Chapter Eight
Something jumped up and down on my nose. “No dead. No dead.”
Someone was dead?
“No dead. No dead.”
Who’s dead? Couldn’t be me, could it? I groaned as pain ricocheted around my skull. Didn’t feel dead. It felt like someone was doing the rumba on my noggin. Did the Tai-Kok shoot me down? No. They ate downed pilots. Had I gone on a bender? Gotten into a bar fight? Why couldn’t I remember?
“No dead. No dead,” the relentless voice kept repeating, and something wouldn’t stop bouncing on my face.
“Arrgh! Not dead. Stop bouncing. I’ve got a killer headache.” I gingerly touched the throbbing spot on my head. Who hit me?
“Up. Up. Up,” the voice in my head demanded. Silky legs pried my right eyelid open. “Bad man. Bad man.”
Bad man? What bad man? My vision cleared, and I blinked at the little emerald eyes staring back at me. “KeeKee?”
“Grandma says no can find. You go. Now!”
My brain didn’t want to work. “What happened?”
“Thorn man hurt you.”
“Thorn?”
The image of a wannabe formed in my battered brain. “He mean. Hit you. Big owie. Me jump on bad man. Glitter light come. We here. No like glitter light. Me want go home.”
Everything abruptly clicked into place. I wasn’t in Kansas anymore. Tihar. The oh-so-friendly warlords and the pampered princess’s attack. Some prick with antlers had stunned me and followed it up with a rifle butt to the head. Once I got my hands on the bastard, I was going to put those antlers where the sun didn’t shine.
KeeKee patted my cheek. “We go now?”
“We go now.”
The little Tabor crawled into my hair.
My scalp twitched. What was it with spiders and hair?
KeeKee whined, “Me hungry.”
Kids. Always hungry or needing to pee. “There aren’t any bugs in here. You’ll have to munch on wannabe bits or wait until we get out of here.”
Her legs poked about my blood-covered tresses. “Me no like.”
Me no like either. Struggling into a sitting position, I surveyed the metal walls and the glowing red energy barrier across the front of the cell. Kinda reminded me of Central Command’s setup, complete with shackles. The only thing missing was the orange jumpsuit.
I reached out mentally for Aunt Tess. What the hell? I could barely sense her, and forget about linking with her. Had the blow mucked up my psychic abilities? Or was a cloaking device interfering with my telepathy? “You can still talk with Grandma?”
“Me can.”
“Tell her I’m busting out and beating the snot out of Lilkee.”
“Me tell. What snot?”
“Uh. Well. Beating the snot out of Lilkee means I’m gonna hit her. A lot.”
“’Kay.” KeeKee did a little dance on my head. “Found bug!”
Oh yay. What other creepy crawlies had set up house in my hair?
“How get bracelets off?”
“Easy. Marines improvise, adapt, and overcome. Oorah!”
“Rah?”
“Oorah.”
“Rahoo?”
“Close enough.” I hit the shackles with a tentacle of power, and presto. They released. I stood up carefully and waited until the dizziness passed.
A pins-and-needles sensation grew in my brain as if nerve fibers were coming back to life. To my surprise, Tihar’s deep growly voice filled my mind. “How badly are you injured?”
“I’ll live. How are you able to communicate with me?”
“You are my chosen.”
“And being your chosen automatically creates a nifty telepathic link?”
“It does.”
Oh joy. “Do you know where they’re holding me?”
“No. Their cloaking device is blocking our scanners. Have no doubt, I will find you, and when I do, they all die.” There was a relentless purpose in Tihar’s voice.
“Oh, they’ll die all right. Lilkee made a big mistake in taking me. I’m a Jones and a Marine. I’m quite capable of freeing myself. As my cousin Ethan likes to say: ‘Mess with the best, die like the rest.’”
“Spoken like a true warrior. You are an excellent mate.”
Goose bumps skittered over my skin. It was like Tihar was stroking my entire body with that damn feather again.
