by S. E. Smith
Gracie looked up intently at Kordon for a moment. “Kordon.”
“Yes, my Gracie.” Kordon whispered.
“You can squish me anytime you want to.” Gracie whispered back softly.
Chapter 8
Kordon stared down at Gracie’s sleeping figure. He needed to go but he wanted to stay. Running his hand over his face, he bit back an oath as for the first time he wished he was not the Grand Admiral but just a warrior whose biggest time consuming activity was training. His com-link sounded again letting him know he was late for the meeting he scheduled.
“You better go.” Gracie’s sleepy voice said as she peeked up at him through thick lashes.
Kordon groaned again and leaned down brushing a kiss over Gracie’s swollen mouth. It was amazing some of the things she could do with it. Kordon was afraid she would be too sore to take him again but Gracie showed how creative she could be. Kordon felt his cock beginning to swell again just thinking about it.
“I return later. Sleep.” Kordon said softly as he brushed Gracie’s hair back from her face.
“’kay.” Gracie murmured closing her eyes again.
Kordon rose and forced himself out of his living quarters. He strode to the lift giving the command for the bridge. He nodded in acknowledgement as the crewmen stood at attention. Kordon walked into the commander’s office nodding at Quan, Cooraan, Toolas, and Bran. Mohan was not present. Kordon frowned but made no comment when he saw the small nod from Quan. She was probably in the same place as Gracie if the satisfied look on Quan’s face was anything to judge by. He moved to a tray set on a side table and poured himself a hot mixture made from different dried plant leaves from his planet.
“You said another colony has been attacked.” Kordon said sitting down with the hot beverage and pulled up the latest report.
“Corasone Five. Over a thousand dead, three hundred injured.” Bran said displaying a holovid of the planet. “It is a remote colony in an isolated area. Not much there but barren wasteland. The colonists were trying to agriculture it using a new technique a group of scientist discovered.”
Toolas kicked in what she discovered. “The same pattern of destruction was found by the warship that responded to their distress call. Any females capable of reproducing were taken. All others, including children, were killed. The men who were not killed during the fighting were killed later by having their organs and limbs surgically removed.”
“The three hundred injured were found primarily in sealed tunnels or thought to already be dead. The warship that responded reached Corasone Five within twelve hours of the first distress call. You can see from the images what they found.” Cooraan said coldly.
“Was there any other communications recorded? What about energy signatures from the ship?” Kordon asked as he processed the information from the responding warship with what his team was telling him.
He looked at the location of the most recent attack and the attack on the mining facility. They were both on the outer edge of the Confederation’s protection. Pulling up a star chart, he touched the regions to bring up the statistics on them. He pulled up a second screen and compared the information. He drew a line from one to the other. Pulling up a third screen, he filtered for any planet in the region with life forms on it. A small moon used for mining showed up. It was a self-contained dome city containing over five hundred miners and their families. Kordon overlaid the images and noticed it fell within the line of the other two planets that were attacked.
Quan spoke up. “Mohan recorded a series of unusual communications. She has been working on deciphering them but has not been able to figure out the base pattern for the language.”
“There were no energy signatures that we could detect. It would depend on how long the ship or ships departed as to whether we would have. They must have been gone for at least four hours before the warship arrived.” Bran finished.
Kordon nodded looking intently at the small moon. It would take them two and half, possible three days at maximum speed to get there. It was off the normal grid for the warships to patrol.
Kordon looked at Bran. “Set a course for the New World Dome mining colony on Stratus Moor.”
Bran frowned at Kordon but nodded. If Kordon wanted to go there it was for a reason. “And, Bran.” Kordon waited until Bran turned to look at him. “Prepare for battle.”
Bran looked at Kordon with a cold grin. “With pleasure, Admiral.” He said before turning and leaving.
Quan looked at Kordon with a grim expression. He was not worried about going into battle. He just didn’t want to do it with his life mate on board. She was to be protected at all cost. It took him half the night to finally get the little hellcat to quit fighting him. He finally ended up tying her up and taking her. Quan couldn’t help the small smile that lifted the edge of his mouth. She was purring by the time he got done with her.
“Quan. See if Mohan can make any process on deciphering the language that was recorded. I want a report in twelve hours.” Kordon said as he made the decision to contact the Confederation Council with his findings. As much as he wished he didn’t have to, his report would include Gracie.
Quan rose with a sharp nod. That would mean he would have to untie her from his bed. Quan flexed his shoulders feeling the sting from the claw marks his life mate inflected when she fought him. They were almost healed. It looked like they were about to get some company.
Toolas looked at Kordon for a moment before she cleared her throat. She waited until the others left so she could present her suspicions to Kordon alone. She sat quietly as he finished giving his instructions to Cooraan.
“You have something to say, Toolas?” Kordon asked.
Toolas cleared her throat and blushed. “Yes sir. I wanted to present my suspicions to you.”
