Alien Caged (35 page)

Elisa tried to sound as courageous as Zemos gave her credit for as she asked, “Now what?  Do we just hang around here waiting to live or die?”

Zemos chuffed a laugh.  “I prefer to give fate a helping hand.  I am going to speak to Captain Walker and see what more I can find out from him.  He is as threatened as we are, so perhaps we can convince him to help.”

Elisa glanced over at the prisoner and his guards.  The Nobeks stood around watching Walker, who did nothing but stand in one spot, staring at the floor.  Damn it, he looked like a child without presents on Christmas.  She’d never seen anyone look so lost.

She told Zemos, “I doubt you’ll get anything out of him.  He’s a good man and one who has been betrayed, but he is courageous and dedicated.  He will not turn his back on his own.”

Elisa winced at her statement.  She knew full well which side of that coin she fell on.  Miragin hugged her, his face burrowing against the top of her head to kiss her comfortingly.

The Imdiko told her, “There is no doubt about Walker’s integrity.  There is a time to give up a bad fight, however.  Perhaps Walker will figure that out as you have.”

Elisa looked up into the handsome face.  Miragin’s gentle beauty gave her something to smile about.  “Unlike me, he doesn’t have much to look forward to.”

Zemos squeezed the hand he still held.  “If Kalquor catches him, he will have much to answer for.  However, I agree that there is a lot about Joseph Walker that begs some forgiveness.  His determination to help the crewmember he thought weakest, for instance.”  The Dramok looked at Walker, and his gaze softened with compassion.  “I will not forget that he did such to save the woman I love.  If he survives all this to go to trial, I will speak in his defense.”

“He’s not the only good captain here,” Elisa told Zemos.  Her heart throbbed at his assertion of love and that he would testify on Walker’s behalf.

Zemos smiled at her before heading for the corner where the Earther captain stood surrounded by Nobek guards.

* * * *

Zemos couldn’t help the elation he felt despite the dire situation they were all in.  Elisa had chosen to go with his clan.  She was, for all intents and purposes, his Matara now, though it would probably be a good idea to insist on a formal declaration. 

Mine.  My lifemate.  Now all I have to do is get us out of here alive
.

The Dramok’s eyes narrowed as he neared Walker, Oret, and the complement of guards standing over the Earther captain.  He really did like his enemy.  Even with little experience as a leader and a much-diminished crew, Walker had managed to attack and overcome his destroyer.  That alone warranted Zemos’ respect, even if his foe hadn’t turned out to be a genuinely decent person. 

Walker was a good man, and it would make pushing him around distasteful.  With his crew and clan’s survival in the balance, however, Zemos was more than willing to be an asshole.

He stood over the hunched Earther, giving Walker his most dangerous stare.  Loading his tone with threat, Zemos said, “You and I are going to have a conversation, Captain Walker, and you will answer my questions.  I already know all about your Holy Leader surviving Armageddon.  I know that he is working with the Basma and Bi’is to subvert the Empire.”

Walker shuddered, but he drew himself up and glared up at Zemos, looking him right in the eyes.  “I will not speak.  I will not betray my people.”

Zemos gave him a cruel smirk.  “Even though they’ve betrayed you?  You will stand with those who have sentenced you and an innocent woman to death?”

“Not every one of them has done so.  There are good people on this ship, people as trapped by the circumstances as Elisa is.”

“And as you are.”  Seeing his confrontational attitude was only getting the Earther to dig in his heels, Zemos switched tactics.  He tried a kinder, fatherly tone.  “Why not work with us, Joseph?  You have nothing left to lose and your life to gain.  Let me help you.”

Walker dropped his gaze.  “I can’t.  My duty is all I have left.”

Zemos knew the man would give up nothing willingly.  So be it.  He looked at Oret and spoke in Kalquorian so Walker wouldn’t know what was coming.  “I need him to talk but I don’t want him harmed.  Not in front of her.”

Oret nodded.  “The bite?”

“It works a bit differently on Earthers than on us, but it may be enough.”

One of the Nobeks guarding Walker named Almon offered a quick bow to Zemos.  “I will do it, Captain.”

Zemos arched an eyebrow.  Almon was a scarred veteran of many battles, one of his best fighters when it came to face-to-face combat.  He was always on the front lines and ready to tear his enemies apart.  No doubt he was more than happy to exact some retribution on a man who had dared to capture him.

The captain told Almon, “As I said, I will not have him hurt.”

