Rescued By The Alien Warrior: A Sci Fi Alien Romance

by Leia Gray

  I wake up to find myself shackled and imprisoned like some kind of animal. Fuzzy memories float in the back of my mind like a haze, just out of reach. What happened?

  There’s still a throbbing sting on the side of my neck. Bastards pulled one over on me, put me out.

  I try to lift my hand automatically to feel the raised bump, but my wrists only chafe against their reinforced restraints instead. Yes, I remember quite clearly now.

  I was so close to taking out Krevith for good. I was so close to rescuing Liana and getting the hell out of here.

  And now?

  My eyes snap to the cell across the hall.

  Empty.

  A feral growl escapes me before I have a chance to stop it. She was there! I know she was there! I remember it, just barely. We talked, and I tried to reach out to her, and…

  Empty. She’s gone. They took her.

  My hands ball into fists and I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to think. The cell isn’t exactly quiet, the sounds of mechanical whirring and hydraulic hissing echoing down the hallway. Footsteps. Faint voices.

  And then there’s her. Yes, I can feel her presence more keenly now. I try to tap into our bond to see what happened when I was out. It’s still weak, still only fuzzy snatches of feelings and sights and sounds.

  But it’s enough.

  “Get your hands off me!” Liana screams, fighting tooth and nail as two guards manhandle her out of the cell. Her face is streaked with tears, her hair flying out in all directions as she tries to wriggle free.

  Even in the vision, I can barely suppress the urge to leap out and help her.

  “It’s your time to shine, darling.” A cold, clear voice echoes from the doorway and then the mist clears.

  It’s him.

  Krevith.

  “Why, you’re to be my crown jewel, of course. The buyer’s requested to see you personally, and my, have I told him stories about you...” He leans forward and caresses Liana’s cheek like a lover, grinning with sick pleasure when she shudders away.

  “Come on now, the deal awaits.” His eyes flash with unfettered greed, and the guards wrestle her down the hallway and out the doors.

  Just before the airlock hisses closed, I see something tumble to the ground as she flails. It bounces across the floor, unnoticed by the struggling guards. Then, as if directed by some supernatural force, it rolls toward my cell, across the floor, toward...

  I open my eyes and look down.

  There it is. The Imala.

  By all the Tia, she’d done it. I suck in a breath. It’s coming back to me now. They stole the stone. They drugged me, threw me in this cell.

  And yet here it was, like fate itself decided to give me a break for once.

  I scoot closer in an awkward wriggle. It’s not easy with my arms and legs bound, but the stone glows brighter when I near, like it knows its master is close.

  “I’m coming,” I mutter under my breath. The shackles dig into my skin painfully. My joints cry out in protest. But I scrape across the cell like a Ulallian snail, eyes set on my prize.

  I’m coming, Liana. The thought echoes through my heart and soul, and wherever she is, I know she can feel it too. Her energy is close by, but fading by the second. I’ve got to get to her before she can be sold.

  That’s when it hits me.

  I’ve spent so much time obsessing over duty and honor and revenge. I wasted away years of my life hunting, tracking, never resting. But now I have a greater purpose than revenge. When I first saw her on that shuttle, I tried to deny the pull of my soul toward her. But when destiny intervened and threw us together again and again, I could no longer resist.

  She is mine, and I am hers. There is no other way to put it. We were halves of the same whole, two star-fated souls, and by all the blood of my ancestors, I would not let her die!

  My raw, scraped hands close around the ore at last. Something more than any Agrith trip, more than any meditation, flushes through my body all at once. My senses heighten, my muscles strengthen.

  This is what the Vetha-Rek priests talk about when they say they have communed with the Tia, then. This is what true enlightenment looks like.

  For the first time, I can see their forms standing before me. Lady Argalla, the Tia spirit that laymen call ‘The Mother’, smiles down at me. Tendrils of white hair fall over her ancient shoulders, and her whole body gives off an ethereal glow.

  I can do nothing but stare in awe.

