Ordar’s Mission: Scifi Alien Adventure Romance (Science Fiction Alien Romance) (Galactic Survival Book 4)

by Hana Starr

  “I could say that same for you, Ordar,” Seig spat, still trying to wring his arm free. His entire body shook from the effort but Ordar hadn't so much as budged, the only movement indicating that he was alive being his steady breathing, and the slight adjustment his arm had to make to keep Seig's fist in his grip. “You had the potential to lead entire armies to victory, and what did you choose?” Seig's glimmering eyes looked past him, down at the pitiful lump curled in the corner that Mary had become. “Being the guardian to a false Oracle. A human Oracle that has no right to the title.” He snorted. “Pathetic. Worse than pathetic. You are less than your kind for it, Ordar.”

  Mary never imagined that the sound of an alien's bone breaking was so similar to a human's.

  She was learning something new every day, it would seem.

  “You speak words that have no knowledge behind them.” Ordar said after breaking Seig's wrist as effortlessly as opening a jar would be to Mary. “I made my choice, and so did the captain.” His tone was even and calm. “When he decided that the human woman was to be made an Oracle, she was deemed worthy by the captain. That is enough for her title to be genuine.”

  “He is a fool!” Seig howled. "He defiles our culture by letting those beneath the Almer participate-” he howled when Ordar suddenly squeezed the fist that he was still holding until she saw Seig's entire hand collapse under the pressure. The crunching sound was horrifying to her ears but she couldn't tear her gaze away from what was happening or think to move and cover her ears to deafen the sound.

  "The word of the captain is absolute on this ship. It carries with it the weight and approval of the Empire. You know this to be true.” Ordar said, his tone dangerously low. "If you had objections, there were proper ways to face them, not this.” He shook his head, tapping something on the wrist of the hand still holding Seig in place. “Your actions fly in the face of everything the Empire stands for. You will answer for them.”

  “I have done no worse than the captain! Than you!” Seig stopped in his thrashing to glare at her again. “Than her.” There was a flash of light, and suddenly Seig's wrists were bound by cuffs that encompassed his wrists and hands entirely. Another tap to Ordar's wrist conjured what Mary could only guess was some type of shock collar.

  "You will comply.” Ordar growled, pushing the collar around Seig's neck and firmly clamping it shut. The movement had been so forceful that it rocked Seig back, choking on the air that had been in his throat as it was throttled by the impact. The collar closed around his neck with a heavy metal clang, and it almost seemed a sign that the encounter was over. Seig must have realized what a futile endeavor it was to fight any further, so he settled for silent seething at his fellow soldier as Ordar held out a hand to Mary without taking his eyes off of Seig.

  "I-I'm sorry...” Mary rasped as she accepted his hand and stood on uncertain legs. “If it hadn't been for me-”

  "He already had every human that we captured slated for death before they had ever set foot on this ship, or any other ship that belonged to the Empire.” Ordar said simply as he forced Seig out the door, heading to the bridge. “You performing your job had nothing to do with his hatred. The only thing that you are guilty of is doing what you are told. You have served the Empire well this day.” He spared another disappointed glance at Seig."I am sad to say that the same cannot be said about you, old friend.” Seig snorted.

  “We have not been friends in many years, Ordar. Do not pretend that this is a sudden loss for either of us. I mourn nothing of the past or the present. All I have to mourn is the future of the Empire.” Mary trailed uncertainly behind the two as Ordar led them to the bridge, but made a concerted effort not to stray even remotely close to walking behind Seig.

  As they stepped onto the bridge, she couldn't help but feel the way she did whenever she dreamed that she had gone to work naked; completely exposed, out of her element, and in a place that she shouldn't be in the first place. All she wanted to do was run until her legs gave out and her lungs were filled with nothing but fire. Still, she followed after them, wanting with everything that she had in her to just be done with all of this.

  The captain, still on the dais that he had been in when she had been brought here the day before, turned to see who had entered the bridge. He arched a brow at the sight that greeted him but said nothing at first, allowing Ordar to bring Seig in front of him and force the restrained soldier on his knees. The captain stepped forward, standing a safe distance from the restrained Seig while still a respectable closeness to Ordar.

  “I assume that there is good reason for this, Ordar? You are not one to act against protocol.” The captain addressed Ordar, acting as though he hadn't even noticed Seig, still kneeling at his feet. Ordar nodded, keeping a large hand on Seig's broad shoulder as a way to keep track of him when his eyes weren't on him.

  "Seig made an attempt on my Oracle's life.” Ordar spoke plainly and got to the point, the same as he always had. The clinical way that he mentioned her assault almost made it feel far away for her, as if she hadn't experienced it first hand and it had been some dream that she could get over. “I have brought him to you for judgment.” Seig seemed to have found a little more fight in him, as he thrashed against Ordar's hand in an effort to shrug it off.

  “I have committed no crime! I was destroying the enemy – is that not the most noble thing I could do for the Empire? Is that not my duty?” He snarled. There were others, seated along the lower levels of the deck where she had stood when she was brought here, all of them now murmuring nervously amongst one another as they eyed the enraged soldier. They were no doubt wondering what had happened, what would have caused the day to take such a dramatic turn.

