Ignite by Tana Stone
Chapter One
Kalex
I gazed out the large view screen that overlooked space, tracking the ships that flew in a set patrol pattern around the space station and fighting the urge to let out a sigh of boredom as I rocked back on my heels.
“Report,” I barked at the nearest Drexian standing at his post, his eyes on the shiny console.
The warrior cleared his throat as he glanced up at me. “Nothing to report, Captain.”
“Of course not,” I muttered under my breath, but gave him a curt nod. “Continue scans.”
He tapped his fingers across the console, causing a series of quiet beeps to interrupt the relative hush of the bridge. This time I didn’t stifle my sigh, grateful for more sound to join the occasional beeps and bursts of static.
Since my posting on the space station and elevation to the position of acting captain while it was under construction, I’d become used to the order and calm of the bridge. It was, after all, the newest ship in the Drexian fleet and was equipped with the latest in technology and design. Nothing like the rough and grungy Inferno Force ships I’d served on since joining the elite fighting unit right after leaving the Drexian academy.
I scraped a hand through my shaggy dark hair, desperately wishing I was back on my old Inferno Force ship, where the steel floors rattled with each step and the hull creaked. I even missed the chaos of the bridge as warriors bellowed to each other during battle. Here, there was no reason to yell, and no battle to fight.
The rhythmic sight of the patrolling fighters swooping across the view screen, their hulls gunmetal-gray against the inky blackness of the outskirts of space, should have been comforting. After all, if their security patrol wasn’t interrupted, that meant that there was no incoming threat from our dreaded alien enemy. And as acting captain of the station, it was my job to ensure that the Kronock didn’t destroy this station like it had almost destroyed the other.
I flinched at the thought, my spine stiffening at the reminder of my duty. I might only be acting captain until a permanent one could be appointed—and eager to return to my posting on an Inferno Force battleship—but I took my responsibilities seriously. The Drexian empire—and Earth—were relying on me and my crew.
The doors behind me swished open, and I recognized the fast footsteps that approached without turning around.
“Vekron,” I said, pivoting to face my chief science officer.
Like me and most Inferno Force warriors, Vekron wore his dark hair long, and intricate, swirling tattoos peeked from beneath one short sleeve of his tight, black shirt. Scruff covered his cheeks, and dark circles ringed his eyes.
“Are you reporting for duty?” I hadn’t remembered him being on the day’s roster, and he didn’t look ready to serve. At least, not according to Drexian military rules.
Since I’d taken command of the station, I’d tried to adhere more closely to Drexian military standards, though they weren’t something I was accustomed to on Inferno Force ships. Our captains rarely demanded full uniforms, and it wasn’t uncommon for us to battle shirtless, with only leather straps crossing our chests to hold weapons. Since we fought and died in deep space, far away from the rest of our military fleet, protocol had less meaning.
Still, we were on a space station and not in the far reaches of space, hunting down Kronock. And Vekron looked like he’d slept in his clothes—if he’d slept at all.
He shook his head, waving a tablet in one hand. “I think I made a breakthrough on the holographic pool.”
“You found a way to make water created by energy feel more like water?”
He gave me a grin, and the weariness left his face. “After the near-drowning on the other station, I had to find a way to create a pool without having the inherent danger of that much water during a gravity fail.”
Vekron might be Inferno Force, but he was arguably the most talented scientist in the Drexian empire, especially when it came to developing ground-breaking technology.
“I thought you also fixed the potential weakness with the gravity system.”
“Oh, I did, but that doesn’t mean I couldn’t come up with a completely holographic pool for fun.”
I cocked an eyebrow at him. “Fun? I think we need to get you out more often.”
Now he tilted his head at me, his gaze flitting to the wide, glass view of space. “Out? Where am I supposed to go? The only thing within a hundred parsecs is the Island.”
I cringed at his use of the space station’s nickname. “Do you have to call it that?”
