Defender: A Terran Times Tale Read online

  “For the purpose of stealing women?” The sun was beginning to tint with a red glow.

  Alder laughed. “Or trading. We do not have sinister intent. Surprisingly, we are a fairly social people.”

  “So, this particular spot…”

  “Is only used by my family for holidays. Our talent is rather peculiar, and it requires some time away from others.”

  She turned and leaned back against the railing on her elbows. “What does your talent entail?”

  “Some Baels have an affinity for the people, some the land. I have it for the ocean. The water beats in my blood, and I need to be near it.” He braced his hands next to hers on the rail and stared out into the ocean.

  “Do you surf?”

  “What?”

  “Surf. Um…paddle out on an ovoid board and then turn toward the beach, riding the wave back in while standing on the board. It’s a sort of a sport, something done for entertainment.” He tilted his head. “It sounds entertaining, but we usually just use boats or swim.” She chuckled. “I have never been on a board, but then, I have never been this close to an ocean before.”

  “Why do I think that is not quite true?” She laughed. “Fine, never this close to the ocean and without a job to do.”

  He shifted, and his body pinned her against the railing. “What is your job, Scotia?” She pressed her hand to his chest and smiled. “I destroy that which was left behind so that it can’t be twisted to a new purpose, and I try to do it with as little loss of life as I can.”

  “It must have been exciting.” She quirked her lips. “It was exhausting. I am still on duty though, so I am afraid that I will have to wait to discover any more details of Ikanni social behaviour.”

  “So, have you eaten since you woke?” He sighed and pressed his forehead to hers.

  “No. I have not been hungry.”

  “A swim then and a meal. Nothing wakes the appetite like a swim.” He smiled and leaned his body against hers for a moment before they were on the sand with the waves a few feet from them.

  “That is going to take some getting used to.” She swayed in his arms and clung to him.

  “I am sure you will adapt. Now, do you want to walk into the waves or do I carry you?” Scotia looked at the waves and blushed as she asked, “Can I wear my clothing?”

  “It isn’t necessary.” He stepped a few inches away and untied her sarong with a flick of his fingers.

  Her top slithered away as his fingers caressed her neck. With nothing else to cover her, water seemed to be the best option. She turned and walked into the water, rising up on her toes as the surf climbed higher and higher.

  The chill in the water was a relief after the heat of the environment. Scotia took a deep breath and dove under, cutting the acclimatization short. She rose out of the waves, treading water against the heavy surf.

  Alder surfaced next to her, and by his stable gaze, he was either standing or unaffected by the currents.

  “Are you having trouble?” He reached out and took one of her arms, pulling her against him.

  “I am not as recovered as I thought.” He towed her in, and she tried to grip his shoulders, but his skin was slick. It was his grip on her that kept her stable. “Come along, Scotia. It is only a little bit of distance to a wave break.” He swam with her tucked under one arm, keeping her head above water until they were, indeed, in a sheltered pool behind a rock wall.

  He let her go, and she smiled. “Thank you. Fighting the current was harder than I thought.”

  “You are still recovering from the crash, I should have thought about that.” He swam around her easily while she moved slowly through the water. It did feel good to shift her body through the slowly moving current. She turned and did the backstroke for a while before shifting to her stomach for a smooth crawl.

  “And you know how to swim. I suppose I should have asked that before now.” He chuckled and turned in the water, a creature of shadow and light.

  “They made us learn as children. I grew up in an area with a lot of lakes, creeks and rivers, so our survival was at stake.” She smiled and paddled over to the rocks, holding onto one of the stones as she rested.

  “Are you tired?”

  “I am a little lightheaded. Can I head back to the shore now?” She didn’t mean to sound plaintive, but she lost her grip and slipped below the water for a moment, coming up spluttering.

  Alder lifted her, and the next moment, they were back on the beach, dripping wet. She coughed again, and he set her on her feet.

  Alder apologised. “I am sorry, I just wanted to get into the water again and didn’t want to leave you here.”

