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  Evernight Publishing

  www.evernightpublishing.com

  Copyright© 2014 Pelaam

  ISBN: 978-1-77130-878-6

  Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

  Editor: Karyn White

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  DEDICATION

  To my family for their encouragement and support.

  CAPTIVE

  Planet Alpha TM

  Pelaam

  Copyright © 2014

  Chapter One

  Nakai stared ahead, his hands gripping tightly to the arms of his command chair, even as he was jerked from side to side by the ship’s motion while he chased down the Xyran pirate ship. The pirates were getting close to Xyran-claimed space. Once the pirate ship crossed into that sector it would be safe. Nakai needed to halt them quickly, or he’d be too late, and then they would escape.

  He had no intention of letting them get away from him. “Helm. Fire another volley.”

  At his command, his helmsman unleashed a battery of shots. Only a couple failed to meet their target, and to Nakai’s satisfaction the others succeeded in bringing the other vessel to a halt.

  “Make contact with their captain,” Nakai ordered his helmsman. “Advise him that his ship is now under Alphan law, and that he and his crew should prepare for boarding.”

  “Aye, sir. Sir, pods are jettisoning.”

  Nakai stared at his screen. Life pods were indeed leaving the stricken mother ship and heading towards Xyran.

  “Should we go after them?” the helmsman asked, his fingers hovering over his console.

  Nakai shook his head. “Let them go. We don’t really want a shipload of Xyran prisoners. But we will confiscate and take the mother ship back to Planet Alpha. Kuruk, are there any life-signs aboard? Were they transporting humans?”

  “I can trace two life forms. One is Xyran, the other human. They are in different parts of the ship.”

  “Odd. Where’s the non-human located?”

  “Lower decks. I’d hazard a guess at the brig, Captain. A prisoner perhaps?”

  “Quite possibly. But the human is elsewhere?”

  “Yes, sir. Very clearly on the upper decks. Where the Xyrans usually have their officers’ quarters.”

  Nakai nodded slowly. “That would make sense. The human is most likely to be a Xyran sex slave. Let’s secure the ship and check on the human. Alert the boarding crews to meet me in the shuttle hangar.” He headed to the door into the elevator that led off the bridge. If a human was on the Xyran vessel, Nakai, as captain of the ship, had first right to claim the human for himself.

  He rubbed his left horn, letting his fingernails graze the curved appendage, a gesture born more of uncertainty than pleasure. His brothers had a human female as a mate. Their successful joining meant it wasn’t so crucial for him to follow suit. There were other officers aboard his ship who needed a mate.

  He stepped out of the elevator and along the deck towards the hangar. He’d wait until he’d at least seen the prisoner before making his decision on her future.

  He opted for three shuttles to go out to the Xyran ship and secure it. While his engineers dealt with ensuring the vessel followed his ship, he and his security teams could investigate the rest of the vessel and the two people still aboard it.

  He settled himself into the lead shuttle, and the three craft headed to the unmoving Xyran craft. They boarded the Xyran ship without incident. The captain had clearly been more concerned about saving his own neck than sabotaging or destroying his ship. Or it might be that one of the more powerful Xyran tribes might try to recover it. Sometimes they negotiated for the return of a ship. Either way it made no difference to Nakai. Find the human, check the prisoner, and go home.

  As he and his men disembarked, he selected four men to follow him. The others of his landing party split up to carry out their assigned orders. One of his security team pulled out his tracker, letting it scan the ship to pick up the human’s life signs.

  “Have you located them, Lieutenant?” Nakai asked.

  “This way, Captain,” the lieutenant said, heading forward.

  Nakai and the rest of the team followed. The tracker device made easy work of locating the human by his heat signal. As his helmsman had predicted, the human was in the more luxurious quarters, those reserved for the Xyran officers. As Nakai understood Xyran culture, one’s standing was all important. With high standing came respect and honor.

  Even the tribes themselves had a hierarchy. There was one main tribe that ruled all the others. Then within each tribe the Xyrans jostled and entered into power plays to secure their family’s status and their own individual standing. For something that appeared so ruthless and savage, there was a great deal of complexity, all designed to try to get a Xyran the highest standing he could acquire.

  That naturally meant that a Xyran’s status was reflected by possessions and the wealth that he surrounded himself with. Consequently Xyran officers had spacious, comfortable quarters, the same as they did on their home world, while the lowest ranking men had just the bare basics. Nakai had even heard that coups and mutinies weren’t unusual occurrences. He shuddered. He liked order and peace. Fortunately, this was his last mission on his most recent recall.

  “The human is in there, Sir.”

  The security man indicated a locked door before them. Nakai looked around. His men were all ready to react, their guns raised. Nakai nodded. Standing to the side, he passed his hand across the scanner to open the door.

  When that didn’t work, Nakai shot out the mechanism. The room was almost in darkness. Two of Nakai’s men darted forward, guns ready. They crouched just inside the doorway. Nakai reached inside to pass his hand over the panel that activated light.

