Chapter 29 #2
He burst through. Tuvo and Atem struck faster than Alanna could see.
A cry of pain was followed by a clatter as the gun was ripped from his fingers and thrown across the roof.
Atem punched him in the gut. Tuvo kicked him in the chest, back into the stairwell.
Alanna heard the clatter of him hitting another person as Havali shoved the door back shut.
It was a metal door. They weren’t going to be able to shoot through it. They were going to have to leave the safety of the stairwell to attack.
And the guys were waiting. Tense. All of them growling so loud it sounded like a jet engine cranking up.
“There!” Holly said suddenly, pointing up.
It didn’t take Alanna long to find what she saw. A black dot in the sky was racing towards them at full speed, growing larger by the second.
Another pained cry turned her focus back to the roof door. The attackers had tried to rush through in twos.
One of them had been stopped by Romival and Havali slamming the door in his face and shoving him back into the stairwell.
The first guy through, however, had been grabbed by Atem.
Tuvo ripped his gun away, popping his fingers out of place with a sickening sound.
Atem then threw him to Survii who shoved him to the ground and put a foot on his neck.
The others in the stairwell had tried shooting over the heads of their buddies, but the odd angle meant they hadn’t hit anything. The door was shut again. They would have to regroup once more.
Survii, snarling, fangs fully on display, red eyes gleaming, leaned over the downed man that was struggling against his foot but unable to use his injured fingers.
In a demonic voice, in English, Survii asked simply, “Why?”
“Fuck you!” The man tried to spit, but he couldn’t put any force behind the action, so he just got flecks of it against his own lips.
Survii raised his claws.
But he was stopped by Atem grabbing his wrist.
“Later,” was all the Dominani said.
The rumble of the shuttle’s engine wasn’t loud enough to fully cover the continuous growls from the males. It didn’t land completely on the roof, hovering just a foot over it, the door sliding open.
“Get on!” Tuvo ordered even as the girls were rushing forward.
Holly, as the most pregnant, was pushed up first. Scarlet immediately after. Followed by Peony, then Hattie.
Alanna was last. She could hear a commotion behind her as the gunmen tried once again to breach the roof.
She didn’t know how that attempt faired, but when she got inside and ran around to one of the windows it was to see two more men on the ground.
One was hunched over his bleeding abdomen, the other was stumbling, holding the side of his head – Romival and Tuvo were standing over each of them.
“Everyone aboard!” Atem roared, seeing the girls had all safely escaped.
The Dominani brought up the rear, Tuvo right behind him, as they all rushed to the shuttle. Havali came in first, jumping up without even using the steps. Romival came in behind. Both males rushed to check on their females.
Alanna gasped as the roof door burst open and the remaining gunmen rushed out. They were shooting before they even recognized what they were looking at.
Survii made it in. Tuvo and Atem right behind them. The pilot – a ratchi male she didn’t know – slammed his fist on the button to shut the door. He was turning and lifting off before it had fully closed. The pinging of bullets hit the walls of the ship.
“Can those damage the shuttle?” Scarlet asked, leaning into Havali’s embrace.
“No,” Romival answered, petting Holly’s hair as she trembled in his arms. “Those little weapons aren’t strong enough to damage the hull beyond more than a scratch. We’re safe.”
Survii groaned, leaning against the wall. His hand came up to cover his flank.
“Krik,” he hissed as Alanna’s belly dropped.
“Were you hit?” She yelled, running for him. She saw the dark stain of blood flooding over his bright sweater before she reached his side. “Scarlet! He was hit!”
“Emergency kit is there!” The pilot hissed, gesturing with a claw.
“Easy,” Atem said, taking hold of Survii’s shoulders and lowering him, wincing, into a chair as Scarlet ran to grab the alien version of a first aid kit.
“Lucky shot,” Survii grumbled, grinning at Alanna. But it turned into a pained grimace as Atem grabbed his sweater and tore it apart with his claws, giving Scarlet free access as she came around to his side.