  “Next time, just go for a swim. It isn’t like I know how to get anywhere.”

  He chuckled and ran his hands up and down her back as she shivered. Alder pressed a kiss to her forehead. She looked up, and he slid a kiss across her lips while warm air teased her hair and dried the skin that wasn’t pressed to his.

  She felt the hot, hard ridge of his erection against her belly and rubbed slowly against him as she parted her lips and let her tongue duel with his.

  She slid her palms up his chest and into his hair, holding tight. She wanted the kiss to go on and on, but her stomach rumbled alarmingly, disturbing the chorus of soft, wet noises and light gasps.

  Alder broke the kiss and sighed. “Right. You stay here, and I will bring you something to eat.” In another second, he was gone and her breasts were aching, wet and drying rapidly under the light of the reddening sun. She didn’t want to think about other parts of her that did not owe their dampness to seawater. A quick look around found the clothing, and she was dressed and sitting on the beach, watching the growing sunset when Alder returned.

  A crab-like critter wandered up out of the water, picked up some seaweed and wore it as a hat while it skittered down the sand. A bird swooped out of the jungle and tried to grab the crab, but it came away with claws full of green.

  “Tricky little bugger.”

  Alder popped in and offered her his arm.

  “Dinner is served, so to speak.” She took his arm, and he walked her up to the house, heedless of his nudity.

  She thought of the bird and wondered if she was walking with its next target. “Do the Heshi ever bond to animals?”

  “Not that we are aware of. They want to live an active and interesting life, not merely an existence.”

  She could smell something that had been recently cooked. “You managed to make dinner?” Alder shook his head. “I will confess to slight manipulation there. My housekeeper at the village prepared dinner. I simply popped out to grab it before Orriko could catch me.”

  “Why are you hiding from him?” The dinner was on a large platter, and two plates were waiting along with a bottle of wine and two glasses.

  “Orriko and Lillibeth consider you to be family, so they are attempting to recall you before I can claim you. There is a finite amount of time for returning a woman to her family.”

  “What is that amount of time?” He smiled as he helped her into a seat at the table. “It is the time between taking a woman home and getting between her thighs.” A blush ran across her cheeks. “Ah. Well, that is fairly specific and flexible at the same time.”

  “Ah, but how flexible is the true question.” He chuckled and slipped a fish and some vegetables onto her plate.

  She sighed. “Charming.”

  He grinned. “Thank you. The fish was caught two hours ago, and the vegetables are grown in hanging gardens.”

  She nibbled at the fish, and when the taste didn’t make her swell up, she kept eating. It was a habit she had gotten into after her first duel with incompatible foods.

  Scotia sipped carefully at her wine and nibbled her way through the meal. She felt stronger and very sleepy when she finished.

  She sat back and Alder was watching her.

  “Do you need more?”

  “No. I am fine. Thank you, Alder.” She checked her clothing, and it was still co
vering all important points.

  “How long until the station is within sight?” He asked her softly.

  Scotia got up and walked to the front porch.

  The walls of the home were designed to be peeled back for a fully open exposure to the winds, but right now, they were closed.

  She walked down the steps and stood on the sand with Alder right behind her. She looked up as the stars brightened. “I can feel it coming around. It will be here in a few hours.” She was going to continue when a voice laughed through the darkness. “Welcome to the family hideaway, Scotia Pickering. The entire planet is looking for you.”

  Alder disappeared and reappeared a few seconds later, wearing his wrap. “Scotia, this is my sister, Aldeen.”

  The woman was standing in the open doorway of the house, and she had a pack over one shoulder.

  “Pleased to meet you, Aldeen.” Scotia looked over to Alder and saw the thwarted frustration in his gaze.

  Aldeen came down and extended an arm to Scotia. “Come along, sister. We can do better than the hand-me-downs of past generations. This bag of clothing is for you. Some daily wear and swim wear.”

