EvO (Darverius, House of DaR #16)

Chapter 32

Chapter Thirty-Two

EVO

Grumbling all the way to the Control center about the unfairness of the universe and the fact that I have already had to leave my mate for an unknown amount of time, I stomp in and all heads turn towards me as the door closes behind me.

“ Return to your duties. Destroyer , updates on our current course, and the status of the remaining pods.”

“ Captain , the last of the pods are now being brought inside.”

“ Did we lose any?”

“ Negative .”

“ Have you been able to contact anyone as of yet?”

“ Hold on, I have an incoming signal as we speak.”

Moments later, SCOUT’s intimidating face pops up in the middle of the room. “ Greetings Captain EvO , it’s good to see that you are thriving and that the ship maintains its integrity. Commander DaR will be relieved to hear that you have all exited the Nebula and are doing well. Would you like me to inquire on his availability? The Destroyer’s linear antennas are not strong enough to reach Darverius on their own, but I can maintain this signal for you.”

“ Please SCOUT , and it’s good to see your face, old friend. I know we have much to catch up on.”

I no longer get those words out that my father’s face appears. “ Frack , Son , you had me worried. I was rotations away from sending out another ship to see if they could find you. Never again will I allow one of mine to be out of signal range for such a lengthy amount of rotations. With that statement, I just realized that my sons keep adding to my list of NEVERs .”

“ Father , it’s been a trying, long, but productive adventure. Our mission was successful, and we were able to retrieve roughly between sixty and sixty-five human survivors. I have missed your council on many things these past rotations. I am pleased to be headed back into familiar space, as is my crew. How are all the others?”

“ All are well, you have missed out on many adventures that I could have used your skill sets on. I will catch you up when you have some downtime. Do you have a head count for the humans rescued? My Kira will be happy that others of her kind have been acquired.”

“ I will have the Destroyer send all of our updated information to you. Some are still being brought inside to be reawakened.”

“ Do you feel confident in the fact that all were recovered?”

“ I would love to say yes, but I am not certain, Father . We were lucky we were able to retrieve all we did. The colors inside the Nebula were hindering the recovery of the pods. Of course, we didn’t know that at the time, it was pure luck that we found them when we did.

“ Almost all was lost when we realized we were rotations from becoming part of the Nebula forever. The Destroyer’s fuel levels were becoming dangerously low on this ship, and I was at the point of calling off the search. When we finally located them simply by accident. Once we had them all connected to the haul, it took everything the Destroyer had to break free of the Nebulas ’ grasp. It was touch and go there for a little bit, but she held strong and now we are safely on our way back.”

“ How are the mental states of the humans on board? Losing one’s planet is not going to be received well.”

“ And it was not, my crew have their hands full right now. LeX unfortunately has become obsessed with one of the females who is not awakening. Rafe was practically claimed by one of the small females the moment her pod opened. I am still not completely sure if Rafe is an active participant in that or not. Then Father , the Lord of Light blessed me beyond measure by sending me a mate … my Qwin . You will not be pleased to learn of what I had to do to save her, but she was worth the risk.”

My father’s eyes tear up slightly before he looks away. “ There is no blessing more fulfilling, my Son . Nothing can compare to the light and love they bring into our lives. It fills my heart to know that you have been granted such favor. The fact that you are on your way home is a long whispered prayer. Many a darkness I looked up into the heavens, wondering if any of you would return. I can’t wait to personally meet your little female. The Lord of Light has been good to our family.”

“ Father , I believe we are all ready for a change in scenery even for a few risings. I will say that I’m slightly concerned as to what the future holds for all who have been found. I’m not sure they will integrate well into an established culture. The few that have met ViN , or myself have been scared and unprepared.”

“ Their culture had no clue what they were sending their people into. Nor the fact that they were not alone in the vastness of space. It’s sad to say, but they were flying blind, doing anything to save a few. I have spent many rotations studying the records that ANDI was able to obtain trying to figure out exactly at what point their planet turned for the worse … but enough about the humans for now. Besides what you have already informed me of, how is ViN ? Since the ship is still operating, I am assuming he has remained calm?”

“ Ember , his mate, has dampened his temper immensely, but we still have moments when he has to be reminded to calm down. ViN has always had a hair trigger. He would be here at the helm now, but left due to Ember not feeling well.”

“ LeX ?”

“ He has been pushing himself, trying to learn all he can about humans. I believe he felt as ready as he could get until he pulled that female out of that pod. He has not said as much, but I think he is blaming himself for not being able to awaken her.”

“ LeX was always a serious youngling. Now that we are within range I will have SCOUT contact him in the Med bay. I’m sure he will appreciate having another view of the situation. Not to change the subject, but we were recently on Commander ZoD’s planet Zodiqua . In one of the many discussions there, we were discussing humans. ZoD’s son Onyx mentioned the possibility of relocating the human survivors to a planet of their own. What are your thoughts?”

“ I personally believe it would be the best course of action, but I will speak to them later this rising to see what their views are on the matter. Most are not in the mindset to make many decisions. Some were forced in the pods. While others came willingly.”

“ Hard times to come, for most, then. EvO , do you have the means to care for so many?”

“ For now, I believe we can sustain them, but long term, no.” I watch Father frown.

“ EvO , I need to think on this further. Possibly contact ZoD and see if he knows of any locations where we could send out a crew to confirm its habitat would sustain them. Our humans are soft skinned and can’t survive many of the harsher planets, or moons, in the region. I will contact you when I know more. I can tell by the way your eyes keep looking towards the door you are distracted.”

“ It’s the first time I have been away from Qwin for more than a few moments. My mind is being torn in two, as I need to be here, but want to be there.”

“ Welcome to matehood, Son . If it helps any, that will never get any easier. There is no place I would rather be than holding Kira in my arms. Return to your mate, then contact me once you have spoken to the humans. I am sure the Destroyer can handle herself without you.”

“ Father , I have missed you and I look forward to more lengthy conversations as you fill me in on the issues I have missed.”

“ I will leave you with this. You now have another brother, SiN . So , if you cross paths with him before I can talk more. Don’t try to kill or capture him until I can discuss all that was revealed to you at a later time. Things were not as they seemed with him.”

“ I’m glad you told me. I will pass this on to ViN and LeX as well. Even though I don’t think it will ever be a good idea to have ViN nor him in the same location. ViN is not known for his forgiveness.”

The screen starts getting fuzzy; I see Father look away, then SCOUT pops up on the screen. “ Sorry for the interruption, Commander , but there are a few intense solar storms in the area breaking up my signal. I will reconnect you two when they cease.”

The screen goes dark before I can say anything else to Father . I stand here for a moment, my hands on my hips as I stare out at the dark space in the viewer, my mind heavy with all that’s happened in such a short time. Several of the other crew members are talking low among themselves as they scan over the screens in front of them. The ship is pushing forward and at this time, nothing is demanding my attention. When Father’s words replay in my head. I head for the door.

“ Destroyer , the helm is yours.”