Alien Invader's Baby (Science Fiction Alien/BBW Secret Baby Romance)

by Calista Skye

  Through her still groggy mind, she finally got it. "And you healed me. Like that first time the Vlon speared me."

  "In my own little way."

  "I guess that's one gift she couldn't cancel."

  Crixael looked into the distance. "Not entirely, perhaps."

  She wasn't sure how to interpret that. "Yeah, so, is this one of those deals where you have sacrificed your own life or something super important so that I can live?"

  "Apparently not." He stopped. "I don't think it's necessary for me to carry you. I think you might want to be upright for this."

  She clung to him for two more seconds, squeezing him a little harder. It just felt nice. No man had held her like that and carried her so easily since she became an adult. Before that, only one man had.

  "All right."

  He let her down on the ground and she saw why. A small Space Force fighter ship stood on the surface a hundred yards away. Someone was standing beside it. Just one.

  They walked together towards the craft, and the person there came the other way – slowly at first, then faster until she was running.

  Dani started running too, and then she was in her mother's arms.

  41

  They couldn't form complete sentences for a good while, and Crixael stood a little to the side and absentmindedly twirled the two halves of his broken war staff between his fingers of both hands.

  "I suppose I should meet your boyfriend," Queen Olivia finally said and wiped her eyes. Black mascara had run down her face and everything else was smudged.

  "He's technically my fiancé now," Dani said and wiped hers. She was glad Space Marines didn't wear makeup when going to battle. "Crixael, Queen Olivia of Brax. My mother. Queen Olivia, Crixael the Ethereal, my fiancé."

  The two formidable personalities looked at each other appraisingly for three heartbeats. Then Queen Olivia reached her hand out. "A pleasure."

  Crixael slowly took her hand. "An honor, Your Majesty."

  They looked into each other's eyes so long that Dani didn't know whether to be worried or jealous. Or which one of them she should be jealous of.

  They let go of each other's hands.

  "I intend to marry your daughter," Crixael said evenly. "No matter what you may think about it."

  "I have thoughts about it," Olivia said calmly. "They are my own. If you should know them I will let you."

  "Fair enough," Crixael said. "Are you aware that she has negotiated a galaxy-wide peace treaty with the Vlon? She's not a born Space Marine like you. She strongly dislikes it. She's a born peacemaker."

  Olivia looked quickly over to Dani. "Is that true?"

  "Sure. They left. They promised to go around human space."

  "No, I mean, are you a negotiator and not a Space Marine? Deep down?"

  Dani nodded. Her mother was clearly concerned. "Yes, mom. I picked the wrong thing to do in life."

  "Perhaps not entirely wrong," Crixael said, twirling the two pieces of his staff again. "Only a warrior can establish the position of strength that's needed for a negotiation. Both abilities are important."

  Olivia looked from one of them to the other. "Peace with the Vlon? If correct, it one of the most important thing that have happened in the history of mankind. But now I suppose we're facing war with the Ethereals?"

  She looked squarely at Crixael, but he didn't look back. "I see no reason for a war between my wave and your civilization. On the contrary. I see that your species requires a defense against the other waves that are sure to arrive. Possibly I can be of service in that regard."

  Dani quickly filled her mother in on the events concerning Queen Benirsheba.

  "You've had an eventful day," the Supreme Commander said. "I can't even take it all in. But am I to understand, Crixael, that you are offering your services to Space Force?"

  The Ethereal chuckled coldly, and Dani was reminded of how dangerous he still was. "I will not submit to any alien organization. Be glad of anything you get."

  Her mother frowned, not used to being talked to like that. But Dani suddenly had a thought.

  "Crixael, what exactly happened when Benirsheba died?"

  "Oh, I ran her through with the sword you tossed at me. Then her dead body went back to the full Ethereal realm, whatever that is. It's as much of a mystery to Ethereals as it is to humans."

  Dani shook her head. "No, I mean, what happened to you?"

