C2 2

Maxim, Governor of Base 3, Prillon Colony Planet, Sector 901

The crush of heavy combat boots filled the narrow hallway with a loud, clomping sound. My steps were eager, too eager, and yet I could not force myself to slow my pace as I hurried to the communications center. Warden Egara, the female in charge of The Colony’s new Interstellar Brides Processing center on Earth, waited to speak to me. I had to assume she had news, news of a matched mate for one of the soul-weary soldiers under my command. News those of us condemned to live out our lives on The Colony very much needed to hear.

“Ryston.” I nodded, my expression grim as my chosen Second, Captain Ryston Rayall, my friend and brother-in-arms for many years, fell into step beside me. Covered head to toe in the mottled black-and brown-armor of a Prillon warrior, I was both relieved and worried by his presence.

“I hear there is news from Earth.” His expression was grim. Despite the pale golden color of his hair and eyes, his gaze was dark. Rejected by his family after his rescue, he’d become a shadow of his former self. Mean. Bitter. Reckless and unpredictable. Bad news would not improve his temperament nor his current mood.

“I am on my way, brother. Patience. I do not yet know what Warden Egara will say.” I thumped him on the shoulder in affection. He was my most trusted friend and closest ally on this base. I would trust no other with a mate, despite his recent sullenness. He was a fierce fighter, honorable to the core. I had no doubt a female’s sweet touch could banish the darkness from his heart and bring my friend back to life.

“She is probably going to tell you that none of you fuckers have a match and we’re all fools for hoping.” His growl was full of pain, but he could not hide his hope from me. If he did not hope, he would not have rushed to be at my side to hear the news from Earth.

“That would imply that I am not perfect, Ryston. We both know that is not the case.”

Ryston’s soft chuckle was his only response, but some of the tension drained from my shoulders and neck. It was good to face whatever might come with Ryston at my back. As Governor of Base 3, it was my duty to set an example for the other contaminated warriors here. All good men, the warriors on The Colony had served their planets well, fought the Hive menace and suffered at the enemies’ hands. Everyone on The Colony carried the scars of that fight, for what the Hive captured, they tried to make their own. Hive Integration Units tortured Coalition fighters, converting them into new machines for the Hive to deploy, new Hive-controlled soldiers, walking weapons. Those of us lucky enough to survive and return to our units with our minds intact were sentenced to a fate that, for some, was worse than death—banishment. For as advanced as the Interstellar Coalition’s technology had become, there were still things that could not be undone.

Microscopic cybernetic implants, living cyborg flesh, optical implants, brain stem filaments, enhanced muscle fibers, artificial intelligence that merged with our bodies on a cellular level, with our very DNA. For centuries, Coalition fighters rescued from Hive Integration Units were simply executed. But nearly sixty years ago, Prime Nial’s father had established The Colony, where contaminated warriors could live out their lives safely and away from potential Hive interference or control. Away from those untainted.

Safety was highly overrated. The Colony became more a prison than a mercy, warriors doomed to live out their lives without hope of a home or a mate, fighting a never-ending battle to live a life filled with purpose, with honor. Few women fought in the Fleet. Fewer still were captured by the hive. For those females who were captured and survived, they ended up here as well. But they were so few, so very rare, that a man could go months or years without ever setting eyes on female flesh. We were feared by our own people, and forgotten by the other planets, by those we sacrificed so much to protect. Forgotten until the other worlds began sending their warriors here as well.

Now the contaminated fighters banished to The Colony world included Atlan Warlords, Trion and Viken fighters, as well as Prillon warriors, and, recently a handful of human fighters from Earth. Divided into eight bases, The Colony was ruled by eight Governors and one Prime. Governors were chosen by election. If no clear winner emerged the selection process followed the traditions of Prillon Prime, where leaders were selected by battle and blood. The strongest ruled. The strongest led by example.

As I must now. As Governor of Base 3, it was my mate testing that everyone was eagerly, and warily, watching. If there were no mates for the strongest of us, then there was no hope for the others.

