Page 36 of Warrior (The Outlander Book Club… in Space! #2)
Daisy
It felt strange to be sitting at a table with my clothes on… perched on a chair instead of Daicon's lap. I slid my gaze to find him watching me, a sly smile quirking his lips, telling me his mind relived the last few days like mine.
We’d barely left the bed, much less the room.
If it hadn't been for Orzon delivering food a few times daily, we surely would have starved. Daicon told me our behavior was normal for a newly mated couple. The teasing smiles Emmy kept flashing in my direction suggested otherwise. I couldn’t help it.
There was no getting enough of Daicon. Here on the alien spaceship, the woman once too shy to undress with the light on had turned into a sex maniac.
I loved it.
I loved everything about Daicon and how we were together.
I even loved sitting here in Khaion’s private dining room across the table from he and Emmy while Orzon offered us seconds of what he referred to as lasagnamaddi—his version of lasagna.
There was no telling what he made the concoction from, but it was delicious, tasting like a heavily garlicked caprese salad.
Emmy curled beside her mate, garbed in a garment made to look like the little black dress from Breakfast at Tiffany's.
While Daicon recuperated in the healer, she and Orzon introduced me to the fabric replicator those on the Bardaga used to make clothing.
While Emmy favored iconic movie dresses, I leaned more toward comfort.
Not that I'd been out of the room to wear much, but the pale blue long-sleeved dress I wore was one of my favorites.
Daicon and Khaion, being part of the ship's governing council, dressed similarly in the uniform of black leather pants, vests, and boots.
Khaion had just finished extolling his and Emmy’s adventures on the Lernax Centauri space station and their subsequent visit to Korfu moons.
Once the Bardaga intercepted the Trogvyk and rescued Emmy, she’d convinced the warriors to mount a rescue of the members of our group.
The Vaktaire deployed trackers on the ships escaping with me, Pearl, Clara, and Agnes.
Willa, they had to track down the hard way.
Khaion and Emmy almost died in the quest. The first bit of trouble came at the Lernax Centauri space station when Emmy accidentally offended a Kerzak.
Unlike sweet Ewok, this Kerzak demanded blood for the offense.
Based on intel gathered from the Vaktaire spy network, they tracked Willa to an Aljani outpost only to have her snatched away by someone once trusted.
While they knew Duke Ako to have proclivities toward human women, they considered his son Nansar an ally.
An idea that got shot to the devil when Khaion and Emmy discovered him conspiring with the Kerzak.
Despite the intrigue, I was more rattled by the description of the vicious, merciless Kerzak. There was no way sweet Ewok would ever act like that—genetics or not.
“Do you think Duke Ako is truly oblivious to the mining?” Daicon leaned back in the chair, his hand rubbing my thigh. The twenty or so minutes spent eating were the longest we’d gone without touching in a week.
“Possibly.” Khaion rubbed his chin and cast a glance at Emmy. “I’ve comm’d Siemba and Dixa. They'll inform their operatives to search for a connection between Duke Ako and the mine."
At the mention of Dixa, Emmy broke into a wide grin and mouthed she’s really Marilyn Monroe in my direction.
The story of how the starlet, long thought dead, ended up in the stars and mated to a lion-esque alien was the talk during appetizers.
The tale only impressed Daicon when we’d promised Marilyn knew Barney Fife.
I didn’t have the heart to tell him any differently.
Daicon aggravatingly strummed his fingertips on the tabletop beside his plate. “I always thought of Nansar as a good male.”
“He certainly was the bad guy when it came to Willa?” Emmy huffed. “I’ll never forget how she screamed and fought when he took her away.”
My stomach clenched at her words. Willa was the daughter and wife of soldiers as well as spending some time in the Navy herself. Before being abducted, if I had to bet on which of my friends would survive alien life, it would be her.
“Do you know where he took her?” I asked. The Bardaga was a ship the size of three aircraft carriers, and still, it was a speck in the vastness of space. Talk about finding a needle in a haystack.
Khaion shook his head before capturing Emmy’s hand and bringing it to his lips in a gesture of comfort. “The last time we heard from Charick, he’d tracked her and Nansar to the outskirts of the Ajaxiaun system.”
“So, he is taking her to Duke Ako’s citadel.
