A Warrior’s Paradox
Cadi Warriors 3
By Stephanie West
Contents
Preface
1 The Problem
2 Questions
3 Inquiry
4 Theory
5 Experiment
6 Trial and Error
7 Conditions
8 Tainted Methods
9 Field Research
10 Variables
11 Impedance
12 Confounding Factors
13 Analysis
14 Conclusion
Author’s Note
Preface
June is bored out of her mind at the New Earth colony. The Miran Sona pamper the human colonists, but June's not a breeder, she's a scientist. So, when the opportunity presents itself, she sneaks aboard the Miran Sona's spaceship, to get a good look at technology she could only dream of. Next thing she knows, June finds herself stranded on a planet of barbaric looking demons. Frightened and unsure, June hides in the first place she finds, a high-tech engineering lab.
Newly liberated Toufik are going missing on Cadi, and it's up to Tytus to help his fellow warriors discover who's behind the abductions. The last thing he expects to find lurking in his lab, is a human female. All Tytus has ever known is his work, till the compelling female appears out of nowhere. June arouses savage desires, that he's certain she can't possibly want or withstand. Even though it goes against Cadi law, strains the alliance with the Miran Sona, and puts his mission at risk, Tytus refuses to let June go.
It's a mystery how things turn out so right, when everything around them is going so wrong. But that’s what you get when you’re faced with a Warrior’s Paradox.
1 The Problem
Tytus quo Munitor
“Tytus, contact the Miran Sona immediately,” Kagan insisted as he exited the medical suite.
“Yes Daimio.”
Tytus looked past his leader to see Giselle, the Daimio’s human mate. She appeared incredibly pale, which was saying a lot, since the human was pale to begin with. Poor Giselle was practically white next to her Cadi friend, Jolana. Jolana was hovering by the exam table while the other human female, Providence, held Giselle’s hand. Giselle was crying as the medic, Jorg, spoke to her.
“Did Giselle lose the young?” Dagaa asked, his face twisted with worry.
“No. Jorg was able to stop her bleeding, but she’s confined to bed,” Kagan relayed. “We need the Miran Sona. They should know what to do, since they’ve studied human reproduction,” Kagan said impatiently.
Tytus wasn’t always great reading people, but he understood the Daimio’s fear. Tytus was worried as well. He’d found a unique friendship with the two human females on Cadi. They made life interesting and entertaining. He could relate to them better than he did with females of his own species. Although, in all fairness, he hadn’t really put forth the effort.
Tytus frowned as he recalled the awful events of the morning. Giselle and Kagan had visited his lab to see how his current project was progressing. Little Sabin, their adopted son, had joined them. Tytus never realized how much he had laying around his lab, that a curious youth could get into. He’d been in the middle of explaining what a solenoid was to the little warrior, when Giselle collapsed.
“Daimio, please have Jorg send Giselle’s test results to me, and I will forward them to the Miran Sona,” Tytus requested.
The Cadi leader nodded before returning to his mate.
“Do you think the Miran Sona will be willing to help?” Dagaa asked.
“I hope. I should go.”
Tytus rushed into the small study he used when at the Daimio’s manor. He sat down at the console, flipped on the interplanetary comm, and hailed their Miran Sona allies.
His life had become a lot more exciting in the last year. The Cadi had gone from being embroiled in a centuries long civil war, to a unified planet, under one benevolent Daimio. They’d freed their hairy Toufik slaves, expelled the self-serving Jurou Biljana merchants that sold those slaves, and met new allies like the Miran Sona. With the unprecedented exchange of knowledge, Tytus had more projects and ideas than he could possibly finish, even if he spent every waking hour in his lab.
Tytus smiled as he thought about the food Giselle brought him this morning. He sometimes wondered if his friends visited to see his projects, or to make sure he remembered to eat.
The ping of an incoming message pulled Tytus from his reverie. He sighed in relief when he read it, then hailed Kagan on his handheld.
“Daimio, Ion has responded. She will send the information she has, and will be here in a few days.”
“Thank Kali,” Kagan replied, sounding grateful. “Do you think she’ll have to trick her mate, Exo, this time?” he chuckled.
“No, I think the male has learned the merits of having us as allies.”
The Miran Sona were nowhere near their home planet. Their world, along with the human’s planet Earth, were on the far side of the cosmos. The human colony, the Miran Sona started in this quadrant, was vulnerable to dishonorable species like the reptilian Jurou Biljana. Though thankfully, the slavers hadn’t discovered its location yet. Without the Cadi as allies, the colony would be at greater risk.
“Indeed. I’ll contact Jorg and let him know our guests are on their way.” Kagan signed off.
Tytus left the manor and headed back to his lab, on the outskirts of Sargon. With the Miran Sona on the way and Giselle stabilized, a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He was able to enjoy the ride, unlike this morning. As Tytus piloted his rota, he took in the changes transforming the capital city with pride.
