Alien Hostage (14 page)

The vid crew finished their setup, and the director motioned imperiously to Tasha. “Okay, put the princess on the seating cushion.”

Ket watched as Tasha coaxed Noelle to her place and arranged her skirt to flare out prettily around her. He asked, “Where is the cousin going to stand?”

The Dramok in charge waved him off, his expression irritable. “She’s not to be in it after all. The Basma says to let the royals wonder about her.”

Ket scowled at him and Tasha with equal dismay. “Damn it. You mean I could have been enjoying her all along?”

Tasha ignored the man’s obvious exasperation and what it could mean to her if the plan didn’t work out. Noelle’s eyes were beginning to dart around, showing her growing anxiety. Her hands clutched at her dress’ skirt, wrinkling the fabric.

Tasha soothed her. “It’s okay. I’ll be right over there, out of the recorder’s view. Just do what they tell you, sweetheart. It will be over soon.”

Noelle took a deep breath and visibly fought for the assurance she’d had moments ago. Tasha didn’t blame her for the attack of nerves. She was only a little girl trying to be brave. And she was brave, braver than many adults Tasha had known in her life.

Noelle found some reserve of strength. She pointed her little nose in the air and looked every bit like the princess she was. She gazed at the man pointing the recorder at her with poise befitting an older person.

Tasha patted her shoulder and backed out of the scenery. As the vid-man adjusted his distance and focus at the director’s behest, Tasha looked all around with interest. She pretended to be impressed with the setup. In reality she marked where everyone stood and made sure the avenue of escape she’d selected was still clear.

The women were where they needed to be. Sonia and Amy stood close to where Ket shadowed the director, making the Dramok more impatient as he asked questions and voiced unwarranted suggestions. The other women were in close proximity to the knots of Nobek guards who had gathered to watch.

Tasha estimated five feet stretched between the background vid and the corner of the shelter. Through that space, Tasha saw the containment field’s border several feet away, with no sign of security manning it. And why should it be? The containment couldn’t be breached without using a key in the panel on one of the poles. Tasha gazed at the one rising behind the solid-looking vid projection.

It couldn’t be better if she’d ordered the situation. Ket driving the director crazy was an added bonus for its distraction.

The Nobek said, “Maybe I should be in the shot. Just from the chest down so they can’t see who it is, but something to give them the idea of danger she’s in.”

Tasha quelled the urge to smirk over Ket’s obvious desire to be front and center for a smidgen of fame. His narcissism was huge, just as the others had said.

The Dramok gave Ket an impatient look. “That’s not what the Basma decided on. I’m following his orders to the letter. He knows what he’s doing.”

Ket deflated. Disappointment gave way to anger as he looked around. Seeing the women gathered, he gave them threatening looks. They cringed in outright fear at his hectic stare, and for an instant Tasha thought they might lose all their courage and slink away. Yet though they cowered, not a single one moved away from the spot she’d staked out. When Ket turned his attention back to the director and the nervously waiting Noelle, they all straightened and intent returned to their expressions.

The Dramok director approached Noelle, giving her a saccharine smile. His voice pitched ridiculously high as if he spoke to a baby, he said, “Hello my princess.”

The little girl eyed him. In a small but authoritative voice she answered shortly. “Hello.”

Her commanding attitude made the Dramok more ingratiating. “That’s a pretty dress you’re wearing. Do you like it?”

Noelle was not a prissy girl by any means. Most of her wardrobe consisted of play clothes, not frilly precious pieces like what she wore now. However, she remembered the role she needed to play and told the director politely, “It’s very nice.”

“We have toys for you too. Would you like to hold one while we record you?”

Noelle looked over the choices laying at her feet. She pointed. “Yes. The doll please.”

The Dramok picked it up and handed it to her. She sat it on her knee and fussed over its dress as Tasha had arranged hers.

