Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The shuttle’s engines shifted from a roar to a low hum, and Melissa’s stomach lurched as they began their descent.
She’d been watching through a small porthole for the last hour, Robbie dozing against her shoulder, trying to make sense of the alien landscape passing beneath them.
The wilderness had given way to something that might once have been farmland and then to scattered settlements, and finally to the sprawling mass of what had to be the capital city.
It was beautiful in a way that made her chest ache.
Spires of dark stone rose towards the amber sky, their surfaces carved with intricate patterns that caught the fading sunlight.
Bridges of gleaming metal connected the taller structures, creating a web of pathways high above the streets.
Flying vehicles—smaller versions of the shuttle she was riding in—wove between the buildings like insects around a hive.
This is where Becsul grew up, she thought. This is his home.
The thought was followed by another, colder one. This is the place that will execute him if we’re caught.
She tightened her grip on Robbie, who made a small sound of protest in his sleep.
“Hang on back there.” Sarven’s voice crackled through the cargo bay speakers. “We’re diverting from the original landing zone. Something’s wrong.”
The shuttle banked sharply to the left. Through the porthole, she watched the city center slide past, replaced by a stretch of older, grimmer buildings that showed signs of abandonment—cracked facades, dark windows, streets empty of traffic.
Becsul appeared at the entrance to the cargo bay, his expression tight with concern.
“What’s happening?” Sarah asked, pulling Katie closer. The girl hadn’t spoken since they’d left the facility, her eyes too old for her young face.
“I don’t know yet.” Becsul moved to stand beside her, his tail automatically finding her waist. “Sarven picked up something on the patrol frequencies. We’re landing at an alternate site while he investigates.”
“An alternate site.” Wei-Lin’s tone was skeptical. “You mean we’re improvising.”
“I mean we’re being cautious.”
Sarven was a skilled pilot, whatever else might be said about him, and the shuttle touched down with barely a bump.
The engines began their shutdown sequence, and through the porthole, she could see a landing pad that looked like it hadn’t been used in years.
Weeds grew through cracks in the stone. A nearby structure had partially collapsed, its roof caved in.
“Wait here,” Becsul said. “All of you. I’ll go speak with Sarven.”
He squeezed her hand once, then disappeared towards the cockpit.
An oppressive silence followed his departure.
Sarah rocked Katie gently, murmuring words Melissa couldn’t hear.
Wei-Lin paced near the loading ramp, her arms crossed and her jaw tight.
Robbie stirred and blinked, his dark eyes focusing on her face with that intense infant concentration that always made her heart clench.
“Hey, little man,” she whispered. “You slept through all the excitement.”
He made a gurgling sound that might have been an agreement.
Minutes crawled past. She counted the cracks in the hull plating, the dust motes floating in the dim light, and the number of breaths she took between each thundering heartbeat.
She was good at waiting—years of medical training had taught her patience—but this was different.
This was waiting to find out if they’d escaped one prison only to walk into another.
Finally, footsteps echoed from the cockpit corridor. Becsul emerged, his face like stone, followed by Sarven.
“Tell them,” Becsul said.
Sarven’s skin had paled, his usual easy confidence replaced by something grimmer. “I intercepted a priority broadcast on the enforcement channel. Councilor Naran has issued an arrest warrant.”
“For who?” Sarah asked, though they all already knew the answer.
“Captain Becsul nak’Larentar.” Sarven’s voice was flat. “Charged with treason, kidnapping of Council property, destruction of a classified facility, and conspiracy against the Cire people.”
Council property. The words made her flinch. She’d known, intellectually, how Naran and his people viewed them but hearing it stated so baldly made bile rise in her throat.
“Property,” Wei-Lin spat. “We’re property now.”
“You were always property to them.” Sarven looked genuinely pained. “That’s what this whole project was about. Acquisition. Control. Breeding stock.”
“And the officers?” Becsul asked. “You said they were waiting?”
“At the primary landing zone. A full detention squad.” Sarven shook his head. “If we’d landed there…”
He didn’t need to finish the sentence.
Something hot and bright ignited in her chest. Rage, pure and clean, burning through the fear that had become her constant companion.
She thought of the examinations she’d endured, the cold hands of strangers on her body, and the way they’d looked at her like she was a specimen rather than a person.
She thought of Sarah’s daughter, used as leverage, her childhood stolen to ensure her mother’s compliance.
“That bastard,” she said. “That absolute bastard.”
“Melissa—”
“No.” She stood, shifting Robbie to her hip, her free hand clenched into a fist. “He kidnaps us, experiments on us, treats us like livestock, and then he’s the one issuing arrest warrants? He’s the one calling you a traitor?”
“I know.”
