Taken (Calliston Series - Book 1) (5 page)

"He refuses to talk until the
stick
has been removed," S'rea informed him.

A smile slowly spread over Viktor's face. He gripped Roger's shoulder briefly before he approached the prisoner. Viktor looked down at the Lyrissian male, who lay on a medical bed. In Lyrissian, Viktor asked, "Will you talk if the
stick
is removed?"

The Lyrissian ran his tongue along his upper lip and finally said, "Yes."

"Good," said Viktor. He reached over, grabbed hold of the arrow and wrenched it from the buttock it had been embedded in. The Lyrissian howled.

"What are you doing?" Roger demanded.

"Bill said I could have my arrow back."

"You're a bloody diplomat, Vik," said Roger. "You're not supposed to be torturing the people you're negotiating with."

"The only thing I negotiated with him was the removal of
my
arrow from
his
ass."
 

S'rea pushed the two U-man males aside and hissed at the prisoner, who was thrashing around in pain. "Talk. If you want to live, talk."

Viktor's eyebrow rose as the Lyrissian managed a few words before passing out. Medical was called in to treat him, and Viktor cornered S'rea. "What are the Orka?" he asked her.

S'rea, unable to look him in the eye, focused on his chin. Like his neck and shoulders, there were no ridges under his jaw. In fact, she knew he had no ridges at all.

"S'rea?"

"Not here," she said quietly.

"Then where?"

She opened her mouth to say "your quarters," but remembered that Harom had been injured and was not fit to supervise them. "My father's quarters," she finally said. "He should be the one to tell you."

"As long as someone tells me."

* * *

They were en route to the quarters—that S'rea had, up until last night, shared with her father—when the deck dropped. More accurately, it shook violently under their feet and then the artificially generated gravity cut out for a split second before reasserting itself.

"What the fuck?" Viktor growled as he picked himself back up. He was slightly annoyed to see that S'rea had remained upright. One look at the horror on her face, though, had him worried. "What's going on?" he asked, certain that she knew.

"The Orka," she told him. "They are here."

The red-alert siren started to wail and the corridor quickly filled with Space Corps personnel as they ran to their battle stations.

"Sir, you will need to return to your quarters."

Viktor looked to the young corporal who had spoken, and then back to S'rea, only to catch sight of her fleeing. "Sure," he called to the corporal before he dodged around them and sprinted after the Lyrissian.

He was out of breath by the time he caught up to S'rea. Viktor was right on her heels when she ran through the door. She located her father and threw herself into his arms. "The Orka," she whispered, and he nodded.

"What," Viktor demanded between pants, "are the Orka?"

Tarn looked up from his daughter and said, "The Orka are our other enemy. They are a ruthless, vicious species that kill everyone in their path. I have not been honest with you, U-man. Another representative has been sent to the Orka. We have been forced to align ourselves with one of you in the hopes of protecting us from the other."

If it were possible, Viktor's eyebrows would have hidden in his hairline. "So we're the lesser of two evils?" he asked as the deck shook once more.

"Your people show compassion to those you capture. The Orka mutilate and humiliate before they kill them," said Tarn.

"Damn us for being so humane," Viktor said sarcastically.

"Ignorant, stupid fool!" S'rea yelled. "You make pithy comments while the Orka board this vessel and murder us all."

"S'rea," Tarn said. She tried to pull herself from his grasp, but her father held her fast. The lights flickered ominously a few times before going off completely.

S'rea wailed.

"What's going on?" Viktor demanded.

"Exactly what she said," Tarn said. "The Orka are taking systems offline, then they will board and kill everyone."

"How can they do that from their ship?" Viktor asked.

"
Hsssssa
," Tarn hissed. It was a Lyrissian word that Viktor did not recognize. "They must be more loyal to that Karo than I thought. Any one of them could have done it."

Viktor kept his angry thoughts to himself while Tarn made soothing noises to his daughter. "Will she be okay?" he asked.

"S'rea is strong. She will be fine," Tarn said. "She survived an Orka raiding party once as a child. You will do so again, daughter."

"I do not wish to die like mother," S'rea whispered to her father.

