Infiltration (Katieran Prime Series Book 11) (4 page)

Chapter 6

StrykER had the urge to punch something or someone. Why had he touched her, tasted her. He was telling the truth, he needed to get the fluids from her to give to the medic so that he could buy some time to plan their escape. He had watched her for an hour before he stepped in and stopped the medic from running tests. Then he was with her for about an hour. It brought the time OrIN gave him down to about twenty-two hours.

He found FeEZ waiting for him outside the med room. He handed the male the tube. “Here is the sample you were looking for. I am not done interrogating her. Treat her injuries but do nothing else. I must tell Leader OrIN what I have found out so far.” He left the stunned medic standing there.

How was he supposed to set her free and get them out of there when he had no idea where in Kitana he was? Because they were underground, he suspected they were on one of the mining colonies located on a luna. Which one and how far away from Kiljor were they?”

He passed a pair of lieutenants wearing grey uniforms and had matching caps. He looked down at his own clothes, which were the dark blue of the Kiljorn warrior. He stood out, and that was the last thing he needed, or what they needed. They would need to blend in with the crowd.

StrykER walked to command central and requested to see Leader OrIN. A few minutes later, he was escorted into OrIN’s office.

“It’s only been about two hours. What do you have to report to me?” Orin asked, staying seated.

“I am just beginning with her. I will go in every few hours to keep her off her guard.”

“Keep her off her guard. Is that why you touched her?” OrIN pointed to the video feed playing on OrIN’s digital tablet of him stroking the female’s pussy.

“Medic FeEZ need a sample of her fluids and I wanted to prove to her that I had control over her, all of her.”

“She responded to you? Are you not worried that she is contagious?”

“FeEZ will find out for us if she is. So far, I’ve found her weak and not very intelligent. I can easily break her.”

“Your abilities allow you to see in her mind. What do you see?”

“I don’t see everything in her mind, but if she has an image in her mind with strong emotions tied to it, I can pick that up. All she showed me so far is a male she shared sex with on Katiera.”

“Just one male? I was told that many of these females go from male to male. Even KadEN’s
mate
was not innocent.”

“The female, Lindsey, I have met her once or twice. She was not unappealing but nothing special.”

“Of course she’s not special. How could KadEN choose another female over Prima AriELa? There is no comparison.”

He’d heard this before. He tested OrIN’s mind and images of the Prima filled him. He’d had an infatuation with her for years. “The Prima is mated to another.”

OrIN snorted. “He is an unfit male. She deserves so much more and I will see to it that she gets it.”

Suddenly images appeared in OrIN’s mind of him walking the Prime building on Katiera and at his side was Prima AriELa smiling at him. The male was delusional.

“Well, I’ll get back to interrogating the female.”

OrIN waved him out of the room, already disinterested in listening to anything else. His delusions were consuming him and driving him to make irrational decisions.

On the way out, StrykER ran into Commander MarIK. The male fell in step with him as he walked toward his quarters.

“How are things going with the female?”

“I can access some images from her mind, but nothing really important. She does not appear to be a threat.”

“Did you tell that to OrIN?”

“No.”

“It won’t do any good. He has his own agenda and won’t be deterred from it.”

“I’ve noticed.”

“I’m curious, how exactly do your abilities work? Can you read minds?”

“No, I can focus on someone and see images in their minds, and sometimes words form if there are strong enough emotions.”

MarIK motioned for him to follow him. He whispered low so no one else could hear them.  “I wonder if your abilities could intercept my thoughts.”

StrykER understood immediately. MarIK wanted him to use his abilities on him. They stayed out in the hallway so anyone seeing them would think nothing of it. StrykER never had anyone want him to read their minds before, so this was a first.

StrykER blocked out the sounds around them so that he could focus on MarIK. Images practically sprung forward. He saw himself and the female going through the tunnels. Words popped up.
East tunnel.
He saw two warriors stationed at the opening that led to the surface. Then he saw images of him and the female on the outside, on the surface of the luna. More images came to him. The last thing was a time that popped up,
03:00
, and finally the images stopped. He took it to mean that 03:00 was the time for him to make his move.

He looked up to find that they were now standing outside his quarters.  He looked at MarIK. “I stand out around here.” He looked down at his uniform then looked at MarIK.

