Sex, Love, and Aliens, Volume 2

by Imogene Nix

  He rounded a corner and saw her...wounded, but alive. Briz. Joy leapt inside of him. His hand went to his side, and he unbuttoned the fastener holding his gun in the holster. In a smooth motion, he pulled it out and walked out from his hiding place, firing. She gasped and turned toward him.

  “Go!” Matek ordered. She opened the sliding door panel, and he joined her inside. He shot the control panel, disabling it, to buy them some time.

  “You—why?”

  He grinned at her expression. She appeared caught between confusion and mortification. He kissed the furrow in her brow.

  “I claimed you. You’re mine.”

  She flinched, and her eyes widened. “Don’t seriously think you can claim me if I don’t want to be claimed.”

  He shrugged. “Looks like you don’t have a choice, beauty. Take the Star Cat, she’s fast and new. Blood never sends her out, so she should be fully fueled.”

  “Thanks,” she muttered as she ran around the shuttle.

  He shook his head. This was life and death, and yet the woman was doing an inspection.

  She opened a hatch, and he watched her put the case inside. Smart. He’d misunderstood her search of the craft’s exterior.

  They climbed in just as the first shots hit the side of the Star Cat. Briz flipped the ignition and taxied out on the launch pad. The doors were closed, but she kept going, heading straight toward them.

  “Are you crazy?” Matek asked. He didn’t know her. She could have a death wish.

  “Are you a good shot?” Briz retorted in a sassy tone.

  “Damn right I am. Why?”

  “Hit that red flashing light on the wall, and we’ll be good.”

  She opened the glass that encapsulated the cockpit, and he took aim. Fire came at them, but managed to miss them and the control panel. She half-stood, grabbing the emergency latch to prevent the glass covering over the cockpit from completely opening. He heard her cry out as the brightness of laser fire lit up the dim space.

  “Are you hit?” he shouted.

  “I’m okay,” she said in a rushed, strained tone. “It’s superficial.”

  He didn’t like the pain in her voice, but kept his aim focused, knowing escape depended on him. There was no time to waste. Breathing out slowly, he pulled the trigger and hit the target. Sparks danced from the wall, and overhead warning lights in red and yellow flashed, making the cockpit strobe with color.

  “Air lock opening, seal this section,” said the monotone emergency system over the speakers.

  Briz pulled down hard, moaning with agony, and closed the glass over the cockpit as the airlock opened. A man—he thought it might be Roget—was sucked out into space. Any equipment that wasn’t locked down flew out the door after him. Warning sirens blared so loudly they could hear them inside the airtight craft. Briz punched the engine as the doors began closing. Matek held onto the dash with a white-knuckled grip and closed his eyes.

  Briz gave a happy little hoot and he opened one eye, then the other. She’d done it, they’d escaped.

  “I guess you’ll be looking for another job,” she commented. He could hear the relief in her voice as some of her sassiness returned.

  “The benefits weren’t that great anyway,” he quipped. “You were hit, is it bad?”

  “Are you worried I’ll pass out and crash us into an asteroid?”

  “Not until you just put the idea in my head.”

  She chuckled. “The big blue button that says auto will keep you alive if I faint, but the good news is it’s just a burn. I’ll have an ugly scar, but I’ll live.”

  “Scars give you character. Nothing about you will ever be ugly.”

  She was quiet for a moment before she gave him an amused snort and punched the speed up. They streaked past the stars, and the light stretched out like stripes on black cloth. He’d never gone this fast in a small craft, and because of his injury he was already feeling queasy. Matek groaned and leaned back with his eyes closed.

  “Sorry I hit you,” she said. “You’d never have helped me. Why did you decide to join me?”

  He shrugged, staying in his awkward position. “Like I said, you’re mine.”

  “I’ll eject your ass if you say that again.”

  He chuckled. “I was only here for revenge against Blood, but I realized that the best way I could honor my dead is saving the living. I just wish I hadn’t needed someone to knock the sense into me.”

