Chasing Constellations (The UGS Constellation Series) (6 page)

Instead of moving on
as Elisa hoped and prayed that he would, ending the reign of horror, the man lifted her by her now completely freed hair. Yanking the long strands back, he lifted her head and shoulders, using the momentum to flip her onto her beaten back.

For good
measure, he dragged her several feet into the middle of the room and away from the walls. He was still laughing as he dropped his full weight onto her hips from the front.

Curling his hands around the partially ruined shirt
, his muscles bulged as they tore it open the rest of the way and sending buttons flying in every direction.

This time he paused to
grip her breasts hard enough to leave red fingerprints against the flesh peeking around the lace of Elisa’s bra. He watched in clear fascination as the marks slowly faded when he released them, before ripping the white bra from the front and flicking the fabric out of his way.

Once more the air was filled with the sound of flesh connecting with flesh.

Broken only by the soft grunting and groaning of Elisa as she tried to lift her arms and protect herself. As though she’d just awoken from a fog Elisa brought her hands up over her chest and tried to cross them over her tender body, occasionally lifting them enough to slap weakly at him or scratch his arms when her mind and body allowed her to.

Whenever she managed to block him from her
chest, he would simply move to her face or her stomach, driving her to try and stop him from the new torment.

He laughed
even more, as though it were a game to him, his hips moving in a parody of making love against her hips. Perhaps he was in his own twisted manner.

Finally the man seemed to have had enough, those piercing blue eyes clearing of their bloodlust long enough to take in the damage done to Elisa.
His smile gentled as he ran a finger down the side of her cheek to her throat, the only part of intentionally left free of any marks.

Almost lovingly the man brought both hands to her shoulders, the touch feather light as the man dragged his fingers along the narrow lines until they encircled her flesh.

Gradually they tightened, choking off Elisa’s ability to breathe, squeezing tighter and tighter as he watched her closely. He didn’t want to kill her, not yet.

Elisa’s vision had started to go black around the edges
. The panic leading to tunnel vision that only narrowed as she was beaten started to dissipate with a lack of oxygen.

Now her hands found new life,
as she scratched and pulled against his wrists in an attempt to break free.

Elisa’s
final sight before her vision turned wholly black was of the evil grin gracing the man’s face. A face she had memorized. A face she knew was responsible for the other deaths so recently.

Weak from lack of oxygen, Elisa watched in horror as her hands fell from his wrists to drop
limply beside her while her consciousness faded completely.

S
he didn’t know how long she was out for, only that when she finally did wake up it was to a world of pain and agony.

Elisa rolled to her side and carefully pushed
herself up. She managed to crawl her way toward the opened door of her bedroom.

Hesitantly, she
made her way to the living room, each crawling step on hands and knees brought back the horrific memory of running for her life.

Weak
, she was so weak and shaking so badly that when she reached for the phone, she nearly passed out just from the pain. “I… have… to…”

Finally, her
fingers curled around the cord and pulled down the phone from the small table it sat on.

She didn’t want the
receiver landing on her already battered face and was barely able to move out of the way as it fell with a crash to the floor.

Elisa
didn’t know what number she called as she randomly mashed buttons down, only that she thought she had managed to reach someone and call for help. She only knew that she gave her name softly into the phone, that talking any louder than a whisper brought immeasurable pain to her throat.

She never knew that she had given her plea for help to a dial tone
. Because she was not able to lift the phone to her ear; she was unable to hear the incessant dial tone that would have normally let her know she hadn’t reached anyone.

“Easy. Try not to move.
I am here to help.” That soft voice, so familiar and comforting, lulled Elisa out of the catatonic state she had slipped into. “I heard the screaming and came as quickly as I could. Did you see who did this?”

Careful of her wounded back, Elisa tried pushing herself over from her stomach to her back so she could see who was talking to her.

It took only
a moment before large hands eased her over, tenderly pushing the long locks of hair from her face and allowed her to finally see her savior.

Shock stormed her system as she peer
ed at the man that attacked her, the same one that ran into her at the station, the sight that greeted her caused her to try and scramble backwards out of his arms.

Cha
se Ricter knelt at her side.

“
Shh, it’s ok. It wasn’t me. I know I look like him, but you have to believe me.” Chase released her immediately once she started to struggle, afraid that she might further stress her injuries.

