by KD Jones
Everything was in place; he just had to wait for the right time to do this. He lay down on his small bed and closed his eyes. He knew he wouldn’t be able to fully sleep. Melody’s soft voice played through his head. He knew there were those on the colony who had the ability to sway people with just the sound of their voice to do what they wanted. That’s not what Melody did. She seemed to open up his very soul and force him to look inside. Most would think his soul was barren, but Melody found a kernel of light there and her voice coaxed it to burn brighter.
MarIK was wrong when he said that Melody had no value. In StrykER’s mind, she was more dangerous than any enemy he faced. Melody had the power to change a person’s heart and soul. She made people look inside themselves and find something worth fighting for. She was worth the fight.
Chapter 9
“Go away.” Melody tried to shove at the hand on her shoulder shaking her from her dreams. She didn’t want to wake up, reality was too harsh and ugly. She wanted to dream, lose herself in her fantasy world. Unfortunately, her captors were not cooperating.
“What?” She jerked her arm that was tied to the table and found that it had been loosened. Someone had come in and tied her again while she was sleeping. She rubbed it, feeling pins and needles as her wrist and hand began to come awake. She looked up to see who came to torment her and frowned at seeing nothing but darkness.
“Someone turn on the lights.”
“Shhh…you must remain quiet and come with me.” A male voice whispered close to her.
She knew that voice. It was StrykER. “What do you want?”
He surprised her by coming closer and undoing the binding holding her arm.
“I'm trying to rescue you. Are you going to get up off the table or do you want to remain here?”
She didn’t know if she should trust him, but if there was a slight chance he really was there to help her escape, she had to take that chance. She sat up and jumped to her feet a little too fast and swayed. His strong muscular arms wrapped around her waist, holding her against his firm chest.
“Easy.”
She shivered from the feel of his body heat. She hadn’t realized how cool the room was. “I’m okay.”
He released her and threw something in her hands. She looked down and was glad that her eyes had adjusted to the darkness. “What’s this?”
“Warrior clothes. Put them on.”
She looked to the door. “Are you going to leave while I put them on?”
“You’re wasting time.”
“Fine.” It was dark enough so he wouldn’t see much and she planned to keep her underwear and bra on since his people didn’t believe in wearing those. She turned her back on him and pulled her shirt on. She bent over to step a leg into the pants and heard him growl behind her.
She turned to look at him and he turned his back on her. She quickly finished pulling the pants up. When she turned to face him he handed her a pair of boots.
“They were the smallest size I could find.”
“Thanks.” She kicked off her beat up tennis shoes and slid into the boots. They were just a little big but should be fine to protect her feet. “Now what?”
“Put this on.” He handed her a backpack. She didn’t ask any more questions. He looked even more intense than usual. He checked the door then motioned for her to come closer.
“We’re going to be moving quickly. Put your hair up in that hat and keep your head down. The cameras are going down throughout the whole system. I don’t know exactly when or how long they will be down so we need to be ready to move quickly and as far as we can.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“It’s my orders to bring you back safely. That’s all you need to know.”
She didn’t like being kept in the dark. There was definitely more going on, but he was being secretive. Melody didn’t really care, as long as he got her out of there. She pulled her hair up in the tie, making a knot, then shoved the hat on her head.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
He looked at a digital tablet left on the counter for the time. He nodded at her and opened the door. She followed him out, keeping her head down. It was hard to know where she was going when she couldn't see where she was going. She followed his boots.
*****
He waited until he caught sight of StrykER leaving the medic room. MarIK turned the digital camera system off. Also, he slowly dimmed the lights in the corridors. That should give StrykER time to get away. He couldn’t turn off all power, because it would shut down the carts in the tunnels leading to the exits.
He took the young warrior’s digital tablet that StrykER had given him. He uploaded the video of her singing and set a program that would go off at the right time. He left the control room and went down to the meal room. He was supposed to share an early meal with OrIN to go over their plans for exploiting the Earth female.
He saw OrIN sitting in the center of the room and grabbed his plate of food and went to sit down across from OrIN.
“What’s happening with the Earth female?”
“Nothing right now. StrykER said he was letting her get some sleep before he starts in on her again.”
“Why? We should be starving her and keeping her awake until she cooperates.”
“I don’t have experience in these things so I didn't’ question him too much.”
“What do you think of StrykER?”
MarIK had to be careful about what he said. “I’m having a hard time trusting him.”
OrIN nodded his head. “I am as well. He’s one of the mutated. They cannot be completely trusted.”
“Should I pull him from the interrogations?”
“No, we’ll use him and let him get information from the female. Then we’ll make an example out of both of them.”
MarIK raised his fork of food to his mouth and acted surprised when the alert flashes went off.
