Alien Captain's Prisoner

by Corin Cain

  “Very well.”

  Then, he turns to me. His eyes are clear. His aura changes. It becomes more protective, and less bloodthirsty. In fact, Aelon suddenly becomes so possessive and caring that he loses that passionless veneer of leadership that he’s always worn before a battle.

  The towering Aurelian steps in closer, putting his huge hand on my shoulder.

  “Tasha – could you still bear me if I gave up weapons of destruction to those loathsome Toads?”

  I stare into his hazel eyes. Eyes that changed because of me. He’s kept his honor, but he’s lost his burning need for meaningless battle and costly revenge.

  “I can. Aelon. I can.”

  Hope surges in me as the huge alien looks down at me with tender eyes. Then, Vinicus steps forward, his face stony.

  “Rig ‘em.”

  We all turn to him.

  Vinicus, the brute beast. I’d thought him simple-minded at first – but as soon as his aura entered my mind, I realized I couldn’t have been more wrong.

  “Rig ‘em,” he repeats. “Don’t just give them ten Orbs. The best way to beat a Toad is to blind him with his own greed. Give them all the Orbs – but hide explosives inside of them.”

  Our eyes widen as we listen to this scheme.

  “When they take the cargo inside their shield perimeter – into the heart of their mothership – we detonate it. Then, we rush in and pick off the stragglers.”

  Vinicus. The brute. The soldier. The base warrior who always does what his leader says.

  Now, he’s the leader.

  I turn to the Captain of The Instigator.

  “Aelon, do we have time?”

  He nods. “Aye – but this is a risky plot. If the Toads don’t fall for it, whoever brings the Orbs to them will be slain. It’s going to be dangerous – insanely dangerous.”

  His face hardens.

  “I won’t lie to you, Tasha. My gut tells me they would fall for it – and my gut is rarely wrong. But I can’t put that risk on any of my men. I’ll make the delivery.”

  “Captain, I…”

  Aelon holds up his had to silence any dissent.

  “I’ll make the delivery,” he repeats. “We’ll have a second Reaver with the shipment in it trailing us, just out of range of the Toad weapons. I’ll make the offer to the Toads, and then tell those slimy bastards that if they try anything, the second Reaver will Orb-Shift out – taking the Orbs with them. The Toads won’t risk losing their entire payload to kill one or two Aurelians.”

  “Then, I’m coming with you,” I insist.

  Aelon draws back as if I’m on fire.

  “No! I won’t allow it!”

  “Allow it? You’re Captain of The Instigator – not of me.”

  “But you’re our Fated Mate!”

  “Which is why I have to be there with you. You’re not going to take any risks if I am on board with you, Aelon – so I need to be there.” I step up and take Aelon’s huge hand. “This isn’t the end, Aelon. This is just the start. I want to build something with you. That’s why I came back.”

  I can tell myself over and over that it was the guilt of letting the Aurelians potentially die which had brought me back – but now I know the truth. Deep down, deep inside my being – right down at the core – I want to be with these men.

  I always knew, even if I told myself it was impossible, that they could change – and they did. Aelon lost the bloodlust and anger that drove him - the rage that made him so unsuitable as a father is gone.

  The first day I met Captain Aelon, he would have already plunged headfirst into battle with the Toads. Now, he’s hesitating. He won’t let them get away, and he’ll do everything he can to make those slimy bastards pay, but he’ll only do it without risking us.

  I was a fool to try to make Aelon sacrifice his honor. What kind of a man would let innocents die? I said I’d never let him be a father to my children because of his death wish, but likewise - I couldn’t have stayed with him if he’d made the choice I’d begged of him and run away – turning his back to the very people he’d dedicated his life to leading, serving and protecting.

  I squeeze his arm, and tell him: “Aelon, I’m coming aboard with you. It will be fine, I promise. You know the Toads won’t risk losing the prize they came here for. You know this plan will work.”

  Aelon takes a huge breath. If he refuses, he could lose me. If he allows me to come, however, he puts me in danger.

  “Don’t make me make this choice.”

  My eyes are wet, but I won’t cry. The seconds are ticking by and they can never be regained. We have to act quickly if we’re to survive.

