Blue solace complete ser.., p.124
Blue Solace: Complete Series Boxset, page 124
Crow’s eyes watered when the boy jumped into his mother’s arms and buried his face against her chest crying. “Mama, they said you was dead. They said I had to listen or I’d die too.”
Finn pressed his face into Crow’s chest. He was shaking, so Crow hugged him tightly. “We found them, Aiden.”
“Yeah, we did. You scared ten years off my life though. You were supposed to keep your head down and wait for us.”
“I was worried about Brisco.” Finn shuddered. “There was some fucked up stuff going on here, Aiden.”
“Seriously,” Brisco said from his seat nearby. A medic was checking his vitals while they waited for the drug he’d been injected with to wear off. “That woman said she wanted my head for her collection. Who the fuck does shit like that?”
Parker patted his back. “I’m sorry I made you go as a slave instead of a guard.”
Crow shook his head. “What’s going to happen to this place?”
Finn breathed out slowly. “Now that the galaxy knows about it, we’ll do our best to shut it down. All the slaves will be freed and sent to safehouses to recover.” Finn looked troubled. “If they can recover.”
“What do we do now?” Parker asked, eyes on Berenna and Ezvin.
Crow met Finn’s gaze. “We bring the Vextonians home.”
Chapter 20
Silverlight System, Planet Vextonar
Crow watched all the ships gathered at Vextonar through the viewport of the Blue Albatross. Most were from Charybdis Station’s yellow fleet, but other planets and individuals had offered to bring the Vextonians home, and their ships intermeshed with General Shepard’s.
Now, they were all gathered outside the atmosphere of the planet. Waiting.
“I don’t understand what’s happening.” Crow turned to Finn. His mate had gotten some much needed rest on the short journey from Fire Veil. He looked like a Charybdis Station lieutenant again, but Crow had to admit he missed the lingerie. Who am I kidding? I’ll get to see it tonight.
Finn bit his lip and watched as a fleet of Crellic ships approached the planet. “Earth agreed to remake Vextonar. I have no idea what that means, but Audre says it’s what the planet needs. It can’t sustain itself as it is, and there’s no economy left to speak of.”
Crow made a face. “Remake Vextonar?”
Finn shrugged. “All I know is that Ival and his two Crellic babies are on one of those ships.”
Berenna and Ezvin were asleep, curled up together in the captain’s chair. Weber didn’t seem to mind one bit.
“They’re just one family that is about to be reunited.” Weber grinned. “Damn, this feels good. Better than any mission I did when we were mercs, that’s for sure.”
Crow ran a hand over his growing baby bump. It had gotten a little bigger since leaving Rueal, but not by much. Already, he couldn’t imagine being separated from Finn and their child. Even if the tiny jerk inside me keeps making me vomit.
“One of the Crellic ships is sending a shuttle over,” Ignali said, looking up from the communications board. “Should I allow it access?”
“Yes.” Weber nodded, looking excited. “I’ll go escort a certain human to the bridge.”
Crow grinned at Finn. “Should we wake Berenna and Ezvin?”
Finn shook his head. “Where’s the fun in that?”
Crow propped his chin on Finn’s head. “Roxy keeps hiding my socks.”
“She just wants to play with you.”
“I think she’s building a nest.”
Finn gave him an amused look. “She’s not going to lay an egg.”
Crow made a face. “She’ll probably try to hatch more hiss beasts.”
His mate pinched his side. “Stop calling her a hiss beast.”
They cuddled and teased one another until Weber came back to the bridge. He had a young human with him. Ival pushed a double hover stroller with two big Crellic babies in it.
The man froze when he saw Berenna and Ezvin. A sob tore from his mouth, and he stood there, crying as he watched them sleep.
Finn moved to the stroller. “Go say hello, Ival. I got your two little bits here.”
Ival gave him a grateful look then ran to his wife and son. “Berenna, Ezvin.”
Berenna’s eyes popped open. “Ival? Am I dreaming?”
He fell to his knees next to the chair and hugged her. “Oh gods, Renna.”
“Daddy?”
