Chapter 19
Chapter 19
Lilly pulled the hood of her new jumpsuit up covering her head from the fierce sunlight then belted her tool belt about her waist before looking up the ladder towards the catwalk that lead to the roof. Earlier that day, while Ronan had been with a client she’d slipped away to the town dump. While poking through the new debris left from passing ships, she’d stumbled upon two Uxmal males dumping broken equipment and pieces of trashed electronics. They’d been drinking at the time, drinking heavily by the way they stumbled about pulling items out of the back of a ground transport.
Lilly had hidden behind a thick metal barrel carefully watching the males till the combination of heat and alcohol had rendered them both senseless. She’d snuck up to them and stolen their pistols and comm units, then crawled into their transport to take the comm unit out of the counsel. She’d been terrified the entire time but getting the units and pistols had been worth the risk. Of course, if she was caught with the items by the Dome’s guards her punishment would be severe.
Lilly had returned to her shed and modified the communicators to work on the same frequency as that used by the ship they’d sent off. She was planning to splice the comm unit into the dome’s satellite dishes so that the communicators would allow Ronan and his men to contact any incoming ships or to receive a message from one coming to rescue them.
Lilly bent to check the rope she’d attached to the comm unit was secure before turning back to the ladder, she planned to climb to the catwalk then pull the unit up.
“You’re not thinking of going up there?” A voice said from behind her.
Lilly spun to see Cahir about ten feet away, leaning against the side of the building. Lilly cursed herself for not paying better attention; of late, she’d been too distracted with thoughts of Ronan and their future.
“Actually, yes,” Lilly replied.
Cahir shook his head as he stepped up to Lilly. “It would not be safe. I have kept your secret, but if you plan to do something foolish that would risk your life or health, then I shall be forced to tell him.”
“I’m not being foolish, I need to place this on the top of the dome and patch it into the communication array. “Lilly pointed to the communication unit on the ground beside her.
Cahir looked from the unit on the ground between them to Lily and back. “A communicator, where did you find it, it looks new?”
“The dump, along with these.” Lilly opened her shoulder bag to show Cahir the communication units and the pistols she’d stolen.
“But how?” Cahir couldn’t believe what he saw, usually the tech Lilly had was old and broken, from the look these were new units and then there were the pistols. Weapons of any kind were forbidden to slaves, the punishment for taking them and keeping them would be severe if Lilly was caught.
“I was at the dump and saw two drunken Uxmal’s unloading a ground transport. When they fell asleep, I umm borrowed their belongings.” Lilly replied. “I was planning to program the unit to the frequency used by the ship we sent off and tie it into the main communication array, then once I had it working, program the comm units to the same frequency in case a ship looking for you came into orbit and was trying to contact you. Once I was done, I was going to give you them and the pistols. I thought you’d need them if a chance to escape came.” Lilly handed the bag to Cahir.
“You are brave and a genius,” Cahir said taking the black bag from her. “But you still shouldn’t risk yourself or the baby, you don’t know what this means to our people and for Ronan.”
“Baby, she is with child?” Eacha said from behind them.
Lilly groaned in exasperation. Eacha hated her; there was no way he would keep her secret.
“Quiet.” Cahir dropped the bag at Lilly’s feet as he stepped towards Eacha, motioning for him to be quiet. “Tis, a secret for now.”
“This cannot be, she, this creature can’t be having Ronan’s child.” Eacha snapped loudly, stepping closer to Lilly, his cold gaze raking her from head to foot. His look was so full of hatred that Lilly stepped back in fear.
“Lilly is not a creature, and she is having Ronan’s child. This is joyous news. You know what this means, don’t you?” Cahir replied.
“It’s not joyous, she is a lesser being and not fit to bear his child. She is beneath him, beneath us.” Eacha snarled, challenging Cahir.
“Eacha, be quiet, no one can know yet, and you don’t know what you’re saying.” Cahir stepped forward, putting himself between Lilly and Eacha as the fury on Eacha’s face twisted it with rage.
“But I do, do you really think she is worthy of bearing Ronan’s child? Such a child would be a half-breed and a freak; it shouldn’t be allowed to draw air.” Eacha moved to step around Cahir, only for him to block his path.
“Eacha, stop it, you don’t know what you are saying.” Cahir protested. “She is a good, brave female who has done everything to help us, to help Ronan, even risking her life to do so.”
“She is from an inferior race and not worthy of Ronan; her child would be a grotesque pale, weak creature like her.” Eacha moved again to get to Lilly, only for Cahir to block his way. Cahir shoved Eacha hard sending, him staggering backwards, as Eacha struggled to regain his footing. Cahir punched him hard in the face, sending him wheeling backwards to drop to the ground with a thud.
