Chapter 8

~ Hel ~

Hel woke up alone in the former queen’s chamber. Staring up at the view of outer space through the huge skylight, she couldn’t help but think she was way out of her normal comfort zone. Laying the lap of luxury, having sex with hot alien drones and planning military maneuvers would have seemed like a fantasy back when she was grateful just to be working doubles on the orbital space station.

After having enjoyed such pursuits, she found the prospect of going back to a regular life beneath her true skill set. Taking a deep breath she discovered her environment still smelled like sex with Raec. It was a fabulous scent and one she never wanted to do without in her life. It was strange to have such strong feelings for an alien she barely knew. He was sweet, funny, and accommodating. The thing they had in common was they both had experienced a pretty crappy life up until this point.

“Shall I prepare you a bath, my queen?”

Propping up on her elbows, she looked at one of the personal assistants. She couldn’t remember his name.

He must have picked up on her confused expression because he answered her unspoken question. “My name is Sakor, my queen.”

“I remember you. Where is Raec?”

“He is seeing the last of the heart stones are distributed to the drones. Shall I call him to you?”

Shaking her head, she slid out of bed. “Is that the bath?”

“Yes. I will fetch you some clothing that fits.”

“Great. I’m going to soak for a bit. Is there anything I should be aware of?”

“Such as?”

“There is only water in there, right? No amphibious creatures who nibble dead skin off your toes or anything like that?”

Trying not to smile, he spoke solemnly. “Certainly not. Earth must be a truly fascinating place for you to ask such a question.”

“Just double checking. You know the saying, measure twice, cut once.” Catching herself, she apologized. “Sorry, I forgot who I was talking to there for a minute. Naturally, you wouldn’t know the expression.”

“Perhaps you need a morning stimulant.”

Stopping in midstep, with water pooling around her legs, she eyed him suspiciously.

Again intuiting her worry, he clarified. “Our people have a morning stimulant in droplet form. We add it to our food or drink to assist us in becoming more alert.”

“We have that as well. It’s called Sim-caff. Put mine in a warm drink of some sort, will you, Sakor?”

“As you wish, my beautiful queen.”

Realizing that she was still standing naked in the bath, she quickly sat down. Almost laughing at her own stupidity, she remembered that they were assistants to a queen so they’d have seen a naked woman or two in their time. Really, the whole situation should feel more awkward than it did. Leaning back, she closed her eyes for a brief moment.

Her mind drifted back to the night before. Just remembering Raec’s lovemaking left her feeling needy and wanting more.

“It’s true what they say. Humans are pale and weak.”

Popping her eyes open, she glared at the burly drone standing just inside the door. A chill crept up her spine when she saw what was in his twitching hand. An oversized, ugly serrated blade dripped crimson blood on the carpet. Glancing around, she played the only card at her disposal.

Slowly coming to her feet, she grabbed a cloth and began drying herself off. Distracting him with her body was proving more effective than she would have thought. He stood mesmerized by the sight of her nakedness. Her mind raced with possibilities. Had he killed the guards who stood outside the door? Or Sakor as well? Worrying that they had crossed paths in the hall, she tried to come up with a plan. Few options came immediately to mind. Tying the cloth around her waist, she finger-combed her long hair, before twisting it up into a messy knot on the top her head.

“It seems a shame to waste such a lovely pale body.”

“I’m not just a pretty face. You know that, right?”

His head snapped up from her still bare breasts to her face.

Catching his eye, she continued, “On my home world, I was a soldier. My job was to keep the peace on the Galactic Council’s space station, orbiting Earth.”

He was listening to her intently. As long as he was listening, he wasn’t killing.

“Some days it was a breeze. Other days it kept me hopping. Have you ever tried to break up a Tardazian bare-knuckle boxing match. They really don’t have knuckles, since they’re gigantic squid, but they seem all arms and legs in a fight. I made the mistake of squeezing one a little too hard and his tentacle just fell off. It seems they’re a little like lizards and can release their tentacle to get away from an aggressor. It was all kinds of weird to see when you’re not expecting it.”

“Stop talking, human. Your distractions will not work on me.”

“That’s too bad. I like a little good conversation now and again.”

The man’s head kept jerking to the side slightly, like he had nervous tick of some type.

“My queen wants you dead.”

“You know the rules. She needs to challenge me in battle. I already beat her once, though. I think she’s afraid of me. That’s why she sent you to do her dirty work.”

The man jerked again.

Taking a step closer to get a better look at him, she spoke coldly. “Kabelda is weak and unworthy of being your queen.”

More jerking ensued. That’s when she saw it. A tiny disk attached to his neck was glowing under the collar of his shirt. It must be a transponder of some sort.

“Your former queen is a coward and therefore unfit to rule. You know this.”

“I don’t… I… I am commanded to act.”

“Throw the blade away. It’s stained with the blood of your brethren.”

Looking down at the blade for the first time since entering the room, his face contorted into a mask of pain. “I didn’t want too… I must.” Snapping his mouth shut, he twitched again, caught in what appeared to be a terrible internal conflict.

“Throw the knife away. You don’t need it.”

Lifting the blade, he seemed to be trying to let it go. Instead, his other hand came to his head and he punched himself in the temple. Shit, the situation as going bad fast. Rushing to a desk, she rifled through the drawers, hoping to find a weapon or something to use against the confused warrior. Coming up empty handed, she watched him finally break. Taking a deep breath he moved towards her, mumbling something. “Queens command, drones obey.” This woman had them all programed.