And so, when Prince Nial became Prime, The Colony buzzed with renewed life, with hope. For the new Prime of our home world was contaminated himself. Despite his imperfections, he’d found a beautiful and submissive mate, a mate strong enough to accept his claim in the battle arena on Prillon Prime, witnessed by millions. Like the others, I’d watched on a live vid broadcast as Prime Nial and his second, Ander, claimed her body on the bloodied battlefield like warriors of old.

My cock stirred at the memory. For Prince Nial and his bride, Lady Jessica Deston, had visited The Colony shortly before that final battle. Lady Deston was a warrior herself, and had spoken harshly of Prillon’s policies. She’d vowed to help the contaminated find mates. She’d given us a new name—veterans—and claimed we deserved honor and respect. She’d given all of us courage. And she’d followed through on her vows, accepting her contaminated mate in front of millions.

Warden Egara from Earth contacted The Colony just days later about beginning the Interstellar Brides Program protocols for our warriors. I’d been the third warrior processed, an experience I remembered little of other than waking with a sense of loss and a cock so hard it felt like iron in my hands.

Like the other governors and a handful of highly respected warriors here, I had submitted to the program’s testing several weeks ago. Though I could not believe any female would accept a damaged warrior such as myself for a mate, I could not stop my heart from racing in my chest at the summons I answered now.

If any Colony warrior had been matched, then there would be hope for matches for all of us. The battle-scarred warriors banished to live out their lives here desperately needed a bit of hope.

We rounded the corner to find everyone in the comm station waiting with a suffocating silence. The warden’s words could either save us, or doom everyone on the planet.

On the large screen at the front of the room Warden Egara’s lovely face filled the entire space. But there were deep creases beneath her eyes and a darkness in the gray depths I’d not seen before. “Warden Egara. Greetings. It is our pleasure to see you again.” The Warden had recently traveled to The Colony to complete the initial rounds of testing and we’d had to keep her under lock and key, practically a prisoner. Her presence made the unmated males on the planet eager to claim her.

“Governor Rone. I wish I could say the same.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as if bracing herself before she spoke. “Maxim, I need your help.”

My hands were in fists at my sides before I could control my reaction. “Anything, my lady.” Beside me, Ryston’s shoulders were tense, his hand resting on the ion blaster at his side. The room was blanketed in silence. A female in distress—even light years away across the universe—made every man in the room remember instincts so basic and primal that we would have been growling had we not wanted to frighten her.

But then, she’d been mated to two Prillon warriors. Perhaps our aggression would comfort rather than scare her.

“It’s not for me.” Her eyes darted from me to Rytson and back again. “It’s for someone else. A bride. A Colony bride.”

The news made my heart race. “A match has been made then?”

“Yes. But she has refused transport.” Warden Egara rose from her seat in front of her comm device and paced on the screen before us. Behind her, I recognized the setting of a processing center, the medical equipment, the sterile utility of the white walls and exam table.

Ryston stepped forward, a frown on his face. “How can she refuse transport? I don’t understand.”

Warden Egara rolled her eyes. “Earth laws don’t always make sense. And they have not adapted to being part of the Interstellar Coalition. They do not understand what’s at stake…” Her voice trailed off and she crossed her arms over her chest.

I looked away from the screen and to the human warrior seated at the flight control station. He was highly intelligent and well liked here on The Colony. He was the only human in the room who might make sense of this madness. “Trevor?”

Trevor looked from the warden’s worried face to Ryston’s angry one to me. I had no idea what he saw there. “She’s right. Earth laws are crazy as fuck, more politics than justice, I’m afraid.” He looked to the screen. “Who did she get tangled up with? The Feds?”

The warden shook her head. “No. GloboPharma and the FDA.”

“Fuck me.” Trevor whistled low and my blood boiled. Trevor met my gaze without flinching. “She’s screwed.”

I did not know what screwed meant, but it didn’t sound positive.

