Chapter 55
FIFTY-FIVE
Tai
Ishould have known the Boraei would be someone like the Yuhlari.
There wasn’t much time to wonder who “the Others” might be.
In my mind, they were just another barrier to me getting home with Bri.
But this is different. We have joked multiple times about this planet trying to kill us.
Now, we are faced with an opponent that would kill us where we stand without hesitation.
The Yuhlari move around with military precision, weapons always at the ready.
Bri and I follow from a safe distance. They arrogantly march down the center of the canyon with the herd of h’axom, so we follow from above.
It doesn’t take long to figure out who’s in charge.
While Bri keeps her eye on Daisy, who got swept up in the herd, I study the lead Yuhlari specifically.
The Yuhlari are cold-hearted professionals with credits on the line. I can’t count how many briefings I’ve sat through going through the procedure of what we are supposed to do when we come across them. A full training wasn’t necessary. It could have been summed up in one word: run.
Periodically, Bri speeds up and gets closer to the poachers.
I hold her back, acutely aware of her proximity to danger.
She scowls at me every single time. At least this time she believes me when I tell her how dangerous these people are.
It’s hard to deny when everything about them is menacing.
Every instinct tells me to get her as far away as possible.
In comparison, the brethren don’t seem all that bad.
I could have convinced them to not kill me, probably.
I’m about to suggest we retreat back to the village when a Yuhlari walks along the edge of the herd and shocks each h’axom to get them moving again. Bri stiffens next to me and eyeballs my blaster. I shake my head and motion for us to keep moving.
“We have to wait for the right moment,” I whisper, locking eyes with her and not looking away until she nods in agreement.
“We don’t leave without setting the h’axom free,” she says, gritting her teeth.
“Agreed.”
I’m not in complete agreement. Her safety is infinitely more important than these animals. We can always get a message out off planet, and the entire force of the universe will descend on these fuckers.
Across galaxies, there isn’t much everyone agrees on—except poaching.
Enough planets have been destroyed from the practice that it seems to bring everyone together.
Now that we know what’s going on here, there is no way it continues.
Which makes this even more dangerous. The Yuhlari have every incentive to make sure Bri and I don’t succeed in our mission.
By nightfall, we reach a shallow, bowl-shaped valley. It’s ringed on every side by low rolling hills. The Yuhlari camp sits dead center, with a handful of battered tents clustered in front of the freighter. Our freighter, after tonight.
Bri and I slide down to a boulder halfway down the hillside and press in behind it.
From here, we have a clear line of sight down into the camp.
Below us, they direct the h'axom toward a rough enclosure built from stacked rock.
The wall is tall enough that once the animals are inside, they disappear completely. No way to see past it from here.
The pen doesn't look like their work. Too crude, no tech, probably something they stumbled onto and decided was good enough to carry out their disgusting plan.
The sound of bells draws our attention to our left.
“You have got to be shitting me.” Bri gasps as a group of brethren on h’axom ride straight into the camp.
I recognize Boss and Bug-Eyes right away. They dismount and go straight to the leader of the Yuhlari.
“You were supposed to notify us if anyone landed on Sabaak. That was the deal.” The Yuhlari helmet amplifies the mechanical voice.
Boss motions wildly with his arms, not speaking loud enough for us to hear what he’s saying.
“I don’t care about your goddess, you fools!” the Yuhlari barks.
He doesn’t give the brethren a chance to respond. Before the last word is out of his mouth, he raises his weapon and blasts Boss. The rest of the brethren fall to the ground with their hands over their heads.
“Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck,” Bri repeats over and over again.
I grab her shoulders and turn her to me.
“Don’t look at them, look at me.”
“Tai, what are we going to do?”
“Don’t panic. I have a plan. We are this close, and we are not giving up.” I switch on the military training that’s been pounded into me over the last six years.
“I’ll climb the wall right there.” I point to a place on the wall I feel confident I can climb easily and continue. “Then I’ll open the gate and set the h’axom free. When all hell breaks loose, you board the freighter and initiate the pre-takeoff protocol.”
“You’ll make sure Daisy gets out?” she asks.
“I’ll take care of her. You just focus on getting that freighter up and running.”
“I don’t know how to fly those things!” Bri’s voice is laced with panic.
“It’s easy. Activate the Automated Support System and tell it to get ready for liftoff,” I say calmly, aiming to relax her with my tone.
“A.S.S. Ass? Are you fucking kidding me right now, Tai?” Her eyes are wild and disbelieving.
“It doesn’t like being called that. Just use the voice activation, and it should do all the rest.”
She wrings her hands, and I can see the gears turning in her head, thinking through the plan.
“How are you going to get to the freighter?” she asks, concern etched across her face.
“Blast my way out.” A wide smile stretches my face, and I wait for her to argue. Numbly, she nods with me, mirroring my head movement.
“Just get back to me, okay?” The softness in her voice hits me like a nuclear explosion to the chest. I rest my forehead against hers, savoring the calm before the storm.
It’s the final stand, and I’m not exactly sure how this is going to go down.
Bri getting on that freighter is the only thing that matters.
I’ll do whatever needs to be done to make sure she gets home in one piece.
A strand of pink hair has worked its way loose from her ponytail, and I tuck it behind her ear. I brush my lips against hers and tell myself it won’t be the last time, even though the pit in my stomach says something else.
Unable to resist her, I deepen the kiss, imprinting her on my lips.