Sorlo’s Mission: Scifi Alien Adventure Romance (Science Fiction Alien Romance) (Galactic Survival Book 3)

by Hana Starr

  A contented sigh left her lips and she was more than ready to fall asleep right then and there, as had been the plan. But, top-notch assassin that she was, Jade forced herself to sit up and check all her instruments one more time.

  Good, she thought, everything is as it should be.

  Sorlo was no longer snoring. In fact, no sound at all came from her sleeping area. It was a welcome change from the constant nasally droning, so she leaned back in her chair with her hair all over the place and was asleep within seconds.

  All her alarms were in place to sound if anything abnormal happened or even if something came in too close. As of yet, she was still camouflaged so it was a possibility. But, nothing happened. The night was very peaceful and it was perhaps the best sleep she’d had since majorly screwing up that mission.

  Still, even as she was waking up and stretching hugely, she couldn’t help but to think that she would have gladly traded all the good masturbation sessions in the world just for the chance to have that traitor alien in her sights for another shot at him. And this time, she wouldn’t miss.

  Her thoughts were broken by shuffling as Sorlo emerged from her sleeping area, looking bleary. “Morning,” he said in the tone of one who doesn’t really think it’s a good morning at all.

  Somehow though, the sight of him dragging his feet wasn’t pissing Jade off as much as it had.

  I must be getting used to him.

  That, or it was her fantasies tempering her actual opinion. Either way, that was last night and he hadn’t actually been there for it, so she didn’t have to be nice to him.

  “I’ll have you home soon,” she said shortly, hiding her face just to make sure he didn’t see her blushing. Not that she was! But, just in case.

  Chapter Four

  “Huh, imagine that.”

  Sorlo looked up from his dour examination of the colony as Jade brought her ship in close to scope out a landing spot. “What?” he asked absently, forgetting his habitual irritation. She had turned off her cloaking device and was now roaming the skies in plain sight. He could only imagine what the warriors down below were thinking as they watched a Dark Peace vessel circling their home base. Did they think she was the worst assassin in history or were they preparing for death?

  “It looks a lot like a human base, is all.”

  Sorlo glanced at her again. “I don’t understand that,” he said. “You had to be a part of the normal Federation first before joining Dark Peace so why don’t you know what the base looks like?”

  She fixed him with a know-it-all glare. “It’s been a decade since I’ve been anywhere near one of these. Pardon me for forgetting. Oh, and mine just wasn’t this big, okay?”

  He put up his hands. “My apologies,” he grumbled. Turning his eyes back down through the window, he actually found it was easier now to face his fate. Well, that wasn’t quite true. His fate was a stabbing pain in his throat, agonizing and constant. What didn’t hurt was trying to see the base from her perspective.

  Since there was no friction or pushing forces of any kind out here in empty space but for casual and pointless drifting, the shape of a space base or stand-alone colony such as this was really dependent upon the intended design. This one was in the shape of a cross, with the four branches all designated to a different area of the Federation: Exploration, Warfare, Supply, and Domestic.

  Exploration and Warfare were his specialties, while Supply was typically for exactly that: supplies of any kind coming and going. And Domestic was the inner workings that kept the actual base of Red Rise 435 afloat. Domestic handled pay, meal times, janitorial duties, punishment, and any other miscellaneous issues.

  I have a feeling I fall under the “punishment” category. I’m such a failure. Maybe they’ll strip some of my ranks.

  Habitually, he raised his hand to feel the row of dashes on the shoulder of his scarlet uniform that were used to designate rank. Once all the rows were full, they began to cross back over themselves to continue the pattern. He shuddered as he thought of touching them again but feeling some of his hard work having been torn away to leave empty gaps.

  Each point of the cross had its own landing pad and airlocked garages which led to the interior. Most of the important stuff was inside, so the exterior resembled a normal building but for some equipment on the roof and a communications tower set in the middle.

  Jade shrugged her shoulders, catching his attention. “I’m done circling this place. Does it really matter which one I pick?”

  “Not really,” he said, and watched as she brought her ship into an expert bank down for the Supply runway. “Don’t go into it too fast,” he cautioned.

  “I think I know what I’m doing.”

  “I just didn’t know how much time you’ve had to practice your landings recently,” he said, holding up his hands again to try and signal that he meant no harm. Really, he didn’t know why he’d said anything at all. She hadn’t been doing anything wrong. It was just that he felt the need to poke and prod at her.

  She had seemed completely unaware of how much noise she was making last night while pleasuring herself. He had been woken up by it. The sight, the experience of secretly watching her fuck the hell out of herself, was at once the hottest thing he had ever seen but it was also one of the saddest. She had been alone for so long that she no longer even bothered to undress for pleasure.

  Which brought him back to his current ponderings. She had been a traveler of dark space and uncharted territories for so long that undoubtedly it was strange to see something like this. How did she feel about it? Surely she wouldn’t be comfortable landing and being surrounded by hundreds of people!

