Haven 2: Redemption

by Sandra R Neeley

  Why the hell was she hurting? She felt like her middle school boyfriend had told her he wasn’t going to take her to the dance because he had a prettier date. She felt like she was reliving it all over again. And her heart was hurting even worse than she did back then. Why the hell was she hurting over a green-skinned alien with intricately braided hair, flashing luminescent eyes, and a penchant for playing anyone he could? Rosie lay there in her bed, her mind working overtime with Rokai the focus. Her eyes were heavy from lack of sleep the night before. Slowly they drifted closed. The last thing she remembered was her own voice. “He’s a dick, too,” she mumbled before falling asleep almost immediately.

  <<<<<<<>>>>>>>

  “Identify yourself, Cruestaci Cruiser. You are entering Erilicti territory. Leave our boundaries at once.”

  Rokai grinned and pressed the buttons to respond to the security forces on their private network. There was no way a Cruestaci warrior would know of their private frequency. As soon as he knew he’d gained access to the frequency, he spoke loudly, confidently with the Erilicti security forces. “This is Cruestaci Cruiser I239, piloted by Rokai ahl. Please advise your Prime Minister Navon that I am requesting asylum within his territory.”

  “Prime Minister?” Gaishon whispered, his forehead wrinkling in confusion.

  “Shhhhh!” Rokai hissed at Gaishon.

  There was a moment of silence before a voice responded over the com. “Please provide a visual to confirm your identity.”

  Rokai knew opening the vid com would give Zha Quin and the entirety of Command Warship 1 the brief opportunity to locate him, but at this moment he had no other choice. Hissing his frustration, he slapped his hand over the controls to engage the vid com option of the cruiser. He stared directly into the vid com for only a moment before becoming the persona the infamous Rokai ahl lived and died by. “Hurry the hells up! I need a place to hide not only myself, but this cruiser away. Do you think they gave it to me willingly?!” he snapped.

  Seconds later a pudgy, pink skinned, profusely sweating male with three heavily lidded eyes and puckered, saliva slickened lips grinned across the vidcom at him. “Rokai! Where have you been hiding these past weeks?”

  “Obviously with the Cruestaci! Fools that they are trusted me. I helped myself to their cruiser and slipped away in the night.”

  “As is your favorite way to say goodbye,” Navon answered.

  “May we dock or not?” Rokai snapped.

  “Of course, of course, my friend. Welcome to my stronghold. Asylum granted,” Navon said, giggling with anticipation of being able to spread the rumor that he’d housed and sheltered the notorious Rokai ahl. That fact alone would gain him respect in many of the darker circles he moved in.

  “We are beginning docking sequences now,” Rokai barked and switched off the vid com.

  As soon as the vid com was ended, Rokai turned to Gaishon and whispered an explanation in a hushed voice. “The fool has appointed himself Prime Minister of the planet.”

  “It’s a refueling hub,” Gaishon pointed out, “it barely qualifies as a planet.”

  “Yes, well, he’s decided that his money, along with his planet, should be considered an entity. He’s had his uncle thrown in jail and seized control of the family’s fortune. He’s decided any approaching his planet without announcing themselves will be greeted as they would if approaching any legitimate planet.”

  “He’s insane. It’s a small, dusty, dried up piece of ground used only for stopping to refuel,” Gaishon said.

  “I know.”

  “It can’t be more than five hundred miles circular.”

  “I know.”

  “Then how…”

  “I told you he’s insane.”

  “And yet you bring us here?” Gaishon questioned.

  “I have no choice,” Rokai answered.

  “Why? Why have you brought us here?”

  Rokai thought about being evasive, but decided that Gaishon deserved to know the truth. “I must have his heart. And his head. I plan to return them to my Rosalita.” Rokai refused to acknowledge Gaishon’s shocked countenance. Instead he stared straight ahead, calmly waiting for final docking of the cruiser they’d commandeered, so that he could proceed with his need to divest the sadistic bastard governing the small refueling planet of both his heart and head.

  Gaishon again opened his mouth to respond, but ended up speechless.

