Savage Planet Warrior Read online

  Savage Planet Warrior

  Cheyenne Hart

  Contents

  1. -Karthid-

  2. -Talia-

  3. -Talia-

  4. -Talia-

  5. -Karthid-

  6. -Talia-

  7. -Karthid-

  8. -Talia-

  9. -Karthid-

  10. -Talia-

  11. -Karthid-

  12. -Talia-

  13. -Karthid-

  14. -Talia-

  15. -Karthid-

  16. -Talia-

  17. -Talia-

  18. -Talia-

  19. -Karthid-

  FREE Romance Book

  Also by Cheyenne Hart …

  Copyright © 2017 by Cheyenne Hart

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  1

  -Karthid-

  These filthy creatures where now the bane of Karthid's existence. He paced around his containment cell, wondering if there would ever be an end to this shame. He flexed his muscles with pent up frustration. The will to fight was still so strong in him—but his people had already lost the conflict that mattered. They were all dead now.

  "Sit down and be still, barbarian scum," croaked the Gedex guard while passing by. It leered in through the bars, the swollen face reminiscent of pond scum.

  Karthid had never learned the language of these fowl, green-skinned aliens. The implant in his head translated most languages in known space, using advanced algorithms and a vast database. Even a new species' language would be learned by the device after enough exposure to it. That would allow him to not only understand it, but also speak it with near fluency, over time.

  "I will see you all dead," he told the guard.

  That was met by a sinister laugh. Throaty and warbling, like a thard, one of the amphibious creatures that dwelt by the swamps near Karthid's home land. That was all gone now, though. In the attack by these ruthless aliens, few -to -none of his kind were spared. They were the Tarz tribe, a powerful society that was the envy of many.

  The guard was holding a shock-rod, an energy weapon that could deal damage, ranging from a mild stun, all the way up to extremely lethal shocking. "So pathetic! Karthid, the last survivor of the Reh'loy tribe. Your planet will be ours one day, but for now, the spoils of your little city will suffice." The alien's mocking tone was as infuriating as the creature was disgusting.

  "Enough!" shouted Karthid, the lines of his face tightening. His green eyes burned with a fire of hatred and revenge.

  "You were only kept alive because you might have some value in trade. It pleases me to know the rest of your tribe are slaughtered."

  Such a disgusting thing to say! And it sounded even more putrid coming from that gurgling throat.

  Karthid's knuckles were white from clenching them so tightly. His huge forearms were trembling as they bulged out from the effort. He felt as though his hulking body would burst, each last muscle straining and contorting as he tried to somehow stifle the anger and sadness that he felt. He would find a way to escape this cell, somehow—no matter what the cost.

  2

  -Talia-

  Talia wiped the sweat from her brow. It had been a hard shift for her. She'd found some signs of poor drainage in sector seven of the bio-dome, the place where food was farmed for the crew of The New Horizon, a research and exploration craft heading for the outer limits of known space. It was nothing to panic about, but a lot of digging was required to get things just right. Even with the reduced gravity in space, it was tiring work. They didn’t have specific machinery for this job. There were laborers, mostly men, on board whose job it was to assist the ranking crew-members. But she didn't want a bunch of clumsy guys coming in and messing up her precious crops. It was up to Talia to keep food supplies ample, and that was one responsibility she did not take lightly.

  The New Horizon was the most advanced space ship humanity had ever built, and it naturally had state-of-the-art climate control. But the agricultural bio-dome, her garden, was kept warmer than the rest of the ship. That allowed all the beautiful plants to grow, sweet fruits and hearty vegetables for the crew. It made performing manual labor more tiring, though. Just another sacrifice she made for others, which Talia was more than used to.

  Given the way her ex-fiancé had broken her heart when he'd decided to go putting his thing where it most certainly did not belong—in her best friend, no less—there was a long history of Talia letting people take advantage of her nurturing personality.

  Still tightly gripping the shovel she'd been using to level out the newly laid soil in sector seven, Talia looked around and breathed in deeply. It was time to finally stop and have her well-earned break; the end of her shift. The artificial air was so strange. It didn't have any taste, or smell exactly, but that was what made it so odd. Stopping to look around at the big ship and take it all in made her feel safe and a part of something amazing.

  Her uniform hugged her form. Her ex had told her that she would need to lose some weight to go on this mission. That was after they'd broken up, after he'd betrayed her trust and possibly ruined her for future relationships. She wasn't that overweight as she saw it. Anyway, what were some extra pounds on a body that was shapely and maybe even a little athletic? Plenty of other women, men too, would have shied away at the thought of fixing this drainage issue by themselves, but she handled it without a problem. That's exactly why the Space Corp ’s recruiting team didn't bat an eyelid during Talia's physical examination. Besides, a lot of that extra weight was distributed in her plus-sized bust and butt. Her tummy and thighs were only more too love, and she had been damn proud of her womanly curves ... until she'd met Shane.

