Hitched to the Alien General

by Mina Carter

  The woman shrugged. “Legal enough for us, bitch. We don’t need none of your kind sniffing about, gathering intel for them.” She spat toward Xaan. “Fucking alien.”

  “Do you think we should tell her that humanity is descended from Lathar,” Xaan said in an undertone meant for the hate-filled human to hear.

  Kenna shook her head. “It would only blow her mind. She’s not intelligent enough to process it.”

  “You fucking bitch!” Aislinn surged forward, eyes filled with fury as she lifted her rifle.

  “AISLINN!” The guy with them barked out, command in his voice. “Remember what the boss said. Don’t listen to anything they say. And if you kill them now, he’ll be pissed. You wanna end up in a shallow grave with them?”

  Kenna’s heartrate had kicked up as the muzzle of the weapon had swung that way, sliding herself in front of Xaan. His large hands around her shoulders pulled her back to ease her behind him, a small look of reproach in his eyes.

  Aislinn grumbled as she lowered the gun and she backed up a couple of steps, looking over at Sami to bark, “Hurry up. I’m coming out in fucking hives being near these two traitors.”

  “Technically,” Kenna drawled, studying her fingernails. “I’m the only traitor. Xaan’s Lathar anyway. Can’t be a traitor when you’re working for your own people and Stephens over there escaped from a Lathar ship.” At least she assumed he had escaped a Latharian ship given his bot companion.

  She hid her grin as Aislinn processed that little nugget of logic and simmered. Before she could explode, though, Sami finished in the other cell. A glance confirmed that Stephens looked a lot healthier and pinker in the skin as he sat upright.

  “I’m done,” she said quietly, not looking toward Kenna in the cell. She didn’t blame her. The tightness across her shoulders and the tension in her eyes said Sami was scared. Perhaps she was worried the traitor brush would be applied to her as well.

  “Some bloody friend you turned out to be,” Kenna hissed, adding venom into her voice. “Fucking liar like the rest of them.”

  The hurt that welled in Sami’s eyes as she swung toward the cell, her mouth gaping open, was replaced by understanding and gratitude as Kenna disavowed any link between them.

  “Come on,” Aislinn ordered, but her voice was a little kinder now as she nudged the other woman. “Ain’t no helpin’ trash like this. Best stay well away from them.”

  “Thank you,” Sami mouthed over her shoulder as the three trooped out. Kenna sighed and sagged against the wall as the door shut.

  “That was a nice thing to do,” Xaan murmured, brushing his lips against her temple in a quick kiss before moving over to the bars that separated their cell from Stephens’.

  “How you doing in there?”

  The major pushed himself to his feet and stretched carefully.

  “Yeaaaaaannngggghhhh.” His reply disappeared into a drawn out sound as his back arched, arms stretched above his head for a few seconds.

  She joined Xaan, watching the human man stretch. She knew the feeling, the need to be careful. The body could be a little confused after deep tissue reconstruction and healing, still convinced there was damage that would rip and tear if you weren’t careful. Yet at the same time, the body wanted to stretch to test it was actually healed. It was an odd feeling, that was for sure.

  He dropped his arms and gave them a small smile. “Much better. Still a little sore but the wrongness is gone. I’m good to go.”

  She nodded. He looked better. She suspected he’d had internal injuries, but that the healing had patched them up. They’d still need to get him to a medical bay though. Sami wasn’t a qualified medic, so anything she’d done would be a rough job.

  But… they needed to get out of here and off this damn planet first.

  “Remind me I fucking hate colonies sometime?”

  Done stretching, Stephens strode over and checked on the bot. He reached in under a ridge on the neck to press something and then looked at the faceplate and sighed.

  “Still nothing.”

  “Hmmm,” Xaan rumbled, arms folded over his chest. Kenna watched him as he studied the bot and then the cell around it. She recognized it as a worker bot but she didn’t know anything about them.

  Xaan nodded toward the side of the cell, near the bars. “Move it over there. Near to the power lines. It might be able to draw off them.”

