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Dawn woke in a cell on her stomach sprawled on the floor. Her head pounded. Groaning, she pushed up and rolled to her side to alleviate the pressure on her diaphragm. Sharp pangs immediately jabbed at her temple.
“Ow.” She placed her hand there and rubbed a large, swollen knot. “My head.”
Growling grunts barked at her in a harsh tone from somewhere nearby. Dawn turned her head carefully. Leaning against the far wall, Sevanti sat, stripped of his armor. He wore black fitted shorts and nothing else.
Dawn jolted upright and patted her chest and legs. Shirt. Pants. Thank God! She still had on her clothes. Slowly, she breathed in then out. Her drumming heart took on a steady beat once more. No one had taken her clothes which meant hopefully no one had touched her while she was unconscious.
Her gaze roamed around the small area and low ceiling. There was a single door with a small square cut out for a window but some kind of closure had been drawn over it, keeping the room in muted darkness.
“What happened?” she asked in a raspy voice. The dryness in her mouth made it difficult to swallow.
More growls from Sevanti. Dawn frowned. “What?”
Rumbles and sounds she couldn’t make out followed. Her head throbbed mercilessly. Dawn pressed her fingers to the pain point. “Something’s wrong, Sevanti.”
Shifting to his knees, he pointed at her and growled two words. Or maybe one. She didn’t know, couldn’t tell. Fear licked at her gut and her pulse leaped. “Speak slowly, Sevanti.”
“Sí, senorita.” Then a spattering of words followed.
Spanish? Why was Sevanti speaking Spanish? She glared. “I don’t understand Spanish. Is this a joke?”
His brow ridges pulled low and he growled fiercely. One by one he unclenched his fingers. “I think your translator was damaged with the blow to your head.”
As soon as she comprehended the words, Dawn slumped. Fear receded. There was a rough edge to the way he spoke but that didn’t matter. Her brain wasn’t broke. “It’s okay. I understand you now.”
The corners of his mouth pulled down and his nostril slits flared wildly. “It’s not okay, lom. You only understand now because I’m speaking your Earth language.”
Her brows shot up and adrenalin poured through her veins. “But...wh—”
Sevanti raised his hand and patted the air between them. “Calm down. Don’t panic.”
Easy for him to say. His head hadn’t been bashed in. Or it had but clearly it was harder than Dawn’s. If she couldn’t understand anything said, how would she know what was going on? Make herself understood? Screams built in her chest. “I won’t know what’s happening!”
“Dima and Venik’s presence on Earth gave us the knowledge on two languages for your people. Since they joined the Protectorate, many more have been streamed to the central translation system, allowing all to speak to your people fluently if needed.”
But that didn’t help Dawn. If her implanted translator was damaged, she wouldn’t understand Vassi, or any other language an alien might speak to her. Fuck.
“We have to keep a clear head,” Sevanti said, eyeing her as if he expected her to explode.
She was close to it. Licking her lips, Dawn asked, “Why are we here? Who did this?”
“Yon!” Sevanti smashed a fist to the floor and stood. “He’s taken us from Regin IV on a ship. I don’t know where we’re going but one of the mercenaries he hired couldn’t wait to brag about how they planned to ransom a fleet High Commander.”
“What...what about me?” She’d been kidnapped by aliens. Why no mention of a ransom for her? Unless they had dire plans that didn’t involve her walking away from this alive. Dawn ran her hands over her pants, the empty loops at her waist. “My thilas!”
Sevanti shook his head. “I’m sorry. They took our weapons while we were out. My comm, too.”
Though it pained her to do so, Dawn stood. Balance off, she wobbled and her shoulder banged into the cold stone of the cell wall behind her. Sevanti leaped to her side and caught her arm. “Careful. Take your time. We haven’t received any medical care and you were bleeding.”
Dawn swiped her stained fingers on her pants. It wasn’t easy but she blocked the shooting agony in her head and tried to think. Her mind was like slush. “Venik. Venik will get us out.”
Sevanti sighed. “If I had my comm, I would have contacted him as soon as I regained awareness.”
“What about a tracker? Won’t the whole military be looking for you?” She didn’t care that her voice rose with each question.
“It’s why they took my armor.” He turned his three fingered hand palm side up showing a shallow gash already in the process of healing. “They cut out the other.”
That was troubling. Sevanti sniffed at her, pulling a frown from Dawn. “What are you doing?”
“Your scent. Earlier you smelled of Venik. Fear and the blood are masking it now.”
Dawn rolled her eyes at that bit of nonsense. Someone had to be on their way to find them. Sevanti was pretty far up the rank if he was in charge of a thousand person battleship. She squeezed her eyes closed and dropped her head on the wall behind her to stare at the ceiling. This wasn’t good at all.
No one had asked her to get a tracker and as much as she’d complained about Venik tagging her like a dog she wish—Wait!
“I have my comm.” If their kidnappers hadn’t searched her. Dawn frantically dug her fingertips into the front pockets of her pants and felt the thin circlet. She pulled it out and the shiny black wrist comm Venik had gifted her sat in her hand.
“Thank all of kazijah.” Sevanti breathed. “With this, Venik can also track you.”
“What? No, he said this is for me to contact someone if I ever needed help.”
Sevanti’s bronze skin took on a decided darker hue as he avoided her gaze.
“Se-van-ti.” She dragged his name out.
“Lim or High Commander, please. I have no wish for my closest friend to think there is anything between us.”
