SIX
Lihvan didn’t return to his quarters after he finished in the training pit. Instead, he bathed in one of the spare quarters and slept there, although it was a restless night. He’d been haunted by erotic dreams of smooth skin and breathy moans, all too aware that the female that had taken hold of his thoughts was a quick stride away.
When he entered the command center after the few hours of sleep he got, he found Vikan still at the controls. His friend looked as if he’d gotten no sleep at all and jerked his head at him in greeting. They didn’t speak about what had happened in the training pits and they wouldn’t.
Lihvan looked at their position on one of their Coms and was surprised to see that they were in Jetutian territory. Which meant that they must travel with vigilance.
“Any signs of Jetutian vessels?”
Vikan’s face was like facev stone, the same stone the Golden City was built from. “None yet.”
But the lines of his body made Lihvan tense. Quietly, he asked, “You think there will be an attack?”
Viking had always been more perceptive to the Fates’ will than any other warrior Lihvan had ever encountered. To heed his instincts would be a benefit to them all.
Vikan’s eyes flashed to him. “I think we should all be on our guard. Something does not feel right. The darkness is too still.”
Lihvan’s gut tightened, his mind flashing to the safety of the females on board.
Vikan seemed to think the same thing because he said, “The only way to keep them safe is to fight well. We cannot send them off in an escape pod, especially in Jetutian territory. The risks are too great and we may never recover them.”
Lihvan looked around the command center. Most of the warriors were resting, but he would rouse them from sleep in the next few moments. He was irritated that Vikan hadn’t thought to do so the moment they passed out of the Second Quadrant and into the reach of their most-hated enemy.
“Get us away from here as soon as you can,” Lihvan said. “We should not have passed this way. It was a mistake.”
Vikan said, “Vaxa’an wanted the females to safety as quickly as we could. I was only following his orders.”
Lihvan grit his jaw, but anger made him say, “If Nitav was on board, you would not have even considered coming this way.”
And then he turned from his friend and went to sound the alarm to wake the rest of the warriors, so that they could prepare for the worst. Preparing for the worst had saved his life in many instances and he wouldn’t gamble with those under his command.
He thought of Beks as he issued the call, debating whether he should put her in with the rest of the females. But he reasoned she would be safer in his quarters.
For a brief moment, he glanced back at Vikan and his muscles tightened. The warrior’s face was scanning the darkness of space, looking, watching. If Vikan felt threatened, then an attack would be imminent.
Not for the first time, Lihvan wondered if Vikan purposefully courted an encounter with the Jetutians. He’d been bent on revenge after the grief of losing Nitav had passed. Lihvan wondered if he’d just found his chance, except it came at the cost of endangering them all.
Just as Lihvan feared, after most of the warriors were awakened, in position and ready for a possible confrontation, one of their Com alarms sounded, indicating an incoming vessel.
The command center exploded into action and Lihvan knew that elsewhere on the vessel, Luxirians were doing the same: preparing.
In the end…it didn’t matter. The smaller vessel they were on was meant for swift travel and was not equipped for offensive attacks. The best weapons they had were themselves, Luxirian warriors…a race feared and sought after by both enemies and allies.
As a Jetutian vessel came into view, at least three times as large as theirs, Lihvan knew that an encounter had been inevitable. They should not have traveled through that part of the galaxy. Their impatience would cost them.
The only question was what the Jetutians wanted for their freedom.
One of the translators at one of the Coms called to Lihvan. “Ambassador, there is a message uploading to our vessel. A request to open a connection.”
Lihvan would risk the lives of Luxirian warriors if he chose to combat them. They were simply outnumbered. And Lihvan had always believed in doing what was rational, not what his Instinct wanted him to do. His Instinct only wanted two things: to mate and to fight. The Fates had gifted him with an analytical mind, which had battled against his Instinct’s will his entire life span, but thus far it had served him well.
Lihvan approached the warrior and read the message for himself. It was in Jetu, but Lihvan, like many Luxirians, were fluent in multiple languages, especially the languages of their enemies.
“Grant it,” Lihvan rumbled.
The warrior obeyed and a moment later, a feed connection crackled to life and Lihvan saw the unmistakable face of Gribrak, the Jetutian equivalent of a Luxirian war general. A war general that Lihvan had encountered more times than he’d wanted to in his life span. The same war general, as luck would have it, that had gifted him with the deep and grotesque scar down his face.
In Jetu, Gribrak greeted him with the cloying rasps and long worded syllables of the grating language.
“Ambassador Lihvan,” Gribrak said, voice tauntingly smug. His glowing blue eyes looked eerie on the small silver screen. “This is most unexpected.”
In Luxirian, since Lihvan refused to speak their language, he replied with, “State your demands.”
“I have just had an interesting message from our Krevorag allies,” Gribrak said, eyes narrowing on Lihvan’s face, “claiming that a group of Luxirians stole their supply of human females.”
“I did not know,” Lihvan said, his voice low and controlled, “that you were nothing more than a messenger for the Krevorags, Gribrak. I would think that their affairs were beneath you.”
Gribrak scowled, not liking what Lihvan implied. “I do not care for the human females. Keep them for your pleasure slaves if you wish. You know what my request will be.”
