Arianna's Alien

by Reagan Woods

  Chapter Seventeen

  “I’m not asking for your permission, Darvan. I’m telling you what you’re going to do,” Councilor Darkan’s obsidian eyes flashed his displeasure.

  “Yes, sir,” Darvan bit back the invective threatening to spew from his mouth. He didn’t work his way into the history books as the youngest Galactic General of a CORANOS armada by blatantly disrespecting the wishes of the High Council.

  “I believe Arianna is trustworthy, I think you’ll find she helped them under duress,” Darvan bit off the words of his final protest. Running a hand through his hair in an uncharacteristic show of frustration, he closed his eyes and allowed himself a deep breath. What Darkan was asking him to do went against the grain but, whether Arianna was a pawn or an active participant, she’d already been pulled into the conflict. In order to convince the Council that she had acted out of desperation, they needed more information. Information that it appeared only she and Jorkan could provide.

  The fact that Darvan was forbidden from warning her about what was coming her way filled him with foreboding. Memories of her battered and bloody body, so fresh in his mind, made him want to hide her away and protect her. Officially, the Council was calling for her head. Darkan was reaching out privately with a plan for Arianna to gather information for the Council, thereby mitigating the consequences for her actions. This compromise might save her life but would likely bite him in the ass for the rest of his.

  “Be that as it may, she cannot know. She is an unknown quantity. An untested ally is no ally at all. We cannot trust her with this information. You gave Jorkan the opportunity to influence her and he took it. We have no idea how skewed her loyalties have become. Depending on the depth of the reconditioning, she might not even know she’s been compromised. If you – no – if we are wrong about her, she could give away everything. The whole of the CORANOS people are at risk,” Darkan’s voice softened, they both knew he would get his way. There wasn’t any other viable option.

  “There can be no delay.”

  The screen in front of Darvan went blank. He might as well get this last unpleasant task checked off his list before picking Arianna up from the medical bay and enacting Darkan’s plan. She’d probably never forgive him and he doubted either of them would look forward to peace any time soon. However, Darkan was right. This plan would draw out the conspirators.

  “Victory,” he addressed the ship’s communication system.

  “Go ahead,” the melodic voice answered.

  “Please establish a communications connection to Cor I, Sector Three.”

  “Connection established. Go ahead.”

  “Darvan, it’s good to see your face. With such terrible news coming out of the Council Chambers this rotation….well, you’re a welcome sight.” The Corian woman on-screen was beautifully elegant even in her grief.

  “I’m sorry to have failed you.” He would make no excuses. Not to her. She deserved better than that. She demanded it.

  “Darling, you could never be a failure. You preserved our claim to the blue planet and, in doing so, defended our way of life. You have faithfully executed your duties to you people. The situation is as simple as that.”

  Her graceful understanding was a balm to the raw loss he’d suffered today. He really should com Miska more often.

  “I lost Vank.” It couldn’t be avoided and it broke his heart to see tears well in such a strong woman’s eyes. She was tougher than he gave her credit for. She blinked the tears away and squared her shoulders.

  “So your uncle Darkan said. Have faith in the One. You did not lose Vank. I refuse to believe he is gone, because, you see, I can still feel his heart beating,” she brought her tightly closed fist to her heart.

  Her copper-colored eyes implored, willed, him to believe her words. Darvan was well-versed in this form of denial. He knew the High Council would have already informed the families of the others lost on the Horizon but, he’d had to make this call to his mother.

  “I wish I could hold out some hope. I do. I’ve got ships on patrol looking for any pods that survived the final blast. But Vank was the highest ranking warrior aboard the Horizon. He would never have abandoned his post,” Darvan said with a heavy heart.

  “Listen to me: Vank is not dead. He might be hurt, he might be suffering but he is NOT dead,” she insisted.

  They were silent for a few moments. He really didn’t want to have this conversation with her now. She was a force to be reckoned with any day. After losing her second son, she would be justifiably angry with his decision.

