by S. E. Smith
“Jai, where are you going in such a hurry?” Manota asked with a frown. “Is there a problem?”
Manota glanced at Jai as the young warrior looked behind him. He could see the frustration on the warrior’s face as he looked back and forth between him and the directions the females went. He watched as the warrior shifted restlessly from one foot to the other.
“Nothing is wrong, my lord,” Jai said looking again down the corridor with a frown. “Did you… did you perchance see a human female with a small group of animals go by you?”
Manota raised his eyebrow at the warrior. “Which one? The one with a four-legged striped animal with something hairy on its back or the one with six dog creatures?” He asked dryly.
Jai’s face changed as he gave Manota a sheepish grin. “I am looking for the one with the six creatures of various sizes. Petre was looking for the other one.”
Manota shook his head in exasperation. This is why they did not have females on their warships. The males couldn’t think straight. He grimaced as he realized he was just as bad.
“Your female took a right. The other went straight,” he replied before turning to continue his journey to engineering.
“Thank you, my lord,” Jai called out as he sprinted down the corridor and turned right.
Manota shook his head again as he stepped into the lift. This was going to be a very, very long voyage and they had just started. It was definitely going to be the most interesting one he had ever been on he couldn’t help but think.
*.*.*
Jai rounded the corner and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the unusual female with spiked hair in different colors kneeling by one of the creatures she cared for. He slowed his step, not wanting to startle her. She was the most beautiful, exotic creature he had ever seen.
Mattie knelt in front of Bouncer as the other dogs lay down, panting. She had been about to go crazy staying in the area where all their campers were set up. The dogs needed a good run and the long corridors were perfect for it. She also had to admit to being more than a little curious about being on an alien spaceship. She still had a hard time believing that she and her little ‘family’ had left everything they knew behind. She wondered vaguely if this was how her ancestors felt when they traveled across the ocean to a new land.
Not that I had much to leave behind, she thought distractedly as she checked Bouncer’s paw. Nothing but heartache and loneliness.
“Hello, female,” Jai said as he stepped closer.
Mattie looked up in surprise when she heard a deep voice speaking to her. It was still a little disorienting to hear words spoken in one language but translated to another in her ear. It was a little like watching a movie where the video and the sound were a little out of sync.
A tall warrior, not much older than her twenty-four years, stood a few steps away from her. Mattie blushed as she noticed his intense stare. Standing, she slipped her hands into her faded blue jeans. The movement pulled her baggy blue T-shirt snugly against her full breasts.
“Hi,” Mattie replied, looking curiously at the man.
He was tall like all the other alien males she had seen on board the ship. He wore his hair short like the rest as well. She figured it must be like the military back on Earth where they had to keep it short. His skin was a dark tan, much like her own. Her mom had been an exchange student from South Africa while her dad had been Caucasian. They had met at Columbia State University and married but it didn’t last.
Her mom and dad had divorced when she was four and she had pretty much been shuffled between them depending on moods, availability and their current relationships. Her mom had remarried three years before and Mattie didn’t get along with her new step-dad. Her dad was a career Navy guy and was now married to a woman he had met in Japan. She figured both of them discovered they weren’t parent material as neither one had any more children. She hadn’t seen either of her parents in a couple of years now.
“What are you called?” Jai asked, stepping closer.
Mattie shook her head in an effort to bring her mind back to the present. She tilted her head to the side and looked up as the man stepped closer. She refused to move back, even though that was what she wanted to do. The male in front of her was just – big. The uniform of black leather vest, black pants, and mid-calf boots made him look even bigger and more dangerous in her opinion.
She swallowed nervously before replying. “Mattie. What’s your name?” She asked, biting her lip. She froze when he reached out and gently touched her lower lip with his thumb.
“Jai,” he replied huskily.
