Rekker: Warlord Brides (Warriors of Vaznik Book 1)

by Ava York

  “I can sign against the Mahdfel military. They pay for fuel, weapons, ammunitions, repairs, and even the food we store in the galley.”

  “Wow.” That impressed her for some reason. “The price of fuel for our vehicles back home is half the reason why I never went anywhere.”

  “That must’ve been frustrating.”

  “Not really,” she said, and shrugged. “I liked working the farm every day.”

  A familiar tension crept between us once more. Though I didn’t directly take her away from the life she loved, I was the reason she was here. There was no changing that.

  “Captain.” Kyre appeared at my shoulder. “I’m ready to start repairs.”

  “Good. Get to it.”

  Kyre nodded and strode briskly away.

  I turned to Lila. “Shall we?”

  She blinked in surprise. “Shall we what?”

  “Don’t you want to see the outpost? We have time to spare.”

  She hesitated.

  I feared she was going to say no. She looked out the viewport once more, taking in the trees, the silver water, and the wooden buildings and bridges that made up the outpost. When she turned back to me, she was smiling from ear to ear.

  “Let’s go!”

  She grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the ship’s entryway with more enthusiasm than I would’ve expected.

  I laughed as she dragged me, paying no mind to the curious glances we solicited from the rest of the crew. Cedroc and Derrix looked like they were ready to bust a gut.

  “Mind the ship,” I called to them.

  “You mean we have to stay here?” Derrix shouted back.

  “I wanted to get a drink,” Cedroc grumbled.

  “Be good and we might bring you treats!” Lila called.

  “You better!” Cedroc said after us.

  We slowed our pace when we stepped onto the dock. The silver water was shrouded in mist and the dock was slippery as a result.

  “You’re a surprising creature,” I said to her as we made our way toward the outpost.

  “Am I?”

  “I expected you to shrink away from exploring a new planet. Most would find it a daunting task.”

  “It is,” she confirmed. “But you’re supposed to protect me, right? That’s part of the whole mate thing?”

  “It is,” I chuckled. “And this outpost is far from dangerous.”

  “Exactly. I figure that if I have a big, burly alien who’s sworn to protect me in a place where I’m not likely to need protection, there’s no point in missing an opportunity my sister, Nora, would kill for.”

  “Nora?” I repeated.

  “She’s the adventurous one. I think she was jealous that my birthday was called in the lottery instead of hers. She’s dying to get off the farm and see the universe.”

  “Next time you see her, you’ll be bursting with stories,” I said.

  She glanced up at me from beneath her thick lashes. “Do you really think I’ll see them again?”

  “Of course,” I assured her. “It just might not be as soon as I anticipated. This giant inconvenience disguised as a mission is taking longer than expected.”

  Lila smiled up at me. She looked as if she was glowing from the inside out.

  “I’m happy knowing I’ll get to see them again.”

  “You didn’t think I’d keep you away from your family forever, did you?” I asked.

  “I’m not sure.” She frowned. “I wasn’t told much about how all of this works. I was put in a room, tested, and shipped off all within the span of a few hours. The way it was presented to me made it seem like I was your property.”

  “You’re my responsibility, not my property,” I clarified. “I don’t own you and I don’t intend to behave as if I do. However, since you’re my responsibility, it’s discouraged for you to travel alone now.”

  “So, when I get to see my family again, I won’t go alone?”

  “No.” I shook my head. “The Calliope will accompany you.”

  “But why?”

  She didn’t sound upset, just curious.

  “Suhlik have been known to kidnap the mates of Mahdfel,” I explained. “It’s a two-pronged attack, you see. They get a fertile female for their breeding farms and cause extreme psychological torment to the Mahdfel who’s mate is taken.”

  “I see,” she said thoughtfully.

  We left the dock and passed into the heart of the outpost. Wooden buildings connected by a series of wooden walkways and bridges extended out before us. One street was significantly busier than the others.

