Mama and the Alien Warrior (Treasured By The Alien #1) - Honey Phillips Page 0,6

TeShawna muttered. Abby was afraid she was only too right.

“I’m sorry, girls, but I think they’re going to do it anyway.” She gestured at the wall where the alien had his hand raised to open the panel. With some more muttered cursing, and not a few tears, the girls obeyed. Her own heart ached when she had to lay Tiana back in her crib. The little face crumpled but she remained as silent as before, never taking her eyes off of Abby. They all watched helplessly as the cribs moved back into the other room and the wall between them closed.

Chapter Four

“Sir!”

Hrebec Nak’Charen, Captain of the Confederated Planets patrol cutter Defiance, closed his eyes at the sound of the eager young voice outside his quarters. He had a great fondness for the young officer, indeed somewhat more of a liking than was quite fair; however, he found himself in no mood to deal with Ensign Ribel’s latest enthusiasm. But he held the reins of command in his weary hands and it was his duty to be available to his men.

“Come.”

Ribel burst in with more haste than dignity, his tail whipping wildly. “Sir, we have detected a Vedeckian slave ship at the edge of the quadrant.”

“And?”

Ribel tilted his head with a confused look. “I assumed you would want to mount a rescue mission?”

Hrebec contemplated his hands. It was, of course, the right thing to do. The Vedeckians were a disgrace to the Confederated Planets. They masqueraded as merchants but their main business involved the illegal sale of living beings—and unfortunately, these days the Vedeckians had all too many buyers. However, he suspected that Ribel’s excitement derived from another source rather than the desire to investigate a possible violation of the law.

“And what do you think will be the result of the mission?” he asked.

“We will free their slaves, of course.” Hrebec’s skeptical silence had the desired result, and Ribel flushed and continued. “And perhaps they will have females fit for mating.”

As he suspected. Hrebec sighed and contemplated his junior. Ribel was so young. His lamella had barely started to form. Only a single ridge adorned his head and his chest remained as smooth as a babe’s. He was one of the few who had survived the artificial wombs that had been their people’s last desperate attempt to salvage their race.

“Ensign Ribel, do you remember what happened the last time?”

Ribel’s flush deepened, his normal emerald complexion turning almost black with embarrassment. The Defiance had rescued a cargo of Villae females. Ribel had been convinced that the adorable, dainty little creatures would prove to be ideal mates. Unfortunately, he had found through personal contact that they were, in fact, entirely incompatible with Cire anatomy. That unfortunate experience did not seem to have deterred his enthusiasm.

Hrebec had long ago accepted that the Cires were a dying race. Their time had come, and no matter how much he wished he could have saved his people, no matter the price he had paid for those attempts, they wouldn’t escape their fate.

“It is part of our job to make sure that they are not transporting illegal passengers. We will investigate.” He held up a hand when Ribel looked up eagerly. “However, this is a rescue mission only. If it turns out that there are illegal females on board, they will be returned to their original destination. This is not a mating opportunity. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, sir,” Ribel responded, but Hrebec could tell that his excitement hadn’t dimmed. He shook his head.

“Wait until we are within firing range. Then hail them and tell them to prepare for inspection.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I will join you on the bridge shortly.”

Once the door closed behind the young officer, Hrebec sighed. He wished he still felt even a spark of the same enthusiasm, the same hopefulness, that Ribel did, but Ribel was too young. He hadn’t lived through the millions of deaths, through the hopeless attempts to reproduce by artificial technology, through the agony of knowing that your race would die out.

But Hrebec had a job to do and his job did include stopping the illegal transportation of slaves. And even though he knew there was no chance that there would be breeding females, his tail stirred at the thought. Sternly suppressing the unruly appendage, he headed for the bridge.

In the dim light of the rest period, Abby stared up at the ceiling and rubbed her wrist thoughtfully as she worried about her girls. The burn mark had healed during the time they’d