Jai studied the small, nervous human female as she stood up. She barely came to his chest. He liked that. She wasn’t slender like Lady Jo but had a softer, rounded figure that made him want to scoop her up and press it against his body. Her skin was darker than many of the others as well. There were a few that had even darker skin but hers was a soft color that reminded him of the sable coats of the Boshkas that his family raised on their land. The Boshkas were similar to what the humans called a horse. Only they had twin horns on their foreheads and very thick, soft sable-colored hides.
When she stood, he could see her clearly for the first time. She had passed him earlier in the corridor as he was getting off of his shift. He had caught the sweet fragrance of wildflowers and sunshine. When she ran by him, everything inside him demanded that he chase and capture her. It was almost as if a primitive urge had overcome him. The feelings startled him and made him curious.
“What are you doing out of your area?” Jai asked again, pressing closer.
Mattie shifted uncomfortably. “No one said we couldn’t explore,” she said defiantly. “The dogs and I needed some exercise. Why? It isn’t like it’s dangerous or anything to walk the hallways, is it?”
“It can be,” Jai said quietly, stepping even closer so he could see if she smelled as good as he thought.
Mattie took a half step back, almost tripping over Peewee, the mastiff. She gasped as Jai reached out and grabbed her arms, pulling her closer to his body. A shiver ran through her as he pressed her against his body.
“You are invading my personal space, you know,” she whispered nervously. “I… You… can let me go.”
Jai shook his head and smiled. “I don’t think so,” he murmured. “I am claiming you as mine, female.”
“Claiming…” Mattie’s startled response was cut short as Jai bent his head, claiming her lips in a heated kiss.
Peewee sneezed loudly before falling over onto his side and putting his huge paw over his eyes. Bouncer, the small terrier mix, jumped up on his hind legs, pawing at the air before sitting back down and cocking his head sideways to watch his mistress. The other four dogs just laid their heads down on their paws and waited – and waited – and waited until they just gave up and closed their eyes. It looked like they were going to be there for a while.
Chapter 12
Jo looked around as the door to the medical unit opened. Shavic has been in just a few minutes earlier to check on Jane. Since the young girl in the bed hadn’t awakened yet, they were calling her Jane Doe. Personally, Jo thought she looked a little like a Jane. While the girl hadn’t opened her eyes, Jo suspected that she was aware of what was going on around her.
Jo smiled in amusement as Manota stood in the doorway looking at her as if he was unsure of his welcome. She knew Kev must have told him about her discovery of Annie Cabot in the detention cell and Jade Ryan who had escaped from where Kev had locked her in his living quarters. Jade had followed Perry as he rode his unicycle around the warship.
Perry wanted to set a record to be the first human unicyclist to ride uninterrupted the entire distance of an alien warship. Walter had gruffly informed the twenty-one year old from Little Rock, Arkansas that ‘of course he would set a record, dumbass, there were no other humans but them on the damn ship!’ It had not dissuaded Perry in the least and he had set out this morning, returning a short time later with a very irate FBI a
gent who had been assigned to investigate the kidnapping of Jo, Star, and River.
“You can come in,” Jo said in amusement. “I’m not going to bite you.”
Manota grinned sheepishly. “You can bite me any time you want,” he responded with relief before his eyes turned to the still figure on the bed. “How is she? Did Shavic say whether there was any permanent damage?” He asked quietly.
Jo’s eyes softened as she turned back around to where Jane lay looking like a fragile china doll that had been shattered and put back together. There were no more signs of bruising and her broken wrist, fractured ribs, and concussion had been healed. Still, she looked so young lying against the white sheets. Her shoulder length light brown hair fanned out around her small face.
“He said she should recover completely but she still hasn’t woken,” Jo responded slipping her fingers around the slender hand as she looked up at Manota. “I wonder what happened to her. Nema said they had returned to pick up their Fifth Wheel and she was curled up next to it. They were going to call an ambulance but when they mentioned it, she freaked out and tried to crawl away before she passed out. Walter decided she would be safer coming with us.”
