Alien General's Beloved: SciFi Alien Romance (Brion Brides) Page 28

  More questions followed. About Corden, about the lack of pain in her stomach. About the darkness around her and the warriors by her side.

  Tuven was trying to explain.

  "Captain Cormac," he said and Lana heard the raspiness in his voice. "You have to stay calm."

  There was something oddly comforting about it, reminding her of the general, although the memory itself wasn't a pleasant one. They'd nearly killed themselves at his command and now Lana was at their mercy. She didn't feel like she was in danger, so Corden must have been right about them.

  "Lana," she breathed. "My name is Lana."

  The warrior seemed to hesitate, like calling her that was too impolite, but she didn't care. It would speed things up and frankly, she didn't even know if she had a ship anymore. With the Abysmal still in battle, what were the chances that the Flora was still in one piece?

  "I..." she tried. "Tell me."

  She didn't have the strength to list everything that she wanted to know, but luckily the warrior understood.

  "You are aboard the Abysmal, safe and hidden for now," Tuven said. "You were hurt. Do you remember that?"

  "Yes," Lana said. "I don't feel anything now."

  That was true. She was lying on some sort of a table, everything around her just shapes and shadows in different shades of black. But the pain was definitely gone.

  "Did they hurt you?" Tuven asked, an edge of anger in his voice. "The guards you were with."

  "No," Lana shook her head, a bit dizzy. "I did that. I wanted an—"

  She had to stop because even speaking seemed to be a task for her.

  "I wanted an easy injury," she finished. "I wanted to get to the med bay."

  Tuven nodded beside her. He was the only figure Lana could properly make out. Other people moved around them, quiet and unseen. Judging by the way their footsteps echoed, they were in a huge room of some kind.

  "And when you got there, the bay had been destroyed by the Torons," Tuven concluded. "That was bad luck, but we were able to get you here and your wound has been taken care of."

  "Where is here?" Lana asked. "I see these shapes, but I can't make anything out."

  "Yes," Tuven agreed. "We are deep in the ship where it's dark like this. There is nothing to be done about that. I assure you, you are safe. For now."

  "You keep saying that. What is going on?"

  "We are not sure ourselves," Tuven shrugged. "All we know is that General Worgen returned."

  His voice took on a weird tone when he spoke of his former commander. Lana had never heard anyone speak a name with that much distaste. Her Brionese wasn't the best, but the captain thought the name sounded like betrayer, or maybe deceiver. Both possibilities seemed fitting. Even she didn't hate the dark general that much, but it made sense. Worgen had made no one suffer like his own men, forever removed from their home and their honor.

  "Right after he came back, the Claw arrived," Tuven went on. "And then General Corden and the Torons boarded. After General Worgen realized that, he closed the Abysmal off. All the landing bays are shut down. Nothing gets in or out. We are all trapped inside."

  "I was right," Lana whispered. "He brought the Torons."

  "He did," Tuven said. "Now they are fighting all over the ship. We don't know where the generals are, but I'm sure both are looking for you."

  "What about the Flora?" Lana asked. "And the fleet?"

  "We only hear what the intercomm says. There have been no news of any ships being destroyed. So far the Abysmal targets only the other flagship."

  Okay, Lana thought, trying to rise up. So everything isn't lost yet. Just very fucked up.

  Sitting up wasn't as easy as she'd thought it would be. Tuven lent her a hand, helping her, but despite going slow, Lana still felt nauseous. It was like every piece of her had been thoroughly shaken apart and then put back together.

  "Why am I feeling like this?" she asked, trying to not throw up.

  "It's the treatment we gave you," Tuven said. "It will pass. Normally you wouldn't feel a thing, but we had to hurry. The Torons could find this place or General Worgen might send units to look for us here. And those who helped you aren't really healers."

  Lana glared.

  That is almost like the Terran joke. What's the one thing you don't want to hear after waking up from a surgery? "How are you feeling? Good, that's good. You see, I'm not, technically speaking, a "doctor."

  "Explain," she demanded.

  "I will give you a bit of light," Tuven said, "you'll see."

  Lana watched as the valor squares on the warrior's neck started to glow quietly. She could see Ilen and another warrior standing behind him, their own crystals lighting up too. It took a while for Lana's eyes to get used to the light, but eventually the picture began to clear.

  Her mouth dropped open. Before, she had thought the room she was in was huge, but that was not appropriate. It looked like a hollowed-out mountain more than a room. In the dim light, she couldn't even see the edges of the place. Her insides turned. It felt like floating in a dark space with no actual dimensions, no end or a way out.

  But it wasn't empty. Rows upon rows of huge tubes filled the dark laboratory as far as the eye could see.

  They had brought her to Worgen's clone plantation.

  ***

  Lana stumbled through the lab, feeling the effects of the healing give out slowly. She still felt dizzy and uncoordinated, but like Tuven had said, it was getting better. Soon, she hoped, she'd be back to her normal self. At least her mind was fine and as sharp as always.

  The three warriors followed her at a respectful distance. The one she hadn't met before introduced himself as Arben. Lana could see a similar cut on his neck, frowning when she imagined the harsh test that had to be the cause of it.

