An Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publication
www.ellorascave.com
Between Two Tiron
ISBN 9781419920295
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Between Two Tiron Copyright © 2009 Rebecca Airies
Edited by Helen Woodall.
Photography and cover art by Les Byerley.
Electronic book Publication March 2009
The terms Romantica® and Quickies® are registered trademarks of Ellora’s Cave Publishing.
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This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the authors’ imagination and used fictitiously.
Between Two Tiron
Rebecca Airies
Dedication
To my sisters, Ronnie, Debbie, and Barb, thanks for listening, nodding and cheering me on when I grumbled about these “cats”. I love you all.
Chapter One
The insistent buzz of her communications alarm woke Lina from a light sleep. She rolled over on the soft bunk. Brushing her wavy blonde hair away from her face, she swiveled a nearby monitor around so that she could see the readout. The ID signal showed a familiar origin at Central Command, an agency that held jurisdiction within human-controlled space over hate crimes, terrorism and many other areas.
So much for the vacation, Lina thought as she opened the com-link and, with a groan, rolled to her feet, stretching and yawning.
The smooth silver-gray floor was cold beneath her bare feet. The entire ship had been customized for convenience and use—from hidden storage space to the motion-sensitive camera which would follow her wherever she went within the ship. “Cadian here, are you just checking up on me, Callie, or is there a reason for this?”
Dark-haired and slender, the cheerful image of Callie Meuru grinned at her from a cushy office in Central Command’s headquarters. “There’s a reason, but it shouldn’t interrupt your vacation too much.”
Lina rolled her eyes and began pacing toward the front of the ship. Her long legs quickly crossed the distance and she slid into the pilot’s seat. As if she would believe that avowal—she hadn’t yet received a simple quick mission from them. Idly, she checked the readouts on the advanced instruments on the gray panels in front of her. The last time Callie had said something like that, Lina had been stranded for two months, playing nursemaid and guardian to six scientists at an isolated base until Command personnel could get there.
Lina wasn’t an agent for Central Command, just someone they found useful at times. Although she was a shifter, she had no qualms about working for them. They paid well and when she’d first started taking assignments from them, she had badly needed that money.
“What is it this time?” Lina settled back into the padded black pilot’s seat waiting for the worst. If this was just a normal mission, they would have sent one of their own agents on it. She got the assignments where they didn’t want to be directly connected to the mission or the ones that required a shifter touch.
“A woman on a planet known as Nariu Minor, a large world in Shifter-Protected Space, has gone missing. She was there with a group of researchers studying the ruins on the planet.” Callie paused and thought for a moment.
“Why do you need me for a disappearance?” Lina narrowed her eyes. She knew there was more to this than just a mere missing person report. Missing personnel was a local issue. Central Command wouldn’t even be part of it if someone was simply missing on that planet. “One of the shifter patrols will take care of it. They certainly won’t welcome interference.”
“A distress call has come in from her. When I heard it, I thought of you.” Callie smiled, an annoying this-is-just-your-type-of-mission encouraging smile.
That drew a groan from Lina. A woman went missing in Shifter-Protected Space usually for one reason and it wasn’t pirates. This woman had been chosen by a shifter as his mate and had run. Lina would rather go up against a shipload of the worst space scum in the known universe than mess with a shifter mating. Everyone who entered Shifter Space was informed before they crossed the border that they would be expected to obey shifter law. In the case of women, that meant knowing that should they be the mate of a shifter male they could be claimed.
“Show me the distress call.”
Callie nodded, a satisfied smirk crossing her face. “Here it is. Audio only, no vid on this one. The method she used was archaic.”
“Help me…” The sound of panting breaths and breaking foliage—as if the woman was running through a forest or an overgrown area—came clearly over the link. “You’ve got to come get me. They’ll come after me. I drugged them, but they know where our camp is. I can’t go there. They took me from there.” The woman’s voice was thready and high-pitched. She sounded panicked, almost incoherent. “They’re animals. Please, send someone for me.”
“It sounded as if she was dealing with one of your kind.” Callie lounged back in her plush blue-gray chair.
“Well, she is probably dealing with a shifter. The message did seem to indicate that. My kind, I don’t know. I can go there, look for her.” Lina pursed her lips as she considered the difficulties of this mission. There were obviously some shifters there or somewhere nearby, which could make things difficult.
“You don’t think you can find her?” Callie raised her brows, but her smile taunted, challenged.
“If the man is already mated to her when I get there, she won’t want to leave. I won’t try to take her from him. As long as she isn’t mated, any help I give her won’t get me killed.” Lina exhaled heavily.
“Why would they kill you?” Callie frowned, clearly perplexed.
