Chapter 40
Tuvo
They had been found by the human search team. The villagers tried to offer them food as they came to sit around the village center, but they politely declined. They had all brought their own food and didn’t want to unnecessarily burden them.
While they ate, they talked, exchanging stories. Though, they didn’t know exactly why Roger had done what he did, the men had something of an answer for them.
After their plane had vanished from its flight path, an investigation began immediately.
They knew they had an emergency landing in the Azores Islands, but it wasn’t, as Rodger said, because of a malfunction.
It was so that, without guards watching him, he could sabotage the plane so he could blow up the engine and force it down without any chance of recovery.
The secondary pilot that should have been with him for safety purposes was completely fabricated for those who would check, and none among the party thought to ask why a single pilot had been flying the plane.
It took some time to locate exactly where their plane had been when it disappeared, and then even more time to locate the plane itself.
While the search was ongoing, the others had all been attacked as well.
Their security team turned against them, holding them hostage in some cases.
Before Hattie could panic, however, he assured them that everyone was all right.
They had rescued each other and taken a shuttle back to the Jutiron Stor which remained in orbit beyond the moon.
And they were looking for them.
Tuvo couldn’t help but smirk when he saw the unease on the males’ faces when they described how Survii had threatened to refuse Earth their protectorate agreement so long as Tuvo and Hattie remained missing. Apparently, he had been fiery and righteous in his declaration.
Tuvo was rather sure he wouldn’t have meant it. Not considering how hard his mate had fought to bring Earth to this point, but it was a scary threat to humanity when they thought about all they had to lose if he really went through with it.
But they had been found. As had the male behind the attack.
“Phillip Morrison?” Hattie repeated, surprised when they told her.
“You know him?” Tuvo asked, not recognizing the name.
“Er, yeah. I met him at Alanna’s wedding reception. He was one of the high-profile guests invited to the second party. He seemed so nice.”
“He’s one of the founding members of PHAL,” the leader of the search party explained as she translated.
“The Pro-Human Advocates League. They’re an anti-alien terrorist group that have been behind the attacks on your people since you’ve been here.
He was well-connected enough to get close to you and wealthy enough to buy multiple mercenary squads to place in your security team. ”
“How many of our security team were traitors?” Tuvo asked, snarling.
The man hesitated before answering, “Most.”
“Bertrand?”
He nodded once.
Tuvo growled, furious. Their own head of security. A man he thought to nearly be a friend. At least, the two of them had friendly conversations. But he had been responsible for putting Hattie and the others in danger.
“How did this happen?” He asked, glaring at the human male. “Were our guards not vetted? Were they not tested for negative feelings towards us?”
The man cleared his throat, looking away awkwardly. “I’m just with search and rescue, I don’t know these things.”
“Then get me in contact with someone who knows.”
“I don’t know if he can,” Hattie said, putting her hand on his arm, obviously trying to calm him down. “We’ll probably have to follow them to town.”
But before he could start the plans necessary to start that trip, the male turned and accepted something from one of the others. What he brought back around was a square, black, fabric case that he unzipped, revealing a big, clunky device.
“Oh,” Hattie perked up as he worked. “It’s a satellite phone.”
Their human phones didn’t have service all the way out here, but this one, apparently, would be capable of reaching out to the search organizers.
The male assured them that their entire security team had been suspended, and more than a few of them arrested, as an investigation was underway.
The search was being headed by Alanna’s uncle, President Townsend.
His love for his niece was well known, and something that Tuvo did trust.
The man called someone on the phone, and was then put through to someone else, and then transferred once more before John Townsend’s familiar voice came through the speaker.
“Thank goodness you’re both okay,” the male said, his voice overlaid with static thanks to the satellite connection. “Is Keith Willard there as well?”
Hattie confirmed that he was, and that he was also unharmed, and the president let out a long breath of relief.
Tuvo was willing to grant that he probably was concerned for their welfare, as he seemed to be a good male, but there was also no doubt that he was relieved that their treaty could still be salvaged. He was a politician, after all.
