by Lily Thomas
Abducting the Ambassador
Lily Thomas
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2018 by Lily Thomas
Cover created by SelfPubBookCovers.com/FrinaArt
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce the book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information email [email protected]
www.lilythomasromance.com
ISBN: 9781977042453
ISBN: (ebook) B079FJD3NH
Chapter 1
Susan sat inside her cabin reading over a treaty on her tablet. She slid her finger over the screen to flip to the next page. It wasn't light reading, but she had to review this material before her ship got to Miridor. The Miridorians were a fascinating people with their ceremonies and traditions. They'd be an easy people when it came to negotiating a treaty.
Just because she wasn't worried about meeting with their delegates that didn't mean she couldn't study up enough, just in case things turned sour. The Miridorians had six arms, and she had to make sure she shook the right one or she could wreck Earth's probability of signing a treaty with them.
Treaties between Earth and its surrounding neighbors were becoming extremely important. Earth had made a few enemies in recent years, especially with the Sri'thaens. They'd begun to cause some ruckus about humans not obeying alien laws and intruding in other people's territories. So far, it was just some grumbling, but it was another matter that would fall onto her plate at some point.
Susan flipped to the next page. Not only did she have to shake the right hand, but she'd have to sit through forty-three hours of entertainment without falling asleep. What kind of entertainment? She had no idea, but she hoped it was something she enjoyed because forty-three hours was a lot of time to stay awake. Don't get her wrong, she loved her job, but it was hard and full of pressure that some people wouldn't understand.
She was the face of humanity. She had to be on her best behavior, and slowly, over time she'd changed. The job was first and foremost, and Susan had done whatever was needed to keep it. There were always people vying for her position since she was only second to the president of Earth. It was a position highly sought after.
She placed the tablet on the table beside her seat and rubbed her eyes vigorously with her palms. A break was called for before her eyes became bloodshot.
Susan rose from her seat, and immediately her back screamed at her. Susan groaned as she placed her hands on her lower back and stretched backward. Her spine popped, and she let out a sigh.
Exiting her cabin, she proceeded to the mess hall.
"Hey, Ben." She smiled as one of her guards followed her through the halls.
"How goes the studying for your next assignment?"
She looked over at him. "Same old same old. Laws and cultural differences that I need to remember and keep straight, lest I lead us into a war."
Ben tossed her a boyish grin, and her heart skipped a beat.
If only, but she didn't have the time, and it was frowned upon to get involved with a bodyguard. That was fine. He was good eye candy, and he provided her something to look forward to in her day. He was someone she could speak with, and so far, had been a trustworthy friend.
"How much longer do we have until we arrive at Miridor?" Susan asked.
"Captain has said a couple more days."
"I hoped we might be closer." She wanted to get the greeting over and out of the way. She was ready to meet the Miridorians and fine tune the treaty between their two people.
The ship shook hurling Susan into a wall, where she slumped to the ground in a heap. Ben righted himself first and bent over her.
"Are you alright?" His hands ran over her body.
Susan brushed her frizzy red hair out of her face. "Yeah, I'm fine. What was that?"
"I'm going to find out." Ben got up and walked over to a communication panel. He hit the button with a thumb. "Bridge, what's going on? We were just thrown about down here."
No answer came through the comm system.
"Maybe we hit some turbulence." It was the most likely explanation.
"Bridge!" He tried again.
"It's just turbulence." Susan brushed it off. It had to be because the other possibility was a bit terrifying.
"Maybe." Ben glanced at them. "I'd better get you up to the bridge, just in case."
Susan had hoped for some food, but he was right. Without knowing what was going on, they had to get her to a better-protected area of the ship. Hopefully, they'd get to the bridge only to find out they'd hit an anomaly so that she could head to the mess hall for some lunch.
"Come." Ben ushered her forward.
They made it through a couple of corridors when the lights flickered and then went out showering them in darkness.
"I don't think we hit an anomaly," Susan mumbled into the murkiness. "Unfortunately."
"It's too soon to know anything. Give the backup systems a second," Ben said, always calm and collected, never running to conclusions.
Dim red lights blinked on, lighting the hallways, but gave the whole interior of the ship an eerie glow.
For the first time in a long while, Susan felt a little fear creep down her spine.
"Stay behind me, while I lead the way to the bridge."
She nodded and then realized he probably hadn't seen it in the dim lights. "Right."
She watched as Ben took out his plasma pistol and slowly led the way to another corridor. He pressed his back against the wall and then peered around the corner.
"There's movement further down this hall."
"Are you trying to say you think someone's boarded our ship?" Susan whispered back. Great. They were probably here for her. She was the only person of interest on this ship. No offense to anyone else, but... it was true.
"We can't be sure until we reach the bridge." He whispered back as he popped his head back out to see if there was any more movement. "Whoever it was must've passed by us. We'll keep moving."
Ben stepped into the hall, and before she even blinked, he flew to the ground as a plasma shot hit him square in the chest. Popping her head out into the corridor she saw some human soldiers shooting at whoever had boarded them further down the hall, and Ben had stepped into the crossfire on accident.
