

### Ethereal Lives

### By

### Gem Stone

**Copyright 2016 by Gem Stone**

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical review and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Published by Gem Stone at Smashwords

Editor: Tiffany Dawn Munn

Don't miss my offer of a FREE novella at the back of this book

**Table Of Contents**

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Epilogue

About The Author

**Acknowledgments**

For Mark who always supports me

And

Rebecca and Lydia who constantly inspire me.

**Chapter 1**

Ariane Wilson's eyes shot open before quickly closing again to block out the stark white light. She raised a hand to her heavy head, trying to shake the fog that clouded it. She had been reading a book on the beach in Barbados. Did I fall asleep in the sun?

"Look, I know we were short on time, but Ax isn't going to like this."

The soft voice broke through her hazy mind making a dull ache prod her temples. "Go away, I'm on holiday," she groaned.

When she opened her eyes again, she winced at the bright light and threw an arm over her face. She wasn't on the beach now; she was sure of that.

"Well, it's awake, so I guess we'll find out what Ax thinks soon enough," a gravelly voice replied.

Ariane attempted to open her eyes once more. The light didn't seem quite as bright this time. A large lamp hung above her, reflecting off of white walls. Am I in a hospital? The clinical smell that you would normally associate with such a place was missing, but it certainly appeared sterile.

"Do you understand me?" the soft-spoken person asked.

"Err, yeah." She glanced around the room in confusion, though there wasn't much to see, just a door, tiled white walls, and two men standing a few feet away. "Where am I?"

"On our ship," the taller man replied, as he stared at her quizzically.

Ship? She didn't remember a ship. Yes, she'd been at the beach. However, she had no recollection of getting on a boat and why couldn't she feel it rocking? The fog began to lift from her brain. "Okay, why am I on a ship?"

"You are our prisoner," the shorter man said in his much gentler tone.

Ariane blinked a few times as she regarded them. They didn't look like kidnappers. Yes, she'd heard about people being kidnapped, when on holiday, and sold as slaves but she felt pretty sure they didn't get put in rooms this clean. If that had been the case, she imagined she'd be somewhere grotty, probably tied up, and the captors would be dirty and unshaven. These men were clean and well dressed. If you could call tourist shirts with parrots on them well dressed. One stood about a foot taller than the other and was nearly bald. The shorter man had big bushy eyebrows that joined in the middle. They appeared more like friendly uncles than sleazy people traffickers. Still, looks could be deceiving.

With caution, she sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Both men jumped back slightly as if wary of her.

She frowned. That was a strange reaction for a kidnapper. It calmed her nerves and helped her voice stay steady. "Right, as fun as this has been I think it's time to end it, so if you could just drop me at the next port, I'd really appreciate it."

Baldy took a step towards her. "Do you understand what I'm saying?"

She leant back, relieved when he didn't come any closer. "Of course."

"Good, as I said, you're our prisoner."

Ariane fidgeted under the man's stare. "Okay, is this a joke?" Her eyes darted towards the door, wondering if one of her work colleagues was waiting to run in laughing. "I know. It's reality TV, isn't it? I bet I signed up by mistake, by clicking on one of those stupid pop ups on the PC."

When the men didn't respond and just continued to stare, she decided she might as well take a look at the room. After all, didn't you have to complete tasks in these shows? Escape from a beach or eat bugs in a jungle. Maybe she had to get off their ship. Sliding off the bed, she placed a hand on the wall for support. Whatever had knocked her out earlier made her unsteady on her feet. The room spun; she swayed and her vision blurred. Taking a few deep breaths, she regained her footing, and her eyes came back into focus.

"You stabbed me in the neck." She touched the spot she remembered stinging. The skin felt tender. When she had taken a holiday in search of excitement, this was not what she had in mind.

"We did not!" Baldy responded instantly.

"You did, I remember. I was on the beach, and you pulled me to my feet and stabbed me in the neck."

"Since your neck is not cut open and bleeding I think we can safely assume you remember incorrectly."

Ariane narrowed her eyes. "You stabbed a needle in my neck," she clarified.

"Oh yes, we did that," Mr Unibrow softly replied, smiling as if it was of no significance.

Okay, she was pretty sure they didn't drug you on reality TV. Keeping an eye on them, she took a couple of steps to check her balance. When she didn't fall face first onto the floor, and the men didn't stop her, she decided it was safe to move around. "Where are we?"

"On. Our. Ship," Baldy repeated slowly as if speaking to a child.

Ariane sent him a glare. "Yes, I got that bit the first time. I meant, where is the ship?"

"All around you?" Unibrow asked.

She blinked a few times before continuing to creep towards the door. Either this was a really poor joke or Dumb and Dumber here were literally the stupidest people on the planet. "Where is the ship currently situated?"

"Well, we can't give you the correct coordinates from here," Baldy said. "I'd guess about 700 miles from Earth."

Ariane stopped abruptly and stared at him for a moment before laughing. "Oh that's a good one, so this is a space ship, is it?"

"It is."

She scanned their faces for any sign of humour but none appeared. "Great. I've been kidnapped by a mental asylum."

Continuing her stroll around the wall, her fingers skimmed over what felt like a raised panel and she stopped to take a closer look at it. When she gave it a push the panel shot out to reveal clean bedding.

"Nifty." Leaving the panel showing, she continued walking.

She got about three feet from the door when a voice spoke into the room. "Is it awake yet?"

Ariane jumped and looked around for speakers, a moment later Unibrow revealed a panel next to the door and answered.

"Yes, a few moments ago, we're bringing it now." He touched a button, and the door whooshed open revealing a corridor.

Baldy nudged her closer to the door. She gasped in surprise, not realising he was so close. For a tall man, he was quiet on his feet.

"Where are we going?" she asked, wrapping her arms around her middle to ward off a sudden chill. As her hands came in contact with the smooth nylon of her swimsuit she wished she hadn't been sunbathing when abducted. At least she had a sarong around her waist, but it did nothing to warm her arms that were now breaking out in goosebumps.

"The captain wants to meet you."

"The captain of the space ship?"

"Yes,"

Ariane eyed the two men who were now freaking her out.

What were her options? Stay here indefinitely or go with them? With any luck, this actually was a reality show, and she could be about to win a quarter of a million pounds. All right, maybe that prize fund did sound a bit extreme, but hey, might as well hope for the best. It was a better option than thinking of other possible outcomes. Like ones involving the ten o'clock news and body bags.

"Okay," she said, standing straighter and giving her arms a brisk rub. "What the hell, this is a space ship and I'm your prisoner so, take me to your leader." She accompanied the last bit of her sentence with the Vulcan, live long and prosper hand signal.

"Do you understand it?" Baldy asked Unibrow, who frowned, giving the impression he had a caterpillar running across his forehead.

Unibrow shook his head and exited the room. "Maybe Ax will. Come on."

Baldy stood behind her and gave her a quick nudge in the back. She jolted forward then followed Unibrow down the long corridor.

Unlike the room, the walls of the corridor were silver. The only seam ran along the centre of the ceiling like the entire wall was one long sheet of metal. The ceiling arched reminding her of the church one of her foster parents had made her visit as a child. She pushed the thought away; her childhood was never a good thing to dwell on.

"What's that?" she asked, pausing abruptly outside an open door.

"Recreation room," Baldy replied before nudging her forward.

A few paces farther she stopped again. "What's this?" She pushed a panel on the wall before they could stop her and gave a little squeal of delight when the lights turned blue.

"Don't do that," Unibrow snapped shoving her aside and changing the lights back. Seeing both men distracted Ariane pressed yet another panel and jumped back with a gasp when a stern voice said, "Yes?"

Baldy pushed her out of the way and spoke, gruffly, to the panel. "Sorry Sir, a little mix-up, will be with you in a moment. Now stop touching," he ordered, grabbing her arm and dragging her down the corridor.

They stopped outside another door, and Unibrow revealed a brightly lit keypad. He pressed some buttons to glide a door open and then pushed her into a room.

With a yelp, Ariane stumbled forward only just stopping herself from falling face first onto the floor. She seemed to be in some kind of control room. Along one wall was a huge metal control centre, covered in flashing lights and buttons. Machines buzzing and beeping quietly were the only noise. A few people were seated around the room and in the centre stood a tall and handsome man who looked like he belonged on the cover of the book she'd been reading. His hair was short and dark, his eyes were a smoky grey, and his strong jaw was set in a firm line. Arms that bulged with muscles crossed over his well-defined chest. He was dressed in some kind of black leather trousers with a leather jacket on top, but no shirt.

"Hello gorgeous," Ariane mumbled taking in Mr Tall, Dark and Handsome. Her eyes travelled up his body until they met his gaze. Unfortunately, she didn't see any matching appreciation there, not that she was surprised. Men like him didn't fancy women like her. Instead, he appeared rather annoyed and unimpressed.

His eyes travelled from the top of her head to the tip of her toes. Despite his obvious disdain, she felt herself shiver again as his gaze passed over her breasts. When they reached her hips, she became extremely grateful for the sarong that hid her cellulite.

"What is this?" he asked her abductors, in the same stern voice she had heard over the intercom. So this was the captain.

Baldy and Unibrow shuffled their feet as they avoided meeting his eyes. "An Earthling," Unibrow said in a surprisingly confident voice.

The captain's gaze travelled back to Ariane. "This is not what I asked for."

"Well it's the best we could do," Baldy replied with a shrug.

"Did I not show you pictures of what I wanted?" He pressed a few buttons on the control panel, and a picture of a lingerie model appeared on a screen on the wall. "In what way does that," he pointed at her, "resemble that?" He directed their attention to the screen.

Both men stared at their feet, apparently lost for words. Ariane studied the picture. The woman seemed to be a size six, a far cry for her size fourteen. Where the model had long blonde locks, Ariane wore her mahogany hair cut off at the shoulders and most often pulled back in a ponytail. Though she often wore lingerie like the ones in the picture, it didn't look half as good on her.

"You know most normal women don't look like her?" she piped up, wrapping her arms around her midriff self-consciously. All eyes turned to her. The captain took a final glance at the screen then walked closer.

Where the other two men had seemed puny and non-threatening, this man was the total opposite. He screamed strength and power. She took an involuntary step back as he drew near.

"Dyan, Brise," he addressed each of the men in turn, "why did you bring this?"

Baldy, who was apparently called Dyan, ran his hand over his head before speaking. "It's harder to get a female Earthling than you would think. It's the only one we could find who was alone in such a short amount of time."

The captain, once again, ran his eyes over her before turning away. "It will have to do, there are no more left. We'll set a course for Xanlas to refuel, then we make our way to the Sixth Galaxy."

Baldy, Dyan and Brise with the unibrow rushed to take seats at the control centre while the captain removed the image of the model from the screen.

"Wait, wait, wait," Ariane said, waving her arms to remind them she was still in the room. "What's all this Xanlas business? Who the hell are you? Where am I? No more what left? And will you please stop referring to me as it?" She took a big gulp of air when she finished speaking. Her eyes darted around the room in panic but avoided meeting any of the gazes sent her way.

The captain approached with steel in his eyes. He circled her again before answering, "Did I say you could speak, Earthling?"

The man was obviously trying to intimidate her. A little voice in Ariane's head screamed at her to run. To find the first exit she could and get off this crazy train before it derailed. She stamped on it, crushing it under her foot.

She'd spent all her youth in foster care with people who liked to intimidate and bully her so she would toe the line. As soon as she became independent, she'd promised herself no one would walk all over her again and no one had since.

She crossed her arms over her chest and stood straighter; giving an impression of confidence she was far from feeling. "You didn't say I couldn't speak."
**Chapter 2**

Ax stared down at the small human. When he'd sent his men to get a female Earthling, this was not what he had in mind. He'd seen pictures of them, and this one did not look or act at all as he expected.

"Do you know who you're speaking to, Earthling?"

The human glared at him with blatant disregard for his authority. "Should I know?"

Ax took a deep breath. Never before had anyone dared to speak to him this way on his own ship. "I am Axermaxacorm Kas, captain of this ship and I demand respect. You are on my vessel, where we're headed is no concern of yours, and I will call you whatever I wish." He turned his back on the human. How dare it think to question him like that?

"And that's the name you're sticking with, is it?" she asked.

Ax twisted back to the human slowly, this was nothing like the submissive creature he'd expected to get from Earth. He hoped its attitude wouldn't make it harder to sell. "I beg your pardon?"

The human shrugged and gazed around the room casually. "Just, not the sort of thing I'd have chosen for an alien name."

Ax clenched and unclenched his hands a few times and concentrated on keeping his breathing steady. This had to be the most infuriating creature he'd ever encountered. It took a considerable effort to keep his voice even when he replied. "Well, let's just be thankful I'm not you."

The Earthling huffed. "Okay, I've had enough now. I don't care how much money I could win, I want out. Let me off the ship, or whatever this place is. I want to go back to my holiday."

He didn't really understand all the words the human spoke, but it clearly had no idea of its current situation. "You can't go back, there's nothing to go back to."

The human blinked at him in confusion. "What do you mean? Of course, I can go back, now let me off this ship right now." It stamped its foot as it finished its speech.

Ax laughed at the human's defiance. "What would you suggest I do? Shoot you out of an airlock? We're in space."

"No, we're not."

"I assure you, we are."

The human raised an eyebrow and snorted. "Prove it."

Ax could not remember the last time someone had questioned his word, but Earthlings were known to be simple creatures. "Fine!"

He activated the screens covering the front of the ship. They squeaked slightly as they opened, revealing the sky outside, black as night with twinkling stars all around. A gasp from behind him confirmed the human hadn't expected that move. He smiled to himself, happy to know he had the upper hand.

"That's amazing," it said, surprisingly close to his left shoulder, "it looks so real."

He frowned. "It is real."

The human scoffed. "Of course, it is."

"I assure you, it is."

It gave another unbecoming snort. "If that's real, and this is a space ship, what are you, an alien?"

He thought about its question before answering. "I think technically, now you are the alien."

The human shook its head. "Come on, drop the act. You're human just like me. Now I've had enough, take me back to Barbados or home, whichever."

Ax crossed his arms over his chest with a huff. He'd had enough of its denial. "We may appear human, but I assure you we are not. This image," he said, waving a hand in front of himself, "was merely to make you feel more comfortable, you are the only human here. In fact, as of five Earth hours ago you are the only human in the universe. Your planet no longer exists. You are the last human and my prisoner. As soon as we reach the Sixth Galaxy, you will be sold to the highest bidder, making me and my crew very rich."

Many emotions flash across the human's face before it finally settled on disbelief. It squared its shoulders taking a stubborn stance. "Alright, if you're not human, show me what you really are."

Glaring at the annoying creature in front of him, he thought through his options. He could show his true self although it wasn't a good idea, or he could refuse the request. However, the human was obviously in denial about its situation, which made the thing extremely annoying.

They had discovered long ago that most species preferred to trade with their own kind, so they tended to adopt the image of whatever being populated the planets they visited. This system increased their business and earned them a steady income, yet, still allowed them to hide their natural form.

The next planet they would visit was Xanlas, to get fuel. Xans did not have the nicest of appearances. It would be the perfect image to prove his point.

In the blink of an eye, he changed forms. His height increased by at least a foot, and his skin turned grey. All his dark hair left his body, and his fingers grew to about three times their human length.

Shock appeared on the human's face then seconds later it crumpled to the floor with a thud.

"What happened?" Sek, his second in command asked, crossing the room and nudging the human's shoulder with his foot.

"I don't know." Ax activated a screen on the wall. Using the ships database he searched why humans would drop to the floor in such a way. "Apparently, it's called a faint; they do it when scared or overwhelmed."

He frowned down at the human. "How inconvenient, it better not think it can do that on a regular basis. Take it back to the infirmary until it wakes."

Sek picked up the creature, throwing it over his shoulder and taking it out of the room, while Ax checked their course for Xanlas. It would take two days to get there, so he might as well get some rest. Noticing his Xan reflection in the window, he changed back to human before making his way to his quarters. He had to admit, he did find the human form rather comfortable.

...

"It's awake, Ax.'"

Sitting up with a jolt, Ax scanned the room, before realising it was Sek on the intercom. "And?" he asked groggily.

"It wants to talk to you."

Groaning, Ax climbed out of bed. Why were his men finding it so hard to keep a human quiet?

He could hear it talking before he even reached to the infirmary. Asking a number of questions about them, which Sek tried to avoid answering.

"You may go, Sek," Ax said from the doorway. A look of relief passed over his second in command and best friend's face. Sek strode from the room, leaving Ax to deal with the human, who stood staring with open curiosity.

He returned the stare, walking further into the room. It was always best to stay silent whenever possible, to avoid saying something one might regret. As expected, the creature didn't remain silent for long.

"What are you?" The question was asked with surprisingly little fear.

"That's none of your concern, Earthling."

It frowned. "Ariane."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Ariane," it said again. "My name is Ariane, not human or Earthling, and I'm a 'she', not an 'it."

"Very well, Ariane," he said rolling the strange name around him his head, and deciding he rather liked it, "you may call me Ax."

She nodded in acknowledgement. "Well Ax, this has been lovely, but I want to go home now."

"No," he replied, short and clipped.

"Why not?"

Ax sighed. "Did you not listen to me earlier? There is no more Earth. Besides, you are my prisoner."

She frowned at him. "What do you mean? Of course, there's an Earth, I was just there. I was on holiday in Barbados, and I'd like to go back there, now."

"You keep saying that, I don't understand, what is 'holiday'?"

"Wait," Ariane said triumphantly. "If you're not human, how do you know English?"

Ax shook his head sadly, Earthlings were so primitive. "We injected you with a translator by your ear canal. You now understand all languages downloaded into it, just as we do. Whenever someone speaks, you automatically hear it as your own language."

Her eyes widened as she touched her injection site and felt the chip they had placed just below her skin. "Oh," she said, taking a seat on the bed. Her eyes meet his as she seemed to remember something. "What do you mean, there is no more Earth?"

"Earth has gone. We took you off the planet seconds before its destruction."

She shot to her feet glaring at him, her hands balled into fists at her side. "You destroyed my planet?"

Very few dared to raise their voice to Ax. She was one of the few, and he didn't like it one bit. Humans were supposed to be meek and quiet, not loud and opinionated. "No, I took you before its inevitable destruction."

Seeming to make a conscious effort to unclench her hands, Ariane rested them on her hips. "Okay, I think you better start from the beginning."

Ax narrowed his eyes on the human, she was turning out to be a lot more bothersome than he had predicted. "Follow me. I will answer your questions and then you'll be shown to your quarters for the duration of your stay here."

The Earthling narrowed her eyes at him too but nodded, so he led her back to the control room. It fell silent as they entered, but he ignored the questioning glances. Pressing a few buttons, he brought an image up on the screen. "This is Earth as it was, which I'm sure you know. It resided on the border of space between Slanom and Persain."

"Wait," she interrupted, "what are Slanom and Persain?"

"Planets."

"Then how come I've never heard of them?"

"Because you are an Earthling," he said simply. "You were a very backwards race, slow to enter space, of no consequence to us, and very expendable."

Ignoring the indignant gasp that left her lips, he continued. "Slanom and Persain could not agree on who owned Earth so the 'Galaxy Order Defence Society' decided the simplest solution would be to remove it, to maintain peace. At what would have been fourteen-hundred hours to you, on the ninth day of the eighth month, Earth time, your planet was destroyed as a resolution to prevent war."

He produced an image of Earth exploding on the screen. The human's jaw fell open at the sight. A heavy feeling settled in his heart. Watching your home be destroyed was one of the worst experiences ever, only surpassed by losing all your family. He only just stopped himself from offering sympathy. It wouldn't do any good. The human had to accept its situation, just like he'd had to accept his.

"I was on my first holiday," she murmured while watching the tiny pieces of Earth float off into space.

"You keep saying that word, what is 'Holiday'?" he repeated, putting the word into his computer system.

"Holiday," the system said after a moment. "British term for vacation, an extended period of leisure and recreation, especially one spent away from home."

"Ah, you meant vacation."

Ariane frowned. "No, I meant holiday. Do you mean to tell me you kidnapped me and didn't even bother to get the right version of English to converse with me? I'm British, not American."

Ax ground his teeth. He hated to be corrected, but unfortunately, the human was right. He had made a mistake with her dialect. "My apologies," he bit out.

He swiftly told the computer to update their chips to British English. A moment later the chip by his ear beeped as it updated. Shock passed over the human's face as hers did the same. "There, now we speak your dialect, are you happy?"

"Happy?" Ariane spat. "My planet has been destroyed because of a turf war, and you're asking if I'm happy?"

Ax felt an odd tightening in his gut at her words. Of course, she wasn't happy; everything she knew had been destroyed. "I'm not responsible for your planet's destruction," he said gently, "and I'm sorry for your loss, but what's done is done."

"Why did you take me?" Ariane asked after a moment.

Ax stared at her evenly. "You are the last human alive. That makes you valuable. We will get rich from your sale."

"Yes, you said before, but why me?"

"You would not have been my first choice," Ax said plainly, "unfortunately; my men were limited for time. You're here now, so you'll have to do."

Hurt passed over her face, but it was quickly hidden. She straightened her shoulders and regarded him steadily before speaking. "I don't want to be sold, what can I do to change your mind?"

He gave her a long hard stare. She stood stiffly her chest rising and falling rapidly. The heavy breathing belied the confidence she was trying the show. As his eyes focused on her breasts, the strange appendage between his legs twitched in his trousers. Was she causing that? He turned his back on her trying to stop it. "Nothing will change my mind. Take her to the quarters opposite mine, and secure her there, Sek."

He heard Sek move across the room, and moments later the door swished open then closed again.

The thing between his legs now ached and seemed to beg to be touched. He frowned at this new occurrence. He would have to research it later when he was alone.

It wasn't long before Sek returned. He joined Ax, who sat staring at the stars. "Have we done the right thing?" Ax asked after a few moments.

Sek took a seat next to him with a sigh. "I honestly don't know."

"I thought it would be easy to grab a human and sell it. I didn't expect it to be like that."

"What do you mean?" Sek asked leaning forward and resting his arms on his knees.

"It argued and asked questions. I expected some kind of docile pet that I wouldn't mind selling. Granted I knew there were a few intelligent ones who made it into space, but on the whole, I gathered Earthlings were rather dense. Now I've spoken to one I feel a bit of unease about our plans."

Sek grunted. "I must admit, I didn't expect it to be quite so lucid. I thought it would just accept what we told it. Maybe we should have stuck to selling objects. I'm not sure we're cut out to be kidnappers."

Ax met his friend's eyes. "I'm afraid we already are. We have no choice but to continue. It's not like it can be returned and we have enough trouble hiding ourselves without hiding a human too."

"This could get nasty," Sek said, "what if someone found out we have her, we're scavengers, not traffickers. We only have basic weaponry on board. It's been a long time since we had to defend this ship. I don't mind admitting this entire situation makes me uneasy."

Ax digested his friend's words. "I know what you mean but what else can we do?"

"We could keep her, maybe she's trainable."

"No." Ax shook his head. "Keeping a human would be too risky. I have a feeling it would be more hassle than it's worth. Besides, we need the coin."

