Dekkir: An Alien SciFi Romance (Galaxy Alien Warriors #1)

by Lara LaRue

  I fought a smile. Well, that’s different.

  I sat stoically, faking silent indignation as the engines cycled up with a whir. I was going to fly high tonight, higher than Keer could take me, all the way up to that place on the moon where the humans dwelled and schemed under domes. And when Grace, Tabirus, and I got there, we were going to give the humans at Earth Command Base the surprise of their lives.

  CHAPTER 18 / GRACE

  I had never imagined in my life that I would be brought before my commanding officer in manacles. They chafed my wrists as a pair of guards led me down the hallway toward the commander’s office. I felt sick. Dekkir had been separated from me, taken away to be imprisoned somewhere else. My only hope was that the spy who had gone with them, the Lyran Ancient the Earth base members knew only as Dr. Stirling, really did have a plan to help Dekkir and me escape.

  I had known from the beginning there would be consequences to siding with the Lyrans against the corrupt war Earth Command was attempting to impose on them. I’d known from the beginning there would be consequences to binding myself for life to Dekkir, future leader of the planet. But it didn’t make it any easier for me to take that long walk down the hall, led roughly between two guards who glared at me with a mix of anger, suspicion, and fear. I knew I had done the right thing, but now I had to explain myself under hostile circumstances, and I didn’t know if I could manage it.

  My whole family had served the Earth military for generations. I myself had looked forward to becoming one of their premier science officers. And certainly, I had started out well. I had been tapped to assist the chief science officer on the Earth base on Lyra’s third moon, gathering information about the society of aliens who lived on the surface. At that time, I had no idea of the secret plot to take over Lyra. Nor did I have any idea the entire time, the man whom I worked under, the chief science officer himself, John Stirling, was in fact an infiltrator from the aliens and thousands of years old.

  I couldn’t help but feel cold waves of fear as we neared the doorway of Base Commander Aaron Wickman’s office. The boot steps behind me were half the cause. The guards were none too kind with me, assuming I was a traitor. Technically, I was. But I knew if the people of Earth had known about Command’s plan for Lyra and its people, they would not have gone along with it. Earth’s leaders were supposed to be representatives of the will of the people. But they weren’t anymore. Especially not out here, in a far corner of space, where they were trying to start a resource war that would leave as many Lyrans as they could manage dead.

  I heard a faint chuckle behind me as I walked, and the hairs on the back of my neck prickled. My mission commander, second in command at the base and one of the most terrifyingly sociopathic men I had ever met, Lieutenant Damon Norcross, gloated as he followed me toward the room. This was all wonderful fun for him, as he had a petty, ridiculous personal grudge against me. Quite simply, he had wanted me in his bed from the moment he met me and had pursued me with grotesque ‘flirtation’ and threats of consequences if I did not smile and spread my legs. I hadn’t. And as a direct result of that, he had nearly gotten me killed three times since I had started my mission. I knew he was enjoying watching me as a captive. I wondered if there was any way I could get out from under his control. Perhaps the base commander would be willing to do something if I gave him a strong enough dose of the truth.

  The guards stopped me before I reached the door, and Norcross stepped past me, knocking on it.

  “Come in,” a tired-sounding male voice called from inside. Norcross pushed the door open and strode in, head back, chest puffed out, looking tremendously proud of himself.

  “I brought you our little defector, Commander. I thought perhaps you’d like to interrogate her yourself before we throw her into a cell. The Lyran garbage she’s been keeping company with is already captive down in the brig. Dr. Stirling will be performing a few tests on him. I imagine he’ll like a crack at this one as well, as that disgusting alien has managed to . . . infect her.” He looked me up and down with dramatic disgust while I stared back impassively.

  “Infect her?” Wickman’s voice sounded more tiredly incredulous than anything.

  The guards gave me a shove, and I stumbled through the door just ahead of them. “Nice touch. Very theatrical,” I muttered as I caught my balance. Norcross was rubbing off on them—badly. I looked around, seeing shelves full of old, real paper books lining the walls and ceiling of the enormous office. A steel and wood desk of a very old design dominated the room. A row of four chairs sat before it, and behind it, the base commander sat in his office chair, slouching slightly, his eyes sunken and dull with exhaustion.

