by S. E. Smith
“No, at least not until I see you and determine if I need to involve them.” Hannah replied. “I’ll make the arrangements now and email them to you later this afternoon. Oh, its night there, isn’t it? I love you, kid. Stay safe until I get there.”
They talked for a few more minutes than hung up. Tink tried to feel guilty about Hannah coming but it was hard to do. She loved her sisters and missed having their companionship. They had always been close. Even with the work Tansy was doing she would drop whatever was going on and come if one of them said they needed help. Heading for the bathroom to finish getting ready, Tink dried and styled her hair until flirty waves hung around her head. Putting on minimal makeup since anything heavy would sweat off on stage she pulled on her favorite black lacy bra and panty set. Pulling on low-rised hip-hugger black jeans and her “Goddess of Wrenches” T-shirt that stopped just below her breasts leaving her firm stomach uncovered, she added a small gold chain around her neck with tear-drop shaped diamonds hanging down and small diamond studs in her ears. Picking up the new gold belly chain she purchased during her shopping trip earlier she slid her feet into soft black ankle boots. She didn’t have her favorite guitar as it was left behind on the space ship the previous Saturday so she would just have to borrow one from the back room. Maybe she could grab the bass guitar again before Gloria got there, she thought wickedly. Grabbing her jacket, she turned and headed down the stairs for the lab to remind Cosmos not forget to eat.
Palming her way into the lab she saw Cosmos sitting at the computer typing in numbers. Walking up behind him she wrapped her arms around his neck from behind and rested her chin on his shoulder.
“How’s it going?” She said cheerfully.
She didn’t want Cosmos to know she was still having problems with her emotions. Moving to lean on the console, she faced him and made sure she had his attention; otherwise she learned from experience, he wouldn’t even remember she had been there.
“Hannah’s coming for a visit next week.” She told him with a nudge.
“What?” Cosmos’ eyes slowly focused on Tink. “Hannah? Oh, that’s great. When will she be here?”
“Not sure. She is going to email me her itinerary later this evening and I’ll let you know. I have to head out to the bar if I’m going to make it there in time to help set up some of the party stuff. Don’t forget to eat.” Tink leaned forward and gave Cosmos a quick kiss. “Don’t forget to take a break every now and then.”
“‘Kay.” Cosmos responded absently.
He was already focused on the screen in front of him again. Shaking her head, Tink walked out of the lab with a quiet laugh feeling sorry for whoever ended up marry him. Whoever fell for Cosmos needed to be as smart as he was and have the patience of a saint when he was working one of his projects.
Purple Haze was buzzing with excitement by the time Tink got there. Besides the regular crowd there were almost two dozen mechanics from the surrounding area there to celebrate Pete’s birthday. Tink got there an hour early to help set everything up. She chatted shoptalk with some of the mechanics from the surrounding towns and got filled in on Pete and Peggy’s two kids and their grandkids. They couldn’t make it there tonight but Pete and Peggy were flying out tomorrow for Florida to meet up with them for a cruise.
“Hey beautiful. I missed you this past week.” Hands came around Tink’s waist and she was pulled into a set of unfamiliar arms. Grabbing the hands that were wandering over her bare stomach, Tink tried to pull away. Putting enough room so she could turn around to face the person who grabbed her, Tink looked up into the face of one of the guys from the week before who tried to get her attention. Frowning, she put her hands on his chest and pushed.
“Let. Me. Go.” Tink said through gritted teeth. “You don’t know me well enough to be grabbing me.”
“I think we can remedy that.” The arrogant bastard said with a smile. “The name is Scott Bachman. Senator Bachman’s son.”
Obliviously he thought dropping his father’s name would impress Tink, she thought vaguely. Tink had been around enough famous people name dropping had just the opposite effect.