“Look, my hands aren’t bruised.
Surely you know that if I had hit you I would have wounds too, right? It looks like you fought back, if I was the one that had attacked you I’d have wounds as well, wouldn’t I? Besides, there’s no way I could have hurt you like this even if I had wanted to. I don’t hit women.” Chase said as he held up his arms, showing her the tan and unmarked skin, before dropping them back down again.

Her confusion and shock must have been easy to read as he answered her unspoken questions.

Her green eyes fluttered from his eyes down to his hands and back to his face, looking for any trace of deviousness. She didn’t see any of the marks he mentioned, and she knew she got at least a few good strikes in on her own, then she relaxed back against the floor and gave a shaky nod.

Gently Cha
se lifted Elisa in his arms and placed her on her couch.

His hands shook as he
fixed the twisted and torn shirt from around her body, carefully rolling her from one side to the other and running his fingers down her side with a feather light touch. He could feel where the deep tissues had swollen against the ribs, the color quickly turning a dark blackish purple, and knew she would have at least fractured ribs.

Sliding his hands over her
hips, he noticed that from the pelvis down in the front she didn’t have any marks; however, higher up her body was a free for all of torture. Even her arms had marks; scratched and bruised from trying to defend herself and fight off her attacker.

He allowed his gaze to travel her neck where clear imprints of hands had left a nasty ring of darkened flesh; to her face where her eyes were barely able to open around the swelling. Blood created a macabre path that blazed trails all over her flesh and stained the once soft and silky blouse.

“Transport two to medical
, now!” Not wanting to startle the injured woman, Chase eased her battered body into his arms.

One arm wound around her shoulders while the other cupped the back of her knees, with a show of his strength
the man lifted her with great tenderness into his arms before vanishing from the room in a dazzling display of lights but without a sound.

Chapter 9

“What did you bring me this time Commander?” Softly spoken, the healer of the UGS Constellation never needed to speak higher than a soft whisper.

M
ostly because he dealt with injured warriors that were easily provoked, but as an Atunre his kind did not believe in striking out in anger with raised voices and closed fists. Instead, they found other means to sate it, which made the breed both the perfect medic as well as the ultimate assassin. They even went so far as to raise their children with strict rules against raising their voices.

“She was attacked by the perpetrator we are after
, Yannick. Heal her quickly before she wakes enough to notice that she’s no longer on Earth. She is my Anare, Yannick, we cannot let her go.”

Startled pink eyes jerked from the woman
in Chase’s arms, up to the man holding her before a veil was dropped to hide it.

“As you wish
, Commander, place her on the bed there and I will tend to her now.” Dr. Maleet gestured over at a small camp like cot set over against a far wall, barely discernable against the white glowing walls and floor.

As Cha
se placed Elisa onto the indicated bed, he failed to notice her eyes fluttering or the rapid beat of her heart.

Panic had already set i
n once again and the adrenaline that coursed through her body gave her the strength to surge from the Commander’s arms just as he set her down. She was able to fling herself into the far corner several feet away, where she curled herself into as small and tight of a ball that she could.

“What the hell are
you!?” She screeched from her tormented throat. Elisa coughed a few times in an attempt to clear the bruised flesh enough so she could talk. “Where am I? What… what did you do to me?”

“Easy
Anare, we mean no harm. Yannick here is going to make you feel better and then we are going to discuss what is going to happen next. OK?” Chase held his hands in the air, a move he had seen plenty of individuals do during his time on Earth.

It was a primitive planet
that held vast mysteries, it such a shame he wouldn’t be able to spend time leisurely exploring them.

“I was not the one to do this to you. Think back
Anare, to that moment when you first saw who did this to you. I want you to tell me what he looked like; even the smallest detail could help us catch him.” As he spoke, he intentionally deepened his voice in a soothing tone, allowed the cadence to slow, as he attempted to calm the female. Each word brought him one small step closer and closer until he was crouched before her with his hands held beseechingly before him.

Hesitantly Elisa slid her own hand
s into his and allowed him to help her to feet, and then guide her towards the cot.

She never realized his other hand was busy gently moving her clothing
back as much as possible, or that the odd… creature standing behind him was moving towards them with some sort of small handguns in one of his four hands.

