Chapter Two – Sildon
She was late.
Sildon polished a nick out of the edge of his sword. It had once been a broadsword, crafted by his mother's father, but over the years it had suffered so much damage that Sildon had had to reshape it into a thinner, shorter blade. That was just fine; it suited his fighting style better. He had never been trained in the traditional T'shav ways, after all.
But why was his human female taking so long to get here? Perhaps he should have arranged to pick her up. Maybe she had gotten lost in the docks. Or maybe she had decided not to come and stayed on the planet that housed the Sanctuary. If that was the case, she could have at least let him know.
Oh, well. If this human didn't show up, he was certain he'd be able to get another soon enough. The women here threw themselves all over T'shav men. The way it was going, humans would be extinct again within a few generations since they all seemed to be having T'shav babies rather than mating with other humans.
A sharp click on the hard floors had him looking up. A human woman walked towards him. His sword clattered to the floor.
He'd seen images of Jada Isles. While pretty in the pictures, she was the epitome of beauty in real life. Sildon didn't even have anything to compare her to. Her body was the first thing he noticed. Her shape was all femininity, with lush curves that narrowed at her waist, emphasized by the dress she wore. The neckline plunged in a way that let just the right amount of cleavage show. She had nice thick thighs and lips that were just as full and curvaceous as the rest of her. Tight black curls haloed her face.
"Sildon?" she asked when she got to him.
The T'shav cleared his throat and picked up his sword. "Jada. I was beginning to think you changed your mind."
"I was unexpectedly delayed at work. I thought about sending you a message, but it's also an Earth woman custom to keep men waiting a little bit at the start of their dates." She winked at him.
She smelled fruity and sweet. Maybe he should find another woman for this. Sildon put his sword away, well aware that he hadn't put much effort into his own appearance. After all, he had just wanted to get her on his ship at the time.
But now, looking at her, smelling her, he couldn’t help but want to take this where she thought it was going. Go out for a dinner where they'd make some idle chit-chat to decide if they really wanted to sleep together. And then when they decided that they did, to go back to either her place or his and go at it like he was full-on musth. He nearly groaned as he thought of holding her tight to him, her legs gripping his hips—
Get hold of yourself.
He had a tight deadline. His application to join the Sanctuary had passed scrutiny so far, but his lies were certainly going to be found out sooner or later. If he was going to do this, it had to be with Jada Isles. Part of him wanted to go along with the ruse anyway because he was honestly curious about what it would be like to be with a human, but he was a better man than that. He would not bed Jada under false pretenses.
"Would you like to come onto the ship for a minute? I've decided not to take my sword with us."
Jada's brows arched but she shrugged. "That's fine with me. Lead the way."
Sildon smiled at her, gesturing her up the gangplank. He followed, heart hammering. The Sanctuary had stringent security with its humans. He half-expected guards to burst out from every direction to stop him. But they must have known what Jada was here for because nobody appeared.
"This is nice," Jada said, glancing around the ship once they were inside.
"It satisfies my needs."
Other than the cockpit, the ship had only two rooms. One contained a bed that folded itself into the wall and a cooking unit that produced lukewarm food that tasted passable most days. It didn't have much of a fuel tank, though. Short hops between close star systems were the best it could do.
"So, are we really going somewhere?" Jada sat on a stool, crossing her long legs at the ankle.
Sildon swallowed hard as her yellow dress rode up her thigh. "Well, we could if you wanted. Or we could have drinks and talk here."
"I could use something to drink." Jada tugged the hem of her dress. "It's been a while since I've done something like this, so I'm a little rusty. What's your usual sequence of events?"
"Talk and drinks for a few minutes. We decide if we're actually compatible enough to go further. If we're not, you leave and I mope for a while before looking for another woman." He flashed her a brilliant smile as he poured some cactus wine into two cups. It was a powerful drink, banned in three star systems, but he'd done his research. Humans could take the effects. They'd found some of the humans with far more potent drugs in their systems. "If we decide that we do like each other, then the rest happens naturally."
He offered a glass to Jada. She took it, flashed him a sexy smile and sipped at it. Her eyes widened and she looked down at the glass in surprise.
"That's delicious. What is it?"
"It's—"
Jada gulped down the rest. Sildon stared at her, slack-jawed. Most species would be flat on their backs after a couple swallows. Maybe he shouldn't have poured so much. The human's smile grew and she giggled, holding her glass out to him.
"Ooh, this feels like the sexies," she slurred. "I mean the sixties. You're cute. You're smoking hot, but you're also—"
Sildon caught her as she slumped over. He picked her up, marveling for a moment at how beautiful and soft her body was, before he shook his head and took her to the bed. It unfolded itself and he laid her down, careful to put her in a position where she wouldn't suffocate on the pillow or on her own vomit if that happened.
The T'shav rushed to raise the gangplank and start his engines. The comm buzzed and a voice rang through the ship, warning him to power down at once. He ignored it. They wouldn't fire on him while he had a human on board. The docks were in an open space on the station that circled the planet, shielded to prevent air from escaping but not against ships coming or going. He lifted off, gunning for the opening. In the three-sixty viewscreen he'd installed, he saw other pilots scrambling for their own ships. He had to time this just right in order for it to work.
Stealth technology was always evolving. The older models were easily detected by the scanners that came installed these days. But the Sanctuary wasn't the first place he had infiltrated. The Ruizers Corporation was in the middle of developing a new stealth technology, one that didn't require new materials, but rather could hide any vessel.
"Unauthorized ship, you will shut down your engines at once and allow our operators to board," he was ordered as the ships surrounded him. "The human you have abducted is under the protection of the Warlord Zon, and if you do not allow us to reclaim her at once, you will suffer for it."
"I'm sure I will," Sildon muttered to himself.
He slowed his ship to almost stopping, then abandoned the cockpit to head for the escape pod. Inside was filled with various explosives. He set the timer and waited. His heart pounded, adrenaline flooding his system. All of his planning rode on this moment. If he jettisoned the pod too soon, they'd be able to see through the ruse. Too late, and he wouldn't have to worry about what Zon planned for him.
A thud hit the outside of his ship. He jettisoned the pod and rushed back to the cockpit. His hands flew over the controls, too focused on his work to fear any miscalculations. He jerked the ship to the right, breaking free of the tether that clung to his hull.
The escape pod exploded. The flames licked the thin oxygen shell that he had programmed about his ship, surrounding his vessel. He activated the stealth tech and threw the ship forward. The Sanctuary ships stayed where they were. His comm was disabled to help hide their escape, but he could imagine their shock and dismay.
Sildon chuckled as he set a course for the nearest system. Once they were there, he would steal another ship before heading out of Zon's reach. Wouldn't the warlord be surprised when he got the ransom demands?
"Congratulations, my boy," he patted himself on his back. "You've successfully ripped off the Zon Sanctuary. No one else could have lived to tell the tale."
He grinned broadly. Step one was done. Soon he'd have the funds he needed to find his father.