Images of a nearby supply closet sprang to MarIK’s mind. He would have asked about weapons but knew MarIK may draw the line on that. He did not agree with OrIN but he cared about his people.

“Why?” StrykER asked him out loud.

“I still have my honor.” He clasped StrykER’s forearm and then left.

StrykER went inside his quarters. He had a lot to do before 03:00. He removed his clothes and went to the shower. He still didn’t know where he was or how far away from any one whom could lend assistance, but if they could get off the planet, they had a fighting chance.

*****

Melody watched as the medic studied her sample using his alien technology. He hadn’t spoken at all when he came back in. He grabbed a medical scope and gave her an injection. She began to heal. Her pain eased and the bruises on her arms were fading. Her stomach growled.

“Hey, could someone get me something to eat?”

The medic glared at her. “You are not a guest, but a prisoner of war.”

War? What war? These guys were more like terrorists in her opinion. “Well, that guy who was here before, he wants to question me but if I don’t eat, my sugar level goes down and I pass out. If that happens, he won’t get any answers, now will he?”

For some reason, the mentioning of the other male scared the medic. He used his comm link to request food be brought. Ten minutes later, a young warrior, probably barely eighteen years of age, came inside carrying a tray of food.

“Medic FeEZ, you ordered food.” The male’s voice cracked, making Melody rethink his age. He couldn’t be more than fourteen years old. The medic waved him over to her.

The warrior turned to her and so many emotions raced across his young face: fear, curiosity, wariness, desire. She smiled to try to put him at ease but that seemed to only make him more cautious.

He approached her slowly, setting the tray down on the table next to her. “I brought your meal.”

“Thank you. Could you untie me so that I can sit up and eat?”

The young warrior glanced over at the medic. “Go ahead, she’s a weaker species. At least this female is.”

The warrior leaned down to undo her bindings, careful to keep a distance from her. Then he stepped back to let her sit up.

Melody’s stomach growled again and she gave the young warrior an apologetic smile. “Thank you for bringing food. I haven’t had anything since I was kidnapped. I don’t know how long ago that was. Maybe two days.”

The warrior frowned, not liking what he heard. Even a male as young as him knew to treat women better than that. Maybe she could convince him to help her.

She took the tray and sat it on the exam table next to her. She recognized some of the Katieran fruit, so she ate that first. It was delicious. She glanced over at the young warrior who was fascinated with watching her eat.

“What’s your name?”

The warrior first looked at the medic to make sure it was okay before he answered. “I’m warrior TaymAR.”

“Hi, TaymAR. I’m Melody. Why aren’t you called a lieutenant? Most warriors I’ve met are called lieutenants.”

“I have not earned the rank of a lieutenant. We all start out training was warriors and work our way up. May I ask you some questions?”

“Of course.”

“What was it like being interrogated by StrykER?”

She was confused. “StrykER was the male that came in earlier, right?”

He nodded his head.

She shrugged. “It was—intense.”

“I thought for sure you would have fallen into hysterical cries. That’s why none of the other warriors wanted to bring your food. They didn’t want to be weakened by seeing a female cry.”

“I think crying would have been a bit extreme. He was more intimidating than threatening.”

“You don’t know who was here, do you?” The warrior looked at her in shock.

“No, who is he?”

“Interrogator Stryker was trained on Kiljor as a warrior but he specialized in code breaking, interrogations, and finding the enemy’s weaknesses. Once he even made a Morin cry during interrogations and torture. The few children we have are taught to at an early age to do what we are told or we may get a visit from the terrifying StrykER.”

“So he’s like a boogie man.”

“What is that?”

“On Earth, parents tell children stories of a boogie man who comes for them if they don’t follow the rules.”

“Could I ask you about your planet?”

“Absolutely.”

“I heard that the females from your planet are full of diseases. That you enslaved your males and came to Katiera looking for other males to enslave.”

“Earth is not as medically advanced as your people so we have suffered through diseases over the years. On my planet, the females work just as much as the males do. We are considered equals. Slaves have existed on my planet but we made strides to eradicate that.”

“If you are equal to your males, why did you come to Katiera?”

“My planet is dying. We are overpopulated and our natural resources are almost non-existent. The Katierans offered relocation and assistance. I am sure all the women who came to Katiera had different personal reasons, but mine was more of a career move.”

