Under By Treaty (SciFi Romance) (17 page)

Love had driven her decision.

Self-sacrificing love.

Sonil had blurred her Qui heritage to the point her emotions appeared almost human.

He had prayed there might be some other way, but the more he dug in, the more the traditions of the Qui made clear, there was only one path to achieving this near-impossible task. He stared out at the approaching vessel. It would be the most difficult task he had ever undertaken, far more difficult than the punishments he’d survived as Sonil’s consort.

He couldn’t see another way.

Was he strong enough?

His conviction
faltered under a tide of doubt. A Qui wasn’t capable of love, not true love. Sonil had enslaved him. Was his constant desire for her the natural response of a damaged psyche addicted to a lizard bitch? He buried his knuckles into scrunched up eyes wishing he could scrub away the memory of culmination.

Forget the scytah and the fucking worm. Sonil’s cruelest act was letting him go.

*****

For three days of eighteen hour shifts, Jaden
endured a gauntlet of military debriefings and press conferences. The conquering hero returned had much to answer for and little was authorized for public release. In closed sessions, the United Regions Defense committee grilled him for every detail he could give on K’lahn military holdings, culture, politics, royal court life, interplanetary dealings, and they didn’t stop there. They wanted every last grisly and degrading moment of his captivity.

Finally, after 72 hours, they let him be –
at the doctor’s insistence
. Doc Parsons personally escorted Jaden to the clinic, refusing to allow any further interference with his patient.

“We’ll start with a neuro-scan,” Parsons said as they reached the relative sanctuary of
the medical facility. “See what damage they made removing that implant.”

Jaden programmed the door locks to ensure no one would interrupt their conversation. “Doc, we need to talk, privately.”

“For you, General, I have all the time you need.” Parson’s eyes twinkled. “I can’t deny I’m intrigued to know the results of our little experiment. I analyzed your bloods and there are still plenty of nanos in your system –”

“I need your word, Doc. Everything we speak of must be held in confidence. I mean this, not even the President can know what I have to say.”

The doctor’s excitement faded to an uncertain scowl. “I have license to hold patient data confidential, but, when it comes to matters of security, you know I’m duty bound to inform the President. That’s my oath, General.”

Jaden nodded. “I understand.” He picked his words carefully. “I need a series of tests. I suspect the Qui have a biochemical stimulant of sorts
– Sonil’s been using something on me, maybe pheromones. I need to know if I’m addicted, if it could affect my judgment.”

He handed the Doctor a slip of fabric,
a scrap he’d ripped off from one of Sonil’s silky dresses in a frenzy of carnal lust. He’d found it later, kept it, and after she banished him from her bed the scent of her distinctive perfume had reminded him of all the times he’d buried himself in her body. He could smell her now and the power of her scent in his nostrils scared him.

“I’m
certain you’ll find traces of her DNA and…
other substances
.”

The Doctor handled the material delicately, trying not to contaminate the sample. “Fascinating. There are many instances of Earth creatures
that experience heightened arousal and other reactionary behaviors from pheromone triggers. K’lahn physiology hasn’t demonstrated this to the extent you suggest, at least not that I’ve heard.”

“It’s n
ot K’lahn really, it’s the Qui. They are the dominant species of the K’lahn, and they are gifted in a number of ways. Their shape-shifting ability is incredible.”

The
Doctor chuckled. “Yeah, I heard. President Johnson said the Qui looked like some kind of angelic lizard woman, wings and all. Is it true, she was Ambassador Sonil all along?” The doc paused, his mouth pursed, his expression thoughtful. “Frankly, General, I’m amazed the K’lahn let you go. We all thought you were gone for good. Word was you’d been compromised. I can’t imagine why the Qui Empress freed you.”

“Something to do with honor,” Jaden said. The doc’s inquisitive stare forced him to expand. “Their honor code is complex.
She decided
I didn’t belong
.”

