Dragon's Love: A SciFi Alien Baby Romance (Red Planet Dragons of Tajss Book 3)

by Miranda Martin

  The stick vibrates in my hand, resisting the maneuver. There's something off. My fighter doesn't react this way, it should be responsive, smooth, reacting to my lightest touch. Easing off the thrusters the vibration stops but it allows Draker to catch up. He moves in position next to me, the wings of our fighters almost touching. Glancing over I see the grin on his face then his eyes dart to my engine and his grin widens.

  An alarm sounds and lights flash. The vibration returns in force. The flight stick is shaking so hard I have to grip it with both hands to keep it under control. Draker jumps ahead but I can't worry about him now. Whatever is wrong with my fighter it's serious.

  "Amara," Tomas' voice crackles in my headset. "Amara come in."

  "Busy Tomas," I snap.

  "Amara, bring it in…" static crackles breaking up his next words. "… dangerous."

  "You're breaking up Tomas, come again," I say.

  The fighter is fighting me now. I'm struggling to stay in control. Slowing down the thrust I let the ship glide, hoping to bring it in line with the landing bay.

  "…. tampered…" Tomas' voice crackles through a bout of static.

  The landing bay comes into sight as I drift around the colony ship. I have to time this perfectly. The opening drifts until it fills my vision, and I hit the thruster, pushing my fighter forward. The fighter shimmies and shudders. I'm on track, heading for the landing bay. Almost there, the black maw grows, consuming my field of vision.

  The thruster sputters then flares of its own accord. It causes the fighter to jerk just as I'm entering the landing bay. The starboard wing lifts and smashes into the roof. Sparks accompany the screech of metal on metal. I'm fighting to keep control but the engine is flaring on and off. The fighter's nose smashes into the ground then I'm spinning. Alarms scream, lights flash, and I continue to fight for control.

  At last it stops. Flames dance outside the cockpit window. The alarms continue screaming. I undo my harness and work my way free. I'll kill Draker when I find him. Now I know for certain, I can't trust anyone. They won't see me weak. If they think I depend on anyone, they'll use it against me.

  Never again.

  "Shidan!" I cry out as my eyes jerk open and my heart pounds in my chest.

  He's here and I lean back into his arms, relieved to see him. Maybe I can trust him. It would be nice, so nice to have someone.

  "Rest Amara," he whispers. "I am here. You're safe."

  He smooths my hair as he speaks and I drift off again.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Shidan

  Moistening a piece of cloth from our dwindling water supply I dab it across her forehead and cheeks. She's bright red, her lips are cracked, and she's shivering. It's been at least an hour since she last woke up and spoke something coherent. Laying her down onto the floor I check the monitors.

  The pirates are gathering the scavenged things at the main entrance to the broken ship. They're working in teams of two exploring the remains and carrying back what they find. Two are loading the gathered goods onto their transport. I've waited days but now I'm out of time. Amara is in bad shape. I don't know how much longer she can go without epis and I have to save her.

  "Shidan," she mutters.

  Moving back to her I take her in my arms. She doesn't open her eyes but it seems to calm her when I'm holding her. I hold the water bottle to her lips and pour a small amount into her mouth. She swallows it at last and I let go of a breath I didn't realize I was holding.

  My stomach is a tight knot. Inaction creates a tension in my muscles that makes me ache to move. I have to get her back to the city. A black fear hides behind every thought as I avoid thinking the one thing that seems most obvious. She will die if she doesn't get epis.

  I can't lose her. I won't.

  Sliding out from under her I return to the monitor. I spend the next hour studying the pirate's movements, forming a plan. I have to take them out. There's no way for me to get her out of here unnoticed and if I'm carrying her I won't be able to fight.

  "I don't cheat," she mutters.

  Going to her side I kneel and touch her face. She's burning hot. I wet the cloth again and place it across her forehead. She shudders and convulses so I hold her until it passes. I make my decision. I'll save her, no matter what it takes.

