by A. G. Wilde
Ajos moved the hood back enough for the male to see it was him, and Iceon jerked his head in confirmation before his eyes wandered and suddenly focused.
For a moment, Ajos thought the male was looking at V’Alen but when he followed the Ochair’s line of sight, he realized the male was looking at Keh-reh-nah.
She was looking at him too, her eyes filled with awe. Then she smiled slightly and waved her hand in the air at Iceon.
Ajos growled.
He hoped that wasn’t some sort of invitation in her culture.
He didn’t want Iceon getting any ideas.
Keh-reh-nah’s gaze flashed his way and this time she frowned, those brown eyes of hers studying him again.
Better to get this meeting over with, and fast.
“You said you had something to show me, Iceon.”
Iceon jerked his head in a nod, his eyes still on Keh-reh-nah, and Ajos held back another growl.
Moving so he stepped a little in front of her, Ajos broke Iceon’s line of sight.
“What is it?” he pressed, agitation riding on the edge of his nefre like an annoying wave.
Iceon blinked and ran a hand through his strange fur.
“The ships that attacked a few days ago,” he began. “We had intercepted a signal some time before they came.”
“I picked up on that signal,” V’Alen said. “It started broadcasting as soon as we breached the stasis hold.”
“Right.” Iceon ran his hand through the fur on his crown again. “We believe the Tasqals will return. The explosions were just a warning. I think,” his gaze slipped from Ajos and fell on—Keh-reh-nah…and it seemed the Ochair forgot his line of thought, for he stopped speaking.
Ajos frowned, his gaze falling to the movement by his side.
She’d stepped from behind his body shield and was in view of the male again.
Ajos stretched the muscles in his neck.
Annoyance grew and the urge to punch Iceon in the face, if only to set his gaze in another direction, was almost overwhelming. So overwhelming, he had to clench his fists at his side.
It was just the need.
He had no claim on this female.
He had to remind himself of that.
Still, Iceon was phekking him off with the way he couldn’t stop looking in Keh-reh-nah’s direction.
“You think what?” he growled, a little harsher than he’d intended. It was enough to bring Iceon back to the present, but it also caused Keh-reh-nah to frown at him once more.
“The Tasqals want the humans back. I’m afraid they will come again and we don’t nearly have enough ships to patrol our borders. Even then, they might do what they did the other day and bypass all our defenses, exiting hyperspace in the midst of the city…we still don’t know how they managed to do that.”
“Has this ever happened before?” Keh-reh-nah’s voice cut in, and Ajos closed his eyes for a second. She moved to stand beside him, so close, he could feel the warmth of her skin.
And it was so, qeffing, inviting.
If he pressed himself against her, melded their warmth together, the combined heat would consume them both.
Great going with that thought. His seed sack was aching even more now.
Ajos crossed his arms over his chest as he shifted on his feet, just enough to move away from her a little without making it look obvious.
She shouldn’t be affecting him so much. No one affected him this much, heat or not.
With a few steps, he moved to lean against the control panel and faced the three beings in his presence.
“Have these guys, the Tasqals, ever tried to destroy the base to get refugees back before?” Keh-reh-nah continued and Ajos watched her mouth move, barely hearing what she’d said.
She had intelligent eyes, asked valid questions…from the very first moment he’d met her, she hadn’t behaved the way he’d expected her to.
She wasn’t cowering and hoping for this nightmare to end. She was already facing reality and was even active in the fight.
Unlike those cowardly Krinqrids he’d found in the supply center the other night, she was putting herself in the position to fight their common enemy—not wasting her energy planning rebellions within their ranks.
Memory of the gutless males made him even more agitated.
He should have broken their necks.
But there were laws, codes of conduct, at least, that he as a commander had to follow.
“No,” V’Alen said, pulling Ajos back to the present. “They have never outright attacked us like this. At least, we didn’t know they could…and possibly, they didn’t because they only discovered the technology to do so recently.”
Ajos glanced at his friend. “Do you really believe that?”
“No,” V’Alen admitted. “Such technology…it is not something one just happens to discover.”
“So they’ve been working on it…” Ajos murmured, “and used it because we found the stasis hold.”
Keh-reh-nah’s eyes widened a little. “You think they bombed the base because of us, humans, specifically?” Her brows furrowed a little. “Why? What do we have that they want so badly?”
That was a good question, and one none of them could answer.
Ajos’ gaze narrowed as he looked at Keh-reh-nah.
What made the humans so special that the Tasqals were so upset over losing them?
It went much further than simply losing precious cargo.
“There’s something else,” Iceon said, breaking the silence. “We hit one of their ships before it jumped. Hit it with a magnetic charge.”
Ajos eased up a little off the control panel, becoming instantly alert.
“We didn’t manage to bring down the vessel before it left, but it seems the charge did something at least.” Iceon paused.
“Go on,” Ajos urged.
“Look at this,” Iceon said before turning back to his screens and pulling up a diagram.
It was one that showed Murn GZ’s planetary system.