Speaking the words aloud almost brought tears to his eyes. Damn. He had to be suff
ering hardcore Sonil withdrawal. She had fucked his head up royally, and he could hardly figure out up from down.

C
alling on all his years of military training, Jaden erased any trace of emotion from his face and focused on his objective. “There’s something more I need. That cocktail you gave me. I need you to improve on it. Maybe something a little more specialized, more tailored to my genetics? I need a serious boost, Doctor, doesn’t have to be permanent.”

“You mean you want more enhancement than what we’ve already done?”

“Yes. I need a major performance boost, something that will give me the strength, speed, and stamina to take on an angelic lizard in hand to hand combat. And win.”

The Doctor’s
face lit up in surprise. “You’re going back? You’re a free man, General, a celebrated hero. You single-handedly saved the human race from war and destruction. You’ve survived tortures that no man has ever experienced. No, no, no. This is all wrong. We need to consider psychological damage, like Stockholm syndrome. Ahh, this is why you want me to find out if she’s still influencing you.”

Jaden shook his head. “I can’t get her out of my head. I think about her every waking moment, how I failed her, how I failed myself.
I need to find myself again. I need to take back my life.”

“I don’t know what your measure of failure is, but, you’re a hero in my eyes, General. You haven’t failed Earth
, or humanity. I think you could be right, though. This hold she has over you is most likely biochemical.”

“
So you can develop an antidote. But, I want another shot at that serum. I need every enhancement you can give me if I’m to face her again. Doc, what I had before was good, but it wasn’t enough. She put me through hell. I have to do this.”

Jaden watched the wheels turning in the Doctor’s mind
, praying the challenge would prove too much of a temptation for the scientist in him.

Finally
Parson’s features formed a wry grin. “Let’s get your blood work done and see what you look like under the scanner. Your body may well have the building blocks I need to host more radical enhancements. I doubt I can make it permanent, not without repeated treatments. And it will hurt, General, a lot. The kind of change to the human body you’re talking about comes at a price.”

If
he attempted to return to the court of the Qui, he would need every last advantage he could get and he didn’t care what the pain, or price.

*****

“General Jaden, I need to see you in my clinic. The final tests are in from the lab, and I think I have what you need.” Doc Parson’s voice rang clear in Jaden’s inner ear implant, newly replaced by the doctor two days ago.

“Be there in five.” Jaden arrived on the Doctor’s doorstep in just under four minutes, having sprinted across the entire length of the compound.
He grabbed a towel and caught the surprised look on Parson’s face. “You said I should start training.”

Parson’s
looked him up and down. “Well that cocktail from the last treatment is obviously working.”

“
It’s not enough, Doc. What do the results say?”

The wily old man surveyed Jaden with a squint. “Well, I can’t say for certain that you are still being affected by the Empress biologically. It’s likely she did do something to you, in close proximity, especially when she touched you. There were traces of potent pheromones in the clothing you brought us, among other things.” The Doctor’s look conveyed the truth.

“No need to be shy, Doc. I was her sex slave.” He’d made damn sure his DNA was all over that woman’s skin, inside her and out, as many times as he could give it to her, the General in him a willing conspirator. “So, what can you tell me?”

“
Hard to tell how long that effect might last. I can’t find anything in your blood work to suggest you’re being influenced. There’s never been a study for this sort of thing. You’re forging new paths here biologically, Jaden. Inter-species blending, up close and personal, could be fraught with unpredictable side effects, unforeseen danger.”

Jaden didn’t give a shit. He wanted to blend with Sonil right now, non-stop, until she screamed his name and took all his seed into her body.
The psychotic contradiction she represented held him enrapt, fascinated. Empress, ruler of a galaxy, lizard sexpot, and a wicked mistress with a penchant for corporal punishment, she scared him, enticed him, excited him to new heights of arousal, and he could never take her for granted. Each day had brought a new challenge in their strange dynamic of Mistress and slave. It was the most unconventional, inhuman relationship, but he couldn’t get her out of his head. He didn’t need a laboratory test to tell him what he felt in every fiber of his body and soul. He wanted a test to explain this mad obsession eating away at him. Was it true sentiment or simply a biological manipulation that could get him killed?

