Rydel woke up and tightened his hold on Tara as she slept in his arms. He was spooning her naked body. Burying his nose in her hair, he took a deep breath, taking in her scent. He kissed her neck and then quietly slipped out of bed.

It had been a week since he had claimed her. They had left Ranus the next day, as the Scroll remained silent, and headed for Andromeda 13. Tara had slept in his quarters from then on. Rydel pulled on his pants and, not bothering to wear a shirt, walked out toward the control room. He checked that all the systems were working fine and then opened up the Scroll. His eyes widened as another message had appeared.

The stone knows the essence,

It glows brightly near the host,

Of true blood that holds her within,

The stone tells the truth,

The truth of life in another life

Rydel stood there shocked at the revelation. He was confused. Damn the Scroll and its riddles! His jaw clenched. He couldn’t push the thought that the stone had glowed when Tara had held it in her hands out of his head. Was she the Svix? How could she be . . . ?

Then, it dawned on him that she had a symbiont inside her. Of course. It must be the symbiont the Scroll was indicating . . . Tara had seen what the Symbiont actually looked like. That must be it, he conjectured.

Rydel didn’t waste another minute. He had to be sure.

“Gyree, show me Tara’s medical scans. And give me details on the symbiont she has been joined with. On screen. Now,” Rydel demanded.

Yes, Commander.

A holographic slideshow began which showed Tara’s detailed scan reports. He skimmed through them and found the picture of the symbiont –  the one inside her. The uncanny resemblance to the drawing Tara had made sent a chill through his spine. The pieces of the puzzle were falling into place. He could see now the mark on her wrist was a sign that she was carrying the Svix.

Commander, you have an incoming call from Scyok. It’s urgent.

“Put it on screen,” he said quietly.

Horak's holographic body appeared in front of him. “Rydel,” he said gravely. “I had not heard from you in a while. What’s your status?”

“Chief,” Rydel returned stiffly. “I have been deciphering the Scroll’s meaning. And I am still looking,” he lied. “But I can assure you that I am close.”

“Rydel, the situation here is dire. People are dying. How long will it take?”

“I don’t know, Chief. I am trying to find a solution here,” Rydel said, clenching his fists. He had to be careful. He couldn’t tell him the truth. Not now. He needed to think this over.

“Where are you, Rydel?” Hyrak said, suddenly suspicious.

“I have been following the Scroll. My last stop was this planet Ranus from which I collected the stone. The stone is the key to the Svix. That’s all I have. It hasn’t given me more clues to deal with.” Rydel said, trying hard not to lose composure. There was no way he was giving Tara to them.

“Alright then. But get back as soon as you find it, or there won’t be anyone left to save!” Hyrak said in a harsh voice.

“I’m trying,” Rydel said through clenched teeth. “See you, Chief,” He said, turning off the holoscreen.

Rydel slumped back in his seat. A headache began to throb at his temples. Why her? Why couldn’t it be someone or something else? He was sure fate was laughing at him at that very moment. He glared at the Scroll in his hand. How could he take her to Scyok and just hand her over to the Chief? Who knew what he planned to do to her. He would give her to the healers to be experimented on. She was his mate, damn it! The thought made his blood boil.

He got up and headed toward the common room. His footsteps seemed heavy, and the weight on his chest returned with a force.

Tara smiled at him as he entered. He stood there, gazing at her. Her beautiful smile made his chest constrict. She was so beautiful, even with her marred face. He wondered if he would ever be able to get her face fixed. He had promised her, but now he wasn’t so sure. Sadness seeped into his heart at the thought as a lump formed in his throat.

“Hey . . . ” She spoke softly as she came toward him. “You okay?”

He looked as if he had seen a ghost – as if he were lost. Something was definitely wrong. He walked past her over to the bar at the far end of the room and poured himself a drink. He took a swing and then lowered his head, breathing hard.

“Rydel?” she asked again, her stomach twisting. “What is it?” She went toward him. His back to her, she saw his head bend low as he stood with his hands on the counter for support, knuckles turning white. It was as if he was burdened with an enormous weight and he was tired of carrying it.

Tara reached out and lightly placed a hand on his back. His muscles tensed underneath her touch. She blinked as her stomach knotted. Why was he so tense?

He turned and she saw the anguish in those ice blue eyes. They were bloodshot and he did not mask the emotions there . . . Not this time. He let her see his soul – naked, vulnerable. She saw right through him. Something constricted her throat as the stab of pain crushed her heart. She had never seen this side of him, and it broke her heart.