  Clearing his throat awkwardly, he shifted his weight from one foot to the other trying to work up his nerve.

  “My brother seemed to think you would have some cheering news. I can only hope you’ve decided to come home and be bonded,” she perked up marginally at the thought.

  “Not exactly. I’ve decided to take a bond-mate from among the Earthers.”

  Miska brought a hand to her head, clearly feeling overwhelmed and dizzy. Darvan could see her eyes darting back and forth as she searched for the key to changing his mind.

  “Nonsense, my son,” she sniffed dismissively. “You are Darvan D’Corian; eldest descendent of kings and conquerors of star systems and the youngest Galactic General the Alliance has ever seen. You will come home and accept a worthy mate from amongst your noble peers.”

  “Talk to Uncle Darkan, Mother. We believe this is the best way to gain control of this situation,” he said tersely.

  Silence reigned for several moments.

  “What about you? Your happiness?” his mother asked quietly.

  “Do you think I’d be happier marrying a virtual stranger?”

  “No, I think you’d be happier marrying someone of your own race. Someone who understands your culture and your position, the symbol you represent to your people.”

  “We’ll just have to help her understand, won’t we? I can count on you, can’t I, Mother?”

  She was silent again for several long minutes.

  Darvan didn’t want to push her in this hour of grief. He knew she would grieve for his decision as well as Vank’s loss and there was only so much pain he was willing to mete out to his beloved mother in one day.

  “I’ll talk to your father,” she finally responded. “I love you, my son. I will always be proud of you.”

  After Miska signed off, Darvan briefly contemplated collecting Arianna and running. But running wasn’t his style. His mother was right, his pedigree and upbringing demanded he see this through with as much honor as he could muster.

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  Pulling Arianna behind him, Darvan ducked into a large room and sealed the door. He’d taken her to the infirmary for a scan of her injuries from the fire fight. The medics had given her a series of injections against the pain blooming over her body and in her head. She felt much, much better.

  “Ok, I recognize some of this equipment,” she surmised they were in a holoroom.

  “Yes, it’s similar to the hologym you use,” Darvan agreed tapping away at a control panel.

  “So why’d you bring me here?” He seemed on edge and she couldn’t blame him. Seeing to a mundane task like a captive’s emergency preparedness training was certainly beneath a general. She was certain he should be dealing with the fall-out from the Ventix skirmish.

  “For this,” they were standing in a holographic replica of the command deck.

  “Ummmm….why are we here?” she studied him while he looked anywhere but directly at her. It hurt that he wouldn’t meet her eyes. Was he regretting their shared intimacy of that morning? She tried to brush the thought away, telling herself that he was busy after the attack, but it stuck in her head, making her feel rejected.

  “If something happens to this ship, I want you to have a fighting chance at survival. In order to insure that you do, I need to make sure that you know how to reach the life pods from the areas that you are likely to spend time in. Upon review of your studies, I see that none of
the emergency protocols were introduced to you.”

  “I don’t see what good this will do me,” she stated calmly. “I’m unable to fly an escape pod or anything else you have here.”

  “The pods do not require a pilot.”

  He engaged the manual control and suddenly they were standing in a reasonable facsimile of his quarters.

  “Let me rephrase: I have no desire to float around in an escape pod and wait for a rescue that might never come.”

  “You will not defy me in this. We’re finding that some of the crew and civilians of the Hope were given explicit instructions to wait until the conflict passed before they turned on their locator beacons. We did not suffer nearly the loss of life that I believed we had. Someone will come for you,” his copper eyes held hers, waiting for her capitulation.

  “They survived? That’s great news!”

  “Not all survived. Several key crew members stayed aboard the Horizon. They were likely killed when the warp core shorted out. Their energy trail disappeared in the same direction as the Ventix ship’s wormhole. It appears as though they chased the Ventix through the space fold that their ship generated. The Ventix should not even possess space-folding technology. Our scientists hold the secret of creating a wormhole deep within the labs of a heavily guarded military base. In addition, some of the pods are still missing,” he said grimly, making her regret her selfish need for his attention.

