by Carven, Anna
“That was a well executed mission,” he said softly. “For some of you, it was your first time coming face-to-face with live humans. Considering that they’re still fucking terrified of us, you handled the situation well. This kind of thing will become more common in the future, so get used to it… to them.” Ikriss rose to his feet. “Good work, lads. Take the rest of the shift off. There’s fresh meat and khanen tea in the mess.”
“Appreciate it, Sir. You coming to join us?” asked one of his warriors, a young lad called Gryke. He started to do a military salute with his left fist, but Ikriss made a small silencing motion with his hand.
“Did you forget, Gryke? We aren’t in the military anymore. At ease.”
Several of the men chuckled.
“Can’t help it, Sir. You’re the Commander. I’d feel strange addressing you as an equal. Permission to call you Sir, Sir?”
Ikriss sighed. In the old military, he’d outranked the soldier by a factor of a thousand to one. It was unfair to suddenly expect the warrior to address him by his first name.
Some habits were so ingrained they had to be broken slowly.
At least the lad was comfortable enough to ask. That would never have happened in the old military.
Gryke’s expression turned serious. “But I just don’t understand how they got through to Earth in the first place. The Ephrenians, I mean. Our security is tighter than a Nobleman’s asshole.”
“There’s no such thing as an impenetrable planet,” Ikriss corrected. “Believe me, I know. I was Mil-Intel before I entered the Command.”
Gryke let out a low whistle of surprise. The warriors exchanged glances. Their surprise was to be expected. Military intelligence operatives never blew their cover, even when they moved into higher roles. But Ikriss had no qualms about revealing that part of his past now. “Any surveillance system can be compromised, no matter how airtight it seems. But you’re right, Gryke. Those slavers should never have entered Earth’s orbit. We should not have allowed it.” Ikriss had his suspicions about how it might have happened, but he wasn’t ready to share them until he did a little investigating himself. “But now you know what the protocol is for dealing with any piece-of-shit slaver that tries to enter our territory.”
“We kill on sight,” said a grizzled Second Division veteran called Lukin. “That is if they haven’t taken any cargo onboard yet.”
“Those that enter Earth’s orbit, we kill on sight,” Ikriss confirmed. “If they’re stupid enough to try and leave with live cargo, we take that cargo back safe and intact, and then we kill them. Under our law, the penalty for engaging in slavery is death. Don’t ever forget it.”
“I like that a lot better than the old law.” Lukin grinned, showing his gleaming fangs. “Never sat well with me, all this forced subservience business. Tch. What kind of pompous imperial shit-licker forces another soul to do everything for them? Lazy bastards. There’s no honor in it. Never was. And I’ll kill anyone that thinks otherwise.”
“Hm.” In the far corner, Kail grunted in agreement.
“And remember, treat all human females as sacred. They are to be protected at all costs. If you come across one that strikes your interest, then you have permission to pursue said interest.”
“What happens if there are two of us?” A tall, lanky, warrior called Askariel asked.
“Clarify,” Ikriss ordered.
“If there are two of us interested in the same mate… what is the protocol for that?”
“What would happen on Kythia?”
“The female would choose.”
“Then apply the same principle here… either that, or you will fight one another to the death, because we all know sharing would be unacceptable.” Ikriss smiled savagely, even though he was half-joking.
This time, there was a darker note to the soldiers’ laughter.
In truth, if such a situation occurred, Ikriss didn’t know how they would deal with it.
Goddess forbid it would ever happen.
“And what happens if, say, a lad gets hit by the Mating Fever but the female doesn’t want a bar of him?” Lukin’s thick white brows drew together, creasing the old scar that ran from his forehead down to the bridge of his nose.
“I do not know,” Ikriss shrugged. “We haven’t come across that situation before.”
“Do we take her by force, then?”
