A Warrior's Heart

by S. E. Smith

  A Warrior’s Heart:

  Marastin Dow Warriors Book 1.1

  By S. E. Smith

  Acknowledgments

  I would like to thank my husband Steve for believing in me and being proud enough of me to give me the courage to follow my dream. I would also like to give a special thank-you to Sally, Debbie, Julie, Jolanda, Jackie, and Narelle, who listen to me, read my stories, and encourage me to be me.

  —S. E. Smith

  Imprint: Science Fiction Romance

  Montana Publishing

  A WARRIOR’S HEART: MARASTIN DOW WARRIORS BOOK 1.1

  Smashwords Edition

  Copyright © 2014 by S. E. Smith

  First E-Book Published February 2014

  Cover Design by Melody Simmons

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission from the author.

  All characters, places, and events in this book are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations are strictly coincidental.

  Summary: Two human brothers, kidnapped and sold by an alien trader, discover love in the most unusual place when they meet two sisters fighting to stay alive among their own kind.

  ISBN: (Paperback) 978-1-942562-89-4

  ISBN: (eBook) 978-1-942562-33-7

  Published in the United States by Montana Publishing.

  {1. Science Fiction Romance. – Fiction. 2. Science Fiction – Fiction. 3. Paranormal – Fiction. 4. Romance – Fiction. 5. Alien Romance – Fiction.}

  www.montanapublishinghouse.com

  Smashwords License Statement

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  Synopsis

  Ben and Aaron Cooper’s life had never been one of ease. Deserted by their mother and raised by a drunken father, they fought to survive on the Kansas farm where their father worked. Life deals them a horrendous twist when they are kidnapped by an alien trader and sold.

  Ben, the oldest by sixteen months, convinces the aliens who enslave them that he and Aaron will die if they are separated. It is the only way he can think of to keep them together and protect his younger brother.

  The next fifteen years prove to be the most challenging of their lives. They do what they have to in order to survive. They are convinced their time has come to an end when the freighter they are on is attacked by a species known for their lust for blood and killing.

  Evetta and Hanine Marquette are Marastin Dow; a species whose leaders thrive on living in the old ways where only the strongest, most ruthless are allowed to live. The life expectancy for most Marastin Dow is short, especially on one of the warships that all Marastin Dow, male or female, are expected to serve a mandatory service. Advancement usually comes by murder.

  Evetta and Hanine want a different life and work together to stay alive in the hopes of finding a life away from the constant threat of death. Life changes for them when they encounter two strange and unusual alien males.

  When the males’ lives are endangered, there is only one thing these warrior women can do to save them… run!

  Chapter 1

  “What do you think will happen now?” Aaron Cooper asked as he leaned his head back against the cold metal wall of their prison cell. “Do you think this might be the end? Do you think they’ll kill us?”

  “I don’t know,” Ben replied grimly, looking over his shoulder at his younger brother. “I’ve heard some nasty things about this species.”

  “Hell, heard! You saw what they did to the rest of the crew on the freighter,” Aaron said tiredly. “Maybe it is just as well. I’ve given up hope of ever making it back to Earth.”

  Ben didn’t say anything. What could he say? He had lost hope of ever seeing Earth again years ago. He might only be sixteen months older than Aaron, but he was always more pessimistic about life than his brother.

  Life had never been easy for them. Their mother deserted them and their father shortly after Aaron was born. If that wasn’t bad enough, their father began drinking so much that by the time they were old enough to open a box of cereal they were pretty much on their own. Then the unbelievable happened. They were kidnapped by an alien slave trader from the Kansas farm where they lived.

  It has been almost ten years since that day. He was fourteen and Aaron twelve at the time. They were repairing barbed wire fencing along one of the less used fields when they were taken. Their dad was supposed to do the work, but he was too drunk to get his ass out of bed. Ben drove the old pickup truck and he, along with Aaron, did the work instead of their father. It was the only way to keep a roof over their heads and food in their bellies, though they spent more time hungry than fed.

  If they thought life was hard before, it became brutal for the first five years after they were taken. It wasn’t until the captain of the last freighter won them in a game of chance that things changed slightly for the better. Life still hadn’t been easy, but at least they were able to scrape a little bit of a normal life together.

  Ben convinced every one of their previous owners that he and Aaron must stay together or they would die. It was the only thing he could think of to keep them together. Since their species hadn’t been seen before, it had worked.

  They had spent the last five years working on the freighter; cooking, cleaning and doing repairs. The captain even let them have a few credits from the sale of the illegal merchandise that he carried. They saved every credit in the hopes of buying their freedom or escaping, whichever came first.