“I want to know if what I feel is real, Doc. Is this genuine, or some damn chemical reaction?”

The doctor’s expression reflected sympathy as he patted Jaden on the shoulder. “I understand, General. There’s no easy answer. It is possible she’s done something to you biologically. You have heightened levels of cortisol, creatine and testosterone, all compatible with physical and emotional stress, perfectly normal with the situation you’ve been in. I might also conclude you’re experiencing withdrawals from a lack of her chemical stimulant. Or I might consider simple anxiety, you miss the woman. Then there’s the other possibility, you do exhibit classic signs of Stockholm. The Defense committee believes you went above and beyond to explain and justify the actions of the Qui royal family, and their position in their Imperial dealings against other planetary systems under their control.”

Jaden blew out the breath he’d been holding. “It’s like I have a dual personality, Doc. There’s Jaden the General, and there’s Jaden the
Consort to the Honored Qui,
and I can’t reconcile the two. I must face her down if I’m ever to figure out who I really am. I can do this, Doc. I’ve deceived her. I’ve survived everything she threw at me. But I need your help to face her. It’s the only way I’ll know for sure I’m me.”

“What about the treaty?” Parsons asked.

“This has nothing to do with the treaty. This is personal and the Qui value Earth too much to go to war over me. No one will ever know a human challenged the Qui even if I lose. If I win…” Jaden narrowed his eyes. “You sent me in once before with far less than I’m asking for now. This time I know what I’m doing. Earth owes me this.”

Doc
frowned then nodded as if his decision was made. He turned to a display wall with a remote control in his hand. He clicked a button and an image appeared of a man standing, arms and legs splayed out, with a series of data points highlighted on the man’s physiology. “This is you, General, as you are today.” Jaden could almost make out the distinctive shape of his face and body within the layers of muscle, tendon and skeleton visible on the screen.

Doc clicked another button and the display changed subtly, darker
lines and ridges, and a defined bulkiness. “This is what you will be after I administer this treatment. The changes don’t look like much, but they represent a significant leap in human evolution.”

Jaden could hardly believe
what he was willing to become in order to pull off his insane plan.

Chapter Fourteen

The thin,
dark-skinned Daylen standing naked before Sonil had enough cock hanging between his legs to satisfy three Qui in a single night. The latest offer for consort from the Darseo System presented an interesting exercise of her shape-shifting abilities. Sonil squeezed the massive organ between her talons and it grew ever larger, thicker than her own arm.

The
Daylen’s face betrayed a hint of amusement and her mother purred approval with a sly flicker of her forked tongue.

Sonil’s wings ruffled
in irritation.

Dropping the monstrous cock,
she smirked at her mother. “I will send him to your rooms for the night. You know how highly I value your insight.”

Oltu laughed
, a deep growl. “Send him to me.”

K’rista tutted. “What was that saying of the humans you mentioned? Beware Greeks bearing gifts? This trojan horse would suit me fine, daughter, but it’s you who needs the services of his… unique talents.”

Sonil tried to imagine the thick black cock of this creature fitting between her thighs, and was instantly assaulted by the image of Jaden poised above her, thrusting with all his strength, her hands and heels clasped firmly around him. No, the Daylen offering would not do. She had no intention of shape-shifting into a form capable of culminating with such a monstrous physique. The Daylen were too wily and devious a race to offer the Qui true devotion.

Anyway, Jaden had ruined her.

There was only one man she would consider culmination with. The one who had raced home as fast as her ship could carry him.

Many times over the past five weeks she had contemplated mounting an expedition to Earth to reclaim her property. The Qui had always taken what was theirs without consequence. None could stand in the way of the Qui and their intended targets. She knew now that taking possession of Jaden had been her first mistake, but letting him go had only compounded the problem. She had a mind to send her brothers for him, and let him endure the ride back with them for intimate company.

