by Sue Lyndon
But his wrist comm buzzed again, reminding him that he didn’t have time. He bit back a curse and gently shook Caylee.
“Wake up, little human.”
She sighed and her eyes fluttered open. She peered at him in confusion but quickly realized she was uncovered and scrambled to pull the sheets back over herself. Her sense of modesty both amused and aroused him, because he loved watching her squirm in her nervousness when he pushed her limits. He smacked at her hands and pulled the covers completely off her.
She rolled onto her side, her bottom facing away from him, and gave him an abashed look that made his cock thicken further. If only he had time right now, he would pound into her so fluxxing hard.
Reaching around her, he gave her bottom a squeeze. Then he met her eyes.
“We will arrive on Xollnax shortly.” As if on cue, the ship shuddered and the light in the room shifted. He glanced over his shoulder at the blue-green planet that suddenly filled the viewscreen.
Caylee saw it too, and she sat up quickly and peered over his shoulder. “Wow. It looks like Earth. Well, I mean it looks like what Earth used to look like. Before all the wars.” When he gave her a curious look, she continued, “I used to spend a lot of time in the library in New Leesburg looking at old pictures of Earth, at the landscapes, photos of old cities, and even images of the animals that used to call my planet home. It was a bit of a hobby, I guess you could say.” Excitement brimmed in her eyes and she no longer seemed concerned about her nudity.
His gaze fell to her bare breasts and he again wished he had more time to spend with his little human bride this morning. Fluxx, the things he would do to her.
He reached for her, cupping her lovely face in his hands.
“I must leave you now, Caylee, and prepare for our arrival. It is my hope that with the help of my team of guards, I will be able to locate the missing diplomat and his comrades quickly. I am most eager to bring you back to Tarrkua, to bring you to my home.” Our home. He almost said it, but something held him back.
“Am I still allowed to roam the ship and look out all the viewscreens, so I might better observe the planet?”
“Of course.” He gave her a serious look. “How does your bottom feel this morning?” He lifted an eyebrow at her in question.
She blushed and reached one hand around to rub at her bottom, but quickly stopped as she apparently recalled his no rubbing rule. “It’s still a bit sore, Xerr,” she admitted.
He placed a kiss to her lips. “Good. I hope it will remind you to behave while I’m gone.” Though he kept his voice stern, he shot her a playful look, one that made her blush an even deeper shade of red. A quick glance down showed her nipples had tightened to sharp buds, and after a long breath in, he could easily detect the beginnings of her arousal.
“I promise I’ll be good, Xerr. In every possible way,” she said, timidly alluding to the specific kind of naughtiness that had earned her a punishment just last night.
He almost chuckled at her response.
Drawing her close, he pressed a kiss to each of her cheeks as well as her forehead. She gave a contented sigh and nuzzled her face against his. Warmth abounded in his chest, the desire to stay here with the female who held his heart, and it took a great deal of strength for him to finally withdraw from the embrace.
He rose to his feet and stared down at her, stunned by the intensity of the tender emotions rolling through him. Given his propensity to push others away, he had never dared to hope he might one day experience true affection for his bride.
“Good luck, Xerr,” she said.
He nodded at her once and departed his quarters, silently thanking the Gods for bringing Caylee into his life.
Chapter 32
Kazzon didn’t return that day, nor the next.
Caylee felt sick with worry.
It didn’t help that they’d arrived on the landing platform, only to find pieces of Ambassador Stonnas’ ship left. Kazzon had kept quiet about what might’ve happened to the ship or its occupants, but she couldn’t push the bad feeling in her gut away.
Half the guards, as well as the pilots and the workers in engineering, had been left behind on the Corrannelia. The servants, too, of course. So she wasn’t entirely alone. But God how she felt alone.
Last night a message had appeared on the video comm, a quick note that Kazzon must’ve sent from his wrist comm.
It is taking longer than we expected to locate our missing people. Please do not worry. I hope to return in a few days.
