Black Hole Heartbeat

Forr - 4

Forr cradled Lavell's small frame into his arms, keeping her close against his chest. Hot

blood dripped down his huge hands, staining the skin turquoise.

"We need to hurry."

The winds were growing stronger, tearing branches from trees. Forr huddled over to

shelter Lavell as Elizabeth raced ahead to open the doors. By the time he reached her,

the door was high enough for him to duck under. He carried Lavell frantically to the Med

Bay and lay her gently on the table.

"You'll be okay, okay? We'll fix this," he said, laying a soft hand on her cheek.

He should've made her wear armour. He had warned her about the fabric robes on her

back. She wouldn't have listened. She told him it helped her move quicker, but Forr knew

the real reason. Elizabeth Ranger strolled into baLle protected by only a long blue

leather jacket. And from the moment Lavell joined up, she wanted to be Elizabeth Ranger

more than anything.

But she was not Elizabeth. When he first met Elizabeth she had stuck her gun in his face.

By the time the sun set that night they were laughing and sharing drinks. Lavell was the

last to join. They'd found her when they were defending a Jahlder colony from a Krei

attack. She was picking flowers on the outskirts, unaware that they were even under

seige. She had cried and begged Elizabeth to take her with them.

The Krei viewed the Jahlder as gnats to be crushed under their heel. Forr had left his

Excha homeworld before he was conscripted and had never seen a Jahlder before. Never

seen anything as gorgeous as her pure white hair, or her candy pink skin and intriguing

markings. They had broken each other's myths of their species. Even befriending her

was illegal for someone like him. And falling in love... Still, he if concerned himself with

the illegalities of his activities, he never would have become a treasure hunter.

"My pact..." he whispered in her ear.

Pact were small, rabbit like creatures. They were reared for meat on Excha, though he

didn't tell Lavell that. He had given her the nickname when he washed his fur in front of

her, making her his talanacti. His life partner. He remembered the cool water flowing

down his back, cleansing him.

Brack handed him a flask and a set of pills.

"For her pain," he said.

She knocked the pills onto the floor. She must have aggravated her wounds by moving,

leLing out another desperate scream. It hurt Forr to hear it.

"Please, my pact," he said.

"My lion... I need to stay awake," she said, "I can help Ranger. I can tell her what do to

do."

"I could use her help," Elizabeth said.

"Help? She needs a hospital Elizabeth!" Brack said.

"We might not make it back to Known Systems in time.

If Lavell was to be saved, she would have to be saved here.

"Isn't there a doctor?" Olivia said.

Forr hadn't noticed her was there. His flat nose widened, and his dark eyes gave no

shine.

"Lavell was the doctor."

Elizabeth grabbed a pair of scissors and cut down the back of Lavell's robes. The wounds

were worse than he feared. Rapui claws her long and sharp. They either punctured

something vital and you died, or they missed anything important and you lived. But this

one hadn't goLen hold of Lavell properly. Maybe it was her small size. Maybe the loose

flowing fabric of her robes. It had swiped and scratched at Lavell's skin, tearing it to

shreds. The snapped off claw was the biggest problem. If not removed delicately, it could

puncture something on the way out and give Lavell the instant death the rapui were

famed for.