* * *
*.*.*
* * *
Sula watched in horror from the shoreline as Destin’s body flew through the air. Her hand rose to her mouth and she pressed her fist against it to keep from crying out. She reached out to steady herself when she saw he made it onto the platform – for what good it did him when he slid off the side after the shuttle wobbled dangerously.
She moved along the uneven sand, keeping Destin’s hanging body within sight. She cursed softely when she realized she would have to climb over the rocks if she wanted to keep him in view. Stumbling, she braced her hand on one of them and scrambled up.
“Don’t let go. Please… I can’t lose you. Hold on for just a few more seconds,” Sula whispered, unable to look away.
A loud cry escaped her when she saw the two men’s bodies falling. Without thinking, Sula dropped the gun in her hand and kicked off her shoes. Running across the stones that were placed like steps to stop shoreline erosion, she dove off the end of the concrete embankment.
In her natural element, she opened her eyes wide and struck out in the direction she had seen Destin hit the water. Her body rapidly cut through the frigid waters, even with the resistance of her clothing. Sula ignored the pain in her shoulder. Her body felt numb to anything but her search for Destin. In the murky distance, she caught a glimmer of white. She sped toward the faint glow.
Sula grabbed the familiar hand that was drifting upward. Destin’s eyes were closed and his body relaxed as he plunged toward the bottom. Her fingers closed around his, and she pulled his body up against hers, kicking her powerful legs to slow his descent. Holding him tight against her, she reached up to pinch his nose while her lips covered his in a life-giving kiss.
Breathing air into his lungs, she stared at the crescent shape of his lashes lying against his skin, willing him to accept the gift she was giving him and be alright. Her body strained to supply the needed oxygen for both of them.
Several long, precious seconds passed before she felt his body stiffen. His eyes snapped open and he gazed back at her in confusion. His arms swept around her, allowing her to release her grip on him. She continued to breathe in and out in slow, steady breaths as they both kicked to the surface. Only when they broke through the surface did she release his nose and lips.
“My siren,” Destin whispered, gazing at her with a slightly dazed expression. “You can breathe under water.”
“Yes,” Sula answered, her face crumbling and her arms wrapping around his neck. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again!”
“I probably will, but it won’t be intentional. The other man?” Destin asked, pulling back enough to glance around.
“He fell, too. Dead for all I know,” Sula said, gripping his hand in hers. “Come.”
Together they swam back to shore. Cutter was waiting for them. Sula smiled in appreciation when the Trivator helped them both out of the water. She sat on the warm concrete while Destin lay on his back, staring up at the sky. High overhead, they could see the bright flashes as Jag’s forces fought against the remaining Drethulans in Earth’s orbit.
Destin turned his head to look at Cutter. He was standing, looking out over the water. Sula reached over and cupped Destin’s hand in hers, unwilling to release him. There had been enough death and destruction today. She wanted to hold onto the living.
“How the hell did you survive a direct hit to the chest?” Destin asked, sitting up.
“I grabbed a piece of the metal from a Drethulan pod and shoved it under my shirt,” Cutter replied, turning to look down at Destin and Sula. “I need to return to base.”
Destin nodded, rising to his feet and holding his hand out to Sula. She rose, shivering when a breeze blew across the water, chilling her even more. There was so much to do. Regret and sorrow filled her.
“I’m so sorry about Mason,” Sula whispered, tears filling her eyes. “I know he was a good friend to you.”
“He was a good man,” Destin agreed in a thick voice, looking out over the water. “Mary will be devastated. We’ve already lost so many.”
“I know,” Sula murmured, standing in silent memory of the missing women, the senseless deaths, and the difficult future ahead of them.
“Let’s go,” Cutter finally said, breaking through the silence. “We have a lot of work to do.”
24
A week later, a small group consisting of both aliens and humans gathered in the Northshore Gardens cemetery. Sula held Beth’s hand on one side while Trig stood at Beth’s other side. Sula was thankful for the arm Destin wrapped around her waist.
