27. Chapter 27
The five Tuxa husks swarmed off the Phor ship once they landed. Vox and the other three Vorbax sat in wait, watching, as their husks invited the guards present onto the ship.
They followed the husks into the hull willingly. There, Vox made quick work of breaking their minds. It was exhausting, accessing this part of himself. It went against his nature, damaging his mind with every husk they took. He would need an extended time to recover after this mission or risk madness.
Vox was vulnerable while breaking the minds, easy prey when he was this focused. It was the drawback to breaking. Rhutg stood watching over him and Erox as they broke as many Tuxa as they could, ready to attack in case they were swarmed. One of the Tuxa was sent out to gather more guards, leading them onto the protected ship until a unit of around forty stood at attention.
They stood now, all breathing rhythmically. A silent, now loyal, broken guard.
It has to be enough. Sitting back on his heels, Vox breathed heavily, twin hearts pumping. This was more than he had ever taken management of at one time. His head was heavy with the pressure. It buzzed from the minds he had to slash through. He shook his head to clear his senses, not allowing the voices to stick around. Madness lay that way if he did not organize and get a handle on the husks he was currently leading. He breathed heavily and sorted their threads in his mind until he was able to contain them. Erox took a few seconds longer before nodding affirmatively he was ready.
Vox couldn’t rest. Not yet. They positioned the Tuxa around themselves, spread out, in a way to look like the Tuxa were taking the Vorbax off the ship, still imprisoned.
The false guard walked surely as they exited the ship. Vox smelled the stinking air of Torga for the first time as he matched his steps with Erox. Lirell and Rhutg remained hidden within the hull. This landing bay was sparse compared to the other docking stations on Torga. They’d made the husks request this area to land to keep the Tuxa numbers down, citing maneuverability problems. Another aspect that paid off, as the station was almost completely subdued already.
The guards whose minds they broke spread out, silently disabling any alarms. They did this while sending back their brethren to Rhutg, who was standing in the cargo bay ready to break them.
The husks that were walking with Erox and Vox, pretending the Vorbax were still prisoners, feigned conversation to maintain the illusion for the Tuxa not yet turned. Soon, the entire area was filled with Tuxa whose minds they controlled. The few that recognized the ruse and attempted to flee met walls already sealed by their turned brethren. They were quickly rounded up to join their silent, ever-growing army.
It would be apparent soon there was an attack, but with the alarms silenced in this area it would take a bit for word to spread.
Vox scanned the memories of the Tuxa he had already broken, his eyes closed as he searched until he found one that was monitoring the feeds here in this station and held the relevant information.
This one indicated that they were aware of the sabotage done in the vents from Ava’s handiwork and were directing teams there to begin repairs. Another team was also inspecting the area the Haroo transport had self-destructed in. The path Vox would take would hopefully be less populated now with those distractions.
Ava. His hearts panged harder. The distractions provided would help, but the thought of her being hunted made him want to move faster. He fidgeted with the tracker he had slung over his arm, rechecking the direction it led.
“Lirell, stand at this corridor. Seal the door until our return and act as a guard,” Rhutg ordered, finally marching out of the hull.
Lirell nodded, pale. It was the first time in his life seeing any battle on such a big scale. He took seeing death hard; it was painted on his pinched face. It was part of the reason he wasn’t able to turn the minds himself. It required a certain amount of detachment Lirell had not yet mastered.
Vox nodded to Rhutg and Erox and continued forward. They left several of the Tuxa as a guard flanking Lirell, taking the others with them to act as their shield as they broke through the city. The Tuxa took up their positions as their silent, borrowed army. He hid himself in the middle of the crowd of Tuxa, Erox and Rhutg at his side, using the husk’s bodies to shield them.
With one last look back at Lirell, they moved into a steady sprint, the doors to the docking station closing and locking behind them.
Rhutg turned and checked the locks, ensuring they were sealed and unable to be opened by the pinpad next to the door easily. A few more husks were left at this entrance and given instructions to deter entry.
Rhutg nodded to Vox once done. They needed to move fast. This was the crunch point. Adrenaline was pumping through all their veins, their minds clear and on task. Vox typed into his com, alerting Ava they were here. He didn’t linger to see if it was delivered. The communications had been spotty, and the lack of contact added to his agitation.
