Moonlight Mist: A Limited Edition Collection of Fantasy & Paranormal)

by Nicole Morgan

  “Let me go check on the hellions,” Riodan left them on the bridge.

  “Well hell, we are on the Free Trader’s radar.” She gestured to the battle they just left behind. “I think we can conclude that the Tiargerians and the Free Traders are working together.”

  “How long until we reach the Citadel?” Piele had to wonder if their luck was the worst in the galaxy. Two ambushes, how had they tracked them after they removed the tracer? Would they be dodging Free Traders until they reached safety?

  “We will be there before you know it.” She smiled at him.

  “That soon?” Piele spoke skeptically.

  They hadn't traveled that far from the route to Pyloto. They should be able to make it to Pyloto before heading back to the Gateway to Redemption. The last thing they needed was for their new mate to be arrested for missing the Celestial Ball. He turned towards the viewscreen when Zayda gestured to it.

  Piele gasped staring out the window. It was covered in asteroids.

  “Where are we?”

  “The Pumerian Asteroid Belt,” Zayda answered as she nibbled on a piece of pearberry, left from the snack that Ember brought them earlier.

  He knew the Pumerian Asteroid Belt was an ancient asteroid field left behind after the destruction of the planet Pumerian. “Why are we here?”

  “Because through this field is the way to the Citadel.” Zayda popped the last of the fruit in her mouth. Piele watched as she programmed new coordinates into the computer.

  The ship jolted and shimmied as it entered the asteroid field. The gravitational pull from the surrounding asteroids affecting Sparks Fly.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Piele sat in the co-pilot seat staring at Zayda, unable to so much as blink in case she vanished.

  Fascinating.

  The way that she piloted the ship, the air of confidence surrounding her, all of it.

  Sexy.

  His blood rushed to his groin, cock growing hard just sitting next to her. The adrenaline from their fight was wearing off, and a different type of energy was taking its place. One that very much so wanted to return to the bedroom and continue where they left off.

  He shook his head trying to force the thoughts back. His concentration was shot. Even as mates, he couldn’t get enough of her. Every new discovery about his mate just made her more desirable in his eyes.

  The skill she displayed in battle made him weak in the knees. He never thought he would find another pilot to rival his skill let alone a pilot that turned out to be his mate.

  Just like he never thought that he would be flying through the Pumerian Asteroid Belt. It was one of the most dangerous spots in the galaxy. Many pilots attempted it, but none had the skills to be successful or, so he thought.

  Now he sat in the co-pilot seat next to a pilot flying through the belt-like she was out for a leisurely jaunt.

  “This is a familiar route for you.” Piele didn’t bother making it a question. The ease in which she flew made it apparent.

  “Ancient Purple Lady secret,” she teasing grin gracing her lips.

  He loved her sense of humor. Even when it was aimed at him. “Seriously?”

  “Seriously, it is an Ancient Purple Lady secret. I could tell you, but then I would have to dip you in honey and bury you on top of an anthill for a snack.”

  “That would be a hard pass for me.” he joked.

  He tried to keep the hurt out of his eyes, he wanted her to trust him.

  Zayda looked closely at the serious expression on Piele's face. It was decision time. She had given them her heart. If they were going to be mates, then it was time that she gave them her secrets. She thought about the crazy female that had birthed her. Well, not all of her secrets. Some of them they were not ready for.

  She breathed out slowly as she pressed buttons on the console. “The Redemptites are all about their history. At least their scholars are. My family is full of scholars and wanders. This combination allowed us to explore areas others had forgotten about. Like the Pumerian Asteroid belt.”

  “The Pumerian Asteroid Belt was part of the Redemption territory when it was the planet Pumeria.” She made a slight adjustment to their course before she continued to speak. “Pumeria and Redemption were colonized at the same time and there was trade between the two planets. So there was an intergalactic superhighway between the two planets. The beacons still exist and if you know the frequency then maneuvering through the asteroid belt is relatively simple. My family still has the frequency for the highway beacons.”

  “Your family must not be the only to know the frequency of the beacons?”

  “Back in the time that Pumeria existed each of the beacons worked on a different frequency. It was one of the first systems, so it works differently than the ones that exist now, the updated system created by Ember’s parentals.”

  He admitted that he didn't know much about history outside of the wars that took place in the galaxy and how they played a role in the conflicts that plagued the galaxy in the modern age. Piele was fascinated by what she was telling him.

  She spun in her seat thinking over her words carefully, “The system is very old. If you know the frequency of the first beacon that is outside of the asteroid belt you can locate the rest in the belt if you know their individual frequency. The first leads to the second which leads to the third. It is a maze. I am sure that other families have the frequencies, but they probably don't realize what they have.”

  His mate constantly surprised him.

  “The Citadel is located in the Pumerian Asteroid Belt?” The location of the Citadel was probably one of the best-kept secrets of the galaxy. He sat back in his chair and contemplated the magnitude of such an operation.

  Piele was stunned. His mate was a very resourceful female. He was awed at the trust she had just shown. He didn't realize the magnitude of her trust when he was asking her for it.

