MILITARY ROMANCE: The War Within Himself (Alpha Bad Boy Marine Army Seal) (Contemporary Military Suspense & Thriller Romance) (117 page)

“Commander, I have picked up three life signs outside Acrulla,” Shaktee reports. “It appears they are attempting to gain access.” Are these members of the alien race which attacked us without provocation?

Acrulla lurches sideways as the shock wave from the impact of the other craft rolls through the moon like an earthquake, and I know we have only got a few heartbeats to live.

“Get them aboard, but under quarantine, take everything but their clothes and assign a monitoring team,” I bark my orders out. “Then get us off this rock before it explodes!”

***

I can feel the ground shaking under my feet and panic welling in my chest. This moon was
not
supposed to have suffered from seismic events. I’ve got my hand on the anomaly again, steadying myself when it gives way, and I fall against a hard edge. It looks like a door or hatch has opened and become almost transparent as well.

“Deakins!” I scream over the shriek and rumble of the quake. “Nerravin! In here!” Nerravin doesn’t even bother to argue as I jump in and turn to grab her wrist, hauling her small frame up inside this thing. We both help Deakins get on board and collapse to the floor which is warm, as if alive.

I roll over, panting and covered in dust from the moon, and my stomach flips as the gray and brown surface drops away from us. I feel myself slammed into the floor with the massive acceleration, but it’s the floor
itself
which helps to cushion my body, holding my organs in place and stopping my skin from bursting with the overwhelming pressure. On the verge of passing out, I watch in horror as the third moon orbiting Erenius explodes in a bright flash, which is quickly gone but stays on my retinas as a ghost image. Chunks of rock which will become asteroids now fly off in all directions, and I just see the tiny pool of boiling rock at the core splash out into the cold of space when my consciousness finally winks out.

***

“NOW!” I thunder, and even Acrulla must have been able to hear as he leaps from the surface of the moon, jumping harder than a Jarknobian Tralodite. My knees collapse, and I just manage to steer myself enough to be lying on my back. Acrulla’s deck begins to absorb me as I see a flash of white engulf the command section. Must be whatever power source the other ship used exploding behind us. Luckily for us, they hit on the far side of the moon, so we should be able to escape. I feel the change as Acrulla clears the atmosphere the little moon hung on to. His speed increases in the vacuum of space, although the pressure of inertia is beginning to make my eyes fail as the blood is pulled from my eyes to the back of my head. If we are not at safe distance soon, I will lose consciousness, yet I cannot allow that to happen as someone such as Jonober would see it as an opportunity to slaughter me and take my place. I find myself looking through a tunnel, which is narrowing by the second, and eventually, I am shrouded in darkness. I can hear the groans of pain coming from the crew and the roaring hum from Acrulla’s giant engines but my sight is gone.

***

Why do I feel so awful? The memories hit me, and I snap my eyes open, looking around to get my bearings. All three of us are in a small, dimly lit room. The walls and floor look to be made of the same materials and are all warm to the touch. Someone or some
thing
has taken the opportunity to steal all our belongings apart from the clothes we’ve got on, but they’ve been through the pockets as well, leaving me with nothing.

I crawl across to Deakins and Nerravin, feeling their necks for a pulse. Relief floods me for a second when I find they’re both still alive, but the terror I feel is almost overwhelming, and I curl up, hugging my knees until one of them wakes.

They’re all dead and gone. Neela, Derenius, Trant. Everyone I knew from the expedition and even the couple I only caught sight of. Seven lives extinguished in some kind of explosion. It was gigantic, whatever caused it, ripping the moon to pieces like that. Sorrow, sadness and guilt hit me as Nerravin starts to wake up. I watch her as she comes to and looks for her weapon. I see the emotions play across her face, unguarded as she hasn’t noticed me yet. Then she shuts down, her angular face becoming hard again. She checks Deakins then looks to me, surprised that I’m looking back at her.

I raise a hand, weakly. “Hi.” My voice comes out as a whisper.

She raises her head once. “What the fuck is going on, man?” I can only shrug.

