Dark Planet Falling

by Anna Carven

  Dread wormed its way into Sera’s chest. “But that shouldn’t be a problem.”

  “My mother saw it differently. You see, a prophet had once told her that the end of the Empire would be brought about by the birth of a sightless daughter. For some reason, she became obsessed with that foretelling. So when they found out my daughter was blind, they had her killed. All because of some stupid prophecy. My child, Sera. They killed my child. I never thought they could sink that low. I should have figured it out sooner.” Xal was still in her arms. “I don’t believe in prophecy, but perhaps this foretelling is coming true as we speak. When I found out my child’s life was no more, I was overcome with grief and rage. I picked up a dagger and went and stabbed the Empress in the heart. She was extremely lucky to survive. So you see, I am equally as monstrous as her.” Xal’s face was chillingly serene, but his voice cracked a little. “They hadn’t even named her yet. I hadn’t named my daughter.”

  Silence stretched between them, and for a while, Sera couldn’t speak.

  Tears were streaming down her face. Xal kissed her cheek and wiped the wetness from her eyes. “What’s this?”

  “I never cry, Xal. On Earth I have a reputation for being a hard-ass. But I’m just-” She sniffed.

  “You’re sad.”

  “Don’t Kordolians cry when they’re sad?”

  “Crying must be a Human trait. For us, there is no way to express sadness. Some Kordolians refuse to believe things such emotions even exist.”

  “That’s bullshit. You’re allowed to be sad, Xal. You’re allowed to show it, too.” She sniffed loudly. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Whatever for?” He kissed her again, tasting her salty tears. “The past cannot be changed, and none of it was your fault. But thank you, Sera, for being sad for me. I don’t deserve it.”

  “You deserve it, Xal, and so does that poor little one.” Sera closed her eyes and Xal held her tightly in his arms, kissing her softly on the top of her head. She drifted off to the soothing sound of his steadily beating heart. Thoughts of dark, distant planets and cruel Empires entered her mind as Xal’s warmth surrounded her, and she suddenly yearned for the bright, warm sunshine of Earth.

  She couldn’t wait to go back, and Xal was coming with her. What he had told her shocked her to the core, but she understood now that he would do anything to protect her. He would never hurt her. There were worse things she could think of than being overrun by a bunch of fierce, protective Kordolians. Her people would just have to accept the fact that the Kordolians were here to stay.

