Rulon gave Don's throat a squeeze, making the psychologist gag and his face take on a peculiar hue. "Drop the gun," Rulon ordered.
Xander hadn't even realized he was still holding it. Belatedly, he realized that he should have been paying more attention to their flank instead of making Don and Suzan be in the back. Well, it was a little late for that, he supposed. It was time to improvise. "Well—"
"DROP IT!" Rulon roared, and Don gasped in pain. Xander grimaced and dropped the rifle almost instinctively. Suzan, held by one of Rulon's men, shot Xander a look he couldn't interpret. Irritation? Pity? Or a little bit of both?
Whatever the case, it was of little use to Xander. He stared at Rulon, but when one of the men moved to grab him, he was met with a punch to the face. Xander wasn't giving in so easily. "Stay away from me," he snapped. "I'm not giving in so easily. You've got to promise me something, before I turn myself in."
Rulon scowled, obviously not used to his prisoners making demands. But Xander wasn't finished yet. "And you should know, I know when people are lying. You can't lie to me. So if you try, I'll fight you, and I'll kill some of you before I go down."
"What is it that you want, then?"
"Promise me that you won't hurt any of them. You will treat them well and not beat any of them. Got it?"
Rulon hesitated, then relaxed with an untrustworthy smile. "Oh, I do. Very well, Weni. I swear not to beat any of them or harm them. Does that satisfy you?"
Oddly enough, he was actually telling the truth. Untrustworthy though he might seem, he wasn't lying. Xander relaxed and extended his wrists in a gesture of surrender. "Fine, then. I surrender."
True to his word, Xander didn't fight it when they cuffed his wrists and ankles together. Suzan sent him a frustrated look but likewise allowed herself to be restrained. Yulia shied away from the men, but they were careful and caught her before she could run. Silently, Xander hoped that Sareen had been killed by the slavers; otherwise, she'd hunt him down and kill him, then blow up his grave for letting the Atonian get captured.
For some reason, they didn't restrain Don. Instead, they shoved him to the ground and started dragging Xander, Yulia, and Suzan to the ship. "Wait!" Xander yelled. "What are you doing? Don!"
Rulon tapped a button and Xander's cuffs activated, immobilizing him. He toppled forward and his captors lifted him up. "You weren't lying," Xander said, struggling to come to terms with what was going on. They would leave Don in the landing bay, and when they pulled the ship out ... he would die, from the vacuum of space.
"I wasn't lying. I'm not going to harm him. I'm letting him go. Of course, he probably won't be let out of the room before we leave," Rulon added with a sly grin.
Xander swore as he realized he'd been tricked. How could he have fallen for such a ploy? He was supposed to be better than that! Suzan was wailing incoherently to his right, her phobia—whichever phobia it was—coming through. Yulia simply sniffled quietly, making no other sounds.
In short order, Xander and the others were brought aboard the slave ship. The last thing Xander saw of Don before his view was cut off was the psychologist, staring after them in horror, still on his knees on the floor.
. . . . . . . . . .
The ship was sealing itself off in slow motion. Don estimated that he probably had about five minutes of life left before their ship was ready for departure. There was no point in running to the deadlocked door back to the rest of the ship. It could only be opened from the other side, and the slavers had pulled Xander's boot from the door. He was stuck.
Don just sat there, unable to move. Of everything he'd been hoping to accomplish in his life, he hadn't expected to suffocate after being abandoned by slavers. Even they didn't want him around; he wasn't strong, or smart, or anything. People didn't have any respect for psychologists.
Someone grabbed Don's arm, startling him. "With me, Collego!" He turned in astonishment to see Sareen beside him, hauling him to his feet. She'd prevented the door from opening with her own boot. "We need to go. They're pulling out!"
Her insistent and commanding tone brought Don out of his stunned daze. He allowed her to yank him to his feet and they ran for the door. "Ten seconds!" Sareen said. "Go!"
