Chapter 8

 

 

One Hour Later

 

The shuttle landed in a very small clearing. Zander stood up and proceeded to exit the shuttle first to help secure the area. He wouldn’t leave his sister’s or HonORa’s safety to others. The Colonial warriors did not look pleased, but he wasn’t the only one to want to view the perimeter. The Morinian Commander Kayley had been right on his heels leaving the shuttle.

“It looks clear,” Kayley commented.

He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. “I smell three males, to the east.”

Kayley narrowed her eyes at him then looked in the direction he pointed to. “I don’t sense anything. How can you tell?”

“Their scent is faint, blending well with the jungle, but I can scent them. As a hunter, it was crucial to identify those hunting with me from those we were hunting.”

“What did you hunt?”

“Elkey, a large mamal that had plentiful meat that would last us through the cold weather.”

“Were all your people hunters? Were they all male?” Kayley asked as if she already knew the answer.

“All our males were trained early on to help hunt for food to supply our entire village. Most of the females tended the gardens which supplied our fruits and vegetables but we did have a few females that were amazing hunters. Our senses were honed for identifying danger.”

“That didn’t seem to protect your people from being annihilated by the Morins,” Kayley said in a low voice, but not low enough. He heard her.

Zander glared at the female—no, the warrior. She was a warrior, and he would treat her as such. If any other warrior had made that comment he wouldn’t let it go unchallenged. “Watch the words you say, Commander. I won’t allow anyone to insult my people.”

She pulled her shoulders back and gave him a look of challenge. “Are you threatening me?”

“You seem to want a fight. Push me far enough and I will give you more than what you bargain for,” he promised.

He would have said more but the others were disembarking from the shuttle and the area was not secure to his liking. “Wait, we need to find out who the three males are before we allow you to be exposed.”

The head of security for their team, Lieutenant Commander SojUR, moved forward and called out into the jungle “Hello!”

Zander frowned. Was that how these colonist warriors secure locations? He wasn’t the only one to think so.

A tall man stepped out from the trees. “Is that how you protect from an attack? Stand out in the open and yell hello?”

Zander moved to stand beside SojUR. The two males seemed to know one another but Zander wasn’t going to take that for granted. “Who are you?”

“Who are you, blue male?”

SojUR cleared his throat. “Easy, Bardo, this is the village leader, ZenIM. Leader ZenIM, this is Zander Bardo, leader of the remaining survivors called the Norads. The female on his other side is Kayley, the commander of the Morinians.”

ZenIM blinked as he gazed at the female who was dressed as a warrior. Zander looked at her as well. She was only a few inches shorter than the Colonial warriors, had her blue-black hair pulled back into a long braid, and wore her weapon close to her hip. He had to admit that she was impressive. If she was from his home world of Norad, many of the other hunters would have fought to win her hand, though she didn’t appeal to him in that way. Zander preferred a shorter, softer female…one who wore robes that brought out the light in her eyes.

He turned to watch as HonORa and his sister approached. He didn’t like the familiar look that came into ZenIM’s eyes as they caught on HonORa or the way HonORa smiled fondly at the tall male. Zander had to fight the sudden feelings of possessiveness. She was his she just didn’t know it yet. He moved to stand closer to her as ZenIM greeted her.

“Priestess, I am pleased to see you again.” ZenIM bent to take her hand and lift it to his lips.

The male dared to place his lips on her! A rumbling started inside of Zander and he hadn’t realized he reached for his blade at his hip. A voice next to him reminded him of where he was.

“Easy big guy, you’re making everyone uncomfortable,” Kayley told him.

He grumbled but walked next to the Morinian, keeping his eyes on his sister and HonORa. They were walking with Leaders Lidia and ZenIM. He really didn’t like it when the male would lean down close to talk to HonORa, making her laugh and smile. Of course, being behind her, he only caught a glimpse of her smile when she turned to look at his sister. That partial view lit up the world for him. It was dark outside, but her smile was like sunlight pouring through the leaves and foliage.

“You have an injury?” Kayley asked curiously.

He almost forget about the Morinian. He was limping a little as they had to go up a steep incline. “Yes. I lost my arm and leg in the attack on my people. I have artificial limbs but that was minor to what many others had suffered at the hands of the Morins. So much death and destruction, only thirty out of our entire planet survived.”

There was a pause before the female said softly, “I know that was insensitive earlier. I tend to act or speak first then think better of it later. It is never good to make light of death. I’m sorry for you and for your people’s loss.”

He grunted without looking at her. “How long have you been a commander?”

“Ten years. I was nineteen”

“That’s young for any warrior to take command,” he commented.

“Yes but I had been training my whole life to be a commander. I would have trained longer but I took over when my father died in battle. My people needed someone strong that they trusted to command so I stepped up. I would do anything to keep my people safe.”

“I can relate. My village was run by a group of tribe elders who made decisions for what was best for everyone. My father wanted me to take my place by his side and began my training early. I didn’t want to be in a position of power, all I wanted was to be a hunter and provider for my people and to be free to live my life my way. After the attack on my people, none of the elders had survived and with us only have thirty left, my people voted to have me become their leader. I didn’t want that position and I felt tremendously guilty, but I would have felt shame if I walked away. So I too stepped up.”

