Zearn a sci fi holiday t.., p.1
Zearn : A Sci-fi Holiday Tail, page 1
Zearn
A Sci-fi Holiday Tail
RENA MARKS
Zearn
Rena Marks
A mysterious alien planet celebrates their own version of merry holidays. Their wonderful gift-giving idea? Earth ladies as stocking stuffers.
Alyssa: As one of the few female Earthians who works in space, I’m not about to give up my career for marriage and babies. I scorn the idiots who created the podcast “Earth Girls Are Horny.” Unfortunately, they’ve gone viral in a whole new way, calling unwanted attention from galaxies far, far away. The planet Thropia is one secretive and unknown planet who are paying big money to have a bride shipped in a pod to drop down in time for their holiday games. And our horny Earth girls? The volunteers are a mile long, even when it’s unknown what the mysterious Thropians look like.
Just not me. No, my job is to test the pod before the actual prize is sent. I’ll earn a boatload of money for not being a bride.
* * *
Zearn: A mate is the last thing on my mind, especially one from a dismal planet who offer themselves to complete strangers as prizes. The utter arrogance is astounding. But when a female lands in the danger zone of our competitive Twelve Days of Cheneca, I’m dispatched as the lead hunter to track her down, and to keep her safe.
I do not expect a female who is as much a warrior as me. A female who is worthy of me. A prize who marries me in the traditional way during the celebrations of our holidays. It doesn’t matter to me that she doesn’t know how.
Only that she did it splendidly.
* This book is part of the Stranded With an Alien shared world. This scifi holiday tail features steamy scenes on an alien world, some heartwarming holidays moments and a guaranteed HEA.
Cover credit: Natasha Snow Designs www.natashasnowdesigns.com
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Epilogue
Matched To The Monster
Maddie Mine
My Alien Baby
Space Babies
Xeno Sapiens
Alien Stolen
Abducted
Artificial Intelligence
Stargazer Series
Also by Rena Marks
Chapter One
The PodeX Starship, orbiting planet Thropia
Alyssa:
“ARE YOU READY, ALYSSA?”
Even though Jonah stands outside my sealed pod, I can hear his voice through the speakers that radiate outside sound over my head. There’s not much room inside, the pod is basically a coffin. Right now, it’s in a standing position and the front is made of tempered hyalloi—a clear metal that holds heat and cold, keeping the inside temperature regulated from the outside elements.
The back and sides of the pod are untempered, so I’m protected but not visible from those angles. Normally a pod isn’t built with clear visibility to see the contents, but this is an unusual circumstance. This mission is to test the deliveries, so to speak.
Earth and the Planet Thropia have an arrangement to allow selected females entry. Thropia has been an unchartered and antisocial planet, and once had a terrible experience with a Trojan Horse infiltration, hence the paranoia with isolation and the need for an invisible pod in the treaty. If the clear cover lands face down, obstructing the contents from view, the Thropians will blow up the pod without a second glance. Despite all our scientific tests and measurements to be concise, we were assured the pod would land right side up. But we also needed a live test, one with that planet’s exact measurements, ratios of gases, gravitational pulls. Being as secretive as they were, they refused to give those details out, so our only choice was a test on the planet itself.
That’s where Jonah and I come in. He’s my partner, my protector, the man I can’t live without, despite our wariness of each other ten years earlier. We were fresh from the cadet academy, and he was sure I was allowed entry because of my father’s political contacts. I had to prove to him that I could man up to the job.
Which was comical considering today I’m in the pod wearing a silk dress.
He quickly discovered the benefits of having a female partner. No one expects a fine-boned human woman with limited height and strength to be a danger and I’ve bailed his ass out of lockup more times than I could count.
Large, muscular alien jailers never balk at opening the cell for weak little ole me when I call out in a husky, sexy voice. They quickly discover I can hold my own and disarm them of cell keys, communicators, weapons.
When I’m shot into space, my standing position will have no direction as I twist into the atmosphere of the planet below. Eventually the gravitational pull will grab the pod, and sparks will fly. I’ll have to shut my eyes to avoid being blinded. I should be wearing a visor or lenses but the higher ups didn’t want a female’s beauty impeded by safety, apparently.
The Thropians demanded I wear a traditional—ridiculous—outfit of flowing white silk. A dress. The last time I wore a dress was when I was nine. The aliens below like their ladies feminine, and they insisted upon it and even requested my measurements to have it custom made, a complete security breach that had Jonah and me balking. But I have to believe the coordinates they gave are for a location with decent weather, since I’m about to be dumped off into unchartered territory—land that can be a desert. Or a jungle. Or the fucking north pole of their planet.
