by Iaz Grant
Zebb’s nostrils flared, but he kept his voice carefully neutral as he said, “Very well, then. You’re dismissed.”
As they trudged away, Zebb glanced over his remaining crew.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
Joyce, Tyler, and Karliah nodded.
Zebb sighed. “Thank you. Thank all of you.”
“You can thank us when this is over,” Joyce said sharply. But in spite of her tone, her eyes twinkled.
Zebb smiled. For the first time, he felt hopeful. So what if only three soldiers had volunteered to help? Nothing was going to stop him from saving Helena.
Nothing.
Chapter Six
"Where are we?" Helena whispered to Sondara as the guards marched them out of the ship. She blinked, staring up at the sky. Two moons, as red and swollen as ripe apples, hung in the crimson sky. She coughed; the air was hot, thin, and acrid. She'd never felt so terrified and displaced in her life.
“I’m not sure,” the red-skinned woman whispered back. She was standing next to Helena; like all the captives, their arms were bound behind their backs. “It’s like no planet I’ve seen before.”
"Me, neither," Helena whispered.
It was the strangest land she’d ever seen. The ground was cracked and barren. She could see no plants or animals; only concrete and glass buildings sprawled out in front of them like a bleak metropolis and jagged mountains slashing their way across the horizon. A strange violet light pulsated from deep cracks in the earth.
Sondara sniffed the air. Her eyes narrowed. “I don’t like this place. Can you feel it?”
“What?”
“It’s just not right here. There’s something wrong.”
“Like what?”
Sondara opened her mouth and then snapped it shut again. Her black eyes widened. “Oh, fuck,” she moaned in dismay. “He’s here. I’d hoped that they were lying.”
“Who?” Helena followed the other woman’s gaze.
A man was striding towards them. His body bristled with muscle, and his wavy blond hair fell across his forehead with a lazy sort of ease. His mouth was finely molded, and he was wearing a form-fitting uniform that showed off his chiseled, masculine physique. He might have been a handsome man if it weren’t for his eyes. They gleamed with a sharp, cruel glee. They were predator’s eyes, and Helena found herself helpless and paralyzed with fear as they locked with hers.
Then they passed on, and her body sagged with relief. She never wanted his gaze to fall upon her again. She felt cold all over in spite of the choking heat.
Without saying a word, he paced up and down in front of the line of women.
Finally, he came to a stop. He clasped his hands behind his back.
"Ladies," he said smoothly. His voice was rich and profound. "So glad you could join us."
One of the guards snickered. The man’s eyes flickered towards the man before snapping back to the line of captives. “My name is Xander Fletch, but you will address me as Sir during your stay here." His voice snapped like a trap; one meant to maim and kill small, helpless animals. "You will only speak when I allowed. You will obey any and all commands that my men or I give you, and you will treat all of your potential buyers with the upmost obedience and respect.”
“Buyers?” Helena asked. Her blood ran cold. Ava let out a terrified whimper from her other side, and Sondara shot her an alarmed, warning glance.
Xander’s terrible eyes flitted to hers again. He smiled and stepped towards her. He caressed her cheek with a gloved hand, and she shivered.
"Helena Murdock," he said. "My prize acquisition. I've been planning this for a very long time. I'm so glad we can finally meet." His voice dripped with greed and malice.
“How do you know my name?” she demanded. But her voice cracked, betraying her fear.
"My men have had their eye on you for a very long time," he whispered. "I must say; it took much longer than expected to get you here. With those eyes of yours, and your…ahem, purity…" he grinned again, and she felt her knees turn to water, "why, I'll get quite a good price for you indeed."
She swallowed. How had he known that she was a virgin?
“You can’t do this,” she said fiercely. “Let us go. I’m not your slave.”
Anger flickered briefly in his eyes, before quickly being replaced by the same cruel light as before. “You’re whatever I tell you to be, Helena.”
“My father won’t stand for this,” she snarled. She didn’t know where her sudden bravery was coming from, and she knew it was foolish and possibly dangerous, but she couldn’t stand there and meekly accept her fate, not such a terrible one as the one that surely awaited her. “He’ll send men after you, and then they’ll put you down like the dog you are.”
And before she could stop herself, she threw her head back and spat in his face.
The women gasped, and Ava burst into fresh sobs.
A deep, terrible anger filled Xander's eyes. "You'll pay for that," he exploded. He smiled again; a slow, horrible smile. "You'll pay, oh yes. When I'm through with you, you'll wish you’d never been born, bitch." His gaze drifted to the other women. "Let this be a lesson to you all.” He addressed the guards. “Take her and follow me.”
