“As in Antarean carbon life-forms in particular, Wulf?” Nadia arched a brow. “You think the Antareans are behind all the attacks?” That had been one of her hypotheses.
“I think the fact the supposed pirates had military technology on decommissioned Volusian ships points to someone hiring and supplying a bunch of mercenaries to attack Iota Persei 568. If the Antareans are behind it, they’ll have a presence on board the three larger ships. No Antarean would completely trust a hireling not of their race to follow through completely.”
A chill swept down Nadia’s spine. “You think they’re using the facade of pirate attacks in a renewed attempt to take over the Milky Way?”
“The Antareans have never stopped attacking. They just slowed down for a while.”
Wulf shook his head. “Now, they’re escalating. It’s still early in the new alliance between the Prime and the Alliance. They want to take us out and get a foothold in the Perseus arm or lose their chance forever.”
“They see the inhabitants of our galaxy as a threat?” Nadia frowned. “The Milky Way is not all that close to the outer edges of Andromeda. Why do they feel the need to get an even larger buffer?”
“I’ve never understood it. They’re acting on some tunnel-visioned instinct—and like all fanatics, they are paranoid. You can’t reason with them or begin to understand their reasoning. You have to accept their actions and react accordingly.” Wulf nodded at the screen. “We’re in control of this particular enemy. Go do your work, Nadia. We’ll let the politicians make the ultimate decisions. It’s our job to gather information and protect the inhabitants of our galaxy.”
“Aye-aye, sir.” Nadia went back to her workstation, but kept a small part of her brain monitoring Huw. She’d not breathe easily until her man was back from his mission to the planet’s surface. She always kept in the back of her mind that FUBAR was a corollary to the laws of military engagement.
Two Standard Hours later on IP 568
Huw strode through the mess that used to be the engine room on the Renard. He stopped at a blackened control grid and turned to one of his engineering techs.
“Communicate with Commander Iolyn on the Galanti and have him send down a replacement grid. The power source wasn’t hit. We should be able to get this ship up and running with a new unit and a day or so of work.”
The tech nodded. “Aye-aye, Commander.”
Huw turned and walked out of the engine room and headed for the bridge of the vessel where his counterpart from the Leonidas, Commander A’tem, checked over the control panel connections for the helm.
As he entered the emergency stairwell, he felt a sharp prick on his neck. He turned to defend himself, but lost his balance and fell.
Hard cruel hands gripped him and an unknown raspy voice snarled in a language he couldn’t process at the moment. He didn’t need to understand to know that some of the planet’s attackers had managed to sneak onto the damaged Alliance ship. He raged at his rapidly weakening body and the increased fuzziness of his mind. Before he lost consciousness, he instinctively reached for the connection to Nadia. “Enemy on planet.
Warn the other away teams. They have me … send help.”
Chapter 24
Officer’s Lounge on the Galanti
With the airspace around the planet under the control of Gold’s ships, the away teams in the process of securing the planet, and a fresh command deck crew monitoring the situations in both places, Nadia and the other senior command deck officers had gone off duty and decided to share a meal in the Officer’s Lounge.
Letting out a sharp gasp, Nadia sat upright in the booth. Her exhaustion washed away in a flood of adrenaline. “Huw!”
“What’s wrong, sister-kin?” Iolyn asked. “What’s Huw done now?”
“He’s been taken by the enemy … on the planet. I’ve lost contact with him…” She looked at Mel and then Wulf, who’d joined her and Iolyn for a drink before dinner. “I can feel him. Touch his mind. But he can’t respond.”
“He must be unconscious. Keep trying.” Mel looked at Wulf. “She should be able to find him … as long as the enemy doesn’t take him too far away.” Mel turned back to stare. “Do you get the impression he’s being taken away from the planet?”
“No.” Nadia shoved her way out of the booth. “Get me down there. I’ll find him.”
She now understood how Huw had felt when she’d been in danger. It was a horrible feeling akin to an essential piece of herself dying. She shot a grim look at the other three.
