Venomous: Erotic Science Fiction Romance (Alien Warrior Book 1) (21 page)

The trip from planet surface to outer space in the crammed terrestrial craft took less than a quarter-span.

Unsettling, the shudder, bump of it docking with the larger spaceship had Venomous releasing a wobbly hiss, yet he squatted on his haunches, tense.

Too many solars of being on edge
.

It was better than before, as his Lumen was not in peril, but only once their feet touched Rök would he relax.

He curtly refused offers for Lumen to be put in stasis, repressing the aggressive response of punching at the insult.

She was not
live cargo
.

He shot possessive glares at the Rä craning their necks to better see her within the shield of his arms.

Holding his head high, Venomous stepped into the metallic landing bay.

The air was cool and fresh.

Subtle vibrations of the engine beneath his feet and its droning resonance created an unexpected purge of negative emotion.

Sparks of hope Lumen fanned to life within him flared bright.

He strode to a stack of metal crates filled with merchandise.

This explained the swift rescue.

The Rä warriors were already offworld on a routine trade expedition.

Sitting on the freightage, he stroked his Rä’Na’s hair, muttering assurances, now believing it auspicious she couldn’t understand the others.

He wanted to ease her fears before they advanced further into the vessel.

There would be a sizeable contingent of warrior Rä onboard, and she needed to understand she’d come to no harm despite the unfriendly reactions.

To his surprise, her mind did not play upon her new surroundings.

“All those people,” she whispered. “The Yoni. Yofk.” She trembled and choked back a sob. “The Vudwani.”

The compassion of his mate touched him.

She was so gentle, so caring, yet her morals would have her snapping at him, a most feared warrior, if he crossed her.

Guilt swamped him.

Had he not called for rescue those beings, his friends, might still live.

“I vow to you, dearest. The L’Odo will suffer for the pain they have wrought. They. Will.
Suffer
.” He nuzzled her hair. It smelt like bitter smoke. “First, I will bring you to our home world. There I may rest easy knowing you are far from danger.”

Lumen clung to him, trembling, body pressed into his as if she’d die without the contact.

Puffs of breath were hot and damp against his throat, a single heart drumming against his ribs.

She lay rigid in his arms, and the sounds of the Rä disembarking, roughhousing and shouting amongst themselves made her jump, grasp him tighter.

He rubbed her back in long, slow strokes. “I have you. You are safe. Safe now.”

Scowling, Fiercely halted before them.

He studied their intimate clinch in bewilderment then blew a weary sigh. “What is it?”

“She is human.”

“We are not prepared for an offworlder. What do you want us to do with it?”

Venomous gave the warrior a short, annoyed look before refocusing on his mate. “Treat my Lumen as you would an honoured Rä’Na, except better because she is mine and treasured by me. Take us to quarters so we may bathe, eat and rest. Truth, I wish you to do nothing. I detest how you look and speak of her.”

Dismissing the narrow-minded a’Rä from his mind, resolving to find a secure place to nest on his own, Venomous did not see the underhand deed coming.

Certainly, he never thought such a thing could occur, so did not imagine to be on guard for it, thinking himself secure amongst his people.

Lumen stiffened then made a pained noise.

Eyes watering, she peered at him with betrayal as her gaze unfocused.

Dark lashes fluttered closed as her head lolled and her body sagged.

“
Lumen
,” he bellowed, cupping the back of her head, supporting her motionless limbs.

He did not understand!

Had she fainted?

Was the blood, gore and terror too much for her poor human sensibilities to take?

“
Waken. Wake–”

A pressure injector darted towards his neck.

Venomous snarled, but couldn’t move fast enough with his hands on his fragile, unconscious mate, nor could the lethal blades of his anima rise with her flesh pressed to his.

Fiercely caught Lumen as Venomous’ body went limp and slid toward the metallic floor.

The vilifying glare he speared at the a’Rä promised death upon his waking.

Then nothing.

