Striker

by Charmaine Ross

  “The reason? Universal domination.” His deep voice reverberated somewhere in her mid-chest. It was deep but also a little husky. She had always been a sucker for a voice like that.

  Pull yourself together, Captain. You have a job to do, and that’s all there is to it, eye colour be damned.

  Still, it was something more. Something instinctual. She shook her head in an attempt to dislodge wayward reactions.

  It must be stress. There's no other reason for it. Being abducted and crash landing on another planet being chased by Reptiles will do that to a girl.

  “Are you all right, Vivien?”

  The way he said her name, with that slightly lyrical accent, was panty-dropping enough. “Enough!”

  He brows shot upwards, surprise and concern on his face as he looked at her. She shook her head again, wiping shaking fingers over her brow, her fingers coming away wet with perspiration. She felt as though she was falling apart at the seams.

  “I apologise. I didn't mean to say that, not out loud anyway. It must be the stress.” She took a steeling breath and pressed on. “… surely, that's a ludicrously big plan. Too big to even attempt.” Not to mention costly. The motivation to do such a thing was massive. Countries learned that truth after fighting war after war. Much better to trade than kill. Win-win for everyone.

  “They're Reptiles. They think a different way. We can't judge them by our standards,” he said.

  “Not sure if that sounds completely right.” She tripped, stumbled and had to reach for a trunk to steady herself, drawing in a deep breath. Why couldn’t she seem to get enough oxygen? And why was it so hot?

  Striker stepped in front, blocking her path with his large body. She wasn't used to feeling small, fragile, or tiny, but that was exactly what she felt like standing this close to him. Her legs nearly buckled with fatigue while she looked up at him, but she locked her knees and forced her body to stop trembling when all she wanted to do was sink to the ground.

  “I will carry you to the cave.”

  Indignation bristled. She'd fought long and hard to carve her place in the armed forces. Molly-coddling was not a thing she was used to.

  She pushed past him. “Don't slow down for me, Commander.”

  “Vivien, you don't look…”

  “That’s Captain to you. Look, we're in danger out here. The sooner we find shelter, the better.”

  “We'll find it faster if I carry you.”

  She snorted, staring up at him in a mix of surprise and anger. She looked for any sign of derision, but all she read was concern. She didn’t know how to interpret that, so she settled for annoyance.

  “Don’t be ridiculous.”

  “We need to find the caves before nightfall.”

  He looked around, eyes darting into the fast-deepening shadows. She belatedly realized she should have been doing the same thing. Good God, where was her mind? A wave of dizziness washed over her, and the next thing she was cognizant of was being pressed against a hot, hard chest, cradled like a baby.

  “I said I can walk.”

  Her tongue was thick in her mouth. She pushed against him, trying to slip from his grasp. He didn't even budge. Either he was really strong or she was physically a lot worse than she thought.

  He tightened his hold around her as he peered down at her. “You’re a captain? In your Earth army?”

  The change of conversation stopped her struggling for a moment. It was then she realized she was in his arms and he’d stopped walking to talk to her. She hadn’t just fainted, and he hadn't just picked her up. She'd blacked out for who knew how long. She wasn't sure if that scared her more than the fact that she was held in his arms like a baby. And the fact that she sort of liked it. More than liked it, in fact. She felt… she searched for the right term, slowly finding it. She felt… safe. A foreign concept she really didn’t know what to make of.

  “How did you know that?”

  “You told me, and I quote, 'That's Captain to you'.” He moved around a spindly branch.

  She pursed her lips. Well, that secret was out. “Put me down.” His arms only tightened, and he continued to walk. Orders didn’t work, so she tried another tactic. “Please.”

  He stopped walking and peered down at her. She didn’t want to interpret how she felt about being in his arms with him looking at her just the way he was, so she pushed the emotion firmly aside.

  The sound of a twig cracking sounded as loud as a gunshot. They both turned in the direction of the sound. Hissing and cracking accompanied more snapping underbrush. There was a smack of fire, and a branch snapped from the trunk, close to Striker's head. A streak of fire lit up the trunk.