Vekron grinned at me. “You don’t like it? I thought the other station was called the Boat. What’s wrong with calling the new one the Island?”
I shook my head. “This is that little Gatazoid’s doing, isn’t it?”
“Serge?” Vekron let out a low whistle. “He is pretty insistent I call it that. Actually, he’d prefer I call it by its full name, but everyone shortens it.”
“Of course, he would. He came up with it. And from what I understand, it’s taken from another Earth television show.”
“That’s right.” Vekron snapped his fingers. “The Boat was named after some program called The Love Boat, and this station is called the Island after a show called Fantasy Island.”
I groaned and caught a few of the bridge officers grinning. “You’d think with all the changes to the tribute bride program, we could drop the nicknames for the stations.”
“I don’t know. It still sounds more appealing for human women to be brought to the Island than it does to arrive at station D-359.”
I knew little about what was more appealing to human women, as my exposure to them was limited—a situation with which I was perfectly content. Despite my people needing human females to continue the Drexian species, I had no desire to take a human mate of my own. I preferred the life of an Inferno Force warrior and the freedom of sampling pleasure planets. Taking a human mate meant entering the tribute bride program to be matched and—even with the recent changes—my Inferno Force heart rebelled at the thought of being matched by a computer program. Although I’d heard the old methods of matching were bizarre and outdated, modeled after something called The Dating Game on Earth.
“At least they know where they’re going when they arrive,” I said. “I can only imagine how much time had to be spent explaining our existence and our secret treaty with Earth governments.”
“This station won’t need a special section for the tributes who reject their matches, since all the new tribute brides are volunteers. Who knew that human females would be falling all over themselves to come to space and marry Drexians?” Vekron glanced down at his tablet. “Although I will say, it freed up a lot of space for the holographic waterfall for the atrium.”
“Revealing ourselves to humans and going public with our need for human mates wasn’t the disaster the Earth governments thought it would be, but I don’t think anyone anticipated the number of volunteers.” I held up a finger. “Did you say waterfall?”
Vekron grinned. “I wondered if you’d catch that. It’s a design element to enhance the atrium.”
“Why does the atrium need enhancing? The construction is almost complete.” I folded my arms over my chest. “Is this that astro-architect’s idea?”
Vekron’s grin widened. “Zoey? She’s the one who worked it into the plan, but I suspect Serge was behind the original idea.”
I huffed out a breath. “And how much time will this add to the project?”
We were already behind schedule because of constant additions and changes. The longer the construction continued, the longer the station wasn’t at full defensive power—and the longer I was stuck at my boring post and away from the Inferno Force fleet.
“Not much. We should be on target for welcoming our first volunteer tribute brides by the end of the lunar cycle.”
I leveled a finger at him. “No more delays, Vekron. I don’t care how much Serge harasses you or Zoey convinces you it will be a better design. Neither of them is the captain of this station and responsible for its safety. We need to get this station fully operational and with defenses completely functional.”
Vekron eyed me. “You just want an excuse to turn over the reins faster.”
My face warmed at his accusation—and the accuracy of it. “Don’t tell me I’m the only one eager to get back to a worthwhile mission.”
“You think overseeing a new, high-tech space station that will usher in a new era of Drexian-human relations isn’t worthwhile?”
“Not when it keeps us from fighting off the Kronock,” I snapped.
“Those grekking, scaly monsters haven’t so much as popped a head up since we repulsed their attack on the Boat and then on Earth.”
“That doesn’t mean they’re gone. It only means they’re licking their wounds and regrouping. They were dormant for years before the last wave of aggression.” Anger flared inside me as I remembered the battle to save Earth and the thrill of swooping in as a member of Captain Brok’s Inferno Force crew and fighting off the enemy. “And if we hadn’t revealed ourselves and enlisted the help of Earth’s military, we might not have been victorious.”
Vekron twitched one shoulder. “Earth technology and military power is still far behind ours, although I’ll admit that even their rudimentary ships were helpful during the attack. And they do have some talented scientists—and astro-architects.”
