Jakke (The Azziarin Series Book 1)

by Hannah Davenport

  “If he is with the Human that rescued Sammie, then that is good news.”

  And then there was the other nagging question. Why would Takkeo stay with a Human for this long without seeking out one of the troops? He needed to find Takkeo; only then would he know what had happened.

  A short while after second meal, Jakke received word that the Conqueror had arrived.

  As he headed to the cargo bay to greet Kollin, here was so much to do, so much to plan for. With the extra manpower, Jakke felt certain they could find one primitive female skirting around in the city. His men were skilled soldiers with advanced equipment.

  Standing next to Kavvan in the cargo bay, Kollin, along with three others, descended the steps. Walking over, Kollin extended his forearm; Jakke clasped it in greeting.

  “Jakke, it’s nice to see you, brother.” Although Kollin smiled, Jakke noticed the strain around his eyes. “Any word on Takkeo?”

  “I am glad you are here.” Jakke nodded and the two of them headed shoulder to shoulder out of the cargo bay and down the corridor. “We have a lead, but we still have not located him as of yet.”

  “That is good news.”

  “Yes. The Tureis kidnapped one of my males. A Human female, who Sammie says carried Takkeo’s smell, rescued him. We have concentrated our efforts toward finding her, hoping she leads us to Takkeo.”

  “That is a good sign, unless she’s working for the Tureis.”

  Jakke stopped abruptly. Turning, he faced Kollin. “I do not believe she is.”

  “Probably not, since she rescued your male. What is your battle plan?”

  “To double troops on the ground; that will give us twice the area to set up watchers.” Jakke threaded a hand through his hair. “I just hope we have enough people to keep her from slipping around us unseen.”

  Kollin’s eyes narrowed as a sinister smile crawled up his face. “Let her try.”

  Sitting in Jakke’s ready room, the two of them devised a plan, organized the troops, and waited for nightfall.

  Later, from the bridge, they watched shuttle after shuttle leave the ship, heading for Earth. Jakke had a good feeling.

  When all the shuttlecraft had left, Jakke drifted up next to Kavvan. “We will be in my ready room.”

  “Yes. Commander.” Jakke had no doubt that Kavvan would notify him immediately when they found the female.

  Jakke waved Kollin into his office first, then headed over to the small bar. Pouring a glass of Fire’s Breath, he handed Kollin the glass, then poured his own before taking a seat.

  “Have you heard from the others?” Jakke asked, sipping his drink. This was the most relaxed he had felt since he learned that Takkeo was missing.

  “Dazz is on his way, as well as Zekke.”

  “And Father, does he know?” Jakke hoped not. His father still grieved the death of their mother. The last thing Jakke wanted was for him to think his youngest son might also be dead.

  “No, not that I am aware.”

  “I think given the circumstances, it is best to keep this to ourselves. At least for now.”

  “Agreed. He and Risshi could not handle the possibility of losing Takkeo.”

  Risshi, Jakke hadn’t thought of him. Of all the siblings, Jakke, Kollin, Zekke, and Dazz were warriors, trained to lead, to kill. Risshi and his sister Kattlyn were closer to their mother. And even though Kattlyn would never be given the choice, Risshi wanted no part of military life.

  Jakke refilled their mugs as they talked about mundane things, but his mind never strayed far from the mission at hand.

  Chapter 6

  Sydney

  Mike’s leg appeared to be healing faster than normal (or at least, normal for a Human). He was moving a little better—sitting up, twisting around to whichever position he wanted. That was good news for Sydney. Her muscles were enjoying the vacation.

  Now they needed an end game and an exit strategy, and fast. He couldn’t remain here until his leg healed completely. And even though she mostly trusted him, she still didn’t want to chance being alone with him once he was healed; his strength could easily overpower her, if he chose.

  The bottom line was, Mike needed help. And yet, she couldn’t approach his people. What would be the point? If Mike couldn’t understand her, the chances were that the other white-haired aliens couldn’t either. And even if they could, she would be exposing herself further, risking her life and freedom.