“You said this thing was like a mushroom or something, and now we’re
inside
it?”

“Looks that way,” I can hear the tremor in my own voice, my fright ringing through.

“So what, you think this is some kind of space craft?” She wants me to give her the answers, tell her everything, and I can’t.

“I don’t know!” I cry, “I don’t know what this is or what happened. I just know everyone else is dead.”

Her face changes then, the expression unreadable. “You don’t got to tell me that, man. I seen that moon go up like the fourth of July too.”

“Oh, my head,” Deakins moans, and I shuffle over to see him.

“Are you injured?” I ask gently. “Is anything broken?”

He squints up at me. “Just because I’m the oldest one here doesn’t mean I’ve got brittle bones,” he barks back. “What happened?”

I’m just about to tell him when Nerravin cuts in. “It looks like the
exobiologist
can’t tell the difference between a mushroom and a fucking
spacecraft
, man. We’re aboard some kind of alien ship or some shit like that.”

Deakins looks at me with a mixture of emotions, shock, wonder, disappointment. His eyebrows go up. “Is that right, Hetty?” he asks.

I can’t hold his stare. “It looks that way but...” I trail off and they both stare at me, waiting. “I think the whole thing is alive.” I gesture around the room. It’s Nerravin who gets it first.

“We’re inside some kind of
creature
, man? Is that what you saying?”

I sniff and wipe my tears. “Think so.” I say.

Deakins gets up and moves to the wall, punching it hard, his fist makes a small slapping sound but the surface bows in around his knuckles, absorbing the blow.

“Christ!” he says. “Now what?”

“I guess we wait and see,” I tell them both. Nerravin looks like a caged animal already, and Deakins slumps back down into one of the corners of the cell we’re in.

***

We have ridden the shock wave from the exploding moon, being missed narrowly by the vast asteroids, which sail by even faster than Acrulla. He has suffered minor damage to three of his systems but no skin breaches, so I can leave the repairs to Jonober and the rest of the crew. I make my way through the ship to the outer skin where a chamber has been sealed to quarantine the three aliens. One of my crew, a female I do not know, is interfaced with Acrulla through a proboscis. She rises and looks down as I pass her to look through a small window. She has kept it opaque so they do not get too much information regarding their surroundings.

“Report.”

“All three have woken, commander, I have not had much success in deciphering their language, however.” I turn to look at her.

“Is that all?” I sense she wishes to tell me more yet is afraid. “What are you called?”

“Bhentus, commander,” she tells me with obvious pride. “Aboard for thirty-four cycles now.”

“So what else do you wish to tell me?” She pauses and I feel my anger rise, but she speaks before I roar at her.

“I do not think this is the same species that attacked Acrulla and destroyed the moon.” I gaze at her, and she holds my stare. She might prove to be an asset after all.

“Reasoning?” I demand.

“I analyzed the recording of the attack, specifically when Acrulla’s missiles hit the other ship. I compared the bodies which were ejected with these, and they are markedly different.” I nod at her.

“Excellent.” This is high praise coming from me, and she knows it. “Continue with your work and keep me informed. Keep them fed and see that they have some more room to feel free, but do not allow them to have access to Acrulla.”

“Yes, commander.”

“Let me see them,” I order, and the window becomes fully transparent. Three small, weak forms are huddled in the room beyond. None of them even see me. Most unimpressive, the male has little muscle mass and one of the females is the size of a child. There is a larger female, who...

“Commander?” Bhentus calls from behind.

“What?” I snap.

“You were just staring in there, commander, for a long time,” she tells me. “You did not respond when I called.” I do not recall spending too much time watching the female.

“I choose how long to examine my captives, remember that.” I tell her and then leave.

***

I’ve only got a vague idea of how long we’ve been here, but it’s got to be hours now. Nerravin is searching every inch of the walls for a gap she can exploit, but I know she won’t find one. I can
feel
it. Plus, it’s like the walls are moving, the space we’re in getting bigger somehow. I’ve been on edge since the moon exploded. Why did I survive? What makes me so special? What’s going to happen to us? Where are they taking us? I should be chomping at the bit to see a sentient alien and try to learn about them, but my fear and anxiety over what’s going to happen to us is eating me from the inside.

