by Regine Abel
Despite biting my cheeks, I miserably failed at hiding my smirk. Belduk glared at both of us in turn and mumbled something under his breath. He tapped a few instructions on his datapad before placing it on the desk in front of me. Doruk reached for the tablet at the same time I did, and snagged it while giving me the ‘hands off’ look. I clasped my hands on my lap, reminding myself to calm down. This would all be over soon enough.
Doruk flipped through the pages of the acceptance form, then demanded to have the appendices it referred to also made available for his review. A smart request, considering the appendices contained the exhaustive list of the assets. Belduk could have kept some items off the list. However, everything turned out to be in order. Despite his greed, the notary had a successful practice that he would be foolish to jeopardize over an attempted con job.
Doruk extended the datapad to me, and I pressed my thumb on the signature box. In spite of his obvious displeasure, Belduk took it from me and proceeded to execute the transfer. It turned out to be the longest hour of my life, where I simply sat in silence, utterly ignored by the two males. However much of a sick bastard Doruk happened to be, my father had chosen well by appointing him as my guardian. He triple-checked every single transaction completed, ensuring I had full ownership, free and clear of any type of hold or claim. No further action would be required on my part to access the assets. Thanks to my father’s foresight, aside from our family’s estate on Guldar, his entire holdings had been placed in intergalactic banks and, therefore, outside of Guldan jurisdiction. Once under my name, Belduk couldn’t revert anything without filing a case with the Financial Court of the Galactic Council.
By the time it was finally over, Belduk no longer made any effort to hide his displeasure. He was as happy to see the back of us as we were to leave his office. On our way to the elevator, Doruk commed the valet to have his hovercar brought out front. It pulled up at the same time we reached the entrance. My guardian’s firm grip on my upper-arm made it clear he wasn’t ready for us to part ways just yet.
The passenger door of the bullet-shaped, silver-colored vehicle slid open. Still holding my arm, Doruk led me to it and, for a second, a sliver of fear coursed through me. Had he been so thorough ensuring I had full ownership of the estate so that he could coerce me into yielding it to him? As my guardian, he fell under the unwritten rule that he couldn’t take me as his mate to prevent abusive appropriation of the ward’s assets. But that rule had been broken a few times before. With him being barely a little over fifteen years my elder, and with significant wealth of his own, he would be deemed a suitable husband.
I entered the vehicle, the door closing almost instantly behind me, and waited for Doruk to get in behind the driver’s seat.
“Destination Vrok Estate,” Doruk said to the vehicle’s artificial intelligence as soon as his door closed.
I breathed a sigh of relief; he wasn’t abducting me to some forsaken place.
“Acknowledged,” the A.I. said.
Our seatbelts automatically wrapped around us and the vehicle lifted off, ascending about fifty meters vertically before flying towards my father’s home on autopilot.
The silence hung heavy between us. I didn’t mind it, not wanting to form any kind of bond with this man. He stared ahead, brooding. My own mind sorted through all that I had to handle before my departure.
The hovercar slowed down as it pulled up to the landing pad of the estate, drawing me out of my musings. I turned to Doruk, who continued to stare ahead. What I wouldn’t give to know what thoughts occupied his mind right now.
“Thank you for everything,” I said, the words somewhat scorching my tongue.
“I didn’t do it for you,” he snarled with a sideways glance.
Oh well, I tried.
I shrugged. “Thanks, anyway.”
The hovercar stopped, and this time, Doruk fully turned towards me, his green eyes boring into me with a cold, hard glint.
“Be gone from my planet by sunrise. And heed my warning well, Ravena Vrok. See that our paths never cross again, for it is not your father’s friend you will meet.”
He waved his hand in front of the control panel of the vehicle and my door slid open.
“Noted, Sen Sidik,” I said. “Just so we’re clear, know that the same applies to you.”
His chuckle resonated behind me as I stepped out of the vehicle.
“I hope we do meet again, little Veredian,” Doruk said. “I will enjoy you.”
