Elm: A Phoenix Warrior Romance (Phoenix in Flames Book 8) Read online

  They stayed in contact with the other pairs until it was clear they had the ship under their control and were able to send the one in charge of the group to Teresa. Several of these leaders were from an unknown alien species. Now they would find out more about them and if they wanted to take over this galaxy simply because they were aggressive and warlike.

  Now they weren’t sure what to do, but Oak took charge and put their people on the main consoles and in engineering. He got on the command chair and pulled up information. “I know some of this. The other part of this group plans to circle around like we thought. I don’t believe we’ll be safe until we take the fight to them and seriously kick their asses.” Oak observed.

  “That’s no surprise to me. This is a hostile race we’re dealing with. Our new ship is set up strictly as a war ship. Even though some families are onboard, they know they are taking a risk.”

  “What brought you to that conclusion?” Oak asked curiously.

  “I’ve looked through some of their paperwork in medical and engineering. Only a limited number of families are allowed on board. It’s to limit the risk to their population. They rarely lose and didn’t expect to this time either. The thought among their leaders is that we wouldn’t be expecting them.” She admitted.

  “Had we not been leaving on a mission, they might have succeeded. Something needs to be done to improve defenses.” Oak agreed.

  “I concur. We’ll have to discuss that later.” She said even though none of the enemy was on their bridge with them. There was no way to know if any of the others could hear them. “We need to find a place where we can sleep and set up a rotation. How long we’ll be here is anyone’s guess. Razar might want us to stay on here long term.” She declared.

  “You’re right. Do you want to handle that?” Oak asked.

  “I can do that.” She agreed. Now she left the bridge looking for guest rooms.

  Some of the females, probably ones with children looked miserable. She’s made things more comfortable for them, but she couldn’t trust them. Feeding and taking care of all these prisoners would not be easy. After checking several rooms, she found some that had no personal items in them. They seemed comfortable enough and she found something on the back of the door that seemed to designate each room as guest or ambassador.

  It was surprising that such a warlike people had ambassadors. Next, she followed a map she’d found in one room to the cafeteria. The food seemed similar to what her people and others on her crew ate. Cuffs on the prisoners would allow them to feed and take care of themselves if they were given food and access to the bathroom.

  That wasn’t her worry so she did what Oak had asked and marked several rooms for her crew mates to rest in. Now she returned to the bridge. “I found half a dozen rooms for resting. The cafeteria food seems safe as far as I can tell. What are we going to do with the prisoners who need to eat and rest? Especially the small children.”

  “Razar is removing them as we speak. Oison was once a prison planet and they have a large prison, several of them in fact. They will be set up to care for themselves and basically locked in. One less worry. Their food will be sent to them from this ship and we will be sent our own food. A crew is being assembled to take this ship over. The leader, who had his family onboard, has stopped his ships from attacking for now.”

  “Damn. I’m glad all that is taken care of. This ship may be hard for the new crew to adjust to.”

  “It won’t be.” Oak grinned at her. “They will be mostly Phoenix and this ship is similar to some we have.”

  “I wasn’t aware your people had any ships.”

  “That’s a good thing.”

  Yeah, she supposed it was. That would be a surprise to any enemies that attacked. Now they began to take turns resting and she took over the navigation console. The ship barely moved right now just hanging in space. While she monitored the console, she searched through the information available to the navigator. It showed the history of where the ship had been. This was an old ship by any standards and had been all over, but not in this galaxy until recently.

  It was a warship, one of the faster and stronger ones these people made. The people were what they called themselves. An odd designation, but it might be they didn’t want their enemies to know who they were or where they were from. On the other hand, they might really call themselves that. Their beliefs were those many warlike groups had. They felt it was their right to conquer and rule all.

  They felt superior and wanted to rule all the universe as they found it. As an enemy, they were terrible since their empire covered several galaxies. It was those that rebelled that kept them too busy to send a larger force against Oison for now. That they needed Allies was obvious. The problem were there was no one of any military might as far as anyone knew. The Mazlans had low numbers, Earth had nothing to offer, and the few groups spread around the galaxy had low populations, no technology, and were poor.

  If only someone of high moral standing with large numbers, high tech, or any support to give would make themselves known. A crew mate came back after resting and relieved her from her position. She made her way to the room hoping to sleep easily and wake rested.

  Because she was tired, she fell asleep easily. While she felt better when she woke, she was not fully rested. There was also concern that plagued her. Although they had gotten the upper hand so far, this was an enemy to watch carefully. Their treatment of captured enemies might not be so good. Rumors had abounded, but they had few facts. Still for there to be so many rumors, there were likely at least some facts.

  She got up and made her way to the cafeteria where some people with familiar faces were cooking and serving food from their own ship. It made her glad to have them here. The food was good and many of the things she liked. Eating quickly, she then hurried to the bridge to get her orders. Elm was in charge and he sent her to cover communications. On this ship, it was on the bridge.

