Tribute

Chapter 1

CHAPTER

ONE

Planet Mitan:

Sixteen weeks until Tribute Day.

“That one.” Rehz Akran leaned over the shoulder of the security guard and pointed at the screen.

“The blonde or the brunette?” The guard froze the screen image.

“The one who’s beating the shit out of the guard.” Rehz narrowed his gaze. “Can you isolate her and give me her stats?”

“Sure.”

“Are you certain that’s the one you want, Commander?”

Rehz glanced over at Kai, a fellow trainer who’d come to observe the inmates of the high-security prison with him. “Yeah, why?”

“She looks rallshit crazy to me.”

“That helps.”

“She’s got the worst disciplinary record in the prison, and this isn’t a place for weaklings.” The security guard cleared his throat. “Here you go, sir.”

Rehz studied the data scrolling up on the screen. “Name: Lee, Anna. Approximate age: twenty-five. Genetic origin: unknown. Unknown?” He frowned. “What’s up with that?”

“She claims to come from a planet called Earth, and sees herself as a political prisoner who isn’t bound by Mitan society’s rules.”

Rehz looked back over his shoulder at the governor of the high-security prison, who’d appeared in the doorway.

“And what do you make of that?”

“She’s here and she’s subject to our rules. Everything else is irrelevant because she’s already been sentenced to death.”

“What did she do?”

“To get here?” The governor shrugged. “She was attacked by three other inmates at her previous penitentiary and she killed one of them.”

Rehz studied the frozen snarl of the blonde female. She obviously had great survival skills. If three thugs had cornered him, he would’ve killed too. She was his last chance to win.

His last hope.

“I’d like to speak to her.”

The governor’s smile was sardonic. “Be my guest.”

“Lee, get up.”

Anna kept her eyes firmly closed as the door to her solitary confinement cell crashed open. She wasn’t surprised when two guards hauled her to her feet anyway. One of them jabbed her weapon in Anna’s throat.

“Move it.”

Her hands were locked together behind her, and her ankles were shackled so she could only take small, shuffling steps.

Maybe today was the day they’d finally carry out her sentence and execute her.

She almost welcomed it. She was tired of protesting her innocence and of fighting to survive in an alien environment.

She kept her gaze on the floor and behaved herself as they led her through several locked gates and into a quieter area of the prison, where the internal trials were held.

She’d been there a lot for disciplinary issues.

“Stand still.”

She was turned to face a door and ushered inside a small room with a table and two chairs in it. Her least favorite guard pushed her down onto one of the chairs and chained her to it.

Anna stared down at the white plastic of the tabletop. The mirror in front of her was a two-way one, and there was a camera in the corner of the room, recording her every breath. Maybe her last breath.

Good.

She didn’t bother to look up when the door opened and someone wearing a black uniform came in and sat opposite her. He placed his linked hands on the table, so she studied them instead. Big, competent hands, scarred hands with long fingers capable of choking the life out of her.

“I’m Commander Rehz Akran.”

She didn’t react. Did she need to know her executioner’s name? Was she supposed to pardon him or something?

“I have a bargain to offer you.”

She let out a slow breath and raised her head. Damn, he had a hard face, with eyes the color of space junk and a harsh mouth made even worse by the coiled scars that marred his jawline and throat.

“If you come with me and succeed in the task I set for you, your death sentence will be dismissed.”

“What kind of task?”

“An impossible one.” He shrugged his powerful shoulders. “To be honest, you’re unlikely to survive, but at least you can go down fighting instead of being strapped in a chair and injected with lethal poison.”

“I like to fight.”

“So I’ve heard. But if you want to survive, you’ll have to obey me.”

She attempted a shrug. “‘Obey’ is a difficult concept for me.”

“It’s your choice.”

“It’s hardly a choice. I have no idea what you expect of me.”

“That’s the risk you’re going to have to take. Stay here and die, or come with me and risk everything for a chance of survival.”

She met his gaze and saw nothing in it to reassure her.

“Sure. I’m in.”

Things happened fast after that. She wasn’t taken back to her security wing, but was led out through the complex defense systems and loaded onto a land shuttle and into a smaller cell that made her feel like she was in a coffin after all.

A dull roar announced the shuttle was taking off, and she braced herself awkwardly against the wall.

