Chapter 6: Chapter 6

MIKHLAS

Mikhlas spun toward the display as Izzy’s voice rang out in panic.

He could see the nanites start to form on his first officer’s sleeve and knew that Izzy would never forgive them, never agree to come with them willingly if her friend died.

“Silian! Do not kill her!”

The silver glint disappeared from Silian’s cuff, and as Amy struggled beneath him, he pointed a finger at her and shouted, “Stay down!”

~Damn it! He’s revealed us by doing this. I have no choice now. Amy either agrees to come with us or I have to kill her.~

Onscreen, he saw Silian look up at Izzy from his position above the pinned woman. Knowing his first officer, he expected Silian would deliver some blistering words to Dakira Isabelle before he even thought about the consequences.

“Shut your mouth, Silian! That’s an order,” he yelled.

Silian’s shoulders stiffened at his command, and he saw the man distracted for a brief moment. Amy took his distraction to lever her entire body toward her pinned hands.

She slid quickly on the polished wooden floorboards, lifting her knee at just the right time to land solidly into Silian’s groin.

Mikhlas winced at the meaty thud communicated through the audio feed.

With more speed than he thought a human capable of, he saw Amy get a foot into Silian’s chest and push him off, rolling to her feet and drawing her sidearm in one fluid move.

“You stay down!” Amy said, pointing the weapon at his head.

Silian fell forward onto his arm, and with the other one, he cupped his manhood. By the look of agony on Silian’s face, he knew his first officer was in no condition to protect Dakira Isabelle at that moment.

~Should I go down or would that just make the situation worse?~

“Amy, no, don’t! It’s okay. Don’t shoot him,” Izzy said, holding a hand out toward her friend. He watched Amy’s eyes dart between Silian, still crumpled on the floor, and Izzy.

“Who the fuck is this? Where did he come from? I just checked the cabin,” Amy said, the barrel still pointed squarely at Silian’s head.

~She won’t shoot him, will she? She can’t kill him, not now with Prime’s nanites ready to protect him, but it will be interesting to see how this plays out. But that weapon…~

“Prime, disable the projectile device. I cannot have something so dangerous that close to Isabelle.”

A quick flash of light to his left drew his attention from the screen to the control panel next to him. A pile of small copper-jacketed bullets lay in the center of his navigation display.

One of the bullets rolled down the front of the panel, and Mikhlas stuck out his hand to catch it before it hit the dark metal decking. He lifted the thing to look closer at it, rolling it between his fingertips. ~How primitive.~

He watched Isabelle slowly move closer to her friend, both hands raised. “Please, just put the gun down. He’s not going to hurt anyone,” Izzy said.

The corners of Mikhlas’s lips pulled. ~If only she knew. In his current state, Silian would gladly hurt someone.~

Footfalls behind him caught his attention, and he turned to find Iry, his weapons specialist, heading his way from across the open bridge of his ship.

She weaved around the stations and stopped next to him. He dropped his head to look at her five-foot frame. “What is it, Iry?”

“Sorry to bother you, Captain,” Iry said, her yellow double-iris eyes meeting his, “but Prime has found a signal emanating from the vehicle outside the cabin.”

The small green woman flicked her split tongue out as she spoke and held out a translucent screen for him to see.

Mikhlas took it from her, careful not to touch the spikes on her hands, and read the information. ~A simple pip at a low radio frequency.~

“It could be anything or nothing. Human technology is primitive. Keep an eye on it, if you see any changes, let me know. Prime, monitor the area around the cabin for life signs.

“Within the borders of the property only. There may be wild animals out there.” He handed the screen back to the small woman, ensuring to give her plenty of room to grab hold of it.

~The last thing I want is one of those paralyzing spikes in my hands. Once was enough.~

He returned his attention to the main display screen dominating the front wall.

“Amy, please don’t do that. I will tell you everything, just please, put the gun down first,” Izzy said.

~This is not a good idea. If Amy reacts negatively, I will be forced to kill her. Isabelle will hate me if I do, but what choice do I have? I hope she can convince this woman to come with her.~

Mikhlas shut his eyes and dropped his head. The law dictated that a captain be the one to kill anyone outside the Realm that discovers the truth about them, especially on a primitive planet like this.

~Everywhere I go, death follows me. Even here. Will these cruel and unfair laws ever change?~

He raised his eyes to the screen and saw Amy lower her gun, then holster the weapon. “I’m listening.”

