Suddenly, she perked up. “Why don’t you use my genetic material to make a clone? You’re a clone and you’ve turned out perfect. Simply because you use my genetic material does not mean she’ll have my personality. She’ll be her own person and more importantly, perhaps she will be a person who has romantic feelings towards you. I mean there is no guarantee of course, but she might fall head over heels in love with you.”
They lapsed into a short pensive silence. “We don’t use genetic material to make pure clones. It’s more an amalgamated mixture resulting in similar physical characteristics.”
“So, use some of the female genetic samples you’ve been collecting to mix with my samples. What do you have to lose? Whip yourself up a bride.”
Oracha had heard enough. “Absolutely not. I forbid it.”
His princess looked directly at him and intoned. “My body, my choice. You don’t even get a vote.”
Her words, spoken with such certainty, were a slap in the face. She’d agreed with Shar Jalon that he was immature and disloyal by nature. Now, she encouraged him to use her to make a mate for himself. The only way she could be more insulting would be if she climbed into his bed. Oracha spun on his heel and left them to their discussions. How things had gone from wonderfully flirty to such a wide divide inside of a day, he’d never know.
Heading to the dining room, he tried to eat. Everything tasted like garbage, even foods he normally loved. Tossing his tray in the receptacle, he headed for the science wing.
Maiko was there with her clone, sucking down a hydro pack as they brainstormed ideas on how to activate the artifacts with his science team. Her flirting and playfulness was nowhere to be found. No, today she was all business.
Shar Jalon hovered around her, too close and far too interested in what didn’t belong to him. After hearing the words Shar Jalon spoke to his intended, Oracha now knew better than to think allies were friends.
He grabbed a seat along with everyone else at the conference table. Around the huge science bay, the three artifacts were slowly awakening from their long slumber. The room practically vibrated with excitement.
Everyone turned to Maiko, who regarded them with shock. “Honestly, I have nothing for you. I might have been able to put the pieces of the puzzle together and track down the artifacts, but I have no idea how to utilize them.”
Standing, Oracha cleared his throat. “I will assume this is where my science team comes in.” Pulling up the data from the team, he motioned forward his small team of leads.
An older Krylon male with long white hair spoke. “The three artifacts seem to be designed to work as a unit, refracting beams of…”
The holographic interface going wild interrupted their conversation. It crackled like some old-fashioned Shardon communication device before a faint image and audio flashed for a brief second.
It was a woman’s face. She was scarred and very old. Oracha took a step towards her in time to see a male that looked very much like him step behind her. They both spoke at the same time and seemed to be panicking. As quickly as the image had popped up, it was gone.
Everyone sat in stunned silence.
Maiko walked over to him. He instinctively drew her into the circle of his arms. They were both too shocked to speak.
Shar Jalon pointed out the obvious. “The couple looks like the two of you, only much older.”
Ora couldn’t help the reply that leapt to his lips. “I suppose whatever time dimension we hailed from, I must have remained loyal to my female.”
Shar Jalon looked at him for a moment before bowing his head slightly in acknowledgement.
Finally, Maiko found her voice. “We are the Guardians of Light. Of course, we stay together and on task. We need to decipher the message and not get lost in petty grievances with one another.”
The older scientist spoke again, as he scrolled through a handheld device. “The signal appears to come from within the darkness. Since we have seen the wave distortions, we can read a temporal flux.”
Ora turned on his team, speaking to his senior scientist. “I don’t want to hear a bunch of scientific crap. I want answers that make sense in the real world.”
Before they could answer, Maiko spoke. “We are them. We are the original Guardians of Light.”
Shaking his head, Ora disagreed. “Such is not possible, my little dancer.”
Pulling the dagger she kept sheathed at her side, she handed it to him by the handle. “Where did you get this? It’s made of Krylonian metal which is now quite rare.”
Grabbing the front of his shirt, she articulated her reply clearly so none would mistake her words. “It has been in the imperial family for thousands of years. Your emissaries commented on it to my father. I suspect it may be why he sent me here.”
With shaking hands, he twisted the metal dragon on the end of the handle several times until he managed to break the seal to the hollow handle. “These are ceremonial daggers, said to be awarded to the first thirty of my kind to settle on the Krylon home world. It was the first world ever founded where dragons were an indigenous species, which is why their likeness was chosen as our imperial emblem.”
Sliding out a tiny ancient roll of paper, he spread it gingerly out onto the tabletop. The senior scientist quickly scanned it and the image popped up in the holograph projector. The words were smudged and difficult to read. They waited, breathless with anticipation for the computer to enhance the image and outline the text.
The science officer explained what they saw. “It’s a star map, rather two star maps changed only by time.”
Ora could see it. “In the ever-expanding universe, the galaxies are positioned differently.”
“Exactly, but what does it mean?” The older man’s eyes scanned the image for any helpful clue, as the wording clicked into focus.
“There is a strange warning. Beware the vortex.”
Maiko spoke again. “Could we possibly be more cryptic if we tried?”