This mate thing wasn’t a done deal yet, was it? Detja didn’t think so. I avoided the issue and went with, “What I’m going to do is provide the enemy with an opportunity to die for their cause. If you’ll excuse me, I need to focus on bringing down the energy barrier.”
The stroking stopped, and Tihar’s demeanor became one of a badass killer. I could sense the explosive violence he kept under a tight leash. He literally radiated menace. I was suddenly glad I wasn’t his enemy.
“Two warriors are headed toward your cell.” I felt Tihar probing their minds. “They have been ordered to execute you on a live vid feed.”
“Lilkee’s gonna be so pissed when her little death scene doesn’t go like she planned.”
“What is your strategy?”
“I’ll play possum, lure them in, and they die instead of me.” I lay down on the floor and feigned unconsciousness.
KeeKee asked, “What me do?”
“When they bend down to grab me, I want you to bite them.”
“Me bite.” KeeKee wiggled excitedly. “Me bite. Me bite.”
“You are a clever female,” Tihar said proudly.
“It’s called being realistic. I’m not up to a physical fight just yet.”
“My power is yours to call on.” Tihar sent gossamer filaments of energy into my battered brain.
Whoa! My headache vanished, and I felt like I could take on an entire army. “Thanks. How did you do that?”
“It is one of the many benefits of being my mate.”
“Name another benefit?”
“Great sex.”
KeeKee quizzed, “What sex?”
“Ask Tae.” I wasn’t stepping on that landmine. Her grandmother could explain it to her when she was a lot older.
“Want know now.”
“Silence, youngling! The enemies must be dealt with first,” Tihar snarled.
“’Kay.” KeeKee shivered. “He scary.”
“Shhhh. Bad guys are coming.” Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as two small Genghis Khan wannabes marched down the hallway.
The wannabes stopped in front of my cell. The shorter one had a Fu Manchu mustache. The other one wore antlers on his helmet. Bet he was the jerk who hit me.
Antler Guy ran his hand over the control panel, and the energy barrier vanished. They stepped into the cell and broke into their dance.
Oh my God. Give me a friggin’ break. What freaks.
KeeKee inquired, “Why they jump like that?”
“I have no idea.”
“The dance is a ritual they must complete before each kill,” Tihar informed me.
“As in every friggin’ time?”
“They believe it badly frightens their opponents,” Tihar jeered.
I snorted. “Their casualty rate must be astronomical.”
“It is. Since Lilkee took over the Legionnaires, they have lost twenty thousand warriors.”
“Whoa. And their commanders don’t stop the idiotic behavior?”
“They encourage it. The Legionnaires think Lilkee is the reincarnated Goddess Anat.”
“Don’t tell me. Let me guess. She’s the goddess of chaos and stupidity?”
Tihar’s amusement brushed over my mind. “No, the goddess of fertility.”
“Half-breeds aren’t the only ones they want to purify, are they?”
“They are not. Prepare yourself. The dance has stopped. They will now try to kill you.”
“Try is the operative word.”
Fu Manchu pulled his sword, waved it at a camera, and spouted a bunch of gibberish.
“What’s he saying?”
“The live feed is to show all the half-breeds what awaits them,” Tihar responded in a quiet, deadly voice.
“And that is?”
“He will gut you, and while you plead for mercy, he will remove your arms, legs, and finally your head.”
“Kinda bloodthirsty, aren’t they?”
“They do plan on bathing in your blood.”
“The best-laid plans of alien monsters often go awry. Mwah-hah-hah.”
Fu Manchu leaned down to roll me over.
“Me bite.” KeeKee sprang from my head and latched on to the end of his long mustache.
The wannabe reared back and hopped around the room like a demented jackrabbit. “Aiieeeee! Aiieeeee! Aiieeeee!” He batted frantically at KeeKee, missing her every time.
KeeKee swung back and forth. “Wheee!”
