Rescued By Tordin: Olodian Alien Warrior Romance (15 page)

“Palon, quick, get Jalek to send men down to that area to close them off. Make sure he knows they’re armed. Tell him to also make sure his warriors don’t kill all of them. We need to capture them in order to find out how they got on the ship and what their plan is.”

“Lady, Jalek is already ahead of you. Watch.”

Kyra looked at his monitor just in time to see Jalek himself take down two of the Skleen in a surprise attack from behind. Another warrior subdued the one who’d attempted to contact her, and yet another grabbed Brantley and the last one, marching them off, out of the monitor frame.

“Where are they taking them?” Kyra asked, still watching the rest of the warriors gathering up the bodies of the defeated Skleen.

Palon didn’t respond, and she realized he was on a vo-link call. When he disconnected he relayed the information.

“That was Jalek. He and his guard have eight Skleen down in the transport room, and they are about to have them transported to the penal ship. He wants to know if you’d like Brantley sent there, as well. It seems we are at fault for some of this. Brantley was able to send a message down to Nenndi, and the Skleen intercepted it and made contact. According to the leader of this group, Brantley managed to allow them to come on board while everyone was concentrating on the commander leaving the ship. There’s something else.”

“What is it?” she asked, dreading any worse news.

“Brantley promised them they could have the mate of the Crown Prince of Olodia as payment for his rescue. They came here on a kidnapping mission.”

“What? Brantley contacted those things looking to get rescued and made a deal to help them kidnap some poor female? Who is she? I didn’t know there were any other women in the fleet but Phoebe and me.”

Palon looked at Kyra with the oddest expression before he said, “It’s you Kyra. You’re Tordin’s mate.”

“Duh, I know that, but you said the Crown Prince of Olodia, not Tordin. Does Cordin have a wife, I mean, mate?”

Palon continue to look at her strangely but said, “Not that I’m aware of. My Lady…I know it might not be common knowledge outside this fleet, but Tordin and the Crown Prince are one and the same. He’s the Crown Prince to ascend the throne. That makes you the Princess of Olodia through your mating to him.”

Her knees buckled, and she had to sit down for a moment. She was like the first lady, but of a galaxy. “Wow—I didn’t know. Tordin never said anything about being the next in line to the Emperor’s throne. I think I’m going to be sick.”

Palon rushed her to a chair and gave her a large container of
gaiata
. Once she drank enough to regain her composure, she asked, “Does Tordin’s older brother know this? That Tordin is the Crown Prince instead of him?”

Palon hesitated as if trying to decide what to say. Then he spoke. “Lady Kyra, it is not safe to have these types of conversations out in the open, considering the security breech we’ve experienced. But for your sake and safety, I’ll give you a quick summary of what we know. We believe—it’s speculation at best—that he may have recently found out, and that is why the Skleen were on the ship, trying to lure you down to the Healing Section. They either want to ransom you back to Tordin themselves, or they’re working for Cordin. We’re not sure yet. Jalek and his men are still interrogating them. Then they will send them over to the penal ship.”

She nodded and quickly processed the new information. Kyra felt a new power rising up within her. She’d make the Skleen pay for almost harming Phoebe. Brantley was less than a dead man now, and Cordin would pay for causing her mate to go through so much drama. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and all that jazz. They messed up when they messed with her and those she loved.

“Palon, please contact Jalek to see when it’s clear for me to check on Phoebe. And have him send Brantley to the penal ship. Put him in the worse quarters available,” she said, determined to not let anyone, including Brantley, take away her new, hard-won confidence. She was a survivor, not a victim, and she’d see her friend and find a way to connect with her mate. New understanding coursed through her, and she welcomed the good feeling.

In the Healing Section, Jalek’s men found the Healers locked in a supply closet. She was relieved they were all right and made apologies for them having to endure the crazy Brantley’s antics. In their usual wisdom, they expressed no hard feelings and quickly returned to their duties, checking on their patients, including Phoebe.

Kyra stared at Phoebe’s still sleeping form. She lay there as if nothing had happened, oblivious to the room full of hulking males swarming around her for evidence the Skleen might have left behind, and the Healers making sure she was all right.

Kyra wanted Tordin. Her mind kept drifting to him, and she needed to know he was safe. Palon had assured her that he would connect her to to Tordin’s vo-link when she came back to operations, and she itched to go back and talk with Tordin.

But she stayed.