Iceon zoomed in on a section past the asteroid zone.
“We believe the magnetic charge disrupted the ship’s navigation. It dropped out of hyperspace just outside of the asteroid zone and it seems it crashed on Choria G622.”
“Why is this of note?” Ajos asked, leaning forward to study the diagram.
Iceon let out a breath. “Because,” he said. “It is emitting a signal.”
“Another beacon?” V’Alen stepped forward.
“No,” Iceon said, and his gaze once again fell on Keh-reh-nah as she came between him and Ajos to look at the diagram too. “It’s not a beacon, but it’s a signal nonetheless,” he said. “It’s not transmitting anything, more like…interfering. I only noticed it because it is affecting the tracker in the charge we hit the ship with.”
V’Alen leaned forward. “Let me hear it.”
As Iceon pulled up the data so they could investigate further, Ajos’ eyes moved down the female by his side.
Was she oblivious to the fact that she was affecting the technician?
The closer she leaned to study the diagram, the more Iceon’s vibrissae seemed to shiver.
Ajos held back another growl, his brow knitting into a frown.
The silence was suddenly broken with a crackle as Iceon played the signal in the room.
V’Alen stood up straight. “This is not like anything I have ever heard before.”
“Can you decode it?”
“No,” V’Alen said. “It is…ancient. I cannot determine what it is…only that it is from another time.” He looked at Iceon. “Are you sure it is coming from the ship?”
“Positive.” Iceon nodded, and his vibrissae shivered again.
Movement caught Ajos’ eye, and he noticed that Iceon’s furry tail was curling upward toward Keh-reh-nah.
He couldn’t hold back his growl this time, and everyone in the room looked at him.
“We should investigate it.” He ignored that the sound he’d just made was threatening
.
Hopefully, they would think it was because he was angry about the whole bombing situation.
“Yes,” V’Alen agreed. “I will get the ship ready.”
“Oh,” Keh-reh-nah’s eyes lit up. “You’re going off-world?”
“Yes,” he answered, noting the sudden glee mixed with mild trepidation in her eyes.
“Ok. I guess since this is a military thing, I might not be cleared for that.” She glanced around the room. “I could maybe stay here and help Iceon brainstorm why the Tasqals want us humans so badly,” she offered.
Iceon’s eyes lit up and his vibrissae flexed again.
Ajos grit his teeth.
Qeffing trusting this human was. Her planet must hold little danger.
She didn’t even know Iceon.
His frown deepened. She trusted him, too.
“You are not afraid of me?” Iceon asked.
Keh-reh-nah looked at the male and smiled a little.
“I wasn’t sure at first, to be honest.” She eyed Iceon. “You look like a tiger almost, and I should be afraid, but…you can talk. It takes the fear away, a little.” She shrugged. “I guess I have a thing for cats.”
A spike of rage shot through Ajos, so much so, he could hardly see. In one movement, he moved to stand between the two, not caring that what he was doing was obvious at this point.
“No,” he said. “You are under my care. You are coming with me.”
There was a pause and Keh-reh-nah’s eyebrows lifted a little. Excitement filled those brown pools of hers even more and Ajos felt something tingle within him that dissipated the rage simmering at his core.
She’d rather come with him than stay with Iceon, even though Iceon’s appearance pleased her.
Ajos’ fists unclenched somewhat. He hadn’t expected that.
“Do you think that’s a wise idea?” V’Alen piped up. “Especially since you are going through—”
“It’s fine,” he cut his friend off before V’Alen could tell the world he was in heat.
It was fine.
He could deal with it.
He could deal with his urges.
All he had to do was keep his distance away from the female. Keh-reh-nah.
That shouldn’t be too hard.
Should it?
12
“Are you sure it’s okay for me to come?” Kerena glanced up at the tall alien as they walked into what seemed to be a shipyard.
“Are you worried?” Ajos asked, glancing down at her. “I wouldn’t take you if it wasn’t a relatively straightforward mission. We will go, retrieve whatever is giving off that signal, and return. Choria G622 is untouched and we’ll scan the area before landing.”
They ducked under the hull of a massive vessel and Ajos studied her some more. “V’Alen, can you calculate the chances of encountering difficulties on this mission?”
V’Alen answered immediately. “I have already calculated it. Kerena should be safe unless something random occurs.”
“Oh, I’m not worried about that,” Kerena spoke up. “I’m asking because I want to know if—”
The truth was, she didn’t want Ajos to feel like he had to babysit her or anything.
“I would rather you come with me than stay with that Ochair.”
“Ochair?”
“Iceon,” Ajos growled out the name as they came to stand in front of a ship, and Kerena had to look up at him with puzzled eyes.
The way he acted was as if he was…jealous.
Of what, though?
“This is ours,” he said, pulling her gaze away from him to the ship now in front of them.
The door to the shuttle slid open and Ajos hopped in.
Shaped like a fish, the ship had a sort of tapered front and a flared tail with three big pipe-like things sticking out.