Antler Guy just stood there, watching in shocked surprise.
As warriors went, these two were damned pathetic.
“Bite him,” Tihar roared.
“You no fun.”
“Now!” Tihar’s voice was one of steely authority.
On the next swing, KeeKee bit the wannabe’s neck.
Fu Manchu’s eyes rolled back, and he crashed to the floor, deader than a doornail.
Antler Guy let out an enraged bellow and tried to smash KeeKee with his rifle butt but kept hitting Fu Manchu instead as she darted backed and forth across his chest.
“Hey, asshole!”
He spun to face me.
I yanked his helmet off, flipped it over, and shoved the pointy ends into his face. Blood gushed from the Legionnaire’s nose. “Kidnapping me and bringing me onboard this ship was the biggest mistake of your life.” I jabbed him again.
Doing a great impression of Voss in a rage, Antler Guy knocked the helmet away and seized my left arm. “Waewae tama-nur-ra.”
Twisting like a cat, I dropped to one knee and tossed Antler Guy over my shoulder. He hit the wall with a loud crash. I watched as he struggled to get right-side up. His flailing limbs kinda reminded of an upside-down turtle. “See, that’s the trouble with armor: no flexibility.”
“Death to the vile destroyer.” Antler Guy grabbed for his pistol.
KeeKee jumped on his hand and bit him. “No hurt Momma Sarah.”
The wannabe slumped over. A white foam oozed from his mouth.
Momma Sarah? I had always wanted kids. “Let’s go, KeeKee.”
She scrambled up my body and settled on my shoulder. “This fun.”
Fun wasn’t the word I would use. I grabbed Antler Guy’s weapons and waved all friendly like at the camera. “Hi, guys. These morons are about to find out what happens when they mess with a Jones.”
An alarm began to wail, and a mechanical voice yelled a bunch of gibberish.
“What’s it saying?”
Tihar answered, “Prisoner escape. Detention area two, cell 5.”
The alarm was getting on my last nerve. “Is there a way to shut it off?”
“Shoot the control panel,” Tihar answered.
I fired my laser rifle at the panel. Snap! Crack! The metal melted and sparks flew. The alarm stopped. Silence reigned. I smiled in relief.
Tihar commented drily, “Your relief is premature.”
“Killjoy.”
“This ship carries three hundred Legionnaires. Lilkee will send all of them after you. You must be prepared.”
My Spidey sense finally decided to kick in. Yep, a whole shitload of wannabes was heading my way. I ran in the opposite direction. “Where’s the launch bay?”
“There are laser canons in the launch bay. You would be incinerated before you reached a ship. The only way to escape is to disable their security and power systems,” Tihar answered.
“Okey-doke. Where do I find them?”
A map formed in my mind. “Take the next left,” Tihar instructed.
The sensation of sudden, overwhelming danger screamed through my brain. I dropped to the floor and rolled behind a large red droid repairing a communications panel. A volley of laser beams exploded around me.
KeeKee clung to my hair. “No die.”
“Only the bad men die,” I said, trying to soothe her.
A loud warbling whine sounded from the droid. Ten seconds later, it spat dazzling green balls at the wannabes. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Nets deployed and wrapped around the warriors. They fell to the floor, struggling madly against the netting.
KeeKee perched on my left ear. “Where other Tabors?”
“Those are nets, honey, not webbing.”
“You have inherited Kaylee’s talent for attracting trouble,” Tihar interjected.
I shrugged. “Shit happens, but I’m not the one dead on the floor or netted.”
“This is true. You are fortunate the Goddess favors you. Power down the droid before it nets you too.”
“How?”
Tihar replied, “The red button below the sensor panel.”
I hit the button.
“Not that red button. The other one,” Tihar corrected in a vexed voice.
“Hey, cut me some slack. I’m still learning alien technology.” Before I could hit the right button, the droid charged off down the corridor. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! It netted more wannabes.
