Sarazen's Claim, Book One Read online

  He stared at her for a moment longer, lips tight and his eyes narrowed while he thought about her words, and then carefully set her on her feet. She thanked him, took one step to the side and promptly fell on her ass. Or she would have, if he hadn't been right there to wrap his massive armored arm around her waist and haul her back to her feet. "I will allow you to walk, at my side, until your people are out of sight, then I will carry you and I will hear no arguments," His tone alone would have made her agree, but the fierce look on his face quelled any argument she might have made, so she just nodded in answer. The glass partition slid up without even a whisper of sound, and she realized how quiet it had been in the little room, when it slid up and all the sounds outside came rushing back in. "Lieutenant, are you alright?" One of the men asked, nervously looking from the big armor plated warrior holding her up, to her and back so fast she wondered if he was as dizzy as she was. "I am, thank you ensign...Brock."

  The man, who was younger than she was, unzipped his uniform top and offered it to her, making her realize, belatedly, that she was just in her under tunic and pants, and nothing else. She bluffed her way through her blushes and reached out to take the shirt gratefully, only to freeze when an honest to God growl vibrated through the mountain holding her up, "You will receive fresh clothing in your quarters," The commander snarled, eyes flashing brightly at ensign Brock, lips peeled back from his teeth in a feral grimace. "Right. Thank you, Brock. At ease, uh, your turn for medical. Get that cut checked out on your head."

  Three

  The commander moved her forward past his warriors, and once she was out of sight she was whipped right back up into his arms and carried down the long, wide corridor to what appeared to be some kind of lift. The doors opened, they closed, then a few seconds later they opened again and Tarek was carrying her down another corridor that looked exactly the same as the one before, to a door with no distinguishing marks or nameplate to identify that it was the correct one.

  But when the door slid open and hissed closed behind her, there was no mistaking it as an officer's quarters. The furniture was elegant and comfortable looking, the living area large, and the sleeping area even bigger. But it was devoid of personal items, so she assumed it was guest quarters, in which case they were far nicer than any that had been aboard the Aria. She thought about the ship then, her home for the past five years, and her bottom lip trembled because it, along with everyone she knew, her little collection of her parent’s personal items from Earth, her own things, and her research of all the planets she'd visited.

  Gone. Just like that.

  "The heat of battle is cooling, little one."

  She sniffled, and even though he wore his battle armor, she could feel him flinch in reaction to the sound, like he didn't know what it was. "I wasn't in a battle," She hiccupped, tears starting to fall, and she watched them slide down the surface of his silvery armor and onto her tunic where she was pressed up against him. "Yes, you were. Stand here," His tone was gruff, but he set her down like she was so delicate that one wrong bump would shatter her to pieces. She watched him reach up to what looked like an engraving on the shoulder of his armor, and was fascinated by how it soundlessly started to fold up, or collapse or something, starting from the toes up and in what seemed like seconds retracted into a thick metal torque around the strong column of his throat.

  She forgot all about the Aria for the moment, because he was shirtless underneath his armor, his bronzed skin tattooed further down over his shoulders, every impressively cut muscle on display, all the way down to his low slung brown trousers. And the armor hadn't bulked him up by even a fraction, he was in fact, that large. Seven feet tall and as some of the elders might have said, built like a brick shit house. "That was so awesome," She blurted like a total idiot, and his lips twitched, making one of his dimples wink at her. "How does that even work? Is it nano tech, or liquid that gets hard?" She reached up to touch the torque, but he stopped her with a gentle touch and his lips twitched again, "We can discuss my armor at another time, come this way."

  His hand slid down her arm and to her waist, leading her forward into some kind of cubicle and told her to close her eyes. "You will feel a mist, it is an enzyme wash. Open your mouth if you wish, and it will cleanse your teeth as well." An enzyme wash? How awesome was that? She felt the mist and turned her face up to it, loopy from whatever the pain meds were that she'd been given and giggled because the soft spray smelled like the strawberries she'd grown in her hydroponic lab.

  But it tingled, like mint and tickled her skin, and had absolutely no taste when she opened her mouth and felt the mist foam a little. "This is so weird," She chortled, and then a warm burst of air whirled around her like a mini cyclone and she felt refreshed, squeaky clean, and when the Commander told her she could open her eyes, she looked to see that the blood that had dried on her skin was gone, her clothes clean… Her skin felt softer than she could ever remember it being, and holy shit, her collection of freckles from the Solar Room aboard the Aria were gone too. "Come." She was told again, her marveling interrupted, and she wondered if that was the Commander's favorite word.

  He kept his arm solidly around her, which gave her the perfect opportunity to ogle his gorgeous body up close, and she took full advantage of it. "Discard your clothing and put this on," He ordered, handing her a white shapeless looking dress thing from somewhere. She looked around for a privacy screen, but didn't find one, and as medicated as she was she wasn't thinking, and would likely look back on this moment later and be mortified.