Looking over my shoulder, I smirked at him. “No, Sen Sidik. I will enjoy you on your knees, like a good boy, receiving the punishment you more than deserve.”
Doruk burst out laughing, an undefinable glimmer in his eyes.
“Arrogant, just like your mother,” he said, shaking his head. The passenger door closed and, without sparing me another look, he turned the vehicle around and left.
A heavy weight lifted off my shoulders as he faded from view. I walked up the stairs to the two-story mansion, surrounded by a landscaped garden. I’d never quite understood why my father had acquired this specific house. Isolated on a large parcel of land, built in all metal and glass, it looked as cold as it was sleek with curved angles and wall-to-ceiling windows. Inside felt just as clinical with an overabundance of white and light grey. At least it made the rooms appear even more bright and spacious than they already were. I had visited this house once as a child. My father had explained that an interior decorator had taken care of furnishing it. I had realized then that he only owned it to have a place to stay during his rare visits to Guldar, but he didn’t consider this place his home. Thank the Goddess, as I wouldn’t shed a tear if—when—it got seized once I left.
With the clock ticking, I hurried out of my ridiculous, traditional, Guldan dress. I loved dressing sexy and showing a bit of skin, but not when my body was exposed due to the laws of men.
The amount of work that awaited me was daunting. But thankfully, I had arrived a few days ago and had started sorting through my brother’s files in my father’s former office. Varrek had made it his own since our father’s passing.
After packing all the items and mementos I intended to bring with me, I settled down at Varrek’s desk and began downloading and transferring every single file on record.
CHAPTER 2
Mercy
The chiming sound of the perimeter alarm going off on my armband startled me. I muttered a curse word at the unwelcomed intrusion and secured the crate I’d been placing inside my personal shuttle’s hold. Turning on the surveillance monitors inside the shuttle bay, I quickly scanned the various camera feeds. To my relief, there only appeared to be two men headed for one of the side entrances of the house. By the flickering of the images, they had activated a scrambler that hadn’t yet managed to break through Varrek’s rotating frequencies. Despite the house’s isolation and the added bonus of the cover of night, it made sense for the intruders to seek the most inconspicuous location to hack the locks and break into the house.
Had they delayed ten more minutes, they’d be staring at the fading lights of my shuttle taking off. I pondered for a minute whether or not to confront them. They wore civilian clothes and didn’t appear armed, although they probably had a concealed weapon of some kind. If Doruk had sent them, he’d know beyond the shadow of a doubt that I was alone in the house. Since he didn’t know the extent of my combat skills, he’d likely assume me to be easy prey. Yet, I doubted he was behind it. He’d given me until morning, and I trusted he’d keep his word.
That left Belduk.
Seeing me come alone to his office this morning likely tipped him that I had no protector in residence. I believed him greedy enough to have me abducted. He had the means to make my wealth disappear into his own coffers without a trace, and me along with it. While confident in my ability to take down those two men, fighting them struck me as an unnecessary risk. They could have backup beyond my detectors’ range. Worse, they could have some crazy new Guldan tech that I couldn’t fe
nd off, even with all the Tuurean enhancements my ship could boast, courtesy of my baby sister.
Between Doruk molesting me and Belduk’s nonsense, I would have welcomed the opportunity to vent today’s frustration. But it would have to wait for another day. I cursed again, remembering the bag I hadn’t brought down yet from my bedroom. A quick glance at the monitor indicated the men closing in on one of the side doors. In the time it would take them to hack through the lock, I could run up to fetch the bag, get back down, and take off. But that also felt like too great a risk. The bag contained nothing of sentimental value; just some clothes, toiletries, and a few womanly comforts.
Hopping inside the shuttle, I fired up the engine and opened the shuttle bay door. The short runway outside, and flood lights alongside it, lit up. Although the intruders wouldn’t have heard the door opening, the lights would be a dead giveaway. By now, they were likely racing to the entrance to see what was going on.