It was exceedingly difficult to break minds while on the move. They would have to gather what they could as they went if there was a slow moment. But for now, their guard was strong. They were strong.
Despite the clarity from the adrenaline, his mind felt sluggish from carrying so many Tuxa in his head. Already the touches of fatigue were beginning to weigh on him, giving him a headache. But they needed to run. The quicker, the better. Before they could be swarmed. He had to get to Ava.
Working slowly, Ava crawled down one of the vents that branched down to the ground level in the room. She cut a small hole in the vent low to the ground where the women sat, backs lifted off the wall as she worked. It was a tight fit and there was no grate here to look out of to see what was happening on the other side of the wall.
Orla came up and put her hands behind her, slipping the weapon underneath the tunic she wore before putting it in the nest. Sai stayed there, covering the hole with her back.
They paced themselves, taking their time in case anyone was watching. They took turns going over to where Ava sat and taking a phaser from her before depositing it in the nest of bedding. Soon, five of the phasers Ava had were stored there, leaving one in her hands up in the vent. Ava scrambled back up to the outlet above their heads, on the horizontal part, to stretch out to look over them and wait.
The females and Ava took turns teasing into each other’s minds. It started out as a murmur, as if she was being tickled by a feather. Each attempt at conversation directed at her furthered their abilities to hear one another, until Ava could hear them consistently. It was now a tap on her mind instead of a flutter. It improved to the point she could hear what they said amongst each other and not just what was directed at her as long as they attempted to keep communication open to her.
A night cycle on this planet was apparently falling. The nature feed on the wall indicated this, dimming the lighting to dusk. The room became hard to see into.
“If they remember, food should be brought soon,” Sai mentioned. With the weapons now in their possession, Ava could feel their bloodthirsty nature more acutely. For Lirell self-describing the Vorbax as being peaceful, they had such a formidable side when threatened.
Ava fidgeted, trying to find a comfortable position. There was none to find, but she shifted anyway to keep the pressure balanced on all her sides.
Sai was correct. A Tuxa opened the flap at the bottom of the door, a green scaled arm appearing there. He shoved several trays in, laden with unappetizing lumps of food much like Ava had on the ship. The Tuxa didn’t bother to come in or talk with them further, instead closing the flap and locking it after the new trays were slid in.
The women went forward lethargically to eat, noting they needed to keep up their strength. They were also hungry. Starved even. Ava felt their hunger radiate up to her, reminding her to eat as well. Her stomach grumbled involuntarily.
She dug in her pack and took out the rations she’d brought with her. The food she ate was more satisfying than what the Vorbax females were served, but still left her hungry.
Ava rubbed the biologics as she watched the others eat. She had a little powder for them and added it to the top, watching them swirl and give off a muted light at her chest. They pulsed back as she stroked the jar.
She checked the com on her arm futilely, the food she managed to get down sitting heavily in her stomach. Where are you?
The women, after eating, sat communally on their nest pillows, lying back. They gave the appearance of lounging but Ava could feel the tension radiating through them, as acute as her own. The vents felt stifling hot, adding to her discomfort as she lay there. Sweat ran down her back, inadequate to cool her down.Her hair slicked down to her skull, heavy in her bun. She tried to drink some more water to cool herself down and dabbed a little on her forehead.
“What species are you?” Wyrl asked, speaking for the others, her head on the pillow turned toward the grate. The nature feeds on the wall had been dimmed, as if it was simulating a sun setting. Ava could just make out Wyrl’s eyes gleaming in the lowered light, a curious expression on her face.
“Human. On the ship they ran some tests saying I was very similar to the Vorbax.”
Wyrl hummed aloud, pressed against the other females. “You wouldn’t be able to hear us if not.”
Silence fell and Ava listened to them relax and doze. She felt sleepy herself, something she didn’t think possible a cycle ago with how action-packed the mission was going to be.
Her eyes were heavy, and she lowered herself next to the metal grate in order to stretch out a bit more, her long arms and limbs finally relaxing when they were fully extended. She was sore all over.