Curious eyes turned on her. “Perhaps one is us and the other is them. Maybe their panicked words were a warning of some sort. We have four days until the anomaly swallows an uninhabited world on the border of this galaxy. We need to figure this out.”
CHAPTER 15
~ MAIKO ~
MAIKO MUSIC MIX SONG FIFTEEN
Since the day of their disagreement, Maiko hadn’t mentioned the issue of cloning. She was seriously having a hard time figuring out why Ora was so dead set against there being another person who shared her physical characteristics. It didn’t make sense to be upset about such an insignificant thing. All the clones appeared similar and he didn’t have a problem with them. Identical twins looked alike. No one thought that strange at all. Honestly, it almost felt like some kind of bizarre male possessiveness, where he didn’t like the idea of another guy wearing a shirt just like his. Whatever his problem was, it was off-putting.
Her mind drifted to her own bloodline. Maiko had always felt something important was missing from her life. She’d learned on her sixteenth birthday that the missing something was an identical twin who died at birth. It explained the feelings, and went a long way towards helping her accept her loss, grieve, and move on.
Becoming pensive, she wondered if that particular loss wasn’t somehow playing into the eagerness to offer her genetic material for cloning. Maybe she harbored some unconscious hope that if Shar Jalon made a clone, the woman would become her bestie or something. That idea didn’t feel quite right though. If her loss had any bearing on this issue, she couldn’t see it. What she could see was Shar Jalon happily settled down with someone who could care for him.
Jacob smiled down at her. “All finished, princess. Thank you for donating biological samples. We have taken your suggestion of creating female clones under advisement.”
“Whatever you decide to do, at least you now have enough female samples to create a viable line.”
Jacob laughed. “You have been hanging around Shar Jalon too long. You are beginning
to speak like a clone.”
Looking up at the handsome clone, she quipped. “I wouldn’t mind being more clone like. The Shardon have qualities worth emulating.”
“It is nice to be so openly accepted. I can assure you, human women are unique in that regard. No other species would encourage us to create yet more clones. Most see us as mindless automatons. Some are even superstitious enough to believe we have a hive mind.”
Maiko had to laugh at such irrational thinking. “On Earth, primitive people thought painting a picture of them could capture their soul. I guess people are superstitious creatures at times to have such an irrational fear of clones.”
“Well, if the two of you are finished mutually admiring each other, perhaps we can get back to our ship. In case you have forgotten, we have worlds to save.”
Looking up at Ora standing in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest, she frowned. “Aren’t you a crusty crab today, my friend?”
“If crusty crab is human speak for daring warrior fighting to save trillions of life forms on thousands of planets, then you can consider me quite crabbed. Come, we have much to do and little time to do it.”
Unable to argue with his logic, she hopped off the exam table and followed him to the loading bay. “How long are you planning to hold this against me?”
Glancing at her, he responded quietly. “Krylon warriors do not hold grudges, if that is what you are referring to.”
“You’re angry and you have not come near me in days.”
“You no longer soften yourself to me as you once did. I took it to mean you were rejecting me.”
“No, I don’t remember any rejecting going on. What in the world gave you the impression I was rejecting you?”
“You agreed with the clone that he would make a better mate.”
“He’s a nice person and would make anyone a wonderful mate. I merely agreed with him that you have no history of loyalty to a woman. We both know if circumstances hadn’t forced us together, you would be luxuriating in the harem rather than seeking my attention.”
He opened the shuttle door and they climbed aboard. Sitting at the console of the small two-person craft, they continued their argument. “I didn’t know you when I made the astonishingly poor decision to meet your females.”
“You did know me. In fact, you knew we were to be mated. Instead of visiting me or trying to know me better, you chose to get to know the pretty human brides.”
Disembarking from the clone ship, he murmured. “Yes, so I might get to know you.”
“I’m sure that sounded better in your head than coming out of your mouth.”
Turing to her to face him, she saw the sincerity shown from his face. “On my world, if warriors do not please their females, the females simply trade them out for another. There is no learning curve, as you humans say. I wished to learn more about a human female’s body, how to please them and I also wished to learn more about you from your females.”
“How’d that work out for you?” Maiko knew she was being snarky, but she couldn’t help it. The man’s train of thought was nothing short of absurd.
“I learned much about you before you had your females shun me. I learned you despise all things imperial, you crave knowledge and adventure rather than home and hearth, and you have never bedded a male.”
Shock tore through her, as she sat back in her seat. “You asked them personal questions about me?”
“I asked many questions. I was curious about the pretty Earth princess who was so willing to put me in my place.”
“I can’t believe those women actually gave out personal information about me to a stranger wearing expensive duds.” Maiko was getting wound up, so she forced herself to zip her lips.
“Why are you so angry?” The ignorant fool looked downright confused.
“I don’t know, maybe because I was betrayed by my own people. Jesus, my emotions are raging out of control like a Krylonian woman. I need a minute to get a grip.”
Ora rubbed the back of her shoulder, in a gesture that reminded her so much of her brother that she stared up at him.
“You are nothing like the females of our world, rest your mind at ease about that, little dancer.”
