towards the general's ship, where he's about to take on an entire army of commandos who are prepared and ready, waiting for him.

If this isn't walking into a trap, I don’t know what is. But we have no other choice. The rest of the options are gone.

I squeeze the trigger again. Another one drops, crying out in pain.

Two down… ten more to go.

I duck just in time. A blast sizzles against the wall, right where my head is.

I don't know how much longer I can hold out. I'm a good shot, having practiced as part of my education growing up, but that was different. My shooting tutor would take me downstairs to the quiet, cool basement where I would practice on smoothly moving targets. This is completely different. No one was firing at me in the basement. My life wasn't on the line. I wasn't in mortal danger, as I am now—something I'm reminded of each passing second, with each blast that sizzles centimeters from my skin, where I feel the heat and intensity of the death energy.

There are too many of them now. I can't do anything.

I turn and I run towards Vex, not knowing whether he's completed his mission, making the ship safe for us.

The blaster is heavy in my hands, too heavy. I toss it to the ground and run like I've never run before.

My legs are a blur. My feet slam into the ground. I'm sprinting for my life, blasts shooting by me in the air.

I'm unaware of anything but my goal, reaching the ship.

It's close to me now, looking even huger than it did from a distance.

The port… I need to reach the port…

Something hits my leg. Searing pain overtakes me.

I've been shot.

I'm down on the ground, roaring in pain like I've never felt before. It must have burned a hole right through my leg.

Strong arms envelop me.

It's Vex, seizing me off the ground and carrying me to safety, into the ship.

“Don't worry,” he says, his voice soothing me and calming me with its deep tones. “We're OK now. It's going to be fine.”

The port seals behind us.

On the floor of the main cabin are the unconscious bodies of the commandos. Apparently Vex made short work of them all.

“They're still alive,” he says. “I didn't have to kill anyone.”

He carries me to the cockpit and sets me gently but rapidly into the copilot chair.

The pain still rips through me, but it’s easier to deal with now that I'm in Vex's presence. Just by being there and by being him, he calms me like nothing else could.

“Here,” says Vex, rummaging through the medical cabinet in the cockpit. “You'll need something to deal with the pain before I can treat the leg.”

“I'm fine,” I manage to say through gritted teeth. “You just need to get us out of here. Don't worry about me.”

But Vex insists, and he finally finds a bottle of pain pills and places one gently onto my tongue.

“That should help,” he says.

Just as he says this, the blasters start hitting the ship, rocking it gently back and forth.

The sound of the small blasters against the huge ship’s armor sounds like popcorn popping on the stove—something I've only seen a movie of in history classes. Or maybe it sounds like rain falling on a window. I don't know. I'm becoming more and more out of it. The pill helps with the pain, but I fear I'm starting to become delirious. After all, it's not every day you have a hole ripped through your leg by a high intensity laser.

“Get us out of here, Vex,” I say. These are the last words I can utter. My strength is leaving me.

Fortunately, I'm not going to bleed out. Blasters sear the flesh, sealing it, making blood loss impossible.

“They're getting a couple larger cannons,” says Vex, pressing what seems like a thousand buttons at once. His fingers fly across the controls at super human speed. “Don't worry,” he adds. “I'm going to get us out of here, no matter what.”

On the holo screen that appears before us, I can see the general's extra commandos rushing towards the ship.

“They know we've got the ship now,” he says.

The engines are still whirring to life, warming up.

Vex is moving faster than I've ever seen him, getting the ship ready to launch.

His hands seize the yoke, and seconds later, he pulls back sharply on it.

Suddenly, we're off the ground.

One of the big blasters hits us, but the shields are already up.

“They can't do anything more from the ground,” says Vex. “But we still have to get past the rest of the flotilla.”

Vex throws the ship into a faster speed, and the acceleration through the atmosphere throws me back in my chair.

“It'll take me a minute to restore gravity,” says Vex, as he points the nose of the huge ship straight towards the sky.

Moments later, we're piercing the outer layer of the atmosphere, heading right through what the holo screen shows to be a mild radiation belt.

“They'll be waiting for us for sure,” says Vex. “And they have similar ships to this one. We won't be able to outrun them easily.”

I want to ask what we're going to do, what he has planned. But I'm too weak. Every minor movement of my body is too much for me. I can't handle opening my mouth and actually forming words. Not right now. Not with this searing pain.

“I'm going to transport these commando bastards back to their ships,” says Vex, laughing as he says it.

I want to ask why it's so funny, but I can barely open my mouth now.

“And I’m going to transport them to where it’ll cause the most confusion,” says Vex, tapping away at the controls. “You know, I've never had access to a transporter before. The technology is quite interesting… And this ship will have all the security clearances for the rest of their ships… I wish you could see this, Felia. Don't worry, it'll just be a few more minutes, and I'll get you fixed right up. Hang in there with me, Felia.”

I can feel the world starting to slip away. The pain seems to have diminished one moment… and the next moment it flares back up again… I seem to be slipping in and out of consciousness. It's a terrible feeling, like I'm losing control.

But I know I'll be OK… Vex is right there by my side, ready to protect me, willing to fight for me.

Vex hits the button.

