Authors: Bianca D'Arc
Tags: #Romance, #Erotica, #Adult, #Fiction, #Science Fiction, #Human-Alien Encounters, #Adventure
Sons of Amber (5 page)
* * *
Angela was a little frightened at first when the ship lurched off the ground. "Sorry for the bumpy ride. This thing isn't space worthy, but she's just fine for an atmospheric run. Don't worry."
"If you say so." She rolled her eyes and they both chuckled.
After a few minutes of smooth movement through the atmosphere, Angela began to relax. Ezekiel brought up a viewscreen so she could observe the ground from above.
According to him they were just high enough to clear the tallest of the mountains, though to her that was more than enough altitude. Still, since this craft was intended to sail the vast vacuum of space, she realized this little hop up into the atmosphere was as nothing to him. "It's beautiful from up here."
21
She meant every word as the rugged terrain of her homeworld dazzled her senses.
From this altitude the suns were already lighting a good portion of the land below in shimmering golds, browns, and reds. It was breathtaking.
"Pretty planet from this vantage point," Ezekiel agreed, "but damned inhospitable to live on. Someday, Angela, I'd like to show you the warm oceans of Pacifica or the rolling grasslands of Argentia."
She heard the yearning in his tone but she also knew those worlds he spoke of were infected with the Jit virus. She couldn't go there now and probably would never be able to set foot off this adopted homeworld. Still, she could dream.
"I'd like to see Espia. That's where our people originated." She remembered the beautiful green and blue forests she'd seen only in recordings. "The history cubes I've seen of it are lovely."
He leaned back in his chair as she noticed him starting their descent sequence.
"Espia is truly beautiful. The mists in the capital city burn off in the morning sun and the temperature is ideal all year round."
"You've been there?" Only the oldest of the elders now remembered their home planet and they'd been children when the colonists fled.
"Yeah, I had a stopover there last year. Spent a few weeks of downtime while my ship was serviced. It's a beautiful place, but they were hit hard by the virus. There are no males left there at all."
"None?" She gasped, thinking of all her male friends and family that would die if the virus found its way to their colony.
"Some worlds were luckier than others. A few males survived here and there on many planets, but almost all were sterile after their bout with the virus and they lived with the threat of recurrence. On a few rare worlds, the males suffered through the disease badly at first, then it went dormant, waiting to strike again at any moment." His face tightened into grim lines. "Espia was one of the few planets where all the males died in the first round of infection. Certain uniquely Espian DNA sequences and physiology made your ancestors much more susceptible to the virus than other human variants. Many of the Espian females died as well, though most females on other planets did not. Your ancestors were wise to leave." Angela sent up a silent prayer as she thought of all the dead. "The cities are pretty much empty now, with many buildings vacant. There are few people to live in the leftover spaces, but the survivors are resilient. They've learned to value what they have left of their world. Music and the arts flourish still, and new schools to study medicine and science have been opened. The few young born since the virus are encouraged to study hard and help rebuild their society."
"They're still having children then?"
"With Dr. Waithe's help." He turned away to focus on the landing as they approached the hills where the entrance to the settlement was hidden. "Sons of Amber were dispatched to the hardest hit planets as soon as we were able to perform our duties."
"Your duties?" She had a sneaking suspicion what they might entail.
He took a moment to settle the ship before answering. Once the ship was powering down, he turned to her.
"I told you when I first woke, Angel. I and my brothers were designed to help repopulate human worlds. We breed true and have certain skills and qualities that are helpful to societies starting to rebuild. Some of my brothers were dispatched to Espia to help protect them from Jit raiders. Some were sent to help the scientists set up sperm banks and a breeding program. Whatever the assignment, we are always encouraged to have sex with any female that desires it."
22
Angela's heart plummeted. His voice sounded so clinical, so cold as he explained his bizarre 'duties.' The warmth they'd shared only hours before seeped away from her, leaving her chilled inside.
"So am I just a part of your duty, then?" She couldn't even look at him.
His warm hand tucked under her chin, raising her eyes to his. He'd moved out of his pilot's chair and to her side without making a sound.
"No." His eyes narrowed with some indefinable emotion. "You're different, Angela.
From the moment I first saw you, everything about you has been completely out of my experience." He leaned in to kiss her softly, then pulled back. "And I admit I've had a lot of experience with women of every sort." He grinned, though she didn't like to hear that she was only one in a long line of conquests for him. "I don't know what it is about you, but when I look at you, I could care less about my duty, my mission, or anything else. All that matters is you."
His whispered words were so touching, so heartfelt, tears gathered behind her eyes.
23
Four
The captain of the
Regulus
commed him a little more than four standards later. He knew the captain, an older woman named Litus, having worked with her before. Gifted with a steady nerve and strong leadership skills, she'd put on all available power to get her ship to the planet even sooner than the original estimate. Since the entire planet was in quarantine until the scientists could determine whether the population was truly free of contamination by the Jit virus, Captain Litus informed him the battleship was taking up a defensive position in orbit. The
Regulus
would circle with the small planet until they were joined by two other ships of the line. The three of them would then defend the colony against all comers, keeping anyone who was not duly authorized from traveling to the surface.
No way would they let anyone who had the potential of carrying the Jit virus to these uninfected humans anywhere near the surface. Sons of Amber were naturally immune and had been designed so that they would never carry the virus. Scrubbers onboard all spacecraft would ensure any remnants of the virus that might be carried on inanimate objects were eradicated as soon as all hatches were shut and the air started cycling. Zeke knew his ship had been one hundred percent clean before he crashed, and it was impossible for him or any Son to carry the virus. Regular humans, though, that was another matter.
