“Nice! I didn’t know the Waxians made ships like that,” Vice commented.
“They don’t. This one was reported stolen from a Kassisan development center ten years ago. The outer section has been modified, but the guts of the ship are anything but Waxian,” Jag replied.
Thunder frowned. “How do you know that it is a Kassisan ship?” he asked.
Jag looked toward the shadows behind them. They both turned and started when they saw the figure of a man standing near the window looking out into space. The man turned when he felt the eyes of the other men on him.
“This is Dakar,” Jag briefly introduced.
Thunder raised an eyebrow. “When did a Kassisan become part of the crew?” he asked.
“It was in the fine print that came with the cloaking devices we sent,” Dakar replied in a light tone.
“Why the hiding?” Vice asked with a raised eyebrow.
Dakar chuckled and stepped out of the shadows. Jag watched the other man warily as he walked across to the bar and refilled the glass in his hand. He tightened his jaw when the Kassisan studied the screen before he looked at them.
“Kassisans don’t typically hide. We prefer to observe from the shadows until we have a clear understanding of the situation—most of the time,” he added, lifting his glass to Vice.
“Riiiight,” Thunder said dubiously. “So, why is he here?” he asked.
Jag looked at Thunder in warning. “The fine print,” he replied with a hard edge to his voice.
Jag watched as Dakar glanced down at his drink and sighed before he swung one of the chairs around and sat down. He pointed to the screen. Jag returned his attention to the images floating above the table.
“Unbeknownst to us at the time, we had a traitor working with another alien species to overthrow the leadership of our world. The fallout and repercussions of Tai Tek’s treachery is still being felt. He was working with a group of rogue Tearnats, a species who was once our enemy, but has since become our ally. During that time, Tai Tek and Commander Trolis of the renegade Tearnats stole a prototype ship from us and sold it to an unknown species,” Dakar shared.
“The Waxians,” Thunder and Vice said at the same time.
“Actually, no.... But, it was recently brought to our attention that a Waxian stole the ship after killing the previous owner. We were able to trace the ship to Oculus IX, but it disappeared three years ago. Since then, the Kassisan star system has joined the Alliance, and we discovered a few other areas of concern that related to the Waxians and the Drethulans,” Dakar explained.
“Concerns?” Thunder asked with a raised eyebrow.
“The incident on Dises V has caused us all great concern. The ore they are mining can be made into an unusually strong, yet lightweight alloy. If combined with a unique energy source and the right technology, weapons and ships could be made that would have a devastating effect in the hands of the wrong people,” Dakar said.
“What unique energy source?” Vice asked, sitting forward.
Dakar glanced at Jag before he shrugged. “I’m not at liberty to say,” he replied.
“Do you trust him?” Vice asked, turning to look at Jag.
Jag’s mouth tightened. “Let’s just say I’m monitoring the situation,” he replied.
Dakar was the first one to start chuckling. Soon, Thunder and Vice joined in. Jag finally allowed a hint of a smile to show on his lips before he leaned forward in his chair.
“Now that we have the introductions out of the way, here is the latest update we have on the situation,” Jag said.
Aboard the Dauntless Explorer:
“We’ll be coming out of the jump soon. Hang on tight,” Edge warned, moving to take the seat that Andy had vacated. He brought up the scanners.
“Are the fighters still behind us?” Lina asked.
Edge nodded. “Yes, and there are now three additional warships approaching,” he said in a grim voice.
Gail rose from the co-pilot seat. “We’ll gear up and be ready for the bastards,” she said.
“I’ll take the port turret,” Lina said, stepping back so that Gail and Andy could pass her.
Edge looked over his shoulder when he felt her gaze on him. She was looking at him with a conflicted expression. He watched as she unconsciously worried her bottom lip.
“We will make it,” he softly vowed. Lina’s gaze moved to his hand. He turned his head and saw that his hand was trembling again. Curling his fingers into a fist, he looked up at her. “Be ready. The fighters will come in fast behind us. We will emerge near the remains of a large moon. I will use it to conceal us,” he said, turning back to focus on the controls.
He heard Lina murmur a soft acknowledgement before she turned and left. Uncurling his fingers, he stared down at his hand. A soft hiss escaped him when he saw several insects rising out from beneath his skin. Swallowing down the bile that rose in his throat, he refocused his attention on the controls, and carefully programmed in the safest, fastest route to the Alliance territory. He also set up an emergency message that would broadcast on a secure channel monitored by Alliance forces. They were still several weeks away from the closest Alliance controlled border.
He frowned when an unusual signal was emitted from the shield system again. It lasted only a brief second, but it was enough to trigger his internal warning system. An alert from the computer drew his attention to the fighters closing in on them.
The moon was made of pyroxene, a glass-like silicon type mineral, brilliant green in color. He was confident they would be able to find hundreds of caverns large enough to hide inside. The mineral’s unique composition would deflect any signals from the warship’s scanners. In essence, they would simply vanish.
