Chapter Three
Rilex felt the slight shift in pressure as the ship landed and heard a long, slow sound that was like a release of air, almost as if the machine itself was relieved that they had finally arrived on Penthos. He hesitated before opening the harnesses that held him still in the passenger pod. He didn’t know what to expect when he finally climbed out of it and stepped out onto this unknown planet. Like many of the other people aboard the ship, he had never been to Penthos and knew nothing about the foreign planet. He didn’t know what it would be like to step out onto the ground of another land and be expected to instantly acclimate as he threw himself into the war that was equally unknown.
They had no way of knowing what those who had remained on Penthos had gone through in the time that Azra, Ariella, Oro, and Jonah had been on Earth, and what was happening with the hybrid army that they knew was on the planet with those who had been left behind. He had heard those who had arrived from Penthos talk about their unexpected arrival on the planet after leaving Uoria on the way to Earth, and about the hybrids that had surrounded the ship as Ryan’s image taunted them on one of the ship’s screens. Rilex knew that they were there, and that they were likely fighting against those who had stayed when the others had climbed into the stowed-away vehicle and flew to Earth to find help. Knowing that, though, didn’t change the questioning feelings that were building in the back of his mind.
Rilex’s thoughts about the hybrid army and the war itself had changed, and he wondered if they had changed for the others as well. When they were still on Earth, hunkered in the basement trying to decide what to do, he knew that they all felt a sense of anger and even hatred toward the hybrids that had attacked them. They saw them as powerful, living weapons that had been created not to think or feel, but only to fight and destroy. When they thought of going to Penthos and fighting the war that had broken out there, they thought of fighting those hybrids and preventing them from eliminating the group that had come together from both Uoria and Earth to defeat Ryan. That wasn’t how Rilex thought of it any longer. These hybrids weren’t weapons. They were living, breathing, feeling creatures that had been given an existence that none of them could imagine. While Severine had told him that there were some who had actually offered themselves into the experiments and took joy and fulfillment in the opportunity to fight, Rilex now knew that this was not the case with most of them. These were not just machines that happened to have heartbeats. They were people and they didn’t deserve what was happening to them. There was obviously still reason to fight, but that reason had shifted in his mind and in his heart. He no longer felt that they were fighting just for themselves anymore.
The lid to the pod opened slightly and Rilex pressed it open the rest of the way. He climbed out and walked toward the main area of the ship where the others were gathering. As they collected in the open area, he looked around for Severine, hoping to find her among the faces that were closing in tightly around him. He had expected that she would have taken the passenger pod beside him as she had when they first left Earth, but by the time that he came to the passenger chamber to get into his pod, all of the others in the chamber were already taken and she wasn’t in any of them. He hoped that she had found one where she would feel safe, but he wanted to find her before they left the ship. He didn’t know if she knew anything about Penthos and he didn’t like the idea of her being alone on the planet even for a moment. After the conflict with the other hybrids and the Valdicians when they were trying to get to the transportation bay, he knew all too well that Severine wasn’t safe near the other hybrid creatures. He wanted to be close enough to her to protect her if they tried to take her again.
It seemed that everyone had gathered in the area, waiting to be told what they were going to do next, when he finally saw Severine. Her face was drawn, the sparkle that had begun to appear in her eyes when they were sitting together in the lounge now gone. Rilex started toward her, trying to make his way through the group to get to her, but she stepped away. He continued toward her, but she stepped behind others, gradually disappearing further into the group so that he couldn’t get to her. Suddenly he felt himself swept up among the others and was forced back further away from her as the group closed in more tightly toward the front of the room. Rilex turned and saw Pyra standing on something that made him tower even higher over the rest of them. He was looking out over them sternly, seeming to check each face and take inventory of them to make sure that all but those limited to the infirmary were there. They hadn’t yet planned what they were going to do when they finally made it to Penthos, and now that they had arrived it was time for them to come together and determine what steps they would take next.
Pyra held his hands out in front of him and the silence rippled through the group until they all stood quietly, staring up at him expectantly. When he knew that he had all their attention, Pyra lowered his hands to his sides.
“The others have already arrived,” he said. “We landed as close to them as we could safely, but it is still a short ways off. They haven’t yet left their vehicle and are waiting for us to make the next move. We will need to send out scouts to rendezvous with them and then we can plan a mission to locate Maxim and the others.”
There was a feeling of hesitation in the group, but Rilex took a step forward. He held up his hand so that Pyra would notice him among the others.
“I’ll go,” he said.
Pyra looked at him questioningly as if waiting for him to say something else.
“Are you sure, Rilex?” he asked.
Rilex nodded. Those in front of him parted, letting him move up through the crowd until he was standing directly in front of the Denynso leader and could see that he was standing on top of one of the boxes of rations from the ship’s supply room. That image was strangely impactful for Rilex, dissipating the thoughts that he had had when they were in the lounge that told him that the ship was primarily designed for comfort and relaxation. The box of rations was an undeniable reminder that this ship was designed for those traveling far into the galaxy for missions that were potentially dangerous and could leave them sailing through space for long, even indeterminate, stretches of time.
“Yes,” Rilex said, nodding at Pyra.
“You know that the hybrids are out there. There is an army waiting for us.”
“I know,” Rilex said. “That’s why I think that I should be the one who leaves the ship first to go to alert the others of our arrival and guide them back to the ship.”
