Kavvan (The Azziarin Series Book 7)

by Hannah Davenport

  I pushed up from the ground, dusted off my hands, and stretched. Every muscle in my body ached from sleeping on the hard ground, much like they had every time I awoke on the alien vessel.

  It was warm but not hot. Maybe seventy-two degrees. When I glanced at the light purple sky, I swallowed hard. “Dorothy, you’re not in Kansas anymore.”

  I had no word to describe the color of the sun. It looked like someone threw several colors into a bucket, mixed them together, and then painted the sun with it. I lifted my face, felt the rays warm my cheeks, and hoped I didn’t get radiation poison. I glanced at Cotton. “Well, you look fine. Unless you are a mutant species.”

  As I started deeper into the forest, hoping to find a stream of water, I smiled when Cotton walked beside me. My little companion.

  The tree leaves looked as strange as the bark with their rainbow of colors. Round, thick, rubbery leaves sprouted from every limb. They looked like something from an animated movie. This new world was dangerously beautiful.

  Kavvan

  While sitting at my desk, I studied a report sent by Zekke. The Tureis had retreated from Earth, at least that was the initial assessment. I was happy for the humans, but I didn’t want to be planet-side. My hope was to deliver the female to Azziar and then head back to the Dreama Sector and continue the fight. I sighed.

  The door chimed. “Enter,” I said absently, still looking down at the report. When the door closed, I looked up and asked, “What can I do for you, Padda?”

  “Commander, Nikkul and Sora need you in medical.”

  I pushed up from my chair and rounded the desk. “Thanks, Padda.” He fell in step beside me as we both headed for medical. “What is wrong?”

  “The female is hysterical.”

  Sora, the healer, was known for his caring and patience. If he couldn’t calm the female…

  When we rounded the corner and entered medical, I wasn’t prepared for the chaos that ensued.

  As soon as I stepped inside the door, a medi-scanner shattered against the wall next to my head. I jumped to the side and looked at her with unbelieving eyes.

  “Stay away from me, you son of a bitch!”

  I scanned the room and spotted Sora standing with Nikkul in the corner. With my shoulders held back, I headed toward the female. This was my ship, and no one told me what to do.

  “Stay away from me! I’m warning you!” Her eyes frantically searched her immediate surroundings, looking for something else to throw. Just as she reached for a holo-pad, I closed the distance and quickly wrapped my arms around her body, pinning her arms to her sides. “Let go of me! Let go of me!” She squirmed, trying to break the hold I had on her.

  “Calm yourself,” I ordered in a stern voice.

  “Fuck you! You don’t know what you’ve done!” She thrashed around until finally throwing her head back and bashing my nose.

  “Sish!” With a voice of steel, I ordered, “Stop!”

  It didn’t deter her. “Take me back!”

  She wasn’t like the other human females I’d encountered. I didn’t understand her at all. Why would she want to go back to that planet? Did she have any idea what would’ve happened to her if we hadn’t rescued her?

  I tightened my grip when she continued to struggle. My anger rose quickly.

  “Calm down and we will discuss it.” When she finally stilled in my arms, I continued, “If I let you go, will you talk and not throw things? I know you can now understand me.”

  I waited for her agreement. Seeing a single nod, I relaxed the hold I had on her and stepped away.

  “You’ve got to take me back,” she pleaded. “I have to go back!”

  I was already shaking my head in denial. “We rescued you from a black-market auction. Someone would have bought you and either used your body for personal reasons or made you work on a pleasure ship.”

  I saw utter defeat on her face when she collapsed to the floor. “Amanda’s still there. I left her there. I left her.”

  I squatted down in front of the female, and with one finger under her chin, I tilted her head up and gentled my voice. “There were no other humans at the market. I checked.”

  She violently shook her head no. “They didn’t capture her. She hid on their ship to help me escape. You can’t leave her there! We have to go back!” Tears fell from her devastated eyes. She looked defeated as she sobbed uncontrollably.

