Guarded By Them Read online

  Guarded by them

  Between Rebels Book Two

  Skye MacKinnon

  Contents

  What Happened Before

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  About Planet Athion

  About the Author

  Also By

  Guarded By Them © Copyright 2019 Skye MacKinnon.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organisations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This book contains space pirates. Don’t be like them. Don’t pirate this book.

  Cover by Peryton Covers.

  Published by Peryton Press.

  skyemackinnon.com

  For Debbie, whose books have taken me to space and beyond

  What Happened Before

  Earth was invaded by Trads, an alien race who impregnate human women and kidnap them to their own planet, Tradrych. Wren, however, was abducted by the aliens who’re supposed to be the good guys: Athions, blue-skinned and known for being enemies of Trads and friends of humans. Not these two.

  Imprisoned on the ship of Athions Laki and Arri, Wren has to use her wits to keep them from taking her as their sex slave. She sends out a distress call, but has to pay for it dearly. The Athions beat her to an inch of her life, but luckily, two Trad pirates reach her before they kill her.

  Rafaz and Vuk have never met a human before, so they don’t quite know what to do with Wren. After a lot of misunderstandings, she slowly starts to trust them, but just when things seem to look up, the Phoenix gets pursued by Athion ships. They think the Trads kidnapped Wren and refuse to believe the pirates that it was Athions who took Wren from Earth in the first place.

  During a daring flight through an asteroid field, both the Phoenix and the Athion ship crash…Vuk and Raf are unconscious…and when one of the Athions tries to shoot Vuk, Wren throws herself in the line of fire.

  Let’s see what happens next…

  Chapter 1

  Kili

  Three men were dead, but there was no time to say the last rites. The female’s life was close to expiring and I needed to act. Kion was going to kill me for shooting her. Technically, I was in charge, but that didn’t matter much to Kion. The only reason he’d not risen as fast in the ranks as I, was his inability to stick to rules.

  I hurried over to our ship, careful not to shake the female too much. Blood was pouring over my hands, leaving red stains on the asteroid’s rocky surface. I needed to get her to our med bay. I just hoped it hadn’t been destroyed during the crash.

  Kion met me at the entrance of our crashed craft. He stared at the unconscious female in my arms.

  “What happened?”

  “No time. She needs help.”

  “I can see that. I just ran diagnostics; the med bay should be functional.”

  I let him take the lead. Debris was strewn all over the floor, slowing us down. The admiralty would demote us for this. The ship was brand new, state of the art, and we’d crashed it at the first opportunity. At least it had kept us alive. To my knowledge, this was the first time the oxy-tent had been deployed outside of testing. A massive dome structure had expanded around the ship as soon as we’d crashed, making it possible for us to breathe outside and walk on the asteroid’s surface without needing gravity boots. It was pure luck that it was big enough to envelop the Trad ship as well. Without it, the female would be dead by now.

  Kion pushed a low-hanging bunch of cables aside and led me into the med bay. It was chaos in here, the floor littered in glass shards and metal instruments, but most of the critical equipment still seemed to be intact.

  The female moaned softly; a sound so pitiful I wanted to roar in agony on her behalf. She was in pain and it was my fault. I'd shot her. Not that I was going to tell Kion that. He'd kill me for hurting a human. Females were precious, no matter the species, but we were sworn to protect humans. I had sentenced myself to death.

  "Put her down," he yelled and I realised I'd frozen, shocked by the realisation of what I'd done.

  I lay her inside the med pod as gently as I could. I wasn't a small man and she felt no bigger than a child in my arms. I was scared to crush her; make it even worse than I already had. She moaned again when her back hit the cold metal. I hated the pod. I'd spent my fair share of time in these kinds of machines, and even though they were ideal for healing most wounds and infections, it was a horrible feeling to be stuck in one. Before I was put in a med pod for the first time, I hadn't realised that I was claustrophobic.

  "Close the lid, you idiot!”

  Once again, my friend shocked me into action. I did as he’d said and stepped back, while Kion typed into the holographic screen of the pod. With a loud beep, the machine came alive, whirring and humming and making lights flash all over the female's body.

  "Are the Trads still alive?" he asked while calibrating the med pod.

  "At least one of them. The other was hidden behind some debris and I didn't have time to check on him. I just scooped up the female and ran. I'll take another look later, once she's stable."

  Kion nodded. "They might need medical attention too."

  I stared at him. "You want to help them?! They kidnapped her! They hurt her. They're not worth our help."

  He didn't look up. "If we leave them to die, we're as bad as them. Much better to patch them up and keep them contained until they can be put to trial. It's not up to us to decide their fate."

  "But it is," I argued. "We're the only Custos in this sector. I'zell, Tari and Inameto are dead. It will take any other ship days to get here. We should spend our time and resources on healing the female and repairing the ship."