  A Reptile appeared, a type of gun pointed at them in its front claw. She didn’t think; she launched herself towards the creature, catching its snout with one hand and twisting as hard as she could as she used her momentum. She then spun onto its back, yanking the snout as hard as she could.

  A satisfying snap accompanied its suddenly loose neck. It fell to the ground, Vivien sprawled across its back. The underbrush crashed behind her. There was a hot streak above her head, which had her spinning around. Another Reptile stood over her, the gun pointed right at her head.

  A large figure landed on the ground next to her, pulled the gun out of lifeless claws and fired at the Reptile behind her. A charred, gaping hole appeared in its chest before it toppled backwards.

  “We’ve got to move.”

  She tried to stand, but her limbs were more rubbery noodles than appendages. Arms scooped her up, hefting her high on his chest before they pounded through the forest.

  “I can run!”

  “It won't be fast enough. Hang on. Please.”

  His arms tightened around her to make his point. It was clear he wasn't going to let her go, and truth be told, she didn’t know if it wasn't a good idea anyway. She was shaky inside, as though her insides were liquefying. She reached her arms around his neck, holding herself more firmly to his chest. The moment she tightened her arms, his scent washed around her. Spice, pine and masculinity surrounded her. She pressed her eyelids together for a long moment. She shouldn’t be thinking this. They were running for their lives!

  She was completely losing it.

  Maybe she'd already lost her mind somewhere back on the Nullarbor Plane and all this was some sick fantasy.

  But then she remembered a Reptile appearing from out of seemingly thin air. It grabbed her shoulders, digging into her skin with its claws. Then it had scraped a claw over her palm and tested her blood with its tongue. And then… nothing.

  There was definitely more going on than she could understand, but now was not the time to work it out.

  Striker panted, his breath forming condensation in the air. It was freezing but she was boiling hot. A trickle of perspiration ran between her breasts.

  She clung to Striker's shoulders, but her fingers refused to cling to him no matter how hard she tried to hang on. Blackness encroached her vision, calling out to her, warm and comforting.

  “Fight it, Vivien.”

  Her eyes snapped open. He was stumbling now, feet slipping on gravel, adjusting for the steep slope. She clung to his biceps as best she could, fighting wave after wave of weakness.

  “Reptiles?” Her voice slurred. It was hard to talk; her tongue was twenty times thicker than it should be.

  “Behind us. The cave entrance is just ahead. Hang on, we'll be safe there.”

  She tried to look where they were headed, but it was too much energy to turn her head; instead, she rested her cheek against his chest, listening to his heart pounding. Blackness spiralled at the edges of her vision. She knew she needed to keep her eyes open. Knew she should fight, but she couldn’t seem to care.

  Fight, she had to fight.

  Fighting was all she'd ever done.

  But she was so sick of the fighting. Sick of trying. Sick of carving a path that was just too damn hard. She’d lost everyone she’d cared about and it had been her fault.r />
  The blackness surged.

  “Vivien! Vivien, no!” He sounded scared.

  But she was too tired to care.

  The darkness. Tempting. So tempting. This time when it surged again, she let it wash her away.

  Chapter Seven

  His feet slipped on the gravel as he ran up the slope. He fell to his knee, the sharp edges of stones cutting through his pants and into his kneecap. Sharp pain shot up his leg, but he didn’t let it stop him. Reptile hissing and clacking seemed to echo between the shadows of the trees, but safety was within arm's reach.

  Vivien was limp and lifeless in his arms, and he held her protectively to his chest. He wound his arms firmly around her, pushing through the pain and gravel and airless lungs. She was entirely at his mercy, and he was going to do his duty. No. Not just going to; he wanted to. His little human Captain didn’t deserve to be at the mercy of Reptiles.

  The entrance was relatively obscured by scraggly branches, as though the trees were trying to hide it with leaves that were too thin and branches too sparse. Without his Seeker showing him where it was, he wouldn’t have seen it. Hopefully, the Reptiles wouldn’t see it either.

