Chapter 3
Cael fiddled with his silver leathern vest one more time, attempting to lay it flat where wrinkles had creased it. A quick glance in the mirror showed his hair was tied in regulation braids and, more importantly, nothing was in his teeth. He wanted to look his best. It was nearly time to take the women their meal and then accompany Midori on her daily walk around the ship.
He'd visited her every day for the past two weeks since he first boarded the ship. Cael had also volunteered to bring the human females their meals and accompany them to the cleansing pods where he would guard the door as they washed. He'd been lucky enough to be chosen as Midori's escort for exercise.
Other guards had volunteered at first, but Cael found powerful means of persuasion to deter them from volunteering again. Luckily, most of the other guards were motivated by a few extra credits in their pockets. Those that weren't were motivated by other more confrontational ways. Word traveled fast regarding Cael's role as the humans' protector. The two Luciverians in charge of the ship didn't seem to care as long as the humans were safe and untouched.
They had no idea he was putting together a plan for getting the females off the ship and out of the hands of Lord Krissayr. It wasn't his initial intention to interfere, but after coming aboard, he knew he'd never be able to leave the human females to be sold into slavery, especially Midori. He was determined to figure out a way to save her.
Each day, he attempted to learn more about the fascinating human female. The beautiful tiny woman was reticent. She'd answer his questions, but rarely offered any extra information. At first, he worried her quiet nature might be because she was afraid of him. She was a prisoner after all, and he was a guard.
But when they passed other guards in the halls, she always seemed to draw nearer to him until the other guard walked by. Perhaps instead of fearing him, she was mirroring his own restrained manner. After all, whenever she asked him a question, all logical thought seemed to fly from his brain. More often than not, his answers were grunts in varying tones.
Not for the first time, he wondered what she was like behind the closed door of her room when she was among the other females. Was she more open and loquacious then? He hoped to find out. He wanted to let the females know he intended to do everything in his power to save them.
Cael walked down the hall toward the Earthans' door and noticed one of the Luciverian guards coming toward him. The Luciverians were the leads on this mission and rarely left the comm room. Not that he minded. They were known as some of the fiercest, deadliest fighters in the galaxy, often hired as assassins. He wasn't surprised Lord Krissayr hired them to transport the Earth women, but he knew enough to stay out of their way. Their unique killer instincts were touted by some to be a sixth sense. He didn't need either of them becoming suspicious of him or why he was on board the ship.
When the Luciverian guard stopped in mid-step and turned around, Cael froze. The black and red tattooed guard turned and walked back to the females' door, tilting his head as if listening to the conversation beyond. But before he could do anything, the door slid open and a laser blast hit the Luciverian square in the chest, knocking him to the floor.
Cael slid into a doorway and watched. He knew protocol dictated he should sound the alarm, but right then he was far more worried about Midori than the fekking protocol. He watched as a tall black-and-white striped male stepped into the hallway and shot the Luciverian once more.
The three female prisoners followed the male into the hallway which was filling with smoke. The laser blast must have hit an exhaust pipe. Red lights flashed, and an alarm sounded.
"Follow me," the intruder said, leading the three females down the hall and into another corridor.
The look of fear on Midori's face pierced Cael's heart. There was no way he was going to leave her with a stranger obviously there to steal Lord Krissayr's cargo for his own nefarious means. He would probably try to sell the human women on his own, and they'd be lost forever. Cael wasn't about to let that happen.
He followed the humans and the intruder through the halls, though it became more difficult by the second to see them. The stranger stopped in the hallway, looking left and right. He touched his finger to his ear. Was he communicating with someone outside the ship? It seemed whatever plan the intruder had wasn't working.
The escape pods!
That's where they needed to go. Cael had just passed the door leading there. He turned to alert the females, but they were lost in the acrid smoke. Maybe it was possible to find them through the ship's computer in the pod room.
He backtracked and entered, his eyes watering. A set of blasters hung on the wall, and he grabbed two in case he needed to fight off the other Luciverian. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to fight off the other Zyranthian guards. They were still his people, after all.
The ship's interface awoke at his touch, showing an alarm for a breach in the coolant system.
"So that's what the idiot hit when he fired his blaster inside the ship," Cael grumbled.
The Zyranthian blasters were outfitted to stun another being but not cause damage to the ship. It was standard practice for anyone guarding materials aboard a ship sailing through space. What kind of rogue pirate was this stranger who acted so recklessly?
The door opened and Cael turned, blasters at the ready. He wasn't about to let the other guards take off with all the escape pods and leave the human females on board a dying ship. But instead of more guards, it was the intruder and the women.
Cael's eyes went to Midori's face.
"It's you, isn't it?" she asked, taking a step toward him.
Cael nodded.
"I suggest you stay back from the Zyranthian guard. He's pointing his blasters right at us," the intruder said.
"Actually, I think he's pointing them at you," the shortest female, Val, spoke up.
Cael liked her. She was spirited and had no trouble taking charge.
Another alarm blared over the initial warning, this one louder and more insistent. The ship shuddered, and the boom of an explosion sounded through the air.
"Evacuation pods, now!" Cael shouted. He pressed a button next to a pod, and its door opened.
Grabbing the closest female, he pushed her in the round pod and pressed the button again, sealing her in. It was April, Midori's sister, and by her banging on the small round window, she wasn't too pleased with Cael's life-saving actions. With a release, the pod jettisoned out into space and away from the deteriorating ship.