“We should expose him.” The words tumbled out, fueled by fury. “Right now. Go to the Council, go to the media, go to whoever will listen and tell them exactly what he’s been doing—”
“And would they believe us?” His voice was gentle but firm. “A disgraced captain and a group of escaped prisoners, making accusations against one of the most respected members of the Council? Without evidence? Without proof?”
“We are the evidence! Look at us!”
“They would say you were volunteers. That I manipulated you.” His tail tightened around her waist. “Naran has spent decades building his reputation, his connections, and his network of favors and debts. We have… nothing. Not yet.”
The rage didn’t fade, but it shifted, tempered by the practical part of her mind that had been both her greatest strength and her greatest weakness. He was right. She knew he was right. You couldn’t fight a war without weapons, and right now, they were unarmed.
“Not yet,” she repeated. “That means you have a plan.”
“I have the beginning of one.” He glanced at Sarven. “The other hybrid pairings. The ones Naran mentioned. There has to be documentation somewhere, records of the bonds and of the children. If we can find that proof—”
“I’ve heard rumors for years,” Sarven said quietly.
“Whispers among the merchant crews. Stories of Cire males who disappeared into the outer colonies with alien mates, who had families despite everything the Council told us was impossible.” His skin flushed darker.
“I always thought they were just stories. Wishful thinking.”
“They weren’t.” Becsul looked at her and Robbie, and at the other women huddled in the cargo bay. “They were the truth. The Council just didn’t want anyone to know.”
“Why?” Sarah asked. “Why would they hide something like that? If there’s a chance to save your species—”
“Control.” Wei-Lin’s voice was bitter. “It’s always about control. If males believe they can mate with other species, they will leave Ciresia. The image of the Cire as separate and untouchable vanishes. The Council becomes more and more irrelevant.”
“It becomes a choice,” she said slowly, understanding dawning. “Not something they dictate. Not something they control.”
“Exactly.” Becsul’s jaw tightened. “And men like Naran would rather die than surrender that power.”
The cargo bay fell silent. Through the porthole, she could see the abandoned buildings surrounding them, the empty streets, and the ruins of what had once been a thriving neighborhood.
This is what their extinction looks like, she thought.
Not a dramatic ending, but a slow fade. Buildings emptying.
Streets going quiet. A civilization simply… stopping.
“So what do we do now?” Sarah’s voice was small but steady.
“Now we wait.” Becsul moved towards the loading ramp controls. “This area was abandoned years ago because it was too close to one of the Red Death quarantine zones. No one comes here unless they have to.”
“Contaminated?” she asked, suddenly alarmed. “Is it safe for us? For Robbie?”
“The plague was exterminated many years ago. We’re safe.
” He activated the ramp, and warm air flowed into the cargo bay, carrying an odd variety of scents—dust, something vaguely metallic, and underneath it all, the faint sweetness of decay.
“I know a place nearby. We can lay low there until nightfall, then make our way to the spaceport.”
“And your contact?” Wei-Lin asked. “The freighter captain?”
“I’ll reach out once we’re settled. He operates on a… flexible schedule.”
“That’s reassuring.”
He ignored the sarcasm, and turned to Sarven, extending his hand in what she recognized as a warrior’s clasp—forearm to forearm, grips locked. “Thank you. For everything.”
“Don’t thank me yet.” But Sarven was smiling, a genuine expression that softened his sharp features. “You’re not off this rock.”
“No. But we’re closer than we were.” Becsul released his grip. “What will you do now?”
“Report to the depot. File a manifest. Act surprised when they ask about your whereabouts.” Sarven shrugged. “The usual.”
“They’ll question you.”
“Let them. I’ve been questioned before.” The pilot’s smile turned fierce. “Besides, there’s something more important I need to do.”
“What?”
Sarven looked past Becsul, at her and the other women, at Katie still clinging to her mother’s hand. When he spoke, his voice carried a solemnity that hadn’t been there before.
“You’ve given us hope, Captain. Real hope. For the first time since the plague.” The expression on his face was almost painful to watch. “The Council has been lying to us. Telling us that we’re alone, that we’re dying, and that there’s no future except the one they’ve planned. But they’re wrong.”
“Sarven—”
“I’m going to start spreading the word.” The words came faster now. “Carefully. Quietly. To people I trust. The truth the Council has been hiding—that there are other possibilities, other paths forward. That mates who aren’t Cire might be possible.”
“That could get you killed.”
“So could helping you escape.” Sarven’s chin lifted. “Some things are worth dying for. You taught me that, once upon a time. Seems like it’s my turn to learn the lesson properly.”
Becsul was silent for a long moment. Then, slowly, he inclined his head in a gesture of respect and acknowledgment, and something that looked like pride.
“Be careful.”
“Always am.” Sarven was already moving towards the cockpit. “Now get going. The longer you stand here looking emotional, the more likely someone’s going to notice this shuttle hasn’t moved.”