Pets in Space® 4

by S. E. Smith

  Hellhound? “You mean my mogha.”

  “Sure. I have a Hellhound too. He’ll be along in a minute. So, you better watch out—” The woman’s voice trailed off.

  “Or?” he prompted, amusement turning his lips. L’Den fought hard not to look at hers.

  “Else,” she stomped a foot, standing tall with raised eyebrows.

  L’Den had no idea how long this female had been stranded on this desolate desert planet, but she was fierce.

  Leaning close, he detected an elevated heartrate and a slight quickness of breath. Whether it was because she was afraid of him or something else, he wasn’t sure. Interesting how fear and attraction could feel the same way.

  “No one on my ship means to harm you. I swear by my being that I will let no harm come to you. Please, woman—”

  “Tessa,” she said.

  He smiled. “Tessa. Please let me help you. I will return you to your people by Civilian Order Treaty 217. You and your crew are no longer stranded.”

  She deflated a little. What did he say?

  “Right,” she said, eyes seemingly focused on something far away. “Well, yes. I’d like to expand my vacation to other places. Broaden my horizons. This place was getting boring anyway.” Those brown eyes focused on him. “Okay, I’ll get my things.”

  L’Den watched her walk away, unconcerned she could cause harm, having already detected no weapons besides the inferior cannon in her makeshift shelter, his mogha giving her a wide berth.

  A’rch circled back, sitting on his haunches at L’Den’s side. I don’t like it. I don’t like this one bit.

  Noted, L’Den said.

  “Sir!” T’ren called from a position north of the wreckage. “We found something.”

  While L’Den and his fellow Korthans could withstand the suns longer than a human could, he could already feel the start of damage to his skin. His cyborg components were quick to mitigate, but it wouldn’t be long before they’d succumb to the elements.

  Approaching his 2IC with A’rch at his side, his eyebrows knitted at the sight of disturbed ground arranged in mounded rows. Further inspection revealed eight individual disturbances.

  The mogha circled the mounds, his steps cautious and uneasy as he sniffed the dirt and the air around them.

  I don’t like this. We should leave, A’rch said.

  T’ren knelt next to one of the mounds. It appeared to be freshly disturbed ground. Sweeping his hand over it to take some readings with his enhanced sensors, the Korthan cyborg paused as he processed the data.

  “Biological components,” T’ren said.

  A moment of clarity interrupted L’Den’s usual level strategic thinking. “Burials,” he breathed.

  “Sir?”

  “Humans bury their dead.”

  T’ren stood, both he and the mogha taking a few steps back. Unease crossed T’ren’s features, queasiness entering the bond from A’rch.

  Korthans burned their dead, freeing the souls into the atmosphere. Only humans would trap souls beneath the surface of a planet.

  L’Den should have been just as appalled as his comrades. Instead, he was shaken by the amount of compassion pouring from his heart.

  “We should leave this place,” T’ren said.

  Stop, A’rch said through their bond.

  Stop what? L’Den knew exactly what his mogha was demanding, but it was easier to deny what was happening.

  These feelings you are having towards the human, A’rch continued. You must quell them. She is the enemy, nothing more.

  L’Den was thankful that his second-in-command wasn’t privy to the conversations he had with his mogha. No one outside of the bond was.

  “Ready the ship,” he said, ignoring A’rch while directing T’ren. “I will get the female. We leave after the suns set.”

  “Yes, sir,” T’ren said, rushing to complete his task.

  A’rch simply stared at him with sharp eyes, that mogha judgement ramming his soul. As L’Den approached the wreckage, his mogha chose to continue to glare. He was happy to allow it. It was easier to grasp than acknowledging what he knew to be a fact about this human woman.

  L’Den just found his life mate.

  Chapter Three

  Tessa felt numb. She wanted to scream, cry, something. But she felt nothing, just numb.

