by Maia Starr
“It is true? You are with child?” I asked her as my chest moved up in down in my ragged breathing.
She gasped. “How did you know?”
“Malaya,” I said.
“I wanted to tell you. I couldn’t at first because I thought you would send me back to Waysaw. Then everything happened between us at the same time that this Earth agreement came up and I did not want to jeopardize the agreement. But I planned to tell you tonight, even if it meant losing your love,” she said frantically.
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” I shouted in rage. This could not be happening. The human I was in love with and would die for carried the child of my enemy.
“I am sorry, Trent. I hope that you can forgive me. If you cannot, I understand; just give me some time before you tell the others. I don’t know how to deal with this. It has been weighing on me,” she said.
“Time might not be something that you have,” I said.
“What?”
“Malaya told Waysaw scouts that you are here and that you arrived pregnant. Jenku will come for you. He will raid this place until he finds you,” I said.
“Oh my god,” she said.
“Yes, your god. Now stay here. I have to prepare the battalions. I hope that we can meet the oncoming Waysaw in the outlands and spare the raid on the village,” I said.
“But, Trent, what about us?” she asked.
“There is no us,” I said as I walked out, slamming the door. I had never been so pissed off in my life.
Chapter 13
Ambassador Samantha Gaines
I stood there in shock. I did not know what to do. I was paralyzed with fear and heartbreak. Trent had just broken my heart by saying there was no us. He was done with me. He had discovered my secret, and the fact that I did not get a chance to tell him myself only made it worse. That treacherous bitch Malaya told him, and she told the Waysaw scouts. Now Jenku Vade knew the truth. He would not let this go. I was pregnant with his child, and he considered it his property; he considered me his property. If he were not a monster, of course, I would want him in his child's life, but that was not the case. He was an evil monster, and I would not have my child near him. It was all so complicated and crazy, and now he was coming for me. Now I was alone in this. I did not want any Grantsion Zenkian to die because of me.
As the hours passed and the night gave way to morning, there was so much anxiety as we all prepared for a raid that would come either today or the next day, or further into the future. But I knew Jenku Vade. He would not wait around in order to perfect some plan; he would be angry as hell. When he was angry, he would react without thinking things through. This was a bad thing, but maybe a good thing as far as military strategy went. He wouldn't be as prepared and would just be doing an all-out raid instead of some sneaky, well-thought-out plan.
Suddenly, I knew what I had to do. I left my dwelling and made my way to Trent's home. I knocked on the door; to my surprise, he answered.
“What are you doing back here? I thought you were meeting the Waysaw in the outlands?”
“What are you doing here? I don't want to see you. I never want to speak with you again,” he said as he began to close the door. My heart ached.
“I am going back to Waysaw!” I shouted. He opened the door again and looked at me.
“What?”
“I am going to hand myself over to Jenku Vade. I will not let any Grantsion Zenkian die because of me. I could not deal with that. So I am going to turn myself over to him. Once he has me, then he will stop this raid to look for me. It is the only way,” I said.
“You would do that for us? You would give up yourself, your freedom, and your child for us?” he asked.
“Yes, it is what I am going to do. I indured Jenku Vade's hateful ways and what he did to me before; I am strong. I know that his punishment will be great, and I will be locked up as to never escape again, but at least lives will not be lost,” I said.
He stood there in silence and seemed visibly shaken by my words. I did not know why. He had already said that he wanted nothing to do with me and I'm sure that my secret had forced him to fall out of any deep feelings he might have been having for me. Perhaps it was just the fact that there would not be a battle that had him so emotionally stirred.
“No, you are not,” he said.
“What?”
“You are not going to hand yourself over. I will have no more talk of this.”
“It is not your decision anyway. I will go to the leaders now and tell them. They will take me to the crossing line, and I will go the rest of the way myself,” I said angry that he was trying to control me.
“No, you will not do that. Our battalions are already set up in the outlands ready to meet the Waysaw. We have battalions set up all around the village ready to fight. We can defeat this raid, just as we have before. There is no need for you to go through such anguish,” he said.
“You are not making sense. The leaders and everyone else will eventually find out that I am pregnant. It is best to deal with it now and to stop Jenku Vade,” I said.
“And give you to him. Over my dead body,” he said.
His words filled me with hope again. He still wanted me.
“What?” I said as tears began to form in my eyes.
“I won’t give you up that easily. You are too important to the agreement with Earth. We need you here, or it will unravel,” he said.
“Oh,” I said realizing it was not because he wanted me that would not want me to hand myself over.
“I suppose you are right. I didn’t think of that,” I said.