“No force. The General forbids it. That is counter to what we fought for when we dissolved the Empire, and there are very good reasons for it.” Ikriss frowned. The soldier had a point. Once the infamous Mating Fever hit, it could be suppressed for some time with medicines, but the ultimate—and only—cure was to claim one’s mate. An uninterested female would present a real problem. “If such a situation arises; if you even suspect that you have the beginnings of the Fever, you are to inform me immediately. I do not want any incidents. Not here, and not on Earth. Mating Fever has been known to turn males insane if left to run its course. In some cases, it has even been fatal.”
“Well, we don’t want that,” Lukin said sagely.
“No, we do not,” Ikriss snapped as the injured human female—his charge—entered his thoughts yet again. He couldn’t forget the way she’d felt as he held her in his arms. Soft, light, and delicate. Like nothing he’d ever touched before.
She truly was from another world.
And the thought of someone harming her; the fact that someone had harmed her...
He could go all kinds of mad over it if he allowed himself that luxury.
But he couldn’t afford that.
So he put his thoughts and feelings on ice.
She will be fine. You’ve done your duty. Forget about her for now.
He had a damn holo-meeting to attend. This one would be with representatives from the infernal human authorities, who were expecting their Citizens to be returned to them as soon as possible.
Ikriss had some bad news for them.
These human females were theirs until Ikriss and his one-and-only superior—Tarak—decided otherwise.
They were to be healed and fed and taken care of, and they would only be returned to Earth when and if he deemed it was safe.
As he exited the chamber, he barely noticed Kail, who was leaning against the wall, watching him with a cryptic expression on his scarred face—until the big warrior spoke. “Mating Fever,” Kail said slowly, lowering his voice so that only Ikriss could hear. “You’ll want to watch that.”
Ikriss cursed softly in Aikun, shooting the warrior a dark glare. “I don’t know what you’re on about.”
The enigmatic warrior gave him a cool stare. “Strange things happen whenever our kind come into close contact with unmated human females. It is an unexplained pattern of behavior. What was once perfectly controlled suddenly becomes unpredictable. It can happen quickly, without warning. Even you are not immune, Commander.”
“Tch.” Ikriss made a soft sound of irritation. He couldn’t say a thing, because the twin echoes of arousal and fury were swirling through his body. He put it down to simple instinct. If any Aikun warrior worth his blades encountered a vulnerable, defenseless female, he would feel the same way.
“What are you going to do with the buyer once we have him?” The big hunter’s gaze turned predatory.
“That will be for the boss to decide,” Ikriss growled as the whisper of anger in him threatened to ignite. “But I will ask for the right to take revenge on behalf of the one I rescued.”
“That is not your usual style, Commander.”
Ikriss knew what Kail was trying to say. He’d once held the second-highest rank in the Kordolian military. He’d been a commander of hundreds of thousands of men and almost as many warships. Ikriss rarely took matters personally, although he wasn’t afraid of stepping out onto the battlefield himself. “But I’m not a Commander anymore,” he shrugged. “And I was the one that found her.” I held her in my arms. I felt her softness, her delicateness. I saw her injuries, saw her eyelids flutter, s
aw the light fade from her eyes…
I found her.
And for the short but excruciating trip from the Ephrenian ship to the inside of Zharek’s medical bay, he’d truly thought she was going to die in his arms.
In that moment, he’d felt completely powerless, and he’d never, ever felt that way before.
He didn’t like it.
So he would kill the one that made her suffer.
It was as simple as that.
“Careful,” Kail warned, giving Ikriss a knowing look; one that was born of experience.
“I’m always careful.” Ikriss gave Kail an ironic salute as he disappeared down the corridor, his mind turning to meetings and diplomatic matters and the not-so-small problem of human females being stolen from right underneath their noses.
Unacceptable.
He had to get to the bottom of this.
Earth was their territory now, and no-one, Kordolian or otherwise, was going to touch their property and get away with it.
