Legend Beyond The Stars (7 page)

“Weapons on stun. Full protective mode,” Tarak ordered.

He met the captain head on. A quick jab to his opponent’s belly, a lightning slash across the head, then he pressed the nozzle of his weapon against the captain’s chest. Tarak held the unconscious soldier upright as he fought his way to the centre of the squad. On his command his lieutenants called in. He released his grip and the captain’s body fell to the ground. Tarak joined his hands together. The linkage connected and a brilliant wave of energy pulsed from his central position to the outer circle where his men surrounded their enemy.

Sectons later, the Elite Force squad lay incapacitated on the ground. Tarak cast a satisfied glance at the results.

He disconnected the linkage in his cyno armour, walked over the fallen to an area well clear of the critical radius where his quarry stood surrounded by protective sentries. Tarak gripped the female’s arms and hauled her hard against him; her bound hands came up to push ineffectually against his armour plated chest. He gazed into her upturned face, noting the rebellious tilt of her chin, the amazed curiosity lighting her eyes.

“Where are the other females?” he demanded. When she turned her face away, he tightened his hold, his hands unyielding on her rough cloak. “They are in danger. There is at least one other squadron of Elite Forces on this planet seeking their location. They will kill them on sight. Do you want their deaths to linger in your mind all your waking moments?”

The female turned her face to him, her eyes glistening. As he watched, a water droplet formed at the corner of her eye. His gut twisted in response. He read both desperation and indecision in her expression. He gentled his touch, fought his desire to fold her into his arms.

“Tell me. None of you will come to any harm. You have my word.” He deliberately softened his voice.

A quiver went through the slight body beneath his touch. The sudden heating of his blood in response rocked him with its intensity. Prickles of sweat beaded his forehead. His throat tightened.

The tip of her tongue darted out to wet her lips. Tarak followed its path as his senses went into overload. He swallowed hard. His nostrils flared. Her scent filled his lungs. Her warmth spread from his hands and chest to fill his body with a throbbing need unlike anything he had experienced before.

By the stars of Darkos, what was happening to him?

A Darkon male’s carnal needs had always been easy to control. Long aons spent training on the wastelands of one of Darkos’s several moons dissipated most sexual urges. Those who on occasions had found the arduous physical exertion ineffective, utilised the services of inferior female species that traded their sexual services for coin. This demanding urgency to bury himself within this female could only be caused by his release from the long barren cycles of sexual frustration. It irritated him how difficult he found it to maintain his usual calm. By summoning all his disciplinary training, he brought his pulsating body under control.

“How can I trust you?” she demanded.

”You have no choice. Life—or death,” he ground out.

She huffed out her breath and straightened her shoulders. Again she attempted to gain space between their two bodies. With the cunning of a seasoned hunter he gave her this small victory. His armoured hands slid from her arms, then he stepped one pace back. He watched her intently, as she considered her options.

He noted with admiration the clearness of her direct gaze, her fisted hands which told him of her stubbornness.

“Very well, but there are conditions.”

Tarak was surprised he had expected no less. He folded his arms across his plated chest and considered her defiant figure. He heard his men murmur their awe at her temerity. Their boots rattled on the rocky pavement as they shuffled closer to stare at this strange creature. He waved them back, speculating whether the other females were just as bold. “Continue.”

“We will not be prisoners nor will we be subject to torture or experiments.” She paused. A myriad of expressions passed across her face which Tarak longed to interpret. “I need to know right here and now, exactly why you want us. Also, why the Elite Forces want to kill us.”

“I cannot answer for the Elite Forces. As to my motives, that is not for you to know. We need to move quickly before another patrol arrives. Come, in which direction lie your friends?” Deliberately he kept his tone even and calm.

He closed his mind to the insistent voice in his head reminding him of his orders. Orders for all suitable females to be taken to Isla.

Without delay.

Without exception.

He gestured for her to walk with him, urging her forward. The fallen soldiers would soon regain consciousness. He had no taste to shed blood this night.