Huh? A laser hit must have mucked up its programming.
KeeKee scrambled to the top of my head for a better look. “Me do. Me do.” She spat several web balls, hitting the last two Legionnaires still standing in the face.
The Legionnaires fought wildly to get the webbing off.
“Nice shootin’, kid.”
KeeKee scrambled down to my shoulder. “Me did good.”
“Very good.”
“Move it,” Tihar growled.
I obediently trotted down the hallway. “Are there any Coletti in your ancestry?”
“No.”
Could have fooled me. I stopped and reexamined my mental map. Yep, this was it. I sent a tendril of power into the control panel, and the door slid open.
Two Legionnaires wearing red jumpsuits and funky headphones tapped away at the control consoles. The ship was on red alert, and they were clueless. I glanced at the vid screen and did a double take. The poor girl staring back at me resembled a survivor from one of those massacre movies.
Wait a minute. There was a very dirty Tabor sitting on her shoulder. I raised my hand. The girl on the screen raised hers. Oh, dear God, it was me. My hair stuck out in every direction and was a gory mess. I tucked a few strands behind my ears and flicked pieces of wannabes away. Hmmm. Since I was going into battle, I needed to appear to be a ferocious, psycho-bitch, not some pitiful female in need of protection. I rubbed at my blood-streaked face until I was the spitting image of an Apache warrior painted up for war. Perfect.
“Females. They are always concerned with their appearance,” Tihar groused.
“No. Warrior having a bad hair day,” I countered. “And in serious need of chocolate. You do not want to mess with a female deprived of chocolate.”
“I believe Talree mentioned this chocolate and the effect it has on Kaylee.”
“Food of the Goddess. Without it, we females become a bit murderous.”
“A proper state of mind when going into battle,” Tihar responded approvingly.
KeeKee waggled her legs at the screen and smacked her tongue against the backs of the Legionnaires’ necks.
Oh crap. “Stop tonguing the bad men.”
“’Kay. Why no move?”
“Good question.” The Legionnaires hadn’t even twitched. They kept on typing and never once glanced at their vid screens. Amazing. The douchebags still didn’t realize I was standing right behind them.
“Your pursuers grow closer,” Tihar advised.
I poked the closest Legionnaire with the muzzle of my laser rifle. “Could someone point me to the ladies’ room?”
The dumbass jumped about a foot, whirled around, and gaped at me in astonishment. His partner kept on typing.
“Howdy.” I stunned both wannabes and watched for a moment as violent muscle spasms contorted their bodies. “Hurts like a bitch, doesn’t it?”
Tihar rumbled impatiently, “This is not the proper time to savor your victory. Take out the consoles.”
He had a valid point. “Yes, sir.” I flipped the power setting to Laser and blasted the hell out of the control consoles. Red and yellow sparks flew in every direction.
The lights flickered and died. Twenty seconds later, the emergency power kicked in. The strobing red light cast eerie shadows over the walls.
I smiled gleefully. The Legionnaires’ ship was now a sitting duck. Maybe they would rethink their genocide plans. Nah, there was no cure for stupid.
“I have your location,” Tihar informed me.
“Good, I’m heading for the launch bay.”
“You have four of your minutes to reach a ship before the laser cannons come back online.”
“Oh yay.” Could this day get any crappier? My poor abused muscles protested loudly as I tore down the corridor.
KeeKee squealed in delight. “Go faster.”
My Spidey sense shrieked. I dodged to the left. A second later, a laser beam zinged by my head.
I hit the deck, rolled, and fired back.
The Legionnaire’s body disintegrated into a million fireflies.
“He want kill us. No like,” KeeKee cried, clinging to my neck.
I stroked her head. “I know it’s scary, sweetie. But don’t worry; I won’t let anything happen to you. We aren’t dying today.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
“Two minutes,” Tihar warned.
I jumped to my feet and ran like my life depended on it. And it did.