  With one motion of his hand, the bridge fell back into complete silence. It almost seemed as though even the monitors and computers quieted in their beeping and humming at his command. Mary wondered if they could do that, and found that she wouldn't have even had it in her to be surprised if they could, at this point.

  "You are a soldier.” The captain said in a dangerously low growl, finally turning his head to look Seig squarely in the eye. “Your station is not to decide-”

  “Not to decide when I should and should not cull the wolves in our own home?” Seig sneered. “That is your station, and you have failed it.” He spit at the captain as best as he could from his position, but it went nowhere but the leader's boots. “So I did what you could not. I alone kept our ship safe from foreign threat-!”

  “I have heard enough from your mouth.” The captain said, looking down at Seig with all the disgust typically saved for a cockroach. The gravity of the position he was in must have only just hit Seig in the moment, as he actually flinched under his captain's scrutiny. Seeing someone who had been so imposing and threatening mere moments ago now tremble under someone else's might was jarring to Mary.

  “Captain-”

  "I said,” the captain ground out. “That I had heard enough form your mouth. That has not changed. Be silent.” Seig bowed his head. “Do we have anything to corroborate your accusation?” The captain asked Ordar. “Technically speaking, he has neither confirmed nor denied it. If you cannot prove it, I will have to dismiss the accusation entirely.” He shot another dirty look down at Seig. “As much as I would not wish to.”

  “I documented it.” All eyes on the bridge turned to her as she spoke up, and she immediately regretted opening her mouth. Did she even have the right to do that? She hadn't thought that far ahead, to be honest, but now she couldn't help kicking herself for her lack of foresight. “I mean, ah,” she hunched her shoulders in an effort to curl into herself while still standing. “That is to say-”

  "Oracle.” She pressed her lips together tightly to silence her rambling when the captain addressed her by title. Her shoulders pulled back tightly as she stood ramrod straight, her back almost popping from the speed at which she straightened herself. She had to imagine that she would never have another name with any of them, so she was forcing h
erself to get used to be called, 'Oracle,' to make things a little easier on herself. “You say that you have proof. I would hear your explanation.” The captain was surprising cordial with his tone, neither demanding nor coddling, almost treating her as if she were, in fact, a part of the Empire. She nodded, pulling her shoulders a little straighter.

  "He attacked me while I was recording his personal log for the day.” She said quietly.

  "He was already creating a personal log for a day that has barely been half over?” The captain frowned. “I find that... odd behavior for him.” He spared the kneeling soldier a sideways glance. “But not something that cannot be verified. Continue,” he said with a nod after a moment of contemplation. At this rate, Mary was just glad she was even allowed to be heart at all.

  “I continued to document everything he said and did.” She brought up her saved entry for his personal log. "It's all detailed here.”

  “You have no proof that you actually took a log of mine!” Seig snarled. “You have nothing!”

  “That is not true.” Ordar spoke up when she faltered in the face of his argument. “I had to escort her to both his medical log, as well as his personal log. The cameras in the hallways and the medical bay will confirm that.” The captain nodded to one of the Almer manning a computer terminal on the bridge, who immediately set to work bringing up the camera footage.

  Sure enough, the proof was there, and though Mary knew that it would be, she still breathed a sigh of relief that her statement was backed up. Feeling bolstered by the fact that the ship was, at the very least, acting like a neutral party and that she would actually have somewhat of a voice in this case, she pressed on.

  “I chronicled everything that happened during the encounter.” The captain wordlessly came over and read her display, a digital visor coming down to translate her English writing into the written language of the Almer so that it was legible to him. He was silent for a brief while, nodding along as he read. As he read on, his expression darkened, his lips pulling into a thin line of disappointment.

  "This, in conjunction with the surveillance footage that places the Oracle in your quarters, is damning, Seig.” The captain finally said, straightening and coming back to loom over the cuffed soldier. Seig refused to lift his head, and though she couldn't see his expression, Mary doubted that it was any less severe than it had been a few moments ago. "Do you have a defense? Something that can explain her dictation of your log?”

  “I do not need one!” He cried out, his voice echoing against the glass of the bridge. “I have done nothing but serve the Empire! She,” he turned his gaze to her again. “Should not be here! She should not be an Oracle! The very idea-!”

  “I have heard enough.” The captain said firmly, cutting him off. Seig's eyes widened, as if he realized that judgment was going to come down upon his head in that moment. “You know what the punishment is for attacking an unarmed member of the Empire, Seig. An Oracle, no less.” The captain pulled out what looked like a pistol, pressing it against the kneeling soldier's temple just hard enough that she saw his skin indent against its barrel. “Are there any words you would have me pass on to your kin?”

  The pistol glowed with a green light, as if he were charging his shot to make sure that the death that would result from the blow actually stuck. Mary felt her stomach drop out from under her, and she found that she couldn't watch. Ordar must have realized that she was feeling that way, as he wordlessly stepped between her and the scene before her, his broad back shielding her from the sight.

