Mission: Planet Biter (Veslor Mates #4)(23)
A snarl burst from Roth, and he wanted to hit something. He opened his eyes. Someone had made Vera suffer to make illegal profit. “Did anyone demand money from the company Vera works for?”
“New Worlds is denying any knowledge of what was happening to their people until they were notified by the fleet that we were on scene. According to them, they hadn’t even received a distress signal. They admitted that the facility, which they called a pods habitat, missed a weekly uplink with them for updates, but they assumed there was a communications system glitch that would be repaired onsite. They had planned to send a ship to check on their employees if a second uplink meeting was missed. That would have been tomorrow. Then it would have taken them approximately three weeks to reach the planet if they’d sent someone from Earth.”
That didn’t alleviate Roth’s anger. It made it worse. Vera wouldn’t have survived that time on the surface if Defcon Red hadn’t picked up the distress signal and responded to it. “Is Earth seeking the ones responsible for this drug to prevent them from selling more of it?”
“Yes, but the office building was abandoned. None of the three owners of Brilon were at their homes. Earth authorities have put out alerts seeking those who would have access to the formula and the ability to create more.”
“I’m glad to hear that, Drak.” Roth hoped the humans were found quickly. “Keep me updated on that situation.”
“We would, but Med Bay has banned us from entry.” Drak sounded angry. “They’ve even refused to give you our messages.”
“Send me my personal communications device. Give it to Clark or Abby. One of them will be allowed into Vera’s room.”
“We will. Do not leave Med Bay. We fear they won’t allow you back in to see the female if you do,” Maith whispered. “You are our only source for updates on that female’s condition.”
“I won’t leave Vera. I need to go.” Roth ended the communications.
The water cut off behind him minutes later, and he waited as the nurse helped Vera dry off and put on one of their medical gowns. He turned around when he heard both females approach his back.
Vera appeared weaker, every step she took an effort. He halted her and lifted her into his arms. Then he strode back into the room to gently deposit her on the bed.
The nurse turned on something at the top of it, then met his gaze. “I will go get her something to eat now.”
“Thank you.” He covered Vera with a blanket and took her hand. “You are clean.”
She wrinkled her little nose. “Did I stink before?”
“No. I train with your human males. I am familiar with bad body odor from them, once they begin to sweat. You were not offensive to my nose.”
She struggled to sit up. Roth helped her and adjusted the back of the bed to rise, pushing a pillow in the gap space behind her head to make her more comfortable.
“Did you tell me you were a fighter?”
“Yes.”
“Is that like your word for soldier? Are you a part of your world’s military? Or are you on a fleet ship to entertain the troops by demonstrating your fighting skills to audiences?”
“I understand what you are asking, and I will try to explain Veslors and our society to you. All Veslors are good protectors of themselves and others. We are a race that naturally is able to fight and defend.”
She glanced down his body. “You are much bigger than humans.”
“It is more than our size. We transform into battle form.” He lifted his hand. “My shape is different when I need to fight an enemy. I grow claws and my skin toughens. Your kind call us shapeshifters.”
Her eyes widened.
“Do not be alarmed. I am explaining this to you so you understand. All Veslors can transform and fight if the need arises but most prefer a peaceful existence. Those Veslors take jobs that don’t expose them to our enemies. I was raised on one of the growing planets in the Veslor solar system. Our birth grouping was happy with that way of life. They never wanted to leave our home world or do anything besides farming. I was different. So were the males that I formed a grouping with at a young age. We dreamed of leaving our planet and seeking adventure. Battle invigorated us, and we are good at it. We became fighters. It means we hire out our grouping to anyone who needs us to defend them.”
She studied him, a small wrinkle on her forehead.
“Mercenaries.” He spat the word. “Humans seem to know that term.”
Vera’s eyes widened again.
“We are not bad the way the human mercenaries are. They do not care what the job is, if they are being paid. They break laws by harming innocents and have no honor. Veslors only work for aliens who need to be defended against violent ones. Your fleet brought us in to battle with creatures on a planet that ate humans when we first moved onto Defcon Red. We also train your males how to fight more effectively. We are sent on missions to help protect your people. Have you heard of the Elth?”
She nodded. “Of course. They attacked the Blaze. That ship is owned by a competing company of the one I work for. It was on the news feeds and every space-travel ship was warned to hire armored transports if they didn’t have good defense systems onboard.”
“The Elth have attacked other aliens to steal their people and enslave them. My grouping has been hired often in the past to stop those attacks from happening. We’ve been paid to protect aliens from hostile wildlife on their planets as well. It is how we make a living…but it is to defend others. Not cause harm. Do you understand?”