Battalion's Bride

by C. J. Scarlett

“Hell, I’m just hoping this one will take a liking to me. Haroc’s offspring ignore me and Valic’s are downright vicious.”

  Valic preen. You should not play rough if you can’t handle my four.”

  Dark chuffed a wry laugh. “There are only four of them? They move so quick and bite so hard, it seems like a dozen or more in a fight.”

  Ember laughed. “Stop sparring with them or stop whining. Those are your only two choices.”

  Carefully taking the baby from Haroc, he replied. “Well I sure as hell am not going to stop playing with my nephews, that’s for sure. I love those little curtain climbers.”

  Ember muttered. “I never for a moment thought you would, bro.”

  Dark gushed, “Gosh Em, she looks just like you. Look at that pretty red hair.”

  Valic asked curiously. “How it is you ended up with black hair?”

  “Em and I are born of different queens.” Hearing her brother use Maruvian terminology was strange. Then again she was doing that herself as well.

  She interjected. “We had the same father. When Dark’s mother passed away, he married again and his second wife had me.”

  Haroc stammered in awe, “You are like Maruvians. We don’t make differences between sires either.”

  “Christ God Almighty. As many kids as drones have, I can’t imagine it matters. What’s the deal with that Golugua you brought in? She looked pretty banged up.”

  Sighing, Haroc reported. “Last night something happened that I never thought in my life to see.”

  Sitting up a little straighter, Ember asked quietly. “What did you see?”

  “Me arresting two human queens.”

  Valic gasped. “You did not!”

  “I certainly did. When we arrived, we observed them throwing rocks and sticks at Onora and her child. She covered the little one with her body to keep it safe. It was heart wrenching to see.”

  “What are they going to do with the females?” Valic’s voice sounded worried.

  “Who cares? Do you have any idea what kind of person they would have to be to do something like that?”

  Ember asked cautiously. “What would be the penalty for a drone who committed the same offense?”

  “Two years of hard manual labor and never to be permitted around a Golugua again. I believe the current plan of action is to ship them back to Earth. Queen Carolyn does not wish to pass criminals along to another world. She is also issuing a warning of their crimes to every member world. If any accept them, it will be knowing full well what they have done.”

  Ember stated. “I know it’s only been a few hours, but do we know how Onora is doing?”

  Vraden looked up from his control panel and spoke. “She took some substantial damage on top of her old injuries. We have healed the damage and given her our most potent longevity serum. I suspect she might be well.”

  “I noticed that Dargon has not left her side.”

  “We fed him and the child not long ago. Onora is receiving nutrition through her IV.”

  Valic spoke with confidence. “Onora will have a good life with us. We will see to her every need, as we do Dargon.”

  “The ocular came in handy. We used the medical device to make sure there was no internal bleeding and it was safe to move her.” Haroc’s voice sounded pleased.

  “I’ll bet Dargon was losing his mind.”

  “He was very worried and angry. I think that if hadn’t kept his focus on his mate, someone might have lost their head. He told me on the way that Onora was the only female who would speak to him before he got his tech.”

  Ember grinned, That’s my smart and loyal sentinel. She loved him before he was popular.”

  Vraden announced quietly. “Ember needs to get some rest now. Perhaps you could all visit again later.”

  “I don’t sleep without my drones. I wouldn’t be able to get a wink of sleep.”

  “At least let me take the infant.”

  “Bring a cradle, you’re not getting her either.”

  “It will be as you say, Queen Ember.”

  Dark laughed. “You let the women run right over you in this place. Why don’t you work on this little plan I’ve been working with my gal. You tell them what to do.”

  Yawing, Haroc stated blandly. “Queen command, drones obey. That is the natural order of things. The moment my queen begins making demands I do not wish to obey, I’ll look into your plan.”

  Dark grinned. “I see where you’re going with that.”