  “Captain Rokai ahl. We’ve triangulated your descent. Please allow our tractor beams to guide you the rest of the way in.”

  Rokai sat back from the controls. “Affirmative. Control of the cruiser is in your hands.”

  Rokai looked over at Gaishon in the navigator’s seat. “He hurt her. She’s still not healed. The bastard will tell me how to heal her, then he will die. I will take his head and his heart back to her. She will know she is safe, she will know that though I am as she said, a dick, that I am the only male she will need in her harem.”

  Gaishon’s eyes narrowed. “She’s collecting a harem?” he asked incredulously.

  Rokai smiled and looked back at the controls and the small planet beneath them. “Not exactly. But, I will let her think I believe she is.”

  <<<<<<<>>>>>>>

  Kron stood just inside the room that housed the database that recorded all requests and commands through both Missy’s mainframe, and the smaller, more concentrated use of the intersecting mainframe the fighter and cruiser ships accessed. He listened for a second before deciding that he heard no footsteps outside the room and accessed the doors to open so he could leave.

  Carefully he stepped into the corridor, glancing first right, then left. Nope, he was all alone. He breathed a sigh of relief and hurried to the commissary. It was past time for the final meal. If he didn’t hurry, all the left overs would be picked over, and he’d be hungry with nothing but snacks to hold him over until morning. He hated being hungry. It reminded him of his childhood. His stomach growled, he scowled, and made a beeline toward the commissary.

  <<<<<<<>>>>>>>

  “Elite Warrior Kron?”

  Kron looked up from his just finished meal, using a cloth napkin to blot his mouth. He was nothing if not well-mannered. His mother had practically beaten it into him as a child. “Yes?” he asked.

  “Commander Tel Mo’ Kok has requested your presence. Please follow me at once.”

  Kron’s stomach flip-flopped. This was it. They’d realized that a cruiser and Rokai ahl were both missing. “What is this about?” he asked.

  “Just come with me. I’m sure it will all be made clear shortly.”

  Kron sat for a moment longer, making it clear that he was not just going to jump. Rather he was taking his time deciding when exactly he would follow. Finally, he nodded his head, rose from his seat and took his time putting his tray and dishes away, so those responsible for cleaning the commissary wouldn’t have to clean up behind him. He even wiped the table down before turning to face the male who’d been tasked with delivering him to Commander Zha Quin Tha Tel Mo’ Kok. “Very well, lead on,” he said calmly.

  <<<<<<<>>>>>>>

  When the doors to the conference room whooshed open and Kron stepped inside, he was not surprised to find a very irritated Commander Tel Mo’ Kok waiting for him, along with his direct superior officer - Elite Commander Kol Ra’ Don Tol, and Lieutenant Commander Ba Re’ Non Tol. He was somewhat surprised to find General Lo’ San, Specialist Jhan Re’ Non Tol, and the lead of their Sirena’s personal Guard — First Specialist Vor La’an Sol there as well..

  Kron stepped inside the conference room, holding himself at attention, his eyes pinned on the wall straight ahead of him, not directly engaging any of them.

  “Elite Warrior Kron, do you have any idea why you’ve been called here this evening?” General Lo’ San asked.

  “No, sir. I do not.”

  “Were you not tasked with keeping watch over Rokai ahl this day?” Zha Quin Tha asked.

  “I was, Commander.”

/>   “Then where is he now?” Zha Quin snapped.

  “I’m sure he’s about, Commander,” Kron answered.

  “According to the ship’s computer, and all manual checks, he is not aboard this ship!” Zha Quin Tha snapped out.

  Kron kept his eyes glued to the opposite wall, his hands clasped behind his back. “I am sure, Commander, that he will turn up.”

  Kol rose from his seat and approached Kron. He knew Kron as well as he knew himself. This warrior had had a hell of a time growing up in a mining community on a neighboring planet to Cruestace. His family had been very poor, yet very proud, and very humble. They refused to accept any charity and worked day and night for any little scrap they managed to earn for themselves. In fact, to this day, Kron sent most of his pay home to his family for the care of his mother and his ailing sister. This was not a male who would compromise his values or his loyalty — and he’d sworn loyalty to the Cruestaci when he joined their ranks.

