Jack's Moonlighting Pt. 02

Mara looked at him more closely. "You don't approve?"

Jack smiled a little self-consciously. "I love the Ishilon. They are brilliant, compassionate, and honorable. But I'm sure they could have found a wiser person to be their Shadeem. I'm just trying not to screw it up."

Mara glanced at Dennesh, who was watching Jack with a smile.

"They don't seem displeased," Mara said.

"Like I said, they're wonderful people," Jack said with a shrug.

Bayly perked up. "Jack, once everyone has had their vaccine injection, will you tell the story of how you became the Ishilon's Shadeem?"

"I don't—" Jack began, an excuse on his lips, but he caught the flash of interest in the Queen's eyes. "I'm sure there are other stories—" He froze when Mara aimed her lovely brown eyes at him and did something with her lips that looked like a pout, but her fangs pressing against her thick lower lip boosted the cuteness factor. Jack wondered if pouting was a universal expression. "I-I suppose I could... but it's a long story."

Mara's smile lit up her face. "My favorite kind!"

Jack had no alternative but to smile and nod, which widened the Queen's smile.

They walked through the lanes between the tents to reach the largest tent yet.

Mara walked in, and the High Priestess was next with a stern glance back at the rest. Jack noticed his team spreading out to circle the tent, but Dennesh joined him inside. She moved to the side once they reached the main seating area. Tito, Juju, and TkaTken moved next to her.

"Before everyone sits down, Bayly, could you describe what you experienced so people might better understand what they can expect."

She nodded and described her day on the vaccine. There was some nervousness on faces once she finished, but no one seemed ready to back out.

Jack had another point to make. "I suggest we have each of the volunteers scanned by Tito to get an accurate reading of your physical state before the vaccine, and we'll take another once you are finished with the symptoms. Would that be okay?" Jack asked.

"What does this scan do to them?" Laannaa asked stiffly.

"Nothing. It does not affect the person being scanned, but Tito can compare the before and after scans to confirm all is well," Jack explained.

Queen Mara stepped forward, and Tito moved before her to run the green light down her body.

Jack pulled the injector out of the case and loaded a vaccine capsule into it. He stood before the Queen. "Ready?" he asked, and she nodded. He pressed the injector against her thick arm and squeezed the trigger. It hissed, and he nodded to her.

"That's it?" she asked in surprise.

"Yes. The medicine just needs time to begin eliminating the virus. It is highly potent and surprisingly fast acting, so please make yourself comfortable."

Tito scanned Warrez as Queen Mara sat and rested back on some thick cushions.

Jack gave the others their shots and ensured they were all comfortable. Bayly grinned at him from next to Warrez. He locked eyes with the Queen, and she smiled at him expectantly.

He took a deep breath and began. He discovered it was a little easier to talk about each time he told the story of his time on Allsa Komanae.

Maybe it was because the place no longer existed.

-=-

Gee and Bal flew over the mountain pass and set course for the remnants of the Krreegah's downed spacecraft. The imaging they were receiving from Peacekeeper indicated the old ship had split in two upon landing. It was a rough place to land a craft that large.

They knew the Krreegah Commander's ship touched down without issue as they'd received word from the two Tik who followed them down. A third Tik had followed but was shot by the fleeing craft. They returned their injured comrade to Peacekeeper through a Gate before continuing their chase.

Now the two Tik were securely positioned on a rocky ridge overlooking but out of sight of the ships. They had a perfect observation post, so Gee and Bal would join them there.

Currently, the Altarians were flying at top speed, skimming above the surface of a river that gently wound through the forest toward the back side of the targeted ridge. They were too low to be detected by the Krreegah ship's sensors. They couldn't drop their attention for a split second as catching a dangling vine at this speed would end them instantly.

Their vigilance paid off as they reached the opposite side of the stony ridge without being targeted by the Krreegah ship. Parking the skimmers in a secure spot, they crossed over to the far side and joined the Tik in their blind. They'd been flying for roughly two hours, so they wondered what they'd missed.

"Greetings. I'm Gee, and this is Bal. Has there been any movement?"

The Tik bowed to them. "I am CamCam and this is Ulooru. We haven't seen any activity from the Krreegah since they landed. It is most strange. They were in a hurry to get here but then do nothing?"

