Chapter Fifteen
Trojan Horse...
Kaelen piloted our Trojan Horse toward the Tai-Kok and Rodan battle fleet. He was still pissed that the Tai-Kok had coded their sky charts to keep their enemies from finding their home world. In other words, the Coletti Empire still didn’t have a clue where Earth was located.
I sat in the co-pilot’s chair, making sure our illusion of a full crew of Tai-Kok soldiers held. Nerves knotted my stomach. If this went south, so many people would die.
The Tai-Kok high command had demanded to talk to Captain HoHot, so Qa’a had assumed his form.
I couldn’t quit staring at him. A profusion of metal spikes protruded from the captain’s head and back.
He belonged in a freak show, and the monster’s claws were also painted a bright pink.
The Tai-Kok considered pink a sign of power. Go figure.
Qa’a was a clever interrogator, and he had Hebei, the head monster, blabbing about their plans and bragging that they had captured a pregnant Askole female who they were going to serve at the Feast of Eid Nowruz.
Shit! “We need to save them.”
“We do not have enough time to search every ship before the bombs go off,” Kaelen growled.
Qa’a interjected, “The female and child are on Hebei’s ship. Tenth level, sixth cell. The female is badly injured. Retrieve them.”
“It will be done.” Kaelen grabbed me, engaged my armor and teleported. There was a flash of black, and we appeared in hell. Gutted corpses hung from the ceiling. Half-eaten bodies littered the floor. The stench of death penetrated my helmet and made me gag.
“Help us,” a voice cried in my head.
I hurried over to the cell and bile rose in my throat.
A half-eaten Askole female lay in a pool of blood.
Tentacles squirmed wildly about her snakelike features.
A sure sign of the agony she was feeling.
Her black armor-plated scales hadn’t protected her from the monsters.
She cradled a newborn to her chest. I pulled out my healing wand. “We’re going to help you.”
“Three soldiers are approaching. Do what you can for the female.” Kaelen deactivated the energy field and vanished.
I hurried over to her. Shit! There was so much blood. How was she still alive? Where did I start? I injected her with the highest level of painkiller I had.
“I cannot be saved.” She held out her baby. “Promise me you will take Jaxor to his father. Promise me.”
I retracted my helmet so she could see my face and carefully took the baby from her. “I promise.”
“Tell Xylar we were betrayed by Mokok.”
“Mokok betrayed you,” I repeated.
The sounds of a battle erupted.
“Go. Save my son.”
I pulled out a grenade and put it in her hand. “When they come, pull the pin. It will kill them and put a big hole in this ship.”
“Tell Xylar I died with honor.”
One of her tentacles stung my neck. Ouch. Dang. What was that for? “I will.”
“Go! Now!” Kaelen commanded.
Clutching the baby to my chest, I hit the retrieval button on my belt. Circles of light formed around me and poof, I was back on Earth.
The baby wailed.
“I know, little guy. I know. How about we get you something to eat?”
Uncle Ben stared at Jaxor. “That’s a baby.”
“Duh. Do you still have some infant formula?”
“Does it drink milk?”
“His name is Jaxor.”
“What species is he?”
“Askole.”
“I’ll go get the infant formula.” Uncle Ben hurried off.
“Incoming traveler. Incoming traveler,” the computerized voice announced.
Kaelen appeared on the platform and in perfect English said, “I informed Zarek about the Askole female and child. He will notify the father.”
“Good, did you tell him about Mokok the traitor?”
“Yes.” Kaelen rubbed Jaxor’s belly gently. “You gave Lucia a grenade.”
“I did. She needed a little payback.”
Kaelen touched my still-stinging neck. “You now wear her clan mark.”
“I do?” I cocked my head, trying to see the mark. An image of a Chinese calligraphy-type tattoo formed in my mind. “Is this a good thing or a bad thing?”
“You are now part of her clan.”
“Wow. I’m not going to start growing tentacles, am I?”
A laugh broke from him. “No, you will not. She bestowed a great honor on you.”
Tears rolled down my cheeks. “I just wish I could have saved her.”
Kaelen took my mouth with gentle reverence. “You took away her pain and saved her son from a terrible death.”
“Did the Trojan Horse work?”
A brief, dangerous smile flashed across Kaelen’s face. “It did. Their battle fleet was destroyed.”
“And Ziyn?”
“Gael captured her and vanished.”
I grimaced. “I bet Qa’a isn’t happy.”
“He is not.”
The baby chomped down on my index finger. “Ouch! The kid had teeth like a crocodile. Breastfeeding must be a bitch.”
“You will make an excellent mother.”
“Don’t get any ideas, buster.”
Uncle Ben hurried up with a bottle of milk and handed it to me. “Let’s hope human milk won’t harm the little guy.”
“Humans and Askole are compatible,” Kaelen commented.
Uncle Ben stared at him. “And you would know that, how?”
The little guy let out a hungry wail, and I popped the bottle in his mouth. “He seems to like it.”
An orange light appeared by the far wall.
“God, I hope that’s Qa’a.”
“It is.” Kaelen replied.
Uncle Ben backed away. “I need to check on the sensors.” He fled.
“Wuss,” I yelled after him.
A vortex formed and Qa’a strolled out carrying a glass-encased bassinet. “You have been summoned to Cirrus Prime. Everyone is anxious to meet my enforcers.”
I smothered a groan. What kind of impression were we going to make covered in slime? “Couldn’t you just give us the coordinates to Cirrus Prime, and we can port there?”
“No. The portal’s existence is top secret.” Qa’a plucked the baby from my arms and put him in the bassinet.
Kaelen held out his hand. “Ready to start your new life?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” I took his hand.
Tentacles wrapped around us. “Come children.”
The Beginning of COPS IN SPACE!