Cali & Drake (The Alliance Book 1)

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Cali & Drake (The Alliance Book 1) Page 14

by Stormy McKnight


  “Where are Horace and Bella?” Cali had fallen into a routine these past few mornings. If Drake was home, they made love, showered together, ate breakfast and then planned their day. If he was already gone, she would shower, eat and then play with the pets. At some point during the day, she always made time for them and she was surprised they weren’t waiting for her this morning. Cali looked around for them as they swept down the entryway stairs.

  “I sent them out hunting,” Drake helped her into their pod and followed. “They’ll be home by this afternoon, I’m sure. Computer, take us to the teleportation center.”

  “Confirmed, with current traffic conditions, arrival will be approximately fifteen minutes.”

  Cali felt the pod pulling away from the driveway and pick up speed. With the added time of travel, she assumed the teleportation center must be outside of Renari. Taking her mind off the passing terrain, she turned to Drake.

  “Why are the strangers that were found being held in Jataci detention cells?” Cali asked. “Wouldn’t they be brought to the nearest clan for holding?”

  “Jataci is the center for all justice. The clans do have holding cells, but determining justice is swift and most offenders are moved to Jataci until a determination of guilt can be made. The strangers were found on Metari land, and moved to Jataci a short while ago.”

  “So why do they need you?” Cali asked.

  “When the Jataci court is in a tie as to punishment, the other clans send a representative to vote. Since the offenders were found on Metari land, they will abstain from a vote. The Jataci clan is already represented, so that leaves Renari, Takari, and Denary. Those representatives are me, Tae and Dak.” Drake looked out the window on his side of the pod, “We’re almost there.”

  “So Tae and Dak are the heirs to their clans? Let me guess, Arik and Mica as well? Why would you all have been allowed in space? Each clan almost lost their heirs in one fell swoop.”

  “It wasn’t deemed a dangerous mission, we were only doing a run to Atheon and hadn’t imagined the dangers, but that mistake won’t be made again.” Drake’s voice held a note of steel.

  Cali nodded absently and looked out her side window. They were coming up to a large building with a strange symbol on the front. She really needed to work on learning their written language.

  Taking Cali through the building, Drake flashed a pass at a security gate. The guard waved both of them through the scanner and then they moved quickly into a massive, sectioned room. There were four different lines, and Cali assumed that each led to a different city. The lines were moving quickly, so there wasn’t going to be a long wait.

  Drake took her to the farthest right line, there were only a few other people waiting and soon enough they were being shown into the teleporting room. Stepping on the designated spot on the platform, Cali felt the familiar tingling sensation and then she was in another identical room. This must be Jataci, she thought.

  Drake led her toward an exit door, and they left the transport room, to a larger room configured exactly like the one in Renari. There were four different waiting lines, with small groups of people in each.

  “This way.” Drake led her toward the exit. There was another security gate, he flashed the same pass and they were allowed through. He strode quickly to a counter and asked the service person for a complimentary pod, and he placed his hand on a scanner and was given an access code. Once he finished, they headed for the main doors.

  Cali wasn’t surprised to see a line of pods waiting outside. Since they were all the same, she wasn’t sure how they would know which one was theirs.

  “Pod access four-seven-two-two-alpha,” Drake called and suddenly a pod four down from where they stood started flashing different colors. Cali didn’t need for Drake to lead her to that pod, it was obviously theirs.

  “Computer temporary access,” Drake requested and placed his hand on the pod.

  “Access granted. Welcome to Jataci, Chan’ Drake.” The computer opened the vehicle door and Cali and Drake entered. “State destination.”

  “Jataci Detention center.” Drake enunciated to the computer.

  “Confirmed, with current traffic, time of arrival is ten minutes.”

  “Now that we have time, can you tell me what crime was committed by this group of others and what penalty it demands?”

