by Lisa Lace
I was hardly a leader, despite the false title I'd been given, but Captain Fore didn't need to know that.
"I will protect my people, whatever it takes," I concurred, hoping it came out as the threat it was meant to be.
Finished with me, Captain Fore dismissed us. "Take her back to the Fortuna," he ordered to Jidden. "Set up communication with Earth."
"Sir," Jidden said, bowing his head. Then he added, "And what of my promotion for overtaking the space station?"
I thought it audacious of Jidden to ask, but Captain Fore didn't seem to take offense. "We'll discuss it when we return to Surtu after the war."
Jidden objected. "I can be of use to you here."
Now the Captain was annoyed. "You're as much use to me as I say you are," he said, pulling rank. "We'll discuss your promotion back on Surt, but in the meantime, you will remain in charge of the Fortuna, even as other ships land. And you may have your choice of women to claim." He looked decisively at me.
"Just remember, no soldiers are to mate with the women unless they are light bonded. We're here to save the Surtu race, not parade our cocks around. Applications for a light bonding ceremony can be made directly to me."
"Yes, Captain," Jidden conceded. He placed his hand on the small of my back and gently guided me away.
"You're upset," I noted, feeling Jidden's tension through his hand. "You expected you'd be walking out of his office with your precious promotion – the one you would do anything to get. Do anyone to get."
"I won't talk about it," he said, his voice low and surprisingly calm. "Especially not with you."
I was outraged. "And what is that supposed to mean? You're the one who seduced me in the garden."
Swiftly, he pinned me against the wall of the corridor, his hand across my mouth. "You can't speak of that here," he decreed. "Don't speak of it anywhere. No one can know. Understood?"
He wasn't hurting me. Quite the opposite, his touch felt almost protective, his weight like a shelter. It sent a shiver through my body, kindling the same anticipation I had felt in the garden when he explored my core with his fingers, preparing me for when he entered my body.
But that was crazy. Jidden wasn't protective. He had made his intentions clear. He wanted to take his place among the leaders of the Surtu military. That was important to him.
I looked up, realizing we were standing beneath the arch that held the ships together. One step over and I'd be back in his command. I didn't look forward to it, but he was the lesser evil.
Unable to speak with his hand over my mouth, I nodded my understanding.
Relaxing, he let me go. "What happened before can't happen again," he told me, taking my hand as we returned to his ship. "We are not light bonded, nor will we ever be. Women are a distraction. They make men weak. I'm not looking for a mate."
"What does that mean – light bonded?" I asked.
His grip on my hand tightened. "I hope you never find out."
To an outsider, it would be impossible to tell that the Fortuna was under siege. Now that their weapons had been confiscated, my sister warriors moved around at will.
Juventas, a burly street fighter, regained control of the mill pantry; the sweet scent of her bread floated through the South lounge. The gardeners were out among the trees with their buckets and spades. Others walked idly around, unsure of how to fill their days on the space station now that our training had stopped.
It was all quite normal, if not for the men who stood guard at every corner, their blasters raised high for show. With my new knowledge, I knew the blasters weren't the real weapons the used to keep the women in line.
The true weapon was fear.
They were in control, and the women knew it.
Even if we tried to run, we didn't have anywhere to go. The only escape from the space station was through a ship, and the few clumsy cargo ships we had once possessed were now under tight lockdown in the docking bay.
Having been released from Jidden's custody, I searched the space station for Lucina, but I could not find her.
It was my hope that Bellona had somehow found a way to save Lucina from the redheaded soldier that had taken her captive and that they were out there waiting to strike. Two assassins were stalking their prey. But it was unlikely.
"Terra!" I heard someone cry out.
It was Gallia, the true Commander of the Fortuna. I had taken her place as a ruse. She was the one destined to lead us.
"I failed," I said, holding back tears that wanted to fall. Warriors didn't cry. "I was useless. They knew all along."