“That was my assessment as well.” Warden Egara’s uniform was a dark gray and hugged her curves. The insignia on her chest marked her as an official Warden of the Brides Program. She held one of the most highly respected and revered titles in all the Coalition Fleet. The warriors who fought to defend the universe against the Hive held close the promise of a perfectly matched female. Many cold, dark nights on the battlefield, I’d dreamed of such a match. When the Hive captured our unit, when Ryston’s screams echoed my own, when the brave warriors around us died or were swallowed whole by the Hive’s twisted reality, I dreamed of a mate. Dreamed of soft skin and a hot, wet pussy. Of her cries of pleasure as I filled her while Ryston played with her body. Hope kept me alive through those bleak days. Hope for a matched mate.

And yet, this human bride denied her place in the universe. Denied her importance to the hearts and minds of the warriors who had suffered the most. Denied her matched mate?

Cold fury chilled my body and pulsed through my veins like sluggish ice on a river in winter. This human woman had no idea what she was doing. It seemed she fought a battle against an enemy, knowing she could not win. I did not doubt her courage, just her intelligence. She would rather sacrifice herself than accept her matched mate? The very first bride matched to a Colony warrior, and she refused him?

Another rejection would hurt the warriors here more than having no match at all. And that was completely unacceptable. “Tell me how we can help you, Warden. A refusal will demoralize the entire planet.”

“I know. But she has pinned her hopes on the court system here, on a new trial. She claims that she is innocent of the crime and refuses to be forced into transport.”

So, she did not want to be a bride at all. “Do you believe her innocence?”

“Yes. I do. And her determination to seek justice is admirable, but it doesn’t matter.” Warden Egara returned to the screen, her face on the display once again, completely filling the floor-to-ceiling monitor, her projection nearly as tall as my body. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you have to come to Earth. You’re going to have to break her out of prison.”

“How are we to accomplish this? Will the human authorities cooperate?” Ryston asked. Of course, he asked and used the word we . He knew I was going, and I never went into battle alone.

“No. They won’t, but it doesn’t matter. We have to get her out of there. I received a call today from her attorney. He’s a decent guy, but she won’t listen to him either. She’s been safe in solitary confinement. Until now. The judge denied the attorney’s petition to keep her out of general population.”

“General population?” Trevor cursed. “If she’s truly an innocent, they’ll eat her alive.”

The warden did not look amused. “It’s worse than that. She’s a whistleblower and she’s got evidence that could bring down a lot of people in Washington. If we don’t get her out of there in the next three days, when she’s scheduled to be moved, there’s no question that they’ll have someone on the inside waiting to kill her.”

I looked to Trevor for translation. While the NPU in my head allowed me to understand the Warden’s English perfectly, she spoke with some slang that did not compute.

He seemed to understand my confusion. “On Earth, some prisoners are kept isolated for their safety during a trial. Jails are like a community behind thick walls and razor wire. It is a dangerous place. Someone on the outside can order, or pay another criminal, someone locked up in jail, to harm another prisoner. Kill them.”

My jaw tensed and I could see Ryston stiffen.

“When someone is already serving a life sentence, committing another murder won’t change their sentence. But having money and connections on the outside can make their lives better on the inside.”

As it was for the warriors here. Some, like me, were lucky enough to remain in contact with our families on Prillon. My mother sent supplies and treats via transport, communication and images of my family. Messages. But others received nothing but silence, no support, no communication. It was like they didn’t exist. Serving a life sentence was something every warrior on The Colony understood.

Trevor shifted in his seat. “Once she goes into general population, she won’t be protected. She’ll be living with murderers and hardened criminals. Anyone who wants her dead will be able to reach her. She won’t survive more than a few days.”

His clarification helped and I did not need more details. One glance at Ryston and he nodded his chin in agreement. We would go, and we would go now. “We will come directly to your transport room, Warden. Please initiate the transport codes for us.”

“I will. Thank you.”

She reached forward to disconnect our comm, but I held up my hand to stop her, needing one final detail.

“Warden Egara, if I may, whose mate is she?”

The Warden’s smile was full of pity.

“I’m so sorry, Maxim. She’s yours.”