Claimed: The Warriors of Nur (6 page)

Refocusing, she listened intently to the last audio clip,

‘
Cataloging planetary series, 13579ZAP.  Referenced as inhabitable; planetary inhabitants referenced as undetermined variant. 
Twin Encounter
will continue to un-cataloged quadrant…ZAR with in…
’ there was a faint scraping in the background, followed by a static rumble before the file terminated. 

She wondered again, what could’ve happened.  The investigation team reported only that upon recovering the craft, they’d discovered the ship rendered unable to support humanoid life.  Well, that at least explained why her sister launched one of the EPs, but there was confusion as to what caused the system to fail.  Leo was meticulous when it came to the
Twin Encounter
; of the two of them, Leo had definitely inherited the OCD gene, so something…external… had to have happened; there was no other explanation. 

She answered the softly chiming communications signal on the table beside her.

“Systems’ Report?”

There was no need to ask who it was.  There were only three others on the recovery craft, and of those three, only one would bother with the com system.  Recovery and Retrieval was deployed in teams of four.  As Lead Officer, she decided who she teamed with, and selected people she could trust.  The one unknown was the new guy.  Turner… Toner, or something like that.  She’d needed someone to complete the roster, and was required to provide field training on one out of every nine deployments.  Up side was…he was still wet, which meant…scared shitless.  Down side was… those were the ones who wanted to follow all the rules.  Time would tell, but if he got in the way, or just got really annoying, she could always toss him in one of the recovery quarantine units.  They were used to quarantine any retrieval until cleared of any infectious contaminants they may have come in contact with while awaiting recovery.  They were quiet, safe, and inescapable.

“Systems fine…” that deep grumble belonged to her second in command. “  You coming out or are we coming in?”

Sighing, she terminated the audio feed.  “I’m good TK…be up in 60.”

“You get 30…”

Glaring, she disconnected.  He was worried, she got it, but she wasn’t mental, not yet anyway.  It’d been forty-eight hours since they deployed, and she’d spent forty-six of them with the audio feed on repeat.  There had to be something on there to indicate what happened, but she hadn’t found it yet.  Either way, she couldn’t keep it up. 

Aside from Leo, there was someone else they were supposed be retrieving.  With Leo’Nya, being listed MWHR, she technically wasn’t able to deploy for recovery, so she’d opted for a subject that would take them in the general direction of the quadrant where her sister had abandoned her craft.  They had seven days before reaching quadrant ZAR.  In that time, she needed to figure out which direction Leo had gone.  If she knew what caused the system failure, it might give her a clue.  For now, she’d reassure her crew of her sanity.  She had to eat anyway, so why not kill two birds?  Conversate and eat: no better way to say…“I’m not a nutcase…you can back off now.”

So why do I feel like I’m barely holding it together? 
 

Heading towards the commons, she unconsciously inspected her environment as she went.  The interior was unremarkable, the same institutional white of every ship off IAESC’s line.  Visibly, nothing distinguished it from any other, but Avi loved this ship, and the freedom it gave her.  On the
Lost and Found,
she could be herself, and no one was allowed here without her permission.  Unlike most of the R&R crafts, hers was not owned by the IAESC--not anymore.  It was the first major purchase she’d ever made.  After five years working for The Alliance, she opted to buy the vessel instead of continuing to pilot a company craft.  There weren’t many things that Avi’Nyla Zesiro needed, but a home, a home that no one could take, was one of them. 

As kids, they didn’t have a home—they had only places they lived until their parents were evicted.  Even the dumbest landlords usually took only a few months to realize that they weren’t getting paid, and then it was on to the next dank, infested hole in the wall. They’d left home at fourteen, but who rented to kids?  Though the legal age of independence had been lowered to sixteen in the late 22
nd
century, no one would risk squatting two fourteen year olds without parental consent, and those that
would
wanted the girls to pay rent in ways that they were unwilling to pay.  It was safer on the street, and when it got too cold, they found shelter in abandoned buildings.  The first ‘home’ they’d had was the barracks at the IAESC new recruit training facility; even then they lived in fear of being eliminated from the program.  The
Lost and Found
meant they always had a home. 

