Kidnapping Keela (6 page)

“Solima?” he called, whilst running.

“Yes, here!”

They reached the door behind which they believed his daughter to be.
 

“Are you in here?” asked Berka.

“Yes, uncle! Here!”

“Go away from the door,” said Marruk. “Ready?”

“Yes, we’re ready,” answered Solima.

Marruk took his laser gun and shot at the automatic door. Seconds later the door slid open and Solima threw herself into his arms.

***

Keela stared at the two warriors standing in the doorway. Solima had thrown herself into the arms of a huge man. He had brown hair down to his hips and the same turquoise-coloured eyes as Solima. The other man, likewise huge with long blond hair and the same remarkable eyes, stood there and looked at Keela and Amber - his gaze seemed to be firmly fixed on Amber.

Uh oh! Someone’s found something that he likes,
thought Keela with a smile, and Amber did not seem to be able to take her eyes of the blond man either.

Father and daughter let go of one another and looked at one another tenderly. Keela was so happy that Solima had been right. Now that she saw father and daughter reunited she was even more conscious of how awful and unnatural it was to sell a small girl as a slave. The poor thing still had these transparent clothes on and her father seemed to have just noticed that, too, because he was frowning disapprovingly.

“Father, we must take Keela and Amber with us. We can’t just leave them here.”

“Keela? Amber?” asked the man, turning his head to take see Keela and Amber for the first time. His eyes glanced over Amber and remained on Keela. His shining eyes stared at her steadfastly and Keelas’ knees suddenly went weak. She realised how damn good-looking he was. It was just a shame that he was already taken. His wife, Solima’s mother, was undoubtedly already awaiting him longingly. So stupid! She always fell for the wrong guys.

Damn it, Keela, what crazy thoughts are going through your head? He’s not for you, single or not. He’s a damn alien!

But her heart was not listening to her. It was racing like mad and Keela felt her knees go weak at the sight of him. He really was a giant of a man. She could easily imagine him in a wrestling ring. He must be at least two meters ten tall. She knew someone who was exactly two meters tall and this man was taller still. He therefore towered above Keela by a whole head, as she was only one meter seventy tall. He was solidly built with broad shoulders, massive arms and legs and narrow hips. He was wearing a knee-length skirt - similar to a Scottish kilt, only made of leather - and a similarly black leather waistcoat over a white short-sleeved shirt. His black boots, the wide gold bands around his upper arms and the red gems hanging on the chain around his neck completed his outfit. Keela was certain that she had never before met a man anywhere near as attractive as this man. His face was expressionless as he looked at her, but his extraordinary eyes were shining and were changing from turquoise to midnight blue. Keela could not stop herself from staring at him, fascinated.
 

***

Marruk looked at the two women that he had not yet even been aware of. He looked fleetingly at the brunette with the warm, brown eyes and then looked at the other woman. His heartbeat suddenly sped up. She was breath-taking. Her hair was so blond that it appeared to be almost white. She had green eyes that made him think of the moss on the trees in his homeland. Although she was small and dainty there was something about her that told him that she was anything but weak and helpless. The way she was standing – legs slightly apart, to maintain her balance well - the slightly tensed arms and the alertness in her unbelievable eyes. His eyes moved to her well-formed breasts which showed clearly through the transparent clothing. Immediately he felt a strong pull in his loins and only years of hard training prevented his body from giving him away.

“Father? You will take them, won’t you?” Solima pulled him out of his trance.

Marruk tore his eyes forcibly from the beauty and nodded.

“Of course, Solima. I wouldn’t leave any helpless women alone here. Come on! Let’s finally leave this damn ship and return home.”
 

He took his daughter by the hand and left the cell without looking round again. He could not. He knew, anyway, that she was behind him. Berka followed on behind the women to protect them from behind from possible enemies.

***

Marruk entered the cell in which the man was imprisoned who had bought his daughter and the two women. The male looked up as he entered and looked at him calmly. He did not seem particularly bothered by the fact that he had been attacked and imprisoned. Marruk detected a good deal of arrogance in his prisoner’s direct look.