Lina ignored that question. Trying to explain the seriousness of a shifter mating to a non-shifter was useless. “If she’s still free and not mated, I’ll get her off the planet and rendezvous with one of your ships. As I’ve told you before, even getting her off the planet probably won’t help in the long run. He’ll find her.”
“We’ll get her out of Shifter Space. She’ll be safe if you can get her to us.” Callie’s cheerful smile and perky attitude radiated confidence.
“Shifters are persistent. I’ll need everything you have on her. If she’s hiding, I’ll need to know where she’s most comfortable.” She doubted Callie believed or even grasped just how intent a shifter male would be in the search for his woman. He would come after the woman he considered his mate. Tracking her across galaxies was normal for a shifter male.
The transmission of the woman’s files as well as those of the people with the research group came almost immediately. The files contained no information about the shifters. Lina frowned at that, but it was normal for Central Command. To them, a shifter was a shifter. They didn’t differentiate between the various groups. They’d have more success with their missions if they started noticing which shifter they were facing. Dif
ferent types of shifters had different behaviors, abilities and tolerances for certain behaviors.
She began preparing to go into Shifter-Protected Space. It wasn’t only the rescue mission that was risky. For her, just being found in Shifter Space could be the end of her freedom. She put her ship, a Sendar 4 shuttle, into stealth mode. If there was a group of shifters on that planet, they had a ship. She wouldn’t give them advance warning of her presence.
“The researchers will cooperate in any way you ask. They’ve been told an agent is being sent to investigate but not when, who or how,” Callie advised. “Be careful.”
Lina shook her head as the screen went blank. Callie didn’t understand. She had just told Lina to be careful after assigning her to retrieve a woman most likely chosen as a mate by a member of an unknown group of shifters. With shifters, careful wasn’t enough.
Lina studied the files on Nariu Minor. From the artifacts logged by the researchers, she knew that it had once been a shifter world, but she couldn’t decipher which group of shifters from the images of the artifacts. There was a complete list of the research team as well as some information on each member. The file didn’t contain much information about the location of the camps. She would have to do some preliminary scans of the planet to get better information on the topography and just who was where when she arrived there.
The prep work would be extensive and she wouldn’t contact the researchers until it was done. After she spoke with them, the chance that her presence could become known to the shifters rose dramatically. And she didn’t have the faith Callie seemed to have in the scientists’ cooperation. Researchers, just like everyone else, had their own agendas. She had to be prepared for a fast retreat if it was needed.
On the journey to the planet, she sipped at some chilled juice while she studied the files on the missing woman. Nerisa Regal had an interesting history. She had spent most of her childhood with her father, a researcher. The woman was accustomed to primitive conditions and knew how to survive. That would be a plus in eluding those who hunted for her.
If Nerisa hadn’t been recaptured, Lina would wager she’d taken refuge in some ruins. She had done that with her father and some other researchers when a flood had swept away their camp and again when a freak storm had made it impossible to return to camp on another expedition. That was if she had managed to elude those who would have tried to find her.
That was a big if. Even the best trained and most experienced person found that eluding a shifter for any length of time required skill and luck. Nerisa would be a very lucky woman if she was still free. Her training didn’t include hiding her trail and her scent as she traveled through the forest.
The Sendar’s sensors picked up the ship circling the green and blue world of Nariu Minor as she entered the system. When Lina first saw the scans, she stared in stunned awe and growing horror at the size of the ship in orbit around the planet. This mission had just become very dangerous and damn near impossible.
A Veriga-class battleship stood guard over those on the surface. With its advanced sensors and weaponry, it could pose a considerable threat. She’d expected a small party of shifters patrolling their space. An entire clan hovered over the planet in that gigantic warship. If a large number of shifters were staying on that planet, searching would be difficult. With more shifters on the planet, the chance that she would be spotted and recognized for what she was became even greater than it would normally be.
Arriving at the planet, she did her scans but exercised extreme caution when she did. She knew most scanners wouldn’t pick up the signals—but some would. She hadn’t established her reputation by being careless.
Two distinct camps had been formed on the side of the planet where the research was being conducted. The researchers’ camp was smaller, not as well-equipped as the shifters’ camp. On the opposite side of the planet from the group of camps, buildings rose in varying stages of completion.
A few intercepted messages later, she identified the group of shifters as Santir—the same species as she was—and she learned that they hadn’t found Nerisa. She did a few extra scans to explain some anomalies she’d found and then began preparations for entry into Nariu’s atmosphere.
