Alien (30 page)

The warriors watched the holographic image Dari’s charm
provided them with. Gio and Dak breathed in relief when they saw the princess
smiling with her female companion as they looked through holo-images together.

Death inhaled deeply, the sight of his beautiful Kari—Kara
to him—hitting him with the impact of a
trelli
sandstorm. He had thought
he’d made the honorable choice by not claiming his Sacred Mate, yet she was
facing more danger now than she would have at his side.

“I’m coming for you,
pani
,” Death murmured to himself
so none could hear. “This time I will never let you go.”

“The audio is coming up!” Kil announced. “Here we go.”

All eyes were locked on the holo-display as a boy-child
walked over to where the females sat. “Bazi,” Dari warmly greeted, “you have
awoken.”

“Aye.” He rubbed his eyes. “Leastways, I had a bad dream.”

Gio grimaced, upset with himself for having doubted Dari for
even a moment. The male she protected
was
a child.

“Look at the holo-images with us,” Kari said. She smiled at
Bazi, her dimples popping out. “We’re going to turn them off soon.”

“Get a lock on their position!” Zor shouted to Kil. The
emperor agitatedly ran a hand through his hair. “For a certainty we need that
lock afore the signal ends!”

“Hurry,” Dak growled, wanting to get to his daughter. “’Tis
mayhap but moments left!”

“I’m working on it!” Kil said. “I’ve got it!”

The holographic display flashed back to Kari. Tears filled
her eyes as she looked at Dari’s images. None of the warriors knew what to make
of that, Death included.

“Look,” Kari said softly to Bazi. She held up a holo-image
of Zor’s wife, Empress Kyra Q’ana Tal. Every warrior’s brow furrowed as she
reverently ran a finger over the image. “Do you see her, Bazi?”

“Aye. She has the look of you. Leastways, you both have the
hair of the fire-berry.”

Kari’s smile was radiant. A single tear tracked down her
cheek. “Do you know why we look so much alike?” she asked.

“Nay,” Bazi replied. “Why?”

“Because she’s my sister,” Kari whispered. Her breath caught
in the back of her throat. “The sister I never thought I’d see again when
forces I can’t understand whisked me from Earth to Galis.”

Death stilled. He could hear the emperor’s intake of breath
without looking to visually confirm it.

“Then we must kill it when we reach Khan-Gor,” Bazi said,
his chest puffing out. “I will slay the evil for you so you can see your sister
again. ‘Tis a vow.”

Kari ran a protective hand through his hair. “It’s time to
talk about that.”

“Aye,” Dari interjected. She sighed. “I shall shut this off
so I can tell you the whole of it. We needs must prepare.”

The signal came to an abrupt end. The warriors stood there,
their expressions as frozen as their bodies. Finally, Kil broke the tense
silence with a hearty laugh.

“My brother, the emperor,” Kil chortled, “came nigh close to
sending his own wife’s sister to the gulch pits.” At Zor’s frown, Kil laughed
harder. “’Twould be a lifetime without channel for you, dunce.”

Death found his first smile. The rest of the warriors
followed suit.

“Put the gastrolight cruiser into hyper-speed,” Zor growled.
“Leastways,” he sniffed, “when I bring my
nee’ka’s
sister home to her,
‘twill be naught but channel for me.”

All the warriors save one shared a laugh. Death was too
preoccupied with the horror that was to come to join in.

Kari—Kara—belonged to him. Did it become necessary to offer
his life to spare hers, he would do so without hesitation.

And he would await his beloved at the Rah.

To Be Continued…

Watch for upcoming Dari’s story, Jana’s story, and then Armageddon,
the wild conclusion to Trek Mi Q’an!

Tara Nina

Instinct drove her to the epicenter. There wouldn’t be an
escape this night. Not on her watch. A low rumble emanated from the ground
beneath her. Human sensors read this as a sign of an earthquake. She didn’t. Shia
knew differently. The strength of the tremors grew and the rumble became a
roar. She was getting closer. Wild animals surged past in their rush to evict
this place. Seismic energy washed over Shia like a fresh breath of air. Heat
rode the breeze and warmed her flesh, even through the protective gear she
wore.