When the war ended, many warriors weren’t quite sure what to do with themselves. At first it had led to strife. The former warriors had no outlet for their energy, so skirmishes and disagreements arose all over Cadi. Tytus recalled when Giselle suggested they promote various public works projects. With all the years dedicated to war, the Cadi had forgotten and neglected many things. As Giselle rattled off all the ways Cadi could rediscover lost aspects of their culture, Tytus had bristled with renewed excitement.
That was another benefit of integrating new species. They offered a different perspective on things. The humans and Toufik were shaking up society, by not behaving the way Cadi expected, but things were changing. Some Cadi feared this change, where Tytus looked forward to it.
Tytus smiled as he passed through the merchant district. He opted to take the scenic route through the new park. At the center of the meadow, several warriors were erecting an ancient statue of Kali, salvaged from a destroyed temple.
Nearby, an abandoned two-story stone building was receiving it’s finishing touches. It would house a collection of antiquities, that various citizens had cared for over the generations, and happily donated for all to see. This was one of his favorite projects. Tytus couldn’t wait to see the finished exhibition.
He chuckled as he noticed a father chasing a pair of young, with a joyous and carefree smile plastered on his face. The rare sight was becoming more commonplace. Sadly, Tytus could count on one hand the times his sire had been able to share such moments with him, in between assignments on the battlefront. He slowed his rota to watch.
“I think there’s a tiny metcor stalking you in the grass over there.” Tytus pointed out for the warrior.
The warrior grinned, then bellowed in mock surprise as his youngsters leapt from the foliage to attack him. The male was quickly overrun with his rambunctious laughing children. Tytus waved as he took off again.
Things may not be perfect, but it is a good time to be Cadi.
Tytus approached the landing field and took note of th
e handful of space worthy vessels parked in a row. Two of the five, were the sleek cruisers Kagan confiscated from the Jurou Biljana. Tytus was almost certain the disreputable reptilian merchants had traded or stolen them from a smaller race. The vessels were fast, but a nightmare to work on. Their maintenance passages were too small for a full-grown male to worm through. The other three Cadi ships were relics, hobbled together from the remains of other vessels. Despite that fact, Tytus prided himself in how smoothly they ran. He and a team of technician had painstakingly cared for the machines during the war.
Everything looked in order as Tytus pulled his rota into the metal hangar and parked. Living and working so close to the landing field meant he rarely saw visitors, but it gave him access to the ships, planetary monitoring equipment, as well as any new gear that arrived planet side.
“Greetings Koval,” he said with a wave.
“Good day, Tytus. Is this the Agurtzane shipment?”
The Agurtzane, an allied aquatic species, had begun trading with Cadi. They favored a large fish commonly found on Cadi, as a delicacy. In return they were sending much needed electronics for things like handhelds, rota, and even the large space cruisers.
“Yes. Do you need help loading it?”
“No, but thank you.”
Tytus exited the hangar bay, heading for his lab. He tapped on the door control pad and it unlocked. Besides Kagan’s manor, and the armory, this was the most secure location on Cadi, since it housed equipment that was vital to the security of the whole of Cadi.
Tytus glanced around the lab that doubled as his home. His primary workstation with holo-screen sat opposite a counter covered with equipment. Further in, sat numerous work benches laden with projects in various stages. It was blissfully quiet, besides the subtle hum of the electronics.
Most warriors would find the solitude unnerving, but Tytus had more than enough occupying his mind to keep him company. During the war, there had been technician that aided him, but they had returned home and were desperately needed there. With Cadi rebuilding, their expertise was invaluable in their various provinces.
Perhaps if I find a spare moment, I should interview for help, like Kagan suggested. A spare moment, Tytus chuckled at the improbability.
Tytus strode through the lab to his apartment at the rear. It probably wasn’t smart to live where he worked, but he’d be here all the time anyway. He grabbed a handful of legumes from the box of snacks Giselle brought him, then pulled a tankard of water from the chiller. Tytus frowned as he searched for a cup that he didn’t have to wash first, then shrugged as he grabbed one that looked good enough.
Tytus headed back towards his desk, and brought up his most pressing project on the holo-screen. Several hours later he was sitting in the same position, frustrated.
“These readings don’t correlate,” he growled.
It had been a sennight since he’d started on this imperative task, so he was lucky to have reached this point. But now he’d hit a road block.
Come on. The missing Toufik are depending on you. Tytus rubbed his eyes, cracked his neck, then continued pouring over the data in front of him.
2 Questions
June
“What do you think the Miran Sona are up to?” Riley asked, as they stealthily followed the lanky pale aliens, towards one of the large oblong spaceships.
“No idea, but this is better than going on the safari scheduled for today,” June replied.
June glanced at the bizarre landscape beyond the large pod city. New Earth was nothing like old Earth. Though the sky was blue, the nearby lake was pink. The forests were filled with unrecognizable creatures that made it their home. Even the trees were odd. Their barrel-shaped trunks ballooned out, fatter than their wispy crown of branches atop. If being abducted wasn’t enough, trying to learn a whole new environment certainly tipped the scale.
“Agreed, this girl doesn’t hike. Although I’d kill to have my camera. There are some crazy sights on this planet.”
