Atone By Treaty

by Kayla Stonor

  Cale’s hand touched Gabrielle’s lower back, offering support and comfort.

  She moved out of reach.

  Oltu’s eyes tracked their movements.

  “Local resistance fighters shot down the K’lahn transport Ben was on,” her father added. “He was presumed dead with good reason. No one could have survived that hit.”

  Gabrielle shook her head. “The UR didn’t have the surveillance we have now. We don’t know there weren’t survivors. Dad, it’s not just Ben. In the early days the K’lahn considered the Fringe territories a safe air zone. Several transports crashed in the Fringes before the K’lahn altered their flight paths.”

  Her father’s jaw stiffened. “And the survivors who made it back described how they had to run for their lives from roving bands of desert fanatics who believed Western civilization brought hellfire and damnation upon the Earth. Please, Gabrielle, if Ben survived the crash he’d be home, he would have got word to us, somehow... Please stop tormenting yourself.” He looked across to Cale and his expression hardened. “Bring her home, Colonel. That’s an order.”

  “Sir.”

  Oltu terminated the connection. Moving in a blurred flash, Oltu pinned Cale to the far wall and disarmed him in less than a second. For a few seconds, no one spoke, Oltu’s menacing growl filling the small bridge, his nails extended to talons that pierced Cale’s throat. Cale held very still, one hand wrapped around Oltu’s wrist, fighting to stop Oltu ripping out his throat. His muscles bulged. Blood trickled down his neck.

  Gabrielle raced towards them and grabbed Oltu’s arm. “Don’t hurt him,” she begged. “I’ll go back! I’ll go back!”

  “That was not our deal.”

  Cale’s eyes shot to Gabrielle at Oltu’s revelation.

  “I’ve changed my mind,” she whispered, desperation razing her voice.

  “No,” Oltu declared, “if there is a chance your brother survived, your duty is to search for him. Your life is not at risk, and your father’s feelings for you cloud his judgment. Now your desire to protect Colonel Tennant clouds your judgment. Gabrielle, recommencing negotiations with the Salhi honors the lives lost in service of your protection.”

  “Don’t list—” Cale rasped.

  Gabrielle cried out as Oltu upped the pressure on Cale’s throat, visceral pleasure twisting his mouth into a feral smile. Oltu was toying with Cale, enjoying the man’s impotence. Anger mixed with fear in Cale’s eyes. She had to defuse the situation.

  “What is this man to you?” Oltu demanded.

  “What?”

  “Colonel Tennant. You call him Cale. He knows you, intimately. I can scent your mutual reactions to each other. Lie and I will gut him to his ventri.”

  Shit. That didn’t sound good. “We once had a relationship—”

  Cale gargled, eyes bulging out their sockets, his face red.

  “But it ended a while ago, I swear!” She’d got the impression the Qui were liberal-minded. Hell, the Empress had been willing to share Jaden in his early days as her tribute, although Jaden’s debriefing made clear she quickly declared him off limits to all. Underplay it. Keep it vague. Show Cale wasn’t a rival. “We weren’t together long.”

  “Duration of a relationship is important to you?”

  Gabrielle blinked, Oltu’s rapid-fire response accusing. “No, not really, I mean it was never going to work out between us. Not like marriage or anything.”

  Sweat broke out on Cale’s forehead. His arm began to shake.

  Oltu’s jaw tensed and he pressed forward to block Cale’s knee. His gaze shot to Gabrielle. “How close were you?”

  “We played! Games!” What could she say that Oltu would accept? Something close to the truth. “It was a loving relationship, but for recreation, for relief, for human contact.”

  Cale’s eyes briefly closed. He gurgled something in his throat.

  “Is this true?” Oltu asked, easing off enough for Cale to speak.

  “Yes,” he croaked.

  Oltu held Cale’s gaze for several long seconds. Cale didn’t flinch. His look hardened and suddenly Oltu nodded, released his captive and stepped back.

  Gabrielle dropped her hold on Oltu’s rock hard arm, weak with relief as Cale staggered out of Oltu’s reach.

  The Qui gestured Cale to a seat, waving Cale’s weapon at him for incentive. “Gabrielle, you will find a control that initiates the safety harness. Please activate it.”

