Chapter Two
“There! Did you see it?”
Rothke, Commander of the Primarian Space Fleet, simply Roth to those closest to him, frowned as his attention locked on the screen in front of his best technician. Try as he might, he didn’t see what Hayden had called him about.
“It’s a minor aberration. I noticed it while doing the standard perimeter scan. A slight variance that I wasn’t sure I really saw at first, but I’ve been watching closely, and it seems to be repeating at set intervals.”
“Your assessment?”
“Given its constant speed and consistent path, it’s a ship on a set course. I’m betting the alien females’ ship.”
Roth’s brows arched in surprise. “What makes you think that? Not being able to detect it fully on our scanners would mean the ship is veiled somehow. The crude weapons they carried weren’t indicative of such advanced technology.”
“We lost their small craft in the solar flare interference, but since it has diminished, they don’t show up on any of my instruments. Nothing does in this sector, except that.” He clicked a few controls, enlarging and freezing the screen, which revealed a wavy dense mass in the far quadrant. “They couldn’t have simply vanished. The only reasonable explanation is they returned to a home base on a larger vessel.”
When he paused, he released the screen shot, and they both watched the area in question. This time, when the small aberration reappeared, ever so briefly, Roth saw it, too. If he had blinked, he would have missed it.
“Of course,” Hayden added, “my theory could be wrong.”
His commander gave him a meaningful look as he disputed his claim. “And how often does that happen?”
“Never,” the man replied succinctly. A fact was a fact.
“Exactly.” Roth grinned as he clapped him on the back. “Good work. Track them and alert me if they veer from their current course. Can you scan them from this distance?”
“Yes, Commander.”
“Do it, and upload a schematic into our system. I have a meeting to attend with the Princep and may need it. If he agrees with your assessment that this is the females’ ship, we may have a new mission.”
“You mean to go after them?” Hayden asked, excitement in his voice.
“If the Maker’s favor is upon us, and the Princep agrees, that ship means forty or fifty times as many females as were found on Ventorcopia.”
“It is an answer to our prayers,” the young officer breathed.
“Indeed.” Roth turned over control to his captain, although didn’t relinquish responsibility. As fleet commander that onus always remained on him.
Upon entering the lift, he descended several levels to the large meeting room where Kerr, the Maxime Princep, leader of all Primaria, intended to give his briefing on the new female species they had acquired. He’d heard from several of the warriors what had occurred on the hunting planet, yet he hadn’t believed it. The answer to their problem—compatible females—falling so easily into their laps after so long seemed an unexpected gift, and one almost too good to be true. Eight wouldn’t be sufficient to repopulate their depleted numbers, although it was a start. And if Hayden’s suspicions were correct, more gifts might be conferred upon them in the very near future.
It was about time something went in their favor. As a race, his people hadn’t experienced much good fortune in the twenty years since the Rain of Fire, what they called the massive meteor storm that had devastated their home planet and wiped out many of their females. In the aftermath, radiation exposure and the resulting sickness had afflicted many more. Of those who survived, the long-term effects were often chronic illness and, always, infertility.
In a bizarre twist of fate, the radiation had also provided them with uladite, a new means of energy from an old indigenous geo resource as prevalent as dirt on Primaria. It now powered their cities, and the sale of this unique fuel source made their rapid technology growth possible. Yet, Primarians agreed they’d give it all away if they could go back in time and save their mates, mothers, and sisters.
The horrific event had such a widespread impact; no male was left untouched in some way. His mother and twin sister had been killed. Their loss was so painful that it had set him on a more solitary path for his life, one of service, rather than home and family that so many Primarians preferred.
Replacing his bad memories with more hopeful thoughts, he entered the crowded meeting room. Most of the warriors from Kerr’s inner circle had accompanied him on this hunting trip. They were also his most trusted leaders and confidantes, including Krager, his kinsman and heir, Lothar, the second in command of his army, and Trask, the general, supreme leader of all Primaria’s warriors and the Princep’s closest friend. Roth was included in the close-knit group as well, but while in orbit around Ventorcopia, duty prevented him from joining the hunt. It was fortunate that he had not because those who had accompanied the Princep and helped capture the females were vying for mates, if they were compatible matches.
Being mated wasn’t something Roth wanted. His duty to protect Primaria took precedence, and if he had a female, he couldn’t be separated from her for the long stretches he was away on missions. The physical stress, not to mention the risk of separation sickness, was too great. His only choice would be to resign his command, something he wasn’t willing to do.