Bal was scanning the sleek ship the commander had escaped in and noticed the ground around it was covered in crystal formations. Its landing struts had crushed several of the growths.

"Are these crystals native to Danat?" Bal asked.

CamCam answered. "No, I believe they came from a fuel spill from the crashed ship. The crystal formations appear to begin here at the stern of the ship. The engines are badly damaged with tears in the hull."

"I've determined there is a two percent slope toward the ship's bow, and the crystals grow along the ship's hull the entire distance with a large concentration surrounding the crushed front of the ship where most of the armaments appear to be stored," Ulooru added.

When the Altarians stared at it in surprise, it explained. "I did an up-close but silent reconnaissance prior to your arrival."

"Ulooru is far more daring than I," CanCan said.

"I should also express my belief that the ship is being used as a home for the feral Krreegah. I heard multiple distinct voices making different calls from within the broken structure. Many were pitched in a higher octave, potentially indicating children. This might be their home base and nursery."

Gee looked at Bal as they evaluated the situation below. Then she looked at Ulooru. "Did you determine the stability of the crystals? It seems crushing them is safe, but what danger do they pose? I've never seen a fuel source that crystalizes like this."

"I was hesitant to test them as they might react to an active scan. Passive scanning gives no evidence of anything other than their crystalline nature," Ulooru stated.

"I'd like to disable Commander Nuugaat's ship, but doing so while it rests upon a field of crystalized fuel is too dangerous, and we're too exposed if something triggers a violent reaction," Gee stated.

"Activity!" CanCan said quietly.

They hid behind the stone and watched the ship using a fiber-optic camera as three Krreegah exited the shuttle and began to walk toward the broken vessel in single file with wide gaps between them.

"Are they unaware of the feral Krreegah within?" CanCan asked quietly.

"No, they have weapons ready. I believe they are attempting to make contact." Gee said. "Fools."

"Should we intervene? Attempt to protect them?" CanCan said.

Bal shook her head. "Too dangerous. They'd shoot at us."

"There must be something on that ship they want bad enough to risk facing the ferals," Gee said.

"Activity!" CanCan repeated. "From the ship this time."

A mechanical whine and thump became audible as a four-limbed mech wobbled into view carrying a massive warhead. This was what Nuugaat was after and what he'd been doing during the quiet interval. He'd remotely activated the mech on the downed craft and had it collect the weapon from the ship's armory.

The missile was blinking lights, so they'd activated it as well.

Following the mech was a group of six larger Krreegah which slipped out of a tear in the hull and caught sight of Nuugaat and his soldiers. They focused their attention on the soldiers, stalking toward them on all fours.

"The Krreegah warrior at the back is the Commander," Ulooru identified.

"They need to get back into their ship!" CanCan insisted.

Then the lead warrior shot one of the larger ferals in a show of defiance.

All hell broke loose.

Three savage Krreegah sneaking in from the side pounced on the shooter and began to tear him apart. He managed to fire his weapon twice but struck the ship's hull with deep booms before he died, gurgling through his torn-out throat.

Screams of rage echoed from within the twisted metal hulk, and at least a dozen wild Krreegah rushed out, looking for the enemy attacking their home.

The warrior with the Commander tried to run back to the ship, but he was quickly swarmed and buried under a tooth-and-claw attack.

Gee saw Nuugaat aim his rifle low and pull the trigger. He was targeting the crystals on the ground between himself and the onrushing ferals.

CanCan wrapped its tentacles around Gee as Ulooru grabbed Bal. Then they went straight up, accelerating as quickly as they could. The skimmers automatically left their hiding spot to chase after the departing remotes on the Altarian's belts.

The exploding fuel crystals expanded in a chain reaction that cascaded toward the bow and the stern of the destroyed space vessel. The crystals under the commander's ship ripped that ship in two, rupturing its fuel source in a brilliant flash, then the fuel reserve in the larger ship erupted in a colossal fireball.

The skimmers caught up to the Tik, and Gee and Bal got their feet into the stirrups on the platform and grabbed the control rod.

As the drag on their tentacles suddenly decreased, CanCan and Ulooro released the Altarians and accelerated toward space. Gee and Bal leveled their angle and set course for the mountain pass they'd crossed earlier, pouring on the speed, climbing well past the safety margins.

