Aron: A SciFi Alien Romance (Alien Shifter Force)

by Maya Kane

  He looked over at Athena again. Her coldness didn’t help him here. He could have used her insight. He hadn’t told her about the prophecy. He couldn’t just come out and tell her that it was his planet’s destiny to take something precious from hers. He knew she’d fight him to the death on that.

  Aron sighed. He was going round in circles and not landing on anything constructive. He stood. “It’s time to act,” he said decisively.

  Everyone turned to look at him, even Redon. Normally Aron wouldn’t have dared speak without his commander’s blessing, but these weren’t normal times. None of them had a clue what to do. Aron tried to keep his eyes off Athena, but he couldn’t.

  They shared a bond; a connection. He could swear he knew what was going on behind those expressive brown eyes of hers. She stared at him impassively—like he was a stranger. It was such a stark contrast to before. But he didn’t have time to think about it now.

  “We can’t stay here waiting for Salen and Heran. We must face facts. There is a chance they won’t return.” He turned to Athena and repeated that in Uniton. She nodded. He didn’t know what he’d been expecting. And then it hit him—he had desperately wanted her approval; some kind of sign from her that he was doing or saying the right thing.

  By the stars of Awod, he thought desperately. If I didn’t know better I’d say the enemy’s weapon was to toy with our emotions.

  He shook his head and went on.

  “The humans have refused our request to unite, but we have three of them in our midst. We can’t wait any longer. The time has come to fight.” He almost mentioned how it was a fight for their destiny, but he stopped himself just in time. He and Redon were the only ones who knew the truth.

  Though perhaps it was time for them to know? He looked at Redon and an understanding passed between them. Knowing the truth might make their troops fight more fiercely. The problem was, if they all survived this and returned to Dreon, the consequences of his indiscretion would be harsh.

  “It is time. We fly east and attack. Redon has done it once before. We can do it again.”

  Redon stepped forward and began to pace the room. “He’s right. We leave tonight. We do this for mighty Dreon.”

  “What’s he saying?” Athena whispered in Uniton. Aron hadn’t noticed her come to his side. The scent of her filled his nostrils and made it hard for him to breathe normally. This woman was like a drug—he was beginning to wonder if indeed this was part of the enemy strategy. But it couldn’t be, he realized wistfully. Because if it was, she wouldn’t be able to resist it. And she seemed to be resisting just fine.

  “We fight tonight,” he said, decisively.

  A sadness washed over her face. “It’s time to end this.”

  He wanted to so much to reach up his hand and stroke her face. He stopped himself. “Yes. Time to fight.”

  19

  “Kate,” Athena whispered as they readied the weapons and checked the harnesses Zalon had created from scrap metal from the stricken ship.

  “Yeah?” Kate said, seemingly without a care in the world.

  Athena opened her mouth to ask the question that had been plaguing her all afternoon. It had been on her mind as they planned their mission; even as she held up her hand-drawn maps and explained their flight path.

  “Do you mind if we…” she stopped.

  No.

  What if the worst happened?

  Could she stand to not be with him at the end?

  Kate must have sensed her doubt. “What is it?” she asked, dropping her own harness and coming to Athena’s side.

  Athena shook her head. “I don’t know,” she said, grabbing handfuls of her hair. “Why is this so complicated?”

  “At least we’re alive,” Kate said, shaking her head. “I know it’s not ideal and we’d prefer to be sitting in the base drinking hot chocolate, but—”

  “That’s not what I mean,” Athena whispered.

  Kate’s eyes widened. “Aron?”

  Athena looked around. He was on the other side of the room, deep in conversation with Zalon. She sighed. “It’s driving me crazy. All my life I’ve never met somebody like him. Why’d it have to happen right before the biggest battle of our lives, huh? I can’t be around him—if I am, he’s all I can think about. I need a clear head for this.”

  Her stomach lurched. There—she’d said it out loud. The thing that had kept her awake at night, riddled with guilt, was finally out in the open.

  Kate didn’t say anything, she just sighed and shook her head.

  “Well?” Athena asked, desperate for something—even if it was a rebuke. “Aren’t you going to tell me I’m right? That it was reckless to get distracted by him?”

  Kate snorted. “No,” she said at last. “No, I’m not.”

  “But it’s true,” Athena whispered, wringing her hands. “I knew it was a terrible idea to split off just the two of us. But the selfish part of me wanted him all to myself.”

  “So?” Kate said with a shrug. “You know, we could have radioed Dreon for help sooner, but Redon and I couldn’t help ourselves. If we’d been more selfless, then none of us would be here right now. They’d have tracked our signal and vaporized us.”

  “Yeah, but…” Athena said haltingly. She glanced down at the ground.

  “Athena,” Kate whispered, softer than usual. “Follow your heart. You’re right to be worried about this. We’re completely screwed. It doesn’t matter if you’re distracted by Aron. Take whatever small piece of joy you can.” Kate swallowed and looked away. “This might be our last day on earth.”

  Athena’s pulse roared in her skull. She knew it was true. A lifetime of studious behavior and good grades hadn’t prepared her for this. Kate was right. They were screwed.

