Chapter Ten: Ronan
Ronan had found the base easy enough. All he had to do was listen to the planet, and follow the buzz of technology. No creature made a sound like that. Actually getting into the base had been a little trickier, but after he scaled a tree he had been able to climb through a window. Then came the truly hard part. Where in this massive building could he find a single human? Bethy could be anywhere.
Hacking into the computers proved fruitless. He found proof that the Walian Corporation was indeed attempting to hybridize various species, but there was no human listed in the database. That was a hopeful sign. It meant if they planned to use her as a test subject, they hadn't begun extracting her DNA yet.
Ronan searched every room he passed, all the while well aware that his precious time was ticking away. But he promised Erica that he would bring her cousin back. Even if he had to bring back a body, he wasn't going to break that promise.
The sound of voices in the corridor made him tense up. The T'shav quickly ducked behind a long countertop in the room he was in–it looked like some sort of surgery room. As the voices drew nearer, he could make out what they were saying.
"I was just looking to have a little rest from space!"
Erica's voice. His heart dropped to his stomach.
What had she done? Did she leave the ship? He should have seen that coming.
"I'm telling you, I just wanted to get out of space!" Erica's voice was rising. "What's the matter with you guys? Are you deaf?"
She was practically shouting. Ronan had to grin despite the situation. Clearly, she had gotten the thought that if she was loud enough he would hear her. Well, she wasn't wrong. The firm clip of boots passed by the door. Ronan peeked from his hiding place. The corridor was clear, the sound of Erica's voice growing fainter. He slipped out and went to the door.
He saw two men on either side of Erica. One of them had his arm clamped around her forearm. Both were Ernesians. Hulking, hairy aliens that were almost extinct. They made for excellent guards, but T'shav were faster, stronger, and smarter. Ronan crept up behind them, moving silently as a shadow. He used the butt of his blaster to knock out the one that was dragging Erica before they even realized he was there. The second one took a fist to the face. The guard stumbled back, cursing fluently.
Erica dove out of the fight, rolling into a nearby room. The two guards tried to rally, but Ronan was on them, battering their heads again and again. The one got a good blow to his ribs, but it was over before it even really began. Ronan relieved them of their weapons. The one had a fine T'shav broadsword. Ronan wondered where he got it. He slung it over his back, kicking the Ernesian once more.
"These are ceremonial," Ronan grumbled. "No one but a T'shav should wield them."
"Ronan?"
The T'shav looked up. Erica was standing in the doorway. He sighed. "Why did you leave the ship?"
"Somebody came to the door and I thought it was you. I know, it was stupid, but we just have to find Bethy and get out. We have… we have to have half an hour left, don't we?"
"No." Ronan wrapped an arm around her waist. "I'm sorry. You come first. I have just enough time to get you back to the ship."
"I can't leave without Bethy!"
Ronan wasn't going to argue. He slung Erica over his shoulder and ran. There would be no climbing back down the tree he had come up on. Not while carrying Erica, and she didn't have the clawed toes that made scaling such a slick-barked tree possible.
He rounded a corner and found the way blocked. A tall Aphrosian woman, almost as bulky as a T'shav, stood in the center of the corridor. Aphrosians were a thin, willowy people. There was no way this was a natural occurrence. So the hybridization program was for super soldiers. A smile quirked the woman's lips, her blue skin gleaming in the light. She held twin swords, each with the distinctive pinkish color of traluthian steel, loosely in her hands.
"Stay back," Ronan said, pushing Erica behind him. He eyed the Aphrosian woman, his gun at chest level. She seemed completely undisturbed by the weapon pointed at her. "I suggest you get out of my way, Aphrosian, unless you want your brains to paint the walls."
"How do you know that it won't be your brains?" the woman replied, her smirk widening. "Do you think I'd just be standing here if a simple blaster could kill me?"
"Then why aren't you attacking already?" Ronan narrowed his eyes. "You're not a guard. You're a test subject. So are you hoping to check your strength against mine?"
"I was always the sickly child growing up. But now… yes. Yes, I would very much like to see how science holds up to strength and training." She shifted into a fighting stance.
Ronan couldn't help but grin. It had been a long time since he had had a real fight. He dropped the gun to the floor and drew the broadsword he had taken from the guard.
"What are you doing?" Erica shouted, but her voice wasn't alone.
Another human woman, a little smaller and thinner than Erica but with the same brown hair and snub nose, dashed down the corridor behind the Aphrosian. The blue-skinned alien threw her arm out, shifting from a fighting to a protective stance. Erica gasped.
"Look here, buster," the other human seethed, glaring at him. "You touch a hair on my wife's head and I will kill you!"
Ronan saw the alarm in the Aphrosian's eyes, but he shifted out of fighting stance. He put his sword away and laughed. "Bethy, I assume."
The Aphrosian looked startled, but Bethy was looking past Ronan by this time. Twin squeals echoed down the corridor as Bethy and Erica rushed towards each other. They met halfway between the Aphrosian and T'shav, hugging and crying and laughing.
"How did you get here?' Bethy asked. "Why are you here?"
"Ronan bought me from that 'bridal service' place and when I told him about you he agreed to help me rescue you." Erica tugged her cousin's brown hair. "What about you? What are you doing here? And your wife? I saw the man that bought you!"
"He's the head of the base. He bought me for his sister, Tag here. Tag had a genetic disease that was killing her, and the only way to save her was to hybridize her DNA. He was afraid that the experiments meant to save her would actually kill her, and wanted her to have someone to be with before she underwent the procedure." Bethy turned and beamed at the Aphrosian, who smiled back uncertainly. "Well, one thing led to another, and I fell in love. And what's the story with you and Mr. Tough Guy here?"
Erica glanced back at him. "We're… together."
"Wow, don't overwhelm me with details," Bethy said, putting her hands on her hips.
"Bethy, let's not pry." The Aphrosian stepped forward and put an arm around the human's waist. "I hope you haven't killed anyone, T'shav. If you have not, then I am sure that I can convince my brother to let you stay, so that our wives may be reacquainted."
Stay? Ronan opened his mouth to tell her that they couldn't stay, but Erica squealed again and threw her arms around her cousin. Her eyes sparkled and she had such a big grin on her face that Ronan felt his heart sinking. He hadn't seen her this happy since he met her. Could he really ask her to leave her cousin after finding her again?
But he couldn't stay. He was a mercenary, a rogue. There was no life for him here, and if he lingered too long in one spot, it might start feeling like home.
Home was dangerous. With home came responsibility and guilt.
"I can't stay," he finally said.
Erica's smile faded. "What do you mean?"
"I can't stay. You can, if that's what you want. I won't make or expect you to come with me, Erica. But I need to keep going. I have more jobs to complete. So I have to go as soon as possible. And right now I have to get back to the ship and turn off its takeoff protocols or we–I–will be stranded here."
He walked away.
Erica followed him. She grabbed his arm, making him stop. "You'll come back after."
Ronan wet his lips but nodded. He left without another word.