“I suppose that’s true.” Jaska said, letting her heavy eyes draw closed again. “I suppose that’s true.”
In her slumber, Jaska dreamed of the queen. She came to her dressed just as she had been the first time that she had appeared in the bathroom mirror. Between her fingers she held the magic magenta thread which wove around and around in an infinite circle.
“Well done, child.” She said, her hand reaching out and brushing the soft dark hair from Jaska’s forehead. “Your daughters are beautiful.” Jaska smiled.
“Thank you.” She said politely.
“Just keep in mind what I told you. You must ensure that you give him daughters if you are to survive as a queen.” Queen Jaska said. Jaska shook her head.
“No. The children that we create will be the children that we have. I will not use my sorcery for such things, when I can use my power as queen to influence the laws that make our daughters inferior to our sons.” Jaska watched as a smile spread across the queen’s face.
“You will be a good queen, my child. Golar will benefit greatly from your knowledge and compassion.” The queen pulled her hand back and nodded gently. “Give the people what I was never strong enough to give them. Give them equality, give them feminine compassion and most of all, give them a chance to know a monarchy ruled by a queen who does not hide in her husband’s shadow.” With that the queen vanished, leaving Jaska alone in an empty room.
It was the crying of the babies that jolted Jaska awake. For a moment she wasn't entirely sure where she was. Then, looking over she saw Belzar and Telmet both stooped over two cradles and fussing over her daughters. She smiled softly and closed her eyes. Change was definitely coming.
Pregnant by my Alien Protector
By: Melissa Bennings
Pregnant by My Alien Protector
© Melissa Bennings, 2016 – All rights reserved
Published by Steamy Reads4U
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, including electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events are purely coincidental. This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.
This book may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please return it to the seller and purchase a copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.
Warning
This book contains graphic content intended for readers 18+ years old.
If you are under 18 years old, or are not comfortable with adult content, please close this book now.
CHAPTER ONE: Discoveries
The humid heat of the rain forest had Caitlin King pulling off her hat and waving it in front of her face for a minute as she studied the view before her. Though it was only mid-morning, her long chestnut curls were now sticking to her face. With a sigh, she took a hair band from her pocket and quickly braided the damp locks away from her eyes and mouth. She stood at the top of a pyramid, having climbed the pile of rocks one last time. This was her last day in Bolivia. In just a few hours, she would start on her way back to El Alto International Airport. Grey eyes looked over the landscape below, and Caitlin tried to memorize the view of those many shades of greens that made up the forest, the sounds of birds and other animals calling to each other in the foliage and the constant buzzing of the insects, the smells of this land — soil and moisture and plants. The young woman tilted her head back and smiled, the sun beating upon her head and drying the sweat upon her brow for the moment.
“I never knew you could climb so quickly, Kate.”
“Contrarily to you, John, I take my health seriously. Gym at least three times a week.”
“I think the last time I went to a gym, Ms. King, I was still in high school.”
Caitlin chuckled once, looking at her friend sideways. John had been the one to find this little summer side trip for them. While others might find a summer job or take the time to catch with their friends, Caitlin and John had signed up to join an archaeological dig in the middle of the Bolivian rain forest. Although her major was in the art and her minor only in art history, John had invited Caitlin to tag along. He’d even managed to talk the leaders of the dig into taking her on. And she hadn’t regretted it one bit. She’d had nothing much better to do, with her no good boyfriend deciding he wasn’t happy with just her and picking up girls left, right, and center.
“Have I lost you to some highly theological thoughts there?”
“No. Just revenge-filled ones featuring Adam being used as a sacrifice right here. Think I could carve his heart out with one of those jade knives we excavated?”
“Maybe. Not sure your skinny little arms would be strong enough though.”
Without even looking, Caitlin punched her friend on the shoulder. John threw her a wounded look and rubbed at the spot while she smiled and ignored him. They started on their way back down the small pyramid. The site was named Q’umir Umiña, which apparently meant emerald in Quechua. It was one of those places that historians had been looking for but had never truly believed existed, a site that supposedly had seen many an Inca emperor come on a pilgrimage though the reasons for this were nebulous at best. The city was thought either a myth or destroyed. Until a couple of lost, would-be adventurers had stumbled upon it and brought news back to their Chicago hometown. Caitlin had had a grand time, going around taking pictures and sketching everything she could. Some of photographs and drawings would become part of a series of exhibitions back home. But most important, in her mind at least, was that she had been able to experience the differences herself. Her studies until now had focused on European and Middle-Eastern styles across the ages. It was nice to study how art had evolved in another part of the world.
“Do you think you’ll come back if you have the chance?” John asked as he jumped over the last couples of steps.
“Maybe. Although to be fair, how likely is it that another find like this one will be made in our lifetime?”