  “Aelon – you place more value on me than yourself. I feel it in your aura. You’ve been hiding your pain so long, but I can feel it.” I take a deep breath. “Please – you mean so much to me. Let me go with you, so I know you’re going to keep yourself safe.”

  The first time I’d seen Aelon, I’d never thought I’d be saying something like this to him. This arrogant cocky man has so much more to offer than I’d seen at first. He’s gifted with so much more than just his confidence. Aelon’s deeper than that. I want him – and I want to see how deep his being goes.

  For lingering moments, he just stares at me. Then, Aelon smiles bitterly.

  “You’re not going to make my life simple, are you?”

  “Never.”

  His aura steels. Then, his cocky grin widens, and the Aelon I’ve come to love returns fully. The fear-nothing rogue is back.

  “Fuck it,” he snarls. “I wouldn’t want a coward for a Fated Mate anyway. You’re in.”

  My heart lifts. Whatever now lies ahead of us – we’re facing it together.

  “Vinicus! Iunia!” Aelon barks. “Get a team together to bring the Orbs to the loading bay and booby trap them. I suggest Garrick and his men - they’ve always been loyal, and they’ve got a lot to fight for.”

  “Aye, captain.”

  Aelon holds up his hand.

  “Select unconventional explosives – nothing that can show up on a scan. Remember, we don’t need to blast through shields or armor. We just need to cripple them from the inside.”

  Vinicus slaps Aelon hard on the back. Their auras are calmer now that they have a plan.

  I realize now that when they winked out of my mind – as a result of that Toad blocking device, I must have winked out of theirs. They’d probably thought their Fated Mate had been killed – and that split second of grief was when they’d imagined they lost me.

  I realize that I mean everything to them. All three of these magnificent warriors would trade their lives for mine in a heartbeat, and I’m putting myself in danger to make sure they keep themselves safe.

  There’s no time to explain to my triad why I ran, and also no time to tell them why I came back – but I’m here, now, and that’s all that matters. The three of them can feel my new commitment through our Bond, and our auras are all excited and in harmony.

  “To work!” Aelon claps his hands, and the loading bay is suddenly buzzing with Aurelians preparing for battle. Vinicus and Iunia rush away to secure a team to rig and pilot the Orbs being carried in the second Reaver, behind us, and Captain Aelon presses his watch to his face.

  “Listen up!”

  He barks out the words, and they boom through every speaker in The Instigator.

  “My second in command is taking control of The Instigator while I lead a trap against the Toads. We’re going to turn their greed against them. We’re booby-trapping a payload and they’re going to take it right into their Mothership. Now, I need you guys to be hungry – hungry for blood. We’ll cripple them, but you need to finish them off. Get ready to charge out at the signal – you’ll see those fuckers blown apart, and you take your Reavers and pick off anything that’s left.”

  There’s a roar from the Aurelians – one that echoes across the landing bay, and that we hear from the corridors beyond. I imagine every Aurelian on this ship is cheering. It’s as if the p
recarious atmosphere from when I’d left – when the crew of The Instigator seemed on the knife edge of mutiny – has been resolved.

  Aelon keeps talking – outlining the plan and strategies as his battalion prepares for battle. All around us, the Aurelians are lusting for blood and battle – and they’ll get it.

  Even if we cripple the Toad Mothership, we’ll still have to deal with the fleets of Toad assault ships. Without the Mothership supporting those assault ships, however, it will be a one-sided battle for Aelon. The Aurelians will hunt the Toads like their ancestors used to hunt the giant tigers and beasts that were once native to Colossus.

  As his men prepare, Captain Aelon takes my hand, looking down at me.

  “Tasha.”

  “Yes?” I feel nervous. Aelon has a challenging look in his eyes, and I’m suddenly worried he’s going to tie me up and make me sit this battle out.

  “I’m driving.”

  A laugh – ninety percent from stress alone, bursts out of my lips. I realize that Aelon’s got Sawoot’s way of dealing with stressful situations – wit, and dry humor.

  “Gods, Aelon,” I shake my head, “you almost gave me a heart-attack.”

  He shakes his head in disbelief, like he can’t believe I’m real.

