MILITARY ROMANCE: The War Within Himself (Alpha Bad Boy Marine Army Seal) (Contemporary Military Suspense & Thriller Romance) (122 page)

“We remain on course for Intrellian space, Commander. Speed remains constant.” I can feel something cold in my abdomen, creeping up into my thorax and sealing my throat. I wonder if this is what it is to be frightened and know I cannot let my crew know I am even
able
to experience such feelings. From what corner do they come? How is it possible to function normally when it feels as if a massive, ice-clad hand holds my internal organs? Is this what my prey feels as I hunt it?

Of all the questions which cross my mind, it is the first to which I have an answer. I fear losing the female and what my people will do to her in their quest for understanding.

“...Sir?” My attention is drawn back by someone speaking.

“Repeat,” I growl ominously.

Jonober speaks once more. “One of the aliens entered a section of the plasma relay core, sir.”

“Which one?” I demand before I can halt my own words. What spell
has
this female cast on me?

Jonober makes an insubordinate sound and spits his answer. “How am I supposed to know which one?”

Without hesitation, I leap at him, wrapping my talons around his throat and squeezing, piercing his flesh with my claws. “It is your position to know which one!” I bellow into his face, making sure everyone within earshot knows my power is total. I hold Jonober’s struggling, gasping body by his throat until it begins to weaken. Then I throw him across the command section, where he slumps against one of Acrulla’s supports. “Are there any others who have difficulty in carrying out their duties?” My voice rings out through the heavy air in the room. None of my crew so much as twitches, unwilling to share the fate of the injured engineer, who is bleeding on the floor. “Talacrus, Shaktee, Morjena, find replacements and come to my room, immediately.” My command will be obeyed. I am still in charge, for now at least. I just wonder how many good crew members I will have to make an example of before this business is complete.

***

The alien leads me from the massive, humid cave and takes me to the large room we were all held in when we first boarded. Without acknowledging I even exist, he turns and leaves on silent feet.

I look around the small room, which I have to go through to get to the larger one, seeing odd-looking things, which might be input devices for some kind of computer or might just be the door handles of storage lockers, for all I know. I make my way through what was a previously closed door and into the room beyond.

It’s much like I remember. There are two other rooms I can get to from this main area, one for sleeping and one a bathroom of sorts. A big table occupies the middle of this room, and it’s here that I find who I’m looking for.

“Deakins!” I cry, rushing over to him. His eyes flash a warning too late for me to register, and I feel myself slam into something as solid as a fence. I’m then roughly shoved back, away from Deakins, who looks at me with an apologetic stare.

“Sorry, Hetty,” he says to me. “She’s a little bit overprotective sometimes.” I glance from the ‘she’ to Deakins and back again, seeing the large, female alien who I remember was in here before.

Deakins comes over and puts himself between us, gripping her by the shoulders. “No. Friend,” he tells her firmly.

I wonder if even a linguistics expert can expect these aliens to understand English any more than I can begin to understand their whale-song.

It looks as if she does understand, though, as she backs off a little, at least enough to let me speak to Deakins.

“Got a new friend then, Deakins?” I ask with some amusement.

“Christ! You think this is funny?” Deakins shouts at me as he stamps back to where he was at the table.

I see he’s managed to get his hands on what little equipment we had with us, and he’s been hard at work running some kind of program. The female stands behind him but possessively close, and the thought hits me. I wonder if Deakins has been doing the same kind of things with this female that I’ve been doing with my alien.

Deakins looks at me with guilt written all over his face. “I...erm...I’m sorry, Hetty,” he tells me. “When that big male came and took you, I...well, I...” He trails off and glances at the female. That one look answers all my questions.

“You forgot about me completely and nothing mattered except her?” I guessed, and he nodded, again with a trace of guilt. “Don’t sweat it, Deakins,” I tell him. “I was the same till this morning.” I sit, making sure I’m far enough from Deakins and the female to ensure she remains calm. “I don’t know whether I got used to whatever substance they give off or whether it was because he’d gone when I woke up, but I could bear to be away from him for more than a few minutes, so I came down here.”

He looks at me with a pained expression. “Can I ask you something of a...personal nature?”

I chuckle as I know what he’s going to ask, so I put his mind at rest. “Yes,” I say, “and yes, we’ve been...” I look for a polite way of putting it before giving up. “Rutting like animals.” A wave of relief washes over Deakins’ face.

“Oh, thank God for that. I thought it was just me.” He shakes his head. “I’m thirty-eight and behaving like a hormonal teenager!” He grins at me and I nod. “What the Hell causes that?” he demands, as if I’ve got all the answers.

I shrug. “Beats me, Deakins. I can’t understand it. At first I thought it was some kind of hormone they gave off, but I think we affect them as much as they affect us. Plus, it seems either it, whatever this is, is very specific, or once you have a...a connection with one of them, you’re immune to any others.” I laugh at his puzzlement. “I managed to get a different male to show me here,” I explain. “There was nothing between us at all.”

“Oh, I see,” he states. “Well, I’ve had a little success with communicating with her.” He jabs his thumb at the female, who strokes his head like a pet. “One of my little programs has managed to define a set of parameters I can work with, and I started a translation program.” Deakins points to the computer, which is grinding away at the problem. “Problem I’ve got is I need more of their language to make a more complete translation. I’ve only got a few words at the moment, and I can’t be sure if they’re completely right.” He looks at the awed expression on my face and grunts a little laugh. “Don’t look at me like that, Hetty,” he says. “It might not work at all.”

But all I can dare to do is hope. To be able to say even a few things to my alien, to know his
name
even, would be like a miracle.

I feel something tighten in my chest and squash it savagely back down. I’ve had enough of being under the spell of these hormones or whatever they are.

“What about Sierx?” I ask, and Deakins gives me a weary look.

