First Awakenings

“Well?” Coleridge asked.

  “We found evidence of where the container landed, sir. There was a large section of material still tangled in the trees and a deep depression in the ground under it,” Commander Taug said.

  Coleridge rose from his chair. “I said to find the pod, not evidence of where it may have landed,” he snapped.

  Commander Taug bowed his head. “Yes, sir. I have my men searching the area,” he stated, turning when the sound of footsteps behind him stopped.

  “Sir, two men were apprehended near the vicinity of our search,” the soldier stated, saluting.

  Coleridge stepped out from around the desk. “Bring them to me,” he ordered.

  “Yes, sir,” the soldier stated.

  Coleridge paused by Commander Taug. The man nervously swallowed, but remained at attention. Slapping his gloves against his hand, he watched Taug wince.

  “Commander, I want the pod and I want the contents, do I make myself clear?” Coleridge asked.

  “I won’t stop until they are both in your possession, General Landais,” Taug vowed.

  “See that you don’t,” Coleridge stated, stepping past the Commander.

  Ash gripped Kella’s hand as they walked back up the platform of the freighter. He was still reeling in disbelief. Mei had been in Pod One, so how was it possible that a strange alien male ended up inside? More importantly, where was Mei and was she still alive?

  Kella pressed the button to close the back platform and removed her helmet. She shivered as a brisk draft of icy air blew in through the gap before it closed all the way. The journey back up the cliff and to the freighter had been exhausting.

  Ash pulled his helmet off, pulled a towel out of the storage cabinet, and used it to dry the helmet before placing it in inside. Next, he removed his gloves and the thick boots. He shivered when his sock clad feet touched the cold steel floor. It didn’t help that the water dripping from his suit made a small puddle around him.

  “Damn, it’s cold,” he muttered, stripping out of the suit.

  Kella nodded. “I will adjust the environmental control system,” she said, trying to keep her teeth from chattering.

  “You do that and I’ll make something hot to eat and drink. We need to go over what we know and where the other signal was coming from,” he said, taking her suit from her and hanging it up.

  “I’ll meet you in the galley,” she replied with a nod.

  Ten minutes later, the environmental system was adjusted and they were both sitting comfortably in the galley. They were studying a three-dimensional map of Turbinta. She lifted the hot cup of soup to her lips and sipped. Ash lifted his hand to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear.

  “Have I told you that I love you?” he asked, trailing his fingers across her cheek before withdrawing them to pick up his cup of soup.

  Kella looked at him with a startled expression before she bowed her head. He could still see her face, thanks to having moved her hair. There was a small, pleased smile on her lips.

  “I think you might have said it four times,” she murmured.

  He chuckled. “Have you been counting?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

  Kella glanced at him before looking away. “Yes,” she murmured.

  She ran her finger around the rim of her cup. His hand lifted again, this time so he could tenderly turn her head until she was looking at him. The look of uncertainty was back in her eyes.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “I’m afraid to tell you that I love you,” she admitted.

  Ash blinked in surprise. “Why? I’m not opposed to you saying it. ‘I love you, Ash’ has a pretty good ring to it, don’t you think? It is really easy to say, too. Four words,” he teased.

  She shook her head and smiled. “Tallei… Everything I have ever cared about she has taken away.” Kella raised a hand and wiped at the tears that suddenly welled in her eyes and began a path down her cheek. “I even hid my box of treasures, but she found it and took it.”

  Ash’s mouth tightened before he relaxed. “Then I’ll buy you a new box and we’ll find treasures together to put into it,” he vowed.

  Kella swallowed and pulled her chin out of his hand. “I told her once that I cared for her,” she said in a defensive tone.

  “Who? Tallei? And she still acted like a bitch?” Ash asked.

  Kella glanced at him before gazing back down at her soup. “She took me outside and beat me. She told me that anything I cared about would be taken away from me. What if… What if it’s true? What if… you are taken away from me?” she whispered.