  That dream came to an end when the freighter was attacked. All of the crew members were killed except for him and Aaron. He didn’t know why. Maybe it was because the Marastin Dow, a Spartan type species, according to what they learned over the years, had never seen a human before. Or, it could be because the purple bastards wanted to have fun as they killed them. He didn’t know, and truthfully, he was at the point he didn’t give a damn anymore.

  Aaron stood up when the door leading down to the prison cells, opened. A large Marastin Dow male walked up to their cell door. He looked Ben up and down before turning his gaze to Aaron.

  “Do you understand me?” The male asked gruffly.

  “Yes,” Ben replied.

  “You will not fight. You will do what you are told. Do you understand?” The male stated.

  “Yes,” Ben replied again.

  “What are you going to do to us?” Aaron asked.

  The male looked at Aaron. “You will work. You will keep your head down. And you will live if you are careful. Do not trust anyone unless I say you can. Most of the crew would sooner slit your throat for the fun of watching you die than help you. If you do as I tell you, you might live long enough to get off this ship alive,” the man explained in an emotionless voice.

  “Why?” Ben asked, puzzled. “Why don’t you just kill us like you did the rest of the crew?”

  The man shrugged and briefly looked away. “I saw that you were different,” he said quietly. “I saw the way you protected the younger one. You did not try to push him in front of you so you could escape. I want to learn more about you and your species. In exchange for information, I will do what I can to protect you both.”

  “Why?” Ben asked aga
in, pressing the male standing in front of him. “Why do you want to know more about us?”

  The man stared taciturnly back at Ben. “I am a scientist. I study other species. I believe there are other ways to… live. I want to know… learn about them. Others of my kind want it as well. You will give me the information I need.”

  “For how long?” Aaron interrputed. “How long will you protect us?”

  The man finally sighed. “For as long as I can or until someone on this warship decides to kill me,” he stated in resignation. “I am the Chief Science Officer. If someone else desires my position, my life expectancy significantly drops.”

  “Then I guess we better make sure that you have someone watching your back as well,” Ben said quietly. “My name is Ben Cooper, by the way. This is my brother, Aaron.”

  The male looked at the hand Ben was holding out through the metal bars. He looked back at Ben’s face for several long seconds before he hesitantly held out his own hand. He started when Ben shook it and released it.

  “That is called a handshake,” Ben explained. “You said you wanted to learn more about our species. Here’s your first lesson. Humans shake hands as a way of greeting each other.”

  The man looked at his hand, turning it over to stare at his palm before his dark eyes rose to study Ben and Aaron. “My name is Behr De’Mar, Chief Science Officer of the warship Disappearance. It is best until you learn your way around that you stay on the levels I tell you. Those levels have crew that I trust and that is not an easy thing to find among the Marastin Dow.”

  *.*.*

  Four years later:

  Aboard the Marastin Warship Disappearance

  Evetta Marquette, Engineer Technician First Class, scowled at the large male who was crowding her in the deserted corridor. She seldom ventured far from her assigned post in engineering when she was working; today had been an exception. In fact, during the past year she and her sister had been aboard the Disappearance, neither of them went beyond their assigned duty stations or the three upper decks that housed their sleeping quarters, dining and training rooms.

  She wouldn’t be here now if it weren’t for a faulty sensor that she was ordered to replace. The technician who normally handled such things had been hurt during a fight the night before and was currently in medical receiving treatment. That, unfortunately, left her to repair it since she was the one on duty. Evetta realized the moment she removed the outer protective casing that the sensor had been tampered with. Her suspicion was confirmed when she turned and found a huge male standing behind her.

  A sickening feeling washed through her at the malicious grin on his face. Instinctively, she knew there was only one way this situation was going to end – with one of them dead. Raising her chin, she stared back at the male with a hard, cold glare.

  “Leave,” she ordered, staring down at the lower class maintenance worker with a steely gaze.

  “I’ve been watching you,” the large male grinned. “I want you.”

  “That is too bad. I have work to do. I also out rank you. I order you to move away,” Evetta hissed in a cold voice. “I will not tell you again.”

  “Not until I get what I want. Do you think your rank will stop me? I could kill you and take your position,” he taunted, rubbing the front of his pants. “I hope you like it rough, female. I am looking for some satisfaction,” the man continued as he stepped closer. “You and the other one that you room with have heated my blood. I have been waiting you for some time. You are not like the other females on board the ship. I like that. When I am done with you, I’ll see if the other one can also help cool my blood, at least for a little while.”

  “I will kill you first,” Evetta snarled, stepping back a step until her back was almost touching the wall. “You will not touch either of us.”

  The man just chuckled as he swung his fist toward her jaw. Evetta was prepared. She and her sister trained every available moment for just such a situation. They often tried to sneak up on each other and take the other unaware. It was necessary to be prepared for deceit and violence if they were to survive their mandatory required service in the Marastin Dow military.