  “The strangers were found by the Metari. Due to their control of the fresh water supply, the Metari face the most incursions by the clans not affiliated with our Council. Trespassing on Metari land holds the most stringent penalty. The Others face the death penalty, only because they won’t defend themselves. Their intentions are completely unknown, and as such have to be assumed violent.”

  “Just for wandering onto Metari land?” Cali couldn’t believe such a harsh punishment awaited the strangers the Metari had caught.

  “The trick is to determine their intentions for being there. You have to understand Cali.” Drake reached over to entwine their fingers. “The clans have to enforce strict penalties to secure our safety. All of our lawbreakers are the unaffiliated, and we have to deal with them severely due to their special abilities. Otherwise, we would slide back into chaos. This is an unusual circumstance, as Others haven’t committed a violent crime in years. There has been some raiding, but nothing drastic.”

  “I suppose you would have to be strict.” Cali relented. She knew that with the added enhancements their people had, the punishment for breaking the law would have to be strong to act as a deterrent. Still, it unnerved her that they still punished offenders with death.

  “We’ve arrived,” He gestured out her window and Cali drew in a deep breath. The Jataci detention center was large and imposing. There were black armored males patrolling atop a thick wall. Cali knew she was intimidated by the size of the guards, and figured it must be a scary sight for any prisoner, special abilities or not.

  At the gate, their pod stopped automatically and a guard came to their door. Cali felt a strange pressure pushing her into her seat and when she tried to move, she wasn’t able to lift her hand or turn her head.

  A guard flashed a handheld device along Drake’s body and it boomed out. “Occupant is Chan’ Drake of the clan Renari. Access granted.”

  The guard bent over to fit in the pod then moved to her. Cali was terrified because the scanner couldn’t know her, so what would happen then?

  Scanning her, the device boomed again. “Chan’ Calinae. Chosen mate to Chan’ Drake. Access granted.”

  The guard moved out of their pod. “Move along.” The computer complied and their door closed. The pod hummed along down a driveway, then swerved to join a line of pods coming and going in front of the building.

  “Drake.” Cali found her voice. “How did the computer know who I was?”

  “A scan of you was performed on The Maxon.” Drake supplied and released his restraint. Cali followed suit and joined him at the door as it opened. “Your profile was added to all computer systems of Titus.”

  “Ohh.” Cali was mollified.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t warn you about the inhibitor field. The Jataci use it on all incoming pods to deter any attempts at entering without permission.”

  “It’s okay, I was worried that I wasn’t in the system and that it would create a problem.”

  “I’m sorry for that as well.” Drake took her hand as they walked into the building. “This way,” He led her down a maze of hallways until they came to another security checkpoint.

  “Mica.”

  Cali looked for the giant when Drake called the greeting, but they were surrounded by very tall Jataci males and she was having trouble spotting him.

  “Drake.” A loud voice boomed from just ahead of them. “Let them through.” Cali looked past the line to see him standing with Tae, Arik, and Dak. The gang was all here, she thought to herself.

  “The Others are in the courtroom waiting for their sentence.” Mica brought Drake up to speed as they walked toward a room. “They refu
se to speak to defend themselves or identify their clan. They must be getting desperate. They are bringing their young ones on raids now.”

  “Why do you say that they are young ones?” Drake asked.

  “You will see. They are so small to have not hit puberty yet. Only one of them has any size.”

  “They refused to say anything?” Tae asked from the other side of Mica.

  “Not one word has been spoken since they were found on Metari land,” Arik confirmed. “Stubborn raiders. If they would ask for leniency they might get it because of their age.”

  At this point, they all walked through the double doors to the sentencing room. There was a wall of Jataci guards in front of her. Drake drew her to the side. “Wait here Cali, we should have the sentence resolved quickly.”

  Cali nodded and watched as the men walked to the front of the room. She couldn’t see anything past the black armored Jataci.

  “Now that we have our tiebreaking votes. Punishment will be decided.” There were four males on a raised seating dais. The one in the middle had spoken and then droned on about the intruders. Cali sidestepped to try to see past the guards but was unable.

