Rogue Warriors of Lorr
Stolen by the Alien Prince Chapter 10

Even though the ship had buffers, Gianna could still feel it as they descended for landing. There was quite a lot of turbulence on the way down and she wondered if the pilot was on drugs. All of them are probably on drugs.

The landing itself was quite smooth and did not jolt her around as much as she'd feared. When the two aliens came to the door to escort her, Gianna's knees went weak all over again.

Even though they grabbed her and shoved her along, by the time they left the ship for the wide-open dock, her captors had settled down and only held her by a light touch on her arm. Yes, she was frightened, but she had no intention of making an escape. "Where are we?" she muttered. Her captors did not answer, but soon after she saw a sign nearby that announced the planet was Jorvlen.

It seemed they were in a deserted area of a public dock. Not far away, she could see bright lights and crowds of strange beings gathered around beautiful, silver ships.

To her, the planet looked too dark and gloomy to be a holiday location. Gianna didn't know if it was night or if Jorvlen was naturally a dark place. The shadows seemed to be alive, creeping along behind her like living snakes.

The aliens took her to a large hangar and guided her into the back area where the hallways were narrow. They shoved her into a small, dark room and stood behind her in the doorway as she stumbled, almost losing her feet.

The room was very dark, so gloomy she couldn't see the corners. From the ceiling in the center of the room, a soft glow illuminated a shimmering curtain.

"Come closer," a voice rasped from behind the curtain. She complied, taking short, slow steps. "You, woman," the thing on the other side of the curtain hissed at her. "You want to work for us?"

"Yes," she whispered, her voice caught in her throat. Gianna felt like fear was strangling her.

"If you want in, you must prove yourself first. We need to see that you can be trusted."

"I'll do whatever it takes."

She heard a strange sound, a hiss, and a cough. Gianna thought the thing-whatever it was-might be laughing.

"We will give you a package. You must take it to the space station that orbits the planet and deliver it to the place we name. Everything you need to complete the mission will be given to you. Once you drop off the package, you will be given something in return. When you get back here with the payment, you will have proved your worth to us."

"Okay," Gianna muttered, fear nearly strangling her. The space station was known to be a rough place, far rougher than the area where she lived with Gabe.

"What about weapons?" she asked. "Surely, I can defend myself on this mission?"

The thing behind the curtain laughed again. "No, no. You must impress us with your strength and skill. We can't hand over weapons until you have proved your worth."

Gianna stood there for a moment, feeling lost and confused. When one of her alien captors appeared beside her, she jumped and cried out. Everyone laughed.

"You won't make it far with nerves like that!" the strange creature behind the curtain decreed. "Go ahead. Give her the resources."

The alien handed her a small shoulder bag and Gianna opened it gingerly. She had no idea what she was going to find.

She opened it slowly, waiting for a nest of vipers to erupt. To her shock, it was full of a ridiculous amount of galactic cash. It was accepted anywhere, and enough was in there to buy a small house in a nice neighborhood. They want to know if I'm going to take the money and run. If I do, they'd hunt me down and kill me.

"In the side pocket is the package you must deliver," the whispery creature said. Gianna opened the zipper and looked inside, seeing a thick, rectangular package wrapped in brown paper and string. "How do I get to the space station?" she asked.

"We will release you, my dear. This is a port. Is it not? You can head over to the public sector and find yourself a transport. Shuttle up to the station, meet your contact, exchange goods and return." It made things sound so simple.

"Okay," she whispered, zipping up the bag and settling it on her shoulder.

"You are to tell no one. Do you understand?" the creature snapped. "You tell anyone-and I mean, anyone-about what you're doing, and we will kill them and make sure your brother disappears forever." Gianna nodded, gulping to cover her fear. The aliens turned to lead her from the room.

"One more thing," the creature wheezed. "Get receipts for everything you spend that money on. If you don't, we'll take it out of your skin!"

Gianna didn't bother to answer. She just rushed from the room. She wondered how many people had been in this position, and if they had chosen to run with the cash.

It could be tempting, if only she knew where Gabe and Kozien were. Gianna followed her captors out onto the runway as they led her toward the public sector. She had to find Gabe. That was all that mattered. Kozien strode through the dark streets of Noxxa, his heart pounding with fury. Conflict flooded him but he knew he had no choice about what he did next.