When she hesitated, he pulled the hood over her head, gripped her elbow. Tugged her along after him.

“There is no time for this. Now, which direction lies their shelter?” He growled through a jaw clenched so hard his bones ached.

Still she resisted his grip. Her booted feet dug into the hard ground, her body stiff and resistant as if he dragged her.

Never had he met a more obstinate female!

“Having trouble, sir?” His second-in-command had marched up with his contingent of men from a side street. He waited in battle-ready stance. At the hint of amusement and curiosity in Magar’s voice, Tarak grimaced.

This was taking far too much time. He considered the option of throwing the obstinate female over his shoulder but he still did not have the directions.

His patience at an end, he snapped, “Enough!”

”You haven’t answered my question so I’m not going anywhere until you do,” she snapped in response. The female wrenched her arm out of his grip. She flung back her head.

Behind him, Tarak heard softly indrawn breaths of disbelief. From a distance came the sound of marching feet. Data scrolled down the screen before his eyes. He calculated the distance between him and his enemies.

“They are coming,” he said.

Her eyes wide and desperate, the female searched for an avenue of escape. But she was surrounded by battle-hardened warriors and an alien landscape. In the fast fading light, Tarak saw her shoulders slump.

Deep inside him something which had been buried so long it had been forgotten, stirred into cautious life.

He reached out to touch her face and scowled when she jerked aside. “My payload is too valuable alive for me to kill after the trouble we have endured to attain it.” With cunning he avoided a direct response to her question.

She chewed her lip for a second before raising her chin. “Very well. It seems I have little choice at the moment. They’re not far from here. Follow me,” she ordered in a brisk tone which gave Tarak great amusement.

He would ignore her impertinence for the time being.

Tarak motioned his men to fall in behind. They hastened through the now dark streets. He kept his grip sure and firm on the female’s arm, holding her close to his warmth, not trusting her sufficiently to allow her to walk free. Twice already she had managed to
escape him. He swallowed an admiring chuckle. She was intelligent this female. It would not do to underestimate her ingenuity. If the other females were even half as clever as her—well perhaps his warriors could spend their last cycles in stimulating company. Divert their minds from the forthcoming end.

If these females could awaken his warriors to again experience the Darkon vigorous sex drive dead all these long cycles? Even better he decided, considering their grim future. Or lack of it, He could give this gift of pleasure to his men, this brief respite and then deliver the females to Isla.

The bite of guilt snapped at his spirit with all the ferocity of a draptile.

The females’ fate would be sealed.

But orders were orders. The duty of a Darkon warlord overcame all other considerations.

And he was nothing if he did not follow the orders of his father, leader of what remained of a once great race.

Tarak and his grim-faced men tramped through the quiet roads following this most interesting female. Curious how he had no knowledge of their home planet. Where did the Scaleen traders find them? He had not missed how the traders had sped away from the rendezvous point as if they had expected the Elite Force cruiser to give chase.

Pursuing this payload could yet turn out to be a waste of his precious time. He scowled. Of course he had still to achieve a full mating. This may be just a temporary, brief sensation. He may not be able to follow through with the normal physical act.

Tarak imagined this female sprawled beneath him. Her pale skin would gleam akin to the white, silky skinned fruits of the Arcon plant. Such an intriguing contrast to his darkness. His manhood, which was already half aroused—a state he had endured since his first encounter with this female—hardened, thrust hungrily against his armour. With a discreet hand, he adjusted the annoying plate. No, he had little doubt his cure was now complete. And he had every intention of satisfying himself as soon as his ship had negotiated the first jump.

But what if she was the only female who could unleash their impotency?

He would be expected to share her.