Any visitor to the colony who was not a Son would have to wear full protective gear with his own independent air supply. The risk involved in such a visit was high and Zeke knew it would not be undertaken lightly. Dr. Amber would certainly come, if she thought it was important enough, but she would take all possible precautions to prevent contamination of an uninfected human population—the first they had ever found.
Ezekiel reported all this to Mother Rachel, as leader of the colony, answering her questions about the newly arriving ships' capabilities and their crews. She seemed interested to know that each ship had a crew made up almost entirely of women, and Zeke found himself explaining how the few male survivors of the virus on each world most often stayed near their home planets at the request of the medical community.
Established gender roles had changed somewhat since the devastating virus attack, and perhaps because Zeke had never known any other way of living, he was equally interested in the more traditional way the colonists divided the workload.
The men of the colony saw mostly to its defense, though occasionally a female would stand sentry duty or train in the hand-to-hand self defense style they favored. It all depended on individual interests. In this settlement, the males and females alike had the luxury of choosing to follow their own paths rather than have their roles dictated by the desperate needs of society. Watching them, Zeke realized he'd never really had any choice in what he would do with his life. He wasn't complaining. He liked what he did, but it was just a little disconcerting to realize that his choices had been sorely limited by the Jits and their despicable virus.
Still, many of the Sons of Amber were involved in the military, both because it was in their natures and because of the necessity that they travel quite frequently to the other human planets. Some served in combat posts, some in planning, reconnaissance and strategy, each according to his own specific talents. None were given special treatment, 24
but most of them excelled because it was simply the way they'd been designed. None of the Sons of Amber were mediocre, and all had a drive to succeed in their chosen fields.
Zeke's brother Michael, for example, was the commander of Atlantia Base, not because he'd been given the job, but because he'd earned it. He commanded all the ships in the sector and did a damned fine job of it. He had a quick, decisive mind, and as a Dominant it was in his nature to command any given situation.
"Tell me about your mother, Ezekiel." Mother Rachel startled him with her phrasing, but Zeke smiled.
"Dr. Amber isn't really my mother in the biological sense, ma'am, but she created the program the produced myself and the other Sons. She oversaw our development at every stage and contributed greatly to our make-up."
"She may not be your biological mother, Ezekiel," Rachel favored him with a serene smile, "but yet you love her as a son."
Zeke felt only a little uncomfortable talking about such intimate feelings with this foreign woman. It was surprising, actually, since he'd never discussed his innermost emotions with anyone before. He shrugged off the odd feeling that Mother Rachel's wise eyes held far more knowledge than she should rightly have.
"I guess all the Sons love her in one way or another. She's…" he hesitated slightly, trying to put his feelings into words. "She's a very special woman. She encourages us.
She taught us from when we were just born. She gives us pep talks when we need them and hope to go on. She has a real, potent vision of the future."
Rachel's eyes glistened with approval. "Then she is your mother in all the ways that matter most. And Ezekiel," she placed one small hand on his arm, squeezing slightly to emphasize her words, "her vision will succeed. Never doubt that."
Mother Rachel went on to ask about the other people who were coming, but asked nothing of what might happen next. After her telling comments of moments before, he suspected she knew more about what might occur after his people arrived than even he did. He spent a few minutes showing the sentries as well as some of the youngsters—a mixed group of young boys and girls—how to operate the small shield generator he'd brought out of his ship and set up at the entrance to the underground compound. With this small, portable shield spanning the entrance, the guards would be able to relax a bit and wouldn't have to face the daily skirmishes with packs of
gaks
and worse that tried constantly to get into the human dwelling areas.
The children were bright, and Zeke enjoyed their questions. He had never been around young humans much at all, and found himself enchanted by the little ones with such open, growing minds. The male sentries were hardened, fighting men, and they reminded him of the camaraderie he had only known to this point with his brothers. The only males he had ever really been exposed to were his fellow Sons. The opportunity to talk with unenhanced male humans was a rarity.
Eventually he made his way to the chamber Angela had shown him earlier, when they'd come in from his ship. It was her personal chamber. He had seen to all the tasks that needed doing, now he needed another taste of his angel's lips before he went crazy.
He knocked on the door and his insides lit when she answered with an intimate smile. She stepped back, allowing him into the small room, and he wasted no time pulling her into his arms.
"I've missed you so much." He breathed the words into her ear, delighted when she shivered.
"It's only been a few hours." Her girlish giggle made his dick quiver.
"Too long. I'm a starving man."
25
He crowded her back toward the small bed on which she obviously slept. He examined it over her shoulder for a quick moment. It was too small for what he had in mind, but he'd make do. He pushed down on her shoulders until she was sitting before him on the edge of her little bed.
Her little hands traced the ridge of flesh that twitched under his pants.
"Is this normal? As a healer in training, I've been taught that men aren't usually this…um…potent."
Zeke shrugged. "It's normal for me. At least when it comes to you, Angel."
He would have said more, but a knock on the hatch interrupted. Angela shot up from the bed and went to answer the door, just cracking it so she could talk with whomever was on the other side. He heard soft, feminine voices, and a moment later she shut the door and returned to him.
Pulling her again into his arms, he nuzzled her ear. "Let's go out to my ship. I've got a big, comfortable bed in my cabin, and no one can intrude on us there once I put the shield up."
Her expression teased as she looked up at him slyly. "Okay, but we can't be seen. I'm supposed to be studying and they'll never let me live it down if they knew you and I were…well…um…"
