There was no one on the bridge.
Zorack sat down in front of the main console and activated the keyboards. The body was miserably tired. It was a lack of physical exercise. Life at the helm of Spartackus had taken up a lot of time in the past few weeks. He looked thoughtful as he watched the readings.
PERFORATED SHACK.
EMERGENCY SHIELDS AND SHIPS NEED REPAIRS.
Some sections of the ship were sealed. They would need to ration the oxygen tanks if they managed to get off that planet. There were also reserve tanks.
The girl ... Her mind was racing and focused on the patient asleep in the ward. Explanations. With all the rays! What explanations would that creature give? He had, without any explanation, taken the girl out of his home before they came looking for him.
It was not the orders of the Confederacy! The Empire of Orion for many years struggled to resist the destructive advance of those creatures. Entire planets were devastated. They just plundered the sources and nature reserves until they found another target, other hosts for symbiosis.
Was her. The girl's presence bothered him. It had bothered him from the beginning. I wouldn't have imagined her way. She was ... different. Would I be active in a relationship? Or passive? Ah, how would she understand their society? Or what had survived from them after the invasion?
Zorack never allowed himself to think about that time. It was little more than a child running with the survivors, lost among strangers, and carrying that practically newborn girl. The entire royal family had been murdered. They were both the only living remnants of an ancient lineage. No one had believed that the baby would survive without the mother's care while discussing its fate.
He swore annoyed. Angel ... The child's vision was the image of an angel amid carnage as he dodged the abandoned bodies in the hall until later days were found. The air passage ducts of the city-ship ... There, the two of them had been hidden among the wreckage. Sometimes it was necessary to find food. Zorack still remembered the fear he felt when leaving the shelter in his shelter looking for help for them. Everything had then changed.
There were almost no more survivors. Food was scarce. The few who had managed to escape were fighting hunger and disease. He turned off the panels and walked to the infirmary.
There was the typical and familiar sound of a metallic hiss from the door opening automatically. He went helpless and lost as he slowly approached the cryogenic chamber. If necessary, he had already made his decision. It would keep the girl in a night of cold sleep, with the machines monitoring hibernation at worst. It would remain alive even if the body did not fight exposure to the virus they feared.
His hand trembling lightly touched her hair. I couldn't just imagine her dead. The two of them together had already survived worse nightmares.
-I want you to wake up, Angel. - Zorack spoke softly. - I need you to wake up ... You're an Edrian. It has survived the virus before. Your body has a genetic memory. I want you to fight it.
Concerned, the captain examined the wound on her arm, watching the skin tissues that heal under the care of the artificial doctor. His hesitant fingers ran over her chest, holding his breath. There was no trace of contamination in her as she had feared.
He remembered perfectly the warmth of his pleasant body next to hers. She now lay cold and distant. Distant, perhaps even more distant while he in Édrin was ordered to arrange for her rescue.
And at that moment, the glowing green eyes opened. The red and inviting lips left the gums visible showing fangs. Angel looked at him without knowing what he was doing.
-Damn it, girl. It is thirsty. Ever eaten like this before?
Perplexity surfaced. How was she still alive? Slowly Zorack hugged her, feeling the pressure of his fangs pierce her contracting neck.
The sensation ... would have expected to feel the same disgust as always when K'Aldriants fed. He closed his eyes in bewilderment. It was, in a way, sensual. His manhood was rigid. An erection? I couldn't believe it.
There were two survivors. Strong links were created like this. Zorack let Angel slowly try to feed without much success. Her weakness was ... How long would she continue to support the girl with blood transfusions? He pulled the chair out with a tired sigh.
It was the biggest nonsense. She did not hear his voice. Even so, the captain slowly began to speak ... He spoke about the years of the academy ... He spoke about the horrors that had transformed their world in an attempt to survive. And talked about Klaus.
It was still ... intact. Perfect. As before. Before the war. Before the end of civilization, they would have known.
-Ah, my little ... - The captain lamented. - I know I took too long ... sorry! I abandoned you ... I need you to wake up, Angel. I cannot do this alone. - The plea came loaded when holding the cold and inert fingers. - I need you...
With the inevitable advance of technology, ancient and sacred practices were forgotten. Zorack was still able to remember another time. More civilized times. Edrians for millennia had been pacifists in harmony with nature. There was a balance in everything. They were people with fantastic skills.
The magic ran strong in his blood. It was a natural gift that few still retained. The ancient prophecies spoke of great evil. Was the use of technology without limits? He, like a few still believed in the possibility of a balance.
Édrin had almost been abandoned by the Confederation of the Orion Empire. If Zairon had not decided otherwise ... Technology inevitably went against magic. That was how the virus had mutated, no longer affecting machines but contaminating living beings. A mutation ...
It was more than an artificial intelligence ready to destroy them. It had become an almost indestructible organic matter, with basic needs for self-preservation. The first contaminants who succumbed to the disease were those who possessed magical abilities.
The technology turned violently against the creator. Zorack rolled his dark eyes bitterly as he reached out in front of him and wiggled his fingers. Heat immediately radiated through his body. The flame flickered on his skin, burning and alive. Even now, even after so many years, he retained the magic.
-Wake up, Angel! - he spoke again. I saw only the warrior spirit that still inhabited it. - We need to gather all the forces at once.
The glow of the fire was slowly fading before his angry eyes. He might have the gift, but he was not able to keep it active so long after exposure to the virus. It controlled only the manipulation of the glacial cold.
Lonely, Zorack barely noticed what he was doing. It was normal. He leaned over and kissed Angel on the forehead.
He didn't even notice Scarlet's hurt and angry look. I would inevitably have been worried.
Only at that moment, Zorack was lost in the past. There was Klaus at that time. But then.