***
"Stop fidgeting!" Kyrena said. For a spymaster alien badass, her new boyfriend looked awfully nervous. He had enough sweat across his face to make one run out and buy facial deodorant.
Kyrena leaned in, brushing her lips across his to take his mind off of impending doom. "It’s not the end of the world, Spook. You’re just meeting my parents. When we tell them that you helped me get back safely, they’ll already love you! Well, Mom will at least."
The young woman gave Spook’s tie one last straightening touch. She much preferred this tamer look of his, short-cropped dark hair and emerald-green eyes. The two had just passed through the transit-tunnel security. Hand in hand they walked up to Jeylani’s Omega Station Headquarters. The receptionist’s eyes grew into big saucers, and she frantically cleared them to go up to the 42nd floor to her father’s office.
The moment the elevator opened, Estevar and Miranda Saunders were standing there with arms crossed, seething with wild worry and anger. Kyrena wanted to smile when she saw Gulnara standing at a discreet distance behind them.
Kyrena didn’t make a move, her hands entwined with Spook’s. Wait for it. Wait for it…
Miranda threw her arms around her only daughter, sobbing her eyes out. "We were worried sick, sweetheart! What were you thinking?"
"More importantly, who is this young gentleman?" her father chimed in ominously.
Spook lifted one shaky hand in Dad’s direction. "I’m Spook. Pleased to meet you, Sir. I helped Kyrena escape from the men who tried to abduct her."
Estevar’s hard features softened, but only for a second, before he shook the young man’s hand with vigor. "Pleased to meet you, Spook. What kind of name is that anyway?" he asked.
Kyrena hugged her mom back and returned Gulnara’s discreet wink while no one else could see. Parental smothering aside, it was good to be home.
####
Author’s Note:
Thank you for reading my story. Please take a few moments to write a review if you enjoyed it or would like to share some helpful feedback. I love hearing from readers, and your comments will help me decide which twist Kyrena’s story will take next.
Coming Soon: a new Tale From Omega Station
Tales from Omega Station
Omega Station, aka the Rock. A barren, airless asteroid on the outermost edge of the galaxy, home of the richest of the rich and the poorest of the poor. Dotted with commercial, military and residential domes, the outer surface is the place to live for those who can afford it or are lucky enough to work there.
But the vast majority of the Rock’s residents don’t live in the surface domes; instead, they have tunneled downwards, moving ever further towards its fiery heart. The upper levels are safe, comfortable, secure—or as secure as anyone can be on Omega Station. The lower levels, now; they are home to the detritus of a double dozen races and species, all living in uneasy juxtaposition, fighting, loving, eating—and being eaten.
The Rock’s location in space, the last real port before exiting the galaxy, has made it a valuable commodity to many governments and private corporations, as has the addictive drug straz, which grows only in its recycling vats. Control has been taken and given in a hundred bloody battles over the years, but those who live in the lower levels—and further down, in the Depths—are often barely aware of whoever claims to be in charge.
No one, really, rules the Rock, whatever they may claim, however many weapons and warriors they throw against it.
For the Rock is eternal…and it has many stories...
About the Author of Abduction:
J. Kirsch lives in the Carolinas with his lovely wife and a noticeably cute canine. He has always enjoyed story-telling, perhaps thanks to the two librarians who raised him on a steady diet of imagination. When not helping others do research, J. can usually be found at the local Barnes & Noble typing up a storm. He has recently completed the NanoWriMo challenge for novel-writing. J. enjoys writing in all genres of fiction, but science fiction and fantasy will always be his first love(s).
For more stories in the Tales from Omega Station series, check out these other great titles:
Tales from Omega Station: Underworld (Book 1)
Tales from Omega Station: Scum (Book 2)
Tales from Omega Station: Endurance (Book 3)
Tales from Omega Station: Abduction Page 7