3013: SALVATION (3013: The Series Book 5) (3 page)

“How are you, Serra?” Skylar
studied her friend’s face that showed no signs of stress from what they had
endured.

“I’m recovering from our ordeal
quite nicely,” Serra said with an impish grin. “Jax and Sully have been taking
good care of me.”

“I’m sure they are,” Skylar said
with a laugh. Serra was a beautiful woman with rich, brown hair and pretty
light-green eyes that warmed with greeting. She was one of the most intelligent
people in the world, and her genius status had kept her isolated for most of
her life, but since she had been claimed by Jax and Archer she exuded an air of
contentment and happiness. Skylar was pleased that her friend had found her true
loves, although their love story had not been an easy one.

The living room of the suite was
luxuriously appointed, filled with beautiful gold and cream decor and plush furniture.
It wasn’t any surprise though, considering everything on New Vega was lavish
and elegant. Archer pushed two large duffle bags on the floor out of the way
with his foot so they could continue into the living room.

“Sorry for the mess. We were just
packing. Our new vessel, the
Stargazer,
should be arriving in a few
hours. When it docks, we’ll be moving over to our quarters onboard.”

Skylar nodded. “It won’t take me
long to pack.”

Serra gestured for her to take a
seat on one of the lounge chairs. “Why don’t you sit down? Relax. Can I get you
something to drink?”

Skylar shook her head at Serra’s
offer. “Sorry, Serra. I’m not here for a social call. I was told Jax wanted to
see me.”

“He didn’t tell me about that.”
Serra’s brows creased into a slight frown. “He’s been in a really awful mood
all afternoon.”

“Shit.”

Archer laughed while he stroked a
hand over his chosen’s hair. “Sweetheart, I don’t think that’s something Skylar
wants to hear before she has her meeting with Jax.”

Distress clouded Serra’s
pale-green eyes. “Sorry. I guess it isn’t. He’s probably not mad at you.”

Skylar groaned. “Serra, you
aren’t helping.”

“Want me to come in with you?”

“Thanks, but no. I think I prefer
to get my ass chewed out in private.”

“He’s in the conference room.
First door to the left down that hall,” Archer said. “We’re here if you need to
talk...after.”

Well, shit. That statement said
it all.

Skylar’s nerves started to hum as
she realized the sympathy she saw on Archer’s face meant he knew what she had
been called here for. It had been months since she had faced the wrath of Jax,
and she’d been racking up enough strikes in the last few weeks that she was
about due.

With a tingle of trepidation,
Skylar nodded to Archer, then made her way down the hall to the conference room.
She rapped sharply on the door and pressed the panel on the side of the entrance
when she was told to enter.

Jax looked up from his data unit
as she walked into the room. He sat at the conference room table, as much at
home there as he would have been in his own office. High Commander Jax Spartan was
the epitome of what an elite soldier aspired to be. Until recently, Jax was the
commander of the Capital, the largest and most prosperous city on Earth, but he
had recently been promoted to the position of High Commander. It was an ideal
situation since he could now travel the stars with his chosen.

It was said that one look from
Jax’s piercing gray eyes could freeze a person in place, but Skylar knew his
legendary temper made most people avoid him at all costs when he was angry. Jax
was a man that was feared throughout the universe, but Skylar had known him
since she was a little girl, so he didn’t scare her.

Well, not much.

Skylar could tell by the dark
expression on Jax’s face that he probably hadn’t forgiven her for the
latest...mishap she had been involved in that afternoon. The truth was that
Skylar would have been more than happy to steer clear of Jax for the remainder
of her time away from Earth, but that just wasn’t possible.

Suck it up, Elite.

“Reporting for duty as ordered,
sir.” Skylar saluted the high commander by holding her fist to her chest, right
over her heart.

Jax nodded in response then
gestured to a chair on the other side of the table. “Sit down, Officer Aris.”
He studied her for a moment in silence as she did so, then said, “First, I
wanted to let you know that a new commander and two generals are on their way
to X7 as we speak. Dom and Arik are supervising things there until the
replacements arrive later this evening. The
Stargazer
should be here in
a few hours, so we’ll be moving as soon as it docks.”

“Commander Archer informed me,”
Skylar confirmed. “I’ll go pack as soon as we are done here.”

