Shalia's Diary Book 2

by Tracy St. John

  I was fuming. “He knew I would never sleep with him as long as Dusa and Esak were around. He knew I didn’t feel right about it.”

  I wanted to punch something. Unfortunately, the closest things were Weln and a pine tree. I wasn’t going to take a swing at my Imdiko sweetie, and the tree would hurt me a lot more than I could hurt it.

  It took everything I had not to scream. I had to settle for muttering between clenched teeth. “I am going to rip both Nang’s cocks off!”

  “You have to be careful,” Weln cautioned, pulling me close and clutching me to his chest. “It could be he’s so possessive that he’d be a danger to you. Don’t approach him alone.”

  I’m pretty certain Nang wouldn’t hurt me. But I’m more than ready to hurt him. Damn it, after what happened last night with him … I’m so fucking pissed. Not just at him, but at myself too. I was even thinking how sad it was I’d never be able to clan with the bastard because of his clanmates!

  Thank God for homosexual Kalquorians, and I don’t care how blasphemous that sounds. Who knows what awful situation I would have found myself in if Nang’s Nobek and Imdiko liked women? All I can say is, they’ve got my sympathies for ending up with such a jerk for a Dramok.

  I gave Weln a bunch of noncommittal statements that led him to believe I wouldn’t confront Nang. I let him kiss me and we soothed each other as best we could before he had to get back to work. Poor Weln. He was separated from the men he loves too, and all because Commander Asshole thought he had a right to me.

  I will confront Nang. Just as soon as I can get hold of myself, he and I are going to have it out. I sure hope he enjoyed last night, because it was the last time he’s getting with me.

  November 18

  What a day yesterday was. It was just too much angst after waking up and feeling so good about the night I had with Nang, only to hear Mom was getting worse, then how treacherous Nang had been, and finally getting in his face about it.

  I can’t even begin to describe the satisfaction I got when I walked into Nang’s office, saw the smug smirk on his face as he rose to greet me, and loudly announced so the four Kalquorians and my bodyguard just outside could hear: “You are a complete asshole, and I am never going to have anything to do with you again.”

  Ha! Seeing the grin fall off his face gave me no end of admittedly vicious happiness. I am a bitch, but Nang totally deserved it at that moment.

  “Door, close,” he said. The conversations that had been happening beyond it had gone utterly silent in the wake of my declaration. I had half a mind to order it open again. The commander needed shaming in the worst way.

  “What’s wrong, Shalia?” Nang asked, though something in his tone told me he had a pretty good idea I’d found out about his shenanigans. He hung back rather than come near me. Good thing. I’d have clawed his eyes out.

  “You sent Dusa and Esak away. You were behind it all along.” Just the statement made me seething mad all over again. “You hateful shit. You knew I love them. You knew I needed them for as long as I was here.”

  Nang was as stone faced as an Easter Island statue. “They aren’t good enough for you. They have no rank. You need a grown man who can see to your needs, Shalia, not children.”

  “Fuck you!” I raged. “You just wanted me all to yourself. Admit it, you didn’t want to share! And you didn’t care who you hurt! You didn’t care that you broke my heart!”

  Nang’s expression twisted into something ugly, dangerous, and mean. “What about my heart?” he shouted back. “What about me being hurt? How do you think it feels to have someone right there, someone you know wants you but keeps denying it?”

  “I never denied I was attracted to you,” I said. “I always told you the truth. You’re the bastard who refused to let it go.”

  Nang was suddenly in front of me, yanking me close. “Of course I wouldn’t let it go. I love you, Shalia. I knew if I could get you away from those young fools, you’d love me too.”

  His grip on my arms was painful, and I jerked, trying to break free of him. He only pulled me closer.

  Nang’s eyes were wide, his expression bordering on desperation. “I know you have feelings for me. After last night, I have no doubt of that. Forget Clan Dusa. Send your mother on to Kalquor for the treatment she needs and stay with me. I’ll make you happy.”

  “Let me go, Nang,” I groaned between clenched teeth. “You’re hurting me.”

  He automatically released me, thank God. I was honestly afraid he wouldn’t. Weln’s warnings that Nang might become dangerous in his jealousy replayed in my head. But the commander let me go, and I took full advantage of it.

  I punched him in the face with every bit of strength I could muster. There was a loud crack as his nose gave way, and blood splattered from his nostrils. Nang stared at me in shock.

  “Shalia?”

  “You bastard,” I said, backing towards the door. “Do you think a thousand of you would be worth a single Clan Dusa? That I would ever choose you over my mother? I’d rot on this dying planet before I would stay with you.” Then, my voice filled with venom, I said, “I despise you, Nang. I wish I’d never met you. Stay the fuck away from me. Door, open!”

  I ran out, afraid he’d come after me. I was glad to see the five Kalquorians outside the room were still there, staring in fascination as I fled. My bodyguard followed, though not too close. It suited me fine. Site commander or not, I didn’t think Nang would get away with chasing me down in front of the other men, not when I was sobbing. Yeah, I turned crybaby with the mix of disappointment and fear overcoming my anger.