  Wickman’s eyebrows rose as he looked at me. He was a tall, older man, slightly weak-chinned, his brown and gray hair thinning at the temples. His watery gray eyes had snaps of red in them, which I had long since learned were the direct result of all the drinking he did. A wet bar was set into the wall behind him, and I saw its row of bottles was largely dry. I almost felt sorry for him, except I couldn’t. If he had actually been doing his job instead of crawling into a bottle regularly, he would have noticed what Norcross had been getting up to behind his back.

  “Dr. Bryant, what is this? I only know what Norcross has told me. He claims you defected and you have taken one of the Lyran upper class as your lover. He claims you have betrayed us. Is there any truth to this?”

  I took a deep breath and reached out psychically to the Lyran noble in question. Dekkir and I had a strong bond, strong enough for me to seek his mind on a whole different level of the complex. I sensed him faintly: awake, calm, waiting. He sent me a strong current of love and strength, and I felt my fear melt away in its warm torrent.

  I squared my shoulders and looked Wickman in the eye. “Commander, this is a much more complicated situation than Lieutenant Norcross is letting on. I will gladly explain the entire situation to you. I will provide you with proof of my assertions as required. But I’m going to have to ask that I do this without Norcross being here. It is in his best interest to muddy the waters as much as possible, as he has been committing war crimes behind your back.” Fuck you, Damon.

  The commander sat back in shock, gripping the edge of his desk. Norcross, meanwhile, simply let out a high, nervous laugh. “Will you listen to this little bitch? Lying to save her own skin. So typical of a woman. But look at her. Look at her eyes. She’s gone native. It’s disgusting. She can’t be trusted. You don’t want to be alone with her, Commander. She’s crazy and probably dangerous!”

  Wickman held up a hand. “That’s enough, Lieutenant. I’m very interested in hearing what she has to say, but if she will not speak in your presence—”

  Norcross started talking very fast as he fidgeted nervously in his seat. “Then we can go straight to assisted interrogation. I’m sure an electroshock device connected to her brain would provide proper punishment for when she tries to lie again, and if she won’t talk, we can hit the button a few times to get her going.”

  I thought of Dekkir’s calm strength, drew a deep breath, and turned my head to look at Norcross. “You know what? Go ahead and hook me up. You won’t hear a single lie from me, so the device will never be set off.” I looked him deep in his empty blue eyes, watching them widen in surprise at my show of backbone. Before Dekkir and all this strife, I had always been as diplomatic with Norcross as possible, understanding he essentially had a personality as unstable as badly stored explosives. But now I simply didn’t care anymore. The only liar in the room was Norcross. And I intended to make sure the commander knew that fully.

  The commander frowned but looked mildly impressed. “That’s a very big show of confidence, considering the circumstances you’re in, Grace. But since you have had an exemplary performance record up until now, I will consider what you have to say. However, Norcross stays, at least for now. He is your immediate superior, and if Dr. Stirling was not currently busy with our other captive, I would want him to be here as well.”

/>   Shit. “Understood, sir.”

  He gave me another surprised look. “I was expecting a lot more insubordination.”

  I smiled tightly. “I’m afraid you’ll have to look to Lieutenant Norcross for insubordination today, sir. And I’m sure he’s going to come out with it quickly enough.” I gave Norcross a glance as he reddened. “You see, there was no conflict between ourselves and the Lyrans until he decided to act on his own.”

  Norcross tittered nervously again. “Will you listen to this woman? There’s no end to her lies. Commander, she’s trying to manipulate you before the machine can get here.”

  Wickman looked between the two of us. “I see. Well, fine. Let’s attach the interrogation unit to her before we go on. If she lies, she will receive an electric shock, and we will know. If she does not lie, then, Lieutenant Norcross, we’re going to talk a lot more about what you’ve been doing while I have been otherwise occupied.” He drummed his fingers on the desk. “For example, your unauthorized visit to the planet’s surface to capture her in the first place. I also happened to notice we are missing several drones and scores of our soldiers.”