  Chapter 20

  Family Unit

  ~ Haroc ~

  Music Mix

  Moving to a hovering platform large enough for the three of them, Ember finally relaxed when the three of the were curled up together with their little one. Smoothing her delicate red hair back, she smiled. “She has a lot of hair for a newborn.”

  “As someone with no hair, I can say without reservation there no such thing as too much hair.”

  “Haroc is right. More hair is better.”

  “Do you two agree on everything?”

  “Mostly we are of the same mind. When we disagree, Haroc normally comes around to my thinking.”

  Haroc’s outraged whisper sounded off. “How can you lie to your own queen on the day she presented you with your own little queen?”

  Sighing, Valic amended his prior statement. “The last time we disagreed was on the size of battery pack appropriate for our plasma pistols.”

  Haroc’s eyes glimmered with mischief. “I remember that disagreement. You chose the larger one and almost blew you hand off when it became over heated and misfired.”

  Grinning at Ember, he scrubbed like he’d seen her do. “Until my weapon melted down, I was laying a rain for fire the likes of which no drone as ever seen.”

  Haroc nodded. “That much was true, my queen. It was a day of awe inspiring greatness that will live in my mind forever.”

  Looking from one to the other, she began to worry about what she’d bitten off by mating with two military commanders. Instead of spoiling the moment by voicing it, she teased. “Do my ears deceive me? All this time, I thought Valic was the tamer one. Now, I find out he loves the big artillery. You two always mange to surprise me.”

  “May it always be so, my queen.”

  “So do you like my brother’s wings?”

  Both men jerked back at the same time, like she had poked them in the eye. “We have told you repeatedly that we do not see other drone as potential love mates.”

  “I’m so confused. Is complimenting someone’s wings considered flirting?”

  “Since it is something queens normally say to flatter their drones, I would have to say it is a strong indicator of sexual interest. You speaking of your hatch mates wings is rather shocking.”

  Smoothing her hand over the baby’s head, she commented dryly. “I did not know that. The only reason I brought it up was because I’ve been thinking about betting the body modification myself.”

  Both males moved closer, their expressions becoming heated. “You wish to be more like us?”

  “Well, sure I do. It might seem weird to some, but getting wings didn’t turn my brother into a different person. He’s the same foul mouthed brute he always was, only now he can fly.”

  “Why do you wish it?”

  Suddenly feeling shy, she replied. “I worry that our young might fly off and I cannot get to them.”

  “You wish it for safety?”

  Chewing her lip, she finally came out with it. “If I had wings, we could fly together, right?”

  Valic jumped back into the conversation. “You wish to fly with your drones at your side?”

  “I thought it would be romantic. Maybe we could fly up to the mountains and watch the sun rise, or fly over the city at night and see all the light. Flying must be no big deal to you, because you have always been able to fly.”

  “It would be a precious new experience to share with the ones you love. This
is why you wish it?”

  Nodding, she half expected them to say no, but it didn’t go down that way at all.

  Valic lifted the sleeping infant off her chest and placed him in his warm little hovering cradle and turned back to her. Both of the slid closer.

  Valic was the first to speak. “I believe it is a sign of acceptance that you would seek to modify yourself to better suit your new environment. I will support whatever decision you make, however, I wish you to know that I believe you perfect just as you are.”

  Haroc cleared this throat. “You are not perfect. In my humble opinion you supersede perfect my many bonus points.” That was a quote directly out of Dark’s play book, but she didn’t say a word. “I too will support this decision but not for the reasons stated. When Valic first performed the halabow with you, I remember thinking that you like a beautiful flutter by when you were perched against his mouth. Never had seen such perfection with my own eyes. I can only think of one thing that might enhance that image, and would be you having beautiful colorful wings.”

  Ember really did tear up. “You two are so perfect for me. You make me feel more than I ever thought possible.”

  Glossary of Terms

  Chelva – Type of Maruvian flatbread.

  Dragon – Though mythical creatures on Earth, they litter the Krylon home world. They are favored by the Krylon for riding and have been transplanted to many worlds in the sector of the space surrounding the Krylon home world.

