Skaggs by Julie K. Cohen

 

1

NALA

Nala took a deep breath at the bar as she waited for her customer’s drink order. Of all the tables in the ship’s bar, the og’dal, with two sets of arms and dark soulless eyes, chose hers. She’d had more than her fill of aliens when that sleaze og’dal from the bride ship sold her into slavery on Trinoth.

She still had to earn a living to eat, but after her rescue nearly two years ago, she hoped to never see an alien again. Especially an og’dal. Yet, here she was, serving drinks to one aboard a luxury cruise ship touring the universe thousands of miles from Earth.

“Wanna trade?” Alexa said. She must have seen Nala’s reaction when the og’dal seated himself at her table.

Nala set her tray on the bar. “It’s bad enough they allow aliens aboard, but why the hell does that have to include og’dals?”

“Aliens fly this ship, so it wouldn’t make sense to ban aliens, would it?” Alexa glanced toward the crowd pouring into the bar. “It will be quite a while before enough humans are trained to take over everything from maintenance to piloting. That’s why we get the elite jobs of waiting on and cleaning up after the passengers. I think Brady’s the only human down in engineering, and from what he said, he gets all the dirty jobs. Besides, not all og’dals are bad. Just the ones who ran the bride ships.”

“Slave ships,” Nala corrected her. “And stop being logical. I need to complain for a few minutes.”

Alexa offered a weak smile. “Some of those brides ended up married to decent aliens.” The short brunette saw the positive in every situation.

Their ship, A New Dawn, shuddered briefly. Alexa gasped and grabbed hold of the bar even though they hadn’t lost gravity. “It’s just the damn engines being temperamental,” Alexa tried to reassure herself. Nala’s cabin mate was deathly afraid of space travel, but like Nala, she didn’t have any other options open to her. Waitress aboard the space cruise ship or work for a brothel on any number of planets.

Nala shuddered as too many memories of clients on Trinoth struck. She tried to hide her reaction before Alexa insisted on taking her table. She loved Alexa for watching out for her, but she had to push through situations like this or the bastard og’dals who had sold and violated her would win.

“Brady told me those tremors are nothing more than space hiccups,” Nala added.

“Typical guy. Our entire generation thinks women are too stupid to learn or understand anything technical. It’s going to take years to regain all the respect and opportunities our mothers had before the Grud and Coalition sent civilization back to the dark ages.”

Alexa wasn’t wrong. Nala couldn’t remember the last time she’d met a guy who thought of her as anything more than a sex toy. Her stomach knotted, forcing her to take a moment. Just another day, and more assholes getting drunk in a bar flying through space.

“The point is,” Nala said finally, struggling to force the memories from Trinoth away, “Brady assured me this oversized boat is as solid as a horse.”

“It’s a spaceship, not a boat, and certainly not a horse. An old one at that, given the wear and tear everywhere. Which means when this death trap falls through the atmosphere of some random planet, it’s going to crumble like a thousand-year-old mummy, burst into flames, and then leave nothing behind but ash.”

Nala shook her head. “I really need to find a friend who doesn’t go to pieces every time the ship creaks.”

“Says the woman who’s afraid of one little alien with an extra set of arms.”

Nala glanced at the og’dal, with his two sets of arms crossed over his chest as he glared at her, waiting for his drinks. A single alien. But he wasn’t little. All the aliens she’d met on the bride ship and later on Trinoth towered over most human men. She hated how his eyes lingered on her. Similar to the aliens on Trinoth. Next would come lewd gestures, a proposition...

Nala rubbed her right palm against her leg, wishing she had a weapon. Not that she’d ever learned to use one. She had to get a handle on her fear. The og’dal couldn’t kidnap her aboard a ship in space. Especially with Frank, the bar’s bouncer, standing at the entrance.

“I can handle him,” Nala said, feigning confidence.

“Good, because I don’t want him.”

“I never said I wanted him. Or any alien.” The very thought of an alien touching her again turned her stomach. “As soon as we return to Earth, I’m buying a nice, quiet cabin in the middle of nowhere.”

“I always knew you were a party girl,” Alexa teased as Eddie set four shots of karthikan whisky on her tray with a tall glass of othanan beer.

Nala recognized that order. “Don’t tell me the captain’s drinking again.”

“Yup. I’d love to report him, but I need this job.”

“We both do.” Nala glanced at the og’dal who continued to stare at her.

Alexa shifted to her left to block his line of sight. “That guy gives me the creeps. Are you sure you’ll be okay? I know what you went through.” Her face held a mixture of pity and concern.

Nala loved her friend dearly for her protectiveness, but she hated being pitied. Alexa had been sold as a slave too, but her buyer immediately freed her. That proved there were some good aliens in the universe.

“I can’t change the past.” Nala grabbed her tray of drinks for the og’dal and headed to her table.

