Her Alien Commander (2 page)

Phahlen turned to peer into the space beyond.

The human huddled just beyond the now prone door, dust billowing around her. She gazed at him, her features frozen in shock and disbelief at the apparition in the ruined entrance.

Phahlen, too, required a moment to take in the sight. The girl was small, not that much taller than the Galeians as far as he could see. Her long, dark blond hair was tangled and matted, and she wore some sort of sleeveless garment, a smock or similar. Her bare legs were bruised and filthy,
though her startled features were dainty. He thought she might be perhaps twenty earth years in age. He could not be sure in the half-light offered by the camera, but he believed her eyes might be blue.

“Come,” commanded Phahlen, beckoning her to follow him.

The female remained where she was.

“Now, female. Hurry.”

Still she did not rush to obey him. Phahlen stepped forward the three paces required to reach her, and saw that she was secured to the wall behind her by a chain of some sort. He crouched to lift it, tested the weight, and opted for the speediest method of disposal available to him. He blasted it with his laser pistol and the links separated to free the captive.

“Come,” he repeated, this time seizing her wrist in his hand and pulling her forward.

She resisted. Phahlen was at first astonished, then irritated. They had but a few par-beats before they would both be incinerated, and still this obstinate earth girl hesitated. Surely the unpredictability offered by throwing in her lot with him was far outweighed by the certainty of her fate if she remained where she was. There was no reason to suppose she was aware of the imminent threat to the planetoid, but the very fact that he found her chained up in a subterranean prison should have been sufficient impetus for her to take her chance with him. There was no time to attempt persuasion.
He hauled her to him and scooped her into his arms, then sprinted back along the corridor to the slightly wider intersection where Baren had first deposited him. He dumped her on the ground, and was amazed as she immediately scrambled away from him.

“What the fuck…?” He grabbed her and yanked her back, then pulled her to her feet. He swung her to face him, and was rewarded for his efforts by a well-aimed knee connecting with his groin.

He let out a muffled grunt and started to double over. This ridiculous and ungrateful human he had risked his life to save was still intent upon making herself scarce and once again wriggled free. Driven by the certain knowledge of what would befall the pair of them if he allowed her to delay their departure even by a few par-beats, Phahlen found the strength to stifle his natural response to the assault. He straightened and managed to seize a hank of her long, wildly tangled hair, and drag her back into his arms.

Not a man to repeat a mistake, Phahlen kept her facing away from him this time, and avoided her flailing bare feet, though they would be ineffectual against his muscular legs. He pulled both her arms behind her, twisting them cruelly until she cried out and went limp.

“Be still, girl,” he warned, tightening his grip just slightly by way of clarifying what would be the consequences if she disobeyed him. “Do you understand?”

There was no response, just low, laboured breathing.

“Shit.” The girl didn’t understand him. Why would she? He wrestled his communicator from his wrist and strapped it to one of hers, then repeated his question.

The girl lurched in his arms and he knew she had his meaning now. She managed a small nod, her entire body quivering within his
ungentle embrace.

Phahlen extracted the spare surge amplification device and attached it to the tattered fabric at her shoulder. Then he turned her to face him, pulling her to his side to thwart any repeat attempt to bring him to his knees. He pulled the cloak tight around her, lifting her up to ensure her feet were fully enclosed too.

“Keep your eyes closed, press your face into my body, and if you value your eyesight as well as your life, you won’t move. Got that?”

No answer. He gave her a little shake. “Do you understand me, human?”

Her response was a feeble nod, sufficient in Phahlen’s view. He grasped her wrist to lift the communicator to his lips again.

“Bring us in, Lieutenant.”

* * *

Phahlen let out a grateful sigh as his legs solidified beneath him. When he had given the command to transport him down to the doomed planet, he had not been entirely certain he would actually see the
Empyrean
again. At that stage he had been convinced the opportunity to acquire a healthy human female would justify his actions. Baren had concurred, though he never verbally expressed that view
.
There was no need, it was understood. All compatible females were precious to Vahle, fertile ones beyond price. If Phahlen had not donned the cloak and helmet, Baren would have. With hindsight, Phahlen doubted his second in command would have returned.

