Crashed

by Kate Rudolph

  CRASHED

  By Starr Huntress & Kate Rudolph

  Crashed © Starr Huntress, Kate Rudolph 2016.

  Cover design by Kate Rudolph.

  All rights reserved. No part of this story may be used, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of the copyright holder, except in the case of brief quotations embodied within critical reviews and articles.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Published by Starr Huntress & Kate Rudolph.

  www.starrhuntress.com

  www.katerudolph.net

  Chapter One

  ‘LUXURY CRUISE LINER’ was a stretch. Sarah’s hair had been greasy since her first shower aboard Sky Chaser 4, and the stale stench of cannabis hung in the air no matter where she walked. But she was four hundred light years away from Earth and aboard a space ship! She couldn’t be happier.

  Winning the radio contest had seemed an impossibility when she entered, but the impossible hadn’t stopped her from being born and it wasn’t about to stop her from seeing the universe. Sure, her cabin didn’t have a window. Sure, the ports of call were a bit... rough. And sure, her translator only understood about six of the twenty or more languages spoken by the passengers on the ship.

  But none of that was going to get her down. Not today. They were doing a flyby of a vacant planet, REX-9863, or Rex as the guidebook helpfully called it, and then they were going to Honora Station, the busiest trading post in this sector. She’d spy aliens that she’d never dreamed of.

  Nearly two weeks earlier, on her first day on the ship, she’d been self-conscious about her conspicuous humanity. She’d been afraid that she’d be plain. Back home, no one noticed a dark haired, dark eyed, curvy girl with too much curiosity and mischief for her own good.

  The Sky Chaser line catered mostly to bipedal, vocal species. But from the moment Sarah stepped aboard, she hadn’t felt plain. Several of the incredibly buff warriors whose skin ranged from blue to dark purple stared at her wherever she went. Their ringleader, a devastatingly handsome purple man who was nearly two meters tall, had even opened the door for her to the entertainment deck.

  Lithe, green men made eyes at her as she walked through the dining hall. And the pink women with bright yellow hair flirted and smiled, casually touching her whenever they could draw her into conversation here.

  No, here she wasn’t plain. For once, she felt like one of the pretty people. Or, if not pretty, then someone unique. After all, she was the only human on the ship. She’d been self-conscious for about a day, but then the strangeness began to feel ordinary. Everyone on the ship was an alien. Everyone was weird. And that just made her normal.

  Sarah pulled on her swim suit and then covered that with a bright red jumpsuit. The upper deck pool would be the perfect place to watch the auroras on Rex. She’d knock back a few of the fruity drinks that made her head delightfully tilty and maybe work up the courage to talk to the purple warrior leader.

  That was, if she could get him to step away from his friends for two seconds. That man never seemed to be more than a five meters from his own people. Clearly he hadn’t settled into the same comfort that she had. But still, if Sarah worked up the nerve for it, she’d be happy to show him a little bit of Earthling hospitality.

  What was a cruise light years from home good for if she didn’t get some really memorable alien sex out of it?

  That thought in mind, Sarah left her room and headed for the pool. Sky Chaser 4 was huge and her room was located in the very bowels of the ship. She could hear the engine and life support system churning at all hours, but it had become white noise by now.

  Sarah made it to the elevator bay without meeting another soul. She’d become accustomed to that. Despite its size, the ship could have taken on twice as many passengers as it seemed to have now with room to spare. As far as she could tell, she was the only person occupying a room in her hallway, and possibly the only person on the entire floor.

  She’d just pressed the button for the elevator when a siren blared: three short pulses followed by a long, bleating honk. Sarah’s heart kicked up and she looked around, but her eyes had trouble focusing on anything because of the red lights flashing from the ceiling.

  Shit. What did that siren mean? She was either supposed to go directly back to her room or to go directly to one of the lifeboats. She looked around, hoping that she could follow someone else’s lead. But she was still alone. She had to make the decision herself.

  Life boat, she decided.

  She took off, jogging back down the hall toward the emergency exit. The room through that door was barely warmer than freezing. She hugged herself and rubbed her arms over the thin fabric of her jumpsuit. The heating system clearly didn’t reach this far.

  Every level of the ship was equipped with a dozen or more life boats. They were located behind thick steel doors with heavy lock wheels to make sure they stayed shut. Sarah had expected someone to be there to direct her into one of the boats, but still, she was alone.

  Maybe she should have gone back to her room.

  No. Now that she’d made the decision, she was certain it was right. The siren meant they were supposed to get off the ship. Something was wrong. She spun the wheel and heard metal clank inside the door. With a tug, she pulled it open and stepped inside the dark escape vessel.

  The life boat was little more than a narrow tube with benches bolted to either wall. The only thing to demarcate the seats were the restraints bolted above them. Sarah strapped herself in and waited, watching the door and trying to listen past the sound of the siren to see or hear if anyone would join her.

  Minutes passed.

  Then more minutes.

  Still she was alone.

