“Something, I feel, that should be remedied.”
Eugen strolled to the chair next to the fireplace and seated himself. T’Hargen drew a steadying breath. His brother would release him in his own good time. Any urging on his part would only delay his freedom. Not that he was looking forwards to admitting a certain . . . uncertainty as to the whereabouts of the release control.
“How’s the revival of the New Earth Masterframe proceeding?” he asked.
A grimace twitched across his brother’s features. “Our computer specialists were unable to make heads or tails of the processing. However, Kathryn’s AI friend insisted we employ that data crystal you brought back. Would you believe that rock is alive? Second most fascinating thing I’ve ever seen.” His eyes unfocused as though viewing the distant spectacle. “It grew into Masterframe, is expanding, rebuilding pathways and connections.”
Did that little trog manipulate me into bringing that back? I knew it! I knew he had an agenda.
Eugen’s gaze snapped back to the here and now.
“She is now close to being fully operational,” he continued, “and liaisons with the Masterframes have begun. We’re becoming familiar with each other and I must say the exchange with a non-organic species is proving quite interesting. Eventually we will negotiate for access to the teleportation device with appropriate navigational knowledge and data pertaining to planetary targets. I also need to know if any of the planets with teleportation capability are within Alliance space. We know the Masterframes aren’t invulnerable to attack, especially from the Bluthen. Hopefully we can learn about each other and become allies.” Eugen settled further into the chair and crossed one leg over the other. “We have not yet discussed their keen interest in descendants, why the New Earth Masterframe built TL—he’s the only one, by the way—and coded his primary directive to protect them. Nor why the Masterframes’ machinery should be programmed with descendants’ DNA. As you can imagine Sandrea is quite eager to discover the correlation between humans and descendants.”
“I trust you haven’t left New Earth Masterframe unsecured?”
Eugen sent him a lazy, mildly reproving half-glare. “Despite the fact I am yet to have my mate restrain me to take her pleasure from me, I’m not a complete idiot. Yes, I have taken measures to protect the residents of New Earth should the need arise.”
Any chance you’re going to release me in the near future?
“The populace reacting well to the continued high alert? No indication the Bluthen have discovered how to operate the pillars?”
“The people remain calm and vigilant. Additional to the usual safeguards, we’ve also deployed all the new scent detectors that Drengel designed from Sandrea’s olfactory system. If a trans-imaged Bluthen comes within cooee we’ll know of it. Thankfully no hits so far.”
“Heads or tails? Cooee? Your mate’s rubbing off on you.”
A tremor vibrated his brother’s relaxed body. “My mate does rub off on me.”
Innuendo? From Eugen? I knew Sandrea would be good for him. And if I’m very lucky, the woman who is my salvation will accept my apology and my promise to adjust.
His brother drew a deep breath and slapped his palms on his knees. “Now, where did you place the release control for the restraints?”
And here it is.
He braced himself. “I’m not sure.”
Eugen burst into laughter.
~ ~ ~
Crouched in the cramped, dim hollow, strangely nuanced Bluthen scent saturated Kat’s nose, pushed at her brain, recalled horrors. Tension tightened her muscles, readied for fight or flight. She stared at the blue-grey-skinned, terrified face before her. Compassion surged against learnt fear, but this was the face of her enemy.
Except . . . it isn’t, not really.
The sound of heavy bodies brushing through undergrowth closed on their position. The female’s dark, slanted-teardrop eyes widened, her shallow, rapid breath ceased, her gaze darted over Kat’s shoulder towards the woods. Kat eyed the white coat glimmering faintly in the gloom.
Bloody hell, that’ll be seen.
She reached for the lapels. The petite female lurched back, huddled against the rock and dirt lining the back of the hollow as though to bury herself within it. Her shaking hands screwed the material at her chest into a tight band. Twigs and discarded leaves snapped and rustled outside.
Shit, they’re closer. We don’t have time for this.
Kat grabbed the collar of the coat and reefed it across the female’s shoulders and down. Multiple scratches covered small, bare, plump breasts.
She snapped her gaze back to the woman’s.
Christ! Had those bastards . . .?
Horrified revulsion curdled Kat’s stomach. Stronger, more familiar, Bluthen odour filled her nose. Her stomach clenched, tried to retch. A branch cracked close behind her. Her heart punched her chest. She wrestled her skyrocketing fear. With desperate determination, she capped it. Carefully, silently, she pulled the edges of the coat together. The woman clasped it like a last barrier between her and utter desolation. Kat clenched her teeth, a tremor of disgust pricking her shoulders. She placed a hand over her own mouth, then gently collected one of the woman’s hands and placed it over her mouth.
The woman’s chin jerked forwards then back.
Compliance. Good.
Kat leaned her own dusky bulk a little to her left to cover the coat’s pale glimmer and strengthen the illusion of dark solidity from without.
“She can’t be too far ahead of us.” The disgruntled growl sounded almost on top of them.
Terror clawed her insides. She closed her eyes, pressed her trembling hand into her lips, fought to maintain control. The skin on her back crawled with loathing and helpless trepidation.
