Love Like No Other

by Michelle Howard

  ***

  The alarm’s discordant clanging grabbed Cellie’s attention. She burst back into the room, interrupting the Queen. “Sorry, Cordie. We need to get you back to your suite while I check on this.”

  Red eyes flashing, Cordie jumped to her feet and headed toward Cellie. “What in the stars is going on?”

  Cellie wished she knew. She cupped the Queen’s elbow and hurried them along. In the hall, the strobe light effect from the ceiling created a dizzying array of patterns on the wall. Heart thumping, Cellie tried to imagine what could have taken the ship from yellow to red alert this quickly. Her mind flashed to Jax and she knew he’d be on top of whatever was going on.

  “Cellie, what’s happening?” Talire asked, her face wrought with nerves.

  “I’m about to find out. Has Captain Wickers said anything?” Cellie ushered Cordie in, pleased to see Efan and Cranz up, though both men glared at the Queen when she wasn’t looking.

  “Nothing other than to stay in our room.” Talire fluttered around Cordie, who accepted the attention, taking a seat on a patterned love seat.

  Cellie started to ask another question when an explosion rocked the ship. Talire and Magda screamed. Cordie shot back to her feet, and much to Cellie’s relief, Cranz and Efan immediately assumed a protective stance around the Queen.

  Cordie didn’t hold back, letting rip several profanities that had Talire blanching. Cellie smiled and braced a hand on the wall. She tapped the personal comm clipped to her shirt. “Captain Wickers?”

  She got static in return.

  “Tell us what you want us to do, Cellimina.” Cordie no longer looked as if grief occupied her thoughts. Her eyes snapped red fire as she stood spine straight, every inch the ruler of Zephil.

  Cellie went directly to the communicator on the desk and flicked the switch. “Captain Wickers, this is Senior Guard Manx in need of a report.”

  “Commander Brom of the Zanian IX has placed us on red alert. Fighter jets deployed, unable to contact the Queen,” the Captain responded immediately.

  Cordie gasped but Cellie ignored her. “The Queen’s with me. Reason for the red alert?”

  “Enemy ship spotted. Encroaching on defined space.”

  Another explosion shook the ship and Cellie grabbed the sides of the table to stay on her feet. Talire and the others cried out, but not her guards, Cellie was pleased to note.

  “I’ll keep us in the Queen’s suite.” Cellie’s thoughts flew as she went through scenarios and tried to piece together a plan in case of the worst. “Keep me posted, Captain.”

  “Confirmed.”

  Cellie pushed away from the table. Talire’s features had gone chalky and she and Magda hugged one another. Cordelia pushed against Efan’s restraining arm. “Give us the plan, Cellie.”

  Cellie’s lips kicked up in a grin. “Until we learn more, it’s best we let the crew of The Reina and the fighters do their job. If that seems to fail, we’ll talk plan B.”

  Hoping to distract her friend, Cellie settled in for a match of Challenge. Ironically enough, the hologram game required each team to take out the others squad with strategic battle moves.

  Tension in the room grew thick. The sounds of the engaged fight were hard to discount. Captain Wickers gave occasional updates but soon he, too, became silent and focused his attention where needed.

  Cellie tapped a forefinger against her pants legs and checked for any change of note. Her personal comm still wasn’t working either.

  Talire sniffed, her lip quivering as she left Cordie’s side to speak to Cellie. “W-we’re going to be fine?”

  “Of course.” Cellie trusted Jax with their safety and as long as the Z defended them, they would get through this.

  “Holy mother of all,” Cordelia gasped, drawing all of their attention as she stared out of the small port window.

  Cellie rushed over and froze at the sight that greeted her. A ship engaged the Queen’s squadron and fired on them continuously. The shockwaves caused the vibrations they felt on The Reina. But what scared Cellie down to the bone came from the compartment slowly opening on the underside of the attacking ship. It opened to reveal a huge modified laser cannon. A weapon of that magnitude would destroy The Reina.

  Breath in her throat, Cellie darted back to the communicator. “Captain Wicker, evacuate The Reina! Notify Commander Brom the enemy has laser canons!”

