by Lucee Joie
WARRIORS OF THE STARS
GALACTIC UNION BOOK ONE
by
LUCEE JOIE
COPYRIGHT © 2019 by Lucee Joie
Cover and internal design by Lucee Joie
Time break design: OpenClipart-Vectors / Pixabay
Cover images by DepositPhotos
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The characters and events portrayed by the author are fictitious, and are used as such. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
Chapter One: Beth
“In closing, I think you will find that you will be very happy with your association with Beckett, Smith, and Sons,” I say, smiling at the businessman in front of me.
The man, Mr. Peter Jenkins, grins at me in a condescending way and I want to punch him in the mouth. If it weren’t for the company swooping in at the last minute, Mr. Jenkins would be looking at potential jail time for the insider trading he has been accused of. And, if I am correct in my assumption, also guilty of.
“I am sure the pleasure will be all mine, Beth,” Mr. Jenkins said, his smile gaining a seductive edge as he uses my first name.
Grinning in return, I hope the glint in my eye will be mistaken for flirtation and not reveal all the ways in which I would like to kill the man.
“Well, I think we can call it a day then,” I reply, gathering my files and putting them into a large black leather satchel. “I will see you tomorrow morning.”
Striding from the room as soon as my bag is zipped, I don’t allow Mr. Jenkins to get another word in edgewise.
The train is always packed at this time of night and I try not to breathe in the fetid stench of sweaty armpits as I grab for one of the loops high up. I am short, just five feet tall, so it is only my heels that help me to reach my goal. My fingers tighten around the loop as the doors shut and the train takes off.
It would be a slow forty-minute ride home and I can already feel my arm aching as I am jostled from side to side. A man’s briefcase digs into my back and every time we take a corner, it jabs in further, hitting my ribs until I can feel a bruise forming.
On the other side, an older businessman, his belly pushing tightly against his white shirt, winks at me every chance he gets. I scowl at him and shift my body weight slightly, pivoting as I do so in order to avoid him. He jostles as well; his body pushes up against mine so that I am fairly certain that it isn’t his briefcase stabbing me in the back now.
Rubbing my weary eyes with my free hand, I sigh. Only thirty-five more minutes to go, is my new mantra as the train heads towards a tunnel and I wish to be anywhere but stuck in a train carriage.
Bali, I muse. I would like to be in Bali right now. It has been two years since my last decent vacation. The time has slipped by in a flurry of legal transactions and I feel like my life will be over before it has even truly begun. Was this the best it would ever get? Sure, I earn good money but, in return, I never had the time to enjoy it–and no one to enjoy it with.
The hot pressure of the man behind me is constant and reminds me that I have been without a significant for such a long time. If I close my eyes, I can imagine that it is a man that I want, someone who wants me back. Were there even any decent men left on this planet?
At the same time that the train enters the tunnel, the windows blacken with darkness and the lights flicker out. It happens so suddenly that, at first, I think that I have forgotten to open my eyes after blinking. Opening my eyes wider, I realize that they were already open and the darkness is from a lack of light.
Blindly I reach out, not even thinking, and feel the softness of the pudgy businessman. He grunts at me and I am almost thankful for the knowledge that he is there since I have the strange sensation of being the only one truly anchored to the train in the inky well surrounding me.
“We are now arriving at…” the robotic voice said over the loudspeaker before fading away in the same manner that the light did a moment earlier. An uneasy feeling starts rising.
I have always been afraid of the dark. Sure, not so much as an adult but, as a child, I always insisted on having my bedroom light on until I fell asleep. And, should I need to wake in the middle of the night to use the bathroom? Well, there was no way I would ever reach out to turn on the bed light or to pad down the hallway in the dark. Oh, no. Instead, I would scream until my mother arrived, flicking the light on and bathing the room in comforting light.
Now, in the darkness of the train carriage, I can feel the terror of my youth rising up once more.
Chapter Two: Horgeer
“The new shipment will arrive shortly,” Ece says and I wonder if this time I will get assigned a woman.
It is a great honor, yet I am unsure of how I really feel about it. Sure, my race is dying and using human breeders might be our only option left, but I wish that it didn’t have to be under such arrangements.
Ece nudges me. “Bet you get yourself a breeder this time.”
I nod at him and continue to stand guard. We have been tasked with securing the docking station against protest ships that might have learned about today’s shipment. I look out over the huge expanse of space and down at the blue and green planet from which the shipment will be obtained.
Earth is really a pretty planet from this far away. My own planet is the color of straw from the same distance. Most of the water on Ochekia is underground and only accessible via the vast cave system that wriggles through the planet like some sort of burrowing creature has attacked the soil.
