Freedom Break (Shattered Stars #21)

Chapter One

Lord Orex of the Hmrain walked onto the surface of his colony. It was a starter base and had contained two thousand people. The scorches on the ground showed proof that an attack had occurred the previous day.

He looked at the administrator, who was taking stock. “What was the damage, Milford?”

The Terran swallowed and looked toward the listless companion at Orex’s side. “Uh, they took some supplies, some minerals, and one colony admin clerk. Otherwise, we got off with light damage.”

Orex looked at his companion and back at the admin. “Who was the missing colony member?”

Milford brought up the data and showed the overseer. “She is an excellent all-around colonist. She has all of the skills that we learned when we were surviving. She doesn’t have a partner and works alone.”

Orex flicked through the data file and paused, looking at his companion. “There was one compatible Terran on your vessel. You said it was you. You are exhausted for a companion-class Terran, and your output is depressingly weak.”

Marta swallowed. “I thought it would be easy. I was a sex worker on Earth, and I didn’t understand how different it would be.”

He nodded and said, “Your contract is cancelled. You can either take a position at one of the new colonies or can go back to the bond auction. You will be paid three percent of your annual stipend, as that is all the nourishment I have received from you.”

She swallowed. “Fair. Thank you, Lord Orex. Are you very angry?”

He cupped her chin. “I want to tear out your lying, little throat. I thought this was all the Terrans could offer, and the other Hmrain were either lying or deceived. Though the children are harder to explain.”

He let her go, and she staggered back. Orex looked at the woman with dark hair and two different eyes, calmly looking at him from the tablet.

Her eyes were white-silver and aqua. Very distinctive.

Heterochromia only appeared in a handful of species.

Her dark hair waved down to the centre of her back, and her skin was golden cream.

How could he have mistaken the willing Marta for this creature?

He looked around. “Milford, you are getting back into preparation?”

“Yes, Overseer. We will be back to normal by the end of the week. Should we set up a memorial for her?”

“Oh, I doubt they killed her. Does she have any friends here?”

Milford paused. “I believe she has some. Do you wish to question them?”

Orex nodded. “Yes.”

Security officers got the information and went to bring the men and women into the colony office.

In an hour, they were sitting in a room while Orex paced and questioned them. “Does she have any relatives in this colony?”

The room went silent. Finally, a woman from the dispensary said, “Not at this colony. She has a daughter who made it to the Education Station. She was sent out in a batch to Aten.”

Orex focused on her. “She has a child?”

“Yes, Overseer. They were separated during extraction. Her daughter was in cold sleep before Zelda got up there, so she picked an admin position and got sent to Orval. She said she was waiting for something, and when the raiders demanded the consort, she walked forward and told them not to get their panties in a wad. They were gone five minutes later.”

One of the others said, “It looked like she had hailed them as a personal transport. It was weird how calm she was.”

Orex paused. “She wasn’t afraid?”

The dispensary friend said, “She’s never afraid. She guarded our enclave singlehandedly. She’s killed more humans than anyone I have ever seen. Her daughter is sweet and exceedingly smart. She was fixing small appliances and rewiring the power units that she and her mother had cobbled together.”

“How old was she?”

“At the time, she was eight. Now she would be twelve.”

“When do your species mature?”

“Legally at eighteen, physically height and everything complete is around twenty-two,” the doctor said.

Orex nodded and left the building, flying to his shuttle. Once in the shuttle, he locked into the colony computers and brought up all communications.

There was a call to Aten and a call to Kregosi Station. Orex sat back. She had called the raiders on herself. Why?

His curiosity was raging. The woman wanted her child, that much was certain, but what did the raiders have to do with it?

He drummed his claws on the com and then made a call. He waited, and when it was answered, he inclined his head. “Honoured Ra, first among us, I am Orex, and I have a bit of a mystery weighing on me.”

Ra sat and looked at him. “I love a good mystery. Please tell me.”

He explained about the missing Terran and provided him with an image of the woman known as Zelda. He explained about the fake companion then the raiders and abduction.