  Golugua – Race of ancient sentinels who appear similar to gargoyles to human eyes.

  Halabow – The word used by Maruvians to denote a drone performing oral sex on a queen.

  Heart Stones – Crystal like substance harvested from the core of a dead planet. Glows in low light situations and provides extremely pleasurable sensations when rubbed against the skin of most species.

  Insectoid – Slang term for Maruvian. Creatures who evolved from insects into sentient life forms. The currently strive to become more humanoid thorough intermingling of DNA with other species. They have developed technology that alerts them of worm hole opened by other beings. They jump behind them to new parts of the ‘verse.

  Krylon – Home of the Krylon Imperial house.

  Laser Pistol – Just as it sounds. It is a common weapon used in battles and self-defense.

  Leavings – On Earth, human scruffs grab the leftovers from plates when the wealthy eat at restaurants.

  Magnolite – Extremely rare and valuable gemstone.

  Micron – Unit of time equaling roughly three minutes.

  Mimics – Insectoids hoping to protect innocent worlds from the more aggressive elements of their society used Shardon cloning equipment to mix cone genetic material with their own in hopes of creating a being to act as an intermediary with humanoids.

  Parsec – Unit of distance.

  Parthenogenesis – Maruvians are asexual, however, the males require the presence of pheromones to initiate parthenogenesis, which is reproduction from an ovum without fertilization in this context.

  Plasma Pistol – New weapon introduced by the Maruvians. They are more powerful than laser weapons.

  Right of Conquest – How Maruvian queens settle disagreements. It is usually a battle to the death.

  Shardon – Species of aliens who have relied upon cloning technology to propagate their species for generations due to their women’s fragile DNA collapsing.

  Spawning – Maruvian method of reproduction by which drones conceive and carry eggs.

  Spawn – Noun: Child. Verb: Act of Spawning.

  Spawn Mate – Refers to only the children spawned during one cycle of spawning. Males spawn many times during their lifetimes.

  Sylon – Home world ruled by the Sylon Alliance. (Krylon, Candorian and Shardon). Originally Sylon was a mining colony ruled by a Krylon prince. The Sylon Alliance offers the citizens of Earth one the continents on their world in exchange for human brides. Since Earth is a dying world with a surplus, women volunteer in droves.

  Terillian – Three Legged Reptilian Humanoids.

  Tricon – Unit of thickness.

  Wing Hider – Game played by Maruvian children. It is mash up of hide and seek and tag, only while flying.

  Book Description:

  Ember

  Being trapped on a dying Earth was quickly becoming a daily fight to stay alive. Ember and her brother Dark are losing the battle and her big brother is willing to give his life to give her a chance to survive. After researching all the aliens, he selects the insectoids. They are the only ones who don’t buy or trade for brides. They simply accept all who wish to come. Dark senses she might not be considered property on the new Maruvian home world.

  After his sacrifice, Ember feels compelled to do as she’s told to get along. Unfortunately, she’s never been the docile type. Feeling like a she’s been forged in crucible of pain and suffering, Ember hopes to finally get some peace on her new home world. When an insectoid training ship attacks their vessel, it looks like peace might not be in the cards after all.

  Haroc and Valic

  These two Maruvian warriors compose an elite fighting unit. Their assignment is to retrieve a large group of human queens from Earth. They are shocked to find the humans in the midst of conflict over the bride trade. The protestors shoot at some queens who try to escape and that is not acceptable to this team.

  Daring death, they rush out to protect one on the battle ground. Arriving a moment too late, her brother is shot shielding her with his own body. With his dying breath, he asks that they take her to their home world and keep her safe. Shocked at being gifted with a queen, the fly away with her before the other can harm her.

  Protecting their new queen becomes exponentially more difficult when their vessel is attacked expectantly. When it comes down to making the ultimate sacrifice, they’re willing. But what will losing her only living relative and new mates, all in the span of a few days, do the beautiful redhead?