Cahir loomed over Eacha, his fist raised in warning. “Stay down till I am done; you never could defeat me in training. You will listen and be quiet. Lilly is all that a male could want in a mate and more; you only dislike her because of her race. You can’t see past the color of her skin to the good person she is, and that makes you a fool. The fact that she is pregnant with Ronan’s child proves that there is hope for our people and our world.”
Lilly felt a cold hand clench her guts as old doubts surfaced again. What if Eacha was right and she wasn’t good enough for Ronan, maybe she was good enough for here and for now, but on his home world, she was unsuitable. Perhaps she was being foolish and letting self-doubt destroy her again. Lilly knew she wasn’t thinking logically. Her hormones the past week had been out of control, that, combined with the morning sickness that she’d been having was enough to make anyone think crazy thoughts. Lilly heard more shouting and saw Cahir was standing with his foot on Eacha’s chest.
“Admit it, you hate her only because of her race and skin color. We left home to find females like her, females we could mate with that would save our world.” Cahir took his foot off Eacha’s chest, letting his friend breathe again.
Eacha pushed himself up and brushed off his shirt, then, after a moment, he nodded. “You are correct, I have let my bias influence my judgement.”
“I am sorry, Lilly.” Eacha gave Lilly a nod, his eyes downcast.
Lilly studied Eacha for a moment, trying to decide if she believed him, before she could answer her wrist comm beeped loudly.
“Lilly, this is Tyrell. You and Ronan have been requested at the Pleasure Hive; Laoni wants you to go. Go change and meet me at Ronan at the main gate as soon as you can.” Tyrell’s voice crackled loudly on the hot air breaking the awkward moment.
Lilly’s woes were forgotten, and she exchanged a look with Cahir. The unit had to be mounted on the roof before they were caught and they were running out of time.
“I will finish your work, Lilly, and don’t think about what Eacha said. He is a fool, and Ronan doesn’t think the same. Ronan is crazy about you.” Cahir stepped forward to retrieve the bag he’d dropped.
Lilly forced a smile as she gave Cahir a nod. “This is Lilly; it will take me a few minutes to change.”
“That’s fine, just come as quickly as you can, Tyrell out.” Lilly looked up at Cahir. “When you are done, take the pistols and communicators to my hut; they can’t be found.”
“I’ll take care of everything, and Lilly, be careful, I meant what I said, you mean everything to Ronan, and you are the hope for our world.” Cahir gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze.
Lilly forced another smile and then hurried away her mind filled with worry and doubt.
* * * *
Laoni paused in the open door to the courtyard as he forced himself to be calm. After weeks of plotting and a week of planning with Zardo, he was about to realize his plans and have Sora back in his arms. He had found a plant growing outside the walls of the dome, which his scanner had said was poisonous to Hyperions. He had made a mixture of it and had slipped it into all of Perrion’s private liquor bottles while he’d been out of his chambers. Perrion had been ill the past few days complaining of headaches and stomach pains, but with Laoni’s subtle suggestion that having Arnal check him over would be expensive, he had not sought medical attention. Perion was everything that was cheap and about making a profit, if not for Lilly and Lars repairing the Dome daily the past few months, the place would be falling down about them.
Last night, after the evening meal, while all the slaves were either at work in the Dome or in their quarters, he’d slipped into the utility shed and disabled both of the ground transport units, ensuring that they wouldn’t work today. It had been a boon when Cheng had found him sabotaging the second unit; it had taken only an instant to plunge the tool in his hand into Cheng’s neck and kill him. Laoni had hidden Cheng’s body under a tarp at the back of the shed and dumped assorted broken pieces of machinery on top.
With Cheng dead and Perion dying, all he had to do now was get rid of Captain Tyrell, and that would be easy enough, as he was about to order the Captain to escort Ronan and Lilly to the Hive to meet a nonexistent client. Zardo had said he would order his men to kill Ronan as well as the male escorting him, they could then claim Lilly. While two of them were dispatching Ronan and Tyrell, the rest would be causing chaos in the town and at the Palace of Love as part of their plan to rescue Sora and let Zardo reclaim some of his lost credit.
Zardo planned to ransack the town and capture as many females as possible while also killing any and all enforcers they discovered. When done Zardo was going to leave the planet with as many females as possible, with the enforcers dead, no one would challenge him when he left. Once Zardo was gone, Laoni planned to make himself not only leader of the Dome but see that he had a place on the planetary council. He planned to amass a fortune before leaving the hateful backwater dust ball that had been his home for so long. The planet had already cost him an arm and much of his youth as first a slave in the mines and then in the fighting pits, he was owed and he planned to get what he was due.
* * * *
Lilly stepped out of her chamber, pulling her black robe on, and nearly walked into Lars, who was standing in the hall by her door.
“Lilly, good you haven’t left yet, I was hoping to catch you.” Lars stepped back as Lilly closed the front of her robe, covering up her blue dance costume.