I shot out of the shuttle bay and launched a wide range scan. Through the window, I watched the two men running to the entrance of the house, looking at me. Even though they couldn’t see me, I waved mockingly at them. They raced towards their personal shuttle hidden behind the tall bushes a short distance from the estate. To my relief, the scanner didn’t pick up any other vessels nearby. That didn’t mean they wouldn’t be coming.
As I raced upwards to clear Guldar’s atmosphere, my radar displayed up the two men’s shuttle in pursuit. Like me, they were flying right below the speed limit that would trigger an inquiry from ground control. I couldn’t afford to draw their attention. A single female, Free Woman or not, had no business leaving the planet without supervision. Once I left Guldar’s atmosphere, I’d be free to push my shuttle to its highest speed. With my current head start, those bastards would never catch me.
And then a second vessel showed up on my radar, this one moving on an intercept course. Calculating our trajectories, by the time I cleared Guldar’s restricted speed zone, they’d be right on top of me. They’d likely use a tractor beam to immobilize me, which would make my job of dispatching them easier. But I needed to prepare in case they tried to hit me with an EMP blast to fry my ship’s systems and leave me dead in the water.
I diverted all non-essential power to my shields and maintained a steady course. The ship’s com beeped with an incoming hail from the intruders’ shuttle. I ignored it. Minutes later, Guldar’s shimmering night sky gave way to the infinite, starry darkness of space. No sooner did we clear the restricted zone than the second ship fired its tractor beam at me. My shuttle jerked under the pull which forced it into a quick stop.
I smiled.
“Time for you bastards to discover why you shouldn’t mess with a Veredian.”
As much as I wanted to play with those sons of a krillik, I needed to disable this second ship before the would-be-intruders’ shuttle caught up to us. I fired my own tractor beam at them, not to pull their ship, but because mine would release a series of nanobots specially encoded with a single command: shutdown any non-vital system. As expected, within seconds of their vessel getting hit by my tractor beam, its lights began to flicker as its systems all became disabled.
That was how I had disabled my brother’s ship when I’d captured him a few weeks ago.
The intruders’ ship finally caught up to us. They didn’t use their beam on me. When I tried to use mine on them, their shield prevented my nanobots from reaching their systems. Instead of the EMP blast I’d expected, they fired photon torpedoes at me.
What the fuck?
Were they actually trying to kill me? Despite getting brutally rocked by the impact, my shields absorbed the damage. But I wouldn’t wait to see how much they’d be willing to throw at me. While charging my EMP, I executed some evasive maneuvers to dodge their other shots. I had no problem killing. Under different circumstances, I would have blown up their asses after the first shot. However, taking a Guldan life in Guldan space would trigger an investigation I didn’t need. The less they knew about me, the better.
My EMP chimed, indicating a full charge. Taking aim, I fired a first shot to take out their shield, and then immediately fired a second one to fry their systems. Their distress beacon launching was all the confirmation I needed that they couldn’t pursue. Selecting the preset course to the Belevar space station, I initiated the warp jump to get out of here.
I needed to reclaim my battleship, the Falcon, that I had left there. Although it was a Guldan ship, its size would have required me to dock at one of Guldar’s spaceports. That, in turn, would have meant going through customs and border patrol. I sent a message to my small crew to prepare for imminent departure; I wanted the ship restocked and refueled upon my arrival.
After completing the jump and following a half-hour flight, the massive silhouette of the Belevar space station showed up on screen. My father had all but owned that station, having greased many palms and funded multiple businesses that operated there. Even their law enforcement had been on his payroll.
After our father’s death, Varrek had made sure to uphold those relationships. And so did I, now. Thankfully, Belevar was an intergalactic space station. The locals didn’t give two shits about gender, race, or cultural beliefs. Here, as long as you had credits, they’d happily work with you. While appreciative of the relative safety I enjoyed on Belevar, pressing business awaited me halfway across the galaxy in the Eastern Quadrant.
