Kindred Souls

Chapter 7

Mitri stood there, the sound of his heartbeat drowning out everything else. He reached for his earpiece, trying to stave off the panic attack that was lodged in his throat, and told Corinth, "Someone attacked Cyril and Nina."

She didn't even ask questions. She switched to the ship-wide communication line and threw around orders to not only get someone to them as quickly as possible but make sure they didn't get away while also making sure the ship wasn't damaged or sabotaged.

Mitri stayed where he was and tried to breathe but it was getting progressively harder.

"Mitri," Corinth called, "I need you to meet me at the transport ship. We're heading back up."

Mitri nodded even though he knew she couldn't see him. He couldn't bring himself to speak but he did nod and get moving.

The sudden alarm of the humans was, perhaps, a bit too transparent. The Queen met them at the transport ship. Corinth glanced at her grimly before boarding with their five other crewmates. Mitri stuck to the wall, ignoring the pitying looks that were being sent his way. Mitri stayed off the ship-wide line. He feared the worst and didn't want it confirmed.

They landed safely in the ship's landing strip. Corinth grabbed his arm and pulled him along as she ran through the ship to medical.

"Nina is safe. Cyril's a bit disoriented but fine. Cyril wasn't even rendered unconscious."

Mitri said, voice distraught and vulnerable, "They were shot in the head."

"Which would be enough to kill many species, but not a Diastorian. It just left them disoriented and nauseous. It also didn't stop them from protecting Nina."

"Right." A huge weight fell on Mitri's chest and finally, he could breathe again. "Right, thank you."

She squeezed his arm silently.

When Mitri made it to medical, his knees went weak with relief. Cyril was up and talking to Dr. Klinsi with Nina rolled up in his lap. She perked up when she saw him though, extending her arms in a request to be picked up.

Mitri was over, picking her up and squeezing the life out of before he even knew it. He also, in a moment that he would never admit to having, leaned down to hug Cyril as well, too happy to see them in one piece. It didn't actually feel like he was hugging something solid when he hugged Cyril. It was like thousands of nanites in human shape.

When Mitri released them, Cyril looked surprised but pleasantly so.

Mitri cleared his throat, already wanting to forget that show of emotion. "So, what happened? You disconnected after he shot you."

"Thankfully, I kept my blaster nearby. It was within reach. When he realized I was still cognizant shot a few more times, but when I returned fire, he ran. I believed I wasn't in a good state to pursue as well as saw the wisdom in staying with Nina in case he wasn't working alone."

Mitri looked at Corinth, "Was he?"

"We believe so," Corinth reported. "Our attacker was skilled enough to dodge all pursuit. He came in through a hole in the underbelly, with a camouflaged fighter vessel. Left through it too. One hit did manage to knock off his mask. We identified him as Havo Lannis. He's wanted in two quadrants. Interestingly, not this one, despite his home planet being right below us."

"He's Mydilian."

"Indeed. Is there something we need to know, your Highness?"

Mitri hadn't even noticed that the Queen had followed them. He stiffened, openly turning so she wouldn't have a clear view of Nina.