Ival sobbed harder and pulled Ezvin into his arms. “Ez, my boy. I missed you so much.”
Crow wiped his eyes and turned away, giving the family some privacy. He looked down at the Crells in the stroller. Finn was already tickling the blue baby’s feet.
“This is Yavo,” Finn said, laughing with the giggling baby, before tickling the green baby. “And this is Zelea. Aren’t they perfect, Aiden? We’ll have one of our own soon.”
Crow smiled and crouched in front of the stroller.
Zelea grinned at him, her little tusks making her smile even more adorable.
“Yeah, they’re perfect.”
By the next day, the ships outside of Vextonar’s atmosphere had tripled. Audre and the others had done what they could to make sure everyone was off planet. Even from space, Vextonar looked empty. It was a city planet whose people had been torn away from it.
“Earth will be the only one on the planet,” Finn whispered. “Well, we hope. He said he would try to keep some of the buildings standing but that the planet wanted to be healed.”
“What does that mean?” Crow asked.
Finn gave him a flat look. “Again, I don’t know what the hell he’s talking about.”
“He’s going to make Vextonar green again,” Ival said from behind him. Zelea was perched on his hip, and Ezvin played with Yavo on the floor beside them. Berenna curled into Ival’s side.
“Huh?” Crow asked, hating not understanding what was going on.
“Genarg was a barren rock without even an atmosphere.” Ival nodded toward the viewport. “Earth brought it back to life. It’s a livable planet now. He said Vextonar is calling out to him to heal. It wants to have life again.”
“That’s not possible,” Berenna said, shaking her head.
“You’ll see.” Ival kissed her head. “It may not be our home anymore, but I hope Vextonar takes this second chance seriously.”
The door to the bridge opened, and General Audre Shepard of the yellow fleet came in. With her were two Vextonians. Crow recognized Abe and Lacey, Dottie’s kids.
Abe nodded at him. “I hear you’re mated, Crow.”
Finn grinned. “He’s a lucky man. So, I hear you and Lacey are going to lead Vextonar now.”
Abe winced. “Yeah. Unfortunately, we were voted in. Mom was a popular woman, and people trust us because of her.”
Crow felt a bit of sympathy for the human. He knew what it was like to live in the shadow of a parent. “You’ll do good, Abe. You and Lacey both.”
“If we even have a planet to lead,” Lacey said. She looked out the window, brow furrowed. “I’ve heard all the stories and seen the media vids about Earth and the other Crellic Elements, but it’s hard to believe he could bring life back to Vextonar. We’ve had to use atmospheric filters for the past fifty years.”
“You’ll see.” Ival sounded confident. “Give Earth time, and he’ll give Vextonar a second chance at life. I never noticed how lacking Vextonar was until I was on Genarg. You’re getting a gift, and I hope you are wise enough to take care of it.”
“Earth is sending a signal to us and the other ships.” Ignali looked over his shoulder, curious. “It’s a broadcast.”
“Let’s see it.” Weber nodded and came to stand with Finn and Crow.
The vid-screen flickered and Earth sat before them. The Element was alone in the shuttle. His hair was as tangled as usual and somehow, even after weeks in space, he had soil on his face.
“Hello, Vextonians. You know me as Earth, one of the Crellic Queen’s Elements.” Earth’s expression looked too serious on the face of the young Silet woman he inhabited. “My Queen has caused much harm to this galaxy. With Charybdis Station’s help, the worlds she and the other Elements harmed, will be restored. However, I want to help too. Your newly elected leaders, Lacey and Abe, have given me permission to give Vextonar the boost it needs to begin healing.”
Abe exchanged a look with Lacey. “Here’s to hoping we made the right decision,” he said.
Earth narrowed his eyes. “This planet is in agony and close to death. I will give it the healing it needs, but if you do not care for it this time, I will come back and take it from you. This is your home and you are responsible for it. Cherish the gifts it gives you. Give me one day.”
The screen went blank.
“That was short and ominous.” Lacey shivered.
Abe nodded. “He’s right, though. Vextonians ruined the planet. If he can do anything for it, then we should honor that by taking better care this time around.”