The Dramok beamed a fake smile. “That’s nice. Listen now, my princess. I’m going to tell you what to say, and you repeat it back to me. What we’re going to say will make your mother and fathers feel happy. They’ll see you wearing a new dress, holding a nice doll, and they’ll know you’re safe. And after we’re done, you can keep the dress and doll and all the rest of the toys. Okay? Can you do that?”

Noelle glanced at Tasha for a moment before dipping her head in a regal nod. “Yes. I will repeat what you say.”

The director applauded her, and his crew joined in. Tasha noticed the Imdiko and one of the other Dramoks exchanged sickly looks with each other. They were obviously not happy about the situation, and Tasha wondered if they would turn against the Basma once this was over. Too bad neither man looked capable of nor willing to fighting the Nobek soldiers. The women were still on their own against their captors.

The director praised Noelle in that high, false tone. “Good girl! Let’s get started.”

He moved back to stand behind the Dramok handling the vid recorder. He started barking orders again. The Imdiko crewmember adjusted a reflector to bring more light to Noelle’s staid face. The third Dramok adjust the machine he manned, earbuds wired from it to his ears. Ket and the guards watched the goings-on with rapt attention.

Tasha looked to Sonia and Amy. Their eyes met hers. She gave a slight nod.

The director finished yelling at the rest and looked to his monitor. “All right, my princess. The first thing I want you to say is—”

“You stupid bitch!”

Amy’s yell interrupted the Dramok. The redhead sprang at Sonia, her hands reaching as if to throttle the thin woman.

The next second the two women were on the ground, rolling around in the dirt and fighting each other. They crashed against the stand holding the audio machine. It wobbled and headed for the ground. Its attendant Dramok dived to catch it. The two women kept grappling, knocking into Ket and the startled director as well. The other women started screaming, and they converged on the fighters as if to separate the pair. They knocked over the Imdiko holding the reflector in the process.

Tasha moved the instant she was sure everyone’s attention had diverted from Noelle. She ran to the little girl, who had flung the doll on the ground and gotten to her feet. She looked to Tasha, her eyes wide. Tasha reached her and swung her up in her arms.

“Hang onto me, baby.”

As Noelle’s arms squeezed tight around her neck, Tasha ran straight for the vid projection. She raced through it and behind its cover, heading straight for the nearest containment pole.

As she ran, she drove her hand between her body and Noelle’s, though the child clung like a burr. Tasha’s fingers dug into the left cup of her bra, finding the metal key she’d stolen from Ket’s pouch earlier that day when he’d pawed her tits. It had been digging into her breast all damned day.

If they made it out alive, Tasha owed Commander Bifen one hell of a gratitude fuck. After sharing boyhood memories of picking people’s pockets in the marketplace, Tasha had insisted he teach her some tricks. He’d also been the one to tell her about containments, notably the one time he’d escaped a prison camp situation during a training exercise.

And here she’d thought his best assets were his rough hands and big fat dicks. She’d underestimated Bifen’s uses to her.

Tasha got to the pole. The sounds of chaos continued on the other side of the floating vid. Women were screaming and Ket was yelling. The director’s cries of, “My equipment! Stop breaking my equipment, you idiots!” rose from time to time.

Tasha yanked the key free of her bra. Adrenaline pumped through her veins, making everything crystal clear. She slammed the key – actually a metal strip with an identification drive embedded in it – into the slot that sat in the panel at chest height. There was a distinct hum as the force field shut down. Tasha stepped through and pulled the key. The barrier reactivated, the air between this pole and the next shivering as it was pushed aside.

“We did it!” Noelle cried, her eyes shining.

“Hush,” Tasha cautioned, turning and running for the darkening woods. “We’re not out of danger yet.”

Once in the cover of the woods, she angled for the path she’d seen beyond the landing pad. Tasha reasoned it had to lead to civilization somewhere. Her feet thudded through the growth. Twigs and branches snapped as she ran through the undergrowth.

