COMMANDER ENIV HANDOR
"This is not a vision I wanted to start my morning with, especially if we're on a dangerous mission where we might die,” I heard a voice say. I woke up to see Richard standing over me with a cup of coffee in his hand. I was still completely naked on the floor.
"Shit, sorry,” I said as I jumped to my feet and pulled on my clothes.
"I will be back in shortly with Melinda to go over the details of the mission. Hang in there,” I said to him as I walked out of the room and went to knock on the door of Melinda's bunk. I didn't even feel her get up this morning. I knocked again and waited; there was no answer. I opened the door and she was not in there. Maybe she was taking a shower and getting dressed. I noticed the radio communicator on a small table near her bed. Something didn't feel right. I went to the flight deck. She was not there.
"Have you seen Melinda?" I asked the pilot Rick.
"No, not this morning but I got an eyeful of you when I went in for my coffee,” he said dryly.
I searched the ship, which did not take much time. She was nowhere to be found. I went into the courtyard and could not find her.
"Have you seen human female I was with?” I asked Kolstin as he came out of a building.
"Yes, I saw her and hour ago. She said she was going into the market to get food. I assumed you knew and sent her; she is your slave, is she not?”
"Shit!"
"What is it, Commander Handor? Is everything all right?” I heard Kolstin shouting after me, but I did not have time to answer. I ran into the ship and armed to myself with every weapon I could find.
"Rick! Melinda has been taken!"
"What?! How?!” he shouted. I did not answer him. Instead, I ran into her sleep bunk and grabbed her radio piece. “Here, Rick, stick this in your ear. I will be in contact with you. Do you remember the hill that I showed you, with the Temple of Star?"
"Yes, what about it?” Rick said as Richard came in asking about the commotion.
"When I say the code word star, that is where you will meet us with the ship. It will be quick in and out. As soon as we load the passengers, we will hyperspeed into space on a path back to Earth. Get the coordinates ready. Be ready and on the communication line at all times. I have to go find Melinda!”
"Got it, Commander Handor!” Rick shouted after me. My heart was beating out of my chest; I could not lose her. Not now, now that she was everything to me. I knew it the moment I was inside of her. She was the one, she was my true match. I would not be able to live without her.
I ran through the already busy markets and alleys. I was frantic. I was pissed off. I was ready to murder anyone in my way that would stop me from rescuing her. She was mine and belonged to no one else. I knew that she had not gone out to get food or she would have been back by now as there were plenty of food booths right outside the ship base. No, something had happened, and it wasn't good. I ran to the bottom of the Temple of Star hill and bolted up the steps. I hoped that she would be waiting for me there.
"Melinda! Melinda! It's me! You can come out!” I shouted. It was quiet up at the temple without any crowds or anyone stirring. “It's me, Commander Handor!” I shouted.
Then I heard a faint whisper, I heard the words, “Commander Handor! Are you really Commander Handor?”
I turned around and was shocked by what I saw. It was Katie Cormick; she was coming out of hiding in the shadows. “Katie? What are you doing here?” I asked as I ran to her and gave her a big hug.
"Oh, Eniv, it is you. We are all here,” she said pointing to a hiding spot where the other five women came out. They were in disheveled and torn dresses but they seem to be all right. “You are here just as she said you would be. I am so relieved to see you. Where is the ship? We are ready,” she said, looking up into the air.
My heart sank at her words. I grabbed her shoulders and said, “Who said I would be here? How do you know about the ship?”
"Melinda, Detective Katiama… she was thrown into the prison cells with us this morning. She picked the locks and distracted the guards as we escaped. She told us exactly how to get here to the hill. She told us to hide until you came looking for us. Now you are here. We are ready, please take us away from here before they come for us again,” Katie said with tears in her eyes.
"Fuck, Melinda busted you out. Are you saying they have Melinda now locked up? Where?” I asked her.
"Next to the market for the auction. They were going auction us off like slaves; they are horrible. They have Melinda. They will probably try to do the same to her. What can we do?” she asked me.
"Stay here, stay hidden. I am calling the ship now to get you. It is an Earth ship and it says Simeon on the side of it,” I said to her and then grabbed my radio piece and said, “Rick! Pick up the human females on the hill. Then move away and hover nearby. I will be flying to you shortly after that. Do you copy?”
"I copy, Commander Handor. On my way now; good job rescuing the females,” he said.
"Katie, take the girls and continue to hide where you were hiding. Come out for no one until you see the ship. If it is Melinda or I, we will identify ourselves loudly. Do you understand?”
"Yes, I understand. Girls,” she said as she gathered the women to go back into hiding. “The ship will be coming from that direction."
I stepped away from her and shifted into dragon form. I ran to the edge of the hill and flew off the edge, flying toward the auction area. As I got closer, I could see that it was already in progress. If she had already been sold off and put in a ship, I would never find her. I would never forgive myself.