“Can he truly restore the planet though?” Lacey looked doubtful.
“He will.” Ival gave them a hard look. “He also meant his threat so don’t dismiss him.”
They all watched the planet from the viewport for over an hour before people started to wander away, bored and distracted.
“What’s Genarg like?” Finn asked Ival.
Ival smiled happily. “The town we’ve built is in a jungle. The planet itself is about the size of Union Station. It runs on the hot and humid side with plenty of oceans. The wildlife is just now coming back. Earth and the shamans have stayed busy.” He looked at his children. “Of course so have the rest of us. There are so many Crellic children and the planet is birthing even more.”
“Are there enough people to take care of all the children?” Weber asked, brows raised. “I’m not even going to ask how the planet is birthing babies.”
Ival snorted. “I couldn’t explain how the birthing works even if you did ask. As for the children, we need more people. Haroon and Xav finally talked Earth into sending announcements to the other planets offering a new start on Genarg to anyone who will help with the children. Haroon told me that they’ve received plenty of applications and are sorting them now.”
Finn smirked. “How is Xav handling being elected governor of Dragon’s Hollow?”
Ival laughed. “About as well as you would expect. We can’t wait to see what happens when more towns are established and he’s promoted to a higher position.”
Crow smiled at Finn’s laughs. His mate liked to laugh. Something caught his eye and he frowned as he looked out the viewport. “Is that green? There at the center of the planet?”
Quickly, everyone on the bridge gathered back at the viewport.
“That is green,” Lacey said, voice full of awe. “There hasn’t been that much growth on the planet in generations.”
They watched as the green spread, slowly but surely. After another hour the atmosphere of the planet clouded over.
“Clouds? It doesn’t rain on Vextonar anymore.” Abe’s eyes widened. “Gods, what is happening?”
“Maybe it’s like terraforming at an accelerated speed,” Weber said, amazed.
They watched for hours, but the cloud and gas coverage blocked everything from view. Finn yawned. “I want to see what’s happening, but I’m too sleepy.”
Lacey struggled to keep her eyes open. “Media is recording it.”
“Get some sleep.” Finn looked around the bridge. “This won’t be a quick process. Rest while you can.”
Lacey, Abe, and many of the others left the bridge after a few moments, but Crow was reluctant to leave the viewport.
Finn sighed and tugged him to the captain’s chair. “Sit down. We can see perfectly fine from here.”
They cuddled together in the chair and Crow’s eyes stayed on the clouds swirling around the planet. At some point, Weber brought them blankets and a pillow and Finn fell asleep in Crow’s lap, hand resting gently on Crow’s abdomen.
The next morning, the sight was the same.
“Earth said one day, right?” Abe asked.
Ival shrugged. “You’ll know when he’s done.”
Two standard days from when Earth arrived, the cloud coverage on Vextonar started to thin out. Crow and Finn were the only ones on the bridge at the time.
“Finn, is that an ocean?” Crow asked.
Finn’s mouth dropped open. “That’s not one ocean, Aiden. That’s two.”
“There’s so much green.” Crow shook his head. “How is this even possible? It takes years to terraform a planet.”
They watched as a small shuttle entered the planet’s new atmosphere. About an hour later, the shuttle returned to its ship. Earth finished the job.
Crow stared at the small, revived planet. “This is a strange galaxy we live in.”
Finn gave him an amazed look. “It really is.”
A short time later, Crow held Finn’s hand and Roxy’s leash as they walked off the shuttle. The largest spaceport on Vextonar was still standing, but there was nothing powering it anymore. They had tagged along with the engineers sent to get it up and working again.
Towering trees with indigo bark and deep green leaves towered around the spaceport. Thick, unknown foliage made walking into the forest challenging. The soil was damp and rich, feeding the new plant life all the minerals it needed. A steady rain fell, soaking everything around them.
“Look at this place.” Finn looked around in wonder. “All this green. This is what Vextonar was supposed to look like.”
“I don’t hear birds or insects.” Crow frowned. Being on the ship so long had made him realize how much he took the ambient noise of a planet for granted.
