Rykhan (Book 1 of Mate Search Series) (38 page)

“Let’s rock the girl-power, friend of mine.”
Pam’s voice was barely audible but Leah knew the other woman was
more than ready, willing, and able to get off the Picari
star-ship.

With a hair toss done in tandem, the women
faced the door.

*.*.*.*.*

“What a pleasant surprise!” President Allwyne’s
light eyes danced as he took in the two warriors on his screen. “I
didn’t expect a direct report although I’m happy to see Commander
Stege gave in to my request.”

Rykhan and Bronsyn exchanged a look. “We are
not contacting you as the result of a direct order.”

“Well, be that as it may, Commander Llent. It
is still my pleasure to share a conversation with you and to obtain
news of your glorious mission.”

Rykhan felt his stomach knot as he realized the
President of his home world was blithely unaware of what was
transpiring. At Bronsyn’s next words, Rykhan knew the man
experienced the same. It was never good to be the bearer of bad
tidings.

“So you are receiving regular reports of our
progress here on Earth?”

Allwyne’s laugh was almost contagious and if
Rykhan had not been in such a state, he probably would have joined
in. “Not as frequently as I’d prefer, but I do receive updates,
yes.”

“Then you know that I’ve found my mate, she
bears my mark as a warrior, and she is carrying our female
youngling.” Rykhan’s voice sounded so flat, unable to inject all
the emotion those words should’ve contained. He wanted the
president to glimpse what he held in his heart for his
Leah.

The man on the screen sat back in his chair,
his eyes blinking as he processed Rykhan’s words. His lips opened
and closed as if he wanted to speak but did not know what to say.
“But that’s not possible! I have received no reports of anything
other than the warriors are still on search.” The man took in a
deep breath before smoothing a hand down the front of his blue and
white robes. “A youngling, you say? And it’s a female?”

“Yes, your eminence,” Bronsyn answered as he
lowered his head. “I would’ve expected you would have been told
immediately.”

“As would I,” the man sputtered.
Allwyne turned his head away as if he was thinking deeply. “I
always thought the stories about a shared
wahrom
were just tales the priests
liked to spin.”

Rykhan and Bronsyn shared another
look. “As we all did. But Rykhan’s mate grew her armband which is
an exact replica to the one he was given by
Tsiran
at the academy.”

The face on the screen came back to
face the two warriors. “So
Tsiran
obviously approves of the match. And what our
maker approves cannot be taken away.”

“There are those who are trying, though,”
Rykhan started, not exactly sure how he would explain what the
warriors had uncovered.

Bronsyn placed a hand on Rykhan’s
forearm to silence him. “As you know, a writ was submitted calling
for the evocation of the old
Rysling
edict. We firmly believe that
Commander Stege and the other members of the Committee seek to
harvest human female ovum.”

“Stege is behind the writ?” Rykhan’s eyebrows
rose at the anger he could detect in the president’s voice. “I was
told it was driven by the Coalition for Pure Bred Picaris or
whatever name the dissenters are using these days.”

Rykhan swallowed thickly when
Bronsyn did not reply. It would be up to him, which was probably
the correct way for things to proceed. “When my mate was injured,
she was taken aboard the
Searcher
for medical care. She is now being held against
her will until she agrees to allow her ovum to be
removed.”

The president frowned as he pulled at his lower
lip as he mulled over Rykhan’s words. “Why would anyone need her
seedlings? They are not fertilized, are they? So what good would
come from obtaining them?”

Bronsyn shifted in his seat before answering.
“As I understand it, the plan is to infuse Rykhan mate’s
unfertilized ovum with the life-force of other Picaris in order to
create additional younglings.” He stopped and swallowed. When he
spoke again, his voice was husky and rough. “These manufactured
younglings will be sold to the Picari elite.”

“What?!” President Allwyne bellowed coming up
out of his chair. His hands dragged through his hair and he sucked
in his cheeks. “That’s the most preposterous…I cannot believe
anyone with an ounce of decency…”

It was the reaction Rykhan hoped for, the
exhibited disbelief that another could be so despicable as to steal
living body tissue in order to achieve their own ends.

“This is not what I or the Herald of Galaxia
agreed to,” the president finally said into the quiet. “Not even
close to what any of us had envisioned as your mission.”

“I know, your eminence,” Bronsyn replied on a
heartfelt sigh. “Due to what we’ve both seen and heard though, we
believe this alternate plan has been in place all
along.”

“Your mate is being held prisoner on a Galaxian
vessel?” The president’s question came through sounding both tired
and old, a sharp contrast to the joviality of his initial
greeting.

“Yes, President Allwyne. She is. And
I have been ordered to stay on Earth, my TIPS privileges to return
to the
Searcher
revoked until she agrees to allow Dr. Jyrl to do a harvest.”
Rykhan sent up a heartfelt plea to his maker that the Galaxian
leader could supersede Stege’s orders.

“I will call an emergency meeting of
my council and get back to you both,” Allwyne stated but his words
took away the last measure of Rykhan’s hope. He had wanted an
immediate, decisive decision but he should have known better. No
politician ever engendered a quick judgment. “Until then, go
with
Tsiran
and be
at peace in his will.”

Rykhan was up and out of his seat before the
final flourishes of their sign-off were complete.

He needed immediate help in getting his Leah
out and away from Stege’s clutches.

Not more political maneuvering that only
delayed a successful outcome.

Chapter
Twenty-Seven

Pam and Leah held hands as they stood before
the door. “What did that mean when Wyst said to use
girl-power?”