  Bonus Series 1

  Ice Planet BarBEARians (Book 1)

  C.J. Scarlett

  Chapter 1

  “You should come,” Greg said, grinning widely. He wore a light-pink oxford shirt and a pair of khaki cargo shorts. Jenny’s secret-recipe barbecue sauce dotted his shirt and lined his fingernails. He had a bit of barbecue sauce on his cheek as well, and bits of grayish meat stuck in his teeth. I wanted to suggest floss, but from the yellow tint to his teeth, I had the feeling that he wasn’t much of a flosser. “We’re going next weekend. We’re supposed to get a lot of rain on Thursday.”

  “Oh?” I asked vaguely. I caught a woman staring at me from across the yard. She was a stranger, weird for a small town. But then, Jenny’s crowd was a wide demographic. I frowned at her, and she smiled at me, like she knew me. She’s probably drunk, I thought. Uncomfortable, I looked up at the sky, and noticed that the sun began to get that late afternoon slant. I sighed deeply. Part of what Jenny called my “Cinderella Syndrome.” I rarely stayed at any party for more than three hours. I’d had enough of being around people, and one person in particular. It wasn’t yet dark out, but Jenny had already turned on the chili pepper lights that had been strung across the blue-painted ceiling of her porch. I was in desperate need of a few hours of R&R, involving a book and a nice, fluffy bubble bath.

  “It’s a lot of fun,” Greg said, his eyes wide. I looked back toward the woman to find her gone. I returned my focus toward Greg. He was waxing poetic on his favorite pastime. I’d known him since high school. He had a pattern—when at a party, he made the rounds of every girl who found herself alone. He’d slowly try to work his way in to make his move. I had the distinct luck of talking to him at least once. I was surprised that he still thought it a possibility after so much time.

  “And you call it ‘mudding?”” I asked, frowning and crossing my arms over my chest. I’d heard of it, being a small-town inhabitant… but I certainly wasn’t going to partake.

  “Naw,”
he replied, running his hand through his straw-like blond hair. “Muddin’. You drink a few brewskis and then drive your truck through mud puddles, big ones, like.” I looked at him skeptically. I had just spent over an hour listening to the finer points of his muddin’ adventures, where he and his buddies would drive their trucks through puddles of mud with a blood alcohol level decidedly over the legal limit. Lacking much of a death wish, it had very much convinced me that it was definitely not my thing.

  “So, you drink and then drive your truck through the mud.” More statement than actual question. I comprehended what he was talking about. I couldn’t understand why the activity that he seemed so excited about was a thing.

  “Yeah,” he said exuberantly, interpreting my words as a question. I nodded, looking at the ground. I cleared my throat.

  “Well, um, I have to find Jenny,” I said. He nodded.

  “Okay. I’ll catch you later, Shay,” he replied. “Let me know if you want to come with.”

  “For sure,” I said, turning.

  “Do you have my number?” he called hopefully. I waved my hand over my shoulder, quickly forcing my way through the mass of sweaty, beer-quaffing bodies. I looked about me for Jenny’s shock of Harley Quinn-esque platinum blonde hair.

  I made my way through the crowd, looking for Jenny. I found her by the corner of the backyard, lighting one of the strategically placed tiki torches that lined her fenced-in backyard. I had wanted to be gone long before this. Damn Greg and his stupid muddin’. I glanced behind me, hoping that I hadn’t been followed and could thus make my exit speedily.

  “Hey, lady,” I said, standing beside her and watching as the flame caught. The barbecue at her house was in full swing, the air redolent of grilling meat and chlorine from the pool.

  “Hey,” she replied. “You heading out?” I was a notorious introvert, and Jenny had been my friend since middle school. She knew all my quirks, and seemed to appreciate them.

  “Yep.”

  “All righty,” she said with a firecracker-red lipstick smile. “Night.”