“Vextonar’s native species went extinct a long time ago,” Ival said. Berenna and he followed behind Crow and Finn.
Roxy stopped to sniff a bush. Her tail swayed back and forth, and her wings fluttered.
“It’s going to take work to get the spaceport up and going again,” one of the engineers said, shaking his head. “Damn, this is amazing.”
Roxy flew up as far as her leash would let her go and sniffed at a lower branch of the nearest tree.
Finn leaned into him. “I’m glad we were here to see this. Parker and Brisco are going to be pissed they stayed behind to finish clearing out the resort on Fire Veil.”
“They’ll live.” Crow watched Finn’s ear twitch as the cool breeze tickled it. “The Vextonians have a home to come back to. Where do we go from here, Finn?”
Finn looked up and grinned. “We go to our own home, big guy. We need to transport our Vextonians home, then say goodbye to Dermot and Diana. After that, it’s time to go home.”
“Home,” Crow said, a sense of longing filling him. He was ready to make a home with Finn.
Chapter 21
Anchor’s Rest System, Charybdis Station - Five Months Later
Finn hovered around his mate as they walked down the ramp of the Blue Albatross. They had docked at Charybdis Station twenty minutes ago, but Finn hadn’t wanted Crow to walk too fast.
“Damn it, Finn, I can walk just fine. I’m pregnant, not dying.” Crow glared at him, but Finn kept his eyes on his mate’s large baby bump. “You can go ahead. Your friends will all be there. I’ll give you all some time.”
“They’re your friends too.” Finn bit his lip. “You just don’t know it yet.” He wished Brisco and Parker weren’t dealing with their belongings. He didn’t want Crow to feel left out.
Roxy flew above them, eager to explore Charybdis Station. Finn’s darling girl wasn’t a baby glimmer anymore. She was over two feet tall and three feet long now. She still thinks she’s a lap cat though.
“Finn!” Dannol bounced up the ramp, and Finn temporarily forgot his mate.
He hugged Dannol tightly, lifting the slightly smaller man off his feet and spinning him around. “I missed you so much.” He didn’t want to let go of his friend and buried his face against Dannol’s neck, breathing in his familiar scent.
“Missed you too, fuzz butt.”
Meggie’s voice came from behind them. “Should we be jealous or charmed, Crow?”
“Charmed, I guess. It wouldn’t do us any good to be jealous of these two. There’s no parting them now.” Crow sounded amused.
“Finn!” Hack’s voice made Finn look up. His friends and their families all gathered at the bottom of the ramp.
“Did you and Leti adopt more kids?” Finn asked, counting the little ones gathered around Leti and Hack.
Leti rolled his eyes. “No, you just forgot how many there where. Come here and hug me.”
Finn pulled Dannol with him, and they both hugged Leti. “I love Leti hugs.”
“They’re the best,” Dannol agreed.
Finn looked over his shoulder. Fasi, Sandve, Amelia, and Draif were surrounding Crow. Looks like my mate has friends of his own, and he didn’t even realize it.
Morgan and Wyatt got their hugs in next. “It’s good to see you back home,” Morgan said. “We were worried you would choose Rueal instead.”
Finn shook his head. “Charybdis Station will always be home.”
“Good.” Hack patted his back. “It’s been hell staying organized without you. I’m afraid I’ve made a mess of the training schedules, and I keep forgetting to order plasma grenades.”
Finn snickered. “You’re hopeless. It’s a good thing you’re good at leading people and strategy. Otherwise, you’d be a horrible general.” Finn tugged on Wyatt’s sleeve. “Was Dramacus horrible? All of the Vextonians that were there are back home now.”
Wyatt sighed. “It wasn’t horrible, but King Xaran is. He’s a selfish, narcissistic bastard, though thanks to Dad and I, he’s still living.”
“Thank you for helping. I know it wasn’t easy leaving Estella and the twins.” Finn couldn’t imagine being apart from his family as long as Wyatt and Morgan had been. The two sacrificed a lot to help others.
Wyatt made a face. “It stinks, and we’ll be staying home for a while. It was worth it though.”