“Well, good for you. Now, get your hands off me.” Tink said again pushing even harder than before. For a Senator’s son he was firmer than she expected. She doubted he had done a day’s labor in his life so he must be a health club junky. Whatever he was she was not impressed. She didn’t like anyone pawing her and he was giving off some really negative vibes she wasn’t about to ignore.
Smiling, he slowly released her almost as if saying he was the one in control over when she could be released or not. “I’ll meet up with you later.” Turning and nodding to a guy behind him.
Tink watched him walk away with a look of disbelief on her face. Where did the guy get his ego? Ego-R-Us! Tink placed ‘The Senator’s Boy’ as she named him in the drop-dead file in her mind. She shook her head once more before heading for the storage room the band used to put excess equipment in. She really had to change the neon sign on her forehead that attracted losers.
Chapter 12
J’kar waited impatiently for Brock in the transporter section of the Prime Destiny. The rest of the team had finished gathering the equipment they would need. Derik updated each of their translators to include the English language his bond mate spoke. He also had clothing more recognizable to the Earth inhabitants replicated based on information he received from RITA. Lan was finishing up his preparations for non-lethal weapons. They would only be using stunners since RITA said killing anyone was heavily frown upon no matter how much someone might deserve it. It also would attract unwanted attention from the local authorities. The stunners could be passed off as someone being drunk or on drugs and caused no permanent side effects. His brother, Borj, would remain behind to command the warship and make sure the warship did not move from its current coordinates. Brock emphasized the importance of making sure the warship did not deviate from its current position otherwise they could find themselves opening the portal into space.
It was seven sleep cycles since the female appeared aboard their ship. There were no visible signs of the fight with the Juangans left as everything had been repaired. The second ship was sent ahead with a skeleton crew and was being met by the Prime Challenge, his brother Mak’s ship. He had slept little since then and it was beginning to show. He was at the end of what little patience he had. He growled lowly when Brock entered the transporter room.
“What took you so long?” J’kar growled again as Brock approached him.
Brock smiled, “I wanted to test it once more before we actually used it. The last thing I want to do is walk through a doorway over thin air. I double-checked the coordinates against what RITA had. We should appear in this lab which is where the female lives with the male.”
J’kar’s eyes narrowed as the last words left Brock’s mouth. He felt another growl vibrate in his chest as he thought of the man touching his bond mate. He closed his eyes briefly and took a deep breath. Reaching for one of the portable portal devices Brock held out he gripped it tightly wishing it was the male’s neck.
Brock was explaining how the device would work to take them there and back. Lan would go through first followed by the rest of them within milliseconds of each other. This would give them the advantage of surprise. They were not sure what type of defenses the human male might have in place. They did not even know if he would be there or if he was, if he would be alone. If he was, they would neutralize him and force the whereabouts of the female from him. They would then grab her and get out as quickly as possible. Future trips would depend on how quickly they could get in and out without being detected.
Borj watched as each man checked the equipment to make sure everything was in order. Borj looked at his brother. “May the gods and goddesses be with you.”
J’kar returned his steady gaze. With a tilt of his head, he acknowledged Borj’s support. “Dulu mata ki.” As faith guides. Turning to look from one man to another to see if they were
ready, he looked at Lan and nodded.
Lan pressed the switch to activate the portal, staring as the device glowed and a shimmering doorway appeared. He looked through it quickly before disappearing totally. Within a fraction of a second, three other shimmering doorways appeared and the other men walked through. Borj stood alone in the transporter room hoping for the success of the warriors in their quest. If they were successful it could mean the survival of his people. Speaking into the communication’s link attached to his lapel he ordered two men to stand guard in the transporter room until the return of the warriors. He still had a ship to run and wanted to make sure there were no more surprises waiting for them.
Cosmos forgot all about eating. It was pushing eleven o’clock when he finally felt the uncomfortable rumbling of his stomach. He was analyzing the data from the portal and still didn’t have a clue how it could have bent time and space to such a degree. Pushing his chair back from the computer console, he stood and stretched. He needed some coffee and maybe he would grab some of the chicken Tink bought. He walked up to his second floor living area and made a pot of coffee. While it was brewing he decided he needed a shower. Maybe he would take a break and go see Tink at the bar. He could listen to her and the band for a while and walk home with her.
