Page 4 of Warrior
My kind, the Vaktaire, guarded the Earth, protecting humans. Most of the time, we remained in the Milky Way, rescuing abducted earthlings before they could be shipped through a wormhole and lost to the rest of the cosmos. Then my Chieftain rescued a human female named Emmy, and here I sat, shackled in the bowels of a moon I vowed to never set foot on again.
I spent twenty years as a prisoner of war in the Gilese mines. Twenty years without ever feeling the sun on my face save for the shards of light flickering through the domes. For twenty years, my captors beat me, starved me, and used my fighting skills as a source of entertainment.
The Vaktaire-Romvesian skirmish happened years before the wormhole appeared in Earth's galaxy. When my kind fought the Romvesians for control of the third moon that lay between our planets. As wars go, it wasn’t that bloody an affair. The Planetary Alliance kept a tight rein on the conflict, disavowing killing prisoners—although they turned a blind eye to slavery and cruelty.
Khaion, Charick, Tarook, and my best friend Enslak and I were newly out of the academy and assigned to a tiny planet in the Eridani system. Our commanding officer, who was educated but not battle-honed, led us into a trap. Khaion, Charick, and Tarook escaped, but Enslak and I found ourselves trapped.
The Romvesians aren’t a warrior people. Their military capabilities come from technology and the wealth to hire mercenaries to do the fighting. In those days, they used Kerzak—a cruel, violent, and bloodthirsty species—to guard the mines and keep prisoners in check. The Kerzak quickly realized that beating me was counter-productive to control since it only increased my fiery stubbornness. Beating Enslak, who wassmaller and more a strategist than warrior, kept me subdued. Until the day they beat him to death—after that, I didn't give a damn. I’d sworn to Charick to keep his younger brother safe. The most important vow in my life—and the only one I’d ever broken.
If I’d been able to keep Enslak alive for another month, he would have seen the arrival of the Vaktaire ship Bardaga to liberate the mines. Charick might have forgiven me, but I could never forgive myself.
Twenty years and I swore never to set foot below the surface of a Gilese moon again.I still don’t know what possessed me.
I’d been enslaved on Geeto, the largest moon, for years mining Sasjasian crystals, essential parts of hyper-drive systems. Garlean hosted within its barren land a treasure trove of salis—tiny granules used to enhance the flavor of food. However, the poisonous atmosphere made mining on Garlean too expensive an endeavor. Ghakit and Gurlt harbored Balakavest gems and Fraleshee crystals idolized by the affluent. I was on Gurlt when the Bardaga rescued me.
Giezo, the smallest and innermost moon, held a deep crimson hue that stood out from its siblings' desiccated dust and rock. Acidic vapor that scorched the lungs and burned the skin covered the moon’s surface. It was the only one of the Gilese moons I’d never visited.
I wasn’t sure Giezo contained mines. No trace of crystals or gems scattered the soil. But the nearer I got, the more I felt the human female was here, like a small, invisible cord attached to the center of my chest, pulling me to land my skiff between the blood-red rocks littering the surface.
It didn’t take long to spot a fissure, a geyser of air venting into the atmosphere from beneath the moon that signaled an access panel. Thanks to the lack of monitoring of the moon’spoison surface, I slipped easily into the tunnels. My enviro suit protected me from the acidic surface, but it was too cumbersome, and I’d hidden it close by while searching for the human. The tunnel system was quite extensive, and I’d been searching for hours before running into the baby Kerzak.
Kerzak
The idea of what those creatures would do to a poor, defenseless human female turned my blood cold.
Of course, the Kerzak aren’t big on taking prisoners. If they were in charge, I would already be dead and roasting on a spit. But why would a baby Kerzak be here alone?
No matter, I was a Vaktaire, war chief of the Bardaga, bred to protect the weak. Whoever guarded this moon would be no match for me. The chains that confined me might be thick and not easily shattered, but I’d been in worse predicaments.
Especially if all I had to deal with was a baby Kerzak.
As if answering my thoughts, the creature’s round nose appeared first as the door creaked open. He was smaller than I expected. Kerzak aged slowly, not maturing from the youngling stage for at least a hundred years. This Kerzak was a young one.
A tray of steaming stew and jug of water delicately balanced on one furry arm. His dark eyes darted around the room nervously as he shuffled inside. I stilled myself so not even my breathing was discernible to the naked eye.
The Kerzak tiptoed closer, its brown and gray fur standing on end. A faint tinkling of glass and metal coming from the tray betrayed the creature’s underlying fear. The Kerzak regarded me with round, black eyes, trepidation trembling his entire body.
For fun, I waited until he moved closer, then lunged forward with a menacing snarl. The Kerzak screeched in terror, tray crashing to the floor. Stew and liquid flew out of the containers, splatters hitting my face.
The door flung open, the whap of it hitting the stone wall echoing through the room and masking my laughter.
She stood in the doorway, her slight frame backed by a golden light. A warrior goddess, wielding a shovel as if it was a battle axe. My entire being froze, entranced by her beauty.
Did she hit me?
I thought not. She seemed too fragile for such action. The thin fabric of her shift silhouetted her small but shapely figure. Her dark brown hair fell about her face and shoulders like a halo, and her eyes glimmered at me, dark and mysterious.
“Leave that child alone!” She snapped, stepping closer.
I gasped at the sight of her face. I’d never seen skin so perfect—it seemed to reflect the light but did not shine. A golden tinge made shadows beneath her cheekbones appear deeper and more dramatic. In the light, I could finally make out the color of her eyes, a conglomeration of green, blue-brown, and golden flecks—hazel, I believe, the humans called it—that bore into mine with such intensity I was transfixed. Her lips were full and pink, pressed together in a straight line, but that only added to my need to make them curve into a smile.
“Daisy.”
I hadn’t meant to say her name, but it slipped forth before I realized I’d opened my mouth. The shovel clattered to the ground as she reeled back, hazel eyes widening in shock.
"H-how do you know my name?" she asked, voice trembling.
"Emmy sent me," I replied.
