Alien Warrior's Challenge (Brion Brides 8)(3)

"No such escape for me," she admitted. "I signed up for the long run. The union   will dump me where it pleases until my contract runs out, in eight years or so. We might even end up on the same world again. Wouldn't that be fun?"

To spare them both the pain of imagining that fate, Paula went on.

"As for the war, I kindly ask that you remember why we're here. The Eden seeds are vital to the galaxy. How far are we from the grove?"

It was clear the major wasn't used to being questioned like that. Especially by women and most assuredly women like her.

Paula had encountered that attitude before. So far, no one had been as straight-forward about it like Burton was. He'd called her "blondie" on the first day they met and while it was a derogatory term she'd already met a few times in her career, the major made it a straight-out insult. It had only been the beginning.

Things went quickly downhill from there.

She supposed they deserved each other, in a way. It was difficult for the major to accept the average-height woman with dark blonde hair and – by some fucked-up joke of genetics – light blue eyes as someone with authority.

Just as it was almost impossible for Paula to imagine the bull of a man in front of her, with a face only a mother could love, as anything else than a blockhead.

It certainly didn't help that Paula was the ambassador of the Galactic union   in the matter of the planet and its precious seeds. She had the higher authority, as far as the general picture went. On the field, however, Burton maintained control.

"We are about two miles away," the major grunted, tearing the words from his throat like even talking to her pained him. "Have you come to beg me to take it easier on the poor lads? You healers are all so–"

"I'm going to stop you right there," Paula cut in, holding on to the last threads of her composure. "First, I don't beg. Secondly, I am here to ask why are we not pushing forward? We sit here in the open like ducks during the first day of the hunting season."

A cruel smile dawned on Major Burton's lips as he regarded her from head to toe.

"Well, well," he said, right on cue like the bastard he was. "Charges cost lives, do you know that? You want me to send men out there to die before the enemy's guns?"

Paula had to keep herself from worrying her bottom lip in irritation.

“Staying here costs lives as well. I don't want anyone to die. However, I can't help it if the Hoolas are so incredibly possessive it kills them to let us have the seeds. I'm telling you to push ahead, Major, by the will of the Galactic union  . We are too close to slow down."

She didn’t add what both of them had to be thinking. That delaying any further might mean that the Hoolas wipe them off their precious planet before the Brions could ever show up.

The major bristled at being talked to like that and Paula busied herself with not caring. There would be time for tact later, and the major had shown clearly from the beginning that he didn’t value that notion very highly.

After hesitating for a second, she added: "Where are the Brions? Are they coming?"

"Yes," the major said reluctantly. "We don't know when. That's why I have not charged. It would be good to know if we have backup or not."

Now it was Paula's turn to grit her teeth in fury.

"What's wrong with them?" she asked angrily. "Usually you can't drag them away from a fight. You'd think this is a ball for them."

The major grinned, a horrible expression on a face not used to smiling. It made him look like an orangutan trying to mimic human emotions.

"As far as we're told, that's the issue. They are consulting their Elders back on Briolina. The Hoolas might be beneath their skills as warriors. If they decide our enemy is easy pickings, they won't come."#p#分页标题#e#

Paula bit back a long trail of curses. The Brions really were infuriating. The most powerful warriors in the union   and they couldn't be relied upon.

When the enemy was too strong for the other species, the Brions appeared at the blink of an eye, grinning ear to ear, their sharp spears soon bloodied. Opponents like Hoolas, however, that the rest simply struggled with, were a whole another issue.

And in the meanwhile, men keep dying.

"They're unbelievable," Paula finally said, unable to find a decent enough curse to portray her feelings.

"Aren't they?" Major Burton asked, still wearing that grin on his wide face. "They don't take orders from anyone, not even the union  . Only their Elders.

“Imagine that. I should have been born a Brion."

Yeah? Well, you have the brutality and self-righteousness checked off, sure. But how about honor, courtesy and pride?