It was a risky maneuver, but necessary. He would deploy decoy flares in different directions to divert the warships. Once the warships jumped, he would divert all power to the main engines and pass through the outer rim of Jawtaw space. While the Jawtaw were members of the Alliance, they were also neighbors to the Waxians. So, even if they wouldn’t attack a vessel emitting an emergency message on an Alliance channel, they might also look the other way if the Waxian warships attacked them.
“Brace yourselves. I will bring the ship around once we exit the jump. Lina, I will angle toward the port side so we are not vulnerable,” Edge warned through the com link.
“We’re ready,” Lina calmly replied.
Edge gritted his teeth and disengaged the jump propulsion system. The harness around his chest and shoulders tightened at the sudden decrease in speed. Tilting the retro rockets and releasing timed bursts, he swung the ship around. He reached for the forward weapons system controls even as his glance narrowed on the scanner showing the approaching fighters.
“Steady,” he murmured. ”Now!”
The two fighters appeared almost simultaneously from the black void. He released a series of bursts from the front cannons at the same time as Lina, Gail, and Andy did. The first fighter exploded and broke apart almost immediately. The second one verged to the left, but it was no match for the unexpected firepower of the Dauntless. In seconds, the second fighter joined the first in oblivion.
“Lina, I’m bringing in the port turret. Andy, Gail, be prepared for entry,” Edge advised.
“Entry? Into what?” Andy asked before her voice faded. “You have got to be fucking kidding me! A green glass house?”
Edge chuckled. “I do not remember Earth women having such colorful language,” he replied.
“You just didn’t hang out with the right ones,” Andy retorted.
“Obviously,” he responded.
He fired three long range decoys. The missile shaped cones floated away from the Dauntless. He waited until they were a ship’s length away before he fired the rocket systems at several second intervals. Each veered off in a different direction, before disappearing from sight.
With the decoys deployed, he focused on maneuvering the ship toward the moon while keeping an eye on the approaching
warships. The ion trails would be easy to recognize. Not willing to use the main engines, he used the impulse jets to guide the ship toward the moon.
“I really hope you know how to fly this thing in very tight spaces,” Gail muttered.
“Can you?” Lina asked.
Edge huffed as he gently rotated the ship, aligning it with the entrance to a dark cavernous hole in the moon. The lights of the ship reflected off the mirrored green surface.
“Yes, I can,” he finally replied when they cleared an exceptionally narrow section.
“I think I’m going to need a clean pair of panties,” Andy muttered over the comlink.
Gail’s choked laugh was heard on the bridge. “You and me both, sister,” she retorted.
Edge leaned forward and cut off the power to all but the most essential systems. The soft red glow from the emergency lights lit the bridge. Rising from his seat, he turned Lina’s chair until she faced him. Drinking in the sight of her, he couldn’t help but think she was the most beautiful, strongest woman he had ever met.
“What?” she asked with a puzzled expression.
Edge lifted his hand and ran his fingers along her jaw. He never wanted to forget the feel of her skin against his fingers or the taste of her lips against his. Bending over, he drew her up until she was standing in front of him.
“What is it?” she asked again.
He threaded his fingers in her hair. “I want you to know that I have come to care very deeply for you,” he said.
“I…. Edge, I don’t… I can’t…,” she murmured, fear, sadness, and confusion warring in her eyes.
He gently laid his thumb against her lips. “I want you to know you have given me a gift that I never thought I would ever receive. I… love you, Lina. I love you,” he repeated softly before he bent and captured her lips.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Lina sat in the top turret, staring up at the green crystals. She pulled her legs up onto the seat and wrapped her arms around them before resting her chin on her knees. She had sought a place where she could be alone for a little while.
“What am I going to do?” she whispered to herself.
The incident over an hour ago had shaken her. There was no doubt in her mind that he had spoken to her from the heart. He loved her. The big Trivator warrior loved her. But… what did she feel for him?
Tears burned her eyes when she tried to come to terms with everything that had happened. She knew she was physically attracted to him. Their lovemaking was hot enough to scorch the inside of the ship. She enjoyed being around him. He had a good sense of humor, something that had definitely taken her by surprise, but he was also considerate to others, caring, and unselfish. It was a side of him she hadn’t wanted to see.
“Why? Why is this happening to me?” she pleaded.
She rubbed her eyes. Bowing her head, she blindly stared at the weapon controls. She had given up on love. She had built a wall of ice around her heart. How could this wounded Trivator—one tied to the very heartache she had dealt with for so long—touch her the way he did? She should hate him.
“Out of every person in the universe, why did it have to be him?” she muttered, wiping at a tear that escaped down her cheek.
She closed her eyes and let the memories come. Memories that she had sealed behind the same wall of ice that she’d thought encased her heart. No matter how hard she braced herself for what came with the memories, it still hit her like shards of metal piercing her body and sucking the life from her.
“Leon, help me understand,” she begged.
Earth—ten years before:
Lina looked up at Leon. In the faint glow from the moon, he still took her breath away. His light brown, shaggy hair drooped down over his forehead. She needed to give him a haircut. His hair grew so fast and stuck out everywhere, no matter how hard he tried to comb it. It was probably because he was always running his hands through it.