He had no choice; they had to sell the Earthling. He only wished he didn't feel so bad about it. When they first came up with this plan, it had all sounded so easy. He'd never expected his conscience to get involved.
**Chapter 3**

Ariane's speed increased as she paced between the bed and table in her current prison. None of this made sense. People didn't get kidnapped by aliens. Alright, some people claimed to be. You saw them in the tabloids, next to women who said they were having Bigfoot's baby, but everyone knew they were residents of crazy town. She paused her pacing and glared at the four white walls. Her eyes ran to the small window, showing the stars outside. It appeared she was now a resident too, complete with a bus pass, library card, and straightjacket.

Ax had changed into a tall grey creature. The more she thought of it, the more her mind rebelled against what she'd seen. It wasn't possible. Her hand shot to the injection site on her neck. Maybe she was hallucinating or still asleep. Yes, that's it, she must be asleep, and the heat from the beach was giving her crazy dreams. All she had to do was wake up.

Rushing to the bed, she lay down, closed her eyes, and counted to ten in her head before opening them again. The same white ceiling was above her. Sitting up she fluffed the pillow, then tried once more. This time, she lay down, closed her eyes, and counted to twenty. Unfortunately, she still wasn't greeted by clear blue sky when she reopened them. Trying one last attempt to wake herself, she pinched her own arm as hard as she could. The pain she felt confirmed she was awake.

It could only mean Ax was telling the truth. Earth was destroyed. Surprisingly, she didn't feel as upset as one would expect. Yes, she had lost her home but what else? An admin job she didn't much like. She didn't really have any friends to speak of. There were a few acquaintances she was sorry to lose, but after a childhood of being passed from one foster home to another, she'd learnt not to get too attached to anyone or anything.

She had no pets, no family to miss. The only thing that really made her sad was the loss of her house. She'd just decorated it exactly as she wanted after getting a mortgage. It had been her sanctuary, the one place she wouldn't be forced to move from, and it was gone. But then, she was the lucky one, she survived. Dampness developed in the corner of her eyes. She quickly blinked it away. Dwelling on everyone else's fate wouldn't help her now.

So, she was the last human, a prisoner to be sold to the highest bidder. Not really a future to look forward to.

A small smile curled her lips. On the other hand, being the last of her kind made her rare, expensive, and even priceless. The aliens wouldn't risk hurting her. She was worth too much to them. Perhaps her future wasn't quite so bleak after all, and if she could find a way to escape... the sky, or rather the universe, was the limit.

Climbing off the bed, she worked her way along the wall feeling for hidden panels. It wasn't long before she came across her first. Giving it a push, it popped open, with a click, to reveal clothes. They were men's trousers and shirts, both white. What was it with these people and white? How did they keep everything clean? Well, anything was better than being stuck in a swimsuit and sarong. Pulling the trousers on she tied her sarong around them as a belt to keep them up, then slid the shirt on over her swim suit, tying it loosely at her waist.

She continued feeling along the wall. By the time she completed a full circuit she'd discovered bedding, various items of clothing, a mirror, one of those nifty panels that changed the light colour, and a number of other unidentifiable things.

She returned to the panel by the door. Pushing didn't open the doorway so it must be locked. The buttons beeped as she pressed a few experimentally, she jumped in surprise when a voice suddenly asked, "What are you doing?"

"Ax?" she asked, scanning the room.

"Press the yellow button," he said in an exasperated voice.

She pressed the small yellow button in the right-hand corner. "Can you hear me now?"

"What do you want?"

Ariane frowned at the unfriendly tone of the voice. She'd actually just been trying to open the door, but she wasn't about to admit it. "I'm hungry."

A groan came over the intercom before he replied. "Hold on."

Her heart pounded in her chest when the door whooshed opened a few moments later. She scurried back to the bed in surprise.

Dyan, Mr Baldy, who'd abducted her entered. Closing the door behind him, he placed a tray on the table, without taking his eyes from her. Relaxing marginally, she watched him leave the room, without saying a word. She decided the best thing she could do on this ship was to be confident. Make it clear she would not accept her fate meekly.

The food he'd put on the table was nothing familiar, some green mush and a bright yellow vegetable, but it did smell divine. Her stomach grumbled loudly telling her she really was hungry. Starvation being her only other option, she hesitantly tried the food.

It tasted as good as it smelled. Flavours like chicken and something similar to carrots exploded on her tongue. In no time at all her plate was empty.

Once done, she revealed the panel next to the door. Within seconds, she repeated the actions of Dyan and the door whooshed open. Surprisingly, no guards were posted outside. However, Ax had made his opinion on Earthlings clear. He probably assumed she would be too dumb to open the door.

Taking a few cautious steps, she entered the corridor. She knew the left went towards the control room so opted to go right, passing many closed doors before reaching an open one, which appeared to lead to a kitchen. A long table occupied the centre of the room, and unusual appliances were around the edges, the smell of food was unmistakeable. Walking over to what appeared to be a fridge; she opened it and glanced inside then peeked in drawers and cupboards. All things seemed to be opened by pushing them.

"What do you think you're doing?" a soft voice asked behind her.

She spun to find Brise in the doorway, his unibrow furrowed.

"Does Ax know you're here?" he asked

Ariane smiled innocently. "Oh, I'm just looking around. What does this do?" She hit a red button on the appliance closest to her.

"No!" Brise shouted, shoving her out of the way to turn the thing off. Just as he got to it, it began squirting out green liquid, drenching him from head to toe.

Ariane let out a giggle. "Oops."

Fury filled his eyes as he took a menacing step towards her. "Don't touch what you don't understand," he bit out before grabbing a towel to wipe his face. "I think I'd better return you to the captain."

Grabbing her arm, he stormed down the corridor, while rubbing his black hair with the towel.

"What's going on?" Ax asked as Brise dragged her into the control room. His gaze lingered on her latest guard. Ariane thought she saw his lips twitch as he watched green goo drip from the man's hair onto his cheek, but the expression vanished when his eyes met hers.

"I found her touching things in the food prep room," Brise said, releasing her arm.

Ax walked closer, looking over her changed appearance. "Well, you've been busy, haven't you?"

Ariane shrugged. "I was cold."

"How did you get out of your room?"

She thought of telling him the door was left open but didn't want to get anyone in trouble, as so far she had been treated rather nicely by everyone. "It was simple to figure out."

"And what did you hope to accomplish wandering around the ship?"

She blurted the first excuse that came to mind. "I was trying to find the bathroom,"

Ax stared at her in confusion. "I don't understand."

"The bathroom," she repeated.

He looked at his men, but they only shrugged, so he returned his gaze to her. "What is this bathroom?"

Ariane felt her cheeks warm. "Well, it's where you go to... you know." At his frown, she fumbled for the words. "Well, when you need the toilet, you go there. Can't you look it up?" she finished when he still appeared confused.

He raised an eyebrow before turning from her and typing something into the control panel. Information came upon the big screen informing him what a bathroom and toilet were in graphic detail. He turned back to her, horror on his face.

"You do that?" he asked in disgust. All the men in the room appeared equally horrified. Some had even turned slightly green in the face.

Ariane frowned. "Well of course. Don't you?"

"No!" he practically shouted. "Any waste our bodies produce is naturally reabsorbed back into our system to be recycled. That is disgusting. I've seen similar things on other planets, but I never imagined that's what they were for!" He pointed at the screen showing someone sitting on the toilet.

Gazing at his men, he was met with more shrugs. "I never knew what it was for," Sek commented.

"I always thought it was for washing your feet," said Dyan.

Ariane knew her cheeks must be bright red, but what could she do? It was a natural human bodily function. "Well, that's what humans do," she said crossing her arms over her chest and pushing her embarrassment aside.

Ax's jaw tightened. "Not on this ship you won't."

She wondered if he really understood the situation. "What do you expect me to do then?"

"Tell your body not to do it."

She couldn't help a bark of laughter at his words. "It's not that simple. I can't just not do it."

"Really?" he asked, genuinely perplexed at her response.

"Really."

"Oh."

They stared at each other for a few minutes. "Fine," he snapped before typing something into the controls, he walked past obviously expecting her to follow. "Come."

He'd removed his jacket, so Ariane admired the muscles rippled in his back as he walked. Her eyes travelled down to his waist then over his firm bum, which was tightly encased in the leather trousers. The alien had definitely picked a good human body. She got so distracted by the view she walked straight into him when he stopped.

He turned abruptly, giving her a face full of his chest before she retreated a step.

"Sorry," she mumbled, refusing to meet his eyes.

He grunted in response before opening a door.

Ariane gasped, glancing inside the room. "How did you do this?" Through the door was a perfect replica of the bathroom they'd just seen on the screen in the control room.

"This room is a Misconception Room it can be anything we wish."

Confused, she placed her hand on the sink. It felt solid and real. "Does it work?"

"In a manner of speaking."

When she merely stared at him blankly, he elaborated, "It works but with our technology. Your shower, I believe it's called, worked with water. We have no water here. We clean with Creets, an organism which removes dirt. You will see, just use the shower the same way you would on Earth. The same goes for the other appliances."

He stood at the doorway, seemingly waiting for her to do something. "May I have some privacy?" she asked when it became evident he wasn't moving.

He fidgeted under her gaze. "Oh, err, yes, I'll be outside."

The shower turned out to be a very unusual experience. Stripping off, Ariane stepped into the cubicle and turned on the tap. Nothing came out, but she suddenly had the strangest feeling of something caressing her body. It began at her head and slowly travelled down until it reached her toes. Spinning around, she tried to spot whatever had brushed against her but even though she could feel it, nothing could be seen or heard. Wherever it went, she felt clean and refreshed, it was peculiar although not wholly unpleasant. She then ventured towards the toilet, using it like normal before looking for tissue, but within seconds the same feeling as the shower took over and tissue was no longer needed. She felt clean, and the toilet bowl was once again empty.

"Well, that felt weird," she mumbled as she dressed.

"Feel better?" Ax asked as soon as she exited the room.

She nodded. "Yes, thank you."

"Good." He walked off down the corridor leaving her little choice but to follow. Her heart sank when he stopped outside a room and opened the door to reveal her quarters, gesturing for her to enter.

He frowned at the door before pointing to the bed. "Sit there and don't move."

As soon as she complied, he left the room, returning moments later with a chain.

"Really? You intend to chain me up?"

"I cannot have you running around my ship... touching things."

He grabbed her arm with strong yet gentle hands. His skin felt rough against hers as he wrapped the chain around her wrist before clipping it to the headboard with some kind of lock. When he crouched in front of her his head was only inches away. His spicy smell invaded her nostrils. She took a deep inhale, savouring the enticing scent.

"Try to stay out of trouble this time," he murmured, before leaving the room.

Ariane watched him go, her heart racing. Common sense told her he was an alien and should be feared. It seemed her body didn't agree. She couldn't help a shiver of excitement when he'd come near. She examined chain holding her hostage. The lock resembled a basic padlock. Relief swept through her as she realised her misspent youth was about to come in handy. During a particularly rebellious stage, she had befriended a girl who taught her how to pick locks as a means to go out past curfew. With a smile, she leant back on the bed. She'd give it an hour before she tried picking the lock. After all, she did feel tired.
**Chapter 4**

"Ax, I think you better look at this."

Ax lifted his head from the star charts he'd been studying. "What is it?" he asked automatically, peering out of the viewing window into space. Noticing Sek was looking at one of the internal monitors, he went to see what was so interesting. His brow furrowed when he saw the woman on the screen. "What's she doing?"

Sek chuckled. "Well I'm not positive, but I think she's attempting to pick the lock."

Ax's eyes widened as he watched her. "Where did she get a lock picking tool?"

"Pulled it from her hair."

He shook his head in disbelief and spoke with more confidence than he felt. "She won't manage it. She's only a human and that lock is a good one."

He grinned as he watched her struggle, wishing he could hear what she was saying to herself. She seemed to be getting very annoyed. His smile fell when she gave what looked like a little yelp of joy and the chain slipped for her wrist. "How did she do that?"

Sek shook his head in disbelief. "I have no idea. Quite resourceful for an Earthling, isn't she?"

"Yes." Ax grumbled, watching the woman walk purposefully over to the door, open it, then boldly leave the room. "Does she not recognise who the authority is on this ship?"

Ax shot Sek a dirty look when he sniggered.

Sek wiped the smirk off his face. "Do you want me to go and get her?"

Ax started to say yes then changed his mind. "Let's just see what she does first." The woman walked along the corridor, choosing a different direction from last time.

When she opened a door, he expected her to nose around the bedroom she'd discovered. Instead, she closed it again and kept going.

He got comfortable in a chair and observed her wander and test doors until she came to the recreation room. This time, when she pressed the button and peered inside, she entered.

Ax switched cameras so he could observe her. Naturally, the first thing she did was press panels and push buttons. Earthlings seemed easily amused. She bounced with delight when she revealed a viewing window, which allowed her to see the stars outside.

She continued hunting for panels. After a few moments, she discovered a stereo and jumped in shock when music, blared into the room.

Ax laughed and shook his head as she frantically tried to figure out how it worked. She turned to the camera saying something and waving her hands.

Sek frowned. "Do you think she knows we're watching her?"

Ax was just as surprised as his friend that she had spotted the cameras. "It looks that way." He pressed a button on the control panel so he could speak to her.

"The yellow button," he said calmly as he waited for her to realise he couldn't hear her. Her eyes lit up as she heard him, and she went to use the intercom.

"What is this rubbish?" she asked, "don't you have any real music? This is the heaviest, heavy metal I've ever heard!"

Ax frowned. He could hear the music playing in the background, and it was one of Sek's favourite bands.

His friend gasped. "Humans obviously have no taste. I say we throw her out an airlock."

Ax chuckled and continued to watch the woman who was still moaning. He really needed to explain to her what being a prisoner meant.

"Praid," he addressed the tech guy two seats away. "Go through the archives and find some human music, please."

Sek's jaw fell open. "Seriously? You're going to give her what she wants? She's a prisoner!"

Ax sighed. "I know, but she is a valuable prisoner, and I would prefer her to be a quiet valuable prisoner."

"Found some," Praid said. Some strange music began playing in the control room and through the speakers in the rec room.

Ax listened, trying to decide if he liked it. "What is this?"

"I believe it's called 70's disco. This particular song is I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor."

Looking back at the screen he saw the human smiling widely and dancing around the room. His lips twitched, along with other parts of his body, as he watched her swaying gracefully. Her mouth moved in time with the music. He quickly schooled his expression. It wouldn't do to grow fond of the creature. It was here to earn them money, no other reason.

Standing abruptly he faced Trel, the youngest of them, who sat not far away. "Go and keep an eye on her, would you? Try to stop her from touching things."

Trel's face dropped at the instructions. "Why me?"

Ax scowled. Why was everyone ignoring his authority today? "Because I said so," he snapped. A few of the men jumped.

As Trel scuttled from the room, Ax felt rather bad for snapping at him. Although he was the captain of this ship, they were a team. These men were his brother's in arms; they were family. For a long time, they'd only had each other, unable to trust anyone else. He would have to apologise later.

It didn't take long for Trel to appear on the monitor, standing in the doorway, observing the human as she danced.

...

Ariane swayed to the music playing from the strange stereo she'd found in the wall. This was just the type of music she liked. Much better than the extreme heavy metal that played before. She sang the lyrics, admittedly off-key, at the top of her lungs. I will survive seemed fitting given her current situation.

When she noticed a young man watching her from the doorway, she stumbled. Her flip-flop caught on the rug, and she fell backwards, arms flailing until her bum hit the floor.

"Ouch," she grumbled sitting up and rubbing her back. She felt her cheeks heat as the brown haired, spotty teenager, approached and stared down at her.

"What did you do that for?" he asked.

"My bum was missing the floor."

"Oh." He snorted. "Around here we sit on chairs, and our bums don't have feelings. Earthlings are strange." He went back to his post by the door.

"Well, thanks for the help up," Ariane mumbled getting her feet. "Who are you anyway?"

"I'm Trel."

"That's helpful."

Trel nodded his head in response, showing they weren't big on sarcasm.

"Have you been sent to take me back to my room?"

"I'm here to keep an eye on you."

"Really?" Ariane grinned. She somehow doubted that was the only instruction Trel had been given. Ax obviously found her irritating already. A sense of satisfaction filled her. Although she wasn't their desired model prisoner, she appeared to be safe on this ship. "What else did Ax say? Go on, tell me," she goaded.

Trel furrowed his brow. "He told me to stop you from touching things."

Ariane burst into laughter. "Oh, that's good."

Trel frowned even more at her words but didn't comment.

When she had calmed down, Ariane studied him. So she'd been appointed a guard. He stood about five-foot-ten and had brown hair and eyes. While not ugly, he was not handsome. It appeared only Ax was allowed to look good in human form.

Apparently, Ax had accepted she couldn't be contained. Since she seemed to have free license to roam, she might as well enjoy it.

Walking boldly towards the guard she stepped around him and out the room. "Come on then."

He fell into step beside her. "Where are you going?"

"I have no idea." She opened and closed doors along the corridor as she went.

"Will you stop that?"

"No." She pressed another panel. "I'm curious."

"About what?" He nudged her aside and closed the room she had opened.

"About this place."

He groaned. "You're not supposed to be touching things."

Ariane smiled apologetically. "Sorry, I'm a button-pusher." She reached to her left and pressed a red panel that stood out from the rest.

A siren blared in the hallway and the lights turned red and flashed. Trel shoved her aside and quickly pressed buttons muttering to himself. "Fex, fex, fex, stupid human, touching things."

Ariane held back a giggle as she watched the man panic, while repeatedly saying what she assumed was their equivalent of fuck. She figured it wasn't an exact match though since the translator didn't change it. Leaving Trel while he was distracted, she strolled down a corridor to her right, continuing her exploration. At the end of the passage, she found what looked like an engine room with machines humming and grumbling inside.

"What do you want?" Someone barked, as she opened the door.

"I...wow." Her mouth fell open in surprise at the sight of a man who stepped out from behind a machine. He stood at least seven foot tall with broad shoulders. His long, dark blonde hair had been tied back at the nape of his neck, revealing a jagged scar, which ran from his right eye to his chin.

The man raised an eyebrow and folded muscular arms over his chest. "What. Do. You. Want?" he repeated, glaring down at her.

Ariane gulped before pasting a huge smile on her face. "Hi, I'm just looking around."

"Not in here, you're not."

She opened and closed her mouth a few times as she stared at him. It took a few seconds to pull herself together. She crossed her own arms in a stubborn stance. "Why not?"

The man reached towards her and took hold of her shoulders. It took all the willpower she possessed not to flinch. He slowly turned her around to face the corridor she'd just left and pointed towards the flashing red lights. "That's why not."

"Are you blaming me for that?" She moved out of his grasped and faced him with an air of innocence.

He moved closer and stared into her eyes before saying a clipped, "Yes."

"Humph," Ariane grumbled. "Well, buttons like that should have, do not touch signs on them. Don't you think?"

The man's lips twitched. "That's your excuse is it?"

She shrugged, realising her attempt at guiltlessness was lost on him. "That's what I'm going to tell Ax."

A booming laughter left him and echoed off of the metal machines. "Now that, I've got to see," he said smiling down at her. "Come on, I'll show you around the engine room." He stopped after a few paces and gave a stern look over his shoulder. "But don't touch."

Ariane held up her hands solemnly and followed behind the large man. It was strange that she felt comfortable with him, given his size, but his easy going attitude helped her relax. "What's your name?"

"Bizax," he said, without looking back.

"Hi Biz, I'm Ariane." She walked behind him, studying her surroundings, and itching to touch things.

"Don't! And the name's Bizax."

Her eyes shot to his back. "I like Biz better. Don't what?"

"Don't touch."

She came to a halt and glared at him. "I didn't."

He faced her, with a raised eyebrow. "But you wanted to."

"Just because I want to, doesn't mean I'm going to."

Biz narrowed his eyes at her before he carried on. He stopped when they came to a sitting room set up amongst the machines. He eased down into a chair and indicated for her to sit too.

Ariane sat on the couch opposite him and fidgeted as he stared at her. "What?" she asked when the silence had stretched too long.

"You're not what I expected."

A frown marred her face at his comment. "Yeah, Ax already told me; you all expected some size six model with blond hair and big boobs."

"I like you better."

Her eyes met his with surprise at his comment. She was used to human men wanting the model. A smile curved her lips. "Thank you."

"Shame, Ax is going to sell you."

The smile fell from her face. "Yes, well, we'll just have to see about that won't we?"

Biz leant on the arm of his chair as he contemplated her. "Plan to change his mind, do you?"

"Do you think I could?"

"I don't know," he replied thoughtfully. "Do you think you could?"

The ends of her lips curled up as she leant forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "Well, I intend to try."
**Chapter 5**

"What the fex is going on?" Ax barked into the intercom while hitting buttons to turn off the alarms.

"It's the human," Trel shouted back.

"I told you not to let her touch anything." The siren finally stopped even though the lights continued to flash red. "Where is she now?" Ax asked, wishing his ears would stop ringing.

The silence from the intercom answered for him. Trel had lost her.

"Praid, get on the monitors and find her," Ax said.

He scanned through cameras as well trying to spot her; where the hell was she? The woman seemed to leave a trail of trouble wherever she went, it couldn't be that hard to find her. He activated the intercom, calling all his men to report in. It didn't take long for Bizax to reply.

"Ax, she's with me in the engine room."

"What?" Fear shot through him. An image of Ariane randomly pressing buttons, and the ship exploding ran through his mind. "What's she doing there? Why did you let her in? Don't let her touch anything, whatever you do."

Bizax chuckled. "Calm down, everything's fine."

"Did you not just hear the sirens?" he asked frowning at the monitor, "that human is a menace. Keep her there. I'm coming to get her."

Ax ran to the engine room, half expecting the ship to start falling from the sky at any moment. If the fexing woman touched something she shouldn't, she could crash them. What possessed Bizax to let her in there?

By the time he reached the engine room door, the lights had returned to normal. He weaved between the humming machines, heading for the centre where Bizax would be. The sound of female laughter greeted him before he saw anyone. His steps slowed, and he waited just out of sight, listening.

"I like you," the human said surprising him. No one liked Bizax. Well, no one beside him and his men, but they were different, family. Most other people avoided the man, He was the tallest of them all no matter what form they took and for some reason always used a rough appearance. A tiny, fragile, human liking him was just inconceivable.

"What are you doing here?" Ax asked rounding the corner.

The laughter stopped as Ariane got to her feet. "Guess my fun's over."

"Why is she in here? Are you insane?"

Bizax stood too and faced Ax. "Relax, she's fine."

Ax's surveyed the room. "I'm not worried about her. I'm worried about my ship. Did she touch anything?"

Ariane gasped, and Bizax chuckled. "Nah she didn't touch anything. We were just talking."

He gazed at the two of them warily, what could they possibly be discussing? "You don't need to converse with her, she will be gone soon."

Her face fell at his words making him feel oddly guilty, but he pushed the feeling aside. She was a money source, nothing more. "Follow me," he said, turning to lead her from the engine room. He got about ten paces before he noticed she wasn't following. He turned with a frown to see her still talking to Bizax.