After that, he mentioned the child. Ra held up a hand. “Harwin, do you know anything about a Terran child arriving here?”

The female voice said, “There will be many in a week or so. Why?”

“I believe the woman I have described will be heading to Aten to claim her daughter.”

The woman started speaking, and Ra pulled her onto his lap. Orex stared. The woman blinked. “Oh, yeah, the shiny thing. Apparently, the elders have this effect on their consorts. So, you think she’s coming to collect her daughter?”

“Yes.”

“Ra, can I see the image again?”

The image came up on their end, and the woman covered her mouth. “Ra, how could you not recognize her?”

“I haven’t seen her before.” Ra smiled and stroked her huge belly.

“But you have seen her sisters. Zoey is being repaired right now, and Zaniah is next to her. This is a sister, obviously, but not a twin. The heterochromia is an interesting twist to her appearance.”

Harwin looked through the files and smiled. “And her daughter has it as well.”

The image of a little girl in a tunic and trousers with black hair and one white eye and one aqua eye filled the screen. “This is Aretta Yelnar. Her mother is Zelda Yelnar.”

“Aretta was brought to the station in the first three lifts, and her mother was brought up four retrievals later. Aretta was long gone. Zelda checked on her vessel, and then she was restrained to be bonded out until her daughter was clear of her own bond. This was before Ra woke and dismissed all the Terran bonds.”

Orex nodded. “I see.”

“Yes.” Harwin shifted on Ra’s lap. “Let me talk to some of the new transplants and see what they know about Zelda.”

“She is headed toward you. If you can hold her once she arrives, I will pursue her from that point.”

Harwin muttered, “Why delay?”

Ra stroked her hair and kissed her shoulder. “Sweet, the ship she is on may not come directly here. It is probably also not as fast as Orex’s ship. His are known for speed. Space Arrows.”

Orex felt proud and embarrassed. “You know of my vessels?”

“I was going to commission a few ships. It seems some of the Children of Geb are being held outside of a mutual contract. We have guards here who are capable of retrieving them, but my vessels are outdated. Zell would, but he has larger ships, and we want something a little more manageable for small crews.”

Orex was stunned. “I will send you the specs for some new hull designs.”

Ra smiled. “Thank you. Oh, of course. This is my mate, consort, and queen, Harwin, Queen of Aten. Harwin. This is Orex of the darkened wastes, guide of twenty worlds.”

Orex blinked. “You know that?”

Harwin chuckled. “He’s cheating. He has your stats up on a tablet offscreen.”

Ra sighed. “My Queen, you are ruining my mystique.”

Orex laughed. “Eldest among Hmrain, you don’t need any mystique.”

“How long will it take you to get here from Orval?”

“Three days at top speed.”

Harwin looked surprised. “That is fast.”

“I use between technology. We slip between dimensions. It is only fair, as I am the Hmrain between the elders and the new. Hybrids are sort of a fascination.”

They concluded their pleasantries, and Orex sat back, staring at a dark screen.

He brought up all of the documentation that recorded a woman named Zelda and her daughter, Aretta.

What he found in the archives astonished him.

He almost felt sorry for the raiders she had lured in to do her bidding, and the witness who had betrayed them both.

He was going to settle things at home and get the ship number.

* * * *

Zelda hummed in the solar shower, getting the last traces of blood off.

They had been fairly true to type. First, they wanted to taste the goods, and then they were going to heal her and put her to sleep.

She threw a wrench in their plans. They really should have taken into account that some of the most successful at survival were dangerous.

She was honest enough with herself to claim that title.

She finished getting the half dozen colours of blood off her skin and hair before she went and got the coverall that she had put in the cleaning unit.

The bots were scrubbing the interior of the ship, and the bodies were out of the airlock.

This pirate ship was hers, and she wanted to be on Aten as fast as she could.

When her daughter woke up, she needed to be there.

They had gotten through the end of the world; she wasn’t going to lose her now.

* * * *

Orex finished up the work, got his advisers advised that he was going to visit Ra, and he took off. The ship code had been sensed on a certain trajectory, and he was going to snag Zelda and haul her ship to Aten.