“Career?”

“I’m a singer professionally. It wasn’t going well for me so the offer to take my talent to another planet was too good to be true.” She took a small nibble of the meat. It didn’t look familiar and tasted a little bitter so she put it back on the tray. She guzzled the water down.

“Singing is a profession?” TaymAR looked confused.

She nodded her head. “Yes, in fact I was singing in small shows and at ceremonies on Katiera.”

“Why did you leave Katiera if your—career was going well?”

“I wanted to see more of the other planets, share my music with them and maybe write songs about your culture and give comfort to people.”

The medic snorted from across the room. Evidently he had stopped what he was doing to listen to their conversation. “How could singing offer anything of value?”

She shrugged. “Some music is purely entertainment, for fun. I like singing songs that tell a story.”

“Show me,” TaymAR demanded.

Melody could have refused him, but if she couldn’t win him over with words, maybe she could with her music. What should she sing? None of her cover songs would win him over to help her. Maybe one of her originals. Sohe chose to sing about her dad. These people knew about suffering and losing someone they loved, so she thought it would be the most fitting.

She sang, closing her eyes and losing herself in the story. Tears fell as they always did when she remembered her dad and how much she loved and missed him. When she finished, the room was eerily quiet. She opened her eyes and saw both the medic and the young warrior staring at her in shock and awe. What surprised her most was the male at the door—StrykER the boogie man was back.

Chapter 7

StrykER could hear her voice before he reached the medic room. Others in the hallway stopped to listen. He paused in the doorway and watched as the female sang. He felt the emotions before he saw the images, which never happened.

She sang about her childhood and about how much she loved her family, especially her father. He saw images of her father taking her fishing and watching over her when she went out with a male. Then there were images of her father sick in a white medical room. Then her father passed to the next world and she was heart broken. She laid a rose on the box he was buried in and promised to live her life to the fullest.

The truth was, he didn’t need his abilities to see these images. Her words and emotions built those images for everyone to see. She was a gifted storyteller and if she stayed here, she would be used and eventually killed for OrIN’s insane plan to become Prime Leader.

He cleared his throat, getting the young warrior’s attention. The boy jumped to attention, almost knocking over the table he was standing near.

“Interrogator StrykER—I was just questioning the female about her people.” The warrior stuttered and his face reddened.

“I believe interrogating the prisoner is my job.”

“Yes, sir. I will go.” He bent down, grabbed the tray, and rushed out the door.

StrykER stared at the medic next.

“I downloaded the sample electronically so I can take this to my quarters to study.” The medic gathered his things.

“Yes, do that.” StrykER then turned his attention to the female. The warrior had been in such a hurry to leave, he had forgotten to secure her again. That would have been a call for disciplinary action for one of his warriors.

Once they were alone, he entered the room and closed the door behind him. He walked around the room, looking for exits and anything that could be used as a weapon. He could feel her eyes on him, tracking him as he walked around.

“So, you’re the Kiljorn boogie man who inspires fear in young warriors.”

He smiled, those stories of him were always so exaggerated, but they did help keep the young in check. It also helped if he had to question grown warriors, as they were usually wary of him. They were the least likely to lie to him.

“I see that the young warrior has loose lips around you. I’ll have to talk to him about that.”

“You will not do anything to him!”

She came to the young warrior’s defense even though she was the one being held against her will. Her empathy toward others would get her killed.

He turned her way and approached. His eyes never left hers. She was trapped in his gaze. He was about a foot from her and reached out to stroke her cheek. She didn’t budge, like she was afraid of making sudden movements. Smart female.

He moved his hand down to her neck. “You’re so quick to defend the Purist warrior. If he was given the order—he would snap your lovely neck.” To emphasize his point, he squeezed her neck just a little. Not enough to hurt her. He would never hurt a female even if she deserved it.

“Go ahead, kill me. I’d rather get it over with than have this dragged out.” She lifted her chin in defiance.

She was stubborn and full of fire, and his cock was instantly hard. He wanted her, but that was not a possibility. He released her neck and stepped back from her.

“I’m not here to kill you.”

“You’re here to interrogate and scare me, but I don’t know anything.”