  Humans would get used to the idea, one way or another.

  ~~~

  Xal looked up as the doors to the tiny room slid open. Sera lay in his arms, asleep.

  “What do you want?” He glared at the Human soldiers crowding the doorway, their weapons raised at him. They flinched at the sound of his voice.

  He had vague memories of fighting Humans in the corridor.

  One of the men spoke, his eyes growing wide as he glanced at Sera. “Uh, Senator Aquinas is on the comm. He’s demanding to speak with his daughter.”

  The Humans were staring. Xal pulled the blanket up, covering Sera’s shoulders. “Lower your voice, soldier,” he said softly. “Can’t you see that she’s sleeping? Tell him to check back later, when she’s awake.”

  “We can’t leave the Senator waiting. He’s a very important-”

  “I don’t care if he’s the fucking Emperor of Earth. Get. Out.” Xal bared his fangs and the soldiers froze, wary of him. They had guns, but they wouldn’t use them with Sera in the room.

  The man who had spoken before sighed. “Look man, we’d rather not wake her either, but her old man’s got a short fuse. The three of us could be out of a job if we go back without her.”

  Sera stirred, opening her eyes slowly. “Xal? What’s going on?” She looked up and saw the Human soldiers. “Is there a problem?”

  “Miss Aquinas, there’s a call from your father.” The soldier looked extremely relieved that she was awake. “He wants to speak with you right now.”

  Sera stretched languidly. She didn’t seem to care that three Human males were staring at her barely concealed body. Xal growled.

  Under the covers, she placed a reassuring hand on his chest. “Give us a minute, guys. I’ll be right out.”

  Xal glared at the Humans as they disappeared.

  Sera rolled her eyes. “I’ll handle this. Dad can get a bit cranky sometimes. I don’t want those poor boys to lose their jobs.” She gave him a long, slow-burning kiss before she slid out of bed and picked her clothes off the floor. Xal watched her as she started to dress, admiring her toned body.

  “He’s probably going nuts wondering why both Kordolian warships have suddenly left Earth’s orbit. See, he’s vying for the post of Galactic Affairs Minister, which is currently vacant. He likes to be kept in the loop on such things. I bet all of Earth has been going crazy since we left.”

  Xal shrugged. “You will tell them the truth about us.”

  “I think I’ve compiled enough convincing evidence that you guys aren’t going to take over Earth and ship us all off to the mines, but I’m not going to tell them the whole truth.” She winked. “Some things have to be left to the imagination.”

  Suddenly, Sera was straddling him, her strong, rough hands holding him down. “You’re coming with me, right?”

  Xal gripped her wrists, bringing her hands up to his severed horns. She ran her thumbs over them, making him shudder. As their surface healed, laying down new tissue, they felt less painful and more sensitive. He was becoming aroused again. “I believe the opposite is true. As my mate, you are coming to Earth with me.”

  “Mate?” A sexy smile curved her lips.

  “Any objections, Sera?”

  “None, my Prince.”

  “Good.” His lips quirked. “But you had better stop calling me by that title, because I am no longer of the Empire. I’ve relinquished all ties. From now on, I’m just a simple, humble, ordinary Kordolian.”

  Sera laughed. “Yeah, right. Simple and humble my ass. I’ll call you Prince when it suits me, because we Humans seem to be awfully impressed by that sort of stuff. Trust me. You’ll get much more done on Earth if you throw your weight around a bit and act Imperial now and then. So don’t abandon the title just yet.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind for when I’m dealing with Humans like your father.”

  “Exactly.” He loved it when she smiled mischievously like that. “I can’t wait to introduce you to him.”

  “I get the feeling your advice on managing Humans will be invaluable when it comes to diplomatic matters.”

  “You overestimate me,” she said innocently. “I’m just a humble journalist who happened to grow up in the belly of the beast.”

  “There’s nothing humble about you, my Queen.”

  She proved his point by walking out of the room with her head held high, her hips swaying suggestively, making him hard all over again.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  “Sera, what the hell do you think you’re doing, bringing those aliens onboard a key company asset? When I told you to go and negotiate with Prince Xalikian, I didn’t mean for you to go into space and invite them onto the MS Elvis. Are you out of your mind? Sometimes I think that accident left you permanently brain-damaged.”

  Sera leaned back in the swivel chair, putting her slipper-clad feet on the table as she stared at the projected image of her father. Senator Julian Aquinas was in his office, leaning back in his large leather chair. Since he’d been elected, he’d seemed to age before her very eyes, his dark hair turning grey at the temples, the lines in his face deepening.

  “Dad,” she said, noticing the faint haze that drifted across his face. “Have you been smoking?”

  He waved his hand in the air. “That’s none of your business, Sera. You need to get those aliens off my mining station.”

  “Mom will kill you if she finds out you’re smoking again.”
>
  He pointedly ignored her. “And you’d better have some news for me about what the Kordolians are really doing here. I don’t like the fact that they just up and left all of a sudden. They’re preparing for an invasion down here on Earth. People are panicking. Your article started all this, Sera.”

  “They’re not going to invade Earth.” Sera smiled sweetly. “All they want to do is integrate.”

  “Integrate?” Her father looked at her as if she were out of her mind.

  “Trust me, dad, they could do terrible things to us if they wanted to, but they haven’t. I’ll be putting out a new article in the next few days. I’ll also give you some information so the Federation can put out an official statement. They’re not here to colonize us.”

  “Then what the hell do they want?”

  “They want to find mates. Kordolians have a particular interest in Human women.”

  “You can’t seriously believe that.”

  “It’s true.” Sera grinned. “Believe me, it’s true.”

  “What exactly have you been doing with those Kordolians, Sera?” Suspicion entered her father’s voice. “Have they threatened you somehow? Have they done something to you? Is that why you’re saying these things?”

  “Senator Aquinas,” Sera said softly. “What was the purpose of this communication?”

  Her father froze, taken aback by her use of his formal title. “What do you mean? I’d received some urgent notifications about the Elvis. That my daughter had appeared out of nowhere with three Kordolians, one of whom had seriously injured several of my staff. What did you think this comm was about?”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Sera shrugged. “I thought you might be worried about me or something.”

  “Sera,” her father sighed, running a hand through his greying hair. “I learnt to stop worrying about you when you left home. Otherwise, I think I’d have died of stress by now. You’re always going to do what you want, and nobody’s going to stop you. That was obvious even when you were a child.”

  “If I’m as stubborn as you say, what makes you think I would be so easily influenced by these Kordolians?”

  The Senator blinked. Sera smirked. He wasn’t used to being contradicted.

  “You have a point,” he said reluctantly. “But we can’t afford to let our guard down.”

  “Dad, you know I’m always skeptical until proven otherwise. And what I’ve seen leads me to believe these guys aren’t so bad. Besides, whether we like it or not, they aren’t going away.”

  “And what about the threat to Earth?”

  “Let’s just say Kordolian politics is a little complicated. They’re not all on the same side. The last I heard, our Kordolians were chasing off the threat. I’ll keep you posted on how that goes.”

  “Our Kordolians?” Her father raised an eyebrow.

  Sera smiled cryptically. “They’re here to make love, not war.”

  The senator dropped his face into his hand, rubbing his eyes. “You’re a problem child, Sera. Just get them off my facility. I don’t want to have to explain to the Senate that Kordolians were spotted boarding one of my assets. I can’t afford any scandals right now, Sera.”

  “Yes, Sir.” Sera raised her hand in a mock-salute. Her father gave her a funny look, as if he didn’t quite trust her. He was right, of course. When the Earthlings found out that Xal and Sera were an item, there was going to be scandal; lots of it.

  Not that Sera gave a shit. Besides, she now had a fierce Kordolian warrior at her side to help scare off the paparazzi.

  She couldn’t wait to get back to Earth. They were going to have so much fun.

