Liberation

by Sabine Priestley

  Jules had stayed for the first week and helped out before heading back to Casdoon to try and finish the bounty hunter job they’d interrupted.

  Marco and Armond were back on Earth after a reportedly tense trip home. Marco swore he’d never again be confined to close quarters with the arrogant Albino.

  Kit stood on her parent’s new porch with her back leaning against her psi-mate. Balastar had his arms around her, and she sighed at the warmth of his breath. The EPs had left two weeks ago with Balastar’s ship and the monolith and returned to Earth. Dani’s folks decided to return to their beloved Cat Island on Earth where Dani and Ian lived. A permanent portal would be established between Balastar’s villa on Lago Como and Kit’s parents’ house here. They might be on separate planets, but it would feel more like living next door.

  She and Balastar were leaving the following day on the Tiger. Rucon had ordered a short run tunnel be excavated near Balastar’s villa. The monolith would be secure and only a limited few would know where it was or how to access it.

  Even now, standing here at her new, old home she couldn’t quite believe it. News had spread across the planet that they were no longer hostage. Celebrations erupted worldwide, and aerospace research facilities that had been functioning in secret came forward. Vertans celebrated the coming of a new space age, and a day she never thought to see was here.

  The goodbyes the next day were easy. With the portal, they could call and visit anytime. Her parents were already planning extensive travel on Earth. Due to the lack of landing facilities on Vertan, Kit had left Tiger in orbit, so she and Balastar ported up after a final visit with her grandmother.

  After they stored their things, Kit settled in the bridge. She let out a whistle when she brought up Tiger’s AI. “Wow.”

  “What’s up?” Balastar asked sliding into the chair next to her.

  “I never thought I’d see the day.” She sent the ship’s navigation display to the view screen. It hadn’t taken long for the word to get out. Six transport ships and one large passenger ship sat in stationary orbit around them. They’d used Tiger as a quasi anchor for parking around Vertan. There was already talk of a spaceport and extensive tourism. Crazy.

  She pulled out of the stationary formation and set her coordinates for the nearest interstellar portal back to Earth.

  Two hours later they approached the first jump. They went through smooth as silk. Kit was about to adjust for the next gateway when the AI blared a proximity warning. In the time it took to register the three Torog ships off their starboard, half of her outer aft hull was blown to shreds.

  Experience kicked in as she activated emergency systems and prepared to fire back, but the Torog ships blinked out through the gateway.

  “What the fuck?” She scanned the systems report. They were wounded but not critically. She cursed when a thruster core and a few other choice spare parts drifted by the view screen. Life-support was solid but her thrusters were out and the spare just floated off. “Shit.” She didn’t want to think about where they’d be if they didn’t have that outer hull. As it were, they were sitting ducks on the door step of the portal. This could still end very badly. A large enough transport ship might not have time to correct course before plowing into them. She was going to have to suit up and get a hands on visual of the damage. “Fuck, fuckity, fuck, fuck.”

  The AI reported an incoming message.

  “Display message.” She barely paid attention as she stood. A space walk wasn’t what she’d planned on doing right now.

  “Kit, take a look at this.”

  Balastar pointed to the screen.

  It showed the incoming message. She did a triple take on the signature before reading the text.

  “We regret that we catch you finally when the game is over. For this, you live.”

  “Is that supposed to be a joke? Do Torogs even have a sense of humor?”

  Balastar laughed. “It certainly looks that way. Don’t worry, babe. We’ll get her fixed up.”

  “It’s so not funny.”

  “After all those years of chasing after you, it’s hard to blame them for a parting shot.”

  “No, it’s not hard to blame them.”

  Another incoming message pinged her com. It was voice this time, and she flipped on the speakers. “Come back to finish us off?”

  “I don’t know what kind of trouble you’re in now, but it’s not on us.”

  Shock rocked through her as Corvak’s voice echoed in the bridge.

  “What the frack is he doing here?” Balastar’s anger pulsed.

