I cannot trust Terrans. They say one thing easily and do another. To lie is as easy as breathing to Terrans. Because of Vera’s easy lie, I had to leave our vessel unguarded. I’m sure the Juno port has adequate security but they are Terrans and, ultimately, not be trusted.
I must focus on my duty and bring Vera Hyatt to Fremm safely.
Do not think about how soft her lips are or delicious she smells.
It was a twenty six hour journey in Fremm in a small shuttle.
This was going to be a long twenty six hours.
Chapter Three
Vera
So this blue guy is not a big talker. Fine. There’s nothing I want to talk about with him.
Faster than I’ve ever been through the spaceport, we went up the elevator into orbit, onto the shuttle and had clearance for takeoff within minutes.
“How are they moving so fast?” I asked, strapping myself into the seat.
“We have priority,” Glin said briskly. He didn’t like talking to me, apparently. He barely looked at me.
“How long will the journey take?”
“Now, twenty hours. If you had been waiting, like you said you would,” he said but not looking at me, “eighteen hours.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I thought we’d just be sitting around all morning because Juno doesn’t really run on schedule.” The residents of Juno had a cavalier attitude towards time management. Things got done in time, just never on schedule.
“Fremm runs on schedule,” he said. Of course it does.
The engines hummed to life and the lights in the cabin flickered to life as a support systems came on line. He went through a checklist and completed it again, inspecting the console and the panel carefully.
The shuttle was a small craft, designed for four to six people, including pilot. It was popular as a sightseeing vessel, capable of long journeys but not luxury amenities. There was no private cabin or berths. The seats folded down into a bench. The shuttle could prepare light meals and take care of basic hygiene needs.
“Do you need me to do anything?” I asked.
“Stop talking and let me work.”
Oh, I see how Mr. Crankypants is.
Suddenly I found myself pressed against the cabin wall. With his hands on my shoulders, Glin had me pinned under his weight. I got to say, I didn’t mind. I actually liked it. A lot. Alarmed at how quickly this gruff warrior made my panties wet, I squeezed my thighs together. He leaned in, nuzzling his face to my hair and breathed deep.
He pulled back, as if it took the greatest effort in the world to release me. His eyes, dark and possessive, held my gaze. “You should strap in. Dampeners on these shuttles are not reliable.”
In minutes, we were pushing away from the station. With the bulk of the station behind us, I could see the green and blue mass of Juno. The sun raced across the northern landmass and white clouds obscured the oceans. So much wilderness on the planet. It was beautiful.
“We are ready for FTL travel. Secure yourself,” Glin said.
Already strapped in, “Do your worst.” Why must I needle him? I like seeing his brows knit together in frustration and the scowl on his face, but why did it delight me so much?
We didn’t speak. I read the news on my tablet. Evie and Aster made a lot of headlines. Frankly, it was weird seeing my big sister on the interstellar evening news. First there were allegations that a Fremmian Prince kidnapped her, but she denied it. Then they were at Stasjon in time for an Edder attack. Next thing you know, they’re on Fremm announcing and engagement and Evie has to complete three challenges before she is worthy to wed a prince. My big sis. So weird.
I looked up from tablet and studied Glin. There was something compelling about him. Perhaps it was the raw masculinity that drew my eyes. I don’t think he likes me much. He takes deep breathes and his nostrils flare and he gets this unhappy look on his face. Fremmian noses are more sensitive than humans. I wonder if I stink to him.
I watched footage of Evie’s first challenge. Evie knocked it out of the park. She prepared a traditional Fremmian holiday meal and the final presentation looked flawless. Not many people knew she worked her way through school at a Fremmian restaurant.
Evie’s always liked xeno cultures. She watched those weird Fremm dramas and Gyer action movies when we were kids. There’s something about a four armed man with a gun in every hand flying towards you that’s very exciting, I have to say. I was always partial to old Terran film, particularly Westerns. I like the frontier. I guess I always have.
An alarm started to beep. “What’s that?” I asked, closing my tablet and looking nervously at the view screen.
Glin frowned and punching at the control panel. “Solar flare incoming.”
Not good. “But we have shields?”
“We have shields. Impact in five seconds.”
I counted the heartbeats.
Five.
The lights dimmed.
Four.
I gripped the edge of my seat.
Three.
The visual screen went blank.
Two.
The alarm klaxons went silent.
One.
I closed my eyes.
The engine hum vanished. The shuttle rocked side to side gently, like a ship bobbing in the water. The engine hum returned. The lights returned. I relaxed my grip.
“Status?” I asked.
Glin was silent and continued to punch at the control panel. His scowl depended. “The engine batteries took damage.”
“How? We barely felt a thing.”
“We should have felt nothing,” he said, “if the dampers were working correctly.”
“What’s wrong with the dampeners?”
“I’m not sure. They’re offline and I was unable to raise them in time for the impact.”
Well fuck. We took a direct hit from a solar flare. “What about the shields?”
“It held, that’s why we have an engine and life support.”
“That’s good, right?”
“We’re still breathing,” he said.
“That doesn’t sound like good news.”