"I'm coming," she snapped before he could say anything. Pushing by him, she stormed from the room and headed back to her quarters.

He walked behind her, rather astounded by her blatant disregard for his authority. "Tell me, do you know what a prisoner is?"

She glanced over her shoulder at him. "Oh, I know what one is."

He had a very strong feeling she didn't. "Would you care to explain it to me?"

She stopped walking and spun to face him crossing her arms over her chest. "All right, prisoners are captives. They are confined in one place and do as they are told."

He narrowed his eyes. "Well done, so would you mind explaining to me, why you're wandering all over my ship causing mayhem?"

"I'd hardly call it mayhem." She refused to meet his eyes.

He took a deep breath. Unfortunately, it did nothing to calm him. "You set off the intruder alarm," he practically shouted.

"Oh, is that what it was?" The guise of innocence she gave made his blood boil.

"Yes, that's what it was." The words came out as a snarl, but she didn't seem scared in the slightest. "If I take you to your quarters, will you stay there?"

She lowered her lashes for a moment, obviously debating her answer, before she replied, "Probably not."

He groaned. "What can I do to keep you out of trouble?"

An impish grin appeared on her face causing the unusual appendage between his legs to twitch again. What the hell is that? It was getting rather annoying.

It caused him to be sharper than intended. "Follow me. I can see I'll have to keep an eye on you myself."

He pushed by her and headed towards the control room, this time, relieved to hear her footsteps following.

He never imagined a human would be this much trouble, He'd always heard they were docile creatures, especially the females, and the fact it took them so long to enter space only confirmed it. This one seemed determined to touch everything she could and cause as much trouble as possible. Including, making his human body suffer annoying physical responses to her.

"Sit down," he ordered as soon as they entered the control room. Once she'd taken the seat indicated, he crossed the room to address Sek, keeping one eye on her. "How much longer?"

Sek examined the screen before him. "About another day."

Ax huffed. "Speed up; I want to get her the Sixth Galaxy as soon as possible... SIT DOWN!" he spun to face Ariane who had stood and was creeping towards the control centre.

At his shout, she scuttled back to her seat and folded her arms. He gave her a nod of approval, before turning back to Sek. "I want to be at Xanlas by morning."

"Why are you the only good-looking one?"

He sighed and faced the woman, not understanding her question. "I'm sorry?"

She inspected the men before bringing her eyes back to him. "I just wondered why you had the only good-looking human body?"

Standing taller, he ran his hand through his, dark, hair, preening at her comment. "I'm the captain, naturally, I appear superior."

"Well, that's hardly fair. After all, looks don't affect your intellect."

He frowned at the comment before facing his men. He saw nothing wrong with the images he'd picked for them. Still, there was no harm in allowing them to pick their own. "Fine, each of you find a human image you like for the time being."

All the men in the room changed. Praid, the tech guy and smallest of them all, was now just as small, but rather than resembling someone just entering adulthood, he appeared like a handsome young man in a shirt and tie. Jas, the man next to him, who'd, had greasy blond hair and a slim figure now resembled an athlete, his shoulder length blond hair was, thick and glossy, hanging to his shoulders.

Dyan, the tall man and Brise, the small man who had acquired Ariane had big transformations. Dyan had his hair dark brown, cropped short, and was dark skinned, and full of muscles. Brise's hair was black and hanging down his back, he was slimmer but still well-toned and had an Asian appearance. Trel, who stood to the side, suddenly became every young girl's fantasy boyfriend, with blonde short hair, blue eyes, and a smile that would melt hearts.

A huge smile appeared on Ariane's lips. "Oh, I do like the scenery on this ship."

He glanced at Sek, who had changed from an average build to very muscular and now taken short, blonde hair. "As I said, speed up."

After Sek nodded, he pointed to Ariane indicating for her to follow.

He strolled through the ship purposefully, mindful of the footsteps echoing behind him. Pausing when he reached her quarters, he faced her making Ariane very nearly run into him again. She stared up at him with a stubborn stance he was beginning to recognise. If he put her in her room she'd only wander again, he was sure of it. She'd already told him she probably wouldn't stay. He couldn't have her loose on the ship. He'd already seen what that could lead to. She would have to remain with him, there was no other option.

His body needed sleep, no matter what form he took, one thing they all had in common was the need to rest. Tomorrow they would reach Xanlas, and he needed to be alert. Crossing the hall, he opened the door to his own quarters and indicated for her to enter.

She preceded him into the room and looked around, before turning to him with a frown. "Didn't you say the quarters opposite mine were yours?"

The door whooshed shut behind him as he followed her inside. "Yes."

The fear that flashed across her face made him take a step back. Yes, she was his prisoner, but he had no desire to hurt her and, for some reason, he didn't like the idea of her fearing him.

"Relax, I won't harm you, I just can't have you wandering. You could cause too much damage."

When she opened her mouth to interrupt, he raised a hand to silence her. "Inadvertently maybe, but the risk is too great. Therefore, I must keep you where I can see you. I need sleep, so you will have to stay in here with me."

"If you're asleep, how will you be able to see me?" The smugness in her voice annoyed him.

"I'm a light sleeper," he warned, "now, get on the bed."

She gawked in the direction he pointed. He could tell she was desperately trying to think of a way out of this.

"I promise I'll stay in my room," she said, heading towards the door.

He blocked her path. "That is no longer an option. I promise, no harm will come to you, I merely need to sleep, and therefore you will sleep too."

She opened her mouth to argue again, but he cut her off. "BED!"

To his great satisfaction, she scuttled over to it and perched herself on the edge. Walking to the other side, he climbed under the covers and rolled onto his side.

Ten minutes later she still sat on her side of the bed, stiffly, staring at the wall. His eyes wandered up her back and rested on the smooth column of her neck. Her beautiful brown hair was tied up exposing the pale smooth skin. The organ between his legs twitched.

"Lie down," he said, more gruffly than he intended.

"I'm fine like this."

Heaving a sigh, he sat up. "Look, in the morning we will reach Xanlas, I need to be rested and so do you. I promise you're safe here with me. Please, lie down and try to sleep."

She glanced over her shoulder at him. Indecision flashed across her face. She eventually gave a curt nod and lay down as far away from him as she could get, balancing on the very edge of the bed, and from the sound of it, holding her breath.

"Thank you," he murmured, closing his eyes. "Just remember, I'm a light sleeper."

Sleep eluded him. He was constantly aware of the woman less than an arm's reach away who couldn't seem to relax. He half expected her to attempt to leave the room so made a point of relaxing his body and regulating his breathing, feigning sleep.

To his surprise, rather than trying to leave, she finally relaxed. Although she stayed on the edge of the mattress, she did uncurl from the ball she'd been in and stretch out as some of the tension left her body.

Some time later he finally heard her breathing even out as she fell asleep. At least if she slept, he knew she wouldn't be going anywhere. He tried to clear his mind and rest and had nearly succeeded when a loud noise vibrated through the room causing him to jump. On reflex, he grabbed the light gun from under his pillow.

Sitting bolt upright in bed, he aimed the gun at the door and scanned the room. The noise came again, and in shock, he realised the sound came from Ariane. "What the fex?"

Frowning down at her, he had to question his hearing. She looked so peaceful and serene as she slept. He was amazed he hadn't woken her when he sat up. Apparently, where he was a light sleeper, they could start a war in here, and she would sleep right through it.

The noise came a third time as she opened her mouth then, giving a faint snuffling sound, nuzzled into the pillow. He shook his head in awe. How could someone, who appeared so sweet and delicate, in sleep, make such a fexing awful noise? He'd known soldiers five times her size and ten times uglier, who didn't make as much noise during sleep.

Well, he had no intention of listening to that all night. With great care, he slowly manoeuvred her into a different sleeping position. As he'd suspected, she was a heavy sleeper and slept straight through his ministrations. Though the new position didn't totally relieve the symptoms, it did make them quieter. With a sigh, he put his gun away and lay back down. Hopefully, she would retain the position he'd placed her in so he could get some rest. Tomorrow they were going planet-side. They would all need their wits about them if they were to stay safe.

**Chapter 6**

Ariane snuggled into the warm pillow below her cheek. Once she'd fallen asleep, it had been very peaceful night. It was rather shocking to think, on a ship, in space, she had slept so soundly.

Her pillow moved, causing her to remember she wasn't in the bed alone. At some point in the night, she'd ventured from her side to Ax's. She now found herself snuggled against the alien, her head resting on his chest and his arm wrapped tightly around her.

She tried to ease away, only to have his arm tighten and pull her closer. Giving a sigh, she relaxed again. Okay, he was an alien, but he was a warm comfy one.

The intercom interrupted the peace.

"We'll be entering Xanlas airspace soon, Ax."

Ariane felt him jolt awake, so she lay as still as possible. Despite the fact, he held her in place. She didn't know how he would react to their current position.

He shuffled beneath her and his hand loosened on her waist. Raising her eyes to meet his, she found him staring down at her, their faces mere inches apart. Slowly he stroked his hand up and down her back. She wondered if he was aware of his actions.

Someone talking over the intercom again broke the moment.

"Ax, are you there or did she kill you in your sleep?"

A frown appeared on his face. Releasing her, he leant over and revealed an intercom next to the bed. "Do you really think a weak human could best me, Sek?"

Ariane gasped; weak human indeed.

"I'm on my way," Ax said, before closing the panel and facing her.

Ariane sat up and met his gaze. As much as she tried, she couldn't figure out what he was thinking. He opened and closed his mouth a few times as if unable to decide what to say. Eventually, he gave his head a slight shake and climbed from the bed. "We need to get to the control room."

Her eyes were drawn to the large erection tenting his trousers.

He followed her gaze and appeared to be baffled by his reaction. He adjusted himself before strolling to the door. "Fexing human body."

At the last minute, he turned and stared at her and then at the floor by his feet. Realising he expected her to follow; she scurried from the bed and put her flip flops on. She resented his attitude, but common sense reminded her, this was an alien ship about to visit an alien planet. She wanted to visit that planet, and if following him blindly got her to that end result, she would follow away.

He looked stunned when she stood and walked towards him without protest. Honestly, anyone would think I'm awkward. Giving a huff, she bit her tongue and didn't comment on his expression. Instead, she preceded him into the hallway and walked towards the control room.

As soon as they entered, he pointed to a chair and told her to sit, warning her not to touch anything. Ariane flopped into the chair and crossed her arms. The viewing window had been closed, so she couldn't see the approaching planet, which annoyed her. She'd been getting excited about her first glimpse of an alien world. Ax stood with a few other men, talking quietly. Every so often they glanced her way before going back to their conversation. As much as she tried, Ariane couldn't hear what they said. After what seemed like an extraordinarily long time, he returned and stood before her with a strange expression on his face.

"We have a problem."

Ariane swiftly raising her hands in the air. "I didn't touch anything."

His lips twitched. "I know, not that kind of problem." His expression turned serious. "The Xans want to come aboard and search the ship. It's highly inconvenient, and not something they normally do, which sets off warning bells. They can't be allowed to see you."

The seriousness on his face made Ariane uneasy. Alright, she liked to have some fun and push some buttons, but she wasn't stupid. She got the distinct impression this ship was a much better place to be than the planet Xanlas. "I'll go to my quarters and stay there."

Ax shook his head. "It would be no use. They'll search everywhere. Something's not right about this. It's almost as if they know you're here."

He stared at her. She could tell he was debating his next words. When he spoke the question confused her. "Do you remember the creature I turned into before?"

Ariane shuddered, recalling the tall being with long arms and fingers.

"They are Xans. Before long they will enter this ship and search it. We must blend in with them."

Ariane took a deep breath and gave a quick nod. Ax and his men were going to look like Xans. She wouldn't faint this time because she was expecting it. "Alright, I won't panic when you change."

His men stood a few feet away watching their exchange. He glanced at them then met her eyes again. "It's not just us who must change."

Ariane frowned. "I can't change. I'm human."

Ax looked towards his men once more. Sek gave a kind of 'continue' motion with his hand.

Ax rubbed the back of his neck and gave a big sigh. "Alright, here's what will happen. We'll make ourselves resemble Xans, as long as you stay in contact with me you will change too."

"How is that po-?"

"No!" He effectively cut off her question. "I have no intention of telling you how it's possible, just accept that it is. But remember, if we break contact the illusion is lost. I promise you, if the Xans know you're here, they will take you, and you don't want to be their prisoner."

A cold shiver ran through Ariane. "I understand." As Ax's prisoner, she hadn't been treated badly. This definitely seemed like a 'better the devil you know' situation.

Acknowledging her agreement, Ax returned to his men and continued planning their next course of action. Everyone scurried around, obviously anxious about their expected visitors.

Ariane remained in her seat contemplating the men around her. When Ax had turned into a Xan before, she'd assumed it was their natural state. Now he claimed them appearing as Xans would be an illusion. So what did Ax naturally look like?

She had to admit to a great deal of curiosity about that, but now wasn't the time to question him. Everyone running around in a tizzy warned her to remain silent and do as he instructed.

It seemed that barely any time had passed when Ax once again stood before her. He held his hand out, silently.

Placing her hand in his, she got to her feet.

"I'm going to make us appear like Xans now. Don't be alarmed, you might feel a strange sensation, but it won't hurt. Just remember, if you break contact with me, the illusion is lost. Whatever happens, you must be touching my skin at all times. If, for whatever reason, I have to leave you, I'll pass you on to Sek, and he'll ensure the illusion continues."

"Okay." Before her eyes, Ax changed into the being she had seen before. Seconds later, a tingle worked its way through her body. It began where their hands joined, travelled up her arm, then spread out along her torso.

It was amazing to watch her fingers grow and change colour, but not really feel it. Aside from the tingling, she felt perfectly normal. She knew she had grown taller, but since Ax had too she still stood shorter than him. The clothes she wore had changed. She still wore trousers and a top but they were now brown and fitted her new taller frame.

"Stop staring at your hand." Ax's voice commanded her attention.

"Sorry."

"Just try to act natural. Okay, guys, we're going to open the shutters, everyone ready?"

Ariane just had time to take in all the men's Xan images before the shutters pulled back from the main viewing screen.

She stared in awe as the docking bay of the strange planet came into view. It seemed to be one long metal platform that travelled as far as the eye could see. Parked on it were ships of all shapes and sizes. Some were discs just like she'd seen in old films and others were more triangular or cylindrical. A few were three or more discs joined together. From the layout of the room, she imagined Ax's ship was made from a number of discs. Beings like the one's Ax and his men now resembled were scurrying around. A few other types of creatures were there too, but Ax pulling her onto his lap jolted her away from the scene before she could get a good look. From her seat, all she could now see were the tops of some buildings that appeared to be made of stone and a bright orange sky with two suns blazing next to each other.

"Try not to stare," he murmured in her ear. "You're supposed to be from this planet."

Ariane quickly lowered her eyes.

A high pitched tone from the control panel made her jump. "Okay guys, it's time," Ax said as he reached over and flicked a switch.

The face that appeared on the screen looked just like them. Ariane got the distinct impression he was staring at her. "Ax," the man said. "It's been a while."

"Hello, Kestel," Ax responded, "good to see you."

The greeting wasn't reciprocated. The other man merely gave a nod before continuing. "And who do you have with you?"

Ariane opened her mouth to answer but shut it when Ax squeezed her hand tightly. "This is Ariane, a friend. So what's this all about, Kestel? I understand you want to search my ship?"

Kestel shuffled in his seat before his features hardened. "Just routine, Ax, you know how it is."

Ax frowned. "No I don't, this is unusual. Anyone would think you don't trust me. What are you searching for anyway?"

"Just checking your cargo, there's nothing to worry about. Now, are you going to let my men on board?"

"Open the doors, Praid," Ax said to the Xan who had formally been a handsome geek, in a shirt and tie, but now looked emaciated.

The screen went off, without so much as a thank you.

"Well wasn't he polite," Ariane grumbled, rising from Ax's lap. His arm tightened around her waist stopping the motion.

"Keep contact," he whispered, as the control room doors slid open to reveal ten Xans. They walked into the room and stood to attention along the perimeter.

Grasping his hand tightly, Ariane once again went to stand. Ax stood too and faced the man who had just been on the screen.

"Kestel."

"Ax."

Kestel studied the room thoroughly before bringing his attention back to them. "I'll just let my men have a look around, and we'll be out of your way. Assuming they don't find anything they shouldn't." He told his men to spread out, and then made himself comfortable in a chair, obviously not feeling he needed an invitation.

Ariane found herself pulled back onto Ax's lap as he once again sat. She peeked at Kestel to see him running his eyes over her in a lascivious manner. A shiver went through her body when his eyes settled on her breasts, and he licked his lips. Ax tightened his hold on her in a possessive manner. Finding the action strangely comforting, she rested back into his chest.

A grumble from Ax drew her eyes back to his. He was staring daggers at Kestel and didn't appear to be at all happy about the other man's appraisal of her. She relaxed, thinking this was a much better option than being close to Kestel.

"What exactly are you looking for on my ship?" His tone had lost all pretence of friendliness.

"Oh, nothing in particular just got a tip you might be transporting something we would be interested in."

"Such as?"

Kestel ignored the question, in favour of addressing her. "Ariane was it? I can't say I've seen you before, where are you from?"

Ariane froze under his scrutiny, what could she say? She knew nothing about this planet and couldn't name a place there if she wanted to. Luckily, Ax jumped in and answered.

"She's from Herten, you won't know her."

Kestel frowned at her, but when he didn't continue with his line of questioning, Ariane breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Unfortunately, the moment of calm got destroyed seconds later when one of Kestel's men hurried back into the control room. "You need to see this, Sir." He said when he'd caught his breath.

With a smug satisfaction, Kestel rushed to his feet and followed his soldier out the door.
**Chapter 7**

Ax jumped up, nearly dropping Ariane on the floor. He remembered at the last moment they needed to stay in contact and caught her hand, steadying her before she fell.

"Sorry," he murmured, hastening after Kestel and pulling her along behind. "What have they found?" he whispered to Sek, who rushed to his side.

"I don't know," his friend replied, worry on his face.

Ax let out a breath of relief when they passed Ariane's quarters. A quick glance inside confirmed nothing had been touched.

Kestel dashed ahead of them in the direction of the cargo hold. Ax followed in confusion, what could they have found in there?

Ax indicated with his eyes for Sek to take Ariane's hand before releasing her and entering the room. Kestel was in the process of opening crates. He turned to Ax with a self-satisfied smile.

"Would you care to explain why you are docked here carrying weapons which you know are prohibited on this planet?"

Ax looked at the crates and groaned. The guns were indeed illegal here. They'd been purchased for sale on Zagan. The ship had been on its way there when they heard about the planned destruction of Earth. Deciding to take a detour and grab a human, the crates had been left in the cargo hold, temporarily forgotten.

Honesty seemed like his best course of action.

Opening his arms in a friendly gesture, he approached the Xan. "Kestel, we've known each other for a long time. You know I wouldn't bring those guns onto Xanlas, I'm just taking them to Zagan."

Kestel's face was a hard mask. "You still docked here with them. I could have you arrested for this."

"Kestel-"

The other man held his hand up to silence Ax. "I'll let it slide, this once. But let this be a warning, next time I'll not be so lenient." He ordered his men to collect the crates and followed them from the ship.

Ax watched them leave with narrowed eyes, fury burning through him at the loss of their cargo. The guns would have provided enough coin to feed them for quite a while. "How the hell did they know we had those guns?" he asked Sek once the doors were safely shut behind their uninvited guests.

Sek shook his head. "I have no idea, but someone told him."

"It couldn't be one of our men." The statement was made with certainty.

Sek grunted in agreement. "It must be the suppliers."

He glanced at his friend then gave a pointed look towards Ariane, as he took hold of her hand once more. "At least they only knew about the guns. Let's refuel and get out of here before they think of another reason to come aboard."

"I really thought they were here for the human," Sek said, entering the control room.

"Me too," Ax mumbled, glancing at the woman beside him. He was startled by how much Kestel's blatant appraisal of her annoyed him. It seemed he was attracted to the human himself and didn't appreciate other people looking at her.

Sek slapped him on the back. "At least we still have her. A human will bring us much more coin than guns."

Sadness passed over Ariane's face, but Ax hardened his heart to it. "Yes, she's worth much more."

...

Ariane kept her eyes on the window and watched the ship refuel while she listened to Ax. It appeared her worth had increased now that they'd lost some cargo. Any hope she'd had that she wouldn't be sold had been crushed. On the plus side, though, the chance of them hurting her if she rebelled a little more had greatly decreased. She smiled as she stared at the new world before her. This one didn't seem too hospitable but others might, and she intended to see them before she reached the auction block, or before she escaped.

Ax finally released her hand as the Xan, she believed had been the hunky surfer called Jas, manoeuvred the ship away from the planet. The Xan image vanished, and she was once again human. The brown outfit, which had suited her colouring much better, turned back into the white one. Everyone else aboard still resembled aliens, but she guessed that would change when they got further away.

"Where to now?" she asked as Xanlas got smaller and smaller in the window.

"The Sixth Galaxy," Ax clipped out, without looking in her direction.

Disappointment settled in her chest. "Don't we have to get fuel again on the way?"

"No."

Ariane sighed and flopped into a chair. That just wouldn't do. There was a great big universe out there, and she wanted to see, at least, some of it. "Can't we just make one little stop off?"

Ax turned to her with a frown. "Where exactly do you wish to go?"

"Well, I don't know. This is the first time I've left my planet, and you're taking me to be sold. I'd just like to see a little of the universe before I reach the auction block." She did her best to appear sad as she spoke. It didn't seem like she succeeded since Ax just crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Despite the fact that you are the last of your species and we can't allow you to be seen, have you forgotten you're our prisoner?"

Ariane snorted. "How could I forget?"

"Then perhaps you should begin acting like one."

She met his smouldering gaze. "Do prisoners get fed on your ship?"

Ax ran a hand through his hair, tugging gently at the roots. "Of course, Trel, take her to the food prep room and feed her."

"What?" Horror crossed Trel's face. "Why me?"

The expression Ax sent the other man made her cringe. "Are you defying an order?"

Trel fidgeted under his stare. "No, but-" He shot a look of panic between her and Ax, before finally resigning himself to his fate. "Fine," he said grudgingly, heading for the door and indicating for her to follow.

Rushing to keep up, she wondered if Trel had got in trouble for her button pushing earlier. He appeared to be the baby of the group and not as outspoken as the rest. A smidgeon of guilt forced her to apologise.

"I'm sorry about earlier."

"It's fine," he snapped without looking her way.

"I really am."

"I said it's fine."

"But I mean it."

He stopped walking and faced her. "Okay I get it, you're sorry, how about you prove it by not touching anything this time?"

She held her hands up for him to see. "Won't touch a thing, I promise."

He stared at her for a moment before nodding and continuing down the corridor. Surprisingly it was he who broke the silence next. "Look, I get that you're curious, you've never seen a place like this before. Fex, the first time I went on a ship I wanted to touch everything in sight. But you can't go around randomly pushing buttons."

