Alien General's Beloved (Brion Brides 6)(13)

That left only two, which was one too many.

Corden observed them both, approaching him warily. One had only the haunting emptiness in his eyes, but the other showed miniature signs of the rage that burned in the heart of every Brion. The years they'd spent in the dark space had dimmed that, but apparently it was still there. Corden decided that the one with some spirit left was a better option. Any sign of life was also a sign of wanting to keep living.#p#分页标题#e#

He charged the other, using his momentum to push the other off balance. The warrior caught his blow with his spear and the last one came to his aid, but it was too late. Corden was faster than both of them, pulling his spear free and cutting the warrior almost in two before rounding on the last one. Behind him, the general heard the corpse hit the floor.

Some hate at last, Corden thought, seeing the eyes of the final remaining warrior.

"This is Captain Lana Cormac," the voice sounded from the speakers.

Corden was so pleased to hear her voice again that he had to take a step back to avoid the blade coming to cut him in half. Lana paused, while he kicked the feet out from under the last warrior, cutting the hand holding the spear clean off. No scream.

Lana started talking again and it was clear to Corden that the Raptor was living its last moments. He twirled the spear around in his hand, knocking the warrior cradling his maimed arm unconscious. The general hoisted him across his shoulder and walked to one of the Abysmal's fighters. As he'd thought, the doors slid open and the control panels came to life with a genetic signature.

He left the body on the bay deck.

"Corden," Lana's voice said. "He knows. He knows who you are."

That was unfortunate, but there was nothing to be done about it. It was only a matter of time before Worgen figured that out, after all.

The fighter took off right when Corden saw the huge warship take aim. With all the ships hurrying out of the way, it wasn't an impossible task for a good pilot to slip away under the cover of the Raptor. That also gave Corden the opportunity to see that Fraly had obeyed him and sent the escape pods away. No one remained aboard the Raptor.

He watched the ship being torn apart from afar, and considered his options. Lana had asked the fleet to help him, but he had no faith in them. Now that Worgen was aware of his true nature, there was only one thing he could do.

Before he could decide which way was best for him to sneak aboard the Abysmal, another ship jumped out of hyperspace. Corden needed only one look to see what it was. A growl escaped his lips.

He'd observed Worgen's actions for days from the Raptor: the general's trick with the escape pod that compassionate ships picked up, only to find the warship's gun turrets aimed at them when they arrived. He had no doubt that was how most of the fleet had been lured in.

And now Worgen had baited a real catch.

It was a gigantic, intergalactic colonization ship. The Galactic union   sent them out to settle newly found worlds. Corden's gaze traveled across the floating palace, resembling a garden more than a ship. Under its transparent exterior, he could see the plants meant to help fertilize the new planet's soil.

Other than the gardens, the gigantic carrier had everything. Medical facilities, supplies, technology, weapons, consoles packed with every piece of information the settlers could need.

He said weapons, but the truth was that the ship had none of her own. It sat there now, defenseless. A flotilla was scheduled to meet it once the carrier reached the edge of known space, but they were still in the union  's presumably safe territory. So much for that.

The fleet around the Abysmal was mostly made up of ships with crews. People who chose to venture into space, ready to face the dangers of it. But the new one... it had families, scientists, simple workers. And, Corden knew, the main reason Worgen had looked for it. Many, many women.

The Flora.





CHAPTER NINE

Lana



It hurt. It hurt more than Lana could have ever imagined.

They said captains had a special connection to their ships. She'd always thought it was more of a saying to romanticize the notion, but apparently not. Watching the Raptor blasted into pieces under her very eyes nearly ripped Lana's heart out. Of course the main source of her pain was her crew, but to her, they had been one.

Her ship, her crew, her life. All gone now.

And Corden... there was a pain that stabbed like actual steel when she thought of him. The man should have been nothing to her, but a sudden rush of anguish made Lana choke up. It didn't make any sense. The Brion binding, becoming his gesha, all of that had been nonsense that she would have put an end to, but a part of her missed him.