“What’s your name?” Marruk demanded to know.

“Polchin ab'n Kuzarr.”

“You’re going to die today,
Polchin ab'n Kuzarr,” declared Marruk calmly. Polchin nodded.

“Before you die I have a few questions. If you answer them all willingly then you’ll be granted mercy and will die well. If you do not cooperate your death will last for days. Have I expressed myself clearly?”

Polchin nodded again.

“What had you planned to do with the two women and the girl?”

“They were intended for my client. He runs a brothel on the Luvr6 Moon.”

Marruk clenched his fists, but otherwise nothing about him betrayed his inner turmoil. With a few deep breaths he forced himself to be deadly calm. The Luvr6 Moon was a place where every conceivable illegal activity took place, including questionable pleasures of every type, from drug dealing, prostitution, gambling and Blackmarketeering to Gladiator fights.

“Who is your client?”

“Ellyod Allegrass,” answered Polchin, grinning.

“The pirate?”

Polchin nodded.

Ellyod Allegrass was one of the most infamous and most feared space pirates. All attempts by the United Galactic Federation to capture the notorious pirate had so far failed. No one ever knew where he was apart from his closest associates and he did not trust many people.

“Since when has Allegrass been dealing in prostitution? Slave trading and drugs, yes. But his own brothel?”

“It’s a…
special
brothel,” explained Polchin with a mean grin. “For
special
clients.”

Marruk forced himself to stay calm even though every fibre of his body screamed at him to wipe the grin off this man’s face.

“
What
is so
special
about this brothel?” he asked with a dangerously calm voice.

“You get everything there that you don’t get in other brothels: girls and boys of every age, victims of torture, mutilated women - even dead ones if that’s your thing. Every wish is fulfilled there - at a certain price, of course. If you want to torture, mutilate or kill, then of course that costs more accordingly. But nothing is impossible.”

Marruk pulled his sword as quick as a flash and cut off the head of the perverse bastard before him. The rage burning through his body was only quelled by the man’s death, not extinguished.
 

Berka, who was standing behind Marruk, put his hand on his brother’s shoulder.

“I knew there were perverse ass-holes, but
that
is more than my stomach can take,” uttered Berka quietly.
 

A shudder ran through Marruk’s body. He suppressed the unbearable thought of what had nearly happened to his daughter and the two women. If he had not got here in time … It did not bear thinking about.

Marruk turned to the two men who were also present. They, too, seemed shocked by what they had heard.

“See to it that this gets cleared away,” uttered Marruk in disgust.

The men nodded solemnly.

Without another word Marruk turned and made his way to his cabin. He would stand under the laser shower until he finally felt clean again. And that could take a long time.

Chapter 4

Y-Quadrant

In the orbit of the Planet Karrx7

22
^nd
day of the month of Jakus in the year 7067

Federation Time

Karrx7 was a green planet. The oceans only took up about thirty per cent of the surface. From above the land appeared to consist almost entirely of jungle broken here and there by large lakes or mountains, but with only a few open spaces. The space ship belonging to Solima’s father - who, Keela had found out, was called Marruk - was bigger and more luxurious than the space ship that they had been rescued from. Amber and Keela had both been given their own, comfortable cabin and had been completely freshly dressed. The clothes that they had been given were almost floor-length and cut straight with a V-neck and they were sleeveless. The material was light and pleasantly cool like silk but a little thicker and velvety. After a journey of nearly two weeks they had reached their destination and they had been allowed onto the bridge to look at their new home from above.
 

“Isn’t that breath-taking?” whispered Amber reverently.

“Yes, it certainly is,” replied Keela, impressed.

“Oh! You’ll both love it,” said Solima in excitement. “It’s much more beautiful that the stupid desert planet. And the temperature is pleasant - warm, but not too hot. And when it rains it smells of flowers everywhere.”

“That sounds good,” said Keela, smiling. “I’m glad that you were right and that your father rescued us all.”

“I told you so,” said Solima, shaking her head. “”You really should have believed me!”