  Ugh, she thought irritably. What a conundrum!

  Maybe if she fed him a lot more protein, he would heal enough to climb the steps. Sydney felt certain she could sift through the wood and somehow make some crutches. Then they could find his people, who would be so happy to see Mike, she could just sneak off and they’d never notice. That sounded like a plan.

  But first…

  “Hey, Mike, I need to find us some more food. You eat a lot.” She shot him a cheeky grin to lessen the accusation, knowing that he couldn’t understand. But it made her feel better. “I think I’ll go back to the last place and grab more chicken and tuna. Let’s hope the other raiders haven’t found my goldmine.”

  Standing, he watched as she slipped into the black fleece jacket before twirling her hair up and putting the hat on.

  “Wish me luck!” She wrapped the black cloth around her face, covering everything except her eyes. After grabbing the backpack, she glanced back. “Be back in a few hours.”

  And then she left.

  Luck was on Sydney’s side—she could feel it in the air. The streets seemed mostly deserted and there were no explosions. Perhaps the two species had declared a truce. Now that would be nice. She only saw one gray alien as she inched her way over to the store.

  It didn’t seem to take as long to get there, now that she knew where she was going.

  A grin spread across her dirty face when she spotted the untouched canned goods.

  “Yes!”

  She punched the air. Cans of tuna, chicken, and even salmon remained on the shelf. It was sheer luck that nobody else had found this place. Again, she filled the backpack, trying to stuff it with as much as it could possibly hold. They would eat well, and tonight, Mike could have all he wanted.

  Hefting the backpack over her shoulder, Sydney pushed open the door, allowing the fresh air to brush around her eyes.

  She frowned.

  Something’s wrong…

  The strangest feeling made her hackles rise, tingles racing down her spine. She knew someone was watching her. Call it a sixth sense, but it gave her the heebie jeebies.

  Not seeing anyone, she crept carefully through the streets of the abandoned city, making sure to turn the opposite direction before doubling back. She zigzagged, taking random routes and turning in circles, hoping to shake that awful feeling. It took a least two extra hours to get home, but better to be safe than sorry.

  Taking the wooden steps down, Sydney plastered a smile on her face despite the uneasy feeling settled deep in her gut.

  “I’m home.” She tore off her gear and tried to shake away her anxiety. Everything would be okay; it had to be. She hadn’t worked this hard to lose it all now.

  Keeping up the facade, she dropped the backpack in front of Mike. “You’ll never guess what I found…salmon! I don’t know how I missed it last time, but it’s full of protein and I know you’ll love it!”

  After opening the can, she handed it to Mike. He sniffed and grinned before digging in. His smile no longer scared her as she grinned back, opening a can of chicken for herself.

  That feeling grew heavier, and every few minutes her eyes slid to the entrance.

  A loud noise rushed to her ears as the covering to her basement was thrown away. White-haired aliens poured down the steps. Sydney jumped to her feet, dropping her can and backing away from everyone, hands up. When one of the aliens grabbed for her arm, she spun around, trying to get out of his reach. She cried out as the room spun dizzily, then something hit the back of her head.

  ________

&nbs
p; “Takkeo, are you okay?” Sagge asked as he knelt in front of the couch.

  “Yes. Make sure the female is okay, and don’t let anyone hurt her!” Takkeo ordered.

  Sagge looked over his shoulder at the female lying in a heap on the floor.

  “No one touch the Human,” he ordered, although she was of no concern to them. “And notify the Commander that we have Takkeo.”

  “She comes with us,” Takkeo said firmly.

  “No. She stays.”

  “She had nothing to do with what happened. She helped me, and I will not leave her injured and alone. She could die—I will not allow that,” Takkeo replied sternly.

  “Fine. You can inform the Commander.”

  Takkeo nodded as Sagge helped him to his feet, bearing most of his weight.

  “Someone carry the female,” Sagge ordered.

  Jakke

  Jakke and his brother were still sharing a drink when Oberron called. They both fell silent, sharing a glance.

  “Go ahead,” Jakke answered.