  “Why are you not watching him, wherever he may be at this moment?” Kol asked calmly.

  “I have no doubt that he is exactly where he is supposed to be. He shall turn up soon,” Kron said, still staring at the opposite wall.

  The entire length of the meeting, Ba Re’, who was the lead Engineer on the ship, had been tapping away at his keyboard. Suddenly he exclaimed. “Ha! I’ve got it! I’ve finally managed to repair the loophole in the software our cruisers use. I can remove the auto access familial DNA gives to our mainframe upon presentation. Rokai ahl will no longer have access to our systems.”

  “See to it,” Zha Quin demanded.

  “No!” Kron shouted, his eyes finally darting around the room, landing on Ba Re’s. “You can’t, not now. You could be signing his death sentence. You can’t do it now!”

  “Where is he?” Zha Quin asked, his voice clearly brooking no nonsense.

  Kron looked at Kol, his eyes silently asking for support, before he turned to face Zha Quin. “He is following the path of a male intent on avenging his Ehlealah.”

  “His Ehlealah…” Quin’s voice faded off. In order to have an Ehlealah, he’d have to admit that he was Cruestaci.

  Kron held his Commander’s eyes. And Zha Quin regarded him just as sternly.

  After an uncomfortable silence between the two males, filled with quiet mumblings and musings of the other males in the room, trying to determine what should be done next, Kron finally spoke. “Give him the benefit of the doubt.”

  Quin’s eyebrows slammed down over his eyes. “You have no idea how many times he’s been given the benefit of the doubt! Always, ALWAYS we regret it. He will find any way he can to embarrass us, to make a mockery of the chance we gave him, and us in the meantime.”

  Kron nodded. He knew of Rokai ahl’s reputation. But he’d also recognized something else in the male. Something he lived with every day. “This is different, Commander. He will return. And he will return because he has found his Redemption. She is aboard this very ship. And the only reason he left was to seek justice for her.”

  “You believe this?” Zha Quin asked, scoffing.

  “I do. I’ve lived it. I know what he’s feeling,” Kron stopped speaking and realized his desire for vengeance wasn't because of his Ehlealah, he didn’t have one. But still, the need to avenge a female fueled his days and haunted his nights. “I believe he will be back.”

  Zha Quin watched as the male delivered his impassioned speech regarding Rokai ahl, then returned his eyes to staring at the wall before him. He’d said all he planned to, and was finished. Zha Quin shared a look with Kol, who gave a brief, barely perceptible nod.

  “Elite Warrior Kron, you’d better hope you’ve chosen the right side to defend in this. If he doesn’t return, if he provokes a confrontation between our people and wherever he’s gone and brings that back to our door, you are as responsible as he is,” Zha Quin said quietly.

  Kron gave one strong inclination of his head. “I can live with that, Commander.”

  Quin watched the male for one moment longer, wishing he had the same faith in Rokai ahl that Kron did. Surely Kron saw something in Rokai ahl that all the others had missed, otherwise he’d have never allowed him to leave the ship.

  “Ba Re’, do not resolve the loophole with the software yet. I do not want him left stranded out there if he is indeed planning a return. Just monitor the cruiser and let me know of any changes in its location or programming.”

  “Of course, Sire,” Ba Re’ answered.

  “The rest of you are free to return to your duties. I’ll call on you again if it seems that we must intervene once again. Thank you for being here and for your silence on the matter,” Quin said honestly.

  The men sitting around the table rose to leave, but Kol did not make a move to leave. He wanted a moment to speak to Kron without so many others around.

  Quin felt the same way. They waited patiently as the males exited, leaving Kron — still standing at attention, Kol, and Quin alone.

  “You want to tell us what happened, Kron?” Kol asked.

  “I told you, Sir. He will return,” Kron answered.

  “That’s not what I asked,” Kol pointed out.