  “How?” Stephens asked, grunting as he started to drag the machine across the cell. Kenna started forward, concerned he’d reinjure himself, but Xaan stopped her with a hand on her arm. She didn’t say anything. He was right. If they didn’t get out of here, it didn’t matter much if any of them were injured or not.

  Still, she nibbled her lower lip as Stephens dragged the bot across the cell. She’d never tried to move one, but she’d bet they were heavy. It certainly looked heavy, leaving deep marks in the dirt floor. Finally, Stephens got it to the other side, leaning it up against the cell bars.

  “You really think it can draw power without being plugged in?” she asked Xaan as Stephens threaded the bot’s arm through the cell to rest directly against the cables clipped to the plasticrete wall. He stepped back, arms folded as they all looked at the bot.

  Nothing happened.

  Xaan sighed. “It was worth a shot. These models don’t have charge pods. They need much less power than the avatars, so they just cluster near powerlines when they’re low and draw from them. But our cabling must be different from yours.”

  He started to turn away when suddenly, a light flared in the bot’s eyes and it sat up.

  “K-K-K-k-k—k—k—” it said, the sound trailing off, and then it slumped back. Lifeless once more.

  It had made them all jump but then Xaan crowed in triumph. “I KNEW it!” He hissed, fist pumping the air. “It was just low on power. Leave it there and we should have it operational again soon.”

  He grinned at them both. “Once it’s powered up, it’ll be through these draanthic bars in seconds and we’ll be gone.”

  Kenna couldn’t help but share his enthusiasm. With the bot operational, their shitty situation had improved. They’d be out of here before nightfall and even if they couldn’t get off the planet, they could survive in the wilds until someone came to look for them.

  Then heavens help Dex and his band of murderers because the Lathar sure wouldn’t.

  * * *

  High on the triumph of the bot starting to charge, Xaan had been feeling optimistic. Those hopes were dashed though when the door slammed open again a few hours later. Rob and three other men trooped in. One look at their faces said their time was up. He looked over at the bot, but it was still slumped against the bars, inert. No help from that quarter.

  Draanth.

  “Out! Now!” Rob spat the order as one of the others unlocked first Stephens’ cell and then theirs. “And just in case you should be feeling heroic,” he told Xaan directly as he pulled a handgun and pointed it directly at Kenna, nestled in his arms where they sat leaning against the back of the cell. “She’ll be the first to die.”

  That threat killed any fledgling plans in a heartbeat. He wouldn’t do anything that would potentially bring harm to his mate. He couldn’t. Lathar just weren’t hardwired that way. He’d protect her from everything, even at the cost of his own life.

  “Up, up, up!” he barked as they got to their feet and then marched them from the cells and out of the building at gunpoint. Reaching out, Xaan took Kenna’s hand as they walked toward the central square of the compound.

  He heard the crowd before he saw them, the excited swell of voices as they anticipated the afternoon’s entertainment. His jaw set, teeth clamped tightly. This lot of humans were assholes, every last one of them. His people were often brutal and ruthless, but they didn’t revel in the punishment and harm of others. They used exile and execution yes, but they didn’t enjoy it as some humans seemed to. And even exile didn’t need to be permanent. Unless he was dishonored as D’Corr had been, a wa
rrior could always earn his honor back on the arena sands.

  But humans? These humans? They were well beyond dishonored.

  “Aha! The prisoners,” Dex announced from the clearing in the middle of the crowd. He was sitting at a table in front of them, Aislinn to one side of him and Billy to the other. “Bring them forward. Put them in the dock.”

  The “dock” appeared to be a spray-painted square on the dirt. It was so fresh he could still smell the wet paint, but as he looked, he realized there were older marks there as well. The square had been painted here more than once. It had been painted many times by the look of it.

  “This court is here today to pass sentence on these traitors,” Dex announced to the crowd, waving his hand at the three of them.

  “Hey!” Kenna announced, her voice ringing with anger. “If this is a court, what happened to our trial? You can’t sentence us without a trial and a judgement. That’s not how a court works.”