They needed to be on the other side of the mountain before the exploding fuel triggered that missile or the space craft's other armaments.

They watched their power consumption meters quickly slide toward empty as they shot toward the gap.

It was going to be close.

The sky flashed white.

-=-

Jack was holding Mara's hand as she did her best to remain calm without sight. Unlike Bayly, whose vision only dimmed, Mara's eyesight completely left her. The order of her senses switching off had also been different than Bayly's. Lena was following the same pattern as her younger friend.

When the ground heaved under them, everyone made exclamations of fright or concern.

Mara tried to stand, but Jack placed his hand on her shoulder. "Please remain still and calm. We're investigating." Her face turned toward his voice, and she nodded shakily.

"Dennesh. Get a report from Lorrem on that."

"Yes, Shadeem!" the warrior said immediately.

Jack never released the Queen's hand. "Dennesh is in touch with the ship above, which should have a clear view of the situation.

"Jack, perhaps you can give Queen Mara an example of the hand massage you gave me," Bayly suggested.

"Hand massage?" Mara asked, her voice trembling slightly.

Jack smiled at Bayly, then looked back at the Queen. "Uh, yes. We were discussing spas, places people go to relax and be pampered. One of the services is getting a massage. I understand the Dannt aren't familiar with spas and being pampered."

"No, we don't have such things," Mara agreed with a hint of a smile.

"If you'll allow me, I could show you an example of a hand massage. It refreshes and relaxes the muscles of the hand," he said.

"That sounds nice," Mara said with interest, sounding a little more relaxed.

Jack smiled and took her hand in his. She had large and strong hands, so there was plenty of muscle to be massaged. He worked each finger and spent extra time on her palm. When he was done, she automatically held out her other hand with a little smile.

He was halfway through the second hand, just moving to her palm, when she made a little squeaking noise. He stopped and looked into her eyes to see what upset her, and she smiled. "There you are," she said with relief.

Jack smiled at her. "Your sight has returned?"

Her smile was wide and relieved. "Yes! But don't stop the massage for that!"

Jack snorted softly and returned to pressing his thumbs into her palm. He finally released her hand once he finished.

"That was wonderful!" she sighed. "So, these spas are places one goes to get these hand massages?"

Jack nodded. "Except the hand massages are usually included with a full body massage."

Mara's eyes widened. "They massage your entire body like that?"

Jack tipped his head. "Well, certain areas of the body are not massaged as those are typically reserved for the touch of lovers only. Otherwise, the rest of the muscles are worked until they are all relaxed and any tension is removed."

The Queen reached up and touched her ears as she shook her head slightly. Jack realized her hearing had gone. He nodded to her.

Dennesh returned with a grim look on her face.

"What happened?" Jack asked, immediately alert.

"The crashed spacecraft Peacekeeper located from orbit has exploded. The two Tik observing the Krreegah commander indicated he caused the explosion."

"Where are Gee and Bal?"

"They were last seen heading for the mountain pass, but the Tik lost sight of them when a nuclear warhead on the ship exploded," Dennesh said. "The EMP might have knocked their skimmer's power out."

"Who the fuck uses nuclear weapons? Which way is the wind blowing?" Jack asked.

"We're safe on this side of the mountain. If there is any fallout, the prevailing winds will carry it west, away from the mountains," the Ishilon warrior stated.

"We have to find Gee and Bal. Ask Lorrem to commandeer one of the empty Krreegah troop carriers, find some Tik who can fly it, and have them pick me up outside the village. Now!" Jack said, and Dennesh rushed back outside.

"What's wrong, Jack?" Bayly asked.

"The Krreegah Commander did something to cause weapons on the ship they originally crashed on your planet to explode. My friends are missing. I'm going to find them, but I'll return. Please let Queen Mara know."

Bayly pulled Jack into a hug, surprising him.

When she pulled back, she looked embarrassed. "S-sorry! I can feel how upset you are about your friends. I hope they are well."

Jack's face warmed up, and he nodded to her before bowing to the Queen and rushing out.

His friends needed him.

-=-

Gee was grateful for the snow.