Guilt for not being there for her friend when danger came close slithered up to ride her old scars of self-doubt. Remembering a long talk she’d had with Tordin about forgiveness and true strength, she shook it off. She’d live in this moment where Phoebe was safe and well looked after. She’d concentrate on what happened that was good, instead of what could have been so very bad. After the room cleared out, she went close to Phoebe’s container and spoke.

“Phee, I’m so very sorry I wasn’t here when those creatures invaded your room. I did see how Jalek and his men were able to catch them quickly, and I’m so glad you’re all right. Malm should be back soon, and I know he’ll come to see you as soon as he can. Oh, how I wish you could talk with me. I’m praying for you to wake up soon so we can catch up. I’ve only been mated for days, but it feels so good and…” Kyra felt a strong force against the back of her head.

The invisible blow was so forceful, it caused her to see double for a moment. Kyra’s instincts went on high alert. “Tordin!”

She raced from Phoebe’s room to the operations area to find Palon. Something was wrong with Tordin, and she had to raise him on the vo-link—
now.
Running like she was stealing home base, she slid into Operations. Palon was at his station working in a frenzy. He didn’t bother to look up when she pounced on him.

“Palon, something’s wrong with Tordin. I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head, like I was struck, and I know it has to do with Tordin. Can you please connect me to him now? I have to hear his voice to make sure he’s all right.”

“My Lady, that is the issue. We’ve been attempting to connect with him since you left to see Phoebe. We’ve been unsuccessful. The vo-link is working—we’re able to connect with Nenndi, but none of the initial surface party are answering, including Malm or Lord Tordin. My extreme apologies.”

Kyra stared through him. She would not accept this. This was Tordin he was talking about, her Warrior Lord. Before her brain could catch up, she grabbed a vo-link that sat on Palon’s desk and connected to Jalek. When he answered, she had her plan in mind and wouldn’t take no for answer.

“
B
ut Lady Kyra
, I cannot take you to the surface. Lord Tordin gave specific orders that I stay on board and protect you. I can’t do that in an unknown environment. I don’t know the surface well enough to plan for the number of warriors we’ll need,” Jalek said, trying to get her to understand she wasn’t going down to the planet.

“Jalek, I want you to find a way to accommodate my request or get out of my way. I’m going down to find Tordin with or without you. He’s in trouble, I know it. I have to find him,” she said, in no mood to argue with the handsome, young, amethyst-eyed warrior.

Jalek gave her a pleading look—a puppy dog-eyed, last-ditch effort—but she’d not be moved, especially when it came to Tordin. Everything in Kyra screamed danger for Tordin, and she was in no mood to hear anything except that Jalek was either going to help or get out of her way. Finally, when he seemed to realize they were in what Earthians would call a stalemate, he relented.

“Lady Kyra, I’m only doing this because you and Tordin are one, and I trust your instincts, especially where he is concerned. If anything were to happen to him, and I didn’t do something to help, I would not be able to live with that. Allow me one of your Earth hours to prepare transport and a group of our most trusted and fiercest warriors to accompany us.”

The flood of danger warnings that had threatened to drown her began to subside a little as it sank in that she was going to find Tordin.

“Thank you, Jalek. And if he is fine, and I’m giving into some sort of paranoia, I’ll make sure he understands it was my insistence and not your direct disobedience, but I can’t shake this. I know what I feel, and need to get to him as soon as possible. I’ll leave you to it, but in an hour— whether you’ve contacted me or not, I’m leaving—even if I have to parachute out of here,” she said, noting that there was no way to parachute out of a space craft. Right now reason didn’t matter; nor, evidently, did sensibility. She was on a mission and had to follow her instinct.

That instinct pushed her to find Tordin, and she knew it wouldn’t let her down.

True to his word, Jalek had transportation and a small troop of warriors ready to depart in under an hour. Kyra only vaguely listened to him rambling on with all the warnings and precautions of what she should and shouldn’t do once they landed.

Palon, ever the diligent operations manager, secured permission for them to land in the same area as Tordin’s delegation had earlier. If she weren’t so tense about what could be happening to Tordin, she might have laughed and made some type of joke about the protective suit they gave her to wear. She looked like a stale, crushed marshmallow. The suit was made for one of them, and she swam in it.

The walk to the smaller craft they would take to the surface sobered her, as she realized that she was about to do something she’d never done before—land on the surface of a another planet from space. Take that, space program! Her credentials would officially trump any person’s from Earth after she landed on Nenndi. And here she didn’t have to shrink down to a certain weight class to do it.

Kyra determined to blank out the ride to the surface as soon as the intimidating hum from the transport’s engine roared to life. The engine sound rattled her teeth. They called this contraption a Jump, and that’s exactly what she wanted to do—jump when she heard the thing come to life. She was thankful take-off had been uneventful and even quiet as they left the cavity of the mother ship to emerge into the inky blackness of space.