June considered her new friend. Riley was the kind of pale that shouldn’t be outside long, much less hiking in an equatorial region. June was tan, thanks to her mother’s Indian heritage, but still the wilds of this alien planet held no appeal whatsoever.
Maybe I am having trouble coping with life in the colony. No, I’m just not a nature buff.
“I thought the bugs on Earth were awful. I was wrong.” June stuck out her tongue. “I’m glad Zer didn’t insist that we join the others on their trek into the heart of darkness.”
“You know, when I first awoke, and learned the M’s were trying to create some clandestine new civilization, I thought we were going to have to struggle like slave labor.” Riley tucked a purple strand of hair in amongst her naturally black locks. “But hell, they’ve catered to our every whim.”
“Except for taking us back home,” June retorted.
She watched the Miran Sona, named Exo argue with his female partner, Ion, as they opened a door on the large ship. June had wanted a look inside one of these ships since she woke up on New Earth. The lack of work and problems to solve, were turning her brain to mush.
If I can just get my hands on some of that technology.
“Come on, let’s go check the ship out,” June told her partner in crime.
“Do you think we’ll get in trouble?”
“Please. As you said, they pamper us like children,” June commented as she snuck forward.
“Fine, I’m game,” Riley shrugged.
The two women crept into the shadow of the behemoth vessel, and made their way to the open door. They froze when Ion exited to grab a few remaining things sitting outside, then went back in. June peeked around the corner. She waited till the contentious voices of the two M’s faded down a corridor. June didn’t know what they were arguing about since they didn’t speak English, like they did around the humans.
“Come on, quick,” June gestured, as she glanced around for any other M’s that might be in the area.
She and Riley hustled into the massive spaceship. They hugged the hull wall of the entry chamber, once they made it inside. June glanced around the room. There was a control panel along one wall, numerous seats with harnesses, and various supplies. It was the kind of set-up you’d expect for a disembarking zone. June assumed there was a larger loading bay, where cargo would enter and exit the ship. This space was too small to house any of the vehicles the M’s brought to New Earth.
After a minute, June stopped worrying about being discovered, as she explored.
“You were saying the M’s baby us. Well I have a theory about that.” June’s scientific mind had toiled over that question, since she had nothing better to occupy herself. “This is supposed to be the colony to save us, when people back home kill themselves off from nuclear winter or whatever. So, the M’s are treating us like precious little seeds.”
“I didn’t do much gardening.” Riley glanced at June as she opened a compartment on the wall and peeked in.
“So, they abduct hundreds of us, and plant us on this new world. They’ll care for us, and pamper us, till we grow into a good self-sustainable crop of humans.”
“Ah, so it’s our children and grandkids who are going to be fucked,” Riley remarked.
“Probably. I imagine the M’s don’t want us rebelling, since we out number them. So, they’re appeasing us. Future generations won’t have the same desire as us, to go home. They’ll be the ones who’ll have to really create a civilization here.” June imagined at some point in the future, New Earth would collapse into the dark ages, should the Miran Sona ever stop sending their supply ships. “I just hope we figure out how to return home or survive, before the M’s abandon us.”
“Personally, I’m not keen on going home. But I’m also not gung ho on being a breeder either,” Riley groused.
“I find it kind of exciting. The alien technology, new world part, not the breeding,” June added when Riley gave her a lopsided look.
The kind of techn
ology she was touching now, was a dream come true. Though not everyone felt that way. June thought about the numerous people who had snapped when they woke up on the alien planet. One of the reasons she and Riley had become friends, was because they were quick to adjust. There was only so much you could listen to people whine, “I want to go home,” before you debated homicide or suicide.
“So, do you think we’ll find a way home?” Riley nervously asked.
“Not really, or not in our lifetime.” June examined the control panel. “I spoke to one of the M’s, a nice woman named Cila. She said that their ships, though powerful enough to traverse this galaxy for a hundred years, don’t have the energy to traverse back through the wormhole that got us here.”
“Well shit, I guess they’re as stuck as we are then.”
“Yeah. Talk about the ultimate sacrifice,” June frowned.
That was one reason she hadn’t pitched an epic fit. Learning her abductors had sacrificed their own lives, to save what they believed to be a doomed race, took the wind out of her sails.
“Fucking hell!” Riley exclaimed.
“What?” June followed the direction Riley pointed, in time to see the door to the outside seal shut. A moment later she felt a subtle rumble move through the hull floor. “Well, shit. I think we’re going for a ride.”
“Do you think we should strap in?” asked her purple haired companion.
“Probably.”
They both scrambled to the seats and adjusted the harnesses. June felt the pressure in her body build as the giant ship ascended into the atmosphere.
“We must be in space.” June commented as the pressing force and turbulence subsided.
“That was smoother than a plane. Although I don’t really know what I expected, this is a freaking spaceship after all.” Riley waved her hand dramatically.
“No kidding. This is truly amazing.” June giddily looked around.
It wasn’t so much the sleek veneer of the ship’s interior that struck June, it was more the concept of what lie behind the walls and inside the control panels. It was the sum of the parts that grabbed her.
Warrior's Paradox (Cadi Warriors Book 3) Page 1
