Dwaain was about to say something when they heard a loud boom, and they were knocked to the floor. There continued to be a series of explosions and Dwaain pushed Myla down, covering her with his body. As soon as the explosions stopped, he grabbed his communication device and yelled into it, “Report!”

The voice that came back was Lewan’s, “We’ve been attacked. All hands are boarding pods. I will meet you and the princess as per protocol.” Dwaain knew by Lewan’s choice of words that they were no longer secure. The only choice now was to take his private craft and hope the three of them could escape.

“Come. We must go. The ship has been taken. We must get you to safety.” He picked Myla up in his arms and started running with her. “It’s too risky to use the transporter. We have been compromised. We must hasten.”

Myla could see people running all directions and hear more explosions. Dwaain pushed her head into his shoulder shielding her from much of the chaos around them. He ran for what seemed like several minutes before he punched a code into a panel and stepped through the doorway that opened. He placed her in a seat and strapped her in. “Stay here. We must wait for Lewan before we leave.”

Dwaain was gone for several minutes before he reappeared with a battered Lewan in tow. Myla unfastened herself and stood. “He’s hurt! Let me see what I can do to help.”

“We must take off. The ship has been compromised. The Meglan have boarded. Please, we must hurry. Help me fasten him in, and we will depart.” As they were securing Lewan, Myla heard several more explosions. “They are getting close we must hurry.” Dwaain assisted Myla as she pulled the harness over her head and tightened it. Then he sat in the pilot seat and maneuvered the controls. “Prepare for take off. This could be rough. Are you ready, sweetheart?”

“I’m ready. Let’s go. It sounds like they are getting closer.” Although Myla had never encountered the Meglan, she had heard rumors about how they treated prisoners. Male captives were sent to the mines while they used the females as slaves and for breeding. As future queen, she would be a great bargaining chip and most likely tortured for information before being sold at one of the slave auctions. If that happened she would never be seen again, never hear her father’s voice, never know love.

“Myla was surprised at how calm Dwaain was. He handled the situation just as a leader should. She didn’t know a lot about the customs of the people of Xylan. It was a planet ruled by the military. Dwaain was the leader of the planet. An equal to her and her father. He would be a worthy mate had she not been already betrothed. She couldn’t deny the attraction she felt to him or the way her body responded to him. She had never felt this level of attraction to any other man. Maybe it wasn’t a bad thing being his prisoner.

“The Meglan are gaining on us. I’m going to throw us into hyperdrive to try and evade them. Hold on just a few more minutes, and we should be safe.”

Myla watched the screen as the star systems sped by. If the circumstances were different, she would enjoy the view, but with the threat of the Meglan, she couldn’t relax enough. She didn’t want to bother Dwaain, but she had to know. “Are they still following us?” She leaned forward in her seat anxious to know if they were safe or not. She’d barely finished speaking when the ship was rocked by an explosion. “Myla, can you return fire while I find some place to hide the ship. There’s an asteroid field ahead. If I can get us in there, they won’t be able to track us.” Dwaain asked his voice calm as ever.

Myla unfastened her harness and stood. “Show me where the controls are, and I will handle it.” She needed to be cool and calm. She was trained to handle situations like this. She wouldn’t let Dwaain and Lewan down.

Dwaain stood. “Here, this is the weapon’s station. I took it because I thought I would have to do both, but if you can man the weapons, I’ll take the navigation.” He quickly pointed out the controls she would need and with a swift kiss to her lips slid into the seat next to her.

Together they managed to evade the Meglan and find a place large enough to land the ship on. “If you can set up a series of explosions to hide my maneuvers, I will try to land on the dark side where it will not only be harder to find us, but it is more habitable according to the scanners.” As Dwaain finished talking the ship was rocked by a series of explosions. “Crap! That knocked out the computer. We’re going to have to do this manually. Myla, set off your explosions and help me steer. This is going to take both of us.”

Myla did as requested and grabbed the controls to help Dwaain set the ship down safely. “This is going to be rough. Check and make sure Lewan is secure then fasten yourself in. We only have a few moments to prevent crashing.” Dwaain helped her secure Lewan then assisted her in fastening her harness. “One kiss for luck,” he told her taking her lips in a passionate kiss. “Hold on tight; the gravity has us now. I’ll try to find a clear landing area.”

The next few minutes passed in a blur. Myla heard a loud bang and then nothing. Everything went black.