Ark: A Scifi Alien Romance (3 page)

All the same, these were not my stars, and I felt the pull to go home. It had been a long time since I had seen the cliffs near my home city on Kreoss, and it would be many more months, if not years, before I would return. Memories of running through the fields and diving off the cliffs only to fly back up over, wings beating heavy in the damp air, watching the sun come up over the ocean, rushed over me in waves.

I sighed. No, these were not my stars, and I despaired of finding a sight so beautiful, a place so able to bring me peace and tranquility, anywhere else in the universe.

A smile slowly came to my face as I stared out the window at a particular group of stars that seemed to shine bright in his direction, all different colors. Of course these not being my stars meant there were more out there to conquer, more worlds to see and more worlds to take over, more glory to bring to the Kreossian Empire.

For now, without a mate with whom to share my passion and my life, glory and battle was all I had to live for. For now, it would have to do.

I turned to face the ceiling again, feeling the slab beneath me warm from my body’s touch over the last few hours. Of course, there was no glory in missions like the one I was on.
 

How dare the Kreossian Empire waste the talents of their most formidable warrior on this, a diplomatic mission? There was hardly anything lower. I had wanted to climb up the walls when I had heard about it, but Kaalax had given me a stern look, strong enough to keep me silent this time.

I remembered venting to Kaalax in private, railing against the shame at being assigned to escort him to a ‘conference.’ The very word sounded like something babies would play at, not fit for real men, real warriors.

Kaalax had listened as Kaalax always did, and when I was finished, Kaalax reminded me of my commitment to the empire and the oath I had taken to go where they sent me. This had not had Kaalax’ desired effect - I started up again, telling him just what I thought of the High Command and their ideas about efficiency and proper planning.

Again, Kaalax had listened, sagely, offering nothing to me but a small smile on his face. This had enraged me as it always did, which, I suspected, is why Kaalax did it so often. Very few Kreossians outside of the High Command had the gall to stand in my way like that, and I secretly admired Kaalax greatly for it.

Of course, Kaalax was no slouch either. Though his prime was long past, Kaalax had for at time been the empire’s most decorated warrior, feared across the reaches of known space as someone not to be trifled with. He was called the “Kreossian Dervish” for his way of seemingly being everywhere on the battlefield at once, and his unpredictability had laid many a foe low.

Looking at Kaalax now, I could just see vestiges of that mighty warrior in him. Kaalax of course was much slower now, but what he lacked in speed, he made up for in cunning, guile, and experience. It was a potent combination, one that I had grown fond of during the last 2 years spent as Kaalax’ second in command.

I got up and began my morning calisthenics routine, focusing on waking my muscles up and getting ready for the day, tuning out all the thoughts that made their presence in my mind known.

Glancing at the time piece on the opposite wall of the spartanly decorated quarters, I realized that all my mewling about and bellyaching about not having a mate or seeing my home world in years had made me late for a very important appointment.

And one did not keep Admiral Kaalax waiting, if one was interested in keeping one’s head in close proximity to one’s body. Kaalax may be old, but he still was respected and feared, and more importantly, he was still in command. Command went a long way in the Kreossian Empire, as I well knew.

I quickly got dressed to meet the admiral on the bridge. Throwing some water on my face, I stared at myself in the mirror for a few short seconds before drying myself off and readying myself to leave my quarters and see the rest of the crew.

I sighed as I opened the door and stepped into the corridor, neatly sidestepping the young soldier rushing past my door at that very moment. “Sorry sir,” the solder quipped, turning to salute before keeping on his way. I growled in response but said nothing.

All around me as I hurried toward the bridge, other Kreossians hurried along their own paths, the buzz of the ship as the crew went about their business echoing in my ears. I was used to this, of course, after spending most of my adolescence and short adulthood on ships like these. One felt like a small cog in a giant machine, but nevertheless each cog was critically important to the continued survival of everyone on board, and by extension, the survival and progress of the entire Kreossian Empire.

It felt good to have purpose, to have a reason to wake up in the morning. Most Kreossian split that purpose between a mate and the empire. For me, no split had ever been necessary.