“The enemy has probably taken others of our away team hostage. If I find Huw, I’ll find them all.”
The enemy had no way of knowing about battle-mate capabilities. Hell, she had no way of knowing all she could do … she was on a steep learning curve and a short clock.
“Captain Wulf! Captain Melina!” The head of security rushed into the lounge area.
“We have a report from Commander A’tem that an enemy team infiltrated one of the downed cruisers and have taken Commander Huw and his engineering team hostage. The enemy is demanding a ship and free passage off the planet and away from the Iota Persei system.”
“Is that their only demand?” Wulf asked.
“No, sir.” Z’es’s scowl grew darker. “They stated if we don’t meet their demands within the next standard hour, they’ll kill one hostage each half hour until we do.” The security officer looked at Nadia. “They said they would start with Commander Huw.”
Nadia pressed a trembling hand over her gemate mark as it throbbed with pain. “Like hell they’ll kill my gemat.”
“Get a transport ready, Z’es. We want two full security teams on board and ready to go within the next ten standard minutes.” Wulf led the way out of the lounge. Nadia and the others followed. Z’es was on his com unit relaying Wulf’s orders as they rushed to the lift which would take them to the shuttle bay.
Feeling lost, alone, barely controlling the firestorm of emotions threatening to erupt, Nadia yelled, cajoled, and pleaded with Huw over their bond. “Wake up, Huw. Now!
Dammit!” She was scared she was about to lose her man. Not gonna happen! She ramped up her calls; she’d nag him awake if it was the last thing she ever did. She refused to lose him.
“Is he responding?” Mel winced and rubbed her forehead. “You’re putting off enough psychic energy to vibrate the lift.”
“No. He’s out of it.” Nadia closed her eyes and concentrated on examining his vital signs as best she could. “He’s alive, but his heart rate seems low. They might have drugged him. Is there a way I can help him flush it out of his system?”
“Yes. Stop controlling your anger and fear,” Wulf ordered. “Use your emotions to pump up your adrenaline and cortisol levels … then share the resulting energy with Huw.
It will help him metabolize and flush whatever they gave him out of his system. Be careful you don’t succumb to the batel rabia. Seek it. Harness it. Share it. Use it … as battle-mates do.”
“I’ll try.” Nadia shuddered. She didn’t know what in the hell she was doing and had no time to learn.
“Don’t try. Do!” Wulf’s low growl swept over her.
She nodded and let go of her ice-cold control. Her heart beat rapidly, her breathing grew erratic as she allowed her anger—and yes, fear—to take her over. She built her rage, heated layer by heated layer, until she swore she breathed fire and saw red. Her body hummed and vibrated with the surge of emotions sweeping through her. Then she felt Wulf, Mel, and Iolyn pull her into an icy cloud of controlled rage. The psychic connection was similar to what she felt with Huw, but then not. The collective psi pressed on her and showed her the way to focus her emotions so they would be productive and not destructive.
“Good. Good. Your aura shows the cold rage of a Prime warrior.” Wulf slapped her on the back. “Now shoot it to Huw, pull him into the batel rabia … he needs to be ready to react when we move in.”
Feeding Huw her energy was easier than she’d expected; she m
erely pictured the unbreakable link connecting them and focused her energy across it. Less than a nanosecond after her thought, his jolt of awareness was a streak of lightning across their bond.
“Huw. Thank God you’re back! We’re coming, gemat. Pretend to be unconscious.
Feed on the collective strength. Get the drug out of your system.”
“Nadia. Stay away. Let my brothers and security handle this.”
“Don’t be stupid. I’m your battle-mate. I won’t let some mercenary take my man from me.”
“Not mercenaries. Antareans. Four of them.”
Nadia followed the others to the waiting shuttle. “Huw says the hostage takers are Antarean. There are four of them.”
Z’es nodded and ordered his security teams to load dart weapons onto the shuttle.
The weapon had been developed by the Prime specifically to kill Antareans with fast-acting poison darts, which pierced the thick hides of the pseudo-reptilian species.