She hated being cold but realized the fluffy stuff had saved her life this time. Falling from the sky at the speed they were traveling should have killed her, but the mountain pass had a sufficient build-up of the white stuff to absorb most of the energy her body was carrying when she hit the snow drift. When she left the surface of the skimmer, her Reaver Silk gown inflated the hood to protect her head and stiffened on impact as well, shielding her from most of the jarring of the crash.

Doing an inventory of her body, she realized her left arm and leg were broken, and she likely had a concussion as her thoughts moved slower than usual. But she was alive. Just... slowly freezing to death.

She discovered she was wedged into the snow so tightly she couldn't even wiggle herself back out of her snowy prison.

Her next worry was the feral Krreegah which might come sniffing around. She didn't want to be eaten alive.

She tried calling out to Bal, but sound didn't travel well through the snow, and she didn't want to attract the attention of the beasts.

She hoped the Tik would report her last location... and Jack would come for her.

She squirmed a little as she suddenly recalled their last evening together on Peacekeeper. Jack was so passionate in his need—"AHH!" she screamed. Something hot touched the inside of her right calf! The image of Krreegah jaws flashed in her mind.

"Gee! Are you hurt?" Jack's voice was muffled by the snow.

Relief rushed through her body, and she forced back the tears. She wouldn't allow Jack to see them.

"Left... arm and leg," she called back.

Those wonderfully hot hands were back, carefully touching her legs and gently pulling her out of the tunnel she'd made in the snow. When he finally managed to get her out, he held her in a gentle embrace against the heat of his body inside a... fur coat? She felt herself thawing immediately. He was so incredibly warm. His lips gently kissed her temple.

"Bal?" she asked.

Jack was trudging through the snow with her held against him. "I dug her out of the snow a short distance from you. She's broken both her legs and is unconscious. We're taking you both back to Peacekeeper for medical attention. The Krreegah physician, Doctor Rammajja, assisted us with explaining the controls of the ship we used to find you and is providing medical attention for Bal until we get back into space."

"The skimmers?" Gee asked.

"Scrap. They hit rock when they landed. You were obviously going extremely fast," Jack said disapprovingly.

Gee was getting sleepy from his warmth and wanted to fade, but that could be the concussion, so she struggled to stay awake. "Either that or burn in the explosion." She suddenly felt hands pulling her away from Jack's warmth and made a sound of protest. She saw Jack's loving smile, then the Ishilon gently eased her onto a stretcher and strapped her down. A blanket was placed over her, but it didn't compare to the warmth of Jack's body. She looked up to see the face of a Krreegah next to Jack, who was watching her with concern.

She couldn't keep her eyes open any longer and let herself drift off.

-=-

Jack strapped himself into the chair under a thermal blanket facing the stretchers as the ship returned to space. He'd been the only one who could tolerate the cold during the rescue mission. They'd found the two buried in the snow by first finding the wreckage of the skimmers. They noted the snow shelf over the pass was deep, and Jack spotted the two holes from where his friend's bodies struck it. He was terrified he'd find them crushed into paste against the rocks, but luck saved them this time.

Bal's injuries were bad but not life-threatening, according to Rammajja. There didn't appear to be any internal bleeding. Gee had a broken arm and leg and a concussion which Bal likely had as well.

They were stable, and Jack would get them better care on the Peacekeeper. He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.

"Shadeem, we apologize for being unable to assist you in digging your friends out of the snow," Dennesh said contritely.

Jack opened his eyes to see several of his security team standing before him with upset expressions.

"Don't be silly! I know Ishilon physiology isn't suited to moving through snow. If you'd been out there with me, I would have had to carry you back to the ship, too!" he scolded gently. "Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. You are awesome on the sand and with hot temperatures, which wears me out. No shame in either situation. No apologies needed."

They smiled at him and moved to get ready to disembark as the troop carrier slipped into a shuttle bay Jack hadn't known existed on Peacekeeper. Once the bay was pressurized, the doors opened, and the Ishilon lifted the stretchers and rushed them away to sick bay. Rammajja followed.

Jack thanked the Tik, who flew the troop carrier on the rescue mission and shook their tentacles. They were pleased to have assisted him.

Jack left the small ship and met Norress, who guided him toward the bridge. He knew that hovering around sick bay would not be welcome, and he needed a status update from Lorrem.

The Commander was speaking with the bridge crew, so Jack waited until he was done and smiled at him once he had his attention. "How goes the effort to collect the prisoners?"