“Our batteries are damaged,” he said.
“We got backup, right?” Shuttles have redundancies built in. Failsafe after failsafe.
“You misunderstand. The main batteries are destroyed. The backup is damaged.”
“How is that possible? Solar flares don’t destroy space shuttle engines.”
“Are you an engineer now? An astrophysicist?” he snapped. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply. “Forgive me, this is a highly unusual situation. I do not know the cause but I do know that we do not have enough power to make the journey to Fremm.”
“Can we dock for repairs?” Ships get disabled all the time. “Or send a distress beacon?”
He frowned at the screen. “We have less than a hour of life support. I do not recommend waiting for rescue. We need to land.”
“Where can we land with that little power?” I asked.
In the dim half light of the shuttle, Glin pulled up a map onto the visuals. “Blackborn is the nearest habitable planet.”
I recognized the name. “You’re not serious.”
“Yes.”
Blackborn was an early human colony and a failed colony. Actually, the colonists did well. The planet had a hospitable climate and the initial settlement thrived. Until the Edder arrived.
Blackborn was humanity’s first encounter with the ravenous spider like aliens. They categorized sentient life into edible and non edible. Humans were very edible.
After the Edder attacks, the colony was abandoned and rumored to be cursed. Nothing thrived here. No one went there.
Except us.
“We can’t,” I said. “Blackborn is…”
“Leave your Terran superstitions behind. We have no choice,” Glin said. “Do Terran settlement use geothermal energy?”
“I think so,” I said. “Yes, Juno does.”
Glin nodded, as i
f finally hearing good news. “If the power source is still functional, we may be able to recharge the remaining battery.”
He sent a distress call with our last location and intention to land on Blackborn.
The planet approached on the visual screen, growing larger. “Preparing to enter orbit,” he said. “We have no dampeners so secure yourself.”
I began to strap myself into the co-pilot seat. The buckle did not want to fasten but with cajoling I worked it closed. “This buckle is defective. Where did you get this shuttle? Nothing works right.”
Glin growled. “Yes, it is suspicious. The shuttle was in working order when I arrived at Juno.”
Huh. “Sabotage on the dampeners and engine? Is that why we took so much damage.”
“I can only speculate. Prepare for entry in three...two...one…”
The shuttle vibrated violently. Grey clouds replaced the black of space as we entered the atmosphere. It was impossible to see anything on the screen. Glin held the controls steady in his hand. My teeth rattled in my head. My bottom bounced off the seat. I gripped the edge of the seat to try to remain in place but it was no good.
The buckle came undone, metal and belt snapping away. “No!” I shouted. I pitched forward immediately, hitting the console. I rolled helplessly across the floor, slamming into chairs, unable to stop my trajectory or brace myself.
Glin gave a roar and launched himself from his seat. With axe in hand, he flung it down into the floor and covered me, wrapping his body around mine, protecting me from the flying objects in the cabin. With on hand gripping the handle of his axe, he kept us in place.
Finally, the shuttle stabilized.
Glin picked himself up and ran his hands over me, appraising damage. Was it my imagination that his hands lingered a little long on my breasts and thighs? “Are you hurt?” He asked. His dark blue eyes gazed into mine and I my breath caught in my throat. I’d be hard pressed to tell you my name at that moment.
“Are you hurt?” He repeated.
I shook my head. “Just sore, I think. I got tossed around.”
The gash on his shoulder bleed profusely. I reached out and nearly touched the wound. “What about you?”
He frowned and flexed his shoulder. “It will wait until we land.”
The alarm klaxons returned. We were on the last dregs of power. “How close are we to the settlement?” I asked.
Glin said nothing but stared at the screen, which made me nervous. I’ve learned that when he doesn’t say anything, things are going to hell. “That close, huh?”
“Do you ever stop talking, woman?” he asked.
“I’m not the one piloting a shuttle that’s falling apart at the seams. You’d think Fremm had better maintenance for their vessels.” You would, actually.
“We land now,” he said.
The descent was rocky but not as violent as entering the atmosphere. We came in fast and low and I swear we just fell the last ten feet. The shuttle stopped abruptly when it reached the surface, the entire structure groaning with impact. Maybe we did just fall out of the sky.
The engine died entirely, leaving silence.
Welcome to Blackborn, the most notorious abandoned colony in human history.
Chapter Four
Vera
“Who would sabotage the shuttle?” I asked. I slide carefully from the seat. My body was tender but it would only get more sore and stiff with time. Now was the time to move while I still could. Most vessels had emergency supplies in compartments in the floor. I crouched down, looking for a handle. Glin was already there, lifting away several panels. Inside the compartments were rations, water, blankets, medical supplies and a stun gun. The basics for crash landing survival.
I took the medical kit from his hands, ignoring the flutter in my gut when our hands touched, and motioned for him to sit next to me on a bench. “Come here, I’ll clean you up,” I said when every part of my being wanted to get dirty. It’s just adrenaline, I told myself. You crashed and survived. Wanting to hump the first man you see is a normal reaction.
“I do not require medical attention,” he said gruffly. “You are injured and it is my duty to protect you.”