The thrill of the hunt quickened her pace and invigorated
her soul. Heart pumping, senses heightened, she homed in on the source of her
excitement—a possible escape and the chance to track and terminate a Hellion.
She practically salivated at the thought. She’d suffered a dry spell in her
territorial vector as far as escapes were concerned. A wave of sheer power
rolled under her feet nearly sending her to her knees, but she refused to
buckle. She liked being assigned to the territory called Montana. It had a
history of more seismic episodes than most other vectors in what the Adamu
called the United States. The increased chance of a seismic episode, the
greater the possibility of a Hellion escape.

Trees shook and uprooted, toppling in a circular pattern,
giving her a direct bead on where the shaft would reveal itself once it reached
the surface. Rocks and boulders bounced, shifted and rolled in response to the growing
underground vibrations. From her calculations, the surface would crack within
the next several minutes, spewing a desperate criminal from its bowels.

It was her job to catch the Hellion. A wide smile split her
lips. This was the sustenance of life—the hunt, the kill, the simple
satisfaction of knowing she prevailed over the evil, which resided in hell.
Humans considered hell to be the home of their god’s opposition—the devil. In
their spiritual scriptures, it was the place where unsaved souls suffered for
all eternity. Shia knew the truth. Hell was an intergalactic prison cell
located in Earth’s core. It held the dredges of the universe, sent there by the
decree of the Kiengir—the creators and rulers of every aspect of the heavens.

The Kiengir produced every creature, planet and star in the
universe, humans included. To them, these
colonies
as they called them,
were simply science projects, experiments. Throughout the infinity of time,
they guided, taught and controlled every aspect of life. It was a well-known
secret they’d even bred with some of their creations in their efforts to form a
perfect race of super intellectuals with superior strength and physical
attributes. They held the power to create life. But did they take it away just
as easily?

Closing her eyes tight for a split second, she shoved the
unwanted images of a colony long gone back into the far corner of her mind. Now
was not the time for sentiment. She shook off the thought, determined not to
fail. The need to climb through the ranks to reach her goal drove her forward.
One day she’d find the truth behind her family’s death. As a Paoni warrior she
didn’t have clearance for those records, but as a High Guard Council member…
She breathed deeply and refocused on the thrill of the matter at hand.

Like a hawk waiting for its prey, she watched. Anticipation
coiled her insides tight, ready to spring the moment the escape route revealed
itself. The good thing was, this event took place in a remote, densely forested
area of one of the many faults she monitored within her jurisdiction. No humans
were around for miles. Not until the earthquake chasers arrived would there be
any interruptions, and by then she hoped the deed would be done. Though she
stood still, the violent rumbling of the ground jostled her. She spread her
legs and steeled her stance.

The escapee was close. Shia wobbled but managed not to fall.
Instead, she moved toward the middle of the circle. Towns miles away probably felt
the shockwaves from this. She shook her head. At least this escape hadn’t
started at the bottom of an ocean. Eruptions underneath large bodies of water
tended to create tsunamis that took out entire cities in their paths. Not that
she cared for most humans. She just didn’t like seeing mass destruction of life
in any form, even the subculture of
Homo sapiens
—or Adamu as they were
known to her kind.

An enormous explosion set her back a couple of steps before
she regained her balance. Dirt, rocks and fire filled the night sky. Smoke
dense enough to suffocate billowed from the newly formed crack in the Earth’s
surface. None of this bothered Shia. She came prepared, dressed in black from
head to toe in the latest gear provided by the Paoni Defense Corps. The
form-fitted suit was fully equipped with several deadly weapons, including the
Paoni officer inside. A thick breastplate fit over the suit, which acted as a
shield and also helped disguise her gender. All Paoni looked alike when in full
regalia. It was their individual skills that distinguished them and separated
them by rank.

