Warrior's Valor Read online

  Synopsis

  Another thrilling saga in the Supreme Constellations romantic sci-fi adventure series. Environmental activist Dwyn Izontro and law enforcement officer Emeron D'Artansis instinctively dislike everything about each other, even though the attraction between them is unmistakable. While Dwyn surveys an endangered region of a remote planet with Emeron as her security escort, Ambassador M'Ekar has bribed his guards to facilitate his escape from the planet where he is incarcerated. As part of his escape plan, he kidnaps one of the individuals he holds responsible for his humiliation, Dahlia Jacelon. When a spacecraft carrying unexpected cargo crashes to the surface in the region where Dwyn and Emeron are working, the two women are unexpectedly hurled into a search and rescue mission where the fate of millions rests on their ability to work together. The stakes go up when Rae Jacelon and Kellen O’Dal, the Protectors of the Realm, join in the hunt.

  Warrior’s Valor

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  By the Author

  Course of Action

  Coffee Sonata

  Sheridan’s Fate

  September Canvas

  Fierce Overture

  The Supreme Constellations Series:

  Protector of the Realm

  Rebel’s Quest

  Warrior’s Valor

  Warrior’s Valor

  Supreme Constellations Book Three

  © 2008 By Gun Brooke. All Rights Reserved.

  ISBN 13: 978-1-60282-384-6

  This Electronic Book is published by

  Bold Strokes Books, Inc.

  P.O. Box 249

  Valley Falls, New York 12185

  First Edition: July 2008

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.

  Credits

  Editors: Shelley Thrasher and J. Barre Greystone

  Production Design: J. Barre Greystone

  Cover Image: Tobias Brenner (http://www.tobiasbrenner.de/)

  Cover Design By Sheri ([email protected])

  Acknowledgments

  Len Barot, aka Radclyffe, publisher and owner of Bold Strokes books, thank you for believing in me, and for the enthusiasm with which you approach every new project. Your continued faith in my writing, as well as the example with which you lead, inspire me.

  Dr. Shelley Thrasher, editor and my guiding light. You also serve as the copy editor for Warrior’s Valor, and your double duties are not going unnoticed. We make such a great team, and I already long for our next project!

  Sheri, the cover is awesome. I’m delighted that you thought my 3D painted cover art was good enough to use for this book.

  My beta readers and friends, Lisa, Sami, Ruth, Georgi, Jan, and Mary, all helped save me from myself

  Thank you also to the gang of proofreaders and other BSB associates who helped this project along. I think Lori (Andy) deserves special thanks for everything she does for the BSB newsletter and the online bookstore.

  Dedication

  To William, our first grandchild, whose birth coincided with the creation of this story.

  Prologue

  If this doesn’t work, you must avenge my demise, Desmond.” Hox M’Ekar, the former Onotharian ambassador, glowered at his manservant.

  “Don’t worry, Your Excellence. Kyakh, who sold me the device, assured me it’s foolproof.”

  “Let’s not waste any time then. No matter how infallible this procedure is, it’ll still alert the SC law enforcers. The chip emits signals on a regular basis, and if it’s shut off, they’ll appear like hawks from the sky.”

  “We’ll be gone from Jasin long before then.” Desmond looked convinced, but given the man’s youth, M’Ekar wasn’t inclined to take his optimistic statement at face value. “Kyakh owns a nearly brand-new Legacy-class vessel, the Viper, perfect for escaping SC space. Once we’ve captured that Jacelon woman, Kyakh will fly us successfully across the border to intergalactic space in less than three days. The SC has never intercepted the Viper.”

  “I hope you’re correct, young man.” M’Ekar rose and rubbed his neck, a habit he had begun the day that damn SC doctor implanted the lethal microchip in his spinal cord. If he strayed outside his designated area on this godforsaken, mosquito-infested planet, the microchip would receive a signal that released a minuscule amount of a highly lethal substance. It would kill him within a few hours, unless any of the law-enforcement forces that carried the antidote found him.

  “I would never trick you, Your Excellence.”

  When M’Ekar had promised Desmond a glorious career as one of his most trusted aides, the young man had quickly capitulated. M’Ekar’s guardian-turned-accomplice wouldn’t join him in his escape, however. It almost saddened him to think of Desmond’s early death. It is a necessary sacrifice for me to reach the greatness I was born to enjoy. “Excellent,” he said with a nod. “How long?”

  “Kyakh’s crew is three weeks away from this sector.”

  M’Ekar stood, motioning Desmond closer. “Then we should prepare.” He chuckled. “Not that I have much to pack.”

  Desmond suddenly looked nervous. M’Ekar knew that a lot depended on his manservant, who was probably realizing what he was undertaking. It was important to reassure him. If Desmond turned on him, M’Ekar wouldn’t know how to get in touch with this Kyakh. He placed a fatherly hand on his shoulder. “What would I do without you, son? You have proved that you’ll make a fine aide de camp.”

  Desmond appeared more self-confident. “Thank you, Your Excellence. I look forward to serving with you.”

