by Maia Starr
Jaylin shocked me when he told me and Official Treen what Prana had confessed to him. When his quarters were searched, all the proof was there. I could not believe that he was such a master of disguise, but he had been doing it since he was very young. This is how he was able to hide his true self from me. He was a master of disguise that could fool an entire society for years. Now I felt worse knowing that not only did Prana have a black heart, but he was also a spy and traitor, and that would be carried over to our child, if it were his. I could scarcely bare it.
I spent most of my time with Maria, Margaret, Elizabeth, and Sarah who had all settled in well in high positions of technology on the base. Margaret was even seeing a warrior. The women did not belong to one warrior or official as a slave. Instead, they were kept as general slaves, but they could at any time be given as a personal slave to a warrior if Official Treen willed it so.
I thought it was ironic that I had fought so hard to not be a slave to any warrior, and in doing so it had sealed my fate as the slave of the commander. It was because of my tricky behavior that I had to be watched. It was because of my escape attempts and fighting back that Official Treen had decided that the commander had to watch over me personally. If I had not done those things, then I would have remained a general slave, belonging to no one, just as the other women from the Madera ship.
But now, I was thankful to be Commander Jaylin Brakin’s slave. I gave myself to him willingly. I loved him. I knew that much. It was because I loved him that I could not tell him about the baby. I did not want to hurt him with news that I was carrying Prana’s child. I would not until I knew absolutely for sure. Weeks passed, and finally it was time to find out.
I went to see Pentor almost daily until the day that I could be tested. Today was that day.
“I’m ready, Pentor. But please, no matter the results, please keep it a secret until I am ready.”
“Yes, of course, Serena,” Pentor said as he laid me down on the table. I lifted my orange, muslin dress and he scanned over my belly. The data was transferred onto the screen behind me.
“Just hold still. It is just gathering the blueprint of the child,” Pentor said.
I remained still, knowing that this was it. I had kept it a secret for as long as I could. If it were Prana’s child, I would hope that Jaylin would accept it as his own and not leave me.
“Done. You can move,” Pentor said as he moved away from me. I pulled my dress down and stood beside him.
“What is it doing?” I asked.
“It is scanning against the blueprint of every warrior on the base until it finds a match. But it does not take long and will only be a few minutes.”
I wanted to tell him that there were only two warriors that he needed to scan, but since the process was already started, I did not. Besides, it was giving me some time to breath and prepare myself.
“Jaylin Brakin,” Pentor said.
“What?!” I shouted.
“See, the match is with Jaylin Brakin. Commander Jaylin Brakin is the father of the human Kalazaron hybrid child.
“He is! Are you sure? Is there any possibility that it can be wrong?” I asked.
“No. Impossible. It is very accurate.”
I jumped up and down and hugged Pentor.
“Now that you know, Serena, I must tell Official Treen as I cannot keep it a secret from him any longer. This information is exceptional and new to us.”
“Yes of course. I will tell him. I wish for him to know, but not the entire base just yet. I do not want to be getting looks everywhere I go because of the fact this has never happened before. I will ask the official to keep it a secret as long as he can.”
He agreed and then I left in high spirits. I had not felt happy in weeks. Now I was going to tell Jaylin the news and I hoped that he would accept it.
“May I speak with you in private?” I asked him as he worked in the landing port.
“Yes, beautiful human female, you may,” he said playfully.
“In the quarters. It is very important,” I said leading him out of the port.
“It must be to need that type of privacy.”
I was nervous the entire walk back to the living quarters. Once we were inside, I sat down on the bed and said. “I have just come from Pentor.”
“Why? Are you ill?” he asked.
“No. I am pregnant with your child.”
His face was frozen in shock. It was the same look I had when I first found out.
“How is that possible? It is not possible! It can’t be. Human females do not become pregnant from Kalazaron warriors.”
“I am aware. Pentor says it is extraordinary. He has run the test. It matches your blueprint. He says it is part human and part Kalazaron. It is your child.”
He stood up quickly. I was frightened that he was angry. I had been so worried about who the father was that I did not stop to think that Jaylin would not want this child.
“Jaylin. Are you happy or angry? What’s to be done?” I asked anxiously.
He turned to me and then he smiled. He hugged me and kissed me and said, “I am happy! I am just shocked! It is the first in the Kalazaron history! It is a lot to take in! But yes I am happy. I want you Serena. I love you. I am in love with you. I want you to be my life mate and together we shall raise this child.
“Oh, do you mean it, Jaylin?”
“Yes. Always,” he said.
