by K. D. Jones
All the laughter from the men stopped. The Katierans were shocked that a female could do something like that. Jaxon held onto her ribs with her left hand. One of the men squatted down beside her to see whether she was seriously injured. She clocked him with her right hand and stood up.
The men scatter to get out of her way as she wobbles over to the controller for the chamber and shuts it down slowly. Her second in command, Lieutenant Daniels, stumbles out of the chamber. “Are you okay Captain?”
No more Miss Nice Guy. “No, I’m not the fuck okay! Daniels, I want you to stay out here by the controller to make sure none of these assholes try that little trick again.” She points to the remaining women still in the chamber, “And you all … clean up that damn floor!” She turns to glare at the Prime Commander before storming out of the Engine room still clutching her ribs.
She didn’t know where she was going. Couldn’t they at least paint arrows or signs or something to let a person know where they were? She was angry and she was in pain. Not a good combination for her. She did stupid things when she got like this. She stopped and doubled over when she felt a sharp, stabbing pain directly beneath her ribs. She must have bruised them or possibly broke something. It felt like hell.
A large male hand clamped over her shoulder. She would’ve flipped whoever it was onto their ass, but she was in too much pain.
“Easy Captain. You need a medic.” The Commander’s voice is rich and deep.
She turns to glare at his exotic dark eyes with the gold pupils. Like a damn cat’s eyes glowing in the dark. “No duh Sherlock, that’s where I’m headed.”
The Commander looks confused, “I am not this Sherlock. I am Commander KydEL. And the Medic Room is in the opposite direction.”
Jaxon sighed heavily when she realized that she may have a problem getting back up. The Commander surprised her by lifting her gently up into his large, muscular arms. Holy shit! They really were that large, and bulging.
“What are you doing?”
“I am taking you.”
“The hell you say.” Jaxon struggles to get out of his arms.
“You need a medic. I am taking you.”
“Oh. Well, okay.” She felt silly. It was just that when he said that he was ‘taking her’, she thought he meant that he was taking her to his room to do lots of non-commander like things. And she would never allow that to happen, nope not ever.
Kyd thought his heart had fallen to his feet when the stupid female pulled her way out of the anti-gravity chamber. She could have internal injuries from that. But he had to admit, he admired her for it. Not many of his males could have done what she did.
As he carried her to the Medic Wing, he thought about how light she was; so much smaller than him. He was amazed at the strength and stamina within her feminine form. And her smell; he lowered his head slightly to get more of her scent. She smelled like the fiery red blooms that grew on Katiera, spicy and intoxicating. He wondered if she would taste the same way that she smelled. So damn good.
Chapter 3
She fractured her ribs and was given treatment in the Medic Wing. She was taken off active duty for the next few days. She would be allowed to accompany her team as they did their other assignments, however, she would not be able to participate until she had been cleared by the medics.
The Commander had left her there in the Medic Wing. She was both disappointed and relieved at the same time. The man unbalanced her.
As she is waiting in the Medic Wing to be released, she sees the woman doctor from Earth. She kind of reminds Jaxon of a prettier version of the actress Meg Ryan. “Hi Doc, I don’t know if you remember me but…”
“Captain Malone! It is good to see you again, even if it is under these circumstances.” The doctor does seem happy to see her.
“You too Doc. Do you know how Cassie and the baby are doing?” Jaxon asks.
“Miss Tomlin and her baby are doing fine. I believe she is settling in. You can try to send her an IHM with your digital tablet.” She holds up her own tablet to show her.
“What’s an IHM?” Jaxon asks.
“Instant Hologram Messaging. It’s much better than phoning or texting. Let me show you.” Dr. Morris enters something on her digital tablet.
“Wow.” Jaxon was amazed as a three dimensional image of a Katieran man appeared right above the digital tablet. “Shit.” The image moved.
“Sorry to disturb you Medic JadEN. I am demonstrating the IHM function for someone.” Dr. Morris explains.