  "She was shot," Kion blurted, sucking in a sharp breath. Azure spots appeared on his cheeks, like they always did when he got angry. "In the back. They shot her from behind, probably when she was trying to escape."

  I didn't correct him. I knew I should have, but if I admitted that I'd been the shooter, things would've got very complicated. It was far too easy to let the Trads take the blame. If I was lucky, they'd be dead by the time we got to them. I bit my teeth together as hard as I could. This was for her best. I couldn't protect the female if they imprisoned me. She was my responsibility. I was the ranking Custo officer, this ship’s captain, and I had to make sure she was safe, and for that, I needed Kion. I couldn't let this mistake come between him and me.

  "Can you fix her?" I asked, pushing all feelings of guilt aside. I was a Custo, an elite soldier. I'd been trained to pay no heed to my emotions.

  "I'll do my best, but this will take some time. We need to shift her around so the pod can work on her back."

  That was one of the few limitations of the med pod. I remembered the agony of having to be turned around again and again. I pressed my hand against the glass lid. I hoped she wasn't in any pain.

  "Will you open that lid or not?" Kion asked in annoyance.

  I undid the latch at the top and lifted the pod’s cover. In the harsh light of the med bay, t
he female looked even paler. As if she was at death’s door. I grit my teeth. I had to focus.

  As gentle as I could, I turned her onto her front, exposing the gaping wound on her back. Laird. That had been me. I had set my gun to kill, not stun, because I’d been aiming at a Trad. We were allowed to do that. I was in the right. But seeing blood seep from the wound made my stomach turn. My fault.

  “That’s bad,” Kion muttered. “I wonder if they shot her before or after the crash.” He sighed deeply. “And I told her they weren’t going to shoot her.”

  “We couldn’t have known.” I closed the lid and stared down at her fragile form. “The Trads are monsters. Unpredictable. Feral. There’s nothing we could have done.”

  The words rolled easily from my tongue. I wasn’t a liar. I’d never been. But now…the truth was too hard to bear. I averted my eyes, unable to keep looking at the wound.

  The pod jumped to life once again and mist filled it. Anaesthetics. That reassured me. Even though she was unconscious, this would prevent her from waking up in the middle of the operation, crying in pain.

  Kion checked the holo screen. “This will take a while, but her vitals are already stabilising. There’s nothing we can do now but wait. I’ll link our data pads with the pod so we can monitor her from afar.” He pressed a few buttons and the device strapped around my left wrist vibrated. I lifted my arm to check the small screen. It now showed a tiny flashing heart, beating in rhythm with the female’s heart.

  I straightened and cracked my knuckles. It was time to act. “Let’s go over to the Trad ship and deal with the bastards.”

  Kion nodded. “But we’re not going to kill them. We can’t give in to our base desires. We’re Custos, we have to act rationally.”

  He took out his gun and switched it to the stun mode. I pretended to do the same with mine, but I wasn’t planning to leave the Trads alive. They’d say that they didn’t shoot the female. It would be their words against mine. I’d hope that the admiralty will believe me rather than two dirty Trads, but I wouldn’t take that risk.

  The Trads were going to die. There was no other way.

  Rafaz

  My head pounded and my body hurt as if a kakaz had run over me. I was still strapped into my seat, thank Atz. I’d likely be injured far more if my seat belt had given in.

  “Wren?” I rasped. “Vuk?”

  Smoke filled the air and sparks flew from severed cables. The floor was littered with debris. Panels had broken off the ceiling, pipes had crashed down, and glass shards were all over the place. I doubted the Phoenix could be repaired after this.

  How were we even alive? A gaping hole in the side of the bridge hull should have sucked out all oxygen into the deadly depths of space, yet I was breathing normally. It shouldn’t be possible. We’d been in an asteroid field and we had to have crashed on one of them. Some asteroids, the big ones, had semblances of an atmosphere, but nowhere near enough to sustain life.

  If the laws of physics were enforced, the debris should be floating in zero gravity and I should be dead, a frozen husk. Not that I was complaining about this miracle.

  I released my seat belt and staggered to my feet. Pain shot through my right ankle as I put my full weight on it. I hissed, but ignored it. I had to find my family.

  I half expected to float, but gravity kept me glued to the floor of the ship. It wasn’t as strong as the artificially generated gravity we had on the Phoenix – set to resemble that on Tradrych – but it was enough to keep me grounded.

  “Wren?” I asked again. My voice was rough and unsteady.

  The smoke made it hard to see, so I stumbled around, looking in all directions, until I spotted a tail peeking out from beneath a bent metal panel.

  “Vuk!”

  I ran to him as fast as my injured ankle allowed. He was buried beneath debris, with only his upper body and his tail visible. I shook his shoulder.

  “Vuk, wake up!”