Viktor heard. Neither Lyrissian had spoken of their family other than a mention of sisters. He too had lost his mother violently when he was a child. He reached out and touched S'rea's hand. Instead of the usual physical attack, she clasped his hand tightly in hers, welcoming the small comfort.

"We should do something," Viktor told them.

"What?"

Viktor considered that for a moment. "Get to the bridge and tell the colonel all you know about these Orka. Information helps win wars."

"So it does," Tarn said.

"S'rea?" Viktor asked, not keen on the idea of leaving her here alone.

She let go of his hand and sniffed. "I will go with you."

"Good girl," said Viktor.

"Let me get my weapons," said Tarn, and he shuffled off in the dark. When he came back, Viktor was able to make out the outline of two rather nasty-looking sabers. Tarn gave his daughter two daggers.

"How did you get those past security?" Viktor asked.

"Do not ask stupid questions, U-man," she said.

"Glad to see you're back to your usual charming self," said Viktor. He un-slung his bow and grasped it in his left hand. It would be of no use to him in close combat situations, but it helped him feel at ease. "Follow me," he told them, and then promptly walked into a footstool.

S'rea snorted. "Perhaps you should follow us," she said, and navigated easily around the furniture.

Tarn took Viktor by the elbow and escorted him to the door. "I know where the bridge is," he said. "Keep close."

"I will," Viktor mumbled.

Tarn carefully led the way, followed by S'rea, with Viktor close behind. They had not gone far when Viktor got his first look at an Orka.

Tarn stopped abruptly and S'rea pushed Viktor back against the wall. She was pressed against his side and he could feel her shiver uncontrollably. He found her hand with his and squeezed.

A pair of Orka shuffled past them.
Lumbered
might be a more accurate description of how they moved. In the small light that they carried, Viktor was able to see that the Orka were large, ugly beasts. Their teeth appeared to be razor sharp and…were they salivating? Their arms were overly long and grotesque, giving them a greater reach than any human or Lyrissian. In the muted emergency lighting, Viktor was shocked to find their skin was so thick it almost looked like armor plating was growing on them. It was almost as if these Orka had been made for fighting.

The closer the Orka got, the stronger S'rea's hold on his hand became. The small bones in his hand were ready to crack when the pair finally moved away from them. Her grip mercifully relaxed and he almost sighed in relief.
Almost
because he could feel her glare on him, a warning that he shouldn't make a sound.

* * *

Viktor was impressed when Tarn didn't lead them to the single elevator on the ship. The older Lyrissian instead took them along the back route to the bridge. They were almost at the access hatch to the ladder that would take them up to the next deck and the bridge when they walked right into another pair of Orka.

"I will take the larger one," Tarn said in Common. He brandished his sabers, and while Viktor would have loved to have seen that fight, he had no time. The smaller Orka, which was still head and shoulders taller than himself, decided to rush him.

S'rea shoved the hilt of one of the daggers into his hand and then danced away from him. The Orka paused as if unsure which of them to go after. In the end it decided to continue on its original course, which was straight for Viktor.

His bow, of course, was useless in this situation, so he tossed it aside to retrieve later. Hopefully. He gulped and stood his ground, dagger raised.

This Orka did not carry a weapon, and Viktor realized it didn't need to. They had claws, which he hadn't noticed earlier. Long, very sharp and deadly claws. Viktor dodged a few slashes and parried with the dagger. The hilt, however, wasn't wide enough, and Viktor suffered a deep cut to his knuckles. His hand slick with blood, he gripped the dagger tighter and thrust it forward. The dagger was embedded tight under the rib of the Orka, and Viktor was rewarded with a backhand that sent him flying through the air.

"Oof!"

Dazed, Viktor blinked a few times and looked up to find the Orka bearing down on him, dagger still in its side.

"Oh shit."

* * *

S'rea ran up behind the Orka and jumped on its back. She plunged her dagger into its neck and pulled down hard, slicing through spinal cord. The Orka thrashed around, trying to dislodge her, but once control of its body was lost, it collapsed to the deck.

S'rea rolled away and back onto her feet to avoid being trapped under the Orka. Once assured that the Orka was indeed dead, she approached again, removed both daggers and checked on Viktor.

