Star Catcher (20 page)

“Is that truly your deranged plan, Krael? Are you scared of the Embassy’s retribution or that of the Artanians you sold infants to? I wonder if those who paid you will be satisfied with half-bloods?”

Krael froze. The look of astonishment on her face slowly transformed into sheer malice. He had meant to throw her off balance by revealing his knowledge.
Dear Scrion, please let this work!

Noth shook his head again, and gave her a look of mock pity as he continued his verbal and mental assault.

“You are unfit to serve the Embassy any longer, Krael. These animals can smell your infection. See how they look at you?”

He gave the two beasts a mental push, which had them sniffing the air in Krael’s direction and inching forward.

“I have no illness, you fool! I stood side by side with these animals on that despicable planet. They gathered the inferior human stock you so ignorantly invited to my collection sight. They never once touched me, nor would they. My blood is pure! My only flaw was considering you worthy of sharing my glory!”

The
wrovs
closed in, one on either side. They pawed at the metal flooring in confusion, their ears perked in Noth’s direction as he gave the command.

“Your sickness is of the mind, Krael. Clearly, that is what the
wrovs
smell. The poison in your brain. It has festered with time, and now you are their target.”

Her hand trembled as the foul monsters crouched on either side of her, ready to spring. A low growl sounded to her right, and she turned the gun on the animal and fired. The second
wrov
pounced, knocking her to the ground. Yellow fangs flashed. Noth saw the jaw open wide and turned his face away. Krael’s terrified scream was cut short by the killing bite.

Noth pulled Uryu to his feet. Krael’s lifeless fingers held tight to the laser gun, but Noth pried the weapon free just as a tremendous crash shook the ship.

“Return to your pen and harm no one!”

The
wrov
lifted a gory muzzle from its kill. Its enormous head abruptly cocked to the side and spattered crimson droplets across the gleaming ferrite floor. The animal seemed to contemplate Noth’s directive. Tufted ears swiveled while the beast’s three jaundiced eyes rolled backward as if in search of the owner of the voice that spoke in its head. Finally, it leapt over the mauled body of the chief military commander. It sniffed Krael’s bodiless head a small distance away, and then trotted down the hall.

Uryu was in pain, but alive. After assuring himself the man was not in immediate peril, Noth took off toward the conservatory at a sprint. Hopefully, Krael’s foot soldiers would not attempt to stop him. He did not want to kill them for obeying the orders of a lunatic.

Chapter 16

The clanging bell pierced the silence of Stella’s cabin. A moment of panic seized her before the heavy metal door automatically slid open. Forcing herself to remain calm, she dashed for the door, sparing a quick glance at the button camera on the ceiling. She doubted Krael was sitting in front of a bank of monitors watching the humans run for their lives. The cameras did not matter anymore.

“Fuck you, Krael,” she said, and flipped a middle finger at the
Lans
as she exited the room. It felt fantastic to say the words out loud, even if no one heard them on the receiving end.

Scared faces peered out of rooms all along the corridor.

“Come on! Everyone follow me. Move quickly if you want to go home!”

She spoke in English. No more pretenses. Most of the women wouldn’t understand Spanish anyway.

The women trailed behind her without question. The alarm seemed to invoke a terrified obedience in them. Every door Stella encountered was open, and the siren continued to beat into her head. Strobing emergency lights, mounted at intervals, cast their movements in a choppy red glow. There was so much smoke. Dirty gray billows hovered in a noxious cloud above their heads. Thankfully, the thickening haze made it difficult for any of Krael’s personnel to observe them via the cameras.

Stella turned a corner and smacked into a large female soldier. The Artanian was knocked off her feet as the force of the running group crashed into her. Stella landed on top of the bald, uniformed alien, and her teeth snapped together violently with the impact. The guard’s head cracked against the metal floor with a sickening crunch. The sound turned Stella’s stomach, but she didn’t hesitate to grab for the strange gun as it fell from the female’s hand.

Stella pointed it at the soldier, finger on the trigger. But the woman was still, her eyes closed. A red stain trickled from behind her battered skull.

