“Go on, dear. Tell them the rest.”
“Well, I don’t actually know how long I was there, but it was enough time to rub my ankles raw and my wrists bloody. I would think at least maybe six or seven hours by the time he returned. Anyways, Imhal came and started undressing and then he told me about his, ahem, barbs and what they were for. He then started to,” her voice broke and a tear ran down her cheek before she could catch it, “take off my underwear. I was praying so hard that someone would rescue me. That someone or something would stop him. Turns out, just at the right time, your ship was near enough to warrant an evacuation. He had to choose between being caught and me. So he left. Then Taavi found me and here I am now.”
Kale leaned toward Natalie, the vision of regret and sadness.
“I am very sorry that happened to you. It has been known to happen to unfortunate females now and again. If there is anything we can do for you, please let us know.”
“If what you say is true,” said one of the women that had smiled at her earlier, “then that means the anomaly has reappeared and Earth actually is a place and not some story made up by our ancestors.”
“Well, I don’t know about it still being there, but I can assure you that Earth is definitely real. If we could take a ship back to the site, we could see if it remains.”
A man with salt and pepper hair shook his head saying, “No. Your highness, we cannot afford to send any of our military away from us just now. Not with the increasing attacks from the Nezlean. And besides that, I believe if one of our vessels tried to find this anomaly, the Nezleans would just shoot the ship down. Meaning, we would have to send a fleet, something we just can’t do, not with their increasing attacks.” Some of the other council members were shaking their heads in agreement, giving the man their support. “Therefore, I move that this decision, for the time being, be ruled a resounding no. We can reconvene after the threat has been eliminated.”
“Hey, that isn’t fair. Give me back my ship and I will go there myself. You won’t have to send anyone, and I don’t need your permission.”
“Peace, all of you. Narlan is right. I agree that we should suspend the idea of sending our people out there until after the Nezleans have been dealt with. I also agree with you Natalie, that we cannot stop you from leaving. But, your ship is still planet bound. The engines need to be repaired and I do not have the manpower to spare to fix your ship. Therefore, it seems you will also be stuck here until such a time as people can be spared. No,” Ty said while shaking his head, “my mind has been made, Natalie. I’m sorry.”
Natalie fumed, mumbling under her breath about stupid men and selfish people. She knew they were right, but it didn’t make it any easier to swallow.
“Can I at least have access to my ship? It has all of my things on it.”
“Yes, that would be acceptable. Now if that is all, the council will be meeting with our heads of military.”
“Well, there was something that I wanted to ask you. Kind of like a proposal of sorts. You see, Taavi was telling me about the attack on your people that wiped out more than half of your population. And that you have been struggling with how slowly it has been growing.” Natalie took a deep breath, thinking it was now or never. “Well, if the wormhole is still open, and we are able to stabilize it, what would you think about bringing Earth here? And by that I mean the people.”
The outburst at the table didn’t just surprise Natalie, but Ty also seemed shocked by the vehemence from some of the councilmembers. They were yelling about not allowing aliens to invade their planet. That if they didn’t allow the Nezleans to invade, they certainly wouldn’t be allowing any of Earth’s people to come.
Ty slammed his hand into the table, and the ensuing silence was deafening.
“You will mind your tongues’. May I remind you that some in this room are descendants of these human’s. And it would not be at all like the Nezleans, who are actively trying to invade our planet and kill our race. Should the human’s come, it would be at our behest, and it would be to share the planet in harmony, and mix our races, should any find a mate.”
“What if we aren’t compatible? We already haven’t been able to find any soile-miena’s within our own people. What makes you think we will be able to find them with her people?”
The councilman with the salt and pepper hair sneered.
Yeah, with a name like Narlan, I’d be an ass, too, Natalie thought in disgust.
Taavi slowly stood, sending Natalie a quick searching look before addressing the council.
“Ladies and gentlemen. King Tyeron. I would like to formally address the council regarding that last question.”
