Hunter Raze, page 7
“I saw flesh.”
“My lower legs have real cloned flesh to cover my…robotics.”
He shook his head. “I am still not leaving you.” He lifted his wrist, pressed a finger to a black band. He switched to his own language, knowing the female wouldn’t understand Veslor. “I have located our target.”
Bruck responded immediately. “Is the female alive?”
“Yes. She is unharmed.” Raze noticed the frown return to Anabel’s face. She didn’t like not knowing what he was saying.
Prasky snarled, his anger clear. “Females are trouble.”
Raze sighed. “Enough,” he ordered the male. “She is human, not Delorian. This female is harmless to us.”
Silence came over the communications.
“We have a problem. The female claims the other humans on this planet wish to kill all the inhabitants to steal their planet.”
“Humans,” Prasky spat. “Always trouble.”
Their interactions with some humans on space stations over the years had left them tending to distrust the race. Raze couldn’t deny that. “Have you come across other humans in your hunt today, Bruck?”
“Two, but both were male. I concealed myself from them.”
“Head back to Satrono. I’m bringing the female in but we aren’t leaving the planet yet. The female says she has proof of her claims. If true, we need to hunt and kill the other humans before we go.”
“We’re killing them?” For the first time, Prasky’s tone was more shocked than angry.
“We are protectors,” Raze reminded them. “We will review her proof before we take action.”
“I am heading back to our ship now,” Bruck informed him.
“See you both soon. The female will fight. She doesn’t want to come to Satrono. Ready soft restraints, Prasky.”
“You stated she couldn’t harm us. Which is it?” he snarled.
“Do it,” Raze snarled back, ending the communications.
Anabel stood a few feet away, watching him warily. “What was all that about? I don’t know growl. I caught a few words though, like ‘humans.’”
Raze knew she’d fight him rather than willingly going to his ship. He withdrew a small patch he kept trapped between his wrist and communicator, careful not to touch the center as he activated it by breaking the seal with his claw. “I will meet you here tomorrow after sunrise.”
She appeared relieved. He hated deceit, but he also didn’t want to harm the female. She’d already proven that she’d fight him to the exclusion of her own safety. He held out his hand. “Shake on it. That’s what you humans do, correct?”
“Words are fine.”
He lunged, surprising her, and slapped the patch on the side of her neck. She threw a punch at his chest but it didn’t hurt. The drug worked fast, and he saw her eyes roll back, her body going lax.
He caught the female, and lifted her into his arms, carefully placing her over one of his shoulders. It was time to go back to his ship and share what proof she had with his grouping. It was already clear that she’d lie to him if necessary, and he refused to murder humans unless it truly was to protect a helpless primitive race from being slaughtered.
He picked up his discarded belongings and walked fast toward Satrono. The use of the scanner helped him avoid other humans and the pack animals on the planet. The last thing he needed was to come across what Anabel called shredders with her unconscious. He wouldn’t be able to effectively fight them with the female draped over his shoulder. His shield had been designed for one body. Not two. It was currently off since it would shock anything touching him. That would be the female he carried.
He wished he could run. It would be much faster, but he didn’t want to jostle her. Human females weren’t as sturdy as Veslors. Although Anabel had fought much better than he’d imagined a female of her species could…
A grin spread across Raze’s face at the thought. The female had even put up a better fight than what he’d experienced with her male counterparts in the past. She did impress him…even stirred his lust when they’d been sparring.
He picked up the pace and was nearly back to Satrono when Bruck met up with him. The male openly studied the female slung over his shoulder. “Did she pass out from fear?”
“No. I had to drug her.”
“Why? She appears little and weak.”
“Anabel is a surprisingly good fighter.”
Bruck chuckled. “You and your pranks.”
Raze reached up and pointed to his face where she’d damaged his cheek and mouth. “She did this.”
“I do not believe you.”
“I wouldn’t lie.” He smiled. “She’s a fighter.” Then his amusement faded. “I drugged her to avoid another sparring session. I didn’t want to have to hurt her.”
They reached the ship and Prasky disengaged the cloak, extending the ramp. Raze carried the female inside and walked directly to his sleeping area. Prasky met him at the doors, his features showing his displeasure as he held out the soft restraints.
“She’s not a big alien.”
“No, she’s not,” Raze agreed.
“What happened to your face?”
Raze wasn’t about to tell Prasky the truth. “I leapt into a clearing with a pack of beasts and took one of them out. They were eating humans, and I wanted to make sure this female wasn’t one of the dead.” He’d let the male assume that’s when he’d been injured.
“Keep her away from me.” Prasky spun away, stomping off.
Raze opened his doors and strode in, taking the female to where he slept. He dropped the restraints and carefully lay Anabel on the soft mattress. He removed her boots to reveal small feet. He studied them, even ran his fingertip over one of her tiny toes. They appeared flesh and blood. He wondered again if she’d been telling the truth.
He secured her wrists to the headboard before leaving her alone. She was safe on his ship. He paused at the doors, turning on a motion sensor. If she moved around on the mattress, he’d be notified.
His two grouping males waited in the kitchen, both already eating.