“One minute.”
“Shit!” I hit the launch bay control panel with a burst of power. The doors slid open, and I ran for the closest fighter.
“Not that one. It’s damaged,” Tihar instructed. “Take the Marauder on the left.”
Tihar must have some awesome scanners. “Yes, sir.” I sprinted up the ramp, slid into the pilot’s seat, powered up the ship, and closed all the hatches.
“How many times have you flown a Marauder?”
“I’ve got over a hundred hours in a flight simulator Central Command rigged up, and I only crashed four times.”
Tihar bellowed, “A flight simulator? You have no actual combat experience?”
“I have plenty of combat experience. I was under orders to shoot down as many Marauders as I could. Then the engineers’ job was to figure out how they worked. Central Command wanted to build a fleet of Marauders.” I tapped the targeting screen. An instant later, laser bolts blasted the hanger doors into a billion pieces.
“A jury-rigged flight simulator is not the same as flying an actual Marauder. The ships are difficult to handle.”
“Relax, I’m the best damned pilot Central Command had.”
“Space warfare is not the same as planetary air battles, and fasten your harness.”
“Yes, Mom.” I touched the Launch icon on the control console. With a tremendous roar, the ship catapulted out of the landing bay, slamming me back again the seat.
A laser cannon spat a ribbon of dazzling energy at the spot where the Marauder had sat only seconds before. Whew! That had been way too close.
KeeKee bounced up and down on my head. “Wheee! Do again.”
I quickly strapped in. “Maybe later. Stop bouncing. I need to concentrate.”
“’Kay.” KeeKee jumped on the command console.
An endless field of stars filled the view screen. I grinned. My dream of piloting a spaceship had finally come true.
Aunt Tess’s worried voice broke into my glee. “Please tell me you and KeeKee are okay. Lilkee cut the vid when you killed the first wannabe. My God, there was so much blood. We’re all kinda freaked out. Did you blow those bastards to kingdom come?”
“We’re okay. Most of the blood was from the wannabes. Tihar and his warriors are taking care of the Legionnaires’ ships.”
“What a relief. Those fools will never underestimate a Jones again.”
Tihar butted in, “This is not the time for female chatter.”
“Listen, buster, you can’t keep me from talking to my cousin,” Aunt Tess shot back.
“I can.”
Aunt Tess’s link with me snapped.
“That was rude.”
Tihar countered, “Do you wish to die?”
“No.”
“I have sent you the coordinates to take you back to Tanith and the code to pass safely through the field of death satellites. Leave the battle zone immediately,” Tihar ordered.
“Marines don’t run.” I dragged my finger across the targeting console until the crosshairs were centered on the Legionnaires’ ship. I brought the weapons systems online and fired.
A missile whizzed across the view screen and scored a direct hit on the launch bay. A blinding white explosion lit up the view screen. That took care of any pursuit.
“The Legionnaires have a second ship,” Tihar rumbled.
“Fuck.” I checked the tracking scanner. Yep, there it was. The blow to my head had knocked me off my game. Not a good thing.
“A single Marauder cannot take out a class two destroyer.”
“That’s what the Tai-Kok thought until I brought down their dreadnaught. Color them surprised.”
“You are my chosen. You will obey me in this. Return to Tanith. Now,” Tihar commanded.
The urge to submit to his will grew stronger and stronger. He was as bad as the Coletti. “Back off.”
“The mating dance will not let me. I am driven to protect you at all costs. If you die, I will become catatonic.”
Crap. Was he telling me the truth? Probably. I had felt Kaylee’s parents die, and the stunning mental blows had knocked me on my ass. Tihar hadn’t lied to me, yet. He came when I yelled for help and took out the wannabes trying to kill me. A big plus. If Tihar did lose consciousness, the Legionnaires would blow him to kingdom come. I couldn’t let that happen. I was kinda attached to the not so jolly black giant.