Taking a vacant seat beside the general, technically his superior, he nudged him with his elbow. “General,” he said in greeting. “I hear your alien female is extraordinarily beautiful.”
His friend grinned. “Beautiful is too uninspired a word to describe hair so fair it resembles moonlight, creamy white skin, luminous golden-brown eyes, and a lush pink mouth the color of a Primarian morning sky. The same hue adorns the blush of her cheeks, the tips of her high, full breasts, and the sweet wet haven between her legs.”
“You’ve mated her already?” Roth inquired, stunned. “When were the two of you matched?”
“We weren’t. Only Kerr had the honor. After confirming his female’s compatibility, there wasn’t time for the rest of us. That doesn’t mean I didn’t do some preliminary testing of my own, with more primitive measures. Fingers, lips, and tongue are old-fashioned means, but very rewarding.”
“And you did so without a translator? I’m impressed.” He arched a brow as his friend’s grin faded a bit. “Or, do I detect trouble in Ventorcopian paradise?”
Trask shrugged noncommittally.
“Ah, so those rumors are true as well. The new females aren’t as biddable as our own.”
“Far from it, and some are used to being in charge, it seems.”
Roth inclined his head, not at all surprised. “A world where the female is more assertive than ours isn’t uncommon. Where they are the dominant partner isn’t unheard of either, although it’s rare, as in most of nature. Take Dromidia in the fifth sector, for example. We’ve traded with them in the past. Ruled by a queen, the females are the head of their household, while the men make up their labor force. They are reasonable people, but the reverse order of things was disturbingly peculiar. It made my crew rather uncomfortable.”
Not as well traveled as Roth, Trask appeared somewhat perplexed. Assertive females took some getting used to.
“They had no males with them, so we can’t be sure in this case,” he reflected aloud, “although they seem to be unfamiliar with discipline.” Glancing at Roth, he disclosed with a half grin, “Mine acted like she’d been shot from a simple spank on the backside.”
“Most beings are adaptable. Although, with females, it may take some time,” he assured his friend with a chuckle. “I’m sure you’ll persevere and win her over.”
“Agreed. The light swats I gave her didn’t go over well at all, but she’ll adjust to me and our ways.”
“If you match.”
“Oh, we’ll match,” the general replied with confidence. “You know that feeling the mated males are always talking about. The one where they instinctively knew when they met the female intended just for him.”
“What we’ve always referred to as romantic twaddle?” Roth asked with a raised brow.
Trask cast a knowing glance his way. “I think there’s more truth to it than fiction.”
The notion sobered him immediately. “Do you mean you felt something?”
While slowly shaking his head, the general considered his answer for a moment. “It wasn’t so much a tactile feeling, like the jolt of electricity bandied about, rather more like a mental awareness. It’s difficult to explain.” His frown transformed into a self-deprecating grin that was unusual for the confident man. “Listen to me. Since meeting my little female, I’m starting to wax poetic like one. You’ll know when it happens to you.”
“If I suffer from any ‘awareness’ around one of the females, I’ll ignore it, or run like hell. I don’t have the time or the inclination for such nonsense. I continue to take my pleasure when I can and focus on the business of keeping our people safe.”
It was the general’s turn to chuckle. “So says the man who hasn’t yet found his mate.”
Roth snorted. “I have more common sense and self-control than to be sucked in by female wiles.”
“You know it’s more than that.”
“I do, which is what makes my style of romance so reliable. It’s basic chemistry. If I stick with females who are less than 50 percent compatible, I’ll be able to see to my needs, and theirs, naturally—I’m not completely selfish—and afterward, I can return to what matters most, my command.”
“That sounds rather cold and impersonal.”
“What can I say?” Roth replied with a shrug. “I am a ship’s captain to the bone. Besides, my last bed partner didn’t have any complaints while she was moaning my name to the rafters.”
Trask laughed, but it was cut short, as was their conversation when Kerr entered and called for their attention.
Roth and the other warriors listened to the much-anticipated news that the females were indeed a bio-cellular match and successful breeding had an extremely high probability. As cheers erupted among the men, Roth sat quietly watching, happy for his brethren and their imminent mating. He was also biding his time to share his good news.
When the conversation spiraled down into jokes and ribald comments, Roth interrupted before things got too out of hand.
“I hate to delay the testing, breaching, and mating festivities you have planned, but I have some news of my own to impart before we adjourn.” He ignored the grumbles and groans and continued at the Princep’s nod. “We believe we have tracked the alien females’ ship. They have slowed and established orbit around one of the smaller marginally habitable planets. It doesn’t appear they are planning to go back for their missing crew.”
