Chapter Five – Veronica
Strings of blue energy wrapped around Veronica's wrists and ankles. She fought against the delicate-looking strands, but it was useless. Another band around her waist kept her securely fastened in place as the hovering vehicle zipped through the sparse forest. There were two fierce-looking aliens in front of her, one of them a blue Aphrosian, the other some sort of hairy ape-looking creature. Behind her were three more aliens, though given her position, she couldn’t get a good look at them.
Breathe, Veronica. Breathe and think this through.
Veronica forced herself to suck in a deep breath and stop struggling against her bonds. Clearly, fighting wasn't going to do any good. First things first. She had to figure out what these aliens wanted with her. Were they the human-hunters that the T'shav twins had warned her about? Slavers? Would they sell her to a breeding program or as an exotic specimen for a private collection?
"What do you want with me?" she asked. Her voice shook, but not enough. She had a feeling that if she was going to get any information, she had to really sell her fear. Not that she had much of a chance getting out of this on her own, but there was no way Chapec was going to leave her here. Nor Dievca. She might not be as close to the female T'shav, but they got along. They were friends.
One of the aliens behind her spoke. "We were hired to steal you away from those T'shav."
She twisted her head, but couldn't see him. "Hired by who?"
"Dunno. Don't care. We got a fancy little sum. You're a fair impression of a human, though. Pretty, too. I bet we could pass you off as a real human."
Whoever had hired them to steal her thought she wasn't a real human? Or had just said that so they didn't have to pay as much. Veronica's mind churned. "If you know I'm not human, why did you steal me?"
"Told you. We were hired. Look at those curves. Have you seen such a beauty before?"
A hand came around her neck from behind and squeezed lightly. Veronica's heart jumped to her throat and she slapped at the hand. The energy bracelets stopped her just short of reaching them.
"The bounty said she was to be untouched," another voice said.
"What they won't know won't hurt them. We'll just heal up any marks that—"
Veronica turned her head and sank her teeth into the hand as it moved down her arm. The alien yelped and withdrew at once.
The other aliens laughed. The one she had bit cursed and grabbed her roughly. He spun her around. Dark blue eyes blazed in a bright green face and Veronica's heart stopped. She was going to pay for what she had just done.
Whatever he does, don't lose hope. Chapec and Dievca could be on their way right now.
"You're going to regret that, girlie." The alien breathed into her face. "Stop the car."
Car. An odd word for the vehicle they were driving in. But Veronica didn't have long to mull it over as the vehicle jerked to a stop. The green alien jumped out and pulled her with him. Her bound feet couldn't support her, and she crumbled to the ground. The alien bunched his hand into a fist and drew back—
A bolt of red careened from between the trees. It hit the alien straight in the back. His eyes widened. He toppled over slowly, revealing a second vehicle hurtling through the trees. Veronica's heart leaped as she saw the T'shav twins inside. They had followed! Chapec piloted while Dievca stood half hanging out of the vehicle, aiming a blaster at the kidnappers.
Curses flew into the air as the kidnappers all leaped out of the vehicle, quickly hiding behind trees while they returned Dievca's fire. Chapec flew the vehicle right into the center of the group before he jumped out. His sword swung at the nearest kidnapper; the woman dodged back, pointing her blaster into his chest. Dievca jumped into the fray, severing the woman's arm.
Veronica rolled over, away from the fight, and hid her face. There was no blocking out the noise, though. Screams. Swords biting into flesh. Blasters discharging. The smell of ozone and blood hung thick in the air. Chapec roared, Dievca screamed, and then one of the kidnappers shouted.
"We were going to return her! We weren't going to—"
The sound of steel meeting flesh cut him off.
Bile rose up Veronica's throat. Her mind darted about, trying to latch onto something that wasn't the violence that had once again been perpetrated because of her. Tears burned her eyes. When the sounds of battle ended, she pressed her palms into her eyes until flashes of rainbows spin before her. She was not going to look.
"Veronica." Chapec gathered her into his arms. "Are you okay? I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
Veronica peeked through her lashes, if only to see his face. There was so much worry in them that she forgot herself. She threw her arms around his neck, kissing him hard. He responded just as hungrily, digging his hands into her hair.
Dievca cleared her throat. "We have to get going. We don't know if they were going to meet anybody or who else might be around. The ship will be refueled by now. It's time to get off this planet. Maybe we should contact the Sanctuary directly – tell them what happened and ask for an escort or something."
"You're right. We do have to go." Chapec's voice was low, angry. "Veronica, close your eyes."
She obeyed, though puzzled by the tone Chapec took with his sister. After he carried her back to their vehicle and were headed back through the trees, she opened her eyes again. And instantly wished she had kept them closed. Both T'shav twins were splattered with blood. The droplets were a darker red than their skin, and when she looked at herself, she saw that it had been transferred to her clothing as well.
Veronica's head spun. She closed her eyes. "Thank you for saving me."