  Ash reached over and grasped Kella’s hands. He turned her around until she was facing him. She reluctantly lifted her head so he could see her face. Tears dampened her cheeks and her dark eyes were almost black with fear.

  “We never know when our time will come, Kella. Life is for the living. I will fight for every second of every day to be able to spend it with you. If my life ends tomorrow, I want to know I have no regrets. Loving you… You are the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen. We can’t live our lives in fear. Tallei uses fear to control you. Now you have to make a decision. You can let fear control you or you can control it. You are the only one who has the power to make that decision, Kella. I can’t make it for you and Tallei can’t force it on you,” Ash said.

  Kella’s fingers tightened around his hands. He could see the internal battle that was raging inside her. He could also see the moment she triumphed.

  “I love you, Ashton Haze,” she breathed. “I love you,” she said again, the smile growing on her lips.

  Ash laughed and pulled her into his arms. “Twice more and we’ll be even,” he chuckled.

  “I love you,” she said, leaning back to cup his face before capturing his lips.

  The sound of a ping finally penetrated their consciousness. They reluctantly pulled apart. Ash frowned and glanced around.

  “What is that?” he asked.

  Kella paled and a shiver ran through her body as she pulled away from him. She glanced out of the doorway before turning to look at him. He didn’t miss the slight tremble to her hand when she brushed her hair behind her ear.

  “It is Tallei,” she answered.

  27

  “Do not let her see you,” Kella warned, motioning for him to sit down in the copilot seat.

  Ash’s lips tightened, but he didn’t say anything. Kella glanced at him before schooling her face into an unemotional mask. Once she was ready, she leaned forward and activated the communications console.

  “Tallei,” she greeted.

  Tallei was silent for several seconds. Ash recognized it for what it was – a power play. He sat back in his seat and rolled his eyes. As far as he was concerned, two could play that game. Obviously, Kella and he were both on the same page.

  “Your time is up,” Tallei finally replied.

  Kella shook her head. “I have two days left,” she replied.

  “Not any longer,” Tallei stated.

  “The contract stated the time period. I have two days left,” Kella insisted.

  Tallei was silent for a moment before she spoke again. “Bring the alien to me, Kella, and I will not kill you.”

  “No,” Kella replied.

  Tallei’s lips tightened into a straight line. “The Legion forces are here. Bring the alien to me. I order you to obey,” she hissed.

  “No, Tallei. I will not bring him to you,” Kella said in a quiet voice. “I no longer answer to you.”

  Tallei’s lip curled in disgust. “Do you think you love him, Kella? Do you wish to collect him and place him in a box with your other treasures?” she asked in a mocking tone.

  “Damn! I say daammmn, but how do you spell bitch?” Ash asked rhetorically, finally having had enough. He stood up and stepped behind Kella. He placed his hands on her shoulders and squeezed them in support. “You know, they have places for psychopaths like you.”

  Tallei looked him up and down, or at least as much as she coul
d. If that look was supposed to frighten or intimidate him, Ash could have told the bitch she was wasting her time. He had never been one to take anyone’s opinion personal.

  “You are arrogant,” Tallei stated.

  “Yep, to the bone,” Ash agreed with an insulting smirk.

  “You are reckless,” Tallei observed.

  “And handsome, witty, charming, and a host of other adjectives. I’ll send you a dictionary if you need help with the definitions,” Ash replied sarcastically.

  Tallei’s eyes flashed at his insulting tone. “You will come to regret your disdain of a Master Turbinta, alien.”

  Ash leaned forward, staring down Tallei’s one good eye. “Not likely, bitch. Kella is no longer under your thumb. If you come near her again, you’ll have to deal with us both,” he promised.

  “Oh, I will deal with her – and with you, when you come to me. You’ll come quickly if you wish to rescue the other one of your kind,” Tallei said, stepping to the side so the room was in view.

  Kella’s loud hiss echoed through the cockpit. Ash’s hands tightened on her shoulders. His eyes narrowed on the emergency pod in the center of the dim room. On the side, he could see the large number five with a circle around it – Sergi.

