MILITARY ROMANCE: The War Within Himself (Alpha Bad Boy Marine Army Seal) (Contemporary Military Suspense & Thriller Romance) (126 page)

“Sorry?” He looks at me. “Nothing is wrong, love. Merely unusual.” He’s pensive and contemplative. “It is unheard of for a Sentient-Ship to contact someone aboard, even if I am still commander.” I pull away and look at him. “I am glad he chose to do so, however,” he adds, squeezing me into his side.

“Acrulla told me we were linked by unbreakable bonds and because we’d both shared his mind, we were part of what makes him up,” I explain. “I don’t pretend to understand, but there it is.” Talacanthus nods slowly as if he
does
understand. “What will happen now?” I wonder in my small voice again.

“I shall take a little time to recover and heal. Then I will go and find Jonober and hack him into tiny little pieces.”

I feel a chill run up my spine at his words but really feel the same way.  I look forward to watching Talacanthus destroy that little imposter. “I know you’ve only just woken and need to rest, but is there any chance you can tell me where to find a little food?”

“How long since you ate?”

“Days, I think,” I tell him. “I could use a drink as well.”

Talacanthus moves slowly onto hands and knees before trying to get to his feet. With a shout, he drops back to the ground and shudders in pain.

“Let me help!” I cry out and try to lever him up. With a huge amount of grunting and pain, I manage to get him to his feet, and he guides us towards what I assume to be a door.

***

The pain is more than I can bear. I can see darkness creeping into the edges of my vision, and every step we take jolts more agony up from my thorax and into the rest of my body. Hetty is trying to help me yet has been weakened by lack of nutrition, and our short journey is set to take a lifetime.

Eventually, we reach the door which opens before us, exiting the Personal Storage section and its historic wares. From what I recall, there are a number of low level crew quarters on the level above us. I only hope we can make the journey in such poor states.

“Come, my love,” I pant. “We must climb to the next level.” Hetty looks at me with love and trust in her eyes, and I feel a tightening in my thorax. The reason for it is beyond me, yet I can only assume it is to do with the feelings she has stirred in me.

The corridor branches off to left and right. Both offer the same outcome. Hetty pulls me left, so we stumble along that way, every step an explosion of searing agony through my whole body. We eventually reach the ramp leading to the upper level, and my thought center tells me I have little chance of making the climb.

Barely a quarter of the ways up, my legs fold beneath me, and I drag Hetty to the floor, bringing a scream from her throat.

“My sweet, you are hurt.” I say, yet my beautiful, alien creature shakes her head, making her fine curls bounce around.

“Don’t worry about me, babe. I’m fine.” This confuses me. Am I some kind of infant? I ask her this and she laughs. “No, it’s something you say to someone you’ve got feelings for or want to be with.” I nod then hold my fingers to her warm mouth as I hear voices above us.

“...is nothing but a fool and will end us all,” someone states.

“I know. Can you imagine what would actually happen if he was to cut one of Acrulla’s hearts out?” I can hear their footsteps as they pass by the far end of the ramp we are on. “Things were so much better under Talacanthus. Now there was an Intrellian who knew how to run a Sentient-Ship.”

“Crewmen!” I shout as loudly as I can. “Aid us.” There is a pause, presumably while the two above take in the fact no one should really be down here. Then I hear the sound of running feet. They both skid to a halt a few meters away from us, eyes wide in shock at the sight of their dead commander and his alien consort.

“Commander Talacanthus!” One cries out.

The other can merely stare. “I thought you were in the Hereafter.”

“I was,” I tell them. “I got bored, so I decided to return. Will you help us?” Both of them snap to attention immediately.

“Of course, commander,” they speak in unison.

***

I’m comfortable now. Apparently, there are quite a few Intrellians who are still faithful to Talacanthus and more than happy to help us in the hope he will resume his command. We’ve been fed and watered, and a healer of some kind has been to tend to his wound, muttering and fretting over the amount of time he has been left without medical attention. One of the crew gave up his quarters for us to recover in and all have agreed to keep the secret of his being alive. We’re warm and safe for now.