  The location of the Citadel remained a well-kept secret. Only those pilots involved in the rescue of orphans knew the location of the Citadel. Many of the pilots were orphans who had been rescued and brought to the Citadel and in turn, helped other orphans find a safe haven there. The knowledge of its location would bring a hefty price. Anyone with the knowledge of its location would be in constant danger.

  “How long does it usually take to go through the Pumerian Asteroid Belt to reach the Citadel?"

  She glanced at the screen.

  “We have arrived,” Zayda announced. She turned on the intraship and announced to the rest of the ship. “Park it in a seat we are landing."

  Piele looked out the forward viewport at the large dark asteroid light itself seemed to vanish inside the object. Lifeless described the rock floating in front of them. A rock that floated through space along with the other rocks.

  Zayda skillfully maneuvered around the asteroids, heading towards what appeared to be a large indention in the asteroid. A chunk of it was sheared off. He leaned forward eyes locked on the sheared portion, he watched her as she piloted the ship.

  It was as if the brightest light guided her in the darkness of space.

  The comm screen came alive. A mechanical voice challenging them, “Please identify yourself.”

  “This is Sparks Fly-68997 requesting permission to land,” Zayda answered the voice.

  “Permission granted.”

  Piele sat up to get a closer look as a portion of the crater started to split in half. A bright light emanated from the section as the giant doors parted enough for the Sparks Fly to land.

  Zayda set the ship down without so much as a bump while the roof of the large landing bay closed.

  Piele shook himself, helping her go through shutdown procedures. The lack of outside indication that the base even existed amazed him. Now he knew why the Free Traders had never been able to locate it. He never would have been able to discern the presence either.

  He stopped Zayda before she exited the ship. He wasn't about to let his mate exit first into an unknown situat
ion

  She gently touched his shoulders, understanding dancing in her eyes.

  “The captain always exits the ship first in friendly territory." She explained the Redemptite custom.

  “Oh,” Piele blushed. Any other time his actions would have been seen as undermining her authority. By exiting first he would be stating he had no confidence in the Captain and was eager to leave his or her presence. His mate gave him a gentle correction of his mistake.

  They moved forward, Riodan and the younglings waited by the hatch for Zayda to exit the ship. The females chattered in excitement while Riodan looked relieved. They followed Zayda down the ramp chattering the whole way.

  “Captain Sparks.” Piele watched as Zayda came to attention at the sound of her name. Her back stiffened and her expressive eyes closed off into the utmost professional expression. She turned to greet the large brown-skinned humanoid female that marched over to her.

  Her black hair was ruthlessly pulled back into a bun. Not a speck or wrinkle in site on her immaculate black uniform. A black flap edged in gold went from her right shoulder, across her chest to end at her waist. A gold insignia was pinned high on her left shoulder. All of the edges of her uniform crisp and sharp. Even her boots were polished to a high sheen.

  “Admiral.”

  “Please explain to me why you are landing that raggedy ass ship on my base?” a loud female voice demanded.

  Piele bristled at the tone this unknown female. Nobody spoke to her in such a disrespectful way. He took an aggressive step forward ready to confront the Admiral.

  He stopped abruptly at the hand clamping down on his shoulder. He glanced behind him to see Riodan shaking his head in warning. He needed to get his protective instincts under control. He couldn’t keep letting his instinct overrule his good sense.

  Piele took a deep breath, gathering himself. Zayda was a capable ship captain who didn't need or appreciate him interfering. He tamped down his inner protector and watched Zayda to handle her business.

  “Captain Sparks, I asked you a question?” The tall brown skinned humanoid female took up an aggressive stance in front of Zayda. Shoulders back, feet spread apart, invading her personal space.

  Piele thought he was prepared for every response that Zayda could give up to and including killing the person in her face. He wasn't prepared for a huge grin to cover her face or for her to jump into the arms of the person drilling her.

  “You have always been jealous of my ship. I can’t help it if Sparks Desire is a piece of antiquated junk.” Zayda hugged her.

  “Classic,” the admiral grudgingly admitted.

  “I missed you too, sistah.” Zayda gripped the Admiral tightly.

  Zayda was hugged back equally as hard as she was squeezing. A smile of love covered her sistah’s face. “Pearls and Diamonds,” Zahara declared as she released Zayda searching her face, “what kind of trouble are you bring to my base?”

  Zayda turned to face them. Her sistah by her side. The two of them looking as different as Piele and Riodan looked alike.

  “Well I brought you some new recruits.” she gestured to the group standing by Sparks Fly as her sistah signaled the guards to stand down.

  “This is Piele and Riodan Pyloto.” Piele’s nodded in acknowledgment to the Admiral as Zayda introduced them.

  “Well they are a little older than the usual orphans we accept, but I am sure we can find a space for them.” It took Piele a moment to realize the Admiral was joking, her delivery so deadpan.

  Zayda turned her sense of humor back on with her steady response, “No they aren't orphans they are my mates.”

  There was a moment of silence as the information floated in the air.

  “Mates?” A panicked look crossed the Admiral's face. “Does Matra know?”

  Piele grinned as Zayda laughed at her sistah. The closeness between the two of them apparent.