She knew that, in spite of the sophistication of the large ship, they wouldn’t be able to detect her Sendar 4. The modifications she’d made to her shuttle were unique and effective. They’d been tested under much harsher conditions than these. As well, if they knew that anyone had arrived, even in the solar system, a vehement demand for an explanation of her presence would have been issued along with a few threats. That was something she hoped to avoid. Her ship was equipped with weapons, but there was no way it would stand against that large battleship.
She used the first three days on-planet to familiarize herself with the terrain and to stash emergency packs in the areas she was most likely to need them. To get a better idea of what she faced, she sent out tiny remote hover-vid units and piloted them to spots around the Santir camp. With these, she could watch the shifters without too much risk.
Lina kept an eye on the video monitors when she was on the shuttle. On the morning of the fourth day, she gaped at the monitor displaying the Santir camp. The sight of the two men standing there held her transfixed. Her mouth watered, warmth stirring low in her belly at the luscious male flesh on display. The warmed breakfast bun she’d just taken from the auto-prep station landed unnoticed at her feet.
They stood in front of one of the Dura-tents. The mottled camouflage pattern of greens on the tent only served to focus her eyes on them. Both obvious alphas. Both lick-them-all-over gorgeous.
They were bare-chested and both of them had dark hair. The sight of them held her attention and directed her thoughts to carnal paths. They had dark skin, as dark as the deep brown bark of the manoga tree. From experience, Lina’s eyes measured their height against known landmarks. She judged that the men in the tight, black pants were both tall, above average in height.
The one on the right had straight brown-black hair that fell just past his shoulders. She zoomed in on his face. His sparkling green eyes were framed by thick long lashes. Her eyes skimmed downward to the sharp blade of his nose and his full, kiss-inciting lips. He was close to beautiful, but even through the monitor a predatory quality made itself evident. Her tongue swept out over her lips and she took a shaky breath. This man could be dangerous, but Gods, tangling with him would probably be fun.
The dark spots of his trika at jawline and ribs appeared as splotches of darker flesh against his dark skin visible only to those who expected to find them. He was muscled and broad-shouldered and of the same height as the man next to him, but he appeared smaller next to the sheer muscularity of the man on the left.
The man on the left had long black hair which hung in spiraling curls nearly to the middle of his back. His dark brown eyes narrowed and he stood with a hand on his hip. The rugged, starkly masculine lines of his face became more noticeable. This was no civilized city boy. His nose had been broken more than once. Those sensuous lips slashed into a fierce frown at the moment. The dark spots of his trika at his jaw delineated a very firm jawline. The fierce animal in this man loomed very close to the surface, a predator waiting to pounce. Everything about him—his stance, his attitude, his expression—screamed strength and power.
The flash of red, a bird or something, flying just in front of the vid-unit broke her concentration and brought her back to reality. She took a deep breath and focused on discovering if they’d found Nerisa. If they hadn’t found the woman, she had to go talk with that research team. Taking a step forward, she stepped on the still-warm roll. The soft pastry squished under her foot, flattening, oozing up between her toes. Eww. Shaking her head, she turned back and prepared another roll while she cleaned up the first one. Finally, she sat down in front of the monitor and began looking.
The camp was well-equipped, even lavish in some respects. All the tents were the luxurious, large model of Dura-tent—ev
en the tallest man wouldn’t have to stoop inside them. She saw an abundance of supplies, some still in crates. Tables had been placed in two rows at one end of the camp and were used for work space when not in use for a meal.
As she switched between the images, Lina noted the weapons and kept a running total of the number of people in the camp. Some men and women worked at the metal tables set in a clear area while others made their way through the camp. She couldn’t be certain of the exact number as there were a couple of skimmers missing from the line of medium-altitude hovercraft at the side of the camp. She’d seen too many people for her comfort. When she was satisfied that Nerisa hadn’t yet been found, she shut off the monitor.
Leaving the bun to cool on a small counter, Lina went to her bag and began going through what she’d need to take with her. She had a variety of gadgets that could be useful if she was spotted. She couldn’t use a few of them because of that big ship orbiting the planet. One of her favorite tools, a beacon designed to bring her ship to her, was just such a device.
Selecting the equipment she wanted, she plucked it out of her bag and stashed them in various pockets of her functional brown flight suit. Satisfied that she was ready, she returned her attention to her now-cold breakfast. She chewed on a bit of the bun. It wasn’t nearly as good cool as it was warm, but it was filling. She’d need the energy today. Hiding the last few packs would burn a lot of calories and when she finished stashing her packs, she’d really begin hunting. After she’d eaten, she left the Sendar.
The mission wouldn’t get any easier and waiting would only increase her chances of being caught. It was time to talk with those researchers. She had a few questions she needed answered.
Chapter Two
Between Two Tiron Page 1
