by Petra Landon
“I promised myself that one day, you would not have a bracelet encircling your wrist” his voice, which had hardened, softened again. “But I was hoping you might be willing to wear this for me.”
Saakshi smiled at him tremulously. “I told you once that I would follow you to ends of hell if I could, Zoran.”
She glanced at the delicate bracelet encircling her wrist that marked her as his. “This is more precious than heaven itself. I will guard it with my life.”
In response, his arms came up to clasp her fiercely to him, her words finally banishing all traces of any shadows between them.
“I have always been yours, Zoran” she whispered to him, her words an assurance, a declaration and a reiteration of her feelings for him.
“And I have always been yours, tseriya.”
For a long moment, they stood clasped together before Saakshi disentangled herself.
“On Budheyasta, both committed males and females wear a unified tenar that indicates the intermingling of their Puras” Saakshi whispered, pointing at the armband she wore high on her left bicep.
“We’ll practice that custom too” he promised huskily. “I want the world to be left in no doubt that we belong to each other.”
Hours later, Saakshi and Zoran approached the parked shuttle in their sleek spacesuits. Abandoning their little haven where so much had happened, and where both had come clean about their feelings for each other, had not been easy. If it hadn’t been for Saakshi’s responsibilities on TF124, the two might well have spent more time savoring their tiny slice of solitude.
Soon, Zoran had them expertly in the air, approaching the stormy atmosphere on their way into space. As they exited the atmosphere of the moon, the communicator beeped loudly to indicate the reception of incoming messages. These had been unsuccessful in reaching the parked shuttle before, probably due to interference by electrical storm activity on the moon.
“From the Juntafeyore” Zoran explained at Saakshi’s inquiring glance. “No one else knows where I am. I’ll put it on speaker. I left them explicit instructions to not disturb me except in an emergency.”
Zoran punched in a few buttons and a voice in an unfamiliar tongue reverberated through the closed confines of the shuttle. The built-in translator, part of the communicator device attached to Saakshi’s uniform kicked in a few seconds later, although Zoran’s expression had been enough to warn her that it was unwelcome news.
“Hadari’Kor ship Juntafeyore to Sebaah Seran. Keep your distance from TF124. We are under attack. Enemy is unknown. I repeat, we are under attack from an unknown enemy. Do not approach TF124.”
Saakshi raised horrified eyes to Zoran, who was busy retrieving the next message from the communicator device. This one was in Jolar’s voice, although still in the foreign tongue that Saakshi guessed was Hakor, the language of Hadari’Kor.
“Juntafeyore to Sebaah Seran. We have engaged the enemy and begun evacuation of all personnel from TF124. Stay where you are and we will get in touch once engagement is over.”
“Thank the Pura” Saakshi breathed. Her first concern had been for all the friends on TF124. The knowledge that there had been enough time to attempt the safe evacuation of everyone on the station was a huge relief.
“This was more than three hours ago” Zoran muttered. “There seems to be one more message sent about twenty minutes ago.”
Jolar’s voice reverberated in the shuttle again through the powerful speakers.
“Juntafeyore to Sebaah Seran. All ships are safely away from TF124. Juntafeyore and Henia are standing by to pick you up. Let us know when you’re in communications range. We’ll rendezvous at these coordinates. Watch for enemy ships in the vicinity.”
A set of coordinates blasted through the speakers before they fell silent. Zoran quickly punched in a quick message through the communicator, presumably to inform the Juntafeyore that they were in communications range.
“Saakshi, I need you to fly the shuttle while I watch the sensors for other ships. We might need weapons or have to duck into the atmosphere to hide from enemy ships lying in wait.”
Saakshi nodded uncertainly. She hadn’t had much practice flying this thing on her own.
“Don’t worry! Remember, this thing mostly flies itself” Zoran assured her calmly. “I’ve already punched in the coordinates where we’re to meet up with the other ships.”
“Hey, tseriya” he cajoled at the evidence of alarm in her eyes.
He clasped her hand firmly where it lay on the control panel. “Nothing will happen to us. I’ll make sure of it. Trust me, hmm?”
Saakshi nodded, more confident after his reassuring words.
“Frankly, if I were to be perfectly honest, this wouldn’t even make it to the top twenty tight spots Zoran Hadari-Begur-Kor has ever been in” he chimed in, encouraged by the change in her.
“Shall we do this then, my little Budheya rebel?” he asked her with a smile.