  Elm was busy on his com talking to crew mates and possibly Teresa. This was a serious thing and attention had to be paid to the jobs each of them did. She watched her job as the hours past until she was relieved. No one seemed to know how long they’d be onboard but all the prisoners were gone and added crew unknown to her had been brought onboard. Her guess was when they had enough people to properly operate this ship, the people she worked with would go back to their own ship.

  Once more she went to rest for several hours before returning to the bridge. This time a stranger sat in the captain’s chair. “You may go to engineering and be sent back to your ship. Thank you for a job well done.”

  “You are welcome, Sir.” She replied and headed where he’d directed. It pleased her to head back to her own crew. Her room was comfortable and familiar.

  “Good to see you.” Elm said as she arrived back onboard their own ship.

  “Good to be back. Do I go to medical?” She asked.

  “Not yet. Teresa wants us all to meet in the meeting room. I’m waiting for Oak and Ranger. Once they arrive, I’ll join you.”

  She nodded unsure what to say. Then she headed to the meeting room as directed. Teresa had snacks set up for them so she got herself a small plate and a couple of drinks. It was a relief to be back. This ship and her apartment on Oison were home to her, for now anyway. Not long after she sat down, the males they’d been waiting for walked in. Elm sat in the empty seat next to her. Admittedly, she was getting used to him.

  “I’d like to thank each of you for volunteering for this latest mission and doing such a great job. We had intended to go on a mission but Razar is concerned about this new threat. For now we plan to patrol the area near Oison while he tries to figure out an early warning system. He asked if any of you had any suggestions for him to consider.”

  Chapter 3

  Royzly

  “You know me, I always have a suggestion, Brother.”

  “Go ahead, Elm.”

  “You know the Royzly meteoroid field?”

  “I believe I kno
w where you’re going with this but continue.”

  “There is a massive meteoroid centered in side that field as big as a small moon. It’s plenty big enough to contain a troop of soldiers, the scanning equipment needed to look for space traffic as well as the weapons needed for combat if necessary. From what we have seen occurring inside some of the Earth domes, I believe it could be self-contained and even hold families if needed.”

  “What about the other side of Oison?”

  “I can’t solve all the problems. This is the most likely side for an attack to come from. I believe this attack would have been seen by our people, just not as soon. The moon was on the back of the planet at the time they came into view. Random patrols could cover the other side since there are no stationary objects unless they build a space station.”

  “Anyone else?” Oak asked.

  “He’s covered most possibilities.” Mike observed. “I believe the main problem Razar has isn’t early detection anyway. It’s loyalty from those he is forced to hire to help cover the needed positions. A system needs to be put into place to limit the most important positions to those proven loyal, Phoenix, or Mazlans. A lack of good soldiers is hard to overcome.”

  “Very well put. I’ll add your observations. Maybe you can help Razar enact a better program for those brought in from outside. Right now, they are a third of the population. Many of the females have properly bonded with their mates. Those aren’t a concern. It’s those unmated, males, and those mated that haven’t bonded.” Oak explained.

  “Can you determine if the bond is complete?” Mike wondered.

  “There are several ways, but the easiest is if the male tells us. The problem is they tend to be protective and won’t admit they’ve not fully bonded.”

  “The less easy ways?”

  “Sometimes it is obvious, especially the lack of a true bond. Someone with mind powers can tell, but most of them refuse to use their powers that way. A mind doctor can tell in more extreme cases, but not always. Razar would probably have better luck using mates than just taking outside applicants. He hesitates to put mates in danger.” Oak concluded.

  “Some have asked for those jobs?”

  “A few. A couple even got them because they fought for them.”

  “I’m guessing those were close to Razar or his family?”

  “Yes, how did you know?”

  “It’s harder to deny them. Razar is a tough cookie and can usually say no easily.” Mike grinned.

  “You’re right and they pressured him. Their mates agreed with them and that made it worse. Even Razar’s father was in their side.”

  “What was the argument?”

  “Poor or unloyal workers put them all in danger anyway. Razar is examining the possibility that the ships weren’t seen right away because of a scan blocker. If true, we need to find it and learn more about it. I need two volunteers with technical backgrounds to return to the ship to head up the search.” His eyes fell on the poor engineer.

  “Fine.” Carlos said. “Maybe I’ll learn something new.” He was of Earth descent, but had never been there nor had his parents. The guy was sharp and talented where tech was concerned.

  “My tech background is not so good, but if no one else is willing…” He trailed off.

  “I’ll go.” Ranger said. “Elm won’t be much help.”

  “You have a background in tech?” Oak asked shocked.

  “I have a degree in engineering. I just prefer raiding.” He said with a huge grin. “It pays better.”

  “Once you find or are sure no device is there, you will return to us.” Oak directed. Ranger saluted then followed Carlos to the flash device. They would be gone a while.

  “Now we need to get down to our new mission. I’ve sent the suggestions to Razar who has already looked at them. He wants us to take point on the meteoroid project. Currently, he is gathering miners that are at work on Oison to work on the meteoroid. First, he’s asking for volunteers. He’s also got his assistant purchasing some mining equipment. We may be sent to pick it up when it’s available. Several of the domes on Earth have recovered useful equipment both new and used to trade with.” Oak noted.