Of all places, why Jorvlen?

He was extremely vulnerable on that planet. Not only was his race at war with them, so he'd be immediately noticed, but his personal presence there would be like walking up to a Jorvlen ruler and slapping him across the face.

Kozien could imagine the way the war would erupt if he was captured on the planet. The Jorvlens might hold him to ransom, forcing his father into a weak position to get him back. Or they could just execute him and send his head back to Lorr, causing an even greater conflict to ensue.

Kozien hurried through the streets, stopping in a dark alcove to pull out his robes. He put the bulky headdress over his horns and wrapped long strips from the robe around his face and nose.

The only possible disguise for him was as an Ethane Breather. He would have to be careful not to expose his violet skin, so he bound the robe tightly around his wrists so it wouldn't slide and fastened it around his midsection.

He managed to purchase a decent pair of gloves on his way through the port, and by the time he approached a rental lot, his disguise was complete. He addressed the alien proprietor with a halting, drawn-out greeting, just like an Ethane Breather would make. "I need to rent a ship," he coughed.

The alien nodded enthusiastically. "Of course, sir! What kind? How big is your party?"

"Just me," Kozien rasped, hoping he wouldn't have to answer many more questions.

"Over here, sir!" The alien led him to a corner of the lot. Kozien gave the name Rufiox to the proprietor, paid him an outrageous amount of money, and then took off in his hired shuttle.

As his little vehicle hovered over Jorvlen, Kozien felt apprehensive again. He knew landing here was risky in so many ways, and he would end up hurting Gianna far more if he was discovered. So, I simply won't get captured.

Kozien brought his ship down in a public dock and paid for the slot, making sure his place was reserved for a few hours. The last thing he wanted was for his ride to get towed.

He took a walk around the landing docks and take-off areas, occasionally puffing a small cloud of ethane-which he produced by smoking a thin rod that he purchased at port, too-through his face covering. No one paid much attention to him. The tall, imposing race was not known for being friendly or conversational, which gave him an excellent cover.

Kozien strolled out to the darker, lesser used areas of the port. Soon, he came upon aircraft that were clearly not as well-maintained as the other private ones. He kept his eyes peeled as he looked for the alien craft that had taken Gianna.

After some searching, he found it parked in a row of very dodgy transports. His heart beat faster in his chest. Now he knew she was on this planet.

Kozien's next move would be to track the drugs. Trying to hunt down Gianna would only raise suspicion and put them both in danger. If he tracked down the D'Narvius who were peddling the drugs, that should take him straight to his mate. The bars surrounding the port were the perfect place to start. Kozien headed into the nearest one, only to find it full of pilots and rich passengers.

No one would be doing drug deals here.

He walked down the street, his anxiety mounting with every step. He knew his mate was in danger, and every second grated against him.

A couple of times he asked street toughs if they had heard of the drug Motley. They ran from him as if they were afraid of the word and Kozien's frustration grew.

Finally, he entered an extremely rough-looking bar. The floor was covered in sawdust with broken furniture and shards of glass strewn everywhere. It was as if the fights in here were so frequent, no one ever bothered to clean up after they were over. Kozien took a seat in a dark corner so he could watch and wait. Across the room, almost directly opposite him, he noticed a couple of skinny guys who made contact with a lot of people but did not linger with any of them. Those guys have drug dealers written all over them.

He lumbered over to the table, leaning over, and glaring at the skinny guys. They looked up at him as he smacked his hands down on the bare wood.

"Motley," he grumbled.

It was not uncommon for Ethane Breathers to mince words. "Ah, my friend, why not ask me a question?" the taller male said.

Kozien smacked his fist on the table, frowning. "Need. Motley," he muttered.

The skinny guy lit a long, thin smoke. His buddy scooted away as if he didn't want in on the conversation. "I tell you what," the guy said, blowing smoke. "I don't have any on me, personally. But I can tell you who does." Kozien nodded, eagerly. Skinny guy gave him some decent directions to a nearby building.

He was worried it might be some kind of trap, but Kozien did not have much choice in the matter. He couldn't exactly beat this guy right here and now, and Kozien was still desperate not to draw attention to himself. He simply nodded his thanks and left the bar, hurrying down the street toward the area skinny guy had told him about.

If it was a dead end, he could always go back and shake the guy down later.