Chapter Three
Sienna’s hand trembled slightly as she reached across and took another warm chocolate croissant from the platter. She didn’t know how or why they were able to serve chocolate croissants on a massive, dark, scary Kordolian warship, but they were right here in front of her and they tasted amazing and she was going to eat to her heart’s content and not feel a single twinge of guilt about it.
After all she’d been through, she just wanted to forget, and chocolate-drenched flaky, buttery goodness was as good a way as ever to help her do just that.
She took a bite and sighed. The croissants were almost as good as the ones she made in her restaurant back on Earth. To her astonishment and utter confusion, the spread the aliens had put on was surprisingly respectable. Arranged in the center of the table on strange curved grey and white alien-looking platters was an assortment of delicious food. They’d enjoyed fresh bread and butter and cheese and vegetables and fruit juice and pastries and preserves and Earth-grown fruits and summer vegetables.
Even pasta. Perfectly al-dente spirals of pasta in a creamy pesto sauce.
After being force-fed disgusting unidentifiable grey slop by those horrible Ephrenians for stars knew how long, it was the best thing she’d ever seen in her life.
And it was all served on a real wooden table in the middle of a strange room that had curving dark walls and cozy armchairs and a wide window that looked out onto the vast, terrifying expanse of space.
The walls might be an oppressive shade of black, but at least there were lights. Warm, glowing lights that reminded her of Earth. Weirdly, there were plants too; lush, verdant plants that looked lovingly cared for under their discreet UV-lighting installations.
What the hell was this place?
It felt cozy and familiar.
How do they know us so well?
It was almost as if… someone human actually lived here from time to time.
But she hadn’t encountered any humans, aside from the other girls who’d been rescued. Everyone else on this ship was Kordolian—über-serious and silver-skinned and pointy-eared and fierce-eyed and fucking dangerous looking.
It’s probably been days already… why are they keeping us here? What do they want with us?
The thought sent a chill right through her.
After everything she’d been through, she wanted nothing to do with aliens, no matter how good their food was.
No matter that they’d healed her body completely—in an impossibly short time, like some sort of miracle.
“This is lovely and all, but why can’t I shake this ominous feeling I’m getting deep down my gut?” Kyuri sat beside her, cradling a cup of steaming green tea, her slender wrists still bearing faint pink marks from where the Ephrenian slavers had encircled them with their horrible metal cuffs.
The other girls had already gone to bed. One by one, they’d solemnly disappeared to their individual quarters, which were just down the corridor, until only Sienna and Kyuri, both unable to sleep, were left.
Kyuri was willowy and graceful, with long, glossy raven hair that somehow always managed to look perfect. She watched everything with a sharp gaze that didn’t seem to miss much. She’d told Sienna she was from Seoul, in the United Republic of Korea. Kyuri worked for the administrative branch of the Federation’s Diplomatic Space Mission, which apparently existed to spread good vibes about humans throughout the Nine Galaxies.
Sienna narrowed her eyes. “Do you think it maybe has something to do with the fact that we’ve just been rescued from the bad aliens by even badder aliens after being taken on the most horrific fucking ride of our lives?” She could hardly believe what had happened to them. It was like waking up from some terrible nightmare. She’d probably need some serious counseling when—and if—she returned to Earth.
“Well, there’s that.” Kyuri looked away, staring out the window at the glittering stars. “And then there’s the perfectly black walls and the claustrophobic sleeping pods and the fact that these Kordolians all have this certain look, where you’re not sure whether they’re trying to be nice to you or secretly thinking that you’re little more than an insect they could crush beneath their boots at any time.” She shrugged. “Maybe I’m just reading the signals wrong because I’m freshly traumatized. These Kordolians… they haven’t done anything terrible to us. They’ve been pretty decent, all things considered.”
“It doesn’t fit with their reputation, does it?”
“Well, no, it doesn’t. If the stories were true, they’d have put us in collars and restraints and packed us off to some distant planet to serve as human chattel for some cruel Kordolian noble.”