  That was her ex's name. Even when he'd been loving and caring, she now realized that he was an undercover asshole. Always undermining her self-confidence and trying to stop her from making her mark on the world.

  Well, screw him, she thought as she planted the head of her shovel into the soil by her feet, I may not be making my mark on any world, but space is just as good. No, it was better. She was finally living life and having a true adventure that so few would ever experience.

  With her shift over, Talia headed to the ranked crew member's change room. It was unisex, as was the trend more and more, especially in the military sector. Talia had worked in the private agricultural business much of her adult life after university, so she certainly hadn't gotten used to undressing and showering around men as well as women. She had only joined the Space Corp in order to apply for this mission.

  There were a handful of other crew members in there, as Talia had worked a little passed the end of her shift. Loraine was there, looking just as wiped out after her own shift. She nodded as Talia entered the change room. "How are you, hon?" Loraine asked warmly. There were few friends as loyal as Loraine, but even fewer who could match her fierceness in the face of a challenge. She was wearing a towel, apparently just about to have a shower. Her long, red hair was up in a bun, leaving her swan-like neck exposed.

  "Hey, Loraine. I just spent twelve hours fixing a drainage issue. Glad to be done with my shift."

  "Wow, you really should let those worker grunts do the heavy lifting," replied Loraine with a smirk. "But I gotta, I respect your worth ethic, girl.

  "Thanks. Every bit of exercise is doing me good, right?" She undid her tight-fitting uniform and tossed it in the dirty clothes bin. It would be cleaned and returned to her locker without her giving it another thought. Talia stood in her bra and panties, her pale skin shining in
the well-lit change room. She grabbed a towel immediately and wrapped it around herself, undid her bra beneath that and tossed it into the dirty clothes bin, and then slid her panties off and did the same with those.

  There was steam coming out from the shower room, warmly inviting, and smelling of soap and fragrances. "Were you about to take a shower?" Talia asked her friend.

  "I sure was," replied the cheerful Loraine. "Join me?"

  They went into the shower room, where there were several crew members standing beneath individual streams of crystal clear, hot water. It was like walking into another world after being out in the bio-dome beneath the stars, working on the farm. It felt confining and Talia didn't like getting naked in front of the men. She could feel their eyes on her curves, even if they were typically professional and great at stealing glances only when they thought no one was looking.

  Loraine tossed her towel up on a hook on the wall as they entered. She walked to one of the vacant shower bays, completely nude, striding confidently and looking amazing as always. Talia tried to stifle her feelings of jealously as she too removed her towel and walked, naked, behind her friend to the adjacent shower. The water began to run automatically. It felt so soothing after a hard shift of laborious work.

  Talia looked around at the other naked bodies in the room. It was only dimly lit, and the steam did mask some details. Still, there were maybe a dozen other people in the huge shower room, and more than half of them were fit, attractive men, most of them young and virile. The way the water glistened as it ran down their muscles and ripples, made her thankful that getting an erection in public wasn't a problem women had to deal with. Although arousing, none of these guys did anything for her, not really. They just didn’t seem man enough.

  "You still feeling anxious about this?" asked Loraine.

  "No, that's silly. I’ve been using unisex changerooms and showers for a while now. "Still … I'd have more confidence if I could get rid of some of these extra pounds."

  "Don't be stupid," said Loraine a little harshly. She was loyal and kind, but also did not beat around the bush when she felt strongly about something. Are we still on for training tonight?" She had been giving Talia extra training for her self-defense ever since the two became good friends during crew initiation.

  "You know it. I have to grab my sports bra from my room first, okay? These puppies certainly do not help me score any points when we're sparring."

  "That's a problem I'd like to have. I know they help you score in other ways though." Loraine laughed. She was a slim, very toned body type. That was something that came with the job of being the ship's fitness and self-defense trainer.

  "Yeah, right. I get loads of action since my ex ruined me for other men and I drowned my sorrows in chocolate and ice cream."

  "Your curves would drive any real man wild. They don't seem to stop you in our sparring matches either."

  "I'm sorry about that bruise," said Talia. While her skills in unarmed combat had improved, she wasn't always great at pulling her punches.

  Loraine shook her head. "Please, don't be. I like a good fight. And you are getting much better."

  "I don't know how much—" She suddenly felt lost for words. Julius Garrick, one of their other friends in the ranked crew, had just come just came through the door. There were no romantic feelings between them, but Talia couldn't help appreciating how stunning of a man he was.

  "Hello, ladies. How are we tonight?" he said as he entered the room completely naked. He was carrying his towel, and tossed it onto a hook on the wall then made his way casually over to the vacant shower bay beside Talia. She was very careful to make eye contact with him. The anaconda he was packing had left her gawking the first time she’d caught sight of it in the showers. That had been an embarrassing moment.

  "Hi, Julius. How are you?" she asked, feeling her eyes wanting to look lower at his perfectly chiseled body.

