by C. R Corbin
I returned that night to my quarters and stumbled over to the mess hall after a short while. I poked my head into the hangar bay to see the mechanics searching and repairing my ship much to my chagrin. I had already created an alibi but I wasn't entirely sure if my story would seem so rock soldiers to them. I was still late in my arrival after all and they had genuine cause to find my story a bit...farfetched.
So that night in the mess hall I bided my time and waited. I didn't see Gerax as I knew that we had a mutual disdain for one another, he came by for a little while and asked about everything else and told me that he would be sending a crew back to investigate the wreckage for anything that would be vital. I waved him off and didn't think much of it until after my meal.
I wandered the hallways in search of the prince's quarters as that was where I knew she would likely be. I tried to think of ways that I could inform her of the plan and have her cooperate with me fully but I still wasn't sure. The prince's quarters were locked so getting her out would be a real hassle.
"What could be done? What can be done?" I asked myself, wishing that I at least had some contact with the humans still so I could get their advice as to how to deal with the mess that I was currently facing.
I noted what was apparent to me already. I was living in the prince's palace for the time being and there were crucial generators here. I haven't received any word about any events that were approaching so that I could have a moment alone with Penny to inform her of the plan trip to escort her away. There was an armory that I could use for weaponry but other than that I was literally stuck.
I went to the hangar bay to tend to the other matter, which was what kind of vehicle was I going to be using. I looked out amongst the field and spotted it, a fast cruiser that wasn't entirely controllable but what it lacked in controllability it more than made up for in raw power.
That would be the first piece of the puzzle.
The second piece would come a night later when it was announced that the prince would be holding a banquet later on during the fetra. I accepted the invitation and prepared myself for attendance by gathering up my supplies and formulating a rough draft of my plan. I could override the generators here and that would possibly result in a distraction that would be big enough to shut down the security perimeter around the base to allow me to fly through. It would also drive most of the enemy forces into a frenzy as they would be too busy focusing on how to get the power back on to notice my departure.
At least that's what I hoped. I would have to discuss this with her the moment I saw her
....
"So this is your plan or rather humanity's plan to get me back? You're really going to try and skirt out of here on a ship?" she asks me in a bashful tone and I nodded while glancing over my shoulder and her's to see if anyone was approaching.
"I was thinking of overriding the generators and then getting you out after they were distracted but the problem is that I need a way to get to you. I don't know how I would get you into the ship without anyone noticing in time." I muttered with a frustrated expression rushing over me. It helped that everyone else was currently preoccupied with their conversations and that we were currently alone to discuss this but I needed something concrete and that was something that we just didn't have at the moment.
"How about...How about this? I sneak out on my own after you tell me what time you're going to set the alarm off. After that I can make my way to a point with you and from there we could both run to the hangar bay before anyone would ever find out. I have a couple disguises that I could wear in fact..." she ruminates while I mulled the plan over, it seemed like it was as solid as it would have gotten, short of simply killing the prince and battling our way through. There were no secret passageways that we could use and there wasn't any way that she could bargain for her freedom without horribly embarrassing herself so this was it.
"How is Kelly? How is everyone?" she asked in a worried town with her eyes practically begging me for an answer. "I just want to know if everyone was alright after that crash."
"They're fine...For the most part at least. The majority of the humans survived the crash, that's all I am at liberty to say" I muttered and she shut her eyes and nodded in approval. I swear that I could hear her whisper "Good" under her breath when I told her. "We should probably get back to the dinner party before they think something is amiss." I warned her and turned back to the doorway where the party was occurring. I walk through it and she follows moments later, I eyed the prince during the entire return and noted that he wasn't looking at either of us with suspicion. Gerax was way too intoxicated on these pheromones he was huffing to even think at the moment so I didn't have to worry about I'm either.
All that was left to do now would be to wait for my plan to come into action and about a day later it did.
I snuck into the generator room late at night. There were a couple guards stationed around but I managed to sneak by them without much trouble. I tried to look over the notes that I had been collecting and the information that I had been gathering regarding the reactor itself. I reached the generator and rigged it to blow by setting some explosives next to the cooling tank. It was a fusion reactor and that likely meant that it would take a while before it would combust so I set it to shut off the power first before it exploded, thus giving me enough time to escape while also ensuring that a sufficient amount of vengeance would be enacted. I punched in a few commands and gazed at the screen as it flickered in front of me before confirming. The power would be shut down in a few moments, now I had to go retrieve her.
I carefully inch my way out of the generator room and sneak along the hallway until I reached the edge of the prince's chambers. In a few moments the power would shut down and the door would open and allow her to escape. I was to meet her near the edge of the prince's quarters near the mess hall and the armory. We would be able to escape shortly after.
I watched as the timer counted down before the lights shut off and the door unlocked. She stumbles forward and stepped out of the doorway to follow me while I beckoned her forward. I turned on my heel and tugged out my blaster before running down the hallway with her in tow. The guards began to notice something was up and instantly began to broadcast what was happening to almost everyone in the facility. I was able to run down a flight of steps to get closer to the small hangar bay itself before I saw the first guards begin to march out.
"Stay close." I whispered to her as we tucked ourselves behind a corner. I decided that it would be time to make my move soon after and tossed out a small thermal explosive that was able to kill most of the incoming troops. The sheer heat vaporized their blood to create a cloud that would hopefully obscure our movements. I tumbled out and looked to the map for directions before darting in that direction. My hands clenched the blaster ever so tightly as I looked back at her occasionally to see if she was still there and she was.