  The room slowly illuminated, but there was still no sign of the human. Then one of his men pointed from his crouched position.

  “There! I see a foot.”

  Nakai’s gaze followed the pointing finger. A bare foot was indeed visible, and it meant the human had to be lying on the floor. “Proceed with caution,” Nakai ordered.

  His men edged forward, still keeping their weapons ready. Then one stood. “He’ll need a physician. He’s no threat to us, Captain.”

  Nakai came forward, and the three of them stared at the naked human. The pale, thin body bore so many bruises that it seemed his natural skin coloration was purple and mottled. Nakai shook his head. So much brutality and the human looked as if he was already malnourished. His ribs were visible. Nakai stepped forward, crouched down, and brushed red-gold hair aside as he turned the man onto his back.

  Years of training kicked in, and Nakai swallowed his gasp before it could escape. The bruising did nothing to disguise the exquisite beauty of the young man. He stared at the face of an adahy, a legendary sprite who dwelt in Alphan forests. The human’s face was the most beautiful Nakai had ever seen, with high cheekbones and generous lips. Nakai tenderly moved some strands of hair from a bloodied cheek, and the human’s eyes flicked open briefly.

  “Sukh. Cells. Help him.”

  Nakai blinked, but the human was already unconscious again. He resisted the urge to take the man in his arms. He was still the captain, and he had to check on the prisoner. Nakai rose to his feet and touched the shoulder of the man who’d spotted the human.

  “Take him back to the ship, and get our physician to
take care of him, Ensure the shuttle returns back here immediately. If there is a Xyran prisoner, we’ll need to transport him to our ship, too.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Nakai laid his hand on the man’s arm and leaned in close. “I charge you with his care. Remain with him until I return to our ship.”

  The man stood a little taller. “Yes, sir.”

  Nakai nodded curtly and headed out of the room, followed by the second security guard. He watched as the human was carried, wrapped in a fur blanket, towards the shuttle hangars. He forced his attention back to his immediate task. “Let’s find the prisoner. Then we can return home.”

  He activated his communicator. “Nakai speaking. I need one security officer to pilot a shuttle, and another to come to this location. Nakai out.”

  Only a minute or so passed before one of his men came at a run. Nakai nodded and indicated the other three of his men. “We will now go to the cells and see what’s happening down there. Even if the Xyran is a prisoner, he’s hardly likely to welcome Alphans with open arms. Be ready, men.”

  Wordlessly, the four security men followed Nakai to the bowels of the ship and the cells. Nakai couldn’t help but wonder why the human would be so concerned about a Xyran. But while the young man remained unconscious, he’d have no complete answers.

  One of his lieutenants would by now be going through the Xyran captain’s log. So long as he’d kept a detailed record, Nakai might get some partial answers from there.

  When they reached the cells only one of the cell doors was secured, indicating it was occupied. The door was locked using a retinal scanner. That signified a high risk prisoner. There was a viewing panel designed to let a guard peer inside, but even that required a retinal scan. Nakai muttered darkly as he drew back from the door, unable to look inside.

  While the security men checked their weapons, Nakai took aim with his own. He blew out the cell’s locking mechanism, and he and his men stood poised. The door slid open, but nothing happened. Nakai waited a moment and then indicated for his men to move forward with him.

  He paused in the doorway. No lights had activated when the door opened, which was puzzling. That should have been automatic. Nakai wondered if perhaps this prisoner was beaten like the human, and also unconscious.

  He was about to call out when a Xyran lunged at him, its fangs exposed, teeth snapping and fists swinging. Nakai was knocked to the ground, but he managed to hold the Xyran back long enough for his men to use their stunners. He would never choose to kill if there was a viable alternative. He pushed the inert body off himself, and then winced as he saw the damage done to the Xyran’s leg.

  The Xyran wore black leather pants, but his right leg had been beaten so badly that the pants were torn and bloodied. The only other thing he wore was a necklace that seemed to be almost welded around his throat and had a single curved fang on it. Nakai frowned. He’d seen that tooth before.

  “The leg is almost crushed,” one of his men said. “Very badly damaged. Definitely no accident.”

  “Yet he still attacked. He must have known there was no way he could have defeated another Xyran opening this door.” Nakai was stunned the Xyran was even conscious, much less capable of attacking. “The human had to be trying to alert us of this prisoner.”

  Nakai looked up as one of his junior officers joined them.

  “Captain Nakai, we accessed the Xyran captain’s log. The captain’s name is Vachir. From what I’ve seen so far, this Xyran, Sukh, was a prisoner of the Qara tribe of which Captain Vachir was a high-ranking member. Nothing to say why he’d brought the human male or a prisoner aboard his ship. They were smuggling pirated gems. The only other Xyrans we’ve found so far are dead ones.”

  Nakai inclined his head. “So, those that didn’t die before we boarded left in the escape pods. We have a cache of pirated gemstones. A badly beaten human who wanted to alert us to the only prisoner aboard, who is Xyran. And he has also been subjected to brutal treatment either before or since being brought aboard. I hope the human will enlighten us as to how this came about.”

