Depths Of Desire

by Ruth D. Kerce

  “If you want your hand back in one piece, you best remove it from my arm. Now.” It angered the fucking hell out of him to be challenged. Especially when he was in a position where doing anything about it would just make things worse. Unfortunately Briggs knew that and was pushing his advantage. Even so, the man removed his hand. Would Brianna listen to Sam more than him? He didn’t know. And that bothered him.

  If Briggs turned out to be trustworthy in the end, he’d be as respected as any Xylon Warrior. If not and he hurt or betrayed Brianna or Xylon, Torque would personally rip him to shreds.

  Chapter Two

  Ice Moon, Xylon System

  Braden Koll made the last fleet assignments for Earth. They’d be meeting up with the others as soon as possible. Though Xylon had been destroyed, their substation on the Ice Moon had survived a half-assed attack by the Egesa fleet. Obviously they hadn’t thought the Ice Moon much of a threat. If Daegal had known the actual strength of their fighters here, he never would have made such an oversight and would have sent in everything he had to annihilate them all.

  The main facility here, hidden deep under the thick ice, added more layers of protection than even the Lair once had and security remained tight. But even when fully functional, the Ice Moon’s base wasn’t nearly as powerful as the Lair had been. Still, it was the only lifeline the warriors had. After the destruction of Xylon, all off-world warriors who had been able to do so had headed here to regroup.

  Unfortunately many had died in the attempt to reach their people, for the base and surrounding areas hadn’t been untouched and difficulties mounted. The residual energy from the blast that leveled Xylon had taken out most of the electronic equipment throughout the system—including the fuel regenerators, internal comm devices and many of the high-level computers. The electromagnetic interference associated with the old technology of the PowerIIRad bomb had fucked with everything.

  They were slowly getting things back online, though significant delays plagued them. The systems that actually were functioning remained woefully unstable at the moment. All the equipment had to be repaired or reset and they’d be dealing with the atmospheric anomalies for quite some time.

  During the attack, Xylon’s shielding had crumbled and the Ice Moon’s shielding had been severely compromised. As such, many of the fighters and rescue ships sent to Xylon right after the attack hadn’t made it back due to the EMPs and solar radiation in the atmosphere. The levels were now decreasing but it was too late for those they’d already lost.

  Marid’s shielding must have been far heavier than their intelligence had indicated, otherwise Daegal’s Dome would be suffering the same effects. Or maybe it was and Daegal didn’t care, since he was now headed for Earth. Given that a spy had been planted right on their own council, there was no telling what the truth was or how much their knowledge base had been compromised and corrupted over the years. One traitor had ultimately led to their destruction. Or maybe it had been their own arrogance in thinking that they were too powerful to be defeated.

  He had to wonder how the other moons were faring. Only sporadic reports had come in due to the downed communications grid. The summaries he’d received hadn’t sounded good. Even contacting their allies was proving to be a chore. He worried about Tamara and Sunevia who relied heavily on Xylon for protection. For now, all the planets and moons in the system were on their own.

  He stood in front of a set of large screens positioned in midair over a console in his temporary quarters, looking at more data than he could digest at a glance. Even though the base was almost fully staffed, he felt strangely alone. He missed his mate, his children. He wouldn’t be able to relax until they were safely back at his side.

  For safety reasons, because they hadn’t had enough fire power on their escape ship and hadn’t known what they’d find as they headed toward the Ice Moon, Alexa and the babies had materialized from Xylon to Quadrant Port XST—the abandoned repair station orbiting the planet. They weren’t far and had a survival pack with them. Due to lack of space aboard the ship they’d used to reach the Ice Moon, Warrior Pitch Pantera and Josella Shirota had also materialized over to the station, which made Braden feel more at ease. His family wouldn’t be alone.

  Though Quadrant Port XST was enemy free, it had its problems, which was why it had been abandoned. No supplies or communications existed there now and it was barely maintaining orbit. Oxygen and automatic temperature regulation had remained functional however. As long as everyone was rescued soon, they’d be fine.

  Even though delayed longer than anticipated, he’d finally been able to send a small squadron of fighters, with Erik in charge, to retrieve them. If any Egesa ships got in their way, his family would be well protected.

  He was trying to get an update now. He couldn’t directly communicate with Erik at the moment. Not by voice. But enough systems were back online that he should be able to get an update through their computers.

  Finally the feed he needed cleared and came online. A beep drew his attention and a red dot flashed on the screen along with a line of scrolling data. His heart skipped a beat. “What the hell is going on over there now?”

  He checked the details on the data feed as it moved across the center screen. His throat grew dry. “Shit. The repair station’s orbit is degrading.” Without Xylon’s computers to boost its power, the station was failing quicker than earlier projections had indicated. The computers on the Ice Moon were trying to compensate but it didn’t look good. His stomach tightened and fear stabbed at his heart. He had to keep his wits about him and think fast. He spoke into the computer’s analytical processor. “How long until the repair station loses orbit and begins to disintegrate?”

  A computerized voice responded almost immediately. “Unknown.”

  “What do you mean unknown? Explain.”

  “Not enough data currently exists in the system to calculate exact orbital viability.”