Ariane nodded seriously. "I understand. It's just that everything is so new to me."

A faint smile appeared on Trel's face. "I know, and you being a typical female you just have to be nosey."

She gasped. "Was that a joke?"

Trel chuckled. "Well, I'm pretty sure all women are the same no matter what planet they come from. You're all masters at causing trouble."

Her eyes widened at his reply, coming to a halt she grabbed his arm, pulling him to a stop and urging him to face her. "I'll have you know, I'm not like most women. I'm unique."

He stared at her for a few minutes. "You know, I think maybe you're right."

She felt a blush spread over her cheeks at his words, which sounded like a compliment more than agreement. "Thank you."

They walked on a few paces in silence, before Ariane spoke again. "So tell me about you."

"See, all women are nosy!" The twitching of his lips told her the comment was made in jest.

Undeterred she continued, determined to discover all she could about her captors. "I'm simply trying to get to know you better, tell me, do you have a girlfriend? What do you do when you're not on this ship?"

Trel sighed as pain flashed across his face before he swiftly hid it. "You ask a lot of questions."

"And you avoid answering them."

Trel chuckled again. "No girlfriend, I live on this ship."

"Oh," Ariane frowned. "That sounds rather lonely."

"You get used to it."

"Are all the men here in the same situation?"

He stopped walking again. "Why don't you just ask what you want to ask?"

She felt her blush go deeper. "What do you mean?"

He crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow.

She huffed. "Fine, is Ax in the same situation?"

Trel grinned. "We're all in the same situation."

They reached the kitchen, and Trel prepared her some food while showing her how to use the appliances. The things weren't too different from human items once you knew how to use them. By the time her breakfast was cooked, she had a good grasp of the different type of food available to her and knew what the ship's equivalent of a microwave was. Since she'd never really learnt more than that on Earth, she figured it would be good enough for here too.

"What do you mean you can't cook?" Trel asked after she explained she didn't need to know what the other appliances did. "You're a woman, of course, you can cook."

"Well that's a bit sexist, don't you think?"

The bemused look she received told her Trel didn't understand her word. She rolled her eyes and took a sip of the broth he'd given her. "This is great."

Trel smiled and ate with her as they discussed the ship and his life aboard it. It sounded so much fun, moving from planet to planet, buying items and selling them on, always seeing new things. She wished she could live her life the same way. Unfortunately, she was the latest item to be sold. She needed to start working on an escape plan before that happened.

...

As Ax approached the food prep room, he could hear Ariane and Trel talking. She laughed at something Trel said. The sound was bright and cheerful and went straight to the appendage between his legs. It hardened again as it had yesterday. He really needed to find time to research the reaction, it could be most uncomfortable.

Stopping just outside the doorway, he listened to Trel explaining about some trouble they ran into a few months ago. She laughed again as he told how Ax and Sek had been forced to walked through the town dressed as women because they lost their clothes in a bet.

"Oh, I wish I'd seen that," he heard her say.

"Don't worry, I have pictures," Trel replied. "The winners followed them all the way to the dock whistling, it was so funny."

He heard beeping as Trel, no doubt, brought pictures up on a monitor. He rushed into the room, hoping to interrupt before she saw them.

"Have you finished eating?" he asked, strolling into the kitchen and grabbing a drink.

"Yes thank you," Ariane said from behind him, before bursting into laughter.

He turned to find Trel, still showing her pictures. Really, where had the respect gone? This human appeared to be a bad influence on his men.

"Trel, you can go back to your duties," he snapped. A guilty flush covered Trel's cheeks as he jumped to his feet and scuttled from the room.

"Did you have a nice chat?" The question came out sharper than intended, but it didn't seem to faze her.

She smiled at him. "Oh yes, he's been telling me some great stories."

Ax cringed. "I'll just bet he has." He paused for a moment before continuing. "We need to come to some kind of agreement about how you will conduct yourself upon this ship."

Ariane got to her feet and began cleaning the table. "I don't understand what you mean."

Ax sat in the seat Trel had vacated. "I believe it would be pointless to lock you in a room or restrain you, am I correct?"

He watched indecision flash across her features before she shrugged.

"I thought so. Since you appear to be something of an escape artist I have no other choice than to allow you to move around the ship freely."

A huge smile lit up her face, but he continued before she could speak. "However, there are rules you must obey."

"Alright," she responded after a moment.

"I'll explain the basic workings of things. If you don't know what something does, do not touch it. We don't want to crash because you wanted to know what the pretty red button does."

She scowled, so he quickly continued before she could speak. "If you are unsure how to do something, ask. If I say somewhere is out of bounds, I expect you to respect that and leave the place alone. Do we understand each other?"

Ariane sighed. "I understand."

"Good, follow me, and I'll explain everything you need to know."

Ariane followed him out of the room. He'd seen the grin that appeared on her lips as he turned his back on her. Praying he wasn't making a mistake, he explained how to open doors without setting off alarms. By the time he left her at her quarters, he'd explained everything he felt she needed to know. He just hoped he hadn't made a huge mistake in trusting her with freedom. Regrettably, he didn't feel he had any choice. He could try to contain her and have her causing mayhem, or allow her some freedom and hopefully, reduce the risk of damage. Praying his decision had been the correct one, he headed to the control room to check their route to the Sixth Galaxy.
**Chapter 8**

It had been a week since Ariane first arrived on the ship and she had now met everyone and seen everything here. She entered the control room and glanced out the window. All she could see was the same thing as the past few days... stars. Even they had lost their novelty now.

Sighing, she flopped into a nearby chair, a few heads turned her way, but no one spoke. Tapping her fingernails on the arm of the chair she started to make up a tune in her head, before long her foot was tapping too.

Ax's hand landed on top of hers, stopping the noise. "Was there something you wanted?"

"I'm bored."

Ax looked around the room at his men, who simply shrugged. "What do you mean, you're bored?"

"I can't find anything to do."

"You're a woman, can't you cook something?"

A choked gasp that came from Trel was the only sound in the room.

Carefully sliding her hand from beneath Ax's, Ariane got to her feet. "What did you say?"

A cough, which sounded strangely like the word "nothing", seemed to alert Ax to the fact he'd made a big mistake.

He plastered a huge smile on his face. "Why don't you go to your room, and I'll be along shortly with something to keep you entertained."

Ariane narrowed her eyes and studied him. She was sure he had no bloody idea what he was going to bring to her room. Still, it would be interesting to see what he came up with. She forced a smile to her lips. "All right, I'll expect you in a few minutes."

As soon as she exited the control room, the smile fell... cook something? Why did all men assume women could cook? You'd think since aliens were so advanced they would be passed that way of thinking. Hitting the button to open her door with more force than necessary, she stormed into the room and flopped onto the bed. It wasn't long before Ax knocked signalling his arrival.

Sitting up, she shouted for him to enter. He strolled in looking extremely satisfied, and with a flourish, dropped something on her bed.

Ariane stared at the items before her. Carefully picking one up, she turned it over in her hands to confirm it was what it appeared to be.

"You brought me some kind of paper and crayons."

Ax's face boasted the largest grin she had ever seen on him. "I did."

"Why did you bring me crayons?"

"I researched what Earthlings like to do, this is our equivalent." The expression of pride as he spoke made her bite back a laugh.

"Did your research include pictures?"

"It did."

"And were the Earthlings in these pictures children?"

The moment he understood his mistake was plain to see. The smile dropped. "Earthling adults don't like crayons?" he asked with a resigned sigh.

Ariane couldn't stop a giggle from escaping. "We tend to prefer things like computers."

At her comment, a light lit up Ax's eyes. "Hold on." He dashed from the room, returning a moment later clutching a rectangular object, which he promptly held out to her.

Ariane reached forward and carefully took the offered item. To her surprise, she was holding a tablet computer. Elation swept through her. "I can use this?"

"Of course. It's only a PD."

"PD?"

"Personal Database."

She quickly held it close to her chest, in case he changed his mind. "Thank you."

Relief appeared on Ax's face. "You're welcome; I'll just take these out of your way."

She moved like lightening and slapped his hand as he reached for the crayons, before snatching them up and hugging them along with the tablet. "My crayons!"

Ax stared at her in surprise as he rubbed the back of his hand. He opened his mouth then shut it again with a shake of his head. "Okaaay." He mumbled as he turned and left the room.

Ariane sat on the bed in her quarters, fiddling with the machine in her hands. It resembled a tablet. The writing on it was alien, but her mind seemed to decipher it perfectly. She wondered how a chip by her ear did that but decided questions like those could wait. She could access the ship's databases from her new toy, and research almost anything she wanted. The urge to research random facts about Earth had never interested her in the past when she had the internet. Now, faced with a whole universe to explore, she found herself fascinated by every little detail.

Apparently, all the known galaxies were kept in control by the 'Galaxy Order Defence Society.' They were in charge, made the laws all planets must abide by, and intervened in cases where war became imminent. It was rather strange to think that G.O.D.S really did exist. Though, rather than being celestial beings, they were simply a group of people nominated from each planet, pretty much like Earth's European Union.

What she found most interesting was the ability to view the ship's planned course. A smart man wouldn't have given her access to things like that. He probably didn't think she would understand it. Luckily for her, he was wrong. She now knew exactly what course they were taking to the Sixth Galaxy, and what planets they would pass on the way. Roughly half an hour later she had decided she must visit some of those places. The first one they would encounter of interest appeared to be called Solce. According to the PD, it was a relatively small planet, however on it was the biggest market in all the known galaxies. Anything and everything could be brought there. What better way learn about her new world than shopping? It might even provide a chance to escape.

Convincing Ax to take her wouldn't be easy, though. He'd need a damn good reason to stop there. She just had to find that reason. Since she felt most comfortable around Bizax she decided he would be the best person to quiz over this.

...

"Fexing piece of junk."

The profanity could be heard above the hum of the engines well before she reached the room. Ariane paused, debating whether to come back later. Unfortunately, Solce was less than a day away. If she didn't discuss this with him now, she might miss her chance.

Taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders, she marched into the room and followed the sound of the swearing. She found Biz shouting at a machine and kicking it. Stopping a few feet away, she watched with amusement as the large man had a tantrum any toddler would be proud of.

"You know you owe that machine an apology."

Biz spun to face her. Pink tinged his cheek as he rubbed the back of his neck and peered at the floor sheepishly. "How long have you been standing there?"

Ariane moved closer to see the machine he had been abusing. "Long enough, having a bit of trouble, are you?"

"Yeah," he mumbled, holding up a silver part. "Fexing cylinder's shot."

Ariane had no idea what the item was, but this seemed just the kind of opening she needed. "So why don't you get a new one?"

Biz frowned. "Oh I'll get right on that, let me just pop to the shop for one." His voice dripped with sarcasm. He threw the cylinder to the floor, creating a ringing that echoed around the room.

She watched him through her lowered lashes and held back a smile. "Sorry, is it an important part?"

Biz huffed. "We can live without it, but I'd rather not. It helps keep the engine cool."

"Oh, is the ship safer with it?"

He retrieved the cylinder from the floor once more. "Yeah, you could say that."

Ariane wandered around the machine. "Well obviously I know nothing about these things, but I gather we have a long flight ahead of us?"

Biz nodded.

"Then surely it would be safer to replace it, there must be somewhere to get a new one."

She continued strolling around the room as she let her statement hang in the air. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Biz examining the item. He stared at it for a few minutes then picked up a PD, like the one she had been using, and typed something in.

"We will be passing Solce in less than a day," he said after a few minutes.

Ariane made sure to keep her expression neutral. "Oh? What's Solce?"

"The biggest market in all the known galaxies," he replied with a grin. "Anything can be bought there."

"Really? Anything?" She let a small smile loose.

Biz rolled his eyes. "I'll have to get Ax to make a stop off so I can get a replacement part."

"Well, if you think it's for the best."

Biz smiled. "If it keeps you from breaking something, it will be."

Her jaw dropped open. "Whatever do you mean?"

He winked before replying. "Solce is the biggest shopping centre in the galaxies. You're a woman, and I'm not stupid."

Ariane dropped into a seat sorrowfully. "I just want to see some new things before I'm sold."

Biz gave her a sympathetic look. "I'll get Ax to stop there. Just don't break anything to force a stopover."

Ariane placed her hand on her chest. "As if I would!"

"Yes, you would, now get out of my engine room, I'll deal with Ax."

With a huge smile Ariane left the room, she really hoped Biz stayed true to his word and got them to stop.

Feeling rather satisfied with her morning's work, she wandered around the ship. After a while, she found herself in the cargo hold.

She hadn't been in there since the day the Xans searched it. The room didn't hold much, just some crates. Pausing by one box, she read its side. It was still strange to see alien writing and know exactly what it said. In bold writing appeared to be the word silk. Well on Earth, silk was a material but would it mean the same here? She scanned the room to make sure she was alone. Once sure there was still no one about, she set to opening the box. Inside were some of the most beautiful clothes she had ever seen. There were soft flowing dresses, long trousers, and delicate tops. The clothes were truly exquisite. The wisps of fabric slid between her fingers in the most delicious way. Inspecting her own clothes, she felt a pang of regret that the crate wasn't hers. The things she borrowed did the job, but constantly wearing white was getting to be a bit of a problem. The clothes never stayed clean and dark colours really suited her much better.

Sighing, she carefully replaced the box's lid. She borrowed the clothes she wore now out of necessity. The ones in the box must belong to someone, or be planned for sale. After spending so much time in foster homes, she knew how awful it felt to have strangers help themselves to your things. She wouldn't do that to these men.

Leaving the cargo hold, she was shocked to find Trel waiting for her.

"I didn't do anything wrong," she blurted.

He laughed. "I know. Ax wants to see you."

...

Ax watched the human female enter the control room, closely followed by Trel. She was a very confusing creature. When Praid had informed him of her entering the cargo hold, his first thought had been that she'd gone in search of a gun. No more were in there, but she didn't know that. When she only opened the one crate, it quite surprised him. It astonished him, even more, when she didn't help herself to some clothes from the box. Every female he'd known would have taken enough things from there to clothe them for a year, yet this human took nothing. He couldn't understand why.

She walked towards him calmly and sat in a seat without an invitation. This woman really did need to learn her place. "It appears we have to make a stop," he said, unable to keep the irritation from his voice.

"Oh?"

"An engine part is broken so tomorrow we will be stopping at Solce to buy a replacement."

Ariane blinked at him. "What's Solce?"

"A huge market?" He watched Ariane's face light up.

"Do I get to go on the planet?"

"No!"

Her smile turned into a scowl. "Why not?"

"Because as I've said before, this is my ship, I'm in charge. You're my prisoner, and I don't want people to see you." What would it take for this woman to realise he was not to be questioned?

Ariane's bottom lip stuck out. "You could always do what you did on Xanlas."

"No, I couldn't."

"Why not?"

"Because you're my prisoner!" He could tell from her expression Ariane was not happy with his answer, this woman desperately wanted to see that planet. He couldn't say it surprised him.

She huffed and stormed from the room, obviously upset by his response. A few moments later he saw her enter the recreation room through the monitors. She sat on the sofa with slumped shoulders.

"Damn it, why does the woman not appreciate this is just as much for her benefit as ours? If Solce got hold of her, she would have a much worse fate."

Praid, who sat next to him, replied, "Maybe you should explain that to her."

Ax nodded. "Maybe, it might make her more agreeable." A part of him rebelled at the idea. She was a prisoner. He shouldn't have to explain his actions to her. However, in the interest of making his life easier, it seemed his best option. She was still his captive. He was going to explain for his own benefit, not hers.

...

That evening he walked down the corridor to his quarters. After keeping one eye on Ariane all afternoon, he knew she now sat in her own room. Knocking on her door gently, he entered when she told him to.

Pausing in the doorway, he took in the sight of her lying on the bed, a PD in her hands. "Good evening."

"Hello." She sat up and placed the machine down.

He walked closer and picked up the PD. She'd been looking at pictures of Solce. "I'm sorry, but it's just not safe for you to leave this ship."

She visibly deflated at his words, disappointment filling her face.

"There is just too much chance of you being seen. Please believe me, here is a much better place to be than Solce."

She nodded.

"You really want to see that planet don't you?"

She raised her eyes to meet him. "I just want to see a few things before I'm sold."

Guilt tightened his chest. He understood how she felt and was sure in her position he would feel the same but it would be too easy for things to go wrong, for her to be discovered. The attention that could bring to him and his men was something he didn't even want to contemplate. "I'm sorry, it's just not safe."

He watched her for a few more moments before holding a hand out. "Come on."

It pleased him when she placed her hand in his without hesitation. "Where are we going?"

"You're sleeping with me. I can't trust you not to hide somewhere to sneak off this ship." Admittedly, the chance was slim she'd do that, but it remained a risk he wasn't willing to take.

Her hand gripped his as they entered his room. Without protest, she climbed onto the bed and lay on the edge, just as she had before.

Lying next to her, he listened to the sound of her breathing. Before long the snoring started, and he gently rolled her into a different position.

Her chest rose and fell as she slept, pushing her full breasts up. As he observed her, he felt the appendage between his legs twitch again. With a frown, he retrieved a PD from a storage compartment in the wall to research what it was.

By the time he put the machine away the organ, that before had been only twitching, now strained against his trousers, trying to break free from the confines. Apparently, it twitched near her because of his attraction to her. It was a human body's natural response. After doing some thorough research into what he could do about it, the thing had woken up fully.

He imagined doing the things he had seen in pictures, to Ariane. The organ ached, even more, begging to be touched. His mind went into overdrive and, without conscious thought, he lowered his bottoms and began stroking it. The feelings created were foreign to him but so good. This tool was used for humans to reproduce. In his culture people reproduced when they met their soul mate. They didn't need to try, they simply each took a piece of themselves and created a new being. It appeared Earth was one of many cultures that procreated through intercourse.

Admittedly he didn't know much about how other species reproduced. They never stayed in one place, or as any form long enough to learn and he couldn't remember ever feeling such a strong attraction to another. The human way of procreating seemed very primitive, but as he increased the pressure on the organ, he could thoroughly understand why they did it. A groan tore from his lips as he stroked faster, using more pressure when he reached the top then loosening his grip as his hand travelled back down. Subconsciously he imagined Ariane's lips wrapped around him as he had just seen in some pictures from Earth. Rather than disgusting him as expected, it only increased his excitement and caused the balls hanging below to tighten and pull closer to his body. The stroke quickened faster and faster until finally, a loud moan escaped his lips as fluid flew from the opening at the end, covering his chest and hitting his chin.

He lay panting as he regained his composure. The experience had been messy but amazing; he could only imagine how much better it would feel if he were to do it with Ariane.

He looked her way and gasped when he saw her eyes were open staring at him.

A blush heated his cheeks. He jumped from the bed and hurried from the room. A while later when he returned, it relieved him to see her asleep and snoring once more. Climbing into bed beside her he felt the thing, he now knew to be called a penis, twitch again. Frowning, he turned his back on her. This bodily reaction was highly inconvenient. He wondered if she would mention what had transpired tomorrow. A part of him hoped she would. He'd never force himself on her. But if the opportunity arose, he would very much like to experience what it felt like to slide between her legs before he sold her.
**Chapter 9**

"Okay guys, time to turn Xan."

The men around Ariane all changed their appearance. This time, rather than finding it disconcerting, she found it fascinating and had to admit to being more than a little curious about the aliens she currently resided with. She knew she was meant to be their prisoner, but in all honesty, it was hard to feel like one when she was allowed to wander wherever she wanted. Earlier she'd spent an hour in the engine room with Biz learning how the ship worked. She didn't think prisoners were usually allowed such liberties.

"We hit Solce airspace soon, so stay in this form since we are so close to Xanlas."

A murmur of agreement went around the room as everyone stretched and cracked necks, becoming comfortable in their new skin.

Ariane shuffled in her seat when he approached her. The scene she'd witnessed last night came to mind, and she felt her cheeks grow warm. Never had she imagined Ax would masturbate while lying beside her. The expression on his face when his eyes met hers proved he didn't plan for her to see.

They hadn't discussed it this morning. Ax had already left the bed when she woke so after getting some food she'd went to the engine room. Unfortunately, it hadn't stopped her mind from wandering to the image of Ax lying with his penis in his hand, and cum coating his chest.

"You need to go to your quarters and stay there."

She met his eyes for the first time that day. "Why?"

"Because I said so."

"Bu-"

"Look," he snapped, "in case you hadn't noticed, I'm the captain of this ship. Why can't you just do as I ask, without questions?"

Ariane got to her feet. Ax didn't move an inch to give her room, so she found herself standing toe to toe with him. But she was stubborn and had no intention of going to her room quietly. "Will someone come to get me when we dock?"

"Why would they do that?" He seemed genuinely perplexed by her question.

He had no intention of letting her leave the ship. Luckily she had already planned for this occurrence.

"You can't exactly leave me on the ship alone. I might escape."

"You won't be alone, only Bizax is going planet-side."

"Err ... Ax..." The words were uttered from across the room by Praid, who stood by the monitors fiddling with his collar and straightening his tie. "I want to go planet-side too. I need some new computer parts."

Ax rolled his eyes. "Fine, only Bizax and Praid are going off the ship."

A cough came from a few feet away. "Actually Ax..."

Ariane watched Ax turn slowly towards Dyan, the dark skinned man who'd first kidnapped her and did her best to hold in a grin.

"Yes?" Ax snapped, turning to the other man.

"I need some new earphones."

"I'm sure Praid can get you some." He waved towards the geek.

"He never gets the right ones."

"Fine, you can go too." He then turned back to Ariane only to be interrupted again by Trel.

"If they're going, I'm going too. I need new boots."

Fury ignited in Ax's eyes. "Does anyone not need to go planet-side?"

Everyone talked at once, drowning out the blips and beeps of the control panel, as they explained why they needed to visit Solce. Ariane sat back down in her seat with a satisfied smile. "See, you can't leave me here alone."

"I'll stay with you," Ax snapped.

"Wow." She deliberately looked him over from head to toe. "I wasn't aware you could hold off an army by yourself if need be."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

She ran her eyes up his body once more, to meet his gaze. "We're only a day away from Xanlas. I just thought word could have travelled about your ship getting searched. It might encourage people to search it again. But if you can handle anyone who boards the ship, and keep me hidden alone, that's great."

She gave him a huge smile and shrugged, once more getting to her feet. "I'll just be in my room." Deliberately moving slowly she walked towards the door. She was just entering the corridor when he stopped her.

"Wait," he said with resignation.

Quickly hiding her smile, she spun to face him.

"Alright we'll all go planet-side, you included..."

Whatever he said next got drowned out by her squeal of excitement, as she ran across the room and gave him a hug, all thoughts of his alien form momentarily forgotten.

"Are you listening to me?" he asked once she had calmed. "You do as I say. One slip up and they will know you're human."

"Do as you say," Ariane repeated, nodding. "No problem."

Ax sighed, extricating himself from her grip. "Right, go to your quarters. I'll come and get you when we dock."

Ariane quickly headed for the door. Biz had been right. Given the chance, everyone on board wanted to visit Solce. It'd been easier than expected to convince Ax to take her.