The tough Nobek’s lips twitched.  It was an approximation of a smile, something that rarely had leave to visit his handsome but creased face.  “No sir.  Captain Walker once stopped his men when he came upon them beating me in the cell block.  He stayed on hand while I was treated for my injuries.  He made sure I was taken care of properly, though the Earther medics were not happy to do so.”

The other guards nodded their agreement.  They must have witnessed the incident.  Zemos managed to keep the surprise from his expression.  It wasn’t that Walker had made sure Almon had been healed that shocked him; it was the warmth in the hardass Nobek’s tone as he spoke of their prisoner.  Almon was volunteering to perform the bite not to gain revenge, but to make sure Joseph wasn’t harmed.

Oret made the decision quickly.  He told the other guards, “Shield our actions from the Matara’s view.”

The other three men moved around Walker, their big bodies blocking the sightline between him and Elisa.  Almon remained behind him.  Struck by the activity, the Earther captain looked at Zemos with concern.  “What is this?”

One of Almon’s beefy arms wrapped around Walker’s torso, pinning his arms against his body.  The other big-knuckled hand grasped the startled Earther’s head, pulling it to one side and stretching his neck.  Almon’s head darted down, fangs flashing.  His mouth latched onto Joseph’s neck and he bit.  The Earther gasped.

Not wanting his prisoner to cry out and upset Elisa, Zemos was quick to say, “The pain is only momentary, Captain Walker.  Don’t struggle.  I’d rather Nobek Almon’s fangs not rip your neck open.”

Walker’s wide eyes stared at Zemos, his expression terrified and his body tense as Almon’s bite fed intoxicating venom into his system.  More than ever, Joseph looked impossibly young and childlike, especially with the massive Nobek holding him.  Zemos ignored the stab of sympathy he felt for the frightened man.

Walker relaxed as the toxin took hold.  His face eased, becoming softer, and then drifted into a dreamy euphoria.  He even looked happy, his body going lax in Almon’s grip.  As he succumbed to the intoxicant, Zemos noticed something else going on with Walker.  He exchanged a look with Oret.

His Nobek arched an eyebrow at him.  “Just as we’ve suspected.  With Earther men, that doesn’t happen unless the interest is already there.  It would get him in a lot of trouble if his fellow Earthers knew about it.”

Zemos blew out a heavy breath.  “It would get him killed in a most horrible fashion.  Imagine having to live a lie all this time just to remain alive.”  He scowled at Walker, whose eyes were fluttering as he went deep into the euphoric influence of the bite.  “I hate feeling sorry for so many of them after all the damage they’ve done.  It would be so much easier if I could hate him.”

Oret shook his head.  “He’s had enough, Almon.  Any more and he’ll be unconscious.”

Almon disengaged the bite, letting his fangs fold back to the roof of his mouth.  He continued to hold Joseph, keeping the captain’s swaying body upright.  The Earther’s eyes were glazed, and he looked at the men surrounding him with confusion for a moment.  Then he shuddered and let his head drop so that he stared at the floor.

Zemos bent a little so that he spoke almost directly in Walker’s ear.  “You are going to answer my questions, Walker.  Do you understand?”

Walker’s head lolled so that he could see Zemos.  Noticing how close his Kalquorian counterpart was to him, he shrank back, pressing against Almon.  He apparently felt something he hadn’t expected.  Walker gasped and jerked in the Nobek’s arms, but he had nowhere to go.

His tone desperate, Walker moaned, “I can’t tell you anything.  Even if you hurt me I won’t speak.”

“Sometimes pleasure serves more than pain.”  Zemos went directly for what he believed to be the other man’s greatest fear.  “You are aroused and surrounded by men.  While the bite serves pleasure, it doesn’t change your natural inclinations, Joseph.  Despite your laws and beliefs, you prefer men, don’t you?”

The prisoner shook his head, a sob escaping.  The bite should have had him floating in a happily inebriated state, but terror could negate those effects for a few seconds.  Walker trembled violently.

Zemos pressed his advantage, cupping Joseph’s chin in his palm so he was forced to look at him.  Lowering his voice to a silky purr, the Dramok asked, “Do we explore this ‘blasphemy’ of yours?  Would you like to be touched?”

Want suffused his features, but Walker managed to shake his head.  “Don’t.  Please, Captain Zemos.”

“Then tell me, how long have you known Earth’s leader Browning Copeland was alive?”

The intoxicant was gaining ground again, helped along by Walker’s obviously growing arousal.  His eyes glazing over, he whispered, “About two years ago.  That’s when I got a message from the battlecruiser
Sword of Truth
.  The Holy Leader was on board, gathering his flock to him once more.”