“What in Kitana is going on?” OrIN demanded.
Both their comm links went off. They answered simultaneously. “Report!”
“Sir, the female is missing.”
“Where is StrykER?”
“No one has seen him.”
“Send everyone after them!” OrIN stood up and pounded his fist against the table.
MarIK didn’t stand up. He reached under the table and pressed the device in his hand, which automatically turned off all the lights except the viewing screen.
On the viewing screens, the recording of the female singing began to play. People stopped eating and moving and were transfixed as they watched the screen.
“Turn that off!” OrIN shouted. He pulled out his phaser and shot one of the viewing screens.
That was MarIK’s signal. He stood up and began giving out orders. “Secure the entrances and exits, no carts are to move until further notice. I want to know where that feed is coming from!” He looked at OrIN who waved him to go on.
*****
StrykER felt the weight of the world on his shoulders, or just the life of one small female. If he failed to get her out of there safely, he had no doubt OrIN would kill her.
As they quickly made their way down the tunnel, he noticed two males entering a secure room. They were carrying boxes he knew contained weapons from the stockpile he sent them to. He motioned for her to stop. He pulled her to the side in the shadows.
“What are we doing?” she whispered.
He turned, facing her. She was so close he could pick up her scent. So good.
“I need to check something out before we leave.”
He heard the males come back out and waited for them to move out of sight. He headed to the door. It was locked, but he wasn’t going to let that stop him.
He had found an access card slid under his door earlier that evening and suspected MarIK had given that to him. He used it now, sliding it along the lock swipe. The door opened and then he entered.
“Oh my God,” Melody said out loud.
He shoo
k his head in disbelief. A large hanger at least three levels high was lined with shelves loaded with weapons and supplies. However, what had him feeling an intense fear was at the bottom of the hanger.
“Goddess. How did they get their hands on warships?”
“This is the closest I’ve come to them. They look similar to our fighter jets on Earth.”
“They’re not supposed to have warships. Where did they get them from?”
“Does this mean that they have transport ships too?”
He ran a hand through his blond hair. “I pray to the Goddess that they don’t. Warships are used for short range battle, but a transport is equipped to attack larger targets.”
“Larger targets—like a planet?”
“Yes.”
“What do we do?”
“We have to find a way out of here and warn Kiljor and Katiera and the Colony. There’s no telling whom they’ll target first.” He pulled her with him back to the door. He opened the door and peered out before having her follow him out.
“We’re underground somewhere. What is this place?”
“It’s one of the mining communities.”
“You don’t know which one?” she asked in surprise.
“I’m not from here.”
“Where are you from?”
“Kiljor.” He turned to look at her. “I know you have a lot of questions, questions I can’t answer right now. Let’s get to the surface, find a shuttle, and get off this planet. Then I will tell you everything you want to know.”
They continued down the hallway then came up on one of the small floating transport carts. “Get in.”
“Do you know where this thing will go?”
“These are programmed to go to the next exit.” He pushed the start button, and off they went.
*****
Melody glanced sideways at the man next to her. He focused on his task and wasn’t going to let anyone or anything distract him. He kept them going at a steady pace. She was curious to open the backpack to see what all he put in there. She bet he planned for just about every contingency. That was the complete opposite of her.
She was a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants type of person. She got up when she felt like it and often ate breakfast for lunch, and then she stayed up late practicing and writing.
The only time she would stay completely focused was when she was writing her songs. She had been known to lock herself in her room for days writing.
“I think we’re coming up to an exit.”
She looked up and noticed two warriors standing guard at stairs she assumed led to the surface of the planet.
“What do we do about those two?”
“Stay in the cart. No matter what. If I don’t come back to get you, press this silver button and it will take you to the next exit. You get to the surface and in a shuttle. Lock the doors and use the red and white numeric keypad. Type 447750Y. It’s an auto return to Kiljor destination. Repeat it.”
Well that sounds damn ominous. He was talking like he wasn’t going to come back.
“Repeat it, Melody!”
“447750Y.”
“Stay here.”
She watched him get out of the cart and head toward the two males. How could he possibly take on two of them all by himself?
She looked in the cart for some kind of weapon. She had no intention to leave him.
He approached the two men who turned to him and questioned what he was doing there. He pulled out a digital tablet from his backpack and showed it to one of the men. The other men kept glancing her way.
She felt sweat running down her forehead. She resisted the urge to wipe it off. She didn’t want to make any sudden moves that might look suspicious. What was he showing them?
While one of the men was distracted, StrykER suddenly used some kind of weapon and stunned the other man, making him fall to the ground. He didn’t hesitate to punch the other man and soon he was on the ground too. She had never seen anyone move that fast or with that level of precision.