I kissed and hugged him back. He laid me gently on the bed and we made love. It was the beginning of a new start for us. It was one that was filled with more happiness and hope than ever before. We were both happy and I shocked myself thinking about how I had set out from Earth as a soldier going off to war, only to find that war somewhere else in the universe. Then for that war to turn into happiness and love—it was a miracle.
Almost a year later we had added tattoos to our skin. Jaylin informed me about tattoos being a way to count the victories that we had made. I felt very special that the warriors had allowed me to gain a tattoo from the victory of shooting the control panel that allowed them to enter the outpost and that had saved their commander. Females, no matter if they were human or Kalazaron, did not receive victory tattoos as they were only reserved for the warriors. But because I had proven myself over and over, and time and again, they allowed me to get one.
It was their idea, in fact, and they urged me to do it. I was more than happy to feel part of a brigade platoon again. I missed the camaraderie of fighting with the men and being respected for my gun skills. Now I was sealing that respect with a tattoo. Now no one would doubt my skills.
Jaylin also received a tattoo from that particular raid and the design was the same as mine. It was a long rectangle and it was meant to symbolize the plateau where we had shot the control panel from. I thought it was a perfect symbol for that particular mission.
But there was more to come. In secret, Jaylin had sought council from Official Treen to wed me. The Official, after knowing the circumstances, granted the marriage. So when he showed up with a silver ring as I stood by the gorgeous waterfall on the mountainside, I was shocked when he said, “It has been granted and I am allowed to make you my life mate, if you will wed me.”
“Yes! I will, Jaylin. Are you sure? This is what you want? The official is aware?” I asked, stumbling over my many questions.
“Yes. He has granted it as soon as the next full moon.”
And so I took the commander Jaylin Brakin as a rightful husband. We were married in the village with a great ceremony, much like the one I had experienced before. There were great bonfires and wild beasts for roasting on spikes for feasting. It was a grand affair, and it was very rare for a human female to marry a warrior.
But the rarest event was yet to come. We had decided to tell Official Treen about my pregnancy. But we urged him not to tell anyone because we did not want everyone to know and gawk at us. We did not let anyone know until I began to show and questions began to be asked. It was only then that we let the ba
se in on our secret. By then it was only a couple of months before I would be due and I could handle those few months of looks and stares.
The Official was very excited about this new prospect. It had never been done before in the history of the planet as we knew it. They brought in scribes to take down the story of how I had met Jaylin and exactly what happened between us. I was grateful that our story would go down in history and not be lost. Now it would bring a sense of wonder and joy.
I wondered what they would think of this in the capital city if they knew. A part of me was frightened of that thought. What if they would come to try to steal our child away? We would fight them to the death if they dare try. So with the addition of a husband and victory tattoos, we waited for the best addition of all. Finally, he came to us.
I was quite frightened when I went into labor. I did not know what to expect because this had never been done before.
"Do not worry, my love. It will all be well. I just know," Jaylin said to me as he squeezed my hand as I laid in the bed.
"I believe you," I said to him. He pushed the hair off of my forehead and then we both waited as I felt the contractions of the birthing happening. Minutes later, we were surrounded by the cries of a loud infant.
"It is a male," Pentor said as he scooped our baby into his arms. He handed the child to me and I cradled him in my arms. He was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. He looked exactly like his father, with black hair and mesmerizing eyes. His skin was tinted blue, but not as dark blue as the alien race. He was the perfect mix of human and the alien Kalazaron.
Jaylin scooped him into his arms and cradled him. I adored watching him hold him and be happy. I was extremely happy and crying tears of joy. I had never thought that it was possible to be this happy in this situation that I found myself. I began as a captive, trying to run away every chance I got. Then I was a slave of this mean commander and a lover of a traitor and master of disguise. I would never have thought that all of that suffering and terrible experiences would end up turning into this. It gave me so much hope that anything that seemed wrong in the future would turn out to be just right.
"He is perfect," Jaylin said.
"Yes he is," I said to him in response.
"Just like his mother," he said.
"And strong, just like his father," I added. We both laughed and sat together holding our child.
"What shall we call him?" he asked me.
"I do not know. I do not know the names of your race."
"Well, if he was completely human, what would you name him?" he asked me.
I thought long and hard and then finally said, “Earth."
"Earth Jaylin Brakin," he said to me. I smiled. I loved it. It made me happy.
"Yes, that is perfect."
He leaned down and kissed me on the forehead.
We had a child. We had a male human and Kalazaron child. He was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. He became the wonder of the humans and the Kalazaron alike. He became everything to everyone, but most of all to us, his loving and unusual parents. A most unlikely pair that had found love despite the odds against them. We would now share that love with him.