F
iercely Comes the Night realised the moons of home world had circled three times since the alien came aboard.

Still she did not drink.

Nor did she eat.

Talk.

Sleep.

The edgy silence she dwelled in disturbed their healer.

Her inexplicable rages more so.

He, Nāga Shadowed by the Bluest Moon warned should she continue the physical deprivations, and mental isolation, her emotional state would deteriorate.

Her mind would shatter.

Being a good warrior was what Fiercely wished to be remembered for in the chronicles of his people, not for reducing Venomous One’s Rä’Na into a drooling husk ailed with space madness.

Tired from the long voyage, and eager to return to quarters for an interval of rest and recuperation, Fiercely’s patience withered.

A twitch of fingers signalled to a Sylph.

It belonged to an androgynous, quadruped species that willingly dedicated their lives to the servitude of others.

It was the only offworld species tolerated on Rök.

The pale creature waited on its double-jointed knees by
the haze
, cocking its smooth head when signalled to, and then scuttling to attention.

Fiercely ordered, “Schedule the implant replacement.”

Bulbous, multifaceted eyes fixed on the human.

The servant lowered its forelegs in a bow to indicate acceptance.

Obedience of the Sylphs was unimpeachable.

What made them remarkable was they refused to blindly follow unethical commandments.

If a Sylph felt a command caused harm to another being they would decline to act, even unto torture and death.

Though impatient, Fiercely remained.

No doubt an explanation for the command would be demanded.

Disturbances during a sleep cycle were unacceptable.

Yes, the a’Rä’s body grew eager for rest, but its thoughts were ... disordered.

They were too focused on Venomous One’s mate.

Disconcertingly so.

The alien female is nauseating to my brille
.

The hollow, pitching sensation while looking over her nudity could be naught but disgust.

Swallowing with difficulty, Fiercely shuddered.

How does Venomous One endure clutch with such an outlandish creature?

The female was stunted, and weak, and missing limbs, and possessed no natural defences and ... and ...
she was not Rä
.

How would she lay a strong egg?

More troublingly, Fiercely did not understand why the vision of her eyes going stark with fear as she clutched her Rä’Vek to her malformed chest kept cropping up.

The flash of uncertainty across Venomous One’s face, as if worried the rescue by his people was a threat to his female, disturbed Fiercely to the core.

“I did nothing wrong.”

Only followed orders as a good warrior.

So why was the accusation in the female’s expression before the sedation took effect so bothersome?

“Warrior!” He, Nāga Shadowed by the Bluest Moon stomped through
the haze
. His anima roused in a blend of colour betraying disquiet, and the material of his over robe swirled about his knees as the ventilation system pushed fresh air into the enclosure. “I refuse to operate on this female until she understands we mean her no harm.”

“You come to tell me you disobey a direct order?”

The male went rigid. “My request to have the female’s consent does not qualify as insubordination.”

“Refusal to obey me does.” Fiercely’s veiled gaze tore from the human to pin a look of censure on the riled male. “She is not adapting. It is clear her kind has not explored the galaxy and encountered sentient life beside their own. An adolescent race to be sure. It would be a travesty if this female did not reach home world alive.” Fiercely paused. “Venomous would kill us when he woke for not protecting her in his stead.”

“Thsst! I am not unaware of the circumstances. I wish the female a happy lifecycle with He, Venomous One. My hearts sing for his return. However, you ask me to bear the dishonour of forcibly implanting a foreign device into the body of this terrified creature. It is against the creed of the Healers Caste. More to the point, she will never forgive me. I will never forgive
myself
for such a heinous violation.”

“The dishonour is not ours. It belongs to the L’Odo who forced us into this position by implanting her with faulty technology. Venomous’ implant has been removed. How will they communicate? We cannot understand a word she babbles when she does break her silence. Her translator cannot link with what we do not wear. It must go, and our tongue implanted directly into her memory centres. He would want us to do this.” Fiercely gave the male his back ending the debate. “You have your orders.”