The bridge loomed in front of me as I rounded a corner in the corridor. Checking my uniform in the shiny wall that everyone did their part to keep clean just for that very purpose, I breathed in deep and stepped forward, feeling the same rush I felt every time I stepped onto the bridge.

Kaalax would no doubt dress me down for being late, but I knew that Kaalax would quickly forget such misdemeanors and soon they would be deep in conversation about the upcoming ‘conference’ with this new race, these Humans.

As I entered the bridge, I looked to the right and saw the ship’s substations, each manned with a Kreossian intently staring at their console, pushing buttons and issuing commands through microphones to other parts of the ship. It was no small task to keep a gigantic machine, a home for all these Kreossian and their mates and children, and a bulwark against the empire’s enemies, all running in top order, ready to fight or render aid at a moment’s notice.

And this was the flagship of the fleet, too. Everyone stationed on this ship was the best of the best that the Kreossian Empire had to offer, and they all were kept aware of that fact. The Kreossians brooked no lapse in effort nor tolerated failure well; if someone on this ship wasn’t pulling their weight, they were very easily replaced the next time the ship pulled into a base for refitting.

The thought of that alone was enough to keep the crew on highest alert. It was a huge honor to serve on this ship, and everyone knew it.

I looked left, past the tactical station where the weapons officer stood, scanning the surrounding area for any possible lurking enemy ships. The Mazon did not venture out this far very often, but the Kreossians had learned to practice eternal vigilance by now.

I expected to see the reproachful gaze of Kaalax staring back at me, but Kaalax was nowhere to be found on the bridge. The second officer sat in the command chair, and grunted when he turned around to see me there. “You’re late.”

“Where is Admiral Kaalax?”

“He’s in the gymnasium. Where you were supposed to be,” the second officer paused, looking down to consult the ship’s chronometer, “15 minutes ago.”

Shit, that was right. Kaalax wanted to meet him this morning in the gymnasium for a workout before we left for their diplomatic ‘mission.’ The shuttle we were to fly was tiny and cramped, not nearly enough space for a Kreossian warrior to stretch out and enjoy himself.

“I will go there at once.” I turned to leave, but the second officer grunted in my direction again, and I turned back.

“That’s a good idea,” the second officer said, adding, “the old man also told me to tell you that you’re late.”

“You said that already.”

“He wanted me to say it again, to convey just how displeased he was.” The second officer laughed and turned back to the main view screen, ignoring me and once again concentrating on keeping the flagship moving along toward its destination.

I said nothing as I stepped back into the corridor had hurried back to my room to change. It would do no good to show up in the gymnasium with my regular uniform on.

A few minutes later, as quickly as I could shuck my uniform and pull on my workout clothing, I ran into the gymnasium, finding it empty at this time of morning except for Kaalax.

The sound of the door opening alone must have alerted Kaalax to my sudden presence, for Kaalax whirled around and snarled in my direction as the door closed behind me.

“Computer, seal the gymnasium doors.”

“Sealing the gymnasium doors,” the computer, through its hidden speakers, said to no one in particular. One second later, it played a confirmation chime. “Gymnasium doors sealed.”

“What is the meaning of this?”

Instead of replying with words, Kaalax calmly walked to the left side of the gymnasium, picked up a long blade from its case, hefted it in one hand, and threw it at me.

I knew instantly that it was not meant to wound or kill, and caught the blade as it came my way, snatching it out of the air with practiced ease. By then, I saw, Kaalax had chosen another similar blade, and was walking back to the center of the gymnasium.

Once there, he set himself in a combat stance and beckoned me forward with his off hand, before curling it around the hilt alongside his main hand. Kaalax closed his eyes and I thought I could hear an audible sigh coming from the older man. Kaalax opened his eyes and said one word: “Come.”

I stood there, taking the entire scene in. The whitish-gray coloring of the gymnasium, my own blue workout clothing, and Kaalax’ yellow gear. Time slowed down, and neither of us moved as we stared each other down.
 