Well, it was difficult not to worry, especially when Kazzon didn’t give her any further details. She had figured out how to message him back, but he had yet to send a reply. What if something had happened since he’d sent the message?
She glanced out the viewscreen at the endless expanse of trees and rolling hills that spread to the horizon. The ship had landed on a platform that rose high over the dangerous forests of Xollnax and she saw little evidence of civilization below, though Kazzon had told her the Xollnaxians lived in small communities and in tiny houses that were often obscured by the trees.
A few of the tallest trees below contained houses, small but sturdy looking structures built amongst the highest branches. These homes were painted a bright shade of green. She wondered what it would be like to take a stroll through the forest, but she supposed she would never find out. A shudder ran through her when she thought about the dangerous animals and vegetation Kazzon had warned her about.
God, please keep him safe.
Please let him find the missing Tarrkuans so that we might leave this place at once.
Needing a change of scenery, she departed his quarters, intent to roam the corridors and peek out every viewscreen she passed yet again. Perhaps she would be lucky and catch a glimpse of her husband as he returned to the Corrannelia. She could only hope and pray. She hated that she was forced to stay here, unable to help.
Back in New Leesburg, she’d been a problem solver. Or at least she tried to be. She’d always tried to help others, whether it be her parents or her brother or her friends. Little fixer. A smile formed on her lips. That was the nickname her father called her when she was just a young child.
But as she’d grown older, he’d stopped calling her that. It happened so gradually that she hadn’t noticed it right away. Perhaps he’d ceased using it as they slowly grew apart. Or maybe he’d decided she was too old for silly nicknames, that she was growing up and would leave Earth soon anyway.
Sometimes she wondered if her parents had both pushed her away over the years in order to lessen the pain they would feel when she finally left them. For some reason, this thought had never occurred to her before. For a moment, it left her hopeful, but then she realized it didn’t quite matter, because her relationship with them remained strained.
At least all was well with Wilson and he didn’t treat her with awkwardness. He would leave New Leesburg soon and she couldn’t be happier for him. She smiled as she thought about her brother. Kazzon had promised to allow her to visit with him next time he was required to travel to Earth, just before he’d told her she could visit her parents too, but only if she wished.
“I don’t want you to visit them because you feel obligated to do so, little human,” he’d said during one of their late-night conversations, as he’d held her in his arms after a lengthy mating session. “Your happiness means a great deal to me and I don’t want to see you sad.”
His understanding never failed to warm her heart, as did the affection he showed her.
Love.
The word echoed inside her, a deep reverberation and yearning that called out for Kazzon.
Love. I love him.
I love Kazzon.
She stopped to peer out the nearest viewscreen, her gaze scanning the forest below.
Her breath caught on a gasp and she placed her hands upon the viewscreen, her heart lurching into her throat. A thick plume of smoke rose from the center of the trees.
Seconds later, the
ground shuddered and she braced herself against the wall.
Kazzon. Where are you?
Smoke burned Kazzon’s eyes. He coughed and gripped his blaster harder. He didn’t normally carry a weapon, but he’d decided to make an exception for this planet.
Tarrkuan guards surrounded him on all sides as they rushed through the underbrush, struggling to see through the thickening smoke. Voll, the leader of a prominent Xollnaxian tribe, had recently informed Kazzon that Stonnas was being held in a grotto nearby, claiming to have glimpsed outcasts dragging the ambassador into the underground cavern’s entrance, as well as many other Tarrkuans.
No black mist had appeared around Voll’s face as he spoke and Kazzon hoped to secure the missing diplomat and his crew soon. After two days of investigation, traveling from tribe to tribe through the dangerous forests of Xollnax, he would be glad to rescue Stonnas and return to the Corrannelia soon. To return to Caylee.
An explosion rocked the ground, sending debris hurling toward him. He threw himself to the forest floor alongside his comrades and shielded his head. So much for diplomacy, he thought.