  She couldn't see much, but the valor squares were providing enough light so she didn't run into things at least.

  The initial shock had subsided and Lana was already working on a new plan. The wound in her stomach was gone, like it had never been there at all, not even a scar left behind. After hearing it had been the Brion scientists that had healed her, Lana really didn't want to ask if it was normal or they used some of the Palian teachings on her. Since they normally handled the clones, it wasn't out of the question, but she doubted the warriors would have allowed her to be genetically altered.

  Considering the alternative had been bleeding to death, Lana took that little gift without question.

  "We should get back up there," she said, referring to the active parts of the ship. "You have to help Corden."

  The warriors exchanged looks again. Lana felt like she was a puzzle to them, that her ideas didn't make sense to the Brions.

  "We would help the general," Ilen said, "but we are sure he would like us to protect you. It is not like he needs protection himself."

  "No," Lana agreed with a smile she couldn't fight down. "But I want to know what's going on. And there must be something else you can do."

  "The control room is lost," Arben told her. "That was the general's command to us and we did our duty. Only now General Worgen knows and has doubled the guards around it."

  Lana heard the same bottomless hate toward the mad general. She listened and thought that although Corden was an infinitely better commander, the three had simply switched one master for another. Like dogs, they trusted Corden to lead them by a leash and were unwilling to do anything without him.

  Since he wasn't there, Lana decided that she could make use of them.

  "We are going back," she said.

  "The general would—"

  "The general wants to win this and to kill Worgen. We must help. He can't conquer the whole ship alone, can he?"

  The looks on the warriors' faces told her they wouldn't have bet against Corden.

  Again, Lana felt ridiculous pride, as if it was her that was being praised. With every second, she was becoming more and more like a true gesha, who was one with her other half. Perhaps that was the reason
she so badly wanted to do something instead of sitting and waiting.

  In the meantime, the warriors seemed to have come to a conclusion.

  "What do you want us to do?" they asked.

  Lana thought. Being a Brion commander didn't come naturally to her, but years of being a captain had taught her to think like a leader at least.

  "The Claw is out there," she said, the plan coming together in her head. "But it can't fight back because the fleet is in the way. I think we can help."

  "How?" Arben asked.

  "By opening the landing bays again. At least one of them. That would allow the Claw to send help."

  "It would also let the Brion units dispatched to the fleet back in."

  "There aren't so many out there and most of them are clones," Lana said. "It's a risk we have to take."

  The warriors were silent for a while, but eventually they nodded.

  "This is a good plan," Ilen said. "I think the general would like it."

  That definitely lit up a warm flame within Lana, but it came with a bittersweet taste. She wanted to believe that if Corden had been killed, they would know. Surely Worgen would broadcast his triumph over the comm links, right? But Lana would have liked to be certain. Even better, she would have liked to see him.

  Lana told herself that the sooner they would take the Abysmal, the quicker she would see him.

  "What about all this?" Tuven asked, gesturing around them. "The clones."

  Lana looked at them, the bodies in every possible stage of development floating in the transparent tubes. Some of them were only children, but even those who appeared grown had technically not even been born. They hadn't done anything wrong yet, hadn't been taught to follow Worgen's creed.

  "We will leave them," she said with certainty.

  "They might become our enemies," Ilen said and Lana heard the disgust in his voice.

  She knew the originals hated the clones, but these were nothing more than empty shells.

  "Or they might not," Lana replied. "Your Elders will judge that once we get out of here."

  Not wanting to start a philosophical debate over clone rights when time was of the essence, Lana turned and walked away. After a moment, the three warriors followed, as was the Brion way. She wasn't their leader, not really, but she was the closest thing they could get to Corden himself.

  Lana let them take the lead again, ascending through the levels between her new guards. The valor squares showed the way to her through corridors until she started to feel the stench of death again.

  "How are we to take over a whole bay?" Ilen asked. "We can try, but as soon as the bridge hears, there will be reinforcements."

  "Just like your general," Lana said, smiling. "We have allies."

  ***

  Tracking a furious pack of Torons was not something Lana had ever thought she'd do. It kind of felt like walking right into a blade again. The memories of the atrium played before her eyes, the way the beasts had torn through everything and everyone in their way. Her heart beat faster and faster as the noise level rose all around, signaling that they were getting closer.

  Lana wished she had Corden's certainty, so she would know she could get through to the Torons. The captain had strictly warned her three guards to attack only when it was absolutely clear that the Torons were not listening to her. She was going to approach them alone as well, not to give them immediate targets in the form of the Brions. There was no way they could distinguish between the good and the bad kind like that.

  Before her, Lana heard screams and roars. The Torons were not holding back, it seemed.

  "Wait," she told the Brions quietly and advanced alone, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible.

  Not that I have to try very hard, she thought. Each and every one of them could eat me in one bite.

  The pack of Torons were just finishing up a bunch of clones.

  Lana's insides had only calmed down after the healing, but now it felt like a roller coaster again. The Torons weren't cannibalistic, but they sure looked like it, crouching over a pile of bodies that was only mostly dead. Some let out shrill screams when the beasts tore their legs off.

