Appalled by the commander’s threat, Abby had had no choice but to urge Elaina to comply.
At least Elaina had plenty of milk and didn’t struggle like Cassie. TeShawna was feeding the other new baby, now called Lily, as well as her own Vanessa, but after three days of watching Cassie trying to feed Angel, TeShawna went and stood over Cassie. “Hand her here.”
“No, she’s mine.” Cassie glared at the bigger girl.
“Not if she starves,” TeShawna said coldly before her face softened. “Girl, she’s still gonna be your baby. I’m feeding half the world anyway. Might as well add her to the list.”
Cassie relented and Abby had breathed a silent prayer of relief. Now all of the babies were thriving, even Tiana, who kicked her arms and legs happily whenever she saw Abby coming.
Abby continued to worry about Molly. The young girl seemed to get thinner and more distant every day, retreating into herself. Unlike Amber, who frequently put her hand on her stomach or talked about baby names, Molly seemed as removed from her impending child as she was from the rest of the girls.
By her calculations, both girls had less than a week to go. When she had asked Kwaret if the ship was equipped for childbirth, he had stuttered nervously in a way that did not give her confidence. She found herself torn between hoping they would arrive at their destination, which presumably would have more sophisticated medical facilities, and fearing what that destination would bring.
Their fate was another subject that made Kwaret stutter. The one piece of information she had dragged out of him was that because the girls had already proven themselves to be breeders, they would be of great value and well treated. But where did that leave her? She’d never had a child and her age made it less likely that she ever would. But if she needed to sell herself as a breeder in order to keep Lucie safe, that’s what she would do. As she grimly considered her possible fate, an alarm sounded.
Red lights began flashing in the corridor, along with the piercing shriek of the alarm. Lucie started to cry as the girls sat up, confused and frightened. Abby put her arms around Lucie and rocked her soothingly but her eyes went to the next room. The babies had been awoken as well, Mikie already red-faced and obviously squalling even though they couldn’t hear him. Although Tiana wasn’t crying, her eyes were open and scared.
“What’s happening, Mama?” Lucie sniffled as she started to recover from the shock of being woken so unexpectedly.
“I don’t know, baby.”
The girls started to gather around her. Even Molly roused herself from her usual apathy to join them as they waited in tense silence. The alarm cut off, and the sudden silence became as deafening as the noise had been. The red lights continued to flash as strange men strode into the corridor. Not men, Abby realized, more aliens. Massive, heavily muscled aliens with reptilian features, ridged hairless skulls, and an intimidating array of weapons. She couldn’t help but wonder if they hadn’t fallen from the frying pan into the fire.
Chapter Five
Hrebec stepped into the third transportation bay, already braced for what he would find. The first bay had been packed with majinda plants, which were not illegal to transport but were illegal to sell on Karmad due to their effects on the natives, although he had no proof that was their intended destination. The second bay was filled with illegal furs and mounted specimens of rare species that were under planetary quarantine. Their presence alone would command a long jail sentence for the seven-person crew—now four, since three had foolishly refused to surrender.
As soon as he entered the small area, his appalled gaze went to the incubators. A horrible vision flashed before his eyes: row after row of the plastic domes, gradually growing cold and empty as their efforts failed and the children died. These were not Cire babies, but it didn’t matter. He couldn’t leave them to suffer.
“Get them out of there!” he roared. “Get them out now!”
Sedlit went to the control panel, quickly searching for the entrance controls. In the process, he activated the audio controls, enabling him to hear the infants crying, along with a second set of cries.
As Hrebec strode into the nursery, a distinct sentence halted him.
“Don’t you dare touch them. They’re our children.”
His tail quivered at the sound of the low, furious voice, and despite his desire to free the infants, he found himself turning in that direction. A small figure stood on the other side of the glass. She was most definitely not Cire, but as his gaze traveled from a head of short tousled dark hair to big grey eyes and then down over a very curvy and indisputably female figure, he didn’t find that a lack. His tail twitched and his shaft started to thicken before he forced it under control.