The commons was occupied by two of the other three habitants: De’Lhila, her Med-Tech and Weapons Officer, and Kingston, her Second and Retrieval Time Keeper. Lhila and TK.  Lhila made sure their weapons stayed deadly; TK made sure they didn’t run out of time, or air, when ‘Recovering.’  They’d been together for the last four years.  Aside from Leo, she trusted no one more.

“You’re late, AB…”

“Back off, TK…she’s here.”

Neither even glanced her way.  The dynamic had been set years ago.  TK was the protective big ‘brother.’ , Though he would have preferred it otherwise, he’d long ago resigned himself to having a platonic relationship with Avi.  She was just too wacked when it came to the male-female sex…or Avi- anyone sex thing, so TK dealt and moved on.  Not that he wasn’t sex-you-any way-you-want-me-too fuckable; at 6’3”, he towered over most men she knew.  He’d popped out right before the FDA banned the use of hormonal enhancements in mass livestock and produce production, which was evidenced by the overabundance of muscle mass he carried.  Med-Recs had him close to 300 pounds.  His eyes alone turned women idiotic.  The deep swirling cobalt, reminiscent of a summer storm, sat framed by thick cinnamon lashes and brows, all made more dramatic by the toasty yellow of his skin, which definitely made him prime reproduction material…for anyone but Avi.  To her…he was family. 

Lhila was a mystery to most.  She was abso-fuckin-lutly stunning.  At 5’9”, 190 pounds, she was what would’ve been referred to as a ‘brick shit house’ in olden days.  Dark, rich, cocoa skin stretched lovingly over lush curves.  Wide, thickly lashed, amber eyes sat within a heart shaped face with lips plumped by Mother Nature herself.  Her midnight black hair parted in the middle into braided pigtails.  She was the most sexually evocative female Avi had ever met—and the most lethal.  Lhila could make an ultra-blunt spoon into an instrument of death, given time and motivation.  All that lush ripeness housed a heart and mind of cold, tempered steel.  Males drooled over her, which garnered De’Lhila’s loathing and disgust, but Lhila dug females.  Most males didn’t get it…shit… Avi didn’t get it; she didn’t care either.  Second to Leo, Lhila was the closest friend Avi had.  She’d protect her with her life, just as TK and Lhila would do the same.

“’Sup guys…” grabbing an apple from the bowl kept full on the center table, she took a bite out of its crisp juiciness.  She loved fruit.  Not the synth-ed stuff, none of the food on the
Lost and Found
was synthesized.  She hated the taste.  While most couldn’t tell the difference, it was like night and day to someone who grew up eating only cheap synth-ed food.  Fruit was her favorite; the natural sweetness was like nirvana on her tongue.

“You good, AB?”

“No worries.”  They didn’t need to know just how worried she truly was. Not yet. “New Guy?”

“Um…inspecting the . . . um…quarantine units.”

A muffled chuckle escaped TK.  “Already, Lhila…it’s only been two days!” she used the apple to cover a grin.

“He kept trying to…talk… to me.  He’s very annoying.”  She didn’t sound at all repentant. 

“How long has he been…inspecting them?”

“Only one or…er. . . five hours.”

“Five hours, Lhila…on the second day?”  She shook her head in feigned disgust.

Either Lhila was losing her legendary patience, or New Guy was reeeeaally annoying.  Sighing, she turned to TK. “Rock-paper-scissors.” It would have to be one of them to let him out.  They both knew it wouldn’t be Lhila. 

“Not like he’ll die in there..…”  Lhila grumbled as she picked at the fettuccini or her plate. 

Must’ve been TK’s turn to cook; that man sure did love pasta. 

“Best 3 out of 5.”  She said.  “Winner’s gotta get him.”

CHAPTER FIVE

Erol burned.  Flames licked greedily at his brutalized and overheated skin. 

It melted, reformed and melted again. 

He wildly fought the
ħażen
that held him down, that kept him from his female.  Her scent was quickly fading, was almost lost to him.  He struggled harder to break free.

She’s MINE!  No one else will have her!
 

He opened his mouth to scream…to yell…to rail… but nothing, not a word, or single sound escaped.

I am Erol Dima…I am worthy…she is mine!
 

No trace of her lingered.  No echoing scent.  She was gone. 

Inhaling convulsively, he fought.  More hands pulled at him, more heat engulfed him. 

I will find you!
, he screamed, before being consumed by the flames.