  Cale stepped to the indicated seat, a subtle nod indicating she should comply. He sat down, placed his arms on the rests. Her heart twisted for him—Cale acted to protect her, considered her safety would be an outcome of his confinement. Unlike her, he held no fear of being restrained. In the right setting, bondage settled him, released the tension built up over days in the field, but this wasn’t the right setting, and they were both entrapped in Oltu’s twisted game.

  She didn’t like it, but Cale would cope.

  Anxiety curdling inside her, she found the passenger safety control and caught the muscle twitch in Cale’s neck when the harness shot out and encircled him. He tested its effectiveness before relaxing, resting his head against the wall in acceptance. The trickle of blood from his neck had slowed, the nanos in his system working their magic.

  Oltu tracked her gaze with a sharp flick of his head. He marched over to Cale and pressed against the wound his talon had inflicted until Cale’s hands clenched into fists. The Qui noble removed his hand, the fingers human, his lizard-shaped pupils and vivid scaling down his neck the only hint of his Qui nature. “Your nanos are less effective than Jaden’s.”

  “Jaden was given advanced experimental nanos, which is probably the only reason he survived...” Cale sounded hoarse and coughed before continuing. “Doctor Parsons designed them to match the Qui physique. There are flaws to work out before he distributes the upgrade more widely.”

  “The Qui Empress is aware of our nano developments,” Gabrielle added. “If the Surashan return...”

  “Human nano-proteins are not a concern to the Qui,” Oltu said with a dismissive wave. “Jaden’s nanos push the human physique to its metabolic limit. Our scientists are testing his nano-proteins on Qui. The differential will be maintained.”

  Gabrielle held back a gasp at his arrogance. Oltu’s superior attitude tested her diplomatic tolerance, and she couldn’t predict Oltu’s intent for Cale... for either of them. She stiffened when Oltu joined her at the flight console. He began constructing a communication.

  “I will inform your father you wish to continue the mission, your security arranged by me. Colonel Tennant will accompany us. First, you need nourishment and rest. We will assume orbit over the region and conduct extended reconnaissance. I will also order a scan of K’lahn archives relating to human prisoners of war.”

  “My father’s expecting us at Central Command.” Surely Oltu recognized he crossed a dangerous line defying Earth’s president, holding them hostage. Worse Oltu did this for her. This had gotten way out of control. “Please, Oltu!” Nerves cracked her voice. “He ordered me home!”

  “I don’t take orders from your father.” Oltu frowned, looked over to her as if wrestling with a decision. “I respect his authority as the leader of a valued ally under treaty. Your president ordered the Colonel to return you home, and you will return, in due course.” His internal conflict resolved he turned to his ship’s controls. “I will inform President Rooster of my intention.” His fingers skated over a touch screen.

  Gabrielle ran a hand through her hair. Cale’s fierce glare signaled dissent, demanding she stop this, but Oltu’s bearing spoke of quiet resolution. Further argument would only aggravate Oltu and put Cale at risk. Oltu had given her the opportunity to complete her mission, and she wouldn’t waste it. Besides, if she returned to Central Command, her father would never let her resume negotiations with the Salhi; she’d be a virtual prisoner of his protective streak. Neither could she ignore the consequences to Cale trapped in the midst of this mess. She could at lea
st smooth things over for him.

  “What about Colonel Tennant?” she asked as she opened a channel to Central Command through her psycom, discovered she’d lost connection, again.

  Oltu shrugged. “I register minimal distress. Colonel Tennant will be fine overnight.”

  “Oh joy,” Cale sniped. His scowl snapped disapproval and Gabrielle flashed him a warning look. Technically, Cale reported to her. He needed to let her work this out, diplomatically. Damn, why wasn’t her psycom working?

  “For now, you need rest and nourishment,” Oltu continued, his emerald eyes locking on her, drawing her under his spell. His scent created an erotic frisson so powerful she flushed under the heat of his gaze. The blood rush intensified under the knowledge that Cale witnessed her involuntary response. “I will show you to your private quarters.”

