cosmicshifts (19 page)

Alika
said something in a tongue he did not understand. It was obvious she was mourning the dead that
hadn
’
t gotten the acknowledgement they deserved. They were there for a little while until the females stood and
Elarna
smiled at him.

“Thank you,” she whispered. She pressed her lips to his cheek.

“The hatch would be just about past here. I think they were trying to get to it when they were attacked. We should go inside. Look around and see if we can get this thing to run. If we can, then this is our ride home, and you
’
re going with us,”
Alika
stated.

He walked over to Phillip who had become his Bigfoot self again and waited while
Alika
trailed her fingers over the smooth hull.

The ship itself was made of the same kind of gray metal that was used in the palace and the tablet. It was oval shaped and domed on the top, but underneath it appeared to be flat and it hovered a foot off the ground. He didn’t see any engines on the undercarriage of the ship. How were they supposed to get on it? As he thought about it, a thin metal ramp descended. He
didn
’
t see how it would support anyone, but the women walked up into the ship. As they did, he glanced at Phillip, and the other male smiled. Herman stood at the end of the plank, gazing into the dark interior of the ship and pondered what his next adventure would be.

Chapter Nine

Elarna
stepped into the craft, still amazed this was buried underneath the earth all this time. This was part of her history and Herman
’
s. This craft evidenced a time in their combined past that was important to both species. She had never been one for antiquated things and always worried about the future of the race. She had tested well as a pilot so she pursued it and then she was promoted into a procuring role.
Elarna
already had a ship so it was an easy jump. The craft before her might have been archaic, but as she took stock of the cargo hold, she could see some containers ready to go. If they were specimens, then they were all dead. However, what was more important was in the cockpit. If it was operational, then she and
Alika
could fly it. This behemoth was too large for only one person to fly at least until they got into space and could activate the auto pilot. Although, she wasn’t too sure how well she would trust it.

“Do you remember where the deck was?” she asked
Alika
.

Her friend turned, but she still wasn’t back to her normal self. Her emerald features were
drawn,
and her violet hair lackluster. They had met in school when they were children. Her skin coloring was unusual in their class so she was drawn to her because
Alika’s
hair was almost the same color as her skin.

She forced a smile for her.
“Through the door down the hall to the right.
Engine room should be on the left. I don
’
t remember anything else. It
’
s been a long time. Let
’
s see.”

Alika
touched a panel on the side of the door, and it slid open. They walked down the hallway with the
luma
stones to see the way. It was cold inside of the ship because it
hadn
’
t been fired up for a long time. She prayed that it would start so they could get off this rock. It was obvious Herman was coming with them. How would he adapt to being on their planet and having to be with other females? She could claim him for a mate, but it was their law he would have to couple with others. She wasn’t sure that she wanted to share him with other females.
Elarna
had never thought she would come to find love. Even though it had been a short time of knowing him, she realized she did love him. By the way he took in everything, he seemed overwhelmed.
How can you blame him? In such a short time he’s learned that his shape shifting ability came from a union with our ancestors.
His ancestors were the ones who had driven them back and had potentially killed the people that had brought technology and new skills to their planet.

Outside the next door were several mummified corpses. Burn marks marred the door to the bridge. Weapons lay scattered around the hallway. It appeared the three were trying to break down the door and get inside. Herman knelt down before them. He sighed and then shook his head.

“
I don’
t know how they died, but they are
Yetan
. What do you think they died from?” Herman asked.

Elarna shook her head.
“
I don’
t know.
Some kind of gas maybe.
It
’
s hard to say without getting into the log to see what actually happened.” She stepped around the bodies and placed her hand on the control panel. It took a moment, but the door opened. She went into the cockpit and discovered two skeletons in the pilots’ seats.
Elarna
studied the main helm. Comparing it with her ship, it was more spread out and some controls were further apart. It didn’t look too foreign for being antediluvian. She prayed the startup sequence and the levers to jump the engine were in the same place.
Alika
stood on the other side of chair, and they looked at one another.

“This is a dual control system. They haven
’
t had this in three generations,”
Alika
stated.

“Are you going to be able to fly it with me?”
Elarna
glanced at her friend.

The other woman flashed
her a
smile and the twinkle in her eye made her look like her old self.
“This old bucket of bolts?
Of course I can fly it. This thing has to learn how to deal with us. How about we fire her up?”

“We should move them first.”

Elarna
nodded. They were going to move them when the males came over and lifted the bodies from the chairs and set them down in the corners.
Elarna
trailed her fingers down Herman’s cheek and watched him shiver and return the smile. She focused her attention back on the helm and found the ignition switches.
Alika
did the same. In this old kind of system both pilots had to be working together. They had to be a team, and if they didn’t trust one another, they could never fly the ship. They pressed the normal initiation sequence and nothing. They looked at one another. Her hearts dropped into the pit of her stomach. They weren’t going to be able to get off the planet. The whole craft quaked, and the panels lit up on the helm. The whir of the engines was a glorious sound that made her hearts
sing
. The rest of the ship came alive.

“Are you going to be able to go back to your home world?” Herman asked.

She turned toward him. “There’s enough to get us home.
All four of us.”
She walked over to him and twined her arms around his neck before pulling him close. She kissed him gently and the sense of relief that she had overwhelmed her. “We have to figure out how to get out of here. I
’
m not sure how the cavern opens. I think we
’
re supposed to go up through the funnel of the volcano, but if we do, it might trigger an eruption. I don
’
t want that to happen.”

“And if it
’
s the only way that we can get out of here?” Herman asked.

She looked at control panel, hoping find a log to inform them what had occurred on the ship.
Nothing.