Neron watched his brother thrash restlessly.  It’d been two moon coverings since they’d found him, half dead from blood loss and fever. 

“What female does he call to…fight for?”

Head bowed, he frowned grimly as his eldest brother continued to fight wildly, pulling at the ties that bound him to the
kerrikot
.

“It’s the fever…the dreams that come.  You know as well as I, Atif, it is what he wants most.  Though he does not show us…he longs for a female…a mate of his own.
”

He pressed a cool cloth to his brother’s fevered brow.  They’d journeyed through one moon covering to find him lying amongst the rotting corpses of another clan.  They’d thought him dead after scenting his blood.  He’d thrashed weakly, uttering muffled growls.  It’d taken them both to secure him to the
kerrikot
, and he worsened as they neared their home, his thrashing growing wilder, his calls more insistent, his torment made obvious in the frantic motions of his weakened body. 

“He doesn’t heal, Neron.”  Atif gave voice to the concern they both held.  “What if he…?”

“He will heal.”  Neron interrupted.  There was no other option.  He wouldn’t allow anything else.  “We take him to the
Tobba
.”  He lifted the
kerrikot
onto his shoulders, balancing the weight between them. 

The
Tobba
were a clan solely female.  Something almost never heard of.  For the Gwerriera Nies, they were a direct connection to the power and healing of their Goddess Mother.  Their divine status allowed them to live unmated, so they could willingly offer their bodies without being claimed, and if they chose to remain uninitiated, all accepted that, respected it as their right.  Unmated males curried favor with the
Tobba
to be blessed with a female to mate. 
Mati
was the bond all males fought for; without it, bloodlines would end.  Erol never curried favor of
Mati
.  To him it was as if asking for something undeserved.  He’d wait for the Goddess Mother to bless him unmolested by his pleas.  Instead, he chose to prove himself strong, patient, and willing to accept her gifts as they came.  It was his heart’s strongest desire to find
Mati
, yet he refused to seek the
Tobba
.  It would anger him to be taken to them, but it was an anger Neron would willingly storm in order to heal his brother and keep him with him.

“He won’t thank us for this, brother.”  Atif murmured softly.

“He won’t have to…I’ll take his life with scorn, not his death with approval,” he declared hotly.  With resignation deeply etched, they turned to the northern mountains, to the home of the
Tobba
.

Leo whimpered brokenly, her body aching in abused disrepair.  Her stomach groaned loudly, knotting with neglect.  At first, she’d wondered if her captors had forgotten to feed her, but now she understood this to be their intent. 

I can’t remember the last time I ate, or even what it was …
she closed her eyes, letting the intense way of grief pour over her. 

The last time was with him…right before…
 

Forcefully, she pushed the image from her mind.  She didn’t want to remember him lying still…dying in his own blood.  The fight had been vicious: the snarling, the clawing, the hissing groans and jagged howls, all creatures of imagination…of nightmare.  When all was silent, she’d been yanked from the protective crouch of Tarzan’s body and forced to leave him there, to let him die.  She’d fought when Kereteki had dragged her from hiding.  Her fight-or-flight reflex had been honed in infancy, and the ‘fight’ kicked in way faster than ‘flight,’ so she’d attacked.  Even injured, he’d been powerful, subduing her brutally.  She could still feel the blinding pain of being slammed to the ground, her face not two feet from the eviscerated remains of another.  He’d stripped her bare, striking and bruising her when she’d fought him, and when she refused to cower, to cover her body, to obediently come, he’d dragged her. 

She looked in disgust at the long tail of her hair that trailed the floor beside her.

Oh, Avi. You always told me I should cut my hair…
  she groaned. 
Gallows humor… really?  Avi would…
Avi.  Was it only days ago that she’d fought to return to her pod?  No longer did she pray that her sister would find her.  She wouldn’t watch her be brutalized and abused. 

Avi was always the one to take the brunt.  As kids, she’d ‘act out’ to deflect attention from Leo.  To the world, she was directly outspoken, throwing off an aura of undiminishable courage and bravado,; but Leo’s heart bled for every harsh word and every thoughtless deed that weighted the wall that surrounded her sister’s’ incredibly vulnerable heart.  No, she’d suffer this abuse alone.  She’d suffer much more to succor her sister. 