Stella jumped to her feet and ran on. “Don’t stop for anything!” she called back to the others. “Stay with me!”

The conservatory was dark when they entered, but the night sky above them provided a faint glow from two moons. Stella barked orders as she maneuvered down the trail. Any women who lagged behind would know the meeting place.

“Against the back wall! We line up there. A ship is coming for us, but we have to move fast once it lands. We only have four minutes to board!” Her breathing was ragged, but she forced her voice to carry. The measly walks they allowed her were not nearly enough exercise. Plus she had been utterly exhausted for the past few days. In all likelihood, her pregnancy was the culprit.

In the gloomy space, they pressed their backs against the leaf-covered wall. Cold metal was behind the foliage façade, but soon they would breathe fresh air again. Soon, they would be free.

And then, from the shadows came glowing yellow eyes. The creepy orbs moved toward them in the darkness as a chorus of shrieks began. Noth had told Stella about the horrible creatures. Krael had used them to round up sick women at the abduction site. Would the animals sense her pregnancy and consider it a weakness? A pack of them materialized out of the gloom, hulking and silent as they stalked their prey. Stella counted twelve eyes.

She pointed the ray gun at the animal closest to her and squeezed the trigger. The beast froze in place as the red beam hit its chest. A moment later it exploded in a shower of cooked flesh and singed hair. The other animals retreated, but Stella fired after them and caught one in the rear as it ran off.

The explosion was deafening. For a moment, she thought the crashing sound was related to the second shot she fired, but tinkling glass began to rain down from the ceiling. Air pulled upward, tugging her hair toward the gaping hole in the glass ceiling while the underbelly of a ship maneuvered through the space.

“Stay back! Out of the way! When the door opens, single file! Board as quickly as possible!”

A tremendous humming began. The opposing pull of wind as the repressurization system kicked on yanked at Stella’s hair and clothes as if invisible fingers grabbed at her from every direction. The sound of moving air roared in her ears.

The aircraft tore through the greenery, ripping limbs from trees as it descended. It came to a screeching halt, metal grinding against metal and stone. A girl near Stella broke toward the ship just as a thick slab on the side of the aircraft disengaged and swung down on hinges. Stella grabbed the back of her shirt and yanked her back before the huge door crushed her.

The open portal spurred all of them forward. They rushed toward the entrance as a tall Artanian female stepped out and waved them in. A number of the women balked at the sight of her. Stella could barely make out the alien’s words.

“I am Noth’s sister. I will return you to your rightful home. Come quickly!”

The Artanian spoke in stilted English, and Stella saw that she wore an ear bud.

“It’s all right!” she shouted at the crowd as she pushed bodies toward the entrance. “She will help us. Get on! Hurry!”

The last of the women ascended the ramp. Stella felt lightheaded. Her breath sailed in and out in rapid bursts. She couldn’t seem to get enough air into her lungs no matter how deeply she inhaled.

“Where is Noth? I sense danger and fear from him, but he is not communicating when I reach out with my mind!” The alien woman shouted down at her, a worried expression on her smooth face.

I don’t know. And if he never returns for me, I will have a lifetime of regret and unanswered questions.

Stella turned and ran back toward the park entrance. The moonlight sparkled off damp leaves as she sprinted down the path. It bounced and formed trippy trails of light before her eyes. Her legs churned while her lungs sucked in acid with each breath. Strangely, the floor was moving beneath her, like a conveyor belt sliding in the opposite direction. She saw the bright outline of the door, but couldn’t get any closer to it, no matter how hard she pushed.

With a freeing sense of detachment from the situation, from her own body, she wondered absently if she would reach it before it closed.

But she couldn’t just leave Noth here to face Krael alone. If he died she would spend the rest of her life waiting for a ghost, raising their child alone. She had to know. Had to see him safe and feel his lips against hers once more.

