Tamed by the Zoran (Scifi Alien Romance) (Zoran's Chosen Book 4)
Page 7
We’ve ported back onto the invading SINTRA vessel. Rinor and I exchange a worried glance, and with a flick of his wrist he causes time itself to slow down to a complete stop.
This is our chance, our moment to prove ourselves worthy.
Rinor rushes to the command room, and I’m right behind him. To my surprise, there is no one on the ship but is. No soldiers, no nothing. Outside the large window pane, New Exon and the Arcor Moon loom large.
Rinor sits down in the captain’s chair and tries to wrestle control from the ship, but nothing he tries seems to work.
“The ship is hardwired to crash into New Exon itself,” he says, his face growing even redder by the second. “I can’t stop it!”
“Let me try,” I say, taking his place in the captain’s chair. I close my eyes and focus, as I try to find my center. My ability to influence tech hasn’t really come in handy… until now. I finally understand why the universe has bestowed this power on me.
Everything I’ve done has prepared me for this exact moment.
I rest my palms on the dashboard and let the ship’s energy flow through my veins. This ability, this power is something I’ve been rejecting ever since it started, but now I see how foolish I’ve been.
“What are you doing?” Rinor asks.
“Shh,” I whisper with a grin. He’s always so curious.
“I’m in the ship’s database. Talking to it.”
“What? How?!” Rinor growls.
“Beats me,” I smile.
It feels like I’m… everywhere. I’m both in my own body, and I’m not. My conscience is traveling through the ship, through it’s many wires and circuits, as if I was nothing more than an electron.
And the ship is telling me… that in the belly of the vessel, it is carrying a virus. A deadly, horrible virus, designed by SINTRA Corp, created in a lab miles below the surface of the Earth with one sinister goal in mind: Wiping the Zorans off the face of the universe.
My eyes fly open with shock.
I see Rinor looking at me, his red eyes filled with concern as he slowly strokes my knee. He’s such a gentle giant, a wonderful, loving hunk of a man.
“The ship is carrying a virus,” I stammer. “And it’ll kill everything and everyone. The Warrior Regiments will shoot the ship out of the sky and destroy it, but that’s exactly what SINTRA wants — the virus will descend onto New Exon’s atmosphere, and all Zoran life will be doomed.”
Rinor’s red face loses color. “Those crafty bastards… is there nothing you can do?”
“I can try.”
The love I feel for him fills every fiber of my being, and that gives me the strength to put a stop to this.
My mind is strained, my willpower tested as I try to convince the ship to abandon it’s course with only my thoughts. It’s programming is hard-wired into the system, and just when my mind is stretched to the max, when my temples are thumping like mad and all my bones ache from the excertion… I think about Rinor. I think about how much I love him, how he makes me feel, how he looks in the morning, lost in a fort of pillows and blankets in my bed, a beautiful red dream I never want to wake up from.
The undying love I feel for him empowers me, and it gives me the final jolt of energy I need to force my thoughts onto the ship’s circuits and reconfigure its programming.
The entire vessel lurches to the side, the metal creaking as it changes course.
“What did you do?” Rinor asks.
“I saved the planet,” I say, “And doomed us both, I’m afraid. I changed the course so its now flying towards the sun, but there are no escape pods…”
Rinor grabs me in a tight bear hug. “I love you, Takara King,” he says. “Body and soul. If the Rift doesn’t save us… then I will die by your side, and it will be an honor.”
“I love you, too, Rinor,” I say, tears streaming down my cheeks as I feel his hot breath on my skin. If I have to die, then this is my preferred method: In a blaze of glory, in the arms of my lover and soulmate as we save the world.
The ship starts to rumble more and more as it picks up speed, heading straight towards the center of the sun. A bright light envelops us, blinding us both, my Zorashi symbols burnings so brightly it hurts. I kiss Rinor one final time, letting whatever happens, happen…
Chapter Twenty-One
Rinor
A hail of flashing lights welcomes us back to the Trade Ports Center Square, the Rift teleporting us smack dab in the middle of a throng of tourists seconds before the SINTRA ship is swallowed whole by the sun, its vile load burning up in the atmosphere.