  ~~~

  One of the injured soldiers yelled loudly in some Earth language as Xal appeared in the doorway. It was a cry for help. He jumped out of the bunk, grabbing some sort of metal apparatus on wheels and brandishing it in front of him as Xal approached.

  Xal held up his hands in what he hoped was a placating gesture. “I’m not going to hurt you, Human,” he said in Universal.

  “G-get out of here, Kordolian! The peacekeepers are on their way.”

  “Relax,” Xal said, a little too forcefully. “I came here to apologize.”

  “Apologize?” The soldier held up his arm. It was bound in some sort of solid support. “You broke my fucking arm, man. And they don’t have the facilities to do rapid bone regen here, so I’m stuck in a cast for the next six weeks.”

  Vague memories of smashing this man against the wall entered Xal’s mind.

  The soldier winced. “And you’ve cracked three of my ribs. It hurts like hell, man.”

  “Hey Johnson, take it easy.” Another soldier sat in the corner with his leg bound and elevated. “If he was going to whoop your ass he would have done so already, isn’t that right, Kordolian?”

  Xal acknowledged the man by inclining his head. “The Human is correct.”

  Footsteps sounded from outside, and a group of armed guards appeared. “Freeze!”

  Xal took a step back, holding up his hands. “Easy, I only wanted to talk.”

  The leader of this particular squad was a green-eyed female with dark, braided hair. She pointed her weapon at him. “How did you get down here, Kordolian? This is a secure area. You need to get back to your quarters.” Her voice was flat and emotionless. If she was uneasy, she didn’t let it show, unlike the hothead with the injured arm.