  Evetta jerked back at the same time as she kicked her booted foot into the male’s groin. She didn’t wait to see his reaction. Pulling out the small metal weight she carried in her pocket, she swung it at the back of his head over and over again when he bent forward.

  She didn’t stop even when he fell to his knees and then collapsed on the floor. He would kill her if she didn’t kill him first. With one last blow, she jerked backwards away from the blood pooling on the floor around the dead man. Nausea threatened to choke her, but she swallowed it down. With shaking hands, she cleaned the small metal pipe and as much as she could of the blood on her skin and clothing before she slid the pipe back into her pocket.

  She glanced up and around. She did not need to worry about anyone seeing her unless they walked up on her. The Marastin Dow were a bloodthirsty species who killed each other with ease and could care less.

  She knew there were those trying to change the Marastin Dow’s way of life. Unfortunately, those still ruling their world believed in the old ways; survival of the fittest. She could only hope there would be changes before too long. She had heard rumors of the rebellion against their leaders. Hopefully this rebellion will stop those who believe in and encourage the bloodbath.

  Still, they were just rumors. She and Hanine hated living in fear. They hated the constant threat of violence. They witnessed the brutal murder of their parents, years ago, when their father was chosen to participate in the games as they were called.

  Her mother fought to protect her father only to be slain for resisting. Their parents believed in a better way of life. They were merchants who dealt in herbs from different worlds and met many other species in their travels.

  They lived in a small village that was already starting to see that violence was not a normal way of life. It wasn’t until a new governor for that region killed the existing one that things began to change for the worse. Their parents were vocal about living in peace and that was the beginning of the end for them.

  Once she and Hanine reached the age of enrollment at sixteen years, they were forced into a twenty year enlistment with the military by a new law their governor enacted. This was their sixth year of service and their second assignment. She wasn’t sure how much longer they would last before they were either raped or murdered. They barely survived their last assignment and this one was proving to be even more challenging. Hanine had already been attacked twice. This attack was the fourth in less than two years for her.

  Drawing in a deep breath, Evetta turned to head back toward the lift. She stopped when she heard the echo of voices coming toward her. Glancing around, she turned in the opposite direction. She had never been to the lower decks. It looked like she was about to have that chance now.

  *.*.*

  An hour later, Evetta leaned back against the side of the bulkhead and sighed. She had been weaving in and out of the corridors, avoiding the other crew members. She pushed off the wall and frowned when she heard the unusual sound of music echoing through the empty corridor. The haunting chords wrapped around her, as if invisible ropes were pulling her toward the melody. She moved slowly, hesitantly toward the sound.

  Pausing outside the opening to a small room, she tilted her head in wonder. A strange alien male sat in a chair up against the wall. His feet were propped up on another chair and he was blowing into a small metal device that made beautiful music.

  Her eyes roamed hungrily over his bent head. He didn’t know she was there, or at least she didn’t think he did since he didn’t change his position. She stepped gingerly into the room, wanting to see more of his face. His hair was a dark brown and was long and shaggy. The ends were ragged, as if he cut it himself. His skin was a natural tan color, and darker brown hair covered his forearms. He was tall. As tall as the males of her species and he was just as muscular if the fit of h
is shirt was any indication.

  She froze when he glanced up at her. He never paused in the song he was playing. His dark brown eyes gazed back at her with intensity as he continued playing the unusual melody. She started to take a step back but forced herself to remain where she was standing.

  Her eyes scanned the rugged face of the unusual male. He had high cheekbones and a long, narrow nose that was slightly crooked in the center. Dark stubble covered his cheeks, jaw and around his mouth. His long fingers moved with a grace that held her mesmerized as she watched him slide them back and forth across the silver metal, making her wonder what it would feel like to have them slide across her skin.

  Her lips parted as the last notes faded away, leaving them in silence. Her eyes jerked back up to his when he slowly lowered the instrument in his hands and stood up. She was unable to prevent the defensive step she took backwards as he rose to his full height. He stood at least a head taller than she did.

  “Who… what are you?” Evetta asked in a voice she didn’t recognize as her own. Since when was she ever this breathless around a male before? She frowned. “Where did you come from?”

  Chapter 2

  Ben knew she was there the moment the female entered the small room that he used when he wanted to be alone. The room had a small port window, two chairs and nothing else. Hell, not much else could fit into the narrow space unless he took out the chairs.

  He was used to the occasional visitor when he was playing his harmonica. It was the one thing besides Aaron that he had left to remind him of Earth. It had been the last gift their mom gave him before she patted him on the head and gave Aaron a kiss, and then she walked out of the door never to return.