  “Do you have anything to say for yourselves?” A male on the panel asked again.

  There was silence and Cali wasn’t surprised. These males from Titus were very stubborn.

  “Very well.” The head of the panel spoke again. “The tiebreakers will vote.”

  “Guilty,” Tae spoke his vote clearly.

  Cali moved slightly forward to try to find Drake.

  “Guilty,” Dak spoke his vote.

  Cali spotted a tall form and looked again. Her heart froze in her chest.

  “Gu—”

  “Stop!” She yelled at the top of her lungs, “Drake…stop!” She pushed against the male guards. Fighting and bumping her way to the front of the room. Standing on one side, tall and proud were four prisoners.

  “Cali?”

  “Vathral!”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  “I can’t believe it!” Cali ran toward her friend, but before she could reach him she bounced off the solid chest of Drake, and when she met his eyes it was to see them glowing blue.

  “Cali!” Vathral was struggling now that he’d seen her.

  “Drake.” She put her hands against his chest. “Let me go. It’s Vathral. I told you about him on The Reliant.”

  “Who is this male to you?” Drake’s voice growled low in his throat.

  “He’s my good friend,” Cali snapped. “Without his help, I wouldn’t have escaped Cestori.”

  “Is that all he is to you?” Drake demanded suspiciously.

  “Well, my mother does want me to partner with him, but—”

  “This is the male your mother would have you mated to?” Drake turned to Vathral in an obvious rage.

  “What is the matter with you?” Cali wasn’t going to let him hurt her friend. “You said that no male my mother chose for me mattered to you.”

  “I also said I would kill that person.” Drake snarled and Cali felt real fear for Vathral’s safety and she didn’t like it.

  Mica came up to Drake and whispered, “What’s going on Drake? What are you and the little female arguing about?”

  “That male…” Drake glared at Vathral, “is the man Cali’s mother would have her mated to.”

  “Ahh,” Mica’s growl joined Drakes.

  “I can’t believe this response.” Cali had enough of Drake’s attitude. “Vathral is my friend. The males with him are from his ship. If anything happens to them, I will never forgive you.” She hissed angrily, and she meant every word of it.

  “I think clearing out this chamber is a good idea.” Arik came up to Drake’s side. “These males are not unaligned raiders of Titus. You may want to rethink issuing a death sentence to world travelers that are here for first contact.” His friend spoke loudly enough for the judges and other’s to hear.

  Cali knew this was Arik’s way of telling Vathral to go along with this reasoning if he was asked. Telling a room full of Jataci that they were here for first contact would go over much better than the truth. That he’d been chasing her all over the Buffer Zone, with the intent of dragging her back to Cestori.

  Embracing Drake, she implored softly, “Please, Drake. You have no idea how much his friendship has helped me. We can’t let him be punished. I need a partner who will fight for me, not against me. Please, Drake.”

  Cali felt a shudder go through his body. “Very well Cali. I’ll see to his release.”

  Cali rubbed her head against his chest, “Thank you.” They would be having a long discussion about his reaction. Cali could handle jealousy. She had felt the emotion herself when thinking of anyone touching Drake like she did. Blind rage over her having a male friend was a different story.

  “Mica. Clear the room please,” Drake requested.

  “I request a short recess to discuss new evidence with the Four.” Mica’s voice boomed over the males in the room.

  “Granted.” The male in the middle of the judges stands agreed. “We’ll listen to your evidence as the Four.”

  The guards behind Cali moved out the doors. Everyone cleared away, except for two guards watching over Vathral and his men. Mica, Tae, Dak, Arik, Drake, the four men on the stands and herself were all that were left in the once crowded room.

  The male in the middle looked to Drake, “Explain what is going on Chan’ Drake.”