Kordon nodded.
Toolas sat up straighter before continuing. “I believe whoever is doing this has an agenda.”
“Go on.” Kordon said making a steeple of his fingers and looking intently at Toolas.
“I think the females are to be used for breeding. They only take those capable and within a certain age range 14-30. All others are killed.” Toolas said pulling up the records and data she marked.
“Go on.” Kordon repeated. “And the males?”
“I think they are parts.” Toolas said paling at the idea. “They take parts they can use…organs especially but limbs as well. The victims are alive at the time with no wounds. Anyone with a wound or disease is discarded.”
Kordon’s face tightened at the idea that this was the type of creatures who Gracie had fought against. The archives stated she actually boarded the mother ship alone so she could disable it. The thought of her being used as a breeding machine for them turned his stomach.
“Anything else?” Kordon asked.
Toolas shook her head before standing. “No. I will continue looking over the information that has been collected. If I find anything new, I will inform you immediately.”
Kordon nodded. He turned to the reports and looked at the star charts again. If it was the Alluthans, the only one who really knew anything about them was the one person he didn’t want anywhere near them, Gracie. Kordon’s gut twisted at the thought of her having to once again deal with the creatures that changed her life.
Quan entered his living quarters quietly and walked towards the bed where he had Mohan tied up. She turned her head as he approached and hissed at him. It would seem she was in no better mood than she was last night. Her eyes widened as Quan pulled the shirt over his head.
“Oh no, you don’t!” Mohan hissed out as she fought against the restraints holding her wrists above her head and the two holding her legs apart.
Quan growled low at her denial of him. “Yes!” He growled out as he climbed over her soft body.
Quan groaned as the soft fur coating her body ran along his heated flesh. He leaned over and blew a hot breath against her distended nipple. Mohan cursed when a purr escaped her throat and her
body arched into it. She hated the sensual nature of her Ta’nee half. She was rare among her kind, even among her own sisters and brothers, as she had only had a handful of sexual encounters and only with males she was drawn to on a deeper level. Her only lapse into one night stands had been with Kordon and that was after she had drunk far too much.
Mohan hissed as Quan bit down on her nipple causing it to sting briefly before he rolled his tongue over it. She was frustrated she wanted him again after he tricked her last night. When he caught up with her in the lift on the pretense of asking her a question she didn’t think anything of it. She had spent the last several days doing everything she could to avoid him. She might have been able to convince him she wasn’t interested in him if her stupid fur would have cooperated but the moment the doors of the lift closed and his scent filled it, her fur started rippling in a mad rush of colors. The next thing she knew she was in his living quarters. It wasn’t until he made his outrageous claim that she was his that she tried to leave. When he tried to stop her, she bit him. For a Ta’nee, that was a big no-no. A Ta’nee’s bite was only given to her mate. Their saliva contained a chemical agent that increased their sexual stimulation and, on the right person, a bond. Mohan didn’t mean to bite Quan. She fought like the wildcat she was when she felt the taste of him. If he didn’t feel the same for her, she would always be alone.
“Easy, kitten. Easy.” Quan said as he slid his hand down over the soft light coating of fur on her flat belly. “Easy.” Quan whispered as he let his fingers test her readiness for him.
“Quan…” Mohan half moan, half purred. She moved against his fingers trying to force them inside her. “Please…” Mohan arched against his palm.
“Admit you are mine, Mohan. Admit you are mine and I will release you and give you what you are begging me for.” Quan said softly against her swollen mound.
“Yes.” Mohan whispered frightened.
Quan rose up over her again and looked down into her beautiful dark eyes. “Yes, what?” Quan asked harshly.
Mohan’s eyes glittered with unshed tears. “Please don’t hurt me.” Mohan whispered. “Please.”
Quan’s eyes softened as he looked down on the most beautiful female he ever saw. “I could never hurt you, Mohan. You are my life mate…mine to love and mine to protect.” Quan said gently.
Mohan bit her lip before she responded. “Then, I am yours.”
Quan growled out in triumph as he sliced through the bonds holding Mohan’s hands. “What about my legs?” Mohan asked as she ran her soft, fur covered hands over Quan’s cheeks.
Quan grinned wickedly before he slowly impaled his swollen cock deeply into Mohan. “I like having you spread open and ready for me.” He said with a groan as he began moving faster, letting the swollen bands on his cock lock him to Mohan.
“Mine, Mohan. Mine.” Quan said as he felt his first release. Mohan just purred.
Chapter 9
Gracie sat next to Mohan in the communication’s room listening to the recordings the mining foreman made before he was killed and the few transmissions recorded from Corasone Five. The familiar sounds sent a shiver down her spine. She understood what they were saying because she had listened in on all their communications over a five year period.
“Destroy unused portions. Return to mother ship.” Gracie was saying softly as she listened to the voices coming through the headset. “All parts received. New breeders have been contained for implantation.”
