“That’s why her words were passed over to the linguistics team. After much deliberation, they report the word ‘dig’ has multiple meanings but the most likely match for her sentence was the word ‘like’.”
“Earth women like elder warriors? It doesn’t seem reasonable.”
“It is true. They checked with Queen Alexis. She reported that older warriors are not frowned upon in their culture. Their elder females seek them out for companionship and their younger queens seek them out for their wisdom, and occasionally their companionship as well.”
Clearly Arac had shocked his sire beyond the capacity for speech. The two drones sat with sleeping infants on their shoulder, considering what opportunities lay ahead on the new Maruvian home world.
Arac dreamed of having his own domicile. It would a place where he could raise his young in peace, far from the prying eyes of a female who might call up again. He would have a fire like his ancestors of old, and plant appetizing plants for his young to munch on as they played outside. His little ones would live their entire young lives without being subject to a queen’s will. They would learn to fly and frolic in the trees. It was a perfect fantasy. If only such a thing were possible for his kind.
Chapter 13
~ Hel ~
Music Mix
Penny’s voice sounded off with determination. “Stop. I forbid the ship from leaving this sector.”
“Um, Penny? You know you’re not really a queen, right?”
Staring her down, she responded flatly. “Regardless of what you may think, neither are you.”
Hel looked at her youngest sister closely. Something was different about her. For possibly the first time in her life, the girl was not joking around.
“What’s going on? I can tell by your tone it’s serious?”
“All this business about being a queen is a bunch of drivel.”
Vraden spoke up. “It is not. She has chosen us and we accept her rule.”
Swiveling her head from Vraden back to Hel, Penny asked, “Are you aware that not everyone aboard this ship considers you their queen?”
“This is the first I have heard about it.”
Armon unfolded himself from the ceiling beam he’d been hanging from and dropped to the floor. “You are not my queen. My queen and my infant son are locked in cage in the underbelly of this ship even as we speak.”
Hel turned furious eyes on Vraden who was shaking his head no. “It is true the Golugua are housed in the belly of the ship and they are kept in cages, but they are too dangerous to be released.”
Penny folded her arms over her chest. “Yeah, I remember you saying that about Armon in the beginning as well. He hasn’t taken a bite out anyone so far. Don’t you think you might be mistaken about some of them?”
“No. Definitely not, my little queen.”
“Do not ever call me that again. I really mean it, Vraden.”
“As you wish.”
Raec stood from the step he was setting on and turned to Hel. Leaning forward in the huge throne chair, she waited for him to speak.
“There has been a longstanding debate among our kind regarding whether the Golugua are truly sentient or if they are mere animals that speak.”
“Since they speak, I’m going to go with thinking of them as people.”
“Most of them are too aggressive to allow loose on the ship.”
“Like my sister already pointed out, Armon seems fine.”
“They were created by our ancestors to be mindless killers. The need to kill is built into their molecular programming.”
“Says who?” Penny was now standing face to face with Raec, with her hands on her hips.
Vraden was the one who answered. “The queens allowed very few of us to get close to the creatures. I was forced to pump Armon full of medications to save his life. I believe some of the genetic material I used changed him slightly, taming him.”
Armon’s growly voice sounded off. “We were not created. We were captured and enslaved. I am no different now than I have ever been.”
Vraden’s fingers danced over his computer console, as he murmured under his breath, “I beg to differ.” Suddenly, a three dimensional image of Armon engaged in battle jumped onto the screen. He was running down a race of fur covered humanoids, lunging for their throats, ripping flesh from bone and killing without apparent thought or remorse.
Hel stared at Armon curiously. “You do not behave that way anymore.”
Penny turned to Vraden. “Do you even know how he got hurt?”
“It appeared to be some kind of weapons fire. There was a hole in his side, under his wing.”
Reaching into her pockets, Penny pulled out a handful of round disks and tossed them onto the floor. “The queens use these disks to control the Golugua. It sends a signal that makes them feral and drives them into a bloodlust. They use the Golugua to clear whole worlds of people. Armon tore his out in a fit of frustration. We’ve removed them from the others.”
Standing, Hel had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. “We’ll pay a visit to the Golugua and see for ourselves if the queens have been deceiving everyone for an endless age.”
“I want them freed.” Penny was going to be intractable on this issue.
“I promise we will do all that we can to remedy this situation.”
Leading them to the Golugua holding area, Penny pulled the string from around her neck and rubbed the fob over the scanning plate. They entered with twenty warriors, including Raec and Vraden.
Hel threw up one hand for them to stop. The nervous warriors hovered just inside the door with their hands on their weapons.
One spoke, abruptly halting her entrance. “Careful, my queen. Without Kabelda to control them, the flesh eaters will be unpredictable.”
Forcing herself to put one foot in front of the other, Hel moved towards the cage where Penny and Armon were standing. Sure enough, inside were several creatures, including what appeared to be a small infant.
“Open the fucking cage.”