  “Private quarters?” Cale’s glance to the rear door regained Gabrielle’s attention. “This ship’s not big enough for a bed roll—”

  Irritation pulled Oltu’s lips down. “I should gag him.”

  “No.” Gabrielle raised a restraining hand, expecting Oltu to overrule her, but needing to try. “Cale, it’s fine.”

  “Gaby, his pheromones are a drug. You’re behaving irrationally—”

  “Silence him, or I will,” Oltu snapped.

  If Cale didn’t wipe that mutinous expression of his face, she’d gag Cale herself. She took a calming breath and stared him down. “Lord Oltu and I have an agreed arrangement. Nothing will happen… if I don’t want to.” Pray God. “I have a safe word.”

  Oltu’s glare swung to her. “Safe word?”

  Cale spluttered. Gabrielle raised a placating hand towards him as she reminded Oltu of her condition. “You promised me, a single word and I go free.”

  Oltu frowned. “What is this word?”

  “Red. The color represents danger on our world, a need to stop and step back. If I say red, our agreement is canceled and you must release me, immediately. It’s not a word I would use by mistake.”

  The Qui narrowed his eyes. “Nor one you should speak lightly, not if you hope to complete your mission.”

  Gabrielle swallowed. She’d invested months in this mission, lobbied countless politicians across the regions, persuaded dubious officials to give her a chance to find those willing to stand for a peace born from courage, not from the atrophy of fear and religious zealots. She’d found Abbas, a man of peace willing to die for her cause. Yes, the chance of discovering her brother alive was minuscule, but if Oltu learned nothing at all, then that would confirm Qui records showed Ben never left Earth. And she couldn’t forget Abbas died telling her there were others, others who could return home. They needed a safe route out of the Fringes.

  “I swear on my life, I will not use my safe word lightly.”

  “Christ, Gaby. You’re playing with fire! The Qui operate by their rules, you can’t win!” Cale strained forward with the strength of his conviction, a practical invitation to Oltu to silence him.

  “It’s my choice, Colonel,” she snapped, even as doubts tripped off butterflies in her stomach for she recognized that gleam in the Oltu’s eye, had glimpsed Oltu’s battle to control his ferocious mating instincts. Her sanity needed Oltu to retain his human physique. No pheromone could dull the torture of being touched by this Qui in his natural reptilian form. “Lord Oltu, I will warn you if you push me too hard—I don’t wish to call red.”

  For a sickening moment, Gabrielle believed the Qui about to object, but then his mouth curved into a menacing smile.

  “You dismiss Colonel Tennant’s advice so easily, Gabrielle.” Oltu stepped forward. “I will arrange for you to eat first, you will need all your strength.”

  Cale’s face whitened.

  Chapter Four

  Oltu transferred his shuttle’s control to the Thrak ‘Yla, a grand Qui destroyer waiting in orbit for his return, part of a larger fleet lurking in Earth’s solar system. He watched the humans, curious to see their reaction. Dark shadow blocked out the stars as they ascended into a private docking bay located dead center under the warship’s belly.

  Gabrielle scanned informational displays, startled by a second ship.

  Colonel Tennant craned his neck to look up, tilting his head to listen, his whole body testing the seat harness for several seconds before he sagged, his quickened heartbeat proof of his wasted effort. “You have a cloaked vessel orbiting Earth?”

  “Yes,” Oltu replied, enjoying Tennant’s alarm. “I considered this a good opportunity to test my latest upgrade. As you have observed, this transport is limited and I desire Gabrielle enjoy more comfortable surroundings.”

  “Our alliance does not grant Qui warships permission to assume orbit at will, in secret,” Gabrielle said, her icy voice thick with disapproval.

  Oltu flexed his fingers. The woman tested his patience.

  “Are you responsible for the dampening field that stopped us locating Gabrielle?” Tennant demanded.

  Oltu laughed. “No. I was with my fleet when Gabrielle went missing. I do take responsibility for the failure of your implants whilst on board my ship. I suspect that is your real question. Your concerns are unfounded. The Thrak ‘Yla is not a threat and I attend Earth at the President’s invitation. My chosen mode of transport is hardly your concern.”