“I feel like we’re in some weird dark avant-garde hotel. Like we’re on holiday, only without the sunshine and the views.”
“I like this view.” Kyuri was still looking out across the stars, her expression wistful. “If this were a hotel, I’d pay money to come up here.”
“You’re serious?”
“Earth feels so small sometimes. Don’t you ever want to disconnect from reality for a few days?” Kyuri made a face. “Ugh. But how can I be saying these things after what we’ve all just been through? All this,” she gestured at the table with its decadent spread of mostly eaten food. “It feels like the Kordolians are really making an effort do to right by us. Why would they bother if they were just going to fuck us over in the end? They don’t seem like the type to play tricky mind-games. These guys are direct. Brutal. Maybe that’s why I’m feeling uneasy. The cognitive dissonance is insane. Violence and aliens and croissants…” She shook her head in disbelief.
“They killed them,” Sienna said, her voice dropping to a whisper. “Boom. Like it was child’s play for them.”
“But that was the good part,” Kyuri said softly. “I can’t say I’m sorry to see those assholes get what they deserved, and I’m probably the biggest pacifist you’ll ever meet.”
The memory of green blood and smoke and the Ephrenian’s lifeless form flitted through Sienna’s mind, making her shudder. “Then we shouldn’t worry, right? They’re just making sure we’re fine before they let us go home, right?”
“I hope so. I really do.”
A soft swoosh caught Sienna’s attention. Like magic, the doors to the small room opened, making Sienna and Kyuri turn their heads sharply. Actually, the doors unravelled, thousands of tiny black tentacle-like projections peeling apart to reveal the dark corridor beyond.
She would never get used to that sight.
It made her skin crawl.
A Kordolian walked into the room.
Both she and Kyuri stiffened.
Sienna recognized the serious, efficient medical assistant who’d told her in a dispassionate voice that she was going to be under observation for the next three days, whatever the hell that meant.
He hadn’t given her his name. None of the Kordolians that had examined her, monitored her, guarded her, or brought her food had offered her their names, and she hadn’t yet su
mmoned the courage to ask.
The Kordolian assistant regarded her with a cool, detached stare, his orange eyes piercing right through her. Suddenly, she felt like all her earthly problems were trivial.
“C-can I help you?” she asked in halting Universal, her voice hoarse from the ship’s cool, dry air. She stared at the Kordolian’s nondescript black uniform. The only embellishment was the small black seven-pointed star insignia on his left breast.
What does that even mean?
The alien inclined his head in greeting, his expression unreadable. Like all Kordolians, he was tall and slender and inhumanly graceful, with elfin features and neatly cropped platinum hair and luminous silver skin.
“Come with me,” the assistant said softly.
She shook her head and frowned. “Why? Where are we going?”
“My superior wishes to speak with you. Follow me. Quickly. You are lucky to be granted an audience with him. He is an extremely busy man. Believe me, we do not want to keep him waiting.” Not waiting to see if she would follow, he turned and disappeared through the open doorway.
Sienna blinked. What? Why me?
Kyuri nodded in his direction, raising a slender black eyebrow. “You’re in demand,” she said wryly in English, a language both she and Sienna were fluent in. “Don’t worry. I don’t think they’ll do anything terrible to you. I figure that if they wanted to, they would have done so already. Besides, I don’t think you have much of a choice.”
How can you be so calm and logical at a time like this, Kyuri?
Sienna looked at the Kordolian, then at Kyuri. “Can she come?” she said in Universal.
“What do you need me for?” the human mouthed, feigning shock.
“You know, for moral support?” Sienna glared at Kyuri. Don’t bail out on me now. You’re the one telling me how harmless they are.
“No,” the assistant said curtly. “He will speak with you alone.”
Shaking her head, Sienna stood. “Remember me if I don’t return,” she said dryly, switching back to English. “My restaurant’s called The Whisk and Pin. It’s on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. You’ll need to go and tell my staff that I love them… and to remember to water the plants.”