“Silian, are you okay?” Izzy asked.

~She is making progress with Amy. She needs time to speak with her.~

“Silian, stay on the ground. Do not let them see you are already healed,” Mikhlas said, failing to keep the grin out of his voice.

He knew Silian would hate to appear so weak in front of his future queen and an opponent who surprised him. ~But it’s nice to see someone take the wind from his sails occasionally.~

He heard Silian grind his teeth through the audio feed, and watched him turn to look at Izzy, his eyes red with the anger in them.

“No!” he growled out.

“Why don’t we go to the lounge,” Izzy said, walking past Silian and using her body to shield his angry gaze from her friend.

As the door closed behind them, he watched Silian flip silently to his feet and with a quick flash of light, he was standing next to him, his crimson eyes glaring into Mikhlas’s.

“What?” Mikhlas said.

Silian remained silent, lips tight as his jaw clenched again and again.

“When you find the words, let me know, otherwise I need to hear whether Isabelle can convince Amy to join her.”

Silian saluted him, and as he turned back to the screen, he heard Silian mutter at a pitch only he could hear. “That was below the belt, Captain.”

***

Izzy led the way to the comfortable brown leather sofa and sat down, one leg jigging with nerves and looked at her friend. ~God, she’s pissed, but at least she’s willing to listen to me.~

“Izzy, now would be a good time to tell me what the fuck is going on,” Amy said, brushing her black hair back from her face with one hand.

“Yeah, I know. I’m just trying to figure out how,” Izzy said. ~Where should she start this story?~

“How about from the beginning?” Amy said.

“Okay. But try not to freak out too much,” Izzy asked. Amy nodded and gestured for her to begin.

As Izzy spoke, she noticed the change in Amy’s face. At first, it seemed like she listened and understood everything she said.

But then a frown appeared and it got deeper the more she spoke. She trailed off when Amy crossed her arms and waited. Amy sat there just staring at her.

“Amy, you with me?” Izzy asked.

“Yeah, I am. I’m just waiting till you finish with this bullshit story and tell me what really happened.”

“That’s the truth. Trust me, I still don’t believe it all myself. But you can’t deny the facts. I mean, look at me. I’m healed, in a few hours. Not weeks, or days, hours, Amy. I don’t know anyone on this planet that can do that.”

“You can’t honestly expect me to believe all this, Iz,” Amy said, pinching the bridge of her nose. She rubbed her eyes and looked back at Izzy.

“I mean, come on…some alien gods picked you to be their queen? It’s like some B-grade movie. It’s just crazy.”

“Aims. Please, this is the truth. Whether they are crazy or not, I don’t know. But I can’t deny the things I saw with my own eyes. Look at me,” she said.

She lifted her shirt to show Amy her ribs. “I should be black-and-blue all over. Broken bones and a six-inch surgical wound from my op. It’s all healed. There is just no way anyone could fake that.”

She watched as Amy examined the faint scar, eyes narrowed and lips pursed.

“I need a minute,” Amy said, standing and moving toward the window. She stared out for a few moments and Izzy tucked her shirt back in, getting up to throw some more wood on the fire.

She stoked the coals until the flames caught on the fresh wood.

~Two choices, Mikhlas said. C’mon, Aims, you have to believe me.~

“If this is true, and I’m not saying I believe it, but if it is, then why you?”

She turned to look at her friend and shrugged. “I don’t know. I just got told that I was chosen. They didn’t tell me why.”

“And when are you supposed to leave?” she asked.

“A week, I think. Maybe less,” Izzy said, putting the fire poker away.

“Are you going?” Amy turned to look at her.

She just shrugged again. “I don’t know. They did say that I kind of don’t have a choice.”

“I’m coming too,” Amy said and came back to the sofa.

Izzy’s heart lifted at the thought of her best friend coming with her and the boys.

This was what Mikhlas said he needed for Amy to come with them. The other option was not worth thinking about. Yet she needed to be sure of her motivations. “Why?”

“Because if this is bullshit like I think it is, you’re going to need someone to pull you out. And if it is real…well…you’re not leaving me behind,” Izzy smiled.

That was the best news she could ever have asked for. Izzy moved to Amy and wrapped her arms around her neck, pulling the taller woman into a hug.

