by Maia Starr
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Table of Contents
Evex(Warriors Of Ition)
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Evex(Warriors Of Ition)
By Maia Starr
Prologue
Evex Ein
“When the council finds out about this, there will be retaliation,” the human said from where he was clamped into the chair.
“What will they do? The humans are scared of all-out war; they do anything they can to prevent it,” I said.
“And that is wrong? A cold war between the humans and the Itions is better than a real war filled with bloodshed. But I don't expect you to understand that,” he said struggling in the chair.
“No, I don't understand that. We are a species of soldiers; it is in our blood to fight—our blue blood,” I said.
“You Itions are all the same, no matter what clan you are from,” he sneered.
“That you are wrong about, human. I am the ruler of the Alva clan, and we are more ruthless than the other clans of Itions. Something you are soon to find out. Now tell me: what you were carrying on your ship back to Earth? It is rare to see a ship manned by only one human. I have learned that there is much value in different when it comes to the humans.”
The human squirmed in the chair; it was obvious that I had caught onto something.
“I carry nothing of importance. Only coins, as you see in the cargo trunks,” he said.
“You lie. I can always tell when humans are lying. You are such weak and vulnerable creatures. Your emotions are always all over your face.” I turned to my crew. “Scan his database. Scan all drives aboard his ship, and on his person. He is carrying more than coins; coins are only the decoy. He carries something more valuable: information, human secrets... trade secrets. I will know what it is,” I said.
“Yes, Leader Ein,” my crewmate said.
The human stiffened. I moved closer to him, and something gleamed and caught my eye. There was an amulet hanging from his neck. I reached out and pulled it off.
“Give that back. That is nothing to you,” he said.
He struggled to get out of the chair even more, which only intrigued me. I opened the amulet. A digital photo moved inside, something that a lot of the humans used. They were captured memories, usually of a loved one. I watched the movement inside the amulet. Red hair flew in the wind and moved to the side, revealing a beautiful human female with green eyes. Then she smiled, gleaming white teeth. I was immediately attracted to this human female. Even though humans were not allowed to speak to Itions, everyone did it in secret anyway. I’d had my fill of human females in my bed before; it was always a treat. So when I saw one that I liked, I made it a new challenge to find her and bed her. I looked at the human man in front of me.
“This human female is something else; far too good for you. I assume that it is your sister,” I said.
He narrowed his eyes at me. “Give that back, you piece of shit.”
“Leader Ein, we have found large amounts of information on the database this human carried. There does seem to be classified information,” my crewmate reported.
The human hung his head low.
“Don't you worry yourself human; it is not your fault. You are just up against a superior Ition. You could never win in this situation. But fear not; we are going to let you go. You can head back to Earth. But you must not tell anyone of your pit stop. If you do, I will have to come after her,” I said lifting the amulet. “Is that understood?”
“Yes,” he said with anger all over his face.
“Is the human’s ship ready?” I asked out loud.
“Yes, Leader Ein.”
“Good; take him to it,” I said.
My crew unlatched the clamps around his wrist and ankles and pulled him up. He glared at me.
“Ition scum,” he sneered at me.
I just laughed. “At least this human is spirited, not like the human council that avoids confrontation at all cost.”
I moved to the windshield of my large fleet ship. I waited a few minutes until the human was escorted to his ship.
“He has launched, Leader Ein.”
“This should be interesting…” I said as I watched his ship leave mine.
His ship was a smaller short-distance ship; it headed toward the blue and green planet they called Earth. The Ition had been cohabitating Earth with the humans for sixty years now. What started out as peaceful occupation quickly turned into segregation and hostilities. We never had a full-on war, but there were many humans that opposed our existence on their planet. This was the reason it was called a cold war. We were not fighting each other in battle, but there was a lot of strategic plays being played on both sides. I was about to watch one of my plays.
The darkness of space flashed for a brief second as the human’s spaceship exploded. I smiled. We had prepared his ship to self-destruct after leaving our ship and getting within range of Earth. I couldn’t have him going back without his database. The humans would figure out that it had been stolen and track it back to me. No, it was better that his ship mysteriously malfunction on re-entry. Then no questions would be asked.
I looked down at the amulet, at the redhead.
“Lieutenant Draxel. Scan the data the human had for addresses on Earth, and also scan this amulet for information. I have a feeling I am going to want to make a visit after the Earth Council meeting. I need to have some fun; it’s long overdue,” I said, handing my trusted Lieutenant the amulet.
