Page 50 of Alien Engineer's Mate

Through the haze of agony, he heard a commotion in the corridor. Raised voices. The sound of running feet.

"What in the seven hells is going on here?"

The familiar voice cut through Maax's pain like a blade. Kirr.

"This doesn't concern you, commander,"the warrior's voice was cold."This is a security matter."

"The hell it doesn't." Kirr's massive frame filled the doorway, his expression thunderous as he took in the scene. "Release him. Now."

"This man is a purist sympathizer. We have proof."

"Maax A'Taav? A purist sympathizer?" Kirr barked a harsh laugh. "I've known him since we were children. His father fostered me. He's no more a purist than I am."

"Ah yes," the lead warrior's smile was cruel."His father."

Something in his tone made Maax's blood run cold despite the fever of pain wracking his body. He forced his eyes open, looking between Kirr and the lead warrior.

"What about my father?" he managed to rasp.

"The man who raised you?" The lead warrior stepped closer, leaning down until his face was inches from Maax's. "He's not your father at all. Your real father is Kaaj S’Taal.”

The blood drained from Maax's face as the implications sank in. Kaaj S’Taal was the leader of one of the hard-line purist factions. Across the room, he heard Kirr's sharp intake of breath.

"That's... that's not possible," he whispered, but even as he said it, old memories stirred. The way some of the clan elders had looked at him growing up. His father's reluctance to discuss his early childhood. The timing of his mother's death, so soon after his birth...

"Oh, it's not just possible. It's the truth." The security warrior straightened up. "And you know what happens to those who conceal purist connections."

Maax did know. The room spun around him as despair crashed over him in a black wave. He'd never see Emily again. Never hold Eira. Everything he'd built, everything he loved, all gone in an instant because of a truth he hadn't even known about.

"Take him to holding." The warrior's voice was flat, devoid of emotion. "The transport arrives at dawn."

Maax barely felt the restraints being released. His body, battered and trembling from the shocks, slumped forward. Rough hands grabbed his arms, hauling him upright. His legs buckled, refusing to support his weight.

"No." The word was a broken whisper.“Eira… Emily..."

"I'll find a way to fight this, Maax!" Kirr's voice boomed down the corridor as they dragged him away. "By the goddess, I swear it! They can't do this without a proper trial!"

Maax tried to turn his head, to look back at his friend one last time, but a warrior's hand fisted in his hair, forcing his face forward. The corridor stretched endlessly before him, each shuffling step taking him further from everything he'd ever known, ever loved.

"The purist's daughter will be returned to Earth," one warrior said, his tone casual, as if discussing the weather. "The matching will be voided, of course. Can't have tainted blood in the breeding program."

Eira. His precious little girl. The sound that tore from Maax's throat wasn't latharian... it was a howl of pure anguish that echoed off the metal walls. He thrashed against their hold, finding strength he didn't know he had left.

"You can't! She's innocent!"

A blow to his back dropped him to his knees. They didn't stop, just dragged him along the floor, his boots leaving dark streaks on the polished surface. Pain lanced through every nerve, but he remained brutally aware of each moment, each step taking him closer to his fate.

“Kirr!” The name ripped from his raw throat. "Tell Emily... tell her I?—”

"Oh, fordraanth'ssake, shut him up," someone snapped behind them.

A fist connected with his jaw, and stars exploded behind his eyes, but he held onto consciousness. Through the ringing in his ears, he heard Kirr's final shout.

"I'll find proof, Maax! Whatever it takes! This isn't over!"

Eira watched Sheena in amazement.The young Tavkronian bent over a cluster of datapads scattered across Eira's dining table, her horns catching the soft blue light from the screens. The glow cast strange shadows on her grey skin, making her look older, more imposing than the girl who'd blushed when Leo had first introduced her.

"The security protocols clearly state—" Sheena's fingers flew across one of the screens.

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