Rough hands seized Helena and dragged away from the other women. But then Xander lifted up his hand, stopping their progress. His eyes were gleaming again, and Helena gulped.
“Wait,” he said. “Bring them too.” He pointed to Ava and Sondara.
“No,” Helena gasped as the guards stepped towards them. Sondara’s face drained of color until it was a light shade of magenta, and Ava screamed as she fought her captor’s grip. “No, don’t punish them, they didn’t do anything!”
Xander’s lips lifted in a sneer. “You should have thought of your friends before you spit in my face," he said dangerously. His hand brushed Helena's breast, then squeezed roughly. She gasped in pain.
The blond man strode away, and the guards pulled the helpless young women after him.
Chapter Seven
“I’m so sorry,” Helena whispered to Sondara as the three women were shoved roughly along.
"Don't be," the red-skinned woman murmured. She flashed a grin that didn't do much to hide the terror lurking in her black eyes. "It's great what you did. Even if they kill us for it, at least, you had the guts to stand up to him."
“Bravery doesn’t matter much to me if I’m dead,” Helena said in a low voice.
Sondara began to answer, but Xander stopped in his tracks and flung open a door. “My private quarters,” he said. His eyes shone with a hard, malicious light.
It was a sleek, luxurious room dominated by a plush bed and thick, soft carpet. The western wall was made completely of glass, giving Helena a clear view of the bleak landscape.
The men pushed them inside, where they stood huddled in the entryway, frightened and uncertain. Xander nodded curtly at the men. “Gentlemen, you may go.”
The door slammed behind them, and Xander seized Helena's wrists and swung her forward, away from Ava and Sondara. He pointed a finger threateningly at them. "Stay put and watch until it's your turn," he said, his eyes flickering with dark humor.
He placed his hands on his hips. “On your knees,” he said roughly.
“No.”
“I thought you might say that,” Xander whispered. “Why do you think I brought them along?”
And he pulled his weapon from his holster and pointed it directly at Sondara’s forehead. Helena recognized the gun immediately. It fired high-intensity compressed lasers. She’d seen such weapons vaporize metal and concrete before, and she couldn’t bear the thought of what it would do to Sondara if he shot her.
“No!” she cried as Sondara let out a shaky sigh of relief. Helena sank to her knees in front of the handsome, cruel man. “I’ll do whatever you say, just please don’t hurt her.”
“That’s better,” Xander breathed as he sheathed his weapon. His hands settled on his belt buckle. With a quick flick of his
wrist, he undid the buckle and unzipped his pants. Helena’s eyes widened as his hard, thick, throbbing manhood thrust out at her. She’d never seen a naked man before, and the tiniest drop of curiosity and lust mixed in with her fear and revulsion.
“Blow me,” he commanded. He snatched a handful of her hair and forced her mouth closer. “And don’t you even think about biting me, or I’ll kill the red bitch. I won't bother using the gun; I'll cut her throat, so she dies real slow."
Helena took one look at his face and knew he wasn’t bluffing. She took a deep breath and slipped his massive cock in her mouth.
She choked as his slammed her head against him, forcing himself deep down her throat. She struggled against him as he forced her to bob her head, thrusting his iron-hard shaft into her wet, slick mouth.
She didn't know how long it went on; all she knew was that it was the most humiliating, degrading thing she had ever done in her life, and she hated Xander for it. And yet there was a wet, slippery heat kindling in her lower regions, a primal urge that was fueled by terror and domination.
God, I’m sick, she thought, hating herself.
Finally, he pulled out. His massive length glinted with Helena’s saliva. She wiped her mouth, disgusted.
“Now,” he said. His breathing was slightly ragged. His eyes drifted towards the other two women, who’d been watching the entire exchange with a mixture of horror and timid curiosity. “Take off your clothes,” he commanded with a sneer.
Ava swallowed, stark terror clear on her young, beautiful face.
“Now!” Xander barked.
The two young women shrugged off their simple dresses. Ava was skinny and had tiny, perky boobs. Sondara, however with a surge of desire, Helena's eyes settled on the crimson-skinned woman's curvy figure and full, shapely breasts.
Xander's hands shot forward and ripped Helena's slinky, form-fitting dress from her body. She gasped in the sudden cold, and she didn't fail to notice that Sondara's eyes also lingered on her naked body.