He motioned for her to come so she got out of the cart and ran over to him. She stepped over the men on the ground. “Are they dead?”
“No, just knocked out. Once they wake, all Kitana will break lose because then they will know that we’re missing.”
They moved up the stairs and slowed only when they reached the top. Thankfully, no one was at the exit when they reached the top.
“Do you know where we are?”
“One of the lunas on the other side of Kiljor.”
“So we’re close to Kiljor?”
“Maybe six or eight hours. Closer to a Kiljorn transport that should be monitoring this area.”
“If they’re monitoring, why didn’t they discover all the warships and weapons?”
“Everything is underground, plus the luna is a natural satellite and can cause static interference with readings. We found that out with the last interaction with the Morins.”
“What do we do now?”
“I believe the shuttles are located in that direction.” He moved that way so she followed him.
She felt relief when she spotted two shuttles. Halfway to the shuttles the alarms went off and people suddenly came out of structures they were in. Their time was up. She looked at StrykER.
“Run!”
He didn’t have to tell her twice. She ran at full speed, huffing and puffing. She was so out of shape. Please God, get me to that shuttle and I promise I will go on an exercise routine as soon as I get back to Katiera.
They made it to the shuttle and jumped in. StrykER closed the door behind her and hit the lock. Then he went to the pilot’s seat. She came to seat next to him in the co-pilot’s seat. The shuttle shook and she reached for the panel to hold herself in her seat.
“They’re firing on us. Get your security belt tightened!”
She buckled up and watched as StrykER raised the shuttle off the ground. The shuttle sustained another hit but StrykER moved them forward. The ship kept shaking.
“What’s happening?” She felt the ship lowering instead of rising to the sky.
“One of our thrusters was hit. I’m going to have to land us so that I can fix it. If we try to leave the luna as is, we could lose power in the thrusters and be sitting up there vulnerable.”
“Won’t they be able to track us?”
“The issue with the luna causing static also applies to ships on the surface. They won’t detect us until we make a run for orbit. They could send a search party in our direction so we need to find a place that gives us cover, fix this thruster and then leave as soon as possible.”
She held on as StrykER made his way to a clear spot near a mountain. Hopefully, they would be able to get off this moon before they were discovered. Please God, don’t let us die.
Chapter 10
“You can open your eyes now.”
Melody hadn’t realized that she had closed her eyes. “Are we still alive?”
He chuckled. “Last time I looked, yes.”
She glared at him. How could he find anything funny right now? Plus, he didn’t really come across as a humorous person.
When he laughed and smiled, it changed his whole look from sexually intimidating and dangerous to—sex on a stick hot. It softened him too, making him appear more approachable. She had to get her mind off the delicious man next to her.
“So, how long do we have before they find us?”
He unbuckled his belt and stood up. “It could be hours, maybe a day. I’ve turned the engine off so that our ship’s heat signature can’t be tracked while I work on repairing the thruster.” He pulled open a panel on the side of the shuttle and removed what looked like a tool kit.
She unbuckled and stood up to follow him outside the shuttle. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Are you mechanically inclined?”
“I’m sorry, I’m not. My dad tried to teach me how to change a tire when I was learning how to drive but gave up and got me a Roadside Assis
tance membership.”
“What’s Roadside Assistance? What were you learning to drive?”
She sat on a nearby boulder. “On Earth we get around using cars. It’s like a bigger version of your carts. We have to have a license to drive them and you don’t get a license until you turn sixteen. If a tire goes flat or you run out of gas, you can call Roadside Assistance and someone will come to help you.”
“It sounds like your father wanted to make sure you were safe.” He stretched out on the ground and looked up under one of the big cylinder thrusters.
“He was the best. Not a day goes by I don’t miss him.”
“What was his name?”
“Ben Abrams.”
“Abrams? Why is it not Song? Did you have a union to change your name?”
She shook her head. “My real name is Melody Ann Abrams. Song is my stage name.”
“That makes no sense to me.”
“That sums up Earth people for you. We don’t make sense sometimes.”
“What about your mother? Did she pass to the afterlife?”
“No, she’s still living on Earth.”
“Why would she let you come here to a different planet alone?”
“I’m a grown woman and make my own decisions.”
“Could she not come with you?”
“My mom, Meredith, fell apart when my Dad passed away. She turned to drinking alcohol to try to escape the pain she felt for losing him. My mother was killing herself with drinking. I tried to get her help but she refused all my efforts. Then she wrecked her car in a ditch and woke up in the hospital. She checked herself into rehab after the accident. It took a long time for her to get back on her feet and she wasn’t ready to leave her home.”
“What about you? Did she not worry about who would take care of you?”