The smile appearing on Pam’s lips only wobbled
slightly as she replied, “to kick alien ass with serious intent and
take names later. I once had to caution him from pissing me off.
Told him he didn’t want me to turn on my ‘girl-power’. You
ready?”

“Not really but I don’t think we have any other
choice, do you?

Shaking her head, Pam directed her
eyes to the keypad that Leah took as the signal to open the door.
Why was her hand shaking so hard? Maybe it was because she didn’t
know what measures the Picari had to prevent her and her friend
from getting off the
Searcher
. But that lack of knowledge
should’ve been comforting, not almost-peeing-your-pants
scary.

When they were only four steps out into the
empty hallway, a claxon began to sound and the hallway lights went
into strobe-mode.

Pam obviously thought that was their cue to run
and soon she was leading her much larger friend down the long
walkway, their uncovered feet only making dull thuds against the
metallic floors. “Hurry, Ley!”

Leah moved as fast as she could in the
dizziness the flashing created. Strobes had always affected her
that way. No matter what club, as soon as whoever in charge of
lighting flipped the switch, she got a case of vertigo which always
hit her hard. In that instance though, the flashes seemed to
interrupt her feet’s cadence and she found herself stumbling more
than normal.

“Shh,” Pam’s voice was hard to hear over the
loud, sharp bleeps of the claxon but she turned so Leah could see
her holding a finger to her lips. Although her movement looked like
a series of still photos as the lights continued to cut in and out.
“I think I hear something.”

Turning the only corner, the two women
continued to move as quickly as Leah was able. She knew she
squeezed Pam’s hand too hard, but she couldn’t seem to stop
herself. There was no way in hell she was going to lose her
grip.

Coming to a recessed doorway, Pam shoved her
into a corner. “You gotta hide, Ley. I’m just going to the next one
and do the same.”

Leah whimpered and pressed her fingers to her
mouth, ashamed at how her fear showed. “Don’t leave me.”

“I gotta, girlie. Otherwise our operation
‘Outta Here’ ain’t gonna succeed.” With a quick smile and a wink of
assurance, Leah’s friend disappeared from view.

She pressed as tightly into the corner of the
door and the wall as she could, then closed her eyes which helped
to combat the dizziness. With her eyes closed, she could finally
tune everything out until she also heard the sound Pam had pointed
out. Leah tried to connect the noise to something identifiable and
her mind formed a picture of boots. Heavy boots, moving quickly
over metal floors.

Oh god! They were coming!

The Picari were coming!

*.*.*.*.*

Rykhan slumped in his chair, a posture that
reflected his thoughts. Laxon’s contact had responded much the same
as Allwyne and promised just about as little. The male asked for
time to meet with his council and perhaps confer with the Galaxian
president but they would get back to him.

What was the word Leah liked to use when she
did not believe someone’s speech?

Bullshit?

In Rykhan’s view, it was as good a word as any.
Especially since at least in Phoenix, any kind of reference to
excrement conveyed amazement, stated a negative opinion, or called
another person out when you believed they were lying.

To say he was frustrated did not even begin to
describe the churning inside him, although he was trying to keep
his emotions to himself. He did not want Leah to sense his distress
especially since he could feel her own nervousness along their
connection.

From what he saw on the other warrior’s faces,
he knew everyone’s emotions were high. After the group was updated
on the contacts made, citing the fact there would be no immediate
response; silence reigned while the men worked on their next course
of action.

He shifted in his chair and Arbrynt turned to
look at him. “Would you like to send another message to your
mate?”

Wyst glanced up before turning back
to his communication device. “They’re probably too busy to answer
even if they thought to take their
tresls
with them.”

Rykhan shot straight up. “You think our females
are trying to escape even as we speak?”

“I don’t have a female,” Wyst corrected,
crossing his ankles on a large planter. “But I figure that little
pixie wouldn’t have wanted to wait around after we told them to
escape. She’s not a patient female.”

The group had decided to allow the
females to try to escape on their own although both Gyard and
Arbrynt were more than willing to go to the
Searcher
and bring the women back.
Bronsyn had advised against it. If the females were successful then
Stege could not blame any of the Picari warriors in getting the
humans off the
Searcher
.

Although Rykhan wasn’t convinced it was the
best course of action.

He did not care if he would be court-martialed
or that aiding his mate in fleeing from Stege’s plans would have
him labeled a traitor. The safety of his Leah and their unborn
youngling were all that mattered.

Rykhan tapped into the connection he shared
with his mate. He had expected to again sense Leah’s nervousness,
but what he discerned now was fear. He would have given anything,
everything he had to be with her at that moment.

With a start, Rykhan realized at some point he
had gone rogue, as some would have named it. His loyalties had
changed. His mate and their youngling were his sole focus instead
of his duty and allegiance to the Protectorate. Rykhan did not know
when the shift happened but he could not deny that his center of
attention had changed. The loyal Protector of his planets,
dedicated to maintaining Picari peace had been replaced by a male
whose cause was now to his mate and his female youngling, vowing to
keep them healthy, happy and safe.

They had become his only reason for
existing.

“
Who else on the
Searcher
is in league
with Stege and the Committee?” Tyshar finally asked in the tense
quiet. “I mean besides Dr. Jyrl?”

“I would think the other medical technicians
would have to be aware of the plans, don’t you?” Wyst looked around
at the other males. “They’d have to know if they were going to help
with the procedures.”

Bronsyn finally forced out his question. “How
many are there under Dr. Jyrl’s command?”

Laxon shifted in his seat. “I saw at least nine
others.”