  “No, matra doesn’t know.”

  “I thought you were trying to kill me there for a second. You are my favorite sistah, but if you bring our matra to my base I will kill you, new mates or not.” the Admiral declared before turning towards the rest of the crew.

  “Piele and Riodan this is my older sistah, Zahara Sparks. She is in charge of the Citadel.”

  “He gave us the light to rule the day,” Piele gave her a traditional Princ-ple greeting.

  “And another light to rule the night,” Zahara responded to him before she turned to greet Riodan giving Piele the opportunity to study her.

  She had the same smooth brown skin that Redemptites were known for. Now that he saw her up close, she wasn’t so different from Zayda as he had thought. She had the same purple eyes and similar expressions. The contrast between her skin and eyes were startling. They were just as beautiful as Zayda’s but in a different way.

  The closer Piele looked he saw the hint of sadness that was hidden in the depth of Zahara’s purple gaze. This sistah had secrets just like his mate had.

  He turned his attention back to the activities on the dock. Zahara Sparks secrets were her own. He would find out their mate’s secrets and guard them with her ensuring the same sadness never tinged her eyes.

  “Younglings present yourselves.” The Admiral’s authoritative voice rang out.

  The one lesson the younglings seemed to have learned in the short amount of time they have been on Sparks Fly was that when someone in authority speaks to you jump into action. That is exactly what they did as they lined up in front of the Admiral.

  Piele silently watched as the Captain and the Admiral went down the silent line where Zayda introduced each of the younglings to her sistah and told her something unique about each of them.

  The knowledge she had on them was impressive. She managed to find out more about the younglings in the short amount of time they had been together then Piele knew in all their travels. He looked at Riodan to find him equally as impressed.

  Their mate will be a good matra.

  “I am Admiral Zahara Sparks and welcome to your new home at the Citadel. Here you will learn a variety of things while you get a good education. This is your new home. As such you are expected to help take care of your new home. Each of you will rotate through every section of the Citadel learning various skills. By the time your accession ceremony comes about you will have been trained in and educated to take care of yourselves as productive members of the Redemption Nation. Are there any questions?” She paused in her pacing to give the younglings a chance to absorb what she said to them.

  When no one spoke up she turned to the crew members that stayed behind when she dismissed the guards. “Please show our new recruits to their new quarters.”

  As the younglings started to leave, Destiny ran up to Zayda and gave her a quick hug, whispering “Thank you” before rejoining the rest of her group.

  Piele ignored the tear trying to escape his mate’s eyes. Instead, he studied his surroundings.

  The Citadel was carved directly into the stone inside the asteroid. It made use of the natural stone to create bays and rooms. It was not as primitive as one would think living in a stone cavern would be. Continuing his inspection, he followed behind the rest of his group as they moved toward a vehicle.

  Once they were all seated an Ensign guided the vehicle further into the asteroid in a different direction than the younglings took. Piele realized how massive this place must be. They were in a self-contained city, not just a military base. They stopped outside of a section carved to resemble the official government buildings found all over the galaxy. The entered it and were lead to a Strategic Room that closely resembled the one on Sparks Fly.

  Once they were all seated Admiral Zahara turned towards Zayda.

  “I found some disturbing information.” she bluntly informed her sistah.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Zahara activated the three-dimensional display to show an older well-built female. The gray tone of her skin and the color of her eyes indicated that she was Pyloto.

 
“That is Jusdisa Pyloto. She is a friend of our Matra.” Piele identified the female.

  “Yes, she is the widow of Mylo Pyloto. He owned a transport company that carried passengers around Lumeriee, the only city on Pyloto. She has been taking in orphans from the school the younglings attend on Educolar for the last six Redemption Standard Years.” Zahara continued.

  “She is currently the younglings’ guardian,” Piele stated interrupting her again.

  “Well, I hope you are not planning on turning the younglings over to her?” Zahara interjected.

  “Why?” Surprise echoed around the table.

  Zahara pulled up a picture on the holotable of Jusdisa Pyloto and two familiar beings.

  The Tiagerians.

  “She has been seen in the company of these two, Lyon and Puma Tiagerian over the past few Redemption Standard Years.”

  “In what capacity?” Piele asked as Riodan pulled out his personal computronic and started researching. That is how the duo worked, Piele asked the question while Riodan followed the trail. Now that they had a connection Riodan would be able to find answers to questions plaguing them from the start of this whole situation. Especially in light of the information that Ember’s friend Baris had given her.

  “They used to be employed by her late mate. When he was killed in a Free Trader raid on one of his shuttles, the business went to the younglings of his first mate, she was left with a stipend. It was nowhere near the amount that she had available to her before his death.”

  “Did you know that she is related to the female that runs the school on Educolar that the younglings attend?” Riodan told the room at large.

  “Well isn’t that part of the reason she volunteers to take the orphans into her home during their quarter break?” Zayda only knew the little bit about how the younglings ended up in Piele and Riodan’s care.

  “Possibly, but she had been accepting orphans into her home for years according to what we discovered.” Zahara pulled up a list of names. “This is a list of orphans that she has sponsored over the past few years.”