“There those bastards go,” he says. “I've transported them right on top of the pilots of the other ships. They'll literally fall right on top of their heads, probably knocking them out. Normally, they have security to prevent unauthorized teleportation. But this is coming right from the general's own ship. That's the beauty of it… it's totally authorized. Now we just need to get into hyper drive and we'll be golden.”

The flotilla ships on the holo display are still barreling towards us threateningly. They’re huge and menacing, with huge guns. But they're clearly in range now, and they're not firing.

“The confusion will only last a moment,” says Vex. “But that's all the time we need.”

He hits some buttons, and a moment later the stars become a blur and we're hurtling through the space time continuum at speeds faster than any human could have imagined until modern times.

“I'm putting it on autopilot,” says Vex. “That was easier than I thought. Much easier.”

Perhaps too easy? I think to myself, unable to form the words.

“Let’s see that leg,” says Vex, his voice quiet as he examines me, realizing how seriously I've been injured.

I feel him moving my leg as gently as he can. His hands are strong and warm. They feel good on me.

“You're going to be just fine,” says Vex, his voice quiet and soothing. It's the sort of voice you use when someone is on their deathbed.

I don't think I'm going to be fine.

In fact, now I'm more convinced than ever that I'm going to die.

My brain is a mad scramble, a pile of nothing and everything all at once.

I lose consciousness. The last thing I remember is Vex standing over me, holding a medical servo tool. The tool looks ominous and potent, powerful and perhaps deadly. It's been designed for military use, so all the niceties of design that make the civilian versions look comforting have been completely left off.

When I wake up, Vex is by my side, holding my hand. “How do you feel?” he says, gripping my hand tighter.

“Terrible,” I say, wincing in pain.

“The pain should subside soon,” he says. “You were hit pretty bad. The good news is that everything has already regenerated. But it blasted right through your bone.”

“I don't know whether that's good or bad news,” I say. “Are we safe? What's happened?”

“What do you remember?”

I tell him everything.

“That's about it,” says Vex. “We've been traveling at hyper speed since then, uninterrupted. They haven't been able to trace us, apparently. This ship has a device that cloaks all trackers. It's a very sophisticated ship.”

“That's good,” I say vaguely. “Can I have some water?”

“Of course,” says Vex, getting up and getting me a glass of water from the dispenser.

It tastes cold and good, a soothing sensation. I drink the whole glass down in one gulp and gesture for another.

It's not until my third glass that the thirst leaves me.

“Getting hit with a blaster can do that to you,” says Vex, taking the glass from me and placing it on the dashboard near the yoke.

I look in silence for a moment at the stars that rush past us in a blur.

“I thought I was dying,” I say.

“You almost did,” says Vex. “You got lucky they didn't have better aim. You know, for having four arms and three antennae, they sure can't aim for shit.”

I laugh lightly, but it somehow makes the pain worse.

“Take it easy,” says Vex, putting his hand on me in a comforting way.

“But when I thought I was dying,” I say. “The only thing I could think about was you… Vex, you're very important to me… I don't want to lose you.”

Vex pauses before speaking. “This has been hard for me,” says Vex. “I've been learning that I am a human and that I am capable of… human things, human love…”

I'm practically holding my breath, waiting for him to say it. My body seems to be hanging on every word that he's saying, every little pause, every breath he takes. I long for him, for him alone. I long to be completely his.

“You're very important to me,” says Vex, his voice soft and quiet, a sweet and serious tone that I've never heard him use before. “You've become everything to me…”

The holo screen flashes an announcement, and the computer speaks, interrupting Vex. “Approaching Mina Dos. Estimated time of arrival: 10 Earth minutes.”

Vex's hands are back on the dash, pressing buttons rapidly, preparing us for orbit entry.

“Mina Dos?” I say, my body feeling faint, my voice almost failing me again. It feels like all the energy has been drained from me once more.

“I don't know where else to go,” says Vex.

“But… Mina Dos? So you're kidnapping me after all?”

It feels like the blood has drained from my body and terror strikes me again. And it's not the terror I felt when being kidnapped initially. No this is something different, more powerful, something that feels much worse. The man that I've been trusting, the man who's been protecting me—he's going to go through with the plan after all and take me back to his cyborg moon as a hostage?

Vex sees the look on my face.

“Felia,” he says, his voice soothing and calm. “It's not like that, don't worry. As far as I'm concerned, you're no longer my hostage… I just… I can't very well take you back to Earth right now. They'll blow us both up.”

The words ring true. It's completely true, unfortunately. My own father apparently wants me dead, as does the entire Earth flotilla. Apparently I know something I shouldn't know.

“So you're not taking me there as a hostage?” The words seem to tremble with their own fear as they hang in the air, waiting for an answer.

“Well,” says Vex. “That's what the cyborgs think I'm doing… But once we get there I'll explain everything. I mean, you're not going to be any use to them as a hostage if Earth wants you dead… Plus, there's… well, you're important to me, Felia.”

I feel like there's so much more that he wants to say.

But there isn't time.

“I've got to start the landing cycle,” says Vex. “Don’t worry, everything's going to be fine.”

The moon looms before us, barren and cold.

I know very little about Mina Dos.

What's going to happen to me there?

Vex's words are comforting, but I don't know if even he knows what my fate will be.

After all, I'll be the only human on a moon full of cyborgs, the very cyborgs that the humans want to desperately destroy.