  “That’s the market.” I pointed, glad to move onto another topic. “It might appear crowded but, from the look of it, this is a slow morning.”

  “Can we go see?” she asked, excitement flooding her voice.

  “Of course.”

  I led her over to the busy market street. As we walked, I noticed something was off. There weren’t as many people as I remembered from last time. When I looked around, I saw many forlorn looking males of all races slowly going about their day. There were hardly any females or children. Last time I came here, I recalled this place to be bursting with families.

  “You have a strange look on your face,” Lila said.

  “Something’s not right,” I said.

  We entered the market street. There were nowhere near as many stalls and open storefronts as there was last time I was here. What stalls were open were scantily stocked.

  “What’s wrong?” Lila asked.

  I frowned. “I’m not sure, but I know someone we can ask.”

  I led Lila to a storefront on the corner. It looked closed, though the front door was open.

  “This is my friend’s shop,” I explained. “His name is Binuf. He’s of the Yuve race. They’re avid stargazers and most pursue careers in navigation or astronomy. Binuf carved out a living manufacturing and selling telescopes.”

  “Interesting,” she murmured as we stepped into the dim shop.

  “Binuf?” I called.

  “Who’s there?” a wobbly voice answered.

  “Rekker, of the Calliope.”

  “Rekker?”

  There was a great deal of shuffling before Binuf came around the corner from a back room. He was a hulking creature with skin as blue as the night sky. He looked at me with tear-filled eyes, like silver coins.

  “Rekker,” he said with a sigh. “Something terrible has happened.”

  “Tell me.”

  “The Suhlik came through. They took people, women and children, for experiments. There were so many of them. They were all heavily armed. There was nothing I could do.”

  A heaving sob shuddered through his chest.

  “They took my wife and daughter. A dozen, maybe two dozen, more.”

  Lila let out a soft sigh and moved to stand beside Binuf. She placed a hand on his beefy arm, watching him with a sympathetic gaze.

  Rage boiled up in me. Silva was a peaceful planet. There were no military bases or strongholds here. The people who lived here were honest and hardworking.

  The Suhlik had never bothered to come out here before. Why now?

  “How long ago?” I asked through clenched teeth.

  “Two days,” Binuf replied.

  “Has anyone gone after the ship?”

  “There’s no one with the firepower to go after a Suhlik vessel. They didn’t just take women and children, they killed most of the men who tried to protect them. It’s a disaster.”

  “There must be something we can do,” Lila murmured softly.

  “The outpost council wants us to pick up and carry on as if they’re dead.” Binuf’s voice sounded strangled. “How can I do that? I can’t do it!” A fat silver tear rolled down his pudgy cheek.

  Lila ran her hand up and down his arm. “Of course you can’t,” she said softly. “They can’t possibly expect that of you.”

  “But they’re right.” Binuf sniffled. “Once the Suhlik take someone, they’re never seen again. I just
can’t stomach it, knowing my wife and daughter are somewhere on a ship in the middle of the black being treated like cattle. It’d be easier if they truly were dead.”

  “You don’t mean that,” Lila soothed.

  “You’ve never met a Suhlik. They’re brutal, unfeeling creatures. They’ll use my wife and daughter, and everyone else taken from here, for their own twisted purposes until there’s nothing left of them.”

  Lila looked at me, her eyes filling with tears.

  “The Calliope will go after the ship,” I said through gritted teeth. I tried not to let my anger bleed through. I didn’t want to cause Binuf any more distress.

  “You will?”

  I nodded. “Suhlik trafficking ships are fast, but not faster than the Calliope. If we leave today, we can catch up to them before they reach the nearest breeding hub.”

  “Thank you!” Tears flowed down Binuf’s face as he fell to his knees. I was amazed the wooden floor beneath him didn’t crack.

  Lila sprang back to avoid getting her toes smashed.

  When she looked over at me, I swore I saw pride in her eyes.