Her legs gave out. Muscles twitching from the lack of oxygen, they collapsed, unable to obey her commands any longer. But the door was still open. The closer she got, the better the air quality. She forced herself to crawl, her shallow gasps uncontrolled as the room spun around her.

A shadow passed before the lit hallway. A figure or the door sliding shut? Stella couldn’t tell which as she gave a final effort to pull her body forward. Her arms crumpled beneath her, and she collapsed face-first onto the cool ground.

Finally, blissful darkness pulled her under.

Chapter 17

Six Earth Days Later, Artanos

Noth stood before the Large Council of Embassy Affairs. He had once before been in the building that housed the supreme decision-making officers for the entire planet, but he was equally in awe on this occasion. The Large Council meeting room was enormous, with a three-story domed ceiling that soared above his head. An artist had rendered a depiction of their star patterns, and Noth gazed at his namesake. The huge figure, an Artanian man turned deity, held a hand out to a glowing ball of light. The sight made his heart ache.

He felt dwarfed, like a speck of dust beneath the tremendous dome. Stella would have loved to see the beautiful painting.
Scrion
, how he missed her.

The Large Council sat in elevated seats across the front of the room. After much debate in their private quarters beyond the dais, the chancellors had finally reached a verdict. The future of Artanos was determined now. His life rested in their hands.

“Doctor Zobor, we appreciate your thorough account of the situation at Medical Satellite
thrif-delv
. The recordings we rescued from the ship support your claims that Commander Syrwv Krael violated direct Embassy orders and used excessive and unnecessary force. Additionally, the documents retrieved from the commander’s office will assist us in prosecuting those Artanians involved in illegal infant trading to the full extent of the law. You have been cleared of any wrongdoing, Doctor.”

“Thank you, Your Honors.”

“Concerning the potential for Artanian procreation with humans…” The speaker’s voice trailed off as she examined her notes. A trickle of sweat rolled down Noth’s back and he held his breath.

“The Large Council recognizes there will be citizens of Artanos who consider such offspring an abomination. We will continue with our experimentation protocol, as before. We have decided you will no longer regulate these proceedings.”

Noth slumped, his legs weakening beneath him as if deflated. The council was as narrow-minded as Krael. They would extinguish his entire race and enslave Stella’s because of their obstinacy.

“All surrogates for the project will be recruited and compensated for their participation. As you reason, these women will be more likely to have successful pregnancies under stress-free conditions. We have an abundance of the mineral
aurumia
, or gold as the humans call it. The volunteers will be adequately reimbursed. Your observations of Earth have satisfied our initial concerns that the human race could pose a threat to our planet. Their lack of sufficient modes of interplanetary travel makes them harmless.”

At least, they will no longer abduct helpless victims. That is a fantastic accomplishment.

But Noth was saddened to be relieved of his position.

“You will be given your choice of aides for your new interbreeding recruitment project. Already, the list of applicants is astounding. Both males and females are willing to undergo the hair transplant procedure to assist. Work on Earth is a desirable undertaking, it seems.” The speaker gave him a wry smile.

“Your Honors?”
Have they truly approved my proposal?

“As we have stated, there will be inevitable opposition, but the majority of Artanians will be overjoyed to have a younger generation once again. You have given new hope to our species, Doctor Zobor. On behalf of the Embassy, and all of Artanos, we thank you.”

A tremendous weight lifted from his shoulders. His fellow Artanians were not inconsiderate monsters without empathy for other life forms!

He, Stella, and their child could live in peace and spend their time bringing happiness to others. Noth had sent the woman he loved back to Earth before he informed the Embassy that procreation with the humans was possible. It was a precaution, lest they refuse his recommendation. Everything he had dreamed of, but never thought possible, was now his. Noth practically ran from the building. He had a star to catch.

Chapter 18

Eighteen Hours Later, Earth

Stella drove through the deserted parking area, feeling as empty as the after-hours nursery school lot. It had only been a week since she had been dropped back home with the rest of the women. She occasionally recognized some of them in the halls, but they never hinted at knowing her. Such was the nature of the medication they had received during their stay on the Artanian satellite.