"Oh shit," he said again. "You killed it."

"Yes," she said.

"We could have…"

"What?" she asked. "Attempted to negotiate with her? What would that achieve, other than your death?"

"
Her
? That's a female?" Viktor said, incredulous.

"The Orka use their females for menial labor and combat," S'rea said as she helped Viktor back to his feet and gave him back a dagger. "Among other things."

Viktor could only stare at the monster that lay dead at his feet. "I don't think I want to meet the males," he finally said.

"You are bleeding," S'rea told him. She had already learned that the U-mans bled red. It was such a strange color, and further reminded her of how alien they were.

Viktor looked at his left hand and winced. Blood dripped from the gash onto the deck. "She got me."

S'rea grabbed the edge of her robe and ripped it all the way up to her hip, exposing her ridged bare leg. "Hand," she said, and when he gave it to her, she expertly wrapped the makeshift bandage around it and tied it off.

"Thank you," was all he could say while his eyes drifted to her exposed limb.

"S'rea!" Tarn yelled, attracting their attention.

Tarn was not doing as well with his Orka female as they had. S'rea immediately ran to join her father. Viktor followed. They surrounded the Orka and took turns attacking. This Orka, however, was more intelligent than she appeared, and quickly worked out their pattern. So S'rea was not prepared when the Orka's claws lanced out at her. S'rea leaned back, but the claws dug into her thigh. She didn't scream; instead she stabbed the Orka in the eye.

When the Orka released her, though, she dropped to the deck, unable to support her own weight.

Both males growled and attacked as one. The Orka never stood a chance.

* * *

Viktor crouched down beside S'rea. She had applied pressure above the injury to stem the blood loss from a nicked artery. He couldn't tell what color her blood was, but it wasn't dark like his.

"Rip it," S'rea told him through clenched teeth. "My robe. Rip it."

Viktor did as instructed, but paused when it came time to bandage her. "Will this kind of touching result in my death?" he asked.

"If you do not, then it will result in mine," she told him. "I do not wish to die, U-man."

"Nor do I," Viktor mumbled, but did what was needed.

Tarn leaned over to check on his daughter.

"She won't be able to climb," Viktor said, stating the obvious.

"You'll have to carry her," said Tarn.

"Me?" said Viktor.

"Him?" said S'rea.

Tarn opened the hatch and stuck his head through. He looked both up and down the shaft. "Hurry up," he called to them.

Viktor and S'rea stared at each other.

"How do you want to do this?" Viktor finally asked.

"I can hold on to you," S'rea suggested. "That would mean you would have both hands free to climb."

Viktor nodded.

* * *

Viktor slowly pulled them up the ladder, one rung at a time.

"I do not know why I could not be on your back," S'rea complained.

"You were strangling me," said Viktor.

"I do not enjoy being this close to you," she said.

"I'd rather you weren't this close either."

"You need to use more of that shaving gel," she told him when his stubbled chin brushed against her forehead again.

"I'm growing a beard."

S'rea wiggled. "What is poking into me?"
 

"Nothing," he said quickly.

"It does not feel like nothing."

"It's the dagger," he said, and pulled them up another rung. "Almost there."

"That is not a safe place to keep my dagger," S'rea told him. "It is sharp and you could lose your genitals."

* * *

Tarn took S'rea's hand and helped pull her through the hatch. He put his arm around her and took some of her weight.

Viktor lifted himself through the hatch and joined them.

"They've barricaded the doors," said Tarn.

"Makes sense," said Viktor, "with the power out."

"I was able to talk to them, but they won't open the door until they hear from you," Tarn explained. "They don't know what is going on and are taking precautions."

Viktor nodded, glad that the Lyrissian hadn't taken offense. "Knock knock," he said as he banged on the door.

"Who's there?" a muffled voice asked from inside.

"Viktor Jacobs, the Lyrissian representative and his daughter," said Viktor.

"Let them in," another voice ordered.

It took a few minutes, but the bridge crew finally dragged a makeshift barricade away from the door and let the trio in. As soon as they were safely on the other side, the crew set about rebuilding the barricade.