  He glanced at her, and his eyes twinkled. "Ah. That question. I am actually very surprised. You may not be able to see it, but my full Ethereal powers were restored. And much more besides, powers I have never had. I now have endless amounts of it."

  Olivia frowned again. "And what does that signify?"

  "Well," Crixael said slowly, juggling the pieces of his golden staff with impossible speed and precision, "I could be wrong. But I think it means that I am the new king."

  Dani felt her jaw drop. She glanced at her mother. Yep, same there. She couldn't even begin to fathom the implications.

  "How did that happen? Is it because you killed her?"

  Crixael took one of the pieces of his staff in his hand, wound up and threw it hard into the distance.

  "Again, I could be wrong," he said in satisfaction at his throw. The golden piece still rose into the air.

  He threw the other piece after the first, even faster.

  "But I think..."

  The second golden piece caught up with the first and they exploded in a giant, white fireball.

  "I think she was my mother."

  The bang from the explosion reached them and the ground shook.

  42

  When Olivia had heard that Dani was left alone on a planet full of Vlon, the Tycho hadn't been fast enough for her. She had gotten into a one-person fighter that would travel faster, but only had the range to make it to the planet before it would run out of fuel.

  That was all she said, but the implications of it warmed Dani's heart and moved her unspeakably. It meant that her mother had raced to be with her, even if it was hopeless, even if they would both die. Even if Dani was dead already and Olivia would find herself stranded, alone among millions of Vlon.

  But the Tycho had caught up after they had been on the planet for an hour, and they had been rescued by a dropship. Olivia had gotten caught up on most of the things that had happened. But not the pregnancy. Dani wanted to save that for another time when it wouldn't drown among all the other sensations.

  Dani had changed out of her battle suit and into comfy jeans and a white top. Her battle suit was completely holed through on the right side of the chest, and the medics found a lot of congealed blood on her, but no wound. She didn't tell them what had happened.

  Everyone stared when she walked down the corridors beside her large god of a fiancé, and it felt good. Even seasoned Space Marines drew away from Crixael, and the ones he looked at with his little smirk went pale and Dani could see that they had to force themselves not to flinch.

  And of course the females followed him with their eyes, even if they could all see that he was holding Dani's hand as they walked.

  Olivia made sure they were well fed, and then they relaxed in the Star Marshal's luxurious quarters with the giant window to space.

  Dani collapsed into a chair and dropped her sword on the floor. "How does it feel to be the king of the Ethereals?"

  Crixael didn't have a weapon to twirl, so he picked up a bottle of water instead and juggled it absentmindedly. "It's interesting. I feel unbelievably powerful. I can feel every other Ethereal who draws from my power. There are four thousand."

  "There are four thousand Ethereals? I thought there had to be many more!"

  "In this wave, Benirsheba's old wave, there are about four thousand."

  "How many waves are there?"

  He shrugged. "I don't know. Could be none. Could be millions."

  Dani felt a cold spear shoot down her back at the thought. "Millions?!"

  "Possibly. Humans don't know much about Ethereals
. The thing is, Ethereals don't know much about Ethereals, either."

  "Okay. But you control your wave now, right? You control it totally?"

  "As totally as Ethereals can ever be controlled. I think you have a saying on your world: 'It's like herding cats.' Now imagine herding cats that use the same logic as two-year-olds and have the powers of minor deities. That's not an inaccurate way to describe the feeling I have about this."

  "But they will obey you?"

  "I don't know. Sometimes. For instance, I have released all our prisoners. No one is happy about that. But it has happened."

  "You have? I didn't see you leave."

  "I can do many things from afar, it seems. No, my main source of power over other Ethereals is that I can withdraw part of their powers. Not completely. But enough to make them fear it a great deal. I know that fear."

  Dani thought for a moment. "You know that fear and you faced it. You were prepared to let go of your powers and become an ordinary human. Just like me. In fact, that's what you did."