As angry as she was, as frustrated, both sexually and otherwise, it wasn’t in her to cause him further harm. Jaden had survived culmination, and even retained the strength of will to defy her in her own court. She had never truly broken him. The only reason he’d made it without being killed for his insubordination was the love they shared. She experienced the truth of that love in his soul, and found Jaden worthy.

The creature standing before her with a third leg hanging limp between his thighs could never take the place of her General Jaden. Sonil found it impossible to even consider another consort. None would do, none but Jaden.

“Honored Qui, we have reports of a human vessel approaching through hyper space. It has no heavy armaments. At the edge of Qui territory we have detected three squadrons of attack vessels waiting in hiding, also human. They are better equipped with long-range weaponry.”

Curious
. What could the humans be up to? Three squadrons could not match a single K’lahn destroyer, and her brother held a force of at least thirty destroyers parked in orbit, with double that available from a nearby system.

“Have they attempted to explain their approach?”

“The single vessel has not, but the squadrons relayed a message.”

Sonil
snatched the written note from the communications officer and read through it. Twice. Her head roared with so many questions she could not speak.

Sonil’s mother
sidled up to the throne. “It appears your General has returned.”

No one held secrets in the palace for long, not with K’rista in attendance.
The woman was so intuitive it drove Sonil mad.

Sonil
handed K’rista the note and summoned her voice. “The Earth vessels tried to apprehend Jaden before he entered our space, but they could not reach him in time.” She turned to the K’lahn awaiting her orders. “Inform my forces to escort General Jaden to me. The Earth ships can choose between returning to their home world or incineration.”

“Honored Qui.”

K’rista smiled. She reached out to stroke the shiny black cock of the naked consort and hefted its weight in her hand as it grew solid. She flicked her nose towards the throne room guards. “Send this one to my room and see that he’s fed.” Her next words were directed at Sonil. “He will keep me amused. You will be unbearable for the next few days and I wish to keep my head.”

*****

Waiting for Jaden’s arrival on her throne, restless wings twitching, Sonil decided her mother had been wise to avoid her. Frustration flowed through her veins, her heart beat on a potent mix of hope and fear. When the doors blew open, her mouth went suddenly dry. The sight of him hit her in the pit of her stomach.

Jaden
marched into Sonil’s throne room, seemingly oblivious to the two guards flanking him. Through the transparent face shield of his sleek, black helmet, she could see his eyes focused solely on her. His black armored bodysuit gleamed in the light of the moons shining down on her Court. He looked every inch the General indicated by the bright red stars of rank insignia pinned to his left breast.

Her hopes crashed.
Yet again, Jaden had lied to her
. His claim he’d resigned his military commission exposed as a ruse.

The audacity of his presence in battle armor streaked fire through her veins, and her talons stretched out to razor edges, aching for bloodshed. She had a mind to cut that suit off him and
flay him alive. His unwavering stare at her brought another reaction from deep inside, a damp heat between her legs.

She could hardly decide whether to fuck him or kill him, or maybe both at once.

Her guards stopped him at ten paces from her throne and he stood before her, unbowed, like the insolent fool she had thought driven out of him during all those weeks of training.

Her guards reached for him, attempting to correct his etiquette, and he struck
out with amazing speed and force. The one on the left crumpled to the ground and the one on the right went flying through the air to land face first on the floor, unconscious.

Oltu was up and moving straight for him when Jaden flipped up his visor and screamed. “Wait! I am not here for you.” He had his palm up towards Oltu, and his other hand pointed straight for Sonil. “I came for her. I came to issue
the challenge of Tarkesh.”

His words struck
Sonil physically. Everything had been a lie. She had been prepared to accept him back into her bed, to overlook all his transgressions. She had spared Earth. Given him back his life. But not this. Never this. Did he want her to kill him?

Oltu stopped dead in his tracks
, his face reflecting the shock embedded in her own chest like a knife. It had been many generations since any species in the empire was foolish enough to issue an open challenge to the Qui.