“Retreat,” Tihar the Persistent demanded.
An annoying buzzing noise grabbed my attention. The targeting screen was lit up like a Christmas tree. “Running is out. There are twelve fighters heading my way.”
Tihar warned, “The destroyer is charging its laser cannons. Your shields cannot take a direct hit.”
Tell me something I didn’t know. I rolled my eyes when KeeKee skittered wildly across the scanner, trying to catch the blips. “No! Bad baby.” I scooped her up and put her on my head. “Stay. Do not move.”
“Me want play.”
“Behave, youngling,” Tihar interjected brusquely.
KeeKee tunneled into my goopy hair. “No like him.”
Tihar decreed, “Do whatever is necessary to stay alive.”
“That’s the plan. Relax. The only ones dying are the Legionnaires. Mwah-hah-hah.” My berserker rage had reared its ugly head. I wrapped my hand around the control stick, rolled the ship sharply, and unleashed a barrage of laser fire.
Two fighters vanished in a geyser of flaming metal.
“Hard to port,” Tihar bawled as the Legionnaires’ destroyer fired its laser cannon.
I instinctively followed his instructions and put my Marauder into a steep bank. A blinding bolt of red energy missed the ship by a scant foot.
“Pretty,” KeeKee cooed.
“Hang on, kid.” I twisted the ship through a complicated zigzag of evasive maneuvers. I popped up behind a Legionnaire’s spacecraft and blasted it.
The craft wobbled and burst into a ball of rippling yellow flames.
Yee-haw! Only seven more to go. My Marauder shuddered and shook as it took hit after hit. “Bastards.” A warning light appeared on the command console. The starboard deflector shield was failing.
The voice of Lilkee, the Goddess of Chaos, whispered in my head, “Surrender, and I will be merciful.”
I asked Tihar, “Did you hear Lilkee’s offer?”
“I did.”
“Now she wants me alive?”
“Malik has discovered you are a Siren. He wants you as a breeder.”
Didn’t that sound lovely? I switched back to Lilkee’s mental link. “I’m going to pass on your generous offer. If I were you, I’d be more concerned with the approaching battle fleet. You might be a Coletti princess, but I doubt that will keep Talree and the Overlord from blowing your ship into itty-bitty pieces.”
“Waewae!”
“Right back at ya, bitch.” I unleashed a barrage of missiles at the fighters on my tail.
A missile struck the lead fighter, flipping it end over end. It crashed into another ship. The resulting blast took out all the Legionnaire ships pursuing me.
My tracking screen was suddenly full of red blips. My heart sank until I realized it was Tihar and his squadron. Whoa! Askole ships resembled black manta rays. I’d heard the fighters were a pilot’s wet dream, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on one. I bet I could sweet talk Tihar into letting me fly one.
More ships launched from the Legionnaires’ destroyer.
“Go. Now,” Tihar ordered.
“Yes, sir. Don’t get dead.” I entered the coordinates.
Somewhat miffed, Tihar responded, “I am Askole.”
“Your scaly hide won’t protect you from the vacuum of space.”
“My armor will.”
“Good to know.”
Two dozen Askole fighters whizzed by me. The blackness of space was abruptly filled with brilliant billows of orange and red flames as crafts disintegrated.
What was left of the Legionnaires’ ships turned tail and fled. First smart thing they had done all day.
I rubbed my eyes. The cosmos seemed to be shimmering. Did I have a concussion? To my astonishment, a Coletti warbird materialized out of nowhere. I gave myself a mental head smack. Duh. Their ships were equipped with cloaking devices.
The warbird’s laser cannons fired. The blinding red beams struck the Legionnaires’ destroyer repeatedly. I could sense Talree at the command console. He was one dude you didn’t want to piss off.
Tihar directed, “Engage your hyper drive.”
“Yes, sir, engaging hyper drive.” The view screen filled with streaks of yellow light and boom. The battlefield was gone.