  Dex gave her a hard look. “We do not need a trial to prove your guilt. You were guilty the moment you took up with… that.” He sneered toward Xaan. “So we’re going straight to sentencing. Given the nature of your crimes, and the fact we do not have the facilities to hold prisoners of this severity long term,” he addressed the assembled crowd in front of him. “I propose that the only appropriate sentence is… the death penalty.”

  “DEATH!” the crowd roared. “Kill the traitors! Kill the alien!”

  Xaan’s blood ran cold, but his training kicked in. He twisted his arm slightly, feeling the comforting press of the blade he’d recovered from his boot there. If he could get close enough to use it… get ahold of a weapon from one of the guards around them, he could perhaps hold them off long enough for Kenna and Stephens to get away. His life would be forfeited, he knew that, but his beloved mate might survive, and that was good enough for him. Perhaps the ancestor gods would smile on him and they’d meet in another life and have the happily ever after they couldn’t here.

  “Dex! Help! Medics!”

  A call from the gates broke through the general chaos and everyone turned to see a group coming through the gates carrying a stretcher. There were gasps of horror at the sight and even from here, Xaan could smell the blood. Whoever was on that stretcher was dead. They might still be breathing at the moment, but they were already dead. No one could lose that much blood and survive. He should know. He’d been there. It had taken the best healer in the empire and a trall-load of luck for him to still be breathing now.

  “Darron?” Dex was on his feet in an instant as the group carried the stretcher closer. Most of them were covered in blood and their faces were haunted. “Oh shit, is that Tracey?”

  “Yeah, we found her in one of the deeper mines,” the guy at the front of the stretcher said. “Must have been some kind of accident with the face-worm cutting the rock down there. I’ve never seen it get someone this bad but…”

  The stretcher was carried in front of them and Xaan froze at the sight of the woman’s injuries.

  “Draanth,” he breathed, ice running down his spine. He looked up, directly at Dex.

  “That’s no accident,” he said, his voice dropping into sudden silence as everyone around them stopped talking, cowed into silence as they looked death right in the face. “You need to get everyone out of those mines now and we need to get off the planet.”

  “Yeah, right. You would say that,” Dex snarled. “Like I’d listen to you. It’s just a mining accident. That’s all.”

  “Trallshit,” Xaan hissed. “There’s a Krin on the planet, and if you don’t listen to me, we’re all going to die.”

  14

  “A Krin?” Kenna whirled around as soon as she was shoved back into the cell, the two guards with them looking worried. “Are you sure?”

  “Perfectly.” Xaan’s reply was short and sharp.

  As the guard shoved him forward, he dug his heels in. The Lathar, while they looked human, were much bigger and far more densely muscled. If Xaan didn’t want to be moved, some weedy-ass bully only brave when he hid behind a gun wasn’t going to budge him.

  He turned, looping one arm up and over, catching the guy’s arm and weapon. Yanking the gun from his hands, the big Lathar reversed his movement and slammed the butt into the guy’s face. Bone cracked and the human dropped like a stone.

  Xaan whirled around to deal with the other guard but Stephens grinned, gun in hand and the other guard in a heap at his feet.

  “Wondered when you were going to make your move.” He checked the weapon in swift, efficient gestures. “Full charge. You?”

  Xaan looked down. The gun seemed ludicrously small in his large hands. His brow creased.

  Kenna smiled and took it off him, checking it over. “Just over three quarters. We’re good.” She noticed Stephens’ look. “Their weaponry and combat methodology is different than ours. They favor single shot and close quarters combat with bladed weapons.”

  “Ahh,” Stephens nodded as he stepped into his cell for a moment to check on the bot. Kenna could have told him there was no point. The thing was as dead as a doornail. “Makes sense. Seems a little… primitive though. You good going out there unarmed?” he asked Xaan.

  The Lathar grinned and a second later a small, viciously curved blade appeared in his hand. “Who said anything about being unarmed?”

  Stephens blinked in surprise and gave a low whistle. “Where the fuck were you hiding that? Wait, I really don’t want to know!”

