Found: BBW Alien Lottery Romance (Warriors of Karal Book 2) (12 page)

Lower, the water of a vast lake reflected the sun, which was very much like that of the Earth’s solar system.

“It’s so beautiful,” she said, craning forward to watch the ground rise to meet them. And then they touched down.

Her seatbelt stayed in for five seconds, and then it was unbuckled and she was running headlong towards the exit ramp. She was about to press the button, when he shouted to her. “Wait!”

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Nothing. But it is always best to proceed with caution. There may be some kind of deadly animal out there. Or poisonous plants. Or …”

“Then when can we go outside?” she asked.

“Let the computer survey the area.”

“How long will that take?” she asked impatiently.

“Area clear for five kilometres,” the computer said.

“Now?” she asked, her hand hovering over the button.

“Now,” he said.

Her hand hit the button and the ramp began to open. She waited, her lesson learned. “Do you want to go first?”

“Yes.” He walked down the ramp, looking around him to make sure there was no hidden ambush which the computer hadn’t noticed. But before his feet reached the end of the ramp he stopped. “I would like you to be the first person to stand on the planet.”

She grinned broadly. “Thank you,” she said, kissing him on the cheek as she passed him. Then she held his hand, and took a step off the ramp and stood on solid ground for the first time in weeks.

“It will need a name,” he said.

“You mean I should name it?” she asked incredulously.

“Yes. It’s traditional on your planet for the person who discovers something to name it. At least that is what Okil told me.”

“Yes,” she said, her voice choked. “My mom called me Gaia after the Earth. So I would like to call this planet Lilith.”

“Planet Lilith it is,” he said, coming to stand next to her. “Feel better now?”

“Yes.” She breathed in, her breasts swelling as her lungs filled with air and he longed to lay her down on the virgin soil and make love to her. But it was too dangerous; his thoughts strayed back to the vessel drifting in space, and he decided that this was to be a short stay. They would take the samples and then return to see if they were still alive. Gaia was right, the information they carried on who attacked them would be invaluable. Especially if a colony was to be born here on planet Lilith.

“I will fetch the kits we need. Soil and water samples are the most important. Then we will fly towards the ocean and take samples there. As we move, the ship will scan for animals. Let’s make sure that there is nothing like your ancient dinosaurs alive here.”

“That would certainly make life a little more interesting, wouldn’t it?” she asked.

“Very. I think even Okil might balk at ruling a planet filled with giant reptiles.”

He fetched the kits, taking a radio with him so he could monitor the cruiser’s systems too. They were exposed here, and he would hate to be caught off guard by an ambush from space. “Stay close to the ship,” he told Gaia, and she didn’t argue.

“It feels so big,” she said as she filled her kit with water. “A whole planet and we are the only ones here. Why do you think that is?”

“Life, humanoid life, might not have evolved here. Life is very diverse.”

“I know. It almost seems a shame for us to come here and spoil it,” she said.

“Your people would have to live sustainably. Okil will make sure of that.”

“I know. But we will build houses, hospitals, schools.” She sat down and lifted her face to the sun. “Maybe we should ban roads.”

“That would be a good idea. Maybe we can persuade the Hier Council to give you cruisers instead.”

“Do you think they will?” she asked opening her eyes, and looking up into the sky, where a bright flash of light could be seen. “What’s that?”

Rikka looked up to where she pointed, as he spoke, the radio started to beep in his hand. “I’m not sure. But it looks like another ship.” He was on his feet and running for the cruiser, calling to Gaia to grab her kit and follow him. “Leave nothing.”

“What?” she said, trying to pack everything away.

“Leave nothing. They are not heading for us here. Maybe we can get away before they see us. And they might not ever know we were here.”

“Wait. They might not be our enemy,” she said, now running towards him.

He reached the control deck and sat down. “Let’s see.” He pressed a button and then asked the computer. “Can you identify alien ship?”

“Searching database.” The computer was silent as it worked.

“I’ll shut the ramp, we need to take precautions. Whether the ship is identifiable or not, we need to leave. This cruiser is not built for war.”