No known tribes lived in this section of the forest, close to the grotto, only the outcasts, traitorous Xollnaxians who’d been exiled from their respective tribes.
He growled and jumped to his feet, holding his blaster at the ready. Figures moved through the smoke, war cries echoing amidst the trees. Apparently, the outcasts had decided to strike first, to keep Kazzon and his guards away from the cavern.
It would be their undoing.
Blaster fire zipped past Kazzon’s head, quick flashes of red light, as the guards behind him shot at the outcasts. Two huge green Xollnaxians rushed straight at him, but he aimed his blaster at the one on the right, felling the male, then quickly killed his companion. Others tried and Kazzon continued shooting.
Xollnaxians carried spears and possessed rudimentary explosives, but they didn’t have weaponry as sophisticated as blasters. But the huge forest worked to their advantage, particularly when they knew the best hiding spots, as well as which deadly animals and vegetation to avoid.
Navigating through the smoke, Kazzon hoped he didn’t walk too close to one of the flesh-hungry trees. He’d spotted a few such trees earlier in the day as they’d begun their journey for the cavern.
Another blast, this one closer than the first, rocked the ground. Kazzon and his guards dove behind a downed tree, using the large trunk to protect themselves from the debris.
Thankfully, not long after they resumed running through the forest, the gaping entrance to the grotto suddenly appeared ahead as the smoke began to dissipate. Kazzon and his comrades rushed for the cavern, shooting down several more outcasts in the process.
Finally, they entered the grotto and rushed into the cool damp depths. His thighs ached under the steep descent of the cave. The passageway became narrower the longer they traveled, until it abruptly opened up into a huge, cavernous area that contained massive, twisted crystals gleaming from above.
The grotto was lighted, perfectly illuminated, in fact, though he spotted no light source. It was as if every surface of the cavern was made of a luminous material.
Screams echoed behind them, as the surviving exiles followed them back into the cave. Before turning around to face the approaching outcasts, Kazzon scanned the open area quickly, making sure no enemies lurked within the depths of the cavern. But the grotto appeared empty, at least this part of it, and he spun around to face the screaming outcasts.
He released a fierce growl and lifted his blaster.
Chapter 33
Something was happening. Something bad.
Caylee stared at the smoke rising in the distance, blanketing the trees. It was far away, too far to offer any immediate help. Not that she could probably leave the ship, even if she tried. Since Kazzon’s departure to search for Ambassador Stonnas, every time she’d walked past the exit door of the ship, she’d spotted at least two huge Tarrkuan guards standing there, fully armed and wearing stony expressions.
She remained at the viewscreen, watching the smoke as the worry clenching her stomach tightened. Feeling helpless and frustrated, she wracked her mind for a solution. But before she could come up with anything substantial, a blast rocked the ship and she fell to her knees.
Alarm filling her, she shot to her feet and stared at a Tarrkuan guard who rushed toward her. He stopped in front of her, his eyes wide.
“Please return to your quarters, mate of Kazzon,” he said.
“What is happening?” she demanded.
He shook his head. “I am not certain, but your room—Ambassador Kazzon’s room—is the safest, most fortified area of this ship.”
“Okay, I’ll go there,” she said, then watched him run off.
She started heading for Kazzon’s quarters but veered into another corridor when she spotted figures moving on the landing platform outside the viewscreen. Shock swept over her at the sight. Several Tarrkuan guards were locked in combat with over a dozen massive green creatures.
The Xollnaxians, she realized.
She hadn’t asked Kazzon what they looked like. Their skin was the same shade as the trees. They were beautiful, but they were frightening.
Transfixed, she stood for a few moments, watching the fight unfold. The Tarrkuans possessed blasters and managed to take many of the Xollnaxians down with the deadly fire, but the green aliens had pointed spears, which they hurled through the air at the guards.
Two Tarrkuans collapsed and writhed on the ground in an unnatural manner, their blue skin quickly fading to a sickly gray shade, making Caylee think the spears contained poison or some other incapacitating agent.