Prasky grunted. “Are we really going to kill humans?”
“Anabel said the other humans will continue with their plan to annihilate the aliens living here to steal their planet if we leave any of them alive,” Raze shared.
“Humans lie,” Prasky hissed.
“Not all are dishonorable. Some Veslors have mated to their females.” Bruck suddenly stared at Raze. “Did she arouse your sexual interest?”
Raze sat at the table, digging into the meal Prasky had prepared. He ignored the question.
“That is insulting,” Prasky snarled. “Raze would never test a mating with a weak female.”
“He said she was a good fighter.”
Raze shot Bruck a warning look, before glancing at Prasky. The male scowled.
“You did say that,” Bruck reminded him. “Other Veslors have mated to human females. I read the updates our people send out. A human mate named Vivian writes about being mated to one of our trader males, and her stories are widely shared. The pair have had at least one cub.”
Prasky made a rude snort. “Prank.”
“Not a prank. There was an image of the cub. Our king even made an announcement that human mates would be welcomed on our planets, and that they are compatible to have our cubs. It is truth.”
Raze swallowed his food, contemplating what Bruck had shared. The male did like to know what was going on with their people. “Truth?”
“Truth.” Bruck reiterated.
“We are undesirable,” Prasky reminded him. “Stop speaking of taking mates. We will never have those. No cubs. We will hunt prey until death.” He suddenly got up and left the room.
Raze looked at Prasky’s mostly uneaten meal and sighed. He locked gazes with Bruck. “You know better than to speak of such things near him.”
“He can’t feel rage over Hern forever.”
“We lost Hern because he wanted a mate. The subject is a bad one to speak of.”
“The Delorian female set a trap and caused Hern’s death.”
“Prasky is always going to associate mates with death after what happened.”
“I want a mate.” Bruck sighed, his shoulders slumping. “Not a human though. They are frail-looking. I studied the one you captured while you carried her. I’d be afraid of causing her pain if I got her under me. I need a larger female. One tough, like our females.”
It was Raze’s turn to sigh. “No Veslor female will ever consider us.”
“We have honor and are in good standing with our king.”
“We were banished from the world on which we were born and the lies told about us were spread to others. None of our females would have wanted us, even if we’d taken our king’s offer to resettle in new territory. We were already considered undesirable before we took to space. Satrono is our only home, where we will be fully accepted.” It was a sore spot for everyone in their grouping, but it was Raze’s duty to always be honest.
Bruck lowered his gaze, sadness reflected on his features. He took a few slow, steady breaths before he spoke, changing the subject. “It may cause problems later if we kill the surviving humans on this planet. Our king has signed alliances with their people. Prasky does have a point. Humans do lie. We’ve dealt with enough of them to realize it seems a universal problem with their race.” Bruck returned his gaze to Raze. “I don’t feel comfortable killing them unless I’m certain it must be done to save alien lives.”
Raze nodded. “Agreed. I’ll ask to see the female’s proof and share it with you and Prasky. We’ll decide what to do with the other humans then. I don’t want to anger our king, either. I am certain that he would sanction us doing whatever it took to protect primitives from aggressive invaders. That’s what those humans are, if they came here to steal this planet.”
Bruck nodded. “I believe that is what the king would order, too.”
Raze returned to his sleeping place and sat facing the bed. It gave him ample time to watch Anabel while she slept.
She wasn’t what he’d expected.
His gaze kept going to her lower legs and bare feet. If they weren’t real, he wondered who had hurt her enough to cause their replacement. The thought stirred his rage. The human looked so fragile…
Chapter Five
Anabel woke, instantly alert. The damn Veslor had drugged her. She opened her eyes to evaluate whatever situation she found herself in.
The room wasn’t a holding cell. It appeared to be a large bedroom, where she lay on a massive bed. Her hands were restrained to a metal headboard but there were a few feet of thin material that allowed her to move enough to sit up.
The reason for her anger sat on a long, padded, backless couch a few feet from the end of the bed. “Asshole,” she muttered to Raze, tugging on the restraints.
“Apologies. I knew you wouldn’t return to my ship without another fight. I didn’t want to risk hurting you.”
“Tell me that you didn’t leave the planet.”
“We haven’t. I spoke to my grouping. They aren’t willing to hunt and kill the remaining humans without seeing proof that they are here to cause harm.” He paused. “I tend to believe you, but the other males aren’t as trusting. Our past experiences with humans weren’t good examples of your race.”
Anabel scowled, watching him as she got more comfortable on the bed. She used the headboard to lean against.
“We’ve had small groups of your race attempt to rob us on space stations.”
“Were those stations normally visited by our fleet ships?”
“We avoid your fleet. The stations didn’t have military.”
That told Anabel everything. She’d bet the Veslors had come across some really shitty humans on stations owned by private companies. “Got it. Most humans living on outlying space stations do so because they’re wanted criminals with bounties on their heads. Those are the only humans you’ve met?”
He nodded.
“What about my sister, when this Roth hired you? How did she look? Tell me everything.”
“I didn’t see your sister. Roth contacted me via communications.”
That made her frown.