“Yes, Leader Ein,” he said grabbing it.
I crossed my hands and watched the remnants of the spaceship floating into the darkness. It had been a productive trip so far, and I was only getting started.
Imuna Parker
I stood on the terrace that overlooked the vast city of Menkara. Five hundred years ago it was known as Philadelphia, but a lot had changed since then, including the fact that there was now a vast ocean that had come all the way inland. Looking at maps, there used to miles of land between Philadelphia and the Atlantic, but now that area was covered in water.
Menkara was a capital Earth city. It was where the Menkara Council was located, and that included a vast space military base, which was why I lived in this particular city. My husband, Sion, was a pilot. We had been married for a year now and I was always worried when he went on a trade mission. But it was his life and I knew that when I agreed to marry him.
So I tilted my head toward the sky, watching the ever-flowing traffic of ships entering and exiting Earth’s atmosphere, wondering if I could make out his ship. Standing on the terrace always made me feel closer to him somehow. It was a good terrace, part of our large penthouse home on the top floor of a skyscraper floater. A floater was a floating building. This meant that the first floor of the building was some sixty feet off the ground accessible by three elevators, or a grand spiral staircase available in emergencies. The floater buildings were necessary as the city became overpopulated. We had run out of room to build, so buildings were permitted to be built over public spaces like plazas and over other smaller commercial buildings like shopping centers. This left thos
e places in shadow, with only artificial light to light the areas, but it was necessary.
Buzz. My door buzzer rang. My eyes opened wide, and I was extremely excited that Sion was home before I had expected him. But why was he ringing the buzzer?
“Mrs. Sion Parker?”
Two officials stood in my doorway in blue uniforms. My smile dropped to a frown.
“Yes,” I said.
They both looked at each other took off their hats, holding them to their chests. One pulled out a large black envelope.
“No…” I whispered already knowing what that black envelope meant.
“We are sorry to inform you that your husband, Commander Sion Parker, was killed in mission action. The report is in this envelope and we are very sorry for your loss. The department would—”
“Get out! Leave me alone!” I cried as I snatched the envelope from their hands and slammed the door. I slid to the floor in a puddle, not able to support myself any longer. “No! No! This isn’t happening. No! It can’t be true!” I screamed and cried. My stomach felt like it was on fire. I thought I was going to vomit. “Sion! No!”
I was in a state of disbelief and anguish. My hand was shaking as I tried to pull open the envelope. I didn’t believe those men. They had to have the wrong pilot. I needed more answers. I pulled out the official card of the council with its blue and green colors and Earth emblem. I crawled to the panel and slipped the card inside. A man, an official of the council, came on screen. It was just his head with a solemn look on his face.
“This is a killed-in-action report for pilot Sion Parker, division pilot K235. Pilot Sion Parker was in a ship, a twin B6, on his way back to Earth from the Jupiter moon base. At approximately oh-nine-hundred hours, he was entering the Earth’s atmosphere when the ship exploded upon re-entry. A full investigation of the ship’s malfunction has been launched. End report.”
“No, it’s wrong. It’s wrong,” I screamed hitting the screen that had now gone black. They had to have the wrong ship. It was impossible! My husband was an incredible pilot, and even in a malfunction he could safely pilot the ship to an altitude where he could jettison out of the ship in the escape body pod. Now they were trying to make me believe it just exploded? No, there was more to it.
I was filled with anger and hate. I wanted to tell the division to shove their report and to go find my husband. He was probably still on the Jupiter moon, and they had the wrong ship. It wouldn’t be the first time their ineptitude gave a pilot wife the wrong information. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t get up off the floor. My sadness and anger crippled me from movement. I cried hard and fell asleep on the floor.
The next day a bright ray of sun hit me in the face. I opened my eyes. It was all a bad dream. I dreamt that my husband was dead. But then I saw that I was on the floor and that brief second of relief went away. Anger coursed through me as I had no tears left. I got up from the floor and went to the bedroom to change. I was going to make a ruckus.
“I am here to see Councilor Vilox,” I said at the Earth council lobby.
“Do you have an appointment? Is he expecting you?” the man replied.
“Yes, he is,” I lied. “I am the wife of pilot Sion Parker; he knows who I am,” I said with my chin stuck out stubbornly.
“One moment. I will call up to his office. Have a seat,” he said pointing to the waiting area.