This was the first human burial ceremony she had ever attended. Two caskets, side by side, were gently lowered into the ground while Beth quietly sang. The melody of the words wrapped around Sula and she could feel the tension gradually drain from Beth.
“Life is for the living,” Beth said, gazing down at the coffins. “I’m never alone because as long as I remember her, I know that she is here.” Beth lifted her left hand and touched her heart.
Sula stepped back when Beth released her hand and drew in a deep, calming breath. She gazed around at the men who had become her family over the years. Sula couldn’t help but notice that Beth was avoiding looking at Trig. She wondered what that was about.
“First round is on Grandma, all the ones after that you guys are on your own,” Beth declared. “Let’s go party.”
Loud, whooping yells filled the air and everyone started talking at once. Sula watched in amazement as Beth laughed along with some of the tales being shared. Destin held her close as they walked out of the cemetery and down along the sidewalk. Once again, the city came alive and the builders were back at work, repairing the damage and continuing with the existing plans.
“I like that your people celebrate the life of a loved one and not their death,” she murmured, reaching up to tuck a long strand of white hair behind her ear.
“Oh, there will be plenty of tears still, but tonight is a celebration of Mary and Mason. I expect Beth will experience her first hangover before the night is over,” Destin replied, watching Richard, Troy, Jason, and Justin tease the young woman who had lost the last of her family, but would never be alone. His gaze followed the bemused Trivator trying to keep up with everything going on. Beth must have sensed Trig’s hesitation because she suddenly turned, wrapped her arms around his neck, and jumped up so he was forced to pick her up.
“That way, big guy! You are going to learn to party tonight!” Beth ordered, pointing down the road to the tall tower that was still standing.
Sula giggled when she saw the pleased grin on Trig’s face. It was hard to believe, but she was beginning to understand some of the terms the humans used – including the one about having a big strong warrior wrapped around her little finger. At the moment, she was happy to have his arm wrapped around her waist and if the night went well, there would be even more.
She slowed to a stop when Destin fell behind the others. Puzzled, she looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Her eyes briefly closed when he ran his palm against her cheek.
“I have a surprise for you,” Destin murmured.
“What?” she asked, tilting her head into his palm.
“It’s a surprise! Come on,” he said, sliding his hand down to grab hers.
Sula giggled and followed him. She jerked to a stop when he paused in front of a strange transport with two wheels. He picked up a hard hat and carefully slid it over her head, attaching a strap under her chin. A few seconds later, he threw his leg over and straddled the seat. He motioned for her to follow him.
Sula carefully slid on behind him. She wrapped her arms around his waist, careful of her still tender shoulder and placed her feet on the short metal bars sticking out of the sides. A startled squeak escaped her when he started the machine. It was loud and vibrated under her.
“Hold on. I won’t go too fast,” he shouted above the engine.
All Sula could do was nod. The head device felt heavy and s
trange. She wasn’t sure why she was wearing one and he wasn’t, but it would be too difficult to ask him about it at the moment.
Her arms tightened when the transport suddenly moved. A gasp of delight escaped her and she rested her chin as much as she could on his shoulder. She laughed when he weaved through the streets.
Thirty minutes later, they pulled up in front of the planetarium. Destin cut the noisy engine. They gazed out over the water for a few minutes before he kicked a bar down, and they both slid off the transport. He stepped closer to help her remove the protective headgear and placed it on the transport before turning back to her to soothe the wayward strands of silky white hair that came loose.
“Why are we here?” she asked, unable to control the shiver of memory from the recent events that occurred.
“This place can be magical, Sula,” Destin murmured, threading his fingers through hers and walking toward the sea wall. “Kali and I loved to come here. We sneaked in when we were little by telling the guard that our parents were inside. When we got older, we’d find other ways in. We never got caught, but it was close a few times.”
He stepped behind her and she leaned back against him. Her hands folded over his and they gazed out across the water. In the distance, patrols flew overhead, searching with special sensors for any Drethulans that might have escaped underground. Her fingers moved over the ring on her thumb. Beth gave it to her earlier. Both of them had forgotten about it during all the confusion and grief.
