Chapter Twenty
Surge Capacity
Shady drove the vehicle, the glowing female rode next to her, and Pax was in the back holding Vivra. They made it all the way back to the galleon 107.
Once they stopped, Shady cleared her throat before saying, “I’ll stay here and watch over the mine workers until another ship can come and pick them up.”
Shady…being Shady. Taking charge and making no excuses for it. Damnit if he wasn’t grateful for the deliberate, pushy, and sometimes annoying yet bright cyborg.
“Do I have to stay?” a small voice asked from the passenger seat. The glowey female.
No hesitation. “Come on. You’ll fill me in on what happened.”
Pax noticed for the first time that the small female had black eyes, her sclera, cornea, and pupils were entirely black. An Allus.
Pax carried Vivra up the ramp and into the heart of the ship to medical. The small room was filled past capacity. On a galleon it didn’t hold as many medical beds and scanners like the medical bay on Garna.
He saw his men, two Yunkins, the ones that worked with Hors, taking direction from Ansel, who was on the Minky screen.
Ansel’s face changed when he saw Pax. “Remind me never to let you go on a mission without me.”
The doc saw Vivra in his arms and pointed to a long counter. “Put her in a medscanner bed. Shady already sent me a message about having to shock Vivra alive. Keep her still during the flight.”
Of course, Shady had contacted the ship and taken the responsibility upon herself.
The second medical bed in the bay was filled with Yon, awake and not letting anyone tend to him.
The ship shook slightly as they took off, it got worse when it exited the atmosphere.
“Pax,” Yon called from the bed.
Pax turned, giving the male a chance to speak. Then Yon pointed at Pax’s feet. Lowering his gaze, he saw the Allus with her back against the medical cabinet that Vivra was lying on top of. Her arms were wrapped around her thighs, and her head was firmly between her knees.
“Hey.” Pax touched his boot to her bare feet…gently.
She turned her head so her ear was facing up and her face was to the side. “Yeah?”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m not hurt.”
Pax looked back at Yon and saw the male’s irritated expression. Pax shrugged. What did Yon expect him to do? There was no more room in the medical bay, and the place was already full of other glowing people that had been tended to.
Yon’s nostril’s flared, and he looked down again, shaking his head.
Oh, for the love of stars. Pax mouthed, “She’s. Fine.”
Yon looked around and snapped his fingers at one of Pax’s Graches wrapping gauze around a wounded miner. “Chair,” was all Yon said, and the male quickly gave it up. At Yon’s direction, he moved it beside Pax.
When the Allus saw it, she quickly scooted over, leaving room for the chair before putting her face back between her knees.
“The chair’s for you.”
She shook her head, pulling her legs closer together and making herself appear even smaller.
“Get off the floor, Yelena, or I will move you myself,” Yon spoke in a dark, commanding tone.
Yelena’s head popped up, and their eyes locked again. “I’m fine. Thank you,” she said softly. So softly, Pax barely heard it. He doubted Yon heard it at all.
Yon started taking off the clips and strips connecting him to a blood bag.
Yelena quickly moved to the seat, grabbing both arms of the chair.
The Yunkin stopped what he was doing and sat back, his shoulders losing their tension, and his eyes watching hers as she watched him back. Or at least Pax assumed she was viewing Yon, it was hard to tell which way she was looking.
***
The galleon landed in the docking bay on Garna. Pax was the first out with Vivra in his arms. Yon, was limping slowly beside him. Rannn and Ansel rushed towards them. Sasha, Sands, Oz, and several others Pax didn’t know rushed past them, most likely to help the other wounded to medical.
Pax carried Vivra across the docking station and into the elevator where Rannn held Yon up with one arm, and Ansel carried the blood bag at his side.
All five rushed into the medical bay, into the private rooms at the back, and Ansel was the last through, shutting the door behind him. There were two beds, and one that was already set up for donating blood. Rannn set Yon down, and Ansel cut off his shirt and started running a medical scanner over the Yunkin’s chest.
“Just as I thought, the skin healed over the bullets.” Ansel pointed at the head of the bed. “Lean back, I’m going to have to cut them out.”
Pax wasn’t sure he understood. He was looking at Yon’s unblemished skin. No wounds, nothing but his normal battle scars.
“How are you already healed?” Pax asked.
Rannn looked at Yon, and at that moment, Pax realized that he’d been left out of something big. Ansel was the one who answered, “I implanted a medscope in his chest cavity. Because of the extensive damage from the scathy barbist, he needs it permanently. The part of his system that tells it where to send extra blood and healing when he’s injured is no longer active. So, I put a medscope in his chest that can do that for him…I didn’t know it would do all this, though.”