  Despite himself, he felt sorry for her.

  “It really looks like an Earth base?” he asked.

  “Well, not so much in the shape or the design,” she said, and then rolled her eyes at herself. “I guess that makes it sound like there aren’t any similarities at all but really, it’s just the very strict organization of it that’s astonishing. Really, it’s almost impressive. Back on Earth, there are only humans. But in the Federation, there are countless types of people. How do you organize all that in the same manner?”

  I’ve never thought about it like that.

  After careful considering, Sorlo replied, “I suppose that is the one perception of equality, isn’t it?”

  He was pleased to earn a surprised laugh from her. “Well, look who’s being philosophical.”

  Just then, one of the monitors raised up an icon. Jade glanced at it and pursed her lips. “Someone’s attempting to reach my communications frequency. I didn’t know that was possible.”

  A bit of recognition entered his breast and he stared a little bit harder at the base and the communications tower. He wondered, absurdly, if anyone could see him looking back out at them. “That would be Sparks. Strange guy but the best Communications Officer this side of the universe.”

  “Hmph,” she mused, and accepted the interception. “This is Dark Peace vessel 9, model type Falcon. We accept your contact attempt.”

  A thin little voice replied hesitantly through the monitor, though no image was displayed. Sorlo wondered if Sparks was deliberately hiding himself or if Jade’s little bird-of-prey craft didn’t have a recipient camera display.

  “We see you, Falcon. We’ve been seeing you. You have broken at least 5 different code rules for approaching base airspace. And I see you’re coming in for a landing. I’m going to have to ask you to pull out of that while I get some more information on you.”

  In response, Jade just kept her ship into a graceful dive. He felt a thump as the landing gear was deployed, and knew that he had to do something quick or else have their arrival be even worse than it was already going to be.

  Leaning over in the direction of the monitor, he said, “Sparks, this is Sorlo. Remember me?”

  Sparks gasped. “Sorlo? But…your ship….Communications were cut ages ago! How did you come to be about on a Falcon?”

  Ther
e was another thump and a soft whirr of contact as the landing gear hit the runway, and Jade brought her craft to a crawl as she looked around, trying to decide where to go. Sorlo gestured her in the direction of an airlock gate with one pale hand.

  “I know. It’s a long story. Just, put in a patch to anyone who you think needs to know that…” He closed his eyes. “I am the only survivor.”

  “Shit,” Sparks whistled. “You got it, Light-Bringer. And in the meantime, I’ll get you started through Customs and Inspection, okay? Damn, I’m sorry, brother.”

  “Me too,” he said, although the frequency had already been severed.

  Sadness dragged at the corners of his mouth and he turned away from the window to stare down at his hands. A soft voice cut through his pity.

  “Hey.” It was Jade, of course. “Don’t worry about any of this, okay? You are a warrior. Your higher-ups and friends are warriors. They’ll understand.”

  Surprise nipped at the edges of his sadness. Why is she comforting me?

  But there was no more time for talking, as the airlock door they were headed for opened up before them and then shut again behind them.

  It was obvious that this space was meant to accommodate much larger vehicles, with an impossible width and a vaulted ceiling so high above that it was nearly impossible to tell where the walls ended and roof began. There was another door before them which led to the garage interior, and a walkway high above with a lift mechanism to get up and down.

  Jade waited until it was safe to exit, and then she opened up her cockpit door and got out. Her rear was raised up as she bent over slightly to get through the doorway. He swallowed hard at seeing how round and plump it was on such a thin woman but it wasn’t able to make him rise.

  After only a few minutes of simply standing there, they heard the sound of footsteps and looked up to find a human inspector working his way around the corner with a checklist in hand. He wore the red of Peace Federation, but it was marred by a stripe of blue –for Supply- around the middle.

  Reaching the bottom, he stuck out his dark hand and offered it to Jade. “Hello, Ms. Assassin,” he said, roughly but politely.

  Why does watching them shake hands make me feel so jealous?

  Jade had a slight smile on her face from being addressed in such a manner. “Hello to you, Mr. Inspector. I suppose this is where you turn my ship inside and out?”

  “I’m afraid so,” he said, and handed her his checklist. Actual writing utensil and paper fiber, Sorlo noticed. Such things were relics brought out from time to time to document rarities, as proof that they actually happened; written documents were easier to remember and harder to fabricate than electronic ones. “I’m going to need you to check all those little boxes and give me your initials for each one, and then sign at the bottom. You can read all that if you want and look for fine print, but it’s really a bare-bones agreement that simply states I can check your interior, exterior, cargo holds, weaponry, and any other nooks and crannies I see fit in order to ascertain that you aren’t carrying anything dangerous.”