The healer stomped from the enclosure muttering curses to Grandmother under his breath.

Fiercely followed at a sedate pace.

From behind the shielding drone of
the haze
, a transparent force field, the a’Rä absorbedly watched the alien female fall unconscious as the enclosure filled with odourless vapour.

The floor rippled, a liquid metal puddle appearing in the centre.

Globules of silver dripped upwards and coalesced into a solid structure, flattening into an oval at the apex.

Shallow divots formed.

The examination slab would hug the alien female’s anatomy, the curvatures moulding to her musculature and ensuring absolute comfort.

A Sylph transferred the human from her cramped corner onto the glowing silver surface.

Robust features knotted, Nāga entered the enclosure then halted at her head.

Sighing as his device dove into her rounded ear, he waited until it bleeped then drew out the apparatus to let a thin, sharp needle extend.

Steady hands held the metallic rod still until the machine beeped again.

Nāga removed the old translator from behind her ear and crushed it.

The procedure was minimally invasive, and completed within nanosecs, so simplistic was the human’s cerebral cortex.

Curious, Fiercely crossed his lower arms, and used the upper to scrutinise her internal scans.

They were so unlike, yet alike, to Rä.

Simplistic did not always mean unintelligent, and the alien brain was proof of that canon.

The vibrant explosions of firing synapses dancing across the holograms were arresting sparkles of energy.

She was an emotional creature, and her species possessed the potential to reach the technological aptitude of the Rä.

They knew from what corner of the universe and galaxy she hailed from for it had been branded onto her arm.

The information would never be used.

Regardless of Rök’s insular society, its blood soaked past, the more adventurous a’Rä would consider travelling to her birth world to see if human females called forth their seed stems, for an ugly mate was better than no mate, but it would not be allowed, and the information suppressed.

Fiercely felt a twinge of pain at a longer study of the female, and an ominous sense of dread grew.

The trials to come were to be difficult.

Venomous One never succumbed to envy during the harsh training undertaken in their youth, as most did.

The battle for dominance to prove an a’Rä was Grandfather’s favourite seemed asinine to them both when acceptance into the Warriors Guild meant they already
were
the Great Serpent’s treasured ones.

The two of them had been close, as if they hatched from the same egg.

Venomous One had changed.

He had been a playful character, frivolous, quick to laugh and make jokes, but seeing him for the first time in solars, Fiercely glimpsed deeper and darker traits as he had cradled the female, and pledged himself to her.

Fiercely Comes the Night knew trying to lay claim to the fertile ground the male cherished more than his own life would see no peace between them.

Nāga’s terse voice came through the intercom. “The bio-implant has successfully assimilated into the alien brain tissue.”

“Give me an estimation of when the implant will reach full effect.”

“Nanosecs after waking. This species is unlike any I have encountered.”

Fiercely remained apathetic.

Rä were not impressed by other species as they were physically and intellectually superior to most.

“She is bipedal, as we are,” he stated knowing the healer waited for a response.

“Yesss, but there the comparison ends. She has a limited ocular range, but that lack is compensated by overdeveloped olfactory and vocal characteristics. Her body is covered in sensory receptors with no exoskeleton to regulate sensation. Pain must inundate this creature. Information as diminutive as a filament follicle changing direction is transmitted to her nervous system. The thin membrane covering her musculature, to a great extent less fibrous than our own, responds to pressure unlike anything I have experienced. Her skeleton is comprised of a rare structural protein and calcium. Fiercely, her bones are
crushable
.” The healer sounded fascinated. “The outer membrane is fragile, and moults at a rate far accelerated to even that of a Rä during a
shedding
. Her cells do not regenerate, but re-grow, the old layers detaching cell by cell, taking in the region of forty galactic rotations to complete. Scarring is of a high likelihood after the lower layers of membrane are breached. It must be noted ritual piercing is unadvised.”

Meaning this female could not take part in the bonding practice used in Rä culture to tie her to her Rä’Na.