  He groaned, but his eyes stayed shut. Zut. There was a first aid kit somewhere on the bridge, but I bet it was buried somewhere inaccessible. I squeezed Vuk’s shoulder one last time, then got up and continued my search for Wren. The human was so much more fragile than us. My heart beat faster at that thought. If the crash had managed to injure Vuk and me, then how badly would Wren be hurt?

  I searched the bridge, panic threatening to take over my mind. We’d only just found her. She’d only just started to trust us. I didn’t know what I would do if she was…

  No, I couldn’t finish that thought. She was alive, she had to be.

  “Wren!”

  I circled the bridge three times, but there was no trace of her. She was gone. I guess I should be glad she wasn’t dead. Gone didn’t mean dead. Just missing.

  But where the zut was she? The door leading away from the bridge was barred; something had to have fallen against it from the other side. The only way out was the hole in the hull.

  Voices from the outside made me freeze. Two males. Athions. Zut. They’d crashed on the same asteroid as us.

  I dived to Vuk, remembering he’d been holding the gun just before we’d entered the asteroid field. Nothing. If it was still with him, it was entombed beneath the debris.

  The Athions were getting closer, close enough for me to understand some of their words. I spoke their language well enough for everyday conversations. As pirates, we dealt with species from all over the universe and it helped to know their languages. I wouldn’t be able to have any high-brow philosophical discussions with the Athions, but from what I heard, I wouldn’t get the chance.

  “Let’s hope they died in the crash,” one of them said. I recognised the voice. He was the dark blue kraktz we’d negotiated with.

  “I’d rather they’re still alive. Death is too good for them. Who knows all the depravities they’ve done to the poor female…”

  “Her vitals are getting stronger,” the first one replied.

  I tensed. They had Wren. Zut. I clenched my fists. I was going to get her back. I didn’t know how yet, but I wasn’t going down without a fight.

  I ran to the hole and pressed myself against the wall beside it. It was time to take down the Athions and get to Wren.

  Chapter 2

  Kion

  Kili took the lead, his gun at the ready. He was acting strange. More aggressive than I’d ever seen him. Usually, he was the one keeping cool and I was the emotional one who needed restraint. Not this time.

  He squeezed through the hole in the Trad ship’s hull. The edges were jagged and it was just big enough to let us through one at a time. It was risky, going in like this without any reconnaissance, but I got why Kili didn’t want to wait. We had a human female on board and we needed to get back before she woke up.

  She’d looked so broken. Earlier, during the transmission, she’d seemed fine, if a little scared. Her face had been rosy; so unlike our own blue skin yet beautiful nonetheless. Now, she was in a med pod, fighting for her life. Because the Trads had shot her. Hate tried to push to the surface, but I swiped it away. It was a Custo technique to control emotions. I was surprised it worked this time. It didn’t always. It was as if fate had determined that Kili was going to be the irrational one today, not me.

  “One of them is still on the floor,” he shouted as soon as he’d climbed through the hole. “And-“

  A crack made me grip my weapon tighter. As if in slow motion, Kili crumpled, his body folding until he was no longer moving.

  Laird. One of the Trads wasn’t just conscious, he was strong enough to fight. I took a step back, pointing my gun at the opening. Going through there would put me in the same exposed position as Kili. It had been stupid of him, of both of us. The urge to avenge the female had taken over. It was an instinct as old as our species. Protect the female, no matter the cost.

  “Come out and show yourself!” I shouted in both the Athion and Trad language. Learning their harsh, complicated tongue was part of the Custo training.

  “Come inside and I’ll
tear you to pieces!” the reply came instantly. “Where is the female? What have you done to her?”

  Even though he was talking in his own language, the fear in his voice was unmistakable. Was he actually worried about the human? Maybe not for her wellbeing, just for the cost of his failure. We had no idea why they’d attacked one of our ships and kidnapped the female. They were pirates, so I assumed it was for profit. The thought of them selling her like a slave turned my stomach.

  “She’s where you can’t get her. Now step outside with your hands on your head or I’ll shoot.”

  The Trad laughed deeply. “Do you think I’m stupid?”

  “You led us into an asteroid field. I’d say that counts as stupid,” I retorted angrily.

  “Are there any more of you?”

  “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

  He growled. “I hope there are because I don’t want to imagine the two of you leaving Wren all on her own. She’s suffered so much already. I don’t want her to wake up alone and scared.”

  I swallowed my reply. He was either an excellent actor or he really cared about her. No, I couldn’t trust anything he said. He was a Trad. They lied, cheated, deceived. They’d invaded Earth covertly, using a meteor shower as cover. They’d not even been honest about an invasion. How could I take his words seriously?

  “Stop talking and step outside,” I commanded. “I promise not to kill you.”

  “And why would I do that? I have your friend. If you make one wrong move, I’ll break his neck.”

  I balled my fists. “I have the female. And he’s not my friend. He’s my boss and not a good one. Nothing is stopping me from going back on my ship and flying off with her.”