“You don’t look pleased with that answer. Roth is a good male.”
“How would you know that if you’ve never actually met him?”
“I’ve met with Roth many times in the past. His grouping are fighters. We’ve joined our groupings to handle some aggressive situations to protect innocents.”
“I’m not sure what that means,” she admitted.
“The last time our groupings fought together was against the Elth. They attacked Morna. It is the home world of the Kluza. They are a nonaggressive race who trade their art for supplies. The Elth were kidnapping their people and the Kluza rulers hired Veslors to help. Roth’s grouping remained on the planet to stop the Elth from snatching more citizens. We went after the ships with captives already taken, to return them to their home.”
Anabel chewed that information over in her mind. “Did you get them back?”
Raze scoffed. “Yes. The Elth are no match for Veslors. Once we got involved, they left Morna alone. The Elth have lost too many ships and people battling us.”
“How many men do you have on your ship?”
“Three now. There used to be four in our grouping.”
Anabel could tell by the flash of pain in his eyes that he’d probably lost a crew member to death. The idea filled her with sympathy; she’d lost a few of her own comrades in battle. “Fighting the Elth? I’m sorry.”
He suddenly stood. “Hern wasn’t killed by the Elth. Do we need to fly to the destroyed Earth ship to retrieve your evidence? I would like this hunt to be over soon. That means showing my males your proof if you wish for us to kill the remaining humans before we leave this system.”
Anabel noted his abrupt change in demeanor. “I hope your computer systems can read Earth files. That’s my proof. I have them on me.”
He scowled as he stepped closer to the bed. “No lies, female. I searched for weapons and didn’t find anything in your pockets but hand coverings.”
“They’re called gloves. And the proof is inside me, actually.”
His eyes widened.
“Synthetic legs, remember? Let me go and I’ll show you my proof. I’m going to trust you, since I know my sister is a genius. Jessa wouldn’t send someone after me unless she thought you were trustworthy. I’m also willing to accept that if any human married an alien, it would be her. She’s Defcon Red’s A.R.S.”
“What is an A.R.S?”
“Alien Research Specialist. Jessa was trained to be a doctor and received her license. She absorbs information easily and retains it like a sponge, so she graduated early. She had some time to kill before she was old enough to be assigned to her first post for the fleet. They enrolled her in alien studies. Jessa’s brilliant at dealing with alien medical issues when shit goes down.”
He hesitated next to the bed. “What shit?”
“Like if the fleet sends people to an alien planet and they’re exposed to some strange alien infection. My sister’s the one who figures out what caused it, how to cure it, and she’ll do it faster than any other doctor, because she’s that damn smart.”
“She sounds like a fine female. Do not fight with me when I release you. Your vow.”
“I won’t give you any trouble if we take out the remaining crew of the Soapa Six before we leave this planet. They really will keep killing innocents if we leave them here alive. I already mentioned they work for Gemini. It’s a corrupt company that buys rights to planets that aren’t classified as alien owned.
“I was sent undercover on their freighter after someone attempted to murder an entire survey team from a competing company, on another planet. Things weren’t adding up to one of the lead investigators and the case got kicked back to the United Earth ruling committee. I was ordered to take a closer look at why the company was sending freighters into deep space that smart people would otherwise avoid.”
Raze released her wrists from the restraints. “I was surprised to hear that an Earth vessel was in this sector of space.”
“So you understand why it was suspicious. That’s why I was aboard that freighter. To learn the truth.” She scooted off the large bed and stood.
Raze stared back at her, a few feet separating them. “They shouldn’t have sent a female.”
“And you shouldn’t scowl like that or your face will stick,” she smirked. “I’m highly qualified and not easy to kill. The fleet knew I could do the job, and I was perfect for it because I’m a woman. It instantly made Gemini less suspicious about my motives when they hired me. I was set up with a false history that implied I’d be desperate for a job. Any job.”
“What false history?”
“My documents make me look like an ex-convict who was recently released from prison.” She shrugged. “Bad enough crimes that it would make jerks think twice about attacking me, since they think I like to kill men.”
His gaze raked her from head to toe. “You don’t appear dangerous. Humans are stupid.”
It was her turn to scowl. “In reality, I have an even higher body count than my fake file does, Raze. Don’t let my looks or size fool you. It’s just that when I’ve killed, it was my job. I take out bad guys. And I’m damn good at it.”
He didn’t appear happy with that news. “I will take you to the bridge and you will give me your proof. I’ll show it to my grouping.” He turned away and stalked toward the doors.
Anabel followed. The ship wasn’t like any she’d ever been on before. Probably built by the Veslors. She glimpsed some writing on one of the walls, but she couldn’t read the foreign symbols. They ended up on a large bridge with a viewing screen that took up the entire front wall. Two other Veslors were already there.
They looked like Raze, with their dark skin, pointed ears, and the bald sides of their heads. One had paler blue eyes. The other one had golden. Both of them were tall, muscular…and they stared at her with an intensity that made Anabel feel a bit unwelcome. She didn’t get creepy vibes off them, necessarily. Neither man leered at her. They just felt…dangerous.