  I lift and move her to a corner. Moving crates to block her from view if anyone finds a way into the room I then get my lochaber. I give her a drink of water, dampen the towel and place it around her head then I go to the door. I try to work the control panel, entering the same sequence I saw Amara use and eventually I get it open.

  A team of two should be deep in the ship. I'll deal with them last, let them come after I've dealt with the ones in the cargo area. As I come closer, I hear the sounds of their guttural language grunting to each other. Flattening myself against the wall I ease my way to the corner then peek around.

  There are three of them in a small huddle. Damn it I wanted to catch them apart. Crouching down I pull back and wait, listening. Sounds of shifting boxes then footsteps echo away. I sneak a peek and see one of them carrying a box towards the transport. Good. I count to ten then take a deep breath.

  Leaping around the corner with my lochaber over my head I rush towards the two pirates that remain. One of them sees me and grunts, pulling his weapon even as his eyes widen and he tries to point with his other hand. The man next to him grunts but I'm on them before he can turn around.

  Swinging my lochaber in a circle over my head I bring it down on the arm raising the weapon towards me. The blade hits the pirate's armor and glances off but it knocks the weapon from his hand. The gun clatters across the floor as the pirate cries out in pain.

  I bring the haft of my lochaber up in an uppercut into the pirate's chin. His head snaps back as the sound of crushing bones fills the air. The pirate stumbles back then falls. The second pirate has his weapon out and is bringing it to bear. Whirling my lochaber over my head I swing with the bladed side at his head. Something strikes me in the back before I can connect. It throws my swing off, causing it to miss the man's head as I'm pushed forward.

  The right side of my body is numb. Switching the lochaber to my left hand I threaten the pirate in front of me while sidestepping, trying to work him between me and whoever just attacked from behind. Another flash of pain hits me in the right side and my muscles convulse.

  "AHHH!" I scream, fighting my way past the pain. "Amara!"

  Her name gives me strength. I cannot fail her. She needs me. She's vulnerable and counting on me. I will not let her down.

  Circling the enemy in front of me, the pair that was deeper in the ship comes into view. Both of them have their weapons drawn and are taking aim. I have to do something fast so I do the only thing that makes sense. I dive for the one closest. My right side refuses to move so I grab him with my left arm. He fights as we lock into a struggle.

  His friends don't seem to care. Shots strike around the two of us then one of them hits him. He grunts in surprise and pain. I whirl and struggle to use him as a shield. The other two don't appear to bother aiming, firing random electrical bolts. One of them hits my left leg and I can't stand.

  I hold onto the pirate as I fall to the floor, dragging him with me. Struggling, I get an arm around his neck and hook it with my other, choking him. He struggles against me but I don't let go. The other pirates close and in seconds there are four of them with weapons aimed at me. They growl and speak in their guttural language.

  "No!" I scream.

  Two of them look at each other than shrug. I try to pull the pirate in my arms over to block the shot but I'm too slow. The blaster fires and everything goes black.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Amara

  Something's wrong. I know it the instant I wake up. Jerked out of my feverish dreams, I know. Pushing myself up onto an elbow I work my way to a sitting position. Everything hurts. My joints ache, my muscles are sore, my eyes are dry and burning and my parched throat screams for water
.

  "Shidan?" my voice cracks.

  I'm not where I fell asleep. There are crates piled around me, blocking my view of the room. What has he done? I shake my head as I force myself to my feet. I stumble and catch myself on the wall. Damn this sucks. I close my eyes and focus on breathing until the dizziness passes. Once it's gone, I open them and then push myself into an upright position.

  I have to move crates to get out of the small box he built around me. It's exhausting and my headache comes back in force as I work my way out. At last, standing on the far side of the boxes, I look around the medical bay. There's no sign of Shidan but that's no surprise. If he was here he would have answered my calls.

  The monitors. Maybe I can catch sight of him. As I make my way over, drifting to avoid the dizziness and keep the nausea under control, certainty grows. I know him. He's doing something stupid. Sure, it's to 'save' me but it's stupid. There are too many of them to fight but I know him. He will try. My heart swells in my chest until I'm sure it will burst and I shake my head.