“Yes, Captain” she retorted swiftly with an answering smile.
“That’s the spirit!”
The rendezvous with the Juntafeyore went through without a hitch or any sign of enemy ships. Jolar waited to receive them in the Docking Bay of the Juntafeyore. As they emerged from the docked shuttle, Jolar shot Saakshi a smile before breaking into speech.
“It was pure bad luck, would you believe it, Zoran? We believe that a Ketaari civilian ship passing by during the last magnetic storm noticed something amiss when the cloak protecting the station slipped for a few seconds. The station personnel have been reporting trouble with the cloak due to interference during storms. We think the civilian ship reported it to the Ketaari Imperial Forces, who sent a small fleet to investigate. They’ve probably been watching us for days, puzzled by our cloak. It does output a lot of power up close, so either their sensors picked up on that or they saw something suspicious that broke the illusion. Anyway, they attacked by firing at what they believed was the largest asteroid in the belt. The cloak absorbed quite a few blows before it started crumbling, saving our collective hides by buying us the extra time to evacuate and ready the docked ships for a fight.”
“The Ur’quay engineers, working on the cloak, noticed the assault first” Jolar continued as Zoran listened intently. “The Star Captain pinged the Juntafeyore to inform me of their suspicions. I sent a craft out to check the belt. Once it confirmed the assault and that the ships were Ketaari, I informed the Station Commander.”
“Un Kieto Maal always knew that this was a calculated risk” Zoran remarked succinctly. It looked like they’d run out of luck. Zoran realized to his great relief that the secret of the pact between the Budheya, the Hadari’Kor and the Alliance was safe from the Ketaari.
“Thankfully, we managed to evacuate everyone safely. Commander Kerovac dispatched Alliance ships to evacuate station personnel and the Budheya to safety, while the Hadari’Kor ships with the assistance of the Ur’quay held the enemy at bay to prevent pursuit. Once they were safely away, we blew up TF124 to prevent it from falling into Ketaari hands, and hightailed it out of there. The Alliance ships carrying station personnel have been given new co-ordinates to rendezvous at. A temporary facility to replace TF124, one enclosed within the Alliance border security net, is being set up, as we speak. The other Hadari’Kor ships are on their way to this facility. Un Kieto Maal has a few weeks to find a more permanent solution, before the next set of Budheya are scheduled to be transported for training.”
Jolar paused, shooting a quick glance at Saakshi who looked a little shell-shocked by Jolar’s matter-of-fact recounting of TF124’s fate. It would be a long time before Saakshi treated a Ketaari assault of any kind the way the Hadari’Kor took it in their stride.
“We have a new passenger onboard the Juntafeyore, Zoran. The Star Captain made me promise to not undock from TF124 without her” Jolar said cryptically, knowing that his friend would understand him.
“Didn’t trust her to the tender mercies of the Alliance?” Zoran murmured so
ftly, his eyes meeting his friend’s. “Can’t blame him, my friend. She was captured once before, on their watch.”
“We were outnumbered three to four by the Ketaari, Zoran. And because of my promise to the Star Captain, the Juntafeyore could not join the fight, until she was aboard.”
Zoran studied his friend, confident that there was more to come.
“Then, Un Kieto Maal decided to ask the Henia to join the fight” Jolar informed him, almost gleefully.
Zoran smiled, knowing there was more to the story than Jolar was letting on. There would be time in private to get it out of his friend, he knew.
“Did you see the Henia in action against the Ketaari, Jolar?” he asked curiously. These were the legendary Ur’quay from the stories he had grown up on. Zoran had once been privileged to watch the Star Captain, vastly outnumbered, fight his way through on a space station. But he had never seen an Ur’quay warship in action yet.
Jolar nodded once, his dark eyes shining with excitement. “It was glorious” he said briefly.
“The Henia and the Juntafeyore have new rendezvous coordinates deep in neutral space, Zoran. Un Kieto Maal wants a word with you and the Star Captain in private. Commander Kerovac rarely hints but he gave me a strong hint about something shady afoot with the Ketaari.”
“I presume we’re on our way to the rendezvous?” Zoran arched a brow at his friend.
“Yes” Jolar acknowledged as they made their way out of the Docking Bay.
Zoran’s hand brushed by Saakshi’s in an absentminded caress, drawing Jolar’s sharp eyes to the bracelet clasped on her wrist. A smile broke through the sober expression on Jolar’s face.