  “My son, you’ve done so well,” she praises me. “You have fought hard, and above all else, you have had faith. The Tia sees your dedication to the human. And the Tia provides. Fulfill your destiny, Darvok of Rathia. Avenge your people and claim your mate. Go!”

  A sound like a huge, reverberating gong rattles through me, and then in a puff of mist, she’s gone.

  I roar like an animal and wrench my wrists apart. The mechanism shatters and falls to the floor, smoking.

  “By all the Tia,” I mutter in awe, looking at my now-freed wrists. “It worked.”

  With the Tia’s newfound blessing, I free my legs and prowl toward the bars of the cell. Nothing can stop me now.

  They must have heard the sound of my escape. The cuffs weren’t exactly quiet. But that’s okay. I knew they’d be coming. And I was prepared.

  Footsteps and shouts echo down the corridor. I’m pressed into a small dark alcove, waiting for the right moment. The first guard jogs past me, gaping open-mouthed at the mangled cell door. He peeks inside, as if to confirm his fears, then his hand shoots to a communicator on his hip.

  Not so fast.

  I fly forward and cover the man’s mouth with my hand, grabbing the communicator with the other. His eyes widen in shock. With a practiced movement, I stuff the communicator in my pocket, then grab the blaster at his hip before he can react.

  I don’t want to kill him, but if I have to...

  The guard tenses against me, a low whine coming from the back of his throat. Sweat already beads up on the man’s forehead. Pitiful. Krevith must be really hurting for guards these days, to employ such pathetic stock...

  “Rathian scum!” the guard growls against my hand, opening his mouth to try to bite. I yank my hand away just in time and land a quick, striking blow to the back of his neck, right at the base of the skull. His eyes roll back in his head and he drops like a stone, cushioned by my arms.

  I lower him to the ground as quietly as I can, still scanning the perimeter for more guards. Amateurs.

  After attaching the blaster to my belt, I fish out the communicator and turn the dials, trying to hone in on the right frequency. Static crackles and spits, then I hear snippets of voices coming over the comm.

  “We’ve moved the girl to the holding room, 22B.”

  “Copy that.”

  “Perlos is up next; we gotta close this sale.”

  “Make sure she’s...presentable.”

  “Payday’s comin’, boys. Stay smart.”

  “It’s a shame he wants her untouched; the things I’d like to do...”

  My grip tightens on the comm so suddenly the plastic squeals and cracks. The comm shorts out with a spark, and then it’s dead.

  “Dammit,” I grumble, staring at the useless hunk in my hand. But it doesn’t matter. The Tia are with me now, and my warrior spirit rises to the surface so ferociously I can’t think of anything else.

  They will not take my mate.

  I can sense the energies in the air much more strongly now, feel their frequencies. And Liana’s tired, scared signature is coming from all the way across the ship.

  Following my instincts, I grip the Imala in one hand and keep the other on my blaster. Time to end this.

  21

  Liana

  He’s not coming.

  Looks like I’ll just have to save myself.

  I fidget with the jangly bracelets one of Krevith’s servants forced onto my wrists. They’re nothing so vile as the handcuffs they used in the cell, but the way they clink against my wr
ist reminds me of my fate every time.

  I’m just jewelry to them. A trophy. A prize.

  Clink, clink, clink.

  The airlock hisses open and in steps the man of the hour. Krevith grabs me by the hand and yanks me upright, brushing a lock of hair behind my ear. He leans in so close I can smell the rank odor of his breath, and I try not to shudder.

  “It’s showtime, sweetheart.”

  He pushes me forward, and two guards close in around me, blasters at the ready.

  I bare my teeth at him and stare him straight in the eye. “You’ll go to the Seven Depths for this,” I hiss with as much disdain as I can muster.

  He shrugs and gives me a gleeful smile. “Doesn’t matter to me, sweetheart. Long as I get paid.” Krevith puts a hand on the small of my back and leads me forward through the door, into a decadent office-type room.

  This is it.

  This room reminds me of an old-fashioned museum more than a compartment on a spaceship. The walls are accented in gold and chrome, and there’s an ancient mahogany desk off to one side with two plush chairs. Nothing like the harsh metal and clean lines I’ve been used to.