  “What do you want us to do with him?” One of his security officers looked down at the unmoving Xyran.

  Nakai holstered his gun as he headed back to the door out of the cell block. “Take him to our ship and treat him as best you can during the journey. If you have to constantly tranquilize him, so be it. I will not leave a man with such obvious injuries untreated. We are not the savage demons of Xyran. Come with me, Lieutenant. I want to make one last complete check of this ship before we return home.”

  “Are you going to turn the Xyran over to the authorities when we get back?” the lieutenant asked.

  Nakai glanced back at the unconscious male. He was as different as chalk and cheese from the human, but Nakai sensed something he was unable to articulate. Even if he could, it wasn’t something he felt comfortable speaking of to a junior officer. He shook his head. “Not unless I need to. I intend to register a claim for the human. That should just be rubber-stamped.”

  “But he’s male.” The young officer stared at him.

  “Yes, he is. Which is why I see nothing to oppose my claim for him. If he was female, there would be hoops to jump through. As for the Xyran ... let’s just say he fascinates me. While he continues to do so, I will keep him as my personal prisoner.”

  Nakai ignored the shocked look on the face of his lieutenant. There were more than enough of his people willing to mate with human females to help repopulate Alpha. Some even took female partners as well as a male. But that life wasn’t for him. He’d never love and desire a female as he would a male. The beaten human came into his mind, followed almost immediately by the Xyran.

  He shook his head. One step at a time. There was a link between the two males. He needed to tread very carefully if he were to have the human as his mate.

  A thorough examination of the Xyran vessel by Nakai and his men turned up nothing else. Thankful there had been no traps or other nasty surprises, Nakai returned to his ship. He was happy to leave a skeleton crew piloting the Xyran craft to parallel his own trajectory.

  He hurried to his quarters. His fingers flew over the computer screen as he made his request to take full charge and responsibility for the human. As expected it was immediately granted. He doubted a senior official had even seen it. No one cared if it was a human male.

  He paused, fingers poised over the screen to send another message. Then he tapped rapidly, as if trying to complete the task before his resolve deserted him. He waited. Sure enough, his message was queried. He repeated it and then left the room.

  His ship would take a day or two to reach Alpha. Given their injuries, he assumed his physician would keep the human and Xyran in stasis so that they could start their healing process. He grimaced at the memory of the badly damaged leg. Xyrans were a strong race and healed well and quickly. But he had his doubts about how well that limb would heal.

  He entered the sick bay. He stopped at the human, who looked as if he was sleeping peacefully. Of course Nakai knew the rest was more due to the skill of his physician and medications than a natural sleep. Nec was at his desk, tapping at the computer screen, while his two assistants fussed around the Xyran.

  “The injury to the Xyran is serious, isn’t it?” Nakai asked. He was already certain of the answer.

  “Yes, it is,” Nec replied. “I believe I can save the limb. But even with my skills, it’s very likely he will have a limp. The scans show some bone is crushed beyond repair. I’ll replace what I can with synth-tissue and plate and screw the rest. But it will never be the same again.”

  Nakai rested his hand on his physician’s shoulder. “I consider myself privileged to have you on my ship. Your reputation precedes you, my friend. A limp is preferable to a lost limb, and even that is preferable to a lost life. Do you need any more assistance?”

  “Thank you, Captain. I have already contacted all the personnel I needed. I was certain it was what you would expect of me.”
>
  Nakai inclined his head. “And the human?”

  “His injuries look worse than they are, although his beating was severe given the amount of bruising he has. Thankfully it is nothing more than bruising, although in his weakened state, such a beating brings dangers of its own. However, we have to be mindful of injuries we can’t see. Those to his mind and spirit. He’s malnourished, and it’s evident that his life has been harsh of late. He will need gentle handling. There is one more unusual fact.”

  “Which is?” Nakai asked.

  “He has not been sexually assaulted.”

  Nakai’s eyebrows rose. “A human prisoner on a Xyran ship. I wouldn’t have expected that.”

  “Neither would I. My assumption is that he was beaten too badly. Not that a beating would necessarily save him. But I have a feeling that his assaulter wanted him fully conscious when he was used sexually.”

  “Indeed. I feel you are correct. I leave him in your good care. We are on course to return to Planet Alpha. Please keep me informed of your progress in regards the Xyran.”

  “I will indeed, Captain. I take it you will wish me to alert the base medical facility for when we dock at the station?”

  “No. If you send the information to me, I will forward it to my personal physician, Kele. He can request whoever, and whatever, he needs to keep up with the Xyran’s care at my home.”

  The only reaction from the other Alphan was a slight tilt of his head as he met Nakai’s gaze. “You’re sure of this action?”

  “There is a connection between the human and Xyran. I have registered for, and had temporarily approved, responsibility for both men.”

  The physician regarded him keenly. “I see. Have a care, Captain. Even a wounded Xyran can be a formidable opponent.”

  “I understand that. I will keep it in mind, my friend. Now I leave you to tend to him.”