Please don’t let them have scanners.
“When we get back I’m going to shoot her in a blellick extremity for running from us.”
Anger stirred hot embers in her gut and she snapped her lids up.
Give me a gun, and I’ll bloody well shoot you, you worthless piece of shit.
She gripped the other woman’s shoulder. The lean muscles beneath her hand stiffened. The delicate nose flattened and ripples coursed along the trim of her nostrils.
Fear and pleading? Does she think I’d throw her out to them?
Kat increased the downwards force of her palm as though to anchor the woman to the spot where she curled. Her face assumed a frightened yet hopeful expression. Kat bent her head, trying to ease the terrified pounding of her heart seeming intent on breaking her ribcage. The strong scent of male Bluthen hammered at her spirit. She clenched her fist and stiffened her muscles against the shudders wracking her body.
Long, tense moments passed. The spectre of the merciless control of her enemy slithered over her skin. A small, blue hand shifted slowly towards one of her bent knees. She glanced up at the other woman then held her steady gaze. A coughing caw carried through the woods. Silence lingered, stretched. Cautious hope crept through her.
All senses alert, she eased about, faced the vines.
Another birdcall cracked the quiet. She leaned forwards, straining for any sound of danger. Nothing untoward. She breathed deep, but the unusual herb-tinted scent of the female Bluthen permeated the refuge. Again, she searched for sounds that might indicate lurking peril. Again, nothing conclusive. Their enemy could be gone, or simply remaining motionless, waiting for their prey.
She closed her eyes and mustered her courage to do what she did not want. Hands quivering, she placed her fingertips to the vines. Pushed a little. The leaves rustled. She froze. A second passed. Two. She strained to hear over the thunder of her heart. From God knew where she summoned resolution to strengthen her mind. Very carefully, millimetre by millimetre, she parted the woody tendrils.
&nb
sp; Dappled sunshine painted a trunk in shadow and light. A zephyr brushed her heated face with cool air, bringing the fresh scent of nature untainted by Bluthen, the male ones anyway. She widened her spy hole and leaned forwards. More trunks, green undergrowth. The fading sound of careless bodies bulldozing through brush almost obliterated the far-distant hum of machinery.
You’d think they’d be more circumspect.
She shouldered through the vines, straightened, and checked the surrounds. Nothing but woods. The female shuffled out, straightened to barely reach her shoulder, and stared at her. Kat returned the solid-coloured gaze. A fine sprinkle of silver outlined the pupil.
At least I can tell what direction she’s looking in. A shiver dusted across her shoulders. The males give me the creeps with the lack of variation in their eyes. I could never tell where they were looking.
Uncertain expectation lined the pinched nostrils and uneven shoulders of her companion. One of her scraped and bare feet balanced on the ball of her sole.
“Can you understand me?” Kat murmured.
The chocolate-puddle eyes remained fixed on her.
Guess that’s a no. We’d better move.
She crept towards the trail and pulled out her commpod.
“T’Hargen?” she whispered.
No response. She waited a moment.
“T’Hargen?”
She stepped carefully over a fallen branch. Should they stick to cover or . . .? The female’s unprotected feet looked as though they’d taken a beating from her flight. Perhaps they’d make better time and less noise if they stuck to the path and ran like bats out of hell back to T’Hargen’s holding. She looked back over her shoulder. The female stood by the vines, the fine lengths of her fingers twitching as she gazed about. Kat sent a soft whistle her way. The female turned and Kat waved her forwards.
For a moment, she remained stock-still then quickly and nimbly darted through the trees to Kat’s side. At the edge of the woods Kat peered out. The peaceful, tiered fields and far away drone of machinery presented a picture of tranquil harmony—except for the Bluthen seventy-odd feet away, standing just inside the tree-line, and almost concealed in grey uniform and forest shadow.
Alarm sharpened her focus.
Guess they’ve changed tactics.
He remained unmoving, his grey head turned from them.
Caught a break.
She slipped the commpod back into a pocket. Gaze trained on the enemy, she wrapped an arm around the female, kept her own body between the Bluthen and the all too obvious white coat, and edged back beneath the cloaking boughs.
So much for the high road.
She hastened the female back into the woods. The rough trails left by the Bluthen in their aggressive pursuit beckoned to her left. She steered the female towards them. The slim shoulders beneath her hands leaned forwards, the female’s pace increased. Kat released her and followed. They scampered as quietly as possible through forest shadow, dodged around branching trunks, ducked under boughs heavy with green leaves.
The female veered from the path and scrambled up a mound of moss-covered stones. Arms spread to catch her balance, Kat clambered after her. From the crown, the slender female encouraged alacrity with fluttering hand gestures.
Yeah, yeah. I’m hurrying, I’m hurrying. Alright for you. You’re so slight a puff of wind would’ve carried you up here.
Kat reached the top, pulled in a quick, equalising breath, and listened. No indication of pursuit. She extracted the commpod from her pocket.
“T’Hargen?”