  The juxtaposition catches me off guard and I’m staring at the little details for so long I fail to notice the man in front of me. He clears his throat, and I look up.

  Short, with a round belly and a stubbly beard, the man positively radiates wealth. And not in a good way, either. He puffs on a cigar, looking me up and down with a scowl on his face.

  “Lord Perlos, as you requested.” Krevith makes some kind of showman-like gesture at me, as if I’m some rare artifact to be displayed. “Our apologies for the delay, of course. But you won’t be sorry, oh no. She’s the best of the lot, and we wouldn’t sell anything less to a man of your stature.”

  “Hmm,” the tycoon rumbles, waving Krevith’s words away like so much cigar smoke. “I’ll be the judge of that. She better be worth it, for all the trouble you put me through. Pretty one, though. I’ll give you that.”

  I stand frozen on the spot, eyeing the exit. I could run, but the guards would be on me in seconds. And where would I go?

  Darvok...my mind reaches out for him again, to find only dead static. He’s not coming. This is on me.

  I take a deep breath and speak up.

  “My Lord, I must warn you...”

  “Quiet, woman!” Krevith hisses. A vein bulges in his temple and the guards have their hands on their guns. I’ve hit a nerve.

  Perfect.

  Lord Perlos continues to regard me with those curious, steely eyes. “Let her speak,” he says at last. “I’d hear what she has to say.”

  “But my Lord—” Krevith protests.

  Perlos cuts him off. “It is my request. Let her speak.”

  I draw in another breath and hope it’s not my last. “I must warn you, my Lord, my people carry a rare virus. On your planet, it would be incompatible with the biosphere, and it would proliferate. Possibly even killing off your men, if you’re not careful. Sure you want to take that chance?”

  Lord Perlos’s eyebrows knit together. He looks to Krevith. “Is this true? Trying to pull one over on me? Sell me tainted merchandise?”

  Krevith throws up his arms, now on the defensive. “Of course not, my Lord! Clearly, you can see she’s lying. Trying to buy time, perhaps. You know I run the usual scans on all my cargo; we found nothing abnormal on this one, I swear it.”

  Perlos narrows his eyes, looking from me to Krevith, then back to me. Finally, his face breaks out into a smile. “She’s a clever one, Krev. Almost too clever. But don’t worry; that can be trained out of her in time. She has spirit, which is more than I can say for most of the lowlifes you try to pawn off on me. I’ll take this one. You’ve got a deal.”

  “No,” I breathe, closing my eyes.

  Then the door swishes open and I hear a familiar voice. “Sorry, gentlemen. ‘This one’ is mine.”

  I whirl around, snapping my eyes open. It’s him!

  Standing there with a smoking gun and the Imala ore glowing brightly around his neck is my purple alien savior. It’s Darvok. He came for me.

  Everything happens in a blur after that. Krevith shouts at the guards to dispatch him, but one’s already on the floor dead, a burning hole through the head. I didn’t even see Darvok move, he shot so fast!

  The other guard rushes forward and Perlos takes cover, cowering under the desk. Krevith continues to bark orders, but there’s fear on his strained face, too.

  The man who’s ruined both of our lives is in Darvok’s sights when the remaining guard draws a pistol and squeezes the trigger.

  “Darvok!” I scream, but the echoing report already blasts through my eardrums. I throw out my hand, as if I could reach him, push him out of the way somehow. And then something happens I can’t explain.

  Time seems to slow around me. It’s like everyone and everything is moving through some kind of thick liquid, their limbs flailing out in slow motion. I look down at my hands, my feet. I wiggle my fingers and they respond in real time.

  Did I just...?

  The bullet hangs in the air, still flying on its path toward Darvok’s temple. Though my mind is still racing, I know now’s my chance. So I throw myself at the Rathian, barreling into his hard body with all the strength I can muster. It feels like running into a brick wall, but finally, he gives.

  Time snaps back to normal in the blink of an eye, just in time for us to tumble to the ground together. Just in time for the bullet to just narrowly miss Darvok’s head.