“But we have weapons?” she asked.

“Yes. But I don’t exactly want to start an interplanetary war. The safest thing would be for us to leave.” He paused. “Under the circumstances, we do what we had originally planned. We go back and try to find out what the aliens on the other vessel know.”

“If they’re still alive.”

“If they are still alive,” he repeated. And if they could get off this planet unseen and undetected.

The computer’s voice broke through the silence. “Ship identified.”

“On screen,” Rikka said.

The screen flashed and a picture of the ship appeared. It was dark, almost black, with what looked like silver markings along the side of the hull. Rikka stared at it, but his face showed no recognition.

“Do you know who they are?” she asked.

Rikka shook his head. “No. The computer matched them to data it pulled from the other vessel. But it can’t decipher the language.”

“So all we know is this ship is known to them, but not whether they are responsible for the damage to their vessel?” Gaia asked.

“Yes. For all we know, this ship might be one of theirs. They may even be searching for the other ship.”

“In which case they may be coming our way very soon,” she asked, concerned. However you looked at it, they might be in danger. The aliens on board this ship might see the Karalian ship as dangerous and shoot first, ask questions later.

“We can only presume.” He sat back in is seat, and did his seatbelt up. “Come on, this may be a game of cat and mouse. I want to see if we can leave here before we are seen.”

“Never to return?” she asked sadly, looking out at the beautiful view. There was so much she wanted to see and explore. But they had run out of time.

“Let’s go back to the other vessel. Find out what we can, and then return home. A bigger force may be sent here. It’s up to the Hier Council,” Rikka said, already starting system checks.

She sat down and did her seatbelt up. Then he powered up the engines and they lifted off the ground, skimming the grass as they moved. Rikka kept a close eye on the screen, but nothing appeared and the alarm didn’t sound. Gaia held her breath and prayed they would make it home. Back to Karal.

Leaning over, she watched the new world pass beneath them. As they reached the ocean, small fish leaped up in the distance and she wanted to come here and catalogue everything, explore every inch of the planet, even if it took her a lifetime. But could she persuade Rikka to come and live here with their child? Would he agree to accompany Okil if they colonised this planet. The planet Lilith.

“I am going to boost us straight out of the atmosphere,” he said, “It’s risky, we’ll leave a trail, and if anyone is looking for us, we will be obvious to them. But if they are not, it gives us more chance of remaining unseen.”

“OK. You’re the expert at these things,” Gaia said, and then held onto the arm rests as they began a steep ascent back towards space. She already missed the beat of the planet’s heart beneath her feet, the feel of its core pulsing through her veins. She smiled to herself as they erupted into the vacuum of space. She sounded so much like her own mother it was worrying.

A nervous Rikka banked. Turning them abruptly to head back towards the wormhole from where they had come. “Six hours?” she asked.

“I’m going to try to make it in three. We have enough power, and I think we need to be more worried about what is behind us rather than what is in front.” He eased the cruiser forward, making them pick up speed. All the time he kept an eye on the screen, even though the computer was still on audio and would alert them if it picked up a trace of another ship.

The time dragged, and the emptiness around them did nothing to speed it up. They ate, they talked, but both of them were too nervous to relax. Until they had exited this solar system, they were vulnerable.

“And once we’re on the other side?” she asked.

“We need the beacons to open the wormhole. If they don’t have the same technology, they will have to wait for it to pulse open. If they even see us. We don’t know if they did; we don’t even know if they would follow us. It may have been a completely innocent crew, maybe refuelling, collecting water or food.”

“Once we reach the other vessel, let’s hope they can give us answers,” she said, her mind whirling. What if everyone on board was dead? What if they had inadvertently started an interplanetary war, simply by not going to their aid? On Earth, she was sure the old ships which sailed across the seas were ordered to rescue any other ship that sent out a distress call.

“Arrival in half an hour,” he said, and then, a very faint beep came through from the computer. “Are we being pursued?”

“Inconclusive,” the computer answered.