Snuggled up to Talacanthus’ side, I feel drowsy and on the verge of sleep, until a hard knock comes at the door.

“Come in,” I call.

The Intrellian whose room this is enters, his eyes flicking from me to Talacanthus who’s sleeping soundly in his bed. “There is no need to rise, great lady,” he tells me. “I merely need to fetch some tools, so I may follow my assigned duties.” He seems almost nervous.

I reach out to him, grabbing his arm and making him freeze. “No, this is your room, and you have lent it to us from the goodness of your heart.” My throat tightens at his simple act of kindness. “I will stand when you enter. It’s the least I can do.” I lean in and wrap my arms around his vast chest, squeezing him tightly. I feel his body tense as if this is wrong in some way, but he speaks again.

“And this is the least I can do, great lady,” he tells me. “On the day Commander Talacanthus rids this ship of Jonober, I shall receive my reward.” He manages to extricate himself from me and takes a small case from inside a cupboard. “I must leave now, great lady.” I nod and watch him go.

“Charming the crew now are you?” Talacanthus teases me from his bed.

“You’re supposed to be asleep!” I tell him mock harshly.

“Yes, great lady.”

***

“Four cycles have passed.
Four cycles!
” I scream across the heads of the gathered Intrellians. “And what progress have you made in getting this bucket of shit to move through space?” I scan their faces. “None at all. Will someone explain this to me?” Not one of them dares move, and I can feel the fright in the room, satisfying me greatly. None can stand against me now that I have vanquished Talacanthus. “No?” I quiz, taunting them. “I shall have to select a few of your number to serve as examples to the rest.” At least they manage to meet this with a stoic silence.

***

Such sleep is the thing of cycles past. I have not slept so soundly or well, or even for so long, in many cycles, yet I must wake. My eyelids peel back and take in the unfamiliar surroundings of Benslala’s quarters. Tentatively, I sit up, feeling the pain in my thorax has muted to less than a dull ache. Whatever else that healer might be, he can work miracles with wounds. I look down and see the scar tissue on my flesh, bringing back the blinding rage I feel at Jonober’s cowardice. I will make him pay dearly for using projectile weapons to subdue me.

Where is Hetty?
I swing my legs to the warm floor of Acrulla and step over to the door. Outside is an industrious looking crew member performing some kind of maintenance behind an access pane.

“Have you seen the alien female I had with me?” I ask his surprised face.

“No, Commander. I have only been here a short time and seen no one.”

“Carry on,” I tell him and return to Benslala’s quarters. There I find the pair of daggers Hetty discovered, and something cold makes my chest go tight. I believe something is wrong. Someone has discovered us and taken Hetty to use against me.

***

Unbelievably, I’ve been kidnapped now. One of the female Intrellians crept into our room and pressed a knife to my throat, pulling me from Talacanthus’ side and dragging me through the ship. I don’t know how she managed it. There’s no one around at all. Maybe there’s a change of shift and in between one set of workers and the next.

“You don’t have to do this,” I tell her. “I’ll come easily.”

“Silence, filth.” If she’s surprised at my speaking her language, she doesn’t show it. She just shoves me along corridors and up the ramps, which join levels inside Acrulla.

***

The communications sub-chief locks eyes with me as I move towards him with a dance like action. My short sword lashes out, opening a slash on Dhualcan’s forearm down to the bone. This is the first of those I intend to kill, ridding myself of the turncoat crew who still cling to the memory of their inferior commander. I lash out again, the very tip of my blade lancing into his cheek, so deep I can see teeth glistening wetly under the flap of muscle, which peels away. So far, this is the third such fight I have had with the remaining crew looking on, and I have begun to inflict as many wounds as I can before watching them die at my feet.

Dhualcan has not uttered a sound yet. However, I fully intend to make him scream before allowing him to go into the Hereafter and savagely hack downward into the muscles over his right shoulder. My sword sinks in deep enough to rake over his bone. This draws a keen howl from his throat.