“Is he your mate?” The words came into her mind, unbidden. Ava wasn’t astute enough in understanding their individual voices to determine who was communicating without visually seeing who was lit up.
The question jolted her back awake, though sleep clung to her brain like a layer of fuzz. “Who?”
Vox’s face swam in front of her mind. It was not a vision she had of him, not how she knew him, not a warrior in the engine hall lit up by artificial lighting. It was an image of Vox from the women’s memories, a recollection from back on their home planet. His smile was soft and warm, dressed in only a simple loincloth as he dredged the grain on his fields and fed his flock of birds. Ava flushed, not wanting to answer or respond, her heart longing to live in that vision.
A soft chuckle came from the women. Ava, not by the outlet, couldn’t see who was asking. She began to get up to look out to see who was speaking with her before she heard, “No, rest, Human. We are in your debt. It is just very clear your minds are linked.”
Ava rubbed her suit sleeve anxiously, settling back down. She was not embarrassed of her connection with Vox, but mindful of her status as an outsider. Orla was the one he had mentioned so many cycles ago as having an arrangement with. “I do care about him.”
“Hush, it is fine.” Acceptance and the pressure of sleep pressed on her, projected strongly from the women. Ava, as tired as she was, even cramped and uncomfortable in the suit, dozed in the darkness.
It was not long, however, until the com on her wrist lit up. Ava’s eyes widened, light bright in the darkness. Ava tapped on it hurriedly, eyes groggy from the little bit of sleep she did get.
Blinking to clear her eyes, she read the message and excitedly clanged in the vents, eager to get to the grate to look out and tell the women.
“They’re here.” Vox is here.
The women lit up in unison but didn’t get up from the nest. Instead they shifted while continuing to lay down, all moving the weapons to one another, gripping them under the blankets. All five pairs of their eyes were trained on the door, ears open to sounds outside. Ava, from where she was now perched, kept a close watch on the door as well. She put her ear to the metal of the vent to see if it would transfer any sounds from far away. It held nothing but silence and the whirring of the filtration system up above.
Ava didn’t receive any more messages from her com, though she held it in front of her on the vent in case it lit up. It was enough to know they were here and coming.
It was too tense in the room to have any small talk. They remained still, but alert. Ava took her cutter out, holding it aloft in case she needed to cut a larger hole in the grate.
Time passed, and streaks of dawn came on to the nature feed, giving a bit of light to the room.
“Ava,”Wyrl said, her mental energy taut.
Ava fixed her eyes on her, looking down at her aged face.
“Some Tuxa are coming. We will use our fear. I worry you will be affected.”
Ava gulped, sweat beading down her back, hesitation in her mind. Her hands, which loosely gripped the cutter, shook. There wasn’t any time to respond, to let them know that she understood or to move away farther, before the door was kicked open. Ava let out a shriek of fear seeing the door slam open so suddenly.
A steady stream of Tuxa poured in, metal gleaming in their hands from phasers of their own. Rhutg was right; they would try to kill the prized women the Vorbax had come to reclaim rather than let them be rescued.
Ava couldn’t register more than that initial movement. Her mind screamed as the Vorbax women unleashed their mental powers, terror overwhelming her. She writhed in pain until she dropped to the bottom of the vent, no longer by the grate, with her cutter over her head. The phaser lay forgotten at the top of the vent. She covered her head with her hands in a desperate attempt to protect herself. Her body curled in a ball, hidden in the wall while the fight happened in the room next to her.
Lost in her own mind, Ava lived in nightmares. She sobbed openly, pulling at her hair. The nightmares were real and imagined, along with fears that were unknown to her. The neat little box she kept her unpleasant memories in opened, flooding her. Her family, all her fears. I’m worthless, I can’t stop anything. Her body thrummed with the thoughts, hearing the battle going while she sat there cradling her head. Unable to help. Unable to do anything. Anything at all.
The biologics on her chest swirled, trying to comfort her, but she was lost to them. She was lost to herself. Her brain fractured and seized as the fighting continued, causing her limbs to lose control. Her hands clawed bloody marks on herself and her legs banged chaotically on the metal walls. The shadows of her family danced in front of her. Taunting her.