“You were on Katiera for almost a year. You’ve performed at ceremonies and have met some of the primes. You might have more information than you think.”

She looked down at where the tray had been. “Could I have more water? My throat gets dry easily when I sing.”

“I might order it for you if you answer my questions.”

“Is this part of your interrogation skills? Make me suffer?”

His eyes glowed when he looked at her. She was trying to get to him. Problem was, she had already gotten to him.

Her skin was so soft; he craved to touch her everywhere. Her taste was still on his tongue. Her voice, his heart seemed to skip a beat whenever she spoke but when she was singing, she had seemed to wrap around his heart completely.

He had to look away from her. This was not the time or place to have these fanciful thoughts about a female. That’s all she could be to him—just a female. He had a job to do. Part of that job was to get her out of there safely.

“Fine, what do you want to know?”

StrykER had to make it look like he really was trying to get information from her. The cameras had their audio lights displayed, which meant that unlike earlier, whoever was watching the video feed could now hear what they were saying. He just had to bide his time until he could get her out of there. He had to make it look like he was interrogating her without letting anyone know what he was really doing. “Why did the Katierans go to your planet?”

“It’s common knowledge that my planet was dying. The government sent out a request for help and the Katierans came.”

“Did you know when you agreed to come to Katiera that you were coming to be breeding stock?”

Her face turned red and she glared at him. “We’re not breeding stock!”

“Really? How many of your males made the trip? One...two…?”

“You’re an asshole.”

“I take it that none of your males have come.”

“That’s not true. Prima SandELa mated with a man from Earth and they are about to have a baby. Also, there’s a male doctor from Earth who specializes in genetics who was brought to Katiera.”

“Let me guess. His purpose is to help with breeding.”

“Yes, but for Katierans who have been having problems getting pregnant like Prima AriELa. Not for those who mated with humans. So far, I haven't heard of problems for mated mixed pairings getting pregnant.”

Kitana!
This was going in a direction that he did not want to go. He had to change the subject without it looking like he was avoiding the topic. “You mentioned Prima SandELa and Prima AriELa. How well do you know the primes?”

“I—not well. I’ve performed at some events and ceremonies that they have attended, but I am not in their social network.”

“What do you mean by social network?”

She shrugged her slim shoulders. “I’m not a dignitary, a prime, or anyone of any real value. I’m just a singer from Earth hoping to revive my music career. As you can see, that’s going real well for me.”

StrykER didn’t know why what she said bothered him. He just didn’t like hearing her talk about herself in that way. She had no idea just how special she was. He had never met anyone who could make people feel emotions simply by singing. It’s a gift from the Goddess. He couldn’t tell her any of that because it would look like he was being sympathetic to her.

“Your song. Was it about someone you know?”

She nodded her head. “Yeah, me and my dad.”

“He died?”

“Yes, cancer. It finally caught up to him.”

“Isn’t that the same disease that the Katierans cured Prima Lindsey’s father of?”

“I don’t know.”

“Are the Katierans sharing their ability to heal your primitive diseases?”

“That was part of the agreement, I think, between my government and the Katieran nation. I don't know all the details of the agreement though.”

“If they could have helped your father, why didn’t they?”

She had a sad expression on her face. “My father got sick when I was in high school. He died right before I graduated. I was seventeen at the time. The Katierans didn’t come until about three years ago which was ten years after my father’s death.”

“You’re twenty-seven? You look young for that age.”

She laughed and even the sound was musical. “I feel much older than that. I don’t go out into the sunlight very much which helps protect my skin from ultraviolet rays.”

“The nanos that should have been implanted in you would protect you from any harmful rays.”

“I never thought about it before but that’s good to know.”

“Have you seen any of the warriors prepare to battle?”

“I’ve watched a few training sessions.”

“Have you spent time with a lot of warriors?”

“Where is this going?”

“Just trying to see if you witnessed or overheard anything the warriors might have said.”

“Katieran and Kiljorn warriors do not talk about security issues with me. The only time they ever talked to me about anything was to warn me of the Morins after the attack on Kiljor. They increased their security measures.”

StrykER looked at the time. He would let her get some sleep before he came back. “I’ll send a guard in with a glass of water. Get some rest. We have more questions to ask of you.”

“It’s not like I’m going anywhere.”