“How many ships have joined him?”

Clarity fought for a place in Walker’s senses.  He blinked hard as if to regain control over himself, his head slowly shaking again.

Almon slipped a hand around his body, ending by cupping Joseph’s ass.  The Earther jerked, freeing his head from Zemos’ grip to stare up at the warrior.

Almon grinned.  “As you can no doubt feel, I also prefer men to women.  I have had my eye on you, Joseph, ever since you helped me.  I have no problem with making you very uncomfortable if you do not answer Captain Zemos.”

Walker’s face paled.  Desire battled with fear as he stared at Almon.

Zemos didn’t try to regain the Earther’s undivided attention.  Instead, he whispered in Walker’s ear, “How many ships has Holy Leader Copeland got under his command?” 

His gaze still riveted on Almon’s face, Joseph murmured, “One hundred forty-two.”

“All battlecruisers?”

“Only fifty-eight are cruisers.  The rest are couriers and transport barges, but they’ve been outfitted for fighting.”

“Who is the Basma?”

Walker blinked.  He tore his stare from Almon’s to meet Zemos’.  “I don’t know.”

Almon’s hand slid from behind Walker, moving over his hip towards the Earther’s avid crotch.  Walker struggled as fear once more tore him from euphoria’s clutches.  He yelled at Zemos, “I swear to you, I don’t know!  The Basma has delivered some funding to the Holy Leader though, as well as given us locations where we can find and capture your ships and crews.  He passed along the information that gave us your weaknesses.”

At Zemos’ nod, Almon stopped antagonizing the Earther, leaving his hand only an inch from touching Joseph’s sex.  “When you capture Kalquorians, do you always deliver your prisoners to Bi’is?”

Walker drew a shuddering breath.  “This was the first time I received such an order.  I was told to take you to a research station within the Bi’is kingdom’s borders.  They would pay us.  A share would go to keeping this ship operational, and the rest was to be paid to the Holy Leader and the Basma.”

“Where is the last known location of Copeland’s ship?”

Walker battled to keep himself strong.  Zemos could see the fight in his tensed body and tightness of his jaw.  “No.”

Zemos decided the time had come to get ugly again.  “Tell me, or I’ll give you to Almon here as his pet.  If he gets bored with you, he has my permission to give you to the next man who fancies your ass.”

Walker stared up at the leering Nobek who was only an inch from having his hand on his dick.  Euphoria crept over his expression once more, and Zemos wondered if he’d made a mistake with the threat.

Abruptly, the Earther captain sagged in his tormentor’s arms, his expression defeated.  Joseph looked at Zemos, all the fight gone.  “The last fix I got on Browning Copeland was in Joshadan space, near the border with Dantovon.  That was three weeks ago.”

Oret spoke up.  “Where were you to meet him after you made your delivery to Bi’is?”

“I wasn’t to receive coordinates until I’d made it back into Kalquorian territory.  Only then was I to contact him.”

“The contact frequency?”

“It’s encoded in my personal computer in my quarters in such a way to keep me from seeing the frequency myself.”

Oret scowled.  “They must have secured a direct link.  It can be decoded if we could get to that computer,” he told Zemos.

Zemos wanted one more thing from his hostage.  “Who on board this ship should we be most concerned with, Joseph?  Who poses the greatest threat to us?”

“First Officer Chase and Lieutenant Commander Robards.  They’re both fanatical zealots who hold true to Earth’s religion and the Holy Leader.”  Walker snickered, now completely under the influence of the bite.  “Plus, they love being in charge.  That’s a power-hungry pair, all right.  With me out of the way, I wonder how long it will take before they’re at each other’s throats?”

Zemos drew up, satisfied that Walker had given them all he could.  “All right, Joseph.  You’ve been most forthcoming.”  He cocked an eyebrow at the Nobek who looked more than happy to be holding the Earther.  “Sorry, Almon, but you’ll have to leave it at guarding him.  No punishment required.”

The Nobek frowned.  “Perhaps I could encourage him to explore his needs, Captain?”

Almon must really have been infatuated with Joseph to push the issue.  Zemos told him, “I’m afraid not, especially with my Matara here to witness such.  I’m not sure how she would take it.  She’s quite sensitive about these things, as most Earthers are.”

“A pity.” 

Almon released Walker and stepped back.  The Earther captain looked at him, his hand rising towards the Nobek for an instant as if to draw him back.  Then he lowered his arm as he seemed to recover enough of his faculties to remember he shouldn’t be doing such.  However, Joseph continued to stare at Almon with fascination and want.