  “I got an earlier projection. What’s the problem?” Braden’s temper rose.

  “Data degradation continues to be experienced in the main knowledge base. Repairs are ongoing.”

  “I’m not looking for exacts. Give me your best guess.”

  “This system does not guess.”

  “Fucking electronics,” he cursed under his breath. So many of the databanks had been wiped or were still corrupting. Backups existed and were currently being reloaded. The process would take time. Meanwhile, the lack of reliable knowledge to feed into the systems had them working on instinct for many of their decisions. “Can you boost power to the station?”

  “Negative. Power is already at maximum safety levels.”

  “The hell with the safety levels!” He was about to lose his mind. The station was unstable and failing. A small amount of additional high-level power wasn’t going to bring the Ice Moon’s computers back down or overload the station’s systems. “Boost the power.”

  “Unable to comply. Regulation 96-90c.”

  Any major power instability issues that could potentially put a military base in jeopardy were tightly controlled. In most cases, the computer lock protected against breaches or any other anomaly that might push the power controls into the red. The computer system was programmed to be extra conservative of resources in times of warfare. With his rank, he should be able to bypass the extra security. “Override. Responsibility of Class 1 Command Warrior, Braden Koll, 121086243084.”

  “Unable to comply.”

  Unable? Damn the regulations! As his mind and heart raced, he typed in a line of numbers. He’d helped write and engineer the security years ago with his older sister. He might be able to hack into the system and change the code. If he could just—

  Damn it. They’d added an hcs-zone security wall to the system. Breaking through would take days, if he could even do it at all. He needed Torque. His brother was a genius at breaking code. He tried again, checking the specifications in case there was a flaw he could exploit due to the corruption. “Fucking hell.”
The coding, as well as the security measures, were too extensive and being automatically updated on a continual basis. He shook his head and a wave of fear gripped him. He’d be unable to bypass the programming in time.

  Even though the computer couldn’t get him the orbital information, given his engineering experience, he could see by the numbers that the station would most likely fail in the next few hours, unless he could figure out a way to stop it. “Who has the authority to override regulation 96-90c?”

  “Override requires key codes from four Council of Thirteen members.”

  The key codes had been lost during the attack when the council members were killed. Even Laszlo didn’t know them, other than his own. There had to be some sort of mechanism in place to deal with situations such as this but he didn’t know what it was. “Requesting alternate solution.”

  “Analyzing. Please wait.”

  Braden punched several buttons to lock into Erik’s location. He nodded. “Good. Erik and the squadron are right there at the station. All they have to do is materialize over and pick them up.”

  If he could only talk to them. Tell them to hurry. Though Erik would be looking at the same information right now, he’d know their time was short. And Pitch might be able to stabilize things long enough at his end for them to be rescued. Still, more than a little trepidation rushed through him. He paced the room, his mind in such a state of turmoil that logical thoughts fled.

  He stopped in front of the data screens once more. “Damn it! I should have led that squadron.” He pounded the desk beneath the screens with his fist and cringed as pain shot up his side and through his head. The senior healer on-staff had ordered more rest for him. He’d recovered from his recent injuries well enough in his opinion. Laszlo had wanted him here to coordinate the fighters and get things ready for their mission to Earth. If he’d thought for a second that his mate and children were going to be in danger, he’d have ignored Laszlo’s orders and been in a fighter and on his way, instead of sending Erik.

  “Alexa is strong,” he said aloud to reassure himself. “She’ll be all right. They’ll all be all right. Erik will get them. There’s time.”

  He could take a ship and head out himself but he probably wouldn’t get there before the station came apart. Their fastest fighters had already taken off for Earth or had gone with Erik. The rest of their fighters weren’t yet functional. The ship they’d arrived in had barely made it and was still being repaired. They had a few rescue ships that were operational but they were slow and cumbersome and most had limited range at the moment.

  Erik would do whatever it took to save them. He believed that, which was the only thing keeping him from losing his sanity right now. He should find Kam and Laszlo to let them know what was going on, though they probably already knew. At least he was certain Kam did. He’d be tracking the progress of the squadron too.

  Laszlo might not have been informed yet. He had taken a turn for the worse, which was the only reason Braden hadn’t already called the man in on this to help. Leila had left some medicine for him but he wasn’t responding to it very well and wasn’t completely lucid—not enough to lead or give reliable input. Laszlo needed real human spinal fluid, not the synthetic stuff, and they hadn’t yet located any human survivors in the area.

  The computer beeped. “Analysis complete. Override possible with eight Class 1 Command Warriors’ visual identification prints.”

  He checked the electronic roster. “One, two, three, four, five…shit.” If he could, he’d rip the heart right out of this fucking system. Something on Xylon’s surface caught his eye. Several blue dots appeared on the screen as well as multiple orange indicators. No further data appeared on the feed to explain the activity. He pressed a button. “Identify movement on Xylon.”

  After a moment, the computer responded. “Egesa soldiers are on the planet.”

  Damn vermin. “And the other living organisms on the screen?”

  “Unknown at this time. Egesa weapons are being discharged.”