Sitting on her bed, she waited impatiently for Ax to come. The ship had slowed down, but she had no idea how far they were from the planet. She desperately wanted to see and even contemplated going to the rec room and opening the window. It was only at the last minute that she realised she would be visible to the outside. It felt like hours before Ax finally entered the room.

Standing as soon as he arrived, she grasped the hand he held out to her and watched in awe as she once again changed into a Xan.

"Don't forget to remain in contact at all times." He reached into his pocket and extracted a cloth which he proceeded to tie around their wrists. "Think of this as a safety measure, it means you won't let go by accident... or on purpose."

Testing the bond, she knew there was no way she would escape the binding easily. Although, she didn't really want to. She already knew Xanlas would be a bad place to be captured, and this planet was extremely close to there.

She was perfectly happy to be Ax's prisoner, for the time being. With a huge smile, she attempted to drag him out the door. "Let's go then."

...

Solce was a light planet. A turquoise sky sparkled overhead. When Ariane had asked why it sparkled, she had simply been told it was the atmosphere. Her eyes were drawn to it as Ax led her in and out of alleyways. Only the sight of the market was enough to distract her. It was like nothing she'd ever seen. Wooden stalls were set up as far as the eye could see. Everything you could possibly imagine was on sale. When the sweet scent of food caught her attention, her stomach rumbled. But it was soon forgotten, replaced by the sound of music travelling to them from another direction. It mingled with the calls of the stall owners who were pitching for business.

The traders were even more fascinating than the items they sold. Every type of alien you could think of congregated in this one place to sell their wares. It was rather surprising how many of them she'd seen in pictures or films. There was definitely something to the whole alien abduction thing. It also surprised her to find the majority of them tended to be in humanoid forms. Two arms and two legs, though the size and length of the appendages changed greatly depending on the species. It appeared this was a basic template for all aliens, and very few deviated from it.

Though the brown coloured blob, who sold plants a few stalls down, was definitely one of those exceptions. How he managed to pick anything up, she couldn't figure. As of yet, she hadn't seen any form of arms emerge from him if, in fact, it was a him.

They wandered between the stalls, stopping every so often to view something, or for one of them to make a purchase. Brise, the Asian-looking man who had first abducted her, seemed to be the ship's cook. While he picked out herbs and spices, Ariane found herself drawn to some shoes on the next stall. They were made from the most subtle light brown leather she'd ever seen, but the soles were sturdy. Picking them up, it amazed her how light they were in her hands.

"Beautiful shoes, for a beautiful lady," the trader said trying to smile at her through a beaklike mouth.

Ariane chuckled. It seemed no matter what planet you were on all sellers used the same corny lines to acquire a sale.

"For you, lovely lady, only ten coins."

She carefully placed the shoes back on the table. "No thank you."

"Do you like them?" Ax asked in her ear.

"They're very nice. Very good quality." Keeping her eyes on the next stall, she waited while the men finalised their purchases. In truth, the shoes were lovely. If they were for sale on Earth, they would definitely be worth a fortune and sold under a designer's name. She felt bad for touching them, leading the trader to believe he had a sale. She was here only as an observer.

They had been walking through the stalls for a while when Ax pulled them to a halt. "Let's eat," he said loudly before leading them all down an ally.

Ariane quickened her pace running to keep up with him. "What's going on?" she asked in between panting breaths. When he sped up, even more, it became apparent they definitely weren't going for food.

"Ax?" she asked again gripping her side as it began to ache.

"We're being followed," he replied, dragging them around another corner then coming to an abrupt halt.

Not expecting the swift stop, Ariane ran straight into his back and gave a yelp when her nose hit his shoulder blade.

The protest she'd been about to voice stalled on her tongue when a stranger addressed them.

"Axermaxacorm, I thought that was you."

Not sure who had spoken, Ariane remained silent behind him to avoid drawing attention.

...

Ax groaned as the short yellow skinned male and his bodyguard stepped before them. They were Gornneds, one of the worst species in the Galaxy. As a natural defence, they gave off a stench so awful it made him gag if he got too close. He tried to avoid them whenever possible, but there were the odd times when he had to work with them. Such an occasion had occurred about a year ago.

"Hello Fertas, it's been a long time."

"Yes, it has, why do you suppose that is?" the Gornned sneered.

Ax brought an easy smile to his lips. "You were too scared to face us before?"

The groans he heard behind him and the sharp intake of breath from in front warned, it wasn't the best reply he could have given. Unfortunately, he never had been one to be cautious.

"Scared?" The Gornned took a step towards him, pointing a finger that resembled a tentacle in his direction.

Ax stood his ground and concentrated on breathing through his mouth instead of his nose. It was easier said than done. He'd know grown men to be sick when coming within twenty paces of this species.

"I rather think it was you who feared us." Fertas moved another step closer.

Unable to stop himself, Ax took a step back trying to breathe some cleaner air. He was brave, he wasn't stupid.

"See, you won't even get too close because you fear us."

Ax frowned and stood straighter. "No, that's because you stink."

The other male walked towards them menacingly. "You owe me, Ax."

"I owe you nothing!"

"We lost a whole shipment of mead due to you."

Ax towered over Fertas. "If the mead hadn't been poisoned, you would still have it," he growled.

"It was still our mead." The Gornned gazed over the group, his eyes settled on Ariane. "I want compensation."

Ax felt her hand tighten on his. He gave it a reassuring squeeze. He could clearly see Fertas was intrigued by Ariane. It was unheard of for them to be travelling with a woman. Still, he could wonder about her all he wanted, he wasn't getting her. She was his. His men took her, and he intended to keep her... until he sold her. "You'll get nothing from us. Go and annoy someone else."

He moved to step around Fertas but found his path blocked by the bodyguard who produced a long knife from his coat. Slowly more Gornneds appeared. Some stepped out of doorways; others entered the alley entrance and slowly approached until they were surrounded. "Really Fertas, we're in the middle of Solce, do you honestly want to start this here? You know how they deal with crime on this planet."

Indecision flittered across the Gornned's face. It was a well-known fact that you didn't commit crimes on Solce. The ruling government here dealt swiftly and mercilessly with anyone who committed any type of infraction. If you broke the law here, you died, no trial, no jury, just death. The system made shoplifters very rare.

"It's your choice," Fertas said, crossing his arms over his chest. "The Xan female, or your life? Do you want to give up one thing or two?"

There were seven of them to his eight, nine if he included Ariane, though she was more of a hindrance at the moment.

Glancing back at his men, he knew they had no option, giving them a quick nod he then refaced Fertas. "It appears there's only one thing I can do."
**Chapter 10**

Ariane stood stiffly behind Ax. She was about to become Fertas's prisoner, she was sure of it. The stench from him was the vilest thing she'd ever smelt. She'd been discreetly pressing her nose against Ax's back to stem the smell since he arrived. From the look he gave her, she could imagine what he'd do once he got her. Well, that wasn't going to happen. Quite frankly, she was pretty certain if he got within two feet of her she'd throw up. Let's see how well he performed when covered in vomit.

"It appears there's only one thing I can do," Ax said.

She focused on their joined hands. Maybe once Fertas saw she was human he would leave her alone in favour of selling her, as Ax planned.

A loud bang made her jump, and she raised her head to see the beings surrounding them drop to the floor. Each of the men held a gun in their hands.

"Back to the ship, now!" Ax shouted, dragging her back the way they'd come.

"You killed them."

"Yes."

They wove in and out of alleys avoiding the main street. The sound of them running echoed off the high walls.

"You killed them," she said again between panted breaths.

"We've already established that."

"But you killed them!" she practically shouted.

Ax came to an abrupt halt and spun to face her. "Do you think you could say it a little louder? I don't think they heard you on the next planet."

She felt her cheeks heat up. "Sorry," she murmured as they continued to move.

"Fex," Ax groaned when a loud siren blared. "They found them already. Speed up."

They dashed from one alley to the next and had nearly made it back to the ship when a man appeared before them.

At least she assumed he was a man. Dressed from head to toe in black body armour, it was hard to tell. However, the figure seemed masculine. Three more beings appeared behind him, each of them holding light guns. The one in front raised a visor in his helmet. The face staring back at them appeared surprisingly human, only with no nostrils and a green tint to the skin.

"Ax, Ax, Ax, why am I not surprised to find you here," he said with a sad shake of his head.

Ax grinned. "Hainer, it's good to see you too."

The man rested his large gun on his shoulder, but Ariane noticed the other men didn't lower theirs.

Hainer stepped closer and looked the group over. "Why is it, whenever this planet's alarm goes off, I find you or one of your men" He gazed pointedly at Sek, who kept his eyes on the floor and shuffling his feet, "not far from it?"

Ax shrugged. "What can I say? We're well liked, and love to inform everyone we're here."

Hainer rolled his eyes. "What did you do?"

Ariane had to hold back a giggle at the air of shocked innocence Ax gave. "Why Hainer, I'm offended. Why do you automatically assume we've done something? We simply stopped on this planet to do a bit of shopping."

As if to confirm it, everyone held up bags to show their purchases.

Hainer narrowed his eyes. "You never just go shopping. You cause mayhem wherever you are, you know it, and I know it. And who's this?" He stared pointedly at Ariane.

Ax glanced over his shoulder at her. "Just a friend. Thought we'd show her the market."

"A likely story."

The sound of running footsteps alerted them to more soldiers approaching. Hainer peered around them and frowned. "Get to your ship now, and get off this planet. This makes us even."

The statement surprised Ariane, but there was no time to question. Ax dragged her the rest of the way to the ship, and before she knew it, she was strapped into her chair in the control room, the ship was humming to life, and the men were running around preparing for take-off.

Everyone seemed to heave a sigh of relief when they left Solce's atmosphere.

"Damn that was close," Sek said, once they were far enough away to relax and had changed back to humans.

Ax crossed to the viewing window. "Too close, it's a good job we ran into Hainer and no one else."

Ariane, who'd done as she was told for a change, decided it was time for questions. "What did he mean, you're even now?"

Ax didn't bother to look at her. "Nothing."

"Well, he must have meant something. Guards don't just let you go for no reason."

"He likes us."

"No, he doesn't."

He faced her with narrowed eyes. "And how would you know?"

Ariane stood and crossed her arms. "Because I'm not blind. I'm getting the impression that you're rather well-known as troublemakers," she said with glee.

Ax pulled himself to his full height. "Don't presume to know us, human."

She couldn't help her reaction. The laugh that burst from her lips just wouldn't be contained.

Ax's scowled.

"Okay, I'm sorry guys, really." She attempted to keep a straight face, but her lips still kept twitching.

"Why exactly was that statement so funny?"

"Well, look at you."

The men glanced amongst themselves, obviously trying to understand her reaction.

"What about us?" Ax asked menacingly.

"Okay, I get that you're trying to display your authority, but you're just not scary." Eight faces stared back at her, and she could honestly say she didn't fear one of them.

A murmur went around the men as Ax stalked towards her. "Believe me. I can be very scary if I want to be."

Ariane knew she should fear him. He approached her with steel in his eyes, obviously displaying his authority. Her head told her to be scared, but her body had other ideas. The closer he got the quicker her breathing became. It was more to do with excitement than fear. Her nipples hardened, and she felt warmth develop between her legs.

He stopped when there were mere inches separating them. If she just leant forward, her breasts would brush against him. The temptation was there. Images of him as he came, shooting his seed over his chest filled her mind. She imagined what he'd have done if she'd licked the drops of cum from his chin as she dreamt of doing.

His breathing quickened to match hers, and for a moment she thought he might kiss her. His words snapped her back to reality.

"Go to your quarters."

She shook her head and stepped back. What was wrong with her? Was she suffering from Stockholm syndrome? Retreating further she raised her eyes to meet his.

"I'll go to my room, but because I want to. Not because you're ordering me to." It sounded childish but she needed to keep her dignity. She walked to her room wondering if he knew how close she'd been to kissing him.

...

Ax watched Ariane storm from the room with an angry stride. Despite her obvious hostility, he felt his penis harden as he watched her bottom sway with her movements.

"Are you alright?"

Sek's voice startled him. He'd been so caught up in watching the vexing human he hadn't even heard him approach. Gazing around the room, he became aware that no one else watched Ariane. Everyone was busy doing their jobs, except for Jas and Praid who appeared to be having a heated conversation. He would have to find out what that was about later, he didn't like discord on the ship.

Sek stood next to him, concern evident on his face. Ax couldn't help wondering if his friend experienced the same reaction. He took a surreptitious glance, trying to see if he had any swelling between his legs.

"Ax?"

He swiftly raised his gaze to Sek's as he felt his cheeks heat up.

"Ax, what's wrong?"

His mouth opened and closed a few times before any words came out. When they finally did his voice was a lot quieter than expected. "Does the thing between your legs react to Ariane?"

Sek moved a few steps closer. "What was that?"

"The thing between your legs. Does it react to Ariane?"

Sek's gaze travelled downwards. "In what way?"

"Does it get hard?"

Sek's face was blank as he shook his head. "No, I take it yours does?"

Ax shrugged. "I researched why. It's because I'm sexually attracted to her. I wondered if it's just me or if everyone's does it."

"Well, mine doesn't. I can't speak for the others...Guys, Ax wants to ask you something," Sek called to the men.

Ax groaned. From what he could gather after researching, this was a private matter. It felt wrong to ask everyone something that was supposed to be personal. As all eyes turned his way it became apparent he had no choice. Taking a deep calming breath, he stared steadily at the men.

"I seem to have a bodily reaction when around Ariane. I want to know if anyone else experiences the same."

"What reaction?" Trel asked, oblivious to Ax's discomfort.

"The organ between my legs goes hard."

His statement was greeted with silence. He gauged the men's reactions. Brise looked just as blank as Sek had. Trel was staring at his crotch with open curiosity. Jas and Praid both seemed extremely uncomfortable, and Bizax was grinning at him. He decided to deal with Jas and Praid's reactions first. Walking over to the two men, he took in their expressions. Neither man would make eye contact. Jas stared somewhere over his left shoulder and Praid's eyes were fixed on the floor.

"Do you know what I'm talking about?" he asked.

Jas tied back his shoulder length blonde hair before meeting his gaze. "Erm... Well...I'm not sure what you're asking."

Ax narrowed his eyes on his friend. "Does the organ between your legs harden when in Ariane's proximity?"

A look of relief washed over Jas's face. "No."

He turned his attention to Praid, who fiddled with his tie nervously. The young man raised his eyes and opened his mouth but then closed it again.

Ax raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

Praid's eyes shot to Jas, and then back to the floor, before once more meeting Ax's. "I don't have that reaction around Ariane," he said quietly.

Ax stared at them for a moment. Once he was happy with their responses, he moved to question Bizax's grin, but the other man had fled the room while he was distracted.

...

When Ax entered her room some time later, Ariane placed her PD on the bed and studied him. He looked like he wanted to say something but couldn't find the words.

"Can I help you?" she asked after a few minutes.

He opened his mouth then shook his head and closed it again before blurting, "Why does my penis like you?"

Ariane blinked a few times as she digested his words. "I beg your pardon?"

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "The organ between my legs likes you, and I want to know why."

Her eyes shot to his crotch. His cock hardened and became clearly outlined in the confines of his trousers. "Err... it's just a natural reaction," she mumbled, dragging her eyes back to his.

"Not to me it's not."

"What do you mean?"

She watched as a blush spread up his cheeks while he walked closer and sat on the bed by her feet.

Reaching down he adjusted himself to a more comfortable position. "I don't understand why it keeps doing this. I asked the men, and they all say it doesn't happen to them, but for some reason, it happens to me regularly and sometimes at the most inopportune moments."

Ariane smirked. "Can't you just tell your body not to do it?"

Ax frowned. "I tried that, it didn't work."

She raised an eyebrow and stared at him, waiting for his own words to register in his head. Perhaps now he would understand her need to use the bathroom.

He rolled his eyes before meeting her gaze. "Point taken. So is there anything I can do about this? What causes it and how do I stop it?"

Ariane peeked at his crotch again. "It's caused by sexual arousal and to get rid of it, you either do as it wants or wait for it to go away."

"Do as it wants?"

She couldn't meet his gaze as she spoke so instead concentrated on her hands. "You err... have sex, or do what you did last night." Her cheeks flamed.

He slumped. "I researched it, and that's what it said on the PD. I thought there might be another option."

"The only other option is to wait for it to go."

"That's too uncomfortable. Does this afflict you too?" He stared at her crotch as if searching for signs of her arousal.

She shuffled under his gaze. "Yes, it afflicts me."

"Around everyone, or just me?"

She licked her lips as she met his eyes. "Just you."

He held her gaze. "Do you prefer to wait for it to go, or would you rather do as it wants?"

Ariane stared into his eyes as she debated her options. Yes, he was an alien, but so far he had been nice to her and at the moment, he looked human. Who knew what would happen once she got sold? This could be her last chance to enjoy sex. Not giving herself time to change her mind, she placed her lips to his.

Ax froze for just a second before his arms snaked around her waist and dragged her closer.

Passion ignited instantly. Pulling her onto his lap, he grabbed her bum and ground her down onto his erection causing them both to groan.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back with a fever. When she pushed her tongue into his mouth, he seemed a bit startled by it. However, it didn't take him long to grasp what she was doing, and soon he was kissing her back the same way.

He slid one hand up her back and cupped her breast with the other, her already hard nipples begging for his touch. She moaned as he pinched one gently through her top. For someone who didn't know a thing about human anatomy, he seemed to be well versed in what to do during sex. She wondered just what he had researched. The thought of him touching himself, while thinking of her, drove her passion even higher. Eager to feel skin on skin, she dragged his shirt over his head but cursed the barrier her own clothes created.

As if in understanding, Ax worked on removing her garments. When buttons didn't open as fast as he wanted, he lay her down on the bed and reached into his pocket to produce a knife. Pausing, he pressed a few buttons on a keypad in the wall. "Privacy," he said before bringing the knife back to her body.

Ariane shivered in excitement as the cold knife edge skimmed along her skin, sliding between her breasts and her top, cutting away the garments. It travelled down her stomach, stopping just above the juncture of her thighs. His hands stroked along her body and over her hips removing the last of her clothes.

Desire burned in his eyes. Any thoughts that he wouldn't like what he saw were squashed as his gaze travelled over her before his lips once again met hers.
**Chapter 11**

Ax's penis twitched and began leaking fluid. It seemed this sex thing was going to be messy, but he didn't really care. Pictures he'd seen on his PD flashed through his mind, and he imagined doing all of them with Ariane.

Her breasts and hard nipples felt exquisite brushing against his chest. When one of her legs rose up between his and pushed against his erection, he let out a groan of appreciation. Her core rested against his leg, and he felt dampness from it soak into his trousers. He climbed off the bed to remove the rest of his clothes before moving back over her. His penis brushed against her centre and got soaked in her juices when she wrapped her legs around his waist.

Her breasts were so full and inviting, he wanted to taste the pink buds on them, but his erection had other ideas. Encouraged by her dampness sliding over him, he eased back and positioned his tip at the place where he knew a hole to be.

Satisfaction appeared on Ariane's face as she shuffled down impaling herself on his shaft. Instinct told him to move, and his hips jerked up of their own accord. It took all the willpower he possessed to hold still. He couldn't take his eyes from her face as he feared he'd hurt her. The hole felt so tight, he couldn't figure out why she wasn't screaming in pain.

"Move damn it," she groaned fidgeting below him.

Ax stared back at her with concern. "Are you alright?"

She frowned up at him. "Well, no, because you're not moving."

He chuckled, apparently worried over nothing. She seemed just as eager for him to move as he was.

Easing back slowly he removed his penis, so only the tip remained inside her, then pushed back in. They both moaned as he filled her once more. The sensation was like nothing he'd ever felt. He'd become so sensitive down there that every little movement sent waves of pleasure through his body. From the look on her face, Ariane was experiencing the same. His actions increased in speed, and he slid in and out of her faster and faster. He wanted to savour the moment, but the demands of his body drove him on. Making him chase after the release he had felt last night.

Ariane's grip on him tightened, and she stiffened in his arms, little moans and gasps escaped her lips as her body moved more erratically against his. Her lips pressed against his shoulder, and her hot breath hit his neck seconds before she screamed in his ear. As her body shook in his arms, her muscles clamped tightly around his penis, and just a few moments later, he roared out his own release as the organ shot fluid deep inside her.

Easing her back onto the bed, he gazed down at the spent expression on her face.

"Wow," she murmured when he lay down on the bed beside her. "Now that's how you deal with your problem."

Ax chuckled. "I'll be sure to remember that. I must say it felt much better than last night."

Ariane stared at him quizzically. "Have you never done anything like that before?"

"I've never spent this much time in a human body before."

"Well, didn't you do anything similar in your Xan body?"

Ax frowned puzzlement. Did she think Xan was their natural form? That could create a problem. They needed to use different forms throughout their journey to blend in. Still, he would deal with it when the time came. "I don't have those urges in my Xan body," he said, staying as close to the truth as he could.

"Oh, do you prefer being in your Xan form?"

Ax stared down at her for a moment before bringing his hand up to cup her breast and lowering his lips to her nipple. "I prefer this."

Banging on the door brought his head up abruptly. "Ax, we got a problem."

He groaned. "Fex, what is it?"

The door opened, and Ariane squealed and crawled under the bed covering.

Feeling a sudden surge of possessiveness, Ax moved in front of her to shield her from view. "Get out!"

Sek frowned in confusion but had the good sense to leave the room. "We need you at the control centre," he called through the door.

Ax flopped back onto the bed with a grunt. "I'll be there in a minute." Once he'd heard Sek walk away, he started to dress. "I'd better see what they want. Are you coming along?"

A huge smile lit her face; she jumped out of bed and reached for her clothes. When she picked up the rags that littered the floor, he remembered he'd cut them from her body.

"Sorry," he said, taking her top from her and examining the tear that now ran down the front of it. "Why don't you stay here and I'll find something for you to wear? Once I've seen what Sek wants."

Ariane crawled back into the bed with a sigh and picked up her PD again. "Fine."

Ax left the room and leant against the wall outside the door. He needed to compose himself before he faced his men. His time in bed with Ariane and been like nothing he'd ever experienced before. The urge to jump right back in there with her and do it all again was driving him hard. His response to Sek seeing her naked had shocked him too. He'd felt instant anger that the other man had dared to enter the room in that way.

These new feelings were very disconcerting. His time with Ariane had been fun, but that's all it could remain. She was his prisoner, and they had taken her for one purpose only, to sell. They needed the coin to survive, now more than ever since their gun shipment had been seized. Straightening his shoulders, he pushed himself away from the wall. Yes, this time had been fun, but it wouldn't happen again; it wouldn't do to grow attached to the human.

With new resolve, he headed towards the control room. When he entered, he was relieved to note that Sek didn't comment on his little outburst in the bedroom. "What's the problem?" he asked, glancing over the monitors.

"G.O.D.S ship up ahead," Praid said, bringing up a picture of it on the monitor.

Ax scanned the other ship for identification marks. "Any idea who it is?"

"Not yet."