“It looks like a fish.”
She had no idea why those words left her lips because both aliens were now looking at her as if they had no idea what she was talking about.
It was then that she suddenly felt as if she was the alien.
Ajos stretched a hand toward her and she grasped it.
His skin felt warm, hot actually, hotter than the last time she’d touched him at least, and that hadn’t been too long ago.
When he didn’t immediately pull her up, she rose her gaze to his face only to find him focused on the contact of their hands. There was a grimace on his face.
Was he in pain?
It felt like he was running a fever.
He was still acting strange, different, and she was beginning to think it was because of whatever illness he was experiencing.
It didn’t seem to be anything life-threatening, but he had hurt his back while protecting her.
And now he was burning up.
She couldn’t help but wonder if he had some sort of infection and this was his body’s way of fighting it off.
As he helped her into the shuttle, he let go of her hand as if her touch was the thing causing him pain.
“Ajos, are you okay? I—”
“I’m fine,” he grunted, turning away quickly. Then, as if realizing how angry he sounded, he added. “You shouldn’t worry about me.”
She frowned at his back as he took a seat at the front of the shuttle and began punching buttons in front of him.
They’d stopped by the hospital before they headed to the shuttle, just to check in on the other humans there. He’d spoken to the doctor guy, Aker, and she was sure she saw the doctor hand him some vials of something.
It must have been medicine of some kind, so she shouldn’t worry about him. Yet…
The doctor seemed to know what he was doing, and she’d been happy to see that most of the humans in the clinic looked well.
Some still had the devices that were repairing the eye damage from the light exposure and some were still nursing more severe injuries but, largely, the entire group seemed to be more tolerant of the aliens that were helping.
Alaina had been up and about and Constance too. The cut on Alaina’s head had completely healed, and Constance’s broken arm was on its way to recovery.
It seemed the aliens had some super medicine that she couldn’t wait to study herself.
As V’Alen hopped into the shuttle next and took the second seat in front of the controls, Kerena settled into the one behind him just so she could freely look at Ajos without it being obvious she was staring.
He was still wearing the hooded shirt and his face was hidden. But, from the rigid set of his shoulders, she knew that despite that he was pretending everything was okay, something was very wrong.
She’d only known him a few days and God knew it felt like it was longer than that, but she could tell, alien or not, that he was hiding the extent of his pain.
Clenching her teeth, she frowned at his back, his advice about not worrying echoing in her head.
He knew what was medically best for himself, more than she would.
She’d give it a rest and not push it further, but if it looked like he was killing himself, she sure as hell was going to say something about it.
The finality of those words settling in her head, she began looking around.
The spaceship was smaller than she’d thought it was going to be. It had four seats set up in two rows—two seats in front and two in back.
Behind her, there was a space with what looked like a hatch on the ship's floor.
On either side of that, she could see four suits standing in cases.
As the door to the ship slid shut, the seat restraints tightened around her automatically.
Kerena took a deep breath.
She still couldn’t believe she was about to do this. As if the short trip up to the space station hadn’t been enough, she was going to go to a whole other planet.
“Systems ready?” Ajos asked.
“Systems ready,” V’Alen confirmed.
“Thrusters engaged?”
“Thrusters engaged.”
Ajos
turned to look at her, and once again she was surprised at how huge he was.
Unlike her, dwarfed by her seat, Ajos looked almost too big, too tall, to be sitting in such a small space.
“Ready, Keh-reh-nah?” It felt like his gaze was molten gold, burning her skin as he stared at her, his voice caressing every syllable of her name.
Why was it that every time he looked at her, it felt as if he wasn’t just looking at her?
“Ready.” That breathless voice was hers. She only realized that after she heard the words and realized they’d left her mouth.
Ajos heard it too because his gaze lingered a little too long.
Jerking his head in what she assumed was a nod, Ajos pulled his gaze away.
As the lights in the shuttle dimmed and the aliens in front of her initialized the lift-off sequence, she couldn’t help but stare at him.
The night before, after she’d exited the shower and he’d brushed against her…
She shouldn’t be thinking this but…
What would a relationship with a being like him be like?
Athena and the other three women who’d been rescued first had formed relationships with the aliens. Close relationships.
It felt wrong to be thinking about something so trivial now, in the middle of a war, and when the lives of not only everyone in this shuttle but everyone on the base hung in the balance.
But…
Still…
The thought lingered.
And she supposed it had a strong basis to stay.
There weren’t any human men to form relationships with. If this was her life now, was she going to spend the rest of it alone?
Ajos wasn’t human…
But he was handsome in a sort of way that had her staring and admiring from afar. His bone structure alone…
He looked like he was carved from something else—some other material that she wasn’t made of.
He wasn’t just carbon, oxygen, and the other nine elements essential for life.
He was other.
He was something else.
Ajos glanced back at her and she blinked rapidly before looking away.
What was she thinking?
She didn’t know how it worked with Athena and the other women, but she doubted such a thing would work for her.
What if he found her strange-looking?