Oh crap, he’s going to tell them.
Natalie quietly watched in disbelief.
“I can assure the council that our people are compatible with the simple and compelling truth that Natalie is, in fact, my soile-miena.”
He slowly resumed his seat amidst the gawking, grabbing Natalie’s hand and kissing her palm.
“Well,” Ty started, “I guess that answers your questions and seals the answer. Natalie, I believe we are going to accept your proposal. Though, I think it would be wise to contact your planet, after the Nezleans have backed down.” Ty then turned to address the council. “Ladies and gentlemen, this meeting is adjourned. Taavi, could you please stay while we have our war meeting.”
Tali grabbed Natalie’s hand and dragged her out of the room. Natalie got a quick glance at Taavi’s face just as the door was shut.
When the door closed behind the women, Taavi turned back to the table and sat down. He didn’t have to wait long before the other Elite Warrior Team leaders filed into the room, followed by the Admiral of War. Among the men and women entering was Taavi’s good friend, Trystan, captain of Elite Team Two, the second best warriors in the galaxy.
The large blonde man sat next to Taavi and whispered, “So, who was that woman with your sister?”
“That is what the meeting was about. Her name is Natalie, she is my soile-miena, and I found her on a Nezlean war freighter,” Taavi whispered back, thinking about what Natalie would say when she found out everyone was going to know she was his.
Trystan stared, his eye wide in surprise before he pulled Taavi in for a quick hug.
“Congratulations, my friend. A soile-miena,” he said in wonder. “You are very lucky indeed. Tavanni has smiled upon you. Where is she from?”
“According to her, she is from Earth. And yes,” Taavi quickly added, “it’s the same Earth our ancestors spoke of. Apparently, it is real.”
“Ladies and gentlemen of the council, King Tyeron, Admiral Himase, Elite Warriors. This meeting is to discuss the increasing attacks of the Nezleans and our need for further strategy regarding their continued attacks. Admiral Himase, you have the floor.”
Taavi and Trystan quieted, going into warrior mode. It was time to stop the Nezleans once and for all.
Especially now that it might be possible for them to find their own soile-miena’s.
Chapter Ten
Tali pulled Natalie through a series of hallways, down elevators, and around corners. When they finally stopped, from Natalie’s estimation, they were in the bowels of the mountain.
They were in front of a set of metal double doors, just staring at them.
“Tali, what is this? Why are we just standing here?” Natalie looked around and noticed that the door had some sort of hand print identification pad to the side of it. “Why don’t you just scan your palm? Or do you not have access to whatever is behind that door?”
“Technically, I don’t have authorized access, but that doesn’t mean I’m not allowed back there. And you’ll see in a moment why I brought you here.”
She looked at the door seeming to will it open.
Just as Natalie was about to say something, the door opened and four men stepped out.
Holy cow, were they ever tall; in fact, it seemed every person, with the exception of Lity, was at least a head and s
houlders taller than her five three frame.
The men were all sweaty and a tad winded.
In the front was a man with hair so black it appeared to have hints of blue, cut close to his scalp, almost as if it had been buzzed off. He had a browner tinge to his golden skin and he was tall, perhaps taller than even Taavi, though not as bulky. What stood out was the scar on his left cheek, right below stunning blue eyes.
Natalie thought of them like blue lasers because they were currently piercing her with their gaze.
He seemed faintly familiar to her.
“Andris!” Tali leaned forward and kissed the man’s cheek. “This is Natalie, though I think you have already met her. Natalie, Andris.”
And then it clicked.
That was the man who was with Taavi when I woke up after the rescue. He didn’t like me then and he obviously doesn’t like me now.
“Tali. To what do we owe the pleasure,” this came from the second man out of the door, who was shorter, thicker but just as muscled.
