MBryO: The Escape by Dodie Townsend Page A

neck and she laid her childlike head on her shoulder. She was obviously happy at being reunited with her sibling, but totally exhausted from the trip across the galaxy.
    “And you brother?” Joshua asked, reaching out to stroke the hairy shoulder of the mammoth creature beside him. “I should have known that if anyone could escape from our father, it would be you, Dogg.”
    “Gayla and I had to follow you. We could not let you leave Terra without us,” his freckled snout spread into a wide grin. The creature made a snuffing sound to express his enjoyment of Joshua’s caress.
    Melara had entered the docking bay from the opposite direction as Pax, her weapon drawn and ready to deal with any threat against her young charges. Her steely gaze analyzed the scene taking place in front of her.
    She acknowledged his presence with a nod of her head. The four siblings were greeting the new arrivals, as excitedly as their stoic personalities would allow.
    Pax followed her gaze to the reunion taking place beside the brand new, top of the line, space-hopper. The noisy retro-fitted engines were gradually fading as the ship finished shutting down.
    “Relax, cowboy!” she whispered to Pax, sensing his tension. “They seem to know each other.”
    In spite of her words, Pax noticed that Melara hadn’t holstered her blaster, however! Naturally filled with mistrust, neither of them was prepared to dismiss the unexpected arrival of the space-hopper as a possible threat, just yet.
    He, too, kept his blaster trained on the ship!
    “Melara, Pax Vitar, come! Meet our brother and sister,” Sasha’s beautiful voice trilled across the docking bay. “We must celebrate with burgers and root beer! They, too, have managed to escape from our father.”
    Calista chose that moment to wander in through the docking bay, her intelligent green eyes calmly assessed the new arrivals. She stopped just inside the bay doors, her attention focusing intently on the strange looking creature beside her humanoid friend.
    In size, it was similar to a eughi, but that was as far as the resemblance went. Its snout was sprinkled with dots and a luxurious mane that dropped to its shoulders. Calista probed the creature’s mind delicately.
    “Curious,” she snuffled in her feline way. “Intelligent! But not feline!” With an uncommon disdain for a creature that walked on four legs.
    Dogg simply look back at Calista impassively. With a sniff of disdain, he didn’t bother to reply to the odd looking female’s simplistic psy-talent.
    Sensing no threat from the strange looking eughi, Calista ambled over to Sasha’s side and nuzzled the blond girl’s thigh with her soft nose. She was obviously basking in her new friend’s feelings of joy.
    Elias Abrams chose that moment to step out of the space-hopper, hands in the air.
    Sasha’s expression changed abruptly. Reflexively, Joshua and William stepped protectively in front of the girls. Pax and Melara divided instantly, taking up positions in the shadows pooling on either side of the open bay doors.
    “Move out of the way so I can cut this MBryO space-slug in two!” Melara gritted between clenched teeth.
    “You may be at ease, Melara Sivanza,” said the creature known as Dogg. “Elias Abrams means no harm! It was he who helped us to escape from our father.”
    “I know who he is!” Melara returned grimly. “Elias Abrams is in charge of security at MBryO and as such not to be trusted. He’s, also, Maxim Bryant’s right hand man! His henchman! Can either of you geniuses explain to me how he managed to block his presence from every psy-talent in this docking bay?”
    “Only someone with far superior psy-talent than ours could have maintained his guard for so many years,” Joshua stated, observing the older man suspiciously.
    Elias Abrams was obviously in tip-top shape, but his dark hair prematurely gray at the temples.
    “Even our father failed to penetrate the wall he keeps around his mind,” Gayla said