“That is fine. Do you need my assistance for anything else?” He asks sounding hopeful.
“Not right now. Goodbye.” She smiles a secret smile before she disconnects the call.
“Cool, I’ll give mine a try.” Jaxon says.
Not more than 20 minutes passed before a Katieran warrior came and took Jaxon back to check on her team’s progress with the Anti-gravity chamber. She was proud that her team did the work so quickly. However, the Commander left orders for them to run light checks on the engineering panels. This took them the rest of the day.
Jaxon walked with her second in command back to their sleeping quarters. She always felt so short compared to Second Lieutenant Lucinda Daniels. Lucy was about 5’8 ½”. Her mother was from Spain and her father was from Nigeria. Her skin was a rich coffee color. Her eyes were a dark chocolate brown. She had high cheekbones and full pouty lips. She was exotic looking and got noticed by men all the time, including the Katieran men.
Jaxon waited until the two of them were in their own room. “What happened while I was in the Medic Room?”
“Jessup and Connors are requesting a dismissal from duty.” Lucy reports as she starts to unbutton her top.
“Are they asking to return to Earth?” Jaxon picks up her tablet and tries to find that instant messaging application. She frowns when she doesn’t find it.
Lucy hesitates. “No, they want to relocate to Katiera, but as civilians.”
Damn. “That’s just what the Commander wants. He’s having us do this grunt work and plays these dirty tricks on us. It’s all part of his plan to convince us that the ‘warrior’ lifestyle isn’t for us.” Jaxon complains. She throws her digital tablet against the wall and smashes it into a dozen tiny little pieces. “Shit.”
“Did that make you feel better Captain?” Lucy asked her trying hard not to laugh. She has known the Captain for a couple of years now and knew how hard she worked to keep her temper in control.
“Little bit.” Jaxon replies with a smile.
Jaxon’s team continued to receive the crap assignments. By the end of the first week, two more team members dropped out to become civilians. In truth, she couldn’t blame them. The civilian women were given the VIP treatment. No, she blamed the Commander.
During week 2 on the transport ship, Jaxon finally catches up with Cassie. They attend the culture classes being offered to help introduce the human women to the Katieran culture. Doctor Morris and some other educators, nurses, and doctors from Earth are heading the classes.
The Katierans were an interesting nation of people. Their society was built around their belief in a mated pair of Gods. There was no divorce in their culture. It was kind of strange to Jaxon coming from a planet where most people didn’t get married anymore.
There are five primary laws of Katiera that everyone is expected to adhere to:
First Law is to protect all females and young.
Second Law is to protect the Prime families.
Third Law is to serve the people of Katiera.
Fourth Law is to honor the mated pair of Gods.
Fifth Law is to protect all natural resources.
Anyone who does not adhere to these laws is subject to banishment or in some cases, death.
They have an unusual political system. The members of the Katieran High Council are elected by the Katieran people. However, the Prime Leader is the ruler by birth rite and has final say. The Council acts more like advisers from what Jaxon understands.
She was most fascinated by the discussions on the Katierans’ senses. They had enhanced sense of sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Not to mention, a high sex drive. Jaxon couldn’t help but wonder how high?
At the end of each class refreshments were offered. Jaxon smiled as she watched Cassie enjoying her cupcake. Jaxon liked the chocolate on chocolate ones, but they only had the raspberry flavored ones today. She laughed inwardly recalling when Cassie told her about her ‘cupcake incident’ with Prime Leader RendEL.
Cassie was convinced that the Leader wasn’t interested in her, but Jaxon had opportunities to watch the man. He couldn’t take his eyes off of Cassie whenever they were in the same room. Jaxon was convinced that something was going on there, she just didn’t know what.
Jaxon picked up a digital tablet from one of the tables. She had not reported to anyone yet that she had broken her other one. The Second Commander had asked for her to bring her tablet with her several times. She made up one excuse after another of why she didn’t have it with her. Today was the fourth time she was asked about it. She was starting to get suspicious.