The ride to the surface would be terrifying if she allowed herself to pay attention to the streaks of what looked like fire outside the windows of the Jump as they descended into Nenndi’s atmosphere. Instead of watching how close she was to burning up in fiery blaze, she focused on the task ahead.

Kyra sat next to Jalek in her way-too-large space suit, trying with all her might to hold onto the courage to not fail Tordin if he was in danger. The closer they got to the surface, the more anxious she was to find him, and she wanted to get there as fast as possible. She might have screamed at the two warriors piloting the craft to hurry up, but that would be rude, and this was not about pissing them off. She sat in silence and attempted to meditate to find some kind of center and balance.

That was the thing. Tordin was her balance, anchored to her center. He grounded her and made everything seem better. As she attempted to sink down into primal nothingness through meditation, hoping to gain peace and courage, his piercing eyes met hers in the darkness. His presence in her deepest thoughts reminded her of how much she loved him. Kyra decided to hold onto that vision. It would guide her to him, even if something had indeed happened.

Before she realized it, they were landing.

They landed on a rocky platform, peppered with brilliant crystals, in the lush, jungle-like expanse. As soon as everyone had disembarked from the four large transports, a set of beings closer to her own height met their party. They looked almost human except for their odd coloring of yellow and orange hues. Since she had no clue what their tongue was, one of the council members who traveled with her team had been appointed to speak with them.

The council member had kind eyes of the purest amber and spoke fluent English. She’d never met him, but Jalek promised her he was especially fond of Tordin and traveled on all his expeditions. He hadn’t gone to the surface with Tordin earlier only because he’d been unable to reschedule a meeting with the IGA. She also noticed a hint of regret in his eyes for not going with Tordin, and she immediately softened to him.

She watched and listened with unwavering attention as he spoke a hard, guttural tongue with the five beings. After what she thought was too long to remain reasonably calm on her part, he turned to her and Jalek and motioned them to step away from the others for a private conference.

Before he could speak, Jalek spoke up. “Counselor Rilic—what did they say? From the looks of it, they don’t seem to know where Tordin and the others are.”

Counselor Rilic answered, looking grim. “Yes, you guessed correctly. They say after Tordin and the others met with them, they set off with a few of their guides to find Cordin. No one has heard from them since.”

Heartache made her stagger with pain. Tordin was missing.

Jalek grabbed her before she could hit the hard rock they stood on. With an authoritative voice she didn’t know he possessed, he spoke in English to the large group of warriors.

“Warriors, Lord Tordin and his team have not been heard from since departing from here. Lady Kyra is to be protected with our lives. Prepare yourselves to move out once we get a scan for any residue of life signatures. It is my understanding that the day cycle of this planet is shorter than ours. By the looks of it, we do not have much more daylight remaining. Keep your teams tight, forming no more than twelve to each unit. We have to move quickly to make up time. Does anyone have any questions, suggestions or comments?” he asked.

After a few of the others, who Kyra assumed were some type of generals by their appearance, had spoken and asked questions, they gathered scans and started out.

As for surface transportation, they’d brought what looked like a souped-up version of hover bikes. She watched in awe at their engineering as Jalek and the others unfolded them from fairly small cubes and then proceeded to pack the collapsed cubes in the kits each carried with them. The bikes were stylish. At first glance they looked like a gearhead’s dream—all slick, aerodynamic and fast, resembling a crotch-rocket back on Earth. In reality, the thing was a tool of torture to her hind parts.

The seat was not designed for comfort, certainly not for a woman with plenty of backside. It reminded her of a spinning bike seat gone wrong. The hard surface was unforgiving, making it feel like it was constructed purely for revenge. Her backside spilled over the sides of the seat a little here and there. Add this to a hulk of man sharing that stingy seat, and it made for misery. She wasn’t happy that she had to ride with Jalek, but she’d have to deal with it. They didn’t have time to teach her how to drive one of the bikes, and the gears were more complicated than a personal hovercraft on Earth, so she kept her mouth shut and decided not to be a back-seat driver.

She still wore the space suit’s undergarments to protect her from the harsh rays of the planet’s faintly radioactive twin suns. This extra layer of clothing and a healthy slathering of a goop to protect her from the sun did her no other favors during the ride. Although she was miserable in the get-up, riding on the back of the bike from a thousand hells, she didn’t mind that she was getting closer to Tordin. She’d be gracious and behave like the lady they all called her. She rode behind Jalek and smiled like a beauty queen.