Manota looked down at the pale face. “She looks young. Do you think she has family? I could have Kev return her to your world and meet back up with us.”
Jo jerked in surprise when she felt Jane’s fingers tighten on hers. She turned her gaze back to the young girl only to see the terror in the honey colored brown eyes staring back at her. She didn’t say anything but her lips trembled as if she wanted to protest. She tightened her grip on Jo’s hand when Jo would have pulled it away.
“No,” Jo said softly, held by the pleading gaze locked on her. “No, I think she should stay with us. I think she needs a new start. Somewhere where she can be safe.”
Jane’s eyes shimmered with tears but only a single one spilled to trail down the side. Her lips curved in a grateful tilt as she slowly broke her gaze to look up at Manota. She gasped and tried to move, as if to run.
“It’s alright,” Jo said soothingly. She stood up and leaned over Jane, gently brushing her hair away from her face. “This is my mate, my husband. He would never hurt you. No one on this warship would hurt you.”
Jane reluctantly looked back up at Jo before she frowned and looked around her, as if realizing for the first time that she was not in a hospital. Her puzzled gaze swiveled back to Jo. Her eyes full of questions.
“Can you tell me who you are? Where you came from? What happened to you?” Jo asked softly.
Jane vigorously shook her head from side to side. She stopped in surprise and raised her hand to touch her head. Her fingers slowly traced her face as if she was searching for the cuts and bruises that had covered it before she arrived. She pulled her hand from Jo’s and touched her neck then raised her arms up to look at them in the dim light. Her eyes widened as she saw the unmarked skin and realized that her arm no longer hurt fiercely.
Her eyes turned to Manota and she stared at him with such a look of wonder and awe that he shifted uncomfortably. He looked at Jo and shrugged his broad shoulders. She opened her mouth but all that came out was a shuddering gasp before she began to silently sob.
“It will be alright, little one,” Manota said quietly.
He watched as Jo scooted onto the bed next to the fragile girl and began rocking her. He turned as Shavic hurried into the room. With a slight nod, he stood back as Shavic pressed an injector against the girl’s neck. Within moments, her sobbing lessened and she leaned heavily against Jo before Jo carefully laid the girl down and drew the covers back over her.
“She’ll sleep for several hours,” Shavic replied in a low tone. “She has suffered a severe trauma. Even though I was able to heal her physical wounds, I do not know how deep the mental ones have gone.”
“What do you think happened to her?” Manota asked, looking at Shavic.
Shavic shrugged his shoulders. “It was obvious she had been severely beaten. She had several fractured ribs, a broken wrist and a concussion. Scans showed that she’d had several breaks in the past that were not set correctly. I had to re-break some of the worse ones and regenerate the bone, otherwise she would have had difficulty later in life. She also had numerous scars along her back, arms and legs. I was able to smooth most but not all of them,” he replied grimly. “It is hard for me to accept that such a fragile creature should have been treated like that.”
“Was… was she sexually assaulted,” Jo asked hesitantly, unsure if she could stand the thought of the delicate girl lying there so silent having suffered such a fate.
“No, I don’t believe so,” Shavic responded. “The scans indicate she has never been sexually active.”
“How old do you think she is?” Manota asked, still uncomfortable with taking a child away from her world.
Shavic looked surprised at the question. “From her bone development and comparing it to that of Star, I would say she is at least twenty years of age.”
Manota breathed a sigh of relief. She was an adult. He would turn her care over to Walter and Nema. Both had already expressed that they would care for her once she left medical.
“When can she leave medical?” Jo asked, voicing Manota’s next question.
Shavic smiled down at the sleeping figure. “Let her sleep here tonight. Nema is coming in to relieve you. She can take her back with her when she wakes. If anyone can help her heal, I think Nema and the circus can. I have to admit, I’m thoroughly enjoying some of the acts they have been performing in the dining hall. Those clowns and the Mimes are unlike anything I have ever seen.”