I grunted at the obvious reference to Zoey, the human woman who’d been assigned to the station to work with Vekron and our other science officers. My friend knew she’d been nothing but a thorn in my side since she arrived, and he seemed to enjoy it when she provoked my ire.
“If you ask me, we were better off when human females were tribute brides, and there weren’t that many of them.”
“You’d prefer to return to the days when Drexian warriors would wait for astro-years to be matched?”
“I’d prefer there wasn’t such an obsession with human women. They’re nothing but a distraction from our true mission—to defeat the Kronock, and free the galaxy from their predatory expansion.”
Vekron lowered his voice. “We wouldn’t be obsessed if there were Drexian women we could take as mates. You know as well as anyone that we had no choice, and we were lucky to have found a species that was as compatible as humans.”
Before I could argue further, there was a sharp beep from a nearby console, and the officer snapped his head to me.
“Captain Kalex, you have an incoming transmission.” He paused. “From High Command.”
I bristled. The High Command of the Drexian empire was no longer the assembly of relics it had been, but the name still sent a shiver down my spine. “I’ll take it in my strategy room.” I started toward the door to the side of the bridge before motioning for Vekron to join me. “If I know High Command, they’ll want information you’ll be able to give in more detail than I will.”
The black doors slid open silently, revealing a narrow chamber that shared the same view as the bridge, with one wall entirely made of floor-to-ceiling glass. A glossy, black desk took up most of the space, with a holographic star chart glowing along the back wall, the pinpoints of blue and red light making the dim room glow.
I didn’t go behind the desk. Instead, I stood in front of it, bracing my feet wide and facing the holographic chart. “On screen.”
The chart of the galaxy vanished, and a three-dimensional image of a Drexian High Commander replaced it. As soon as I recognized the warrior with dark hair brushing the nape of his neck and bright-green eyes, my shoulders relaxed.
“High Commander Dorn.” I thumped one fist across my chest, and Vekron did the same beside me. “It’s good to see you.”
“You don’t have to call me High Commander,” he said with a rough shake of his head. “And it’s good to see two Inferno Force warriors at the helm of the new station. You do our unit proud.”
I’d heard that Dorn had only reluctantly taken his father’s seat on the High Command, after relinquishing his Inferno Force fleet and taking a tribute bride. His heart would always lie with Inferno Force, even though rumor had it he was smitten with his bride and their new baby.
“Thank you, Commander. I believe congratulations are in order for you, as well,” I said. “A boy?”
Dorn’s face lost its stern expression, and he beamed at us. “Pax is almost three months old.”
“A Drexian name,” Vekron said.
Dorn nodded. “He also has what humans call a middle name, and my mate chose that one.” His nose wrinkled slightly. “Liam.”
Vekron cut a quick glance at me. Liam was the Drexian word for a garden slug.
Dorn held up a hand. “I know, I know. But my mate was determined, so no one is to tell her that she named our son for a worm.”
Vekron choked back a laugh. “Understood, Commander. You can count on our silence.”
Another Drexian hologram appeared beside Dorn, and it took me a moment to place him as the captain of the Boat, Varden.
The Drexian captain clapped Dorn on the shoulder, and the holographic image of the Inferno Force commander flickered. “I can only hope my mate doesn’t choose a strange human name for our child.”
Dorn gave the older man a knowing grin. “That will be the least of your worries once the baby is born in a few days.”
Varden laughed. “Which is why I asked to join this call. I’m led to believe I’ll be sleep deprived very soon, and I wanted to weigh in on your request for a building extension and the delayed installation of the defensive system.”
I stared at both warriors as the words sank in. “Delay? What delay?”
High Commander Dorn gave me a confused look. “The one your astro-architect formally requested.”
I fisted my hands by my side as Vekron shifted nervously beside me. The human female had gone over my head to request an extension? I was going to kill her.