by Regine Abel
I wasn’t anywhere near as rich as the Praghans, but having lived a rather frugal life, content to settle in the barracks, I’d been saving my wages for years. Three years ago, when Amalia’s arrival in our lives brought me closer to Lhor, he’d inquired about my finances. It hadn’t mattered to me then, but he had insisted I allow him to invest on my behalf the comfortable sums I had accumulated. I told him to have at it. He had since quadrupled it, and the amount continued to grow. Since Tuur didn’t yet have a proper economy, my credits would be of no use there. However, after much discussion, Aleina agreed we should have a secondary home on Xelix Prime. While she didn’t flat out say it, we both kept hoping one day we could have offspring of our own who, as half-Xelixians, would need to get to know their culture as well. Thanks to Lhor’s sound investments, I could acquire a respectable parcel of land and build our dream home. Our secondary dream home.
I couldn’t deny that part of me struggled with the changes taking place. I grew up believing that if I ever found a mate, I’d be providing for her. She would stay at home with the children, and the greatest threat to their safety would be an ill-prepared meal. Instead, my mate was a warrior of equal, if not superior skills to mine. Her career required her to be in harm’s way on a daily basis. And under our current arrangement, she would be my superior. While my role would be to advise her, ultimately, the choices would be hers to make, no matter how I felt about them. The challenge would then be not to let that trickle into our personal lives.
I didn’t feel castrated but couldn’t deny a certain level of discomfort, either.
My overprotective nature also would struggle to adapt to this. When Amalia first entered our lives, I felt rabid in the need to keep her safe although I only considered her my little sister. I often empathized with Khel’s plight when she would insist on getting involved in our efforts to rescue the females in the Blood Houses. Her requests had been reasonable but still set our teeth on edge. At least, we’d always managed to reach agreements that kept her relatively safe.
No such thing would be happening here.
The scarcity of females on Xelix Prime essentially meant none would ever attempt or be allowed to join the military. I had thirty-seven years of gender role indoctrination to rewire in my brain, and I didn’t know where in Gharah’s name to begin.
But now wasn’t the time to dwell on it.
Checking one last time that my armor was properly set, I headed for the shuttle bay. We had reached Xamora and would be departing shortly on our raid. Our surface scans indicated a total absence of activity. We couldn’t even pick up any lifeforms. It didn’t necessarily mean no one was home. After all, they could have advanced scrambling devices that could fool even Tuurean technology.
Using a similar formation as previous raids, our shuttle led the other five closing in on the compound in stealth mode. Once again, the utter stillness that greeted us spoke of abandonment. The harsh surface climate didn’t make it ideal to land outside and approach the facility on foot. If our suspicions were accurate, there would be no need to expose ourselves to the elements.
We sent out a scout teams in a cloaked hover-rover. Within minutes, they confirmed that a battle had taken place recently in this location, and it now stood deserted. The scouts opened the docking bay doors so we could land inside. Out of precaution, only one other shuttle accompanied us onto the premises. If this was a trap, we wanted the backup of the four other shuttles. They would remain cloaked outside and watch for any stragglers attempting to escape.
“Oh Goddess! I know this place!” Aleina whispered the minute we set foot outside the shuttle into the docking bay.
The massive hangar could easily accommodate half a dozen medium to large merchant ships. Although empty right now, it appeared to have been well-maintained back when it had been in use. A single entrance from the dock gave access to the compound proper.
Aleina pointed at it.
“There used to be a magnetic field there, and this door required bio-scans to unlock. This is where I grew up,” she added in response to my questioning look. “This is where I saw my sister for the last time.”
Her voice choked on the last words, the voice modulator making it even more eerie.
As we closed in on the reinforced door, it swished open almost silently without any intervention on our part. A quick glance at the biometric controls indicated they had been disabled, its electronic guts spilling out from a rather forceful hacking job.
We moved forward, the mood becoming gloomier with each deserted room we explored.