Guiding Elisa
down to the bed Chase leaned over her head and pulled a covering from inside the table beside them, gently spreading it over her legs up to her stomach before stepping back to allow the healer to come closer.

“My name is
Healer Yannick Maleet, I am going to make you feel better, but we need to get you to relax first.” As the creature spoke his other hands began to move her clothing aside as much as possible to allow him an unhindered view of the damage done to her. “I’m going to inject you with a sedative. It's just enough to help you relax, but not enough to make you sleep, ok?”

Without even waiting for Elisa to say anything, the hand with the hypo spray pressed against her
neck. She never felt the medication enter her system, but its rapid effects were noticed by both of the males.

The fear
dilating her pupils slowly receded, leaving her soft green irises more room to expand while her heart rate settled into a steady and slow rhythm. They watched as her body slowly appeared to sink into the soft cushioning of the bed, with the soft sigh that left her parted lips, they knew it had eased her torment and drove at least some of the pain away.

“Good, good. You are responding quickly.
There now little one, do you feel better? Do you think I can examine you so that I may make the pain go away? We truly do not wish to hurt you.” With a brief nod, Elisa turned her attention to the creature’s hands and watched as they began to remove her shirt without even lifting her body. It simply waved two of its arms over her body and the fabric vanished.

“You did the right thing bringing her here Commander,” Yannick paused in his exam of the Earthling to tilt his head at Cha
se.

“She has
massive injuries; internal bleeding, a punctured lung from one of the broken ribs, several other ribs that are cracked or broken, and a plethora of contusions. Her throat is swollen because of the bruising and she might never regain her voice like it was before. Not to mention several fractures to her face, and there are numerous bruises covering her internal organs. What the hell happened down there?”

Elisa gave a soft chuckle
d as her eyes dreamily cast over the creature hovering above her. To her it resembled a cross between a zebra with purple and blue striped scales, stripes that were broken and jagged, and a macaw with the ruffled crest and feathers along the outer edge of its limbs.

What she could see, that wasn’t covered with a form fitting black suit, was taught with muscles that caused the scales to reflect the bright lights of the room.

Over the suit was a sterile looking white coat that wrapped snug against the creature’s throat, down its long arms and stopped just above its four knees.

“How do you sit down? Better yet… what are you?”
Try as she might, Elisa couldn’t help it as the sedative slurred her words.

The fact that b
oth men ignored the first question annoyed Elisa, but only for a moment as the medicine coursing through her body helped her to forget most everything. Instead she felt a pleasant floating feeling that made her giggle from time to time.

W
hen Chase gave her a slightly lopsided grin, which brought to life a small dimple in the corner of his left cheek and answered her second question she fought to pay attention. “Yannick is the best healer in the Fleet. His kind is known as the Atunre, and is what you would call a doctor, since they can heal almost all but deadly wounds naturally. Do you feel well enough to tell me what happened?”

Elisa started
to take a deep breath, but ended up moaning in extreme pain. She was unable to take more than a shallow gasp. “I don’t… I don’t remember much. I… had gone out earlier… I just wanted to explore and have a little fun. It’s been so long since I just went out around a town and did nothing but enjoy myself. I’ve never been to California so I decided to wander around and shop a little. I’d just gotten home and was getting my keys when someone attacked me and pushed me into the house. I fought as best as I could and was finally able… to get away.”

As Elisa spoke,
she watched Yannick move his primary hands to hover over her chest while the secondary set gently lifted first her right and then her left arm and moved them aside. Before her amazed eyes Elisa watched as his hands started to glow a soft pink color, she didn’t notice right away that the pain in her ribs gradually reduced to just a dull ache. Even that was gradually disappearing with the movement of the healer’s hands over her body. While it didn’t vanish completely, it did recede to where she never noticed unless she moved too far in any direction or jerked suddenly.

“Do you remember what he looked like?”

“He… He looked…” Lowering her gaze to Yannick’s hands, Elisa tried to bring the man’s face to the front of her memory.

She closed her eyes and shuddered as she remembered each blow against her body, each sickening crack and thud as his fists met her flesh, before she turned her glare back to Cha
se. “He looked like you! But... but something was different…”

Cha
se nodded and gave a soft sigh, it was as he had suspected. He wasn’t exactly sure why she had been targeted, but he had his suspicions. However, he was sure if he hadn’t arrived when he had then she would have been worse off and possibly could have expired.