“Great. Spill it, what else did the backstabbers say about me?”
“They told me your favorite color was simple black because you rarely get to wear anything other than your house colors. You also think it helps you blend in and go unnoticed.” A slight smile curved his lips. “I was also told you think it goes well with your dark eyes and hair. As black is the signature color of the Krylon imperial house, I took that as a sign you were meant for me.”
She seemed absurdly pleased by how he expressed his thoughts on this particular matter. He could tell that much by the look on her beautiful face. He leaned closer as he continued to attempt to dazzle her with what little charm he possessed. “They told me your primary male role model is your brother rather than your father and suggested to get you alone, I would have to distract him. Lord Rold offered to discover his interests and try to keep him engaged.”
When her frown slipped away, he immediately teased. “What they never told me was how interesting and complex your personality is or how sensitive you can be. This, I unfortunately had to learn on my own. Had I known how deeply I would fall in love with you, I would have approached your guards rather than your ladies.”
“My guards and attendants wouldn’t have told you anything, by the way. They are very loyal to my house. Not that it matters; I find your story hard to credit in any event.”
“Such is unfortunate, for I have nothing but my word to convince you.”
Intent on changing the subject, she queried quietly. “Why do you have such a problem with Shar Jalon developing a clone based on my DNA?”
Anger flared in his eyes. “You have no need to resort to such deceitful tricks to get rid of me. I am an honorable male. Simply withdraw your affection, much as you have been doing as of late and I will bother you no more.”
“Jesus, you think I’m trying to trick you into accepting a clone so I can run off with Shar Jalon behind your back? That doesn’t even make sense. For what purpose would I do something so strange?” After a brief pause, she asked. “You think I’d do that to keep you from challenging him? I’d say the two of you were probably pretty evenly matched.”
“Of course, I am not concerned with you running off with him. You already told him he wasn’t in your heart. I think that because I am a prince, you are not comfortable being so direct with me. It is likely you care for neither of us. If you think he could be satisfied with a clone, why not me as well? I think you would shove clones off on both us and slip away to enjoy a life of action and adventure.”
Her demeanor thawed considerably. “There is only one flaw in this fantastical theory of yours.” Tilting her head slightly, she moved closer to him. “I’m already guaranteed a life of action and adventure with two of my favorite guys. What makes you think I’d ever give all that up?”
“I am one of your two favorite males?”
Nodding, she placed one hand on his arm then to his chest. His muscles were thick and hard beneath her fingers. She gently traced a few bulges as they spoke.
The hint of anger tightening his jaw disappeared as he looked down at her hand, watching it slide over his muscular chest. Putting both hands on her hips, he edged her from her seat into his lap. It always amazed Maiko how effortlessly he lifted her.
Using his teasing voice, he asked lightly. “Who do you like better, me or the clone?”
She slipped her arms around his neck. “I don’t know. I’d have to think hard about that one.”
Smiling finally, he jerked her closer. “Liar. You like me.”
“Since that’s a statement and not a question, I don’t have to answer it.” Forcing an element of primness into her voice was difficult, since a slow heat was building between her legs. Ora’s touch always provoked such strong feelings of affection and lust.
“You’re a difficult woman to please.”
“Stay out of the harem and help me save the galaxy. Is that too much for a woman to ask?” She smiled politely as she delivered her ultimatum.
“Since I was planning to do so anyway, it is no hardship to comply with your request.”
“It is a demand, not a request.”
“Fine, does this mean I am welcome in your bed once again?”
“You always were. Remember? You’re my own personal action hero.”
“Yes. I am.” His voice was a warm sensual caress for her ears.
Suddenly, all the stiff formality and angst was gone. Ora was back to his old easygoing self. Maiko felt a little guilty for giving him the run around. He’d been true blue since she found him in the harem and had busted his ass to find those artifacts in record time. If anyone deserved to be cut a little slack, it was her prince. Since she couldn’t go back, she focused on moving forward in a way he’d really appreciate.
“I have an idea.”
“I have many ideas. All of them involve us being naked.”
“Perhaps we could pretend it is night.” She was certain such a suggestion would be welcomed by her handsome prince.
Moving his hand over the console, he murmured. “I am certain it is night on some planet in our realm, my princess. Do you wish to spend time alone with me?”
Not caring if she distracted him from docking, she leaned forward, nipping playfully at his neck. “Maybe, yes is being my answer to that question.”
Imitating the odd manner of Krylon syntax earned a snort from her handsome pewter-skinned companion. “Should we not concentrate on our mission?”
“We’ve done our part in putting together the pieces of the puzzle and securing the artifacts. It’s up to your science team to figure out how to use them.”
“They are keeping me informed. So far, they report only the three devices are self-activating. They switched onto some low power setting. However, they are no closer than they ever were to determining their function or if they can be utilized to control the darkness. It swallowed another uninhabited world a few hours ago. Nothing more is in its path for several more days.”
Celestial Mates Complete Series Box Set (Books 1-5) (Alien SciFi Romance) Page 37