” Daicon snorted and squeezed my thigh. “The Duke will be pissed if he finds out Nansar is in league with the Kerzak.” Every mention of the Kerzak made me think of sweet, little Ewok and what I would do to shield him from the kind of life his species seemed to live.
“Why do you think Nasar wants that drug?” Emmy was a curious sort, an offshoot of her career as a prosecutor.
“Mumje?” Khaion’s brows drew together in a fierce frown. “There could be hundreds of reasons. Mumje is potent. Even a tiny quantity can lead to complete submission to another's will. Depending on how much they mined… it could be enough to control an entire planet… or at least an army.”
"It's all about control," Daicon muttered.
The temperature in the room dropped at least ten degrees. Even Orzon, who'd quietly sidled into the room to gather the dishes, shivered.
“We need to find out what Nansar’s long game is…
and whether Duke Ako is involved.” Daicon had waited until Orzon cleared the table and disappeared through the door before speaking again.
I didn’t believe for a minute he thought the dark blue cherub-looking alien was a spy.
Likely, Daicon stilled his tongue to keep from imparting anything that might worry Orzon.
“Agreed,” Khaion grunted.
Daicon’s eyes danced between his chieftain and Emmy before darting to me. “I have dealt with Kerzak. The creature that claimed offense from Emmy may be dead, but others in his clan will not forget. They will still come for her.”
Khaion gave a long, slow nod, eyes narrowing. He slipped a muscled arm along the back of Emmy’s chair, his hand curving over her shoulder. “They will not touch Emmy again." My friend's gaze at the Vaktaire chieftain held such love and devotion.
“Nansar knows by now he is a suspect,” Daicon continued.
“That will make him dangerous. All the guards on Giezo were Aljani — the two I led into the belief they captured me claimed loyalty to Nansar.
The Duke's son is up to something much bigger than your friend's abduction.
" The thrum of his fingers against the tabletop increased in tempo…
a sign he was deep in thought. Daicon in warrior mode was impressive, but as a strategist, he was thorough and detailed.
Watching his mind work was fascinating.. . and arousing.
"We will report our findings to the Alliance Council. We remain on furlough, but until we reach Seartaun, the Bardaga will function on alert,” Khaion announced.
“What does that mean?” I glanced between Khaion and Daicon.
Alien highlanders Emmy called them, specifically naming the Chieftain her alien Jamie Fraser .
Highlanders were often described as the strongest and most fearsome warriors—fearless, brutal, savage, and unstoppable.
Words I would definitely use to define what I knew of the Vaktaire.
They'd taken a much-deserved furlough from guarding Earth only to help Emmy find us.
Like Jamie Fraser behaved with his wife Claire, my warrior was gentle and loving when it came to me. His fingers captured mine, raising them to his lips.
“It means we will function as battle-ready, sweetling.”
“Do you think it will come to that? Would the Kerzak or Nansar attack the Bardaga?” Emmy's voice held not fear but a level of aggravation bordering on anger.
“I don’t think either is that brave,” Khaion answered his mate.
“But I will take no chances with your safety, my love.” Emmy sighed, leaning against him.
I don't think I'd ever seen her so happy and in love in all our twenty years of friendship.
If anyone deserves this happiness, it's Emmy—her ex-husband Rick was an absolute turd.
She wasn't the only one who deserved happiness, though.
“What about the children?” Twenty little faces flashed before my eyes. “They’ve been through so much. I don’t want them in any more danger.”
Khaion glanced at Emmy before answering. “I’ve spoken with the administrator at Tau Ceti. There are many settled there happy to care for the younglings.”
“Tau Ceti?” I recalled Daicon mentioning the name.
“It’s the human settlement that Siemba and Dixa founded," Emmy explained, reaching across the table to grab my hand in a comforting squeeze.
"Once humans are de-aged like we were, it's against Alliance law to return them to Earth. Those the Vaktaire rescue are resettled on Tau Ceti. The population isn’t all human, but it’s a peaceful settlement.
Some Tau Ceti citizens have even asked about adopting the children. "
I forced a pitiful excuse for a smile to my face. It should thrill me that others wanted to care the children for… the idea shouldn’t cause my heart to feel so hollow. I glanced at Daicon. His smile was supportive, but there was a shadow in his eyes I completely understood.
“What about the other girls? Is there any word about them?" I wanted to talk about something other than the idea of leaving the children on Tau Ceti. It made my stomach hurt.