"You didn't fail," Gallia told me sternly, and then she hugged me, her raven-black hair cascading around me.
The embrace wasn't to comfort me. "Do they know who you are?" she whispered, holding me close.
"No. They still believe I am the Commander. They're allowing me to call Earth later."
"Good," she said. "Keep it that way. I've taken your place in the kitchen. Being a kitchen mouse gives me the opportunity to listen in when the men are eating. I've learned a lot."
"So have I," I revealed. I was so quiet a dog would have a hard time hearing me. "Is there a place we can meet and discuss what we've learned?"
"In the temple, there's a hidden–"
A soldier appeared, his blaster pointed towards us. "Break it up, lovebirds," he ordered.
Regretfully, I pulled away. "Be brave," I coached, playing my role in front of our audience, knowing very well Gallia needed no inspiration. "Our destiny has not been determined yet."
"I hope not," she said, glaring at the soldier. "Because it stinks."
I waited until she disappeared in the direction of the kitchen before I continued to my quarters. I could feel the soldiers in the corridor watching .
Once inside, I leaned against the door, and I looked down into my hand. Before releasing me from our embrace, Gallia had given me something.
Emblazed on the top was the crescent moon – the symbol of our space station. The moon was feminine and divine, watching over the women of the Fortuna.
I wish I knew what the key was for or where it led.
JIDDEN
Letting Terra leave and releasing her to the heathens reporting to me, had been harder than I'd thought. They couldn't touch her without the light bond. I took comfort in that. The soldiers knew the punishment if they disobeyed the Fleet Captain's orders. It wasn't pretty.
But I worried that one of the others would claim her and reserve her for himself while he sought permission with Captain Fore to hold a light bonding ceremony.
I would claim her for myself, but my pride had already won that inner struggle. I had no place for a mate in my future, especially with a war about to begin. Captain Fore was a fool to disregard me like he had. I had been useful before. Now, I had to prove that more than ever.
Kalij passed by me as he entered the ship. I grabbed his arm and held him back. "You're meant to be on patrol," I barked, having no patience for the soldiers today. They would feel my rejection, especially this dirty redhead.
He objected. "I'm tired. I was up all night making sure none of these other bastards tried to steal away my girl."
"Guarding her is all you better be doing; you know the rules."
"Unfortunately," Kalij grumbled. "Don't worry, we haven't mated. Yet."
"Don't worry, Sir," I corrected with my full authority.
Kalij looked like he was going to be sick. "Don't worry, Sir," he said, obeying me. "I'll wait until we're light bonded before I make her carry my sons."
"You should be praying for daughters," I told him, letting go of his arm. "Go patrol. And if you disregard your assignment again, you'll have nothing left to make sons with."
I knew he had something smart to say back, but he held his tongue.
Wise decision, I thought, and I stepped away, more worried for Terra than before. The pretty little blonde had certainly infatuated Kalig, but the Fortuna was now full of soldiers just like him who longed for a bite of the st
ation's soft Commander.
TERRA
I was glad to be in my quarters and away from the leer of the soldiers. Unlike the sleeping quarters on Jidden's ship, the rooms on the Fortuna were much more appealing. Like the skintight white jumpsuits the women on the Fortuna wore, there was no discrepancy in our quarters because of rank. My quarters were the same as when I first came aboard, despite being Commander. I didn't need anything more. I liked what I had.
A rich plum fabric covered the walls, and it warmed the room. My bed was comfortable, full of Persian inspired pillows that I had brought with me from Earth. When I lay upon those pillows and looked up, I could see the stars. The sun shone from time to time, its next rising due shortly, but we spent most of our time under the stars.
I moved beneath those stars now, first to turn off the light then to reach my hand behind my bookcase. I didn't dare open it, afraid of who may be watching, but when I removed my hands, I felt the dust sticking to my fingers. It had not been disturbed. My weapons were still safely hidden within the trick panels.