  She looked at Alder and his sheepish grin. “Oh, good. I was wondering about swimwear.” Aldeen laughed, a bright sound that lit the night, and they went together into the house to wait out the station rising.

  Chapter Six

  “So, you are telling me that people are looking for me?” Scotia let her curiosity flow. They were in one of the guest bedrooms, and Aldeen was helping her with the fit of the next wrap.

  The fabric was a vibrant scarlet and embedded with jewels. The skirt was designed so that the tie faced front and cascaded into a second forward panel in the wrap. It was very Egyptian in style.

  “Oh yes. Baels Lerock and Hislar have been to the village three times in the last few hours. Even Bael Norwen showed up, demanding to know what you wanted of his wife.” Aldeen fussed and fiddled, but eventually, she stepped back and smiled. “There. Now you look like a proper miracle from the stars.”

  “A what?”

  “Oh, the whole village knows that you fell to Ikanni dead and a Heshi met you on your way down. You would have survived even if Alder had not found you, though the whispers are that the Heshi are getting more aggressive with their matchmaking.”

  Aldeen took her seat at the desk and made some quick notes. “I have an account with the seamstress, and until your Heshi makes itself known, it is my pleasure to provide for you, sister.”

  “Why do you address me as sister?”

  “Only family is allowed here. If Alder did not intend you to remain with him, he never would have brought you here. Forgive him. He is clumsy at the best of times when it comes to women. He has no grace, only outright demands.” Scotia tried to remember the details of how to fit the clothing, but she figured that she would simply have to try and try again to get the folds just so.

  “He can demand all he likes. I am still on the job until that station is gone.” Scotia looked out the window and scanned for her target. It was a speck on the horizon.

  “It does sound exciting. Tell me about the worlds that you have seen.” Aldeen leaned forward, and it suddenly came to Scotia that her new sister-in-law was young by Ikanni standards.

  “I have seen a world where the ocean is orange, the sky pink and the population ravenous cannibals. The world has no name, the locals forbid speaking or thinking about a name for the world that gives them everything. It is a very tense place.” She smiled. “Shall we go downstairs for something to drink?”

  Aldeen frowned. “I am not allowed wine yet.”

  “How about tea? There has to be a tea set around here somewhere.”

  The young woman got to her feet and took Scotia’s hand to lead her down the stairs.

  Alder was in the study on the main floor. He came out when they raided the kitchen.

  “What are you doing?” Alder leaned against the counter as they continued to rummage.

  “Aha! Looking for the tea set. Aldeen says she can’t drink wine.”

  “She is too young. It impairs judgement when it comes to following men around. She is at that awkward age when judgement is rarely sound.” He scowled at his sister.

  “Don’t listen to him. He is just upset, because I was a biological afterthought. There is one hundred and nine years between Alder and me. Apparently, it shocked the heck out of the community.” Aldeen laughed. “He did more babysitting than any Bael in history.” Alder shrugged. “I enjoyed it most of the time.” Aldeen snickered. “I was horrible to him.” Scotia was relieved when Aldeen put on the kettle. She couldn’t figure out how to manage the heater.

  She paid attention as Aldeen managed to scrape together a snack of flatbread, cheese and fruit. Her mind checked on her detonators, and they were bright and flashing to her senses.

  They were seated in the lounging area having tea and a snack when Scotia asked, “Aldeen, how does transporting work?”

  The young Ikanni laughed. “You imagine the place you want to go, hold the image in your mind and your Heshi takes you there. Simple.” Alder was looking at her suspiciously. “Why are you asking?”

  Scotia reached for another piece of flatbread and nibbled innocently. “No reason. It is just a skill I look forward to acquiring.” His expression said he knew that she wasn’t telling him everything. Suddenly, she saw him as Aldeen must see him, as his people must see him.

  There was wisdom in his features and a tremendous amount of patience. He would wait for her to tell him the truth. He had all the time in the world.

  She batted her lashes in his direction and smiled.

