Raith chatted and joked with Sarhea pleasantly enough on their hour trek back to the hoverbike, but inwardly, he wanted to kick himself. Twice in one day, he’d nearly lost control of himself. Twice in one day, he’d nearly allowed himself to kiss her. How could he have been so foolish, especially after what she’d shared with him today and already knowing her stance on relationships? There was no denying what he’d come to feel toward her but he had to handle this properly or he risked losing her forever. He knew she cared-sensed it in the energy, saw it in her eyes when she wouldn’t look away. But he also sensed her fear. He understood its origin more clearly after today and it was another reason he had to stop and wait, wait for the right time and place to make his feelings known. It was hard, hard when all he wanted to do was hold her in his arms and keep her safe from any further pain. It didn’t make it any easier when even now, he felt her arms around his waist as they slowly made their way over the dusty roads. He wanted to pull over, take her in his arms and…Raith shook his head. He had to keep his focus! Perhaps now would be a good time to head back to the Deliverance. He’d accomplished what he’d set out to do and there was still time to join the crews searching for the remains of the underground tunnels.

As the thought of returning to the ship solidified in his mind, the memory of the encounter on the observation deck crept into his thoughts. Somehow, he’d known he would find Sarhea there. It had been only by sheer luck that he’d found her alone. The star-filled darkness beyond had not disappointed. She’d looked so incredibly beautiful sitting in that observation pod with the expanse as a backdrop and the brilliant colors of the aurora below dancing in her eyes. He’d seen something in her gaze, felt the draw of her energy. Yes, there was something there-he was certain of it. He would have kissed her right then and there had it not been for that stupid sat-com…

“Raith! Look out!” came a yelp of terror from his helmet’s headset.

Raith’s eyes widened as his drifting thoughts were jerked back to reality. A chunk of twisted metal and concrete easily the size of a small scouting ship lay scattered across the immediate path and they were rapidly approaching it-too quickly to slow down or change course in time! He felt the instant flare of Sarhea’s fear-felt it in the surge of energy that shot through him when her claws abruptly dug through the thin material of his shirt and into the soft flesh of his abdomen.

“Ahh! Hang on!” he yelped in reply as the icy fingers of terror took hold of his heart.

Instinct took over as he jerked the bike’s controls, frantically attempting to avoid a head on collision. The machine lurched violently to the left but it was not enough to keep its right rear quarter from glanced solidly off the side of the debris. The impact sent the machine skittering crazily sideways in a cloud of kicked up red dust. Sarhea’s death grip hold on him tightened, threatening to squeeze the air from his lungs. His frantic attempt to regain control only sent the machine into a violent spin. The world around them became a blur of dust and jarring forces that threatened to toss them into oblivion. Then abruptly, there was nothing, nothing but the sensation of weightlessness…followed immediately by the fall.

The hoverbike’s engines surged at his futile attempt to slow their descent and at one point, he felt the contraption starting to topple over. Pain burned across his stomach where Sarhea’s claws dug deeper into him. This was it…He’d promised to keep her safe and now, after everything they’d been through, it would be his stupidity that was going to kill them both.

Just when he thought the bike was about to flip over, he felt the engines surge, this time with a familiar sensation that announced the return of a solid surface below. Raith slammed the power to full throttle just before they made dully cushioned impact with the ground. The increased power caused the machine to lurch roughly to the side, sending them into one last sharp spin before finally coming to an abrupt stop.

Raith sat frozen with wide, terrified eyes as adrenaline surged through his body. Incoherent, fractured thoughts tried to form in his mind, but it was the abrupt motion from behind that jolted him out of his shock. Sarhea’s death grip on him suddenly released as she frantically scrambled off the back of the bike.

“Sarhea!” He called into his mic as he forced his trembling legs to motion.