This one had a deep brown-gold skin tone and beautiful chocolate brown eyes. His longer hair was a chestnut colour, shot through with strands of red and it curled at his nape. He had a smile on his face, crinkling his eyes, and Natalie could tell he was the friendly sort.
“Hey. Natalie, this is Hannan. I don’t know if you’ve met yet, but he’s very friendly, so watch out. Hannan, behave yourself or my brother will gut you.”
He took Natalie’s hand and kissed the top with a gallant bow.
“How you wound me, Tali. And I hope you know I am smarter than that. I know Taav would kill me if I ever tried anything with his mate.” He shuddered, apparently afraid of what Taavi would do. “Plus, he already made that little tidbit perfectly clear to all of us, should we ever decide to try anything with her,” he said with a rash wink.
Tali rolled her eyes, turning to Natalie as she ignored Hannan.
“Natalie, the two that look alike, they are twins. That’s Aaren and Aaden.” Tali pointed to two men with dark red hair. They had handsome faces that were almost identical, except one had green eyes and one had blue. “The one with the blue eyes is Aaren and the one with green eyes is Aaden. You’ll get used to the sameness. It just means double the beauty to stare at.”
All the men laughed good-naturedly, except Andris who was still staring at Natalie.
“I came because I knew you were just getting done with sparring. But as much as I love to see you in those skintight shirts and those loose pants, I needed into the hangar. Ergo, I’m using you for your security clearance. I grabbed Nat before Ty had a chance to give me an escort, and so we waited for you. It was perfect timing really.”
“Are you sure she is allowed in here, because I’m not so sure,” Andris nodded his head toward Natalie. “After all, we don’t know if she is who she says she is. We don’t know if she really came from a world beyond our galaxy. For all we know, she could be working with the enemy.”
Natalie watched Andris in annoyance, but at that little accusation, she couldn’t stay quiet.
“Excuse me? You think I’m working with the Nezleans? Perhaps you missed the fact that I was bruised and bloody. Or maybe you think I asked them to do that to misguide you.”
She could feel her voice rising and did nothing to stop it.
How dare this man minimize all she had gone through?
“For your information, Mr. Suspicious, I don’t care if you don’t like me, because frankly, you aren’t all that likeable yourself. And I think being violated and abused by the Nezleans has earned me some fucking respect. So I suggest you keep your stupid little quips to yourself.”
Tali rubbed Natalie’s back as the men stared at Natalie; Hannan, Aaren, and Aaden with sad eyes and Andris with speculative ones.
“Andris, please. Take it up with Taavi, but for now, let us through. You are more than welcome to come along, but I’m just showing her to something that belongs to her.” Tali hooked her arm through Natalie’s and pushed her way through the men toward the open door.
Andris quickly cut them off a few steps into the room.
He bowed his head slightly to Natalie and growled, “You have to understand that the timing of your appearance is suspect and that Taavi is not only our leader, but our friend and brother. However,” he took a deep breath and let it out slowly, “you are right. You have endured and survived more than your share of hardship. I will try and give you more respect in the future.”
Natalie started a little as Tali nudged her.
Apparently it was her turn to speak.
“Look, I understand it’s unbelievable, but if I’m going to be stuck here for the foreseeable future, I could really use some friends. I didn’t have a lot of them back home, and now I’m all alone. I’ll try to help alleviate your suspicions, but the only way to do that is to get to know one another. So if you agree to quit pestering me, I’ll agree to answer any questions you have.”
Natalie held her hand out to Andris, waiting.
After a brief hesitation, Andris accepted her hand.
Natalie looked at the other men and asked, “Do I have your word, too? Will you agree to suspend judgment until you have given me a chance to prove myself?” She held her breath.
She didn’t know why she was so nervous, but she was acutely aware that these men meant a lot to Taavi and she didn’t want there to be any friction between them.
Hannan was the first to break the silence, taking a long step forward and wrapping his arms around Natalie, picking her up off the floor.
For a split second, she thought he was going to hurt her, but he just rocked her back and forth.
