Ovation (Galaxy Circus #9)

Chapter 33

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Maxsim

T he ship is complete chaos when we return in the evening. Lila and the rest of the guys beamed down to Earth and raided Smith’s facility, and the med bay and the overflow med bay are full of rescued aliens.

None of them are lightning cats, thankfully. Earth is too warm for any of them to reside there, not to mention without a glamour charm, we can’t pass as an Earthling, but there are plenty of people in need. They all look slightly shell-shocked, and we do our best to comfort them, but it isn’t easy. We aren’t equipped for this many captives.

The Celestian ship is on its way, and Mark says they are about an hour out and are fully equipped to handle the influx of refugees. We thought maybe there were a few alien captives, but there are almost a hundred beings here. How did they all slip under the radar, and how did Smith get away with keeping them captive?

I was discussing it with Caspian and Nikos. Once the aliens arrive on Earth, they became their responsibility, and the circus never once checked in with them unless they requested assistance. Once upon a time, there was an off-worlder as a liaison, but they all went by the wayside when Lila’s parents were killed. They were the last liaisons, and the Adams brothers never replaced them, trusting Smith to police the aliens, but that was a big mistake.

“How did he get away with this for so long? How didn’t anyone pick up that he was such a cretin?”

There’s a signal to say another group is ready to beam aboard. I’ve been controlling the transporter room because there isn’t much else I can do, and we are still trying to keep the ship’s crew as in the dark as possible. None of them have ventured to these two floors since the circus pod departed and Lila discovered that Lester is a traitor. She locked access just in case there are more traitors. She will unlock it in the morning when all of the captives have transferred to the next ship. It’s just lucky the med bay, transporter room, and hologram deck are all on the floor below the bridge. She told everyone it was for family privacy in the evenings, and they all accepted that excuse just fine.

The second lot of refugees that beamed had children spread between them. They all stared at me with awe as they were shuffled out of the transporter room. When we returned, we brought Titus, Thorn, Nixie, Hurricane, and his two sisters back as well as Saxon’s two cousins.

We need the help, and we trust all of them because they are family and new to the circus. Mehira and Musette went down to the facility to assist, and the rest stayed here to help with the influx.

Echo remains safely on the deck above with the children, Kinga, and Andre. I know he wants to come down and help, but I won’t risk him. I think we’re going to need Magenta and Vanity, but I’m not sure Vanity is stable enough yet after bonding to risk it. Better off leaving them there for now.

The transporter hums, letting me know there is another incoming transport. I check the security ID. Huh, that’s Captain Potter’s ID. Why is he coming back to the ship?

I hit the button to approve the transport, and it fires up. Within moments, Broderick appears on the platform with a thunderous look on his face.

“What’s going on?” he demands, striding off the platform and approaching me. I consider growling at him, but I know this anger comes from fear and not knowing. “Imagine my surprise when I go to find Lila or one of her mates to ask a question about the concession hiring, and I couldn’t find any of them. Someone informed me that they were returning to the ship in the evening to be with their children. Okay, fine, understandable, but then one of the trapeze riggers asks me if I could find any of the new fliers, since they had some tech question, and when I sent out a pod-wide call, there was no response from any of them. I sent a message to Malik and Titus, wondering if they knew where any one was and didn’t get a response, but then I remember Nixie is back, and I went in search of her, and she was nowhere to be found, and neither was her mate or his sisters. Something is definitely fishy.”

I snort at his unintended pun, and he glares at me. “So, kitty cat, I want to know what happened.”

Before I can answer, the transporter hums again, and the incoming ID code shows Link’s name. I hit the button to approve the transport. Susie messaged me, saying that he was bringing an incoming trauma and to be on standby.

“Get out of the way, Rick. This one is coming in hot, and it needs to get to the med bay,” I tell him, and his lips round in shock, but he’s quick to obey. The transporter activates, and Link appears on the platform, along with Zeydan, a medical gurney, and an unconscious woman.

“We need to hurry. Lila healed her internal organs, but she still lost a lot of blood, and she’s underweight like she hadn’t been looking after herself. Whether she couldn’t keep anything down because of the baby or they were starving her, we won’t know until we can speak to her,” he tells Zeydan, then he notices Rick and me.

“Oh, good. Can you two walk ahead and clear the halls? We can’t afford to be delayed,” he asks us with a tone that isn’t going to accept a no.

We do as he asks and escort them to the med bay, but Rick is not happy. “What in the blue blazes is going on, and why wasn’t I read in? Where is Lester? Why isn’t he helping with all of this?”

We pass a group of refugees who are waiting outside the holo deck to be assigned a bed and assessed. They all move out of the way. Some of them mutter words of sympathy to the woman on the bed as we go past, while all of them look concerned.