  He stuttered in return, “Sensors aren’t picking up on anything. They’re using pulse beams and staying out of range. It’s a stalling tactic.”

  “Damn, you. Listen to me.” Cellie dragged a hand through her hair. “We have an excellent view from the Queen’s room. Hail the Z and start transporting the crew. I’m escorting the Royal party down now.”

  Cellie disconnected and turned to face the burning stares. “The Reina is no match. I’m not sure our fighters are either. The threat of fire onboard is a risk I’m not willing to take. This is a planned ambush and we’re safer on a fortified battle cruiser.”

  “We follow your lead, Senior Guard.” Efan’s anger laden glance spoke volumes.

  Agreement was mirrored on the face of the others.

  Organized chaos. Cellie classified their mad dash to the transporter room as organized chaos. The crew huddled through the halls in seamless rows when they arrived. The space in this part of the ship grew tight as more and more joined them with the same mindset. They needed off The Reina.

  Cellie paused outside the transporter room and met Efan and Cranz’s gazes. “Stay here.”

  She shouldered her way forward despite Cordie’s squawk of protest. Inside was a bit of pandemonium. Cellie took charge of the nervous engineer managing the controls. “What’s your name?”

  “Higgins, sir.”

  “Confirm coordinates with the Z.”

  He puffed out a breath of relief. “Already done, Senior Guard.”

  “We need to move everyone out,” she said slowly in order for him to understand.

  His neck wobbled on his thin shoulders but he nodded. “Understood. But…but I haven’t been able to get a hold of Captain Wickers in the last few minutes.”

  Very unlike the Captain, leaving Cellie to assume something drastic must have occurred since their brief talk. She’d have to check the bridge if they didn’t hear from him soon. “The transporter can handle three at a time. I’ll get her Royal Highness and send her first.”

  Higgins swiped at the sweat beaded on his forehead. “Of course.”

  Cellie dipped back into the hall. The raised voices signaled concern, but no one seemed on the verge of losing it. She looked over the sea of faces and eyed Cordelia, who snapped her arms in a fold across her chest and glared. “Forget it. I’m not going first.”

  Talire tugged on the sleeve of Cordelia’s gown, expression appalled. “Your Majesty.”

  “No!” Her red eyes began to glow.

  Fuck. Cellie turned to the anxiously waiting crew. She didn’t have time to get into a pointless argument with Cordie about her safety and priorities.

  “You and you.” Cellie pointed to two men. “Get in there. Talire, you’re with them.”

  “B-but...”

  “No time, Talire.” Something in Cellie’s gaze must have warned the Queen’s assistant. She moved fast, joining the men to get in the room.

  “Crew first.” She announced to everyone. “The guards, Queen Cordelia and I will go last.”

  Lips firmed and heads shook in denial, filling Cellie with pride. Every person onboard The Reina was a loyal Zephilan. Sending their Queen last would not sit well with them.

  Cordelia pushed forward to face them. “We do this my way, or we’re all going to sit here like birds on a free hunt waiting to be picked off.”

  Someone chuckled. The spiraling sense of danger eased and then in coordinated sync they lined up in threes and began progressing to the transporter. Cellie exhaled. As perilous as the situation seemed they might get out of this with their necks intact.

  On the h
eels of that thought, the floor shook beneath their feet. The Reina absorbed another blow as a hail of firepower from the outside battered them. Wires beneath the panels in the walls crackled and popped. In addition to the alarms, the acrid smell of smoke seeped through the corridors.

  “This is bad, Cellimina. What do you think is going on?” A slight tremor coated the Queen’s voice.

  Cordie maintained an outwardly calm demeanor, but ghostly shadows danced in her red eyes. The regal courage of moments before wavered. To lose her father, worry over the throne and now this—a team of people she worked with and knew in danger because of this trip. Cellie wanted to bolster her friend but couldn’t take the time to joke away the nerves. Every bit of her energy and attention needed to remain focused on their survival.

  “I’m not sure. I need to go and check on Captain Wickers.”

  “I’ll—”

  Cellie raised her hand, forestalling Cordie’s words. “Alone.”

  Cordie’s mouth slammed shut and Cellie smirked.

  “Fine.”