“You’ve met her, right?” His sarcastic tone speaks volumes. “She’s in there.” He points into the sleeping area we all share. “But I’d stay away if I was you. Lady is
not
happy.” He whispers these last words as I rise to go see the security officer.

In the sleeping area, I can see there’s only one of the weird, angled beds left and I assume mine and Deakin’s beds have sunk back into the floor, where they came from to begin with. That alone tells me Sierx Nerravin has probably spent a lot of time alone, while we’ve been cavorting with aliens. I walk over to where she’s laying, pretending to be asleep.

“Sierx? How are you doing?” There’s nothing but silence for over a minute, and I pull in a breath to speak again when she rolls over. Her face is a mixture of hate, disgust and contempt, her features twisted by the feelings she’s clearly displaying. The urge to step back is almost too much, but I stand my ground, not willing to let her see how much she frightens me.

“How am I
doing
?” She parrots back at me with venom. “You and Deakins disappear to go fuck these fucking aliens, and you ask me how I’m doing, man?” She shakes her head. “I’m fucking done, man. Done with you and him
both
, man. I don’t know what kind of sick shit they got you two doing, but I ain’t want no part of it.” The stare she gives me is filled with barely contained violence, and this time I do step back. “Get the fuck out of here, man, and don’t never come back again, fucking traitor.” She spits on the floor at my feet, and I know there’s no way I can ever explain how I feel.

Deakins knows because he’s going through it with his female, but no one else in all of humanity would understand what we’re going through at the moment. I feel a tear roll down my cheek and turn to go back out to Deakins.

He sees me and comes over to give me a hug causing the large female to utter a low whine.

“No,” an artificial voice states from the computer. Deakins pulls away and looks at me in wonder. He turns to the female then back to me, hugging me again. She makes the same sound, and the computer repeats her negative.

“Shit! It’s only started working!” Deakins cries to me as he races to the computer. He taps a few keys and clearly says, “No.” The computer translates this simple word while we both stare at the female alien.

Her head tilts to one side as she looks from Deakins, to me, at the computer and back to Deakins again. She utters another sound which the computer translates, “Yes.”

Deakins laughs and orders the computer to tell her the same thing. He crosses to the alien and throws his arms around her in a completely unashamed display of love. My throat goes tight as Deakins strokes the side of her face, while getting the computer to translate his word over and over. “Yes. Yes. Yes.”

***

I have arranged refreshments for the three Intrellians, who I ordered here. I was concerned when, upon my return, I discovered my large female had left me. Her absence, however, did tell me which one of them was roaming around Acrulla’s insides, a practice I will have to insist she avoid in the future.

I seat myself at the head of the table I have asked Acrulla to fashion and await the arrival of my crew. They do not keep me waiting, appearing a few moments after I seat myself, and I take this as a good sign.

“Enter, be seated, take from my table,” My tone and words are intended to indicate friendship as Talacrus, Shaktee and Morjena walk in and seat themselves. The three of them give off a very obvious sense of tension in their movements and the absolute silence with which they take food and pour drinks. I cannot blame them. I cannot explain or excuse my actions regarding the large female, even to myself. I have quickly come to accept, however, there is some unbreakable bond between us, a link which has only deepened with our frantic and copious coupling.

“I begin this meeting by issuing a blood-bound oath.” I glance at my crew to see if there is any reaction. “Any word spoken within the confines of this room will remain in the confines of this room. No action will be taken against any who speak out against me inside these walls.” As soon as I finish speaking, I grab a knife and slash it across my arm, letting the blood pour from me and across the table where Acrulla absorbs it into his being. A howl escapes me as I cauterize the wound, but the searing agony is worth every scrap of respect I can get from these three. I grab a cup and drink the contents down in three huge gulps, the fermented
brulla
berries lending their flavor to the brew, which burns its way down into my thorax.

“I have some things to tell you,” I begin, trying to lighten my ominous tone, while explaining what has been happening with the large female. Once finish, I wait for one of them to speak, knowing almost instinctively it will be Shaktee, her jealousy forcing her to condemn me for my actions.

“You have never acted in such a way as to bring danger to us before,” Morjena replies, surprising me. “Point of fact, I clearly recall several occasions when you have put the safety of Acrulla and your crew before your own needs and wants.” Again I feel some surprise as the other two murmur their agreement. “So I say if it is your desire to keep the alien from the Royal family, I will not betray you.” He ends his measured words by draining his own cup.

“Any who know of me, also know I have offered myself to you a number of times,” Shaktee begins. It is she, of these three I have gathered to me, who will likely present the problem, and I wonder if she will openly challenge me. “I have never hidden the fact I would trade sexual acts for promotion and status, and I feel rage towards this alien for succeeding where I have failed.” I feel my hearts pulse a little harder and am about to speak when she holds her hand up. “However,” she continues, “you made it clear many times, before ever she came aboard, you had no interest in bedding me.” Silence fills the room as we all wait for Shaktee to continue. “My rise through the ranks has not been an easy one. I have suffered humiliation, rape and torture.” Her dark eyes search each of us in turn for any reaction. “Yet, never aboard Acrulla,” she adds. “I believe this is, in some measure at least, due to your leadership.” She looks at me. “Life may again become unpleasant if I were to reveal your secret.” With her words spoken, Shaktee falls silent and we all turn to the remaining Intrellian.

“Commander,” Talacrus begins. “Brother, I would follow you into the hereafter if you asked it of me.” Pride swells inside me as I hear the words I knew my brother would speak. He raises his cup, and I do the same, followed by Shaktee and Morjena.

“I am in noble company!” I declare in the traditional manner, and we all drain our cups. Now that I have the support of my senior crew, there is one more I must convince, and ultimately, it will be he who decides my fate.