“Thank you,” Izzy whispered. Amy hugged her back and as the tension in her reduced, she realized she didn’t feel as scared anymore, not now that Amy would be with her.

Amy broke the hug, still holding her on the upper arms and looked at her with a serious expression. “Promise me, when things get weird, you won’t fight me when I tell you we’re leaving.”

“I promise. You call it,” Izzy said.

“This is batshit crazy. You realize that, right?” Amy said. Izzy nodded and smiled wide at her.

“Fuck! I need a drink,” Amy said and went to the kitchen. She opened the door slowly, then walked into the kitchen and came out a few seconds later with their glasses and two bottles of wine.

“The big guy’s gone,” she said as she set the wine and glasses onto the table.

“Yeah, they do that. Sort of just disappear,” Izzy said.

“Where are they? I mean that huge guy just came out of nowhere.”

“On their ship, wherever that is.”

“You think they parked it in the valley? Or maybe it’s hovering above the house?” Amy said, taking a sip of her drink.

“There’s only one way to find out,” Izzy said, tapping her ear.

“Oh, the connection to the ship computer,” Amy said, opening a bottle of red wine and filling their glasses.

Izzy nodded. “Prime, where is the ship?”

“The ship is currently hidden on your moon. I am attempting to avoid any telescopes that track objects within Earth’s close range,” the computer said. Izzy’s mouth fell open.

“What?” Amy asked.

“They’re on the Moon,” Izzy said, and Amy’s mouth dropped open as well.

“Bullshit!” she said and took a sip of wine.

“You can’t call bullshit,” Izzy said, joining her and taking a drink.

“I can, and I’m calling it. If they can zap back and forth into space like that, then they can prove it to us.”

“I suppose I can ask them.”

“Well, if they want you to believe any of this, they are going to need to start proving some of the things they say. If not, I’m going to call bullshit,” she said.

“Let’s worry about that in the morning. The storm should have eased by then. For now, I’m just glad you’re here,” Izzy said, reaching over to take Amy’s hand.

Amy nodded. “Me too. I’ve been worried about you, Izzy. I haven’t made any progress on tracking Peter down. I never thought he could be so resourceful. I mean, believe me, disappearing is tough to do.”

Izzy nodded, taking another sip. “I always knew he was clever, that’s what made him such a good real estate agent.” She looked at the flames in the fireplace. “And how he hid what kind of man he was for so long, I suppose.”

“You can’t blame yourself, Izzy. It’s not your fault.”

“But—”

“No buts, Izzy. You’re lucky he didn’t kill you, and I don’t need to tell you that. Being a paramedic, you ~know~ he very nearly killed you.”

“I know,” she said in a small voice.

Amy chuckled, taking another sip of wine.

“What’s so funny?”

“Well, if all this is true, I guess you’ll be the one to drop off the face of the earth. Maybe when the police finally catch up to him, they’ll add your disappearance to his charge sheet.”

“I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Oh shit!” Amy said, topping up both their glasses.

“What now?”

“What about the boys?” Amy asked.

“They’re coming. I won’t leave them, you know that,” Izzy said looking back at her friend.

“Damn straight. I know James and Lucas mean everything to you,” Amy chuckled again before continuing, “James is going to lose his shit! You know what he’s like with this space stuff.”

“Yeah, I know. Can you imagine his face when I tell him all those sci-fi movies he watched might be true?”

“I know, right?” Amy said with a proper laugh. “Man, that kid of yours is such a nerd.”

“Yeah, but he’s a good kid.”

“The best.”

Izzy felt so happy Amy would be sharing this adventure with her and the boys, and as the wine and conversation flowed, and she felt a pleasant buzz, the laughter flowed as well.

~We haven’t done this in a long time.~

With the warm fire in the cozy living room, she didn’t feel like going upstairs to a chilly room, and before she knew it, all four empty bottles of wine were lined up on the hearth and she had the giggles.

Surprisingly, she wasn’t as drunk as Amy, who, after making one final absurd comment with associated gestures, about big white guys instead of little gray men, fell asleep on the sofa.

Izzy smiled at her friend and stood unsteadily to tuck a cushion beneath her head and a woolen throw rug over her.

She managed the stairs with one hand to guide her and barely made it to the bed before the world started spinning. Before she could even think about all the strange things that happened today, sleep claimed her.