Chapter 5

chapter

five

KAEL

Well, frack.

That didn't go as planned.

I can barely wrap my brain around all the ways that went sidewise, starting with me finding her with another man's hands all over her and ending with her thinking I was playing some kind of cruel trick on her. As if I would ever. As if I even could intentionally do something to displease her.

The worst part… somehow she grew up, here on this primitive planet, with no knowledge of who she is or how she came here. With no knowledge of Perse, or the rebellion, or the role she could play in saving our people.

Begrudgingly I leave Big Mo's Diner and my mate behind to return to my shuttle, using a mode of transportation called a Harley which I acquired this morning. Though the vehicle is enjoyable to ride, I am quite drenched by the time I make it to the shuttle.

As I dry off and change into dry clothes, I consider the problem.

Thanks to the extensive files about Earth that Cass was able to download from Irick and his mate, Cressida, I knew plenty about Earth when I landed.

The flight here was done on autopilot, so I spent time in the hypersubsumation chamber learning the languages and cultures of Earth. I had hoped that I would arrive to find that my Joey was living with the other lost princesses, under the care of the guardians who had been sent with them.

Unfortunately, that did not seem to be the case.

Joey hadn't known who I was. She didn't even seem to know who she was .

One of the many things I learned in the HSC is that space travel via shuttle is uncommon on Earth. Also, humans are not yet aware of other forms of intelligent life, and aliens–as they call them–are largely something to be feared. Given all of that, I re-programed my shuttle's external viz sensors to create the illusion that it is a common Earth vehicle called a Winnebago.

I landed the shuttle outside of town in something called an RV park. RV standing for recreational vehicles.

As long as no one gets too close, the illusion should hold until I can explain the situation to Joey.

In the meantime, I eat a nutrient pack and dig a little deeper into my research about earth. Since the shuttle doesn't have its own Historian, only the Adjunct, this takes more effort on my part. The Adjunct is not nearly as powerful as Cass and has only a fraction of his capabilities. Still, he's handy to have around and allows for verbal interface with the shuttle's systems. While I'm on the shuttle I can simply talk to the Adjunct. Outside the shuttle, I can communicate with the shuttle via a small chip that registers my subvocalizations.

Right now, as I move around the shuttle's main cabin drying my hair with a towel, I just speak aloud.

"Adjunct, while I was out, did you continue to scan the area for anything with a Pers?n signature?"

"I did," the computerized voice answers. "As you requested."

While there are many similarities between Earth and Perse, from a compositional standpoint, there are a few key differences. Namely ones that relate to the Tides of Be'lah. From an early age, every high-ranking member of a clan carries a sacred amulet with them. The sacred water in that amulet, water from the Tides, emits a unique signature unlike anything else on earth.

Joey clearly doesn't know that she's a Pers?n princess, but she definitely still has he'lahzun in her blood, which is how I found her this morning.

"What did you find out?" I ask, not bothering to hide the frustration creeping into my voice. I would have thought my first question would have been enough, but clearly I'm not being direct enough.

"There is still only one person, other than yourself, within the boundaries of Hat Creek, Texas who emits a Pers?n signature."

"Right." If I'd thought more about it this morning, I might have realized that alone was a sign she'd been separated from the guardian. I just didn't piece it together until I heard the words from her mouth.

"Is there anything other than the two of us? Something that's not a person?"

"Yes. There appears to be something located approximately two point five Earth miles from the current location of Joey Kincaid."

"Any ideas what it is?" I ask.

"It is similar in size and intensity to the signature produced by the amulet you wear. In fact, the signature of the amulets are stronger than either of your signatures."

I huff out a breath. Okay. So, she still has her amulet. Well, that's something at least.

If Joey had more information, she might be able to tell me what happened to the other princesses. Since she doesn't, I'm just going to have to piece together what I can.

"Can you broaden your search?" I ask. "Can you look for the signature beyond Hat Creek?"

"From the current location of the shuttle, my sensors extend to cover approximately one hundred square of earth's miles."

"Why do you keep giving me the distance in earth measurements?"

"It seemed appropriate given our location."

I swear to the prophets, sometimes I think this thing is a smart ass.

"But I don't know what the hell a mile is. Why don't you tell me your range in vohede ?"

"The measure would be meaningless to you either way, since you do not know how many square vohede of livable terrain there is on this planet."

You know, it's a shame the fracking Adjunct doesn't have a lynditsh nerve I can pinch.

I blow out a breath. "Okay. Give it to me as a percentage. How much of Earth's livable terrain can you search from here?"

"There are approximately sixty-million square miles of terrain on this planet. Approximate thirty percent of which is inhospitable to–"

"Just give me a percentage."

"From our current location, my sensors can scan zero point zero, zero, zero, three percent of–"

"Great. That's just fracking great."

"Would you like me to–"

"Yes. Just scan as much as you can. And figure out a way to scan the rest of the damn planet while you're at it."

"Done. Other than you and the princess Joey Kincaid, there are no other living creatures of significant size bearing a Pers?n signature."

"Why am I not surprised?" I throw myself into the nearest chair, toss the towel onto the table, and scrub a hand down my face.

"I am not familiar enough with the emotions of organic creatures to answer that question."

"Thanks. That was very helpful."

"You are welcome." The Adjunct waits a beat and then asks, "Would you like to review my suggestions for scanning the rest of the planet?"

I sit up, slowly opening my eyes. "Yes. That would be nice."