“Who are you?” he demanded.
“I’m Abigail Wentworth. We’re humans, stolen from a planet called Earth, and those are our children. I’m not going to let you take them away.”
Since she currently stood in a Vedeckian cell, there was no way for her to prevent him, but her fierceness impressed him. He also had no intention of separating children from their mothers.
“Sedlit, can you unlock the second room?”
“Just a minute, sir. I think it’s… Yes, that’s it.”
The wall between the two rooms opened. He was vaguely aware of the other females gathering behind Abigail Wentworth, but his attention remained fixed on her. With the panel open, he caught a hint of a sultry sweetness that shot straight to his shaft. His tail curved around in front of his leg, trying to get closer to the female. Her pale eyes, sparkling in the dim light, flickered to the incubators. As she made a wary step in that direction, he noticed a small female clinging to her leg.
“You have a child?”
“Yes.”
An unexpected feeling of disappointment rushed through him. She already had a mate. Stepping back slightly, he gestured for her to proceed. Keeping a wary eye on him, she stepped into the room and gestured for the other females to proceed to the incubators. One hand on her daughter, she followed them, then picked up a… a Cire infant?
“You have one of our children?” he asked sharply.
“She’s mine.” Abigail cuddled the baby with one arm and pulled the older child close with the other.
“She?”
The room literally spun around him as he heard the gasps from his crew.
“Yes. Why does it matter?” Before he could respond, she raised her chin defiantly. “I know that you think female ‘product’ has more value, but I won’t let you take her. She needs me.”
“Did you give birth to her?” he demanded impatiently.
He had experience enough with other races to read the hesitation on her face, and he knew the answer even before she shook her head. Some of his elation died, but he was still overcome to find a female Cire, alive. The Red Death had taken all of their women, and of the few babies to come full term in the artificial wombs, none had been female. This child’s mere existence was a miracle.
“Where did she come from?”
“I don’t know,” Abigail said reluctantly, before her chin lifted again. “But she’s mine now.”
“Lieutenant Jedan, examine the logs. See if you can find any indication of where she was found. I will want to interrogate the prisoners as well.”
“Yes, sir.”
Unable to help himself, he stepped forward to take a closer look. The baby in Abigail’s arms was impossibly small, but he could detect no sign of ill health and her wide dark eyes were bright. He took a deep breath, and Abigail’s enticing scent washed over him. He was suddenly conscious that his tail was reaching for her—for her or the child—and that his men eagerly watched them.
As he started to step back, the small child at her side spoke up. “Are you Leonardo?”
Abigail made a little choking noise. “No, sweetie. Leonardo is just a cartoon.”
He didn’t quite follow the conversation, but he realized that he had failed to introduce himself. “I am Captain Hrebec. I represent the
Confederated Planets. We have impounded this ship and arrested the crew. I will escort you to my ship, the Defiance.”
“And then what?” she asked suspiciously.
“Then we will make arrangements for your return,” he said firmly.
Behind him, he heard a few disappointed noises from his crew, and was conscious of the same feeling deep within his chest, but he ignored them. Their job was to free the captives and he had to keep that in mind. This job was all he had left.
Abby stared up at the big alien standing so close to her, too close for her to ignore the extremely well-defined muscles revealed by his tight white uniform. Everything about him intimidated her, from his overall size to his unabashedly alien appearance. It was almost impossible to believe that he and Tiana were the same species, although they shared the same wide lipless mouth, flat nose, and large black eyes. The resemblance ended there. His jade skin was several shades darker than Tiana’s pale green, but more than that, unlike the baby’s smooth little head, he had a series of dark ridges arching back over his forehead. More curved down his neck and across the top of his massive shoulders. There was one additional resemblance, she realized, as his tail curled around from behind him and headed in her direction.
Lucie giggled. “Look, Mama. He gots a tail just like Tiana.”
She reached out an inquisitive hand just as Captain Hrebec pulled it back, an appalled look on his face.