"Okay, everyone get on the monitors. We need to know whose ship that is. At the very least, they're going to want to talk to us. Odds are they don't know about Solce since they're approaching from the opposite direction."

"Got it," Jas, their pilot stated a few moments later.

Ax dashed over to his monitor which showed the name, G.O.D.S.3 on the side. "It's Metas. What were we last time we saw him?"

Praid started pulling up their database on species. They had discovered long ago they needed to keep records of who knew them as what beings, in order to keep their cover.

"Okay, last time we saw him we were on Planet Two, and we were Vestors."

Everyone in the room groaned. "Really? What the hell did we look like them for?"

"I remember." Sek raised his hand.

All eyes turned to him expectantly.

"It was a bet."

Ax frowned then he remembered. "Oh yes, you bet me that we couldn't walk through the town of Norm without getting propositioned."

Another groan went around the room as the men recalled the incident.

It was something Ax had been attempting to forget. It would have been about two years past. They'd stopped off at Planet Two, so named because it was a section of Planet One that had broken off many decades before. The Normas weren't very imaginative with their names.

Planet Two was mainly a gambling planet. People went there to relax and have fun. They'd stopped off for a few drinks and some cards when Sek and he had gotten into a discussion about the Normas. Being a primitive bunch, they were very easily pleased, but Ax had the opinion they must have some standards. Sek, on the other hand, believed they wouldn't be able to walk through the centre of town looking like Vestors without the Normas still desiring them.

Vestors were a strange species, warrior women with the heads of men. Their bodies were perfect and buxom, and they hid very little with animal hides, but their faces were ugly. Usually with balding patches on their heads and rotting teeth. They had yet to encounter one Vestor with a nice head. Their argument about this subject had led to the bet between the two, and the group of them making their way back to their ship in Vestor form.

It had been going well, and Ax was looking forward to the bottle of malt Sek would owe him afterwards, but then one stupid Normas ruined it. While walking past them, he whistled, which wouldn't have been too bad if he hadn't decided to grab Bizax's arse at the same time. Out of all of them, he had to pick the biggest and meanest. The incident had resulted in a fight, which escalated into a riot when a pub nearby decided to join in.

The eight of them had ended up spending the night in jail, trapped in Vestor form, with a bunch of Normas leering and propositioning them from the opposite cell. Metas had been the one to put them in the jail cell.

"There's nothing we can do about it now," Ax said with a sigh. "Everyone turn Vestor. I'd better go and explain what's going on to Ariane."

He headed for her room, making a detour to the cargo hold on the way to pick up a trunk.

Ariane was still in bed looking at something on the PD. She put it down and sent him a huge smile as he entered. It caused a warm feeling in his chest like he'd just stepped into warm sunlight from a darkened room. "I brought you clothes," he said, placing the chest at the foot of the bed.

Ariane climbed out from under the sheets, once again giving him a lovely view of her breasts. His penis stiffened as he watched her open the trunk.

"This is from the cargo hold," she said with surprise.

"It is," Ax confirmed. "I was rather surprised you didn't take what you needed when you found it." He sat on the edge of the bed and watched her stroke the material.

"It's not mine," she said, "I wouldn't take what's not mine."

Ax closed his eyes, briefly remembering his mother, whom the chest had originally been for. "Well, it is now. You may have anything you wish from it."

Ariane frowned and released the clothes. "Oh, I couldn't. I mean it obviously belongs to someone or was brought to sell."

"It was bought as a gift," Ax said quietly. "Unfortunately, the recipient is no longer alive, so now it's yours."

Ariane stared at him for a few moments. "Thank you," she finally said, reaching into the box and picking some clothing.

When finished, she wore a silver silk skirt which fell to her ankles and a yellow top that wrapped around at her waist. She looked stunning. His throat felt dry as he stared at her. Giving himself a mental shake, he crossed the room and retrieved a bag he'd left by the door then held it out to her. "This is for you too."

Confusion in her eyes, she cautiously took the bag from him. A gasp escaped her lips as she peeked inside and, with shaky hands, removed the boots she had seen on Solce. "You bought these for me?"

Ax cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. "You need shoes, so I had one of the men pick them up."

Ariane hugged the boots to her chest and wiped moisture from the corner of her eye. "Thank you." Giving a very unladylike sniff, she sat on the bed and pulled the boots on then stood to face him. "So what was the problem?"

With a sigh, he explained about the approaching ship and the need to change forms. "I need you to stay in here until the ship passes. If they want to board, someone will come and get you, but I can't risk them seeing you in the control room."

Ariane nodded in understanding. "Alright, but what's a Vestor?"

"Just another species." He headed towards the door, hoping to avoid any further questions.

She followed close at his heels. "But what being?"

He opened the door and stepped into the corridor. "Oh, not too dissimilar than human."

Her hand on his arm stopped him from closing the door in his wake. "What aren't you telling me?"

Ax deliberately kept his features neutral to avoid encouraging her curiosity further. None of the men, him included, wanted to be seen looking like Vestors. They were the joke of the galaxy. "Nothing, why?"

She stared up at him for a few minutes with a calculating expression then ran her hand up his chest. "Show me what a Vestor looks like... please."

Ax groaned as his penis took notice of her hands on him, and begged for them to move lower. "I'll show you later," he mumbled.

She ran her fingers over a nipple before pressing her lips to the other. "But I want to see now."

"We don't have time," he whispered as his hands grabbed her waist. Whether he referred to showing her a Vestor or sex, he wasn't sure.

"Are the other men changed already?"

"Yes."

He suddenly found his arms empty as she left his embrace and darted towards the control room. "Ariane!"

"I know I need to be in my room and I'll head straight back there after," she called, waving over her shoulder.

He chased after her. "Ariane!"

Undeterred, she sped up and ran towards the control room, laughing.

The men were not going to be happy about this.
**Chapter 12**

Ax's footsteps echoed along the corridor as he chased Ariane, but she was determined to reach the control room before he caught her. For some reason, he didn't want her to see what a Vestor was. It just made her even more curious. He didn't act like she might fear them. His demeanour had seemed more like embarrassment.

Racing through the door, she ran into the centre of the room and bent over, panting. She rested her hands on her knees to catch her breath.

The room fell silent except for the constant background beeping of machines. She raised her head then stood straighter in astonishment. The laugh that escaped her came out loud and not at all ladylike.

Moving slowly, she did a full circle around the room, taking in all their appearances while laughing and giggling at each of them.

"Ax," Sek said menacingly.

Ariane turned to face him and pointed while wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. "Oh, you're the best. I mean the others are a laugh, but you-"

Sek took a few steps towards her. She knew she should be scared, he was obviously furious. But, the sight of him was just too funny. An amazon's body with his head on top, the sight was comical. What made it worse was the state of his head. It had his face but the nose now tilted at an odd angle with missing teeth and a receding hairline. He was the ugliest beauty she had ever seen.

"Oh wow," she managed to say between gasps.

She suddenly found herself staring at Ax's back as he placed himself between her and Sek.

"Now calm down Sek," He held his hands up in a placating gesture. The effect got ruined when she peeked around him and burst into laughter once more.

Sek growled. "I'm warning you Ax, get your woman under control before I do it for you."

"Oh, calm down," Ariane chuckled. "I'm going back to my quarters. See you later, ladies."

With another laugh she strolled from the room, taking one final look around as she went. This had to be the most enjoyable experience so far. Someone was having a great laugh when they invented that species.

Entering her quarters, she got comfortable on the bed and grabbed her PD. It was hard to believe how many wonderful things were in the universe that she never knew about before. The human race had been greatly behind the times. It was easy to see why the G.O.D.S thought they were expendable. She had one question burning in her mind, though. What was Ax?

So far she'd seen him take the shape of three separate beings, but she had no idea what his natural form looked like. Luckily the PD she'd been using had a great search engine. "Galactic search engine," she said to turn the machine on.

A few seconds later she stared at the screen, wondering what to search for. The search for shapeshifters that she'd do on an Earth computer produced the same results she would have expected. Myths about creatures like werewolves seemed to exist no matter what planet you lived on. She scrolled through the answers, looking for anything that could explain what he was. After reading through roughly twenty pages of results, she dropped the PD in exasperation. "Stupid advanced database." Just as she reached to turn the machine off something at the bottom of the current page caught her eye. Selecting the link, she began reading.

The site described a species named Ethereals they came from a planet called Ethra. It explained how they had no standard form, taking the image of any being they wished. She frowned when she got to the bottom of the page. Ethra had been destroyed over a decade ago. The Galaxy Order Defence Society had decided the beings had too much power from their abilities to blend in. Their planet had been destroyed as a safety precaution for the rest of the universe. All Ethereals off planet had been hunted and destroyed within the following year. Ariane gave a sigh as she finished reading. It appeared Earth wasn't the only expendable planet.

She continued to search for other explanations, but none were forthcoming. The only possibility seemed to be one which no longer existed. But what if it did exist? What if some Ethereals had survived and lived in secret? The more she thought about the possibility, the more plausible it seemed. It would explain the men's ability to change form and why they lived on the ship. Doing some more research on Ethereals, she discovered that just as Ax had described, their bodies didn't produce waste products. Instead, they were naturally absorbed back into their system. Yes, it was the only explanation. Ax and his men were Ethereals. And no one knew.

She lost track of time as she read more and more about the extinct species, so she jumped in surprise when the door whooshed open and Ax strolled in. Closing the pages she'd been reading, she put the machine to one side. "Everything alright?" she asked.

He walked towards her slowly and sat on the bed. "It's fine, the ship contacted us but passed on by."

"That's good."

He sat on the bed beside her. "What have you been up to?"

She picked up the PD again. "Just learning about the universe."

Ax stared at her a moment as if trying to decide if she was being truthful. "Come, the men should have some food ready by now."

Ariane jumped to her feet and dashed around the bed. Reaching the door before him, she opened it and ran down the corridor towards the kitchen. Stopping in the doorway, she looked around and gave a sigh of disappointment.

"Expecting them to still look like Vestors, weren't you?" Ax chuckled in her ear.

Ariane huffed, and flopped into a chair at the large rectangular table. The men glared at her. "Oh shut up," she mumbled when they continued to stare. "You all know you looked funny." Shuffling uncomfortably in her seat, she wondered if she had overstepped her bounds. Then the image of Sek came to mind again, and a guffaw of laughter escaped her lips. "I'm sorry," she blurted, making a valiant effort to keep a straight face.

A chuckle from across the table drew her attention, Biz sat opposite sniggering. "Sek did look funny," he said, giving her a wink.

More chuckles developed around the table and before long all the men were laughing, all except Sek.

"Oh Sek, I was only joking," Ariane said when she saw his face.

He walked towards her slowly and scowled. The room became silent as he towered over her.

Ariane stared at him; his face was a stone mask. She debated apologising again but decided against it. Instead, she stood and pushed him down into the nearest empty seat. "Oh, learn to laugh at yourself, Sek."

She then went to help Trel carry plates, of what smelled like chicken, to the table. As she placed a plate in front of Sek, she gave him a small smile and was pleased to see his lips twitch in return.

Once everyone had plate, she took a seat next to Ax and listened to the men chat while they ate.

Trel teased Dyan about his Vestor image. Neither man looked in Sek's direction. Bizax sat in silence, but Ariane guessed he was listening, just as she was. Ax, Sek, and Brise were discussing their rations and how much fuel they had. The more she listened, the more it became apparent just how much they needed the money from her sale. Jas and Praid sat near the other end of the table, deep in conversation. From the look on Jas's face, he didn't like whatever Praid was saying. A few moments later Praid got up and left, a sad look on his face. Bizax followed him not long after. She debated following too, but it wasn't her place, so she continued listening to the other men.

Everything they said about their resources and the forms they would have to use along the way, confirmed her theory that they were Ethereals, but they obviously didn't want her to know.

She walked back to her quarters some time later with Ax close behind her. Pausing in her doorway, she turned to face him.

Ax rested against the wall next to her door. "The men like you."

She concentrated on his chest. "They're good people."

He nodded in reply. "I'm sorry we have to sell you."

Ariane felt her heart drop at his words. Sitting around the table with them, it had been all too easy to forget she was a prisoner. They laughed and teased each other in a manner she was unused to. Her foster homes had never been like that. She didn't feel like an outsider here. Pushing the feeling aside, she squared her shoulders. It didn't matter. She had always been alone and survived just fine. She intended to escape before they got her to the auction block anyway. It was just a case of biding her time and waiting for the right moment.

"It's alright," she replied after a while, raising her eyes to meet his. "I understand." And she genuinely did. They needed to survive just as she did.

He held her gaze for a few moments and then gave a decisive nod before pushing away from the wall. Crossing to his door, he opened it and faced her again. They stared at each other for a few moments. Indecision flashed across his face before he stepped aside and held the door open for her.

She knew he was offering not ordering, his expression proved it. Glancing between his door and hers she debated what to do. Would it be wise to spend any more time with Ax than necessary? She knew if she walked through that door it would lead to sex. Did she have the willpower to not get emotionally involved?

After a few moments thought, she decided it didn't make any difference. She'd already grown to like him. What she needed to decide was if she wanted to enjoy the rest of her time here, or wallow in self-pity. There was no choice to make. She'd always been one to make the best of any situation. There was no reason why this should be any different. Closing her door, she walked across the small hallway and preceded him into his room.

Stopping a few feet from the bed, she heard the door slide shut behind them.

"Are you sure?" he asked in her ear.

Ariane nodded silently.

"This won't change anything. You're still my prisoner and headed to the Sixth Galaxy for sale."

"I know."

Ax grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face him. "Yet you're still willing to join me in my bed?"

Ariane stared him straight in the eye. "I don't expect you to understand. I know our situation, and I know this won't change anything. I just want to grab any happiness I can and enjoy the time I have left here."

She watched him swallow as he digested her words. For a moment she thought he'd changed his mind and was going to ask her to leave. That was swiftly disproven when he grabbed her and yanked her close, bringing his lips down to hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck kissing him back, passion rising up inside her.

Yes, she knew this wouldn't change anything, but why not enjoy it while she could? Her life had altered so much in the past few days, she had no idea what tomorrow would bring. She needed to live in the moment, and this moment, in his arms, with his lips on hers felt so good. She would worry about tomorrow later.
**Chapter 13**

Ariane paid careful attention as Jas explained how he steered the ship. Though, she appeared relaxed she was really memorising everything he said. It would be needed when she finally escaped.

"It all looks very easy."

Jas snorted. "It may look easy, but I assure you, it's not."

"But the machine does most of the work for you."

"And who do you think controls the machine?"

"Well, anyone can do that." Ariane scoffed.

Praid sat behind her sniggering, but she kept a straight face and retained eye contact with Jas. His eyes narrowed. She could see fury burning in them, but that was okay, he was heading exactly where she wanted him.

"Fine," he snarled.

Ariane held her breath in anticipation of his next words.

"If it's so easy then you-"

"No!" The word was barked, interrupting Jas in the middle of saying exactly what she wanted to hear.

Spinning in her chair, she glared at Ax, who was strolling towards them purposefully. "Do you mind? We were talking."

"Yes, I mind. Stop it!"

Ariane frowned. "Stop what?"

"Jas may be oblivious to how your mind works, but I'm not. You're trying to get him to let you fly the ship. And you nearly succeeded." Ax said narrowing his eyes at Jas whose face had turned bright red.

She widened her eyes aghast and held her hands up. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Jas were you, or were you not about to offer Ariane the chance to fly the ship?"

If possible, Jas turned even redder before giving a curt nod.

Ax rolled his eyes. "Just as I thought."

Ariane huffed and flopped back into her seat. "I only wanted to have a little go."

Ax stared at her for a few minutes before once again addressing Jas. "Where are we?"

She sat silently in her seat as they discussed the coordinates. When Ax spoke again, she thought she had misheard him. "What?" she asked in astonishment.

"I said you may fly the ship for a few minutes."

"Really?"

"Yes, really," he said in an exasperated voice.

Ariane squealed with delight and jumped from her seat, throwing her arms around Ax in a quick hug. "What do I do?" she asked Jas, swiftly letting go and taking her seat once more.

Jas explained the controls again before allowing her to sit in his place. She stared at the monitor, unable to prevent her grin. She was actually going to fly a spaceship.

"Okay," Jas said a few moments later. "I'm going to take the autopilot off. Now obviously we are in space, so we won't fall or anything. You just need to make sure we stay on course."

Jas flipped a switch, and she held onto the controls tighter. She had to admit to a bit of disappointment when the ship just carried on floating through space as it had before. Testing the controls she moved them to the right. Apart from feeling a slight movement, nothing really changed. "Well, this is boring."

Ax laughed. "What did you expect?"

"I thought flying a ship would be more exciting." Flipping the autopilot back on, she stood from Jas's seat. "You can have it back."

Hearing Ax chuckle behind her and Jas grumbling that landing was hard, she stuck her tongue out at them before walking over to Dyan. "What's that?" she pointed to a flashing dot on one of the monitors.

"I'm not sure," he murmured, bringing a picture up on another screen. "Fex."

Ax's voice over her shoulder made her jump. "What is it?"

"We got company," Dyan said, pulling up a picture of another ship. "Gornneds and they're releasing attack pods."

"Fex, they must have heard about Fertas."

Ariane stood behind Dyan as Ax gave out commands. "Jas keep us away from their pods. Dyan, arm the guns. Praid, plan a new route."

Noise in the room escalated as he continued talking, everyone rushed to obey, but Ariane's eyes were glued to Dyan as he prepared to defend them. His fingers flew over the control dashboard, pressing buttons and causing something resembling a joystick to rise.

Hovering over his shoulder, she watched as he armed the guns. The first hit to their ship caught her by surprise. They suddenly jolted to one side, at the same time alarms started blaring. She grabbed the back of Dyan's seat too late and with a yelp, fell to the floor. When she heard a cry of pain and felt something digging in her back she noticed Dyan had fallen too. She climbed back to her feet and watched him do the same while cradling an injured hand to his chest.

Sitting back in his seat, he began fumbling with buttons. "They got us on the right."

"Fire back," Ax shouted over the alarm, dashing to the intercom to contacted Bizax.

Dyan grabbed the stick with his left hand; the move was obviously unnatural for him. She watched him line a cursor up with a flashing dot on the monitor and fire. "Got one," he called as he lined up another.

A cheer erupted at his comment but got cut short when the ship once again jolted to the side. "Fex. Missed."

"You're aiming too far to the right," Ariane said in his ear when she regained footing. He shot her a filthy look over his shoulder before aiming for another dot. His aim was a success but not enough to stop the attack pod.

She studied the monitors over his shoulder as she watched his movements.

"Ariane, sit down." Ax barked from across the room.

She lifted her hand in acknowledgement but didn't attempt to take her seat. "Your aim is off," she commented when Dyan had missed a few more shots.

"I'm just not used to using my left hand. This isn't something I have to do often. We are scavengers, not fighter pilots" he shot again even more off than before. "Ax I need someone to take over," he called when he missed again.

"There is no one, just do your best," Ax said frantically pressing buttons a few feet away.

"You need to aim more to the right."

"What would you know about it," Dyan snarled as he missed once more.

"Three-hundred and sixty-five hours, on Blazing Angels - PlayStation means I know quite a lot about aiming a cursor at a dot on a screen." She squared her shoulders and crossed her arms over her chest.

Dyan surprised her by pushing away from the monitor and getting to his feet. "Fine, human, you think you can do better. I'd like to see that."

Ariane gulped. She'd never expected him to say that. A trickle of sweat formed on her brow when more attack pods appeared on the monitor. She looked to Ax for his reaction to this, but he was engrossed something across the room. "Alright," she said after a moment. Giving a firm nod, she sat in the seat and eased closer to the monitor, grabbing the joystick.

"I fire by pressing this?" She indicated a red button.

Dyan nodded, a smug expression on his face. "You do. Be my guest, take a shot."

Ariane narrowed her eyes. He was just waiting for her to fail. Another jolt caused her to grab onto the console. Okay, she could do this. It was just like a computer game. Moving the stick a few times, she got accustomed to how it operated.

"We'll be shot from the sky before you fire," Dyan groused.

Giving her head a mental shake, she took a deep breath, lined up the cursor and fired. The flashing dot vanished from the screen only to reappear a second later. "Did I get it?"

"Of course not," he said, satisfaction in his voice.

Giving him an evil look, she lined up the cursor and shot again. This time, the flashing dot vanished and didn't come back. "Did I get it now?"

Dyan leant over her shoulder and huffed. "Beginner's luck."

Ariane frowned at him. "But I didn't hear anything."

He stared at her for a moment before speaking in a very slow voice. "You're in space... there is no air in space, so no sound."

"Oh." She studied the screen. "So I did get it?"

Dyan sniffed. "As I said, it was beginner's luck."

Ariane snorted. "We'll see about that." She eased the chair closer and grabbed the joystick. Feeling more confident, she lined the cursor up with another dot, fired and once more it vanished from the screen. The next three shots were misses, but then she got rewarded with another hit. The corners of her lips to curled when she heard a huff from Dyan. The rest of the room was forgotten as she aimed and fired over and over again. The alarms became just a distant ringing in her ears. The number of hits started outweighing the misses, and the dots began to vanish. The cursor flew over the screen, her hands like lightning as she hit the button. When the last dot disappeared from sight, she raised her arms in the air and gave a whoop of satisfaction.

"Yes!" she shouted as she jumped to her feet pumping her arms in the air. "Who's the best? I'm the best!" Spinning to face Dyan, she came to an abrupt halt. Every person in the room stood in silence their eyes at her. Dyan was a few feet away, his jaw hanging open. Ax stood next to him, staring at her as if in shock. At some point, the alarms had ceased without her noticing.

"What?" she asked, lowering her arms and glancing around the room.

Ax moved closer and pressed a few buttons on the monitor. "How did you do that?"

Ariane frowned. "How did I do what?"

"How did you shoot all those pods?"

A beaming smile spread over her face. "That's called awesome fighting skills, caused by spending too much time on a PlayStation."

Confusion covered his face. "What's a PlayStation?"

She laughed. "A game console."

Dyan took a step closer. "You learnt that from a game?"

"Of course." She casually made her way to her seat with an extra bounce in her step.

"You killed them all." Ax's voice caused her to pause.

"I what?"

"You killed them all," he repeated bewildered.

Ariane frowned. A cold chill settled over her as she looked back at the monitor. "Killed them?"

Ax nodded as he continued pressing buttons.

"I killed people?"

He stood upright and faced her. "Technically, you killed aliens."

"Oh my god, I'm a killer." She flopped into the nearest chair and covered her face with trembling hands. As she'd fired at the little red dots, it had felt like a game. She hadn't imagined that actual beings were in the exploding ships. There had been no sound. She'd been lost in the moment, enjoying showing her skills. A tear escaped from the corner of her eye and trickled down her cheek. It wasn't long before another followed.

Fingers curling around her own pulled her hands from her face. She raised her eyes to meet Ax's sympathetic gaze. He gently cupped her face and wiped a tear away with his thumb.

"I'm a murderer," she whispered lowering her eyes to concentrate on her hands.