  "Essentially. I snapped Benirsheba's neck, knowing that it would give me a little time to help you. And of course I knew that she would cancel my gifts and turn me into dust as soon as she could heal herself. She'd have to do it herself. Ethereals are not used to helping others. It's a pity, because the healing works much quicker on someone else than on oneself. Yes, she would turn me into dust forever. My only concern was that I wanted you to escape her. Becoming king was nowhere in my mind."

  "You didn't know she was your mother?"

  "I didn't. And, in fairness, there's a good chance she wasn't. I don't know how royal power is inherited. Maybe it is because I was the one who killed her. But she said many times that she had a weakness for me. I wonder if that isn't the closest a full Ethereal comes to feeling parental love for their children."

  Dani placed a hand on her stomach. "But you're only half Ethereal. You'll be able to love your kids like a human father, right?"

  "Who knows? That's far into the future. If indeed you and I can procreate. I mean, a half Ethereal and a half Braxian? It might not work."

  Dani took a deep breath. "Okay," she said. "I guess this is as good a time as any. You see-"

  She broke off her sentence because a giant shape passed in front of the huge window. It obscured everything behind it and must be much larger than the Tycho. It was an enormous spaceship, sleek and elegant and menacing. A warship, clearly. But it was not from Space Force.

  "I wonder who that could be," Crixael said and raised his eyebrows in amusement, making it clear that he knew exactly who it was.

  "Yeah," Dani said and got to her feet, hurriedly grasping her sword, suddenly worried again. "It's okay, I guess. I'll just announce my news a little later. Um... you might want to step away from the door..."

  The door to the Star Marshal's quarters opened calmly enough. But the warrior striding in was not calm. No, he was anything but.

  "Where is the Ethereal?"

  The deep voice rang through the room and set every piece of glass in the room singing. And even so, the man hadn't raised his voice. He just had that kind of power.

  Dani raised her right hand in nervous greeting. "Hi, dad."

  43

  King Ator'aq of Brax, the mightiest man Dani had ever known except Crixael, strode into the room with his tiger-like walk. His dark blond hair had some grayness at the temples now, but his body was as strong as ever. He wore a Braxian warrior's outfit, which left most of his muscled and even chiseled torso bare. His sword hung at his side as always, ready to cleave any Ethereal he would come into contact with.

  He had immense presence, but he was not a mindless, bellowing fool like some of his warriors. No, he was a cunning and direct man, a leader of men.

  And, Dani realized for the first time in her life, of women. She had never wondered why her mother had picked Ator'aq as her husband. Now, as an adult woman who hadn't seen her father for a good while, she wondered even less. Any woman would want him.

  He cast a glance on Crixael, then came over to Dani and hugged her.

  "I've missed you, my own," he growled softly into her ear, and the manly smell of him washed over her.

  She felt moved tears rise in her eyes. That always happened when they were together. If there was one thing she could count on in life, it was him and his love.

  Maybe.

  "Dad, this is King Crixael. Crixael, this is my father, King Ator'aq of Brax."

  None of them made any move to shake hands. They just took the measure of each other like two alphas would.

  "'King Crixael', is it?" Ator'aq said. "An Ethereal is bad enough. But a king? Well, it is no problem. Denibael was a king, too. And we handled him fine."

  "Dad, Crixael is my fiancé. He will marry me."

  The room was quiet for three heartbeats, and when Ator'aq spoke, there was so much menace in his voice that Dani unconsciously took a step back. "We will see. Many things must be made clear before I'll allow that. Which is not to say that I will."

  "Crixael isn't a bad one," Dani said. "He's half human. He doesn't eat sentient beings. Well, not anymore. He has saved my life several times now. And if he wanted to harm us, he would just do it. He's their king."

  "That's what Ethereals do," Ator'aq said. "They enjoy the game. Playing with their victims before they strike. Did he not blow up the Copernicus?"

  "No, he didn't. That was Queen Benirsheba. Right, Crixael?"

  The Ethereal looked out the window at King Ator'aq's warship End of Time, not too interested. "That's right."

  "But you did little to hinder it," Ator'aq pointed out.