  Xal shifted so that he could see all of the Humans. “I understand if my presence makes you feel uncomfortable, but please, hear me out.” He focused on the injured Humans. “I’m aware that I may have been a little, uh, rough on you. Please accept my most sincere apologies for any injuries I’ve caused you. I was not in a good way back there. I can assure you I mean no you no harm whatsoever.” Xal figured that if Humans and Kordolians were to live side-by-side, there had to be some sort of mutual understanding.

  Humans were naturally afraid of his kind. He didn’t blame them. The ever-present threat of invasion was very real.

  Coming out of anava, he’d hurt these soldiers. He didn’t want that to become a sore point with the Humans, so he’d decided he had to make things right.

  The guy with the broken arm snorted. “Says the guy who put three of us in the infirmary.”

  Xal fought to keep his expression calm and non-threatening, but the Human’s refusal to accept his apology was starting to irritate him. “Again,” he grated, “I apologize. I’ll make a point of mentioning your dedication and commitment to Sera’s father when I meet him.”

  The Humans traded strange looks. “You’re going to meet the Big Cheese? I don’t think you understand how it works on Earth, Kordolian.” The man with the broken leg wore a cynical expression. “You see, our corporations are a bit like brothels. You need special introductions to get inside, and even then, the madam of the house will only pay attention to you if you have lots and lots of money. The Aquinas girl’s old man is like the madam, only he also runs the legit coffee-shop on the surface and the department store across the road. So I appreciate the sentiment and all, but you probably won’t end up scoring a meeting with him that easily.”

  Xal had no idea what the man was talking about. He wondered if he was a bit delirious from the pain medication. Humans seemed to babble a lot, and they said some strange things at times. “If the father of my mate ever considers himself too busy to meet me, he’s going to have problems,” he said mildly. “Let us hope that isn’t the case.”

  “Mate?” Several of the Humans blurted the word at the same time. The human with the broken leg gaped.

  “As in, you and the Big Cheese’s daughter are-”

  “Is there a problem?” Xal’s voice became low and dangerous. He wouldn’t have them saying anything bad about their relationship.

  The Humans stared blankly at him.

  “No? Well in that case, I extend greetings to you from the New Kordolian State. I look forward to a mutually beneficial relationship between our people.” Xal smiled, baring his fangs. “Believe me,
we are now very much in your corner, so you have nothing to worry about.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Sera couldn’t believe it. They were being held up at the immigration station because she had forgotten to renew her Universal passport.

  “Sorry, Miss Aquinas. You’re going to have to fill in a Temporary Entry form and pay a fee of five hundred credits. Your retinal scan checks out, but it’s showing that your passport is expired.” The immigration officer handed her a data port.

  Beside her, Xal watched with a look of mild exasperation. The immigration officer’s gaze kept drifting to him. Ever since they’d docked and entered the station, they’d been attracting stares from the various aliens and Humans entering Earth.

  That’s what happened when you had two big, intimidating Kordolians on either side of you.

  The General stood behind them, impatience radiating from every pore. The longer he was away from Abbey, the more irritable he became. Sera was starting to worry that he might seriously hurt someone.

  “Uh, sorry guys,” she said sheepishly. “I haven’t been off-planet for a long time. I guess I’d forgotten about my passport.”

  She synced some data from her link-bracelet and handed the data port back to the officer. “That’s been paid. How long will it take to process my entry?”

  “You should be cleared in, hang on,” he peered at his holoscreen as the data transferred. “Done. You’re good to go, ma’am.” The officer cleared his throat nervously. Xal and Tarak pinned the poor guy with their intense stares.

  “Um, as for the Kordolians,” he said thinly, referring to the elephant in the room, “they’re going to have to get ambassadorial clearance.”

  “Enough,” growled Tarak. “Why do Humans insist on following such convoluted procedures? I did not risk my soldiers and defeat an Imperial warship just so I could return to Earth to be herded around like some pathetic vorchek.” He glared at the official, who was glancing towards the peacekeepers stationed to one side of the hall. “My mate is on Earth. I need to go to her. Why must you make it so complicated?”