  “I feel awful. I really wish I hadn’t hit you.”

  “Well, here we are,” he said.

  “Yep, here we are. The Talorian colony isn’t too far away. We should have the medicine to the people who need it in a few solar hours.”

  Chapter 6

  Ric and Xev exchanged stiff nods of agreement. They’d just finished watching the security footage from Earth Spirit. Kateri was in the prayer garden crying. His little girl was in the hands of pirates. The odds that she was still alive and unharmed were slim. His throat ached, and he rubbed his temples. The dull ache made it hard for him to think with a clear head.

  “If she’s alive, we’ll save her,” Xev said.

  “She’s a Julius. She’ll find a way to survive,” Ric said, more for his own benefit than for Xev.

  There was a soft knock on the office door, then it opened and Kateri walked inside. Ric looked into his wife’s tear-streaked face.

  “Xev, I’ve kept your secret all these years, but it’s time you told Ric. You know what you have to do,” Kateri said in an unusually severe tone.

  Ric looked at his right-hand man and best friend. “What’s she talking about?”

  “I think I can help, but I’ll have to leave here, forever.”

  “By the gods, speak plain,” Ric demanded.

  “Indra is my home world. I’m the bastard son of Paki Del Ona Riker.”

  “The priest king? I thought he was celibate,” Ric said, unable to hide his disbelief.

  “Before he took vows to the order he was just a man. He and my mother were teenage lovers. Because she was a lower class my grandfather disowned my father, and he joined the order. He was ambitious.” Xev sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He shook his head. “The political forces that put him in power also wanted me dead so the secret of my father’s indiscretion would die with me. I faked my death, and eventually found a home here at Sea Gate. My father was heartbroken when he heard of my death. If I go to him, I can sway him to help our Briz.”

  Ric nodded. “I will accept your help, but I don’t want to lose you, my old friend.”

  “That’s irrelevant. You and your family are my family. I cannot sit back and let her die. She’s a good woman, and I’m proud of her. There’s only one pirate who’d be bold enough to fly in Indra controlled space.”

  “Blood,” Ric said.

  Xev nodded. “I’ll have to go back into hiding, but as long as we save her it’ll be worth it.”

  Ric and Xev clasped each other’s forearms tightly. Their gazes locked and Ric nodded. Xev gave him a tight smile.

  “We’ll save her,” Xev promised.

  “Bring her back. Please, for the love of the gods, bring her back,” Kateri begged. She walked away, looking her age, bent and maybe a little broken. Ric heard his wife muttering the names of her ancestors.

  He had to bring their daughter home.

  * * * *

  Briz landed at the meeting point. She’d anticipated issues with Indra patrol ships, but there hadn’t been any. This was where her Talorian contact was supposed to be waiting. She noticed the remnants of a small fire, but didn’t see anyone.

  She and Matek climbed out of Star Cat. Matek held his gun, and his posture was alert and ready. She opened her mouth to call out, but Matek made a hand gesture for her to be quiet. She followed the pirate around a large boulder. A primitive tented shelter was set up. Matek cautiously opened the canvas flap. He took a step back and held his arm up to keep Briz from going any farther.

  “Dead.” The normal volume of h
is voice sounded very loud in the quiet, lonely place.

  “His name was Geo. Should we bury him or something?”

  Matek shook his head. “Let’s go,” he said in a tight voice.

  Briz gave the tent a regretful look. She detested leaving the dead unattended. Her mother’s beliefs ran deep inside her, even if she had tried to reject them.

  “I hope we aren’t too late to save the others.” She went over to the ship and grabbed the medicine case. Stumbling in the loose rock, she followed Matek up the hill. When they reached the top they looked out over the encampment below.

  Colorful tents were arranged in rows. There were a few metal structures that appeared to be cobbled together from scrap. Some undernourished-looking animals were penned off to the left of the village. Everything was primitive. Smoke rolled up from fires that lit up the darkness, making the camp easy to see.

