I was beginning to regret not being on the same ship as Karissa. I should have thought logic over my rage, but I didn't. In the heat of that moment, not only was I angry with her, but I was embarrassed. I didn't like her face when she saw the state that I was in. I was wounded from the torture, and that embarrassed me. I was a strong captain and warrior. Nothing should hurt me, especially not a weak human man. So the fact that she saw what they had done to me made me feel disgusted with myself. I should not have allowed them to do such a thing to me. I should have fought every step of the way, but during that time, I thought that Karissa was only minutes away from helping me escape.
So after seeing that look on her face, I did not want to be anywhere near her. I knew that if I were on the same ship as her, she would be stubborn and demand to see me. I would eventually give in. Then I would have to see the look on her face all over again at my wounded, weak body. I did not want to relive that moment. So I decided to take a different ship on the same fleet of over four hundred ships.
But now that I had cooled off and had a few days to mend, I was starting to see the error of my decision. It wouldn't take long for them to figure out who she really was, and I would not be there to help her get out of that situation. I could help her deny it. Maybe we could say it was her twin sister, anything. But without me at her side, they would not believe any lies that she came up with. They would wonder how I got to the lunar base on Earth, they would figure out our connection. There was much of a mess to be sorted out, and I needed to be by her side when they found out so that I could figure a way out of it. But it was impossible now on a ship with a couple of miles of space between us. It is out of my hands now. I could only find out what information I could. I moved to the flight deck.
"Captain, what is our destination?” I asked in the most warrior way that I could muster.
"Good to see that you are on the mend warrior. We were destined to go back to Altid. But we recently received orders to divert all other ships as well. The entire fleet will be going back to Altid, minus ten ships, including this one that will be headed to the Supreme Council on Pourock," he responded.
"As of an hour ago. This will be better for you as well. The Supreme Council can take care of you and get you back to your home.”
"Yes, that is good news. Thank you, Captain,” I said as I left the flight deck. Dammit. They knew. Whatever ship Karissa was on, that captain figured out who she was and now was taking her to the Supreme Council. The fact that the captain I spoke with thought that his ship was going simply to take me to a place where I could get home easily let me know that he did not know the details of what had happened. He did not know who I was. This was not going to be good.
A few days later, we arrived. We arrived in front of the Supreme Council. I was escorted to the grand room. Then I saw her. Karissa was standing in chains in the middle of the room. As soon as I saw her, my heart went out to her. What had I done? I was angry at her for not coming to me, for not rescuing me, but she did not deserve this. I should have just forced the warriors that rescued me to leave her on the lunar base. Now seeing her, I knew this was my fault.
"Karissa Lane. You are guilty of killing Yiqua on your wedding night. He was to be your forever mate. You killed him. What do you have to say for yourself?” the Supreme Council asked.
"I am only guilty of defending myself in whatever way was needed. Yiqua was forcing himself on me. I know that you Corillion do not understand what that means. But if a human female says no, it means no. He did not take this seriously. He was going to take me without my permission. That is grounds enough for his death. Yes, I killed him, but I did it in self-defense. And I will do it again if put in the same position,” she said defiantly, with her chin up in the air. I was impressed at her fearlessness. But it was dumb. The Supreme Council would not understand or be on her side.
"I killed him in self-defense. That is what I admit," she said angrily with her blue eyes narrowing.
"Karissa Lane, you are guilty of taking Captain Kai Spornium by force. After you killed Yiqua, you held Captain Kai Spornium at gunpoint and forced him to take him to his ship, or you would murder him as well. Then you forced him to take you to the lunar base where you took him as prisoner. Are you not guilty of this as well?” they asked her.
There was a hush and grumble over the Corillion in the room. They were shocked by this human female that was so capable of not only killing Corillion, but also forcing them to do things against their will, like take them prisoner. She was silent, and I opened my mouth ready to yell my side of things. Ready to tell them the truth that she had not taken me, that I had done so by myself, I had offered my help. But before I could get a word out, she said,
I looked at her with wide eyes, and my mouth was open in shock. Why was she lying? Why was she covering for me? She should not do so. I did not need her to defend me.
"Then you are guilty of murder, and you are guilty of taking a captain prisoner," the Supreme Council said to her. I knew what was coming next. They had defined her crimes, and now they were going to issue her punishment. I needed to do something. I needed to speak up. But I just stood there frozen, not knowing exactly what to do. I wish I had been able to speak to her alone to figure out a plan; she was better at these things than I was.
She just stood there, silent and defiant. I could see all the eyes in the room admiring her; she was a true warrior, and they knew it. Why would they waste such a beautiful thing?
"We the Supreme Council will decide your fate, Karissa Lane. For the action of murder, the punishment is death. For the action of taking a captain as a prisoner of war, the punishment is death…”
My stomach fell to my knees, and I knew that I had to say something to stop this. But what could I say? If I admitted that I had helped her, then I would be sentenced as well, and I would be in no position to help her. If I said nothing, then I would be free and could figure something out, probably have to take her, plan an escape.
"But these are the punishments that we give to our own Corillion warriors and to human man; we have never come across a human female to do such acts. We do not have a procedure for punishing you. But I believe the verdict shall be similar once we discuss among ourselves; for now, you will be taken to the prison cells to wait for our verdict,” the Supreme Council said.
I felt relief. My tense shoulders dropped. I would have some time now to figure something out. But I could not have expected what happens next.
"Wait! Wait!" a Corillion warrior ran into the large council room. Everyone begin to chatter amongst themselves at this outburst. It was unlike another to interrupt a Supreme Council; it was disrespectful. The Corillion warrior ran to the middle of the room and stood in front of Karissa. What the hell was going on?
"Your excellent Supreme Council, please excuse the interruption! I have news regarding this case!” he shouted.
"I was charged with running tests on this human female to find out why she is different than other human females we have come across. I have not found any difference. But I did find one thing that the Supreme Council should know when making a verdict.”
There was a grumble over the room. I looked at Karissa. I was shocked too. Her eyes were wide and her mouth fell open. Then I saw her whisper something: Kai. She whispered my name.
"What? Are you certain this human female is with offspring?” the Supreme Council asked.
"Yes, I am certain. And more than that, she is pregnant with a Corillion offspring, not human.”
Another grumble over the crowd. I knew then that she was pregnant with my offspring. It had to be. I was the only one that she allowed to enter her. She would kill any other Corillion that tried, and she had proven that. It had to be mine. I felt extreme joy, but also extreme pain. What could we do now? Would they still sentence her to death? I could feel her sorrow. She was slightly shaking as she stood there. The strong, defiant woman that had faced certain death with a straight face and courage was now shaking at the news that she was carrying offspring, Corillion offspring. My offspring.
"How is this true?” the Supreme Council asked her. “Are you saying that you laid with Yiqua and then you killed him? Or is there another? You killed Yiqua for trying to mate with you and yet you allowed another to do just that without killing him? You must see why we are very confused by your actions, Karissa Lane. Please explain yourself."
"I will do no such thing. What I do is my own personal business. You have no say over who I am or what I have done in my past,” she said defiantly. She was still covering for me.
"Be defiant if you wish. We will find out who's offspring it is through the blood work that we have already taken that showed us that you are pregnant. Our science can determine such a thing,” the Supreme Council said.
Karissa was silent, and she stood tall and proud as she lifted her chin in the air and said, “Do what you must. This is how you treat all human females. I am no different."
"Then take her and run the test. Our verdict on her punishments for her crimes shall wait until we know every single detail. There is much more to this case than we understood. Take her and run the test to determine if Yiqua is the father of the offspring that she carries,” the Supreme Council said.