Kerr frowned. “What kind of species abandons their own?”
“I’m not sure, but preliminary scans estimate nearly three hundred on board. We need to be closer for a more in-depth analysis to be sure, but what if—like their landing team—the crew is all-female as well?”
“You’re proposing we go after them?”
“Absolutely!” he replied heartily. “The few we acquired are not nearly enough to repopulate our world. Forty times that many wouldn’t be, either, though it would be a step in the right direction.”
The room erupted in discussion, most in favor of pursuit, but Roth could see Kerr had reservations. Claiming eight females who crossed their path while on a hunting expedition was one thing; chasing and commandeering an entire vessel, and summarily taking every member of its crew captive, was quite another.
At the Princep’s hesitation, Elgin, one of the two elders who had come along to hunt, spoke up. “I know this goes against the grain for you, Kerr, but we agreed to do whatever it takes to save our people from extinction.”
“It is the first promising race we have found in a decade,” Mordrun, the other elder, added.
Silence encompassed the room as they awaited Kerr’s ruling. Roth knew from the strained expression on his friend’s face the magnitude of the decision weighed heavily upon him. He was an excellent leader, not easily pushed into rash decisions, gathering facts, and listening to different views often before deciding. In this, Roth had a strong suspicion how he would rule, his people always being Kerr’s main priority. The Princep’s next question was directed his way.
“Surely, we’re not prepared to take three hundred more on board the Intrepid.”
“No,” Roth replied. “We can wait until after we bring this group home then return with the Dauntless. It can be readied by the time we arrive.”
The premier vessel of their space fleet, the Dauntless, was the newest, largest, and best equipped. It required a minimum of two hundred crew members, but could easily quarter five times that many. Three hundred “guests”—even reluctant ones—would not be an issue.
“How do you propose taking their ship?” Kerr put forth after a long moment of consideration. “I won’t see them harmed.”
“Neural gas,” suggested Jarlan, their chief medical expert, or physic, as he was often called. “Odorless, tasteless, it causes temporary paralysis of the motor functions, and there are no significant side effects. Nausea, headache, maybe some dizziness would be expected for most of them until it passes out of their system. The worst we can expect is some bumps and bruises if they fall when the gas takes effect.”
Kerr sought Trask’s input next.
“Another option without using force is stunning their craft with an electromagnetic pulse. It will disable them, taking out their weapons and navigation systems.” The general met their leader’s gaze directly for the rest of his explanation. “Unfortunately, it will also impact their life-support systems, which means we’ll be pressed for time to get them all out before oxygen levels dip to lethal levels.”
“I do not recommend this,” Jarlan put in, his jaw set and his brow furrowed in concern.
“Nor do I,” replied Trask. “If they resist once we board—which they undoubtedly will—the window of time will narrow. And hand-to-hand combat with these small females is not something I relish. Some are bound to be injured as we subdue them.”
Still not convinced, Kerr pressed for more specifics. “How do you suggest deploying the paralyzing neural gas?”
“We would need to introduce it into the ventilation system.” Plotting aloud, Roth pulled up the holographic image of the alien ship that Hayden in his efficiency had ready to go. “Our scans tell us there are two optimal entry points. The first by accessing the docking station manually. This poses a risk of injury to any of their guards who might try to repel our boarding. The other option is to send a probe to drill through the hull.” He pointed to the multi-dimensional image floating above the table, and with a few swipes of his hands, zoomed in on the precise location. “I recommend here, by their main ventilation ducts. There is a risk of decompression, though it is minimal, and if that occurs, we can deploy the EMP and get them out as quickly as possible.”
Further discussion ensued, weighing the pros and cons of all the options. After another long contemplative pause, Kerr’s measured gaze swept through them all one by one. When it reached Roth, he gave the order. “Make the preparations for pursuit, Commander, but when you engage, go carefully. I don’t want even one of them harmed in any way.”
For a second time, the room erupted in cheers and eager discourse, although the Princep didn’t join in. Roth, bearing the responsibility of carrying out the mission, would also wait until after the females were captured and safely brought to Primaria before celebrating. He stood, his eyes connecting with Kerr’s for a moment in silent understanding before he bowed and quit the room. Already his mind was planning every detail of what needed to be accomplished in the short time, no more than three full days before the Dauntless would be ready to depart. He didn’t dare wait another time cycle, lest their prey move on and result in a pursuit halfway across the galaxy.