“Is that a ship?” Ece asks.
He is dancing from foot to foot with nervous energy, his tail swishing with aggression. He loves this role and is likely hoping some ship swoops in and attacks. It has been a while since either of us has seen any action when it comes to fighting, so I can understand his anticipation.
I lift my long-range binoculars to my eyes and scan the stars. “I can’t see anything. It must have been a shooting star.”
Ece is still peering into the distance when I look back to him and I want to laugh at his twitching whiskers. “You don’t have to be so eager.”
“Come on! Yes, I do. It’s been an age since anyone has attacked. My father is threatening to pull my services if there is no new threat.”
Ece’s father was actually the Emperor of Ochekia and the very reason we had to abduct women from Earth. Without his formation of the Galactic Union, our kind would have likely died out by now.
“You know your father will never do that,” I argue. “When has he ever denied your wishes?”
Ece maybe my only friend on board this craft but it didn’t mean I was blind to the fact that he got whatever the hell he wanted.
With our kind, heirs were pampered without exception. And, in Ece’s case, it went beyond even our normal standards. After all, if this breeding program wasn’t successful, he would truly be the last in his line of
royalty.
“I’m serious,” Ece says, jabbing his finger at another point in the sky. I put my binoculars back to my eyes and search some more. “Or, maybe it’s my step-monster that wants it. Either way, the push is on to start training me in the ways of leading our people.”
“That could be fun.”
“Yes, sitting around while I listen to people bitch about how much they don’t want to pay their taxes. Riveting stuff.” Ece snorts at me and his tail flicks so hard from side to side that I am whipped by it.
“Hey, watch it!” I say and jump backward. Ece chuckles at me and does it once more. I swat him back with my paw, letting my claws spring out just a little.
I still have my eyes on Earth as we banter back and forth, so am the first to see the small ship returning. “Hey, stop it! The recon vessel is here.”
Ece snaps to attention and turns to watch the approaching ship. It is oval in shape and rather flat compared to its width. Its shiny surface helps to camouflage it while close to Earth. However, once all the way out here, it stands out brightly, like an oddly shaped star and immediately noticeable.
We both scan the area around the vessel, knowing that this is the most dangerous time for an enemy to strike. While many planets have succumbed and are members of the Galactic Union, there is a small number who object to membership based on the fact that we are forcibly taking unsuspecting women for breeding purposes.
There is no threat today, though, and the vessel pulls into the large cavern of our ship. Once onboard, the doors are closed and Ece and I relax our stance.
“Let’s have a look at the latest haul,” Ece says as he slaps me on the back.
I follow my friend and soon we are joined by the members from inside the recon vessel as well as the emperor and his wife. Ece nods at his father and totally ignores his stepmother.
A variety of women are being transported via stretchers. They are rendered unconscious before being taken and will not wake for some time yet.
“It looks like quite a haul,” Emperor Thahars says. “Tell me, Missy, what do you think?”
Missy steps forward. She is long and slender, bony some would say. Her hair is the color of deep space and it makes her pale complexion even more pallid. Stepping forward, her chain rattles. Even onboard the ship and in outer space, the emperor prefers to keep his new wife confined at arm’s length. She grimaces at the new shipment.
“I am sure they will love their new life,” she sneers and I can see why Ece isn’t very fond of her.
The emperor laughs and yanks at her chain, pulling her back to his side. In an instant, I almost feel sorry for the woman, after all, it is only sheer luck that sees her seated beside the ruler and not a common breeder like these new women will be.
While different in appearance to my own race, humans are actually not so far removed from us. They are somewhat smaller in general and are missing tails, whiskers, and the full-body down of the Ocheks. However, it is their ability to breed with us that makes them so useful. Many other breeds are not compatible at all and no offspring are produced.
“Look at that one,” Ece says, pointing at a dark-haired woman. She is older than the others and I wonder why she was taken. Perhaps, it was a mistake. Or, maybe she has proven to be an excellent breeder on Earth and produced many children already. Sometimes, older women were more reliable in that regard.
Ece interest wanes and he is pointing out another woman, but my attention has been caught by someone else. A thin blond woman is last in line and I can’t stop looking at her. She has a long mane that is hanging from the stretcher and all I want to do is reach out and touch it. My own mane is course and springs up in all directions. This woman’s hair, however, is a shiny cascade of smoothness.
She is wearing a white outfit and strange shoes that look way too impractical for actual walking. I have read up a little on the human race and know that women do like to make themselves appear taller using footwear but have never seen shoes like this before. They look more like dangerous weapons than foot coverings.
“You like that one?” Ece says over my shoulder and I shrug at him, not wanting to appear too eager.