  “Damn, that was quick.” He said even though he knew Razar wasted no time in an emergency.

  “That’s usual for him. He’s overwhelmed with all that’s going on. The attackers still are refusing to surrender. We need to take another ship to prove it’s not a fluke. Team up and we’ll get two replacements before we send you in. Any suggestions on what to replace the knock out cans with?” Oak asked.

  “We do have a slightly less effective substitute. It’s smoke bombs. They won’t knock them out, only confuse and disorient them. We’ll have to wear masks so we won’t have those effects too.” Mike admitted.

  “Sounds good. Phoenix and Mazlan won’t require the masks. Just give them to our humans.” Oak instructed. Mike looked uncertain for a second.

  “Fine. How many are human?”

  “Nine on this team.” Oak counted.

  “I’m on it. I’ll be right back.”

  “I’ll help,” He offered. Every opportunity to be near her would show her he cared.

  “I can use a pack mule.” She grinned.

  He was familiar with the term from some of Patty’s westerns. “I am at your service.” He agreed.

  They hurried to medical. It was clear they would be the spearhead of any major undertaking Razar had because they were completely trustworthy. It was a surprise when they passed engineering and they ran into Ash. “Hey Bro.” Ash said.

  “Another one?” Mike asked.

  “You’re early.” He admitted.

  “Razar is calling all new recruits in because of the trouble. You’ll have two dozen extras ready to help.” Ash explained.

  “A smart decision since we’re over run. Come with us and you can grab some masks and head to Oak.”

  “The masks aren’t big. This will be a grab and go.” Mike offered as they headed into medical. She got into the storage room and handed Ash a pack that contained half a dozen masks. He got the next pack and that was already more than needed. She got out a handcart and began dumping smoke bombs on it by the case.

  “Why did we even have these things available?” He asked.

  “I like to be prepared. I’ve ordered more but we won’t get them until we’re resupplied.” Mike admitted.

  “You did well.” He praised.

  They went by engineering to drop of the cart full of smoke bombs and then went to the bridge. Everyone was there now. It looked like Ash would be on the raiding team as well as another Phoenix that had just joined the crew. They would get their baptism to the crew by fire. This was no easy mission. At least they would each team up with an experienced member. All of them were ready so they marched down to engineering, some with masks on their heads ready to use.

  This mission would be done differently. The smoke bombs were set to release in two seconds after they were sent. Two smoke bombs were flashed then two pairs of team mates. That would be done until six pairs, a total of twelve raiders, were onboard. Once they had control, two dozen more crew would take control to the ship. He had to admit the new crew mates would be a great help. Even more so if they ended up taking control of all ships. It was something he suspected would happen.

  He and Mike would flash first. They were sent straight to engineering with a large pack of cuffs for each of them. Her mask went down and they were gone. The smoke didn’t slow him down, but it was irritating. With his better than human vision, he clearly saw the personnel to take then down easily.

  None of this was as easy as the first ship, but this ship was smaller so they worked hard and never had the same overwhelming number against them that made them fear they might not win. A few hours later, all the crew on this ship were taken. This ship seemed to be a smaller but newer version of the first one they’d taken.

  “Mike, where are you?” He asked in his com.

  “Don’t come for me.
” Mike yelled.

  “If you don’t come, she dies.” An unfamiliar voice said.

  “Where are you?”

  “Second door on the north hall.” The male said.

  His body shivered with fear and his stomach ached with worry. Mike had been captured by the enemy. The directions made no sense so he used his com to track her. Gods help that male if he hurt Mike. He rushed to get to the room where he entered with no thought. The male held Mike by her neck.

  “Stop or I’ll kill her.” The male said.

  “Do you know what I am?” He asked the male.

  “Either a human or a Mazlan.”

  “Wrong answer. I recognize your language both spoken and written from our old records. That means our people had contact with yours many generations ago. I am Phoenix and you probably know what that means.”

  “Liar.” The male growled. “Those are stories for children.”

  He held still as he thrust his hand out in front of him. To the male and Mike it must look like it just burst into flame. “Make me angry and I’ll make sure you burn slowly.”

  “By the gods, you are a monster.” The male said looking terrified. Moving closer to him, the male threw Mike at him as he rushed to the door and ran screaming down the hall.

  “Look out for an unrestrained enemy who is running down the hall. He hit his head and is insane.” He sent the message out on his com to his team.

  “Neat trick. How did you do that?” Mike asked.

  “Why don’t you let me find us a room and we can discuss anything you want?” He asked.

  She relaxed into his arms where he’d grabbed her when she’d been thrown at him. “I think I’d like that if Oak lets us take the first break.”

  His mate had been scared. She still shivered even though she was calming down a little. He sent a text to Oak and got an answer. “We’re to find rooms for the team to rest in and take the first break.” Maybe he was taking advantage of her recent scare, but he believed it had just shown her what was really important. Soon, he would make her his in every way. For now, they would just share their bodies.