  She whipped off her undershirt and wiggled out of her pants, took the dress from the Commander and tugged the silky soft material over her head, jolting a little when she felt it shrink and hug her upper body for a perfect fit. "That was weird," She looked up at the Commander to confirm the weirdness, and he was staring down at her with an expression that both thrilled her and frightened her at the same time. His eyes were hot on her skin, his nostrils flared and his cheeks ruddy with lust. It was enough to have her taking a wary step back, "I have already told you not to fear me," He purred dangerously, and her skin prickled with uncertainty, "You did," And she would have said more, except a sharp pain in her low abdomen stole her breath and made her hunch forward, pressing her hands to the spot that felt like someone was using a focused laser on her insides. "Ow, shit!" She hissed, and before she'd even managed to take a breath, Tarek had scooped her back up and was a stride away from running back out the door with her.

  Ga'rae was just finishing up with one of her other crew, but Tarek snarled at the young man to get out of his way and put her back on the table. She understood their guttural language now, which was amazing, but the searing, tearing pain in her abdomen was so intense it was really all she could focus on. She felt another stab of something in her neck, and almost immediately the intensity of the blowtorch in her abdomen was turned down to a dull burn. "Clary, when did you suffer this mutilation to your abdomen?"

  Ga'rae's voice was grave, and for a second she didn't know what he was talking about. But opening her eyes she saw a green holographic rendition of her body, her internal organs, bones and endocrine system floating above her. And in her lower belly it showed a red area, lit up in stark relief, "Mutilation?" She managed to murmur, feeling that thick and floaty sensation of having been very well drugged. "Your womb, reproductive organs, have all been removed."

  "Oh that, I didn't score high enough to have babies. Population control,"

  "What?"

  She frowned at the outrage pouring off of the giant, green tattooed doctor, and it might have been the pain meds, but the Commander looked like he was vibrating with rage, and she didn't understand why. "Our resources aboard the Aria were finite," She tilted her head back to see the young man, one of her crew, hovering just out of reach and staring in fascination at the hologram above her. "Our elders elected to enforce population control long before I was born, and gave tests, genetic and intelligence tests, to ensure that any offspring had were t
he best and brightest. To be granted breeding rights, the women had to either score well on both, or exceptional on one. If not, they were sterilized." She nodded and slurred, "What he said," The Commander barked into some kind of communicator on his wrist, and soon a warrior appeared in the medical room, "Take the young one to the others. If any of you bond with the females, report to medical before you share blood. They may have been mutilated, sterilized."

  Her crewmate didn't understand what the Commander said, but the alien warrior did and was apparently horrified. He nodded, and waved at the man she'd rescued, but he hesitated and looked back at her for conformation, or perhaps permission. "S'alright. I'm good now. Go." He nodded sharply and left, just as the glass partition slid down and she was once again alone with the two giant Viking aliens. "What's going on? Why do my people have to come here before getting a blood transfusion?" Again, despite the dark clouds of anger on his face, the Commander stroked his hand down her hair gently, "My blood is healing you, little one. Any damage, wounds, injuries, will be repaired. If you had had a finger torn off, it would now be regenerating, but the pain you feel now is my blood completely renewing, regrowing, your womb."

  She just stared at him, not comprehending for the longest time, but a twinge in her belly brought it home just as she was passing out. "I can have babies?" That gentleness in his touch, bled through to his eyes. Man, big, giant, scary bad ass warrior had the softest, kindest golden eyes she’d ever seen. "Many, as soon as you are healed." He murmured softly, and she felt herself smile a big goofy smile. "Wow."

  “Rest. Rest now.”

  Four

  She was warm when she woke up, and the normal hum of the engine was silent. Her bed was softer than she remembered it being, and when she stretched her head didn't hit the top of her rack. "Are you feeling any pain, this rising?" She jolted at the deep voice that floated out of the darkness, clutching the sheets to her chest while lights slowly came on, allowing her eyes to adjust to the gloom. The events of the day before, the attack, it all rushed back to her and she sat up, pushing her hair out of her face to look at the massive man seated not far from her.

  He was leaning forward, his elbows braced on his knees, hands clasped between while he focused intently on her. "No, no pain." A dull ache in her belly was all that remained to remind her that she'd been hurt, and her mouth tasted funny, but other than that she was fine. "My men recovered fifteen more females and ten males from your ship. The rest are gone. The ones recovered suffered minor injuries and are resting in the guest quarters. I believe one of them to be of higher rank in your military system, or at least he claims to be a senior officer, so your responsibility is negated."

  The enormity of the Aria's loss hit her square in the chest. She knew perhaps a handful of the eight thousand aboard, but they were all that remained of a race of billions. "Thirty three? That's all?" She rasped, slumping back on the plush pillows, the white dome of the ceiling blurring as her eyes filled. "Yes. The Na'ah are known for careless slaughter, that any of you survived is impressive." She had to bite into her cheek to keep her bottom lip from trembling. Had to bite harder to use the pain as a distraction from the tears pooling in her eyes. "Thank you for telling me. We never encountered anything like that before. Our ships are equipped with armaments and weapons, but for the most part we were just...looking for a new home. I don't even know if the other five ships are still intact, as far as I know we haven't had any contact with them in a year."