The tourists catch every second of our loving kiss on camera. There’s no hiding anymore. Not that I’d want to. Everyone in the universe will get to know of my love for Takara King. I’ll shout it from the rooftops!
Word of our exploits travels fast on the Trade Ports, and the very next day the High Command has prepared an award ceremony for us both. Takara and I nearly didn’t get there on time, as we were both tangled up in sheets…
“We have gathered here today to honor two of the Trade Port’s finest, Takara King and Rinor!”
The High Command’s Grand General himself, Thenon, son of Thabo, is giving the speech to a packed arena, and every word makes my chest swell with pride. All the different parts of Zoran society have come together — the Traditionalists, the Sacred Order and the Trade Ports — to honor us.
“Known for their great feats in this very arena, these two have proven themselves capable of any feat! They have saved New Exon from a despicable attack, and for that, we must all extend our thanks.”
The re-match of our Titan Games final has been postponed, just for this ceremony. Everyone’s here, all of the generals, including our fathers. The same two men who did everything in their power to stop us from doing the very thing we’re being lauded for…
As the ceremony concludes, the generals come by one-by-one to shake our hands. However, Gorba cuts them all off, the lumbering giant hugging Takara tightly and lifting her up high.
“Worried,” he says. “And happy you are back!”
“I’m happy to see you too, big guy,” Takara says.
When Gorba has had his moment, is time to confront our fathers. The moment General Valdas walks up to us, I can tell my mate is holding back her tears.
“I underestimated you,” her father says. “I’m sorry for that, dove.”
As they hug, my own father grabs my shoulder.
“There’s something I’ve never told you, Rinor,” he says. “My brother, he had a son. Telor was this name. He… was killed in the first week of his enlistment. A training accident. It tore our family apart, son. I saw what it did to my brother, how it hounded him, and I couldn’t bear the thought of that happening to you… and so I held you back, son. I see now that it was a mistake. I’m sorry.”
“Father,” I say, tears welling up. “You could have told me…”
“I know, I know,” he says. “I’m a stubborn old man, what can I say?”
I hug him tightly. “You are forgiven.”
“The Warrior Regiments are lucky to have you both,” he says. “I’m putting in my recommendation today.”
I salute my father, and my heart is moved when he salutes me back. Takara slips her fingers into mine, and I couldn’t be happier.
“The only thing that would make life more perfect is a couple of budding, young warriors running around,” my father says with a wink and a nudge.
“Be careful what you wish for,” I grin. “Or you’ll be stuck babysitting more often than you’d like.”
“I’d consider it an honor,” my father replies. “Truly.”
A High Command aide interrupts our little family reunion, and says we are summoned for a top-secret meeting on the highest levels of the Trade Ports.
“Duty calls,” I say, nodding at the two men. “Lead the way, sir.”
After a quick hover-car and escalator ride, we are on the top level of the Presidium, the very heart of the T
rade Ports. The doors zip open to reveal three Zoran-human couples — the Chosen!
“Leto!” I cry, as I hug my best friend. He was the one who saved me from captivity, together with his human mate, Caia Mercier. “I’ve been looking all over for you! I can’t wait for you to meet Takara! Takara, meet Leto, my best friend, and his mate, Caia. Leto, Caia, this is Takara.”
“Oh, I know who you are,” he says as he shakes my mate’s hand. “Congratulations from all of us, and sorry to steal you out of the spotlight, but SINTRA doesn’t wait, unfortunately.”
“No problem,” Takara says. “All that attention was a little much, to be honest. We want nothing more than to fight SINTRA, right?”
“Right,” I agree.
“Good,” Leto says. “First off, Rinor — I’m sorry you couldn’t get in touch with me. I was a on a mission, and…”
“Say no more, brother,” I cut him off. “I know that if you were unavailable, it was for a very good reason.”
He smiles, the tension flowing from his shoulders.
“Let’s get right down to business,” the silver Zoran says. “SINTRA doesn’t wait for pleasantries.”
