Allies (Warriors of Karal Book 5) (11 page)

One of these was the Hrokili, who had consistently shown up and caused trouble for the missions, with them even going as far as capturing one of the Karalian cruisers. Although they had escaped and the Hrokili ship had been captured, the Hrokili were still a danger to everyone who travelled in space. They attacked and took captive any other species they met, putting them to work as slaves on their home planet.

If the Karal were not interested in making a colony for the humans, it probably wouldn’t have mattered to them. But it showed the Hier Ruler’s commitment to the human race; he was willing to send ships out here to put an end to the Hrokili, and their rule of terror. What surprised Niko the most, was that they were actually going to work with other species, to attain the goal of making this part of space safe.

“So you are sure?” Petra asked.

“Absolutely,” he said, checking the information again. “It says very clearly that a new planet has been found. It has been named Lilith and already three of the missions have landed there.”

She let out a sigh of relief, and her face lit up for the first time since they had changed their course. He knew that she had been bitterly disappointed at not being able to carry on and find a new safe planet for the humans. It had been hard for her to accept that, even if they had not been called back, there was no way Karalian cruisers could continue to travel through the damaged wormhole.

“I can’t believe it. At last it seems as if Earth is getting a break. Humans will be able to go live somewhere else.”

“Yes, as long as we contend with the threat of the Hrokili. It appears that they collect people as slaves, because they are too frail themselves. It seems as if there is a gathering of several alien races so that this parasite can be wiped out.”

“And that is why all of the cruisers are being called to the planet Tikira?” she asked.

He nodded. “Yes, it appears that the Hier Ruler is gathering us all together.”

She looked at him sharply, and he held her gaze. “And you don’t find it strange your Hier Ruler suddenly wants to become involved in the matters of other species?”

“No. Usually we don’t, but as a species we
are
changing. And it seems that our council has decided that we cannot leave the Hrokili to roam the galaxy. It would seriously curtail the Karal’s advancement if we were not free to go wherever we wanted.”

“And
take
whatever you wanted.” She looked him and then smiled. “I’m sorry, it’s just that… If you think about it, the Hrokili are only one step away from what the Karal have been for several generations. You go around the universe and take what females you want, just so that your own species can survive.”

“I understand what you’re saying. And I don’t think we are proud of what we did in the past. But I assure you, that you would see things differently if it was about the survival of your species. You would do what was needed.”

“Of course I see it. I see it in my mother’s eyes. And I know that as humans we would do whatever it took to it maintain our species. Even if we had to launch from Earth and drift around in space until we had lost all hope. We would do it if that was our only chance to survive.”

“Well, you’re about to find out what is going on.” He looked at the computer screen and then out into space. “We have another hour to go until we reach the wormhole.”

“This isn’t going to be as bad as that other wormhole, is it?” she asked.

“No. This is a routine manoeuvre that I have done many times.” He smiled at her, trying to reassure her. “I promise you, Petra, that you will never be in danger like that again.”

“It’s OK, Niko. I know you can’t promise me that, because neither of us know what’s ahead.”

“Whatever is ahead, whatever we have been summoned for, I will make sure you are safe,” he said, his need to protect her overwhelming. She was his woman; one day she would be the mother of his child. He had to keep her out of harm’s way.

Which might be difficult, because the more he read into what had been happening over the last few weeks, the more he began to realise exactly what they were about to get themselves into.

“No, Niko, that’s not what I want. We’re in this together, a partnership, a team. Don’t push me away; don’t leave me behind, thinking I’m safer away from your side. You forget that until six months ago I never knew there was anything out here. I thought humans were the only intelligent beings in the universe. It still makes me queasy now, to see how far we are away from home. So please … don’t leave me behind on a strange planet. I would rather you promised to keep me by your side, no matter what happens.”

Niko shook his head and said firmly, “No, Petra. I want to leave you somewhere you will be safe. You are to be the mother of my child. Females do not belong in battle.”