“I guess we have more in common than either of us thought,” she commented.

“I guess so,” he wanted to ask her more questions but hesitated not wanting to insult her.  Evidently she sensed this.

“What is it you want to know?”

“Wasn’t there a male with more experience that could take command?”

“During the battle, many of our males died. Some of those who survived the battle eventually challenged me, but I still retained my command.”

He snorted. “Were they weak?”

Kayley stopped walking and he had to stop to turn back to look at her. “What?”

She glared at him. “Our males are not weak!”

“If you say so, I haven’t seen any of them yet.”

“You think that either they’re weak or I’m not telling the truth. You think I can’t fight?” she was furious.

Uh oh, this was leading to trouble. He wasn’t trying to start a fight with the Morinian female. “I didn’t say that, but it would stand to reason.”

The female took a fighting stance. “Let’s see how weak you are, blue male.”

He tilted his head at her in confusion. “You can’t be serious.”

She circled him, raising her hand palm up and taunting him with her fingers to move forward. Kitana! If she insisted on playing, he would give her an easy bout. He shrugged his shoulders which felt a little stiff after sitting in a tight space. He hadn’t had a chance to train since leaving Kiljor. A quick work out would loosen up his joints.

“I’ll take it easy on you,” he told her. Ignoring everyone else around them, he followed her movements in a circular pattern. He knew she was looking for his weaknesses. Unfortunately, he had two of them, so he did his best not to give away which arm and leg were the artificial ones.

Lieutenant Commander SojUR attempted to intervene. “Bardo, you can’t plan on fighting the female?”

“She requested this. We are just letting off some steam. Don’t worry, I won’t hurt her.”

Clearly SojUR wasn’t happy with his answer so he appealed to Leader Lidia. “Bardo will back down if you have your commander back off.”

Lidia gave him a smirk. “No, let them proceed. Sometimes warriors have to let of a little steam. We’ve been on the transport for weeks. Commander Kayley, I only ask that you make this quick. We have quite a ways to walk and I’m getting too old to stand for long.”

“As my leader requests,” Kayley said, winking at a frustrated SojUR.

Zander looked up at HonORa and his sister to make sure they were safe. They stood next to ZenIM and the Colonial warriors were surrounding them, keeping them secure. That made him feel a little more at ease about this. “Are you ready?”

No sooner had he turned around than she did a swift turn and kicked him in the ribs. The breath whooshed out of him as he stumbled backward a few feet. Getting his balance back, he charged right, planning to get his hands on her shoulders. He was taller and twice her size. He knew if he got her in a hold, the bout would be over. She couldn’t outmatch him strength for strength.

Kayley wasn’t falling for it. She gave him a series of kicks in his knee, but it wasn’t the injured one. He reached for her but she shoved away. They separated. Kayley ran at him, hitting him as she passed, using her speed but all her punches rolled off of him.

When she made another pass at him, he got a left hook on the inside. She went backward hitting the ground hard. He knew it had to be over now. If he hadn’t injured a rib, she would be sore. Walking over to her confidently, he stood over her.

“Stay down until a medic comes to check you over. You don’t want to cause more injuries.”

Kayley moved so fast he couldn’t see her until it was too late. She swept her leg out, knocking his artificial leg hard. He lost his balance and went down. She then jumped on top of him, straddling his chest, and pulled out her blade from her boot and put it against his neck.

“I’m glad that’s settled,” Leader Lidia called out. “Now we can continue on this journey.”

Kayley hopped up and smiled down at him. She was breathing heavily and her face was flushed. He had to admit, she was a beautiful female.

“Stay down, I’ll get you a medic.” With that, she laughed as she walked away.

A hand came down in front of his face. He looked up to see SojUR there. “Thanks,” he said, grudgingly taking the hand.

“Do you need a medic?”

He snorted as he leaned down and rubbed his artificial limb. “No, there’s no damage. Besides, the nanos will fix it.”

Straightening his clothing, he glanced up and caught eyes with HonORa. She had a mixed expression of horror and something else he couldn’t decipher. It reminded him how different the two of them were. She was of the light, gentle and loving. He was a hunter, training to be a warrior. He was of the dark, blood and death followed him. What future could he possibly offer her?

The best thing he could do for his sister and HonORa was to leave them here on the Colony. He could have Ava help find a family here to watch over Lizetta, give her a real home, and a chance to have friends. Pain filled him at the thought of leaving either of them.

HonORa turned away from him and began moving up the winding path. He wondered what she thought of him at that moment. The further away she went, the more anxious he became. He wasn’t the best male for her, but did he want to try to be? Wouldn’t the worst thing he could do would be to not try to find out what this thing between them was? Maybe it would fade away on its own…or it could grow and strengthen beyond his wildest imagination.

When his father took him out hunting, he would tell Zander that the most valuable things in life were worth fighting for. He placed his hand on his chest above his heart. He was torn between seeking revenge and seeking the missing part of his soul, his other half. He suspected that other half was walking away from him, and if he didn’t do something about it, he could lose her forever. He had to fight—for that piece of him that was missing for so long. At least he had to try.