Dominance Fury

by Dominance Fury (lit)

  "Good," Sydney whispered in return. Evidently they were deciding her future, and it didn't appear to include living. "I'm really not in the mood to be dead today."

  Flomink spoke again to the rest of the Allegiance council while tapping on table in front of him. He then picked up a paper-thin rectangular device. He stared at it briefly and then passed it along to the others at the table, each taking a turn tapping on it. It then occurred to Sydney that the object was likely a virtual touch tablet that they documenting the proceedings on.

  "Gace all nith abfrede she?" Flomink looked directly at Sydney.

  "The Allegiance asks if you have anything to say in your own defense." Rjant deciphered.

  Sydney gulped, her stomach flipping nervously. What in snap crapping hell could she say?

  "Uh…um…It wasn't my fault?" Wonderful, Sydney, she chastised herself. You finally get to defend yourself and that's all you have to say?

  Abandoning any leeway for interpretation Shardantin began a speech of gibberish that left Sydney confused and causing the buzz in the tent to steadily escalate. Tren responded in short retorts that became increasing louder until he and Shardantin became engaged in a full-blown shouting match.

  The men on the screen began blurting words of their own, and Alea started to yammer what sounded like a protest, likely in Allegiance Proper, since Sydney didn't have an inkling as to what she was saying. The murmurs in the room grew even louder as Calem and Arjim fought against their restraints shoving their bodies into the guards on either side of them and forcing a struggle to subdue them, causing them to receive another dose of jolting that left them yelping once again in pain.

  Oh this can't be good. Sydney gave Rjant a worried look, while behind her Calem and Rjant continued to push at their guards and bellowing out angry words despite the zapping they were receiving. She was relatively sure that hot water was still pouring over her since Tren was now re-engaged in yet another heated conversation, his arms outspread, pleading it seemed, with the powers on the computer screen.

  Sydney scanned the room, trying to gage the reactions and facial expressions of the others, and then gave Rjant and imploring look. "What's going on?"

  "The Commander has given you life confinement to the Tertian planets with no further restrictions." Rjant told her, leaning close so she could hear his words over the continued arguing between Shardantin, Tren and the Allegiance council. "The Allegiance is markedly rigid with galactic laws. Clemency is rare in the vocabulary. The Commander is attempting to appease them."

  "And how's that going?"

  Rjant frowned. "Not so good, I'm afraid."

  "This is so fucking ridiculous," Sydney mumbled low. "I just want to go home."

  "Your mates are freed," Rjant told her. He then reiterated what he'd said more emphatically. "Your mates have been admonished." With a nod he indicated the area behind her.

  Sydney frowned at him but glanced behind her immediately. Sure enough the restraints holding her mates were being removed. A sarcastic well goody for them attitude grabbed her. They were free. She was getting hanged…or probably something close to that, like getting her head bit off in some alien prison by an alien ogre.

  "This is not over, our women." Arjim came forward immediately and drew her into his arms.

  His loving touch overwhelmed her, and Sydney released an unintentional sob. Oh god, she didn't want to do that. It was a sign of weakness. Nevertheless, she sank into Arjim's embrace, and when she felt the touch of Calem's hand pressing in the curve of her back, the combined touch of both of her mates stole her fortitude. She sobbed again and allowed a few tears to flow.

  "Are you kidding me!" Alea shouted. "She is not a spy!"

  Shardantin barked out more foreign words, and to Sydney's dismay, she and her mates were pried apart. They refused to let go of her willingly, the countenance on their faces, she saw when she looked up at them, was…murderous.

  "Is that what this is about? Let me go asshole!" Alea smacked the guard holding her wrist, the clean shot to his nose causing him to grimace. He released his grip on her, and she stalked from her position at the back, fist clenched, marching with determined footing to the front of the room.

  And then…Calem and Arjim went ballistic.

  "Damn it Tren! Listen to me." Alea yelled.