“We have a lot to tell you,” I explain. “Lester was one of the moles inside the circus. He was also assisting illegal aliens on and off the planet by masking ship signatures on our radars when they would use the shadow of the galaxy ship to hide their presence. They were able to transport on and off without going through the proper circus channels. It’s also one of the reasons so many of these captives were able to be taken without anyone knowing, because they weren’t on Earth through legal channels, so nobody knew they were missing.”

His mouth drops open, and he is stunned into silence as we arrive at the med center and the woman is wheeled into the bay. Susie and Mark jump into action, placing IVs in both arms. One is a blood transfusion, direct from Nixie’s mate Hurricane, and the other one is a clear bag of fluids. Link grabs a syringe of something and injects it into the bag of liquids. The woman in the bed doesn’t move the whole time as Susie hooks her up to monitors.

“Where did you find her? Why is she like this?” Hurricane demands from Zeydan, staring at the woman with a scary kind of fury.

“She was one of Smith’s breeders. Seeing me triggered her labor, and the pregnancy was not an easy one, nor was the birth because the baby was not compatible with her body.”

“What the hell kind of baby did she have?” Susie exclaims as she gives the woman a sponge bath. Both Rick and I stand back, but we want to hear what happened.

“She had an Aaz’axian baby, and it wasn’t through a consensual arrangement,” Zeydan explains, running a hand over his head. His long, white hair is in disarray, and his foxlike ears twitch in irritation.

“Brannock?” Aarin, who is sitting in a chair also donating blood, asks.

“God no,” Link denies, shaking his head. “He would never do that to a woman.”

“No, he wouldn’t, and he actually got revenge for her when he eviscerated the one who did do it. He was the same one who turned him and Chloe in. Karma bit him on the ass, and he was a breeding captive too, but they wouldn’t let him breed many of the women because he ripped them apart on release. Only Sanshia survived because of her power to regenerate, and I think possibly a Skarrian woman who helped us, but because they need to be bonded to conceive, it never took,” Zeydan says, taking a seat.

“Oh my god,” Rick whispers in horror.

“Okay, we’re giving her fluids and a painkiller. The blood transfusion will help, but she’s probably going to need another bag.” Link looks at the bag of blood, which is almost empty.

“Take some of my blood too. If you don’t need it, Lila or Saxon can have it,” he tells Susie, who quickly sets him up.

“You better get back to the transporter, Max. They were just about finished and will be returning. Lila and Tirrian are going to remain behind and torch the facility.” Link rubs his eyes and watches the monitors carefully, nodding at what he sees.

“Isn’t that going to alert the rest of the facility that there was a secret level?” Rick points out, and Zeydan shakes his head.

“No, it’s completely sealed off from the other level. No one should be any wiser, and they will close the tunnels after they are done, but even if anyone does discover it, Silac wiped the computers, and nothing will survive Lila’s and Tirrian’s fire.”

“Her heart rate is stabilizing, and her blood pressure is slowly getting better. Hopefully she is out of the woods physically. Now we just need to worry about her mental state.” Link turns to study his monitors and nods, looking pleased.

“We need her to be okay. She needs to take her powers from the orb,” Zeydan says quietly. There are one or two other refugees here getting treatment, and they all seem to be sleeping, but you can’t be too careful.

“I’m sure Tabbris will see her before the ship leaves if you ask her to. She may want the memories removed permanently from her mind, and Xavier can do that for her or, if not him, then his parents, but that means the little girl will need a family to raise her,” Link assures him, putting a hand on his shoulder and giving it a squeeze.

“She didn’t want her child?” I ask, feeling sympathy for both the woman and child.

“Sometimes women who have conceived through rape don’t want the baby. It is understandable, but it isn’t the baby’s fault, and we want it to grow up without being subjected to hate from its mother,” Susie explains, and I nod my understanding.

“Echo and I will take it,” I offer, feeling such overwhelming sorrow for both parties. “We would be honored to give it a home. Nobody should ever feel unwanted.” I know that Echo sometimes feels like this—not from his family, since they loved him with all their heart, but because of the general consensus for male omegas that Mazlan perpetuated. My mother is working hard to banish that stupid idea, but it is a work in progress.

“Thank you, Maxsim.” Link nods at me. “I think Brannock has already suggested that Nikos could feed her because he is feeding Hali and Ty and is used to babies with teeth.” His gaze slides to Rick, and he winces. I don’t think anyone would notice, but I was paying sharp attention to the pretty cyborg whom Echo wants to join us in bed. He is an admirable and capable man whom I would be happy to share my omega’s heat with, not to mention attractive. “There was another woman there who was feeding an infant, and she offered, but she is Skarrian and not used to infants with teeth.”