  He instructed her in the proper procedures for boarding the life pods and ran through the various launch commands over and over. Giving another verbal command, they were standing in a holographic representation of his office. Again, he guided her to the launch deck.

  “Now, let’s do it all again,” he said when the sequence was finished.

  She oriented herself and began counting doors and hallways. She took a few wrong turns but managed to find her way to the launch deck.

  Damn, couldn’t someone put a sign up? “Evacuation route”, “Escape pods this way”, or even an old-fashioned “Exit” sign would be nice.

  “You might have survived the slowest moving catastrophe in recorded history,” he commented when she completed her first solo launch.

  “Queue it up again,” she knew he would insist she get it right.

  “I’ll be in my office. I’ve added a limited access profile to this command console for you. I will return for you when I’m done for the work cycle. Whatever happens, I need you to keep an open mind, Arianna,” he said gently.

  “I don’t see where I have much choice,” she agreed quietly, wishing she could ease some of his stress.

  “No. Neither do I.” He looked as though he wanted to say more. Instead he gave her a too brief, hard kiss and left her to practice the evacuation drills.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Is he gone?” a soft voice asked in English.

  Whirling around, Arianna searched in vain for the source of the voice.

  “Do you speak English? Spanish? Portuguese? Can you help me? Please?” the voice started to sound hysterical.

  “Where are you?” Arianna’s eyes scanned the room as she spun in a slow circle. Was she going crazy? Had she made up another Earther in an effort to stave off the loneliness?

  “I think I’m in the wall but I can see you,” the voice was definitely feminine and definitely confused. And definitely real.

  “I think you’re in a maintenance access panel but I can’t see it. Keep talking,” Arianna encouraged. She’d believed she was the only Earther aboard the ship, but apparently another alien had a captive, too.

  “Ummmm….ok. I’m looking at your back right now,” the voice said helpfully.

  “My name is Arianna Wellingcourt. What’s yours?” Arianna moved towards the back wall of the holoroom.

  “Nora. Nora Martinez. Pleased to meet you, Arianna,” Nora’s voice sounded relieved.

  “Likewise,” Arianna began slowly feeling her way across the wall. “Nora, can you knock on the access panel for me? It must be a one-way viewer because everything looks the same here. And the holowall is all in one piece.”

  A muffled knock came through the wall to Arianna’s right. Sliding questing hands along the perfectly smooth surface of the wall, she quickly realized this problem was not as easy to solve as she’d hoped.

  Blowing out a frustrated breath she asked, “Nora do you see any buttons or release mechanisms on your side of the wall?”

  “No. There’s nothing here. I’m standing in the middle of a three-foot-wide floor-to-ceiling window, I think. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful but could you please hurry? The alien will probably come looking for me soon,” Nora sounded panicked again.

  “I guess com’ing the General is definitely out if you’re AWOL,” Arianna said wryly. “How much space have you got in there?”

  “I have close to a foot behind me. I came through a sort of access hall, I think. I’m still a little fuzzy on the details,” she answered with a light laugh.

  “Ok. See if you can move away from the window. Maybe go back down the hall,” Arianna advised. “I’m going to try to kick through the glass.”

  “Oh my. I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Nora came back. “You’re just a tiny little thing and you’re barefoot. And in a dress, honey, what are you thinking? Maybe you ought to let me try kicking through from my side. I’m feeling a bit woozy but I can give it a try.”

  Backing away and to the side, Arianna gave the wall in front of Nora a thumbs-up. A loud thud followed by a grunt and a string of Spanish curse words sounded through the wall.

  “I’ve got you, you son-of-a-,” Nora kicked the wall several times in succession.