  As I absorbed the information, I leveled my eyes on Sora and gave him a barely noticeable nod. Staring back at the female, I tried to make her feel better. “We will go back.”

  She sniffled while the tears continued to streak down her face. “Really?” I nodded. “Thank you.” I heard the relief in her voice.

  Sora quickly put the injector to her neck and gave her a sedative. The betrayed look she shot me just before her eyes closed had little effect. I caught her in my arms before her head could hit the hard floor.

  I scooped her up and laid her on the cot. Glancing at Sora, I ordered, “Keep her sedated before she destroys everything in here.” Turning my attention to Nikkul, I said, “Take us back. We have another human to find.”

  As we headed toward the Decca Sector, my mind raced with possibilities. How would we find one human hiding on the planet? What if something had already happened to her? I didn’t know what to expect, but I wasn’t hopeful.

  I stepped onto the bridge with determination in my step and headed to my ready room. Nikkul and Padda fell in line behind me.

  Standing in front of the window looking out at the blackness of space, I let out a huge sigh before turning to face my officers.

  “Any suggestions?”

  “No, Commander,” Nikkul said while shaking his head.

  My eyes slid to Padda, and I raised an eyebrow in question. With no forthcoming answers, he just shook his head. I walked around the desk and lowered myself into the chair. They both took seats facing me.

  Directing my statement toward Nikkul, I said, “When we arrive, take two teams to the surface. Search the area where the auction took place. One human female would stand out.”

  “Yes, Commander. I’ll take the Alpha 1 and 2 teams with me.”

  “Good.”

  “Commander?” When he had my attention, Padda continued, “I would like to accompany them.”

  “They will have more than enough soldiers, and I need you here.”

  I knew he was disappointed, but his face remained neutral. “Yes, Commander.”

  “There is a good chance the female is not there.” My eyes touched on both of them. “What are the chances that she has been discovered?”

  “Good. If she’s anything like her friend, she’ll be hard to miss.”

  “I agree,” I leaned back in the chair and interlaced my fingers together. “She tried to take my head off with the scanner.”

  Nikkul laughed. “You should have seen poor Sora. She called him everything and then threw a small table at him. I think he’s now afraid of human females.”

  “Ah… that’s right. He hasn’t been around any of them.” I laughed. “They are a lot different than our females.”

  Nikkul and Padda were easy to talk to, and they were my friends—the two I trusted most on the ship since Jakke and Aydan had returned on Azziar.

  I glanced at them and asked, “Does either of you have consorts waiting for you back home?”

  Nikkul looked down at his feet for a moment and then grinned. “Sonyya is at my place. I just couldn’t let her go.”

  Padda chimed in. “I still have two waiting for me.” He shook his head and grinned. “I’m not into human mates and one partner for life.”

  I laughed aloud and shook my head.

  Nikkul stared at me with a grin. “What about you?”

  “No. With so many of us finding true mates, I sent them all away when I took this mission. After what Jakke went through with his three consorts and Sydney…” I smiled just thinking about that awful situation. “No thanks.”

  “Would you
want a true mate?” Nikkul asked. I already knew he had mixed feelings. A true mate was a rare and wonderful thing, but he’d been with Sonyya for a long time.

  I shrugged and grinned. “I wouldn’t run from the opportunity.”

  “Commander?” Sora’s voice boomed through the comm unit.

  “Yes, Sora.”

  “Commander, the female has awoken and is requesting to speak to you.”

  What was she doing awake? I puzzled. “I’m on my way.” Looking at my two officers, I raised one eyebrow. “This should be interesting.”

  “That’s an understatement,” Nikkul chuckled.

  I pushed up from my chair; Nikkual and Padda stood with me. “Nikkul, assemble the teams.” Looking at Padda, I said, “You have the bridge.”

  They both nodded and then followed me out of the ready room.

  When I entered medical, the human female had propped herself up and was sipping some water. I leveled my stern gaze on the healer. “Why is she awake?”