After a quick shower Cosmos pulled on a T-shirt and jeans. Grabbing a piece of cold chicken out of the refrigerator he poured himself a cup of coffee. Sipping the coffee and taking a bite out of the chicken he headed down the stairs to the lab. He wanted to set up one more analysis before he left. Palming his way into the lab, he had just taken a couple of steps into the room when right in front of the console a shimmering doorway appeared and a tall, dark hair man holding what appeared to be a gun emerged. Freezing, Cosmos barely had time to let out a yell before an electric shock hit him and he collapsed into darkness.
Lan drew his stunner before he walked through the doorway ready for the worst. When he stepped through and saw the man walking towards him, he squeezed the trigger out of reflex. He was a little disorientated by the portal but it passed quickly. Turning as the other men appeared, he silently motioned for them to search the room. Brock pulled a slim computer module from his waist and aimed it at the computer equipment the moment he walked through the shimmering doorway. RITA2 uploaded the translator program into the system while Lan walked over to an unconscious Cosmos and inserted a translator device into his left ear. J’kar and Derik scanned the area for any other life forms.
“Oh dear. You didn’t hurt him did you?” RITA asked anxiously. “You know, he wouldn’t have hurt you if you had just walked in.”
“RITA?” J’kar asked looking around the room. It was filled with primitive equipment compared to what he was used to.
“Yes, and you are?” RITA inquired.
“Captain J’kar ’Tag Krell Manok. Are there others in the building?” J’kar demanded.
“Well Captain, I’m not sure I should share such information with you. Can you give me a reason as to why you would want to harm my Cosmos?” RITA demanded right back with a stern tone.
Clearing his throat, Derik replied. “J’kar, perhaps I should respond to RITA.” He walked over to stand next to Lan. Lan was monitoring Cosmos, who was slowly coming around. Derik spoke loud enough for RITA to hear him. “RITA, we have come for the female who traveled to our warship. She is my brother, J’kar’s, bond mate. You are a part of our warship as well. We do not mean any harm to the male or the female. My brother would give his life to protect the female.”
Derik spoke to J’kar in their native language. “The females on this planet are very romantic and are more likely to help if they believe love is involved.”
J’kar looked at his brother than nodded his understanding. “I mean no harm to the male or the female, to Tink. I only wish to find my bond mate, my ….” J’kar looked inquiringly at Derik. In their native language he asked. “What do they call them here?”
“Wife.” Derik responded with a grin.
“My wife.” J’kar said.
“Tink’s your wife?” RITA squeaked as much as a computer could squeak. “When did that happen?”
“Seven sleep cycles ago.” J’kar responded.
“Mm. Does Tink know she is your wife?” RITA inquired.
J’kar was interrupted from answering by a groan coming from the male on the floor. J’kar walked over to stand over the male who had taken his bond mate. Narrowing his eyes, he watched as the male slowly regained consciousness.
Cosmos groaned as he shook off the effects of the stun he received. Slowly opening his eyes, he recognized the man standing over him as the son-of-a-bitch who looked like he wanted to kill him a week ago. Lunging at the man, Cosmos was quickly grabbed by both arms. Cosmos struggled to kneel on one knee trying to break the hold the two men had on him. He glared at J’kar with a look of pure fury.
“You son-of-a-bitch! Let me go.” Cosmos snarled at J’kar.
“Where is the female you took?” J’kar demanded in a harsh voice. He could smell the female’s presence in the room and on the man. He clenched his fists tight trying to get control of his emotions.
“Took? I brought her home. What business is it of yours anyway? She belongs here.” Cosmos responded in a strained voice. The stun was still causing his body to react weakly and he was fighting the need to slide back down onto the floor.