In the hours of journeying to his home, she’d watched the vile male she now knew to be Kereteki weaken; she had watched his strength wane.  He appeared older than her Tarzan; his skin was not as smooth, its color more sallow.  His powerful body, slightly bent with pain, held less muscle.  His hair, less lush, trailed thinly down his back in greying black tails.  His injury appeared to be festering.  He’d tried once to use her body, prying and pulling at her mouth until her lips were bruised and swollen to twice their normal size.  She’d taken a lunging snap with her teeth in the direction of his boy parts, which earned her a swollen throat and brief stint into unconsciousness, but he never tried to force a blow job again.  He’d never tried to fuck her either. ‘A gift for his sons’ he’d called her.  Personally, she didn’t think he was capable, but far be it from her to lament her non-rape. 

After the first moon covering, they’d been met by a younger male, his son, she guessed.  His eyes stayed cast submissively down, away from her exposed, maltreated body, and by the second moon covering, they’d reached his home.  Kereteki had been delirious with fever by then, and increasingly brutal in his treatment.  Weak from hunger and abusive neglect, she’d been unable to defend herself when they’d forcefully bound her to the floor.

Footsteps approached.  Leo curled up into a reclining position instead of flat, her weight supported by her bound hands.  The chains they’d used, made of some kind of metal alloy, didn’t allow for much … of anything.  Their length limited her to either lying flat or slightly reclined as she was now.  Her stomach knotted and cramped again in protest. 

“Drink.,” commanded the approaching footsteps.

Leo drank greedily from the fruit pressed to her lips, fighting down a whimper as she gulped the last delicious drop.

"Clothes…I need clothes.” 

The strange female stared with disgust and hatred in her eyes. 

“Why?  They’ll just rip them from you,
Aljeni
.”  With a spiteful smirk, she wrenched the emptied fruit away.

“You are unworthy of my sons’ seed.  You’ll rip when they mount you.”  She snarled with satisfaction.

“I’ll kill them if they try
.
”  Leo stared back unblinkingly.

“You?
”
she laughed,
“
You’re nothing…small…weak…broken.  My sons are strong.  They’ll fuck you, like my
Mati
fucked you.  They’ll hold you down.  You will not attack them, will not kill…” her voice cracked on an indrawn breath, “They will fuck you until you breed,
Aljeni
…and they’ll breed you until you die.”

“You’re a female…how…why would you let that happen?  If this is about Kereteki…your…uh…
Mati…
”  Her head cracked against the wall, her face throbbed from the slinging slap delivered.

“You will not speak his name,
Aljeni
!”  The female panted with anger.  “He has gone to the Goddess…released this moon covering!
”
  Her voice rose as she advanced.  “You live only for my sons’ to breed...you best curry favor to be fertile, female.”              

With a snarled growl, she left Leo to listen to the echoing footsteps of her retreat. 

She could tell that they lived in some sort of stone shelter or cave.  The walls and floor were smooth, but cold as if formed from stone or marble.  She couldn’t remember what the rest of the dwelling looked like; she’d been too busy being exhausted to get a good look while being unceremoniously dragged, flung, and chained down, but the walls here were bare.  The only entrance was the arching doorway set across and to the right of where she lay. 

At first, she’d wondered how the room was lit, with no windows to bring in sunlight, but she soon discovered a softly glowing illumination originating from the ceiling.  She wasn’t exactly sure, but it appeared to be covered with moss, or some funky, glowing, distant cousin to moss.  Whatever it was, it kept the room perpetually bright with a ‘candle light’ effect.

Curling back to her side, she drew her knees back to her aching stomach. 

What the hell?
. 

A slowly scorching anger began to rise in her as she re-ran the conversation over and over in her head. 

So, it was apparently
her
fault that this Kereteki guy was dead, or…  ‘released to the Goddess’,  whatever the heck that meant, and now
she
was to suffer repeated rape and torture at the hands of crazy, bitter, alien lady’s sons!

 
What…the…HELL?!

“You know…if you wanna keep me around long enough to fuck…breed…and continuously torture, you’re gonna have to feed me!.”  She yelled. 

She wasn’t sure if anyone could hear her, but it made her feel better to release some of her pent up rage and fear.

“Oh yeah, and us
Aljeni
…we eat a lot!”