“I don’t understand,” Pyra said.
“The hybrids were created and trained for a specific purpose. They were sent to Penthos to confront and destroy Maxim and Kyven, along with the Denynso. I’m not a part of that group. Ryan doesn’t know me. He doesn’t know my species. It doesn’t mean that the hybrids won’t attack when I go out there, but they wouldn’t have reason to plan as massive an ambush on me as they would any of the warriors or the more recognizable of your allies. They wouldn’t want to waste the energy or the resources on an attack on someone they haven’t been trained to recognize.”
Pyra stared at him for a few moments, his dark orange eyes holding something that Rilex couldn’t decipher, and wondered if even Pyra knew exactly what he was experiencing. It was something close to gratitude and surprise, but also uncertainty and resistance. Finally, he nodded.
“Alright,” he said. “Rilex will go to the vehicle where Ciyrs and Oro will meet him. They will then return here and we will determine what we should do from there.”
“I’ll go with him.”
Rilex turned toward the voice, shocked and thrilled that Severine was offering herself to go along with him on this mission. He thought that maybe her seeming to try to get away from him through the crowd was a misunderstanding and that she really did feel what he was and want to be with him. As she stepped forward, however, Rilex’s heart fell into his stomach. She kept her eyes focused squarely on Pyra, not even glancing at Rilex for a moment as she stepped through the crowd.
“That could be very dangerous,” Pyra said. “You have already had hybrids attack and try to drag you back to the Valdicians. They might do it again.”
“They might,” Severine agreed without hesitation, “but I know more about them, the training that they’ve gone through, and their fighting techniques than any of you ever will. It is unlikely that that they know what happened in the facility on Earth. They would have no reason to be suspicious of me. If I walk close enough behind Rilex, it will to any of them look like I have taken him hostage. They will have no reason to attack if they think that I have already gotten him under control.”
Rilex hated the way that the words sounded in his ears. They not only confirmed that she wasn’t volunteering to go along with him because she wanted to spend time with him, but also the type of training that she had had to endure.
“Thank you,” Pyra said. “We appreciate your help.”
Rilex knew that Pyra didn’t know the name that he had given to Severine and waited for her to offer it to him, but she didn’t. Instead, she gave a terse nod and turned back to move back through the crowd toward the passenger pods.
“I’ll help her gather the supplies that she’ll need,” Eden said, giving Rilex a glance before leaving Pyra’s side and moving through the crowd toward where Severine had disappeared.
There was something in the glance that told Rilex Eden could see that there was something that was happening between him and Severine, and he hoped that she would say something to her that would help him to understand the sudden and unexplained change that had come over the beautiful hybrid woman he could feel himself falling so hard for.
“Elianna,” Pyra said, bringing Rilex’s attention back to the Denynso leader. “Will you please contact Ciyrs and let him know that Rilex and one of the hybrid women is coming?” he asked. “Ask that he wait a few minutes and then release the sight blocks on one of the windows so that he can watch out for them.”
“Yes, Pyra,” Elianna said.
She moved to the side of the room and turned to face the wall. Rilex could only guess that she was trying to find some quiet and privacy so that she was able to connect with her mate through her mind. It was a capability that astounded Rilex. He had never seen anything like that among the species he had come into contact with and found himself wishing that he could experience that type of intimacy. After a few moments, Elianna came back and nodded at Pyra.
“Ciyrs said that he will be waiting for them,” she said.
“How are we to find the vehicle?” Rilex asked. “Where did they land?”
“Turn your face to the sun and walk,” Pyra said. “You will come upon them.”
Out of the corner of his eye Rilex saw the crowd shift again as Severine approached. She carried a bag over her shoulder and her hair had been swept back so that it was knotted tightly at the back of her head, getting it completely out of the way rather than letting it flow down her back as it had been.
“We should leave,” Severine said. “Do you have your supplies?”
Though she was speaking to him, Rilex felt like she was looking right through him. The connection that they had built while they were in the lounge was gone now, replaced by a distinct chill as if she had put a wall between them and was intent on keeping him at a distance from her.
“Yes,” he replied.
She gave another terse nod and looked at Pyra.
“We’ll have Ciyrs alert you as soon as we’ve arrived at the vehicle and then we’ll head back. If the hybrids attack while we’re gone, close all access points and put up all defenses. Do not open the doors for anyone, even us.”
“We can’t leave you out on a strange planet without any protection,” Pyra protested.
“It’s better that a small number of us are in danger than they get into the ship and put everyone at risk. If it happens, we will drive them away. You remain inside until you can’t see or hear us any longer, and then you get to those who are here as fast as you can. Don’t stop. Do what you came here to do.”
She stared at Pyra unflinchingly until Rilex finally saw the massive Denynso warrior nod almost imperceptibly.
“I will,” he said.
Severine lifted her chin and headed for the door as Rilex fell into step behind her. The strength that she was showing was incredible, and unnerving in a way. When they were talking in the lounge she had seemed so much softer and more delicate, as though she were finally allowing herself to set aside the intensity that she always carried. Now, though, all signs of the tenderness were gone. He couldn’t reach her. He couldn’t get anywhere near her, even when he was walking along right beside her. She had disappeared somewhere and he didn’t know where she had gone. He could only hope that he would be able to find her.