She lifted her hand, turning it until she could see the small object in the side. Running her fingernail against it, she was surprised when it slid deeper into the slot and a list of holographic images appeared. Destin’s loud intake of breath told her he was just as startled by it as she was.
“That looks like one of the missing women,” Destin exclaimed, reaching out to touch the image of a woman. “What the hell?”
Destin’s soft exclamation echoed through the air when the video of the woman began to play. They watched it for several seconds before touching another holographic file, and then another. Each one played, giving detailed accounts of what was going on. In the background, they could hear Badrick’s mocking voice.
Sula reached up and touched the last one. It looked like the two men in the vidcom that Jag had played. She bit her lip when the video started. The two men were once again arguing with each other.
“But… what if he finds it?” Luc argued. “He might remove the disc.”
“Who… Jarmen?” Jon Paul argued in a thick French accent with a touch of indignation. “He is too busy with Jane to know what we are doing. Humans need all the help they can get. Who is to say we are not to have done this anyway? Perhaps it is what makes the world the way it is supposed to be and if we do not do it – boom, it all blows up!”
“IQ, what do you think?” Luc asked, looking at someone they couldn’t see.
“That it is above my pay grade. Ask Numbnuts; he might know,” IQ replied in a dry voice.
“Numbnuts!” Luc hollered.
“Hush! Do you want Jarmen to come see what we are doing again? Think!” Jon Paul snapped, slapping his forehead.
“I have found that anything I say is irrelevant to a conversation with both of you because you refuse to listen anyway. But, if you want my calculations… We are all going to die. Now, if you don’t mind, dinner is served,” Numbnuts replied in a slightly stuck-up tone.
“You must work on his programming. I do not like his tone of voice… And, we are not all going to die!” Jon Paul snapped in irritation.
“You are the one who wanted to make this ship grander,” Luc argued.
“Grander, oui, but not….”
Sula giggled when the video of the two men suddenly faded, as if the person recording realized that this was not something others should see. She turned in Destin’s arms and wound hers around his neck. Her lips parted and she kissed him deeply. Whoever the mysterious men were, they had given them hope of finding not only the missing women, but additional information on the Waxians and the Drethulans… and a missing Trivator named Edge.
* * *
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* * *
Destin ran his hands down Sula’s sides to her hips. The videos helped lift yet another cloud from over their heads. Tomorrow, he would meet with Cutter and they could go through each video and learn everything that they could. Lifting his head, he tenderly gazed down into Sula’s eyes. He brought her here because it was a place that meant something to him – and to celebrate.
“I want to show you something else,” he murmured, stepping back and holding her hand again.
They walked in silence around the curved walkways to the front of the planetarium. The front doors were boarded up and chained, but that didn’t stop him. He pulled free the lock he had picked earlier in the week and opened the door. Sula stepped through with a puzzled smile and waited for him to follow her inside.
He closed the door and looped the chain around the inside of the doors, sliding the lock back on the chain, but not locking it. Turning, he led her through the foyer and to the center section where a set of large, double doors stood open. Love filled him, heating his blood when he saw her lips part in wonder when they passed through into the domed theater of the planetarium.
“You did this for me?” Sula whispered as if afraid of breaking the spell he had cast.
Destin released her hand, watching her walk down the aisle to the center. On one side, he set up a small table and two chairs. A battery operated flameless candle in the center of the white table cloth softly lit the table. He cut a dozen roses from a rose bush he discovered in the central gardens and placed them in a vase in the center of the table. There was a cart next to the table that Destin begged for Chelsea and Thomas’ help with. Thomas made a nice Italian dinner and the couple had slipped it into the building late this afternoon.
Tim and Richard helped him repair the Planetarium projector and Cutter made sure that the power was installed. It took some teamwork to get it done this quickly, but Destin wanted tonight to be perfect for Sula.
He looked up, staring at the array of glittering stars. He would never look at them in the same way. He had traveled through them to a distant world and discovered a siren that captured his heart when he kissed her under the water.