“As you can tell, I am not pregnant. So don’t think that you’re protecting our child. I have not conceived it yet, and if something happens to you, that will never happen, will it?” She stood up and her face flushed red as if she too, had colours under her skin, and her voice was fierce when she said, “I want to stand by your side, Niko, I want to fight with the Karal, to represent Earth against whoever it is that’s threatening them. I want your people, your council, to see that we aren’t weak. That humans can make a difference out here.”

He smiled at her, his heart swelling with pride, and he allowed his colours to skim freely across his skin, not holding anything back, allowing her to see him how he really was, with all his defences down, all his barriers down. Her eyes grew in wonder and she reached out and touched him, her hand stroking his cheek, and then along the line of his jaw, before her thumb brushed his lips. Then she leaned forward and kissed him, and he wrapped his arms around her, and held her close.

“I wish there was time for me to make love to you once more. But we have to be prepared when we jumped through the wormhole. We have to be prepared for whatever is on the other side.”

“I understand, Niko.” She drew back from him. “You still haven’t promised.”

He looked into her eyes; at this moment they were as dark as his were. And despite his better judgement, he made the promise she wanted to hear. “I won’t leave you behind, Petra. Wherever I go, you will go.”

She was certain he meant what he said, and she was going to make sure he fulfilled that promise. Because she was beginning to realise, by Niko’s nervous reaction, that wherever they were headed she would not be safe. Neither of them would be safe. And she couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to him. If it did, she might simply be passed on to another Karalian warrior, and she didn’t want that. The thought of being with another man was unbearable to her.

When she had arrived on Karal she had never expected to fall in love with her warrior, but she had. So in making him promise never to leave her behind, she hoped that she could keep him safe in the same way he wanted to keep her safe. They were a team. Petra realised that he didn’t know that yet. But she was more than happy to teach him. In their lives, they would work together for their survival and happiness, as well as that of their child’s,
if ever she conceived.

“We are nearly there. You should take your seat, and make sure your belt is secure.”

She did as he asked, nervous of this new wormhole they had to travel down. The fact that it wasn’t even open gave her a slight sense of panic, but this time Niko seemed to be calm. Thoughts of them having to deploy the beacons to open the wormhole seemed a little scary. She only hoped they would not get stuck halfway through if it closed behind them.

“And this is quite safe?” she asked him for the hundredth time.

“Yes, Petra, I assure you that our technology works perfectly. In this way we deploy the beacons and then when we pass through, we pull them back between behind us.” He looked at the readings again, pressed a button and immediately, the cruiser shot three beacons out in front of them like missiles. They formed a triangle and then a wormhole opened, as if by magic, and seamlessly the cruiser passed into it, the transmission smooth, much to her relief.

“So without your technology this part of space would not be accessible?” she asked.

“Yes, that is true. And having studied the information that we received from the probe, it seems that this is what has been keeping the Hrokili away from our sector of space. If ever they had access to wormhole technology, we would all be in trouble. And by all, I mean both Karal and Earth.”

“And this is why the Karal are gathering here?” she asked as the wormhole erupted into swirling colours with bright, colourful stars as far as the eye could see on either side. This wormhole was so beautiful; it took away some of the fear she had of them. But she didn’t think she would ever feel completely safe travelling down one again.

“Yes. Our Hier Ruler would not want to think of any other species being more powerful than us. The very fact that they have posed a threat to our warriors in any way means they have to be dealt with. If not, he would lose the confidence of my people.”

She looked across at the computer screen and could see the proximity to the exit of this wormhole. Niko had explained to her that as they reached the end of the wormhole, the beacons they had deployed behind them would be pulled back into the ship. They were stored underneath the hull, and he had warned her they would make a loud clanging noise as they docked. When they passed back into normal space, she braced herself for the noise and when it came she still felt as if the bottom was about to be ripped out of the ship.