Gracie forced the nausea down as she continued deciphering the mismatch of communications. There wasn’t much really, just disjointed phrases. Gracie was about to explore the ship when Mohan showed up earlier outside of Kordon’s living space with Quan in tow. Gracie smiled at the huge warrior who was practically standing over Mohan and growling at any male who walked by them. Mohan just rolled her eyes and whispered frantically for Quan to knock it off. At least that was what it sounded like to Gracie. She had spent a good portion of the morning studying the language most commonly used on board the ship. It was called Confederation Standard. She was able to identify the main letters that made up its alphabet and most of the sounds thanks to the computer console in the room. There were a few she was having a little bit of difficulty with and wanted to ask Mohan about but overall, she felt confident it wouldn’t take long for her to learn the language.
When she felt like her brain was about to explode, she decided a walk through the ship might help her relax. That was when she practically walked right into Mohan standing outside the doors. Mohan asked if Gracie would like to accompany her to the communication’s room. She felt confident Gracie might be able to help her with the deciphering of the language. Mohan became concerned when Gracie turned pale as she began playing the communications. Quan was about to call for Kordon when Gracie held up her hand for him to stay. She listened through the communications once before she began speaking in a soft monotone translating the Alluthan’s communication into English. Mohan listened intently as she began speaking before translating it into Confederation Standard so the others could understand. Quan turned sharp eyes on Gracie before he quietly left the room.
“Kordon?” Quan called softly into his comlink from outside the communication’s room.
“Kordon.” The deep voice responded.
“Gracie Jones has translated the messages. It is the Alluthans. Mohan is translating for you now.” Quan said calmly looking on as his life mate’s head bowed closer to that of Kordon’s.
Quan listened as Kordon breathed in deeply before responding. “On my way.”
Quan turned to watch as Gracie showed Mohan how to read the message in Alluthan. Mohan smiled gently at the small human sitting beside her, nodding in understanding. Quan felt his heart swell at his life mate’s gentleness. He would give his life to protect both females from such a fate as the women captured.
Gracie laid her head down on Kordon’s chest feeling totally exhausted. She spent the day with Mohan in the communication’s room. Kordon came down briefly to talk to her about the transmissions. Gracie explained the language was identical to the Alluthans who attacked Earth. She would need more information to tell if their programming or anything else had evolved over the past three or eight hundred years. If not, or if not by much, she knew the back doors into their systems. Gracie explained everything she knew about the Alluthans. How they were primarily solitary spaceships, rather like scavengers, except when there was an abundance of resources. She explained the infrastructure of the mother ship and the fighters, supply ships, and ground forces based on what she learned on Earth.
Afterwards, Kordon simply touched her cheek and left with a nod to Quan who nodded grimly back at him. Mohan gently guided Gracie out and they ended up in the dining hall where Mohan began giving Gracie intensive language lessons. Gracie surprised Mohan with her quick ability to catch on. It was during this conversation that Mohan asked Gracie how she was feeling now.
“I feel needed…useful.” Gracie told Mohan hesitantly glancing at Quan who was seated a couple of feet away with a group of warriors.
He glanced over but didn’t move to join them. It was as if he knew Gracie needed time alone with another female. Gracie gave him a small, grateful smile before turning back to Mohan.
Gracie played with the cup in her hand. “I’m still scared and sad. It is hard to lose everything and everyone you ever loved one time. But, to lose them a second time…” Gracie’s voice faded as she stared into the gold colored liquid.
“A second time…?” Mohan asked gently.
Gracie looked up into Mohan’s dark eyes. “When you told me everyone was okay, that the Earth was fine, I thought I would be going home. I thought I would see Chance again. Maybe even see my parents and sister.” Gracie paused for a moment before continuing. “I felt hope again and a reason for still being alive.” Gracie took a deep breath before finishing her thought. “Then, you told me it was all gone. Everyone, everything that was important to me. The things that made me fight so
hard for survival when all I wanted to do some days was give up - was gone. I can’t describe the pain, Mohan. I can’t believe my heart didn’t shatter into a million pieces from it.”
Mohan looked at Gracie for a moment before she gently cupped one of Gracie’s small hands in hers. “Perhaps it could not shatter because it was no longer yours to break. Perhaps, your heart already knew it belonged to another. One that is in your world now and who will do everything he can to protect it.”
Gracie stared at Mohan before a tentative smile curled her lips. “Maybe you are right.”
Kordon knew about the conversation Gracie had earlier with Mohan. She was still under orders to record all of their discussions, even the private ones. It was not that he did not trust Gracie or want to infringe on her privacy, he wanted to learn everything he could about who she was now. He read the archives and what history said about her. Her courage and intelligence was without question as was her loyalty and her compassion for others. He was still frustrated with their language barrier but he knew Mohan was teaching her Confederation Standard and he was learning her ancient one. It would take time but each day it was getting better.