Chapter Four
Thorin marched toward one of the private recreation rooms. If he didn’t expend some of his energy and unexpected lust at Vala’s small frame against him, his Brevkan urges might break free. No matter how much he detested his current predicament, he vowed not to hurt or frighten the female. She shouldn’t suffer because of his bastard, dishonorable half.
The only good thing from the whole mess was that Thorin could prevent future repeats of what had happened to Vala. He would have to either clean his room himself in the future or have a lower-down male do it. He couldn’t give up orgasms to satiate his Brevkan half, but he could ensure no female was forced to accept him and his unclean genetics. At least the Barren couldn’t be saddled with one of his bastard offspring.
Finally reaching the private room, Thorin entered and removed his weapons. “Computer, don’t admit any visitors until the program completes. Only head pilot Nahrenn or security officer Xytor are allowed to interrupt via communications.”
“Understood,” the artificial intelligence, or AI, system answered. “State desired program and specifications.”
“Hand-to-hand combat, level twenty. Search my records to prevent repetition.”
The walls of the room turned a bright yellow, which instantly alerted his senses. A second later, a Kelderan male warrior several inches taller than him, with more muscle, charged into existence and headed straight for him.
Used to the program, he barely paid attention to the geometric look of the simulation. Thorin tensed his muscles and skirted to the right when the warrior reached him. He attempted to sweep his opponent’s leg, but the warrior stepped to the side at the last minute.
Crouching down, Thorin lunged at the warrior and they both went to the ground. They rolled, but the simulated warrior managed to gain the upper hand, pinning Thorin before punching his jaw.
Tasting blood, Thorin growled before swinging his legs up around the male’s neck from behind and flipping them over. He quickly released his opponent and stood. He waited for the warrior to charge again.
Just as the warrior moved toward him, the program paused. After two beeps, the AI system said, “Pilot Nahreen wishes to talk with you. Do you wish to receive?”
Thorin wiped the blood from his lips and cursed. He’d barely started to appease his violent side. He answered, “Allow it and cease program.”
As the room faded to a light gray once more, Nahrenn’s voice echoed in the room. “We’re approaching the asteroid field, sir.”
“I thought it was hours away?”
“Yes, General. However, the asteroid field is…moving in an unpredictable manner. I thought you’d want to be notified and see it for yourself.”
Thorin’s irritation eased. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. End transmission.”
Silence filled the room and Thorin went to the hidden compartment near the door to retrieve a towel. As he wiped away the sweat and blood from his encounter, he tried to recall a previous occurrence of when an asteroid field, or even a lone one, had moved unpredictably.
However, by the time he deposited the soiled towel in another compartment to be cleaned, he hadn’t remembered anything from his years onboard starships or from his schooling.
While he would never wish for an opponent to appear and endanger his people, Thorin was grateful for the distraction. He might be able to forget about Vala for a few hours. The longer she spent alone and paralyzed, the more open she should be to accepting his offer. His father may have been a rapist, but Thorin would never lower himself to such a disgraceful act. He would wait for her consent.
After holstering his blaster gun on one hip and his short sword on the other, Thorin exited the room and headed for the command deck.
~~~
The longer Vala remained alone in Thorin’s quarters, the more she plucked at his tattered blanket with her fingers. She hated being idle. Even during her rest periods inside the citadel, she had filled her time with flight simulations and rudimentary alien language courses. Neither of which could she do in the present without some sort of proper electronic equipment.
She’d gone back and forth about leaving the bed to search for a notescreen. If she left the bed, Thorin would know she’d probably gone snooping around since it was unlikely she could pull herself back up into it. He might be putting on a patient front for the time being, but violating yet another ship’s code—invading a warrior’s private space without permission—might trigger his temper.
And then who knew what would happen.
No. For once in her life, Vala was going to do something risky and forget about the consequences. Otherwise, she’d have to think about what Thorin might do to her if he tried to claim her.
Decision made, she used her arms to move to the edge of the mattress. When she leaned over, she could just reach the storage compartment built into the wall. She pressed against it and the drawer opened. Since it was empty, she now understood why Thorin hadn’t put a thumbprint lock on it.
