Fire: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Rogue Alien Warriors Book 3), page 1
FIRE
A SCI-FI ALIEN ROMANCE
HATTIE JACKS
Copyright © 2022 by Hattie Jacks
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover: Kasmit
Editing: Epona Author Solutions
Created with Vellum
CONTENTS
Sophie
Kyt
Sophie
Kyt
Sophie
Kyt
Sophie
Kyt
Sophie
Kyt
Sophie
Kyt
Sophie
Kyt
Sophie
Kyt
Sophie
Kyt
Sophie
Kyt
Sophie
Kyt
Sophie
Kyt
Sophie
Kyt
Sophie
Kyt
Sophie
Kyt
Sophie
Kyt
Sophie
Kyt
Sophie
Kyt
Sophie
Kyt
Sophie
Kyt
Sophie
Kyt
Sophie
Kyt
Sophie
Kyt
Sophie
Kyt
Sophie
Kyt
Sophie
Kyt
Sophie
Kyt
Sophie
Kyt
Sophie
Kyt
Sophie
Kyt
Sophie
Epilogue
Sophie
Also by Hattie Jacks
Just who is this Hattie Jacks anyway?
SOPHIE
I stare into the cavern and salivate. I’m actually drooling at the sight of everything that’s rammed into the small room.
Tech.
The likes of which I’ve never seen until I ended up on this alien planet, not unless you count the stuff attached to the robot that wanted to kill or impregnate me.
And definitely nothing like I’ve ever seen on Earth. I take a step towards the forbidden fruit. Wanting it to be real. Wanting to be back home, where the tech wasn’t sentient and evil, but something I could manipulate as easily as breathing.
A flurry of feathers pushes past me and the door to the enticing room slams shut as one of the flying aliens that saved us pushes past me, handsome face twisted in annoyance.
“Fucking Gryn!” I grind out as Emma, one of the few other humans on this planet, laughs at me.
“How did you ever survive without a smart phone?”
“You’re looking at how I survive without a smart phone right now.” I mock shake as if I have the DT’s. “It’s not fair. They know I can help. They just won’t let me, and it’s driving me crackers!” I jerk my thumb at the closed door.
“Come on, Sophie, that’s not fair. They’ve spent all their lives battling Proto.” Emma walks up the ramp in front of us as she references the sentient AI that brought us here and controls this blasted planet. “They know what it’s like to deal with killer robots. Just because you hacked your cable TV account, it’s not exactly going to fill them with confidence that you’re the savior of Ustokos.”
“That’s not what I do, and you know it.” I grumble as I scuff my feet and follow her, climbing up the central shaft our winged hosts use to access all areas of their hideout, or lair, as they refer to it. “He could have at least given me the benefit of the doubt.” I add half to myself.
It was bad enough being abducted from Earth in the first place. I would have at least expected my situation to have improved. Instead, I’m stuck in the alien equivalent of medieval times that includes a lair full of male warriors known as the Gryn that think they’re superior to females and won’t let me near their tech. I feel like punching the crumbling concrete like wall next to me when I think of the day I approached the leader of the Gryn, their Prime, a massive male called Jyr, to offer my assistance.
Instead of welcoming my help—because at least I’ve been near tech that doesn’t want to capture, kill, or breed with me—he consulted with his quartermaster, an annoyingly extra good-looking Gryn called Kyt. Who decided that it was all beyond me.
‘Proto is incredibly complex, female. I’d prefer it if we left dealing with it to those who know it best.’
“Lighten up.” Emma turns back to me, walking backwards up the ramp. “It could be worse. We could be brood mares right now.”
She’s referring to the fact that Proto wanted us to breed with the Gryn, which may or may not have been the reason it brought us to the planet in the first place. Apparently we’re fortunate that the Gryn rescued us and offered us a home when we were not getting back to Earth any time soon. Oh, and that something was done to our brains that meant we could understand the language of all the aliens we’ve encountered so far.
“I’m just so bored,” I grumble to Emma. The tall, dark-haired woman throws an arm around my shoulder. “I was used to being busy. Now all I bloody do is eat and wander around staring at flying males.”
“Some of them are worth staring at.” She raises her eyebrows suggestively.
She’s not wrong. If winged Adonises, all bare chested and exposed rippling muscles are your thing, then we have eye candy aplenty.
“Not interested.” I mutter, turning away from her. “I’d just like something to do.”
I’ve already been caught out once by someone who seemed pleasant enough on the outside and was dark on the inside. The last thing I want is anything to do with another male, and yet I’m stuck in a lair with over a hundred of them.