  “Who cares?” She replied, going for a calming vibe. “We’re dead in the water here.”

  “Is that you Corvak?”

  “One and the same. What happened to my Tiger?

  She knew he was trying to push her buttons. “A little run in with Torogs. Nothing we can’t handle.” That was a blatant lie. Damn. Button’s pushed successfully.

  “So we can just go on our way?”

  “What the hell are you doing out here?” Balastar asked.

  “We’ll just be going then.”

  “No wait! We need help. Thrusters are out, and we’re kind of sitting in the middle of the road.”

  “I noticed. Okay if we move you over? We’ll get you sorted so we can be on our way.” Corvak didn’t sound nearly as annoyed as Balastar. With her systems down she couldn’t ping the ships AI, but she recognized the hull. She knew there had been something between Corvak and captain Ginny Sparr.

  “Yes, that would be appreciated. Thanks, Corvak.”

  She heard his laughter as the tug of a tractor beam nudged the ship. A moment later, they lost gravity.

  “Oh, for crying out loud.” Kit reached for the seat but missed.

  Balastar, still strapped into his harness, grabbed her flailing wrist and pulled her down. He brought her to his lap and held her in place with his arms.

  He burst out laughing as he held her tight.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “You in zero-G. Love the hair. We have air and now we have help. Granted I’d have preferred anyone else in the universe but…relax.”

  She shot him her best angry glare, but it just made him laugh louder. “Telling someone to relax just adds fuel to the fire.”

  “Fine, sorry. You just can’t pull off an angry face with that hair and your cheeks all lifted.”

  She had to admit he looked pretty ridiculous as well. She shook her head and gave him a kiss. A taste of things to come once they got out of this mess. She activated her com. “Corvak, we just lost our GravMod. It’s going to take me a little longer to get suited up.”

  “I’ll meet you outside. Ginny’s ready with her spare parts inventory. You can pay us back later.”

  “Tell her I said hello.” It took a full thirty minutes to get suited. She’d forgotten what a pain in the ass it was to do in zero-G. Turned out she should have checked the air lock first. The outer seal was damaged. She peeled off her helmet amidst a string of curses and requested a direct link to Corvak. “The outer seal is cracked. I’m not going anywhere.”

  “It’s alright. I’ve got you covered. Hold on to something.” There wasn’t time before she sunk to the floor. It wasn’t one G, but it would do. “That’s all you’re going to get for now. Ginny’s almost done with the thruster. You’re only going to have one, so it should be an interesting trip. Nearest spaceport with what you need is Solaris 9.”

  “Looks like we’re going back to Solaris 9 for repairs,” she told Balastar who was helping her get the suit off.

  “We have fond memories there,” he said with a wink.

  He was right. “Thanks for all this, Corvak. What were you guys doing out here, anyway?”

  “Heading home. We got word your crazy scheme worked. Well done, Kit.”

  She smiled. “You sound happy.”

  “I am. Ginny suits me. How about you?”

  “He’s my psi-mate.”

  “Well damn. Looks like we bo
th won the jackpot.”

  “You too? No wonder you sound so…different.”

  “I sound happy, Kit.”

  “Yes, you do.”

  It took them another hour and a half, but they were soon off with a little less than half a G and only one thruster.

  Corvak and Ginny stayed with them for the eighteen hours it took to get to Solaris 9 before saying their goodbyes.

  As they packed up what they needed to take with them, Kit did a mental inventory of what it would take to fix her ship. It would be weeks, but she could make a portal back to Earth. Weeks on Earth with Balastar in his villa. Her new home. Her ship had been home for so many years that having a terrestrial abode was a foreign concept. But not a bad one. She couldn’t suppress a smile.

  ***

  The following day they were back on Earth. They stood on the back porch of the still empty villa. The place was beautiful and full of old world charm. She was looking forward to decorating and furnishing their new home. She and Balastar had just moved the monolith into the chamber Rucon had created. It was located off the tunnel that led here. Unless you knew where to look, you’d never know it existed. The psi energy coming off it was calm now, not agitating. Orion said he’d be absent for some time, and she missed his presence.