  “What were you going to ask me?” Kate asked, hands on hips.

  Athena smiled. “To switch places with me. To go with Aron so I could go with Redon and be one hundred percent focused.”

  Kate’s expression hardened. She shook her head.

  “You’d have told me no?”

  “Damn straight,” Kate said fiercely. “I don’t care if he’s a distraction. I’m stronger with Redon. And I’m damn sure not going to die on my own out there.”

  “Can I speak to you for a moment?” Athena said, coming to a stop beside Aron and Zalon. They appeared to be arguing over a Dreon weapon she’d never seen before.

  He looked up. “Yes. Give me a moment.” He turned back to Zalon and unleashed a torrent of Dreon.

  “What was that about?” Athena asked as they were walking away toward the ship.

  He shook his head. “It’s too reckless,” he said.

  “What is?” Athena cleared her throat. “Can we speak in private?”

  “Yes.” He helped her through the hole in the hull of the Dreon ship. “That weapon. Zalon managed to detach the rocket launcher from the back of the ship.”

  “Great,” Athena said, wondering why he seemed so unenthusiastic. “The more weapons the better, right?”

  “I don’t know,” he said, biting his lip.

  “It’s not effective?”

  He laughed humorlessly. “It’s effective. That’s not the problem.”

  “What’s the problem then?” she asked, fighting the urge to go to him and wrap her arms around his thick body. She resisted for the moment. They were almost there.

  He stopped suddenly and fixed her with those unnaturally golden eyes. “It’s too dangerous. One of you will need to operate it. And…” he sighed. “It’s not supposed to be used like that. It’s configured as a weapon for Dreon Explorers. It’s too powerful.”

  “Oh,” she said. She knew exactly what he meant then. “What do you think? Will it be as effective as if it was used on the ship?”

  He considered it. “That’s not the problem.”

  “The recoil.”

  His expression grew grave. “Yes,” he said. “I’m not sure you could withstand it.”

  Athena closed her eyes. “
Aron, we need to look past this. There’s a strong possibility that some of us will die out there. If this weapon increases our chances—”

  “I don’t want you to die,” he growled. “Not when I’ve only just found you.”

  Athena shook her head. “There’s no guarantee I will die. Aron, please. Is it more effective than the other weapons?”

  He nodded; she could sense the reluctance in him. “Yes. It’s more powerful than anything else. Our mission was supposed to be exploratory. We don’t have the sort of armory you’d find on a Dreon Destroyer. This is our best hope to defeat the enemy.”

  Athena sighed. The prospect terrified her, but what difference would it make—getting blown off his back by the recoil versus running out of ammo and getting vaporized by the enemy. Kate had told her all about the beam that came from the ship when they attacked. Athena was willing to bet that it would fry anything in its path.

  “I’d rather die fighting.”

  His eyes narrowed. “I don’t want you to die at all.”

  “That’s the risk we’ve all got to take.”

  He stepped forward and pulled her into his arms. She made no move to try and stop him. “Athena. I want to protect you,” he growled.

  Her pulse pounded. God, his protectiveness was driving her crazy. She looked back over her shoulder. “We should go to your cabin,” she whispered, looking at him in a way she knew made her intentions crystal clear.

  She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t push him away.

  He shook his head, not loosening his grip on her one bit.

  Athena laughed nervously. “Here? We can’t. Anyone could—”

  “So? You don’t want to?”

  Heat surged through her. “Of course I do,” she growled, stepping closer. How could he even think that? She wanted him more than she had ever wanted anybody. She was confused, that was all.

  He shook his head. “I never thought I’d have this chance again. Athena, I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

  She flushed—from arousal more than from embarrassment. He could be such a total nerd when it came to plans and missions. It drove her wild to see this other side to him that nobody else was privy to.

  “You want us to… right here?”

  He looked her right in the eyes and nodded as if she was stating the obvious.

  Athena’s core clenched hard. Suddenly she didn’t give a damn about anything or anyone else but him.

  20

  “I think we’re ready,” Zalon said gravely.

  Aron looked around. They had assembled outside the stricken Uhalor III. The earth sun had sunk low in the sky. It was almost time for them to go.

  He glanced over at Athena and his heart sank. She had insisted on operating the rocket launcher. Though it would be on his back, he wouldn’t be affected by the recoil. His Drayon form was capable of withstanding far more than that. Athena’s delicate human body?

  Well that remained to be seen.

  He’d been unable to talk her out of it. He, Aron, who his people looked up to. Even before the recent change in him, people had feared him because of his intellect and strength. Try telling that to Athena.

  She had refused to see reason. He admired her for it. He’d given her every opportunity to back out and stay behind in the safety of the ship, but she had balked at the idea. Her place was with her crewmates, she had said. And with him.

  He had to admit, the knowledge that she’d be fighting alongside him made him feel more hopeful about their chance of success.

  But that was still horrifically low.

  He was logical. He knew the risks.

  “You’re sure the weapons cages will work?” Aron asked.