  The wall slid open with a loud hiss on her fifth attempt. A beautifully voluptuous, if dusty, young woman tumbled into the holoroom.

  “Oooof!” Nora landed on her hands and knees with a thud. “That’s definitely going to leave a mark,” she muttered.

  “Let me help you up,” Arianna moved toward the woman huddled on the floor.

  Nora slowly sat back on her heels and flipped her mass of curly brown hair out of her eyes. The flawless dark olive skin of her face was liberally streaked with dust and sweat. Even filthy, she was a stunning example of Latina beauty.

  She accepted Arianna’s outstretched hand with a smile that reached all the way to her sparkling coffee-colored eyes.

  “Thank you, Arianna. I’d love to stay and chat but I think we should make our escape while we’ve got the chance,” Nora stood brushing futilely at the dust on the knees of her ripped and faded jeans. Pushing to her feet, she straightened the worn blue plaid work shirt.

  “Where would you suggest we go?” Arianna was genuinely perplexed.

  Nora appeared to be in her early 20’s. Her curvy figure showed no signs of the starvation that most Earthers had endured. Standing close to six feet tall, the other girl looked the picture of strength and health.

  She doesn’t look delusional but what do delusional people really look like?

  “I know that desert looks daunting but I was raised not too far from here. I think I can get us to the old U.S. Air Force bunker out West pretty easily. There was a rumor of a camp of survivors out that way.”

  “Nora, where do you think we are?”

  “Well, we’re at the alien holding camp in the WCG territory of Texas, silly,” Nora looked at her as though she were simple.

  “What’s the last thing you remember?” Arianna asked carefully.

  “The freaky alien grabbed me out of my bunk and told me I’d been chosen for something special. Then I woke up stuffed somewhere behind that wall,” she pointed to the open panel.

  “Oh boy. Nora, while you slept you took a little trip,” she tried to break the news gently. “There isn’t any place for us to go. We’re on the Victory, the CORANOS flagship in our galaxy.”

  Visibly paling Nora moaned, “This can’t be happening.”

  “I assure you, it is happening,” Jorkan strode through the opening in the wall that Nora ha
d emerged from and immediately the girl crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

  “What!?! What did you do to her?” Arianna shrieked.

  “Quiet, female!” Jorkan backhanded her almost casually across her face. His blow split her lip and knocked her to the ground.

  He bent quickly and slung all five-foot-ten-inches of Nora over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

  “Get up and walk” he jerked Arianna to her feet like a rag doll. “I thought you’d be locked in detention by now, but look who found you instead.”

  He gave a nasty laugh and propelled her in front of him into the dusty passage. She heard the hidden panel slide shut and they were engulfed in pitch darkness. He shoved her forward and she stumbled over something in the darkness.

  “Ouch. Hey!” The big toe on her right foot was almost certainly broken now.

  Fuck that hurt!

  “Jorkan, what are you doing?” She practically screamed. There had to be CORANOS warriors on the other side of this wall.

  “Shut your mouth,” he snarled. “This passage is unknown to all but a select few. It’s mostly sound-proofed but I will not allow you to risk my operation. One more word and your new friend will suffer. I told you I’d let you see other Earthers,” he laughed derisively. “Imagine my surprise when I went to steal you from the brig and you were nowhere to be found. Then my little good luck charm here,” he patted the unconscious girl’s rump. “Found you all on her own.”

  They shuffled along in the darkness for what seemed like hours. Her lip throbbed and her bare feet were cold and aching from constant contact with the grates in the metal floor. The screaming agony of her broken toe made her acutely aware of every step she took.

  She surreptitiously swiped as much blood from her bleeding mouth on the passage walls as she could. Finally, the cold temperature clotted the blood at her mouth, effectively ending her bloody trail.

  A faint glow appeared in front of them and she forced her aching feet to speed towards it. Jorkan growled out a warning behind her and she slowed her advance. She really didn’t want another slap from the big bastard.