  “Who do you suppose they are? Orion’s people I mean.”

  “It’s a fascinating question. I wonder if we’ll ever know for sure.”

  Their villa was further up the mountain than Ria’s but only a short drive by car and even shorter trip in the tunnel. Being higher up, the views were spectacular. They’d given themselves a month to get the place settled and just be together here on Earth. After that, they had plans for a series of shipments across the galaxy. And three formal balls to attend. The thought didn’t send terror through her like it used to. Balastar was an excellent teacher and Dani promised to go shopping with her to build up a proper ladies wardrobe. She was ready for this new life. And who knew? Maybe someday they would add to their family. The thought made her smile.

  Balastar took her in his arms and kissed her forehead. “What are you thinking?”

  “About our wedding.” She, Dani and Ria were planning a triple ceremony. It would be an event like none other seen on Earth with people attending from across the galaxy. Humans wouldn’t know of course.

  “I can’t believe humans haven’t figured it out yet. So many aliens among them.”

  Balastar kissed her on the lips this time, his psi caressing, tempting. “I’m sure someone will screw up eventually and we’ll have to come clean. Rucon thinks they’re ready, but he doesn’t want to force the issue.”

  He was probably right. Earth was primed and ready to leave the dark planet status and she for one hoped someone would screw-up sooner rather than later.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and stared into the most gorgeous blues she’d ever seen, responding to his teasing psi. “I believe we have a villa that needs christening, m’lord.”

  “We have no bed.” His kiss was hungry and full of passion.

  “I seem to recall we do pretty good up against a wall.”

  His smile was molten as he took her hand and led her inside.

  For all lovers of Science Fiction Romance.

  A special thanks to Nat at Kanaxa Design for the cover.

  To my amazing editor Corinne DeMaagd at CMD Editing.

  To beta reader and editor extraordinair Victoria Baksa for keeping it real.

  And to the amazing women at KickAssChicks.com. I’d be lost without you all.

  Turn the page to find out more about Sabine and to read a teaser for Alien Attachments Book One.

  Copyright © 2015 Stephanie Priestley

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form

  or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from Sabine Priestley.

  In case there is any doubt, this short story is a work fiction.

  All people mentioned herein live solely in the author’s head, and are not based on any living creature.

  ISBN 9781625179579

  Pick your poison if you want to get in touch. If the urge to throw some stars at this on Amazon and/or Goodreads strikes, please, keep calm and rate on.

  Amazon | Goodreads | FaceBook | www.SabinePriestley.com | @SabinePriestley | SabinePriestley@gmail.com

  About Sabine: An Electrical Engineer/Cultural Anthropologist by training, Sabine is a geek with heart. A lifelong lover of books, she grew up on Science Fiction, Fantasy and Romance novels. As a child she wanted to be an astronaut and travel the stars looking for aliens. As an adult she’s seriously disappointed we’ve yet to establish so much as a moon base (although she gives a hearty nod to the ISS) and is pretty sure Humans aren’t ready to meet ET. She’s lived in more states than she cares to admit and loves to travel. When not in far off lands, you can frequently find her walking the local beaches and plotting her next adventure. Sabine lives in Florida with her husband, kids, cats and an increasingly large mess of characters in her head.

  Be sure not to miss the first book in the series, Alien Attachments. Read on for a sample.

  Chapter 1

  A dark-skinned male and a tall blond female danced around each other, bamboo sticks at the ready, waiting for an opening. Sitting on the warm iron bleachers above, Ian Cavacent leaned forward in anticipation. The old warehouse on Cat Island doubled as many things. Tonight, it hosted the weekly mixed fight competition. The popular event drew crowds from as far away as Nassau. Humans jostled for a seat or stood in groups around the improvised, oversized boxing ring. The target of his interest was the blond woman. He’d come to watch her for the past few weeks. A friend of his human support agent, Jared, she fascinated him. He had a rule to avoid women on the island, but there was something about this one. She intrigued him. And not for the usual reasons, either. Yes, she was pretty, beautiful even, but there was more to it than that.