  “If I can’t make your heart skip a beat or two, there’s no reason to exist. Now, why don’t you tell your little friend to come down. She should give Garrick a kiss before he pilots out with the Orbs. Poor guy was ruined by her, you know.”

  The doors of the Reaver open before I can even tell her, and Sawoot hits the ground running. She rushes past me.

  Summoned by Vinicus and Iunia, Garrick and his triad are jogging into the loading bay, followed by three more triads lugging the stolen Orbs behind them.

  Garrick staggers to a halt, and his eyes widen as he sees Sawoot standing there. I forget that the last time he’d seen her, she’d just betrayed him and locked him in her bedchamber.

  There’s no anger or resentment, however. Sawoot jumps into Garrick’s arms, kissing him, and he kisses her furiously back.

  I don’t know what she’s saying as their lips smack together, but I can see in her body language. She’s begging Garrick not to transport the Orbs. It will be a dangerous job, and he and his triad will be the second closest to the Mothership behind our own ship.

  Garrick eventually lowers Sawoot to the deck, as more Aurelians stream past, loading the Orbs into a second Reaver.

  “Sawoot,” Garrick purrs, “whether you are Bonded to me or not, I want you – but I cannot shame myself by refusing this assignment. I have served Aelon for two-hundred years because he’s an honorable man. I will not stop now. I must play my part.”

  Garrick – the big, bloody idiot. I hope those two do turn out to be Bonded, because Sawoot and him have the same dumb, oblivious courage.

  Sawoot listens to this and crosses her arms. “Garrick, if you go, I’m going with you. Just like Aelon and Tasha. Either you take me in your ship, or I’m getting into a Reaver and following right along behind you. You just try to stop me.”

  The poor, gallant man. He’s never dealt with a firebrand like Sawoot before. She’s not the type to bow down to any man, and I’ve seen her turn would-be alphas into panting puppies eating from her hand before. Garrick doesn’t stand a chance.

  He looks down at her. His eyes are blank and grey, like all unBonded Aurelians, but there’s something else in his gaze. There’s caring, longing, and a desperate need.

  Garrick gently runs his fingers against Sawoot’s cheek, and I feel like I’m witnessing something too intimate for such a public setting.

  “Sawoot, I don’t know if you’re my Fated Mate or not – and I don’t care. I’ve never bothered with a harem, like the Aurelians on Colossus. I’ve never found a woman worthy of me before, and I haven’t chased every female I’ve seen just in case they’re my mate.”

  He takes Sawoot’s hand gently.

  “It’s not ego to say that – it’s a fact. If you’d accompany my triad on this mission, we’d be proud to fight by your side. You’re a woman of honor, and I’d never be capable of loving one without it.”

  Love.

  Garrick loves Sawoot. After so little time, is that even possible?

  Maybe. I mean, the Aurelians just seem to know. I’ve felt adoration and need from my triad, but I don’t know if my Aurelians even know the meaning of love.

  It doesn’t matter, though. If we survive today? We’ll have plenty of time to figure everything out.

  But for once – and I never thought I’d say this – my situation with Aelon, Vinicus and Iunia is simple.

  When it comes to Sawoot and Garrick – can an Aurelian and a human find true love without the Bond? If it’s possible, Sawoot would certainly be the one to find it.

  She and I seem to be approaching our relationships with Aurelians in opposite directions. She’s found love, but not the Bond. I’ve found the Bond, and I just hope to find love at the end of all this.

  I know I’m risking myself, and I’m risking my crew – but it’s the right thing to do. For once, I see Aelon’s perspective, just as he sees mine. He has come to understand that reckless vengeance and bloodshed is a life without a future. I’ve come to learn that there’s no point in having a future if you sacrifice your integrity to get it.

  Sawoot, on the other hand – there’s no way to stop Sawoot from following her own path with Garrick and his triad. She’s a force of nature, like a solar flare. All you can do is get out of her way.

  I turn to the leader of my triad one more time.

  “Aelon – can you spare a man to Orb-Shift Theme out if our plan fails? If we die, so be it. We’ll die by each other’s sides – but I want to know he gets out safe.”