Shia rolled her left shoulder, knowing two sun tattoos
decorated her flesh. Her goal—earn four more, then she’d be presented to the High
Guard Council. There she’d find those responsible for the change in her fate. A
smile threatened to upturn her lips but she swallowed it. The possibilities of
the Kiengir zoning in on her thoughts were high while dressed in battle gear,
especially when wearing the helmet. She stilled, took a cleansing breath, and
did an internal scan of her equipment as final prep before facing the Hellion.

Her helmet gave protection as well as acted as her eyes when
necessary. She liked the fact these helmets were designed to each Paoni
officer’s specific genetics. No one else could wear it. It worked in sync with the
neurologic system and was calibrated to function from Shia’s specific
brainwaves. Just thinking about the hours she’d spent in the chair as they
programmed her helmet made her face numb.

She blinked and instantly the face shield activated a screen
showing everything clearly within a few hundred feet. It calculated distance,
distinguished the opponent’s weaponry if any, warned of intruders—human or
otherwise—and most importantly, located and identified which Hellions escaped.
Several criminals crawled from the six-foot-wide-by-fifty-foot-long gaping
hole.

Yes.
She grinned. What started off as a bland evening
of loafing on the sofa with a beer, a bucket of buttered popcorn and a stack of
B movies humans called sci-fis but she labeled as comedies, turned into a hunt
for intergalactic escaped convicts.

For years she’d lived among the humans and guarded them,
keeping them from learning of the prison’s existence and she strived to keep it
that way. Two blinks brought the Hellions into clear view. Shapes moved on the
screen. One, two, three she counted. Not too bad, a number she could handle in
her sleep. A short, lean male from Sirius, more bark than bite. She snorted at
her inside joke about the man from the Dog Star. The second was a woman from
Aludra, a place known for its comely beauties. What most didn’t know was that
these ladies had a dark, deadly side. Shia made a mental note to take her out
first.

Shia stilled. The biggest man she’d ever seen in her entire
career got to his feet and stretched. A crack echoed and she wasn’t sure if it
came from the ground settling or his neck as he worked out the kinks. Biceps
the size of her thighs bunched and flexed. Broad shoulders and back, a set of
healthy legs strained the dingy, torn prison jumpsuit and she bet if he turned,
his chest and abs wouldn’t disappoint. From this angle, the man had a perfect
physique. Too bad he walked among the Hellions. She huffed and prepared for
battle. The Aludra female would be easy compared to this giant.

Even in the darkness, his profound dominance couldn’t be
missed. The leader of this trio of misfits, she surmised without losing sight
of any of them. Odd, no information lit the screen about the third escapee.
Shia blinked to reset. After a short hesitation, the system rewarded her with
an answer she preferred not to have received.

Lanius.
The worst category possible for a Hellion. To
her knowledge, few of them existed. They were terminated or jettisoned into a
solitary confinement Black Hole, not sent to a prison planet. How had this man
escaped either destination? Looking at the prisoner, she decided it could have
been his sheer size had intimidated the Kiengir, who had determined his fate.
But she doubted it. Members of the Kiengir weren’t known for being swayed by
fear or granting leniency. They ruled the infinite universe and their word was
law and enforced by the High Guard Council. The High Guard Council was a
respected group of leaders, who answered directly to the Kiengir, managed their
assigned colonies and oversaw that the Paoni warriors enforced these laws. Being
a Paoni officer, Shia had a job to do no matter how small or
large
the
situation.

Little to no information followed his rank. Origin listed as
unknown. No name, only category and gender came up connected with this one.
Lanius.
Male.
It didn’t make sense. He had to have come from somewhere. What crime
had he committed that warranted eternal damnation, instead of instantaneous
death? He must have pissed off someone in the Kiengir to the extreme.

Instantaneous death or eternal damnation in a prison cell? Shia
wasn’t sure which she’d pray for if she ever found herself on the wrong side of
the Kiengir.