“There,” he said smiling at her. “I told you it would be all right this time. All I need to do is check the course, and we can relax a little until we get to the planet.”

“Unless it is all a trap, of course,” Petra said. Ever the pessimist.

“It’s not. I told you, the message was authenticated by the computer. No one else would have the codes.” He checked the readings again and then paused as if he was frozen in time, and she began to feel nervous again. Ever since the episode with the wormhole she longed to have her feet on solid ground. To not have to think about them hurtling through space, open to attack at any time. Or that some hidden anomaly might tear them apart.

“What is it?” she asked, frowning at his serious expression.

“There is a big vessel in front of us.”

She looked up the computer’s warning light; it had begun to flash red, and a sense of dread filled her. “I thought you said that the information the probe gave us was authentic?”

“It is. Or at least I’m sure it is. The computer confirmed it.”

“What we do?” she asked.

“I’m not sure. It is in the vicinity of the planet we need to land on. It is probably one of the allies, but I have never seen a space ship so large. I suggest that we proceed with caution and be ready to turn around and run if we need to.”

“That doesn’t really sound like much of a plan to me.” She peered at the screen and then looked out far into space, but she couldn’t see the vessel. “It’s a long way away, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is,” he said. “We have time. We can make our way closer at half speed. Unless the ship turns and comes towards us, we keep going.”

She wasn’t happy about his plan, but they had no choice. If there were other members of the Karal on the planet, and the alien vessel was attacking them, it was Niko’s duty to see if they needed assistance. She didn’t need Niko to tell her that there would be some kind of warrior code … a
no Karalian left behind
kind of thing.

That’s how humans worked, and surely his species would behave in the same way. But she did wish they could just turn around and run back to Karal with their tails between their legs.

Petra had never known that it was possible to creep through space, but that’s what they were doing. The cruiser was at half speed, while Niko altered the course continually, to use the planets they passed as big boulders to hide behind. It would have seemed quite funny to her if it wasn’t so serious. At any moment she expected the huge Hrokili vessel to turn and either chase them, or simply blast them out of existence.

But it didn’t seem to be moving, at least not towards them. It took them half an hour to get close enough for their computer to be able to analyse the vessel.

“Hrokili ship stationary in orbit around Tikira,” the computer’s voice told them.

“So do you think it’s safe?” she asked.

He looked at the data again and frowned. “Computer, are there any other vessels in the vicinity?”

“Several other vessels are situated on the far side of the planet,” the computer said, as a large amount of data scrolled across the screen.

“Are any of those vessels Karalian?” Niko asked.

“Affirmative.”

“Then we proceed.” Niko throttled forward, still keeping to half speed. But he seemed more relaxed now. “The information provided by the probe mentions that the Karal captured an Hrokili ship.”

“So that is a captured enemy ship?” she asked, feeling a huge sense of relief.

“Yes, I think we are safe. But the only way we are ever going to find out is we reach the planet. I’m going to take us in a wide berth around the Hrokili ship and then rendezvous with the Karal ships on the other side of the planet.”

He altered the course, accelerating faster as they made a huge arc around the Hrokili ship until they eventually could see around twenty vessels docked in space. Of those, Niko thought that around ten of them belong to the Karal. “Certainly out in force.” Petra didn’t know if this was good news or bad. But she didn’t want to speculate anymore; she just wanted some answers and so, when they finally reached the other vessels and he opened a channel, she waited for the reply.

“Karal vessel, this is Niko 5823.”

There was silence for a few minutes and then a voice came back saying, “Welcome to Tikira, Niko 5823. Good to see you. You are cleared to land.”

Coordinates flashed up on the computer screen, and the ship began steering towards the planet below. All thoughts of this being a trap had now passed. The computer had authenticated the voice that had spoken to them; it was one of Niko’s fellow warriors. And there was no way a warrior could be used to lure ships down onto the planet. They would rather die than hurt a fellow Karalian.