“Can Huw tell us where they’re being held?” Wulf strapped in to pilot the shuttle.
The security teams and Iolyn strapped in behind Nadia as she took the copilot seat.
Mel had remained with the ship to provide support from above if needed. With an Antarean presence confirmed, there might be more Antarean ships on their way to the planet to back up their compatriots.
Nadia relayed Wulf’s question to Huw who appeared to be more alert than mere seconds ago. She turned to Wulf who took the shuttle out of the Galanti. “Huw was unconscious when he was moved. And since he’s still playing at appearing that way, he can’t question his team.” She stared out the front port. “Don’t worry. I’ll know where he is. Just get me to his last known position. They can’t be all that far from the downed ships.”
“The four crashed on the planet when one of our ships took out their craft,” Nadia informed Wulf and the others. “They need a ship. They’re desperate.”
“How do you know these things, Commander Nadia?” Z’es asked.
“Huw’s feeding me their words, their emotions. He wants me to know they’re lethally dangerous.” She looked over her shoulder at Z’es and his teams. The Prime members nodded their heads; they understood what was happening. The non-Prime males looked confused and then shocked as quickly whispered explanations were provided by the Prime. “My gemate has ordered me to stay on the ship and away from the enemy.”
She snorted. “Like hell.”
Beside her, Wulf chuckled. “My brother still hasn’t accepted your strength … and the full range of your connection has he?”
“Oh, he knows my strength and the connection is what’s making him all bossy.”
Nadia snorted. “He just wants to tell me what to do. This relationship if it’s to succeed needs to start out the way we’ll continue to go.”
“And that way is?” Z’es’s voice was filled with fascination.
“As equal partners. As a battle-mate.” Nadia looked at the men surrounding her, all Prime and Volusian males. The most dominant and alpha males in the galaxy. “Mel accepted no less and neither will I.” She smiled grimly. “And if I have to pound that into my mate’s head, I’ll do so every time he tries to shunt me aside as a weak and helpless woman.”
“Give him time, sister-kin.” Wulf brought the shuttle into a perfect heavy air landing next to the damaged Renard and Picarus. “It’s a steep learning curve. And even Mel and I haven’t conquered it yet. Since there have been no battle-mates since before the Berean Wars, we must learn how to deal as we go.”
“I’m sure Huw will learn.” Nadia unstrapped herself, reached for the dart weapon lying at her feet, and then stood. “He has no choice. He’s stuck with me.”
“Not stuck, cwen . I love you. Worship and adore you. But if you get one scratch on your body rescuing me, I’ll think of new and arousing ways to punish you.”
“That’s not scaring me, sladkie . And the same goes for you. Don’t attract undue attention to yourself. You’re Prime. They’d love to kill you if your value as a hostage depreciates.”
She stalked to the shuttle exit and opened it. She walked down the ramp and was met by A’tem, the rest of Gold’s away teams, and the crews from the downed Gold battle cruisers.
As Wulf received a sit rep from A’tem, Nadia turned in a full circle. She sought to triangulate Huw’s position through their connection. During the first sweep, she could discern no specific direction. She swore a blue streak. There were too many emotions in the air around her.
Building semipermeable mental walls around the collective batel rabia psi, she tried again. This time, she followed the line to Huw more easily while still using the battle rage of the others to strengthen her focus. Huw was frantic. His fear for her and, yes, his anger and frustration bombarded her. His position was fixed in her mind now—she could find him on a pitch-black night if she had to.
“Wulf!”
Her brother-kin came to her. He placed his hand on her shoulder. “Have you found my brother?”
“My gemat is about one point five kilometers in that direction.” She pointed toward a small mountain range covered by a dense forest. “And about twenty meters above the surface of the plain we’re standing on. The enemy will have eyes on us.”
Nadia turned and looked at the crowd surrounding them. “We don’t have much time.” She found a strange face and approached him. “You’re part of the expedition here?”
The man nodded. “My name is Dr. Peters, and I’m in charge of the geological survey of this planet.”