“Good. The
Stargazer
will
be our base of operations until further notice, since it will allow us to
travel wherever this mission takes us. We’ll pick Dom and Arik up tonight, and
hold our briefing first thing tomorrow morning. In the interim, there is
something I believe we need to discuss.”

“Sir, about today—”

Jax raised a hand, cutting Skylar
off mid-sentence.

“Today wasn’t your fault, Sky,”
he said with a sigh. By using her first name he dropped the formality of the
meeting, switching it to a more personal level that left her feeling more at
ease. “I’m aware that these incidents are rarely your fault, but we still have
to deal with the aftermath. That is part of why we are having this meeting, but
the main reason is there is some cause for concern about your participation in
this upcoming mission.”

Skylar bristled with indignation
at that. “Sir, my record stands—”

“Drop the damn sirs, would you?”
Jax snapped out. “Yes, your record stands, Sky. But the Council of Regents have
every right to question your involvement when this mission will most likely
take us to Tartarus. Hold on, a few of the council members have requested to
speak with you directly.”

As Jax sent the call through,
Skylar took a few deep breaths to level out her emotions. Unlike other elite
females, Skylar hadn’t been tested when she turned ten. Stars, she hadn’t even
been born on Earth, but on the hostile planet called Tartarus.

No, not born.

She had been forged there.

Known as the Dark Planet,
Tartarus sat at the edge of Alliance regulated space. It was a world that had
frequent electrical storms and was home to volatile inhabitants known as the
Lords of War. The Tarins were a barbaric, demon-like race that fed off the
energy of others. They lived off the blood-lust they got when in battle, or the
energy and strength they received during sexual release.

These energy vampires existed
under a feudal system. Centuries ago, the Tarins had gone to war with Earth,
but their swords were no match for humans and their more advanced weaponry. For
years after the war, the Tarins had closed off their planet, choosing to remain
isolated instead of allowing interference from other species. Now, the Tarins
held a tentative truce with the Alliance, although they were still considered a
hostile ally. The Alliance traded with the Tarins for a mineral they had on
their planet that was used for high-powered jump drives installed in Alliance
space vessels.

Because the Tarins were still
fighting a civil war, all visitors were carefully documented. There was only
one Alliance colony on Tartarus, nicknamed the Hades Outpost, and it was almost
impossible to get clearance to visit the planet. There was a faction of lords who
prided themselves on their harems of slaves, while the other half fought for
the equality needed to officially have a treaty with the Alliance.

It was at the Hades Outpost where
Skylar’s life had truly begun.

“Regent Newgate. Regent Spartan.”

Jax’s voice brought Skylar back
to the moment, and she turned her head to look at the large viewing screen on
the wall. The faces of two men stared back at her, both of them wearing the
black uniforms with red sleeves that declared them members of the Council of
Regents.

“Jax. Officer Aris.” Regent Ian Spartan’s
face was so much like his son’s, it was like seeing a glimpse of what Jax would
look like in the future. “Skylar, we’re sorry to have to speak with you about
this, but we feel it’s necessary.”

This time, the use of her name made
her guard go up. Yes, she knew Regent Spartan on a personal level, but he had
never used that fatherly tone with her when dealing with Alliance business
before. It didn’t bode well for her.

“As Jax will inform everyone during
the mission briefing tomorrow, we have a new lead to aid you with your current
mission, but we won’t waste time with that right now. What we need to speak
with you about is the potential issues the council brought up regarding your
involvement in this case.” He shot a glance at Regent Roman Newgate that had
the other man shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

“Listen,” Regent Roman Newgate
began. “I’ve only been a damn council member for what, a week now? Obviously, I’m
still learning, and this isn’t something I’m used to doing.”

“What exactly do you mean by
that, sir?” Skylar asked carefully.

Regent Newgate blew out a breath.
“We’ve seen the reports about your...extraction from Tartarus when you were
young. The Alliance’s relations with the Tarins are sketchy at best right now,
and some of the council members are worried that having you involved in this
will damage the relationship we have cultivated with that planet.”

Skylar blinked in surprise. Talk
about a
what the fuck
moment. So, she was going to be the downfall of an
entire treaty?

No pressure or anything.

As the surprise faded, anger
began to surface. “Respectfully, sirs. I don’t understand why something that
happened years ago would affect my ability to be a part of this investigation.”

Regent Newgate heaved out a sigh.
“Officer Aris, you are half Tarin. No matter how much you try to ignore the
past, it’s going to come into play when your mission takes you to Tartarus.”