  That alone made my choice worth it.

  Lila

  “For what it’s worth, I think you made the right decision,” I said to Rekker as we made our way back to the Calliope.

  “I didn’t feel that there was a decision to be made,” he replied, his eyes cast straight ahead yet seeing right through everything before him. “People were taken. Someone has to go after them and I’m the only one here with the means to do so.”

  “You aren’t the only one with a ship,” I pointed out. “Surely someone else could go, since you’re already engaged in a mission.”

  “A mission that’s starting to feel like more of a pain in the back end than it’s worth,” he said with a wry smile. “Besides, no one who owns those ships will be lending their aid.”

  “How do you know?”

  “This is a tight-knit community. The fact that I, an outsider, was asked speaks volumes.”

  “What volumes, exactly?” I still didn’t understand.

  “Anyone who lives here with the means to pull off a rescue is either dead or taken by the Suhlik,” he clarified. “I’ve been here enough times for the local folk to consider me trustworthy.”

  “That’s why your shopkeeper friend looked so relieved to see you,” I concluded.

  “He likely started thinking of his wife and daughter as dead until I showed up.”

  “Is he the only one putting his hopes on you?”

  “At the moment, probably. Give it a few hours and that will change. Word travels fast here, as you can imagine.”

  I could. Just by looking around, I doubted more than five hundred beings called this place home permanently.

  If a dozen women and children had been taken, it would touch the lives of every family here.

  Of course, the forest was so tall and thick that the outpost could stretch on for miles without my knowledge.

  “So, you see what I mean when I say there wasn’t a choice to be made.”

  “I think there was,” I said with a decisive nod. “I think it was more than just duty that compelled you to make the right choice.”

  “Since when do you think so highly of me?” He looked down at me and smirked.

  “Oh, I see how it is.” I rolled my eyes. “Pay an alien male one compliment and he gets all big-headed about it.”

  “I’m not big-headed!” Rekker protested. “I only—”

  “Want to play the hero? Soak up a little extra glory?” I teased.

  “I just want to do the right thing.”

  “I know.” I gave him a playful nudge.

  The easiness between us had snuck up on me. I never imagined he’d be someone I could laugh and joke with without a second thought.

  Conversation flowed and shifted between us much like the silver water that flowed through the outpost. The thought brought a smile to my face.

  “What’s that smile for?”

  “I shouldn’t be smiling at all,” I said quickly. “People have been stolen from their homes. They must be terrified. If anything like this happened to my sisters, I don’t know what I’d do.” Nausea rolled through my body at the thought of it. “Which is why I’m smiling.”

  Rekker’s strong brow furrowed. “I don’t follow.”

  “The people of Silva who were taken won’t be terrified for much longer because of you. Because you’re good enough, brave enough, and hopefully smart enough, to rescue them.”

  “What do you mean by ‘hopefully’?” Rekker arched a brow.

  “Exactly what I said.” My smile returned. “Will the Calliope be in any condition to chase the Suhlik ship?”

  “That’s what I’m going to find out.”

  We reached our space on the dock. Kyre’s legs stuck out of a panel on the side of the ship.

  “Kyre.” Rekker wrapped his knuckles against the hull.

  “Captain.” Kyre slid out, grinning broadly. “Repairs are going well. We should be out of here in two days’ time, with every last bit of my to-do list settled.”

  “We’re going to depart within the hour,” Rekker said. “Focus on the engines and the weapons.”

  “An hour?” Kyre exclaimed, his smile gone, replaced with shock.

  “The Suhlik came through here two days ago and took wives, children, and many others. We’re going after their ship. Do what you can to make sure we stay airborne and don’t worry about anything else.”

  “I can do that.” Kyre nodded and swiftly returned to his work.

  I followed Rekker aboard while he spoke into his radio.

  “Derrix, report to the bridge immediately.”

  “Yes, Cap,” Derrix’s replied through the radio speaker.

