Manota, Jazin, and Torak sat around the long table in the planning room.
“The females believe we will return them to their planet.” Jazin growled out softly. His fingers clinched around the cup he held in his large hand.
“No!” Manota said defiantly.
Torak looked at Manota in surprise. “You too?” He asked.
Manota flushed, “The female named Jo. I do not understand the feelings I have but I know she is mine. I will not let her go.” Manota looked at his hands for a moment before he looked at Torak. “And you?”
Torak nodded in agreement, “The one named River is mine. I will not let her go. They will learn to adjust once we return to Kassis.”
Manota and Jazin nodded relieved. Manota asked quietly, “What do you know of the females?” He had been astounded when he had entered the medical unit to discover the three females ready to do battle. When he had grabbed the one named Jo he had felt an instant awareness on a primal level.
“Not much.” Torak said with a deep sigh. “After Trolis captured us and killed the chancellor we were taken to a holding cell where Progit was going to enjoy torturing each of us before he killed us. Imagine our surprise when he ended up with a blade between his eyes as did the other two Tearnats in the room. I thought you had received our distress signal and had come to our aid. I, we, were astounded when the female named River walked out of the shadows holding two battle swords in front of her like an avenging goddess. She insisted we help her in return for our release, even threatening to kill all of us if we tried to hurt her or her sisters.” Torak said with a touch of amusement.
Manota looked at both of his brothers in astonishment, “She actually said she would kill you?”
Jazin replied with a laugh, “Yes, and after seeing what she did to Progit and the other two in a matter of seconds, I have no doubt she could have done it quickly.”
“You have no idea.” Torak murmured. “After I agreed to help her, she and her sisters disappeared into the ventilation system where they moved undetected sabotaging the ship’s lifts, emergency escape tubes, and engine room. River was trapped when the hatches closed unexpectedly on her and had to detour around to get back to the shuttle bay which is why she was so late meeting up with the other two females. I have never been as glad as when she called out to me. She was fearful of Gril Tal Mod and the other Tearnats on board but she still reached out to me. When Trolis attacked…”
“Trolis attacked you?” Jazin and Manota both exclaimed in concern. They knew how strong and deadly he could be.
“Yes, he had been threatening to kill his father and myself. He knew he would receive the death penalty for his killing of the chancellor and it would be a very painful death based upon the laws of his people.”
“What happened?” Manota demanded. It would have been a bloody fight if Trolis was involved. He hated the idea of Gril Tal Mod being struck down. He had liked the councilman.
“River killed him.” Torak said sitting back and watching his brothers’ faces as they absorbed the news of one of Tearnat’s most feared warriors meeting death at the hands of a small alien female.
“River? The female killed him?” Manota said stunned while Jazin just shook his head grinning.
“Yes. As he came at Gril Tal Mod and myself, she stepped between us throwing her battle sword and striking him between the eyes.” Torak grinned with pride as he thought about how his mate would be revered for her ability to kill two such power warriors as Trolis and Progit.
“Where do they come from?” Manota asked softly. “They must be a very powerful species to have females’ trained as such skilled warriors.”
Chapter 5
River, Jo, and Star all laughed when one of the crew men aboard the warship brought them dresses to wear. None of them ever wore dresses. Especially, River! It was hard enough to manage knives in jeans or her usually costume of a form fitting spandex outfit. It was almost impossible in a dress. She couldn’t remember the last time she had worn one for that matter. She didn’t even own a dress. Jo and Star were just as bad. Flying through the air in a dress would get you killed and pants were just more comfortable, especially when they would suddenly get the urge to bend in all weird ways to stretch their muscles. It was just a part of who they were.
They had sent the very puzzled crew man away with instructions on what they would wear. He had insisted on leaving the dresses even as he promised to return with the garments they requested. True to his word, he had returned an hour later with several pairs of black, form fitting pants and matching tops. He had not looked very happy when he had left but the three girls were ecstatic quickly changing into their new clothes.