  “Commander, erring on the side of caution, I miscalculated the sedative dose. When she awoke, she seemed calm, so I let her be.”

  I nodded and my eyes slid past the healer to the female on the cot. I walked calmly to the foot of the cot and asked, “You wish to see me?” Knowing how volatile this female could be, I stayed on guard, hyperaware as I noted everything within her reach.

  She clutched the blanket in her hands and gathered it to her chest. In a hopeful voice, she asked, “Are we really going back to that other planet?”

  “Yes.” I crossed my arms and studied the female. Dirty red hair, green eyes, and delicate features. She smelled like moldy dirt that needed washing. “Would you like to use the bathing room?”

  “Yes. Can I take a shower?” Her voice sounded excited, but she still looked leery as she clutched the blanket even tighter.

  “Yes, you can shower. If I show you to your quarters, though, you have to control yourself. No more outburst and throwing objects.” I leveled my stare on her and waited for her agreement.

  “I promise. As long as we are going back to find Mandy.”

  “If your friend is there…”

  “She is!”

  “Then we will find her.” I glanced at Sora. “Can she be moved to private quarters?”

  “Yes, Commander. The sedative seems to be completely out of her system.”

  I nodded once, turned back to the female, and said, “Follow me.”

  She kept the blanket wrapped around her body as we headed for private quarters. I watched the males glance at her as we passed by them. She was beautiful, or would be with a good hot shower. Glancing back at her over my shoulder, I asked, “What is your name?”

  “Susan,” came her instant reply. “Susan Hicks.”

  “I am Kavvan, the commander of this vessel. If you need anything, just let me know.”

  “Thank you.”

  When the door to her new quarters slid open, I walked in and stepped aside, letting her walk past me. Her eyes darted all around, taking in the room before she shot me a worried look. “Why are you doing this?” She twisted the blanket tighter around her body.

  My eyes narrowed in confusion. “Doing what?”

  “Being nice to me. Giving me a place to stay. I thought…”

  I raised an eyebrow. “You thought that we were like the Tureis, the ones who invaded your planet?”

  She scoffed, “You are invaders.”

  One side of my mouth curled up. “No, we came to your rescue. We are fighting them.”

  No reply came to my declaration. Susan’s eyes scanned the room, taking in everything, but she didn’t move. “Let me show you how to use the bathing room.”

  She stood just outside the door, looking in. I knew she was wary of me. Who wouldn’t be after what she’d just been through? I softened my voice, tried to make myself less imposing. “Just place your hand here.” The panel slid back, revealing the water and temperature controls. “Turn the water on here.” I pushed the blue button and water cascaded down, “and this,” I pointed to the temperature control, “will adjust the heat.”

  Her eyes bounced around the room until they briefly landed on me. “Thank you.”

  I nodded, turned, and left her alone to bathe. She stepped inside and shut the door. Before leaving, I fetched some clean clothes for her to wear. Sydney insisted that each ship carry female clothes. She called them sundresses, whatever that meant. I left a blue dress on the bed and then took my leave.

  3

  _____________________

  Our New Home

  Amanda

  Cotton and I walked deeper into the forest. I was leery, my heart beat a little faster with every step, but I wasn’t safe back at the market. I kept looking down at the odd little creature that walked on two blue, webbed feet.

  Just as we rounded a tree, something snagged my foot and yanked. I fell backward, and my ass hit the ground. Frantically, I searched for the source. A vine wound itself around my ankle and was crawling up my leg. Oh God! It looked alive!

  I screamed in fear as I tried to kick it off and scoot backwards. “Get off! Get off!” But the vine, now up to my upper thigh, gripped my leg tighter. I’d survived this long, and I refused to be killed by a weed.

  Cotton opened his mouth wide, and in one chomp, he severed the vine just below my foot. I scrambled backward, grabbed the vine on my leg and threw it away from me. After letting out a long, shaky breath, I looked at my little friend and said, “Thanks,” before getting back up on my feet.