  As she looked around the confines of the room, her few remaining possessions were in the small bag slung across her shoulder. There was nothing for her here. Yet, she called this tiny remnant of the ship, this dug out piece of land caused by the crash, home for two years.

  Flashes of memory flitted through her mind, smiling faces and screams alike. She wanted to leave it all behind, wished to delete every haunting moment as she finally set foot off this stars-forsaken planet.

  But what fate awaited her with the Korthans? They were lawless. Savage.

  Of course, just last night, she bemoaned dying alone. Which was worse?

  Looking at her hands, Tessa tried digging the dirt from beneath her fingernails. It was still fresh, loss heavy on her soul. What would Britt do?

  Squeezing her eyes shut, she willed away the voice of her friend, still prominent in her mind. Not near enough time had passed for her to forget the sound.

  There was a shifting in her bag and her eyes snapped open, resolve set. Whatever her fate in enemy hands, she’d take it. Anything was preferable to the unknown death that awaited her here.

  “At least I won’t die alone,” she said to the air. It was somehow comforting knowing she might die surrounded by savages instead.

  Or did this L’Den truly mean what he said? Were they really going to take her home under Civilian Order Treaty 217? As a scientist, she was a civilian, but why would he do that?

  Looking around the dug-out, the ship had been dismantled long ago. There was nothing the Korthans could surmise about the human colonists on what was left. Any Intelligence she possessed was years old. Perhaps the Korthan commando had already come to that same conclusion.

  Might as well go out there and get it over with. She doubted the sincerity of these Korthans, but she had nothing else to lose.

  L’Den scanned the remains of the ship. There. Finding what he was looking for, he reached an area that contained the remaining consoles of the cockpit. Looking over each console, he paused in front of one that was free of dust, apparent continuous use despite the screen being dead now.

  Wire snaking from his wrist, he plugged into the data port and began downloading every byte of information contained within; ship schematics, logs, mission files, crew information, Intelligence files, everything.

  So, there were nine crew members onboard this ship when it crashed. From what he could tell from a cursory glance at logs made since, five of the crew members survived the crash itself, but one died soon after. Of those four, Tessa was the sole remaining survivor on the planet.

  He and T’ren surmised there were others out of sensor range. Apparently not. Tessa was truly alone on this forsaken planet. L’Den’s heart suddenly felt heavy.

  Tessa paused as the hot evening breeze tugged at her hair. Closing her eyes with a deep breath, she marveled that she’d be gone before she had to endure another suns-rise.

  “The ship is ready when you are, Starlight.” Opening her eyes at the sound of the voice, L’Den bowed slightly, his Hellhound glancing up from his spot next to him.

  Tessa bristled. Starlight? What was that supposed to mean? She wasn’t some damsel in distress, some female trophy warranting a pet name.

  “My name is Tessa.” Her voice was firm.

  Confusion crossed the Korthan’s features. “That is what I said.”

  “No, you said ‘Starlight.’”

  His eyes widened a fraction before blinking several times. “I did not realize. Forgive me.”

  He didn’t realize he’d called her ‘Starlight?’ Now it was Tessa’s turn to be confused. And why did he look so surprised? Did the term have a more significant meaning?

&nbs
p; L’Den turned on his heel and set a brisk pace towards his ship. Tessa followed.

  A’rch sniffed at the bag the human carried. She didn’t gather much, but something sinister lurked in there. He could smell it.

  The mogha did not understand how L’Den could trust this human. Even more perplexing was his use of the term of endearment, ‘Starlight.’

  No matter. He’d keep the Korthan safe. He was not blind to the dangers of humans.

  I am not blind either. His alpha sounded perturbed.

  But you are not showing much caution.

  Her ship crashed here years ago. The crew is lost. Whatever fight she had in her is gone.

  Did the bag just move? A’rch narrowed his eyes. Maybe it wasn’t the human they should be worried about—

  Something was going on here. He did not like this human. He did not like his alpha’s reaction to her. And he especially didn’t like her bag.