"How much farther?" she asked me, visibly distressed at the noise of the sirens and the massacre that had just occurred in front of her.
"A few more moments! We're almost there!" I called out as I hoisted the blaster up and shot down some guards that were stumbling out of a doorway in front of me.
I see the doorway to the hangar bay and pop through it as I came face to face with a darkened hangar bay with the HUD lights of several soldiers being all that was visible. I didn't need to open the door since the power was off so they had no idea where we were or what we were doing. Since Penny was wearing all black they couldn't spot her either and I took advantage of this fact by running towards my chosen craft and guiding her along. She hopped inside soon after I pulled open the hatch and followed me while I quickly darted in behind her.
I hear the guards coming but paid them no mind as I tugged out the remote that I had gathered days earlier. I pressed the button on it and the ship roared to life as soon as I grabbed the controls. I lift the ship and I see the others loading onto their own crafts but before they could do anyth
ing I was already out of the hangar bay and racing towards the sky. The reactor would blow at any moment now and their shields were down for the most part. There were emergency backup generators that turned on at some parts of the palace but I had shut most of them down. All that there was now, was a field that was blocking my escape, something that I needed to burst through. I was initially going to burst through by simply firing on the remaining generators that were at specific spots along the shield and I quickly did so with the help of my homing lasers. Soon we were in the skies but that didn't stop my pursuers that were in their own ships and tagging along. I knew that I should have set explosives on the rest of the ships but I didn't have the foresight nor the time.
"Alright, alright through the upper atmosphere." I grunted as I flew into the void. I watched as the grey glow of the planet faded behind me before I was rocketing amongst the stars.
I can feel them chasing me, getting closer and closer as I shot off what rounds that I could in response to them. I gazed at the timer on my wrist and noted that the explosion should be going off soon and right on cue it does, a massive mushroom cloud forms over the palace and I took advantage of the distraction by flooding the engines with as much energy as I could to blast away. Soon we were nowhere to be found and the only trace that could be found of my presence was of that wreckage that I had left behind and the troops that were now in a futile pursuit of me.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Kelly
Soon enough they stopped chasing after us. Due to the relative strange nature of Rel's betrayal there could be no greater party that was linked to him, thus humanity was spared from a massive war.
After his little quest to free Penny the government gave him a pardon and even a position with them as a military consultant and trainer. He took up a post on a distant colony of humanity's actually. It was on this nice world with plenty of land and lakeside fun for the two of us to enjoy.
Penny looked impossibly happy and relieved. The first thing I did when I saw her was to capture her in a hug and cry my eyes out on her shoulder. Immediately after that she had told me of what had occurred, how they had done what they wanted with her...she simply expressed relief that the entire ordeal was over but it was difficult to completely assuage my concern. Last thing I knew was that she and Jeremy were heading up something back home.
As for me? Well I took a similar position to Rel, only I wasn't a military consultant, this time I was more of a security consultant, I still don't really know what that distinction means.
I spent my time wandering around colonies to give talks on the importance of spacecraft safety and security and how a crew should react should an attack and hostage situation occur. I had ordered that all ships come with built-in emergency communication devices in case of an attack and due to the tech that we had received from the Rialans we had also improved our defense capabilities as well.
On my off time I was preoccupied with something else, something far more fun.
"Mom!"
That.
I had told Rel that I was pregnant with our child soon after he returned. I took the test to find out after a serious round of morning sickness and all that there was to do now was to have the life that we had always dreamed of having. Humanity was prepared to defend us and had all the necessary tools so Rel calmed down after a lifetime of war and finally settled in. We had our own home by the lake with all that we could ever need, two children, each other, that was it. It was relatively simple compared to the marauding he did but it was fun.
"Oh well isn't this nice? Look at this Beius." I said to my toddler daughter as I lifted a spoonful of food up to her mouth. She gasps and her bright orange eyes widened as that lovely crown of brown hair shuffles atop her head. Those soft ivory horns brushed against her hair as she swallowed the pasta that I was giving her. A satisfied giggle told me that I had done a good job and that she wanted more.
I gazed at Rel as he sat across the table and entertained our son with old tales about our travels and adventures...well actually it was more or less tales of his travels since I only had the one. He smiles at me as soon as he noticed me staring and winks which causes me to blush and nearly spill my food just as I was lifting it into my mouth.
Yeah, this was a good life, a life that we had more than earned and I would be loath to give it up.
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If you enjoyed this read then you might also enjoy other books from C.R Corbin including:
Alien’s Claim
Grexarr: Kanosian Warriors Book 5
Alien’s Prize
Kreux: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Morelen Princes Book 3)
Tariel: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Morelen Princes Book 2)
Mortok: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Morelen Princes Book 1)
Ethriel: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Kanosian Warriors Book 4)
Fherin: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Kanosian Warriors Book 3)
Maloq: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Kanosian Warriors Book 2)
Anthriel: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Kanosian Warriors Book 1)
Janar: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Jorathian Warriors Book 1)
Dezdrin: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Jorathian Warriors Book 2)
Yagrax: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Jorathian Warriors Book 3)
Zaven’s Passion: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance
Kelian: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance
The Captive Mate: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance
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