I moved to the waiting area, but I could not sit. I was too amped up and anxious. I paced back and forth knowing that my little ploy was not going to work, but I had to do something.
“Mrs. Parker, he will see you now.”
I was shocked. I wasn’t expecting it to be this easy.
“Thank you,” I said as he led me to the elevator. He swiped his security pass on it and the elevator lit up. He pressed a combination of buttons and gestured for me to step inside. I nodded and stepped in. I took a deep breath. I held back tears as the elevator swiftly rose. Then it stopped and the doors opened. I stepped out. There was a man in a blue fitted one-piece suit waiting for me.
“Mrs. Parker?”
“Yes.”
“This way.”
I followed him down a stark white hallway. It was empty, and I could hear my heels echoing off the walls. I could hear a low murmur of voices that we were heading toward. Finally, the hallway opened up to a vast room with floor to ceiling glass that looked out over the city. Councilor Vilox sat at a massive glass desk.
“Mrs. Parker,” the official said.
“Yes, thank you. I will call you if I need you,” Vilox said.
“Mrs. Parker, I was not expecting you. It is very rare that anyone without an approved appointment gets up here, but when I heard the name I knew what you are here for,” he said standing up.
“Yes, my husband.”
“I am sorry for your loss,” he said.
“I need to know what happened. Are you sure it was him? How can you be sure if it was an explosion? There is no proof,” I said moving toward him.
“You are not the first wife to doubt a black envelope, Mrs. Parker. But the data does not lie. You may trust that this information was gathered with caution and—”
“No! That is bullshit! I don’t believe you!” I shouted not wanting to hear the same speech given to all the wives.
“Mrs. Parker, please, now if you will—”
“No! I refuse to believe the limited information in that envelope. I am owed more than that. My husband gave his service loyally to the department.”
“Which a deeper investigation will give you, but I assure you that it was your husband and we will find out the details of the malfunction—”
“No! I don’t believe you. How do you know? How do you know it was him?” I shouted. My chest heaved up and down in anger.
Vilox sighed. “We try to keep things like this from the wives as it is just too hard for them. I wish you would wait until I have a full report for you.”
“No. Tell me what it is you try to keep from the wives,” I said, angry that there was something else.
He looked sorrowful. Then he moved to his desk and typed in something. The holographic screen on the wall came to life with lines of audio.
“Come in, base twenty-two.”
I gasped as I recognized my husband’s voice.
“I’m having a malfunction of the auxiliary… there’s smoke! I repeat there’s—”
Then the audio went dead. Tears flowed down my cheeks. I couldn’t stop the agony. Hearing my husband’s panicked voice in his final moments was too much.
“Mrs. Parker? Are you alright?”
I slowly reached for the arm of the couch to catch my suddenly heavy body. Then I sat down trying to catch my breath as I felt like I was hyperventilating. “You were going to keep that from me?”
“Only until we have the full report. It’s standard procedure and—”
“You are ruthless! You and your reports! That is my husband, and you would just have me wondering what his final moments were like for months?”
“We think it is best that—”
“To hell with what you think is best!” I shouted. Then I stood up, using my anger to propel me forward and to make my legs work. It was the only thing that could drive me now as I headed for the door. As I walked, I heard Vilox speak into his intercom. “Mrs. Parker is headed your way. Can you please have a guard escort her home? She is not well.”
“Yes, Councilor Vilox.”
I kept walking. I didn’t turn to thank him. I just kept on moving. Once I got to the lobby, there was a guard with a sympathetic look on his face. He said nothing but walked with me all the way to my building elevator where I dismissed him.
For the next two months, I would live in complete agony. I would never get over the loss of my husband. It was asking the impossible. No man could ever take his place.
Chapter One
Evex Ein
“We’re approaching the landing port,” Lieutenant Draxel reported.
“Good. Let’s
get this over with. I don’t see what Councilor Vilox could have to say that is different than the last meetings with the humans. They are all talk and no action; it is exhausting,” I said looking out over the city of Menkara. I was more interested in the fun that I could have in the city; even with the Itions facing segregation in the city, it was still a fun place.
The ship landed, and we filed out of the ship down the ramp. Two of my soldiers and my trusted lieutenant followed me. There was a line of armed humans waiting for us.
“Leader Ein. I am Officer Teson. I am to lead you and your crew to the meeting,” he said.