“Destin, this is… You are a very unusual and amazing man,” Sula whispered, her eyes glittering with the same stars that filled the room.
“Sula,” Destin grasped her hand and slowly knelt down on one knee on the floor in front of her. He cleared his throat and gazed at her. “Princess Jersula Ikera of Usoleum, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife? I don’t know the traditions of your people or how they form a union, but here on Earth, it is through marriage – like the ceremony Saber and Taylor celebrated on Rathon. I promise to love, honor, and worship you for the rest of my life, in sickness and in health, till de—”
The rest of his words were captured by her lips when she bent and pressed them against his. Her lips parted and her tongue slipped against his, tangling and dancing until their breaths came fast and heavy. He rose, never releasing her. His arms swept around her, lifting her off the floor and he carried her over to the king size air bed he made up so they could lie under the stars and talk about their future after dinner.
He gently laid her down, his hands greedily running over her even as she tugged at the buttons on his shirt. He shrugged out of his jacket, tossing it with one hand onto a chair. He gasped softly when her fingers quickly unbuttoned his shirt and he felt her fingers tangling in the hair on his chest.
“Yes,” she whispered, brushing tiny kisses along his jaw while her hands pushed his shirt off his shoulders. “The answer to your question is yes. I will be your wife, Destin Parks.”
“God, Sula, I love you,” Destin moaned, kissing her again as his hands ran over her.
The heat from their kisses could have rivaled the stars over their heads. Their hands slid over each other, pausing, learning,
exploring, and worshipping each other. Their breaths mixed with whispered words of love and the wonder of their child growing in Sula’s womb as they made love far into the night.
It was after midnight when Destin reached for the small box he had hidden under the pillows of their makeshift bed. Destin’s fingers trembled slightly when he slid the ring he made for Sula onto her finger. Swallowing, he gazed at her, his throat tight at her beauty. Unable to resist, he traced her face, letting his fingers skim down over her neck and shoulders to her breasts, memorizing the feel of them and letting this memory burn into his heart and soul. He now understood the two faint lines on her neck were not scars, but an evolution of her species. He vaguely wondered if their son or daughter would be able to breathe underwater like their mother.
“I will need to talk to your father,” Destin murmured, threading his fingers through her hair and watching it fall back over her bare shoulders. “Do you think he will be upset? I’m not exactly royalty.”
“You are giving him a grandchild. He will love you forever,” Sula laughed, resting her head on his shoulder so she could stare up at the stars overhead. “What will happen, Destin?”
“What do you mean?” Destin asked, his stomach clenching with worry.
“What will happen with the missing women – both here and the ones on the vidcom?” Sula asked, tilting her head to look at him. “There was also the Trivator called Edge. I have not heard of him before.”
Destin relaxed and smiled into the darkness. His hand came up to caress Sula’s arm, being careful of her shoulder. These kinds of worries he could deal with; it was the fear of losing her that he couldn’t.
“I don’t know about Edge, but I do know about the missing women here. The Raftian and Jawtaw were working undercover for Razor to find the missing women. One of their leads led them back here and to the Armatrux. Cutter is rounding the Armatrux up. The Raftian approached Alissa Garcia, seeking her cooperation. Alissa and a small group of other former police officers agreed to be ‘kidnapped’ by the Raftian and Jawtaw to find out where the missing women were kept before they were taken off world and, if necessary, to tag their spacecraft with a long-range locator. The Raftian and Jawtaw didn’t anticipate Prymorus showing up and demanding their assistance. They discovered that Trig and Tim were looking for them and were able to lead them to Prymorus. Unfortunately, he escaped – both from them and the Trivator forces. Cutter has sent a request to the Alliance Council to have a bounty put on Prymorus’ head. The attack on Earth has also increased tensions between the Drethulans and the Alliance, but Cutter said it might take a while for the Alliance Council to actually do something. In the meantime, there are still issues with them mining on Dises V. I have to tell you, I’ve learned more about alien politics in the past week than I ever wanted to know,” Destin muttered with a dry laugh.