And five human women.
Two of whom are already procreating with the Gryn. Babies are being born left, right, and center. The thought makes me shudder, a block of ice forming in my stomach.
“Come to the kitchens with me. I’m working on some new recipes. You can be my tester.” Emma exhorts me.
“I’m sure you can find one of these greedy creatures to be your culinary guinea pigs.” I point at a couple of the Gryn that fly past us with exuberant whoops, noisy bastards.
Emma makes a sad face to try to tempt me. She really can see the best in every situation and today, after seeing that room full of tech, it makes me want to scream. But I can’t do that to her.
“I said I’d hang out with Bianca for a while.” I lie easily. “And I know you can find someone to be your taster.”
“Suit yourself.” Emma gives me a smile that shows she has no hard feelings. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“Is there even a rule like that when you’ve been abducted by aliens?”
Emma shrugs. “Probably not, but in your case, try not to piss anyone off.”
“Are you suggesting I would do something like that?” I put my hand over my heart and paste on a shocked expression.
“Sophie Perry, I was there from the moment you woke up on Ustokos. You could piss off an empty room.” Emma gives me a wry smile as I drop into an exaggerated bow.
“You’re just jealous of my sparkling personality and endless wit.” I call after her as she returns to walking up the ramp. I hear her snort, and she flaps a hand at me, but keeps on going. “Well, that’s what they said in my internet forums, anyway.” I mutter to myself.
I hesitate for a second or two. I’ve no intention of going to see what Bianca is up to. She’s never where I expect to find her and always seems to appear like a ghost out of nowhere, as if she’s never been away. She’s a good laugh, but I don’t want that today.
Today I want to get to work.
Today I want to prove the Gryn wrong about me.
I’m going to prove them all wrong.
KYT
“By Nisis!” I scrabble around on the table in front of me looking for the flask of lynk I’m sure I left there yesterday. My head pounds from the party last night. Not for the first time, I lament that it’s a shame my enhanced healing abilities don’t extend to the morning after. When I find the flask and take a decent pull on it, the alcohol spreads like fire through my veins and I allow myself a smile.
“That was a vrexing good party.” I say to myself with some satisfaction. I guess they always are when I can’t remember most of the night.
The tangle of wires in front of me tells a different tale, and I drop my head into my hands. I’m too hungover to be here, trying to do this. It’s an impossible task.
I should just plan the next party. There should be enough mercs around who have an appetite for var beer and vrexing about that I can get lost again among it all. Try not to think of the task that faces me. Just have some fun.
“Vrex it, Kyt!” Jyr stands in the doorway to my workshop. Our great leader, Prime of the Gryn has his arms folded, and he doesn’t look amused.
Again.
“What?” I attempt to grin through the pain in my head. He inhales and shakes his head in disgust.
“Did you actually fall in a vat of var beer last night, because it sure smells like you did.”
I contemplate his question for a while as he walks into the room, his huge bulk and massive wings filling the small space.
“Not entirely sure. It has happened before.”
Now that was a party, and I suppress a laugh at the memory. Jyr clearly isn’t in the mood.
“I need a report on the tech you used on Fyn for szent this eve. Are you going to be up to that?” He picks up a lump of circuitry from a shelf, inspects it, and puts it back before turning his stern gaze on me.
“Yeah.” I shrug at him.
The last thing I want is a meeting with the other senior Gryn warriors. I can’t yet come up with an explanation as to why the tech we found in a long-forgotten part of the lair worked to fix our second in command’s malfunctioning brain. Then it seemingly connected with Proto, despite not being used since before the great reckoning. Which meant I had to blow it all up, and it was buried, along with any answers.
Jyr is across my workshop within a couple of strides. He takes hold of one of my wings.
“I need you on top form, Kyt. Now we have females again, and younglings, this has to work, and we have to find a way to beat Proto.” His claws dig into my feathered flesh as his eyes flash.
“Easy for you to say, given you have found your eregri.” The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them. “Not every Gryn wants that, you know.” I add hastily, pulling my wing from his grip. “Some of us are happy as we are.”
Jyr snorts, stepping away. I feel his thoughtbond, the psychic link that all senior Gryn have with each other. He’s trying to work out what’s going on with me, but he’s not our head of security, Ryak, who regularly uses the bond to extract information, and I easily deflect him with the thoughts of the party I’m planning for later.
“Really, Kyt? Another party?” He looks around my workshop, littered with parts of bots and anything I can scavenge in the hope I can find the solution we all seek.