Now he was less sure of the wisdom of his decision. The wench now crumpled at his feet was scrawny, near enough emaciated. That could be put right, he supposed, with some decent nutrition suitable to her species. But her belligerent, awkward attitude down on the planetoid dismayed him. It was not that he was averse to providing the stern discipline required to ensure her compliance, but he feared the little human would not survive it. Would not survive
him
.

“Sir, look.” His musings were interrupted by the terse tone of his lieutenant. The man’s gaze was fixed on the large viewing window that afforded them a perfect vision of the planet they now orbited. The glow surrounding the doomed world had darkened to a deep, angry crimson and bursts of flame now erupted to send tendrils of scorching heat out into the atmosphere and beyond. “Any moment now, Commander.”

Phahlen removed his helmet and the cloak. He handed those to a crewman who had approached him, then he moved to stand beside his deputy. “Is the thermal mesh in place?”

“Affirmative, sir. I set it all up while you were on the surface.”

Phahlen nodded, and they watched in silence as the glowing shell deepened and expanded. There was a low, rumbling roar as though the planet even now refused to surrender, but the end was inevitable. The small world crumpled in on itself as the pressure became too much, disappearing before their eyes.

The Galeians chattered and fussed, clamouring indignantly around their leader, their strident twittering an assault on Phahlen’s ears. He couldn’t understand their babbling without his communication device, but got the distinct impression these unreasonable little fools held him responsible for the loss of their illegal mining enterprise. He shook his head and turned away.

“I need a communicator,” he announced. A guard scurried off to deal with his request as Phahlen strode back to where the human female still huddled on the floor. He leaned down to offer her his hand. “Get up,” he instructed her.

She stared at his outstretched hand but did not move.

“I said, get up.”

The girl started to shift, seemed to tentatively lift her hand to take his, but was suddenly sent sprawling by a kick to her ribs. Feelan had darted around Phahlen and now stood over the girl as she curled into a ball to avoid the further blows her attacker seemed intent upon delivering.

“Evil little bitch! Murdering, thieving whore! What did you do? How did you succeed in betraying us? You shall pay dearly for the wanton destruction of our property…” The Galeian danced about the prone figure, then drew back his scaly foot to deliver another blow.

He never got the opportunity. Phahlen seized him by the collar of his tunic and lifted him from his feet. The reptilian leader dangled from one of Phahlen’s hands, twisting and squealing in irate, impotent fury.

“Try that again and I’ll eject you through one of our escape portals, and I have no intention of wasting a life support pod on you. Do I make myself clear?”

There was more malevolent screeching from the diminutive bully. Phahlen put a stop to that by simply tightening his hold and cutting off his adversary’s air supply. At last good sense prevailed and the Galeian hung silent from the commander’s fist, though his venomous
gaze never left the human on the floor.

The guard returned with a spare communicator and Phahlen held out his free hand for the man to strap it to his wrist. He thanked the crew member, then turned his attention back to the matter in hand. Phahlen lowered Feelan back to his feet and gestured with his thumb that the chancellor was to re-join the other Galeians. Feelan shuffled away, but halted after a few paces. He turned to face Phahlen again, his expression brightening.

“My apologies for the trouble our prisoner has put you to, Commander, and I thank you for salvaging our property. If you would be so kind as to convey this creature to your brig for the duration of our onward journey…?”

The Galeian race was renowned for their tendency to twist facts and disregard anything that failed to support their view of a situation. Even so, Feelan’s ability to ignore the tension crackling in the room and behave as though nothing was amiss astonished even the seasoned Vahlean commander. Phahlen narrowed his eyes at the small being who now strutted before him. “What?”

“Or if it’s more convenient we can take custody of her again.” Feelan beckoned to some of his crew to come forward. “Take the prisoner, secure her well, and—”

“Keep your hands off her,” growled Phahlen.

The Galeians paused, looking from him to their own leader and back.