  Jared slid into the seat next to him and handed him a beer. “Dani said you were stalking her.”

  “I don’t stalk.” Ian took the plastic cup. “Besides, I wasn’t aware she knew I was here.”

  “Yeah, she told me that too.”

  Ian took a long pull on the beer. “There’s just something odd about her. Maybe it’s the way she moves. Her motions aren’t practiced, she’s constantly off balance, and yet she pulls in win after win. If I didn’t know better, I’d say the fights were rigged.”

  The crowd quieted, and tension rose as the timer ticked down to zero.

  Below, the two continued their dance, circling each other. The man lunged and Dani twirled with an awkward step, but still managed to dodge the swing of the bamboo. Sweat dripped into the cleavage of her sports bra and down the small of her back, leaving a dark stain in the fabric. She parried left and right. As usual, her maneuvers were halting and lacked grace.

  Ian winced when Jared erupted in one of his booming sneezes. Dani shot an annoyed glance their way. Big mistake. In that fraction of a second, her opponent swung his bamboo. The jagged tip grazed the skin below her left eye before slamming into her wrist. The impact pushed her over the edge. She ducked, nearly fell over, spun around and in a surprisingly fluid movement, sent her opponent’s stick flying. The crowd erupted with cheers and jeers for both sides. Money changed hands and the tension evaporated. The two opponents approached each other. Cradling her wrist, Dani declined a handshake. They shared some good-natured words before they left the floor.

  Ian’s powerful psi allowed him to see a purple mist radiating from her injuries. “That’s going to hurt,” Ian said.

  “Dammit,” Jared mumbled, grabbing one of his ever-present tissues. “Can you tell how bad it is?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Well”—Ian swallowed the dregs of his beer—“she may have won, but she’s going to be out of commission for awhile. She’s not going to be happy with you.”

  “Yep.” Ja
red wiped his nose. “I best go down and apologize. Come with me? She knows you’ve been watching. Be kind of weird at this point not to say hello.”

  A wave of anticipation washed over him. Aside from his three support agents, he limited his involvement with humans to the occasional short-lived affair off the island. Yet his reaction to spending time with this woman surprised him.

  “You know I prefer to keep my involvement with humans away from here.” Still, he was tempted. On the verge of changing his mind, he sensed a pending communication. “Hold on, incoming message from Marco.” Marco was the Earth Protector, or EP, currently on duty. He waited a beat for it to arrive.

  We got company, boss. His com relayed the message.

  “Apologies are going to have to wait. Someone’s paying Earth a visit.” Ian said.

  Jared followed him out the back door.

  Dani wiped the sweat from her brow and followed Dugo out of the fight area. Bazillionaire Ian Cavacent and her friend Jared were leaving out the back. Ian always kept to himself, and as far as she knew, never fraternized with the locals except Jared. His recent interest in her sparked an explosion of fantasies. Even better, he seemed the type who would be okay with a “nothing complicated” scenario. And he was hot. Seriously hot, hence the fantasies. She’d love to get him in front of her camera…and a few other places. Those wavy blond locks and smoky green eyes. Yum. Why haven’t you contacted me, Mr. Cavacent?

  Dugo interrupted her musings. “Someone needs to tell Jared to take his allergy meds.” He nodded toward her arm. “You okay?”

  “I’ll be fine.” She gave him a good-natured nudge with her other elbow. “You almost got me there.”

  He took a hand towel off the supplies table and handed it to her. “You’re bleeding.”

  The medic came over and applied antibiotic ointment and a butterfly bandage to her cheek. “You should have that looked at.”

  “I will,” Dani said.

  Dugo tossed the towel in the laundry bin. “Glad I missed your eye. Seriously, man. I didn’t see you comin’.”