  She wasn't sure what she should say, but didn't get the time to figure it out. The Torons had noticed her and arose like one. They came at her, looking like walking boulders, about to crush her. Lana prayed that her Brion guards had the sense to stay hidden until she'd at least given it her best shot.

  The only problem was that every word was wiped from her mind as she watched the beasts approach, blood trickling from their fangs. Like before, the thought that was on the top of her mind was a name.

  "Corden," she said.

  Lana didn't know how much the Torons cared about names or if her gerion had even told them his. But they stopped, a foul smell coming from their mouths. They waited, growling.

  Lana wasn't entirely fluent in the Toron language, but she felt it would send a better signal if she tried it out. Searching for something that would show she was there to help, Lana tried:

  "Ally. Friend."

  A light of understanding dawned in the eyes of the Torons, but they still said nothing. Lana went on.

  "I want to help you. Fight Brions."

  Roars pierced the air, seeming to shake the room apart. But then the leader of the beasts leaned forward.

  "Friend," it said.

  Okay. Good. We're getting somewhere now.

  "I will show you," she offered, noticing how her three warriors appeared from cover once she'd calmed the Torons.

  Apparently the introduction could have gone smoother. As the Torons charged and the Brions drew their spears, Lana yelled:

  "No! Good Brions, good! Friends!"

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  Corden

  He couldn't find her.

  The Abysmal's layout wasn't familiar to Corden, not entirely, but that barely slowed him down. He was a Brion and there was a certain logic to how warships were built, after all. So every corridor and walkway didn't go where it did on the Claw, but the overall picture remained the same. It had not taken him long to find Worgen's quarters.

  Fury drove him on, fury like he'd never known before. The mad general's words thundered in his mind, fueling the rage within him. It hadn't been enough for Worgen to simply insult him, he had to unleash the monster in Corden by attacking Lana. The way he'd spoken about her left no doubt in Corden's mind that if he failed, his gesha would suffer for it for the rest of her life.

  And while the Brions were renowned for their skills in killing, they were also very good at not letting people die. Worgen could keep torturing Lana forever with the techniques the Palians had given him.

  All of that had not happened yet, would not happen. Corden wasn't going to allow it, but the images kept parading before his eyes, more real than the actual ship around him.

  He barely noticed killing the guards standing watch before the general's quarters. Corden tore through them without sparing the warriors more than a look. He registered flashing lights and the fear of prey, utterly out of place on a Brion, but they deserved his wrath.

  The doors were reinforced, but the battle spear in Corden's hand was capable of cutting through almost anything in the galaxy. Except maybe the Abysmal's outer interior. Stepping back over the fallen originals, he cut his way through the door with a roar, blunting the blade of his precious weapon.

  Lana. Lana is there.

  The need to save his gesha was the only thing he knew for sure. The spear shook in his hands from the terrible blows he dealt to the doors, but they broke before his weapon did. The impact had been enough to make his grip slightly waver, and he was trying to stop his hands from trembling in tune with the spear. Corden burst through the door, ready to rip Worgen's heart out with his bare hands if need be to stop him from ever hurting Lana again.

  But the room was empty.

  Lana wasn't there. Neither was Worgen. Walking slowly through the rooms, on guard for any surprise attack, Corden figur
ed no one had entered the rooms for a while. Certainly not in the last few hours and before that, Lana had been safely aboard the Flora.

  That meant she had never been brought there. Corden searched for an explanation in his mind, but it was hungered for revenge, not answers. His being called for blood, to kill anyone who stood between him and Lana. Did it matter why she wasn't there? She had to still be on the warship.

  Like a predator preparing to track his prey, Corden shook himself, trying to clear his head. The growl on his lips was almost feral, something that was better suited to a beast than a man.

  Had Worgen lied to him? No. Corden had seen the truth in his words. The mad general had intended for Lana to be brought to his rooms where he could keep her.

  Had he taken her elsewhere? Not likely. There would be a trace of Lana in the rooms then, signs of her fighting back.

  Corden smiled, baring his teeth. His little gesha with the spirit he loved would have certainly resisted. There were no signs of a struggle.

  That meant she had escaped and was somewhere on the ship, needing him. The rage pulled him back into its burning, hot grip. Corden was ready to leave the quarters behind when he heard a sound at last.

  It was so quiet, barely there at all. Normally it would have taken him a second to detect it, but the rage threatening to overcome him was dulling some of Corden's senses.

  The noise was coming from the general's bedroom, right from under his bed. Corden cocked his head, confusion settling over him. Lana would never cower from anyone like that, even if she knew there would be no real chance to fight. But who else could it be?

  As he took a few steps closer, the breathing he heard very clearly changed. It had been scared before, but as Corden approached, it was outright petrified, panicked. The sound was muffled, as if someone was trying to press their hands down on their mouth not to scream.

  The general lowered the tip of his spear to the floor, bloody and damaged but still sharp. A small scream echoed through the rooms now.

  He recognized the voice.