Page 87 of Mazorium Buys a Human

My tears disappeared as fear hit me. “Maz?”

Before he could reply, a familiar shuttle appeared. I felt Maz let out a breath at the same time I whispered, “Iris.”

The shuttle landed hard and fast, and Damascus jumped out even before the ramp finished deploying.

“There’s a strange ship hiding on one of the moons!” he shouted as he ran. The moment he got to us, he started talking fast. “We didn’t notice until we’d passed it, and then it took forever to turn back around. The ship was empty, but Iris said we—where did that shuttle come from?"

At his question, I started laughing.

“There’s a lot to tell you,” Maz said.

“Forget that,” Iris said, having caught up with Damascus. “Mika’s bleeding. Let’s take care of her, and then we can hear about what happened.”

“Yes, of course,” Damascus said, and we all moved into the ship.

Chapter 26

Two rotations later

Mazorium

“The men have finally asked to be rescued,” Damascus said, pointing to a message on a workstation display.

We’d sent bots to monitor them, but the invaders had shot them down. After that we dropped an information square and told them to contact us when they were ready to hand over their weapons and surrender.

“They did?” I said, mildly surprised it happened so fast. There’d been some puddles on that stump, so they had water. I’d thought they would hold out for at least ten days.

“Two of them died; I think that might’ve made the rest of them more willing to capitulate,” Damascus said.

“How?” I asked.

“They tried to climb down and weren’t able to make it.”

“Between those two and the male who fell when trying to get back onboard the shuttle when Mika was flying, there are only five left,” I said.

Damascus sounded a rumble of agreement. “I’ve sent my most skilled crew members to collect them. Don’t worry, they’ll be shackled and kept locked up until we turn them over to the authorities.”

I remained silent. I should be thanking Damascus, but I’d really wanted to end their lives. As long as they remained alive, I’d worry.

As if he could read my thoughts, Damascus spoke up. “We can’t prosecute Station Director Gorum without them. I’ve already sent out a violation report, and with their testimony, she’ll be recalled to Talarian to face a tribunal. At the very least she’ll lose her status. Considering how popular humans are right now, she’ll probably face much worse consequences for putting a breeding-age female and a pup in danger.”

That made me feel a little better, but Damascus’s next words helped far more. “I’d also like to leave a few weapons with you. Nothing big, but enough to defend yourself.”

“Yes,” I agreed, grabbing the male in a hug and lifting him off the ground.

He let out an amused rumble and pushed out of my grip.

“Should I be jealous?”

We turned to see Mika and Iris standing in the doorway to the control room. Both humans were grinning.

“Where’s Nadia?” I asked as they stepped inside.

“Napping,” Mika said, then tried to cover a wince when she moved wrong. Her knees were healing, but the skin was still tender and painful. I picked her up to cradle her against my chest.

“The males are being collected,” I said. “They’ll all be gone soon.”

She gave me a relieved look. “That’s good. Maybe I’ll be able to sleep.”