  The siren cut off abruptly and her ears rang with the sudden silence. Was the threat over? Had this just been a drill? Sarah decided to give it one more minute before crawling out of the life boat and heading back to her room. She was barely keeping the catastrophic thoughts at bay, and now was not the time to think about the various reasons for the alarm to cut off.

  She heard footsteps tromping down the hallway outside and two low voices arguing urgently. Her translator didn’t understand the words. Not for the first time, she cursed the sub-dermal device.

  The door slammed open and the purple warrior that she’d been eyeing for days stumbled in. He looked around, eyes darting to every corner, his brows drawn down in a harsh expression.

  When he saw her sitting down, strapped to the wall, he let out an honest to God growl that did things to her private places. Sarah shivered. But any nascent fantasies were dashed when he turned around and banged on the door, yelling in that alien language. She didn’t need a translator to know that he was cursing at whoever had locked him in.

  Sarah was just about to speak up, but the escape vessel lurched. Her stomach jumped into her throat and she held on tight to the straps holding her in place as the gravity disengaged.

  They’d been jettisoned and their life boat was falling through space.

  Chapter Two

  SARAH LOST CONSCIOUSNESS at some point during the fall. She didn’t come to until the impact of the vessel crash landing jolted her against her restraints, the soft fabric digging in hard enough to bruise. Other than that pain, she was uninjured.

  The purple warrior hadn’t been as lucky.

  He lay in a heap across from her, his body contorted into an almost impossible position. At first she feared him dead, but his chest rose and fell steadily as he
sucked in breaths.

  Unconscious, but alive.

  For a moment Sarah wavered between checking on the unconscious warrior or checking out where they’d landed. She settled on leaving him be for the moment. She was awake and had her wits about her. If Rex was dangerous, she couldn’t be trying to protect an injured man at the same time.

  She took a deep breath and unhooked the restraints which held her in place. The sudden lack of tension hurt even more than the pressure had, and she swung her arms back and forth for a few seconds to try and get blood flowing.

  Sparing one last look for the warrior, she approached the door. She looked out the little porthole above the window, but she couldn’t see much. It was too bright.

  From her quick read of the guidebook, she knew that Rex had a breathable atmosphere and a climate she could survive. She had to assume the same would hold true for her purple friend. She hadn’t seen any life support suits inside the vessel. She had nothing to give him to help if he needed it.

  She cranked open the door and looked out.

  She could hear birds chirping and water lapping against land. It smelled of salt air with something faintly sweet and fruity woven through it. The air of Rex filled her lungs and she felt a little dizzy. It smelled so much better than the ship. She’d forgotten that rusted metal and weed were not normal things to breathe in.

  She leapt down from the door and landed in soft sand. Her feet sank into the hot granules and she wished that she was barefoot so that she could feel it between her toes.

  Not now, she reminded herself. Despite the beauty of this spot that they’d landed on, the Sky Chaser cruise guide made it clear that the ship would not and could not land on Rex under any but the direst of circumstances. Help might be a long time coming.

  She and her purple warrior were in danger. Sarah just didn’t know what kind.

  They’d landed on a beach. Behind the ship, reddish orange water stretched all the way to the horizon. A yellow sun shone high above them and the life boat’s door faced a jungle of green and purple trees, the leaves fat and hanging down nearly to the ground. A bright blue bird sat atop one of those trees. It leveled its gaze at her and Sarah had the strangest feeling that it was sizing her up.

  It let out a cry and took off, flying toward the interior of the jungle.

  Sarah let out a breath.

  Other than the bird, she saw no other living things. Wind whispered through her hair, deceptively cool. It wasn’t quite warm enough that she wanted to swim; besides, the color of the ocean made her wary. At home on Earth, red water would have been toxic.

  She walked around the life boat and took stock. The dark hull was covered in scorch marks along the bottom from where it had broken through the atmosphere. It was warm to the touch. There were markings above one of the seams in the side wall. Under them Sarah spotted a handle and a small depressor lock. She pressed the depressor and pulled on the handle.

  A compartment in the life boat opened to reveal a dozen or so survival packs. They’d have food and water for days along with temperature controlled tents to keep them warm if the nights got too cold. Sarah said a silent thanks to any god that might have been listening and closed the compartment back up. They could unload it later.

  It was safe enough for the moment. Safe enough to recover the warrior. She turned and walked back to the entrance of the life boat to find the warrior standing there scowling.

  “You’re awake!” It wasn’t the ideal greeting, but seeing him standing wedged in the doorway shocked any politeness out of her.

  The warrior stepped out of the doorway and took two lurching steps toward her. He advanced until less than a meter separated them and she could smell the delicious masculine scent embedded deep in his skin.

  The warrior raised a hand and cupped her cheek, his fingers sliding until they rested right behind her ear. For a moment Sarah thought he was going to kiss her. Then he started pressing behind her ear and she got even more confused.

  “What are you—”

  “Hush!” he said without moving his fingers.

  This was one of those moments when Sarah realized that it was more prudent to stay still. The warrior towered over her, and he could have crushed her head between his beefy hands. His biceps were bigger than both of her arms put together. Suddenly, she was afraid. Rex might not have been dangerous so far, but this warrior could do her serious harm and there was no one but her to stop him.