She took Dr. Peters firmly by the shoulders and turned him in the direction where Huw was. She pointed. “See the dark red shadow about twenty meters up? It’s the only spot on the side of the mountain that has no trees. What is that place? And how do I get to it without the Antareans seeing me?”
“Without us being seen,” Wulf interjected. All the soldiers grunted their agreement.
Nadia sighed. “Yes, all of us.” She looked at Dr. Peters who had a look on his face between concern and bemusement. “What’s up there?”
“A small lab which we use to test core samples we’ve taken from the caves.”
“Is there another way up there besides scaling up the side of the mountain?” Nadia asked, taking control from Wulf who didn’t complain. They all wanted the same result: Huw and the team back. Wulf would understand the instincts driving her better than most. He, too, was a battle-mate.
“Yes, you can get into the cavern system and come out behind the lab. I’ll lead you,”
Dr. Peters said, picking up a pack and shrugging it on.
“Let’s go.” Nadia followed Dr. Peters. The security teams along with Wulf, Iolyn, and some of the other crew members from the downed cruisers followed. Wulf placed Commander A’tem in charge of continuing to communicate with and stalling the Antareans.
After they’d traveled about a kilometer, she spotted a path leading to a dark hole in the side of the mountain. Nadia grimaced. Before she could help herself, she asked Dr.
Peters, “Are the caves safe? Are there any dangerous creatures we need to be aware of?”
Visions of giant, blonde-eating worms sent chills down her spine. Instantly, Huw was in her mind, soothing her, sending her warmth, sharing his faith in her courage and her leadership abilities. Her fear dimmed as Huw’s strength became hers. Yeah, this bond had its advantages.
“The cave system is completely safe.” Dr. Peters spoke over his shoulder as he traversed the well-worn path that led into a thicket of giant trees, dense ground-level bushes, and tall grasses at the base of the mountains. The terrain reminded her of the Caucasus mountain range on Earth. “The planet’s core is cooling, and there is little tectonic activity left. The only life-forms in the caves are bacteria, fungi, some insects, small frogs in the underground streams, and some flying mammals similar to Terran bats.
Mostly harmless.”
“No giant worms.” Nadia could’ve kicked her own ass as soon as the words left her mouth. So m
uch for the boost of confidence Huw had provided. Phobias backed by real life experience were hard to put away. The only good news was none of the men with her snickered or teased her.
In fact, one soldier close by muttered, “Hope to hell not.”
Dr. Peters visibly shuddered. “No, thank the Lord. I had a bad experience with one in the Umbraxi system.”
Well, join the club, doctor. Maybe I should start a club and have secret handshakes for the members.
“Never want to meet one again.” He turned and swept a glance over them all. “But if you see something glowing in moist areas…”
She nodded.
“Don’t touch it. The only dangerous life-forms underground are several varieties of anaerobic bacteria. Nasty stuff.”
The men grumbled—they’d gotten the message.
“Thanks for the warning, Doctor.” Wulf responded and then gave orders to his team.
“Cover all parts of your skin you can. We’ll decontaminate in the Renard and Picarus decontamination chambers before transporting back to the ship.”
As they continued to follow the doctor, the men pulled on gloves and balaclavas to cover their necks and faces as much as possible. Nadia pulled hers on as well. She didn’t want a lecture from Huw about being careless. His masculine grunt of approval vibrated through her body.
They finally reached a dark hole in the side of the mountain. This was the adit or opening to the cave system.
Dr. Peters stopped and waited until all had gathered around him. “Stay close to me.
Do not go off into any side tunnels. Many of them drop off unexpectedly and others dead-end. We have mapped the cave system and coded all the tunnels using standard mining symbols.”
“How far to the hut where they have our people,” Wulf asked, retaking his leadership role.
Fear for Huw and disquiet about entering yet another unknown cave system had struck her dumb. But her fears, though real, wouldn’t keep her from doing what she needed to do. She’d let Huw comfort her … later once they were safely locked into their quarters.
Prime Selection Page 29