There’s also something about her that I can’t identify. Somethingright,something that makes me want to spend more time with her. Something that feels like a dull buzzing in my mind.
She lands a hit on my shin.
She’s beyond fierce. Nowthere’sa spirit we could use. But I suspect she’d sooner burn the whole Empire down than work for me.
“I might,” I state. “What are her friends doing?”
“I’ll check the sensors… looks like some of them have put on their space suits and are coming this way. Without craft. Just in their spacesuits.”
“A rescue mission? In only theirsuits?Youareall this fierce, little alien. But let us be on our way before they hurt themselves or they do something that forcesusto hurt them.”
“All right,”Bellatriz says. “I’ll take us to a safe distance from this station. But we can’t leave this planet just yet.”
“Oh? We have one of their females, which is why we came here.”
“No, we came here so that you could gather aselectionof them,”the sword reminds me. “A single cavewoman is not a selection.”
Caret’ax comes into the hallway from the hangar, sweat shining on his skin. “Let’s never do that again, sir.”
“Not a fan of weightlessness, Caret’ax?” I tease. “You clearly never went through the officer’s course for the Imperial Navy.”
“I never said I did, sir. Shall we put her back where we found her?” He stares at the female in my hands. She’s still yanking at her arms, trying to get free.
“No, we’ll keep her. I have plans for our surprisingly spirited pilot.”
“Keep her, sir? Surely you’re not planning to marrythisone? The first Earth female you see?”
“I’m considering it,” I tell him. “Are we moving away from the station, Bellatriz?”
“Yes. We’re on the other side of the planet from them now. So you are keeping this female?”
“I like her,” I inform them both. “It’s time the Khavgren Empire had an Empress who knows how to put up a fight.”
“I see,”my sword says coldly. “We will be leaving this planet with this Earth woman. Prince, shall I assume that you want her to be safe?”
I frown. “What kind of question is that? Of course! We will do everything to keep her safe from herself.Wecertainly won’t cause her any harm.”
“You allow me to do anything to keep her safe?”Bellatriz persists. “Anything?”
“The safety of this Earth woman is a high priority for the Empire,” I decide on the spot. “Of course she must be kept safe without harming her in any way. I sense you being sneaky, sword. What are you up to?”
“I just had to be sure,”Bellatriz says from her scabbard. “This is the first female we’ve abducted. I wasn’t fully aware of the procedure. But you made it clear, Prince. I recommend you take her to a cabin and that you keep her company for a while, making sure she won’t do silly things when alone. How about the Executive Officer’s cabin? It’s a good size and quite comfortable.”
The alien female has stopped struggling, but her eyes are as defiant as ever.
I point to myself. “Mareliux,” I state very clearly. “Prince of the Khavgren Empire. Caret’ax.” I point at my bodyguard. “Of unknown origin.”
The alien simply glares. For a woman this small, it should be adorable. But she’s a fighter, and I can’t let her appealing looks blind me to the fact that she could still do some damage.
“Her name is ‘Hadley’,”Bellatriz says. “That thing on her chest is a name tag, I think. Those symbols read as ‘Hadley’. Can you show me her helmet?”
I have my hands full just holding the female in place. “Caret’ax.”
The bodyguard carefully lifts the alien helmet and turns it so it’s visible for Bellatriz. I notice it also has symbols on it.
“Shadow,”she says. “Shadow Hadley, using the most common name conventions of her people. Though it may also be a callsign, judging from some of the visual transmission I’ve gone through. It means ‘shadow’.”
“A woman named Shadow,” I ponder. “Ominous. Well, come along, little shadow. I’ll show you your home for the next couple of days.”