Deakins looks as strung out as I feel, and every time I try to talk to him, he just snaps at me. Nerravin is off limits too. She’s just ignoring me, blaming me for not identifying this ship. What does she think would have happened if I had? We’d have been killed when the moon blew up! I lie down, pillow my head on my arm and close my eyes, trying to calm myself a little.

I can hear Nerravin mumbling to herself as she examines every inch and Deakins’ heavy sighs, but they are becoming less distinct, much less important, and the hypnotic hum coming from the massive ship soothes me to sleep.

In the dream I’m walking through the alien ship with glittering walkways and passages conveying me. I’m surrounded by overwhelming beauty, passing a large tank which has hundreds of small, colorful animals inside. They look like fish but there doesn’t appear to be any water, and I wonder how they float around the tank.

I’m surrounded by beauty and luxury, my dreaming mind bringing my own version of the ship to life. A table and chairs appear behind me, and I sit, drinking the best coffee I have ever tasted and eating a pastry.

The stranger enters from somewhere. I just become aware of him pacing over and watch as he sits down, sharing my meal. I can’t see his features, but I know he must be the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen. Something is different about him, but I can’t tell what. He’s certainly got the bulging muscles I like and a pleasant manner about him, even though he hasn’t spoken.

He gets up and holds out his hand. I take it, as if we have known each other for years, and find it’s cooler than mine. I realize he’s not human when my dream shifts, and we’re walking hand in hand along a sunlit cliff top. The view is beautiful, with the orange sky meeting the yellow sea. Some part of my mind is telling me this is wrong. I haven’t ever been here, but I know it, regardless. Up ahead are a grassy plain, which stretches on as far as I can see, and a small copse of trees, which grow in a semicircle.

Inside, the trees have become a cozy, round hut with soft edges to the lavender tinted features. A warm fire burns in the hearth as always, and we stand next to it, naked and facing each other. His fingers trace designs across my skin, running from my hands, up my arms to my shoulders and neck. Every nerve tingles in the wake of the contact between his flesh and mine, lighting my skin with trails of fire. He steps closer, this stranger, whose face I can’t see, and leans down to press his lips against mine. I can feel his breath, warm on my face, feel his lips so gentle against mine and when he flicks his tongue out, I part my lips giving him my mouth. It’s bizarre. His tongue is warm, soft and moist, but it feels like it’s split, forked in a snake-like way, but I ignore it as this is just a dream. I reach up to wrap my arms around his neck, feeling the knots of muscle flexing under my fingers and pull us closer together.

His insistent fingers trace up and down my back now, thrilling their way up and down my spine, skimming my sides and tickling over the curve of my breasts. His touch brings me to life, my body responding in a primal way, my heart speeds up and breath comes in huffed gasps.

I feel his lips on my neck and throat, sending shivers and goose flesh in waves down my back and across my thighs. A warm ache is growing deep inside my abdomen, pulling at the long unused muscles down there.

His hands support my heavy breasts, squeezing gently and stroking, running his rough palms over my nipples which go rigid in response. He leans in and sucks a kiss from my lips before moving down to gently, pulling at my right nipple with his mouth and tongue. I feel a similar tug deep inside me and willingly give in to the passion, which burns throughout me.

He pushes me back, away from the fire, and I fall in slow motion onto the quilted bed. It’s warm under me, as if it’s alive, and I know I’ve felt it before, but the dream won’t let me think about anything but him. He kisses and licks his way down my skin, tasting and sampling, delighting in the feel and taste of my plump body. He pauses and flicks his forked tongue into my belly button with such eroticism I can almost feel it in my groin. His hands trace down my thighs, grip my knees and spread my legs as wide as they will go, opening me to his gaze. Without hesitation, he licks his way down through the coarse hair, and I feel his warm tongue against my wet lips.