“Is this the same woman who was raped?” Rick sounds furious, and Link shakes his head. “So there are two Skarrians? Two illegal Skarrians?”

“Actually, both of those women were known to the circus, but it was unknown that they had disappeared off the radar for reasons you will understand. Head back to the transporter room and wait for them. I think you may know one of them, Rick,” Link says mysteriously, and I want to question him, but he gives me a small shake of his head. Rick takes off, not wanting to ask any more questions.

“Go with him, he may need some support,” Link says. “Lila found her parents. They aren’t dead.”

Susie gasps, dropping the tray of tools she was moving, and they clatter to the ground. “Her parents are alive? Oh my god, were they tortured too?” she asks as Mark hurries over to help her.

“Poor Lila,” he says, waiting for Link to answer.

“I don’t know if they were tortured. They looked healthy enough, but I know they were forced to try to breed with other captives.”

“Forced?” Aarin asks, his eyes not leaving his sister. “How does one force someone to breed?”

Is he really that naive? We all look at him with speculation, and he waves his free hand. “I mean, I know there are ways, drugs and all, but would human drugs work on any of us?”

“Apparently yes. Something called GHB. All the captives had a low tolerance for it, and they used it regularly,” Link says flatly. “Go, Maxsim. Broderick and Marcus were best friends, and I think Rick was courting Alina when they died. I’m not sure he’s going to take this well. He will blame himself. Xavier thinks his parents are going to do the same. Smith is a dead man walking.”

I hurry after Rick, my mind swirling with this new information. Lila’s parents are alive. She must be so happy but also completely devastated. They have been gone twenty years, which means Smith has had them for that long. I can’t stop the growl that rumbles from my chest in one continuous long sound. People in the corridor see me coming and get out of the way, the smell of their terror tainting the air around them.

When I get to the transporter room, it’s already humming. I stand next to Rick and wait for the incoming travelers. The screen shows Xavier’s ID. When they materialize, he gives us a jaunty wave, but his eyes are weary and strained.

He, Saxon, Silac, and Brannock are standing in front. Brannock has a baby cradled in his arms, and I clench my hands as the urge to grab it takes hold of me. Wow, that’s an interesting reaction. Until Lila had the krakens, I was indifferent to babies. I knew Echo wanted them, but it wasn’t a priority for me. It was all about keeping him safe. Things have certainly changed, though, and I am just about as crazy about our children as he is. The thought that this little one is going to miss out on her mother’s love because she was created in such a horrible way hurts my soul. It’s better for her to be raised by us, people who can love her unconditionally, and it’s not like one more is going to make a difference at this stage.

“I’m just going to show the humans to the holo deck. We can get them settled, and they can decide what they want to do. I may need Matthew’s help going through all that data.” Silac steps down from the platform and waves a hand. Four wide-eyed humans follow after him, one male and three females. Their eyes get even wider when they catch sight of me.

“Whoa, what are you?” the male asks boldly, and one of the women smacks him on the arm.

“Matthew, that’s so rude,” she hisses. “Please excuse my husband. We haven’t seen one of your species before, and his scientist mouth talks before his brain can stop it.”

“I understand, I am not offended,” I reply, and Xavier chuckles.

“Wow, Maxsim, that is showing real growth. I am so proud of you,” he teases, and I flip him off, very much liking the Earth gesture.

“Fascinating,” Matthew mumbles, and his wife just huffs and tugs his arm as they follow Silac, the two other women hurrying to keep up.

“Hey, so is there a spare bed in the med bay? Ghosie needs to take a load off.” Xavier waves a hand behind him. The three of them part, and there’s the bear, flat on his back, levitating above the ground with a small child sitting on his chest, combing a finger through the fur on one of his arms and singing about a whole new world. Behind him are a man and a woman who has a baby cradled against her chest in a sort of sling contraption.

“Holy fuck,” Rick mutters. “Marcus? Alina?” He sounds like he’s been hit over the head with an ice axe.

I look at the couple again, and my eyes widen when I get a better look at the woman. She could be Lila’s slightly older sister. These must be her parents. My heart double thumps with happiness for my mate as the couple turns their attention to Rick, and their faces light up. They push past the sleeping bear and the rest of Lila’s mates and hurry off the platform at the same time Rick moves.

The three of them collide. There are tears, laughter, and mumbled words, and then Rick bends down, pulls Alina toward him, and kisses her hard before grabbing Marcus with his spare arm, tugging him closer, and switching to kissing him.

“Oh, I did not see that coming,” Xavier mutters to Saxon. “Good for Rick.”

