Stardust

CHAPTER ONE

The fourth moon of the planet Palermos gleamed brightly in the night sky, throwing Aurora Dante
’
s shadowy figure into stark relief. She crept silently, making her way along the high stone wall surrounding the city of Atmos. Dressed in a hooded dark seka, the native dress of Grade 1 warriors, little could be seen of her translucent white skin or her midnight black hair. Stopping for a second to get her bearings, she gent
ly stroked the wiggling bulge at
her midsection.
“
Shh, quiet Talena,
”
she whispered.

“
How much further do we have to go? It
’
s hot in here.
”
The gravely voice was slightly muffled.

“
Not too much further. I can see the ships from here.
”

The wiggling ceased.
“
How does it look?
”

“
There are three Bawna warriors s
tanding guard.
I see no one
else
.
”

A small furry head appeared between the buttons of Aurora
’
s top.
“
Bartok must be feeling pretty confident if he thinks Grade 2 warriors can successfully guard the fastest ship of the fleet.
”

“
Bartok is a fool,
”
Aurora spat, her violet eyes perusing the holding bay once again. She had to make sure there were no other guards about. She could afford no mistakes. Her life was already on the line and this was her only chance to save herself. Could
it be
only two days ago she had been serene in mind and body, secure of her role in the vast universe? Her planet had been at war for the last several years with Argon, the planet closet to Palermos in the star system. The war had taken its toll on her planet, depleting the already dwindling fuel supply. Even before the war, King Jalon had found it necessary to mine the planet
’
s moons for needed energy. Once the war broke out, warriors could no longer travel into space. Bartok
’
s rebel forces hovered above the life dome waiting on any such attempts and attacking the cargo ships without mercy.

Bartok had simply waited for the inevitable. Only two short days ago, the people of Palermos had made one last attempt to break through the barricade and had been defeated in a bloody battle. Aurora
’
s uncle, Darvek, had been lost. No one knew for certain the fate of the king and his royal family. Many thought the ailing king had finally passed to the unknown world and his wife had been taken captive, with no hope of escape. The king and queen had no off-spring and the royal lineage ended upon the king
’
s death.

To make a terrible situation even worse, Bartok had issued orders that all Palermonian females were to make themselves immediately subordinate to the Argonian warriors. Aurora, innocent though she was, had no difficulty in understan
ding such barbaric orders. S
he had been warned
Bartok wanted her for his own private concubine. The very thought made her shudder with distaste even though she had entered her year of maturity, a time when Palermonian females actively sought sexual pleasure. Hence, her decision to take her only friend, a talking turin, and fly away to another galaxy. It was either that or be executed. And Aurora had no desire to be terminated when she had not yet lived.

Talena
’
s sharp claws digging into her stomach brought her back to her present dilemma. How in the world could she ever get aboard Bartok
’
s ship wit
hout being noticed? The answer –
she couldn
’
t. She would have to go through the posted guards. Taking a deep breath, she prepared to step out of hiding and confront the meaty warriors. Before she could move, a blood curdling yell
rent the air as a m
ale jumped into the midst of the guards.

For an instant Aurora was held immobile. T
his was the most beautiful male
she had ever seen. He was tall, well over six foot, and his lean, muscled form gleamed in the muted lights of the starship. Shaking off her initial shock, she threw herself into the midst of the battle with a chilling battle cry of her own. This was her chance to escape.

For endless, precious seconds discovery seemed imminent. The two fought side by side to silence the guards. Finally, the males lay unconscious at their feet.

“
Who in the name of Sacred Lorta are you?
”
The deep voice vibrated with unconcealed hostility.

But Aurora was not so easily cowed. She had come this far, she would not give up now.
“
I might ask you the same question but I haven
’
t the time to stand around and make small talk.
”

Without a backward glance she turned and trotted toward the Galentina, Bartok
’
s prize flagship. The fastest ship in the galaxy.

“
Stop.
”
The word wa
s spoken with an authority
even Aurora could not disobey, no matter how much she might want to.

“
What is it?
”
she snapped. She did not like his tone.

Catching up to her, the tall warrior clutched her arm.
“
Where do you think you
’
re going?
”

“
I
’
m going to get on that ship and I
’
m getting the blazes off this planet and, hopefully, out of this entire galaxy. And if you try to stop me, I
will
kill you.
”
She looked directly into the green eyes above her, refusing to give t
hought to the sudden warmth which
enveloped her at his touch. She did not have time for this. This sexual attraction. She had been warned that when she did reach maturity, it would be swift and sudden. Uncontrollable urges. Unslaked lust.

“
I have no intention of stopping you.
”

Aurora heaved a sigh of relief. She did not wish to fight this mountain of muscle.

“
As a matter of fact,
”
he continued.
“
I
’
m going with you.
”

“
What?
”
Surely she had not heard correctly.

“
That
’
s right. And if you don
’
t come right now, I
’
m going to leave
you
behind.
”
With a supremely smug smile he turned away, his long, loping strides carrying him swiftly to the ship.

“
Wait! I
must
get something.
”

“
Come back here woman.
”
He cursed her as she veered into the darkness beyond the holding bay but she did not stop.

“
All right, we can go now.
”
She materialized at his side soundlessly and she knew she had caught him off guard. She smiled in delight. That would show him she was not a helpless female to be ordered about.

“
Don
’
t do that again,
”
he growled.
“
One false move and we
’
ll both be laser bait.
”
He lifted his hand and a large shadow instantly detached itself from the surrounding shadows.

“
What is that thing?
”
she gasped, unconsciously moving closer to the hulking warrior.

“
That
’
s my friend, Siara. She is a jaguar from the planet Earth.
”

Aurora straightened away from the protective feel of his body, cursing herself for the momentary display of weakness.
“
You didn
’
t tell me you had a pet,
”
she accused, thinking guiltily of the soft bundle at her middle.

“
We didn
’
t exactly have time to exchange personal data cards, now did we?
”
His voice was as dry as a desert wind.

“
Why didn
’
t it help?
”
She couldn
’
t help the faint note of accusation that crept into her voice. Escaping was too important to be left to chance.

“
Siara doesn
’
t like violence. She
’
s a lady. Aren
’
t you, baby?
”
He scratched the big cat behind its ears, earning himself a throaty purr.
“
Besides, she knew I could handle it.
”

His lowly opinion of women who fought was thinly veiled by his smug manner. Aurora had to strike back.
“
A two-year Bawna trainee could have handled it.
”

“
Look, female
, I didn
’
t ask you to get involved in my fight.
”

“
No, but you didn
’
t exactly tell me to stop either.
”
She gave him a fierce glare and had the satisfaction of seeing his firm jaw clench.

“
I don
’
t have time to stand here and argue with you. If we
’
re going to make it off this planet in one piece, we need to go before those guards come to and sound the alarm. Come, Siara.
”
Without waiting for a reply, the stranger and the huge cat moved forward, swallowed by the darkness.

Aurora tightened her hold on Talena and followed. As the old Earth saying went, it look
ed as though she had jumped from
the frying pan into the fire. But anything was preferable to what lay in store for her at the hands of Bartok. She turned and took one final look at what had been her home all of her twenty-four years. The protective dome was open. Bartok took great pleasure in exposing the citizens of Atmos to the harshness of the atmosphere. Even now large s
torm clouds gathered in the distance
, racing across the defenseless sky. In the far sectors, jagged bolts of lightening ripped across the sky, disrupting the energy flow. She shuddered, thinking
of the terrifying time to come under Bartok’s cruel hand.

“
If you
’
re coming with me, get down here on the double.
”
The voice was demanding.