  “Commander, they have located the female and are attempting to follow her.”

  A breath of air rushed from his lungs. “We will be right there.”

  Standing on the bridge, they waited. It was tense as the males kept losing the Human female’s trail.

  “Tricky, that one,” Kollin whispered.

  “Yes, it would seem so.”

  One primitive female being able to lose his soldiers that many times spoke of her own cunningness. They listened to the transmission from the ground.

  “I have her in sight.”

  “She just turned left. I repeat, she turned left.”

  “I do not see her. Where did she go?”

  Five minutes later, they heard: “I see her! She’s heading south.”

  “I have her.”

  Two deeply strained hours passed until finally Jakke heard: “We have Takkeo. His leg is badly injured, and he is unable to walk on his own.”

  That explains why he didn’t reach out to anyone on the ground, Jakke thought, breathing in instant relief. He couldn’t.

  Jakke and Kollin shared a happy glance. They had found their little brother, and he had only injured his leg. The Tureis never had him.

  “Have him sent straight to sick bay. Someone will meet him there.”

  Jakke and Kollin waited in sick bay. After a few minutes, Takkeo hobbled in with Sagge’s help. He looked dirty and thin, and his leg had two pieces of wood secured around it. Strange.

  As Sagge helped Takkeo to a cot, Rykker met them and asked, “Takkeo, what did you get yourself into?”

  Takkeo grinned. “I broke my leg as you can surely tell.”

  “So you wrapped it in wood?”

  Takkeo chuckled, and Jakke knew that he hadn’t suffered any emotional trauma.

  “It did help with the pain,” Takkeo replied.

  As Rykker began to mend it with the hand-held scanner, Takkeo noticed his brothers.

  “Jakke,” he greeted, eyes drifting, then widening in surprise. “Kollin? What are you doing here?”

  “We came to help search for you.”

  Takkeo’s face dropped.

  Seeing Takkeo alive and in one piece, Jakke walked forward and clamped his shoulder. “I’m glad you’re okay and back on board.”

  “As am I.” He looked down at his almost-healed leg. “And glad to have my leg repaired.”

  “When Rykker finishes, meet us in my ready room and you can fill us in on what happened.”

  “I’m almost finished,” Rykker chimed in, “but I do want to check the rest of him over.”

  “I’ll be there soon. Can you have food waiting? I’m starving!” Takkeo grinned.

  “I heard there was a female feeding you.”

  Jakke raised an incredulous eyebrow; here he had been worried sick while Takkeo had been holed up with a harmless Human female this entire time.

  “There was.” Takkeo’s smile faded and sadness covered his face, which was unusual. “She barely had any food, and I’m afraid I ate a lot of it.”

  Jakke remembered how his men had almost missed her, slinking around in the dark. Then she had almost lost them several times while leading them through the tangle of alleys as she doubled back, retracing her steps. His respect grew for the primitive Human female.

  “Hey, Kollin. I’m sorry that I caused so much trouble,” Takkeo added.

  “I heard my little brother was missing and had to come. Surely you did not doubt that?” Kollin asked, cocking his head to the side.

  Takkeo smiled. “I didn’t really think about it. I was never in any danger from the female.” He shrugged.

  Kollin just shook his head and grinned.

  “Let Rykker heal your leg and inject a translator. I’ll see that someone brings food to my ready room.” Jakke ruffled Takkeo’s shaggy hair. “And don’t forget to clean yourself. You smell!”

  “I will. Thanks, Jakke.”

  As the two of them left, Kollin asked, “What are you planning to do?”

  Good question. Jakke couldn’t leave and allow the Tureis believe they had won, but neither could he stay. The last few days had wreaked far too much internal havoc.

  “I think I’m going to take our little brother back to Azziar, so this doesn’t happen again,” he replied after a moment.

  It was the best course of action since Jakke didn’t trust Takkeo not to act foolishly again. Stopping abruptly, Jakke faced Kollin.

  “If I take Takkeo home, I can have the Victory back in three weeks. Can you stay here until then?” he asked.