“You mustn’t touch, Lucie,” she said, even as she glared at him. It wasn’t like her daughter was going to hurt his precious tail.
“The child did nothing wrong,” he said quickly. “Children are naturally curious.” He addressed Lucie directly. “Would you like to touch it?”
“She can’t understand you. I’m the only one who was provided with a translator.”
He looked appalled for a second time and immediately raised his hand to one of the group of aliens gathered behind him. “Mekoi, the females will need translation devices.”
“No, they don’t.” She pulled Lucie closer. “There’s no need to subject them to the pain when we’re just going home anyway.”
“Pain?”
“When you implant the device? It hurts like hell.”
This time, his expression turned thunderous; his dark eyes flashed, and she swore that his shoulders tensed. “It should not have hurt you. I promise you that we will not cause pain to your females. But it would be easier if they were able to communicate.”
Abby bit her lip. Part of her instinctively wanted to trust the big alien, even though she knew better than to drop her guard. It also occurred to her that it would be easier for the aliens to separate them if she wasn't the only one capable of communicating. But in the end, it wasn’t her decision. She turned to the girls. They had all grouped themselves behind her, each one holding a baby. Even Molly had picked up Ginger, although her hold on the infant was less secure than Abby would have liked.
“Girls, the captain has offered to give all of you translators so you can understand what they’re saying. He says it won’t hurt, but I can’t try it for you first since I already have one. Do you want one?”
Lucie piped up. “I wants one, Mama. I wanna know what Leonardo is saying.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea, baby.” She shot a nervous glance over her shoulder at the big alien.
“Why don’t you wish the child to understand?” he asked.
“I don’t want her hurt.”
“I would never hurt a child.” His outrage seemed genuine, but what if he didn’t understand how easily a human child could be hurt?
TeShawna shrugged and stepped forward. “I’ll try it out. I managed to push out a nine-pound baby. I ain’t worried about a little pinprick.”
Abby wouldn’t have called the blazing agony of the injection a pinprick, but if TeShawna volunteered, she wouldn’t try and stop her.
“You are a brave female,” Hrebec told TeShawna gravely, and Abby had the oddest sense of… surely it wasn’t jealousy? “Mekoi is our chief medical officer. He will perform the procedure.”
“Yeah.” TeShawna rolled her eyes. “Like I understood any of that.”
A second alien stepped forward. He wasn’t as big as Hrebec, or as heavily marked, but he was still an imposing figure. TeShawna gulped but she hid it behind her usual bravado.
Turning to Cassie, she passed her daughter over. “Hold Vanessa,” she murmured. “Don’t let nothing happen to her.”
“Never,” Cassie said quietly.
Dropping a kiss on her daughter’s forehead, TeShawna stepped forward. “Okay, big guy. Let’s see if you’re lying.”
The medic stepped forward. TeShawna wasn’t a small girl by any means, but the alien dwarfed her sturdy figure. Abby noticed that his tail lashed anxiously as it kept trying to reach for TeShawna.
“Why’s that thing trying to touch me?” TeShawna demanded.
Abby looked at Hrebec.
“It’s an… instinct,” he said reluctantly. “It is trying to offer comfort.”
“He says it’s trying to comfort you.”
“Oh yeah? Not sure why a tail would be comforting,” TeShawna muttered. “Unless it’s like biting down on a bullet or something, like in one of those old movies you like.”
Before Abby could respond, TeShawna reached out and grabbed hold of the tail that was once again flickering in her direction. The medic groaned and there was a shocked silence from the other aliens. Abby suddenly suspected that there was a lot more to the tail business than Hrebec had revealed.
The medic took a step closer and held up a syringe. TeShawna’s skin went ashy but she jutted out her lip defiantly and took a firmer grasp on the tail. The alien’s eyes fluttered but he shook his head, brushed a cloth behind TeShawna’s ear, and then pressed the syringe against it before stepping back.
“Are you going to do it or what?” she demanded.
“It’s already done,” he said.