The rest of the entertainment aboard A New Dawn had shut down for the night. This was the only place to hang out until the dining halls re-opened for breakfast. There were enough humans around for her not to worry about one alien if he started causing trouble. She hoped.

As quickly as she could, Nala set the male’s three shots of Dalian tequila on the table and turned to leave. He grabbed her wrist as one of his lower hands reached for her ass and a third stroked the side of a breast, giving new meaning to the phrase beinghandsy.

“You should come to my cabin, Nala,” he said with a salacious grin.

She yanked free of his hold, which made his grin widen, like he wanted her to resist. A shiver shot down her spine.

“How do you know my name?” She had intentionally not introduced herself when he sat down earlier.

“I watch. I observe.”

“If you want company, disembark at Karthika tomorrow night where there are tons of brothels.”

He laughed as he downed the shots, one after the next, like they were water.

One more month until the luxury cruiser returned to Earth, and she’d finally collect the last of her pay needed to buy a cabin in the New Mexico mountains. She’d never have to see another alien again, let alone endure one’s touch. The Coalition left Earth two years ago and remained embroiled in a war with the Grud. She hoped they destroyed one another and on their way to Hell took their og’dal slavers with them.

By the time Nala retrieved her next bar order, the og’dal had left. She cleared the shot glasses—no tip, of course—cleaned the table, and finished her shift.

The best part of working on the luxury liner was the view she enjoyed as she walked down the corridor to the cabin she shared with Alexa. Nothing beat the beauty of space, except perhaps the painted sunsets and sparse but lovely landscape of New Mexico.

Leaning against the picture window, Nala stared out at the millions of stars and froze, spotting the yellow planet. Why the hell were they so close to Trinoth? They should be closer to Karthika by now, not riding the border of coalition space. The damn captain was probably drunk again.

A hand landed on Nala’s ass. She whipped around, swinging her fist out of reflex. The heel of her hand connected with the og’dal’s nose, breaking it.

“You drekking bitch,” the four-armed alien from the bar said, grabbing her by the throat as blood ran down his chin. “Now, I won’t make this a painless kill. I’m going to have some fun first.” He clamped a hand over her mouth.

Heart racing, Nala dug her nails into the male’s arm as he dragged her around the bend and down a maintenance lift to the lowest level. The hollow sound of their footsteps echoed through the empty bay where they conducted emergency drills. Sleek silver pods, each with its own launch tube, lined the port side of the bay. They looked like large bullets, ready to be shot into space.

No one came down here during a cruise. The alien had picked the most isolated place aboard the ship.

He punched a code into one of the escape pods and the door swung open. “By the time they find your body, I’ll be deep in coalition space.”

She bit the hand covering her mouth.

“You bitch!” he screamed as he slapped her across the face, knocking her down.

“Please don’t hurt me,” she pled, crawling backward. “I’ll do whatever you want and I won’t say a thing.”

As he bent over to grab her, she tried to kick him in the balls. He moved fast, taking the blow to his hip. One hand grabbed a fist full of her hair, yanked her to her feet, and slammed her against the wall. While he held her in place with two hands, a third snaked under her shirt.

“Drekking right. You’ll never say another word.” He pulled a knife out of his pants with his fourth hand and started slicing her shirt open from the bottom up. The ship suddenly lurched more than thirty degrees off center. That was no space hiccup.

Bursts of light filled the bay through the starboard side windows as the ship shuddered. Outside, a battlecruiser fired at them.

“Looks like the captain drifted into coalition space,” the og’dal said. “They don’t like trespassers. All the better for me.” He set the knife against her throat.

Red light flooded the bay, distracting him, but not Nala. She’d been through emergency drills dozens of times. She wiggled a hand free and punched him in his broken nose. He roared in pain and dropped the knife.

Nala jerked from his grip and ran to the maintenance ladders to escape.

“Abandon ship!” the captain roared over the intercom.

A crush of people poured down the ladder, knocking her off. She didn’t fall far as two sets of hands grabbed her by her shoulders and waist.

“Looks like we’re going to take a ride together after all,” the og’dal whispered in her ear as he dragged her back to an escape pod. He couldn’t risk killing her with so many people around. He shoved her into the pod. As he crouched to enter, she kicked outward with both legs, sending him flying into the passengers racing for the escape pods.

Nala pulled the door shut just as the og’dal reached it. She hit the master lock. As he pounded on the door, his face twisted with anger.

Then, with an unexpected calm, the og’dal opened the outside control panel and began tapping away. His smirk sent a chill through Nala.

“Launching in 3… 2… 1…”

The force of the launch twisted her stomach in knots, but she was free of the og’dal. She’d never forget the look on his face through the porthole as her pod launched. Vindication.

With shaking hands, Nala strapped into the harness, grateful it had been a smooth launch. When she looked out the porthole again, she spotted dozens of escape pods shooting by, heading to the nearest planet in the opposite direction of her pod.