Staying beside the bookcase, I reached for my encyclopedia and stuck the key Gallia had given me inside. The bulk of the book hid it. Finished, I sat upon my bed, embracing the dark. I should have changed out of the top and shorts Jidden had dressed me in. The outfit was no longer appropriate since I was back on the Fortuna, but I was too tired to change.
It had been a long day. Or night. I couldn't tell anymore.
I felt the bandage around my waist, and I remembered the way Jidden had picked me up in his arms before I blacked out.
I had faith in my people. I believed the women of the Fortuna would soon be free. Hundreds of military space stations surrounded us, smooth spheres that protected Earth like an army of giant bullets. Someone would come to our rescue.
But if they didn't – if we met the same fate as the women on Florentine – then I couldn't bear the thought of any other man claiming me other than Jidden.
It wouldn't come to that, I determined. Most of our weapons had been confiscated, but we still had our intellect. And our training.
If no one else would free us, then we would have to free ourselves.
The sun was too bright. It shouldn't be that bright.
I left my room and went to stand in the gardens alongside the rest of my warrior sisters though it was almost unbearable to do so. The heat from the sun that radiated in through the transparent roof was scorching. The temperature continued to rise as the sun grew brighter.
"What's happening?" the women around me cried.
Gallia joined us, the green in her eyes a contrast against the golden light around us. "Do something," she pleaded to me.
It wasn't like Gallia to beg. "Save us."
There wasn't enough time. As we stood among the oaks and wildflowers of the garden, the sun pulsed with a surge of solar heat and the Fortuna lit up like a supernova before turning to ash.
I sat upright in my bed, sweating. Quickly, I checked my timepiece on the bed stand.
I still had another hour to go before my call to Earth.
Unnerved by the nightmare, I needed to move and burn off some of the adrenaline searing through me. I changed into a clean jumpsuit, taking comfort in the way it clung to my body. It was a second skin meant to protect me from harm. It also allowed the women who wore it to move during combat without restraint.
Leaving my quarters, I went to the gardens, satisfied when I saw the stars shining peacefully above. The sun wouldn't rise for a while longer. For now, there was only the tranquility of a very long night.
Because the Fortuna was designed as something spiritual – to disguise the fact that it was a battle station, like our neighbors – it had a temple in the center of the gardens. I went there, remembering that Gallia had mentioned the temple before handing me the key.
The key was still tucked safely away in my encyclopedia where no one else could get it, and it was important. I had to figure out what it was.
The temple was not large, but it was breathtaking, made of aged stone and covered with green ivy that cascaded around it. Like many details of the Fortuna, it was a replica of an old Roman temple, rectangular in shape with four columns encasing its doors.
I walked around the temple looking for a keyhole or anything that seemed out of place. I couldn't see anything, so I went inside. The ceiling contained a shade of pale blue which represented Earth's sky.
I hadn't seen such a sky in years. Within the blue were frescos of the goddesses of Rome – our namesakes. In the middle stood Fortuna, mighty and proud, the deliverer of good fortune. In one hand she held the Earth, and in the other the crescent moon, gracing us with her power.
The stone within the temple was a dusty rose color, feminine and warm. Space was open except for a slab of stone in the center – a ritual altar. Before the Surtu had invaded, the altar was decorated with artifacts, including a sword and two daggers. It was all for show. The artifacts had no meaning, but we could use them against an enemy.
Now the altar was empty and a reminder of a plan gone horribly wrong.
I checked the altar first, certain I would discover something related to the key, but there was nothing there. Nor was there anything of interest within the walls of the temple. It wasn't a dead-end. I was CERTAIN Gallia had mentioned the temple, but it was a mystery I couldn't solve. Not right now. Earth waited.
Leaving the temple, I heard a rustle in the woods around me, and I thought of Bellona. She was out there still, a breeze in the night waiting to help us.