“See to her care Yannick, I need to speak with
Tracker.” With a nod at them both, Elisa watched as Chase spun on his heel and left the room with the soft slide of the automatic doors.

“
Well, my dear, you will be fine in a bit but for now I want you to rest. You’ve had quite the shock to your system and I don’t want to harm what I’ve healed.” Patting her tenderly on her right shoulder, Yannick gathered his hypo and turned to leave her to rest.

“Lights, dim to forty
percent.” He softly murmured as he made his way back to a doorway Elisa hadn’t noticed before.

“Where am I? You never answered me. Please, just tell me where I am.” With a groan Elisa lifted herself up onto her elbow and tried to turn to her side, she didn’t want to be left alone.

A slight smile crossed the
healer's face when he turned back to the bed. One of her questions was answered when he pushed a rolling stool toward the bed and perched on top of it, each of his long legs spread across it much like the legs underneath that held it upright.

“I
am not sure what the Commander has told you, but you are aboard the UGS Constellation, it’s a galactic battle cruiser class warship for the United Galactic Securities. Basically the safety of the known galaxies relies on us and the rest of our ships, of which there are too many to count. We are currently in orbit over your plant of Earth, just far enough away that your satellites aren’t able to detect us, but close enough to transport to and from when needed. The Commander brought you here because you were severely beaten, what happened to you? Do you remember anything?”

Gently as though he were afraid to scare her more tha
n she already appeared to be, Yannick placed a hand on the side of her shoulder and let his long thin fingers cup around it.

“I… don’t remember much, no. I think… I think I got a threatening call? But then my friend from back home called and
we talked on the phone for hours. I forgot all about the first call by the time we were done talking.”

When the healer came and sat with her, she gradually relaxed back against the bed and pillows, turning her head to watch him
while her fingers played with the light blanket after tucking it under her arms to hide the rest of her body.

Nodding as he leaned to the side
and pressed a button on a small panel near the head of the bed, Yannick adjusted it so she was in a more comfortable position with her head elevated slightly. “Back home? I take it this... Callleefornieaa isn’t your home?”

Shaking her head
, Elisa said with a slight chuckle as Yannick brutalized the pronunciation, “Close, it’s California.” Slowly she taught him the proper way to say it, although there was a heavy accent to his words, he did remarkably well. “No. I only came because I knew I had to help and I found something that the police might have missed, the other killings that hadn’t been tied in.”

She gave Yannick a slight smile as her body lifted with the bed, breathing a sigh as the shift made it easier for her to breath
e.

While most of the injuries had been
healed, she still had most of the bruises that were painful still. Her lungs were now just bruised instead of being punctured and the healing was well under way, but the ribs surrounding them still had massive trauma. Her throat and face were still sore and no doubt would be bruised for days yet, but at least she was able to breathe with only slight discomfort and open her eyes fully.

“After the call I went out and explored a bit. It was fun and I wasn’t paying at
tention when I got home. I was just trying to get in and thinking of taking a nice long soak, then maybe having some dinner but instead I was attacked before I could even blink.” Elisa couldn’t stop the shudder that ran through her body.

“Are
you hungry still? I can have the mess hall bring something in for you to eat.” Her rumbling, growling stomach provided the answer, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten since her early lunch the day before.

The rough sound caused
a slight blush to light her face. “Interesting, the mention of food seems to have awoken a monster hiding in your body.”

With a wink that was quite co
mical, and Elisa was sure was a move he didn’t often do, Yannick rolled backward toward the doorway where the com unit was and placed her order before moving back. “It should be here soon.”

After Yannick nodded for her to continue, Elisa ducked her head down slightly and stared at the bruises along her arms as she told him the full gory details of the attack. Pausing only when the food arrived a
s Yannick lifted the bed more upright so that she could eat.

“
Well, I’m glad that Commander Chase was there, although I wish he could have saved you the expense of meeting me in such a way.” Yannick said as he stood and pushed the stool back to the wall. “Now, eat and rest. I’m sure that Chase will be back any time now and will want to speak with you. I’ll be in the other room if you need me, alright Dena?”