“Lars, not that I’m not pleased to see you, but I must go. I was called to come and perform,” Lilly replied, forcing a smile though her feelings were still in turmoil after her encounter with Eacha.
“I know that is why I came to see you. I think something is wrong, very wrong, and I wanted to warn you.” Lars stepped back, giving Lilly space. “You have been a good friend to me; you were my only friend at first. Your male Ronan has also become a friend to me, which is why I came to tell you what I heard.”
Lilly studied Lars, from the way his eyes were dilated and his rapid breathing, she could tell he was excited and nervous about something. It had taken her a year to learn to read his body language, but she knew enough to know the reptilian male was upset about something.
“Tell me as we walk, Laoni called me while I was changing and told me to hurry,” Lilly replied, nodding that they should move.
“Laoni is what I came to warn you about. I was on the third floor cleaning the floors near his office, his door was cracked open, and I heard him talking to another male, a male I didn’t recognize.” Lars placed his hand on Lilly’s arm forcing, her to stop. “I heard Laoni say that he would be sending Ronan and the pale-skinned female to the Hive and soon, that they should be ready to move.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” Lily replied.
“What is more, I can’t find Cheng anywhere; in fact, I haven’t seen him since last night before the evening meal. He usually gives me my orders after breakfast, and today I couldn’t find him. When I asked around, no one has seen him since last night.” Lars shook his head. “Something is wrong; I want you to take this for protection.”
Lars pulled a crude knife made from broken glass and a piece of wood from his inner tunic pocket and held it out to Lilly. Lilly hesitantly took the knife as she pondered Lars’s words, something was definitely wrong.
“Thank you, you risked much to give this to me.” Lilly paused before the door to the outer courtyard.
“I risked nothing; you are all that matters. Before you came, I was alone and without friends. Since you, I have made friends, and my arm is finally healed. If you weren’t so ugly, I would have asked you to be my female.” Lars shrugged his shoulders.
“Thank you, I feel the same. You have become a great friend to me.” Lilly replied. “I will be careful, I will see you later.”
Lilly took a calming breath and stepped outside into the courtyard. The brilliant sunlight hit her in the face as it reflected off the white walls of the courtyard, and the midday heat hit her like a wave. She stepped into the courtyard pulling her hood down over her face and spotted Ronan standing by Tyrell and three other guards near the employee entrance to the Dome.
“You are here at last.” Last Laoni stepped forward out of the shadows of the side of the dome and gave Lilly a quick, scathing look.
“What is this about? Why is Lilly here?” Ronan asked, stepping forward to take Lilly’s hand.
“You have both been requested at the Hive; that is all you need to know. Now off with you, enough time has been wasted.” Laoni gave Ronan a hard look as he folded all three of his arms before him.
“I should check with Overseer Cheng; he is the one responsible for slave transfers,” Tyrell said, reaching for his comm unit.
“He is occupied and not to be disturbed. You will leave now, it isn’t good to keep an important client waiting,” Laoni replied.
“Very well, Zach, go bring transport number one.” Tyrell jerked his head at the closest guard, who gave a nod in return before turning to head toward one of the two ground transports parked in a long stone shed.
“You will need to deactivate Ronan’s collar. If I take him out of the Dome with it still live, he will be badly shocked,” Tyrell stated, giving Laoni a hard look.
“Of course, I’ll simply remove it.” Laoni stepped up to Ronan and pulled a small device from his inner pocket. He held it up to the back of Ronan’s collar, then, after a moment, pressed a button on the back; there was a click, and the collar opened. Laoni stepped to the side of Ronan and jerked the collar off, then slipped it into the deep pocket of his jumpsuit. “When he returns, I’ll reattach it. Now you had better go; you are already late.”
“Are you sure that is wise? Without his collar, he could escape?” Tyrell gave Laoni a quizzical look.
“Where would he go?” Laoni replied as Zach returned a troubled look on his face.
“Neither of the ground transports will work. What do you want to do?” Zach demanded.
“You will walk, of course, now get going, you are already late.” Laoni snapped, waving with two of his hands towards the locked gate.
“Fine, we will walk, but I’ll need more men than just Zach and Irvi.” Tyrell reached for his comm unit when Laoni shook his head.
“That won’t be necessary, and they are needed here.” Laoni reached into the deep pocket on the side of his jumpsuit to pull out a length of metallic rope about three feet long with cuffs on each end. “Give me your wrist.”
Tyrell gave Laoni another questioning look but held up his left wrist, and Laoni snapped one of the cuffs around his wrist. He turned to Ronan, holding up the other cuff. With a scowl, Ronan held out his right wrist, and Laoni snapped the cuff about it.