  One step. Two. Slip. Fall. Grit teeth. Surge up and go. Fire in his thigh where he'd been shot. His fault. He'd been making too much noise, and they were discovered.

  Vivien's arm fell from her lap and swung to the ground. Her knuckles scraped against a rough boulder leaving a smear of red blood, but she didn't even twitch. That was bad. If he didn't give her the antidote soon, she would never come around again.

  Air dragged harsh in his lungs, and his heart thundered in his chest. A snap behind him. He whirled around. Nothing but deep shadow, but he could almost feel them clawing his back. Two steps. One. He launched through the entrance and straight into shadows dark enough to blind him. Finding a wall, he leaned against it, tucking Vivien closer against his heaving chest. Her hair was mostly out of the tight bun she'd had it in and hung like golden strands of silk over his forearm.

  His breathing was making a huge noise. He fought to bring it under control, breathing through his nose to be as quiet as he possibly could. His legs trembled as adrenaline coursed through him, demanding he move. His fingers clawed into Vivien's clothing so he didn't drop her.

  The guttural sounds of Reptiles alerted him. They stepped from the line of trees he'd just dove through. There were four of them, just on the other side of the scrub. They lumbered around, their ungainly boots plodding on the ground, ploughing over his footsteps. If they looked close enough, they'd see his path but the more they walked about, the more they obscured his trace. Luckily, they were short-sighted.

  One tilted its head back. A long tongue darted out, wiggling around and tasting the air. Then he remembered, they might be short-sighted, but their sense of taste more than made up for it. It reminded him of one of Earth's snakes, and he remembered Lauren referring to iguanas when she described the Reptiles. It suited them.

  He clung to the wall, muscles screaming and cramping, but he didn’t move a muscle. He was hidden within the cave, but he was close to the entrance. One false move, and they’d sense him. One Reptile stepped towards the cave. The one who'd tasted the air.

  Every muscle in his body tensed as it wandered close to the entrance. Perspiration trickled from his temple to his chin, yet he didn't move to wipe it away. He clutched the Reptile’s phaser, aiming it at the creature. He didn't want to give away his position, but he'd kill it if he had to. One less Reptile in the universe couldn't come too quickly.

  Striker’s finger tightened on the trigger, his mind working. He'd shoot and then run as fast as he could into the cave. At least he'd stand a slight chance inside rather than in a forest out there swarming with Reptiles. The creature leaned forward, eyeing the branches outside. One long, steady breath. Slip the safety off. Line it up with its skull.

  At the sound of rustling leaves, the Reptile cocked its head, its small, beady eye glinting. A small, dark blue furred creature scampered along a branch, jumping from one to the other, and darted away. The Reptile jerked backward and was rewarded by the chuffing sounds of his teammates' laughter. The Reptile grunted and stepped back to its mates.

  Striker closed his eyes in relief. The Reptiles sauntered away, crashing through the underbrush with no regard for stealth. How they thought they'd catch him by surprise, he didn’t know. Apart from their ability to mind-enslave people, there was no particular reason why they'd been able to take over entire galaxies like they had. Vivien’s question had sparked off a line of thought that had never occurred to him before. After a moment, they disappeared back through the trees. Minutes passed as he stayed still as a statue, but they didn’t return.

  The chilled air seeped through his clothing, bordering on frigid. He had to keep Vivien safe and well, and that meant finding somewhere more protected to administer the antidote.

  Her face was bathed in the dim light. Long, half-crescent eyelashes fanned beneath her eyes. So delicate and feminine, but beneath her eyes, purplish shadows marred her perfect skin. Her skin was damp with perspiration. She wasn't well, and time was of the essence.

  He set the lighting function on his Seeker. Demure light filtered enough to illuminate his surroundings. He limped to the back of the cave, ignoring the burning of his thigh, to find a clear space to lay her down, but instead of finding a wall, the cave narrowed into a tunnel.

  He couldn’t believe his luck. If he could find a corner, he might even be able to start a warming fire and remain out of sight from the entrance. The sides of the tunnel were made from the same dark blue stones he climbed up to get to the cave. The rock glistened as though it was wet, but when he brushed up against it, his hand came away dry. Whatever mineral it was, it was beautiful.

