Page 25 of Her Alien Soldier
“They will likely have defense ships nearby,” Xarek said, thinking it through.
The Paraxian nodded. “They will. When I was there, I observed a regular patrol of light, fast cruisers.”
Xarek nodded. They would have a secondary team of fighter ships focused on the patrol and any other ships they sent out to fight them back.
“Will your people be joining the fight?” he asked after a few moments.
“My people are intelligence, not brawn,” the Paraxian said with a smirk. “We open the way so your big impressive battleships can do what needs to be done.”
Xarek watched the Paraxian. “If you have played some kind of game here—”
“Why would I do that?” The Paraxian asked in a dismissive tone. “My people stand to lose much as well. As much as the Redlian empire values our skill, they would just as soon destroy us. We’re of little help to them when it comes to military might, but still pose a threat, due to interactions like this one.”
He nodded, then talked with the Paraxian more, gathering any other details he would need. Thoughts of Maggie crept into his mind, soft, seductive whispers, to return to her. But he knew better. He had a mission and the sooner they were able to strike, the better. As much as she called to him, the future of his people rested on the success of this mission.
Deities willing, he would make his way back to her someday and they could pick up where they left off.
After he finished his meeting with the Paraxian, he sought out the damned Bellarian he’d just finished playing cards and eating pizza with to update him. He still didn’t entirely trust him. Spies were not to be trusted, ever. But he knew that the Bellarian people’s future was just as much in the balance as that of his own.
He found the Bellarian running the corridors, just as Maggie said he often did. He joined him, keeping pace with the spy as they ran, filling him in on what he’d learned.
“My people will be ready. Yours won’t be standing alone this time,” the Bellarian vowed, and Xarek clamped a hand on his shoulder in thanks. They discussed a few more details, and then it was time for Xarek to leave.
He made his way to the shuttle bay. The urge to find Maggie, to tell her he was leaving, to thank her for everything, was nearly overwhelming. But he also thought that it would make all of this more difficult.
He already didn’t want to leave. Seeing her, touching her… if she asked, he would find a way to stay. And that was not acceptable. Not now. Not when his people needed him most.
So, he got on his ship, and he communicated with the hangar, and then he was off, his shuttle pulling away from Asterion Station, taking him away from the one thing he’d wanted for himself in a very, very long time.
Chapter Twelve
He was gone.
He’d left without a word. A message. A single backward glance.
If Maggie had let herself believe, even for a second, that anything between them had been real, it was clear now that all he’d been interested in was sex, as long as it was convenient for him and fit into his mission.
Proof that human males hadn’t cornered the universal market on the ability to be complete and utter dicks.
Maggie allowed herself a couple of days to be depressed and angry. And then it was time to get over it. At least, that’s what she told herself as she got back into her usual routine. Work at the bar, spend time with her friends, curl up and read as often as she liked.
It wasn’t a bad life at all. And now she’d learned a lesson, one she already thought she had down pat: no feelings for those who visited the station. It wasn’t worth it, and she had no desire to spend her life missing people.
Four days after that fun evening in her quarters, the news hit the station: the Altarian and Bellarian military had launched a devastating attack on the Redlian home world, as well as all of their high-profile military bases across the quadrant. The patrons and those who worked in Mars Lounge watched the newsfeeds, glued to the large screens on the wall as the siege continued.
News was that the Redlian’s planetary defenses had mysteriously failed, and their engineers were unable to get them operational again.
The combined Altarian/Bellarian strike force had attacked almost instantly, their ships seeming to arrive out of nowhere before they rained destruction down upon the enemy the Altarians had been fighting for decades.
Until this moment, the Redlian empire had been safe. Untouchable behind their technological superiority.
The Redlians launched a defense, their sleek, fast fighters attacking the Bellarian and Altarian warships. Maggie watched the live feeds as more than a few of the unified force’s ships exploded before their eyes. Smaller Bellarian ships zipped after the Redlian fighters, a game of cat and mouse amid the larger bombardment.
Every time an Altarian ship was destroyed, Maggie felt her body go cold.
Any one of them could be Xarek’s ship.
She’d known he was military. That if it came to a fight, he would be fighting. But seeing it, watching the destruction live…