“If you wish to purchase her from us, the price will be ten thousand trimets.” Feelan beamed up at him, avarice gleaming in his beady eyes. “A fair price, I think. Given your… predicament.”

“Our situation has no bearing on this matter, and is none of your business,” Phahlen ground out. His lips thinned as he regarded the greedy little alien. “How did this human come to be in your clutches anyway?”

“I explained that. She is a thief and a spy. She and her comrades intended to rob us, so we shot down their invading craft before they could unleash their evil on our people. We are a peaceful race, as I am sure you are aware, and—”

“Am I to understand that you not only illegally occupied Vahlean territory, but you also fired on an unidentified spacecraft and took the survivors prisoner?” Phahlen’s tone lowered, his eyes hardening.

“Not unidentified. Spies, as I said.”

“From what planet? Under what treaty or declaration did you use lethal force against them?”

“We knew—”

“How? How did you know? Did the vessel fire on you?”

“They would have, but we succeeded in neutralising them before they could inflict harm upon our civilians.”

“Were there other survivors?”

“Three, including that one. The other two died soon after the crash.”

“How long has she been in your… care?”

The Galeian shrugged, a peculiarly awkward motion. “Three lunar cycles, maybe four…”

“And what did you intend to do with her?”

“She will stand trial on Galeia for her crimes.”

“I doubt she would have survived to do so, even without the thermal implosion. And in any case you left her on the planet to perish.”

“We had little choice, Commander. You abducted us without warning, we had no opportunity to—”

“You would not have alerted us to her presence on the planet. Would you? We had to discover that for ourselves. If my lieutenant had not made a final check, she would have died.”

Again the Galeian hunched his shoulders in a dismissive shrug. “She is a criminal, of no importance.”

Phahlen’s smile was cold, calculating. “And yet, you see fit to attempt to sell her to me for an exorbitant sum.”

“Ah, well, such are market forces, Commander. I could accept seven thousand, at a pinch.” He smirked at the Vahlean. Feelan’s features still bore that inane, avaricious smile as he was again lifted from his feet and sent hurtling back to where his comrades clustered. The other Galeians had listened to the exchange with interest, clearly sharing their chancellor’s view that there could be a profit to be made here. That belief appeared to dissipate as Phahlen strode in their direction. The ophidian group fell back, wisely putting some distance between themselves and the Vahlean captain.

He crossed his arms over his chest and raked the group with a blistering gaze. “The girl is mine. She is in Vahlean custody now. I intend to investigate the circumstances which led to her presence on a craft orbiting three seven nine. If I learn that you shot down a peaceful, authorised scientific or civilian mission,
you will regret that action. You will regret it most bitterly.”

“And if she was a spy? Then you shall return her to us?”

Phahlen glared at the chancellor and arrived at the conclusion that the man never knew when to quit. He turned to Baren, who had watched the exchange in silence. “Please ensure none of our ‘guests’ leaves this room, then set a course for Galeian Federation space. The sooner these… individuals… are off my ship, the better I’ll like it.”

“Aye, sir.” The lieutenant consulted his hand-held monitor. “We’re three days from Galeia, Commander, give or take.”

Phahlen offered him a curt nod. “See to it I don’t hear a peep from this lot until we arrive there.”

He strode back to where the human still crouched, her wide-eyed stare riveted on his features as he bent over her.

“You need to come with me, little human. Yes?” He offered his hand again. This time she took it and clambered to her feet. “Follow me,” Phahlen instructed, and marched in the direction of the door. He never looked back to make sure she was behind him. He had no need to.

Chapter Two

Caria hurried to keep up with the tall alien as he strode along the wide corridor outside the lounge. Her ribs throbbed where the odious little Galeian had attacked her and she probed her bruises gingerly. Her head ached from the trauma of the transport to this ship. She hated molecular transport systems; they made her nauseous and her stomach roiled from the experience. She might have thrown up were it not for the fact she’d eaten almost nothing for weeks. The journey had been mercifully short, no more than a few par-beats, but the heat so intense she had been sure her hair had caught fire. She had remembered the alien’s terse instructions to her though, and had clung to the solid form of his muscled body.