  He followed the close cropped walls. They remained relatively straight, the floor hard-packed dirt. He lay her down to administer the antidote. He settled her into a sitting position against the wall and dove into this pocket, fishing out a small, oblong, metal container. He removed the end. The clear liquid inside seemed to glow. It lit up the minerals in the blue rock, glittering like stars.

  Her head fell forward, her hair creating a soft curtain around her face. He lined the end of the capsule to the jugular vein on her neck and depressed the button. He didn’t know what to expect but she didn't react at all. Nothing. Her breath didn’t hitch, and she didn't moan. She didn't even move.

  He just hoped like hell he wasn't too late.

  Now to find somewhere comfortable. He picked her up as though she were made of the softest material. Her scent drifted over him. Cinnamon with a hint of apples and feminine salty sweat. He mentally groaned. Now was not the time to notice things like that.

  Not the way she smelled, or the curve of her cheek, or her plush mouth or the way she just seemed to fit in his arms. He was attracted to her. He knew that the moment he'd woken up after she'd cracked him on his thick skull. He liked that she had fire and could look after herself, but whatever it was he saw in her, went deeper than that, if he truly honest with himself. He’d never felt anything quite like it before.

  The fact that she'd been looking for those missing females. The fact that she was a Captain in the human military. The amount of tireless work and determination that went with it. Although females were commanders in the Interspecies Council, seen for their merits rather than their sex, he knew Earth was different. It was a patriarchal society. Even in more moderate cultures, there was what he knew the females of the planet to term - the glass ceiling.

  There was one thing for sure - this little female had fire in her stomach, and she wasn't afraid to use it.

  Her face slipped into his neck, her breath washing over his skin. She was so soft. So perfect. Her touch was addiction. Her full lips were a duskier pink than that of her skin. Her skin flawless and pale. Her lashes long – the perfect frame for such soulful eyes.

  His skin prickled with awareness. Alongside with the thrumming sexual awareness,
something more, something almost urgent washed through him. A force. A connection. He knew if something happened to Vivien, he would be affected. He’d seen war, been in untold battles, knew the toll but also knew it was a price people were prepared to pay. A man lived with that. Accepted it. But with the woman in his arms, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to accept it just as much as he had.

  A draft of warm air washed over him. He wiggled through the tunnel that was not much more than a crack, but when he stepped through, he thanked the Maker he’d kept going. A shallow stream ran though the blue sandy bottom of an open cave, trickling soundlessly in a lazy curve. Iridescent lights twinkled on the walls and ceiling, sparkling like starlight in a never-ending display of tiny lights. Electric blue and purple vines erupted from a central point in the ceiling and cascaded over the ceiling and walls, to end in a froth of large blue leaves edged with bright magenta. The effect was sublime and unexpected.

  And also, hopefully, safe.

  Vivien was shivering, her skin icy. He needed to get her warm. He settled her in the soft, dry sand and proceeded to make a pallet from leaves dotted about before placing her on top. Her teeth chattered. A sheen of sweat coated her skin. Her hair plastered to her scalp.

  He collected various twigs and branches that were scattered about and built them into a pile. Luckily there were a lot of them about. He aimed his Seeker and directed a beam of intense energy onto the pile. The twigs sparked to life in a crackling fire.

  She needed to drink. Ignoring the throb in his thigh, he hobbled to the water. Setting a function on the Seeker, he quickly scanned the cleanliness of the water. Clean, thank the Gods. He scooped some water into a large, cupped leaf.

  He propped her head up and dribbled some liquid between her lips. Water ran over her lips and down her chin, and he could only hope some of the liquid managed to make it down her throat. He drank some of the cool water as well. It was surprisingly sweet. The liquid hit his stomach, tingling, and then coolness released into his bloodstream.

  His leg throbbed incessantly. He removed his pants, studying his damaged thigh. The phaser had left a burn over the length of his thigh. His flesh gaped, the blackened sides of the wound a macabre frame. Blood oozed from deep within the wound.