  With a final press of his index finger, he pulled back. Sarah’s ears rang and she felt something click into place behind her ear. Her subdermal translator.

  The warrior stepped back and nodded. “Much better.”

  Sarah took her own step backward, trying to put a decent amount of space between them in case he got other ideas. “What did you do?”

  “Misconfigured translator.” He waved at his ear in a circle. “It made a hell of a buzzing sound. I fixed it.”

  Without meaning to, she raised her hand to the spot he’d just touched. She could feel the small protrusion of the implant under her skin. Stranger still, she could almost feel the imprint of his fingers. It was like he’d marked her somehow.

  She gulped.

  Sarah wanted to take another step back, but that felt too much like running away. Sure, he’d touched her, but he hadn’t tried to hurt her. Yet. No, she wouldn’t worry about it. They had bigger problems.

  The warrior studied her, the shocking blue of his eyes enough to send shivers down her spine. But they weren’t cold. A raging inferno of heat swirled in them, intense enough to scald her. She’d thought him attractive from afar, but looking into his eyes, she could see that he was dangerously beautiful.

  “Are you injured?” he asked, unaware of the turn her thoughts had taken.

  “No, I’m okay.” She’d been moving around and nothing felt injured. Sure, she was sore and bruised, but there was nothing she could do about it at the moment. And she wasn’t the person to be worried about. At least she’d been strapped into the life boat when it ejected. “What about you?”

  His dark brows drew down and his eyes narrowed. “I am well.”

  She’d have dreams about the way his lips formed those words. Already her fingers itched to reach up and trace over the full burgundy skin. She’d heard lips described as sinful before, but she hadn’t realized what that meant. Looking at this warrior’s lips, she got it.

  But she had to look beyond his lips. He wore low slung gray pants hanging off of his hips and a thin white shirt. It was so thin that she could make out the contours of his dark abs in shades of purples and burgundies. Sarah wanted to do wicked things to those muscles. There was a faint pattern to his skin, dark dots that she could barely make out. In all other ways, he looked a lot like a very purple human man.

  Was it the same under his pants?

  Sarah shook her head. She wasn’t trying to ogle him, she was trying to figure out if he was concealing an injury. On the surface he looked alright, but with purple skin, she couldn’t tell if he was covered in bruises or not. She wasn’t even sure what color he would bruise.

  She’d need to take him at his word for the moment. She moved on. The more time they wasted, the more time they’d be stuck on a deserted planet. “There might be a radio with the survival gear,” she said. “Maybe we can get in touch with Sky Chaser 4 and they can send someone to help.” Otherwise, they’d need to hike and hope they found civilization.

  The warrior tilted his head to the side, doubt and bemusement written plainly on his alien skin. “Do you truly think they're in a position to do so?”

  It was Sarah’s turn to be confused. “We fell by accident, didn't we?” She hadn’t spent any time figuring out why they were ejected. But what else could it have been? “Some sort of mechanical malfunction?” Whatever it was, they were lucky to be alive.

  The warrior was not convinced. "I highly doubt that."

  "Why's that?" she asked, truly curious.

  "Because... never mind.” He shook his
head and took a deep breath, relaxing. As the tension drained from his muscles, he shrank by a few centimeters, still a head taller than her, but now much more like a large man than a terrifying warrior. “My name is Nyxant. Of Oscavia." He added the last bit as an afterthought.

  So the warrior had a name. It was nice to know after all the time she’d spent thinking about him back on the cruise. Now she had something to call him while she dreamed.

  Or not. She needed to get off this planet, not have crazy sex fantasies about a purple warrior named Nyxant.

  "I’m Sarah Gallagher. Of Earth." She almost added Canada to where she was from, but thought better of it. Planetary politics of a barely interstellar backwater wouldn’t be of interest to anyone outside of her solar system.

  Nyxant looked over her shoulder out toward the horizon. "Night will fall soon, Sarah." Her name on his lips made her shiver. He said it like no human, emphasizing the last syllable and breathing it out.

  They had to make camp. And she needed to get a hold of herself. “I found supplies,” she told him and led him around to the outside of the life boat. Rex’s sun was setting fast and she could feel that it was going to be a cold night.

  Hopefully by morning Sky Chaser 4 would realize that they’d been ejected. Otherwise, her vacation had just been extended indefinitely.

  Chapter Three

  THE TENT KEPT HER WARM enough, but Sarah still woke before sunrise. By the time Nyxant began to move in his own tent, she’d started a fire and had boiled water from one of the survival packs to make tea. The rest of their breakfast would consist of bland nutrition bars, so she hoped that the drink would make up for it.

  They had a long day ahead of them.

  Her first task after she’d woken up to the pre-morning dark had been to go over every bit of survival gear they’d salvaged from the life boat. And this time it had paid off. She’d found a small solar powered transmitter that should be strong enough to radio Sky Chaser 4 for help. She would have done it already if she’d been able to get a clear signal from the beach.