Page 67 of All You Need is Alien Love
Vardox’s tentacles flapped around awkwardly. “It was the only way to save you. Katnus are a vicious species. Khamos and his men would have violated and then murdered you and your crew had I done nothing. I couldn’t possibly let that happen.”
Starblade ran a slightly shaking hand through his hair, tugging on it in obvious frustration. “But why? I’ve done nothing but insult you and run away from you.”
In that instant, everything inside Vardox stilled. This was the moment he had to voice his true feelings, even if his sweet captain was almost certainly going to reject them.
Vardox used his uninjured tentacles to gently pull Starblade in closer.
“I thought it was obvious by now, darling. I love you and have for quite some time. You’re the man I want as my life mate. And I would do far worse than fight a Blood Duel if it meant keeping you safe, my dear captain.”
—The Tentacular Tales of Captain Starblade, Ch. 161
Kai
A few weeks ago,when River excitedly explained his idea—through the lens ofStar Trek, naturally—it didn’t take long forus to parse through the fannish enthusiasm to realize he was proposing we hijack the situation itself and turn it in our favor.
River was right. Even a seemingly no-win scenario, like an invasion, can be subverted if we think outside the box.
Part of his plan hinged on using the fact that Layne Madison and his supporters consider themselves superior to both us and the humans on this planet to our advantage. After all, our little outpost is one they had already managed to infiltrate and exploit with their mole for years. They were undoubtedly confident they had an easy victory ahead.
What they don’t realize is that this “little outpost” isn’t alone or friendless.
In fact, ever since River joined the Alliance, he’s built bridges with powerful extraterrestrials across the universe who were more than ready to come to his and our aid at a moment’s notice.
I can’t help but grin to myself. My husband is the most marvelous being in the entire universe.
When all of this is over, I can’t wait to take him on the epic honeymoon I have planned. By the galactic gods, we’re going to Tentacular Tales Con, and I’m going to blow River’s mind by getting to introduce him to the wonders of the universe.
Here and now I have to keep my head in the game and stay focused. I will do everything in my power to protect River, our future, and Earth itself.
As soon as the lights come on and music starts reverberating through the office sound system, our teams attack.
We’re very prepared for these assholes.
With the help of Nirblob—and River’s brilliant mind, once again—we’ve upgraded our net guns.
As we surround our opponents, we deploy our weapons with strategic timing, and the nets hit their mark, tangling them up and now delivering a powerful taser-like shock. More than half of them go down before they can muster a real response.
Effective but not lethal. Unlike these fools, we have integrity.
Several of the faster intruders manage to take cover behind cubicles and avoid the nets.
“Masks on!” I hear River shout through my earbud.
Hurriedly, we all take cover and obey his orders.
Our opponents are wholly unaware of what’s about to happen. No doubt thinking they have an ideal opportunity to attack when we stop our assault, they emerge from their hiding spots—just in time to be surrounded by the thick, smoky gas that starts churning out of the vents.
River told us he was inspired by Aiden’s pheromones and Nirblob’s kidnapping tactic with him a few months ago. The devious little alien had gassed River and Chewy unconscious and made off with them.
It seems rather fitting to use the same tactic against some of Layne Madison’s people. I watch with satisfaction as, in shockingly short order, we have the entire situation under control. Stepping into the fray and taking charge, my mother has several subordinates work on disarming the unconscious assailants before hauling them off to our secure cells.
Could it be this easy? Something deep in my gut says, no. My tentacles agree.
River’s voice comes through my earpiece. “We’ve got incoming. They’re using the teleporters like we expected.”
“Copy. We’re heading there now.”
“Be careful and stay safe, babe.”