He didn’t even make it one step before his legs gave out and he toppled to the ground. Pain flared through his body as sharp stones dug into his palms and knees, but there was no time to dwell on it. He bit back a pained cry as he shoved himself to his knees and wrenched the helmet off his head. Sarhea’s discarded helmet lay only a few feet away. His eyes widened in renewed fear as he frantically cast a dazed glance around the immediate area.

“Sarhea!”

A choking cough to his left caught his attention and he soon spotted her several yards away near a pile of rubble. She was on her knees, hunched over the debris and…heaving…Raith cringed as he forced himself to his feet and began hobbling over to her. The rancid scent of vomit greeted him as he knelt at her side.

“Sarhea, are you alright? Are you hurt?”

There was no response as he placed a careful hand on her back. She panted heavily as she leaned over the debris and fought back choking coughs. The uncertainty was short lived. The moment she seemed to regain any hint of composure, he felt a sudden flare of energy, an energy he had not felt in many months. His eyes widened as he lurched back, but he was much too late.

Sarhea’s blazing blue eyes turned to lock on him with a deadly fury just before she lunged at him with bared teeth. She hit him hard in the chest, her clawed hands grabbing fits full of his shirt, as her weight drove him back to the ground. Sharp stones dug into his back, but there was nothing he could do, nothing but hold his hands before him in surrender. He made no attempt to fight her off as she couched over him in energized fury.

“I thought you promised that thing was safe!” she snarled in her otherworldly tone. “You told me you didn’t have a death wish!”

Her hot, rancid breath made him feel ill, but all he could do was stare at her in shock.

“I…I’m sorry…” he finally sputtered weakly. “Believe me, I did not intend for this to happen-it was an accident! I…ahhh!” he yelped in pain as her knee brushed roughly against the raw claw wounds on his stomach.

The fire in her eyes dimmed as she began to lift away from him. It faded all together, the snarl fading and her eyes widening, as she slid to her knees beside him. A trembling hand fell gently to his stomach.

“You’re bleeding!” she exclaimed quietly and carefully worked his shirt up to expose the seeping wounds.

Raith’s head flopped down to the warm dirt as he struggled to suck in a few gasping breaths.

“What the hell happened?”

He closed his eyes and weakly shook his head. All traces of his remaining strength fled, leaving his every appendage limp and trembling.

“I don’t know. I don’t remember that drop off being there. I swear to you, Sarhea-I never intended for this to happen. I know how you feel about these machines and would never intentionally do anything foolish to frighten or harm you. You have to believe me,” he muttered.

Healing warmth abruptly began to spread over the burning pain on his stomach. His eyes opened as he weakly lifted his head to see what was going on. Sarhea’s hands were over his wounds and he could see the faint glow of the healing energy radiating from under them. He sighed heavily and flopped back to the dirt.

“Are you hurt at all?” he asked quietly.

There was no immediate response.

“Only my dignity,” she finally huffed as her hands lifted from him. “How did you manage to do this?” she asked as she carefully began to press around the wounds.

Raith flinched as her prodding found one of the more sensitive punctures.

“Your claws did that.”

“What?”

His eyes opened once more to find her staring at her hands in shock.

“I…I’m…” she stammered.

Raith cringed as he slowly struggled to lift himself out of the dirt. It took several attempts on weak limbs, but he finally managed to right himself and scoot over to lean against the nearby rubble.

“It’s alright,” he said as he tried to regain control of himself. “I suppose I deserved that for not paying close enough attention to where I was going. I’ll take these wounds over what could have happened any day.”

Sarhea’s gaze lifted from her hands and she stared at him briefly in silence before slowly crawling over to the rubble next to him.

“I’m sorry for attacking you,” she whispered as she leaned back against the debris.

Raith allowed an exhausted grin.

“Again, I deserved that. It was a lesson well learned-Pay attention to the path ahead when Sarhea is with me.”

She scowled and reached over to jab him in the shoulder. He was tempted to feign injury, but quickly abandoned the idea. He didn’t want to taste her true wrath.