She scanned the room. Every set of quarters on board the ship had at least one notescreen for use. Given Thorin’s status, she bet he had both a public and a private one.
She spoke aloud. “Computer, where’s the public notescreen assigned to this room?”
“Public notescreen is located in storage bin 3A.”
The computer’s answer told her that Thorin hadn’t taken away her AI access. At least, not yet.
The storage compartments were labeled in black lettering. Vala spotted 3A across the room.
Moving her body wasn’t easy without the use of her legs, but the compartment was near enough to the floor that she should be able to reach up and retrieve the object.
When she had her legs hanging over the side of the bed, Vala hesitated. This was it. The mattress was built for a warrior male and the distance between the floor and the top was twice her own. If she had use of her legs, it wouldn’t matter. But Vala didn’t think she had the upper body strength to pull herself back up.
That meant Thorin would know she’d left the bed. Even if she wiped the memory of the notescreen and put it back where she found it, he would know she’d done something and probably interrogate her.
Her upbringing warred with her curiosity. Lessons as a child had drilled into her that Barren must be careful of their actions. Since their worth was almost nonexistent to the Kelderan race because of their inability to contribute to its survival, if they were deemed criminals or even perceived as ungrateful for the king’s goodwill, they could be imprisoned or even executed. And if that weren't harsh enough, any Barren who mourned the loss of the erased members would suffer the same consequence.
In other words, the sentenced female in question became lost to history, never to be remembered.
For a few seconds, she merely sat still. She had no idea how lenient Thorin would be with her.
Then she dropped her gaze to her motionless legs. If she capitulated and accepted Thorin’s claiming, she would probably lose her future anyway. No doubt he would banish her somewhere far away to protect whatever secret he was hiding. And yes, she had a suspicion the strangely addictive scent from earlier was key to what had happened to her, not to mention it probably revealed something about Thorin.
Something he didn’t want anyone to know about.
The only way to possibly regain her future on Jasvar, as well as the power of choice regarding a male claiming her, meant that Vala had to find her own cure to her ailment, and quickly.
Ignoring any lingering doubts, Vala maneuvered onto her stomach and slid down the side of the bed. She landed in a heap and bit her lip to keep from crying out at her elbow hitting the hard floor. Once the pain faded, she used her arms to crawl across the room. By the time she reached the other side, a light sheen of sweat covered her upper body.
If she ever regained the use of her legs, Vala needed to add strength and endurance exercises to her regime. No doubt she’d need it on Jasvar, especially if Jasvar’s female warrior leader—Taryn Demara—held up her promise to train Vala in the art of dagger wielding.
After catching her breath, Vala moved onto her rear and reached up for bin 3A. She pushed against it. Once it finished opening, she reached as high as she could and felt around the space. Her forefinger brushed against the edge of what she hoped was a notescreen. Pinching it between her fingers, she lifted and nearly cried out in relief when she saw the shiny, flat surface of the device.
Placing it on her lap, she quickly powered it up. When it didn’t ask for a password, she clapped. She no longer had to wait at Thorin’s mercy for information.
Logging into her virtual storage area, she ran a search on sudden paralysis of the legs. Over a hundred entries populated.
She scanned them and put them into different categories. Some were a result of plants, some gases, and other viruses. One of them was the odd one out and shared a keyword with the Brevkan.
Quickly dismissing the enemy race since Thorin was Kelderan, Vala went to work reading those related to gases. The strange smell was her first clue. She only hoped it was enough to find a remedy.
As it were, the clock was ticking. She had to complete her task before Thorin’s return.
Pushing aside thoughts of the male, Vala read the first entry.
~~~
Thorin finished his perusal of the asteroid-related data on the viewing panel on one side of the command deck. Nahrenn stood at his side. Thorin looked at the male. “Did you confirm this information?”
“Aye, sir. We ran several scans and launched a probe, which should be transmitting more detailed data back to us at any moment.”