  "Hey, Jules," said Loraine with confidence. “She smiled at him, looked Julius up and down casually, then went back to bathing herself.

  "I hear you did yourself a whole lot of digging," he said to Talia with a chuckle, bumping her with his elbow in a playful fashion.

  The nudge made her boobs jiggle. She let out a nervous laugh herself. "Yeah, it was another drainage thing. Don't worry, it's not going to be an issue. I took care of it."

  "I'm glad we've got you on the job. You know how much I love my food."

  There was a buzz from the corner of the room, then a stern female voice came from the loud speaker. It was Captain Tate. "Attention all crew members. This is your captain." She sounded under duress, speaking in rushed, staccato syllables instead of her usually collected manner. "There has been a ..." She huffed and continued. "An unidentified craft was just now picked up by our long-range scanners. We anticipate contact with it, them, imminently."

  The crew members in the shower room all went still like statues. The still- running water contrasted with their rigidness in a surreal way.

  "Does that mean ..." began Julius.

  "Aliens," confirmed Talia. Her heart raced with excitement, but also fear.

  3

  -Talia-

  "Here, take this jumpsuit," shouted Loraine to Talia. "You too, Julius." There was a slowly brewing chaos all around them, but there was no way anyone wanted to head out to meet a new species wearing a towel, or worse yet, just their birthday suit.

  "Typical that this would happen while I was naked," muttered Talia.

  To that, Julius laughed loudly. "Keep that sense of humor and we just might make it through this alive," he said. It was obviously meant to be a joke, but a silent contemplation about the possibilities filled air.

  As they headed out into the corridors of the ship, there were crew members all over the place. Some of them were wearing their pajamas and night robes, while others still wore the look of fatigue from intense work, or the grime and sweat from manual labor. There were plenty of things to be done around the ship; contacting a new species was not on the to-do list for anyone.

  "Come on," said Julius, taking charge with an authoritative march. "We need to get to our pre-assigned emergency station." He pushed through the swarming clusters of people clogging up the walkways, making room for Talia and Loraine to follow in his wake. He was a huge guy and people just seemed to get out of his way and listen when he spoke. A reassuring person to have around when something as crazy as the first alien contact was just about to take place.

  "I'm glad we're in the same section. I think I'm freaking out," said Talia. She was used to having her own schedule and time to nurture her plants to life. This was nothing short of mayhem to her serene existence. "What do you suppose they want?"

  "What do you think they look like?" asked Loraine in response. "I wonder if the alien men are hunks."

  "You're going to find out soon enough," said a voice from in front of them as they neared the end of the corridor.

  "Captain," said Julius. "What are our orders?"

  There she was, standing proud in her black uniform with many military decorations pinned to it. There was a grave look on her face, like someone had just informed her of the death of a close friend. The reality could have been much worse. She spoke clearly and with purpose. "I'm afraid there's not a lot we can do right now. Their ship is loaded with all manner of technology that our scanners have no clue about. As far as we can tell, it is superior to us in every way, including weaponry. And they approached at such great speed, our techs believe they have faster-than-light travel.

  "But that's not theoretically possible," mumbled Talia to herself in awe." She had settled on her passion of agriculture but still went through countless of hours of intense scientific study to become such an expert.

  "Yes, well apparently, it is. So, it looks like we will have to wait—and hope like hell they come in peace."

  "Are you serious?" answered Julius. "As a senior safety officer, you cannot expect met to just sit by and—"

  Not the least bit in
timidated by the huge man, Captain Tate pushed out her strong chest and arched her shoulders back in a pose of power. "That's enough!" she snapped. "Get your crewmates to their appropriate emergency section and wait for further instructions. This ship may be in a vulnerable position, but I am most certainly still your superior officer. Do you understand?"

  The three of them left the captain so she could talk with more crew members who were eager to know what was going on. Julius didn't say another word but seemed to be hiding a battered ego.

  They finally came to the emergency station their group had been assigned to. Talia's other friends in the crew were there, people who had been in the same initiation group. But everything was like a blur by then, with a sickening feeling of anxiety growing inside of her. She got the very strong impression that she wasn't the only one who felt that way.

  Suddenly, there was a vibrating sound like an electrical hum. Talia’s blood pumped faster than ever, giving her the fight or flight response. Only, there was nowhere to run even if she wanted to.

  Several of the crew members were armed with laser rifles, but they were useless inside the ship; firing them could prove disastrous. "Stay calm!" shouted Julius. He and several of the other security officers were taking point, watching the doorways.

  But they weren't watching the wall.

  "Are you seeing this?!" screamed one of the female crew members, pointing everyone's attention to a spot on the flat, metallic wall where a strange formation had begun to take place. It was a ripple, which swirled around in a circular motion and grew larger. Something began to move through the strange portal. At first, it was just a foot wearing a huge steal boot. Then, a leg covered in an odd matte-black material that didn't seem to reflect light properly.