“I don’t remember,” Skylar said,
struggling to keep her voice calm. Her heart was pounding in her chest so loud
it sounded like drum beats in her ears. “I did the testing...did all the
council required of me when I went through training to become an elite. I can’t
remember where I came from. As far as I’m concerned, I'm human. I choose to be
human.”

Skylar had very few memories of
her life before she had turned twelve. She had been told she’d arrived at the
gates of the Hades Outpost on Tartarus, discovered in the back of a supply
wagon, battered and bleeding. It had been determined that she was a half human,
half Tarin hybrid child that had escaped from whatever hell she’d come from,
and the commander of the Hades Outpost had immediately granted her sanctuary.

She didn’t remember her past, and
she didn’t want to.

“Skylar,” Regent Spartan said,
his voice soft with sympathy. “I know you don’t remember, but it doesn’t change
the facts. Your mixed bloodline is what has given you your abilities and made
you a Class-A Conduit. It’s those abilities that concern us now. Conduits are powerful
and very rare, so most of the information on them have been kept classified,
but we know that they can become...unstable if not properly regulated.”

“Regulated? Sir, I—”

“The last two men you put down
are still in the medical unit, Skylar.”

Skylar opened her mouth, then
closed it. She didn’t know what to say to that, hadn’t known she had injured
the men so badly. She’d just given them a little shock, just enough to make them
leave her the hell alone like as she’d always done.

“Which is why the council has
classified you a liability,” Regent Newgate continued. “Because of that, a vote
was held. You are to choose a bonding pair, or this will be your last
assignment as an elite.”

***

Chapter Three

The silence in the room was
deafening.

Skylar felt as if the walls were
closing in around her. There was a pressure on her chest that made it difficult
to breathe. Everything she was, everything she had worked for was being taken
away from her...because the council wanted her on a leash?

“I don’t think I heard you
right,” Skylar said slowly. “You’re saying the council voted to rescind my
exempt status?”

“No,” Regent Newgate said with
the shake of his head. “We are still allowing you to choose your own bonding
partners.”

Well, isn’t that big of
them...

“I don’t see why—”

“Sex, Skylar,” Regent Spartan
burst out, looking extremely uncomfortable. “Even though you try to deny your
Tarin half, you know that you need to control your energy levels through...you
know.”

Talk about a fucking
uncomfortable discussion to be having with three male superior officers. “I
didn’t realize that my abilities were becoming stronger since I...well, if
that’s the case, I can just take care of that issue and be fine again.”

“I’m sorry, Officer Aris. Your
abilities are becoming unstable. You can no longer afford to go on without
bonding partners to ground you. We still don' t know much about the Tarin, but
from what we've discovered so far is that most Tarin who are in a steady
relationships have the best control over their energy levels. Without someone
to help counter the effects of the energy you seem to draw to you, it is likely
you won’t be able to control your gifts soon. You’ll become a danger to
yourself and everyone around you if that happens.”

Regent Spartan blew out a breath.
“I know this isn’t the best situation, but the council has voted. Roman and I
fought to keep you on this current mission when the others wanted to pull you
from active duty immediately. That was the best we could do. You’ll need to
choose a bonding pair by the end of this investigation, or you will be removed
from duty until you do.”

“I understand.”

Although, she didn’t. Not really.
It was one thing to be told that her powers were getting more volatile because
of the Tarin blood running through her veins. She knew better than anyone how
unpredictable that part of her could be, but to be forced to choose two men to
be with for the rest of her life because she needed to have sex to regulate her
gift was just unthinkable.

“If that is all.” Skylar rose
from the table, surprised that her legs were steady under her. She had to get
out of there. She needed to get away from the three men looking at her with
kind, quiet eyes. She didn’t want or need their fucking sympathy.

“I’m sorry for this, Skylar.”
Regent Spartan’s voice was soft with sincerity, but it did nothing to decrease
the burning rage that simmered inside of her. “We must also warn you, High
Commander Spartan is under orders to take you off this mission if he sees that
your judgment is compromised due to your background.”

“Understood, sir.” Her voice was
clipped, her eyes hot. She clenched her hands into fists, fighting back the
surge of dark energy she could feel building inside of her. “May I ask a
question?”

“You may speak freely.”

“All right then. Out of all the
Class-A Conduits, I’m the only female, correct?”

“Yes. You are.”