“
Alika
, why don
’
t you go through the ship and see if there is anything we can salvage. I doubt the supplies are going to be useful. There is an outpost a day from here where we can resupply. They owe me. From there we can make the run back to the planet. I need to find the log. It
’
s going to take me some time though. Herman, why don
’
t you and Phillip go with
Alika
? She can give you a tour.”

She glanced at her friend, who rolled her eyes, but nodded.
Elarna
needed some time to figure out what the craft was made of and how they were going to get out of the middle of this volcano. The two of them went with
Alika
. She sighed and looked at the bodies.
Elarna
hadn’t wanted to tell Herman what had happened before. The ship was equipped with a defense system. It was triggered as a last resort. A lethal gas released within the ship had killed all that was on there. It looked like this was something that they had done in the past to prevent the
Yetans
from getting in and possibly taking over the ship.
Elarna
thought back to her control panel and pictured it superimposed over this ancient one. It was very similar. The buttons were in different order, but as she pressed a few of them, a holographic screen flickered on. She studied it. It was easy to understand the gauges and how much fuel they truly had. The levels were a little lower than she had first suspected, but it would get them off the planet and to the outpost so they could refuel.

She studied the last plotted course and star charts. They had come from
Rovan
. She breezed through the rest of the star charts, and they had more planets in them than she had seen before. Whatever the reasons were, these worlds had been wiped from her database. If she read the charts right, the ship was older than she thought, over a thousand years; much could have happened in that time period. She swiped her hand over the holographic image, and it moved so she came across a video log. The woman sitting in the chair had green skin like hers, but her features were further apart and her hair shaved close to her head. She sighed and sat back in her chair before looking into the camera. It took a moment before she spoke.

“All the negotiations have failed. The
Yetans
have starting killing those who have come here. War has broken out among the clans, and they are driving out anyone who is unlike them. Even those born with our genes and can shift. Any who have a different tint to their fur as
well.
We have offered to help, share with them any information they might want, but they don
’
t want our technology. They want us gone. They
’
ve
chased us back to the ship. Others, if they haven
’
t been killed, they have been experimented on. We
’
ve
waited as long as we could for the others to come and seek refuge. Only a handful made it. The
Yetans
followed them into the ship. Now they
’
re beating on the door.
Serva
was hit badly when I came on. She
’
s already dead. I could pilot the ship by myself if I needed to, but it would be problematic. It would bring me to the nearest settlement so I could refuel and save the others, but the
Yetans
are already banging on the door. We just wanted them to understand that all we want to do is have children. It is difficult for us to claim one of them as a true mate, but sometimes it happens. They’re firing on the door trying to get in, but there is no way in. Their laser guns don
’
t have the power to get through the metal. All of it they have learned from us and yet…” She stopped and shook her head.

“There
’
s no other way. The others will understand. I can
’
t let them overtake the ship. There has been too much death already. Over a thousand years of peace between us gone in just a few months. Maybe one day someone will see this and understand why.”

The image flickered. The aviator reached over and pressed a button on the helm. The vision died when the captain slumped back into her chair and went silent.
Elarna
knew the gas had taken effect. She wiped the tears from her eyes. When they got home, she would finally put these women to rest. If there were others on the ship, they all required a burial.

She pressed a few more buttons on the control panel. One triggered the hull’s shield to open so she could see more of the chamber they were in. And it was also lit so she could see the funnel of the volcano. Another hologram popped up, showing the maze of passages and the structure of the tunnels and the city. There were fifteen docks for ships and three remained besides the one they were on. She
couldn
’
t tell how many were functional. Maybe the
Yetans
had found them and were studying their knowledge. It
didn
’
t really matter because they were getting out of there. All she had to do was get
Alika
back into the cockpit, and they could be off to the station.
Elarna
ran her fingers over the board once more and was going to start the launch sequence, but felt a draft of cold air waft across her back. She paid it no mind at first and then heard a voice.

“Turn around slowly, and I won
’
t shoot you.”

Her blood ran cold as she heard the gruff voice and realized that the ship
’
s translators were working because she
wouldn
’
t have been able to understand the statement if they
weren
’
t. She turned as instructed and found a large
Yetan
holding a gun, pointed at her.

“What do you want?” This was not something she had foreseen.
Elarna
had figured they had lost the soldiers when they descended into the lava pool.

He pulled out a small tablet and pressed a button. A picture of her three companions popped up on their knees before an older, white haired beast wearing a purple sash. This had to be technology they had gotten from her ancestors. “If you want to see them again, come with me.”

She nodded and started to get up.

“Slowly.”

Elarna
lifted her hands to show him she wasn’t armed. “I
’
m going. No need to be rude.”

She walked before him out of the ship and into the hangar. They were surrounded by ten soldiers all with different types of weapons and in metal armor. At the other end of the warriors was the older
Yetan
with the purple sash and she assumed it was Herman
’
s father.
The king.

“My, my.
There is another one of you, and you
’
re the same color as one of our suns. How strange is that? Are you the one my son has become infatuated with? I would think that was the only reason he broke into our facilities and rescued this green one here,” the king said to
Elarna
.

“Leave her alone, Father,” Herman grunted.

She glanced at him and saw a look of pain curl his muzzle. She
couldn
’
t see a wound, but that
didn
’
t mean he
wasn
’
t hurt underneath all his fur. It was interesting to hear his voice and recognize what he was saying. It was brusque and growly, but she yearned to hear him say her name in that wonderfully husky voice of his when he was in his beast form. She just had to replace her translator and then she would be able to understand him in any form.
Elarna
hadn
’
t tried yet to read his thoughts, but then again she
hadn
’
t shifted completely because of the situation that she had been in.