Too late for that now. “I’m bruised but fine. Here.” I fished out a packet of medication and swallowed the pills. “That’s all I can do. It’ll keep the swelling down and reduce pain. Now let me take a look at you.”
The gash ran across his forehead. It appeared to be shallow. I took out the cleaning solution and cotton gauze. I moved towards him and he flinched away. “Please do not trouble yourself.”
Big baby. He probably thought it beneath his dignity to be touched by a Terran.
“This might sting,” I said.
He frowned. “It should not because of a numbing agent.”
I dabbed the gauze at the gash carefully. Glin did not flinch. “That’s what they always say in the movies.” Marks burned on his cheeks, probably irritation. “Well, the good news is it’s not deep but you’ll have a cool scar to impress chicks.”
Glin snorted.
“Seems like you have plenty of cool scars.” Without thinking, my fingers reached out and traced the scar the tugged at the left corner of his mouth. His indigo skin illuminated at my touch, burning silver. I pulled back sharply, as if burned.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I wasn’t thinking.”
“It does not hurt,” he said gruffly. “You have not touched a Fremm before.”
I nodded, blushing. Look at me, a xeno innocent crash landed with a grumpy alien who is epitome of sex appeal. “How did you get that scar?” I touched the scar again, my touch lingering this time. His skin had a velvety texture. I wanted to explore more of his skin and run my hands over the hard muscles. Down girl.
Glin closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, releasing his breathe slowly. “I failed to duck.”
“Quite the story you paint,” I said. I opened the tube of stitching gel and applied it to wound. “At least it makes you look friendly.”
“It makes me ugly,” he said. His dark blue eyes found mine. My fingers returned to the scar, tracing the path from the tip to his lips, brushing my thumb across his lips. He leaned into my hand, the side of his face glowing softly. I disagreed but couldn’t bring myself to say it.
I snatched my hand away and turned all my attention to his shoulder. “Off with it.”
With a growl, he removed the shirt.
Duel patterns covered his torso. The first was a network of lacerations, some deep, some light, and all old. The second pattern was a series of glowing silvery stripes radiating from his sides across his chest and abdomen, much like a tiger. I marveled at the solid muscles under my hands. He really felt like he could be carved out of stone; grumpy, sexy twilight stone.
I applied the cleaning solution to the gash on his shoulder. This one was deeper and would require an injection to knit the wound closed. “Did you fail to duck here, too?”
“Several times,” he said. “I am a slow learner.”
I couldn’t help my smile. He was being sincere, I know enough about Fremmians to know they are always blunt to the point of brutal, but it was a little funny. “My implant isn’t picking up on the markings. What do they mean?”
Glin stiffened and pulled away. “Nothing. They mean nothing of consequence.”
I took out the injector and loaded it with a vial of knitting gel. “So I think you’re a big liar, Mr. Grumpy, and this is going to hurt.” I plunged the needle into the flesh near the wound. He did not flinch but his shoulder muscles tensed.
“It means I have little control over my emotions,” he said as I pulled the injector away.
“It’s been a hell of a day. I don’t think anyone here is controlling their emotions very well.” Nope, not me. Totally not turned on by this arrogant alien and his perfectly masculine body and gruff demeanor. Nope. Not even a little.
“Do I get to inspect you for injury?” Glin asked.
That cheeky son of…
“It is my duty to protect and provide,” he said.
“I’m not bleeding.”
“But you were not secure while the shuttle was in free fall. You may have internal damage. Remove your shirt, I will inspect.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Internal damage? I don’t have to take my shirt off for that.”
A briefest smile flickered across his face before quickly being replaced with a frown. “The med stat is a basic model and fabric can interfere with the reading.”
“Fine,” I said, unbuttoning my shirt. I turned my back to him and lowered the fabric, revealing my backside. He pressed the plastic device to my skin, running it slowly up and down the left of my spine, then switching to the right. “What about the bra?” I asked.
“Undo the strap, please.”
“You’re not enjoying this, are you?”
His reply was quick. “No.”
Wow, he sure makes a girl feel desirable. I wasn't even a little nice to look at.
“You have several subcutaneous bruises but nothing is broken,” he said after a pause. “I am impressed.”
“Because Terrans are fragile and weak?”
“Because without the dampeners, we experienced the full force of reentry. And you hit every object in the cabin, like you had a list. So yes, I was expecting broken ribs.” He sounded almost proud.
I shrugged, regretting the motion. My shoulder was stiff. “Dumb luck,” I said and put my shirt back on. I turned my attention to repacking the medical kit. “Tell me why the shuttle was sabotaged,” I said. “I’m not important.”
“Some people are unhappy with Prince Aster marrying a Terran,” Glin said.
“Are you one of those people?”
“Initially,” he said, “but I see now that Princess Evie is a good mate for my prince.”
“How unhappy are we talking?”
“There have been...incidents on Fremm.”
“People are upset enough to try to hurt my sister?”
He nodded. “And you.”
Alien Warrior's Mate: Alpha Alien Romance (Alpha Aliens of Fremm Book 3) Page 2