“How will it look to Earth for you to suddenly go back and live with the Waysaw? Earth will think you were a Waysaw spy and tricked them. All would be lost, and they would never trust us again. No, we have to do all that we can to keep you with us. That means a battle must and will happen,” he said.
“You are right. This is bigger than just me leaving to please Jenku and to stop him. Earth would think I was a spy,” I said sadly.
“And there is another reason I won’t hand you over to that piece of shit Jenku Vade,” he growled.
I looked at him confused. He pulled me against him and placed his mouth on mine. He kissed me with hunger and longing. I melted against him. I felt safe once more and desired. He finally stopped kissing me.
“Because you are mine,” he said.
“I am?”
“Yes,” he said.
“Even though I carry a child from another?” I asked.
“I will claim it as my own,” he said. I sighed in relief.
“But you will be punished for breaking the rules,” I said.
“Fuck the rules. You are all that matters,” he said.
Suddenly a loud piercing sound vibrated in the air.
“What is that?” I shouted.
“It’s the raid siren. They are coming,” he said. He pulled me to him and kissed me again. It was a hard and quick kiss then he grabbed my hand and ran into the hallway.
“Commander! The Waysaw battalions have been spotted. They are headed right for our front lines in the outlands!” a soldier ran up to him and said.
“I will jump in my speeder now and head there. Soldier, take Ambassador Gaines into the mountain shelter with the leaders. I want fifty soldiers guarding her; is that clear?” Trent shouted at him.
“Yes, commander! This way, Ambassador!” the soldier shouted. I gave Trent one last look; I hoped that it would not be the last time that I saw him. Then he turned and ran in the other direction. I followed the soldier deep into the mountain. It was a long dark hallway. Finally, we came to a very large door with soldiers barricading it.
“Ambassador Gaines, let her into the shelter!” the soldier shouted. They moved and opened the door. I ran in. The leaders were already gathered.
I had no choice but to wait out this battle. It would be the longest hours of my life.
Chapter 14
Commander Trent Qoln
When I heard S
amantha's words of self-sacrifice, I knew that she was the one for me. I could not deny that I loved her any longer. No matter how angry I was about her secret pregnancy, at that moment, I was tested. Could I live without her? Could I live out my days knowing that she was in the brutal arms of Jenku Vade? No, I could not. Just the thought of it made me the angriest I had ever been. So I quickly reasoned with her, using Earth as an excuse. My words were true; she could not go to Waysaw and not be considered a spy by Earth. They would feel betrayed. But I spoke this reason to her first because I was afraid that telling her I simply did not want her to go would not be good enough reason for her. She would go anyway. If she was willing to sacrifice her own happiness to stop this battle, then me telling her that I simply did not want her to go because I wanted her for myself would not be good enough. So I was happy when she agreed to the reason involving Earth. It was only then that I told her the truth: I wanted her. She was mine.
Now she was safely inside the belly of the mountain with the leaders. I raced toward the front lines ready to take on the Waysaw maniac that was trying to come for her.
“Commander Trent Qoln; I'm coming in. Tell me what you know,” I said as I approached our battalion spread out over the outlands. We had the vantage point because we were already perched on the cliffs. Looking down over the Flatlands that led to the Waysaw City, you could see the Waysaw soldiers in battle speeders racing towards us.
“This battalion is led by Commander Jenku Vade. His ship is on the right about four lines in,” the soldier reported over the radio.
“Copy that. I am going to take out the commander. The rest of you hold the line. We can’t let them get to the village. Squads four, seven, and forty, I want you on the outside of the battle watching and chasing any stragglers that stray from formation to head to the village in lone battle style. You know the drill,” I said.
“Yes, Commander,” I heard in responses.
“Fire at will!” I shouted. We were the ones to fire first. We fired upon the Waysaw. They fired back. The battle had begun. I flew past flying laser blasts with my focus on Jenku Vade. No way in hell was he going to get away. As I flew toward him, his ship suddenly went high and shot over the battle. It was leaving the battle behind and heading for the mountains. I knew what he wanted. I knew that he was after Samantha. He was using this battle as a distraction and taking off to the mountains himself. He must have thought all our forces were out here, but they were not. We had many battalions at the village ready to greet him.
“Where do you think you are going? You are not getting anywhere near her,” I said as I turned my speeder and raced after his ship. When I was in range, I fired shots directly at the engine. I wanted to bring that ship down. The ship went into evasive maneuvering.
“I'm going to get you no matter what. He will not have her! She is mine,” I said as I maneuvered with the ship and continued to fire. Finally, I made a fatal blow to the ship. It went down, crashing into the outlands and skidding across the rocky terrain.