  He was there waiting for us when we arrived on the bridge.

  “You’re to go into the outpost,” Rekker ordered. “Buy whatever heavy-hitting gunnery you can outfit the Calliope with within the hour.”

  “The hour?” Derrix balked. “That doesn’t give me much time.”

  “Figure it out,” Rekker barked.

  “Yes, Cap.” Derrix took off at a jog toward the entryway of the ship.

  “What else?” I asked. “Is there anything I could do?”

  Rekker looked surprised.

  “You know medicine, right?”

  His question caught me off guard. “For animals,” I said. “And I know some basic first aid.”

  “Good. Find Javik and go to the market. There are two shops that sell things for healing. Between the two of you, we should leave here with enough to handle the injuries of a dozen or more.”

  “You’re expecting to find them injured?”

  “The Suhlik aren’t a gentle people,” Rekker warned me. “Expect more than a fair share of injuries.”

  “Got it.”

  I immediately set off to find Javik. As I made my way to the med bay, I made a list of the supplies I’d buy if I was on Earth. Hopefully, I’d find acceptable substitutions here.

  “You’re early,” Javik said when I entered the room. He didn’t look up from his microscope.

  “What are you looking at?” I asked.

  “I collected a sample from the asteroid belt we went through,” he explained. “I’m looking to see what’s there to be discovered. There’s hardly anything else for me to do.”

  “Then I come with good news. Do you know where the medical supply shops here are?”

  “They aren’t called that, but yes. Why?”

  “The Suhlik kidnapped a bunch of people. We’re going to rescue them and we need to stock up.”

  Javik lifted his head from the microscope, his eyes gleaming with excitement behind his goggles. “How exciting!”

  I must’ve made a face, for Javik quickly amended his speech.

  “I mean only that I’m anxious to rescue those taken by the Suhlik,” he said. “Of course, I’d prefer it if they weren’t taken in the first place.”

 
“We don’t have time to waste,” I said with more sharpness than I meant to. “Rekker—I mean the Captain, wants to leave within the hour.”

  “Only an hour? Why didn’t you say so! We must move quickly.”

  “That’s what I just said,” I exclaimed as I followed Javik out of the med bay. I had to run to keep up with him. The Vaznik, probably all the Mahdfel, were so damn tall!

  “Do you know what we need?” Javik asked when we reached the market street. Even with a large part of the outpost’s population gone, the narrow wooden street was still bustling.

  “I only know how to treat farm animals,” I replied. “You’re the one who’s supposed to know all of this.”

  “Do you have any idea how many sentient species there are in the galaxy? Even the ones that have just made a home here on Silva? Most of them share physiological markers, but not all of them.”

  “I don’t know why you’d think I’d know better than you,” I replied.

  “I don’t. I just wanted to test you,” he grinned.

  “Why?” I barked out a laugh.

  We reached the first of the two shops described by Rekker. It was filled to the brim with things I didn’t recognize.

  Oh, no, that wasn’t true. There were bandages.

  I recognized those and nothing else.

  “Call it part of my vetting process,” Javik said as he filled a basket with what I assumed to be general medical supplies.

  “Vetting? Why am I being vetted?”

  “For one thing, I choose my friends carefully,” he explained. “For another, I have to make sure that any female who seeks the company of my Captain, mate or not, isn’t going to be a disruption.”

  I pondered his words carefully. “By disruption, do you mean break his heart?”

  “That’s a possible interpretation, yes.”

  He brought the basket to the shopkeeper. From the look on her face, I’d wager she already knew who we were.

  She gave us a hefty discount.

  “Please, bring them back to us,” she whispered to me as we left.

  “We’ll do our best.” I offered her a reassuring smile, wishing there was more I could do, then turned back to Javik. “I don’t intend to break his heart.”

  “But you want to return to your family.”

  “Is that a crime? I simply don’t see why it has to be one way or the other,” I huffed.