Her heart lurched at the sight. Were the guards going to die? She thought about Kazzon and wondered where he was, praying he hadn’t run into these murderous Xollnaxians. She hoped he wasn’t anywhere near the smoke she’d glimpsed in the distance.
Please stay safe. Please come back to me.
A red flash soon filled the corridor, and she glanced up to notice light strips running along the corners of the ceiling. The flashing continued, joined with the intermittent blare of an alarm. In between the blare, a recorded voice resounded through the corridors.
“Warning: the ship has been boarded by enemy aliens.”
The recording was in the main dialect of Tarrkuan, and for a moment, she almost wished she couldn’t understand the language, because the message sent a chill of fear straight to her bones.
Boarded. Holy shit.
The Xollnaxians had boarded the Corrannelia. And she wasn’t in Kazzon’s quarters, hiding in the safest area of the ship, like she was supposed to be.
Up ahead, she spotted a tall Tarrkuan guard tearing blasters and other weaponry from a cabinet in the wall. She paused and stared as he tucked over a dozen weapons into his belt, then took off down the corridor, rushing in the opposite direction. He hadn’t even noticed her.
She gazed at the cabinet, which he’d left open. She’d walked down this corridor many times since her arrival on the Corrannelia and she’d never known a cabinet filled with sophisticated Tarrkuan weaponry was apparently hidden in plain sight.
A couple of weird looking knives and smaller blasters remained, and she stepped forward and reached out to touch the weapons, her pulse pounding in her ears alongside the continuous blare and the repeated warning about alien intruders. She grabbed a knife and a blaster, then took off down the corridor, in the direction of Kazzon’s quarters.
If the Xollnaxians bothered her, she would be ready.
Kazzon stared at the bloodied outcast, the last one alive. The huge green male had dropped his spear and held up his hands in surrender after the remainder of his companions lay dead on the cavern floor. The exile trembled in the restraints that were now secured around his wrists and ankles. Though quite large, he was smaller than most Xollnaxians, making Kazzon suspect he was younger, perhaps barely an adult.
“Where is Ambassador Stonnas?” Kazzon de
manded in Xollnaxian, crossing his arms as he stood over the green alien.
“He’s dead. I didn’t kill him though. It-it wasn’t my idea.” No black mist appeared around his face.
“Where is his body?”
“What’s left of him was burned,” the alien said, pointing toward a firepit in the center of the cavern. “Some of the other outcasts ate him.”
Alarm shot through Kazzon, though he was careful not to allow his surprise to show on his face. But he did walk over to the firepit, where he knelt to inspect the ashes. Indeed, bones that were distinctly Tarrkuan were scattered amongst the ashes. Fluxx. Rage simmered in Kazzon, that the Xollnaxian outcasts had treated one of his comrades, a fellow ambassador, in such a barbaric manner.
Kazzon nodded at a few of the guards. “Collect any remains you can. Stonnas and his crew deserve a proper burial on Tarrkua.”
As the guards rushed to comply, Kazzon returned to the Xollnaxian.
“Did your people have anything to do with the decimation of Ambassador Stonnas’ ship?” Kazzon asked. “Keep in mind that if you are cooperative and answer my questions, I will be more apt to show you mercy.”
The green alien appeared confused. “If you are referring to the technology that has been stripped from his ship, yes, we are responsible for that. We captured the ambassador and his men, then took the weapons and technology from the ship. We forced Stonnas to contact the Tarrkuans to request help, hoping it would bring more ships that we could raid. I believe he claimed his ship was inoperable when he requested help, though I do not know the details.”
“I suppose it came as a surprise to your people when you weren’t able to work our weapons, particularly the blasters,” Kazzon replied in a biting tone. The Xollnaxians had probably found little that could be of use to them on Stonnas’ ship. Tarrkuan blasters and other weaponry could only work with a Tarrkuan biosignature.