  Braden scratched his head. Xylon survivors? No. The atmosphere was still too deadly for their kind to be on the surface without proper protective equipment. Besides, the computer would have been able to identify Xylons. Maybe some uncommon type of animal life had survived that the computer’s knowledge base couldn’t lock in on yet. He wouldn’t have thought it could be anything deadly enough for such a response from the Egesa. Strange. “Continue to analyze,” he instructed the computer. “Post regular updates to my on-screen box.”

  “Acknowledged. Analyzing for posts…”

  He looked back at the repair station then turned from the screen, unable to torture himself by watching the declining numbers. He’d check on the work being done to restore the communications grid, and now that the electromagnetic and radiation levels were safe enough for protected flights, he would send a few cloaked, short-range ships to Xylon to get a closer look from the air at what was happening on the planet.

  Alexa was fine. He’d feel it in his heart if she weren’t. Kam, being a sensor reader and Alexa’s brother, would probably feel it too with or without his equipment, even though the station was now at its farthest and highest orbit on the dark side of Xylon. Kam would have let him know if he felt Alexa were in any real danger.

  Braden took a deep breath and let it out slowly to calm himself. By the time he returned to his quarters, Alexa and the babies would be back here waiting for him. Fate was on their side. His family would not be taken from him. He knew that to be true more than he’d ever known anything in his life.

  * * * * *

  Underground, Planet Xylon

  Warrior Tara Koll listened carefully for her captors. The woman who had watched over her no longer attended her. She hadn’t seen the two Def’mal men since they’d last fucked her. Her clit throbbed at the memory. Given the almost tender way they’d taken her the last time, she wondered if it had intentionally been their way of saying goodbye. She shook her head at the silly notion. Isolation had affected her reasoning. She was fantasizing that they cared about her when she’d been nothing more than a captive stranger—a woman willing to fuck them any way they’d wanted.

  Not part of Xylon society, castoffs, violent—the Def’mal lived by their own rules in their own clans. War didn’t exist between them and Xylon’s society, but neither did peace. Skirmishes occurred from time to time over territory but the Def’mal hadn’t really been considered a substantial threat. Not compared to the Egesa.

  Why had she only encountered three of them? She knew there were more. A lot more. Somewhere. Unless maybe they’d been taken out by the attack too.

  The memories played through her head and she wondered if she’d done the right thing while in their care. She hadn’t resisted either man’s touch. Fucking made her feel stronger, even while taking a submissive position, so she’d done what she felt she needed to do. They’d definitely played the dominant males with her. Her nipples hardened and she suddenly missed their mouths sucking her in unison, their cocks in her pussy and her ass.

  One of the two had made a larger impression on her—the one who’d pulled her out of the rubble after the destruction of the Lair. He’d seemed much more protective than the other one and had treated her as if she’d mattered. He had seemed to know that she’d needed sex to boost her own healing abilities. Or maybe he’d just wanted to fuck her. He’d had a cock any woman would crave to have inside her and more stamina than any man she’d ever been with, including the various Xylon Warriors she’d fucked throughout the years.

  She reached underneath the outfit they’d given her, spread her legs and rubbed her clit. She needed to release some of her tension. As she closed her eyes and rubbed faster, she imagined what the Def’mal male might have looked like.

  After her rescue, she’d been in shock, and until recently, her eyesight had been blurry at best. She’d never gotten a really good, up close look at him. Not that she could remember. She recalled vague images of him from when he’d init
ially carried her to safety. But her memory of that period of time was spotty at best.

  Her body began to tremble as she imagined her captor’s tongue licking her clit. Slowly, thoroughly. He’d always made certain that she came at least once from his mouth. Then he’d enter her and fuck her like the feral creature he was, while the other male licked, fondled or fucked whatever part of her body was left available to him.

  They had seemed to enjoy speaking to her and each other while fucking. Their words had excited her, even though she hadn’t known their meanings. Just the tone of their voices had made her body react.

  “Yes…” A flutter raced up her and tingled every nerve along the way. She rubbed her clit faster. “Oh, fuck, that’s good.” Not an explosive climax, but satisfying.

  After the pleasure ebbed and she now felt more relaxed and centered, she got to her feet, knowing she needed to find a way out of here while she could. She needed to know what had happened to the planet.

  A sound. She cocked her head. Her ears had been playing tricks on her for a while and she couldn’t identify the strange noises she’d been hearing. Distant, but here, underground in the caverns somewhere. Noise down here was deceptive. But it definitely sounded alive. It was too far off and never lasted long enough for her to really figure it out. Cave creatures had to live down here somewhere. Whatever it was, she hoped it wasn’t dangerous.

  Her eyesight had now finally improved to near normal, which made her feel better able to survive and protect herself. Still, she wished for more light to help her see. Everything down here was enveloped in shadows. One torch burned on the wall opposite her. But only one. She’d already looked around for something to make more torches with but the ground was only littered with dirt and rocks. Nothing to burn. She couldn’t even rip pieces from the animal hide she wore. It was too tough.

  Her stomach rumbled. The food the Def’mal had brought her had run out. Thankfully, the water pools remained full from the underground streams, so at least she would be able to stay hydrated.