  “How long are you staying, Aldeen?” Alder sipped at his tea.

  “Until you bring her home to meet mother and father. I have orders.” Aldeen smiled prettily. “You can’t have her to yourself until you introduce her to your family.” He exhaled and set his tea down deliberately.

  “Wonderful. I am going swimming. I will be back in an hour.” He disappeared in the next moment.

  Aldeen smiled at Scotia. “Now, tell me about some of the men you have seen on the worlds you have visited.”

  Scotia smiled and wiped sweaty palms on her skirt. “I will in just a moment. Hold tight to happy thoughts and wish me luck.”

  The image of the control panel was steady in her thoughts. She had read the specs for the station over and over, and she was really hoping that her recall was accurate.

  The warmth in her chest told her that the Heshi was ready.

  She sucked in a breath and transported herself for the first time, from Ikanni to orbit in one rush.

  The control panel was in front of her but alarms sounded in the main halls. They were not installed in the station, so it must have been Raider alarms.

  She rushed to the panel and activated it. “Command override, Alliance protocol Alpha-Beta-Spaghetti-Western. Remove impact shielding, deactivate interior shields. Activate self-destruct. Authorization, demolition specialist Scotia Pickering.”

  The lights on the console blinked, and Scotia listened to the stampede of feet coming her way.

  She would have flapped her hands in frustration as she watched the systems cycle from one to the other, but her situation didn’t call for flapping.

  Scotia needed a distraction, so she fired off one of the bombs on the other side of the station. It rocked violently, and she smiled wryly as it proved that the shields were down.

  As the final light activated, the Raiders reached the panel room. She stood in defence of the computer as the blast shielding covered it to prevent tampering.

  The guns aimed at her fired in unison, and to Scotia’s shock, the blasts passed right through her.

  The Raiders shouted in confusion and fired again.

  Again, the weapons passed through her body.

  Shivering, she put the image of Alder’s house in her mind while she triggered the other twenty-nine bombs. Blasts continued, and she held her breath as she tried to move ba
ck to the point at which she had disappeared.

  She was standing in the kitchen, swaying, an instant later.

  “Scotia? Where did you go? Is that blood?” Aldeen was at her side in a moment.

  Looking down, Scotia groaned as she saw the blaster burn running across the left side of her waist. Blood was oozing down, and Scotia knew that she hadn’t quite gotten away with it.

  She hauled Aldeen with her as she ran to the front deck, and up in the sky was a burning, bright ball of energy and destruction. “Sister, I believe I am now out of a job.”

  Scotia thudded to the deck, ass first. The burn on her waist was starting to radiate pain, and it was not a comfortable feeling.

  “Alder!” Aldeen’s shriek carried over the water.

  Naked and dripping wet, Alder appeared at Scotia’s side. “What the hells?” He lifted her in a moment, and the next, they were in a different room, Aldeen arrived a moment later. “Aldeen, get the healer.” Scotia smacked his chest. “Put me down. I am fine.”

  “You blew the station.”

  She smiled proudly. “I did.”

  “How?” He set her down on a table so that she was sitting up facing him. “How did you blow the station?”

  She felt like a naughty school child. “I simply activated the detonators.”

  “That is not the whole truth. How did you use the code you got from Kaia?”

  She winced and clutched her side. “It does hurt a bit.”

  “Answer me.”

  A woman with a medical bag appeared next to Aldeen. “Sir, please stand aside so that I can examine your lady.”

  “Not until she tells me what I want to know.” Scotia scowled at him. “You would deny me healing?”

  “No, merely delay it. Now, how did you blow up the station?”

  Aldeen cleared her throat. “She went somewhere and came back with the hole in her side.”

  Alder raised his hand. “I want to hear it from her.”

  Scotia looked into his ruby red eyes and said, “I transported to the station, entered the code and took down the shields before I detonated the bombs.”

  “You detonated the bombs on the station while you were still on it? I thought you were going to do it from the ground.”