“Alert med bay,” Tuvo said to the pilot as Alanna took his other hand and held it tight while Scarlet got to work staunching the bleeding.
“You’ll be all right,” the healer promised, giving him and Alanna both a comforting smile. “There’s nothing to hit here that will kill you in a mark. We have plenty of time to get you to a scanner and fix you right up.”
“My thanks, healer,” Survii said with a groan. “Wouldn’t mind one of those pain-Ugh!”
Scarlet had already pressed the injection into the bullet wound. It was needleless, but the direct administration still hurt. However, only seconds later, his whole body was relaxing as the medication began to work.
He turned, smiling at Alanna. “Don’t look at me like that, vi Vitralai. You heard the healer. I’ll be all right.”
She sniffed, nodding but not really comforted.
The ride back to the Jutiron Stor was tense and quiet. Scarlet bandaged Survii’s side then kept watch over him as they left Earth’s atmosphere and passed the moon.
The pilot smoothly brought the ship into dock. The moment they were safely sealed in place, the doors opened, and the healing team rushed in.
Alanna stood back to give them room to gather Survii onto their hovering stretcher, but she kept close, following after Scarlet, as they took him down to med bay.
She was back amongst advanced alien technology, and it felt like returning home after a long hiking trip where there wasn’t even cell service.
Survii’s stretcher was placed on the medscanner and locked into place as Scarlet walked around to the control panel. First Healer Donivi was already there, booting up the rotating ring that swirled over the head of the bed, ready to get to work.
Survii, still under the effect of the pain meds, was fully relaxed as they began.
Alanna wasn’t really scientifically minded.
She didn’t know how the healing ring worked, only that it was capable of healing without leaving a scar.
But it took time. And the bullet was still lodged in his body, necessitating that they remove it first. They had to convince his body to maneuver it to the surface of his skin so Donivi could pluck it out.
The hard, metal bullet clattered against a specimen tray as Scarlet encouraged Survii’s skin to knit closed so he would stop bleeding.
“I can feel you worrying, Alanna,” he said suddenly, making her start in surprise.
His eyes were closed and had been for some time. She thought he had fallen asleep.
Cautiously, she approached as close as she dared, one eye on the mediring, as it continued pulsing with its bright, comforting, cream colored light.
“Are you okay?” She asked, checking his side.
Already, the wound had been closed. It was the dark red of healing skin on a domini.
But as the machine kept working, that would fade into the gray of a new scar, then the mostly camouflaged color of an old scar, before even that scar smoothed away, and his skin was whole and perfect once again.
“I’m wonderful,” he assured her, grinning. “I’ve got the best healer on all domini looking after me. Oh, and Donivi, you’re here too.”
First Healer gave him a drole look as Scarlet grinned.
“Sense of humor is back,” she said.
“That never left, I promise you. I was shot, not dead.” He winked at Alanna, making her laugh.
“Who taught you to wink at the right time?” She asked, stepping just a bit closer.
“I’m studying human culture. Learning all the important things about you.” He started to lift a hand to reach for her, but the mediring buzzed at him in disapproval, so he had to drop it back down. “Don’t worry about me, Alanna. I’m fine.”
She sniffed again, trying to swallow back tears. “I’m sorry.”
He frowned. “Why are you sorry? You did nothing.”
“But those were my people that shot at us. They were human and… and…”
“Hey,” he lifted his hand again, ignoring the buzzing of the ring as he reached over it so she could take his hand. “Don’t apologize for that. Their choices were not yours. No one is blaming you for what they did.”
“But if we hadn’t come here-”
“First contact is always a risk. I promise, vi Vitralai, I’m fine. A little penetrating wound isn’t going to keep me down for more than… Scarlet, how much time will this take?”
“Longer if you don’t stop moving,” she grumbled.
He grinned at her non-answer before focusing back on Alanna. “We’ll deal with the consequences of this later. But remove the guilt from your mind, vi Vitralai. It doesn’t belong there.”
She sniffed again, smiling. “You’re getting the best blowjob ever when you feel better.”
He laughed as Scarlet groaned.