  Cellie hesitated then felt the need to impart her next words in a hard voice. “If I don’t come back you leave, Cordie. No grand stands. No protesting.”

  This time Cordie didn’t respond so Cellie tossed her a cocky salute, then raced back down the corridor toward the lift. Her finger jabbed the button several times before it responded. She jumped inside as soon as the doors opened. The sudden rise upward caused her stomach to drop and Cellie gripped the support bars behind her for balance.

  When the doors opened, she darted through and came to a skidding halt. Cellie covered her nose and mouth to deal with the overwhelming stench of blood and bowels. There was no need to worry about Captain Wickers accompanying them. His body lay slumped over in the captain’s seat, but that wasn’t the only clue that the earnest man was dead. One side of Wickers’ face was missing.

  Cellie cursed and blinked back the burn of tears. They’d been friends, traveling on The Reina together with Queen Cordelia for many trips over the years. He had been a good man, a shining light always ready with a smile. Stepping forward over tangled wires and the destroyed bridge, Cellie tapped out the comm code for the Z and tried to hail Jax.

  More crackle and static. The Reina shuddered and the momentum sent Cellie to one knee. The thundering boom outside helped her decision to forget trying to contact the battle cruiser. At this point, contacting the other ship was a waste. Surely by now, they would have realized what was happening as the crew of The Reina transferred over.

  Struggling to her feet, Cellie traversed the path back to the lift. A low groan overhead drew her attention. Metal crunched against metal. Her head jerked up as a steel beam toppled down toward her. Cellie leaped away with seconds to spare. Off balance, her weight shifted, sending her tumbling to her knees again. Cables slid free of a ceiling panel, sulfur stinging her nostrils.

  Her pulse raced, and her heartbeat ramped up. Cellie braced her hands on the floor and tugged but something hindered her efforts. She glanced down to see her sleeve caught on a jagged edge of the Captain’s chair. The sharp angles wrapped her tight and for a moment panic overwhelmed.

  Up, up. She had to get up. Blood pounded at Cellie’s temple. Another sharp pull and the material ripped as she fell forward. Then the lights blew out, plunging her into darkness. “Damn it!”

  Jax. Her mind called up his image. Cellie latched onto all that defined her lover. Jax would be fighting to save The Reina right now, arrogant and determined as he tossed out commands. Cellie just needed to stay alive.

  The echo of his voice teased her with a long ago memory. They’d been wrapped around one another in bed after a sweaty bout of sex during one of Jax’s leaves. Cellie had told him of the fight she’d had on her way to see him against a crook threatening to rob her.

  “I like a woman who can save herself,” he’d whispered in her ear and reinforced the thought with a toe curling kiss that left her gasping for breath.

  Save herself. Cellie’s heart sped up and a surge of energy propelled her forward. She shot to her feet and staggered a few steps. Drawing a deep breath, she continued on, stumbling and wincing every step. After a sputtering cough, she slapped her hand at the wall. The reassuring whish of the doors opening sent relief careening through her.

  Cellie swiped at her face and took one last look around. Sections of the walls ruptured where the Captain’s body lay. Bits and rods imploded everywhere. Cellie flinched and covered her head with her arms. She stepped backwards into the lift. “Goodbye, old friend.”

  As the doors closed Cellie began counting off in her head how long they had. Her pulse beat in time with her panting breaths. Cellie spared no time racing back to the others. Higgins glanced up. The engineer’s shaking hands manipulated the controls again and again sending people to safety. Three more crew members transported away. Three more before she, Cordie and the engineer could be on there way.

  Time ticked by at a sluggish pace as Cellie kept one eye on what little she could hear of the fight outside.

  “Any luck with contacting the Z?” She asked Higgins. Cellie had to shout to be heard over the alarms.

  His head jerked up. “We took a lot of hits in the initial volley. The first blast wiped out the aft, which included core segments of the communication system. Ship’s autopilot is holding at this point. We’re up next.” He offered a boyish grin and Cellie realized how young he looked. “I think we’ll make it, Senior Guard.”