  He made a soft growling sound, not a sound a human throat could have ever made, a deep, bass, rumbly growl. Oddly, she found herself soothed by it, wanting to turn and move closer to feel that growl rumble against her bare skin. What the hell was in those drugs they’d given her? "It could be they are beyond the reach of your communications array. They are primitive in comparison to ours, and it was mere chance that we were within range to detect the Na'ah vessel. We had already changed course to intercept and destroy when the presence of your people was noted." She nodded, pushing her hair out of her face, trying to think what her next rational question should be. Though, if there was a senior officer from the Aria alive, she didn’t have to be rational. She almost started crying right then for that reason alone. "What happens now?"

  Tarek leaned back in the chair and looked at her for a long moment, his golden eyes rolling over every inch of her exposed skin, making her consider pulling the blankets up higher. Just in case, but he didn’t move a muscle. "If it is a home your kind are seeking, you will be welcome on our world. The atmosphere of Saraz is comparable to what your kind require, and few of my warriors have found potential mates in the females you arrived with."

  "Potential what’s?"

  "Mates."

  "I understand the word, what it means in my language, could you clarify what it means in yours?"

  "Spouse, life partner, mother of our cubs?"

  "Is that...I mean um, is that even possible?"

  "Yes," He said, his eyes warming now with amusement,

  "But you're aliens, or we are, not of the same species."

  "You study plants, and animals, is it not possible for creatures of similar genus to mate and produce viable offspring?"

  "To the best of my knowledge, but an alien feline and a feline from earth may not have the same genetic ability to procreate successfully. Or the physical anatomy to successfully couple."

  "What is a feline?"

  "A warm blooded creature, small, furred, a predatory mammal."

  "I see. Our kind are physically compatible, evident by the fact that you did not reject the infusion of blood I gave you and the scans of your anatomy suggest we could couple very successfully."

  "I remember you saying something about bonding, and blood exchanges, and...sterilization."

  "If you are in no more discomfort, then likely your womb has been successfully repaired and functional. After you have cleansed and broken your fast, we will return to the medical bay and Ga'rae will examine you to confirm it."

  "F-functional?"

  "Yes."

  "As in, completely functional?"

  "Completely. We will make fine offspring,"

  "WE?"

  "Yes. We have begun to bond, you and I. We will discuss it further once Ga'rae has examined you. Several of the females you arrived with are demanding to see you and assure themselves of your safety."

  Five

  She ate a strange paste that tasted and felt like oatmeal in her mouth, but it was apparently made of a synthetic protein intended to provide any and all nutrients her body required. It was good, strange, but good, and she felt satisfied, energized. She cleansed herself again in the very cool enzyme shower that she didn’t even have to take her clothes off, a two in one that cleaned her entire body, and the dress she wore of any biological toxins, sweat, dead skin cells, odors that lingered on her skin, oils. It was remarkable, and something that would have been wonderful to have aboard the Aria.

  Tarek waited patiently for her, having donned a tunic top today over his brown, leather like trousers and still wore the metal torque around his throat. His mohawk of hair was unplaited this morning, but slicked back from his face so that the long tawny strands stayed out of his eyes. He was stunning, “That word, it means I am pleasing to your eyes?” She turned scarlet, realizing that she’d said that last bit out loud. “I meant that I um, I’ve never seen another being like you. Any of your warriors, really. But you’re…different.” He flashed both dimples at her when he smiled, and it was like a physical caress the way her body reacted. Tightened, throbbed with want, moistened with readiness.

  He came to her then, a slow rolling prowl before he slowly reached up and cupped her chin in his massive hand and turned her face up towards the light that seemed to shine from everywhere, and nowhere at the same time. “And I have never seen another like you. Your eyes are beautiful,” Her face burned with how hot it was, and his thumb traced the edge of her cheek like he was testing the heat of her blushes. “They’re just green. Ga’rae�
��s eyes are green,” He shook his head with a soft sound that was almost a purr, tilting his head this way, then that. “Not ‘just’ green. They are flawless, not a hint of any other color but bright, clear green. Like the oceans on my world. Your body is delicate, soft, but your spirit is fierce. Strong.”

  “You only met me a day ago, you don’t know what my spirit is like,” She whispered, shocked by his sincerity and the lack of any artifice or cajoling in his tone. “You saw the Na’ah,”

  She had, and she would never forget the half serpent, half humanoid like beasts that existed only in ancient myths and nightmares. Slimy, oozing a sulfuric like scent, pale and nearly colorless flesh, with putrid yellow eyes and emaciated torsos. They were disgusting, horrifying, and she would never forget the sight of them. “You survived a horror few who are unprepared are capable of doing. And you brought seven others with you. You did not fall to the fear or the hysteria, you remained strong because the others were looking to you to be calm, you stood when your body was weak. You survived, because your spirit is strong. Especially for a female who studies such fragile things as flowers.”

  “Not just flowers, thank you. Any plant life, there is to be studied.”