Alien General's Beloved: SciFi Alien Romance (Brion Brides) Page 13

  Nods were once again the only answer. At least that much was good. Men who wanted to live were usually very susceptible to suggestions on the matter. They stood, eyes nailed to him, or more specifically, the spear in his hands.

  The easy part was over. Now came the risk. Corden needed to make sure that the three were not about to blabber about him once they were gone. Worgen was no fool. He would take any risk to his survival seriously.

  He sheathed the spear. The eyes of the three crewmen followed the weapon.

  "Now," the general said, his voice dropping to a dangerous, savage growl.

  The men almost jumped into the air. He had their attention now, but what he needed was their fear. It was not what Lana had had in mind, of course. His gesha believed that if he explained to them that he was an ally, the crew would keep his secret.

  That was not so; Corden knew that. Honor and loyalty were motivators for brave men, but the fleet had proved it lacked such courage. He couldn't honestly blame them, but it was not something he could trust in. What he needed was pure, animalistic terror.

  "You will leave this ship," he said slowly, to emphasize every word to make sure he didn't need to repeat himself. "You will say this to your captain and him alone. Everyone must leave, at once. Take whatever pods or ships you need and fly to the nearest ship. Stay away from Levi."

  They listened, but Corden had to know they understood.

  "Nod," he ordered.

  Three quick nods answered him, so insistent the general heard their necks creak.

  Corden took a step closer, letting them take in the image of him. Brions had always made an effort to look as terrifying as possible. It was a part of their strategy, to stop potential enemies from ever even contemplating waging war against them. He saw the way they shook, like they were caught in the instincts of a prey animal. Wanting to run, but not daring to.

  Corden heard their hearts beat wildly, saw the whites of their eyes, telltale signs of absolute horror. He waited, coming even closer, listening to their rapid heartbeats. Waited, until the general was sure he could order them to stop breathing. Only then did he go on.

  "You will not breathe a word about me," he said quietly, to make them strain to hear him. "Not to anyone. Do you still want to live?"

  The question was spoken almost as a whisper. The men nodded, puppet-like, barely able to stand. Corden looked each in the eye before turning and walking away from them. The guns were still on the ground, but none of the men moved to grab one.

  They stood, shaking, until he was out of sight. Corden watched them from the shadows, hidden from their eyes, but not gone. A grin curled on his lips when after half a minute, they still hadn't moved from there they stood frozen.

  "Now," he snarled from the darkness, and the three ran like the gods themselves were on their tails.

  Corden waited until he could no longer hear their panicked escape and walked slowly back to the Brions. Listening to the ship's inner comm announce that everyone was to leave and head for the nearest ship, he took one more look at the man he'd met before. It was an answer to one of his questions for sure.

  Time was running out. The Levi had to move quickly after the escape pods blasted off, to draw attention away from their escape. It didn't matter where the nuclear cores were, they would still detonate on impact with the Abysmal.

  Corden slowly approached the bridge, keeping track of the announcements coming from the speakers. Once he was sure that most of the crew had left, the general made his way to the bridge.

  The last crew members rushed by him as he went, close enough to almost touch him. It amused Corden. He'd learned a long time ago that people mostly saw what they believed they saw. There couldn't have been a man standing so close to them in the shadows, so they blocked any small signs he might have given them.

  It was truly disappointing that the trick also worked with most Brions.

  The bridge was empty when Corden arrived. There was no reason to be heroic when all resistance was already stopped in advance. The captain had left with his officers, leaving only the prevailing smell of fear behind. From the screens, Corden saw the Abysmal waking slowly, the huge warship turning to the Levi.

  He calculated a course for the ship and entered it into the system. Levi began to slowly move toward the warship and Corden rushed back to the bay. The ship would pick up speed and hit the Abysmal straight on. At least in this the warship's immensity came to their aid. There was no way a ship that big could move out of the way of the Levi.

  The fighter took off and Corden was out of their improvised bullet right when it began to accelerate. He pulled back to a safe distance and watched the plan unfold. His presumption had been right.

  As soon as the Levi changed course and headed for the warship, the Abysmal focused on the immediate threat, leaving the fleeing escape pods alone. Corden didn't see if any of them had been hit, but those were the risks of war.

  The Levi was dashing forward. The general could sense the way the rest of the fleet was holding its breath. All eyes had to be on the screens, watching as the lone ship made its attack on the enemy.

  But the Abysmal was far from helpless itself. The port gun batteries opened fire upon the incoming ship, but they were unable to get a good shot. Corden had plotted a clever course, keeping the Levi in the cover of the Abysmal itself, so the warship's firing solution was hindered. A few hit home though, knocking the ship-bullet off course.

  That was unfortunate, but Corden knew there had been no way to ensure where it hit. He'd aimed it at the docking bay to cause maximum damage, knowing that the bridge and the engines were likely more heavily reinforced. But anywhere the Levi hit was good. At least they'd know.

  And know they did.

  Levi hit the Abysmal head-on, crashing into its obsidian surface. The Levi was destroyed on collision, the speed it had gathered tremendous. The engine exploded, setting off the nuclear cores. The force of the impact sent smaller ships hurling that hadn't gotten away. For long moments, everything was a whirlwind before the vacuum of space ate away the flames.