  She was about to return his smile when the most powerful blast of all knocked her sideways. Cordie screamed, arms pinwheeling as she fell back. Cellie launched forward, her hands snagging around the Queen’s waist as they hit the floor hard. Higgins flew across the room, his body slamming into the wall directly in front of them. A sharp piece of metal pierced his middle and the young engineer was gone.

  Chapter 6

  “The Marenians aren’t giving up, sir. They’ve taken out two of the Queen’s fighter jets.” Worry laced Manala’s tone.

  On screen The Reina sat like an easy target with its blinking lights, failed thrusters and defenseless position. Tension thrummed along Jax’s shoulders. They couldn’t afford to let the slavers get the Queen or any of the crew on her vessel.

  “Do we have a clear shot?” he asked. So far the Zanian IX hadn’t been able to mount a proper defense. His battle cruiser’s size prohibited fast maneuvering which the attacking Marenians used to their advantage. They cleverly stayed between the Queen’s vessel and her squadron.

  “They’re using something that’s keeping us from getting a weapons lock on them. Working on it though.” Manala’s distracted voice rose as he spoke over the alarms.

  “Sir, we can’t do another ship to ship transfer.” Jax’s engineer broke through on his comm.

  Jax stared at the screen, fists balled. Fear beat a heavy tempo in his guts. “Explain, Quinti.”

  “We lost what little contact we had with their engineer. The Reina has sustained severe damage to the computer grid. Most of the functions are non-compliant.” Quinti’s voice hesitated before continuing. “I’m sorry, sir”

  Jax’s chest rose and fell with his escalated emotions. Horror coiled in his belly but he allowed none of it to reflect in his voice. He gripped the arms of his chair tight, knuckles turning white. “How many made it to the Z?”

  “Most of the crew, I think. No sign of the Captain,” Quinti replied. “The Queen and her guard, Cellimina Manx, aren’t here. They stayed behind according to the others.”

  Damn it, Cellie. And Damn Queen Cordelia. It was just like them to put others first.

  “Lita, any luck with communications?” Jax prayed and waited for an answer from his communications rep.

  Swelita’s brow creased, strain evident on her features. “No, sir.”

  Sweat dampened the pits of his shirt but Jax refused to give in to the panic rolling through him. “Try again.”

  “But—sir.”

  “Try again!” he roared.
<
br />   Everyone on the bridge turned. Jax couldn’t break his gaze away from the screen. Never before had he felt more powerless. Only four of the Queen’s fighter jets remained. The Marenian ship opened fire again and explosions lit up the dark sky in a funnel shape that expanded and dispersed. The squadron responded.

  “The Reina has lost shields,” Jude announced.

  Jax rose to his feet unable to sit any longer. “Lita, see if we have records of Cellimina Manx’s personal comm codes. Get her on the line. Now!”

  Come on, Cellie. Don’t do this to me. There had to be a way to get in contact with her. He wouldn’t lose her like this.

  “On it, sir.”

  The door to the bridge opened and Aran arrived, hair disheveled but eyes glowing with calm. Outside of his muata mating heat, rarely did his Chief of Security lose his composure. “Dar and I got everyone settled in quarters below before the transfer unit on The Reina blew. I didn’t see Senior Guard Manx or Queen Cordelia.”

  “They stayed behind,” Jax snarled, his ire leaking through.

  The left wing of one of the fighter jets broke off under laser fire. Despite the pilot’s valiant effort, it collided with another jet and they both burst into chunks of floating metal. Jax’s heart seized. It seemed the Marenians would eliminate The Reina’s only defense and then blow the Queen’s ship. If that wasn’t their intent, they could take the Zephil ruler hostage. Both possibilities would have devastating results. “Manala, get them cover fire.”

  His weapons specialist stared ahead. “Trying. They also have some sort of deflection shield. I’ve never seen the likes.”

  Frustration boiled over. “Jude, bring the Z around to provide more strategic coverage.”

  Enemy laser fire targeted the Queen’s vessel again. Jax’s breath quickened as The Reina listed to the side. Swollen bulges appeared in a sporadic pattern along the hull and agony wrenched across his chest. The remaining two fighter pilots broke away in time to avoid taking damage as they swooped and dove, spitting out laser blasts in response.