“We’ll have you back soon. Do you mind waiting on the phone? It’s nearly the time that the Jutiron Stor calls us, and I know they’ve been worried about you and will want to hear from you as soon as possible. If you’re on the line, I can patch you through immediately.”
Tuvo agreed, thinking it to be the best idea. The others needed to know where they were, that they were safe. And if they knew where they were, he could get Hattie to safety sooner.
It wasn’t an easy task. There wasn’t a direct line of communication from Earth to the Stor.
Earth technology couldn’t connect with theirs; it was too different, and Earth didn’t have access to the Standard yet.
So, contact involved just waiting until the Stor commed first. The president explained everything that happened in detail while they waited.
Eventually, from the other end, the comm suddenly connected to a different comm, and Tuvo heard Romival’s calm but harsh voice.
“What is so important, President?” Hattie translated, whispering softly so that her voice didn’t interfere with the comm.
There was no forgiveness or softness in his tone.
It was telling that Romival was answering the comm and not one of the other females.
He spoke English flawlessly – having learned it the old-fashioned way since there was not yet an imprint of the language made – but the females were ones that usually spoke for them.
Specifically, Alanna acted as the go-between.
But it was Romival that answered. A barrier between the humans and their females that meant a great deal without saying anything.
“First Scholar,” President Townsend started immediately, almost rushing. “I have Tuvo and Hattie here on the line.”
There was a moment of silence. Then-
“You found their bodies?”
“No. We found them. They’re here now. Hattie? Are you still there?”
Tuvo was the one who answered. Not in English, but in Domtri. “Romival. It’s me. Can you hear me?”
He could practically feel the tension loosening on the other end of the line. “Tuvo. We hear you.”
“Tuvo?” That was Atem’s voice, cutting in on the line. “Are you all right, brother? Is Hattie? Are both of you okay?”
“We’re fine. A bit of a mishap with the airplane. Our security team-”
“We know. They betrayed us.”
“How did you survive the plane blowing up?” That was Havali’s voice. Were the females there? Were they just not speaking? Were they okay?
“Blowing up is a bit of an exaggeration,” he said, scoffing. “Only one engine blew up, and it was just to make sure we couldn’t rescue the plane. It came down in a slow spiral. I jumped out with Hattie before we hit the ground.”
Laughter. That was Atem. Tuvo could practically see him throwing his head back.
“Lucky ecter,” he said. “But I’m glad you’re both okay. Where are you?”
“A place called the Rainforest. Far south of where we were meant to go. We believe Rodger was trying to give me and Hattie to a group called the Three Rings. I don’t know why. But I don’t imagine it was good. Atem… they sell females.”
Strained silence.
“They what?”
“This group. They steal females from their homes. From their families. They beat and abuse and rape them and sell them to other males!”
Three growls rolled through the static heavy speaker. Tuvo felt one building in his own chest that he had to force down.
“You lie,” Atem said. Not like he didn’t believe him, but like he didn’t want to.
“They had a mattress and a camera. They had Hattie! They were going to-” He couldn’t stop the growl this time, fists clenched so tight they began to shake.
Hattie put her hand over his, giving him a sad look. “Hey, I’m okay. Right?”
“But you might not have been! What they had planned for you…”
“We don’t even know exactly what that was.”
“It doesn’t matter! It was nothing good. It was vile. They had Belmira. They’ve had countless others. How is this allowed?!”
“It’s not,” Hattie said quickly, stroking his jaw. “Tuvo, I’m okay. We’re okay. What they’re doing is illegal. Like, super illegal.”
“And yet, they were able to do it. They were allowed to do it.”
“No.”
“If your people wanted, they could have stopped it! They could have gone in there with an army and razed that compound to ashes. I shouldn’t have had to do it.”
“That’s not how it works,” she said, lowering her eyes. “That’s not how our justice system works. There are laws in place that we have to follow.”
“Laws that allow things like this to happen? That allow females like you, like Belmira, to be treated in such a way? No, Hattie. You cannot defend your species for this.”
“Tuvo…” She tried and failed to say something, but no words came to her tongue.