He put a finger under her chin and forced her gaze to meet his. "You saved us."

"But I killed them... It felt like a game."

"You did what you had to do to survive."

Closing her eyes in an attempt to stem the tears, she stiffened her shoulders and gave a sharp nod. When she felt more composed, she once again opened her eyes. "I did kick ass," she murmured.

A small smile appeared on Ax's face. "You did. You put Dyan to shame."

A faint curve touched her lips as she looked at Dyan, who now sat in his seat, apparently sulking. She got to her feet. "If you don't mind, I'm going to head to my room for a bit."

"Of course," Ax stepped from her path.

With her head held high, she walked boldly from the room. It remained that way until she reached her quarters. The second the door shut another tear escaped, leaning against the wall, she slid to the floor bringing her knees to her chest, and buried her head in her arms while the dam broke. Tears slid down her face, soaking her sleeves as she wept for the lives she'd destroyed. Maybe she had saved them, but at what cost? Was her life any more important than the ones she'd taken?

Did this make her a bad person? Her head said no, but her heart said yes.

The G.O.D.S had destroyed a whole planet in the blink of an eye, with apparently little or no remorse. Survival of the fittest appeared to be the system here. She just didn't know if she was cut out for this kind of life. For the first time since waking on this ship, she wondered if she would have been better off dying on Earth.
**Chapter 14**

Ax watched Ariane leave the room, her head high and her back straight. "Fex," he murmured, running a hand through his hair.

He faced Dyan, needing an outlet for the rage coursing through his veins. "You should never have let her get hold of those controls."

Dyan stood, and calmly turned to face him. "She saved our lives."

"That's beside the point."

Sek coughed and moved closer. "I actually think it's a very good point."

Ax opened his mouth to argue but found himself lost for words. "She didn't understand what she was doing," he mumbled, dropping into his seat.

"I'm sorry," Dyan said. "You're right; she shouldn't have been given the controls. But I do believe she did, if not save us, prevent a lot of damage."

Ax sighed. "What is the damage report?"

Sek pressed a few buttons on the control panel. "Got hit a couple of times on the right side. The rooms have been airlocked, so nothing too serious."

"She did well," Ax said.

Sek's hand on his shoulder made him jump. "Go check on her."

Ax shook his head. "There's too much to do here."

"We can handle it," his friend said, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze.

...

The sound of Ariane crying reached his ears before he made it to the room. Stopping outside her door, he rested his head against the wall wondering what to do. He'd never had to deal with a female crying before. What was the right course of action?

His instincts told him to enter the room and hold onto her until she stopped, but did she want that? She had left them to mourn alone. Was that what humans did? Did they seek their own company at times like this, shunning others and preferring solitude?

The sound of her crying penetrated the door once more. He curled his hand into a fist to prevent them from pressing the button for entrance. Torn with indecision, he stayed there a few moments listening to her weep. It was only when a heart-wrenching cry left her that he gave into temptation and opened the door.

She sat next to the entrance, leaning against the wall. Her knees were pulled up to her chest as she wept into her arms. Sitting beside her, he carefully lifted her into his lap and cradled her as she cried. When she didn't push him away, he breathed a sigh of relief and gently stroked her hair. It seemed like an eternity before she finally stopped the tears. His chest had become wet through from her crying, but he didn't care.

Brushing her hair from her face, he gently raised her chin. Staring into her red-rimmed eyes, he wiped a few remaining tears away. "Feel better now?"

She rested her head on his shoulder. "Not really."

He hugged her gently against him, waiting for her to speak. He sensed she was just hunting for the right words.

"Does this make me evil?"

His first instinct was to laugh, she being the least evil person he knew, but he guessed it wouldn't go down too well. He carefully picked his words before he replied. "No, you're not evil. Space isn't like Earth. You have to defend yourself if you want to survive out here. You did what you had to do. It was them or us. You saved us."

"I don't think I'm cut out to survive in space."

He rubbed his hand up and down her back. "I think you're stronger than you realise."

She shook her head but didn't reply.

"You've astonished me."

Easing back slightly she met his gaze. "How?"

Realising he missed the warmth he pulled her back to his chest before replying. "Your planet has been destroyed, and you have found yourself kidnapped and in space, but you've taken it all in stride. Instead of panicking or hiding in your room, which is what I expected, you accepted your situation and have done everything you can to make the best of it. You befriended your kidnappers, learnt everything you can about your new surroundings, have proven you can defend yourself, and have even taught us a few new things." He felt his face warm as he finished talking.

Ariane stroked his chest for a while without responding. He was just about to speak again when she finally broke the silence. "Make me feel good."

He frowned at her words, not understanding her request. "What do you mean?"

She brought her eyes up to meet his. Their faces were mere inches apart. He could feel her breath on his lips as she spoke. "I feel bad; make me feel good, please."

His eyes followed her lips as she spoke and despite the situation, he felt his penis twitch. Praying she couldn't feel it, he met her gaze. "How?"

Her lips crushed his. She forced his mouth open, devouring him and pushing her tongue inside to caress his. His penis turned rock hard as she adjusted her position to straddle him. Grabbing her waist, he ground her down onto his lap, taking over the kiss, pushing her tongue back into her mouth as his followed it. She yielded under his ministrations for a moment before pulling back.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she murmured, sliding off his lap and unfastening his bottoms.

His penis popped upright, glorying in its freedom. A glistening drop of liquid sat on the end. He watched in amazement when she lowered her head and licked the liquid from the lip. He'd seen it done in films when he'd researched, but he'd never imagined how amazing this would feel. Every nerve ending felt alive. She repeated the process, licking the top again then sticking the tip of her tongue in the small slit. He bucked beneath her, a groan escaping his lips.

Her eyes stayed in contact with his as she did it once more before swallowing the erection down into her throat. Another louder groan broke free as he closed his eyes. Subconsciously, his hand came up to rest on the back of her head while she swallowed around him. The feel of her throat muscles gripping him was better than he ever expected. He gave a sigh as the pressure eased and she slid her lips back up the erection, sucking gently.

The relief was short-lived. Seconds later she moved back down, swallowing again. Tightening his grip, he encouraged her to repeat the raising and lowering action. The dangling balls grew close to his body as his excitement increased. He panted as his release grew closer. Bobbing her head up and down she teased the long thick vein that ran along the bottom of the organ. When she finally released him, he frowned in annoyance. The annoyance didn't last long, though.

She stood and swiftly removed her clothes before straddling his legs and lowering back down onto his erection. The feel of her soft walls enclosing him was just as good, if not better than her mouth. Her muscles tightened as she groaned and pushed herself onto him as far as she could. Gripping her waist he raised her then slammed her back down. His hips rose as she lowered, forcing him to ram into her. He worried he'd hurt her, but the moan she gave seemed to stem from enjoyment rather than pain. Raising her again he repeated the action. The floor beneath them felt cold and hard, but he didn't mind. He got lost in the moment, in the feel of her. The sound of her enjoyment invaded his ears, and the scent of her arousal took over his senses. Burying his head in her shoulder, he rained small kisses along her neck as she continued to ride him. The balls pulled impossibly close to his body, and he knew he would find his release before long. Determined to have her join him in the moment, he squeezed his hand between them and searched for the little nub, he had found the other day, which seemed to bring her so much pleasure. He knew he'd got it when a shudder passed through her body and a long drawn out moan escaped her lips, tickling along his neck.

His finger slid easily over the nub, thanks to the wetness she had produced. She shook in his arms and began to pant, wriggling on top of him making her movements erratic. He wasn't sure if she was trying to escape his hand or get closer, but she made no attempt to leave his lap. He quickened the pace, knowing he didn't have much time left. Within seconds, she stiffened and screamed. Her walls clamped impossibly tight around him. He continued to pound into her despite the tight confines. Moments later he buried his face in her neck as a loud groan tore from his chest. His penis erupted inside her, shooting hot streams of liquid. He shuddered and slowed down his pace but stayed where he was, luxuriating in the feel of her surrounding him. It wasn't until he softened and fell from her body that he raised his head.

"Feel better now?" he asked, bringing his hand up to stroke her face.

She smiled. "A little."

He frowned at her response. "What can I do to make you feel a lot better?"

Her smile turned into a grin. "I can think of a few things."

"Such as?" he asked, gently stroking his hand over her breast and tweaked the erect nipple.

"Let's move to the bed, and I'll show you."

He swiftly removed her from his lap and stood. Lifting her into his arms, he carried her to the bed and placed her down on top of the covers before placing a gentle kiss on her lips. "Now why don't you tell me about those few things?"

She ran her hands up his chest. "I said show."

Later, after bringing them both to release once more, he held her in his arms while she slept. Her snoring seemed louder than ever after her crying, but he didn't have the heart to move her. He'd helped her forget for a brief time, but how would she feel when she woke? Part of him didn't want to know.

Looking down on her face, he realised he cared about how she felt. He didn't want her to be sad. He wanted to make her happy. How had it come to this?

She was supposed to be their prisoner, they planned to sell her. They needed the coin to survive. But the more time he spent with her, the more he wondered how he would ever let her go.

**Chapter 15**

The first thing Ariane noticed when she woke was that her pillow felt cold. After waking every day for the past few weeks with her head on Ax's chest, it was rather strange to feel a cold pillow beneath her cheek. Reaching her hand out, she felt the other half of the bed. Disappointment filled her when she encountered empty sheets. She sniffed and rolled onto her back. What had she expected, that things would be the same after her breakdown yesterday?

She'd killed some aliens and then cried her eyes out about it. In the space of a day, she had proven just how unsuited she was to this environment. Any respect the men had developed for her must be gone now. Yes, Ax had comforted her last night, but it hadn't taken him long to leave.

Climbing from the bed, she dressed and retrieved her PD. About half an hour later, guilt still ate at her for the deaths she had caused, but after doing some research, she felt relieved to find out Gornneds were not very nice. Granted she couldn't assume the entire race was the same, but the general consensus seemed to be that they were a planet made up of con men, thieves, and murderers.

Though, since she herself was now a murderer, she wondered whether the research could be trusted. And, if she thought about it logically, Ax and his men were kidnappers, but she knew they were good men. Were the Gornneds just misunderstood, too?

Dropping the computer onto the bed, she ran her hands through her hair and flopped back onto the pillows. This was getting her nowhere. No matter how she looked at it, she'd done something awful, and she had to learn to live with it. She had no choice. This was the world she resided in now. It was easy to forget how different things were. Enclosed on this ship with Ax and his men she'd been sheltered from everything, but she wouldn't be here forever. Despite their destination not being mentioned, as far as she was aware, they still headed towards the Sixth Galaxy and her auction block.

It appeared she would have to toughen up if she intended to survive in her new environment. She needed a distraction or she would dwell on this all day. Forgoing breakfast, she headed towards the engine room. Biz was bound to have some job she could do to occupy her mind.

"Morning," he greeted. Out of all of the men, he was the only one who hadn't changed his original human appearance. She found it rather comforting, even with the scar running down his face.

She flopped onto his sofa and helped herself to a biscuit off the table. "Morning Biz," she mumbled around a mouthful of food.

He glared at her as he always did when she shortened his name but didn't say anything. He seemed to have learnt that the more he protested, the more she did it. She thought it rather nasty of him to spoil her fun by not arguing.

"I hear you had a meltdown yesterday."

She slumped back into the sofa. Trust Biz to get straight to the point.

"Are you feeling better now?" he prodded.

Ariane leant her head back and closed her eyes. "How do you get over it?" she asked.

When she heard nothing but the low hum of the engines for a few minutes, she lowered her head and met his gaze.

"I don't think you do." He picked up a tool of some kind and passed it between his hands while he spoke. "I think you just have to learn to live with the decisions you make."

"I don't know if I can."

Biz got to his feet and started tightening a bolt on one of the machines nearby. "You don't have a choice, what's done is done. You can't change it. You just have to accept it and move on."

He had a point. No amount of guilt or crying would change what had happened. "You're right."

"Of course I am."

She chuckled at his reply. She'd learnt that Biz always thought he was right. "Have you killed people?"

"I've killed." He didn't look at her as he spoke.

"Did you get upset?"

"No. I knew it was them or me."

She wished she could accept things as easily as he appeared to. "How many people have you kidnapped before?"

He glanced at her over his shoulder. "Me or Ax?"

"All of you?"

"You're the first."

"Oh." She hadn't expected that response. "So why did you all decide to kidnap me?"

"We needed the coin."

She couldn't help chuckling. "Has it turned out how you expected?"

He smiled at her over his shoulder. "Much better than expected, now come and hold this for me."

She rose and held the object he requested while he continued tightening the bolt. For the next few hours, he distracted her with one job after another. It wasn't until Ax came looking for her that she noticed how long she'd been in the engine room.

She was standing on a chair trying to connect some wires when he appeared.

"What the hell are you doing?"

The sharp words startled her. She wobbled on the chair and tried to grab the slick metal of the machine for support. Strong hands grasped her waist seconds later, as Ax steadied her. "Careful."

She smiled down at him. "Thanks."

His eyes held hers. She could see questions in them and could tell he debated whether to voice them. The words he settled on were not what he wanted to ask, she was sure. "Does Bizax know you're doing that?"

"Of course, I do." Bizax walked around the corner, wiping his hands a dirty rag.

Ax's eyes skimmed between them. "What exactly is she doing?"

Surprise crossed his face when she answered for Bizax. "I'm repairing one of the thrusters, it was losing power."

"And you know how to do this because?"

Bizax straightened his spine, bringing himself to his full height and crossing his arms over his chest. "I taught her."

She watched a silent power play transpire between the two men. Ax crossed his arms, copying Bizax's stance, and raising an eyebrow as he stared at the other man. Bizax frowned and narrowed his eyes. Ariane carefully climbed down from the chair.

"Relax guys, there's no need to get all macho."

"Stay out of this," both men snapped at once.

Ariane gasped at their sharp response. Ax hadn't minded her being in the engine room before. Why would he mind now? "Fine, while you two decide who has the bigger balls, I'm going to get lunch." Without another glance in their direction, she left the room.

Entering the kitchen, she found Trel with his head in a cupboard. "What's for lunch?" she asked, flopping into a chair. Trel faced her, shock on his face. Honestly, these men would be useless if someone snuck up on them with a gun.

"Does Ax know you're here?"

She frowned at his question. She hadn't been asked that in a few weeks. They were all used to the fact she wandered where she wished. "Yes, why?"

"No reason, he was just looking for you." He turned back to the cupboard and rifled through packets.

"He found me. I left him and Bizax comparing their dick sizes."

He spun back to face her again, knocking packets to the floor in the process. "What? Why would they be doing that? Is size important?" He squinted down at his own crotch with worry.

Ariane giggled. He looked at her, then back at his crotch. The giggle turned into full blown laughter as she watched him, tears streaming down her face.

"What's going on, why is she laughing and crying? What did you do?"

Ax appeared next to her with concern on his face. Trying to reign in her laughter, she wiped her eyes and took a big gulp of air. The effect was ruined by Trel's next words.

"Why were you and Bizax comparing dicks? Should I compare mine with yours?"

The burst of laughter which broke from her was loud enough to make them jump. "Oh my," she gasped, hiccupping. "That's so funny."

Ax stared at her, mystified. "Do I want to know why you were discussing organs with Trel?"

She fanned herself with her hand, attempting to cool her cheeks. "Probably not," she said, once she'd caught her breath.

The glare Ax gave her didn't help to alleviate the laughter. When he turned the stare on Trel, the other man hurried from the room mumbling about forgetting to do something.

"Are you interested in Trel's organ?" he asked anger in his voice.

Ariane snorted, trying to suppress a laugh. "Of course not. It was a figure of speech that he misunderstood."

Ax opened his mouth as if to question her further, then shut it again with a shake of his head. "Are you alright?"

Ariane began picking up the packets Trel had left on the floor. Hands on her shoulders stopped her action. With a gentle nudge, Ax turned her to face him. He put a finger under her chin and raised her head so she met his gaze. "Are you alright?" he repeated.

Ariane gave a firm nod. "Yes, I still feel bad for what I did, but it was them or us." She hoped she sounded more convincing than she felt.

"It was."

"Next time, I'll be more prepared for how I'll feel."

His hand left her chin, and he sat back at the table. "There won't be a next time."

She continued to put packets away. "Of course there will."

Ax snorted. "I promise you'll get nowhere near the guns again."

"Maybe not on this ship."

"What other ship would you be on?" Ax practically growled.

Ariane flinched and took a seat opposite him at the table. She ran her finger over a groove in the wood as she spoke. "Well, once I'm sold, I'm hoping I might escape. I'll have to defend myself if I do, won't I?"

Different emotions flash across Ax's face. He settled on a blank mask, which gave away nothing. "Yes, once you're sold, you will have to defend yourself."

Rising to his feet, he left the room without a backwards glance, leaving her wondering what was going through his head.

She prepared herself some lunch, a kind of vegetable soup that simply had to be heated, but ended up throwing it away, her appetite gone. They had been getting along so well. In truth, she'd forgotten she was a prisoner and felt more like one of the crew. Now Ax seemed distant and obviously felt the need to check up on her.

It seemed any trust he'd developed had gone too, judging by his reaction at finding her working in the engine room. She went there a lot because she liked Bizax's company, but she also found it interesting and possibly useful in the future. Who knew where she would end up once she was sold?

Learning how a ship worked and how to fly one could be the difference between remaining a prisoner and freedom. A little spark of hope had developed in her that maybe Ax wouldn't sell her but it had been dashed today. His reaction and agreement that she would need to defend herself once sold had seen to that.

Despite what she wished, she still remained a prisoner destined for sale. She needed to look to her future and do everything possible to ensure that once she left this ship, she was prepared to escape. Oh, she wouldn't stop them selling her. Ax and his men needed the money, and she couldn't do anything to harm them, but once the sale was complete, all bets were off. She planned to claim her freedom, and anyone who tried to stop her would be dealt with, no matter how guilty it made her feel.
**Chapter 16**

The beautiful view was lost on Ax. He stared unseeingly at the stars outside, unable to think of anything besides Ariane. It had taken a long time to leave her this morning. Her distress over the lives she'd taken had affected him more than he cared to acknowledge. He and his men didn't take lives lightly, but they all knew given the chance, others would kill them. They did what they had to in order to survive. Ariane wasn't used to that.

He'd been astonished to find her in the engine room working on a thruster. She was human, and as far as he knew had no idea how the ships engine worked. It appeared she'd been learning a lot as she moved freely around his ship, but why?

Did she plan to escape?

His chest tightened at the thought. He'd believed she was happy here and, surprisingly, had even entertained thoughts of letting her stay. Had it all been an act? A way to gain his trust so she could flee at the first available opportunity? His heart told him he was wrong. He held her in his arms at night, heard her cry out as he pleasured her. It couldn't all be fake, could it?

His thoughts were a muddled mess. He wanted to keep her. He had a feeling the men suspected it too. Bizax did, their exchange in the engine room proved that. As soon as Ariane had left, Bizax questioned him, asked what was going on. He'd lied, told him everything was fine, they were headed to the Sixth Galaxy as planned. Bizax had lost his temper at that reply. It appeared he'd grown quite fond of Ariane. It was as if she'd replaced the sister he lost years ago when their planet was destroyed.

"You know you want to keep her," he'd yelled.

Yes, he did want to, but he wouldn't. His men came before his desires. They needed the coin her sale would bring. With their gun shipment gone and the loss of fuel from the unexpected stop at Earth to grab her, their resources were drastically low. And it was hard enough hiding themselves without concealing a human too. He would never put himself before their welfare.

The anger that hit him when he'd found her in the kitchen with Trel had been totally unexpected. Just the thought that she'd been thinking about doing the things they did with another man had made him see red. She was causing them to fight amongst themselves. Or at least, she would cause them to, eventually. Maybe it was best to stick to his original plan of selling her.

"Ax," his name leaving her lips caused him to stiffen. It sounded awfully loud in the quiet room.

"Yes?"

"Is everything okay?"

He turned to find her leaning against the door frame, fiddling with the end of the material she'd used as a belt when she first arrived. "Everything's fine." His voice sounded sharper than intended, causing her to flinch.

She walked further into the room and sat in one of the chairs. "Did I do something wrong?"

He moved closer, stopping a few paces away. "Why are you learning how the ship works?"

Surprise crossed her face. "I thought it might be useful."

He grunted at her reply. "Useful in order to escape."

She shot to her feet. "Is that what you think? That I'm planning to escape?"

Anger burned in her eyes, but he didn't let it stop him. "You're learning how the ship works, how to fly it, how to use the guns... what else should I think, human?"

"I thought you trusted me." The words were hard and accusing.

"I thought I did too. Now I'm not so sure."

The look of hurt he saw on her face before she hid it, made him frown. Was he wrong?

"What else am I supposed to think?" He asked again, this time in a gentler voice.

"Nothing." She turned her back on him and went to leave the room, pausing in the doorway to ask one final question. "How long before we get to the Sixth Galaxy?"

"Roughly two Earth months."

She nodded and left, leaving him more baffled than ever.

"You made a mess of that." The words coming from the doorway made him jump.

"Were you spying on me?" he snapped at Sek.

"No, just happened to be passing."

His friend walked into the room and sat on a sofa. Ax stared out of the window. He could feel Sek's eyes burning into this back and fidgeted under the gaze.

He faced his friend when the silence became too much. "Just say what you want to say."

The sofa creaked as Sek leant forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "You want to keep her."

His first instinct was denial. But this was Sek, his oldest friend, he wouldn't lie to him. Standing tall, he clasped his hands behind his back, looking every inch a leader. "It doesn't matter what I want."

"Of course, it does. You deserve to be happy, we all do."

"Not at the expense of everyone else."

Sek looked genuinely perplexed by his words. "What the hell are you talking about? All the men like her."

"That's beside the point."

The other man leant back in his seat and rested his arms on the back of the sofa. He seemed totally relaxed in the face of Ax's obvious torment. "I'm sorry, Ax. You're going to have to spell this out to me because I really have no idea what you're talking about."

He dropped down into a chair with a sigh, making the furniture groan. "We need the coin from her sale."

"We'd survive without it, we have before."

"Have you forgotten our shipment of guns got seized?"

Sek huffed. "That was unfortunate."

"That was our backup plan."

"So we get a new backup plan."

"What's the point? She doesn't want to be here."

Sek scoffed. "Of course she does."

Jumping once more to his feet, Ax started pacing the room. "Then why is she plotting to leave?"

A bark of laughter escaped his friend. "What makes you think that?"

"She's learning how the ship works, how to fly, how to escape!"

Sek stood and blocked Ax's path, crossing his arms over his chest. "Did you bother to ask her why she's learning about the ship?"

"Of course I asked, she said I should trust her but how can I?"

"You jumped to conclusions," Sek continued, ignoring Ax's reply. "You accused her instead of questioning."

Ax huffed.

Sek stood over him frowning. "Ax, I know you always have to be strong for us and make the decisions. Maybe it was wrong of us to just expect you to take on the responsibility."

"No, it wasn't."

"Let me finish."

He nodded, indicating for Sek to continue.