Don hurled himself through the door, Sareen only a pace behind him. She yanked her boot from the door, and it slid shut just as the slave ship pulled away. The two of them stayed in the hall, collapsed, gasping for breath. Then Sareen drew herself up and glared at Don. "What were you thinking?" she demanded.
Don took a few minutes more to regain his breath. "I ... trust me, that's not what I wanted. They promised to not hurt any of us, but they broke their word. They've got Xander and Suzan, Commander, as well as the Atonian and Veerna Vold."
Sareen scowled. "I'm aware. Which means we'll have to take a smaller ship and go after them. Barank is not equipped to go hurtling through space in search of slavers. And we'll need a pilot."
"A pilot?"
"I can't fly a ship, you fool," she said. "And neither can you. It should only take about ten minutes for our pilot to get here. In the meantime, sit tight. You nearly died. You could do with a break."
Since Don whole-heartedly agreed with that sentiment, he stayed where he was while Sareen went off. He did have to wonder how she had survived the slavers' attack, given that she seemed to be the only member on staff still alive. Whatever the case, she had saved his life, whether she hated him or not. And for him, that mattered more than any number of break-ups between them.
A few minutes later, Sareen came back and wordlessly handed him a satchel full of food. He idly chewed some of the beef jerky that was inside, watching Sareen pace. At last, he could bear the silence no longer. "How did you survive?"
Sareen looked at him and shrugged. "I hid." There was something not quite right about what she was saying, but she was his commanding officer. He decided not to question it and simply finished the bag of jerky.
True to Sareen's word, ten minutes later, a voice crackled through the door's intercom. "Chris Chase, reporting. The air is safe in here, you can come through and we can get started."
Don stared at Sareen. "You got the Chris Chase to fly us?" he said.
Chris Chase was a legend among the Federation. An expert pilot, fighter, and one of their best men, he was the envy of many a soldier. He shared a respect and adoration from the Federation was afforded to no others. Don had yet to lay eyes on him.
Sareen smirked for some reason. "Yes." She opened the door to admit Chris Chase.
Don had expected Chris to be a tall, burly man, with thinning hair, a harsh face, and small black eyes, probably somewhere in his forties. What he was not expecting was a young woman in her late twenties, red hair with blonde highlights, and dark blue eyes. The woman met Don's eyes and smiled, and he couldn't help but notice how attractive she was. "Doctor Don Collego?" she said, in a deep yet not masculine voice.
Don stammered out, "C-Captain Chase?"
Chris Chase laughed. "You didn't tell him?" she said to Sareen.
"It's your own joke," Sareen said heavily. "Though why you persist with it, I have no idea."
"Christine Chase, at your service, Doctor Collego," Chris said, extending her hand. "Pilot, and captain of the ship U.S.S. United. Currently docked for repairs back on Earth, which gives me leave to pilot your ship. Oh, Sareen, Doctor, may I introduce my sister. Melody Chase. She's the head doctor on the United."
The young woman looked around Chris, her caramel curls falling about her tan, freckled face. Green eyes peered out from beneath long lashes, and she was about a half a foot shorter than Chris. Don thought she looked a little young to be a doctor; she was less than twenty years old. "Hi," she said.
"Um, hi," Don said.
Sareen frowned at Chris. "You brought your kid sister on a potentially deadly mission to confront slavers?" she demanded.
Chris shrugged, unimpressed. She was the only one Don had ever seen who dared to talk back or appear unafraid in front of Sareen. "I think the term 'brought' is relative," she admitted. "Melody stowed away to be with me. She's not exactly defenseless, Commander. She's an official member of the Federation, and we'd just be wasting time if we sent her back."
Sareen's scowl deepened; Don knew from experience that it was her way or the highway. "Oh, alright. But if anything goes wrong with her, it's like she didn't even exist to me, do you understand?"
Chris didn't look exactly thrilled by that, but she nodded. "Understood, Commander. Then we'd better get going. No use waiting for the grass to grow."