“How long will Lila be?” I ask, turning my attention away from her parents and to my co-mates. I know she’s staying behind to do what needs to be done, but I am impatient to see her.

The three of them step down from the platform, Ghosie’s body and the little girl floating behind. “Probably at least an hour. I think Tirrian muttered something about taking her for a flight before returning,” Saxon answers.

“And they will probably fu…” Xavier breaks off, looking down at the small child before continuing. “Do that thing that Lila’s animals all like to do so much.”

“She had to change forms quite a few times, and she healed Sanshia, which looked like it was a lot of work. She’s probably down on power, so I agree with X.” Brannock stops in front of me, and I get a look at the adorable little baby.

“Hey, little one,” I coo, running my finger over the baby’s cheek and admiring her little spines.

“It’s a girl,” he tells me.

“Does she have a name?” I ask, and he shakes his head.

“Not yet. We’re not sure if Sanshia wants to name her or not.”

“Well, she’s still unconscious, but Link has her hooked up to a lot of things, so I’m sure she will come around in time,” I tell them.

“Doesn’t mean she will want to name the baby,” Saxon says. “How about I show Lila’s parents to a room, and you can take the little one down for Link to check over?”

“I know where our room is on the ship.” Marcus must have heard us, and he breaks apart from a scene that was really too intimate for us to be witnessing.

“Ah, yeah, no.” Rick runs a hand through his hair but leaves one arm wrapped around Alina who has tears streaking her face. “The ship has gone through an extensive remodel. Your suite became Lila’s when she joined us and, well, it takes up the entire top deck.”

Marcus frowns. “Where are my fathers? Their suite was up there too.” Marcus doesn’t know that his mother has been found either, but that isn’t something I plan on telling him. I’ll leave it to Rick, but Rick grimaces and turns to us with pleading eyes.

“Pussy,” Xavier coughs.

“Your parents are back on Skarr. They have decided to retire and handed the circus over to Lila,” Saxon explains.

“Retire? My dads?” Marcus sounds shocked, and Rick clears his throat.

“Yeah. They recently reunited with your mother, and they are trying to make up for lost time.”

“My mother?” Marcus repeats, his voice breaking. “She isn’t dead?”

“Nope. Turns out that’s happening a lot recently.” Xavier chuckles, and Rick glares at him.

“They still have a suite, but it’s on this level now. I can show you to it if you want,” I offer, but Rick shakes his head.

“They can come to mine. It’s just down the hall a little ways. We can get some food and talk. I’ll tell you everything that’s happened.” He turns his attention to me. “Does your nursery have a spare crib we can use?”

I nod. “Yes. We have two for Echo’s babies, but we have no need for them for now. You can have one, and we will use the other for this little one.” I point to the babe in Brannock’s arms. “I’ll have it brought to you in a little while,” I assure him.

“Thank you.” Lila’s mom smiles gently at me with curious eyes. “Are you one of Lila’s mates?” she asks, and I nod, smiling at her.

“I am. I am Maxsim.”

“It is lovely to meet you,” she replies, but Lila’s father grumbles, “Twelve mates, Rick. How could you let that happen?”

Rick and the rest of us laugh. “You don’t know your daughter if you think any of us let her do anything,” he replies, and Marcus scowls.

“No, I really don’t, but that’s not my fault.”

We fall into an awkward silence.

“Way to kill the mood.” Alina smacks her husband’s arm. “Ignore him. He must be getting space sickness, though he was grumpy before we got here, so it might just be him. Come on, Rick. Bastien is getting heavy, and my back could use a break.” Just like that, she breaks the tension. Rick hurries them off without a backward glance, leaving us alone.

“Well, I guess we should get the cribs. Lila and Tirrian won’t be back for a while. I don’t know about you, but I could use a drink.” Xavier waves his hand, and the floating Ghosie starts to move. “We will drop him off, and then I bet Chloe would like to meet her brothers and sisters.” Xavier looks down at the little girl, but she’s ignoring him and staring at me with wide eyes.

“Kitty!” she shouts and lifts her arms like she wants me to pick her up. I look at Brannock to make sure he’s okay with this, and he gives me a smile.

“Please do, she won’t stop nagging until you do. She always wanted a cat, and now she has two very big cuddly ones.”

I pick the girl up in my arms. She is wearing her human form, and she pokes a finger at one of my ears before using both hands to lift my top lip and look at my mouth. “Big fangs. Can you go roar?” she asks, and I feel my heart melt.

I give a small roar, and she laughs and claps her hands before sticking her thumb in her mouth and resting her head against me. I start to purr as we walk toward the med bay to drop off the bear.

“And another one bites the dust,” Xavier comments behind me. “She’ll have us all wrapped around her little finger before Lila even returns.”