  With the Thrak ‘Yla locked on the transport, Oltu relinquished control and focused on Gabrielle. She’d moved to a viewport, her cheek pressed to the fused silicate glass. The traction beam reflected on her skin, a becoming soft blue-green hue.

  Enchanting.

  Oltu approached her, placed a hand on her shoulder and felt her flinch. Tension roiled through her shoulder blades. “The docking force fields are beautiful, are they not?” he murmured, inhaling the delightful scent of her hair. “What is this perfume?”

  “Um, my hair? Ginseng. I crush the flowers into my shampoo.” Nerves threaded her voice and Oltu moved his fingers to the bare skin under her collar. “It grows near my father’s mountain hideout. You visited there.”

  “I remember.”

  How could he forget the whirlwind that had burst into her father’s office, or the instant hardening of his cock?

  “American ginseng was once endangered, over harvested for its roots.” Gabrielle’s voice cracked and she ducked out from under his touch, the flush on her cheeks faded to white. “Now it grows everywhere. The war devastated our population.” Accusation roughened her voice.

  The ship settled in its docking station, a barely discernible jolt.

  “The land always recovers,” Oltu observed, reluctant to let her go. “Your planet’s rare beauty entranced my sister—”

  “Earth was even more beautiful before! Your invasion ruined this planet!”

  “The cities, the infrastructure, yes, but your world’s recovery could have been vastly more protracted if—” He stopped as her fists balled, distracted by the magnificence of her anger.

  “If? If what?” She could hardly speak through her clenched teeth. “If the K’lahn had nuked us from the start? You bastard!”

  Oltu raised an eyebrow at her choice of insult, but the implication that Earth had escaped lightly could never be well received by someone who had seen her species ransacked and wasted. Gabrielle had grown up with war, never known peace until now.

  He recalled his first sight of Earth. His father, the Honored Qui, the Emperor Xyon, had demanded a firsthand report from someone he trusted.

  He’d sent his first born.

  Oltu discovered a human resistance who appropriated K’lahn weaponry and turned those weapons against their enemy. Earth remained a battleground. Cities still burned, years after their destruction. The K’lahn had established a permanent ground force to sweep humans into camps prior to shipment to the Empire. Warships protected those camps. The humans had organized into cells, hard to track and destroy, constantly on the move, running tactical raids aimed at recovering K’lahn tech and human prisoners, and they were winning.

 
; The growing humiliation called for swift action.

  On his return to Katar, Oltu argued that humanity should have been destroyed from the start. The planet would have recovered; the Qui had seen natural regeneration restore many a world. Without decisive action, Oltu foresaw a vengeful human race offering ceaseless rebellion, sparking a similar response among disgruntled worlds across the Qui Empire. Humans on stolen ships, running amok across the stars, guaranteed discord and chaos.

  The Emperor scoffed at Oltu’s predictions. The Honored Qui wanted Earth and a renewable workforce. Few races were so fertile and skilled at manual labor. Worlds throughout the Empire petitioned the Royal Court for replacements to the wave of workers delivered in the aftermath of invasion, many of whom had died. Xyon declared the ongoing struggle to quash Earth rebels a failing in K’lahn leadership and if Oltu didn’t see that, then he too lacked vision.

  The K’lahn must cudgel the humans into submission, restore the labor supply.

  The shame of that audience still rankled, but Gabrielle’s disgust stung much deeper. She would never understand the intricate politics underlying the war, and the risks Empress Sonestra had chosen to accept when she broke tradition and granted Earth the highest status among worlds… freedom secured by Jaden’s sacrifice and a Qui Treaty.

  Oltu stepped back, contained an urgent desire to shift.

  Skal. Gabrielle stood before him only because the Emperor and his successor had both spurned Oltu’s recommendations to cease the wasted resources of a prolonged war with Earth, to consider a more final solution. Both Emperor and his successor had the foresight to envision better alternatives to annihilation. The realization shook him more deeply than it should.

  That this exquisite temptress had faced down a Qui in full mating burn and found the strength to negotiate a favorable outcome proved his grave error in judgment. He had once argued to eradicate the human species... if Gabrielle ever learned the full truth, she would never forgive him.

  *****