“What does that mean?” Gaia asked.

“It means that the ship is too far away, the computer can’t yet determine if it is following us, or simply traveling in the same general direction.”

“Can we go any faster?” she asked.

“Not without risking damage to the cruiser. The last thing we need is to push too hard and damage the engines. We would be stranded like that other vessel then.”

She shuddered at the thought, but not as much as she shuddered every time the computer beeped to tell them the other ship was still within its range.

“It’s not getting closer,” he said. “If they were intent on catching us, they would be gaining on us.”

“Unless they are going at maximum speed too,” she said.

“True. Let’s hope the distance between us is enough for us to get through the wormhole and pull the beacons through before they can follow.”

“And if they have the same technology?” she asked.

“Then we keep on running.”

She didn’t like his answer, yet she knew he was right. “What if we lead them back to Karal, and then they find their way to Earth too?” she asked.

His look scared the hell out of her. “Gaia. If we can’t lose them, we will not be returning to Karal. My people, my planet, are the most important thing. We would be a small sacrifice to keep our planet safe.”

“So what do we do?” she asked.

“We will make those decisions when we need to. One step at a time. Let’s get through the wormhole and see if we can close it.” He set the target and deployed the beacons, the wormhole opening in front of them, dark and menacing. “We should make it. They are not gaining on us.”

They hurtled in, going too fast. The computer beeped at them, and its voice said, “Contact velocity. Decrease speed.” Instead of slowing, Rikka flipped the switch to silence the voice and kept their course and their speed firm. Gaia opened her mouth to ask him what he was doing, but she already knew; he was trying to save them.

They were buffeted along, their cruiser bouncing off invisible walls as they flew blindly in the darkness. A red light began to flash, and Gaia thought she was going to be sick, her stomach flipping in fear that they were both about to die. Then from deep inside her, a warm relaxing sensation covered her and she was reminded that there were three of them now. The miracle of life was growing inside her, and that miracle had a father who would save them at all costs.

The end was sudden. Blackness gave way to a sea of stars, and only now did he slow. “If we’re going too fast, the beacons won’t dock.” He pressed a button and she held her breath while the sound of the cruiser opening its docking port could be heard, then the thud as the beacons were brought inside.

Behind them, the wormhole was closed, but whether it stayed that way, they wouldn’t know and weren’t going to hang around to find out. Powering on, the cruiser flew towards their next destination: the vessel that might just hold the key to who the other ship was, and what their intentions were.

Returning to the exact coordinates of their encounter with the dead ship, they waited while the computer scanned for any sign of them. “Nothing,” Rikka said. “Computer scan for fuel residue.”

“Possible contaminants.”

“Proceed,” Rikka said, and they moved again, heading into the unknown, away from the safety of their next wormhole, which would have put them further out of danger.

“I hate this,” Gaia said.

“We’ll be all right. There is no sign we are being followed. And if we are, we run. I know it may mean leaving the others to their doom, but we have to look after ourselves.”

“Unless the others were good guys,” she said.

“Yes,” he answered.

“Ship located,” the computer stated.

Gaia looked at Rikka, seeing her own nervousness mirrored in the usually cool and confident Karalian. “If you don’t want to do this, we can just go home,” she said.

“If you were not here, I wouldn’t have any thoughts to the possible danger we might be putting ourselves in. My mission would be clear, collect information and knowledge for my people.”

“Don’t you think you can depend on me?” she asked, hurt that he might be put off his mission by her.

“You misunderstand, it’s not because I don’t trust you or think I can’t depend on you. It’s because you are carrying my child.”

“Oh, of course,” she said, a bittersweet feeling washing over her.

“And because I love the
mother
of my child,” he said.

“Rikka.” She undid her seatbelt and went to him, her arms flung round his neck as she drew his face up to hers and kissed him fiercely. “Thank you. I didn’t think you ever would.”

“You have brought a light into my life that I never knew I needed. I want you to bring that same light into our child’s life. I want him to feel your love and joy in the world around us.” He held her close, but then pulled away. “We need to go.”