  Zalon shrugged. They’d spent most of the afternoon working to weld together pieces of metal. The harnesses for the humans had held up, so Zalon had had the bright idea to do something similar to secure weapons onto the backs of the Drayon. They had weapon systems like that back on Dreon, but of course they had none in the ship’s armory. None of them had expected to have to fight for their lives—this was supposed to have been a conflictless journey.

  “I don’t know,” Zalon said. “I’m not sure of anything anymore. But I think it’ll work. It’s our best shot.”

  Aron whistled to get the others’ attention so Zalon could show them how the trigger mechanism worked. It was vital that they all paid close attention—they’d need to concentrate fully if they were to have any hope of recalling the instructions when they were in their Drayon form. Training like this would usually be carried out over months or even years, but they didn’t have that sort of time.

  “I need you all to pay attention,” Aron said carefully. “I have some experience of Drayon mental training. Watch what Zalon does. We can’t carry out a test for obvious reasons—we don’t want to alert the enemy to our base. But look. Then I want you to close your eyes and imagine your Drayon; picture yourself trigger the weapon as you would in flight.”

  He watched them take it all in. It was a huge ask, he knew. But that was this mission—everything about it was improvised and imperfect. He didn’t want to state the obvious—that they really had no chance of making this work. They were all well enough aware of that without spelling it out.

  “Are you ready?” he muttered.

  She nodded. “Ready as I’ll ever be,” she said, smiling nervously. She held the harness so tight that her hands had turned white.

  “It’s not too late to change your mind,” he said quietly. “You could stay here; where it’s safe.”

  She made a face. “So could you.”

  He balked. “That’s different.”

  “How so?” she said quickly, her hands flying to her hips.

  “Well,” he spluttered. “I’m a Dreon.”

  “And I’m a human.”

  “You could die,” he roared, barely able to even picture that outcome.

  She took a step closer to him, face red with anger. “So could you.”

  “I don’t care about that,” Aron said, grabbing her shoulders.

  “Well I do,” she snapped. “We go together; we face this thing—whatever it is—together.”

  Aron sighed. He knew there was no way he was going to convince her to change her mind and the others were waiting patiently. “You remember what to do.”

  She nodded briskly. “Yes. You remember where to go?”

  “Of course.”

  “Then let’s do it,” she said, holding up the harness, at the ready for when he shifted.

  21

  Athena could have murdered him for his stubbornness, but she fought back her anger. There was already a whole fleet of aliens who wanted them dead without her adding to the mix. It was infuriating, though. She knew he was just being protective, but it drove her crazy. She was a soldier, just like he was.

  She sighed as she watched the change come over him. He didn’t understand it—that made him vulnerable, no matter how physically strong he was. His Drayon relied on animal instincts, which was fine against a known enemy. Athena shivered. But against the invaders who had destroyed her planet? Who knew what they were capable of? No, she knew that she, Kate and Danni were the key to this thing. If the worst happened and they needed to change tactics, they’d be able to make that call and signal to the Drayon. Without that pressure valve, the Drayon would carry on fighting until they were completely destroyed. Aron had told her as much.

  No, they were all vital parts of this thing—the three humans and the seven remaining Dreon who were fit to fight. Salen and Heran still hadn’t returned and Athena was beginning to give up hope. There was no reason for them to be waylaid, unless—she shuddered at the thought—they had fallen into the enemy’s hands. There was no way to deny it and no sense in trying to avoid the possibility.

  Redon had talked about going in search of them, but it was in a half-hearted way. They all knew that they had to attack while they still had the element of surprise—it was about the only thing standing in their favor.

>   Athena took a deep breath. All of the Dreon had transformed now. It was funny how relaxed she felt, standing a short distance away from seven huge alien dragons. She turned to Kate, who seemed deep in thought too.

  “Are you ready?”

  Kate nodded and shuffled toward Redon.

  Unlike last time, they had emptied the Dreon ship of anything that remotely resembled a weapon. Athena, Kate and Danni were laden down with guns and grenades. The heavier artillery was waiting to be strapped to the Drayon.

  “I don’t know about this,” Athena said, rushing to help her attach the scaffold to Redon’s back. “It seems a lot for them to carry.”

  “They’re strong,” Kate said confidently. “Redon told me. He compared their strength to one of our tanks. They can do it. This is the hardest part—us getting everything strapped to them. They’re not going to wait around forever.”

  Aron had warned her about this. Drayon were wild; unused to taking orders. Redon held some level of command over the huge beasts, but even then they were a willful law unto themselves. They needed to get the machine guns secured and the release mechanisms strapped to the Drayon who would fly alone.

  Danni rushed over and the three of them set about weaponizing Redon. It was sweaty work, even in the chill of the desert dusk. By the time they were satisfied with their work and moved on to Aron, all three were sweating and exhausted.

  And the work had barely started. They all knew that, but none of them uttered a word that might rattle the others.

  “Is it weird to see him like this?” Danni asked suddenly, as they lashed the harness to Aron and checked the bindings to make sure it was fully secured.

  Athena glanced up in surprise. It was several minutes since any of them had spoken. “Um, I guess not, weird as that sounds,” she said, never having given it much thought.