I circled over the ship, waiting for the soldiers to come out. But I could not wait any longer. I had to get rid of him once and for all. I landed the speeder right next to the ship.
“Jenku Vade!” I shouted as I got out of my speeder.
I shouted his name again. After a few seconds, he crawled out of the rubble. He stood and faced me.
“Commander Qoln, I thought you were dead,” he said.
“You wish,” I said.
“There is no need for this battle. I only come for the human female that you rebels have. She is my property. She carries my child,” he said.
“Yes, the human female that I have been bedding. I see why you want her back,” I said.
He growled. He did not like hearing this. It was precisely why I had said it.
“She is mine. You will never touch her again. Hand her over, and this battle will be over. You do not want more to die just for one human,” he said.
“No, only one more needs to die,” I said as I shot my blaster gun toward him. He ducked and jumped across, landing on the ground and rolling. He pulled his gun and shot at me, and I ducked out of the way. We shot at each other, and I used the speeder for cover, and he used the wreckage of the ship. He was a good shot, nearly hitting me. So was I. We were equal in our gun skills. We weren't going to get anywhere like this. I had to get closer.
As soon as he reached to recharge his gun, I charged at him. I jumped on him. We wrestled across the ground. I pulled my knife and held it above his neck, but he stopped me with his arm. I applied pressure as he pushed back. We rolled again across the ground wrestling, punching, and fighting.
“You will not have her. She is mine. I will make your child my own,” I said.
Jenku had a burst of rage. He pushed me off of him with a growl. He jumped on top of me and took my knife. He slashed at me, getting me in the arm, but it was just a slice, not too deep. I quickly grabbed the knife from him and shoved it into his side. He stopped fighting. He rolled onto his back.
“As I said, only one death needs to happen.” I pulled the knife from his side and then slit his throat. He died with a gurgle and a menacing growl. Finally, my enemy was dead. Finally, Samantha was safe.
I picked up the heavy Waysaw and pushed him into my speeder. It was grotesque, but it was the only way to stop this battle. I flew back to the middle of the battle and hovered low on the ground. I kicked him out of my speeder and flew away. It was obvious that the Waysaw were able to identify their commander. Within minutes, they retreated from the battle. We had victory. I had Samantha, and Earth still had its ambassador.
Chapter 15
Ambassador Samantha Gaines
Waiting in the emergency bunker was hard. I paced back and forth while the leaders told me about the details of how they conducted battle, but I could barely listen. The only thing I could think about was Trent. I just wanted him to return to me.
Hours had gone by, then finally we heard the news.
“We have victory! The Waysaw have retreated!” a soldier announced when he opened the door. Everyone cheered. We piled out of the emergency bunk, and I could not run down the hall fast enough. I ran all the way out into the blinding sunlight. The battalions were returning. I was looking for Trent, but all the speeders look the same to me. Injured were being brought in on gurneys. I ran up to every soldier wondering if it were him.
“Looking for me?” I heard the familiar voice.
I turned around to see Trent standing there. There was a bandage around his arm, but nothing else except dirt and grime on him.
I ran to him, but he stopped me and stepped back with wide eyes right before I was ready to jump on him and plant kisses on him.
“Remember where we are,” he whispered to me.
I stopped right in front of him. He was right. This was still our secret, that we were together, and it was still forbidden.
“I am so happy to see you, Commander. What happened? Are you alright?” I asked with a smile.
“I am all right. I have a knife wound to my arm, but that is all,” he said.
“Come inside and I will see to your injury,” I said with a wink.
“Thank you, Ambassador. I could use your help,” he said. I led him to my dwelling. It was hard to restrain the happiness I felt until we walked in. All I wanted to do was kiss him and hug him. I opened the door to my dwelling and then closed it and locked it behind us once we were inside. I turned to him, and our bodies crashed together as he put his arms around me. His lips pressed against mine. I kissed him with such longing and appreciation that he had returned.
“What happened? Tell me everything,” I said pulling my mouth from his but not my body.
“He is dead. I killed him myself,” he said.
“What?”
“Jenku Vade: he will never bother you again. You are free; you are truly free,” he said.
I broke out into tears. “Really? He's not going to come for me ever again?”
“No. I
killed him. I watched him die. He will never harm you again. You’re free to raise your child without that monster hunting you,” he said.
“Oh, thank you, Trent. Thank you. I don’t know what to say. You have saved my life more than once now,” I said crying.
“I would do anything for you, Samantha. I love you. I am in love with you. There's so much that I want to tell you. I don't know how we can make this work, but we will make it work. No matter what, it is going to be you and I,” he said.
“Us?”
“Yes, us,” he said.
“Oh, Trent, I love you too,” I said.