Not only Corden himself, but despite her better judgment, the chance to find out what their relationship would have been like. She had known him for mere hours, but his death made her feel like someone had turned off the lights in the entire world.

Maybe it is the actual darkness around me, Lana thought bitterly.#p#分页标题#e#

All around her, the walls of the Abysmal seemed to press down on her.

No wonder all Worgen's warriors look like dead men walking. This place would drive anyone insane.

That was what was going on in her head. She wasn't naturally a despairing person, but she was realistic. As captain, Lana had always put on her best face to appease the crew, no matter how bad the situation really was. Only she wasn't a captain anymore, was she?

And then the Flora turned up.

She saw, and felt Worgen take notice of it too. Within one second, the disappointment and anger on the general's face turned to hunger. Lana felt disgusted, seeing how his cruel, black eyes narrowed on the helpless ship.

Oh hell no, you're not getting that one too.

There was no doubt in her heart that Worgen had baited the Flora like he'd done with her ship. The gigantic colonization ship was floating at an awkward distance from the Brion warship. Lana knew exactly what was taking place on the ship's bridge right then. The confusion, the fear, the urge to flee.

By now, the Brions would have already made their demands, ordering the Flora to pull into formation with the rest of the fleet. And not to, under any circumstances, try to signal the union  . Judging by the way the ship hadn't moved—relatively speaking—since its jump, Lana guessed there was an argument taking place.

She could imagine it all so very vividly. The captain trying to keep calm while the officers all shouted over each other, every one of them demanding a different action. To run, to obey, to send a call for help. Lana prayed that the captain had the good sense not to try to escape.

The broken fragments of the Raptor were still floating in the midst of the fleet, a clear sign for all to see as to what happened to those who tried to run. Of course, the Raptor had done no such thing, but Lana hoped the huge carrier would take the lesson to heart anyway.

Next to her, Worgen's black eyes were gleaming. With every second that Lana spent in his presence, he seemed to come more and more to life. He had appeared as a statue carved into stone, but was now breaking free, shaking off the restraints. No more talk, no more reason. The ones who didn't play his way didn't play at all.

And now the general had the ship he'd clearly been searching for.

We're all about to become worthless to him, Lana thought, her mind desperately seeking a way out of this situation. She looked at the fleet still properly staying with the Abysmal.

If whatever he wants is aboard the Flora, everyone is going to die.

That left Lana only one real choice. After having witnessed the death of her own vessel and all of her friends, not to mention Corden, she was not going to let it happen to anyone else. She had to get on the Flora. Of course, any place was better than the depressing warship, but that was not the point. She was needed there, to not let the carrier repeat the mistakes she made. And perhaps she needed the Flora too. Not to let grief and sorrow overwhelm her, she ached for a purpose.

If only she hadn't lost all the trust General Worgen had for her minutes ago.

"Let me go with you," she told him.

The general didn't even grace her with a look, never mind an answer. Lana pressed on, focusing on her new task. If she couldn't save her own ship, by God she'd do anything in her power to help the fleet and the Flora. Outside, the carrier remained motionless. That was a bad sign.

"I made a mistake," she said, searching for words that wouldn't be outright lies, like Corden had warned her. "I shouldn't have betrayed you, like you said. I know better now. Let me help you and I'll prove that I won't make the same mistake again."

"Very eager," Worgen said, still not taking his eyes off the Flora. "I don't believe you. I see no reason why you would want to help me."

Truth, Lana told herself. Twisted truth, but still.

"I don't," she admitted, finally dragging Worgen's attention back to her. "You killed my crew. You will kill again. But if I can spare someone by doing what I promised you before, I will. After all, I know now what will happen if I don't listen."

Lana held her breath as Worgen considered her words. That alone told her that he did need her. The general probably had his channels and his ways of finding out about the events that took place in the galaxy, but they weren't infallible. At some point, he needed someone like Lana to explain, fill in the details, and provide background.

"Your second mistake will be more harshly punished than the first," he growled at last.