  The sight of freshly dug graves to the right of the encampment stirred a pain in her chest. Gazing down at the village, a sense of hopelessness made tears prickle behind her eyelids. If she’d arrived sooner… She forced her thoughts off that dark course.

  Matek took her hand and helped her down the hill. This disease only affected someone with Talorian DNA. The smell of death hit them long before they entered the village.

  On this side of the moon there were only a few hours of daylight, which was how the people had stayed hidden from Indra patrols for so long and flourished for a decade before their illegal colony had been spotted. In the dim light of the stars she could see many people lying on cots in the tent homes as they entered the village.

  No one tried to stop them or greet them. Despair clung to this place like a fog. Coughing and wailing were the only sounds that broke the stillness. Matek squeezed her hand. She squeezed back.

  A woman stumbled out of a larger tent. She looked terrified when she saw them. Briz raised her hand in a universal gesture of greeting.

  “Don’t be afraid. We’ve brought medicine,” Briz said softly in General, the basic language of the coalition.

  The woman’s eyes widened. She nodded and rushed off. An older man came out of a tent at the far end of the encampment. He hobbled with a cane, so they hurried over to meet him in order to prevent him from walking farther than he had to.

  Briz held out the case. “This is medicine,” she said, gesturing to what she held.

  The old man nodded, but his eyes narrowed skeptically. “How do I know this is not an Indrian trick? You could be here to finish us off.”

  Matek pursed his lips as his cheeks reddened and his fists clenched. “The woman has risked her life to save yours. Have faith or don’t, but do not spit on her gift. If you accept life, you owe her much.”

  The old man and Matek glared at each other for a moment before he shouted a long string of Talorian. Several armed men came running out, and they took the case. Briz stood with her hands up. Matek had drawn his weapon.

  The old man followed the younger, armed men into a tent. The woman looked at Briz, then at the retreating men, and then back to Briz. The Talorian woman’s lips turned up in a small, almost apologetic smile, as she rushed off to join her people.

  “I don’t know what I was expecting, but that wasn’t it,” Briz whispered.

  Matek made a gruff sound deep in his throat and put his arms around her shoulders. “Now to find a long-range radio and get you to safety,” he said.

  “What will you do now?” Briz asked.

  He shrugged, but that was the only response he gave.

  “My father is always looking for good security. You can make a place for yourself at Sea Gate Transportation. Metricia has its charms.”

  Matek gave her a half-smile as she gazed up at him. “I’m sure it has many charms.”

  Feeling anticlimactic, she followed the pirate back to the ship. Her burned shoulder stung.

  “I want to bury Geo,” she said.

  “Indra patrols are still a threat. We’re in restricted territory on sacred ground. Let his own deal with him.”

  “My mother’s people believed the dead stay with you, and if you disrespect them, they never give you peace.”

  A spotlight illuminated them, causing her to gasp, and she blinked up into the blinding light. “Stay where you are,” a male voice shouted over a military craft’s external communication. “You are violating Indrian law.”

  When she glanced at Matek he was looking at her and his face was drawn into a grave expression. This wasn’t good.

  “I don’t think the dead even want to be involved with us right now. Put your hands up, and let me do the talking. I’m sure I’m more familiar with getting out of legal trouble than you. I’ve only been retired from piracy a few hours.”

  Chapter 7

  Matek stumbled as the Indrian guard pushed him forward. He’d spent the last week in a cell. His only thoughts had been about Briz. They’d taken her in a different direction when he’d confessed to delivering food to the refugees and he told them Briz was his captive. They’d refused to hear her protests. She’d screamed his name and struggled with the guards. His fear hadn’t been for himself, but for her.