I shouldn’t be dissing the treaty agreement; I just don’t like the non-transparency lately. The higher ups had communication with the Thropians and no one else. Normally, either Jonah or I would have been in on the negotiations, but they claimed the Thropians’ insistence upon their need for secrecy and only appear in shadowed images. Hell, no one even knew what the Thropians looked like other than the whisper that they have a tail that can be used as an extra limb. Despite that, there are a lot of women who are more than agreeable to be chosen just to escape Earth’s crowded population. I’m just not one of them. I have my own career and I love making headway into new cultures. I’m not the type to be dressed up and set on a shelf for some tailed alien.
And because of a popular podcast called Earth Girls Are Horny, the intergalactic bride programs are clamoring to set negotiations for human women.
I scrunch my nose at the thought. It seems like some women will jump through hoops to get some tail. Literally.
“Okay, incoming message from the Thropians,” Jonah says. “You’re clear to land in two hours. And you’ll have one day to make your way to their capital where they will provide you with a shuttle to immediately leave their planet. Don’t be late because you’ll be shot on sight.”
No worries, I mouth with a frown. I can’t get into the atmosphere before two hours is up, but I can’t waste precious time waiting for the two hours to elapse because my clock to find the way out is ticking. Even though Jonah can’t hear me, he can lip read. He gives me a grin.
“I have complete faith in you. You can do it. Now get down there, prove our pod works, and I’ll see you in two days.”
Because it’ll take our ship that long to latch onto the alien pod from space. I guess I’ll sleep in their return pod for an entire day straight.
I gave him a thumbs up and with an exaggerated movement, he returns the gesture, then slowly drags his hand upside down and brings his thumb down to depress the button that opens the ship’s hatch. I hold my breath as the usual thrill fills my belly. There’s nothing like the excitement of a launch to tingle your extremities with the feeling of freedom.
Even though I’m strapped to the table at the waist, my entire body bends forward as the pod is yanked backward into outer space. My hair swooshes around my face.
There’s instant silence as I’m shot into the dark, the lights from our ship fading behind me. I know from experience the internal speakers would have given a warbled static signal, which was covered up by the instant blasting of the hatch. But right now, it has no connection whatsoever and is deadly silent.
This right here is why not everyone is suited for these missions. A person could go crazy wondering if their pod would ever be pulled in by a planet’s gravity. Our company, contracted by Earth, has safeguards for the squeamish, of course. Many of our more genteel ladies will be drugged into a deep slumber and arrive at the planet’s surface like a packaged Sleeping Beauty.
But we’ll only have governmental clearance on that if our test works without fail. I raise my hand in front of my face to test the gravity in the pod. Of course, it’s black as ink and I can’t really tell how high I’m lifting my arm.
I finally understand the term silence is deafening. I tug on an earlobe as if I can force myself to hear something that’s not there. As if the utter silence is because of something caught in my ears. Or even if it’s because my ears need to pop. But then I realize there’s a faint glow. A star is nearby, probably their sun. That means I’m getting close to the planet.
The knowledge makes my heart thump and my breathing quicken. It hasn’t been long enough for me to arrive at the atmosphere. Something’s gone wrong, somewhere a calculation was off.
My theory is
Idiots. I make a mental note to add that to the report Jonah and I will collaborate on. And as soon as we’re finished with that report, we can take a much needed, relaxing holiday, with plans to visit Earth as Santa and his elf in a flying pod shaped like a sleigh, a huge hit with the children as we give them rides once we dole out the presents.
The idea gives me a giggle. Last year I was Santa and made Jonah wear the elf suit. He pretended to hate every minute of it and is bragging about getting to be Santa this year, as we promised to trade off.
I find the Santa suit itchy, hot, and uncomfortable. I have Jonah right where I want him, eager to play in the role instead of having to bribe him. Men, even my best friend, are idiots.
As the light grows brighter, I clench my eyes closed and tuck my head down to my chest, but there’s really no way to turn away from it since the entire front of the pod before me lets in light. Ack, stupid excuse for a pod.
Even with the darkened glass.
The light flashes and the pod shakes as I enter the atmosphere.
Chapter Two
Zearn:
“WE HAVE A PROBLEM.” Prime Minister Xiel stands outside the huge windows of the castle overlooking the vast jungle, her back to me.
“Already? The Twelve Days of Cheneca have just begun.”
The holiday hunt occurs annually, during the season of Zephyr. This early in the season, the games are calculated, the strong picking off the weaker competitors one by one. The last ten standing are offered the holiday gift—a prize of a mate, one to be dropped from the skies each lunar eclipse. There was more interest than usual this time, as the females were unique due to a bartered treaty with a planet called Earth.
Unique to everyone but me.
They are oddly colored, not very bright. Muted shades ranging from the pale pink of a narnet to a deep black of the night sky. Their features change slightly with their coloring. But what remains the same is their lack of fangs or tusks. The lack of claws. Of scales. Hell, they don’t even have a tail.
Completely weak.
Completely useless.