Having never been exposed to her fury, the drones hastened to comply. The small female flung herself at Armon and he caught her with one wing, drawing her to him. Wrapping the other wing protectively around his mate and child, he turned accusing eyes on her.
“Penny, tell me everything.”
“Long story short, the Maruvian queens have been keeping an entire species held hostage for thousands of years. They use the same mind control disks you found on the drone who attempted to kill you to make them feral. When they want a bloodbath, they simply turn up the volume and it drives the Golugua into a mindless rage.”
“This is the first I’ve heard that the devices had more than one setting.”
“I helped the drones tear apart Kabelda’s suite and found a bunch of information squirreled away. We used the ship’s computer to help us deactivate the remaining disks safely. Armon says the queens implant and control the devices, so I’m thinking most of the drones actually thought the Golugua were mindless killing machines. Kabelda controlled everything, so when the handlers came in she’d just turn it up enough to drive home the point that they were aggressive, dangerous creatures.”
Feeling the bile rising in her throat, Hel commented disgustedly, “It makes sense that this would be one of their most closely guarded secrets. Keeping the drones in the dark had the added advantage of generating fear of the queens unleashing highly aggressive killing machines on anyone who didn’t follow their orders.”
Alexis added, “If the drones discovered the truth, it would be all too easy for them to grow a backbone one day and simply remove the devices.”
“Since the queens were apparently using the devices on the drones from time to time, they definitely wouldn’t want that secret getting out.”
“May the gods forgive us. They all look perfectly calm.” Vraden’s horrified expression ate away at the idea Hel was harboring in the back of her mind that the drones knew.
Looking from Penny to
Armon, she finally stated, “Unlock the cages and find them housing. Armon, you communicate to your people that we will expect cooperation until we can sort through this mess.”
Penny responded, “I have some questions about this situation. You asked the drones to scan for the devices and they found the ones on the crew and removed them. How is it they didn’t notice thirty or more of them attached to the Golugua?”
Raec answered for his sire. “When drones scan, we target areas of the ship where we expect to find people. It’s the reason Kabelda didn’t know you three were in the cargo bay aboard the Terillian vessel. Since cargo bays are locked tight during transport, no one thought to scan that area. This is a similar situation. Why would any of us have expected Kabelda to be mind-controlling what we believed to be mindless creatures?”
Sighing, Hel responded tiredly, “What you’re saying makes sense. From now on we scan everything.”
“Your will be done, my queen.”
Glancing at Vraden, she finally brought up a situation that had been weighing heavily on her mind. “From now on, we’ll break the day into four shifts. Raec and I will take the first shift. Vraden will take the second shift, and we will accept suggestions for the other two.”
Vraden spoke up helpfully. “I’m certain several drones would appreciate the chance to gain leadership experience.”
“We need to cultivate a command crew that can work independently of our commingled family. Arac had verbalized an interest in settling on the Maruvian home world. Raec and I have discussed that possibility as well. We both are in agreement that space is no place to raise small children. Queen Carolyn would probably be delighted to have a fully functioning mother ship at her disposal.”
Chapter 14
~ Hel ~
Music Mix
Penny was laying on her back, balancing Armon’s tiny infant on her bare feet, as she held out each arm. “Come on, little guy. You can fly. You’ve got wings, just flap them.”
Rolling her eyes, Hel cautioned, “Armon and Amie are going to be pretty pissed if you drop their kid.”
“I’d never do that. I’m teaching him to fly.”
Alexis joined the conversation. “I guess that makes sense, ‘cause you have so much flying experience and all.”
Ignoring their wheedle, she continued to coax the child to move his wings back and forth.
Suddenly, the ship’s klaxons sounded and the white lights along the top of the room began blinking. Vraden’s voice sounded over the com unit. “Brace yourselves, my queens. We are approaching a battle.”
“Can you tell who is fighting?”
“We know little of the people in this sector of space, but we have integrated the information from your handheld into our databases. Drawing from that information, it appears a Dratex trade ship is being attacked by an unmarked ship with no transponder frequency.”
“Sounds like pirates. Can we render assistance?”
“Yes, but this is not our fight.”
“Put us in position between the two ships with our shields on maximum. I’m on my way.”
“Your will be done, my queen.”
Raec met her in the doorway and they headed to the bridge. As soon as they crossed the threshold, the ship jolted. Raec lifted his chin. “No need to worry, my queen. Our shields will hold.”
“The Dratex ship is issuing a distress call.”
“Open a com to the Dratex ship.”
A cat like face shimmered into view. The creature had orange facial fur, large expressive green eyes and a relieved expression on his face. “Thanks be to the gods, we are saved by our new Maruvian allies. The Galactic Council will be pleased that you were so willing jump to the rescue of a member world.”
“It is an honor to intervene on your behalf.”
Vraden spoke quietly. “The pirate ship scanned our armaments, broke off their attack and is moving away.”
“They’re not getting off that easily. Permanently disable their ship and set a beacon in orbit blasting their coordinates and the code MP900800700600. It’s the Galactic Council’s code for prisoner pickup.”