  “What are you—” he cries, looking up at me. Then his eyes widen.

  “Saving your ass!” I shout and grab the other weapon he’s strapped to his belt.

  Then we’re together again, back to back, armed and ready to fight. Energy like I’ve never felt before rushes through me at our contact. The stone around Darvok’s neck glows brighter than it did even during our mating, and that indomitable warrior spirit takes hold in my heart.

  Time to end these sons of bitches.

  The guard points and pulls the trigger again, cursing. Nothing happens. Jammed. He slaps the side of it and feels on his belt for a backup, but there’s none there.

  Darvok takes advantage of the momentary pause and lines up the guard in his sights, the report blasting against my eardrums. The guard falls, and now there’s only one.

  Krevith doesn’t look so powerful anymore, once his cronies lie dead on the floor. He shrinks back into the wall, holding his hands up. I grip the blaster in shaking hands, pointing it right at Krevith’s heart.

  This man...this...monster....did so much to me. He could die a thousand times and it would not quench the trauma left behind. I realize in that moment this must be what Darvok felt when Krevith attacked his family.

  “Wait,” Krevith whines, eyes darting around the room. He glances at the desk where the tycoon still cowers. Perhaps he thinks he can fit under there, too.

  “I’ve waited quite long enough for this day,” Darvok says, his voice cold. We step forward in unison, both our guns trained on him.

  “You have crimes to answer for, Krevith. Crimes against Rathia, crimes against the innocent. Crimes against my mate. As chieftain of the Vetha-Rek of Rathia, I will not let that stand.”

  “Look at what you’ve become, Darvok,” Krevith growls. “Look at what we’ve both become, eh? Traipsing across the galaxy, always on the run, never able to finish what we started. I’ve had enough, haven’t you? Let’s end this like men.”

  My mate frowns and tightens his grip. “Then stand and fight,” Darvok commands without moving his weapon.

  Krevith struggles to get up, but there’s something off about him. I can feel it in the air, and the energy pounding through my blood sends off a red alert right before it happens. A vicious, knowing grin spreads across his face.

  “You should know me better than that.” He smashes his fist into a switch on the wall marked ‘emergency airlock release’.

  And then I’m flying. />
  The thick panels shielding us from the elements hiss and depressurize, the air bursting outward into the vacuum of space.

  I manage to point and shoot before I lose my footing, but it’s too late. The laser blast collides with Krevith’s hand and he roars, yanking it away, but he’s already engaged the release.

  The deafening roar of space crushes in on me. I desperately reach out to grab whatever I can, my sweaty fingers clamping onto a steel support beam for dear life. Krevith tumbles through the opening and into the black, mouth opened in a silent scream.

  His face is contorted now too, a gaping red hole right between his eyes.

  Darvok!

  I groan as space rushes around me, tilting the ship and tossing everything out into the vacuum. My strength is rapidly running out, and it won’t be long before my muscles give out. Just a few more seconds, and I’ll be joining Krevith...

  What a way to go.

  “Liana, the switch!” Darvok’s voice echoes in my mind. I whip my head to the side and see him there, straining just as much as I am. His muscles bulge and his face is locked in a grimace. He points to the panel where Krevith pressed the button. “You have to do it! My gun...I lost it...”

  Everything becomes clear, just for a second. Not even the vast vacuum of space or the roaring of the air and chaos around me can touch that. Though the tendrils of space wrap themselves around my legs, threatening to pull me out into the endless void, a calm sort of peace settles over me.

  My fingers grip the gun at my side, and I know what I have to do.

  It’s pretty hard to aim in the best of circumstances. While you’re trying to keep from being thrown out an airlock, body whipping through the air and oxygen dropping down to dangerous levels? Yeah, that’s even harder.

  If I had any doubt that there were supernatural forces at play, I don’t any longer. When I set my sights on the control panel, it’s like my arm moves of its own volition. Just as the last of my strength wanes and my fingers loosen on the steel girder, I point the gun, close my eyes, and shoot.