Chapter Three: Beth
“Now arriving at orientation.”
What? I open my eyes, not realizing I had finally clenched them tightly shut and dart a quick glance around the carriage.
Except I wasn’t on a train anymore.
Stark white walls greet me. The mass of people was gone, along with my briefcase. Frantically, I whip my head from side to side, trying to process the changes around me.
“Please follow the arrows,” the robotic voice continues.
My vision hones in on the only thing that stands out in the room. A single arrow pointed to my right and, without even considering it, I take a small step towards the sign before halting again.
“What’s going on?” My voice sounds so feeble that I cough and try again. “Where am I?”
“Please follow the arrows,” the voice repeats.
“Not until you tell me what’s going on.”
“Please follow the arrows.”
I take another tentative step. Perhaps I should just do as I am told but I stop once more, refusing to give in.
“I am not going anywhere until you tell me what is going on!”
Silence.
Well, that has to be an improvement, I decide.
The rushing of air fills the room and a strange creature appears. Resembling a feline, if they could actually breed with humans, the creature rushes at me before I can even react and the world goes black once more.
The hum from beneath my head becomes louder and, along with it, comes a splitting headache.
I reach up and cradle my head before opening my eyes, hoping that the memories starting to emerge were just figments of my imagination. After all, that creature I had witnessed couldn’t possibly have been real.
Nope, I am still in the strange white place.
A lump forms in my throat and I try to swallow it down without allowing a sob to escape. I am only partially successful.
“Get up!”
I scan the room and my gaze settles on the strange man I saw earlier, his tail flicking from side to side as if he is irritated with me.
Tail? He has a goddamned tail!
Is this some sort of joke? An elaborate prank perhaps? I feel like I have wound up at some strange comic book convention and this is a particularly realistic cosplay scenario.
“Who are you?” Pulling myself to a seated position, I hope that is good enough.
“All the way up,” the man continues and steps forward, pushing what looks like a futuristic gun in my direction. I didn’t need to be told twice this time. “Follow me.”
My determination from earlier is lost now and I follow his orders. It isn’t that I am compliant, it’s just that everything is just so damn weird and I figure that the only way to get any answers is to follow this strange creature.
“Where am I?” I ask as we walk, my gaze bobbing from side to side, hoping to get some sort of an idea regarding my location.
“That will be revealed in time.”
Great.
We are following a long hall and occasional lines in the curved walls indicate doors. However, from what I can see, there are no door handles. Up ahead looms a dark arch that appears to open out into a larger room. It is here that we are headed for.
Stepping through the arch, I am instantly confused by all of the activity in the large room after the simple lines of the white corridor.
Directly to my left is a raised platform on which sits another creature, still of the same breed as the brute that has led me here but also different. This one is taller and more slender. Whereas the one who has accompanied me is broader, as though hired for muscle, like a bouncer at a nightclub. The one seated on the platform has a ring of gold around his head and long robes that cover his body. He must be the leader, I figure.
“We have another lottery prize,” the man
says and I am confused. “A human woman who will make an excellent breeder.”
An uncomfortable dread starts to settle in my belly. Was I even on Earth anymore? I cringe for contemplating the thought. As for the term ‘breeder,’ I don’t really want to contemplate the implications of that any further right at this moment.
Another man steps forward and up to a large glass bowl that appears to be filled with white pebbles. Reaching into the container, he swishes his hand around before grabbing one of the stones. He holds it high in the air and I can see a marking on it.
“Number 15578,” the slender man with the gold crown says.
There is a commotion in the audience and another man steps forward. This one is broad like the one holding me. His shaggy hair around his shoulders is more golden, though. His physique is even more defined as though he did nothing but lift weights all day. He glances at me and for the briefest of moments and there is a sizzle of connection between us. I swallow hard and the man looks away as he strides forward, his movements fluid, like that of a great game animal.
“Congratulations on your winnings. I hope this female brings you the greatest success.”
I crane my neck as I watch another man runs what looks like a scanner over the wrist of the winner.
“Of course,” the man replies before stepping back into the crowd.
I start to struggle against the guard holding me as I come to the dreadful realization that the prize for this man is me. The leader looks over, a frown forming.
“If you can’t control that woman, you will need to collect a shocker,” the man on the platform says and my belly turns to jelly even as I continue to yell.
“Where are you taking me? Where am I?” My voice is shrill as I start to finally lose my shit. The strange man pulls back from me. However, instead of striking out at me, which is my first fear, he simply picks me up and throws me over his shoulder. One hand reaches up and catches a metallic device. It is around my neck before I realize and a shock of electricity courses through me.