  Tren continued to argue with Shardantin, ignoring Alea, ignoring the Allegiance council who were shouting at the courtroom via the computer screen. In all of the chaos that ensued, Sydney had no idea what the words being shouted meant or who was pounding on whom. What she did know is that if Bligh and Aurus hadn't grabbed her and dragged her from the tent, she probably would have gotten stomped in the uproar. Once outside they hauled her further from the tent, the noise from the commotion inside fading. She assumed they were returning her to her electrified cage, and Sydney sighed heavily, wondering how long she'd be locked up or even worse, how soon they would discard her to meet her fate, whatever that fate might be.

  "So what was my senten…oh my god!"

  Thud.

  Sydney's mouth hung open as she stared down at Aurus, his body limp on the ground.

  ?

  Chapter Nineteen

  Sydney spun and then stared in wide-eyed disbelief at Bligh, terrified the crazy woman was about to off her as well. She held her breath and waited for another green ball of light to discharge from the glowing end of the talon arc that Bligh held raised in her hand. Instead, Bligh sheathed the weapon and then reached out to release the cuffs binding Sydney's wrists.

  "Let's go." Bligh tossed the cuffs aside. She turned and hurriedly began walking away.

  Sydney frowned in confusion as she rubbed her wrists. She hesitated only briefly before following the woman while simultaneously second guessing her decision to do so. "Is Aurus dead?"

  "Stunned," Bligh said. "He will awaken in about a quarter dial, probably with a revolting head throb, but that is all."

  "Oh." Sydney exhaled a relieved breath. "But…"

  She stopped short of finishing her comment when Bligh grabbed her upper arm and dragged her into some nearby bushes. A hover cycle was hidden there.

  Bligh straddled the craft and grabbed a helmet. "Get on."

  Uncertain of Bligh's motives, Sydney crossed one arm over the other. "Where are we going?"

  "Escaping." Bligh tossed the helmet she held toward Sydney

  Sydney snagged the helmet with two hands and eyed Bligh suspiciously."So why the sudden change of heart?"

  "Would you prefer the death they sentenced you to?" Bligh crossed one arm over the other and stared at her with a matter-of-fact expression.

  Sydney lifted a brow, and then gulped.

  "Well then," she finally said and pushed the helmet onto her head. She positioned herself in front of Bligh, forcing the woman to scoot back on the seat. "I'm thinking escaping is a much better option, but this time, I'm driving."

  Surprisingly, Bligh didn't protest. Instead she donned a second helmet and then grasped the back of the seat while Sydney fidgeted with the cycle. The task of turning over the engine, and figuring out the gears was remarkably easy for Sydney. She had studied the controls and the maneuverability of the cycle when Alea had been driving the thing. Within a few short moments Sydney had the cycle under control and moving fast, very fast, curving around bushes and trees, dipping and rising over the uneven terrain the programmed coordinates guiding her. It was an exhilarating ride, and Sydney couldn't help but to laugh at the excitement she felt, the same excitement that filled her when she was soaring through the skies in her star jet. She didn't know how long she'd been driving, perhaps a half hour or so when Bligh ordered her to stop. Obliging, Sydney slowed the cycle and brought it to a halt. She laughed. The thrill of escape combined with the surge of adrenaline was still pumping wildly through Sydney's bloodstream when she climbed off the vehicle and removed her helmet. Bligh on the other hand looked as if she was going to puke.

  "I'm sorry I drove so fast." Sydney apologized when
she saw how ashen her face was when she removed her helmet. Still she couldn't help her cocky smirk at how readily she had accommodated to the cycle's controls. She skimmed her hand admiringly along the craft's gears. "But to tell you the truth it handles like a star jet and I just couldn't help myself. I had the utmost of confidence in my abilities."

  That and the fact she knew the thing was equipped with a collision avoidance device. Sydney chuckled. The technology was amazing, and much appreciated, particularly with all of the trees it assisted her in avoiding.

  "My balance system has never quite adjusted to speed. I spent most of my life in a sub-compartment of my dwelling, my senses gravely deprived." Bligh lowered her feet to the ground and shakily sat on her bottom. She drew up her knees, wrapping her arms around them and blew out a gust of air as she rested her head against the cycle's glowing hover ring, the only light they had at the moment now that night had fallen.

  "You what?" Sydney questioned. "Assuming you mean a basement…why?"