An end to the rule by Proto, the sentient AI that has had a grip on Ustokos for too many cycles to remember. Something that will allow us to rebuild our civilization, become something more than mercenaries for hire. Maybe we can even find out what happened to the Gryn females. I know that’s what Jyr wants, even if he is a happily mated male with a youngling and another on the way. His desire for the Legion of the Gryn to be whole again drives the lair.
It’s supposed to drive me, but the gnawing realization inside that I might not be up to the task he has set me simply makes me want to party.
Because when I’m carousing with the mercs, they think I’m number one. All they care about is that there’s enough drink and enough fun to take their minds off the dangers they face each and every day out on patrol. That I can control. I am party central, and I love it.
“What can I say?” I give him my best and most insolent grin. “Some of us spend all our time mating and some of us have a life.”
“You do enough mating for the rest of us.” Jyr grunts at me.
“I enjoy my time with the Mochi, like any hot-blooded warrior.” I counter. Jyr indulged himself with the Mochi females before he found his mate and isn’t in a position to judge.
Not that I’ve bothered with mating for more than half a cycle, not since the human females arrived and everything changed. Since we found hope for the future. A hope that I can’t consider, not while Proto is still able to destroy us all, if it decides that’s what it’s going to do.
A scent blows through the open door to my workshop, and I raise my head to inhale. It’s like the best, cleanest healing pool, mixed with something organic I cannot quite place. It’s utterly divine, and I suck it down like a half-starved warrior, eyeing Jyr to see if the vrexer has noticed it.
Jyr eyes me, half with concern and half annoyance. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you brought the party with you this morning.” He spots the flask of lynk. “Try to turn up to szent sober this time. You know Fyn doesn’t take any of your gak.”
“And you do?” I want to get Jyr out of my way so I can track down the source of the smell that has sent my body into overdrive and fired my interest.
Jyr leans over me, fangs bared. “You know when you’ve crossed the line with me, Kyt. But I’d appreciate it if you tried to take something seriously for once in your vrexing life.” The thoughtbond resonates with unstated violence. Completely unnecessary.
I shake out my wings at him and he barks a laugh. “It’s a vrexing good thing you’re on our side, otherwise, I’d swear you’re trying to destroy the lair by way of a party to end all parties.”
“I do my level best to please, Prime.” I stand and take a bow, knowing I’ve been granted more of Jyr’s indulgence.
Which will, at the very least, buy me some more time to come up with a solution to Proto.
The solution that he is banking on me finding and executing. Too bad it’s the one that’s so far out of my reach, it may as well be at the other end of the galaxy.
SOPHIE
I’ve never really been one to follow the rules. That’s why I was out, late at night, hurrying through the streets of my hometown in the North of England. And taking the shortcut over that piece of waste ground was definitely not my best idea. The flashlight from my mobile phone gave up the ghost just as something loomed at me out of the dark. A pain in my neck and everything went black.
Until I woke up in the strange white and silver room with the other human women. After that, things really got weird.
As life was about to get pretty nasty for me on Earth, it’s difficult to say if being abducted by alien robots was actually a bad thing.
Although given how excruciatingly bored I am stuck in this lair full of males stuffed full of the Gryn equivalent of testosterone, being on the run from the UK authorities would have sucked, but at least it would have been fun.
I only did that one computer hack because my bank had pissed me off. The anonymous contact I received offered me a substantial sum to turn my skills to crime. I’d been looking over my shoulder ever since, wondering if what I had done would catch up with me.
Even if part of me loved every second of the forbidden nature of what I was doing, the part that salivated at the sight of all that lovely alien tech. The part of me that sometimes, I just can’t quite control.
I know I could use my coding, programming and tech skills to help the Gryn, if they’d only let me. Jyr’s refusal to consider my talents just serves to remind me why I hated my day job working in IT for a large multinational law firm. In an IT world filled with men who thought that a woman couldn’t match them. Hiding behind my anonymous online persona meant I could be whoever I wanted to be, without judgement.
The rest of the time, I was just the grumpy goth girl everyone avoided. All human men were bastards as far as I’m concerned, and it’s looking like alien males are shaping up to be similar, given that they already look down on me because of my sex.
Presumably they think I’m only good for one thing, and it’ll be a cold day in hell before I let any of them get that close to me. I’ve been there before. Never again.
Okay, so I know Emma told me to be good, but somehow I’ve ended up back outside that room filled with tech. Inside, I hear voices, and I duck down a nearby corridor. I can’t hear what’s being said, but I’m desperate to get another look. I just want an opportunity to find some more pieces to add to my project.
And to alleviate the tedium of lair life and to forget myself by working out a problem for a few hours at least.