  “You know where to come, Kella. You have one hour or I will use the alien I found inside to show you what happens to those who displease me,” Tallei stated before the transmission ended.

  “Son-of-a-bitch!” Ash cursed, lifting his hands to run through his hair. He turned and pointed at the screen. “I’m going to kill her sorry ass.”

  “Ash…,” Kella said, rising out of her seat and placing her hand on his arm. “Tallei… she is very dangerous. She will do what she says.”

  “How does she know where we are?” he suddenly asked, turning to look at her. “She said to be there in an hour. How does she know that we can be?”

  Kella paled and swayed. Ash gripped her arms to steady her. He bent and looked in her eyes urgently.

  “There must be another tracking device. I found one and destroyed it. I… She must have hidden a second on the ship,” Kella said.

  “We don’t have time to look for it, but now that we know, we use it to our advantage,” Ash bit out.

  “What do you mean?” Kella asked in confusion.

  Ash glanced around before turning back to look at her. “Tallei knows how to fight like a Turbinta, right?” he asked.

  Kella paused for a moment, then her eyes widened as she took in his meaning. “But not like a human!” she exclaimed. “What are we going to do?”

  “Good old fashion guerrilla warfare darling – Ashton Haze style,” he chuckled.

  Coleridge wiped the blood off of his hands and stepped over the body of the second man he just killed. He ignored the rain soaking his coat. It was a small price to pay for the information he obtained.

  “That, Commander Taug, is how you locate the information you need,” he stated, walking past the dead body.

  “Yes, sir,” Taug replied.

  “We leave immediately for the town,” Coleridge ordered.

  Commander Taug whipped the water from his face with a trembling hand. “Yes, sir. What should we do once we have the container?” he asked.

  Coleridge paused and turned to look at Taug. “On second thought, you will remain here to continue the search for the contents that are still missing, Commander. I will retrieve the container myself,” he replied.

  “S… Sir? Without a transport? What about my men?” Commander Taug asked, taking a step forward.

  Coleridge waved a hand toward six shivering men standing behind Taug. “You can keep them with you,” he said, turning to continue up the platform.

  “Sir! Without proper supplies, we’ll freeze to death out here,” Taug protested.

  Coleridge stepped into the transport and turned to look down the platform dispassionately at Taug. “Then I suggest you decide which man is going to give you his uniform to help keep you warm,” he replied before nodding for the platform to be raised.

  “Send a message to the First Officer informing him he has just been promoted to Commander. Also inform him that I want a squadron of fighters on standby. I want the city leveled once the container is retrieved and we have departed,” Coleridge ordered.

  “Yes, sir,“ the soldier standing next to him replied with a salute.

  Coleridge walked to his office. He could feel the rumble of the transport as it lifted off. Shrugging out of his damp coat, he tossed it over one of the chairs. Walking around the desk, he opened a panel, drew out another coat, and pulled it on. After he finished fastening it, he reached inside again and pulled out several weapons – including the Knight of the Gallant Staff he was given many, many years ago by his mentor – Jemar de Rola.

  A wave of resentment washed through him. Jemar must have sensed Coleridge’s desire for more. His mentor presented him with a Staff, but withheld the knowledge of how to create one or to pass the Staff on to another.

  Coleridge ran his fingers over the intricate design. He was unwilling to risk destroying the Staff. The countless Staffs he confiscated and ordered re-engineered had ended in disaster. This one belonged to him. No one – not Roan, not even Andri – would ever be able to use it against him.

  “Sir,” the soldier he sent with the message stood in the doorway.

  Coleridge closed the panel and turned. “Yes,” he acknowledged.

  “We will be landing in the city in a few minutes,” the soldier informed him.

  “Perfect,” Coleridge replied.

  Ash held up his hand. Kella nodded and pointed. The image of the map Kella drew flashed through his mind. The bar was at the far end of the compact city. There were two entrances, one in the front and one in the back.

