Chapter 1
Dr. Amelia Aerot
“Hey Amelia, did you feel that?” my assistant, Petra asked me as she moved over beside me in the lab.
We were on board the Terra 2, a science research vessel that left Earth six months ago. It was a large ship, one we could live on for ten years due to vast resources and amazing recycling systems. Five scientists and five crewmates lived on the ship, including me. I was a medical research doctor, and I had set out on a mission to find clues regarding the existence of extra-terrestrial life in the deepest dark reaches of space.
“Did I feel what?” I asked distractedly, walking over to use a high-powered microscope to check on the progress of my sample. Suddenly I was jolted from left to right. I looked over at Petra, her brown eyes were wider than usual in shock.
“I meant that,” she pointed out.
“Then yeah, I definitely felt that,” I said, putting my research on the lab table.
“Do you think it’s a power surge?” she asked.
“I don’t know. It’s never done that before,” I mused. “Hold on. I’ll call the flight deck,” I moved over to the intercom and pressed the button to speak. “Flight deck, this is the lab. Did you feel a jolt? We felt it down here on this end.” I released the button and waited for a response, but there was silence. I looked at Petra.
“It’s not like them not to answer. There’s always someone manning the communications,” she said, worried.
“Let me try again,” I said, pressing the button and clearing my throat so I could speak clearly. “Flight deck, this is the lab. Is anyone there? Come in, please.”
Still nothing.
I was about to press the button to try one more time when—BAM!
The ship jolted violently, sending Petra falling to the floor, and me slamming against the wall. The sounds of screeching metal filled the air as the sirens activated, red lights flashing and the sirens drowning out our voices as we tried to speak to each other.
“Oh my God! What is happening?” Petra cried, absolutely frantic. “The ship is going to blow up!”
“Are you alright?” I asked, yelling a little so she could hear me above the sirens wailing. I crawled along the floor of the shaking ship to get closer to her.
“Yes!” she screamed back.
“We’re being boarded! Something has a hold of this ship!” the voice of Captain Martin came over the intercom. “I repeat: we are being boarded! An unidentified ship has locked onto us! Hide if you can! Hide!” he screamed.
Petra and I looked at each other in shock before the lights went off and the entire ship went dark, save for the dim emergency lights that lit the hallway.
“Did he just say we are being boarded?” Petra looked at me in fear, I nodded, wiping the sweat from my forehead.
“Yes, now we need to hide,” I said, looking around for a hiding place.
“Being boarded by what?” she asked. “There is nothing out here! Is it possible that the Russians are out here too? Why would they attack us?”
“I have a feeling it’s not the Russians,” I whispered, pulling her off the floor. Now that the ship had stopped shaking, we could finally walk around. The lights came back on in full blast, the sudden brightness almost blinding me. Echoing sounds of people shouting and blaster guns shooting filled our ears. Whoever was attacking us was going to come here any second.
“Petra, we have to hide now,” I said, looking around the lab urgently. I was a petite woman, only 5’5 and very fit. I could easily hide under a cabinet, and no one would be able to notice, but Petra was the opposite. She was tall, capping at six feet, and not to mention, big-boned. She wasn’t overweight; she just had that Viking female build with blonde hair to go along with it. There would be no hiding in a cabinet for her.
“Here, get inside and don’t say a word. Don’t even breathe loudly,” I warned her, opening a tall pantry cupboard and pulling out the boxes inside, setting them on the lab table.
“Me? What about you? Where are you going? Don’t leave me!” she pleaded, her eyes beginning to tear up. I shook my head in reassurance.
“Petra, look at me. I am not going anywhere. I am going to be right here in the lab, okay? I’m just going to hide in another spot,” I told her. “But I’m going to need you to pull it together, okay? Hopefully, whoever has boarded the ship will quickly take a look around, take whatever it is they’re after and then leave. They won’t even know we are hiding in here, okay?” I waited for her to nod twice before pushing her into the pantry.
“We need to be invisible, okay? That’s the goal,” I said, calming her down. “Stay quiet, and put your hand over your mouth if you need to.”
I could hear noises echoing in the hall, and I quickly ran to the other side of the lab and opened the cabinet under the sink. I crawled inside, curving my body against the pipe and closed the door behind me.
It was dark and quiet enough that I could hear my breathing. I didn’t know what was going on, but something told me that a ship from Earth wouldn’t come all this way out here just to hijack another Earth ship. We were far out of our solar system, and we didn’t think there was anyone else out here.
That was the purpose of this research mission; to collect any signs of microscopic life in the deep reaches of space, and see if there was possibility of a cure for degenerative diseases in them.
“Here! Search in here!” a booming voice shouted as heavy boots entered the lab. “The Earthlings are good at hiding. I’ve dealt with them many times.”
My eyes widened in shock, and I put my hand over my mouth to keep myself from whimpering, just as I had suggested to Petra.
Oh God, I hoped they wouldn’t find Petra…or me, I added as an afterthought.
“Did you hear that?” I heard a distinctly male voice ask.
“What is it, Commander Kyis?”
“That sound…,’he paused for a second. “Here.”
I heard something being forced open, and I closed my eyes and whimpered as I realized they found Petra.