Just before he got to her, there was a commotion at the door and several drones came pouring into the room.

Hel darted out of the intruder’s way and made a run for the far side of the room. Several shots later, and the man was lying motionless on the ground.

“I wish you hadn’t killed him.”

A deep voice responded. “We did not. Queens command, drones obey. You said no more killing. We stunned him.”

Running across the room, she fell to her knees beside the hulking man. Tearing at his collar, she exposed the blinking disk.

Suddenly Raec was at her side. “It is a cerebral control transponder. His actions were not his own.”

“Thank God, you’re here.”

“I should not have left you alone this morning, my queen.”

Placing a hand on his arm, she stated soothingly, “You did nothing wrong.”

Vraden ran into the room. “I came as soon as I heard. His name is Haden. He is one of our fiercest fighters.”

Raec added miserably, “He is also one of our most loyal and honorable drones.”

“We need to get this removed.”

“Don’t touch it,” Vraden cautioned. “We’ll need to put him in stasis and work only with the small area the device is attached to. These devices are prone to explode if removed improperly.”

“Let’s get moving before he wakes up again.”

Hel watched as they loaded him onto a hover board.

She heard Alexis arguing with the guards. Shoving past them, she rushed into the room and to her sister’s side. Grabbing her with both hands, Alexis pulled her into a bear hug. The brazen display of emotion must have been socking to the drones, because the shifted uncomfortably as they looked from one woman to the other.

“God, I heard about the killing and I panicked.”

Feeing the air get sucked from the room, Hel pulled back slightly. “Who got killed?

Vraden shifted uncomfortably. “He attacked four guards. Only one survived. They fought hard to protect you, my queen.”

“What of Sakor? He left moments before Haden entered with blood dripping off his weapon.”

“It pains me to say, he is in very serious condition. It is unclear if he will survive.”

“I wish to see them.”

“Follow me.”

“Is it possible to scan for the mind control devices?”

“We have already done so and discovered them on four other drones.”

“I don’t understand. She must have placed them before Raec came into his own. How could she have known something was amiss?”

Wrapping a protective wing around her, Raec responded, “Kabelda was very clever. She was always one step ahead of us, outmaneuvering us at every turn. We will increase our guard and I will never leave you side. You safety is our primary concern.”

“I’m not terrified. I’m mad. Have your drones tear apart that suite of hers. I’m betting we’ll find our answers in there.”

Speaking into his com, Vraden gave orders to strip and search her lavish quarters. Raec guided her past him and into the medical bay. A dozen healers were working on several men. Four with blinking disks on their necks were hanging in stasis pads along the wall.

“This is a total cluster muck.”

Shooting Alexis a dark look, she noticed that her favorite drone had her under his wing as well. Drale was taking no chances with her safety. Alexis had one small hand protectively over his chest and seemed cuddled to his side. Frowning, she wondered if they were developing more than a friendship with one another.

“Sakor is here, my queen.” Raec motioned to a hovering platform off to the right. The healers working on him were just finishing up. Upon her approach, one immediately gave report. “Haden pierced him with his blade in a particularly sensitive place. Maruvians have aquaglyceroporin membranes that run under our primary dermal layer. This tiny network of membranes facilitates the transfer of sorbitol throughout our bodies. It is critical to help us regulate our body tempters in extreme weather conditions. The organ responsible for maintaining this system is Scaragyla. Sakor’s was damaged. Quite possibly it is beyond repair. He lost a lot of body fluids and if he recovers, he will only function adequately in a narrow band of temperatures.”

“And?”

“And bearing this in mind, do you wish us to waste valuable resources on a damaged drone or do you wish us to euthanize him?”

Her temper flared red hot in an instant, leading her to speak before she considered her words. “Get the hell out of my medical bay.”

“I don’t understand.”

“As a healer, you should know saving lives comes first. If you have to ask a question like that, you’ve got no business practicing medicine.”

Vraden’s voice cut into the conversation. “My colleague is not communicating effectively with you. He assumes you will want to eliminate Sakor because it is the default decision of every queen we’ve ever had. We are thrilled that you wish us to do our best to see that he recovers.”

“I wish you to see to him yourself, Vraden. He is precious to me and I’ll not risk his wellbeing to someone I do not trust.”

“May ask about your attachment?”

“Believe it or not, I’m getting attached to all of you. You put me in charge, I dropped the ball and people died. I won’t lose anymore drones.” Feeling herself getting emotional, she clamped her mouth shut.

“Speak no more on it, my queen. I will see your will is done.”

“We will stay for a bit.”

Hitting a button on the wall as he left, Vraden gave them some privacy. A holographic screen bounced into place, cutting them off from the rest of the medical bay. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Hel took Sakor’s hand in hers. “I should never have let him leave this morning.”

“It is more my fault than yours. I asked for only one to attend you. My concern was you would wake and regret out night together. I know you do not enjoy large groups of people. Perhaps if more people had been there, things would have gone differently.”

“We couldn’t have seen this coming. It’s neither of our faults. The horrible queen is to blame.”

“She spreads misery wherever she goes. It has always been such with her.”

“It strengthens my resolve to cut her rampage through our sector of space short.”

“Come, let us check on your sister. I am told the youngest is beside herself with worry.”