I flew over the auction site, making a circle; this was not uncommon, to see a Drackon flying overhead. But in this case, I was looking to steal their auction property. I landed on a building, peering down. It was then that I saw Melinda with her wrists tied with rope. It was a Drackon warrior that was leading her onto the stage. The human male who I assumed was John Houston was speaking loudly in the Drackon language and giving a description of Melinda. His words made me want to kill him. But if I did that, there would be no time for a rescue.
I watched as her wrists were pulled up above her head and the rope was tied to a post. She was wearing a dress, and I was confused by the way she looked. She didn't look like a detective with tactical gear. Had they given her a change of clothing? Or did she do that to herself? There was no time to think about it. I saw the Simeon hovering above the Temple of Star. Now was the time, before someone noticed.
"Are the packages secured?” I said into the radio.
"Packages on board and secured, all five of them,” Rick said.
"I am headed toward you in 60 seconds," I said back to him.
I pulled out my blaster gun and swooped down toward the auction stage.
BOOM! My blaster gun was aimed at the rope above her head. It hit it square on the rope, letting her loose. Before anyone knew what was going on, I swooped her into my arms as I flew by. I quickly shot straight up into the air and toward the hovering Simeon.
"After him!” I heard voices shout. I could hear the sounds of warriors shifting.
"Melinda! Here!” I said, shoving the blaster gun into her hand. Then I put my arms underneath her arms and faced her behind me. She started blasting away at the warriors following us as I made my way to the Simeon.
"Rick, open the door! Now!” I shouted into the radio communicator.
"Door opening," Rick repeated.
I looked to see a warrior beside me and reaching out for Melinda. “Beside you!” I shouted.
Blast! Melinda shot him out of the sky. The door to the Simeon was wide open. We were only five yards away from it and I shouted, “Rick, close the door!” knowing that it took a few seconds for it to close. I burst into a hard dive and we crash landed inside the ship. The door closed behind us just in time.
"Go! Go! We are on board,” I shouted. The ship began to move and I picked Melinda up off the floor and we moved to the nearest seats and buckled in. “We are secure! Hyperdrive!” I shouted.
In seconds, the ship jolted into hyperdrive and we burst out of the Riolb atmosphere into space and on a path back to Earth. I breathed out in relief. We had done it. I looked over at Melinda, who was looking at me with wide eyes as her breasts moved up and down with her heavy breathing.
"What the hell was that?”
"The women? Are they on board?” she asked.
"They are on board. What the hell were you doing? Were you trying to get yourself killed?” I said to her in anger.
"Coming out of hyperdrive,” Rick said over the intercom. The ship slowed down back to a normal traveling speed. We had been in hyperdrive enough to throw them off course if we were followed, but I knew that would not be the case.
"Thank you! Thank you!” a lot of high-pitched voices came into hall by the door. It was all of the women, and Katie ran up to me and threw her arms around me.
"I knew you would come for me, Eniv. I just knew it. Thank you so much. You are my hero,” she said to me with tears in her eyes.
Melinda looked at both of us then she managed a weak smile as she said, “We are glad that you all are okay. I am going to set up beds for you in the common room. Come, there is water and food,” she said, leading the women away into the common room. I wanted to call after her, but I did not.
Katie looked up at me and said, “Eniv, I am so grateful. I am so grateful to you and to Detective Katiama; it was such a horrible place. I just cannot believe that it is real that human females are being taken in that way.”
"It is all right now; you are safe. I won't let anything happen to you. You are under my protection and nothing like this will ever happen to you again. I can promise you that,” I said to her.
She looked up at me and began to cry even harder and said, “I am sorry to do this to you. I am so grateful that you came all this way for me. You put your life in danger and Detective Katiama did too; that's what makes it so hard to say this, but I have to say what is in my heart."
"I am listening," I said, guiding her to a seat so that she could sit down. I sat next to her.
"This entire ordeal has made me realize just how much I love Earth. I never want to leave Earth ever again. I never want to be around Drackon warriors ever again. I know that not all of you are the way the warriors that stole us are, but I do not want to be married to one. I do not want to live on your planet. I want to live on Earth and marry a human male and live a normal life. I hope you do not hate me for that, because I am grateful that you came for me,” she said, crying.
I could not believe what she was saying. I wasn't going to have to be with a woman I did not love; I could be with Melinda. Katie was the one rejecting me, and I understood her reasons for it. She had just gone through a very traumatic experience and I could see why she would never want to leave Earth ever again.
"Katie, I understand. I will not hold you to your engagement to me. You are free to do as you will. I want you to be happy and I wish you the best. Yes, I rescued you and the other women, but I also did it because it is my duty, so don't feel that you owe me anything. I want you to marry for love; you deserve it after everything you have been through. Now come on, let's get you some food and water and rest. You will be home on Earth soon with your family,” I said to her. She jumped up and threw her arms around me and gave me a big hug.