THE END (Flip next page to read Kalazron Thaedon)
BOOK 5: Kalazaron Thaedon
(Blue Planet Warriors)
By Maia Starr
Chapter 1
ELLA CAPRICIO
I cleaned the living quarters of the Loki family. They were of the Kalazaron alien race and lived on the planet Kaethon in the city of Konthos. I did their errands, I bought them prepared food in the market, and I bought clothing and material for their two daughters, Soko and Maris.
When I first came to them, the daughters were 13 and 14 years of age and spoiled brats. They were very mean-hearted and selfish. They had made the last five years of my life a living hell. Now, however, they were much older, at 18 and 19, and they were worse than they had ever been.
They were emotionally and physically abusive to me for their own amusement. They despised humans, especially human females, and they made it a point to make sure that I knew I was not worthy of their beautiful presence. I, in fact, could not wait for them to be married off as they were approaching that age, and they spoke of nothing else. Only I figured that one of them might take me with them to their new home when they were married. Then the nightmare would never end.
But what ended up happening to me, when an attractive Kalazaron warrior set his sights on me, was something that I thought only happened in the fairy tales from Earth.
"What are you thinking of, slave? You are not to think; you are simply to make my rest bed and scrub the floors," Soko said to me as she bumped against my arm, knocking me out of my daze.
I wanted to slap her face, but I knew better. When I first came to them, I was very scared. Only 18 years old, on a foreign planet, sold as a slave. I was very obedient out of fear. But now, after years of physical and emotional abuse by these two sisters, I had grown tough and hard. I wanted to fight back and be defiant, but I suffered in silence, hoping that one day I would be able to give them a piece of my mind.
On the inside, I was being insolent. In my mind, I would talk back and say, "I have more of a mind for thinking than you ever will, you stupid, ignorant female Kalazaron." Of course, I did not say it out loud. It would be more trouble than it was worth. Instead, I thought it in my mind and smiled a big smile and said, "I will fix the bed now, Soko."
"That's better. What would you like to do today, Maris?" she said to her sister.
"Find a husband so I can get out of this dump," Maris said in return, as she looked at herself in the mirror, fixing her hair.
Her hair was a pale blue and it matched her light-blue eyes. She was tall, lean, and was the youngest at eighteen years old. I had to admit that she was beautiful on the outside. I found both the male and female Kalazaron to be very beautiful creatures. But even though she was beautiful on the outside, she was hideous on the inside.
“I hope to marry very rich and powerful. An attractive warrior that can take care of me and our younglings, and I will only have to organize entertainment. I am not going to be satisfied unless I find that,” she said.
“How powerful? Like a Kalazaron on the council?” Soko asked.
Soko was the oldest at nineteen, and she had silver hair with a light-blue streak in it framing her face, but she had the same, startling blue eyes as Maris. She was the meaner one of the two, but they were both very mean. I grabbed the scrub brush and got on all fours, ready to scrub the floor.
“More powerful than that!” Maris laughed.
Crash! The sound echoed through the room and I knew what it was before I even looked up.
I tilted my head up to see both of the females looking at me. There was a large mound of powdered make up on the floor. They looked at each other and began to laugh. They had made a mess on purpose, just when I had begun cleaning the floor. This was one of their favorite things to do to me. I had assumed they would grow out of it, but they did not.
"I guess I'm just clumsy. Clean it up!" Soko laughed as she kicked at the powder. They both giggled and walked out. I sighed. This is how my life was going to be, and I hated it.
I cleaned up the mess they made and then continued to scrub the floor. I was thankful for the solitude. I took every chance I could to get away from them. I lived in a very small room in the basement, the size of a closet. It was small and dark but I was glad to have a home and food. I spent most of my free time on the roof because I did not have much of a window or natural light in the basement room. I needed to be outside when I could.
When I was done, I went to my favorite spot to steal a few minutes alone. I climbed to the roof of the building and sat down, resting my mind and my body. It was just like I had done back in New York. I could see the tall buildings of order in the distance. That was the Kalazaron government, and if I turned around, I could see toward the outlands and the far away Blue Mountains. I had heard many things about that
place. I had heard that it was the rebel base, and faintly overheard talk about the Kalazaron and slaves that were there. I was thinking about this until I heard…
"Ella! Ella! Ella!" It was the two sisters shouting my name below. I dropped my dreams and thoughts and made my way back downstairs.
"There you are! What is the use of having you as a slave if you are nowhere to be found when you are needed!" Maris shouted.
"I am here," was all I said.
“That is not good enough,” Soko shouted as she got an inch away from me and towered over me. “Where were you?”