  Tessa could not help but admire the Korthan ship as they approached. T’ren stood at the foot of a ramp that angled from the side of a midnight blue triangular beauty. This was no mere transport. It looked like a cross between a fighter and a battle frigate, the size somewhere in between. There was nothing comparable in the Human Alliance fleet.

  On the side of the ship, near the cockpit, was an etching of a triangle with what appeared to be a cybernetic fist. Was it some kind of identification of the ship? Either way, it did not take away from the aesthetics of the hull.

  “Beautiful,” she breathed.

  “Did you say something?” L’Den asked.

  Stars, did she say that out loud? Choosing to ignore him, she gripped the strap of her bag and walked up the ramp.

  The interior was no less pleasing to the eye than the exterior. Colorful holographic controls hovered above glass-like consoles. At least, she assumed they were controls. This was more advanced than anything she’d ever seen. Where did the Korthans get this technology?

  So enthralled with the interior of the ship, Tessa did not realize the ramp had been retracted and they were off the ground until she felt unsteady on her feet.

  Guessing correctly, she rushed to the front in time to see the surface of the red and brown planet become smaller and smaller in one viewscreen while the stars became closer in another. The cockpit displayed two views: what they were seeing in front of the ship and what they were seeing aft.

  It was the aft view that had her attention.

  The wreckage of Ranger VI was strewn for miles, a scar across the land where they impacted and skidded before finally digging beneath the surface, halted by a large outcropping of rock and solid ground.

  The last thing her eyes laid upon was the telltale outlines of eight graves laying in a line just north of that outcropping. Then they were out of sight.

  As the ship turned towards the stars, both views became front facing, the fields merging until the viewscreen was one giant view of the stars ahead.

  Taking a steadying breath, Tessa looked upon those stars, daring to hope. She was free—

  A bark to her right snapped her out of her thoughts and she jumped, her head whipping towards the sound.

  The Hellhound stood tall before the two Korthans, who were seated in what was likely the pilot and co-pilot seats.

  “A’rch will take you to the cargo hold,” L’Den said, swiping at several holographic controls floating in front of him, eyes forward towards the viewscreen and the stars beyond.

  Well, relatively free. One problem at a time—

  She stared at the Hellhound, uncertainty slowing her heart.

  L’Den looked up. “He won’t hurt you. Will you, A’rch?”

  Tessa glanced between the Korthan and the Hellhound. She didn’t exactly trust either one of them.

  A’rch brushed by her and she hesitated only a moment before following. She supposed being mauled by a Hellhound was better than falling and breaking her neck on the planet below.

  Once she was seated in a room at the back of the ship, the Hellhound simply stared at her, guarding, unmoving. Hugging her bag to her chest, she had no illusions that she wasn’t a prisoner, even if this L’Den guy said they were returning her to the Human Colony Alliance.

  Tearing her gaze from the disconcerting glare of the intimidating beast, Tessa’s mouth dropped open at the sight through a viewport. She thought the ship she was on was beautiful? The starship hanging in space was beyond anything she’d ever seen—

  It was unlike any human freighter, yacht, colony vessel, or warship in the Human Alliance fleet. It was more elegant than any of them, more impressive by the sheer size of it.

  Something shifted in her bag, catching the attention of the Hellhound, who took several steps towards her. Hugging the bag closer, she turned against the bulkhead, sitting stock still. If moving objects in her bag could distract him, no telling what he’d do if she moved too much.

  “Docking in three minutes,” L’Den’s voice called over a loudspeaker.

  The beast backed away, but something dangerous lurked in those keen eyes.

  Daring to look out the window again, she marveled at the great ship as bay doors in a side section opened and they flew through them. They settled down amongst a group of Korthan fighters. Those she recognized immediately. Looking back down at her bag, her stomach churned with unease.

  Whatever this big space vessel was, it was a courier for war.

  L’Den’s form popped in the doorway and the Hellhound was on his feet in an instant.

  “Follow me,” the Korthan said.