Quickly and carefully, Shia maneuvered closer, weapons
charged and loaded in both hands. She readied for their next move as she
calculated her strategy. It didn’t appear they were aware of her yet. Hellions
needed a few moments to become acclimated to the conditions on Earth’s surface.
Those were the precious seconds Paoni relied upon. It made apprehension easier
when the subject was disoriented. Once their heads cleared, they tended to
fight or run. In the big man’s case, she doubted he was a runner.

Flames spewed and sputtered from the gap, lighting the
immediate area. Shia knew she needed to contain the Hellions and seal that hole
before it shifted into a free-flowing, newly formed volcanic lava pit. That was
a problem when escapees used Earth’s constant natural activity of seismic
energy to reach the surface. Disasters tended to follow such as earthquakes,
tsunamis and volcanic eruptions. At least the humans were clueless and thought
these events to be natural disasters and not the escape attempts of the
criminally insane.

The occasional stupid few rode the waves of a geyser, like Old
Faithful. They were always immediately captured. Didn’t they realize geysers
were timed and basically predictable? Damn Hellions.

Shia shook her head. Thank the Kiengir the humans weren’t
too bright. She focused on the escapees and moved closer. The Sirian helped the
Aludra female to her feet.
Better watch out or you might lose your soul
,
Shia silently warned.

She skimmed the incarceration intel on both and knew the
Sirian stood no chance against the Aludra female. The Sirian was a young male
imprisoned for theft. A petty crime cost him life beneath ground. In Shia’s
book, theft didn’t warrant such extreme action. She inhaled, schooling her
thoughts. It wasn’t her job to judge, simply capture and return to prison or
eliminate the possible threat.

The woman chose to follow the path many Aludra females
traveled to remain eternally beautiful—stealing the souls of lovers. Three men
had already died for the price of her vanity. And from the looks of it, the
Sirian would become the fourth if he didn’t wise up and break contact soon.

The big man ignored those two. The rise and fall of his
chest hinted he breathed deeply. It appeared as if he meditated. Probably his
way of adjusting to the sudden climate change. Being shot from the hot pit of
hell into the cool night air of the surface would short circuit the toughest of
souls. She snorted. And looking at him, she didn’t doubt his ability to adapt
and survive. Yep, the big man posed a problem, but even the largest had a weak
spot. Besides, she was armed, highly skilled, and they weren’t.

Shia stood within several meters, prepared to fire, and
issued a strong command through the voice-enhancing device of her mouthpiece,
which projected her voice and deepened it to disguise her gender.

“Halt. Drop to your knees and place your hands behind your
heads.”

Out of the three, only the Sirian followed the command. At
least one of them had a brain. Or he was simply too scared to do otherwise. The
Aludra leveled a gaze on her that Shia knew from research of the breed was
meant to captivate their victim’s senses. Though covered in dirt, her beautiful
pixie-like features shone through the grime. Oval light-blue eyes stared in
Shia’s direction as a thin smile crossed the Aludra’s lips. This species played
on the weak need to be loved and used it to draw the victim close then ripped
out the heart and stole the soul with the speed and precision of lightning.

“Lower your eyes, Aludra. You hold no charm for me.”

“Ah, but you’ve given me no chance,” the Aludra female
proclaimed in a sickly sweet lilt. She took one step toward Shia and it was her
last of the night. Shia squeezed the trigger of the smaller weapon in her left
hand and the Aludra froze in place. She stood upright like a statue. Her eyes
were opened wide as was her mouth.

“Now, you.” Shia turned to the biggest and reiterated her
command. “On your knees, hands on the back of your head.”

He did no such thing. Instead, he pivoted on his heels to
face her. If she didn’t know better, she would have sworn her heart stopped.
Emerald eyes stared directly at her, filled with a fathomless depth of
stone-coldness to the point it felt the temperature in the air dipped a few
degrees. Never had she seen eyes this shade, nor endured the chill of
deadliness she read within them. He wore no vision-enhancement gear, but Shia
had no doubt he saw her using only the light of the flames spitting from the
pit.