Jo giggled. “They bring a touch of magic to your lives.”
“And a royal pain in my ass,” Manota muttered under his breath.
Jo rolled her eyes as she stood up. “Come on, grouch. Let’s go see those pains in your ass. I want you to see what they have been up to,” she laughed as she pulled him toward the door. “I’ll send Nema in to sit with Jane just in case she wakes up.”
“Have a good evening, my lady, my lord,” Shavic said with a grin. “I’ll be on call should Nema or Jane need me.”
Chapter 13
Jo laughed as Manota continued to mutter under his breath that he didn’t need to see what the humans had been up to, he had read the reports of what they had been up to all over his ship. She just ignored him and continued on to the large bay where they were keeping the equipment and the animals. While they had not set up the rides, they had set up the huge Big Top. They wanted to give the men something to see and do during the voyage. Kid Cozack and Marcus the Magnificent had talked to many of the warriors in the dining room and discovered that the only entertainment they got during a voyage was working out or training. The two men talked to Walter and the rest was history. Tonight was going to be the first big performance. Jo was practically buzzing with excitement.
“I want to go back to our living quarters,” Manota muttered. “I have had enough of your people. I am about to restrict them to their level and no other. I can’t run a warship with humans and clowns and Mimes and animals running around it,” he added stubbornly as they reached the corridor leading to the lower bay.
“You are such a big baby,” Jo teased.
“I am not a baby,” Manota growled before he froze as the Mimes came toward him. “What are they doing here?”
“Go with them,” Jo urged with a giggle as she darted behind them.
“Where are you going?” Manota called out in a combination of panic and rage.
“You’ll see,” Jo laughed, blowing him a kiss. “Go, do what they want and you will see something that you have never seen before,” she promised before she disappeared down the corridor.
He started to go after her but stopped when the two Mimes put their hands out. He paused, watching them warily. He glanced over his shoulder when he saw Kev, K’tar and about fifteen other warriors coming up behind him. There were several more warriors getting off the lift while othe
rs were coming up from different directions depending on their workstations.
“What’s going on?” Kev asked suspiciously. “An announcement was made that all off duty personnel not resting were to report to Bay 2.”
K’tar scowled. “I didn’t authorize any such directive. Someone overrode the communications system and sent it out.”
“And what the hell are they doing?” Kev asked nodding to the Mimes who were standing as if they were holding a door closed.
He was still seething about the female getting loose. A slow smile curved his lips at a sudden thought. She was in Bay 2. He had been unable to get into it to look for her. Now, they were opening the doors. His eyes lit up with determination. It was time to go hunting.
A chorus of laughter shook Manota, Kev and K’tar from their thoughts as the young warriors laughed as one of the Mimes came over to check out Shavic who was just arriving. Ricki was walking beside him. The Mime was doing a checklist of Shavic and shaking his head. He would reach over and pick some invisible lint from Shavic’s shirt and grimace. The other Mime came up and stood at attention in front of Shavic. While one Mime distracted Shavic, the other was making eyes at Ricki who was ignoring him.
Laughter spilled over as the Mime did everything he could to lure Ricki away from Shavic while the other continued to act like he was inspecting Shavic, pulling all matters of items from his clothing, including a small, white hairy creature that squeaked.
Soon, the sound of a loud gong sounded through the long full corridor. Both of the Mimes backed away, acted like they were unlocking the huge doors leading into the Bay then with a flourishing bow, they stepped back as the doors slid open.
Manota didn’t know what to expect but the darkened Bay was not it. He grunted as several of the younger warriors, anxious to see what was going on, pushed against him. He started to snap at them but one glance at their excited faces stopped his impatience. Even Kev and K’tar had stopped their grumbling as they stepped through the doors. Their eyes widened as a cool fog rose up around them. From out of the fog, colorful glowing lights appeared and disappeared.