“This place was raided a while ago,” Aleina said. “Judging by the amount of dust, at least a couple of months, if not more. The Sisters had kept this place squeaky clean. Who, in Gharah’s name, took them? And where are they now?”
While she tried to keep her tone neutral, I knew my mate well enough now to understand the depth of her distress. These weren’t just some other Veredians gone missing but childhood friends, mother figures, mentors; the family that attempted to compensate for the loving mother and siblings she had been separated from.
“Why would he send us here? What kind of mind game is Gruuk playing?” she asked.
The holding area and the dorms had been stripped bare. Whoever took away the females took their time packing everything, except for the cheap blankets and slave dresses. But not a single toy or piece of educational material was left behind. Further examination of the premises revealed nothing useful. Even Jez, who had hacked into the systems of the command center of the compound, had failed to find anything of relevance.
“Let’s get out of here,” Lee snapped. “We’re wasting our time.”
Without a word, the eight members of our unit and I followed in her wake. As we approached the docking bay, Lee’s com chimed.
“Lee,” she answered.
“We’ve just received an emergency call from the Tempest,” Kamala said through the com, from her shuttle outside the compound. “Five Guldan ships have dropped out of warp moments ago. Four of them are cloaked. The command ship isn’t cloaked, but is shielded with its weapons powered down. They’re not responding to hails.”
“Return to the ship. We’re on our way,” Lee said before breaking into a run for a shuttle. “Do not engage in hostilities until we’ve returned. They may be holding our Sisters.”
“Acknowledged. Kamala out.”
Lee commed our secondary unit.
“Jez, get everyone back to the ship immediately. Fly in stealth mode, there are enemies nearby.”
“Acknowledged. Everyone, move out!”
We rushed to board the shuttle which took off before we even finished fastening our seatbelts.
“Was this a trap?” Lee asked.
“If they wanted to attack us, they would have done so while our forces were divided,” I said. “We must have triggered some alarm when we went in and they responded to it.”
“You think Gruuk is behind this?”
“I’m not sure,” I said sincerely. “My gut says yes. The whole medallion setup was too well-planned for this to be a coincidence.”
“But Gruuk died three years ago. This place was only raided weeks, maybe a couple of months ago,” Lee argued.
“Yes, but the Oracle, Venya, would have seen it.”
Lee nodded slowly. “The question is whether or not we can trust Venya not to wish us ill,” she muttered to herself.
It was a fair question. Despite her obvious antipathy toward Veredians, once again, my gut told me she didn’t actually wish them ill. If her visions had been true, then she would do her best to ensure the ideal path would take place, which meant she would want us safe.
Lee asked our pilot to hail the Tempest.
“Ashara,” Lee said when the officer left in charge of the Battlecruiser appeared on screen, “What have we got?”
“Not much, I’m afraid, Lee. They are using the same cloaking technology Varrek had used to fool our scanners when he escaped Xelix Prime. They probably don’t
know that we’re able to see past it now and therefore know the extent of their forces.”
“It’s an advantage, but a small one,” Lee said.
“Very small,” Ashara concurred. “None of the ships have powered their weapons but they are all cloaked. Whatever technology they’re using, it’s scrambling our ability to scan the ships. We have no idea how many people are onboard and if there are any Veredians.”
“Any response to your hails?”
“Nothing,” Ashara said, shaking her head, an annoyed expression on her face. “It’s like they’re waiting for something specific. Whether it’s for more of their troops to arrive or a sign from us, the Goddess only knows.”
“Thank you, Ashara. We’ll be there in a minute.”
Ashara nodded before ending the communication.
As soon as we landed, we made a beeline for the deck where Sohr and Kamala already awaited us. Lee sat in the Admiral’s seat with Sohr and I taking positions on her left while Kamala and Jez took positions on her right.
“Ashara, open the com again,” Lee said.
She complied and gestured with her head that the channel was opened.