  “You gotta watch Lathar for that. They’re sneaky-ass bastards. Always assume they’re armed. Even if they’re naked.” Kenna chuckled as she reached the door, peeking out. All clear. “We’re good out here.”

  “Oh really? What would you know about naked Lathar?” Xaan growled in that sexy way he had as he stalked toward her. The possessive gleam in his eyes had her heart almost stalling right there in her chest. She didn’t fight as he hauled her close and claimed her lips in the quickest, most devastating kiss she’d ever been given.

  “You will never think about any other Lathar naked,” he told her when he lifted his head, his voice rough. “Or any other male for that matter. Ever again. I forbid it.”

  “Whatever you say, big guy,” she promised, smoothing her hands over his broad chest. “Can I imagine you naked?”

  His hand spread out over the back of her hips as he pressed them against his own. She couldn’t miss the thickening bar of his cock against her soft belly or the heat in his inhuman eyes.

  “Hey, lovebirds. Mind if we move this along a bit?” Stephens’ voice was amused. “And can someone please tell me what the fuck a Krin is?”

  They both chuckled as they broke apart.

  “They’re apex predators with eight arms that like to eat their victims. Alive.” The rough burr of arousal that had been in Xaan’s voice a moment ago had disappeared as the manner of the general took the place of the lover—clipped and professional. “I think this one is young. That’s why I didn’t recognize the wounds on the bodies in the medical bay. It was like a youngling… When they have no teeth but they’re under the gums and need something to…”

  He looked at Kenna, a crease between his brows as he searched for the right term. He was doing well considering he was speaking English. Sure, she could understand him if he spoke Latharian because of her neuro-translator, but no one else would. So he was winging it, speaking her language.

  “Teething?” she suggested, trying to figure what he meant. “You’re telling me this thing is teething?”

  “Yes!” He nodded. “It’s developing its hunting technique and the best way to devour its prey for maximum enjoyment. They don’t need to eat their prey live,” he added for Stephens’ benefit. “But they say the adrenaline and pain makes it taste better.”

  “Asshole aliens who eat people for a hit. Why the hell not?” Stephens’ face set into grim, determined lines. “Okay, this bastard needs to go down. How do the Lathar usually kill them?”

  “Either we put a full w
ar team on the ground or we retreat to orbit and nuke the planet’s surface. Neither option applies here.”

  Xaan looked out the door and motioned to Kenna to precede him since she was better armed. She threw him a grin as she took point. That was what she loved about him. He might be growly and all possessive-protective but he never once assumed she couldn’t take care of herself.

  They made it halfway across the compound, weaving between buildings to stay out of sight, when the screams started. Kenna snapped a hand up, the two men behind her stopping automatically, and listened.

  “Up ahead,” she said as Xaan and Stephens joined her in cover behind some barrels. “Between us and the gates.”

  “The Krin.” Xaan looked up. It was late afternoon, the sun low in the sky. “They’re normally nocturnal, but it’s young. It can tolerate the light better. If it’s in here, we need to find somewhere to hole up and wait the darkness out.”

  “Loop left?” she suggested, his grim manner worrying her a little. Not the hysterical type, she locked it down tight. “Come around the other side of the main building. It’s made from parts of the colony ship. More defensible.”

  He nodded as screams of pain and terror filled the air. “Sounds like it’s stopped to feed. Let’s move.”

  The compound was a blur as they raced for the main building. They passed a couple of bodies, although that was too kind a word for the broken mass of shattered bones and gore.

  “Dead. Keep going,” Xaan confirmed, hand on her shoulder to propel her forward when she would have stopped at the third, still moaning. It was the older lady from the food hall. Maggie. “It’s bait to make you stop. It’s how they hunt.”

  She nodded. A second later they turned the corner and the door of the main building came into view. The couple from the polyamorous group were in the doorway, assault rifles in hand and grim looks on their faces. The instant the woman spotted Kenna, she waved.

  “GET YOUR ASSES IN HERE!”

  The three sprinted across the main square. There were more bodies but Kenna didn’t let herself look. It was the stuff of nightmares. She knew even the brief glimpses she’d gotten would haunt her dreams for years to come.