  Drake drew in a sharp breath and Cali clung to his side trembling. Vathral’s life was hanging in the balance. “The prisoners are of Cestori.” The four males on the stand didn’t like the sound of this by their reactions. “The Council was going to announce it, so I feel safe in telling your honor this as well. What we have heard of that people isn’t accurate. My chosen…” he pulled Cali closer, “is of that world.”

  This caused the rumbling from the four judges to get louder.

  “We are sending a scout ship to Cestori to engage them in diplomatic talks,” Drake informed the room and Cali gasped. This was another thing she needed to speak with Drake about it would seem.

  “This group of males are crew members of the ship that is to be our escort. A misunderstanding had them arriving early, and outside of the teleportation center in Metari lands. Our sincerest apologies to the court.”

  Cali suppressed her astonishment. Drake just handed the judges the largest load of nonsense she had ever heard. The question was would they buy it.

  “Why the anger you exhibited a moment ago?” One of the judges asked suspiciously and Cali groaned.

  “I learned that the male leader was previously chosen by my mate’s mother as her betrothed.” Drake didn’t lie about this part. “My chosen mate has no desire to partner with him. My reaction at seeing him was instinctual.”

  “Ahh.” The judges all murmured.

  “That is understandable.”

  “Very wise young Chan’ Drake.”

  “You show great restraint.”

  Cali wanted to laugh. He was coming off like a superhero to the judges.

  The main judge hit a gavel and everyone quieted. “We cannot allow these prisoners to be punished or held any longer. If the Council is requesting first contact with the Cestori, we will allow these men to leave.” He glanced at all the parties in the room. “In the supervision of Mica of the Clan Jataci. Since it would be pushing the bounds of patience to make Chan’ Drake responsible for them.” The judge gave Drake a knowing look.

  “Thank you, your honor.’ Drake bowed to the judge and then moved toward Mica. “Where can we meet?” he whispered.

  “I will bring them to your home once they are cleared for release.”

  “Thank you, Mica.” Drake started to move away. “Tae, Dak, and Arik you are all welcome to come to my home as well.”

  All three men were shaking their heads.

  “I have matters in Takari to deal with.” Tae announced, “but thank you for the offer.”

  Dak bo
wed to Drake. “There is still so much lost time to make up for. I cannot leave Denary. Another time perhaps.”

  “Sorry, Drake.” Arik shook his head and his braids clinked together. “I have too much going on in Metari at the moment.”

  “It’s okay. We’ll see each other for the challenges soon enough.” Drake drew her out of the chambers and Cali didn’t protest. Her first visit to Jataci had been an eye opener, just not in the way she had assumed.

  Chapter Thirty

  In the end, only Vathral came to their home in Renari. The other members of his away team had been transported to The Maxon for return to The Apoxis.

  Ignoring Drake’s attitude from the courtroom, she rushed to Vathral and embraced him. Drake growled softly behind her, and she released Vathral but kept a hold of his hand.

  “It was instinct.” Drake defended before she could say anything. “I’m working on my reactions when you touch that male.”

  Cali couldn’t keep the frustration out of her voice, “I don’t snap and growl when you embrace Nevir.”

  “That’s different, she is my sister.” Drake’s eyes were an ominous shade of blue.

  “It’s okay Cali.” Vathral tried to pull his hand free, but she held tight.

  “It’s not okay,” she denied, her gaze still centered on Drake. “I feel about Vathral like you feel for Nevir. Remember, our society only allows one child in every partnership. It’s normal for us to feel sisterly or brotherly for our classmates since we don’t have them in our family units. I wasn’t romantically involved with every male on Cestori, but you’re sure to run across a few of them. If what you said was true, and we engage in diplomatic dealings with my home world.”

  Drake’s eyes flared again and she knew she had made an error in bringing up her past lovers. No matter how irritated he got, she would hold her ground. He needed to come to terms with this before they left for Cestori.

  “I don’t think that helped,” Vathral whispered, still struggling to remove his hand from hers.

  “As interesting as this is, can I move out of the doorway? The little female is only holding the males hand Drake, have some trust in your chosen.”

 

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