Pax wasn’t even bothered that he’d been left out of that little medical decision. He was irritated because… “I want one of those.”
Rannn rolled his eyes.
Pax was serious. He was going to get one, but he couldn’t get one now while Ansel was cutting bullets out of Yon’s chest, arms, and legs, and Vivra was still unconscious.
Pax held Vivra’s head in his lap as he watched Ansel do his job. Two hours later, the medical officer had finished pulling out all the bullets, patching Yon up, and installing a new medscope in his chest.
Then the Numan swiveled his rolling chair a half-turn and looked down at Vivra. He stared for several minutes. “I’m going to have to reconstruct her bones and skin. It will take time for her to heal.” Ansel finally looked at him. “She’ll be okay, though.”
Pax knew she would.
“When do we get started?”
Rannn was the one who answered. “Once you leave. You have an active rescue mission in progress.”
Rannn didn’t know Shady. Honestly, Pax didn’t know her all that well either, but without a doubt, he knew she was handling it. “I’m staying.”
“Pax.” Rannn’s eyebrows furrowed.
“I’m. Staying.”
“Is there something you want to tell me about Vivra? Are you two in a relationship?”
Were they? No, not technically. But after this, he was never letting her out of his sight. Even if she didn’t like it, he would be a permanent fixture in her life.
“Demon’s don’t claim mates,” Ansel said, looking curious.
“Those with bahity do,” Yon said with an arrogant smirk.
The Yunkin was right. Most people assumed that bahity was a Demon disease. It wasn’t. Instead, it was a label they gave to those who claimed a mate or life partner. That Demon has bahity. He had heard it before when he was young.
“Bahity the Demon disease?” Rannn looked at him oddly.
“There is no such thing,” Yon said then smiled. “Bahity means he can bond. It’s rare, but some Demons experience it. Pax, apparently, is one.”
Rannn nodded. “That actually makes a lot of sense.”
It did.
“Okay, then,” Ansel said as he stood. “I’m going to get my tools.” When he opened the door, Clalls was there, standing still and looking in until he saw Vivra.
The Night Demon’s chest rose, and his jaw clenched.
“She’s going to be fine,” Pax said, seeing Clalls’ wrath building behind his eyes. “The bastard who did this is dead.”
“You made him suffer?” Clalls asked, not taking his eyes off the Bolark.
Pax hadn’t, but he didn’t need to share that. “He was shot with a pixy pistol. His face was skinned, and the other half was blown off.”
Pax heard Yon and Rannn exhale heavily. Clalls swallowed. “Good.” Then he took a few more breaths. “Captain, I’ve taken inventory on all the active mines. Aside from Cenlura there are six thousand five hundred and fifteen slave miners. Too many to hold on the ship. Do you want me to call in more relief ships?”
“No. We can put the rest on the Merimore and tug it behind us. Actually, I need to have a long talk with my cousin.” Rannn said the last part as he walked and gestured for Clalls to follow him.
The room was silent with only Yon, Vivra, and Pax remaining in the private medical room. Yon’s voice cut through the silence. “The Terrans said they had thousands of buyers lined up and some were going to Lotus Nexis.”
Seth of Stars, not Nexis again. Pax let his head fall back against the wall and rubbed his forehead. “I hate that planet.”
“I would have thought you would have a season pass.”
Pax moved one hand and pointed at Yon. “Stop trying to be funny. You suck at it.”
Yon grunted. “Vivra thinks I’m funny.” A very non-Yon thing to say. Yon wasn’t playful.
Pax blinked. Yon looked at him smugly. “Look at you…trying to come into your Demon side.”
Yon chuffed. “The fact that I’m half-demon is the reason they didn’t sell me to the new Madame on Nexis as the novelty Yunkin.”
“They were going to sell you as a sex slave on Nexis?” Pax didn’t think much surprised him anymore, but a brothel of Yunkin men didn’t sound like a very good business plan. As a Red Demon, he felt he was a good judge of character, the kind that would do well in the bedroom, at least, and Yunkins seemed to lack those qualities. But that was Pax’s opinion. Maybe some females wanted to dabble on the simpler side of sex.
A single-orgasm blitz kind of romance.
“Smart. The Madame could dress you up as an admiral or captain and give the purchasers a chance to live out their fantasies of being with someone in a high rank. I can see it.”
“There is something wrong with you, and it’s not because you’re a Demon,” Yon said as if he were surprised by his own realization.
Pax responded, “I thought the same thing about you.”
Yon chuckled.
Ansel pushed open the door. “All right, let’s get started.”