“No! No!” Petra screamed. I heard them scuffling as they pulled her from the pantry.
“Here is another one!” the male cried, sounding particularly smug now upon capturing her. “That makes two. I knew there would be plenty of human females aboard this vessel. Did I not tell you?”
“Yes, you did, Commander.”
This one will make a pretty mate. She is almost as tall as we are, only another foot to go.”
I narrowed my eyes as I heard this declaration. I also heard him say something interesting earlier—here’s another one. That meant they already have Clara, a trained astronaut. She was the other female onboard the Terra 2.
I was growing angrier by the second. How dare they think they can just take us? Whoever they were, they had another thing coming!
“No! Get your hands off me! No!” Petra shouted in fear.
That’s it. I’ve had enough.
“Get your hands off her!” I cried, bursting out of the cabinet and then stomping right over to these blue-colored men. I held my finger out and prodded at the one holding Petra. “Let her go now or else…,”
All blaster guns turned at me, making me take in the aliens for the first time. I was astonished by what I saw.
They looked like long tall human males, at least seven feet tall or so, except their skin was dark blue, and it seemed to have a glittering sheen when they moved into the light. They didn’t have any shirts on, and I could see just how ripped these aliens were, making me think they were probably either soldiers or warriors. The bottom half of their body was covered by a black spandex, or scuba suit material that fit snugly against their masculine thighs. It was tucked into high calf boots and accented with a large tool belt with some advanced devices on it, including weapons.
“Or else, what?” the alien that held Petra said. It was his looks that shocked me out of all the aliens in the room. I was expecting grotesque spikes protruding from his face or scaly patches of skin, but that wasn’t what I saw. This dark blue-skinned soldier had solid long black hair that rested just above his shoulders. It was messy, and it matched his rugged beard stubble that lined his cheeks and chin. His eyes were a stark light grey color, and his teeth were bright white, and looked fairly human except for his canines were a bit longer—kind of like a vampire’s.
“Let her go or else…,” I struggled, thinking of something to threaten him with. “Or else…,” but I had nothing. What could I do to seven feet, heavily-armed and seriously buffed alien warriors?
The entire group of aliens, including the attractive one, started laughing loudly. Then he looked at me, and he let go of Petra.
“I like this one,” he said as he pointed his finger at me like I was a Louis Vuitton in a shopping mall. “She is small, but she is fiery. I think that is what I would like in a human female mate.”
I sputtered in disbelief.
“I don’t care what you like; I’m not yours! You will let us go, and you will leave our ship alone!” I shouted at him in anger, getting up on my tiptoes and stretching up as high as I could. He stepped toward me with his full lips in an amused-looking grin, putting only an inch of distance between us.
I knew he was trying to intimidate me, but those kind of party tricks don’t work on me.
I was going to stand my ground and not quiver. As he leaned even closer to me, I couldn’t help but inhale his manly scent, drawing a response deep inside of me. I instantly felt guilty that my body was becoming aroused from his musk. My body was betraying me. I felt a deep hatred for this alien creature, and yet at this proximity, my body was responding to him like an animal in heat.
He leaned down over me, moving his head sideways to look at my face. He lifted his hand and ran the back of it down my cheek tenderly.
“This one has a fire inside of her. I can see it through her pale skin,” he remarked, observing my face closely. “Those green eyes are shooting murder at me. She would probably kill me in my sleep if she had the chance,” this elicited laughter among his companions. “Hmm…Even her hair is the color of fire,” he said, running his hand through my red locks.
I narrowed my eyes at him and, with a show of bravery, slapped his hand away from my hair, drawing a surprised look out of him.
“Get your hand off me,” I sneered, making him smile bigger than before.
“I will take this one. We are done here,” Commander Kyis said as he turned to the other soldiers.
“Yes, Commander Kyis.”
It was obvious he was the one in charge. He turned back to me, and without warning, his strong large hands went around my waist and scooped me up.
“What are you doing?!” I shrieked in outrage. “Put me down, you brute!” I kicked against his hard stomach and pounded my fists on his hard back.
I heard Petra start shouting too.
“Stop it! Put me down! Help! Help!” she screamed.
When we entered the hallway, it was complete chaos. The crew was tied up on the ground—all the males, anyway. They watched helplessly as the Captain shouted at the aliens.
“Let them go! Do not take those women! They are not yours to take!”
I winced as one of the aliens kicked the Captain in the gut, making him cough uncontrollably. I was furious and frightened at the same time. What the hell was going on? Where were we going? If they were simply taking the ship, then they would’ve just tied us up with everyone else.
“Disengage the lock once we’re all through,” Commander Kyis ordered.
“Yes, Commander,” the soldier said, nodding.
“What are you doing?! Put me down!” I yelled.
“Do you ever stop shouting?” he said quietly to me in an exasperated tone. He walked through the airlock of our ship and onto the airlock of another ship I had never seen before.
“Do you ever listen?” I asked back. He just laughed again in response. I looked around and realized what was happening. They were going to take Petra, Clara and me; we were being abducted in space.
Panic shot through me as I looked at the gleaming white walls of their ship. I had never seen anything like it. Even though they were uncouth males, it was obvious they were far more advanced than we were.