  Nang hasn’t tried to contact me. I haven’t heard a peep from him since I ran off yesterday afternoon. I went straight from his office to Medical, where I sat with Mom until Weln got off work and collected me. Surprisingly, my Nobek bodyguard was still on the job. He followed us back to our room and stood outside the door, same as ever. When Weln left for his shift this morning, another one was there. Nang didn’t order them away.

  I am done with Nang. Completely done. As long as I’m here, I will look no farther than Weln for male companionship. After I leave Earth, it’s going to be a long, long time before Shalia Monroe entertains anything possessing a cock … or two.

  November 21

  Hello again. Shalia Monroe, reporting alive and well. Okay, alive and getting well.

  The 19th of November will stay with me until the day I die as the day I nearly died. Me, Mom, Dad, Weln, and Candy all almost said our final farewell. Many were killed, good and bad people alike.

  It all started when the Galactic Council’s transport arrived to take the prisoners away. We only found out later that the outer perimeter had been breached by those who had been behind the attacks on the Academy. They overran the Nobeks guarding the mile beyond the actual grounds. Then the Earthers waited for the transport to land and the prisoners brought out to board it. They timed it perfectly, while everyone was distracted. That’s when they struck, sending explosives in to take out the fence and the gates, killing more security. The Earthers raced in, almost five hundred strong, shooting blasters at everything that moved.

  I heard the explosions from my quarters. I stuck my head out to ask my bodyguard what was going on. “This is big, Matara,” the young Nobek told me. He tried to raise someone on his com to give him direction, but no one was answering him. There was a lot of shouting going over the frequencies. Chaos was going on elsewhere, and no one was bothering with my low-ranking protector.

  “Shalia!” Candy’s scream cut across the distant shoo-wumph sounds of percussion blasters and roaring explosions. My guard and I looked to see her running full out across the pine-needle strewn grass to get to us. “It’s a full invasion! They’re trying to take down the Academy!”

  “Shit,” I said. My first thought was for Mom. I ran towards Candy, the Nobek on my heels. His fangs were down and his eyes were wide as he held his blaster at the ready. “Are they near Medical yet?” I called as I neared my friend.
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  “I don’t think so. They seem to be heading for the landing pad, but they’re coming in from all directions.” Candy stopped in front of me, gasping. She was white as a sheet. “The Kalquorians are fighting , but there’s a lot of confusion. It doesn’t look like we’ve got a good defense established yet.”

  I turned to the Nobek. “I need to get to Medical. My sick mother is there, and she needs protection. She can’t fend for herself.”

  He snapped a nod, seemingly happy to have something noble to do besides listen to me and Candy squeal. “I’ll escort you there and join those protecting the patients.”

  The three of us took off, Candy and I holding hands like terrified children as we went. The Nobek took the lead. Bless the poor kid’s heart, that’s why he got killed.

  The shoo-wumph sound of a percussion blaster went off, and the air shivered for an instant before my bodyguard’s chest exploded. Candy and I screamed, flattening facedown to the ground in an instant. The Nobek fell down, his arm flinging out. The blaster he’d been holding thumped in the grass right in front of me.

  But it was his glazed purple eyes that filled my vision and his too-young face turned towards mine that held my stunned attention.

  “Shalia!” Candy shrieked, her voice tinny after my ears had taken the force of the blaster shot. It was enough to get me to look in the direction her wide-eyed gaze was pointed at.

  Two Earther men in camouflage were running towards us from the cover of some trees. They wore body armor, the kind that deflects all but nearly point-blank blaster fire. They were aiming at us, and we had no body armor.

  My hand reached for my dead bodyguard’s weapon, knowing I had no chance. I’d never fired one. Surely our attackers would kill Candy and me before they were close enough to shoot. Still, instinct took over and my grip curled around the stock of the large firearm. I pulled it to me, hiding it beneath my stomach. My hand was damp with sweat, and I was dimly grateful for the rough grip that kept it firmly in my grasp.

  The men closed in until they stood over us, their blasters pointed at our heads. “Well, look at this. You gals been slutting for the Kalqs? You been whoring for alien cock?”

  I had the mad urge to say, “Just me,” thinking maybe they’d at least let Candy live. Staring into the huge muzzle of the blaster aimed at me, I couldn’t remember how to talk.

  What happened next was a blur. I remember the guy bending down, reaching for me. There was a harsh tug on my hair, but I didn’t really register pain. Still, he pulled hard enough to yank me upright, because the next time I blinked, I was on my knees in front of him. Then there was the massive roar of a blaster going off. Then another. And another.

  My next memory was standing over three bodies: my bodyguard’s and the two attackers. Candy clung to me, screaming my name, begging me to talk to her, telling me we had to run. She had blasters in both her hands. Those weapons were sized for smaller human hands instead of the near cannon I still clutched in my numb grip.

  “Shalia, come on! We’ve got to get out of here before more come!”

  “Did I—” My voice dried up. I fought to get the words out. “Did I kill them?”

  “Yes, but you had no choice! If you hadn’t, they would have killed us! Shalia, we’ve got to go!”