  Kella thought he was crazy when he first came up with his plan. After some rationalizing and a tiny bit of begging for her to trust him, she finally agreed that it would be the last thing Tallei would expect.

  They auto-programmed the freighter to arrive in ten minutes just outside the city where a landing pad was available for traders willing to risk dealing with the Turbinta for the chance of a large profit. Kella programmed the freighter to return to her own landing pad.

  Ash always said that strange things happened for a reason. The Legion shuttle, while not in the best of shape on the outside, was just the ticket to get them here early. For once, Ash was thankful Kella had been overly-productive when she was scared to talk to him. The plan was simple – he would walk in the front door of the bar while Kella walked in the back. If the bitch gave him any lip, he’d knock her ass out – with the nice little darts that Josh so generously left behind for him.

  While he would love to kill the old hag, it still went against every code of honor in him to kill a woman – even one as bad as Tallei. He was surprised at Kella’s response to that. She had vehemently argued that Tallei should not be left alive.

  “The freighter will land in ten minutes,” she murmured in the comlink he had in his ear.

  “I’m walking down the street,” he said, stepping out from around the building.

  “Remember, do not speak, and ignore anyone who might bump into you,” she warned. “Oh, and make sure they don’t take anything if they do.”

  “Damn, I feel like I’m back in Vegas,” he chuckled.

  “Ash,” Kella groaned.

  “I know. No talking, keep the pickpockets away,” he murmured. “I love you, Kella.”

  The loud sigh in his ear made him grin. “You are making me crazy,” she hissed.

  “Tell me or I’ll start crooning Singing in the Rain,” he teased.

  “I love you, Ashton Haze. Please don’t get yourself killed,” Kella whispered in his ear.

  The smile on Ash’s face faded. “The same goes for you, sweetheart. I’d better go silent. I’ve got someone giving me a weird look. I don’t want him thinking I’m talking to him. Never mind, he is a she,” he murmured.

  “Be careful,” she whispe
red before going silent.

  Ash glanced over his shoulder at the cloaked figure he just passed. He couldn’t see the woman’s face, just the edge of her skirt peaking below her cloak. Her slow movement didn’t cause him any concern, especially since she turned down the street.

  He glanced around, keeping his head down as much as he could and still see. There weren’t many people about. If this was a city, it was surely one of the smallest ones he had ever seen. It looked more like a medieval village straight from a horror movie.

  He paused outside of Tallei’s bar. It had no name. He pushed the door open, stepped inside, and shut the door behind him. From the lack of customers, he decided marketing wasn’t Tallei’s talent. He glanced at the emergency pod sitting in the center of the room, but walked past it like it was normal to have one sitting in the middle of a bar. He walked over and sat down in a chair near the front window, making sure he had the wall to his back. A moment later, the door opened and several more people entered. Ash’s gaze narrowed when he saw the stooped woman from the street enter last. She was carrying a basket now.

  Ash immediately recognized Tallei when she stepped from the back of the bar. She spoke in a low, menacing tone to the men who had entered. One of the men started to protest, but the other two men with him grabbed him by the arm and pulled him toward the door.

  “Nebi mau keti mi,” Tallei ordered, waving her hand at the men.

  Ash watched the men stumble back out into the rain. He remained seated in the shadows. She sneered and shut the door, locking it with a large key. Turning, she paused when she saw him sitting in the corner.

  “Nebi mau keti mi!” Tallei snarled.

  Ash leaned forward and pulled the hood off of his head. He tilted his head and grinned. He really wished he had a camera because her face was the perfect Kodak moment.

  “Sorry, bitch, I don’t understand what you’re saying, but I have to say, if your tone is anything to go by, you need some serious counseling on how to run a business ,” Ash observed.

  “You!” Tallei snarled.

  Ash shook his head and tsked. “I guess I really should introduce myself seeing as how we are going to be related and all. The name is Ashton Haze. Lt. Commander Ashton Haze, United States Navy,” he introduced himself, standing slowly.