Other than, it is rumored they have a wide array of sexual kinks. Definitely not enough of a pros and cons list to pique my interest.
Xiel is quiet for the span of two seconds. “The test subject missed the coordinates. The pod landed in the middle of the hunt instead of in the safe zone.”
“Krexkai!” The expletive falls from my mouth before I realize it and before I can even apologize for the insubordination, Xiel turns, face grim.
“You have to find her before someone else does. You must keep her safe. This could bring war with Earth and expose our entire race in doing so.”
“I knew this treaty would be a bad idea.”
“I’m beginning to think this mix-up wasn’t a mistake,” Xiel says, her tail thumping in agitation. “The female was supposed to be here last yen, but we were told they had an issue to resolve with their experimental pod. They requested landing today and even though the hunt just started, we were aware it would be a few days before the contestants could make their way to the top of the mountain. Which shouldn’t have been a problem since she was supposed to land on the opposite peak. Imagine our surprise when we intercepted a warbled communication from a male on the ship who said something was wrong and she landed way too quickly. The person requested permission to come after her.”
“Was it accepted?” I clench my fists to keep my claws from extending. A competitor male in the middle of the hunt would be killed. It would definitely bring about war.
“Denied. But it is of the utmost importance to get her the hell out of here while the holiday games are commencing.”
“I’ll see to it.”
Quickly I stride down the hall as I program the communicator on my wrist to receive, knowing Xiel will immediately send the coordinates to the Earth female’s fallen pod. From the travel room, I choose a hoverboard—it doesn’t ride too high, but it zips through trees with superior speed. A vibration signals the download of her location and quickly I bring it forward to see where she’s at.
When the information hits, dread makes me snap my head up.
She’s in Brenign territory.
The clan of the Brenign are lesser intelligent beings running on instinct and inbreeding. We’d once rescued them from a moon that was losing its concentration of air, rescuing the species and bringing them to Brenign mountain. They’d once been the highest creatures on the food chain, until one disastrous leader destroyed all that. Decades after their move to our planet, their king had been obsessed with purification of the blood line, culling the tribe of undesirable members. Unfortunately, he’d been a little overzealous and the clan overthrew him when their numbers dropped so low, they nearly became extinct. Without a leader, and ruled by instincts instead of brains, they resorted to further purification of their race, the only way they knew how. No newcomers were allowed in and over the decades that ensued, no new DNA was introduced. It had been that way ever since and over the centuries, their bodies grew bulkier, while their mentality devolved.
They never win at the mating games because they can no longer hold their own. They usually rove gung-ho through the mountain, falling into traps and rivers before they could get to the top where the best males standing make it.
No one expected this test pod to land within their reach.
Chapter Three
Alyssa:
I LAY STUNNED ON the narrow bed, the silence deafening after the roar of the atmosphere still ringing in my ears. That was a crash landing if I ever had one. The pod was forced to deploy a foam bubble. But the foam was unlike any I’d seen—good grief, it was clear. Nothing, not even a crash landing, was going to prevent the Thropians from getting that first glance at one of Earth Girls Are Horny crew.
Good news was the pod landed upright. Test passed. Now I need to get the hell out of here. But how far am I from the landing strip on top of their capital mountain? Because there was an obvious malfunction in space. Not only did I get pulled into the atmosphere way too early, but foam was deployed—and I don’t have an emergency rescue kit. One that contains an ax to shatter the foam shell. Again, anger raises my temperature at the games the idiots in charge play with their demands.
Surely Jonah will come for me. He had to have tracked my early pull into the atmosphere. Would it be better to wait for him to arrive and risk missing the deadline to find the shuttle pod? If I’ve landed in a dubious spot, my map might be rendered useless. On the other hand, the weird-ass Thropians are against any males being on their sacred mountain. They would realize this is an emergency, though.
A sudden thump rocks my pod and for a moment, I tighten my clenched hands, but there’s nothing to grab. My straps hold tight. Two heavy boots come into view. Then a dark green face peers down at me—a hideously ugly face with tusks, four eyes, and a grinning mouth drooling a puddle onto the clear shield of the foam. His eyes drag down the length of me, glowing as he takes in my stupid, mandatory dress. He grins and I notice a missing front tooth.
A second, solid boom rocks the pod. He has a massive, thick, lizard-like tail with a spiked ball on the end that he uses to strike at the shell of foam that separates the soles of his boots from the “glass” of my coffin.
He does not look like a welcoming committee.
He seems to be dragging out the “rescue,” slowly picking out pieces of broken foam and tossing them aside as he leers at me. He’s terrifying. My breast heaves with exertion as if I’m the one brutally breaking open the “prize” these vicious monsters have paid an enormous amount for. Boy, the women who volunteered for this shit are crazy to go in blind for sex with an alien.
Fear twists in my gut, freezing me. Except I’m not one of the prizes. He should know that. They all should.