“This is what awaits those who stand against me!” I bellow to the gathered crew. “You will have the chance to...” My eyes fall on the alien female, who should be securely locked in her cell next to the other two of her kind. She is being held at knife point by a female who is unknown to me and shoved towards me.

“Commander, here is the alien who Talacanthus consorts with,” she tells me. “When I took her, I saw him lying on the same bed as this one.” Shock and fear crawl up through me.

“How is that even possible?” I demand.

“Commander, I am unsure how he lives, yet he does.” Dhualcan scurries back from me, sensing he might just live, and I reach out for the alien female.

***

Jonober grabs me by the top of my arm, squeezing hard enough to make me gasp. I finally see the female who took me and am shocked to see it’s Bhentus, the Intrellian female who bonded to Deakins,

“Why are you doing this?” I ask her as Jonober pulls me away.

“He might free my beloved if I align myself with him,” comes her answer.

“I understand,” I tell her gently, “but ally with us, and I guarantee he’ll be released. He’s my friend, after all.” I can see her think it over for a second before she shakes her head.

“Be silent, fat breeder,” Jonober spits at me, slapping my face as hard as he did in my cell. I feel my head snap back and lose my balance, falling to the floor. He drags me along the floor, half carrying me while my mind reels from his slap.

“JONOBER!” Talacanthus’ voice thunders through the room, and I fixate on the sound of it, hope filling my chest. “Unhand my female and face me like a true Intrellian.” Jonober throws me to the floor, snarling.

“How do you still live?” He demands. “Come then and finally die at my hand.”

I can make out Talacanthus’ form now, stalking towards where I lie at his enemy’s feet. He looks magnificent, and pride swells me.
My
alien has come to get me, and he will destroy anyone who threatens me.

Jonober grabs me again, lifting me to shield him from Talacanthus’ incandescent rage.

I look on as my alien stretches his arms wide,

“Here you have the pretender to my position.” Talacanthus turns in a small circle, addressing the gathered Intrellians. “Hiding behind a female from another species.” I hear a few hisses of laughter from the crowd.

Jonober pushes me at Talacanthus hard enough to jar my neck again – I’m sure I’ll have whiplash when this is all over – and I stagger into his arms.

“Here is your brood sow,” Jonober shouts. “I will kill her slowly.” He pauses. “Just as I did your brother.”

I crash into Talacanthus as he hears these words and feel his entire body stiffen. His arm comes up and around me, guiding me past him to where Benslala looks on. He turns back to face Jonober just in time to deflect a vicious cut aimed at his chest. As Jonober’s swing is knocked aside, it sends him off balance, and Talacanthus smashes his fist into his opponent’s face hard enough to crush bone.

Jonober grunts and hits the floor, letting Talacanthus kick him in the chest about four times. He hangs back and allows Jonober to get up, blood pouring from his face and one arm wrapped round his own chest. Talacanthus looks enormous to my eyes, his shoulders bunched up with muscle and his arms spread a little, talons at the ready. He doesn’t even need the weapons I found. He’s going to rip Jonober apart with his bare hands.

Talacanthus dodges a clumsy thrust, tripping Jonober as he goes past, making him sprawl on the floor again. He rolls over to find Talacanthus standing over him, His foot smashes down on his enemy’s sword arm, and Jonober screams as the bones in his arm splinter and shatter.

Talacanthus squats next to Jonober’s head and grips his other arm, twisting and pulling the limb until it snaps with a very audible crack. My stomach rolls as Jonober screams again.

The sounds of this fight are making me feel extremely sick. I watch as Talacanthus spears his massive arms down, ripping straight into Jonober’s stomach, piercing through his muscles and straight into his tender insides.

“Did you feel this good?” Talacanthus asks. “When you killed my brother?” Jonober grunts a gasp as Talacanthus wrenches his arms up, yanking intestines and internal organs out of his enemy. Blood sprays from the lacerations he’s made with his clawed fingers, and Talacanthus dumps the whole blood-soaked mess into Jonober’s face, choking him on his own guts.