Van and Rask slowly walked away from the disappearing bus, back to their post of patrolling the town. They needed to wait for their ride so that they could be picked up.
They both knew there was a chance that they would both be killed on the spot, considering they had both destroyed their com units, but they hoped it wouldn't come to that.
Nisa had found her fated mate. They had witnessed two more of their kind; Shadick and Shelia had found theirs also. A public interrogation would be the best outcome for all of them. If it were a private one, then their superiors could decide to kill them anyway in order to hide the fact that their mates are out there among the surviving humans.
Rask was quiet, lost in his own thoughts, not saying a word; he slowly walked alongside Van, not paying much attention to his surroundings. He was too consumed by his thoughts about whether his mate was still alive or not.
Van studied his friend and fellow soldier. "What are you thinking about?" he asked.
Rask shook his head a bit to clear his thoughts. "I'm worried that we already killed our mates," he started. "If we didn't, I'm worried that they will hate us for what our people have done to them."
Van sighed heavily. "I worry about that too. All we can do is try to protect them from any further pain," he said quietly. Then, after a moment's pause. "You don't have to come back with me. I am willing to do this alone if I have to. I just know that I have to do it. It's our mates' only chance if they are still out there somewhere."
They walked their patrol in silence after that. There was nothing more to say. Their shift was almost over, and the shuttle would be there soon to take them back.
A loud whistling was heard from above; both aliens looked up. It was their shuttle coming to retrieve them. They watched it in silence as it landed; the long, narrow door dropped down, creating a ramp, and their commander stepped out.
"We were worried you abandoned your post," the commander told them, his features tight, voice stern. "Where is private Nisa?" he demanded, suddenly realizing they were missing one of their members.
Van looked up at his commander. His features strained. He knew what he said could either kill them both or change the outcome of their people's invasion of this planet. "Nisa found her fated mate. He was part of a small group passing through this town," he explained. "Our law states that we cannot harm our people's fated mates. We had to let them go. There were two others of our kind with them, also with their fated mates," he continued to explain. "We have fated mates amongst the humans; it would seem."
The commander looked between Van and Rask. His eyes were wide in shock, his skin beginning to pale. "You witnessed three of our kind with their fated mates, who were all human?" he asked to clarify. He wanted to be sure that he had heard correctly.
"Yes, Sir," Van and Rask both said in unison.
"Who were the other two?" the commander questioned.
Van spoke again, knowing Rask was too worried about finding his mate alive to respond. "Private Shelia and Second Shadick," he informed. "Shadick did not find his fated mate until after he left his squad, not before," he threw in, not sure why that mattered.
The commander, still pale, paced in front of the two privates. He took several turns before stopping. He looked between the two privates. "You will both be interrogated with truth serum," he stated evenly.
"Yes, Sir," they both said in unison, both hoping in silence that it was a public one and not a private one.
Van and Rask were ushered onto the shuttle, their blasters taken from them. Wrist cuffs were applied so they couldn't run. It was clear that they were being arrested, probably for not killing the group of humans whom Nisa left with, they realized.
Once the small shuttle reached the mother ship, they were ushered into a cell to await their interrogation.
Three hours had passed before a guard came for them, pulling them roughly out of their cell and escorting them through the long corridors of the ship. They stopped at a large door that opened into a large conference room. Large monitors were covering a wall, all of them were turned on, the fleet commander on screen, along with every captain of every ship in the fleet.
Their squad commander stood against a wall near the door, waiting for the interrogation to commence.
A medical officer strolled in, holding two injector pods grasped in his hand, waiting for the order to inject the prisoners with the serum. He had to wait so that all who were watching could see them being injected. It was proof of the truth they were about to speak.
The ship's captain looked between the two privates, then scanned his eyes over each of the screens. Clearing his throat, he began. "These two privates will undergo public interrogation for their crimes of letting a band of humans live as they were seen passing through the town on their patrol," he stated, speaking to the screens.
Muffled gasps were heard around the room, both from the monitors and those attending who were standing around them.
The captain nodded to the medical officer, indicating that it was time. The young man immediately injected Rask and then Van with the injector pods.
Both Rask and Van's faces turned pale. Moments later, they went slack, and their eyes glazed over.
The fleet commander looked between the two privates, seeing that the serum was active, and then nodded. "Begin," he ordered.
The captain stepped up, his hands held behind his back. His insignia gleamed in the lights of the conference room. "State your name and rank," he ordered.
Rask was the first to speak. His voice was monotone. "Rask, private, patrol officer."
Van was next. "Van, private, patrol officer," he stated, his voice monotone.
The captain paced, watching the two privates. "Why did you let the humans live?"
Van spoke first. "Our partner Nisa, private, patrol officer, found her mate amongst them. It was a human male. Our law states we are not permitted to harm our people's mates or those they love," he stated.
The captain paused, trying not to react to what he had just heard. Clinching his teeth, he continued the interrogation.
"Rask, how many were among the group?" he questioned.
Rask's voice was even. "There were two of our kind, each with their own human mates," he answered. "There were also three other humans besides the two mates. It totaled five humans and three of our kind, including Nisa," he answered.
More gasps were heard around the room. Whispers from the monitors could be heard.
The captain continued to ask questions. He needed to finish before the serum wore off. "Who were the other two soldiers?" he asked Van.
"Shelia, private, patrol officer. Shadick, second, squad leader," Van states, his voice still monotone.
The gasps got louder, eyes widening in shock. Shadick was a high-ranking officer. It made the confessions even more shocking. It validated the information. Cuppled with the serum, there was no disputing what they were hearing.
The captain sucked in a sharp breath before he continued. "Why didn't you go with them? You destroyed your coms," he asked, Rask.
"After we discovered our people have fated mates with the people of this planet, we destroyed our coms. We didn't want to inadvertently harm our mate in the event she was out there somewhere. We went with them in the beginning and then decided against it. We needed our people to know that we have fated mates amongst the people of this planet," Rask explained in his monotone voice.
"You came back so that everyone knows that we all may have a human as our fated mate?" the captain asked in disbelief. "Knowing full well that you could be executed?"
"Yes," Van stated. "Everyone needs to know that our people are killing our fated mates," he said. "Our people stopped finding mates long ago. It is difficult for us to bear children because of it. Because of that...our race is dying. These people are our salvation. If we destroy them, our mates included, then our own race will fall."
The interrogation was public. Every officer in the fleet was watching. Every individual in the entire fleet witnessed Rask and Van's confession of humans as fated mates. No one could dispute it because of the truth serum. This was Rask and Van's goal.
Van's last statement hit home. Humans were their own race's salvation. Destroying them meant killing their own race.
The room fell silent. The impact of what had just been discovered was palpable.
Now that everyone knew, they both wondered what would happen next.