She reached out her hand to touch them and they scolded her for existing. They made fun of her attempts to reach them and laughed at how she cried. Their eyes were not kind. They blamed her for living and forgetting them all these years. Worthless. Useless. Unloved. She screamed until she passed out, unable to take any more.
Alone in the vent, she lay there forgotten as the battle dragged on.
They know. Halfway through the run, an alarm sounded. Vox willed his muscles to move even faster. It was a loud alert redirecting units to their area. The sound clanged off the walls, reverberating all around him.
Vox flushed with fear when he heard the alarm, his Tuxa guard still ready to engage any coming to fight as they rushed forward. There was confusion amongst the Tuxa as they began to fight themselves, not knowing who was enemy or foe. They needed every bit of confusion they could get and scattered the Tuxa husks amongst their brethren.
Taking the phasers, Vox fired where he could. He did not wait until they fell, but continued running, letting the confusion reign amongst the enemies behind him. Erox and Rhutg were in line with his strides.
Rhutg, not depleted mentally, added to their guard when he could. He took less time to break them, but every second lingered meant they became more vulnerable as the alert was raised. The Tuxa husks locked down the quadrants as they ran through, stopping others from streaming in as long as the locks held. It would hopefully make for a faster exit when they came back, as long as they hurried before the section could be reopened.
Vox focused single-mindedly on his tracker, the green dot showing the location they needed to head to. Move. Move.
Finally, they arrived at the area where the females were held, where the tracker showed Ava. The location indicator hadn’t moved recently, but the vitals were still strong. There was no time to check for messages as he scanned the area, looking. The guards were thick here, coming at them with an animalistic focus.
Rhutg, so close to his mate, rushed in to rip apart the Tuxa as fast as they could fire, blood coating the floor. His energy was frantic, the leash that had kept him composed back on the ship untethered. The electrical pulses from the phasers that hit him were redirected by his skin as he went. The only weapon that could hurt the Vorbax easily, fire, was not available unless the Tuxa wanted to burn their own city as well. Their phasers couldn’t harm them if it was a singular pulse.
“They are here,”Erox alerted, eyes focused on a doorway in front of them. He was shining a deep purple, displaying the intensity he was using to seek the women out mentally.
Vox looked up, focused in his gaze, and headed in the direction Erox had indicated. Rhutg followed a minute later, taming his bloodlust enough to leave the battle. His body was coated in the dark purple blood of the Tuxa. He looked barely like the Vorbax Vox knew, the one that would compose poems in his spare time and play with his younger sister amongst the trees.
The reflection didn’t last. Vox was too busy running to dwell on simple thoughts. He surged through the doorway, fear coating his tongue, tiredness forgotten. Skidding across the floor in his haste he came to a pile of Tuxa corpses outside a barricaded door.
Erox, already having reached the area, tore out the mattresses that were piled at the doorway as a barrier, blocking the interior from view.
A phaser fired from within. Vox stood and tapped into his meditative state, feeling the females immediately. The fear they gave off lit up his neural connections, grating on his soul.
“It is us. Stand down.”
He saw Orla holding the phaser aloft in trembling hands once Erox was able to break down the barrier.
They were slow to let go of their mental fear, only stopping once Erox countered it, soothing their minds.
The other Vorbax women crowded around Orla, all in disarray, all with injuries across their bodies. One held her arm tightly. It looked shredded by claws down to the inner core inside. She let out a mournful hum as Erox reached her. Her eyes met his, vulnerability shining in their depths.
The women filed out, Erox picking up the injured one, Bria. Vox scanned the room, impatient. Where is she? Where is Ava? The tracker showed her still in this room. He shook it, frantic. Vox began to pace the walls, kicking over the meal trays piled up. Anywhere that Ava could hide.
“She is in the vent, Vox,” Orla said, hand on his arm. He shook it off.
“I cannot sense her.” Why can I not sense her?
“We used . . . I think she’s unconscious.” Orla’s pinched face was pale in the fluorescent light, her expression tired and drained.
Vox moved away from her and moved to the exact spot the tracker indicated. He punched the wall near it, cracking through enough to get his hands around the metal. Where is she? He would rip it all apart to get to her.