  “I can,” Aelon nods. He snaps his fingers at one of the Aurelians rushing past and points to the Reaver where Theme is still cowering.

  “If our plan fails,” Aelon orders, “then you get that human out of here. If the Toad signal blockers jam Orb-Shifting, just fly as fast and as far as you can in the opposite direction until you’re out of range. Then shift out. Don’t stop for anything, got it?”

  “Aye, Captain,” nods the Aurelian, boarding Theme’s Reaver.

  As he boards, I can hear the Aurelian explaining what’s going to happen to my terrified crewmember.

  Aelon cocks his head. “This way,” he says, and I follow him to yet another a Reaver.

  There are pockmarked scars all over this one, from what looks like concentrated las-fire. Like the scars on Iunia’s body, they seem to have been patched, but not repaired or hidden; as if they’re marks of pride on this battle-worn ship.

  “This is the Reaver I piloted during my hundred years,” Aelon explains proudly.

  His hundred years. The hundred years of service to the Aurelian Empire, that ended with him leaving the Army to set off on his own. The Empire let the soldiers who’ve completed their years of service keep their Orb-Blades and their ships - everything a triad needs to forge their own path in this universe.

  “You sure you don’t want me to pilot?”

  Aelon grins. He’s back to his old former self – callous and carefree in the face of life or death.

  He reaches over and squeezes my arm – with a gesture that’s similar to the comradeship of Iunia or Vinicus.

  “You’re a skilled pilot, Tasha – one of the best I’ve seen. But I’ve got hundreds of years under my belt, and in this bird specifically.” Then, his eyes flash. “Mind you, soon enough you’ll have hundreds of years, too.”

  I’m reminded again of the thousands of years of life I now have stretching out ahead of me – assuming I survive today.

  I snort: “I can beat your three hundred years with three.”

  Aelon laughs. He’s buzzing with electric energy. All four of us are. Vinicus and Iunia have returned, falling in line behind us as we march to the battle-damaged Reaver.

  “You make me lose sight of myself,” Aelon says, opening up t
he doors to his ship. “You make me see things… differently.”

  “That’s a good thing, Aelon.”

  “Aye, perhaps it is.”

  We board the ship. I realize the power imbalance has shifted between us. He’s no longer threatening to spank me for insolence – though he might do it in private, for fun, if we ever get out of here.

  He pauses before climbing behind the helm.

  “Tasha – you don’t have to do this. I estimate there’s a good chance the Toads will accept this offer, but there’s still a risk. You could stay back in the second Reaver with Garrick, if you’d prefer. If things go to shit, he’ll Orb-Shift you and Sawoot out of there.” His eyes flash. “Orb-shifting is risky these days, but it’s still less risky than trying to outrun a Toad Mothership using impulse engines alone.”

  It might be safer – but I don’t want to watch the leader of my Bonded triad disintegrate in front of me if things go south.

  “All things considered, Captain Aelon, I’d prefer to stay with you.”

  I called him Captain Aelon.

  It’s not a submissive way of thinking about him – he is my captain, now I’m serving a role in this mission. More than that, I am his prize.

  Aelon’s brows furrow as he stares down at me. I can sense it through the Bond - this chiseled, dashing man is utterly obsessed with me. The Bond enhances it, but the attraction goes deeper than that. His lust and need for me eclipses even the way Garrick feels about Sawoot.

  He smiles at me, and scoffs: “I’ve led thousands of hard men, Tasha – the most fearsome warriors in the universe. And yet, something tells me trying to lead you is going to be much harder.”

  Aelon turns back to the helm and starts touching the controls. He handles them like he was born into that seat. Even so, he jokes:

  “It’s been too long since I was in the driver’s seat of a Reaver – I hope I remember how to do this.”

  He does, of course. With a few flicks of switches, the HUD appears, and the ship rumbles as the Orb-Drives lift it into the air.

  There’s no seat for me in the cockpit, since Iunia and Vinicus each take spots at the Orb-Beam gunnery stations. I take position at Aelon’s shoulder and watch through the tempered glass of the cockpit as Aurelians load up Garrick’s Reaver with the huge boxes of booby-trapped Orbs.