  A’rch walked ahead as she followed L’Den down the ramp, T’ren falling in step behind her.

  Tessa felt small, insignificant. Just a human prisoner for the inhabitants of this ship to gawk at.

  Two Korthans were at the bottom of the ramp. Neither one of them looked at her, but she could practically feel their hostility. As they walked past, they seemed to be busying themselves with maintenance of L’Den’s ship.

  A calm came over her mind, a warm regard that infused a bit of confidence. Tessa let her eyes wander—

  She was certain her mouth was hanging open, but she didn’t bother closing it. The docking bay was pristine, walls black and shiny. Boots clapped against the mirror-finish of the floor as several Korthans rushed to do their business, one of them with snow white hair glaring at her.

  A woman watched her from across the hanger, movements on guard, but with curiosity in her silver eyes.

  They turned into a corridor and then walked out onto a promenade that took her breath away. There were shops, restaurants, people milling about in lively conversation. And the ceiling was unlike anything she’d ever seen on a starship. A dome of sorts, it was completely transparent, the desert planet hanging in a hazy purple field of stars.

  For a moment, Tessa forgot that there had ever even been a war, her ordeal on the planet hanging above them a distant memory. Turning, she realized that T’ren was no longer behind them and that L’Den was walking beside her.

  In the next moment, she realized the lively conversation of those around them had stopped. Everyone was staring—

  Follow A’rch, a voice sounded in her mind. What the? Was someone speaking to her or was that her subconscious telling her to follow the Hellhound since she wasn’t being led by the Korthan and she didn’t know what else to do?

  Mogha.

  Right, the Korthans called their Hellhounds ‘moghas.’

  The beast trotted ahead and she followed, L’Den walking along as if everything were perfectly normal. Voices in her head certainly wasn’t the craziest thing she’d experienced in the last couple of years. With everything she’d been through, it was probably inevitable.

  A’rch disappeared to the left at the end of the promenade. When they caught up, Tessa saw that they were at a hospital of sorts.

  The staring Korthans broke into whispers amongst themselves.

  Great. This was when she finds out she’s going to be some victim of Korthan witchcraft. L’Den wasn’t beside
her to be beside her; he was beside her for the best angle to grab her if she decided to run—

  Said Korthan walked through the doorway, speaking to a blue-haired woman inside. Tessa did not follow, just stood there, hugging her bag to her chest, heart in her throat. So, he wasn’t grabbing her and forcing her into some nightmare witch doctor experimental lab. And none of the whispering Korthans were pushing at her with pitchforks.

  Three more seconds and L’Den stuck his head through the doorway. “Are you coming?”

  A choice. Not exactly feeling like anything had been her choice in the last couple of years, Tessa figured she might as well see what the Korthans had in store for her.

  “So, this is the source of the distress beacon.” The woman with intelligent eyes, blue hair pulled back, and in a pretty green gown spoke in perfect Standard. Tessa didn’t know Korthans could have blue hair. Small colorful shapes glinted at her from the woman’s clothing, above her right breast. “Interesting.”

  The reception area Tessa found herself standing in was spacious and as shiny as the docking bay. Instead of black, the walls were white. The Hellhound lay in an alcove on the far wall, his antennae giving away his alertness in the way they stuck straight up from his resting head. At least, Tessa assumed as much by her own experience with similar antennae on strange creatures.

  The Korthan woman waved her hand in front of the white wall, a myriad of colorful holographic lights and shapes jumping out. Pointing at two of them, a wall rose from the floor until it connected to the ceiling, dividing them from the alcove with the mogha, along with L’Den in the waiting room and the promenade beyond.

  “My name is A’yla and I’m the doctor onboard this galaxy-ship. I like to know my patients, so you are?”

  Tessa was still getting used to the wall coming out of the floor. Now she finds out she is talking to the ship’s doctor? The woman didn’t look like a witch doctor, not that she would know what a Korthan doctor would look like— And they called this vessel a galaxy-ship?