* * *

SKAGGS

Ronin elbowedSkaggs in his side and pointed to the zyanthan female with long shiny black hair that reached her ass and showed off shapely horns that curved back, but not too far to make her look submissive. “How about her?” he asked as the transport tube whisked them from Goji Base toward Marpov station. “Nice deep shade of blue. And bright silver eyes.”

Skaggs let his eyes roam over the female, because Ronin expected it. Her skin was as deep a blue as his own, but he didn’t care about skin color. Never had. Nothing about her appealed to him. “Maybe tomorrow.”

“You may not see her tomorrow. Come on, Skaggs. You have less than four minutes to the next stop where she might exit. You can work your magic in two minutes. I’ve seen it. It’s been a long mission and you haven’t been yourself since we left Affinia. We’re home. Zyan. Where the females understand a warrior’s needs. Spend the night with her. You’ll feel better tomorrow.”

As if she overheard their conversation, the woman glanced over her shoulder and her horns dipped back further, showing a willingness. Skaggs was tired of constantly chasing females and keeping up the façade of being a ladies’ man. He wished he could tell his teammates the truth, but he’d lose their trust and respect, leaving him with nothing.

“I’m tired.” Lies took time, energy, and a certain willingness to betray those around him.

“Shall I call Vaakos?” Ronin asked.

“Why the drekk do I need a cranky medic?”

“Because you’re sick. Nothing else explains why you’d walk away from a beautiful female. I used to think you chasing every female in sight was your way of looking for your sholani, but then I realized you don’t care about having a heartmate. You enjoy bedding females too much to want to be with only one.”

Skaggs stared out the window, oblivious to the scenery. If his teammates only knew what he did with all those women he supposedly bedded, they’d laugh him off The Relentless. He’d been living a lie, keeping secrets from his crew, males who risked their lives and depended on him. Some warrior... some Zyanthan... he was. He couldn’t even tell his crewmates the simple truth.

“Enjoy your week, my friend,” Roninsaid as Skaggs rose. The transit tube glided into the station. “I’m starting to think you merely need to sleep in your own bed for once.”

Skaggs dipped his horns slightly, showing respect to his friend and teammate. “I’ll see you next week.” He hopped off the tube three stops early to get away from Ronin before the pilot pushed him too much. Skaggs had a week to figure out what he was going to do. Then he’d report to The Relentless for duty.

One week to find a female to mate and claim. Forget his dream of finding his sholani. Time was too short to be picky, and he was desperate. He needed a female. Any female.

As he walked through the transit station, he considered the fallout if he failed. His father would expose the truth and that would destroy him. If his mother had survived the war, she would have stopped this.

Wallowing in the past accomplished nothing. He had to deal with the present and his future, prevent his father from destroying him.

By the time Skaggs reached the fields which bordered his orchard, the night sky had darkened. He loved being far from the hurried pace of the city and the markets. Out here, where his home stood untouched by war, he could enjoy a few peaceful days before having to face reality. In a week, he’d no longer be a warrior. The council would strip him of his title and remove him from the crew of The Relentless.

Then would come the awful task of confronting his crewmates, telling them the truth. He hadn’t yet figured out what he’d say to the males who had saved his ass more times than he could remember. They deserved an explanation.

They deserved the truth.

Despite how it would hurt them.

“Horned Hounds Above, I’d do anything to keep from telling them. I’d mate any female who was willing,” Skaggs said out loud, talking to the gods, something he’d never done. He didn’t believe in the gods, but right now he was desperate enough to consider appealing to them, in case they actually existed.

The unmistakable sound of a vessel streaming by overhead caused His horns to straighten and his hand to reach for the blaster at his hip. To his relief, a grud battlecruiser hadn’t breached the atmosphere. Instead, a life pod streaked across the sky, losing altitude fast, heading toward the river.

Skaggs broke into a run. If the life pod crashed into the river and sank door-side down, the person inside would be trapped. Or drown if he opened the door partway, and the pod flooded.

The sound of the pod crashing through trees spurred him to run faster. As he followed the path of downed, quirty trees, he found scorch marks on the ground. It hadn’t been a soft landing, but the pod remained intact thanks to its conical nose digging into the soil, stopping the vessel before it reached the water.

With the outer shell still smoking from entering the atmosphere, Skaggs typed standard commands into the outer control panel to open the vessel’s door. Nothing happened, but he wasn’t a damned engineer, trained to figure it out. He shot the panel. Amid the circuits sparking, the door popped open. It was a messy solution, but it always worked.

“Exit,” he ordered in Common and then Zyanthan.

Nothing. But he heard breathing, so he knew someone was definitely inside, blatantly disregarding his command. Skaggs’s horns moved forward into a battle stance. This could be part of another grud strike team. Grud soldiers had entered Zyan undetected in the past.

“Last chance. Exit now or I’ll shoot,” he warned as he trained his blaster on the opening.