  "I was not born on Tertian soil. I lived on a Venuvian outpost." Bligh took another deep breath to rid herself of the nausea. "It is a long story."

  "It sounds like you had a hard life."

  "For so many lunar cycles following my claiming by my mates, I felt awkward, always trying to fit in. Becoming a warrior with the regiment seemed a suitable way to avenge what the radicals had done to my life, to my mother's life, considering I…considering I…" Bligh's gaze dropped to the ground and when she looked up again, she was frowning. "I cannot have offspring."

  Sydney smooth her hands along the length of her sarong and then side-sat on the ground near Bligh. Toying with the hem of the garment she recalled what Alea had told her about Brit's Scorn and how it was wreaking havoc in the galaxy. "I guess I can't blame you for being so angry."

  "Ayn! Not an excuse." Bligh growled. "To partake of the Triconjugal hunt is considered a tremendous honor. I have disgraced that honor"."

  "That's why you helped me escape, you grew a Tertian conscious?"

  "Ayn, much guilt, but also much of it instinct," Bligh's strained expression softened, and then she grinned. "As much as I knew I should continue to follow my orders it has become increasingly impossible to deny my natural Tertani instinct."

  "And what might that be?"

  Bligh reached up and behind her to open one of the compartments on the side of the cycle. She withdrew a decanter that looked very much like the rhyton that Alea had, opened the cap on the tip and took a couple sips of the liquid inside of it. When she'd had her fill she offered it to Sydney who shook her head in the negative. Bligh recapped the container and then swiped at her mouth with the back of her hand. "All Tertani females run."

  "Well I suppose that's a good thing, considering all Tertani males love to chase." Sydney returned a grin. "Except I really hate running."

  "You hate…" Bligh blinked at her. "I have never heard of such a thing."

  Sydney laughed. "Well, I'll let you in on a little secret. Strangely enough, I find being hunted by my mates to be an exciting and invigorating thing."

  "That is a familiar sensation for a Tertani female." Bligh's smile returned. "It's as if something instinctively basic drives us forward."

  "Yes!" Sydney answered. "When I'm fleeing from them I feel elated, alive…free. I feel…I feel…"

  "Horny?" Bligh lifted a brow.

  Sydney's mouth snapped shut and she merely at stared at Bligh for a few moments until the woman chuckled at her, and then she closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. She chuckled in return. "The harder I run, the hornier I seem to get."

  Bligh's smile faded. "I will likely be stripped of my rank, my position with the regiment, a dial or two of zapping perhaps for abetting and fleeing with you. I can only hope the Commanders will understand that I am foremost a Tertani woman before I am a warrior and grant me leniency."

  "Is there a chance of that for you, leniency?" Sydney had to wonder, since it was clear there was none for her.

  "Commander Tren is a just and fair leader."

  "Right now, he's the enemy, mine at the least."

  "I am very sorry I allowed them to apprehend you."

  "Well, I'm sure you can't take total responsibility for that." Sydney returned. "Alea did her best but they found us anyway."

  "Ayn! That was not her fault." Bligh cast her gaze downward and shook her head. "It was I who activated the tracker on Alea's hover cycle. I am ashamed, and I am sorry."

  "You were following orders. I am military on my planet also, and I would've done the same thing."

  Bligh looked up and pursed her lips. She drew in a breath, inhaling and exhaling through her nostrils. "You are gracious in your forgiveness, Sydney."

  "I just want to find a way to survive this disaster I've been tossed into the middle of."

  "I believe the She'amatina will be the safest haven for you." Bligh began. "We should…"

  "What's wrong?" Sydney watched the Tertani woman's face flush as she sniffed the air around her. "Bjead and Larimon, are they here?"

  Panic filled Sydney as she too sniffed, trying to detect her mates as well. She looked at Bligh, who was now on her feet. Sydney also stood and faced her.

  "Uyo," she whispered. "My mates."

  "But how…" Sydney whispered in return. Squinting against the darkness, she attempted to bring the surrounding area into focus, but she could only see the immediate area illuminated by the glow of the hover cycle. "We drove so far, and it's dark."

  There was no moon. In fact, now that she thought about, she hadn't seen any moon at all since her arrival.