“On the bed,” he whispered. “All of you!” His voice was as commanding as the razor-sharp lash of a whip, and the girls hastened to obey.
Sondara knelt in front of Helena. The strange, fierce, beautiful woman’s long silky black hair had come loose from its braid and was spread across her shoulders like a silky waterfall.
Xander smiled. His teeth flashed in the dying light streaming in from the window.
It was going to be a fun night.
Chapter Eight
“Captain,” Karliah’s smooth, silky voice drifted through his empty chambers were Zebb lay, fully dressed, stretched out on his bunk with his eyes closed.
Without opening them, he said, "What?" His tone was sharper than he'd intended. The past three days had been terrible.
He finally opened his eyes as Karliah crossed her arms, a hard light shining in her eyes. “I understand you’re frustrated, Zebb, but do not take it out on me,” she said. “I’m trying to help you.”
He sighed. His entire body was tense and thrumming like a live wire. He swung his legs out of the bed and sat up. “I know, Karly. I know.” Her eyes softened as he used his pet name for her—a name that, he knew, she would claw the eyes out of anyone else if they called her that. “I can’t thank you enough.” He rubbed his forehead.
“I know your pain,” she said softly. She flicked her catlike ears. “I know what it’s like to chase after something that you’re terribly afraid is already gone.”
He said nothing. He knew her history, and she wouldn't appreciate the further discussion of it.
“Anyway, I think I have a lead,” she announced.
He sat up straighter, his dark eyes widening. Karliah held up a thick manila folder and tossed it to him. “I think Helena is being held on Polentia.”
“Polentia?” he asked as he flicked open the folder. The name was unfamiliar to him.
“It’s a planet on the fringes of Galaxy 78,” she said.
He blinked. Galaxy 78, like most of the numbered galaxies, was mostly uncharted territory.
“I thought there were no hospitable planets in 78,” he said cautiously.
"There aren't, not really. Polentia is extremely unstable. Fifty years ago the Alliance tried to charter it out, but the settlers died within a week. The atmosphere is excellent; it’s oxygen-based and safe to breathe. However, the planet’s outer crust is extremely unstable, and it’s prone to earthquakes and lava explosions from the veins of molten rock beneath the surface.”
“What does this have to do with Helena?”
Karliah motioned for the folder back. She pulled out a piece of paper. “This is heat signatures and sonar signals from the area around the planet over the past couple of years.”
Zebb gazed at the paper. There was Polentia, an enormous red blip on the signature heat map. The area around it, which should have been cold, space, was dotted with orange, yellow, and red blips.
“Holy shit,” he said softly.
Karliah flipped her tail in response. “It’s so far away from any other occupied planet. Why are so many people coming and going?”
“What’s your guess?” he asked. He thought he already knew, but he didn’t dare to hope. A slow, cautious excitement was blooming in his chest.
“I think that the slavers are using Polentia as a base. It’s far enough away from any Alliance base, leaving them free to operate away from prying eyes.”
She tossed him the folder again, and he flipped through it slowly. He didn't want to hope. Hope was a dangerous thing. It was a flimsy lead but it was still something to go on.
"It's a place to start," he said finally. He looked up and gazed into his second-in-command's yellow eyes. "Thank you. You did well."
She nodded, pleased. “I will tell Joyce to change course for 78 at once.”
“Yeah, please do that. How long will it take to get there?”
“A day, maybe a little less.”
He sighed and rubbed his temples. “A whole day. And it’s been three already. She could be dead by now.”
“I don’t think she is,” Karliah said. “Dead, she’s no use to them. She’s alive, Zebb, and we’re going to save her.”
He grunted in response and stood up, crossing over to the mirror on the other side of the barren room. He adjusted his uniform, noting the gray tinge to his dark skin and the bags underneath his eyes.
Karliah hesitated. “If she is on Polentia, then time is of the essence. She’s in incredible danger; not just from the men, but from the planet itself. Polentia is hostile and unstable.”
“I know,” he said softly. He glanced up again. “Thank you for finding this. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Chase your tail in circles, I expect,” Karliah said with a grin that exposed her needle-like teeth. “In a matter of speaking, of course.”
He laughed. A tiny bit of the weight that's seemed to be crushing his chest lifted. Not much, but a little. "Tell Joyce to change course, and tell Tyler the new plans. See how he's doing; he's nervous."
“He’s like a cub,” she commented. “Brave, but clumsy and foolish.”
"That may be true, but he's the only one apart from you and Joyce, who agreed to come along."