“Guldan ship, this is Admiral Lee of the Tuurean Empire. State your intentions.”
A number of lights turned on alongside the hull of the Guldan command ship. Yet, still no response.
“Guldan ship, this is Admiral Lee, military leader of the Tuurean Empire. Please, state your intentions.”
The same lights blinked but still no communication. Lee gestured for Ashara to mute the channel.
“What are they doing?” Lee asked as soon as Ashara confirmed they couldn’t hear us anymore.
“They are acknowledging you, that’s for sure,” Kamala said. “They didn’t do anything at all when either Ashara or I hailed them.”
“They want to speak to you, but we’re missing something,” I said.
Lee turned her masked face toward me.
“But what?” she asked. “If this is related to the medallion, we’ve come to Xamora, went to the coordinates indicated, and…”
We both figured it out at the same time.
“The hailing frequency,” we said simultaneously.
I smiled at my mate and guessed she reciprocated from behind her helmet. If this was indeed something Gruuk had put together, he may have wanted whatever conversation that would follow to be kept secret, which meant a secured channel that would keep prying ears at bay. Ashara retrieved the numbers and hailed the Guldan ship on the new frequency.
Our screen immediately filled with a view of the Guldan deck. Sitting in the captain’s chair, a female with a face eerily similar to Aleina’s stared back at us. Light brown skin, Veredian Warrior markings along her arms and neck, they could have been twins except for the stranger’s black eyes, black hair, and obsidian horns curving over her head.
“Gharah’s blood,” I muttered, my own blood draining from my face.
Lee jumped out of her chair.
“No fucking way,” she whispered.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, Aleina,” the stranger said with a smirk. “That’s no way to say hello to your big sister. How’s Mother?”
CHAPTER 15
Aleina
This couldn’t be happening. Gruuk had taken everything from my mother: her youth, her freedom, and her children. To find out he had violated her, too, to create this… this… Blind fury, fueled by the volatility of my season robbed me of any rational thinking.
“You are no sister of mine,” I hissed at her.
She raised an eyebrow at me.
“Drop your helmet and we’ll see,” she said, smugly. “Maheva Fein has strong genes. She’s stamped her features on all of her offspring. I bet you look just like me beneath that shiny surface.”
“I look nothing like you,” I spat, pointing an angry finger at her. “Sevina looked nothing like you. You know, the daughter your father killed with his greed?”
The Guldan’s smile faded, and she had the decency to lose the arrogant expression.
“I am not here to excuse or justify my father’s actions. Sevina shouldn’t have died, but I had nothing to do with it.”
“So then what are you here for? What do you want?”
“To get to know my Veredian Sisters, of course.”
I burst into a sad laughter. “You are no Veredian.”
“These markings say otherwise,” she said, waving at her arm.
“Those markings mean nothing. What you are is an abomination that should have never been allowed to see the light of day.”
My stomach twisted with a nauseous feeling as the horrendous words left my mouth. This was wrong, but I couldn’t get past the image of Gruuk raping my mother.
The female’s face shut down. Hands resting on the armrests of her chair, she crossed her long legs clad in a dark, skin-tight armor of a material I couldn’t identify. Lifting her chin, she gave me a once-over before casting a quick glance at the rest of my crew visible on screen.
“I didn’t realize the Veredian classification only applied to certain hybrid types but not others,” she said coolly.
I flinched, grateful for the helmet that hid my shame.
“It appears Veredians aren’t what I thought,” the stranger said. “My mistake. Farewell, Admiral Lee.”
Before I could respond, not that I knew what to say, she ended the communication. I stared at the dark screen, feeling numb, confused, and ashamed. The deafening silence on deck crushed me with the weight of the unspoken accusations for my disgraceful behavior.
Stumbling forward, I stopped in front of the navigation console, willing the stranger… my sister to reappear on screen.
“I didn’t mean it,” I whispered. “I didn’t mean any of it. Oh Goddess, what have I done?”