“Now he can’t go anywhere. Here is the key.” Laoni held the key out to Tyrell, who took it with a frown, then dropped it into his upper vest pocket. “Now go, Zach, Irvi, go check on the back wall of the Dome. I was out late last night and thought I saw a crack in it.”
Tyrell was about to reply when Laoni’s comm unit buzzed. “Sir, this is Magnus Master Perrion isn’t feeling well and is requesting your presence at one.”
“I will be there shortly,” Laoni replied, then looked at Tyrell. “Go before I punish you both for disobedience.” Laoni didn’t wait for Tyrell to reply before walking back towards the door to the back courtyard.
“What in the moons, something isn’t right,” Zach said, exchanging looks with the shorter Irvi.
“If I might speak?” Lilly asked timidly. She had been standing to the side quietly watching everything transpire.
“Of course, what is it?” Tyrell asked, turning to look at Lilly.
“Lars just warned me that he thinks Laoni is up to something. He said he was cleaning the floor outside Laoni’s office and heard him talking to a strange male, that Ronan and I would be leaving the Dome soon. Lars also said he can’t find Cheng anywhere, and that when he asked, no one has seen him since last night.” Lilly said, and saw Tyrell frown.
“Laoni speaking to another male about you is not that odd if he was booking your appointment,” Tyrell replied.
“But Captain, it isn’t his duty to do that, it is Cheng’s, remember I’m on transport detail, it’s my job to see slaves are safely moved when a request comes in. And I know for a fact that Cheng isn’t behind today’s transfer, I heard him and Perion talking that the profit wasn’t worth the trouble of loaning out slaves.” Irvi said.
“By the moons, you’re right, I’d forgotten that. All right, I agree something odd is going on but I still have to take Ronan and Lilly, but I want you two to look over the ground transports and see what is wrong with them. I know for a fact they were both working yesterday.” Tyrell said.
“You have it, Captain, as soon as we get one working I’ll follow you, Laoni doesn’t need to know everything,” Zach said.
“Agreed, now go; the sooner one is fixed, the better.” Tyrell jerked his head towards the shed, then looked over at Ronan. “We have to go too, Ronan, you and I will walk in front, and Lilly walk behind us and stay close, do you know where we are going in case we get separated?”
“I know where to go, but one last question, don’t you think it’s odd he took off Ronan’s collar rather than just deactivating it?” Lilly asked, stepping closer to Ronan.
“She has a point, not that I’m not happy to have that blasted thing off.” Ronan reached up to rub his neck with his free hand.
“It is odd, I already thought that myself,” Tyrell replied with a frown. “I can’t be roped to you while you are working, without your collar; if you bolted, I couldn’t track you.”
“You and those in the control room also wouldn’t know if Ronan was sick or injured, remember they don’t just track a slave’s location; they monitor the slave’s health. If Ronan were to take ill or be injured, then there would be no way for you or the others to track him and come to his aid.” Lilly stated.
“This whole thing is getting worse by the minute. I have the feeling we are getting set up. Lilly, stay as close as you can, come on Ronan we had better go. But keep your eyes open for trouble.” Tyrell stated, turning to unlock the door set in the middle of the towering gate door.
“If you think it’s some sort of trap, then let’s not go,” Ronan growled.
“I can’t refuse, while I may be captain of the guard, I too am stuck here. Also, if I refuse a direct order, I could lose my job and end up in the mines or the pits, and then who would watch over my men? Come on, let’s go, just keep your eyes open.” Tyrell turned back to unlock door, while he was opening the door, Ronan caught Lilly’s hand to jerk her against him and steal a kiss that left Lilly’s senses reeling.
“Stay close, I would be lost if anything happened to you,” Ronan murmured before pressing a quick kiss to Lilly’s forehead as there was a loud bang and Tyrell opened the door. Ronan turned to Tyrell, feeling more ill at ease with each passing moment; he noticed the pistol on Tyrell’s side and pointed at it. “At least you are armed.”
“This is almost useless; it can only stun. The worst it can do is knock a person back hard and render them temporarily unconscious.” Tyrell tapped the pistol on his hip as he shook his head.
“Let’s go. Lilly, if you get separated, just meet us at the main door of the Hive.” Tyrell stepped through the door, then gave the metal rope a tug, pulling Ronan after him. Lilly pulled her hood back down, covering her face, then followed after them. Once she was clear of the door, Tyrell slammed it shut with a loud bang that made Lilly jump.
Tyrell turned and headed off down the hard-packed gravel road with Ronan close beside him; Lilly hesitated for a moment as a sudden sense of dread washed over her. Lilly shook her head. Perhaps she was being foolish, or it was her runaway hormones making her suddenly fearful, or perhaps her fears were valid, and Laoni wanted to harm Ronan, well, she wouldn’t let that happen; she would protect Ronan at any cost. Bottling up her resolve, she picked up the front of her robe and hurried after Tyrell and Ronan.