  “That won’t be a problem,” Jade said, and balanced the list on one hand while getting to work scribbling in all that was needed.

  “Ah…I’m also going to need you to verbally agree to have your weapon checked. It’s not on the list because all Federation weapons are in a system already but…Dark Peace weaponry…”

  “I understand,” Jade replied, businesslike, and cut him off by handing him back the list. “Do you want it now?”

  Without waiting for an answer, she unclipped the charge gun from its holster and held it out. There was a green light on the side which meant it could not accidentally be fired. Sorlo’s fingers twitched slightly as he almost grabbed the light energy before catching himself. Practice was important to keep his skills sharp but Jade had forbid him from doing so while on her ship, claiming it was an annoying habit.

  If she thought that, she would have hated to be on his ship. This habit was one that all Illurians shared, and the interior lights were constantly blinking on and off.

  The inspector handed her back her weapon. “Thank you. While you’re here, I’ll ask you to keep that holstered at all times and with your hand nowhere near it. Now, I’ll see to your ship.”

  They watched him carefully examine the exterior, searching even in the gaps of the landing gear before moving inside. The moment he was momentarily incapable of hearing, Jade commented, “Well, he certainly didn’t seem intimidated by me. Is this the new attitude towards Dark Peace?”

  That was actually amusing, so Sorlo laughed. It felt both good and bad to laugh so he quickly stopped in order to halt the confusing brew of emotions. “He is a professional. We all are. But really, he’s scared shitless of you.”

  The rest of the examination went through without a hitch, and they were shortly given permission to head inside and park the ship in any available spot before heading inside from the garage to the actual base.

  Sorlo felt himself tensing every step of the way as they headed to one of the many doors. His shoulders were drawing up tight around his neck and there was very little he could do about his elevated breathing; beneath his transparent skin, he could see his pulse racing wildly and knew that Jade could hear his pounding heart.

  And then they had stepped through from the garage and into the actual Supply wing. It was exactly as he remembered it from what felt like a lifetime ago, with a comfortably worn carpet and modest lighting cast upon beige walls.

  Jade looked decidedly unimpressed, but just then he heard a whole parade of footsteps and turned to face his higher-ups as they bore down upon him. There were six of them, a representative each from all four branches of the base, the commander who was in charge of delegating missions to the former organization of Light-Bringers, and the head chief who reigned over it all.

  Lowering his head, he mumbled, “Sirs.”

  “Lift up your head, son,” the head chief said.

  Is this a trap? He doesn’t sound angry.

  Very slowly, Sorlo looked up. Every single face looking at him was filled with sorrow and anguish, but no anger aimed at him. It was a relief but it also felt terrible because he knew he deserved it. This was all his fault.

  “We’ll talk about this in a moment, but I believe we owe a great deal of thanks to your companion here. What is your name, miss?”

  “Jade,” Jade said simply, and tilted her head down slightly in a calculated move. She obviously didn’t think she should have to show any sort of respect but he was glad that she was maintaining some sense of civility. While her head was down, he saw an interesting expression cross her face: discomfort. Even this handful of warriors was enough to make her uncomfortable.

  Just keep your hand off your gun and you’ll be fine, Sorlo thought, trying to send her a message while also reminding himself to keep from pulling at the lights with nervousness.

  The next several hours were some of the hardest things he had ever endured, and he had gone through many rigorous trials on his way to becoming a warrior. It was nearly impossible to keep from breaking under the strain of telling his tale to all the proper people and to answer the same questions each and every time. Tears constantly threatened but he fought them back, though his commander wasn’t exactly dry-eyed either.

  Still, somehow, he got through it. The head chief was the last one he spoke to, and when the recording device was turned off after the final question, he slumped back in his chair and tried not to feel like a rag that had been wrung out and put back damp.

  “Well, that’s about it for now,” the chief said, with a definite croak in his voice. “I suggest you get something to eat and get some sleep while I figure some things out. Without your ship or team, you’ll need to be reassigned to a squad and I need to decide which one is the best for you. Any preferences?”

  “No, sir,” Sorlo said softly.

  “Very well, then. Dismissed.”

  Shakily, but doing his best not to show it, Sorlo rose
up from his chair and exited the normal office which had felt very much like a torture chamber for the last few hours. His old room was awaiting him but he didn’t feel like heading towards the sleeping quarters. Not yet. There would be too many people also at rest there, simply biding their time to try and catch him to talk to him. Out here, as he walked down the hallways, he was still being watched but everyone was too busy going about their day that all they could do was harmlessly stare.

  Food, then. He didn’t feel up to just sitting in the commons and exercise definitely wasn’t the answer to his problems.

  With a heavy heart, he headed to the cafeteria.

  The interior was brightly lit. He couldn’t stop himself. He needed the comfort. Reaching for one of the lights, he started to pull energy from it and to his hand. Brightness gathered in rings about his fingers.