I covered my face with my hands, the helmet depriving me of the comfort I sought.
“Hail them again,” I told Ashara.
“Aleina,” Ghan called.
“HAIL THEM!” I shouted at Ashara when she hesitated.
I didn’t mean to ignore Ghan, but I couldn’t deal with his disappointment right now. From the corner of my eye, I saw him gesture with his head to someone, I didn’t know who or why, but that, too, I dismissed.
“They’re not answering,” Ashara said in apology.
“Try again.”
Ashara hailed them four more times, in vain. I couldn’t breathe. The damn armor was no longer a shield but a prison, choking the air out of my lungs and making me feel trapped and claustrophobic. I disabled it. As it unraveled, I leaned palms flat against the navigation console and inhaled deeply. What in Gharah’s name had gotten into me? I needed to fix this.
With everyone.
With one last deep breath, I turned to face my crew, my Sisters, and my mate. They stood quietly at their posts, all eyes on me. To my undying relief, none of them held the condemnation I expected and deserved. But they were confused and wary.
Ghan’s was unreadable.
Kamala was missing.
“I am sorry for my disgraceful behavior. For the way I have shamed myself and betrayed the trust you have all given me.” My throat worked but was too dry for me to swallow. “What I said was wrong, in every possible way. A Veredian is a Veredian, no matter the ethnic background of the sire. I have allowed shock and emotion to rob me of rational thought and…”
Kamala walking back onto the deck interrupted my train of thought. From the steaming cup in her hand, the aroma of fresh Rehmannia leaves wafted to me.
I snorted and shook my head in disbelief, understanding at last what Ghan’s head gesture had been about.
My Sisters chuckled, their laughter timid but their expressions heavily laced with empathy. Ghan didn’t laugh, but his tender smile gave me the last boost of strength I needed.
I took the cup from Kamala’s hand, blew on it, and took a sip. Its familiar taste comforted me.
“We had all heard how feral your season makes you,” Kamala said, casting a me
aningful glance at Ghan, “but sheesh, that was brutal even for you.”
I glared at her while our Sisters’ laughter increased another notch. Ghan gave Kamala his signature haughty sniff, but his ears heated nonetheless.
“Drink it all up,” Kamala said. “We need the rational thinking of ‘I’m so stiff and stuck up’ Admiral Lee to figure out how to get our sister back.”
“She hasn’t left,” I said, between two sips. “That’s a good sign she still wants to talk.”
“Or she’s figuring out how to blow our asses out of the sky,” Kamala countered.
“No,” Ghan said. “She’s waited a long time to meet you. The speed at which she answered your hail on that secured channel gave away her eagerness. She’s hurt, but she wants this.”
I nodded and swallowed a few more sips. Anger still simmered deep within at the thought of Gruuk forcing himself on my mother, but the tea helped clear my mind, and allowed me to focus. I’d never gone a season without drinking the tea, even back in the days when Gruuk had me go through his reproduction program.
“If I’d been rejected like that, I’d want the person who hurt me to come groveling back. Make it clear they were sincere in their desire to make amends,” Ghan suggested gently.
“Question is, how do we do that if she won’t talk?” Kamala asked.
“With a gesture, a peace offering,” Ghan said.
Pondering, I gulped down the rest of my tea.
“Ashara, were you able to assess their weapons array?” I asked.
“Yeah. Pretty advanced stuff but nothing we can’t handle. Unless there’s more hidden by that scrambler, but I doubt it. Even then, it would take them a while to take down our shields.”
“How confident are you about that?”
Ashara grinned, a smug glimmer in her eyes.
“Confident enough to go ahead with whatever crazy idea is simmering in that pretty head of yours.”
I smiled back. Noticing the confused look Ghan and Sohr exchanged only made it broaden. With the tea kicking in, I felt more like my old self again and couldn’t help wanting to show off a little to my mate and his second.