  M’Ekar wondered if the sting he felt was one of remorse at the hopeful and admiring expression on Desmond’s face, but shrugged it off. People were useful for a moment, and when they weren’t—they were expendable.

  Chapter One

  “You have to recognize the severity of this threat, Your Honor.”

  “I don’t have to do anything, Ms. Izontro.” Supreme Constellations Judge Amereena Beqq regarded Dwyn Izontro haughtily from behind her desk in the luxurious hotel suite. Outside the window, the Cormanian capital, Corma Neo, glimmered like an enormous jewel. “It’s late in the evening, and I’m tired after my journey. You managed to bypass the proper channels and see me directly only because I’m visiting Corma unofficially.”

  Dwyn knew the esteemed judge was peeved, but butting heads with authorities around the SC for more than fifteen years had toughened her. “I know, and I’m grateful,” she said, and wasn’t entirely lying. She had half expected the judge to close the door in her face.

  “Judge Beqq, the importance of what I have to say makes up for my audacity. The Disi-Disi forest is one of the few untouched territories within the Supreme Constellations, and the Cormanian government has always protected it and its natives from any interference. It sustains the indigenous people who are living as they have for thousands of years, but it also keeps this planet stable. I work for the Aequitas group, a pro-bono activist organization that attempts to save the environment and supports other worthy causes.”

  “‘Justice,’ in the ancient Earth language of Latin. Appropriate.”

  Dwyn couldn’t tell if Beqq’s words were cynical. Instead she continued. “Aequitas has received credible intel that the Cormanian government alr
eady is cutting parts of the forest.”

  “That would go against the SC decree regarding such measures.”

  “No offense, Judge, but you of all people should know how greed and the hunger for power make men and women regard a law as merely a suggestion.”

  “True enough.”

  “Corma is overpopulated, like so many other worlds within the SC. Lobbyists are pressuring certain Cormanian politicians to pass a bill that allows prospectors to purchase real estate that will diminish Disi-Disi territory. If our intel is correct, the Disians, the natives of the forest, will suffer greatly when their natural habitat shrinks. We risk losing a society that is entirely unique. But the destruction of the forest will also alter Corma’s climate and cause tornadoes, hurricanes, inland storms, and plasma cyclones—disasters beyond anything the Cormanians have ever experienced.”

  Dwyn swallowed her impatience because she knew this woman could best help her deal with this mess. “Lives will be lost, Your Honor, and Corma will experience an uncertain fate. New deserts will form where the land is now lush and green. Glaciers will appear all the way down past the northern hemisphere.” As Dwyn rattled her facts, she leaned forward to emphasize the severity of her words. This senior judge of the Supreme Constellations had to understand.

  “I know the SC Council has discussed this topic extensively.” Beqq spoke quietly and as if she weighed every word that passed her lips. “Possibly someone has offered the Cormanian rulers substantial sums of money to allow various prospectors access to the protected area. Officially, the Cormanians have declined, but if your group is correct…” Beqq looked resolute as she twirled the obsidian-embedded titanium ring on her left index finger. “From what I remember, you’ve been right a lot lately. We in the court system have also questioned some of your methods.”

  “Serving the greater good is worth any possible risk.”

  Judge Beqq blinked. “Really. Well, Ms. Izontro, I’ll investigate the situation. I’m not as well connected on Corma as I used to be, but I still have a few strings to pull. Will you be satisfied if you get to see the forest for yourself?”

  Dwyn frowned and shook her head. “Depends on what I find, ma’am.”

  “All right. I’ll speak to you as soon as I’ve taken the matter into consideration and run it by some of my contacts. Hopefully, by then I’ll know if it’s possible to grant you permission.” Beqq laced her fingers loosely and rested her chin on her joined hands. “I sympathize with your concern for this planet, Ms. Izontro. But since you approached me, you probably did your homework well enough to realize that I do things correctly or not at all.”

  “I know. Guess it comes with the territory of being a judge?” Dwyn smiled slightly.

  “It comes with the territory of doing what’s right.”

  *

  “You must be joking, sir?” Emeron D’Artansis dropped her back-strap security carrier on the floor next to her computer console and turned to her superior officer. “Isn’t my unit overqualified to babysit some SC hotshot?”

  “You misunderstand, Commander,” Captain Zeger said gravely. “I wouldn’t assign this delicate matter to anyone but my best unit. These orders have travelled down the chain of command for a week now, and the commissioner has issued a direct order. Report for briefing tomorrow morning at 0600. You and your team need to be geared up and ready to move out an hour later.”

  “Sir, yes, sir.” Emeron would have huffed, but she respected Captain Zeger too much. And she never let her personal feelings show when she received an order. Still she muttered to herself, “This is crazy,” as she sat down and began to read the messages on her computer.

  Most of them were work related, but several from her mother were blinking in bright red. Not willing to deal with Vestine D’Artansis while she was trying to come to terms with the babysitting assignment, she marked the messages as “can wait.” Emeron had little patience with her snobby family even during normal circumstances. She wished Zeger had informed her of her assignment before she had gone to the gym. Then she could have worked off her frustration there instead of sitting here with it simmering below the surface.