Dammit, man, where are you? Need a little help here, not to mention the fact there are freaking Bluthen on the planet with—
Had she seen any weapons? She sifted through recent images in her head. No, well, no apparent ones and no scanners.
So however they got here, they’d been unprepared.
A fine-boned, blue-grey hand reached for her.
Bluthen hand.
Reaching for her.
She straightened, muscles primed. The petite female gave her such a look of reproof Kat almost blushed. Okay, so the other female might not have endured what she herself had, but the woman had apparently put up with some serious shit from at least some of the males of her species. Kat offered a rueful grin.
“Sorry. Habit.”
The mountain loomed to their right. They needed to bear northwest. She took off through a fern-covered dip between two rises, the female beside her. Lofty, black-barked tree trunks towered around them in a sea of green leaves. They ran across a drift of rust-coloured leaves, jumped a stream, clambered over the huge, dark girth of a lichen-spotted, fallen tree.
Kat hauled in a breath and stared up the side of a thirty-foot wall of great stone slabs piled on top of each other at haphazard angles like discarded mountain shavings. The roots of huge, gnarled trees wove over the rocks, the massive branches cloaked the ground in shadow.
Kat lifted the commpod.
“TL?”
A second of hopeful expectation passed. Two more flowed by in silence.
Was it something I—
“My apologies,” TL warbled, “I am studying a most fascinating phenomenon between—”
“TL.”
“—a pair of caped lizards. I believe they are—”
“TL.”
“—executing a mating dance.”
Kat snarled in a frustrated breath.
“TL!”
“Yes? Is there something I can do for you, Katelena?”
“Yes! You can render assistance ASAP.”
“Assistance? What do you require?”
A Bluthen bellow from far too close behind pricked her stretched nerves.
“Firepower.”
“Katelena?”
“Now, TL!” she hissed. “We need you now!”
~ ~ ~
T’Hargen sent a final wave to the shuttle departing with his brother and returned to the house. Urgent anticipation fired through him, demanded he find Kathryn, offer a heartfelt apology, beg her forgiveness, and secure the possibility of keeping her affection. They had work to do on their relationship, yes, but no insurmountable obstacles. Hells, she’d transformed him into a thorny demon, she could mould him into an exceptional partner. And he’d work on it. Give his very soul to it. His need to convince her of that burgeoned through him like a shockwave before an ion blast. He strode into the cool interior of his house.
Where did I leave that commpod? g’Nel, I seriously need to strengthen my focus. Maybe those supplies and tools weren’t stolen, maybe I put them somewhere myself.
He narrowed his eyes.
I called Eugen. The commpod lay on my chest while I awaited his arrival, then endured his torturous form of humour. After he stopped laughing and obligingly released me, I . . . sat up and clothed.
He headed for the couch-room then ran his gaze in a methodical search over the couch and nearby floor. The commpod lay in the couch’s shadow and he leaped upon it. The green communication light blinked a rapid sequence.
Pitballs, I’ve missed calls from her.
“Kathryn?”
“Ouch. Shit! Where the hell have you been?”
The sound of falling rocks and a soft, half-exasperated, half-fearful cry ramped his concern.
“Kathryn, what’s happening?”
She grunted as though expending effort.
“Could use your help. There are bloody Bluthen here. Duck!”
Bluthen? Here? Who’s with her?
Outrage and fear for her spurred his protective instincts. He grabbed his laser from the couch table.
“I’m coming, Kathryn. Where is Drone?”
“On his way—”
The sound of shattering
rock stilled his heart.
“Kathryn!”
He snatched up a couple of stun grenades.
“Kathryn, answer me!”
Fear like he’d never felt blasted his heart. He sprinted for the door then reefed out his scanner. The transponder in Kathryn’s commpod gave her position near the base of the mountain. He bolted for his aerobike, sent a rapid message to his brother, then sped towards his woman like a sinner racing for sanctuary in the face of the apocalypse.
~ ~ ~
From two-thirds of the way up the stack of flat boulders, Kat speared a glare over her shoulder at the Bluthen pelting rocks at them.
Fuck off, ya prick.
She harboured serious concerns that the malicious grin on his grey face indicated his fellows were closing on their position. Blood trickled down her fingers and cheek where rock fragments had sliced her skin. She’d dropped the bloody commpod, thanks to the sewer rat. No going back for it.
The Bluthen female swung herself over the lip of rocks above her.
“Come, come, we’re almost there.”
Thank goodness her intracranial translator contained the Bluthen language. And almost bloody where?
A stone jabbed into her lower back.
Bastard.
She gritted her teeth and pressed on. Her weight heavy in her fingertips and toes, she clambered up another foot. A pebble pinged off the rock beside her. She checked the distance still to go.
Almost there.
“I’m coming for you, ghinkows.”
The taunting voice carried from her left, the direction they needed to go. Her heart and gut combined in a horrible dance to drive her on. Angry, fearful frustration mushroomed in her chest like a nuclear bomb cloud.
Alien, Awakening Page 23