“Rydel, please . . . Tell me what’s wrong,” she pleaded gently, her voice like a soft breeze in the summer sun.

“Tara . . . I . . . I’m lost . . . ” His voice broke as he turned and pulled her into his arms, crushing her into his hard chest, his fingers entangled in her lush hair. “I don’t want to lose you,” he said. Cupping her neck, he tilted his head, claiming her mouth with a fierceness that took her breath away. His tongue ravaged her mouth, fervent and demanding, wanting to possess her body and soul.

Mine. Mine. Mine. It was all he could think of as he grazed his tongue against her own, his hips grinding into hers.

She pushed him back gently after a while, breathless. “R - Rydel . . . Wait . . . ”

He looked at her, eyes dark, and again crushed his mouth to hers, ignoring her pleas.

“Rydel! Slow down, please . . . ”

He abruptly stopped, as if coming out of a trance, and let go of her.

“What’s going on, Rydel? Why won’t you talk to me?” she asked worriedly.

“Alright, we need to talk,” Rydel said soberly, his breathing labored as he moved toward the couch and sat down, pulling her down with him. “Tara . . . I found the Svix.” His intense gaze seared into her own.

“Oh, that’s wonderful,” Tara said, smiling.

“No, Tara. Listen to me,” Rydel said, taking her small hands in his. Her skin was soft and delicate as he unconsciously ran a thumb over them, caressing her. “The symbiont that you have been joined with is actually the Svix,” he said cautiously, waiting for her reaction. “But don’t worry. Nothing is going to happen to you. The species of your symbiont comes from a planet in the Delta Quadrant. So I will go there and get it. The only thing is that it might take us months to reach there.”

“Then we should go there at once,” she said.

“The chief called today. The situation is bad back home. So there’s no point in going there. And I am not going to take you to Scyok. There must be some other way. Someplace else where I can get this symbiont . . . ” Rydel said, his mind racing.

“Rydel, take me to Scyok. I want to help your people. Maybe your doctors can find a cure and I can help save your race,” Tara said softly.

“No way! They will experiment with you – not caring whether you live or die. You are mine, Tara. I won’t let that happen,” Rydel said adamantly.

“You have a responsibility to fulfill, Rydel. Your people have their hopes pinned on you. You can’t just abandon them,” she said, irritated by his inflexibility.

“When did you start caring about the Klai?” he said, eyes blazing a brilliant blue. “You should be happy my race will be almost wiped out. With only a few survivors like me, nobody will remember us.”

His words stung her. “You are wrong. I don’t care about the Klai. It’s not about my personal vendetta here. It’s about you. Rydel, when you took on this mission, you chose to fulfill it. It’s just not right that you are letting your people die when you have the chance to save them,” she reasoned with him gently.

“And let you die instead? I did not choose to be here. I did not choose any of this!” he said through clenched teeth, eyes blazing embers. She was surprised at his stubbornness.

“Who says I’m going to die?” she asked incredulously.

“I have the background info on the Svix. Once joined with a host, it is for life. Until the host dies. And if you try and extract it . . . it will kill you,” Rydel said quietly. The sadness in his eyes was immense.

“Your destiny chose you, Rydel. You cannot undo it,” Tara said in an ever-so-soft voice.

“I shouldn’t have gotten you into this mess . . . I will not force you to risk your life,” he said adamantly.

“How can you be so selfish?” she gazed at him, surprised. He was stubborn as a bull. “Look, I want to do this. I want to save lives. All my life I have been a worthless slave. Let me be someone better,” she said as tears welled in her eyes.

“Tara, you are not worthless. You are so much more . . . I . . . I can’t let you do this.” His voice was hoarse as he pulled her onto his lap. “Have you ever thought about me? How could you leave me, Tara?”

Tara gazed at him with tears in her eyes. Throwing her arms around his neck, she kissed him hard on his mouth. Pulling back, she gazed deep into his eyes. “Do you love me, Rydel?”

“More than my life,” he said fervently.

“Then let’s go back to Scyok. We are not arguing over this anymore,” she said, raising a brow.

“Okay,” he yielded to her half-heartedly.

A short while later, they were in the control room as Rydel set a course toward Scyok. It would take four months to reach there. That was enough time for him to look for another way. Anywhere he could find the symbiont. He started his search that very day.