“Well,” the blue one cuts in, “It doesn’t hurt to introduce ourselves, does it? My name is Davor! And this is Leah!”
His partner bows politely.
“And this impatient man is Theros, and that is his mate, Anaya.”
“Nice to meet you both,” I say.
“Right. Down to business. How did you stop the SINTRA bombing vessel?” Theros says. “Spare no detail, please. It’s of the utmost importance.”
“It was all Takara, to be honest,” I say. “Go ahead and tell him, honey.”
Takara’s violet eyes scan the room, and she becomes uncharacteristically shy.
“I don’t know what to say. I, uhm, this may sound crazy, but I… convinced the ship to fly into the sun…”
“Convinced, you say?” Davor says.
“Yes,” she answers. “It’s like I could… talk to it? Like I was part of its system, and I convinced the ship that flying straight into the sun was the most logical option… I’m sorry, you must think I’m talking nonsense.”
“Not at all,” Anaya says. “Not at all. Each of us as been blessed by the Rift with a power, and it is yours… that we have been waiting for.”
All eyes turn to Takara.
“What do you mean?”
“We are preparing for a final assault on SINTRA HQ, to end their threat once and for all. These past few weeks we have been scouting their base of operations, and what we’ve uncovered is… disturbing.”
Davor leans forward. “It seems that SINTRA is run by a rogue AI.”
Takara gasps. “A megacorp of that size, run by an AI? How is that even possible?”
“It seems that one of the original founders attempted to prolong their life with cybernetic enhancements and brain implants, decades and decades ago. Her name is Siya Onyx, and she’s the puppet master, pulling the strings. She has replaced every single organ with an implant, and now she is fully cybernetic. We don’t know if there was a bug in her code that made her crazy, or if she was always this way, but… we cannot defeat her with conventional weapons. She is not a single person, a single brain, a single chip we have to take out. She is everywhere.”
Theros breaks in. “That is where you come in, Takara King. Simply put, we need you to convince Siya Onyx to self-destruct.”
My mate leans back, her violet eyes wide open.
“That’s certainly something you’re asking of me,” she says. “I don’t know if I can do that…”
“You don’t need to decide right now,” Caia Mercier says. “I know it’s a lot we’re asking of you.”
“No, I want to help, but…”
“Take a few days off, please,” Davor insists. “And when you’re made up your mind, we’ll be waiting.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Takara
Epilogue
Me, take down SINTRA Corp itself? It’s not everyday you’re asked to do that. I thought my main power was to peep on Rinor in the shower. I could never have thought that little incident would end with me saving all of Zorankind!
Of course I’m going to help the Chosen. This is what I’ve been training for, what I’ve always wanted — to make a difference!
However, we’re not quite there yet. First we have the final of the Titan Games to fight! Rinor is grinning at me from across the arena, striking a few cocky poses to break my concentration.
This time I made him swear up and down that he wouldn’t hold back, no matter what. If i win, I want to earn it!
The gong sounds and the match starts. It’s a tight game, our skills almost equal. Rinor is a tiny bit stronger than me, but I’m faster. It feels like we’re doing a dance — one step forward, two steps back — as we exchange blows all across the arena. I know Rinor so well that I can predict his every move, his every strike before he’s even made up his mind.
And I use his own trick to defeat him.
A fast duck and roll and a leg sweep has him tumbling to the floor. Before he can rise, I have my knee on his throat.
“That’s my move,” he says.
“Not anymore.”
“Well done,” Rinor grins.
The arena erupts in thunderous applause as I help my mate up to his feet. I’ve truly got it all now — I’m Grand Champion and I have the perfect mate!
I accept the winner’s chip, a solid gold one, and wave to the audience with a big grin on my face. Rinor crosses the arena’s ground and drops to one knee.
My heart beats like a mad drum. Oh my stars, is he… asking for my hand?!
“Takara King, would you do me the honor of being my wife, my one true mate, my chosen, my everything?”
He is.
Flooded with emotion I jump into his arms, a resounding Yes! echoing through the arena.
“Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!”
I hope you liked Tamed by the Zoran!
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