  And the Abysmal... was unharmed. Corden sat in the fighter, filing away the information almost automatically. He hadn't really expected the collision to do much damage—the Brion warships were built for much worse—but the reality was grimmer than he'd thought.

  There wasn't even a scratch on the Abysmal. Like Worgen, it lived up to its legend.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Lana

  Lana watched the Levi on the screens.

  A thousand thoughts raced through the captain's mind. She wondered if the crew had made it to safety, if Corden had gotten far enough. Her pulse quickened when she thought of him, no matter how hard she tried to focus on more important matters.

  Silly girl, she told herself. The galaxy is going to hell and you're thinking of him.

  But the heart wanted what it wanted. As the Levi crashed into the Brion warship, Lana watched, hoping that she wasn't costing anyone their life with her plan.

  Standing beside her in one of the greater atriums was Worgen. The general was observing the attack take place along with everyone else. Lana had never heard so many people keep silent, but the thousands around them barely breathed.

  She'd been right about that, at least. Everyone wanted to know what would happen. Of course, she benefited from knowing there wasn't anyone aboard.

  They all saw it happen. The Levi colliding with the warship, the detonations, the smaller ships of the fleet trying to run from the explosion. And the Abysmal, not even scratched.

  If it was a person, Lana thought, it wouldn't have even blinked an eye.

  Weirdly, she didn't even feel the bitter sting of disappointment. The shock had overridden every other emotion. It was as if seeing the futility of fighting back had killed all her emotions, but Worgen had a way of relighting them again.

  When the general moved, turning to her, Lana felt every hair on her body stand on end.

  Relax. You prepared for this. You
knew this was coming.

  Around her, other people were not taking the Levi's failing as well as she was. The gathered Palians watched with cold sadness, but many Terrans were openly crying. Lana couldn't blame them. To them, it looked like a suicide mission meant to save the fleet, but all it had done was prove their helplessness once and for all.

  "Interesting," Worgen said, the gravelly voice cutting straight to her core. "I would have thought everyone in this fleet had already learned their lesson."

  Lana knew she had to speak, distract him, before he managed to ask her straight out. If Worgen read the lie in her, there were no words in any language that could have saved her.

  "People are scared," Lana said, nodding her head toward those around them who were pale as ghosts. "What do you expect, General? Desperate people do desperate things."

  "They do," Worgen agreed, coming closer to her, into Lana's personal space.

  His presence was disgusting to her, but Lana didn't dare pull away. Even when that demonic, smoking, red-hot armor of his got close to almost burn, she stood her ground. It was natural for her to fear. Worgen couldn't hold that against her when he tried so hard to inspire it. But if she ran, it would only prove her guilt.

  "This ship, Levi, what was aboard it?" Worgen asked, his voice peculiarly calm.

  Lana supposed he clearly had no reason to be distressed. Apparently his warship was nearly indestructible, for all intents and purposes. If nuclear detonation did nothing, there were very few things in the galaxy that could have. Possibly none at all. Worgen had to know that.

  "It was transporting cores for nuclear power plants," Lana said.

  "How do you know that?" Worgen pressed on, coming closer.

  Lana felt the scorching heat began to give out. It meant there was a way for Worgen to regulate that. While every inch of her rebelled at the idea of his hands on her—not yours —Lana didn't move. Worgen's gloved hand slid up her arm to cup her chin, forcing her to look up into his bottomless black eyes.

  "You told me to," Lana said, having to force the words out of her mouth.

  At first, Worgen's appearance had terrified her, but now she had much better reasons to be anxious around him. It was the true, real fear of someone who had no moral qualms. Luckily she'd practiced her excuses in advance.

  "I acquainted myself with every ship in the fleet to give you an overview."

  As Worgen's dark gaze bored down on her, Lana tried to hold firm. All her plans seemed to be simple in premise but hard to carry out. She had known Worgen would suspect her immediately. Lana knew she was at his mercy and if the general wanted, he'd kill her on the spot. But until she was useful to him, organizing things in his stead... The best defense she could come up with was not lying. It would be difficult, but it could be done. All she had to do was somehow answer all his questions by not speaking a lie.

  It wasn't much, but it was all she had.

  "Did you give the order?" Worgen asked, his forceful tone almost bringing the confession to Lana's lips.

  "No," she said, not lying.

  "Did you give the Levi the idea to try this attack on my ship?"

  "No, General. I don't even have communications with the rest of the fleet."

  So far, all true. Brions had broken the comms on the Flora like everywhere else.

  "Then explain to me how—"

  Lana knew where that was going. If she was made to deny she had anything to do with the attack, her lie would be exposed. She was left with only one option, which was madness.

  She interrupted.

  "General," she said, daring to raise her voice a little. "No one in this fleet wants to die, but if you take away any hope a person might have, they act in unexpected ways. I don't know what went through the minds of Levi's crew."

  For a heart-stopping moment, Lana expected Worgen's spear to slice through the air and cut her head from her shoulders. But it seemed the demon had more patience with her than she'd have thought. The idea was both a relief and a threat at the same time.