“I still can’t believe this place can’t be found on satellite maps. So much for Google being able to spy on us from space.”
Caitlin shrugged. She wasn’t much into conspiracy theories anyways.
“You know, the first thing I’m going to do when we get back home is take a bath. A long, warm soak in the bathtub. Heck, maybe I’ll even refill the tub a few times before I get out. I just want to feel completely clean again…”
Caitlin bit the inside of her bottom lip in an attempt not to laugh at her friend’s whining. Although a long bath did sound rather nice. The young woman tuned out her friend’s tirade and she stretched her arms above her head, feeling her spine crack back into place. A glint of green light caught her attention from across the clearing. She let her forearms drop onto her head, squinting across the golden light of the sun.
“What?” John asked as he noticed her attention had shifted away from his playful ranting.
But Caitlin didn’t answer. Instead, she walked the few steps to the edge of the forest and crouched. She brushed her fingers lightly against the ground and she blinked at the stone glowing in the gloom of the trees.
“What have you got there?”
Caitlin turned to her friend, fingering the stone as she brought it to eye level.
“Is that… jade, maybe?” John mused out loud. “I must admit I’m not that good with gemstones.”
John was the archeology major, but he obviously still had a few things to learn.
“Should I show it to the prof?”
“I don’t think it’s that significant, but yes, just to be on t
he safe side.”
Caitlin put the stone back where she’d found it so she could take a few pictures, just in case. The two students then went to show their find to the leader of their little expedition, Professor Sanders. The older man took a few moments before he confirmed John’s initial assessment.
“This is a piece of rough jade. I think you were very lucky to stumble on it like that, young lady.”
“So… It’s not part of the dig?”
Sanders just shook his head. “No, but I have an idea what you can do with this.”
Holding a finger up, he smiled before he went ruffling into one of his bags. When he turned back to face Caitlin and John, Sanders had wrapped a leather cord around the piece of jade, now a pendant in a makeshift necklace. The older man passed the leather thong over Caitlin’s head, and the young woman watched the gemstone as it settled between her breasts.
“Some people think jade brings good luck and as healing properties. Given the help you have been on this expedition, even though you’re not an archeology student, I hope this proves true for you.”
Caitlin looked back up and smiled at Sanders.
“Now,” the professor said, “you two need to get on with packing. We’ll be leaving in just three hours. And the last thing we want is to miss the boat back out to Sena.”
The two students nodded and went on their way. But Caitlin could not help caressing the piece of jade hanging around her neck.
*
**
The bleep was unexpected to say the least. So much so that Ranael almost ignored it at first. His strong sense of duty forced him to his feet. This tour had gone on long enough in his mind. Six standard months and he still wasn’t sure what he’d done to piss off his superiors that they’d sent him to the backwaters of the universe. Earth was a dead end assignment.
The powers that be had decreed long ago was Earth was special. Never mind who had taken the human species off this blue planet first, humanity had long since adapted. That was why they were taken in the first place: human beings could adapt to pretty much anything that didn’t kill them outright. The seraph race was pretty much a case in point: humans had been taken off Earth, given access to advanced technology, and had built an empire spanning five solar systems. For that reason, the seraph — and many of the ‘human-based’ star civilizations — considered Earth special. They liked to ‘protect’ Earth. And it made for one of the most boring posts on the rotation.
So the first thing Ranael did after he realized that the bleep did indeed come for the console in front of him rather than his blasé imagination, was to run the ship’s computers through their diagnosis programs. When the scans showed no technical problem with any of the ship’s systems that he could identify at first sight, Ranael started to pay attention.
“Tiamat online. Full system check.”
“Voice ID confirmed. Good day, Archon Pahadron. Initiating full system check.”
It always brought a roll of his eyes to experience Tiamat’s impeccable manners. The computer was more polite than he’d ever been. And he was the sentient life form.
“Air recycling systems online and working. Heating systems online and working. Waste recycling systems online and working. Electrical systems online and working. Hull integrity check: no damage reported. Escape pod: no damage reported.”
As the machine ran through the routine checks he had just performed and about two thousand more, Ranael stood and approached the dark tinted windows surrounding the bridge. He leaned against the rail, watching the blue planet and its silver moon below. He could only hope Tiamat would find that something had gone wrong with the ship. Then he’d have an excuse to call Jeduthun and ask to get out of here.
“Potential spike detected. Please initiate Silver Custody.”
Ranael turned his head around so fast he felt his vertebrae crack. That had to be a mistake.
“Tiamat, confirm Potential spike.”
“Potential spike confirmed. Spike registered on Earth. Pinpoint impossible. General coordinates: 11.5 degrees south, 67.5 degrees west; 12 degrees south, 68 degrees west. Local time: 9.31 am. Kashyk protocol activated. Tracking impossible at this moment. Please initiate command Silver Custody.”
