With a smile, I prayed we would be okay and reach safety.
The ship halted as the sound of metal grating against stone could be heard.
Avery removed her seat belt and stood, spinning around while scratching her head and scrunching up her face. “You three okay?”
“We’re far enough away to make a break for it,” said Riley as she unbuckled her seatbelt and quickly rose from her seat.
I stood and waited as Joele opened the door again.
The ramp stretched out and propped itself back onto the ground. The group of us dashed down the ramp to sprint toward the nearby forest.
My pulse raced, and I saw the look of panic on Olivia’s face that I was sure matched mine.
“Hax!” A commanding male voice called out.
Shit. It looks like we’re going to be slaves, after all.
2
Trex
OUR SHUTTLE LANDEDin a field next to a vast forest. We were close to the building’s location, allowing us to reach there quickly without the Zinids noticing.
We inspected our weapons before I ran a hand across my jaw. I glanced at the three crew members accompanying me.
“If there are only Zinids here, the rescue should be quick.”
Commander Krin, my first officer, had his hands on his hips. “Scans only showed Zinids on the surface, but I am sure the Krilex are not far away,” he said with an angry frown.
The Krilex were reptilian aliens, and a vile race who had always exploited a narrow passage between Imperium and Alaran space for criminal activities, and the Imperium opted not to intervene.
In recent cycles, they’d been bold enough to enter Alaran space and had been caught in the act of stealing minerals and other resources from some of the planets.
The Protectorate Alliance Forces were committed to ensuring that no illegal activities occurred within Alaran space.
We were not willing to look the other way and let the Krilex go unpunished for their crimes.
It was well known within the Alliance that a weaker race called the Zinids helped the Krilex by procuring slaves of all sexes from all over the galaxy to sell to the reptilians.
“I know they are behind the abduction. Their presence within our borders is becoming increasingly problematic. The more they encroach on our space, the more resources we need to fightthem off,” I stated, still annoyed at the lack of success at our recent diplomatic meeting.
An emergency meeting of the Protectorate Alliance council on Targus 4 did not turn out quite the way I expected at all.
First, the Ixul leaders, despite having the same issues with the Krilex, refused to join the Protectorate Forces, claiming they could look after their own planet without us.
Then we were about to leave the station when an alarm went off, and we were informed of the Drakkari Calti’s abduction.
It was my job as Commander of the Protectorate Alliance to find her and report the incident to the Drakkari people.
They were not thrilled to learn that she’d been taken from right under the noses of her guards.
Previously, no one had dared breech the security on the station let alone take someone against their will. Until now.
Fortunately, with the help of witnesses on the space station and the implanted trackers on all diplomats, we were able to locate her signal to an uninhabited planet on the edge of Alaran space and the neutral zone.
It had taken ten rotations of searching by several ships, but we had located the Calti. Now all we had to do was pick her up from the planet and deal with her captors before returning to our current mission, which was to convince more planets within Alaran space to join the Alliance.
“Captain, the scanners indicate five female life signs in the building closest to your location. One of them is Drakkari,” stated helmsman Dril over our communications from our main ship, which remained in orbit.