“You are welcome and safe here, Natalie. We have already promised Taavi, but we will promise you too. We will get to know you and you will get to know us. And because you are Taavi’s, we will call you little sister. So welcome, little sister.”
He gave her a tight squeeze before swinging her down in front of Aaden and Aaren.
Both men grasped her hands, squeezing them and then proceeded to put their clenched fists above their hearts and bowed their heads.
Natalie was alternately touched and confused by this gesture.
“What does that mean?” she asked.
“It means that we respect you and will honour your request,” said the blue-eyed Aaren.
Aaden was nodding his head and added, “It means that we have your back, should you ever need us.”
Natalie was still smiling as the men parted again, showcasing the hangar.
She couldn’t help but gawk; it wasn’t just a hangar, it was a cavern made of rock and steel. It appeared there were hundreds of ships, just lines upon lines of crafts.
People were walking to and fro, some working on them while others stood around inspecting them. The cavern was filled with the sound of drills and saws, the sounds only heard when there were repairs going on.
It was a sound that brought a pang of longing for the familiar.
The men followed along as Tali pulled Natalie between ships and down aisles until she came to a massive black freighter. They watched as a few men with a crane grabbed Natalie’s ship from inside the freighter and set it down.
Tali pulled Natalie over to her ship and said, “I thought you might want to come back here to grab your things and see your ship for yourself. That, and I figured since you’re a pilot, you must have some idea on how to fix the engines. Right?”
Natalie grabbed the taller woman and hugged her hard.
“Thank you,” she whispered into her ear. “And yes, I know a few things about engines. All I need is a helper.”
“Done.” Tali whispered back.
“This is why you wanted access? I’m sure it’s fine to leave you here if you don’t plan on wandering. Just stay away from the side corridors. They lead to the warriors sparring fields and their quarters. Tali, Natalie, I trust you both can contain yourselves.” Andris raised a black brow.
“Yes, yes, Andris. Stop worrying so. We’ll be go
od. I know my brother will want to speak with you after the meeting. Go, shower and eat.”
They watched the men walk away.
“Hmmm, sometimes I just wish Taavi wasn’t my brother. He won’t let any of those men near me.”
“Well, I can understand why he’s so protective. You’re kind and beautiful. It’s what any good brother would do.”
“Too right you are. Now,” Tali rubbed her hands together, “where do we start?”
~ ~ ~ ~
It had been a few hours since Tali and Natalie had started working on the engines. Many men and women had drifted by to see them, covered in sweat and grease, as they worked.
Natalie finally said what she had been thinking for the last few hours.
“I can’t deal with all the gawking, can’t we just tell them to leave us alone?”
Tali wiped her face on her arm, smearing oil.
“I’m sorry Natalie, I didn’t realize it would be so busy. I should have realized, given it’s a workday that it would be crowded. Want to come back later, when it’s over? That way there will be less people to gawk at you.”
Natalie quickly set down the tool she was holding and grabbed a rag from the small table. As she wiped her hands off, she turned toward Tali.
“That would definitely make me more comfortable. But that could be hours from now. What else would we be doing?”
Tali tapped her index finger to her chin in thought.
She brightened and replied, “Well, how about we grab your stuff and take it to where you will be staying? I mean you can’t stay in your ship. It’s not private enough and is kind of bland, not to mention boring. But where you’ll be staying is gorgeous! You’ll love it. Let’s go,” she said, quickly grabbing Natalie’s hand and dragging her into the ship to pack her things.
Once they had left the hangar and made it into the elevator, Tali typed in some sort of code to a keypad beside the button and pressed up. They made their way to the second last stop and got off the elevator. There was no hallway, just a door a few steps in front of the elevator. Tali walked to it, did a palm scan and typed another code into another keypad; there was a beep and the sound of a lock opening.
Destiny Found (Epsilon Chronicles Book 1) Page 7