Sudden rage roared through his blood, a red mist shrouded his eyes. He shook his head. He would kill anyone who tried to touch her. He fumbled with her cloak, hauled the female closer to his body, his arm looping around her narrow waist, ignoring her attempts to avoid touching him. The female shivered again. He checked his data screen. Temperature was falling to freezing point at a rapid rate. He urged her to walk faster. He needed to have the females secured in the shuttles within the next rone. And he needed all of them off this planet. There would be time later to evaluate these matters.

As they approached the small building which housed her friends, Alana struggled to hold back her tears. She couldn’t believe she had literally fallen into the alien’s arms. In the darkness she stumbled over the uneven surface. The alien’s grip tightened. Its warmth seeped through her cloak giving her an unexpected feeling of comfort.

Nothing was going right.

Her shoulders slumped as resignation flooded over her like a tsunami, as dark as the night enveloping this foreign world. Her friends were going to be very disappointed but what choice did they have? They were outnumbered, out-gunned, by both the Elite Forces and these overgrown brutes. So far, though, these aliens had not hurt them, rather, their leader had treated her with a surprising consideration that frightened her on a wholly different level. Alana shivered again and the alien pulled her closer still until she was jammed up against the hardness of its protective armour. Alana wondered what manner of being inhabited this shell. She had to work hard to repress her over-active imagination as images from old vids flashed across her mind.

No way, was she going to think about that
‘research’
business.

“Which building?” At her side, the alien’s soft query interrupted her chaotic thoughts.

Alana hesitated.

She lifted her manacled hands to press her aching temples.
Make a decision and see it through
—her step-father’s favourite mantra. A sob tightened her throat.
Oh god, this is not the time to lose it
. She needed to maintain a confident facade for her friends.

“It’s this one.” She gestured with her linked hands.

No light leaked through the one small window. The building was a dark hulking shadow melding with an even darker sky. Alana glanced up and for the first time realised she could no longer see any stars. The mist had risen, forming a heavy blanket of cloud above her head and blocked her vision of the night sky.

Bloody hell it was cold
.

With clumsy hands she knocked the agreed signal on the door. After a few moments wait, she heard the rusty scrap of bolts being drawn back. Once again, she found herself being thrust behind the alien as it interposed itself between her and the opening door.

The alien forced its way inside.

“Oh, moma!” Jessamine shrieked.

“I’m thinking this would have to be a classic case of
out of the frying pan and into the fire
,” drawled Linette. “I’m also thinking we made a mistake accepting you as our leader, Alana.”

“Rubbish!” Jessamine stomped over to thrust her angry face nose-to-nose to the blonde woman.

“I’m not so sure. If she’s so top notch, than why was she sidelined into testing military equipment?”

All eyes swivelled in Alana’s direction. The familiar clutch of guilt squeezed her gut. She licked her dry lips. “I asked to be transferred.”

Linette narrowed her eyes. “By the look on your face, I’m surmising there was a reason.”

“Yes, there was a reason. A good reason.” Alana took a shaky breath. “My last active mission resulted in several casualties. I took full responsibility.”

”I told you so. We don’t need a loser giving us orders.” Her voice almost a shriek, Linette stabbed an accusing finger into the air. “Our lives are at stake here and she has given us over to the enemy!”

“No one could have done better than Alana. Certainly not a stuck up toffy-nosed bitch!” Jessamine bristled in defence.

“Oooh! I’m the daughter of a baron you tenement low-life. My family can trace our line back to William the Conqueror. Yours probably goes back to the trees. How dare you speak to me like that!” Linette’s hand flashed out and was caught in a hard grip before she could make contact. She whirled, panting with both dislike and fear.

“Enough! Both of you.” Alana gave the directive with confidence. She released her hold over Linette’s hand and thrust her shoulder between the two snarling women. “Our enemy is not in this room. It’s outside. Linette, if you’re not happy with our current arrangement, I’m prepared to step aside if you have an alternative. But I have to remind you I’m the only one here who has military training. Plus, the UEC made me second-in-command; now that our Colonel is missing with the men that makes me in charge.”

No one spoke as Linette evaded her eyes and turned away with a sullen shrug.