  "Damn it Shidan," I mutter.

  He loves me. Loves me more than his own life but he's not stupid. He knew how dangerous it was but he must have decided he had no choice. The worst part is, I think he might be right. My vision is hazy, weaving in and out of focus, my head is pounding, and my mouth is so dry I can't swallow. My stomach is cramping and my muscles cramp too at random moments that make it hard for me to stand up much less walk.

  I'm way past the point of simple dehydration, if that's all it was then the water, salt and potassium would ease the symptoms. No, it's clear I'm in withdrawal. I have to have epis. The side effect of taking it, it's addictive. Once your body adjusts to it, you have to have it.

  My knees give out and I collapse to the floor. I try to stand but my left calf cramps causing me to cry out in pain. I clutch it until the ache passes. If I wasn't so dry I'm sure I'd be crying. I guess there are advantages to being dehydrated, no tears, can't show weakness if you have no tears to shed.

  Giving up on standing, I crawl towards the security monitors grabbing a handhold and pulling myself forward until I reach them at last. My heart sinks the moment I see the first monitor. Shidan is fighting with a pirate.

  "LOOK OUT!" I scream but he can't hear me.

  Another pirate is behind him. That one fires his weapon and hits him in the side. His arm falls limp, but he continues to fight, pulling the other pirate around. There's more approaching though, drawn to his commotion. It's only a few moments before they have him down on the ground and he's unconscious and captured.

  "No, no, no," I say, sick to my stomach as I watch them bind him and throw him against a wall.

  They look at each other and talk in their guttural language. Now I have to save him. Damn it, what can I do?

  I sit up and wait for the dizziness to pass then stare at the monitor and try to force myself to think. I feel like I've got a thick fog between me and the world making it hard to form a plan. I see them dragging him towards the loading bay area. They stick him to one side and two pirates remain to guard him while the others return to scavenging the ship.

  The loading bay. Something about the loading bay. What is it? A thought tickles at the edges of my mind. I can almost remember it. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath, then relax. I push aside my worry, my fear, my concerns for Shidan and for myself. Empty my thoughts, just like when I'm preparing to launch my fighter. There is nothing but me and my machine. Nothing else matters.

  As I find that quiet place I recall something. The loading bay has built in security systems to take care of problems from volatile materials.. There are safety precautions built into the ship to counteract any problem the engineers could predict the possibility of. Including one to force live animals into unconsciousness. They had to allow for us to bring aboard livestock from nearby planets we were passing in case there was a catastrophic loss of the food supply on the ship.

  "Thank you Tomas for all your useless knowledge," I whisper, opening my eyes with the beginnings of a plan coming together.

  This won't be easy. I force my way back to my feet and dig around the medical area, finding supplies of electrolytes. I down a handful with some water then another. My headache recedes to a dull roar and the sluggishness eases. My muscles are still having random cramps but that's more from the withdrawal I think than from dehydration. Nothing I can do about it.

  Feeling at least a little better, I grab the machine we came here for. I need to get to the ship's communication system. If my plan's going to work I'll need to see all the pirates and goad them towards the security system. I plan to fuck their day up.

  Deep breath, push off the wall I'm leaning against, then I'm moving. I stack two crates so I can get up to the door out of the med bay. I need to get deeper in the ship. There's a security center a deck up from the medical bay and that's where I've got to go. The door slides open when I punch in my code. I climb through and lower myself to the floor on the opposite side.

  Now to get to the deck above or, I guess, beside me since the ship is on its tilted. I creep along the hall, stopping to listen every tenth step. The last thing I can afford is to run into pirates. It also gives me a chance to rest and deal with the cramping of my muscles. My left leg seems to be the worst. It feels weak, like it doesn't want to hold my weight. Stepping carefully to test it before I put my weight on it is slowing me down but it's better than falling on my face.