One part of Cosmos realized the man was speaking another language while another part recognized he could understand him…at least, in one ear. Shaking his head to try to clear his thoughts, he needed to figure out what they wanted with Tink.
J’kar leaned over so he was in Cosmos’ face. He wanted him to know exactly what he was saying and have no doubts about it. “She belongs to me; with me!”
“Are you nuts?!” Cosmos asked in disbelief. He decided to take a different tactic when he heard all four men growl. “Listen, can you ask your two goons to let me go? Obliviously we need to clarify some things.”
He also hoped if he could get up he wouldn’t feel at such a disadvantage. Hell, he was imposing but these guys made him feel like a scrawny kid. This was worse than when he was in grade school before he hit his growing spurt.
J’kar stared at Cosmos a minute before nodding to Lan and Derik to release him. The men slowly released Cosmos and stood back a couple of paces. Cosmos slowly stood, swaying a little. Shaking out the weakness he was feeling, he looked at the man in front of him. What he saw surprised him. For an alien, his physical appearance wasn’t so different then a human. He was tall but not unreasonably so. His facial features were similar though his nose was a little broader then a humans. The only thing that really stood out was his eyes. They seemed to glow with a silver light and right now he could swear he saw small flames in them.
Clearing his throat, Cosmos nodded to J’kar. “My name is Cosmos Raines. I guess I should have expected some kind of repercussion from last week’s little adventure. How is it I understand what you are saying? How did you find us?”
J’kar recognized the man seemed to be trying to come to terms with their sudden appearance. “Lan placed a translator device in your ear while you were unconscious. When…” J’kar paused for a moment, “when you grabbed Tink from my warship she dropped a device. My engineer, Brock, was able to discover its purpose and replicate it.” J’kar nodded to another man who was standing in front of Cosmos’ bank of computers. The man, Brock, glanced up when J’kar said his name and nodded in a way of introduction. Cosmos had a million questions for Brock but didn’t think the irate man in front of him would appreciate his curiosity right then.
“What do you want with Tink?” Cosmos asked hesitantly. He decided he might as well find out what they wanted. If they had gone through this much trouble he needed to know why.
“Where is she?” J’kar asked again. He was impatient to see her, to touch her.
“She’s not here. You answer my questions and if I feel confident you aren’t here to hurt her, I’ll answer your ques
tions. What do you want with her?” Cosmos repeated his last question. He decided if he was going to get any answers he was going to have to have something to barter with.
J’kar let out a deep growl. He was not in the mood to answer questions. He wanted the female. His hand swung up so fast Cosmos didn’t even see him move. J’kar held Cosmos by the throat.
“Where is she?” He growled again his eyes narrowing dangerously.
“Go. To. Hell.” Cosmos gasped standing still and glaring back into J’kar’s eyes defiantly.
Derik reached out and gripped J’kar’s arm. Speaking softly he said. “Brother.”
J’kar stared for a moment more before slowly releasing Cosmos’ neck. “She is my bond mate. What you would call…wife.” Stepping back, J’kar folded his arms across his chest. “We are Prime. My name is J’kar ’Tag Krell Manok, commander of the Prime Destiny and Second Lord Chancellor of Prime.” Nodding to the others, he continued. “The others are Brock, my chief engineer; Lan, head of security; and Derik, my brother and now chief linguistics expert. As you know, we come from a galaxy far from here. We call our home world Baade. It is an advanced culture. On our world, males and females are connected to each other through mating rites. During the mating rites males and females are exposed to each other when they come of age. Mates identify each other through many different ways: touch, smell, voice. If a male and female react to each other a bond is formed.” Raising his left hand J’kar showed Cosmos the intricate circles on his palm. “We call it the life circle. Each circle is different for each bonded pair but the same on the male and female who bond. It can only form if a true bonded mate is found. Our species mate for life. There are not many women on our world. We have searched other galaxies for compatible females but have not found any who we could bond with, until now.”