“I’m sorry,” said Amber.

“Oh never mind! I’m so happy that I have you now. I’ll show you everything, even Trommy.”

“Who or what is Trommy?” asked Keela.

“My pergamo.”

“Sorry, sweet thing, but we don’t know what a pergamo is. Is it an animal?”

“Yes,” answered Solima, nodding her head.

“So it’s your house pet, is it?” asked Amber.

“House pet? Umm, actually we don’t let any pergamos into the house. They’re too big and father would get cross if Trommy went to the toilet everywhere.”

Keela and Amber laughed and Solima joined in joyfully.

“We’re there,” came the voice of Solima’s Uncle Berka behind them. “Come into the transporter room.”

They followed Berka from the bridge, across the corridor, to the lower deck where the transport room was. There Berka directed them onto a platform from which they were beamed onto the surface of the planet. Keela could remember all too well the feeling she had when she was beamed onto the
Cordelia
from the ship belonging to the person who had bought her, and Keela was not keen on repeating this experience. It was an awful feeling and she had been horribly afraid that the technology would not work and would not recreate them properly.

Keela was to go first with Solima and one of the officers. Amber would follow with Marruk and Berka.

“Ready?” asked Berka, standing in front of the platform.

Keela took a deep breath and nodded.

“Right, let’s go!” he said, and the officer at the control desk pressed a few buttons, then Keela felt this strange tingling sensation until she suddenly found herself in a small clearing. She was glad she had Solima next to her, and the officer, because she felt very small amongst all the enormous trees around the clearing. She had not imagined the trees to be so massive. They must have been hundreds, if not thousands, of years old.

Solima took her hand and led her to the edge of the clearing where they waited for Amber, Berka and Marruk to arrive. The air actually flickered suddenly in the middle of the clearing, then the three appeared. The rest of the crew would fly back to Xevus3 under the command of Kordan, a man that Keela would not trust for a minute, but who clearly commanded Marruk’s complete trust. Together with a few warriors he was to try to find Lory and Charly and, if necessary, release them if they were imprisoned. Keela and Amber had begged Marruk to rescue their friends and once Solima had also added her plea Marruk had finally given in. Keela had already noticed that he would not reject any plea from his daughter.

Berka had told Keela that she and Amber were to be introduced to the king and queen because they would be living in the palace for some time. Keela found this idea quite unsettling. She had no idea what customs ruled in court here on this planet. As all monarchies on earth had been abolished years before, she only knew about such things through films. And of course she could also not know whether the earthly monarchies and their protocols were different from those of this planet. What if she conducted herself completely wrongly? Could she perhaps insult the royal couple simply because she did not know their customs? It was definitely possible that she would behave inappropriately in all sorts of ways.

Marruk was looking at her and she felt the blood rush into her cheeks. Why did this man make her feel so very uneasy? He conducted himself towards her in a completely cool and distanced manner. She had hardly seen him throughout the whole journey, but whenever they were in the same room she felt uneasy. She was a grown woman who had done kick box training for five years, who could shoot better than a lot of men, and who could not be drunk under the table very quickly either. Now she was standing here, not daring to make eye contact with this alien. Simply ridiculous!

Without a word Marruk turned and walked away from the clearing. Solima smiled at Keela and Amber.

“Come on!” she said, asking Keela and Amber to follow her. So the two women and the girl left the clearing after Marruk, and Berka took up the rear.

It was only a short walk out of the forest, as the clearing was near the edge of it. A high wall towered above them with a huge gate that opened at Marruk’s command. Two guards bowed and let the small group pass. They entered a large park that stretched out in front of the palace, or rather, behind the palace, as the main entrance to the building was clearly on the other side. Keela stared, impressed, at the huge, splendid building. High towers flanked the structure that consisted of several wings connected to one another and stretching up to three levels.

Keela and Amber were so engrossed by the sight of the palace that they did not notice the two large, slender predatory big cats coming towards them until they stood eye to eye with the beasts. Keela and Amber screamed in shock and Marruk stood still to look round at the supposed danger.