Dawn rolled her eyes. “Not this again. I think being held prisoner together establishes us as instant friends and gives me the right. I’ll make sure Venik knows this and he won’t care.”
His derisive snort wasn’t reassuring. “While you battled Vax, Venik instructed our Chief Medical Officer to implant a tracker in you. I also know when he ordered your custom comm, he had one added to it.”
So he had tagged her like a pet he didn’t want to escape. Only in this instance, Dawn was glad of it. “How do I call Venik? I’ve only ever received comms and never sent one on this.”
The ones on Earth were the height of technology to humans but this was vastly different and had and a host of other capabilities.
Thumping sounded outside the cell door and loud growls, pulling her eyes away from the device that could be their only chance out.
“Put it away,” Sevanti whispered quickly.
Dawn jammed the comm back in her pocket and straightened. The door swung open and banged into the opposite wall. Sevanti slid in front of her with a single step. She should protest the protective measure but eyeing the men who came in had her hesitating.
Yon was easily recognizable. His hate filled gaze rolled over her dismissively. He snarled something she had no way of understanding and the two men accompanying him grabbed each of Sevanti’s arms, yanking him away from Dawn.
He struggled and fought but a third joined in to restrain him on the opposite side of the room. Harsh barks, choppy growls and grunts flew back and forth between her captors and Sevanti. Through it all, Dawn held her position and began praying like she’d never prayed before.
***
Inside the office of the security headquarters for the Regin IV station, Venik lost his composure and snapped at the security officers. “What do you mean they’re gone?!”
“Commander Avar, the ship left before we instituted the lockdown,” Haasa, a Vassi youth on duty at the station, said with a nervous flutter.
Not sufficient. The answer didn’t tell Venik what he wanted to know. His anger boiled to the surface and he held on to a thin thread of control by the bare tips of his fingers. “On what ship? What flight plan? Did you get any of that information?”
“Commander, perhaps it would be best to let us take over the questioning,” High Commander Daru of the Dark Nova suggested.
Venik shot him a fierce glare. Daru’s battleship had arrived amid the confusion and was part of the reason Yon had gotten away so smoothly.
His pilots were responsible for this. If not for his soldiers’ lack of honor, Dawn and Sevanti wouldn’t be missing now. Venik’s lip curled but Anders gripped his forearm and leaned over to speak in his ear. “We must follow protocol, Commander.”
Inhaling sharply, Venik yanked his arm free. It didn’t matter that the jjaawir was correct. Venik wasn’t in the mood to listen to reason. “I want to know what ship Yon left on and how he got a reputable officer from Vassi military onboard as well as a being from a new world under the protection of the Vassi. They should never have been cleared to leave the station without confirmation from a dozen others.”
Daru inclined his head. “Agreed, and we will investigate how this occurred.”
Venik hated the High Commander’s calm and the questionable glances he aimed his way. If rumors were rampant before about his attention toward Dawn, they were probably at an all time high now and Venik didn’t care.
After eliminating the attackers, a total of sixteen assailants, Venik demanded the entire station be searched and locked down. Seeing his blinding fury, no one had questioned his authority to disperse such stringent terse orders. Not a single visiting captain, or pilot of other Vassi led vessels sought to complain.
Callie returned to the Black Star to be seen by medical and Harum joined the search for Sevanti and Dawn. Security finally viewed vids which showed three armed Vassi with helmets down carrying two unconscious bodies and leaving on an unknown ship. None of them could control Venik’s rage after seeing the footage. He refused to settle or let others handle this.
“The Defense General and Master Chief have been notified of the events here, Commander. We only await word on next steps.”
Harum’s words did little to ease Venik. Every moment wasted was a moment his closest friend and female were taken farther away. This wasn’t something that could wait. Venik pointed at Haasa. “Get me the name and description of the ship.”
“Yes, yes.” Haasa nodded and relief crashed over his features at being allowed to leave the close quarters of the security office.
Daru’s brow ridges twitched and his lips firmed. He straightened to his full height and widened his stance. “I will take over direction on how this is to be handled, Venik. As the highest ranked member, all information should come through me.”
Venik snorted. “Before I ended my career, I held the highest stats of any active officer in the entire Vassi military. My name and accolades are used in every training module at the Academy to this day. Do you think when Defense General Asange and Master Chief Tuii hear of this, they will question my choice to take charge?”
Harum turned his head away and coughed into his fist. Anders tipped his head toward the ceiling, hiding his expression. Growling, Daru flashed his teeth at Venik and said, “You are not in the military anymore though.”
Venik shrugged. His word would hold. Luka and Brion had become good friends to him over the senims. He had enough confidence in his past and current reputation to not fear reprisal from those in charge. “Anders, I want the Black Star ready to leave in less than an hora.”
“Yes, Commander.” Anders offered a slight bow and left.
Daru sputtered. “If anything, High Commander Liwu’s right hand should take over the effort for his recovery.”
“Unfortunately, Tavis is not with the Black Star at this time.” In Venik’s haste to get to Dima, Sevanti had launched the Black Star without his second in command who’d been too far away to return in time.
“Another issue to bring up to Master Chief Tuii,” Daru bit out.
Irritated, Venik gave his next directions to Harum. “Activate the tracking on Dawn Reavers.”
“Done. High Commander Liwu’s tracker has a dead signal but we are getting coordinates from lom Dawn’s device. It’s transmitting intermittently.”
“Good.”
He wouldn’t lose Dawn. His hands clenched at his side.
Couldn’t.