He looked back at the unusual statistics. If they were correct, the asteroids were moving in sporadic jerks, in no discernible pattern. Add in the fact they were closer together than they should be given past explorations of the star system by the Kelderans, Nahrenn had been right to interrupt his sparring session.
His first impression was that the objects gathered to their port side weren’t asteroids at all, but some sort of living organism that had lain dormant for centuries. Some of Keldera’s long-distance trading partners had mentioned similar situations. Thorin had always dismissed them as fabrications, used to entertain males on a long flight. Maybe he’d erred in doing so.
A different viewing panel beeped twice. The scientist manning the station said, “The probe’s initial transmission has arrived.”
Thorin moved to see the information. While he wasn’t a trained scientist, all high-ranking officers in the Kelderan Army had sufficient knowledge to understand the basics.
He scanned the information and frowned. “Am I seeing this correctly?”
The science officer, Merctor, answered, “Yes, sir. Some of the objects are registering faint vibrations and even infinitesimal amounts of heat.”
“Which means they aren’t lifeless chunks of rock floating in space,” Thorin stated.
“Correct, sir.” Merctor looked from the viewing screen to Thorin. “In my professional opinion, we should inform headquarters on Keldera and request a research team as well as a few security escort fighters. If the asteroid-looking objects turn out to be enemies, a colony transport ship will become an easy, vulnerable target.”
While all Kelderan starships had weapons and defenses, maneuvering a long colony ship and arming it for combat was akin to moving a mountain to construct a new road. It could be done, but it took time and a large amount of resources. By the time they moved into position, an enemy could have easily either captured or destroyed them.
Yes, the colony ship had a half-dozen small fighters to help with self-defense, but they might not be enough. Since this was Keldera’s first attempt at a colony, there were many mistakes that needed to be rectified in the future. Thorin didn’t think the rush job to launch the colonists had helped in planning, either. Thorin was at fault as much as anyone else. There hadn’t been any enemies in the flight path from Keldera to Jasvar in decades. Peace had made everyone reckless.
Thorin took a step back and clasped his hands behind his back. He spoke to Nahreen. “Ensure we’re at a presumably safe distance from the unknown objects, but still within the limits of our most powerful weapons.” When his pilot nodded his assent, he moved his gaze to Merctor. “We should still be within secure communications range. Transmit your findings and notes to headquarters and ask for their orders. However, as we wait for their response, continue to monitor all probe transmissions and keep me abreast of the information. I will be in my quarters, devising strategies.”
“Aye, sir,” Merctor answered.
Satisfied his crew could handle the tasks set, he turned back toward the main viewing screen. Thorin preferred ships and males he could see to barely in-motion objects. Most advanced lifeforms made mistakes that a general could pounce upon.
However, if the small asteroid-looking objects were of lower intelligence, they might act on instinct alone, and that could make them extremely unpredictable.
After another long second, Thorin exited the command deck and headed toward his quarters. He hadn’t lied about devising ways to handle the asteroid-like objects if they attacked, but until the ship was put on a high alert or was attacked, he also needed to ensure his charge was doing okay. Despite the circumstances that had placed Vala into his care, Thorin would do his best to take care of the female.
Realizing she’d be more comfortable if she could move about, he changed course. She should do well enough while he finally ordered a hover chair and put in an order for extra-large portions of all forthcoming meals.
The female needed the food, especially if she were to accept his claim and receive his wild Brevkan urges. He only needed to orgasm once to reverse the paralysis, but he doubted he’d be able to stop until exhaustion took them both.
He only hoped she would allow him to blindfold her and tie her up. Otherwise, he might witness her fear as she discovered what he truly was. And as selfish as it may be, he didn’t want the image of Vala cringing in horror to haunt him for the rest of his life.
Thorin nearly missed a step. He didn’t know why he wasted his time thinking of the female. His ship’s safety was far more important. He had a feeling that discovering a possession could affect his ability to function normally as well.
And that was bad news. Thorin couldn’t risk screwing up or people might end up dead.
He’d just have to make his visit quick and find another place to better study the data from the probes. He wouldn’t allow the female to affect his ability to lead.