  “Yes. I would not pass up a chance to kill some Tureis, and if Dazz and Zekke are close by, I’m sure they will be here to assist.”

  Dazzan, known as Dazz, commanded the Defender, and Zekke commanded the Triumph. Their other brother, Risshi, never left Azziar; he preferred to stay at his beach house most of the time.

  “Thank you. I wish to start home as soon as possible.”

  “I’ll head back to my ship immediately. Safe journey, my brother.” They clasped forearms, then Kollin stalked the other way.

  After relaying an order for Oberron to call the soldiers back to the ship, it didn’t take long. The males were in the process of changing shifts, and most were on board. Others were already headed in.

  Twenty minutes later, the Victory left orbit, heading for a wormhole that would take them home.

  Hot food had been delivered as Jakke sat waiting for Takkeo, who soon appeared, walking on his newly mended leg.

  “That smells delicious!” Takkeo pulled up a chair and popped food into his mouth. “Umm, it is good,” he nearly purred.

  Jakke watched with sympathy and curiosity, letting him eat before bombarding him with questions.

  “I guess the female didn’t feed you much,” Jakke mused finally.

  It wasn’t a question, but Takkeo answered anyway. “I ate three times as much as she did. She gave me all she could spare.”

  “What happened, Takkeo? Why did you leave the ship?”

  He swallowed another bite of food before his lips turned down. “I know I shouldn’t have, but everyone was busy, and I just wanted to do something, anything, to contribute.”

  “But leaving the ship without permission?”

  “I know.” Takkeo’s shoulders sagged.

  “So, what happened?”

  “Not long after Sagge dropped me off, I ran into three Tureis. They chased and almost caught me. I headed for the building tops, trying to lose them, which I did. However, when I dropped from the rooftop, I landed hard on the one leg and hit my head. When I regained consciousness, a Human female had dragged me away and hidden me and herself from the Tureis as they passed by. No doubt she saved us from sure death. Then she bore my weight and helped me walk back to her dwelling, where she straightened my leg and fed me while I healed.”

  “I owe her my gratitude.”

  “As do I. That’s why I brought her back with me.”

  Silence.

>   “You what?” Jakke must have heard him wrong. Someone would have informed him if a primitive species had been brought on board his ship.

  “I brought her with us.”

  Jakke jumped up, knocking his chair backward. “On whose authority?”

  “She was injured when Sagge and the others stormed her dwelling,” Takkeo replied hurriedly. “I couldn’t leave her there to die after all she’d done for me! We can heal her and then send her back.”

  Jakke gritted his teeth, trying to calm down. Takkeo’s theory made sense, but he saw things through the eyes of a child, not those of a Commander. He had, inadvertently, just caused a major incident. “Takkeo, why wasn’t I informed until now?”

  “I told Sagge that I would tell you she was here, and so I am.”

  Jakke paced, trying and failing to get his anger under control. His jaw and fist clenched and unclenched in rapid succession. Since arriving at this little blue planet, he hadn’t left the ship. He didn’t even know what these Humans looked like. And then there was the other problem…

  “Takkeo,” Jakke growled, “we are no longer orbiting the planet. We have left the Dreama Sector and are headed home.”

  Takkeo paled as he realized what he’d done. He bowed before whispering, “I’m sorry.”

  And then it hit him.

  Jakke spun. “Where is the female?”

  He couldn’t have an alien running around the ship!

  Takkeo lifted his head.

  “In my quarters,” he replied quietly.

  Jakke reached for the comm unit. “Oberron, meet me outside of Takkeo’s quarters.”

  Turning his attention back to his brother, Jakke sighed. “Let’s go see this Human female, Takkeo.”

  Chapter 7

  Sydney

  Slowly, Sydney drifted back to consciousness. It had been months since she’d felt this warm and comfortable. She fisted the softest blanket she had ever felt, snuggled into it and sighed. She could lay here forever.

  How she had missed waking up in her bed every morning.

  Maybe the invasion…maybe it was all just a bad dream… she mused hopefully.