I tensed up, feeling the adrenaline rush all throughout my body. Moments like these were what I lived for. In contrast, Kaalax stood in peace, like a stone before the waterfall, undisturbed and completely motionless. I looked on in wonder as Kaalax closed his eyes and kept them that way.

The man wouldn’t even give his enemy the respect of looking at him in combat? Was that how little he valued my achievements on the battlefield? Was that how weak he thought I was?

The rage boiled over in my veins and with a bellow, I charged forward, at once at full speed, closing the distance between us so quickly the air in between them seemed to slice into my skin where it was uncovered by my workout gear.

As I flew forward, I raised my sword above my head, ready to bring it crashing down on the venerable Admiral Kaalax’ head. Briefly, I wondered what the consequences would be for killing the leader of the Kreossian Empire’s fleet operations in single combat in the ship’s gymnasium, but dismissed these thoughts right away. The Kreossian prized strength and courage above all else - I would be lauded, and given my rightful place, in charge of the Kreossian Empire’s military. A rank befitting my achievements if not my years.

It was an unnecessary thought, I soon found. Just as I jumped up, directly in front of Kaalax, shouting as I came downward, blade swinging down from overhead to cut into Kaalax’ left shoulder and slice deep into the bone, probably killing him instantly, Kaalax opened his eyes.

He did a lot more than just that. Faster than I could see, Kaalax’ blade flew up, a perfect block, countering my attack and sending a bone-jarring concussive blast back through my sword, painful enough that I had to fight to avoid dropping it.

But Kaalax didn’t stop there, taking the advantage, noting how disconcerted I looked and clearly felt, leaning back to kick his protege out of the way. I weakly blocked, trying to stay close and avoid Kaalax’ sword, which was tough to use effectively in such close quarters, but Kaalax quickly spun around and extended his sword, still in both hands, slicing into my shoulder and drawing green blood spraying out onto the pristine light gray floor.

Both of us paused, a sword length apart, both looking at the blood gleaming on the floor. Kaalax held his sword out between them; I, defenseless, let my sword hang at my side.

We locked eyes, I heaved as I struggled to regain control of myself, Kaalax still the picture of tranquility as the air filled with the smell of my sweat.

I roared as I charged forward again, trying to catch Kaalax off balance yet again, and yet again I failed, my left cut meeting Kaalax’ perfect counter and being turned to the side. Then we fenced back and forth, each moving forward and driving the other back.
 

I gritted my teeth and pushed forward, trying to drive Kaalax off balance, but Kaalax might as well have had 5 legs, he was so stable. I felt myself tiring, and cursed my lack of sleep, my lack of enough time in the gymnasium training on this voyage.

It was no wonder I hadn’t practiced and trained hard enough. This was to be a diplomatic mission - no combat on the horizon. The humans certainly wouldn’t put up much of a fight even if the meeting fell apart and things came to blows. Kreossian research suggested that one Kreossian warrior could easily handle more than a dozen humans in hand to hand combat, and even their ranged weapons were weak.
 

They had only barely stepped into space, dipping their feet into the great sea of stars when the Kreossian had found them and lifted them up, leaving the plans for them and watching them flail about with them for 50 years from afar.

I felt my concentration slip just a tiny amount, and Kaalax noticed it too, pressing his momentary advantage, swinging his blade at an odd angle.

I had to throw myself off balance to block, and the force of the screaming connection between the two blades lifted me from my feet and threw me to the ground.
 

I grimaced as I looked up at the advancing admiral, no signs of familiarity on his face, the admiral’s blade still out in font as if he intended to finish off his helpless prey. I tried to lift my sword again, but the force of the blows had made it numb, and I couldn’t hope to control it enough to keep the fight going.

Kaalax stopped in front of me, the tip of his sword touching my neck before he lowered it, keeping it at the ready just in case I came at him again. “Get up,” Kaalax growled.

Humbled, I stood up, wiping the collecting blood off my shoulder.
 

Kaalax, satisfied that I was done fighting, let his sword fall all the way down. “Your eagerness to fight will undue you one day, Ark. You must learn to control that rage or it will be your end.”