She covered her mouth in horror as shots kept flying past his head. He could die if no one pulled him to safety!
Susan bit her lip. She shouldn't put herself in danger, but she couldn't just stand back and watch as plasma shots blasted past Ben's body. He wasn't moving, so he might already be dead, but she hoped for a better outcome than that. He was still young and had a lot of life to look forward to, like having children.
If she made it out of this alive, she might face a court-martial for what she was about to do.
Sucking in a deep breath, Susan leaped forward and dove to shove Ben's prone form out of the way. A shot hit her on the side, and she went down before she could budge Ben out of the way. Turning over on the ground, she watched as plasma shots flew right past her nose.
Her vision slowly faded to black. Turning her head to the side she saw Ben's chest rise and then fall, but it never rose again.
She'd been right. The shot had been a fatal one, and now she'd been hit. Her vision went black, and she lost consciousness.
Chapter 2
Susan's eyes cracked open and then shut immediately when harsh lights greeted her. All she could remember was getting shot, and then everything had turned dark for her. Where was she now?
Cracking h
er eyes open she looked around. She appeared to be on a medical bed, but the medical bay around her wasn't impressive by any means. She would've expected better for the ambassador of Earth.
"Where am I?"
"Mallery?"
Susan rose up on an elbow slightly so she could turn her head in the direction of the voice.
"Who are you?" Susan found it difficult to clear the fog from her brain.
"You don't know me, but I'm Dr. Zoe Anderson." The woman said as she rose from her seat near the medical bed and came to stand beside her.
"Where am I?" Susan's hand came up to her forehead. There was a pounding headache in her temple, and she wondered how long she'd been out.
"Do you know what happened to you? How you got here, on this ship?" Zoe asked as she picked up a pad.
Susan shook her head and winced. "No. Sorry. One moment, I was traveling to another planet, and then I woke up here. Wherever here is."
Susan gave another glance around the room. It was definitely a medical bay, but it was super outdated, which made her wonder where she was. She was an ambassador, and she usually received top-notch medical care, but this was not that.
"I'm sad to say you were kidnapped," Zoe informed her.
Susan felt her eyes widen in disbelief. "By you?"
"No!" Zoe shook her head vehemently. "We've both been kidnapped by a crew of Daen'su. You were kidnapped as part of some deal on the Daen'su black market, and I was kidnapped to save your life after you got shot."
"I was shot?" Susan tried to raise herself into a sitting position and winced. Her hand went to the pain in her side, feeling the tender, healing skin.
"Easy," Zoe said, as she helped her into a sitting position.
Susan pulled up her shirt, not knowing what to expect. "It doesn't look too bad."
"Your burns have been healed, for the most part. We placed you into an induced sleep to accelerate your healing. You'll experience a little pain and soreness for the next few days, but your recovery is assured."
Zoe frowned over at her. "Ideally, I'd check to make sure you're coming out of the coma with no lingering effects to your mental capacity, but I'm afraid that's impossible."
Susan raised a hand to her head and gave Dr. Anderson a worried glance. She didn't like the idea of an unknown health issue hanging over her head. "Why?"
Zoe waved her hand around. "Unfortunately, our captors haven't provided us with much of a medical bay. Just be happy I've given you some drugs for any pain. We did stop at a Daen'su outpost, which is how I was able to treat you properly. I convinced our kidnapper that it would be in his best interest to ensure you were alive and healthy for his client."
"Of course, that leaves us in a much better position to attempt an escape now. There is no way I could have gotten us both out of here while you were injured." Zoe paused and quirked an eyebrow. "Unless you want to be sold to an unknown buyer for unknown reasons."
"Not really. So, what's the game plan?" Susan swung her legs off the medical bed and stood with a hand gripping the side of the bed for balance. She felt like she had the worst hangover with how much trouble she was having with standing up straight. Jumping in front of a barrage of plasma shots had not been her smartest idea.
"We need to take an escape pod and find a safe planet to land on."
"So…no plan then." Susan filled in.
Dr. Zoe Anderson smiled. "No, but it's the start of one. We have to do something."
Susan nodded and sent a wan smile her way. "At least I'm not alone in this. I couldn't imagine waking up on this ship and trying to escape on my own." Well, she could imagine it. It would probably end with her getting herself killed. She might be an ambassador, but she seemed to be getting a lot of bad luck thrown her way lately.
Zoe grinned back. "Yeah, I've already been there. I wasn't so successful on my solo attempt." She tapped her lips with a finger. "We'll have to wait for the right opportunity. I need to take care of the captain, or he'll be on us in a matter of seconds."
"Sounds good." Susan fell back on the medical bed. "I think I need a few hours anyway. I need to wrap my head around what's going on and let this pain subside a little."
"At least you aren't freaking out and ripping all your hair out and getting hysterical." Zoe regarded her with admiration. "Most people would not be handling this very well. Then again, as an ambassador, I imagine you're used to tense situations and thinking on your feet."