  The general released her, stepping away from the captain. Lana dared to breathe out again, only now realizing she'd been holding it. Had she done it? Had she really gotten away with it?

  Her eyes kept searching the screens mounted on the walls of the atrium, hoping to catch a glimpse of Corden on his way back. If Lana had known he was present, it would have greatly eased her mind. She knew that her gerion would do anything, destroy everything in his path to protect her. Lana remembered thinking it was romantic, back in her youth when she'd first read about the Brion bonds.

  Nothing on Terra compared to that. Nothing in the whole galaxy compared.

  She thought Corden's words were a boast before, but honestly she knew they were not. It was what he truly believed and was willing to risk his own life for. He wouldn't let even death come between them.

  The man still beside her fit the part of death quite well. Worgen's attention was back on the gathered people, all the more terrified now that they'd seen what happened to Levi. Lana thought back on her conversation with Yarel. If any of his fears were true, they might all die very soon. Worgen wouldn't hesitate to kill them all if they couldn't help him.

  Yarel was there with her. Lana was very grateful for that and for the effort he was putting out to appear unconcerned. The two of them had to keep cool heads, even if everyone else lost it.

  Worgen turned to Yarel.

  "You have scientists aboard," he growled. "Bring them to me."

  Lana and the bridge commander had predicted this, so a group of Palians appeared when Yarel signaled them. They came, trembling. Lana hoped Yarel had warned them in advance about what Worgen wanted.

  She wondered if they'd give it to him if they could, to save their lives.

  Worgen measured the Palians from head to toe, a grin on his face.

  "A long time ago, your kind gave me and my men our youth back," he said. "They needed a bit of convincing, of course, but ultimately they did."

  The Palians said nothing. The shame and the pain were clear to see on their faces.

  "They made the mistake of trying to hide your secrets from me," Worgen went on, snarling. "I made them tell me everything before I killed them for the lies. You would be wise not to do the same. I want you to finish what they started. They gave my men their youth, but we've been in many battles since. Only a handful of those who started with me still live. The others..."

  At last, Lana noticed the way the general was looking at his warriors. The disgust, the disapproval was clear to see now that she thought about it. The look reminded her of Corden. Both generals saw the clones as nothing more than pitiful shadows of what they were. Finding a similarity between them was not comforting.

  "I can remake them," Worgen said, his deep voice practically a hiss. "But they are not the same. They train and learn, but they are not real Brions."

  That explains why he sends them to die so easily. He hates them. They remind him of the men he's lost and they're never good enough to please him.

  Lana almost felt sorry for the clones until she remembered them tearing mercilessly into her crew, slaughtering them where they stood. They might not have been good enough for Worgen's approval, but it did not excuse them. They sure as hell tried to be worthy of his brutality.

  Worgen took a step closer to the cowering Palians.

  "It took me a long time to see that you managed to lie to me after all," he snarled to the scared scientists. "I can't kill the bastards again, but I assure you I regret killing them so quickly. I won't make the same mistake with you if you even think to deceive me like they did."

  Lana and Yarel exchanged looks. She was torn, wanting to help, but on the other hand intervening would do no one any good.

  "You see," Worgen was saying. "The men I have are no better than children. They die and the next ones have to start anew. But I know you have something that can fix that. I know you can take minds and put them in new bodies. I know you can transport memories."

  I
t started to make sense. The horrified look on Yarel's face told Lana that he was coming to the same conclusion.

  Worgen addressed them all now, fierce glee burning in his eyes as he finally revealed his plan to them.

  "I want you to reveal those secrets to me. Your crew will get to work on my men and the clones. I want them all to have the memories of the old ones. And every time one dies, I want it replaced with a new one that remembers the death so it will not repeat it. I give you a week before I set course to Briolina."

  With that, Worgen turned away from them, leaving Lana and the Palians standing speechless. But before he went, the general added:

  "And if any one of you thinks to betray me, look at Levi."

  He knows, Lana thought, the realization shooting through her.

  With Worgen gone, the atrium came alive around them. People talking, arguing, crying, muttering to themselves. They hadn't overheard the rest of the exchange between the general and the Palians, but Worgen's threat was easy enough to understand.

  As for Lana, she struggled for words. Yarel recovered first.

  "I seems I must apologize," he said bitterly, looking at her with big sad eyes. "I didn't mean to lie to you, but I'm taking my words back. We can make him immortal in the way he means it."

  "You can," Lana repeated. "Will you?"

  Only silence answered her. Lana was about to accuse them of cowardice when she realized where she was. Worgen's meaning had been very clear. If he didn't get what he wanted, he'd kill each and every one of them and go find someone less stubborn. Could they afford to refuse him? Lana couldn't imagine sacrificing all those people, but what he was asking them was just as impossible.

  To give a monster like that an undying army... Lana didn't think even Corden could stop them if it came to that.

  Totally out of place, her thoughts turned to him. With the death threat hanging above her head, Lana realized how much she wanted to live. And possibly, if she stopped making herself deaf to her heart's calling, exactly how much she wanted to see if there was a life for her with Corden. None of it made sense to her, but very few things in her life did right now.