  As we walked, I kept an even more leery eye. Now I watched out for vegetation as well as other animals.

  “Cotton, you wouldn’t happen to know where some water is, would you?” I glanced down at my friend, but he just kept walking along. Of course, he couldn’t understand me.

  As the day passed, my mouth grew increasingly dry. I tried to lick my cracked lips, but it didn’t help. I needed water.

  “Seriously, do you know where some water is?” I laughed, but it held no humor. Of all the things that could’ve happened to me, I never thought I would die on an unknown planet from thirst.

  Cotton never slowed his tiny steps as he puttered along. “At least you have the teeth to save me.” I shook my head. “You give a whole new meaning to the term guard dog.”

  My leg froze in mid-step. That’s when I heard it. The bubbling sound of a little stream. I ran toward the heavenly noise, and just as I rounded another tree, there it was. Water! I made a mad dash to the edge, dropped to my knees, and cupped my hands. I didn’t care about the dangerous plants or what might be lurking beneath the water. Right then, I’d have killed for a drink of cold, moist liquid.

  I scooped the water up in my cupped hands, let it slide into my mouth, and then spat it out. “Yuck!” It tasted bitter and salty, nothing like water at all. Undrinkable! With my chest heaving in frustration, I slowly stood and tilted my head up toward the odd sky and yelled at the top of my lungs. “Why?”

  I had no place to go, no food to eat, and no hope of getting home. I dropped back to my knees and buried my face in my hands. I had no tears to cry. Defeated.

  I was too tired to go on. Cotton came over and nudged my arm. I looked at him and said with a defeated voice, “Sorry, Cotton, but I can’t do this anymore. I’m done. At least until after I take a nap.” I stretched out on the ground, lying in a fetal position on my left side with my arm under my head. Cotton snuggled into the curve of my body. My free hand went straight for his fur, giving him a good rub before my eyes closed in much needed rest.

  ~~~~~~

  “We can’t take that car!” But it was too late, Susan had already slid into the driver’s side and was waving me in. They should have locked the doors. I looked both directions, and when I didn’t see anyone, I quickly opened the passenger’s side door, jumped inside, and then slammed the door shut.

  “If they didn’t want us to take the car, they shouldn’t have made it so easy.” She grinned mischievously before pulling out
some type of computer gadget. I didn’t understand how she did it, but her fingers worked feverishly before she hit the start button. When the engine purred to life, she looked at me and grinned. “Let’s go!”

  “What if we get caught?” I reached back and grabbed my seatbelt and clicked it in place.

  “So what? My mother doesn’t give a shit, and yours is too drunk to notice.” She grabbed the gearshift, shifted to D, and floored it.

  As much as I hated to admit it, Susan was right. Our parents couldn’t care less what happened to us. That’s one thing that bonded us together years ago… worthless parents.

  The dark blue Corvette raced down the freeway, weaving in and out of traffic. The wind blew my hair, making it whip back and forth.

  Susan looked at me with a smile on her face and an excited light in her eyes. “Lighten up, Amanda. Live a little.”

  I glanced over at the speedometer and closed my eyes. At 110 MPH, we would either get pulled over for speeding or for stealing a car. Probably both. I grabbed the Oh Hell bar, as I called it, right above my window, and held on for dear life. My heart beat wildly in my chest as I instinctively looked over my shoulder and through the back window. I expected to see blue lights glaring back at me, but all I saw was the soft light of fading headlights. I turned back around and started to relax.

  “See? This is fun!” Susan threw her head back and laughed. I nestled into the back of the seat, relaxed, and enjoyed the wind on my face.

  We drove to a club downtown. Cars lined the streets, the lights of downtown lit the sidewalks. There was enough light to illuminate the people standing in a line, waiting to get into the club. Susan drove by slowly before she pulled into the dark alley and parked the car. “Let’s go,” she said just before she unfastened her seatbelt and opened the car door.