“I see that congratulations are in order, my friends?” his voice was rife with anticipation.
“Absolutely” Zoran replied with quiet pride, while Saakshi nodded shyly. Jolar whooped loudly, throwing all caution to the wind to swing Saakshi into an exuberant hug under the indulgent gaze of his friend.
“I am so happy, little sister” he murmured for her ears alone. “You two were made for each other.”
Saakshi watched Jolar thump his friend on the back to congratulate him as Zoran smiled and deflected the friendly banter about being hand-shackled for life.
What a change in her circumstances a mere six months had wrought, she ruminated as she watched the two males. The threat from the Imperial Forces had been successfully neutered. She was now beyond the reach of the Empire, and a citizen of the Alliance. The Budheya rebels were being trained by Hadari’Kor, the resistance receiving material support from the Alliance. For the first time in her life, the prospect of her people winning their freedom from the Ketaari looked feasible.
But most of all, she had Zoran – the love of her life. This extraordinary reversal of fortunes, hers as well as her people’s, had been made possible by the advent of one person into her life. Her Hadari’Kor mercenary - the gentle giant with a heart of gold who had always smoothed her path in every way he could. The male she had fallen in love with, who had promised her a lifetime of togetherness. The world was an uncertain place, while Quadrant Five still burned in the grip of war. Yet, Saakshi felt a measure of peace as well as great hope and joy. No matter how badly everything fell apart tomorrow, there was one thing Saakshi could trust with absolute certainty. Zoran had promised her a lifetime together. And Zoran always kept his promises.
SAMAPT
The End
Note from the Author
Thank you for reading The Mercenary. I hope you enjoyed it.If you have the time, please consider writing a few lines about the story on Amazon and Goodreads. Candid reviews from readers like you are the lifeblood of indie authors. Your reviews help us hone our ability to tell a story and bring our work to the attention of others.
Sila and the Ur’quay Star Captain’s story continues in The Warrior. If you would like to be informed about new releases, please follow me on Amazon or sign up for my Mailing List. I do not spam, will never share your information and only send out a maximum of four emails a year.
www.petralandon.com
Acknowledgements
This is the first story I ever completed and hence, is particularly close to my heart. Written in snatches over a ten year period with many, many rewrites, Saakshi and Zoran became much more than characters. To me, they feel like real people who I want to root for.
To my husband, thank you for all the adventures you take us on and for making my dreams about traveling the world come true. Thank you for always encouraging me to follow my dreams. And, for checking for new reviews on Amazon so you can greet me with the exciting news in the mornings. I could never do this without you.
To my sister-of-the-heart, your presence always enriches my life. Thank you for always providing an ear to vent and your unwavering support and encouragement in everything I attempt. I hope all your dreams come true because I don’t know anyone who deserves it more.
To Biserka, thank you for working so hard for months with me on the cover and for translating the characters from my imagination so wonderfully to create a beautiful work of art.
Since starting this journey, I have met many strangers whose kindness and encouragement have kept me going when I found myself dispirited or flagging. These are my new book friends who I know only via the ether but without whom I would feel lost as I try and navigate this strange new world. I would like to acknowledge a few of these new friends. Charity Rowell – for always offering help and solutions, no matter the circumstances, Esther Dauvillier – for being so wonderful and always checking up on me, and Sylvia Hientz - for her warmth, kindness, excellent advice and constant encouragement.
To Evelyn Summers, who proofread The Mercenary, thank you for your frank assessment of the story. Your suggestions helped me tinker with the ending and improve upon it.
Books by Petra Landon
The War Chronicles
A SciFi Romance & Space Opera series full of passionate love stories, swashbuckling adventure & action
The Mercenary
The Warrior
Saga of the Chosen
A rollicking urban fantasy epic with adventure, intrigue, suspense & romance
Book One - The Prophecy
Book Two - The Rainmaker
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A naive wizard with a kitty of deadly secrets. A dangerous Shifter Alpha with a ruthless streak and a dislike for Spell Casters. A divided people who resist all efforts to unite them. A mysterious prophecy exploited by a power-hungry Chosen. A cut-throat world of high-stakes politicking where factions of wizards, Shape-shifters, vampires and Ancients vie for power and influence over their kind.
Intrigue, action, mystery and adventure abound in this paranormal fantasy tale with a dash of romance sprinkled in.
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