  Norcross stiffened, his mouth closing suddenly. I fought down a smile. Norcross had already organized three attacks on the world below us, and apparently, none had been authorized. I could only wonder how much Wickman had been drinking to not notice . . . or what drugs Norcross had slipped into his drink to ensure his obliviousness.

  The guards sat me down in one of the chairs in front of the commander’s desk and fastened my manacles to its arms. I couldn’t help but tug at them a little bit, but they were on firmly. Calm. Stay calm. What would Dekkir do? Stay in control.

  As we waited for the interrogation device to arrive, Wickman looked at me curiously. “What has happened to your eyes?” he finally asked.

  I smiled a little awkwardly. My once dark-brown eyes were now threaded with gold and bronze, signs of the aliens’ symbiont I now carried in my system, just like every Lyran did. “Well, sir, it’s a symbiont native to Lyra. It ended up in my system after being exposed in an infirmary, and I’ve adapted to it. It’s not hazardous. Dr. Stirling can back that up.”

  “You know that means I’ll want to see the results of a full physical and blood workup once we’re done here.”

  “Of course, sir. Dr. Stirling already did a blood draw on me before he left with Dekkir. It was not actually known by any of us that this symbiont could adapt to a human’s system. I was as surprised as everyone else.” Which was to say, not surprised at all. Stirling had given me a capsule of the Golden Strain to take in case of emergency, and I had, after being given knowledge of its properties.

  Wickman steepled his fingers. “What does it do?”

  I smiled and chose my words very carefully. “Well, for one thing, it’s helped me adapt physically to the stresses of life on the surface. People with the Golden Strain in their system will heal and recover from illness a lot faster than normal. It’s much more efficient than nanotech, as a matter of fact.”

  His brow knit. “Are there any side effects?”

  I smiled sadly and, instead of answering immediately, reached into the commander’s mind. I was still getting control of my empathic and telepathic powers. I had enough command of it now, thanks to brief but intensive instruction back on Lyra, that I had been able to use it to assist Dekkir in the last battle. Now, reaching out to the open book of a man in front of me, I felt a mind that was full of doubt and grief.

  He knew Earth Command wanted to take over Lyra. He also knew the conquest would be costly, that it was morally insupportable, that it went against the charter of the Earth Command military, and that it wasn’t even necessary if they had managed the proper trade arrangements. But Earth Command did not care. They saw Lyra as a fresh store of natural resources the depleted and dying Earth desperately needed. The commander had struggled for over a month with these new orders, refusing to go forward with anything that would destabilize the planet or risk the peace. He was under tremendous pressure from his higher-ups, and he suspected someone on the base had been working on the plan behind his back. Now that I had brought Norcross to his attention, he was starting to suspect. It was a hopeful sign.

  Dekkir, Tabirus, I sent telepathically. Had a look in the commander’s mind. He’s been suspecting Norcross for a while now. I think I am giving him enough reason to investigate fully.

  After a moment, Tabirus answered, his cultured voice translating into calm thoughts. I’m here with Dekkir, faking an interrogation and medical examination. Keep playing him; he’s much more open than Norcross, now that he’s mostly sober, and it’s time we got more humans on our side.

  Dekkir was no telepath, but simply sent me an awareness of his presence with Tabirus, his calm security, and his faith in me. It was enough. I had to fight a smile. “Sir, the full effects of the symbiont are somewhat difficult to explain because they vary from individual to individual. I will happily give you and Dr. Stirling a demonstration once he is free.”

  Wickman scratched his chin. “That could be interesting. Let’s just finish the formal interrogation first.”

  I reached out to the commander’s mind again, soothing and reassuring him as subtly as I could as I infused my thoughts into his mind. He was so exhausted that it was easy. It’s all right. Grace will cooperate. She always has before. There’s no need for this to become drama just because Norcross wants it to. You can handle this no matter how bad he gets. There’s no need to reach for the bottle behind you.