Lihvan gritted his jaw, even though relief flowed through him. The Jetutians did not seem to realize that Luxirians were biologically compatible with humans, or else Gribrak would have demanded them back, considering their main goal was to completely wipe out their race. At least the females would be safe. At least Beks wouldn’t be in any danger from them.
“We have no Luxirian crystals on board,” Lihvan answered him. “You know that.”
“Which is why I will need leverage,” Gribrak replied easily. Lihvan stiffened, but kept his expression neutral as his enemy continued, “We have all of our cannons, ammunition, and laser sensors directed right at your vessel, Ambassador Lihvan. Tread carefully. One wrong move and I will give the order.”
Lihvan glanced back at Vikan. His features were unreadable, except for the slight trembling of his hand. Lihvan knew it was not fear. It was rage. Vikan had always kept it tightly leashed, much like Lihvan.
Lihvan returned his gaze to the Jetutian. “What do you want as your leverage?”
Gribrak smiled. His sharp, jagged teeth were repulsive. “I will use you.” Lihvan gave no outward reaction. He knew any hint of it would please Gribrak to no end. “We will send a vessel to collect you, Ambassador, and ransom your return to your Prime Leader in exchange for thirty vonnes of Luxirian crystals.”
Lihvan almost laughed. Thirty vonnes? Impossible. Luxirians only possessed a fraction of that, since mining work had lessened in the past ten rotations. The Jetutians had always assumed that the Luxirians were drowning in crystals, one of the few natural resources that enabled long distance space travel, but that was simply not the case. However, Lihvan knew he bartered not only for the life of the warriors on board and the human females, but for time.
It was a gamble, but one he would need to take.
“Twenty,” Lihvan returned. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Vikan start, but he held out a hand behind him, telling his friend to still. “You will see none, however, if you harm this vessel. Our deal is held together by the safe return of my warriors to Luxiria and only then will our Prime Leader be notified.”
Gribrak pretended to consider, but Lihvan caught the gleam of eager greed in his eyes nonetheless. “We will send a transport to your vessel shortly.”
The stream cut off and Lihvan stared at the silver pad, gathering his thoughts, trying not to let hate and disgust overwhelm him.
“Ambassador?” the warrior asked, after a brief moment of pause. “Your orders?”
Loud enough for all the warriors present to hear, he said, “Secure the females and make sure they are safe. Getting them back to Luxiria is still our mission.”
“We should fight them,” another warrior said and Lihvan cut his gaze over to him. He was a younger warrior, fresh from military training, but he should still know better than to contradict a superior’s orders, especially Lihvan’s. “This is an opportunity for us to avenge our lost females!”
Lihvan’s gaze drilled into him so hard that he thought it might cause the warrior pain. “Are you challenging my authority? Did our Prime Leader give direct power to you that I, or Ambassador Vikan, do not know of?” The younger warrior paled, his jaw tightening when he realized that he’d misstepped. “No? Then keep your tongue inside your mouth before I loosen it from your skull,” Lihvan growled, feeling precious moments slip by with frustration. He felt his muscles bunching and swelling in response, but he managed to retain control.
Barely.
Another Com signaled another vessel and the warrior in front of it said, cutting through the thick silence, “A vessel just released from the main Jetutian bay. Approaching fast.”
Vikan strode over to Lihvan and his usually calm friend was tight with anger. Quietly, so the warriors wouldn’t overhear, he hissed, “Have you gone mad? The Jetutians are not to be trusted. When they realize that we hardly have five vonnes of crystals, they will execute you.”
“I know,” Lihvan murmured lowly.
Vikan inhaled sharply. “Then why—”
“To give you time.”
Vikan eyed him and then said, “You were not planning to return.”
Lihvan huffed out a sharp laugh. “No. The Jetutians must truly believe that we have been hoarding our resources, or else they would not make such ludicrous demands. No…they will find out soon enough. But before they do, the moment they take me on board, you must escape and do it swiftly. I do not trust Gribrak to keep his word not to harm the vessel. Jetutians never keep their word.”
Vikan shook his head. “No, I will not allow you to do this.”
“We have no choice.”
“I will go in your place. One Ambassador is as good as another,” Vikan said, clasping a hand on Lihvan’s shoulder. “I have nothing more to lose. And you…your Instinct has chosen a female for you. You have everything to lose.”
Lihvan’s chest squeezed when he thought of Beks, at the possibility, but then he turned her away from his mind. There was no point dwelling on it now, considering that he would most likely die that span.
“No, my friend,” Lihvan said. “I cannot allow you to do that.” When Vikan started to protest, Lihvan continued with, “Gribrak has a personal vendetta against me, as you well remember. He would not take you in my place. This is something that I must do.”
Vikan’s hand clenched on his shoulder. “Lihvan, I do not like this.”
“You do not have to,” he said. “Just make sure that you use this distraction well and you get this vessel back to Luxiria as soon as you can. That is all that I ask in return.”
Vikan went silent. Sharp exhales sounded from his nostrils and his friend wrestled with the knowledge that Lihvan could not be swayed from this.
“And what of your female?” Vikan finally asked.
“She will return to Earth with the others. Back to her home,” Lihvan said, voice rough. “She will never know that my Instinct chose her for me…and perhaps that is for the best.”
Lihvan swallowed his regret and as the transport vessel crept closer and closer, he mourned the loss of her. He would never know what could have been.