  Kron nodded, licked his lips and swallowed while he thought about what Kol had asked. He had vowed loyalty to this military, to this people, and to this life. He’d never regretted it, and he still didn’t. He decided to tell them just that. Still staring straight ahead, he began to speak. “I swore loyalty and allegiance to this military, to the Cruestaci people, and to their ruling family in order to be accepted and become one of their Elite Warriors.”

  “And you have an exemplary record,” Kol answered. “I wish I had a dozen males of your caliber.”

  Kron swallowed again. “Thank you, Sir.”

  “Why then, did you assist the outlaw Rokai ahl to escape our ship when he was clearly on lock down, you personally having been assigned to keep him under scrutiny?” Quin asked.

  Kron seemed to think about it for a second, resigned himself to whatever he was preparing to say, then took a deep breath. He swung his line of sight over to Commander Zha Quin Tha Tel Mo’ Kok and regarded him for only a split second, daring to be bold enough to look him in the eyes, then he spoke. “Isn’t he family as well? The very same blood I swore allegiance to?”

  Quin was taken aback. That was not the answer he’d expected. But Elite Warrior Kron was correct. Rokai ahl was family.

  Quin relaxed visibly, his tense stance and demeanor becoming one of resignation. “He is. But he is completely unpredictable, a danger to even himself,” Quin admitted.

  Kron nodded. “He is. But he is changing.”

  “In what way?” Quin asked, perplexed that this male would see something in his own brother he had not.

  Kron smiled slightly. “Only the Cruestaci have Ehlealahs they recognize on sight, yes?” Kron asked.

  “Yes,” Zha Quin answered, wondering where the hell Kron was going with this.

  Kol, standing right beside Kron, began smiling. “He’s admitted that he has a female. He has an Ehlealah!”

  “Exactly!” Kron said. “And he’s on a mission to avenge her.”

  Quin thought about it. To admit one has an Ehlealah, one has to admit they are Cruestaci. You have to be one to have the other. “He’s accepting his Cruestaci heritage…” Quin said, looking at Kol.

  “I wouldn’t go that far. He was still in denial. But it’s definitely been affirmed that he has a female. He is changing. And he will never be at peace with himself if he isn’t allowed to avenge his female. I trust he will be back.”

  “As I said before, Elite Warrior Kron, you’d better hope he is,” Quin said, though not as forcefully as he previously had.

  Quin moved to leave the room, stopping at the last moment to look back over his shoulder as Kol began to speak to Kron one on one.

  “Elite Warrior Kron?” he barked.

  Kron came to attention at once. “Yes, Commander!”

  Quin hesitated only a spli
t second before speaking. “Thank you for believing in my brother. I sincerely hope you are correct.”

  Chapter 20

  It was much later that night when Zha Quin finally stepped off the lift, on his way to climb into bed with his Ehlealah. He’d had a long night even after he’d finished with Kron and Kol. He’d had to contact the necessary individuals and try to set up a safety net for Rokai, should he stumble into the grasp of someone he shouldn’t. And that meant contacting Bart, and his mother and father. And in actuality, his parents had been much easier to talk to than Bart had been. He rubbed his eyes, trying to massage away the tension headache that the whole affair had given him. Perhaps he’d ask Vivi for one of her aspirins.

  He dropped his hand to his side as he walked toward his home. But then his eyes registered something that just didn’t look right. He went on alert, prepared to release his Psi if necessary.

  What was that up ahead? Surely his eyes were fooling him. There was a male sitting against a door, sleeping in the corridor. The closer he got, the more familiar he looked.

  “Kol?!” Quin called.

  Kol lifted his head from his chest.

  “Quin. Is all well?”

  “Yes. All is well. Except you sleeping in the corridor. Why are you sleeping in the corridor?”

  “My female is inside. I cannot leave her unattended, unprotected. And she is not comfortable with me. So I decided to guard her from outside.”

  “Just let her go into the bedroom. She can secure the door from there, and you can sleep on the couch!”

  Kol shook his head. “She has been through much, Quin. I will not push her. I will not add to her pain.”

  “Having you sleep on the floor in the corridor is adding to your pain. It is not acceptable!”