  In his entire life he’d never believed he’d find a female worth claiming, but Briz was as bold as she was beautiful. He prayed to his gods the guards treated her with more kindness than they’d shown him. Revenge had consumed him for so long it was odd for a living person to occupy his mind. As he’d sit in his cell, he’d had a lot of time to think. As much as he still wanted revenge, he wanted Briz more. There was nothing he could do for the dead, it was the living he should be concerned with. If he survived, he would find Briz again.

  In the darkness he’d lost track of the time. When they’d come for him he’d struggled, but after being dragged roughly through many halls he’d finally allowed his captors to do as they would. Large doors opened, and he didn’t glance up until he realized he was standing before the fabled priest king, keeper of the religious laws that governed every coalition planet. This was the most powerful man in the universe. Matek was in much deeper shit than he’d thought. He dropped to his knees and bowed.

  “Rise,” ordered the priest king.

  Matek stood as the guards released him, but continued to flank him.

  “Matek, we have no record of you before your service on the Heartless. Are you a Sun Warrior from the lost desert clans?”

  He flinched. “I am,” he admitted without looking away.

  “You serve the man who destroyed your people?” The priest king didn’t sound judgmental, just inquisitive.

  “Yes,” Matek replied.

  “Why? Why serve him? For a man with such fighting skills there would be many legitimate places that would pay for your service.”

  “Revenge.”

  “Ah, I see.” The aging holy ruler stood, and men on either side of him rushed to assist. He waved them away. “Do you still seek revenge against the pirate called Blood?”

  “No.”

  “Excellent. Brizette Julius said that you claimed her to save her from the other pirates. Is that true?”

  “Yes. She is innocent. I accept whatever punishment you choose to give me, but she’s an innocent victim.”

  The old man gazed at him for a long time without saying a word, before he finally nodded. “I have given your punishment a great deal of thought. You are the last of your kind, and the woman you claimed as your captive is the last child bearing female of her race.” He motioned at the door, and Matek turned to see Briz entering with two men and a woman.

  She started to rush toward him, but the woman reached out and grabbed her hand, stopping her.

  “Your claim will be honored,” the king said. “She is yours, and you’re to procreate. This is my decree.” He looked at the guards. “Take them to the prepared suite where they will consecrate this match. Too many races have been lost to fighting among us. We were all once from the same planet. The Talorian people will have peace and be allowed to maintain their colony.”

&nbs
p; When one of the armed men marched up to Briz and grabbed her arm, Matek struggled. The older man by her side drew his weapon and pointed it at the guard who in turn drew on the man. The young temple warrior and the aging man dressed in a pilot’s flight suit glared at each other.

  “No, please don’t do it, Dad,” Briz plead.

  Matek realized the man was her father. He saw the resemblance now. And the woman must be her mother.

  “She’s no threat. Take your hands off her,” Matek demanded.

  Her people looked at him, and at that moment they were more terrifying than the priest king.

  “I will protect her,” Matek said as he locked gazes with her father.

  The man nodded and lowered his weapon. The guards pulled him along. One of the guards took hold of Briz’s arm, but with less force than the first guard had used.

  “Where are they taking us?” she whispered.

  “To consecrate our union.”

  She stumbled, but then regained her footing. “What? How are we going to get out of this and save our asses?”

  “I protect what is mine,” Matek told her. “You’re not in need of saving.”

  She paled. He didn’t like the way her eyes widened. He needed his woman to trust him. After the long worry for her safety and fear he’d never see her again, his joy over their reunion was clouded by her reaction. She was a bold woman, but still he could see her fear. Perhaps she feared men. He didn’t like the idea she might have been harmed in the past.

  “I won’t hurt you,” he said.

  She didn’t respond, but he noticed the guard had to drag her now, she wasn’t walking as briskly.

  A woman waited by a large door. She opened it, and inside was an elaborate suite lavishly decorated. A table was laden with food, and the biggest bed he’d ever seen sat in the center of the room. The bed was plush with pillows and blankets.

  The guards shoved them inside and slammed the door, the snick of the lock announcing that they were there to stay. Briz ran to the huge wooden exit and pounded on it, screaming.