  She leaned back in her chair and rubbed her forehead. Her patience wore thinner every day. Even her next in command, Mogghy, had said so to her face after a few drinks at their favorite bar a month ago. Emeron had tried to laugh his words off, but he hadn’t smiled. “I’ve known you too long, ma’am,” he’d said, shaking his head. “Something’s eating at you and it’s driving you crazy, not to mention the rest of the unit. The troops aren’t sure what to think.”

  “What do you mean?” She’d been annoyed, but also embarrassed. She’d never expected to have this talk with anyone, least of all one of her subordinates.

  “I wouldn’t say anything if we weren’t such good friends outside the force.” Mogghy finally smiled. “I have your back, Commander, and I hope you know that.”

  “I do.” His disturbing observation was hard to swallow, and Emeron focused on it for a few seconds before he continued.

  “I don’t know, Commander. You seem angry, or perhaps frustrated. I could be way off base here, but that’s how I see it.”

  Mogghy wasn’t far from the truth. So many things gnawed at Emeron these days. As long as she kept working, she could ignore them, or so she’d thought until now. Her temper, which she’d struggled with since she was a child, was now even more volatile. She had to resort to the many different relaxation techniques she’d learned during her years as a member of the law-enforcement service to keep from resorting to violence. I’m always angry.

  She sighed. “I’m sorry if I’ve given the unit any reason to doubt my professionalism. And thanks for letting me know before the speculations go any further. I’ll deal with my problem and you won’t have to mention it again.” Emeron knew she sounded stiff, but she felt uncomfortable. She also realized that Mogghy had saved her a lot of professional grief by not going through the proper channels. “Appreciate it, Mogghy.”

  “Anything for you and the team, Commander. Always.”

  They hadn’t mentioned this conversation again, and Emeron had consistently performed her duties and assignments flawlessly. Still a cold knot at her core persisted, and she feared she wouldn’t be able to suppress her anger much longer. On those occasions when she’d had to quickly back off in order not to let the beast within her show, yet act as if nothing were amiss, she had caught Mogghy’s worried glances. Working out was the best way to remain focused and she was in the best shape ever.

  “Here you are, Commander. For your eyes only.” Captain Zeger placed a handheld computer on Emeron’s work console. “A preview of tomorrow’s briefing.”

  “Thank you, sir.” Emeron punched in her security clearance code and pressed her thumb on the small pad below the screen.

  Reading, she soon realized that her assignment had gone from boring to hellish. Babysitting an environmental activist. She could think of few things worse than catering to some saintly woman, who was probably more interested in her own goodness than actually achieving something worthwhile. A picture of a blond woman with finely chiseled features and pale gray eyes appeared, and Emeron read the name underneath. Dwyn Izontro. An Iminestrian name, but Izontro’s face belonged to a human. Izontro was thirty-four, but looked younger. She worked for one of those shady businesses that labeled themselves pro bono, but rarely was. They were lobbyists of the worst kind. In Emeron’s opinion they’d cause havoc and lobby for any “just cause” in the universe, for a fee.

  She scrolled down to other pictures that showed Izontro in action. The woman had targeted several different installations and was clearly fearless in her efforts to draw attention to her agenda. Emeron sighed. Izontro had to be a hardened troublemaker. She browsed through more pictures but frowned as she viewed one of Izontro lying face down on the floor of a police hovercraft. A bulky officer had his large boot placed firmly in the small of her back, and the man’s smirk made Emeron cringe. She wondered what the t
iny woman could have done to warrant the officer’s brutal behavior.

  When she finished reading, she flicked the computer off with her thumb and walked over to the latrine. She needed cold water on her face to calm her down. Scanning her own reflection in the metal-mirror above the hand-sanitizer unit, she wasn’t surprised to see a dark fire burning in her eyes. Her skin was stretched taut over her high cheekbones, which she recognized as a sign of irritation. She tapped the sensor for the aqua faucet and scooped a cupped handful of water to her cheeks. Drying with a recyc-towel, she didn’t have to look into the mirror again to know what subdued annoyance looked like. She had seen it on the face of each of her mothers too many times.

  *

  Judge Beqq’s dramatic red hair and curvaceous figure attracted the attention of both men and women in the restaurant. Seemingly unaware of this fact, she drove her fork through a double-tailed shrimp and chewed it slowly before she spoke. “I’m glad you could join me for dinner, Ms. Izontro—”

  “Dwyn. Please.” Dwyn wasn’t accustomed to such formalities. Her parents called everyone by their first name, and so did everyone Dwyn worked with in the Aequitas group. “It took you quite a few days to sort things out, but I’m grateful that you climbed out on a limb for me.”

  “I hope you found a way to occupy your time. Corma has a lot to offer.”

  “I spent my days at the National Archives and Library, going through the original documents of the Thousand Year Pact.” Dwyn smiled. “That probably doesn’t sound like much fun.”

  “Actually, I’d like to peruse the documents myself, one day.” Beqq seemed unaffected. “I need to talk to you more, Dwyn, before you set out.” She placed a small item on the table.