The Dratex captain spoke. “You must be the human queen. I’ve heard of your shrewd cunning in battle.”
Hel shook her head. “Captain Helena Watson, formerly an Earth Gov soldier, and current captain of…Vraden’s Pride.”
Raec’s head snapped around and his expression told her that her choice in names for their ship had pleased him greatly.
“Commence repairs. We will check back with you after dealing with the pirate ship.”
As the screen went blank, Vraden’s pride filled-voice spoke. “We are targeting their engines now, my generous queen.”
The sound of their laser cannons firing rang out three times before Vraden spoke again. “It is done. I would classify their engines as a total loss.”
“That was a little too easy.”
Raec chirped a happy noise. “Their ships are cobbled together from junk–”
“Sorry to interrupt, but our scans show there are human females in their cargo hold.”
Standing from the captain’s chair, Hel commented. “It’s lucky for them that we’re scanning cargo holds nowadays. How many are there?”
“I am showing a total of one hundred and thirty-three. They are all concentrated in a small space. It must be standing room only where they are housed. Their vitals indicate they are upset. I’m showing nineteen other humans throughout the ship.”
“So we’re selling our own people now, are we? Open a com line to the pirate ship.”
A human man’s face jumped onto the screen. He looked disheveled and his bright red hair looked like a greasy mess atop his head.
Her eyes narrowed as she took a step forward. “Commander Connor. It turns out that the ‘verse is a very small place after all.”
“Don’t be ignorant, Watson. You’re traveling long established trade routes between Earth and the worlds of the Galactic Council. It was inevitable that we would eventually run into each other.”
“I’m sorry to say you are looking a little worse for the wear.”
“You are the root of all my problems.”
“You mean your poor choice to attack my little sister is the root of your current difficulties. I imagine that Captain Douglas gave you that nasty scar down the side of your face, stripped you of rank and threw you off the orbital space platform.”
“Worse. He court-martialed me. Fortunately I’m resourceful when I need to be.”
“So you broke out, stole a ship and grabbed a bunch of women to sell?”
“I traded dirt on military corruption to gain my release. Several of us pooled our resources to purchase a junker and we got it running. I’m a legitimate trader according to Earth Gov.”
“That just shows there’s no real justice in the world. If there were, you wouldn’t have a cargo hold full of terrified women.”
“Gathering up a bunch of scruffs proved less trouble than rounding up strays. I offered them a free meal and they came running. It seems my new scar is no barrier to luring women.”
“I’m betting they came for the food, not the company. In any event, I want them.”
“I’d sooner cut their oxygen and let them die.”
“I’m willing to trade for them.”
“What could you have that I would possibly want?”
“Pleasure stones. I’ll trade you one stone for each woman.”
“A pleasure stone for a scruff? I’m not a complete idiot. One stone could buy a thousand worthless scruffs.”
Raec growled in his throat. “Let me kill him, my queen. It would be an honor.”
“It figures that you would end up with a nasty alien in your bed.”
“Look, I’m not enjoying this little insult fest quite as much as you are. I’ll make you one final offer. If you accept my trade, I’ll pull the prisoner pick-up beacon from around your ship and let you be on your way.”
“You’d really trade a stone for ev
ery woman I can give you? Even the children?”
Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to respond. “Especially for the children, you pathetic piece of shit.”
“I accept the deal.”
“We trade face-to-face with you alone. I don’t trust any of your crew.”
Sensing a trap, he countered, “I will not meet you if you are armed. I’ll scan and there had better not be any weapons. We each bring one person to watch our back or the deal’s off.”
“I just want to get the women and get the hell out of here. So, I accept your terms. You’ve got twenty minutes to gather the women up.”
As soon as the screen went dark, Penny’s trembling voice sounded from the doorway. “You’re really going buy women… from him of all people?”
“Hell no.”
Raec interjected cautiously. “I will attend you on this venture, my queen.”
Glancing up at the ceiling above Penny’s head, she responded, “I’m taking Armon. I believe he has a score to settle. Once Connor is dead, we take the women and the stones and leave the beacon in place. The galactic council can decide what to do about the other pirates.”
Vraden made a relieved sound. “That sounds like the queen we know and love. I could scarcely believe you were really going to give our precious stones to such undeserving males.”
“I don’t mind trading a stone for a person’s life. I just don’t see any reason to pay a pirate for stolen merchandise.”
“I don’t think we should be buying women full stop.” Penny’s outraged voice rang out.
Turning back to her little sister, Hel acknowledged, “Neither do I, but in our messed up world it might come to that occasionally.”
“Come, my queen. I am eager to get my claws into the Commander who dared to touch my Penny.”
“Your Penny?”
“She has claimed me. As I belong to her, she belongs to me.”
“You have a mate already.”
Snorting a growly laugh, he responded, “This is not what I meant. Our people are sentinels. We swear our allegiance to one family. My line will forever link to Queen Penny, therefore vengeance is mine.”
Queen Maker's Bride (Alien SciFi Romance) (Celestial Mates Book 6) Page 9