“And did the council demand that
any of the men claim a chosen?”

She saw Jax’s mouth tightened as
both regents shook their head, but she wasn’t surprised. She had expected that
response. “I see.”

“You’re important to the Alliance,
Skylar. This is for your protection as well as everyone around you.”

Skylar struggled to hold onto her
temper, but it was a losing battle. Fuck it, she thought. They were already
taking everything away from her, what more damage could they do to her if she
spoke her mind?

“Speaking freely, sir, that is a
bunch of bullshit. If I were such an asset, you would let me do my job instead
of pulling me from active duty. The other conduits are allowed to be active
members of strike force teams. I know that the energy I store can be used
through bloodlust, released during fighting, but I have been kept caged because
I’m a fertile female. Now, you are forcing me to choose partners that will
ensure that I'll be kept out of the fighting, despite the promise given to me
that I wouldn’t be forced to bond with anyone. You could have told me all of
this before it was too late, but you chose not to.”

“That’s enough, Sky,” Jax ordered
softly. “Remember, you are addressing two Regents.”

“Yes, sir. It is enough. I will
abide by the council’s order, but I won't be forced into giving you an answer
until I am ready. Now, I need to go pack and prepare for the upcoming mission.”
Skylar stalked to the door, but turned back when Regent Spartan spoke.

“Skylar, we are trying to help
you, whether you believe it or not. It’s the only way.”

She pierced them all with a stony
stare. “This isn’t for my sake, this is because the council has decreed I need
to be controlled...because I’m female. Regent Spartan, High Commander Spartan,
I wonder if your chosens would agree with you that this is the only way this
matter could have been handled.”

She felt a brief tingle of
satisfaction at seeing both men’s faces pale before she stalked from the room.

Damn them. Damn them all to hell.

They had taken her freedom away
with one command. Had changed the course of her life in the blink of an eye.

And now her future was not her
own.

****

Director Dominic Stryker entered
the training center on one of the lower levels of the
Stargazer
as two elite
soldiers exited the room. The men passed each other with a silent nod, and Dom
was pleased to see that they were the last people in the room except for the
one he was there to see.

The room was large and well
equipped to suit the strike force team that accompanied the high commander
during his travels through Alliance controlled space. The equipment was well
used, telling him that the team trained often, but everything was in good
condition, making it clear they were also disciplined. Dom made his way to the
back of the room where the individual training areas were sectioned off.

He’d had a feeling she’d be
there...and he was right.

So far, Dom had what could only
be described as a pisser of a day, but just seeing Skylar helped ease a little
of the tension he was feeling.

Stars, she was fucking beautiful.

He’d had another restless night
of sleep dreaming about her, then finally woke to have his own workout in the
facilities that New Vega provided to visitors. Dom had been doing his kata on
the mats to cool down, when some cocky gym-rat that was on vacation had started
picking on a young elite officer. The other man was an off-planet cargo runner
who had just wanted to show off a little to friends that he was better than an elite.

Well, the fucker had chosen the
wrong place and the wrong time.

Dom normally wouldn’t have
interfered, but he couldn’t stomach bullies of any kind. Unable to ignore the
drama, he'd stopped what he was doing and stalked over to the cargo runner,
standing in front of the young officer. He knew that he could shut most people
down simply by staring at them with his piercing black eyes, but that wasn’t
enough.

Not after the shit the idiot had
been spouting about elite officers while he’d been trying to get the young man
to fight him.

Dom had accepted the cargo runner’s
challenge, and could see by the other man’s jittery expression that he really
hadn’t expected to go up against someone with Dom’s strength, which was why he
had originally chosen such an easy mark.

But the man hadn’t backed down,
not with his friends watching.

It hadn’t taken long to teach the
stupid man a lesson using superior skill and meticulous precision. Dom knew
what could happen when he let go, so he always tried to maintain control of
himself, even when fighting. His self-control was one of his greatest strengths
since he worked so damn hard at it, although lately something had been fucking
with that.

No, not a thing.

It was one person...Skylar.

Dom came to a stop and watched as
the woman he wanted more than his next breath waged war with a sparring droid. She
was sweaty, and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail with a few damp tendrils
plastered against her temples, but her beauty still took his breath away. He
held back a wince as Skylar was thrown to the mats hard enough to rattle her
bones, but she deftly swept the droid’s feet out, flipped back onto her feet
and continued the battle.

