Page 3 of Her Alien Guardian

Tessara

I closed my eyes, trying to process the enormity of what I was hearing. The war that had defined my entire life was coming to its brutal conclusion, and I was trapped here, unable to do anything but listen as the last remnants of the once-mighty Vionian Empire crumbled around me.

The ship rocked violently—so violently that if not for my restraints the movement would have thrown me from the bench. The air in the comfort room started to fill with the acrid smell of burning circuitry, and I pictured the sparks that must have flown from the control panels.

“Shields at thirty percent!” Bavo shouted. “We can’t take much more of this!”

“Keep firing!” Jorg roared. “If we’re going down, we’re taking some of those Magisterian bastards with us!”

The ship lurched again, and I heard the sickening crunch of metal tearing. Alarms blared even louder, their urgent wailspiercing through the cacophony of battle. I strained against my restraints, panic rising in my chest as I realized the full horror of my situation. Bound and helpless, I was completely at the mercy of whatever fate befell theConqueror of Bresla.

“Status report!” Captain Voss bellowed, his voice barely audible over the chaos.

“We’ve lost aft shields!” Lieutenant Bavo shouted back. “Hull breaches on decks three and four. We’re venting atmosphere!”

“Seal off those sections,” Jorg ordered, his tone grim. “What about our weapons?”

There was a moment of tense silence, broken only by the crackle of electrical fires and the distant boom of explosions. Then Bavo’s voice, tight with desperation: “Main cannons are offline. We’ve got maybe two torpedo tubes still functioning, but that’s it.”

I heard Captain Voss let out a string of curses that would have made even the roughest dockworker blush. “So this is how it ends,” he said, his voice suddenly calm. “Outgunned and outmaneuvered by Magisterian dogs.”

“Sir,” Jorg interjected, a note of steel in his voice. “If we’re going down, let’s make it count. ThePrince Hendis within range. We could?—”

“A suicide run?” Bavo interrupted, his voice a mix of fear and awe.

My breath caught in my throat. Surely they wouldn’t… But as I listened to the grim determination in their voices, I realized that was exactly what they intended.

“It’s our only option,” Voss agreed, his tone resolute. “If we can take out their flagship, it might give the rest of our fleet a fighting chance.”

“For the glory of the empire,” Jorg said solemnly.

“For Vion Prime,” Bavo added.

There was a moment of heavy silence, and I pictured the three officers clasping hands, sharing a final look of camaraderie before their desperate gambit. Not once did they mention me, their helpless concubine left bound and forgotten in the comfort room. To them, I was nothing more than a convenient outlet for their base urges, not even worth a passing thought in their final moments.

“Plot a collision course with thePrince Hend,” Voss ordered, his voice steady despite the death sentence he had just issued. “Divert all remaining power to the engines and try to get the forward shields up. We’ll punch right through their defenses and detonate our core inside their hull.”

“Aye, sir,” Bavo responded, the sound of furious typing following his words. “Course plotted. Engines at maximum thrust.”

“It’s been an honor serving with you both,” Jorg said.

The ship shuddered violently, and a deafening explosion rocked theConqueror of Bresla. The force of the blast sent tremors through the metal frame of the pleasure bench, rattling my teeth and bones. I clenched my eyes shut, bracing for what I was sure would be my final moments.

Another explosion, closer this time, and suddenly the artificial gravity went haywire. My stomach lurched as I felt myself becoming weightless, the restraints digging painfully into mywrists and ankles as they kept me from floating away. The sensation was nauseating, like being on a boat in a storm at night, with no way to find my bearings and no end in sight.

Objects that weren’t bolted down began to drift around the room—data pads, discarded clothing, even droplets of spilled lubricant forming perfect spheres in the air. The acrid smell of smoke grew stronger, stinging my nostrils and making my eyes water.

Just as quickly as it had failed, the gravity snapped back into place. The sudden return to normal weight slammed me against the bench, knocking the wind out of me. I gasped, struggling to catch my breath as items rained down around me, clattering against the floor and walls.

From the bridge, I heard a chorus of confused shouts and angry curses.

“What the hell just happened?” Jorg bellowed.

“We’re caught in their tractor field,” Bavo replied, his voice tight with disbelief. “How did they pick us up? I’ll…”

I heard a keening sound from the bridge, something I had never heard before. Then, “No,” Bavo said grimly. “No use. Countermeasures ineffective.”

“Impossible,” Captain Voss growled. “Their technology shouldn’t be capable of this. Not against theConqueror!”

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