As I made my way back towards the inner station, I prepared what I would say to Earth. I wasn't sure how much I could communicate. The Surtu would be listening to everything.
When I entered the corridor, a soldier ran straight for me. In fear, I jumped against the wall and closed my eyes, haunted by the image of the soldier who stabbed me. I hadn't thought I'd been so affected by my stabbing, but the memory was a scar, causing my heart to pound in my chest as I waited for the soldier in the corridor to attack.
He ran right by me, in a hurry to get somewhere, but not to me. More soldiers followed him with their blasters drawn. They spoke to each other in their language. It was a strange, musical language that calmed me, the same way the chords of a piano did, even though nothing about the situation was calm.
Jidden expected me in the Grand Hall, but I had to know where the men were heading. No doubt it involved my warrior sisters. So I followed the soldiers as they rounded the corridors of the Fortuna, halting once they reached the south lounge.
Designers on Earth create the lounge for our recreation. It contained multiple leather sofas where we could watch movies when the nearby hologram room was full. We could chat, gazing at the Earth outside, reminiscing of home.
Until the Surtu arrived, the lounge was hardly used. We were more likely to be found on the boxing mats or in the archery room. That's where our friendships grew; we were warriors united in a common cause. The Surtu had changed that, locking down our training centers. Now the lounge was in full use.
Earlier, upon leaving Jidden's ship, I'd seen the women gathered within, whispering in its corners, trying to figure out what the next move was without the soldiers on patrol overhearing them. They waited for their Commander to lead them.
They waited for Gallia.
As did I.
The lounge was as busy as it had been earlier, but a man lay on the floor with a pool of blood growing around him. His throat had been slit clean. He wouldn't have had time to think, let alone act before he was dead on the ground.
I knew whose handiwork this was. The Red Assassin. Bellona, the fiery priestess who only sacrificed things that threatened us.
She wasn't a priestess, just as I was not a Commander, but her skills as an assassin were so good, they were sacred.
The soldiers rounded up the women in the lounge, but they would not find the one responsible. Bellona had left a message – a warning to the Surtu – and now she was gone.
"Fin
ally, someone's taking action," a woman said nearby. "I can't stand another moment sitting around."
The women around her chatted in agreement until Jidden entered the lounge. His presence silenced everyone within. Jidden went to the dead soldier and examined him.
"Why didn't he save himself?" he asked out loud.
"He didn't have time," the soldier closest to him answered. "None of us had time. We didn't hear anything or see anything. He just fell."
Jidden nodded and looked around the room, his eyes settling on me last, surprised that I was there. "No one here did this," he resolved. "All I see is fear, confusion, and joy. But no pride. Whoever did this has escaped. Take the soldier back to the ship. Clean him up. We'll send him off properly."
Finished with his orders, he turned to leave. "You," he said when he reached me. "Come with me. You have a call to make."
Jidden marched in front of me as we made our way to the Grand Hall. I had not known him long, but in the time I had, he had never been this angry. His hands clenched at his sides as we walked, and I sensed it took all his self-control to not punch the walls around us.
For reasons I did not want to admit, not even to myself, it pained me to see him so upset.
"Jidden," I called, setting a hand on his shoulders, feeling the heat rise from him. "Stop for a minute. Talk to me."
"I have nothing to say," he said, ignoring my touch.
"Did you know him?" I asked, dropping my hand.
Abruptly, he turned to face me. I could feel his fury. "No, I didn't know him. And I didn't want to. We are soldiers, Terra. We came here willing to die. I find his death tragic, but it does not devastate me. It does, however, reflect poorly on my ability to command this station and the women within."
The women within. He meant me.
"You think I did it?" I asked, unsure of how that made me feel. They trained me to be a warrior. I should be proud he thought I could do it, but felt something else instead. Shame.
"Did you?"
"No," I told him, shaking my head. "I was on my way to meet you when I saw the soldiers running. I followed them to the lounge."