He loved the freedom of running the streets at night. He was always trying to get closer to the Trivators. Personally, she didn’t understand why. The aliens scared her. They were big and looked mean.
There was one she had been watching lately down near the river. He was different from most of the others. Usually, he wore his hair long and unbound. He was also broader in the chest than most of the others and had muscles on top of muscles. Unlike the other warriors who wore a vest to protect themselves against the chilled winds coming off of Lake Michigan, he only wore a leather harness for his weapons, and his pants were low-slung.
Several of the other girls had talked about him. Hell, Mirela and Mechelle had dragged her out to go check him out three times so far. Tim had given her hell when he caught them returning from the waterfront. Colbert was causing issues, and he wanted her to stay close to the main base.
She did, except when she was with Leon. The nights were theirs. They would find spots to spy on the Trivators before finding a place where they could lay out under the stars, dream, and hold each other close. Leon’s favorite place of all was the Adler Observatory along the banks of Lake Michigan.
That was where they had been heading again tonight, until they saw several Trivators, including the one with the long black hair, patrolling the area. Now they were hiding in the parking garage a few blocks away from the observatory, waiting for Trivators to pass. She slid down along the short wall of the parking garage and looked at Leon.
“I know you’ve always dreamed of going, but… what about me…? What about us?” she asked.
The thought of what it would be like to leave Earth and possibly never see it, her brother, or her friends again scared her. She looked up when Leon turned and grabbed her hand. He pulled her close, bending to press a kiss to her lips.
“We’ll go together,” he promised, his eyes glittering with excitement.
“You’re crazy,” she whispered with a rueful grin. “And how do you plan on doing this marvelous thing? You know Tim will probably have us both locked up if he even knew you were thinking of leaving the planet, especially with me.”
“Tim, Destin, Colbert, blah, blah, blah. They have no sense of adventure. Think of what it would be like, Lina.” He turned and waved his hand up at the sky. “To see the stars up close. To go where no one has ever gone before….”
“Except the aliens and all the other aliens,” she couldn’t help but interject.
“Except for everyone else,” he chuckled. “We could see the universe, Lina! Not Paris or Rome or Key West, but the universe!”
Her heart melted when he turned to look at her. His whole face was lit up with excitement. Leaning forward, she tangled her hands in his hair and kissed him with a passion that shook both of them.
“I want to be your wife, Leon. Tonight,” she murmured against his lips. “I do want to go with you to the stars. As long as we are together, we’ll make our own world.”
Leon started to reply when the sound of someone kicking a tin can drew their attention. They scrambled to their feet when three men and a woman appeared out of the shadows between two cars. Leon pushed Lina behind him.
“Well, well, well, what do we have here? Some lovebirds,” the woman mocked.
Lina’s gaze narrowed in anger. The girl wasn’t much older than she was but she looked rough. She had grown up on the streets as well, but there were still parts that Tim and Destin protected her from and this was one of them.
“We were just leaving,” Leon said, sliding to the side.
“I don’t know what your hurry is. It looks like a fine night for a little fun,” one of the men said, spitting on the ground.
“Destin and Tim will be expecting us,” Lina said, hoping that dropping Destin and her brother’s name would be a deterrent.
The four looked at each other and chuckled. “I guess you’ll just have to be fashionably late,” the woman replied, eyeing Leon with a wicked smile. “I’m feeling like having a little fun with nerd boy here.”
Lina gripped Leon’s arm and pulled him several
steps away from the group. They had two advantages in their favor. They were fast and they knew the area. If they could get away far enough from this group, they could disappear in the rubble of the city.
The man standing next to the woman must have realized they might try to run because he lifted his hand, showing the gun he held. The menacing laughter grew when they heard Leon and her take in a swift breath. Lina’s mind raced as she tried to think of a way out.
“Help! We need help!!” Leon shouted, his voice echoing through the otherwise quiet night.
She was surprised when Leon suddenly yelled at the top of his voice. She could tell that his shout for help was not what the other four were expecting either. The man with the gun lowered his arm and looked at his friends.
Twisting around, Leon grabbed her arm and pulled her after him. They ran like the hounds of hell were on their heels. She heard the woman curse and the sound of pounding feet behind them.
Leon jumped over the low wall and reached for her. She grabbed his extended hand, and they took off down the deserted street lined with broken down, abandoned cars and the crumbled remains of buildings. Darting behind a large truck, they turned down a narrow alley.
“Turn left,” she said.
They turned left at the end of the alley and dashed across the street. Behind them, she could hear the heavy sound of breathing. They had made it two blocks when she tripped on a loose piece of concrete. Her hand slipped from his and she fell, twisting at an odd angle. Sharp pain lanced through her ankle, and she bit her lip hard enough to make it bleed in an effort to keep the cry of pain from escaping.
“Come on,” Leon quietly encouraged her.
She tried to stand, but the pain in her ankle was too much and she fell again, bruising her knees. Shaking her head, she motioned for him to keep going. Her ankle was throbbing, and she wasn’t sure if it was just sprained or broken.