"Where did she go?!" Midori shouted. Her eyes stared through the window as the jettisoned pod flew away. Her voice rose an octave as she asked, "Where is my sister?"
Cale grabbed her arm and pulled her into another pod with him. "No time to explain. The ship is about to explode. This is the only way."
He threw one of his blasters on the floor, giving them a bit more room in the crowded space, and wrapped his three free arms around Midori's slight frame, pulling her close to him.
The black-and-white intruder nodded at Cael as the door to the pod shut. Cael hoped he understood the importance of getting the last female, Val, into an escape pod right away. He would have done it himself, but the intruder's body language suggested he felt protective of her. Maybe Cael had misjudged the male . . . maybe he wasn't there to sell off the women after all. Was it possible he was there to save them? The pod shot from the ship and into the vast darkness of space, leaving Cael to hope his instincts were right.
Their bodies floated with the lack of a gravity field, and Cael adjusted his arms around Midori, using two to hold her and two to brace their bodies against the pod so they wouldn't float around bumping their heads. He expected Midori to squirm in his arms and fight against him. Instead, she laid still and watched the ship grow smaller and smaller through the window.
Another escape pod jettisoned, followed by another. More pods jettisoned from the other side of the ship as it shrank away in the distance.
Hurry, brothers. Cael knew not all of his kinsmen might make it off the ship, be he hoped they would. All of those guards had been stationed there by Cael's uncle. They hadn't asked to transport slaves. They shouldn't be punished for the sins of their leader.
The ship was now a small dot in the distance, but its explosion filled the window with light.
"Oh no. All those poor people," Midori said, turning her head away from the window.
"I think most of them survived." Cael was touched by her compassion for her captors. "I noticed a great number of escape pods."
"I hope so," she said, and Cael squeezed her shoulders. "What happens now? To us?"
"The pod will search out a hospitable planet for us to land on. A homing device will alert others to our location, and then we'll be rescued."
"Rescued? That's what Captain Malgren said he was doing, and look how that turned out."
"Captain Malgren?"
"The man who was trying to save us. But now it looks like I escaped from one prison just to end up in another. If we're found by whoever took us in the first place, I'm just going to end up in the same predicament. And what about April? Am I ever going to see her again? Or Val? Is she safe with that guy?"
"I promise you, we'll find your sister and your friend. And whatever it takes, I'll keep you safe. I won't let them take you again. I'll get you home."
His stomach twisted at his own words. He'd have to give her up. Watch her walk away and go back to her own world, her own life. But it would be for the best. Although he had feelings for her, there was no way she'd feel the same about him. And even if she eventually did, once she learned about his past, the way he'd squandered away his throne, she'd be disgusted with him. Better to let her believe he was just one of Lord Krissayr's guards who had a change of heart.
"It's so cold." Midori shivered in his arms.
"The pod's computer will put us in cryo sleep in a few minutes, and you won't notice a thing until we wake up on a safe planet. Until then . . .” He shifted her body so her chest pressed up against his and wrapped all four arms around her.
Midori snuggled into his embrace, and Cael smiled when he felt her sigh and relax against him. He'd meant what he said. He'd do anything to protect her. She was his responsibility now.
The sound of gas releasing filled the small pod, and within seconds the small human was asleep in his arms. His eyes grew heavy, and soon cryo sleep claimed them both.
Beep!
The high-pitched tone pierced through Cael's murky nightmare. He was dreaming of home, sitting on his father's throne, surrounded by masses of people shouting at him and screaming his name. Their hands grabbed at him, pulling him to his knees, and forced him to bow at his uncle's feet. Farther and farther down, until his face was smashed against the ground.
Beep!
His uncle's foot pressed against the back of his head, crushing him, leaving Cael with no escape until his skull screamed from the pressure.
Beep!
Cael blinked and opened his eyes to find his face smashed against the floor of the escape pod. He was lying on his stomach, and from the pressure on his back, Midori was lying on top of him. Gravity had returned, meaning they'd landed somewhere. Either they were on a planet, or they had been picked up by another vessel. He prayed it was the former and not the latter. He'd brought a blaster with him, but he didn't relish the idea of trying to take over a ship if his rescuers proved hostile.
Cael reached out and pressed his hand against the pod's computer interface, but nothing happened. The computer should have lit up with data regarding their whereabouts, but the screen remained dead.
So much for Lord Krissayr's top-of-the-line frigate.
Cael shifted just enough to reach for the manual release clasps. They couldn't stay in the pod forever. Eventually, the oxygen would run out.
He pulled the clasp, and a hiss of air filled the craft as the pressure of the inside matched the outside. A gush of cold air blew past, and Cael pushed the door open even wider. Dark gray sky filled his vision. He needed a better look.
As gently as possible, he maneuvered his body out from under Midori's small still-sleeping frame, using his four arms to lay her down. He didn't want to wake her yet. Not until he had a grasp of where they were.
Able to move more freely, Cael grabbed the blaster, sat up, and pushed himself to his knees as he looked outside and surveyed the landscape.
"Oh fek."
The pod shifted. Cael froze.
Fek! Fek! Fek!
"Cael? Where are we?" Midori said sleepily from the bottom of the pod, stretching out her arms and legs.
"Don't move, Midori," he warned. "Stay still for a moment."
"Why? Where are we?" Worry crept into her voice, and she froze.
"It looks like we're on the ledge of a mountain. I'm going to climb out and?—"
The pod tilted.
The ground gave out.
They were falling.