She began to hate the solar-powered hover bikes less as they continued. They covered the open field of crystal that she’d seen from the Jump. There were no roads, interstates or paths like those on earth, so they travelled fast, several bikes abreast. The bikes skimmed over the surface a few feet above the ground. This was great, considering the ground was littered with sharp, angular spikes of crystal and gems. Walking though it would have resembled playing hopscotch, dodging crystal bushes and patches to get through the maze. These bikes provided them agility and ate up a lot of distance in their pursuit of the missing party.

As they approached the path the previous party had taken, Kyra’s stomach lurched. Thankful for her new vo-link, she used it to communicate with Jalek without having to scream. Looked like she would indulge in a little back-seat driving after all.

“Jalek, we need to veer that way,” she said, pointing from behind him so he could steer toward what she assumed would be the eastern region based on the planet’s twin suns. “I’m being pulled that way. I don’t know what else to tell you. I guess we’ll have to keep going until I get another signal.”

“Lady Kyra, I trust you. Your word is my command. Hold while I communicate to the others why we are going this way.”

“Sure, just don’t make me sound like I’m a loon, I mean crazy, for following my gut,” she said, thinking he may not know what a loon was.

“I would never do such a thing. You are our only hope of finding Lord Tordin as fast as possible. I owe you my apology, respect and allegiance for standing your ground on coming to find him.”

After they rode for a while, she led them to a high ridge of rock formations, where they stopped to go farther in on foot. They would have to hike and climb the rest of the way. Hiking and climbing—she could do this. She’d been using the hiking and rock climbing simulator in the training room for the last week or so and said a silent prayer of thanks for what must have been the Goddess’ prompting and preparation to take up the pursuit.

Kyra was able to scale the short rock face, scrambling up to the opening to which she was being pulled. She hadn’t realized how much upper body strength she’d recently developed, and she remembered she had
gaiata
to thank, as well. Taking a huge step toward the next platform of rock, her pants rode down a bit.

She straightened her clothing that threatened to show more of her backside as she came to stand on the flat plane, not that any of them noticed. They were too busy climbing, carrying gear to equal her weight. Her victory didn’t feel so great once she realized she’d only had to heft herself up to this point. Kyra and the others of the first group waited while the other members of the large party scaled the ridge. This gave her time to catch her breath and get the indication of where to go next. Soon they found a secluded pathway peppered with low, green bushes on either side of it.

A few of the scouts in the party went ahead to check out the terrain and reported back that they believed they’d seen some Skleen.

Those ugly things were here, too?

As they soldiered on, she knew she was headed in the right direction when her body doubled over with the force of a pull to change direction; they bore left through a narrow passage of rocks. Waiting, Jalek motioned for only the most experienced warrior scouts to proceed. The rest of them fell back and waited for the scouts to return.

The next sounds Kyra heard were scuffles and a light skirmish of grunts and fists hitting what she hoped was enemy flesh.

One of the scouts returned to report that he and the five other scouts encountered twenty Skleen in what those hideous creatures had planned to be an ambush. None of the warriors was hurt. He’d also gathered information from two of the Skleen that Lord Tordin and the others were up the path ahead, being held by none other than Lord Cordin with about a hundred additional Skleen.

The scout said, “The Skleen told us it was Lord Cordin’s plan to lure Lady Kyra away from the ship. The plan was twofold—to capture her for Lord Cordin and to create a diversion with the ambush while they attempted to kidnap her. They’d never interacted with the Terrain species before, so they had no idea if she’d be intelligent enough to see through their ruse.”

Kyra felt both offended and proud at the same time, hearing that last part. She was nobody’s dummy and prided herself on having a healthy dose of paranoia. She didn’t trust many. The scout continued to relay the information, saying that the Skleen bragged about how the landing party had done them a favor by bringing Lady Kyra to them and that they would be slaughtered if they tried to approach the camp.

Jalek spoke up, “Why are they so sure about that? They’ve never been able to best any of our warriors in direct combat. I don’t understand why they would be willing to tell you so much before their death.”

The scout said, “The one I, um,
questioned
believed in the power of a mysterious figure traveling with Cordin, who seems able to wield unimaginable power. The Skleen said that was how they were able to overtake Lord Tordin and his group. The Skleen also said this mysterious being shut down Tordin’s group devices and sent some type of unknown electrical pulse through the air that rendered them temporarily paralyzed. The bottom feeder had the nerve to laugh, saying his dying wish would have been to watch us suffer a fate worse than death—to be alive but unable to control our own faculties.”