  "Tertani vision is acute." Rising to her feet, Bligh handed the rhyton to Sydney turned toward the cycle. "They're perception unique. It will take the Allegiance awhile to pinpoint your location so you should be safe from them for the time being."

  "Nothing like big brother watching," Sydney mumbled.

  Grasping the handlebars on the cycle, Bligh pushed it into some nearby bushes and then powered it down, leaving them both in complete blackness.

  "Bligh?" Sydney murmured softly. She took a step forward while reaching out, but stopped abruptly, unable to see a damned thing. Something brushed her arm and Sydney jumped, swallowing a squeak that became muted in her throat.

  "Hush," Bligh warned, and grabbed Sydney's wrist. "Follow me."

  "Do I have choice?" Helplessly blind, Sydney grasped the back of Bligh's jerkin with her free hand stumbling over the unseen ground as she allowed Bligh to lead her. "I can't see. Where are we going?"

  "Here, sit." Bligh pushed at Sydney's shoulders, and she quietly obeyed, sinking to the ground. "We are in Esotar. Do not move a muscle until the dawning. I will have my mates give chase to me. I will try to get back to you."

  There was a rustling sound, and then something landed next to Sydney. Reaching cautiously, she felt around and located a boot first, and then cloth, which she determined was Bligh's uniform.

  "My Sh'em are here," Bligh murmured low. "Abiri ku--gotta run!"

  "No, wait…" Sydney lifted a hand, reached out, her palm landing on Bligh's naked hip. She jerked it back, remembering that the woman was naked, grateful she hadn't grabbed something else. "You can't leave me now. It's dark out here, and I have no idea where the hell I'm at.

  "You'll be fine." Bligh told her. "Just keep your nose to the wind."

  "My…huh?" Sydney paused to think about that one before understanding. "Oh, I get it, their scents," she responded to Bligh, but the Tertani woman was already moving away, the sound of her fetter charms chinking and then fading. Sydney gulped and held her breath, her body stiffening nervously. She listened, hearing nothing at first, but then she heard Bligh's charms again rattling from somewhere in the distant dark. It then became silent once more, dead silent, not even a breeze or chirp to tell her there was life around her. She thought that maybe this was what hell was like, and Sydney shivered at the notion. Exhaling a quivering breath she heard it again, the chinking of the fetter charms, and then
Bligh speaking her mates' names.

  Male voices rent the darkness. Bligh shrieked and then laughed, her fetter charms now chinking like chimes in the wind as she was apparently running. For several long minutes, Sydney sat very still. Eventually, she came to the conclusion that Bligh's plot had been successful. She'd lured her mates away from the area, and now Sydney who could see absolutely nothing, was all alone. For awhile she pondered the question as to whether or not it would be better to lose one's hearing or sight, but she never did come to a conclusion. Unable to do much of anything until dawn when she could see again, Sydney decided it was a good idea to just stay put and get some sleep. She would determine her next move in the morning.

  With no other options, Sydney took a sip of the liquid in the rhyton she still held, recognizing the taw flavor. She drew in a heavy breath of air and closed her eyes. She exhaled slowly, attempting to calm her fraying nerves and ease into the long overdue sleep she needed. It was a restless and turbulent night. Every now and then throughout the evening everything from subtle rustles in the brush to wisps of air creating a mild breeze had Sydney jolting each time she began to nod off. She was grateful when the first rays of sunshine finally began poking through the trees.

  Lifting her head and stretching from her less than peaceful slumber, Sydney yawned and looked around. The forest was eerily quiet. Sniffing the air she attempted to catch her mates' scents, but apparently they'd failed to locate her because the only thing she detected was the smell of the foliage surrounding her. She curled her toes watching them as they burrowed into the soft, maroon moss and bit her lip as her stomach flipped. "What if they killed each other? What if the Allegiance put them to death? What if they're both dead?"

  She felt sick.

  "What if they couldn't care less?" Sydney's troubled thoughts began to run rampant causing her stomach to twist with abandonment and despair. Maybe they weren't coming after her at all, instead allowing the Tertian soldiers and the Allegiance to pursue her.