  Crixael didn't reply, just spun the water bottle on a fingertip. Dani glanced at her father. He was collected, but he was not used to being ignored, and the anger was seething in him.

  "There wasn't much he could do anyway," she said. "If Benirsheba wanted to blow it up, he couldn't stop her."

  Ator'aq chuckled evilly. "The King of Ethereals lets his fiancée do the talking for him. Perhaps he isn't so much a king as a coward."

  "It has been my experience," Crixael said, the bottle still spinning wildly on his finger, "that there is a certain kind of fool who likes to rouse conflict for the sake of conflict. Before now, I would not have thought that the renowned King Ator'aq would be among them. But now I see that it is the case. I should have known he was a fool. After all, he completely failed to see that his own daughter is not a soldier but a shrewd peacemaker."

  The room was silent again.

  "My daughter is an accomplished Space Marine," Ator'aq said at last, glancing at Dani. "One can be both soldier and negotiator. Indeed the best soldiers often are."

  "But the best peacemakers are rarely born soldiers."

  Ator'aq looked at Dani and raised his eyebrows quizzically.

  "He's right, dad. I never liked being a Space Marine. It felt like a waste of time. I'm better at negotiating."

  Ator'aq's face went dark and he turned to Crixael. "I see. You have somehow turned my daughter away from her warrior calling. Undoubtedly you foresee how dangerous she would be to you if she continued as a Space Marine."

  "He didn't turn me away from anything!" Dani exclaimed. "I have always known it. He's just the first who could see it. Now I want this stupid confrontation to end. I wanted to do this under other circumstances. But you leave me no choice. Dad, I'm pregnant. Crixael is the father."

  She turned to the Ethereal. "You're going to be a father, Crixael. I hope you're ready."

  It was strangely satisfying to see Crixael, always completely on top of things, so completely taken by surprise. His mouth fell open and he dropped the bottle. "But... you..."

  With an enraged roar Ator'aq drew his iron sword and swung it at the stunned Ethereal king.

  But Dani had practiced sword fighting with her father many times, and she had recognized the subtle signs before it got that far. She had seen the murder in his eyes since he entered the room. And before his furious attack on Crixael co
uld connect, she had her own sword up and blocked the stroke.

  Green sparks flew as the two swords clanged together inches from Crixael's bare neck. The shock vibrated Dani's whole body, but it also ignited the warrior in her, the part of her that always lay latent but ready.

  The surprise on Ator'aq's face was something Dani had never seen before. Nothing surprised him, ever. But this had.

  She stared right back at him in cold determination as the blades of their swords were locked together. "This is my choice. I chose him."

  Three heartbeats went by as Ator'aq frowned. Then he made his decision.

  "The Ethereal must die."

  He swung his sword again, this time at Dani. She parried easily and danced around to hack at him. Without her exoskeleton to give her strength to wield the heavy sword, she knew she could not keep it up for long. But the warrior in her would not give up.

  Ator'aq blocked her stroke, then feinted and thrust at her face. She blocked it easily and launched a flurry of counter strokes and parries.

  The sword seemed strangely light in her hands, and for the first time in her life she enjoyed wielding it. She was vaguely aware that her father was not fighting to the best of his abilities. Or maybe he had grown old and weak. His attacks were predictable, his defense moves obvious. She didn't have to think or plan ahead – it was as if the sword helped her. She trusted the sword and herself, and launched more daring attacks and even added little flourishes.

  Sparks flew and the room reverberated with iron clangs.

  In a fog of delight in the fight, she realized that she had pushed the mighty warrior Ator'aq back into a wall and that he had stopped attacking, that he had his hands full just defending. It was a deliriously wonderful feeling to do something this well. One that she had only felt once before, when the Vlon agreed to leave human space.

  And yet she never found the opening she needed to end the fight. Somehow he always blocked her most dangerous strokes.

  Her father had a satisfied little smile on his face...

  The penny dropped.

  She lowered the sword. "You're testing me."