She turned her mind off and pretended she was in Arizona, riding across the desert with her sister and brother, the wind in her hair and a stupid smile on her face.

It was a horrible joke how she’d ended up stowing away on a ship bound for a planet that liked to pretend it was all alone in the universe.

And now she was stuck here, with no hope of ever getting home.

It didn’t seem to take long to get to wherever they were going. She was woken from her trance by a new guard in the same black uniform that the other man had worn, and was marched outside.

The complex reminded her of the prison, but was set in the Mitan equivalent of the high desert.

Nothing grew around the base, and clouds of red dust blew in an endless rolling stream over the stark landscape.

In the distance there was a huge, black, flat-topped mountain.

If she’d been hoping to escape, there wasn’t anywhere to go, but she was sure they already knew that.

She waited at the security checkpoint as she was scanned and finally let through, a guard on each side of her. There was no sign of Commander Rehz Akran either. The smell of antiseptic wafted across her nose, and they turned into what was obviously the facility’s medical lab.

A woman in a white coat came toward her and nodded at the guards. “Put her in containment unit one, please.” She looked appraisingly at Anna. “When you are secure, please strip so that I can carry out my assessment.”

“Everything?”

“Yes. If you don’t want to do it yourself, the guards will help you.”

Anna sighed and stepped into the white plastic space. She quickly took off the hated prison garb, and it was sucked away, leaving her with nothing but a cool breeze tightening her nipples.

The guards were sent out and it was just her, the doctor, and five thousand tests.

She was given at least ten shots, including one against Mitan flu and an update on her fertility control, leaving her right arm throbbing from the puncture wounds.

Eventually they were through, and Anna waited to see what would happen next.

To her surprise Commander Akran appeared and, after a quick glance at her, had a long conversation with the doctor, who was obviously rehashing Anna’s test results. With a resigned sigh, she slid down the wall, hugged her knees to her chest, and leaned her chin on them.

The doctor left and the commander opened the security door.

“Come on.”

Anna glanced around, but there didn’t appear to be any guards. She eyed him cautiously.

“Clothes?”

“Not necessary.” He came closer and she tensed. “Move.”

She stood up, raised her chin, and sauntered toward him. His gaze swept over her breasts and hips and stayed there. She refused to cover herself and went to brush past him.

His hand closed on her upper arm with considerable strength, and she stopped moving. He produced a leather collar and fastened it around her throat.

“This will have to do until we get you something more permanent.”

“I am not a fucking dog.”

“Then don’t snarl like one.” He took a leash from his pocket and snapped it onto the collar. “Let’s go.”

He opened a door, and the bright lights of the medical center faded away. The floor under her bare feet was hard rock, as were the walls and ceiling. The lights were set low, at floor level.

“What is this place?”

He didn’t answer her question, just tugged slightly on the leash—which made her want to growl—and continued to walk down the main passageway, which was wide enough to fit twenty people across.

“You’ll be stationed in basic training while we review whether you can move on to the main program.”

Anna stopped walking. “You said I had one chance, not that you might decide to kick me out before I even get the opportunity to prove myself.”

“You’ll have plenty of chances.”

He pushed open a door, and stood aside letting her precede him. Anna’s steps slowed. There was a row of cages and each one contained a person. None of them showed any interest in her or Commander Akran.

She backed up so fast she collided with his chest. “You’re putting me in a cage?”

“As I said, basic training.” He edged her toward the last in the row and followed her inside, keeping his back to the door. There was nothing in the space except a blanket, a bowl, and a toilet. He unclipped the leash and swung it back and forth in his hand as he watched her prowl the area.

“Rule number one. When I enter this cage, you kneel down and keep your eyes on the floor.”

She kept her back to him and stared at the wall, which was covered in scratched lettering she couldn’t understand.

“Rule two. You don’t speak until I give you permission.” He paused. “Have you got that?”

She slowly turned to face him. “Fuck you.”

He nodded. “I’ll be back tomorrow.” He bent down, picked up the bowl and blanket, and left.

She went over every inch of the space, but there was nothing she could break off to use as a weapon, either to shove in his face or to end her own life. There also wasn’t any water.

She sank down in the corner, her back to the wall, and licked her dry lips. “Damn.”