I’m making too much damned noise
, she worried. But judging from the continued shouts coming from the compound, the melee was still going on. Speed was much more important than quiet at the moment.

She found the path. The cleared ground shone in the shadows as twilight deepened to night. Tasha’s back ached from Noelle’s weight, but she didn’t dare put the child down. She had to get as far away from the compound as she could.

The sounds of chaos faded behind her. Tasha gasped and made her burning legs keep pumping. Then Ket’s shout blasted loud, almost as if he was only steps behind her.

“The princess! Where the fuck is the princess? Check the shelter!”

More dim shouts. Tasha ran harder than ever. She’d have to soon leave the path and try to hide their trail if they had any hope of getting away. A hope she didn’t have a sliver of.

Ket’s furious roar came again. “Check outside the containment!” A pause. “They’re not fucking in here, are they? Look for them!” Another pause. “Get off me, you cunt!”

Then came the horrible sound of a blaster shooting. A woman’s scream pealed through the growing night, drawing a sob from Tasha’s burning throat. Noelle moaned.

The Nobeks would soon be on their heels. Tasha didn’t have a chance in hell of escape, but she couldn’t give up. If need be, she’d send Noelle on and try to divert the pursuers. For now, she veered off the path and wove her way through the dark maze of trees and brush.

In the dying light, Tasha caught sight of a tree branch lying on the ground. It was shaped nearly like a bat, and she needed a weapon. She stopped and set Noelle on the ground. Her back screamed in relief as she grabbed the branch.

Holding it with one hand, she grabbed child’s wrist with the other. “Come on, Noelle. We’ve got to keep going. If you see somewhere we can hide—”

Before she could finish, a tall dark figure stepped out from behind a tree. It rushed at her. Tasha shoved Noelle behind her and swung her stick with all her might. The figure jerked back out of range.

A deep voice called out. “Stop, Matara.”

“Fuck you, asshole. Come on, big man. Not afraid of a little Earther girl and child, are you?” As sure as she was that she would lose any fight with Ket’s men, Tasha burned to beat the hell out of someone.

“Wait. Is that the princess? Shit!” The silhouette’s voice was shocked.

Tasha realized that he had come from the opposite direction of the prison camp. She stopped trying to brain him and peered uncertainly in the gloom. She couldn’t see very well, but the man’s face didn’t seem quite right. One eye looked slightly askew, and the corner of the mouth on that side looked twisted downward.

He stood frozen for a moment, his attitude that of someone listening. When he spoke again, concern filled his voice. He looked in the direction she and Noelle had come from as his body’s attitude went on alert.

“They’re coming for you. Come on, we’ve got to move!”

With that, he became nothing more than a motion in the gathering darkness. Tasha had no chance to pound him with her branch before he got to Noelle. He lifted the child in his arms. Noelle squealed and the soft patter of her tiny fists on the man’s shoulder was like light raindrops falling on leaves.

“Tasha! Help me!”

The man grabbed Tasha’s hand and pulled her along with him into the trees. “Quiet, my princess! You must not fight me if you want to get out of this alive. I’m not with your abductors.”

“Did my daddies send you?”

“No, but I’ll see what I can do to get you home to them.” He tugged harder on Tasha’s hand. “Keep up, Matara.”

He ran through the trees, half-pulling, half-dragging Tasha along. She felt the strain of her legs as she fought to keep up. Part of her mind recognized that the man was trying to help her. The other part that hadn’t caught up to current events felt panic that the strange Kalquorian had Noelle and was running off with her. Both parts urged her to run as fast as she could after the man.

They raced through the trees. Once in a while Tasha tripped over roots and branches, forcing them to pause. She’d recover her footing and they were off again.

At last Tasha fully realized she had come upon help, as improbable as it had been. Though she couldn’t make out her rescuer’s features too well, his almost silent passage through the forest that she blundered through told her he was most likely a Nobek. At least with a member of the warrior breed she would have a fighting chance against Ket and his men if they caught up.