Even as Tiamat was talking, Ranael had moved back to his seat and pulled up a map of Earth.
“Right in the middle of the damned rain forest, of course,” he muttered to himself.
With the Kashyk protocol somehow active, there was no chance to get a pinpoint on a signature until the waves of Potential had settled down.
“Tiamat, prepare a data packet with this. Encryption key: ARC-565. Send it through the Sol relay as a priority message under Silver Custody. And request a secure hyper-wave communication line direct to Strategos Ariuk of the Third Mercy Fleet.”
“Request sent. Encrypting.”
The quirks of traditional space communications meant that Ranael had more than enough time to change into his formals and tie back his hair before Tiamat called him back to the bridge to demand his identification code. The next seven odd hours, as his message traveled back to the nearest fleet in light form, seemed excruciatingly long to him. But he remained by the console. Luckily, he had a good reason to request a hyper-wave line. Where normal, non-urgent message traveled as light sequences through space, a hyper-wave message would make use of advanced technologies to fold space around the message, enabling it to be delivered instantly.
“Communication incoming from Strategos Ariuk.”
Think of the devil, Ranael thought as he stood at attention in front of the video com. As the video link was established, the archon saluted smartly.
“This had better be good, Archon Pahadron.”
“Permission to open a hyper-wave data line to your position.”
That shut him up, Ranael thought with a hidden smile as his direct commanding officer gaped at him.
“What’s the encryption key?”
“ARC-565.”
“Send the packet.”
Ranael leaned over his console for a few moments and punched a few keys.
“Data packet in hyper-wave transit,” Tiamat dutifully reported.
“Received,” the older man grumbled after a few seconds.
Ranael stood once more at attention and watched as his commanding officer looked through the report.
“A Potential spike?”
Ranael fought not to sneer at the man in front of him. This was probably why he’d been saddled with the Earth assignment. He was an archon. A highly trained soldier dealing with highly sensitive data and missions that others believed impossible. The Archons were sent in when victory was vital but unlikely. Ranael was very good at his job. But he was also very good at annoying the wrong people. And if there was one thing he despised more than slavers, it was military personnel who didn’t understand that even a hyper-wave communication line could still be breached. At least, it wouldn’t be his mistake.
“As procedure requires, I am requesting contact authorization under Silver Custody.”
“Contact authorization granted. Get it off-planet and back to the fleet ASAP.”
Ranael saluted and Ariuk cut the communication line. Tiamat had already deleted the data line from cyber existence. With a bit of luck, no one had been monitoring this quadrant and he’d have no competition for the Potential. Then again, his luck rarely ran that good.
“Tiamat, prepare trajectory for planetary approach on the Potential coordinates.”
“Calculating vectors. Initiating engines warm up.”
It’d take him about an hour to get to Earth. Once the Kashyk protocol ran its course, the Potential would be easy to spot. He’d go in, get the piece, and get back out in just a few minutes. Then he’d be off to rejoin the fleet, his tour effectively ended. And even if it were just a lucky break that he’d been the one on duty when the Potential was detected, he’d end up with some of the accolades for the find. No more backwater assignments for him. With some luck, he’d even managed to
get some vacation time back on Jeduthun. Life was good.
CHAPTER TWO: Meetings
Caitlin gathered her thick curls in a braid, tying it off quickly while her grey eyes studied the painting before her. The greens and browns blended to show the rain forest she had visited just a few months ago. She was back in Boston now, back to her studies. But she remembered her time in Bolivia fondly. As she reminisced, her left hand drifted between her breasts to touch the jade pendant still hanging there. The stone seemed to glow beneath her fingertips. The leather thong had been replaced by a long silver chain.
“Hey, Kate. You here?”
“Maybe.”
The art student put her brush down in water and picked up a wipe to scrub at her dirty fingers. She’d never been the cleanest of painters.
“Hey, you’re done!”
Caitlin made a noise in the back of her throat. She wasn’t as sure as John seemed to be that this piece was finished. But she covered it anyway.
“What do you need?”
“What do you mean?” John replied with a side smile.
“You never turn up in my studio unless you need something. You know better.” Caitlin wiggled her index finger at her friend.
“Fair enough. But actually, I was wondering if we could reschedule our lunch date.”
“Why?”
“Professor Sanders has apparently arrived in town a couple of days ago and he contacted Professor Powell. Now, the two of them want to talk to me.”
Caitlin couldn’t help but smile at her friend. He both looked like all his Christmases had come at once and like he would throw up his breakfast on his shoes.
“Sure. We can always do lunch another day.”
“Oh no, girlfriend. I’ve been trying to get you to go out since Adam. You’re not getting out of it!”
Romance: Yes, Stepbrother! Page 53