I landed in the shuttle bay of my battleship, still docked at the Belevar station. My First Officer, Sarah, greeted me upon my arrival. She had nothing major to report, except to warn me of the unusually heavy Guldan presence on the station. My presence no longer raised eyebrows on Belevar. Most people here knew I was Gruuk’s daughter. They also knew better than to mess with me. They simply had no idea I was half Veredian. Even here, I wore my prosthetics.
As soon as Sarah completed her report, I ordered her to set a course for the Venus Hive pleasure barge located in the Eastern Quadrant. She raised an inquisitive eyebrow but I merely smiled, leaving her curiosity unsated. Sarah didn’t belong to my very limited inner circle. As my current mission would take me into many hazardous places, I didn’t want to risk bringing my usual crew with me, mainly constituted of Veredian females. She, and the rest of my current crew, belonged to a trustworthy circle of Terran and Dantorian mercenaries I often did business with. While the Galactic Council had declared Veredians an endangered species, and therefore under its protection, we still needed to be careful; which meant remaining cooped up in safe places.
And I’m sick of it.
Sick of hiding and of being hidden. In a few weeks, I’d celebrate my fiftieth birthday. A third of my lifespan had been thrown away living in secret, for fear of being sold to collectors. But worse, to avoid the Guldans forcing my mother to be bred by as many Guldans as possible in the hope she would birth another like me.
Guldan hybrids were extremely rare as the females weren’t normally allowed to mate outside of our race, and females from other species couldn’t survive the pregnancy. Guldan babies came into the world fully horned. The viciously sharp tips shredded alien mothers from the inside out. But Guldan females had developed an inner shell that protected us. My mother had only survived birthing me because of her Veredian psi ability. She was a powerful healer. With a touch, she could mend any cut, wound, fractured bones, and even old scars.
I’d finally met her for the first time a few weeks ago. I missed her terribly. Part of me wanted to return to Xelix Prime where she now lived with my sister, my niece, and their mates before heading to the Eastern Quadrant. Mother hadn’t known of my existence. While she’d rejoiced at having me back, the rest of our family had reacted with mixed feelings at discovering she had actually loved my father. After all, he had built his wealth enslaving and force breeding Veredians. My youngest sister, Aleina, had taken it the hardest. She had eventually made her peace with it, but it had left a scar on her relationship with Mother.
Although it wasn’t
my burden to bear, I felt a great deal of guilt about my father’s actions. And yet, I loved him. He’d been good to me and made so many sacrifices to protect my mother and her other children. Still, in spite of his efforts to treat his slaves with kindness, the pain and suffering his business caused could never be denied or overlooked.
My family had embraced me with open arms, but I knew that every time they gazed upon my face, eerily similar to my mother’s, they also saw the black hair, black eyes, and black horns I’d inherited from my father. Retrieving my inheritance had only been one of my goals when I’d set out on this mission. While financially comfortable on my own, the tremendous wealth inherited from my father would go a long way to helping finance the construction of the new home world for the liberated Veredians. But more importantly, I was hoping to recover my brother’s clients list. With it, I could track down all the Veredian slaves that had been sold over the years; among them, Galicia and Gerana, the twin daughters my mother had given birth to from her third pregnancy.
I couldn’t undo the harm my father had done, but giving my mother her children back and helping to free all my other Veredian sisters was the least I could do. Based on what I’d found so far in Varrek’s files, he had been in the process of establishing a new base on Braxia. With the Galactic Council cracking down on slavery in the Western Quadrant, moving his business to the East had made sense. I didn’t know much about Braxia except that their males were scrumptiously massive and brutish looking. Sadly, by all accounts, they treated females even worse than Guldans.
Thankfully, my old Terran friend William worked as the right hand to Anton Aldriss, the powerful Braxian hybrid who owned the Hive Network: the largest and most luxurious chain of pleasure barges in the Eastern Quadrant. He had previously put his resources at our disposal to track down my brother. I hoped he would assist me again as he had strong connections on Braxia.