  Something clangs behind me and I flatten myself to the wall, holding my breath. Watching behind me I push back as far as I can into the wall and wait. Is it one of them? Straining my ears for the slightest sound I wait until my vision edges grey before breathing and decide it was nothing.

  I make it to the elevator up to the next deck and pass my hand over the screen. It lights up but the familiar vibration that would show the elevator is coming doesn't happen. I wait for a few minutes but nothing. It was too much to hope that it would work. I try to pry the doors open but I can't get enough of a grip. Looking around, I find a piece of metal sticking out of a wall that looks like it might help.

  Leaving the equipment I'm hauling with me I grab the piece of metal and work it back and forth until it snaps off in my hand. Sliding the thinnest part of the bar into the crack of the doors I lean my entire body into it. The doors open an inch but it's enough for me to get more of the bar in. It doesn't take long for me to get it far enough I can squeeze through.

  I'm looking down into a square shaft that runs horizontally. The elevators moves on an electromagnetic lift system built into the walls of the shaft which also serve as hand and footholds if the ship was in its normal position. I let the bar fall down then grab the equipment bag and lower it as far into the shaft as I can then let it drop. It lands with a dull thud. Now it's my turn. Hanging my legs over the side I take a deep breath then lower myself down.

  My feet touch the ground and I'm in the shaft. I can't stand upright so I crawl, grabbing the bag and starting on my way up to the next floor. The shaft is hot and full of stale air making it harder to breathe. If I wasn't so dehydrated, I'm sure I'd be sweating buckets. That I'm not isn't a good thing.

  I'm only going up one deck so it doesn't take long. Grabbing the bar I work it into the slit of the door and then pry. It's a lot harder from this side because I can't get a good angle. There's just not enough room but at last I get it open. Lying on my back, panting, I listen to see if my work has brought any unwanted attention. No clue what I'll do if it has. I'm counting on the fact it's a big chunk of the world ship and there aren't very many pirates scavenging it.

  Satisfied at last that no one is coming to investigate my commotion I climb to my knees then poke my head out the open door. I look all around and listen for any signs of pirates before I push the equipment bag out then pull myself out after it. Holding my breath as butterflies beat in my stomach I listen once more for any sounds.

  No one comes and I hear nothing. Standing, I take a moment to get my bearings then I hea
d for the security center. I arrive without incident and the door opens. I climb through then shut it behind me. No point in making it obvious where I'm at.

  Dominating the center of the room is a massive desk with multiple stations. Each has its own set of monitors and inputs. The entire ship is visible from here. Control of the ship systems is also here. I have to wonder how the engineers, who had thought of everything else, didn't think about us being boarded by space pirates. It seems an obvious threat, at least in hindsight.

  Shaking my head, I go to one terminal. My code doesn't work, access denied. Damn it. I hadn't counted on that though I should have. I'm a fighter pilot, why would my security codes get me access to the security consoles?

  "Tomas!" I exclaim.

  Tomas was an engineer, he had access to everything. One night we got drunk together, and he shared his code with me because he thought it was funny. I remember it because it was so damn weird. I activate the terminal again and it flashes ready for password.

  "Help me Obi-wan Kenobi. You're my only hope," I say.

  The screen flashes three times then I'm in. I shake my head as I chuckle.

  "Tomas, you fan boy."

  Okay, now to save Shidan. I sure as hell hope the Force is with me because I will need all the help I can get.

  Chapter Twenty

  Shidan

  My eyes snap open and I'm awake. I try to move but can't. Try to turn my head but nothing happens. A gag around my mouth makes it hard to breathe. My hearts pound as adrenaline pumps into my body. Muscles tense and I try to move again.

  Focus! I admonish myself.

  Deep breaths. One, two, three, slow the hearts. Okay, evaluate. I'm numb. My muscles feel sluggish and are not responding as they should. The adrenaline is counteracting that effect but I'm slow. I'm bound, legs and arms, wings and even my tail. These pirates know what they're doing.