“You know not what you are saying, Jaden,” Sonil said quietly, reining
back her anger. “You do not comprehend the meaning of Tarkesh.”

Jaden smiled at her with
an arrogant grin, one she had rarely seen from her consort. It reminded her of the General she met and fought in the ruins of war-torn Earth. “I know what it means,” he said. “I will fight you, unarmed. If I win, I am granted the rights of the court. Basically I get whatever I ask for.”

Arrogant fool.
“This is ritual combat you speak of. To. The. Death. Would you give me your head so pointlessly? What could you possibly hope to gain? Earth is free, you are free. I gave you what you desired from the very beginning. There is nothing more I can do you for you, Jaden. Dying here serves no purpose.”

He clicked something at his waist and his sable-black armor began to disassemble before her eyes, sliding down a piece at a time, until all that remained was
a protective shell from his groin to upper thighs.

She instantly noticed the changes to his body. His under forearms had dark-colored hardened ridges from wrist to elbow, matching his shins. His knuckles, knees and elbows showed more of the same. He’d put on a good ten kilos of bulk, pure striated musculature. The lines of his jaw were more prominent, solid. This Jaden was not the
same man who left her court in such a rush to return home.

In his open palm he held the red stars of his military rank on Earth.
Half-naked, he closed the distance to her and finally showed the respect befitting a Qui Empress when he dropped to one knee.

“This is my commission as a General and my mark of
Earth citizenship. I come to fight, to earn the rights of the Qui. Do not fear. I have no intention of killing you. I will, however, force you to submit.”

Sonil
could hardly believe her ears. First he attacked her guards and then he stripped and offered her his whole life in the palm of his hand while issuing the challenge of Tarkesh. It made no sense. How could he imagine it possible to win a fight with her? She had proven her physical superiority to him many times over.

Her
vision misted at the thought that she’d driven Jaden over the brink of insanity. Lesser species often became attached to Qui pheromone stimulations. All guards and attendants had their olfactory senses removed to avoid distraction.

She hadn’t shielded Jaden from her overpowering scent, she’d intentionally showered him in her pheromones
. He belonged to her. Another mistake on her part – humans were not made for life with Qui.

She saw no alternative but to follow this madness to its conclusion. “While I find your merciful offer generous, I will not extend you the same.
Tarkesh is a fight to the death, and the winner claims rights of the Court. All rights. This is a challenge to overthrow the throne of the Qui, Jaden. Do you think I would let you have my throne from sentimentality for our brief time together? You have learned nothing of what I taught you.”

Jaden’s crystal blue eyes delved into her soul. She saw the deep stab of her words, but he did not falter. “I know what this means, Sonil. My challenge stands. I will fight you in unarmed combat to win what cannot be had any other way.”

K’rista finally let loose her tongue. “Ridiculous! The human thinks he’s mated to you! Can you not smell the stench of his obsession? Sonestra, this creature wishes to give his life in exchange for the unattainable. Take his life and be done with it. Teach the under-evolved primates of Earth a lesson.”

Her mother wasn’t helping the situation. K’rista had never thought Earth a worthy planet. It was her
influence with Sonil’s father that had led to the first invasion, wreaking havoc across Earth’s major cities. Indirectly, her mother was the driving force that had shaped Jaden into the General he was today. Action and reaction, cause and effect, a rule of the universe as old as time itself.

Now
the boy who lost his parents to the K’lahn had come to strike at the heart of the Empire as a man, to challenge the Qui who had indirectly ruled his life for decades.

Without accepting his offered stars, her hand itching to snatch them away, Sonil leaned forward to better see all the nuances of his face and taste the intricate flavors of his pheromones. “What favor would you ask of the Qui that is worth dying for?”

She braced herself for terms of surrender, or payments of reparations, or some other nonsense that every other diplomat and warlord had begged of the Qui over the centuries.

“I thought it was obvious,
Honored Qui. I want you.”