Turns out the Adjunct's ideas aren't half bad. While I was in town, he figured out how to interface with the network of computers on earth. He outlines a plan, and, working together, he talks me through how to hack into the primitive human technology and piggyback a signal through their satellites to search for more Pers?n signatures.

If the other princesses still have their amulets, we'll find them.

Hopefully, they do.

By the time we're done, it's nearly dawn. As eager as I am to find Joey again and persuade her to come home to Perse with me, I need sleep.

I shuffle off to the crew quarters that I claimed and throw myself onto the bed. Only I can't sleep, even after I turn off the Adjunct's auditory routines for the night.

Eventually, I pull out my data pad and pull up the few files I have on Joey to read over them.

I want to know what happened to her guardian. My princess was raised as an orphan and not given any of the information about her true identity and her destiny. That mystery haunts me.

But it's not the only reason I'm wide awake. My cock still aches at the memory of her.

She's perfect. Soft with lush curves. Her body calls to mine in a way I had never expected.

Before seeing her in person today, I knew she was mine of course, but all my memories of her were from that one meeting with her during the ceremony back on Perse. They were memories of a child. Formed by a child.

My feelings from then are … fuzzy. Proprietary and protective, yes. A child-like certainty that she was mine, without any idea what that might actually mean .

There certainly hadn't been anything sexual about how I felt.

But seeing her today?

It was totally different.

Yes, I felt that same sense of ownership, especially when I saw that other human man talking to her, with his hands on her. But it was more than that.

The surge of lust was nearly uncontrollable. Is nearly uncontrollable, even now when I am miles away from her.

My Joey Kincaid is all softness. Her body made for pleasure, with breasts built for hands as big as mine and hips designed to grab onto. I could fuck her hard, lose myself in her wet warmth and fuck her again. And again.

Frack.

And I can't do any of that until I convince her that she is mine. That we are made for each other.

I take a quick break to grab a sonic shower, then grab a hydration and protein pouch from the galley and head to the nav deck where I can access the Adjunct.

As soon as I boot it up, a notification window pops up on the screen. A message from Radford.

Well, that didn't take long.

I'd landed on the planet less than twenty-four of their hours ago and hadn't even been sure if the dozen or so comm buoys I'd launched between Perse and here would be able to establish a link back to Perse.

Not only had they worked, but as soon as the comms were up, Cass had figured it out. And obviously had run straight to Radford. The damn snitch.

Yeah, sure. Cass was a Historian with no sense of loyalty and no honor. He followed programmed commands, not a moral compass. So maybe calling him a snitch was inaccurate. But would it have killed him to keep his damn mouth shut?

For a second, I consider ignoring Radford's comm. But then another one pops up on the screen.

And then a third.

I open the first and a viz of Radford appears on the screen.

"Tides be damned, Kael. What the frack were you thinking? You're irresponsible?—"

I hit pause. "Adjunct, create a transcript of the viz currently playing, then delete the viz." Just because Radford wants to yell at me, that doesn't mean I need to listen. "Then do the same to the other two."

A second later, a transcript pops up on the screen. It's long.

I skim it and get the gist of it. I'm an asshole. I'm selfish and irresponsible. I'm putting the entire rebellion in danger.

His list of my flaws is extensive.

Radford is a good leader and we're damn lucky to have him. When Caiside died… well, I don't know what we would have done if it hadn't been for Radford.

Sure, he's only a few years older than me. We were all just children. And there were other adults around. Lantimere and Jopin. Ostensibly, the adults were in charge, but every other adult who had survived the coup was either a servant or had defected to the Sovereignty to save their own skin like my mother had. Ultimately, there were times even the adults in the rebellion stepped aside to follow Radford's lead.

And, yeah, I know I'm an asshole—for taking the shuttle to retrieve Joey Kincaid and for not appreciating Radford's leadership.

But damn it, the guy gets on my nerves when he pulls this shit.

Instead of sending my reply as a viz, I type it out on the keysphere.

It's slower, but a written message means Radford won't hear my irritation. It's a lot easier to pull off polite insubordination if he doesn't hear my voice or see me roll my eyes.

I type out a quick message.

Sorry my message via the Adjunct and Cass didn't reach you before I left. I had assumed you would want me to head to the planet first to test the Pyruhonic Drive. The good news is it works, and I'll be returning with Joey Kincaid soon.

I don't mention that Joey Kincaid doesn't know she is a princess of Perse or that she's… resistant to the idea. The last thing I need is Radford meddling.

Instead, I type out another message, this time to Draeden.

I reached the planet. Things aren't exactly what I expected. Has Cass decoded any additional files about Joey Kincaid? If there's any intel about her or her guardian, I could use it. Thanks.

Messaging Draeden is risky, since technically he's the head of Radford's honor guard. But he's a warrior of Perse first and foremost. He'll put his loyalty to the cause above his loyalty to Radford. And it's not like I can ask Aislynn for help. She'd made that clear.

After sending the message, I pull up information on Earth resources. This isn't the first time I've done recon in a potentially hostile environment. I've logged thousands of hours of recon in New Calendeum alone.

I'm probably better than anyone else in the Alpha Guard at acquiring local resources for a mission. I don't blend in as well physically here as I do there, but I can manage.

I've already obtained a vehicle, so I have the replication console generate some local currency.

Hopefully, my next meeting with Joey will be more successful than my first. But I will stay as long as I have to. I must convince Joey to return to Perse with me. The fate of the rebellion depends upon it. My sudden fascination with the physical aspects of our bonding is only a temporary distraction. No matter how much I might desire her, I need to focus on my goals, not my lust.