Paula was about to say some of it, politely phrased of course, when the headquarters shook so hard she fell five feet on a flat ground. Major Burton caught her midair, breaking her fall with his big body, covering her from the falling debris.

As the roof collapsed, she knew she owed the man. The chunks of the roof were falling and she could hear Burton grunting in pain, refusing to move until the worst was over.

It was clear the last shield had fallen. The Hoolas had landed a direct hit with their long-range cannons and there was almost nothing left after the earth-shattering explosion that had hit them. It was a miracle they were still alive.

Paula and the major struggled to their feet as the clear sound of a fighter closed in, threatening to deafen them further.

There were no fighters like that in the Terran army.

“Come on,” Paula gasped, tugging at the major to move.

They rushed out of the ruins of the headquarters with everyone that was still breathing.

Stepping outside was like landing on another world. The darkness that had enveloped the ruined base made a stark contrast with the lights shining in Paula’s face now, and the small fires blazing all around her. Above, a Brion fighter hovered close to the ground, shielding them from the fire of the attacking enemies.

Paula could barely see the enemy fighters through the fire and smoke, but she could hear the guns.

It looked like the Brion fighter didn't need to go and charge the enemy. The Hoolas were managing that themselves quite fine.

A unit of four Hoolas ran out of the cover of smoke to prove her analysis correct. Paula pulled the gun from her hip and the soldiers with her started firing as well, but she already knew she was dead. They were too close, she could see the whites of their big eyes.

Shit.

A figure appeared from the fighter above, crashing right in front of Paula. It was a warrior unlike any Paula had ever seen before, built like a tank and strong like an ox, his battle spear drawn and a growl on his lips.

He was a head taller than Major Burton, with biceps like barrels tied together and eyes of deepest ocean blue. His dark black hair was combed back into a small ponytail and the valor squares, the marks of Brion warriors, were shining blood red on his thick neck.

In a flash, he was standing between Paula and the enemies. The battle spear in his hand, taller than she, cut through the air in four perfect strikes before the Hoolas could even see he was there.

When he turned, the gaze of those impossibly fierce eyes fell on her and Paula knew in that moment she'd have a hard time hating that particular Brion. Damn. Double damn. I guess all the rumors were true. They do make these bastards as gorgeous as they come.

As much as she would have loved to admire the man, staying alive seemed to be a more pressing issue at the moment.





4





Kerven





As soon as the fighter signaled it had stopped, Kerven jumped out into a world of fire and smoke. The long battle spear was already in his hand, ready to face anything the Hoolas might throw at him, his senses as sharp as the blade he was holding.

The first thing he heard was not a battle cry. It was a scream and the female was clearly in trouble.

Kerven dashed towards the sound, identifying her in the gray cloud of dust and smoke. Jumping between her and a squad of Hoolas, the captain quickly finished them within four strikes, the blade of his spear bloodied, marking the start of the battle for him.

He was looking around for a new target when his eyes fell upon the female and his life as he'd known and lived it so far was swiftly and irrevocably ended.

She was a beautiful thing, with big blue eyes and dark blonde hair flowing in the dusty winds. The brown uniform wasn't doing any favors to her gorgeous body, but even through that distraction Kerven could still see the perfect curves that were begging him to rip the cloth away and worship her like she deserved.#p#分页标题#e#

The female was observing him with sharp, clever eyes and the look in them told him in no uncertain terms she was thinking something along similar lines.

There was no doubt about it, she was the most breathtakingly beautiful woman he'd ever seen. However, that was not why she seemed to stop his heart in his chest.

In that moment, on the dusty, worthless rock in space, in the middle of nowhere for all intents and purposes... he'd found his gesha, his sacred mate for life. Kerven knew the female standing in front of him, refusing to back down an inch or look away before he did, was the one he was bound to.

To see her, to even be near her, made it seem like an emptiness the captain hadn't noticed inside him was now gone. With one look, she had made him whole, his entire life complete. With every next one, who knew what she could urge him on to be?