What if they had put a bug or tracking device inside the tablets they gave her team? If her role was reversed with the Commander, she would probably use a tracking system to make sure that sensitive information didn’t get out. A thought occurred to her; she took the digital tablet and put it in her backpack. Tomorrow she would test her theory.
“You sh…mmm this.” Cassie tells her while chewing a mouthful of cupcake.
“Sorry, I didn’t get that?” Jaxon laughed.
She was still amazed at the difference in Cassie. In just 2 weeks she went from pale and sickly to a glowing, healthy woman. And she had a nice baby bump going on. Her cheeks were a little fuller and her breasts … she hated her guts for the even larger sex magnets.
“Damn girl, what size are you now, a double H?”
Cassie laughs in response. “Hey, don’t hate the jugs.” She cups herself for emphasis.
A couple of Katieran men walk by at that same moment and stumble when they see Cassie cupping herself. Both women burst out laughing.
“They should be listed as lethal weapons.” Jaxon suggests making Cassie giggle.
“Are you leaving already?” Cassie asks.
“Yeah, you want me to walk you back to your room?” Jaxon watches as Cassie gets one more cupcake. She doesn’t say anything, but she suspects that Cassie always takes a cupcake with her in case she runs into the Prime Leader again. She worries that Cassie might get hurt again.
That asshole back on Earth really did a number on her friend’s self-esteem. Jaxon remembered all the times Cassie would call and cry because Scott said she was fat or that she wore ugly clothes. Jaxon made a mental note to keep a sharp eye on the Prime Leader.
The next day Jaxon went with her team to perform their newest, ridiculous assignment. They were in the docking bay cleaning the viewing screens. Yes. They were washing the damn windows!
“Captain Malone, I need to speak with you for a moment.” The Second Commander calls for her to come over.
The Second Commander, JarOD, was 6’8” tall with medium length dark brown hair. His eyes were Navy blue with the gold pupils typical of Katierans. Jaxon approached him. He nodded for her to follow him to the bench against the wall.
“Yes Second Commander?”
“Captain, did you bring your digital tablet with you today like I have asked you to?” He inquired.
Jaxon smiles as she pulls out the tablet from her backpack that she is wearing. She hands it to him and stands back to watch. Let the test begin.
The Second Commander took the tablet from her with a bit of a surprise. He wasn’t expecting her to have it with her. He took a few seconds and scanned over the tablet. He typed in a bunch of gibberish that Jaxon didn’t understand. Then he turned back to Jaxon.
“This is not the digital tablet that we originally assigned to you Captain.”
Jaxon bites the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. “Whatever do you mean Second Commander?”
The man’s face turns beet red. “This is the wrong tablet.”
“How do you know that? They all look the same to me.” She pretends to check out the thing herself.
“It’s not. It doesn’t have …” He stops before he says too much.
“It doesn’t have what Second Commander?”
“It … just … it doesn’t … it’s not the right tablet!”
Jaxon shrugged her shoulders helplessly which didn’t make the situation any better.
“What’s going on here Second Commander JarOD?” Prime Commander KydEL’s voice sends a shiver down Jaxon’s spine, which annoys the hell out of her.
“Prime Commander KydEL, I asked several times for Captain Malone to bring in her digital tablet but she failed to hand it over.” The Second Commander explained still red faced.
Kyd raised his eyebrow up at Jaxon in a questioning gesture. Damn, even the man’s eyebrows were sexy.
“Oh, but I have my tablet thingy with me today.” She bends down to pick up the digital tablet. “Here it is.” She waves it back and forth in front of the Second Commander.
The Second Commander grabbed the tablet and threw it across the docking bay. Everyone stopped what they were doing. They glanced from the Second Commander, to the broken tablet on the floor, back to the Second Commander.
“Second Commander, I think you should report to the command bridge.” Kyd says with a stern voice. Second Commander storms off grumbling something about annoying females. It takes every bit of willpower Kyd has to keep himself from going after the Second Commander and beating the crap out of him.