“It is? Oh. Oh! I understood you. You were right, big guy. That didn’t hurt at all.”
In her excitement, TeShawna pumped the medic’s tail up and down, and from the look on his face, Abby didn’t think he shared her relief.
“I think you should let go of his tail, TeShawna,” she said quietly.
“His tail?” The girl looked down, and a hint of color actually darkened her cheeks as she hastily released him. “Sorry, big guy.”
“It was my honor,” he said with a deep bow and stepped back, his tail still trying to reach for TeShawna.
TeShawna hesitated for just a second, then turned to the other girls. “Nothing to it. Who’s next?”
Cassie looked grim, but she handed both babies to TeShawna. “I’ll do it. Better to know what they’re saying.”
When she stepped forward, Abby noticed that the medic’s tail stayed firmly behind his back. Even as she decided to keep her mouth shut, she felt a gentle brush against her hip and looked down to see Hrebec’s tail lightly touching her. Before she could react, he’d snatched it away, the same appalled look on his face.
“Comfort, huh?” she said skeptically. He didn’t respond but the jade color of his cheeks darkened to emerald.
Within a few minutes, all of the girls except Molly had received the translator. The medic’s tail had never reappeared.
“Me, Mama. Me next.” Lucie was practically dancing with impatience.
Abby bit her lip and turned to Hrebec. “You promise it won’t hurt her?”
“I vow on Granthar’s Hammer,” he said solemnly.
When Abby gave a reluctant agreement, he gestured to the medic. As he approached with the syringe, Lucie’s excitement suddenly died.
“It’s going to be an owwie, isn’t it?”
“No, baby. The captain promised.”
Big brown eyes looked up at Hrebec anxiously. “I wanna hold your tail.”
“Lucie—”
“Of course,” Hrebec interrupted, his tail already flicking in front of Lucie. She grabbed it with
both hands before Abby could prevent her and cradled it to her chest. Despite her reservations, Hrebec’s hard face only softened. Mekoi stepped behind Lucie while she was still exploring the tail and touched the syringe to her neck.
“Okay, I’s ready,” she said, lifting her chin.
“It’s already done, little one,” Hrebec said.
“It didn’t hurt.”
“I told you it would not. I would never lie to you.”
Lucie frowned up at him for a second before a sunny smile bloomed on her face. “Okay.” She patted his tail and released it.
Abby could only pray that her daughter’s faith, and her own, was not misplaced.
Chapter Six
As Abby stared at Hrebec, another alien stepped up beside him. He was tall and muscular like the rest of the newcomers, but he appeared almost slight next to the big captain. His head was nearly smooth, lacking the ridges that Hrebec had, and she decided he must be quite young.
“What about the smallest female?” he asked. “She has not received the translator.”
All three of them turned to look at Molly, and Abby saw her face go white. She swayed, and Abby took a step forward, but the young alien darted past her, catching Molly and Ginger before they fell. Abby was right behind him, hurriedly passing Tiana to Cassie on the way.
Molly hadn’t quite passed out but she was trembling in the young alien’s arms.
“Let me take Ginger,” Abby said, retrieving the baby from the young girl’s shaking hands. Elaina immediately stepped up to take her, and when Abby turned back, Molly was clutching the alien’s arms and his tail was wrapped around her wrist.
“Oh no you don’t,” Abby said. “You put that thing away right now.”
He flushed, but when he went to release Molly, she only clung more tightly. Abby cast a helpless look up at Hrebec but he was frowning down at the couple as well.
“Perhaps she would feel safer with the translator?” the youngster said diffidently. “Can you ask her?”
Molly had looked up at him when he spoke, her eyes fastened on his mouth with an almost painful intensity. A sinking feeling filled Abby’s stomach. Molly was constantly on the lookout for a protector. That was how she’d ended up pregnant at sixteen, the victim of a much older man who had promised to take care of her. Instead, he’d abandoned her on Abby’s doorstep as soon as she had started to show.
Mama and the Alien Warrior Page 3