  I could only stare at the corpses at my feet. One’s belly was blown out. The other was missing half his head. I’d ended lives. I’d killed people.

  “Shalia! We need to get to your mom! Focus, damn it!”

  Mom. The idea of my mother was probably the only thing that could snap me out of my fog. I pulled together my shattered senses enough to let Candy shove and bully me forward until we were finally racing for Medical.

  Fortunately for us, the next people who we came across were a bunch of Kalquorian Nobeks, some of whom had done guard duty over me. We had more blasters pointed at us since we were armed Earthers. Because so many of those guys knew me, not just from playing my personal security but also because of my presentation weeks ago, we weren’t threatened for long. Candy told them what had happened to us, and I bobbed my head in agreement since I still found it hard to talk. I kept seeing those dead men in my head. It didn’t matter I killed them in self-defense. The fact remained that I killed them. Period.

  The squad commander sent us on to Medical with one of his men, allowing Candy and I to keep the Earther-issued blasters for our own protection. Seeing the tan rectangle that was the Medical facility was a huge relief. As soon as our escort talked to the guards stationed there, we were allowed into its tense but well-ordered environment. I ran straight to Mom’s room.

  Dad and Weln were in there. It looked like they were getting her dressed to go somewhere. “What are you two doing out of your rooms?” Dad yelled at me and Candy.

  “Hi Shalia,” Mom mumbled. “I get to go somewhere.”

  “Not outside, Eve,” Weln said gently, slipping a blouse over her head while trying to keep her front covered with a sheet. He’s so conscientious. “Just to another room.”

  “Okay, that’s fine. It sounds like war out there anyway.” Mom referred to the continuing blasts we could hear even in her room. It did sound like war, which I supposed it was.

  Dad still glared at me, clearly not happy I’d been running around the Academy though he had to know I would head straight for Mom. “Stop being mean,” I said. “I’m having a rough day.” The understatement of the year.

  He noticed I was holding a blaster, and his eyes widened. “Are you all right?”

  “Her bodyguard was attacked and killed,” Candy told him, her mouth running a mile a second. “They came after us. Shalia had no choice but to defend us both. She was very brave, but she’s in shock now. We took their blasters.”

  My friend had slipped her arm around my waist while she chattered. I leaned my head onto her shoulder, letting the horror wash over me for a moment. As Candy went on about how some Nobek commander had given us permission to carry, Dad came over and pressed his palm to my cheek.

  When Candy paused for a breath, he whispered to me, “I’m sorry, my daughter. It is no easy thing to take a life, not even when it’s the one of someone threatening yours.”

  “Matara Eve is ready,” Weln said, picking Mom up, along with a small case. “I have her medications.”

  “Good. Get her to the storage area with the rest. Take Shalia and Candy with you so they’ll be guarded.” Dad headed towards the door.

  “Where are you going?” I asked, pulling free of Candy. “You have to be safe too.”

  He turned to reassure me. “I’m just going to get some extra medications, little one. I’ll join you in a few minutes. Go on with Weln now. Stay with your mother.”

  He sped down the hallway. Dad’s body looks more like it’s made to lumber and not sprint. I stared after him in surprise. How can a guy that size move so fast?

  Weln smiled encouragingly at me as he led Candy and me down the hall, carrying my mother who waved at the Nobeks we passed. Guards for Medical, was my guess. Anyway, my sweetie tried to be encouraging as he said, “It’s going to be all right, Shalia. Try not to worry.”

  Yeah, that’s like telling the sun not to rise.

  We went to the back of the building to a door marked ‘storage’ where half a dozen armed and armored Nobeks stood. One noticed me and Candy holding our little Earther blasters.

  “I’m going to have to confiscate those,” he said.

  I was more than ready to give mine up. I didn’t care if I never fired one again. Candy put up a fight though.

  “Hey, the other commander was fine with us keeping these for our protection!” she squalled.

  The Nobek gave her such a condescending look that even I was tempted to punch it off his scary, brutish face. “We will protect you, Matara. You females have no need to worry with such things.”

  I swear, if he’d been able to pull off a southern accent he would have been right at home here in Georgia. “Y’all don’t worry yore purty li’l heads about it none,�
�� I snorted in derision. I tossed rather than handed him my blaster. “Try being a little less patronizing, dumbass. It takes hands to fire a weapon, not a cock or two.”

  Candy scowled angrily at him as she surrendered her firearm. The Nobek looked terribly confused as we went past him to enter the storeroom. I guess he was unable to understand why we poor helpless girls weren’t falling all over in gratitude for his protection. It’s too bad he’ll never get the opportunity to figure it out.

  The storeroom was vast, almost warehouse-worthy in size. Medicines and plenty of treatment machines were stockpiled in floor to ceiling shelves in half the space. Also stockpiled in the other half of the storeroom were the ailing like Mom, and those with special needs, like Mom. I recognized some of her old daycare buddies, the people Weln helps with. There were equal calls of welcome to Weln and her as we came in and joined the patients, doctors, orderlies, and caregivers. You’d have thought it was a party. Heck, there were even juice drinks and cookies being handed out. It was a We’re Under Attack Bash. All we needed were balloons.