What would those kidnappers have done if the twins hadn't come at that moment?
"Well, we couldn't leave you with them," Dievca said.
"She should never have been with them in the first place," Chapec growled. "They could have killed her, Dievca."
His tone made Veronica flinch, but at the same time, her heart actually rose. He was angry, yes, but he was angry because she had been in danger. She opened her eyes again. "It's not your fault. You couldn't have known they were after me. You saved me. That's what matters."
Neither twin answered that. Both looked grim. It must be because they were unused to such violence. Veronica tried to think of the words necessary to apologize for making them kill to protect her, but she couldn't find them. Instead, she bowed her head and was silent.
Thank God they're my friends.
***
As soon as they were back on the ship, Chapec put them in orbit. They didn't leave right away, though. Dievca had been injured in the fight, and her brother wanted to make sure they could fix her up before they headed away from the planet. If they needed any medical supplies, they'd have to go back to the surface.
"And we'd better scan you as well," Chapec said to Veronica. "I want to make sure you're okay."
She smiled at him, touched by his concern. "I'm fine. They were quite gentle with me, considering that they kidnapped me. Until that one… But he didn't have the chance to do anything."
Chapec pulled her into his arms and kissed her lightly. "I just want to be certain."
There was no harm to it, and if it would give Chapec peace of mind, then she'd do it. She waited in the medical bay as he looked after his sister. The machinery was fascinating, but Veronica really didn’t have the scientific background to understand their functions beyond the basics.
Dievca seemed oddly subdued, not replying as Chapec chastised her for letting herself for get injured. Once she was healed, Veronica took her place under the scanners.
A light washed over her, and an image shot up on the holoscreen just behind the scanner. Dievca and Chapec both looked over it. Veronica watched in amazement. It clearly showed her bones and internal organs, all color-coded like something out of a textbook.
"Looks like you might have the start of some kidney stones," Dievca said. "You need to make sure you stay hydrated."
Veronica nodded. "Yeah. I've been feeling a little woozy lately. It always happens when I don't drink—"
Dievca gasped. A hand flew to her mouth.
"What is it?" Chapec asked. He moved closer to the screen and froze.
Veronica sat up. "What's wrong?"
Both T'shav turned to her with wide eyes. Chapec swallowed hard. He pointed to what at first appeared to only be a jellybean-shaped organ with another blob inside of it. But then that blob shifted and she clearly saw the familiar shape of a fetus. She'd read enough pregnancy books to recognize it. Her jaw dropped.
"I'm pregnant?"
"It appears so."
Chapec looked shocked, but Dievca's face twisted into an angry scowl. Her hands clenched and she whirled on her brother. Her black eyes narrowed.
"How could you be so stupid?"
Chapec flinched. "Dievca—"
"Don't. Don't even talk to me right now. We have all sorts of shields and energy barriers that could have easily been adjusted to serve as protection. And now she's pregnant. So what are you going to do? Are you going to settle down on the Sanctuary, live a happy little domestic life, and forget all about our plans?"
Veronica flinched. "I don't want to come between—"
"Or are you going to abandon your child? Are you going to pretend like you didn't get this human who you barely know pregnant?"
"Enough!" Chapec surged to his feet. He drew his broadsword.
Veronica gasped. "Don't!"
Dievca held her hands up. "For the sake of the human, I won't fight you, Brother. That doesn't mean that I'm not angry with you. But this is your mess. You have to decide what you want now."
She stalked away, leaving Veronica and Chapec alone. They avoided one another’s gaze. Veronica felt her cheeks warming as she waited for him to speak. This wasn't what she had expected. And maybe it was just because she was in shock, but it wasn't an unhappy surprise. It was a little frightening since she didn't know what this meant for her, for Chapec, or her future.
But that didn't mean that her heart didn't swell with love. After waiting for so long, she was pregnant.
"I didn't know that I could get pregnant with an alien."
Chapec shrugged one shoulder, still not looking at her. "Humans are the only species that can breed with all the others."
"Oh." Veronica vaguely recalled hearing something like that before.
"She's right. We should have used protection."
Veronica rested her hands on her stomach. She had been so convinced that it was impossible that she hadn't even considered protection. "So… Are you… Do you want to talk about this?"
"I… Not right now." Chapec shrugged and smiled apologetically at her. "It's a lot to take in. We'll have time to talk once we reach the Sanctuary. Right now… I have to wrap my head around this. I have to go."
There wasn't really anywhere for him to go on the little ship, but Veronica nodded. She tried not to let her heart sink as he walked away. She had already been planning on being a single mother before she ended up in outer space. Well, she could be a single mother here. Things had changed, but that didn't mean that she couldn't be happy about this unexpected pregnancy.
She closed her eyes and imagined a tiny baby with devil-red skin and black eyes. A smile slipped over her face. She'd figure it out. Somehow, she would figure this all out.