Skylar was fearless.

It was one of the things that
attracted him to her, but it also scared the shit out of him.

By the time Dom had showered and
changed in his suite after his workout that morning, Arik had informed him that
Skylar had left New Vega. Dom knew that it annoyed her that he kept tabs on her
whereabouts, but the damn woman always seemed to get herself in trouble
whenever he wasn’t there to watch over her.

Stars, she seemed to find trouble
even when he was there with her.

Finding out that two idiot
generals had tried to claim her while she had been on X7 had made Dom crazy.
When Jax had ordered him and Arik to the space station, Dom had been furious
that he hadn’t been able to check on Skylar to make sure she was okay with his
own eyes, but there had been a deep sense of pleasure dealing with the two
assholes personally while they waited for the replacements to arrive.

As he watched her fight, Dom thought
back to the first time Skylar walked into his office. He had heard the rumors
about her before she was transferred into his division. As the director of the Security
and Investigation Division, Dom made sure that he knew about everyone that would
be working under him. He’d read her file before he’d approved the transfer, and
had been intrigued at having someone with her abilities on staff. But there
were also concerns that came with having an unclaimed scroll with exempt status
among all the unbonded males.

He just never thought the man he
would have the biggest problem with would be himself.

Instead of simply assigning her
to one of the units under his command and forgetting about her, he was
constantly checking up on her. When the two generals in charge of her unit had
tried to claim her against her will, Dom had stepped in and had transferred
them to the other side of the galaxy. He kept her close and knew she resented
the way he hovered, but he simply couldn’t help himself.

There had been several other
instances where Skylar had been accosted, and each time Dom had a harder time
controlling his temper. Even if she had taken care of the matter herself, Dom
made sure the perpetrators knew that breathing the same air as her would end
badly for them. Over time, his reactions to men approaching her had gotten even
more violent.

But those instances were nothing
compared to what happened last week.

When he’d woken from whatever
drug they had been given and found that she, Serra and Reva had been kidnapped,
Dom had simply lost his shit. Jax and Archer had been more vocal about their
fear and rage that their chosen had been taken, but Dom had let the fury build
inside him until he had been a living, breathing weapon of mass destruction.

He had destroyed every single
mercenary that had gotten in the way of his finding her. Nothing could have
stopped him from getting to Skylar on the mercenaries’ ship, and the relief he’d
felt when he saw she was alive and well had almost been euphoric.

Dom knew of the curse that
plagued the men in his family. It was said that it only took one look for the
Stryker men to fall in love. He had avoided going down that particular path by
not choosing a partner even though he had been granted leave to pick a chosen,
but everything had changed the moment Skylar had walked through his door.

He’d wanted her from the moment
he met her, but had tried to write it off as basic lust. Except when she’d been
kidnapped he knew there was no way to deny that what he felt for her was love.
He fucking loved her...and it totally and completely sucked.

Unlike his father, Evan Stryker, who
had given up his position as commander of one of the strike force teams when he
had bonded with Dom’s mother, Jeanette, Dom knew he was a career elite. The
Strykers had a long history of service. The men in the family has served in the
military dating all the way back to the twenty-first century. Dom knew that a
relationship was possible when all the individuals were dedicated to making it
work, but he would never be able to walk away from active duty the way his
fathers had.

Dom’s fathers, Evan Stryker and
his partner Lochlan McCain, had been on leave in the Capital when they had
walked into the restaurant that had been passed down to Jeanette after her
parents had passed away. It had only taken one look at her, and Evan had known she
had been the one for him. It didn’t take Lochlan long to fall in love with
Jeanette as well, and they soon realized that staying on active duty wouldn’t
be possible if they wanted to claim her. Without hesitation, both men had
resigned, claiming Jeanette and staying in the Capital to help run her
business. Jeanette had been struggling to keep the doors to her family’s restaurant
open when she had met Evan and Lochlan, but with the help of the Strykers, they
were able to turn things around and make it a success.

While Evan’s parents had been
career elites, choosing to explore the big black after his entry into the
academy, Evan had always been close to his grandparents. Evan’s grandmother,
Cathica, had been one of the few Tarin females that had escaped the civil war
that raged on Tartarus. When she has sought sanctuary on one of the Alliance
space stations, she had met General Adam Stryker. There had been an instant connection
between them, and Adam hadn’t hesitated making the pretty Tarin female his.