  It worked. The commander seemed to relax slightly, and some of the light returned to his eyes. I wondered how long he had dealt with Norcross’s crap that it had worn him down so much.

  Just then, one of the science officers arrived, a tall, gawky redhead who blinked at me in surprise as he wheeled the blocky, trashcan-sized interrogation device ahead of him.

  Norcross stood and gestured a bit grandly. “Ah, now the interrogation can begin.”

  He turned to leer at me . . . and his smile faded and died as I looked back at him impassively. Suspicion glinted briefly in his still mostly empty eyes, but I didn’t change expression. I had a plan now, and Dekkir and Tabirus were together and safe. And the calmer I was, the more worried Norcross got. And the more likely he would make a mistake in front of the commander.

  “Hook me up,” I said calmly and saw even more of the color drain from Norcross’s face.

  CHAPTER 19 / DEKKIR

  “What are you doing with Grace’s blood?” I asked as soon as “Dr. Stirling” ordered the guards outside into the hallway. The manacles they put on me gapped open on my wrists; they had not been able to fasten the puny things properly, and after a nod from the white-garbed man in front of me, I slipped them off and set them aside.

  “The Golden Strain adapted perfectly to her human cells for the same reason she is so compatible with you. It took only a minor genetic mutation for her to bridge the gap. But now that she has, the Golden Strain in her system has been altered by interaction with her human DNA. I’m culturing the human-variant Strain now, in large quantities, outside her body.” The slight, Ancient Lyran with his human-like cropped haircut and blue contact lenses winked at me.

  I frowned at him, folding my arms across my chest. Even now, Grace was being interrogated by her former superiors, one of whom was hostile, a liar, and mad. Lyrans never trusted those whose minds could not be reached by seer powers. They felt no connection to other people, and thus, they had no reason to care for or consider other people. Norcross was like that. Even I, whose mind was more adapted to communicating with my flying mount Keer than contacting other thinking minds, had felt the alarming blankness behind Norcross’s eyes and smile.

  “When are we rescuing my mate?”

  “Rescue should not be necessary. She is not currently in any danger. I am helping coach her through her interrogation. She is drawing the commander’s attention to Norcross’s bald insubordination and attempts to foment war. He is not actually acti
ng on behalf of Earth Command, you see, though he received orders to soften Lyra up for a mass takeover.” Tabirus smiled reassuringly, but my eyes narrowed.

  “That’s a dangerous gambit. Yes, you have explained the troops have more loyalty to the commander than this lieutenant, but you’re ignoring simple facts that any warrior would understand.” Seer’s blindness I had heard it called. Those whose livelihoods centered on their psychic powers tended to rely on them too much, ignoring their instincts and sometimes common sense. Tabirus had shown signs of this before, and I wasn’t having it.

  He blinked and sat back in his office chair before the bank of medical computers. “You think so? Would you mind elaborating?”

  I sighed and tossed my blond hair back over my shoulder impatiently. Upstairs in Wickman’s office, Grace was in danger, for she was in Norcross’s presence. The thought of her small, curvy, wide-eyed form surrounded by Earth soldiers, Norcross close enough he could touch her soft cloud of black hair before I could again, made me seethe inside. She must be protected.

  “Their supreme leaders have sent down orders to destabilize our world and make war on us. This base commander has resisted the orders. His subordinate, the lieutenant, is carrying them out anyway. First, how do you know he was not installed specifically for his lack of conscience so he would carry out orders like this without protest? You cannot read his mind, and Earth is too far away for you to parse psychically.” I looked into Tabirus’s blue-masked eyes sharply until he glanced away.

  “You have a point.” He frowned as he continued tapping away at one of the tablet controls he was working at, staring at the big screen in front of him.

  I peered at it briefly. “I can’t read that.”

  “Ah, give me a moment.” I felt a slight tug at my mind, and the incomprehensible symbols in front of me blurred, then suddenly became readable. I wondered if he was translating for me telepathically or if this was some other ancient trick.