Susan let out a short laugh. "I've never been in a situation quite like this before, though." She sobered. "Do you know who they are selling me to?"
Zoe returned her gaze. "No. I only found out today exactly who you are and that their client is paying something like twelve million credits for you."
Susan let out a long whistle. "Damn, that's a lot of credits. Good to know I'm worth something." It wasn't. She feared whoever would want her so badly that he'd pay such a hefty sum for her. Who had she pissed off recently? No one that she could think of, but she had a lot of interactions with a lot of people.
Zoe smiled. "All I can guess is that this client, whoever he is, wants you because of any knowledge you have on Earth."
"Good thing I've been trained to withstand torture." Susan shuddered. "Not that I want to put my training to the test, mind you."
"How does someone get trained to withstand torture?" Zoe threw her a quizzical look.
"It was a joke. A bad one. Must be my head," Susan said, rubbing her forehead above one eye. "Although they did teach me a few things in case of a kidnapping." Susan lowered her gaze. "I didn't think I'd ever have to use them."
When she'd gone through the training, she laughed at it. Susan was always surrounded by a mass of soldiers. It had seemed like such a far-fetched idea.
Zoe gripped Susan's hand. "Hey. We don't know what's going on here and guessing isn't going to get us anywhere."
Susan squeezed her hand and gave Zoe a grateful smile. "You're right. Now you go take care of the captain, and I'm going to lie down here and contemplate a career change."
Dr. Zoe Anderson left the room, allowing Susan a moment to digest all the information she'd received. Dear lord! Kidnapped! This was all she needed. Susan couldn't help but think about who would take her place while she was gone. Not only was this kidnapping going to be an embarrassment, but it could help the vultures steal her job from under her nose.
She rolled over on the medical bed, making sure to only lay on her good side. What she needed now was rest, not more things to worry about that would just cause her stress.
"How are you feeling?" Zoe's voice rang out, as Susan heard the medical bay door open.
"I'm doing well, thank you. Whatever you gave me has taken all the pain away, and I feel like I could run a marathon." Susan exaggerated.
"I wouldn't recommend it quite yet," Zoe said with a small smile. "Your body still needs to have some more recovery time. Maybe taking small walks, and then building up for marathons would be best."
"You're the doctor." Susan rose carefully and swung her legs over the side of the bed. "What brings you by?" She glanced over to where Zoe stood.
"It's time for us to try an escape attempt." Zoe grabbed a small bag and stuffed some necessary medical supplies into it.
"What's the plan?" Susan stood cautiously testing her ability to stand on her feet. Thankfully she seemed to be doing a lot better than earlier. Then she helped Zoe with the packing, her voice full of excitement.
"We take an escape pod and hope for the best," Zoe admitted.
"Have you disabled their sensory systems, so they won't detect the escape pod leaving the ship?" Susan asked.
"No." Zoe glanced over at her. "I have no idea how to do that. Do you?"
"Get me to an access panel, and I'm pretty sure I can do it." It'd been part of her training. She'd never had to use it in a real-life situation, but there was always a first time for everything.
"More training you received?" Zoe asked. "Maybe I should get myself some training, not that I
expect to be kidnapped again."
"An ambassador has to be ready for anything," Susan responded, pretending to be absorbed in deciding between one roll of bandages and the following, identical roll. She hadn't been ready for anything, or she wouldn't have been kidnapped.
Zoe shrugged. They filled up their pack, and then Dr. Anderson led the way out of the medical bay.
They made their way through the corridors carefully. Susan was glad Zoe was helping her since she already knew the layout of the ship. A few minutes later, they made it to the escape pods without coming across any of the Daen'su.
"Ok. Give me a second here," Susan said as she used a console to make their escape more foolproof. "There." Susan turned around to face Zoe. "Now they shouldn't detect the escape pod leaving the ship."
"You have to teach me this when we get to safety."
"No problem, but let's see if it even works first. It's not like I've ever had to use this before."
Both the women piled into the small escape pod. Susan watched as Zoe glanced around the tiny shuttle, more like a tin can. She sure hoped Zoe knew what she was doing. The door closed as they snapped in their harnesses, and the pod shot itself off into space.
Through the window of the escape pod, Zoe and Susan watched the Daen'su vessel disappear into the inky black of space.
After cramming into an escape pod, Zoe had ejected them into space and tried searching the area for any planets in range of their tiny escape pod engines. According to their sensors, there were no planets nearby. Wherever their captors had been taking them, it was far from any civilization.
Zoe turned away from the discouraging news on the pod display and regarded Susan. "So, who wants you?" she asked.
"Excuse me?" Susan glanced over at Zoe as she struggled to find a new position in the cramped space. Couldn't escape pods be a little more comfortable for their occupants?
"Well, who would be willing to pay millions of credits to get their hands on you? Surely you have some ideas. Maybe an enemy you made during super-secret ambassador negotiations?"