How dare the male behave aggressively towards his female. Kitasa! What is he thinking? She is not his female. He breathes in and out trying to calm his nerves down. Unfortunately, Jaxon’s scent invades his system. He turns back to the exasperating female.
“Where is it Captain?” He asks through clenched teeth.
“Where is what Commander KydEL?”
“Where, Captain, is the original tablet assigned to you. We both know that …” He points to the broken tablet the Second Commander smashed, “is not the original.”
“Oh, that tablet.” She reaches into her backpack and pulls out a bag with rattling pieces of the tablet inside of it. She hands the bag over to Kyd.
“I had a little accident.”
Kyd sighs with frustration. “You and your team are dismissed for the day Captain.”
“Yes Commander.” She gives him a wink as she turns and hops off.
Damn female!
By the end of the third week, Jaxon was expecting a few more of her team members to request a dismissal. The Commander’s ‘assignments’ didn’t seem to let up any. Aside from the occasional flight simulator training, Jaxon didn’t see that she had received any special alien training. She was tempted to quit herself from boredom.
After she was finished with the last assignment, she walked over to the docking bay hoping to watch some of the shuttles as they took off. She missed flying. It was as natural to her as breathing. She felt suffocated from not being allowed to fly.
“Good day Captain Malone.” Lieutenant SilAS greets her as she approaches the large viewing screening overlooking the docking bay.
Jaxon turns to look up at the handsome pilot. “Lieutenant, it is good to see you again. I don’t believe I’ve seen you since we first arrived on the transport ship.”
He moves to stand beside her and gazes down. The female warrior is extremely beautiful. Her strange black pupils are exotic. He is very glad to see her.
“I have been given non-stop assignments. I hope you are finding our culture easy to adapt to.”
“It has been very interesting so far.” Jaxon responded.
“I am scheduled to make a routine shuttle run. Would you care to join me?” He asks hopefully.
Jaxon’s whole face lights up. “Absolutely! When do we leave?”
SilAS chuckles. “Now if you like. Since you aren’t on duty, you don’t have to suit up.”
Jaxon grabbed his hand and started dragging him towards the docking bay which caused more laughter to come from SilAS.
Ten minutes later, Jaxon is in the shuttle flying through space. She laughs when SilAS performs a couple of quick turns and rolls. “This is awesome!”
SilAS watches the excitement play over the female’s face and thinks again about how beautiful she is. “Would you like to fly her?”
Jaxon nodded enthusiastically. SilAS switched flight controls from main pilot to co-pilot. Jaxon didn’t hesitate. She started doing standard turns and rolls. She did double dips and turns that made SilAS grip on to his seat.
“You have a natural talent for flying.” He tells her as she levels out the shuttle to fly straighter.
“Thanks. Ever since I was a kid, I loved to fly.” She smiled as she remembered her first flight with Cassie’s grandpa. Joy filled her. This was where she belonged.
“Fly over to that small Luna.” He instructs her. “Good. Now slowly lower to land.” He checks his panel and the viewing screen for any obstacles but they were in the clear. “Now, shut her down.”
Cassie follows his instructions. “Thank you so much for letting me come with you. You have no idea how bored I was getting. I owe you.” She turns and to find him unbuckling his seat straps. When he looks her way, she can see his intent shining in his eyes. Uh oh.
“Captain … Jaxon.” His voice was deep and throaty. He leaned over like he was going to kiss her.
Shit! Jaxon didn’t know what to do. She was still strapped in her seat. She knew what it felt like to be a deer caught up in a car’s headlights. “Ummmm…” That was intelligent.
“Transport to Shuttle 506, respond shuttle 506.” Jaxon breathes a sigh of relief that SilAS is interrupted from making a pass at her.
SilAS returns to his seat. “Shuttle 506 responding.”
“Lieutenant SilAS, you were last seen in the company of Captain Malone. Did she mention where she planned to go after leaving you?” The command center asked.