  Ever her stalwart shield.

  Her staunch protector.

  “I have no kin.” Seig said, nothing but defeat in his tone. “But I die guiltless. I have only served my Empire.”

  “You were of great use to the Empire during your career as a soldier.” The captain agreed just before firing the shot. All Mary could see was a flash of green light that haloed Ordar's form, and the sizzle of flesh being burned reached her ears not long after, followed by a heavy thump that gave way to absolute silence and stillness. “But you have betrayed all that you stood to protect.” When the scent of charred flesh crept into her nostrils, she clamped a hand over her nose and mouth, hoping not to retch. “Oracle.”

  “Y-yes?” She wheezed, hoping that she at least sounded somewhat professional in spite of her nausea.

  “This must be documented.” He said plainly. “You do not need to look at it, but record the time and date of the incident. Let it be marked in our history so that we might remember, and learn from this event.” Though she was quaking at the thought of what had happened mere paces from where she was standing, and what was still there, she did as she was told and brought up her keyboard with an almost practiced grace.

  Her fingers flew across the keyboard with a speed that she had previously not known that she was capable of, but she paid it no mind. All she wanted in that moment was to finish this additional report, this tragedy that she had never wanted, and to go back to her new quarters to break in the bed and never leave it. Let it become her deathbed for all she cared in that moment; all she felt was rot anyway. Even though she had been shielded from the worst of each step of this by her powerful Guardian, she couldn't help feeling dirty.

  All the while, Ordar stood, unmoving and unflinching, not facing her, but not ignoring her presence, silently guarding her from a sight that she did not need to see, that she didn't deserve to see. Her hands began to ache from how fast she was typing but she did not stop, and it was in a matter of moments that her report was finalized and sent to the archives, despite it feeling like it had taken her eons to do.

  Now with nothing left for her hands to do, she let them fall to her sides heavily. It was only then that she realized how her hands throbbed from how frantically her fingers had moved across the keyboard. When she tried to stretch out her fingers and flex them as far as she could, she found that her muscles protested, preferring to simply remain in that half clenched state. She didn't have it in her to fight it, and let it be. It was something that could be addressed later, when she had the privacy to cry without it having to be documented. That was all that she wanted in that moment.

  “Consider your duties as Oracle handled for the day.” The captain said simply. “I would not have you work after such an ordeal. Rest, and recover, that you might work twice as hard tomorrow.” Still, Ordar had not moved from blocking the morbid view from her. “Ordar, escort her back to your quarters. Remain with her for the rest of the day.”

  “It will be done. I will comply.” His response was immediate, but he simply stepped backward before turning and encompassing her vision with his chest. She felt his powerful arm, the same one that had crushed Seig's wrist and hand, drape itself tenderly around her middle as she was guided back to their quarters, but she didn't have the energy to feel fear of it. Not that she had to, really, she amended; he had been nothing but gentle with her since her capture.

  Even the task of making it back to her sleeping quarters seemed almost monumental to her, despite the fact that it was a mere few steps away. Even then, Ordar proved that he was nothing if not her Guardian, pulling her flush against his side and supporting her as they made it back to what had now become her only sanctuary left in the world. In the galaxy, she corrected herself somberly as the door slid open and she trudged inside.

  It wasn't until the door slid shut behind them and she felt truly safe did Mary allow herself to breathe properly. Her chest burned and her head throbbed, and all she wanted to do was curl into a ball and never move again for the rest of her life.

  The rest of the day would have to do instead.

  If the bed hadn't been in sight and a mere few steps away, she might have simply collapsed onto the floor where she stood for how drained she felt. She was vaguely aware of tapping on her wrist to make her pajamas come back but she hardly felt the shift from her uniform to wearing the fluffy sleepwear, so desperate was she to crumple into a boneless heap. But the end was in sight, so she dragged her univ
erse weary body over to the bed and threw herself face first onto its soft surface. Her body didn't even bounce, but rather sank into the mattress, and she led out a sigh that seemed to come from the last untarnished corner of her soul.

  She turned onto her side when she felt Ordar's weight add itself to the bed, and she turned to look at him wearily. He was sitting, staring at the wardrobe beside the bed and looking for all the universe like a lost boy abandoned at a train station on a rainy day.

  "Ordar,” she called to him softly. He tore his gaze away from staring at nothing to look at her. “Is this the Empire that we work for?” She asked quietly. “I know Seig attacked me, but...” she swallowed. “Surely he should have been given a chance to learn of his mistake before he was executed?” Ordar was simply silent, staring at her face as though trying to find the answers written in her eyes.

  “I do not know. I have no answers.” He finally said in a quiet voice that trembled with the fear of everything he had ever known coming into question. “This is not the Empire that I thought it would be. That is all I know.” He laid down next to her, and they stared up at the ceiling wordlessly. There was a weird sense of camaraderie between the two of them now, a tangible kind that she couldn't deny the existence of.