"Throughout our youth, you were always the leader. We followed you in and out of trouble."

A wry smile touched his lips, at his friend's words.

"When we lost everything we were still young. Fex, you were only twenty, yet we automatically looked to you, and you never steered us wrong. But you need to understand this situation is different. This isn't just a shipment to sell, it's a person."

"I know that." Did Sek really think he classed Ariane as an object?

"Then start treating her like one!"

He watched Sek leave the room, his stride stiff. His friend was right. He'd always had a tendency to jump to conclusions and never ask questions, always preferring to find his own answers. Could he really have gotten them wrong this time?

With determination he strode from the room, heading straight to his quarters. Pausing outside his room, he gazed at the opposite door. Ariane was angry at him. Would she go to his room or hers? Crossing the hall, he knocked on her door.

"Come in."

The words were spoken in a surprisingly strong voice, it astounded him. He'd half expected to find her crying again. She sat on her bed, the PD lying in front of her, her expression calm.

"Yes?" she asked after a few moments.

He swallowed a lump the sight of her had brought to his throat. "Can we talk?"

She sat up straighter and put the PD away, giving him her full attention. Now he was here he didn't know what to say.

"I'm sorry for snapping earlier."

She shrugged. "It's fine."

"I don't like you discussing intimate organs with Trel... or anyone but me."

A faint smile touched her lips. "Yes, I noticed you got a little jealous."

He rolled the unusual word around in his head for a moment. It wasn't one he'd encountered before. As he thought about the translation he realised she was right, that's exactly how he'd felt, jealous. It was a feeling he'd never experienced. Maybe he'd never cared about anything enough to be jealous before. "I don't like that emotion."

"Not many do."

They stared at each other while he decided on his next question... Are you planning to escape? Do you want to stay? He didn't think he was ready to hear the answers. Eventually, he settled on, "Why are you learning about the ship?"

She fiddled with the bed linen as she spoke. "I thought it might be useful."

He frowned. "In what way?"

Raising her eyes, she met his. "In escaping... But not from you."

"Then from who?"

She answered his question with one of her own. "Why are you selling me?"

Walking closer, he sat on the edge of the bed making it creak slightly. "We need the coin."

Surprisingly, she gave a gentle, understanding, smile. "I have no intention of escaping from you," she clarified. "But once I'm sold, I have no intention of remaining a prisoner."

Her reply amazed him. "You could always stay here, with us... if you wanted." He snapped his mouth shut, surprised at the words he hadn't planned to say. He couldn't deny he liked the idea. Despite all his previous comments he wanted to keep her.

Joy lit her eyes, and he let out a breath he hadn't realised he was holding. It made her next words all the more confusing. "No, I couldn't."

"Of course, you can. You get along with everyone."

"You can't afford to keep me. You said so yourself."

"We'll manage."

"How?"

He reluctantly admitted he had no answer, but he wasn't about to let that stop him. "We'd find a way."

"Your lives seem hard enough as it is without adding hiding a human into the mix."

He cupped her warm cheek, please when she nuzzled into his palm and closed her eyes. "We'll find a way."

Sitting up straight, she stared at him steadily. "There is no other way. I've looked over this entire ship. I've seen your food supplies and what's in the cargo hold. You have no other option."

He wanted to argue; however, she was right. The only other option would be thievery, which could draw too much attention to them. "But, what about you?"

"I'll be fine." She sounded very confident in her answer. "I'll escape."

He shook his head. He couldn't let her go... he just couldn't. "No."

"Yes."

He cupped her face with both hands. "Are you forgetting I'm in charge of this ship? I'm the captain." The gentleness of his tone softened the firmness of his words.

A faint chuckle vibrated through her. "Then act like one, and take care of your crew." The words were spoken quietly but strongly. She seemed to have accepted her fate. Unfortunately, he could not.

"We'll find another way, I promise."

She crept closer and climbed over him straddling his lap. "Ax, it's alright, I understand you have to sell me, don't make promises you can't keep."

Her lips came down on his before he could comment. Pulling her close he wrapped his arms around her and devoured her mouth. Within moments she was tugging at his shirt, seemingly as eager to feel skin on skin as he was. Raining gentle kisses along her jaw line he nibbled on her earlobe before burying his face in her neck and breathing in her scent.

"I will find a way, I have to. I can't let you go."

Her arms, which were now wrapped around his neck tightened as she hugged him back kissing his neck and stroking her hands through his hair. "I'm afraid you have no choice."
**Chapter 17**

Ariane gazed in amazement out of the rec room window. A planet in the distance glowed bright red with orange and yellow sparks shooting from it. She wished they could get closer for a better look, but when she'd tried to convince Jas to do a fly by, he'd been adamant about it being too dangerous. Apparently, the planet was named Res, after someone who once tried landing on it and was never seen again. It was very much like Earth's Sun, though it didn't provide light for another planet. There were no other planets for it to light up. They were miles... or the Galaxy equivalent of... from anywhere.

Relaxing back in the chair she'd placed by the window, she enjoyed the view as soft music played quietly from the stereo. She had no idea who she was listening to, but the tune was beautiful. She sipped the drink Brise had made her and wondered if she would ever see a sight like this again. Her stomach churned. The drink tasted vile, but she'd already felt sick, although she'd begun to think the concoction in her glass was hindering rather than helping. Being in space and eating strange food seemed to be causing havoc with her system.

She had been on the ship for seven weeks, and each day they travelled closer to the Sixth Galaxy. Ax said he would find a way to keep her, yet they didn't change course, they just travelled nearer to the auction block. She couldn't blame him. The longer she stayed here, the more convinced she became the men were Ethereals. It must be hard enough to constantly hide without hiding her too.

She was their only means to get money. Fuel had started running low, as had food. The other items in the cargo hold weren't worth anything, and they had no contacts in this area of the galaxy with which to do business. She knew, she'd thoroughly questioned everyone on the ship. The men were surprisingly forthcoming with information.

Once they hit their destination, they'd need to refuel before going to the closest planet they could get business from. Without her sale, they'd be stuck.

Her fate was sealed, as much as Ax had insisted he wouldn't sell her, she knew he had no choice. Her only option was to prepare for life afterwards, and that's exactly what she'd been doing. Thanks to Ax's crew, she now knew the basic workings of the ship. She had a rough idea how to fly, and defend it. If she could escape from her captors long enough to procure a small vehicle at least she would know what to do with it. With any luck whoever brought her would just use basic locks that she could pick.

"Right, we have a plan."

Ariane jolted and twisted her chair around as all eight men walked into the room and made themselves comfortable, some leant against walls, others on the sofa. Ax stood over her glaring down with his arms crossed. She fidgeted with the drink in her hands as all eyes rested on her and waited for someone to speak.

"We are going to sell you."

Her heart dropped at his words. As much as she'd known this would be the outcome, a small part of her had always hoped he would find a way. She lowered her gaze and nodded in acceptance. Her eyes shot up to his again at his next words.

"Then we are going to rescue you."

"What?"

With a sigh he picked her up and took her seat, positioning her on his lap. He ran his hand through her hair as he spoke, gently removing stray strands from her face. "We need to sell you, we have no choice. If we don't, we'll be stuck on that planet. We won't have enough fuel to reach our next destination."

She focused on his hand at her waist. She knew all this, had been told by Bizax some weeks ago.

"But, once we sell you, there's no reason why we can't rescue you."

"I planned to rescue myself."

His lips formed a straight line as his eyes darted around the men. "Yes, so I gathered. But I think it might be easier if we rescue you."

"How are you going to do that?"

"Disguise ourselves, follow the buyer, and steal you back. It shouldn't be too hard. There are enough of us to keep track of where you're taken." He placed a finger under her chin and brought her eyes to meet his. "I promise I won't let them keep you."

A warm fuzzy feeling settled in her chest at his words. In his eyes, she could see a wealth of emotion and wondered if he even understood what he was feeling. He'd never encountered jealousy before; did he know what love was?

She knew she was growing to love him, but would he ever return the feeling? At the very least she knew he cared about her, his refusal to let her go proved it. She would just have to hope it developed into more.

"I think you should spend some time preparing with Trel."

She could tell he forced the words out of his mouth. Obviously, some jealousy still remained. "Why?"

"Trel is the best hands-on fighter, besides me."

She rolled her eyes at his subtle brag.

"He can teach you to defend yourself. I wouldn't be able to be as firm with you as he will."

She glared at Trel, who sniggered at Ax's words. "I can already defend myself," she said.

A gentle smile touched Ax's lips. "I'm sure you can, but a human female's type of defence isn't quite what I mean."

Her jaw dropped at his response. Could he be any more patronising?

"I don't need self-defence lessons."

The look Ax gave her resembled one you would give a small child who was obviously in the wrong, but you didn't want to tell them. "Of course, you don't, but humour me."

Crossing her arms over her chest, she flopped back onto him and felt a small bit of satisfaction when he grunted and eased her forward slightly. "Fine."

"Thank you." His reply came out slightly breathless. "As soon as you feel up to it, Trel will introduce you to the gym."

"There's a gym here?" She sat up at the news. She thought she'd examined every part of this ship. How had she missed an entire room?

Ax chuckled again. "Believe it or not, there are quite a few places on this ship you haven't seen yet."

She frowned at his words and rushed to rise from his lap. "Alright, where's this gym?"

"I said when you feel better." He pulled her back to his chest.

"I feel better now." And surprisingly she did. Whatever had been in the drink Brise gave her really seemed to work.

Climbing from his lap, she made sure to elbow him in the ribs, in the process. His sharp gasp gave her quite a bit of pleasure and satisfaction, human defence isn't what he means indeed. She faced Trel with determination. "Where's the gym?"

"Right this way." He laughed, indicating for her to follow.

Walking from the room without a backwards glance, she marched after him down the corridor. After a few minutes, he stopped by a door she'd been through before.

"I've already been in there, it's your weird version of a shower," she told him with confusion.

He opened the door and gestured for her to precede him. "It is, but it leads to the gym. The cleaning facility is here so you are refreshed upon leaving the exercise area."

She watched in shock as he crossed the room and revealed a door panel. Seconds later it swished opened to lead into another room. How had she missed that?

The gym was huge and reminded her of a school gymnasium with what appeared to be some kind of court mapped out on the floor. One wall resembled a climbing wall, what looked like monkey bars hung from the ceiling, and exercise mats were stacked against another wall.

Trel's footsteps echoed off the walls as he retrieved two mats. "Right, unfortunately, we are limited for time, but I think before we teach you self-defence, we need to work on your fitness."

She stared at the mats dubiously. This was starting to look more and more like torture. Ariane had never liked gym class. In fact, any form of exercise that didn't involve a male partner and preferably both of them naked was, to her, the equivalent of having teeth pulled. No, this wouldn't do at all.

"Actually, I'd rather just get onto the self-defence bit."

He stopped straightening the mats for a moment. "Ariane, I get that you don't like exercise." His eyes travelled up and down her body. "But if you're not fit enough, you won't be able to defend yourself."

Her nails dug into her palms as she stiffened at the insult. She knew she wasn't a size six swimsuit model, but the way he looked at her, anyone would think she was an elephant. "I'm plenty fit enough."

"I assure you, you're not."

"Prove it."

A spark of anger appeared in his eyes as he stood straighter. It appeared he didn't like having his authority questioned any more than Ax did. It was strange to see Trel like this. She knew he was the youngest and had got used to him being a joker. As he slowly stalked towards her, she got a glimpse of the man he would one day become, strong and self-assured.

She knew her first moment of fear since finding out they were aliens. Every instinct she had urged her to back away, but that would prove his point. Deliberately relaxing her body, she gave the appearance of calm and concentrated on her breathing while he circled her.

"You really think you can defend yourself against me," he mocked.

"I do." She stood alert, waiting for him to make his move. She'd grown up tough and knew how this went. If she held out long enough, he'd eventually strike. Just as she suspected it didn't take long.

An arm snuck around her chest from behind, at the same time a foot went around her ankle. Allowing him to knock her footing from under her she rolled to her knees with the action, causing him to lose his balance. As she went down, she grabbed his arm and put all her weight on it, forcing him to flip over her back. He landed with a loud thump that vibrated around the room, and a groan. He was a large man and flipping him hadn't been easy, but ignoring the ache it created she jumped back to her feet.

Trel lay on his back staring up at her, panting. "Beginners' luck," he mumbled clambering back to his feet.

Ariane crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

"Yes, really." He shot his hand out and clasped her neck. The grip was firm but not tight enough to harm.

Grabbing his arm with both hands, she scraped her fingernails down the limb creating red stripes with her nails. His eyes narrowed, but the grip didn't ease. He walked purposefully forward, easing her backwards. When her back hit the wall, she decided a move had to be made. Snapping her hand up, she hit the palm against his nose. Instantly his grip left her neck as he jumped back. His eyes watered, and he covered his face.

She took a swift step away from the wall. "Still think I'm not fit enough?"

His hands left his face, and he grabbed her wrists, yanking her towards him. She twisted in his grip, trying desperately to free herself.

"Let me go." The words came out calm and relaxed, belying how her heart pounded in her chest from the adrenalin coursing through her.

"Make me." Joy shone in his eyes as he saw victory.

"Let me go." This time she spoke with more force.

"An assailant won't release you just because you tell him to."

"I'll give you one more chance." She relaxed her wrists and whispered the words, "Let me go."

He whispered back. "No."

His grip went slack as her knee connected with his groin. It was a dirty trick, but she wasn't about to be beaten. Watching him crumple to the floor, she felt a moment of remorse but quickly stamped it down. She'd needed to prove she could defend herself and that's what she had done.

"You cheated." The words were gasped in pain as he curled into a ball on the floor.

"An assailant will cheat."

A faint chuckle left his lips, accompanied by a groan. "That they will."

She stared down at him as he slowly moved into a sitting position. "Do you believe I can defend myself now?"

Resting his arms on his knees, he gazed up at her. "Alright, we'll skip the exercise bit."

She frowned. "Didn't I just prove to you that I don't need your help?"

"No." He gingerly got to his feet, leaning on the wall for support. "You proved to me you know basics, we can improve on them."

"I thought my basics worked quite well."

Standing upright, once again he panted, "Not all beings have appendages you can kick."

A small grin curved her lips. "I'll have to kick harder then."

"You can kick harder than that?"

The shock that showed on his face made her laugh. "Quite a lot harder."

Standing up straighter, he pushed away from the wall and walked towards her on unsteady feet.

She didn't know what happened. One second she was standing watching him approach, the next she was laying on her back staring at the ceiling and sucking in a much needed gasp of air.

Trel stood over her holding his hand out for her to grasp. "Never assume you have won."

She took his offered hand and moaned as he helped her to her feet. She didn't know what move he'd used to send her onto her back, but she never saw it coming.

"Let's see if we can teach you some fighting that doesn't involve kicking, shall we?"
**Chapter 18**

Ax tried to concentrate on the star charts before him, but he couldn't stop thinking of the wonderful thing Ariane had done with her mouth earlier. Every day she introduced him to something new.

All the crew had started discovering new things about Earth that they liked. Praid had developed a great fondness for Eighties Earth Music. Jas had been able to find a huge database of Earth films, which they all watched in the evening, and Trel seemed to be speaking a whole new language, as he constantly came out with Earth phrases that Ariane taught him during their training sessions. It really did seem a shame such an unusual planet had been destroyed.

Her training sessions weighed heavily on his mind. Trel insisted she was doing well in them, but he couldn't imagine it. She was a weak human. How could she possibly defend herself against the lowlifes that roamed the galaxy?

Trel had invited him to watch the lessons but he couldn't. He knew he'd lose his temper if he watched Trel attacking her. Yes, it would be pretend, but he wouldn't be able to stop himself from intervening. So he stayed away, hoping at least some of what Trel taught her sank in.

"Ax, Melodious is up ahead."

Ax snapped out of his musings and faced Praid. "What was that?"

"I said Melodious is up ahead."

"And?"

A hint of pink appeared on Praid's cheeks. "I just thought, maybe Ariane would like to see it."

"You know we're short on fuel, we need to get to the Sixth Galaxy." The worry over their future plans made his tone sharper than intended.

Sek stepped between him and Praid. "Ax, are you sure you want to go ahead with the plan to sell her? We can find another way."

"Have we changed course?"

"No."

"Have we made any other plans for the future?"

Sek avoided his eyes then looked at the floor while rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, no, but-"

"But, nothing." He stood and stared at his men. "How could you think I would put a human above you all?"

"Ax, calm down, we didn't mean it like that."

"No, I won't calm down, I'm in charge of this ship, and I always put its needs first. We took her to sell, and that's what we'll do. The coin we get from the sale will last months, you all know that. I would never put a human above your wellbeing."

A gasp from the door made him spin around in shock. The look of hurt on Ariane's face caused him to groan. "Ariane."

She masked her expression and held up a hand to stop him. "It's fine."

"No, it's not, that didn't sound right." He took a step towards her.

"Ax its fine," she repeated gently. "I know the chance we're taking, and I know why we're taking it. Excuse me." She turned and strolled from the room, her head held high.

"Well done," Sek said sarcastically.

Ax sat back into his seat and ran his hands through his hair. It was beginning to feel like every time he opened his mouth he said the wrong thing. Would it really hurt to show Ariane a nice place before her sale? He couldn't deny a part of him really wanted to spend more time with her. If things didn't go as planned at least he would have another memory to treasure. He pushed the depressing thought away with a shake of his head. "Damn it. How far are we from Melodious?"

Praid checked his monitor. "About a day away."

Ax sighed. "Set a course there, we might as well show it to Ariane. A couple of days added onto the journey won't make much difference in the long run. We'll make the fuel stretch."

After a few more minutes staring out of the viewing window, he left the room, needing to check Ariane was alright. The look on her face made him feel guilty, yet another emotion he wasn't used to.

She wasn't in her room when he arrived there, not that she used it often. She usually headed straight for his in the evening. After checking the recreation room and food prep room, he made his way to the engine room. The sound of her voice greeted him over the engine noise before he could see her.

"It's just so easy to forget about my upcoming sale."

"I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt you," Bizax replied gently.

"Oh, I know he didn't, it was just a shock to be reminded of my future."

"He might change his mind," Bizax said.

Ax peeked around the corner to see Ariane give a sigh and flop into a chair.

"He won't change his mind, and I wouldn't expect him to."

"You never know."

"I do know. You need the money in order to survive. You risked your lives to get me for that purpose. That shows how important it is to you all."

Bizax sat in a chair opposite her. "You're important too."

Ariane gave a sad little laugh. "But am I important enough?"

Bizax stared at her perplexed. "What do you mean?"

Ariane fiddled with something on her lap, but Ax couldn't see what it was.

"Did you know I planned to escape?" she asked Bizax.

His friend raised an eyebrow before laughing. "Did you expect to succeed?"

Ariane relaxed back in the chair and replied with confidence. "Oh yes, I'm very resourceful when I want to be. I was just biding my time." She leant her head back and stared at the ceiling. "I was given free rein of the ship to learn how things worked and where stuff was, I'd have succeeded."

Ax frowned. Had she really thought it would be that easy to escape them?

Bizax voiced a question he had been thinking. "So, why didn't you do it?"

"You need the money."

The statement was so plain and simple it took Ax's breath away.

Bizax stood and gazed down at her. "You would give yourself up for our sake?"

Ariane stood too. "Well, I've got nothing better to do at the moment. Now weren't you going to explain to me how the airlocks worked?"

Ax listen to Bizax explain the airlocks for a few moments before making his presence known. "Ah there you are," he said, walking around the corner.

Ariane smiled at him, all hurt feelings apparently forgotten. "Hi, did you need me for something?"

Ax strolled over to them and on impulse wrapped an arm around her waist. She felt so good in his embrace and curled into him naturally like she belonged there. He would miss this if they failed to get her back. Pushing the pessimistic thoughts aside he gave her a huge smile. "I just thought I'd let you know we are making a stop tomorrow."

Excitement lit her face, and she practically jumped with joy. "Oh, where are we going?"

"It's a surprise. You can thank Praid. It was his idea."

Without another word, she slipped out from under his arm and ran in the direction of the control room, no doubt to question Praid about their destination.

Ax watched her go with a chuckle. He spun back to Bizax to find the other man frowning at him. "What?"

"You really hurt her feelings."

Ax sighed. "I know, I didn't mean to."

"Do you really still intend to sell her?"

The question startled Ax. Did all his men think he would put their needs last? "Of course."

Bizax frown deepened. "We would survive without the coin."

"But for how long?"

"Ax, we've known each other for a long time. That woman makes you happier than I've ever seen you. The men would understand if you didn't want to take the risk."

"It's not an option."

"It could be."

Ax went to leave the room. "No, it couldn't."

He entered his bedroom that evening to find Ariane already in bed, reading something on the PD.

"Ax, what planet are you planning to sell me on?" she asked.

He stopped unfastening his trousers and sat on the edge of the bed. "Why do you ask?"

"I just want to research it."

"What for?"

She placed the machine on her lap and sat chewing her bottom lip, obviously trying to decide what to answer. "Alright, I know you plan to steal me back after the sale."

"Rescue you."

"Rescue me," she confirmed. "But just in case you fail-"

"We won't."

"But just in case you do, I want to be prepared, have an escape planned."

She made the statement sound so easy, he wondered if she truly understood what she was saying. "Ariane, it's not that simple."

"Of course, it is."

"You won't be given as much freedom as you are here. You will be caged, or chained." He got a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach as he said the words. The thought of Ariane in a cage sent fury through him. He knew that was most likely what would happen until they rescued her.

She rolled her eyes. "I can pick locks, remember."

Ax grunted, remembering her escapades when she first arrived on their ship. "How did you do that anyway?"

She removed a pin from her hair and handed it to him. "With this, it's just something I learnt in my youth."

"You learnt to pick locks as a child?" He turned the pin over in his hands. It was just a thin strip of metal folded in half. He pocketed it deciding he would have to try it himself later.

"Just as a way to get out of my foster home past curfew," she said.

"Your parents fostered you out?" He didn't remember hearing Earthlings did that when researching the planet.

"I had no parents." She avoided meeting his eyes as she spoke, instead picking at an imaginary thread on the bed linen.

"Siblings?" he asked gently.

She shook her head. "No family."

Ax placed his finger under her chin and raised her face to his. "Well, you have a family now."

He watched moisture pool up in her eyes and wondered what he had said wrong this time. He thought she was happy with them so why was she crying? He still wasn't sure how to handle her tears, and he let out a breath of relief when she blinked it away.

"Anyway, what's the name of the planet? I want to sort my escape plan," she asked.

His hand moved from her chin to cup her face. "You don't need an escape plan. We will rescue you."

Ariane placed her hand over his. "There's no harm in having a backup plan."

With a sigh, he grabbed the PD from the bed and brought up the planet for her, wishing she would have a little more faith in him. "Dealen," he said, handing it back. "It's just another Solce but for the rich. Once word gets out you're there, they'll flock to bid for you." The words tasted bitter in his mouth, but Ariane accepted them with a nod and began reading about the planet.

"It's very small," she commented after a while.

He reached over and removed the machine from her hands. "It is. You will have plenty of time to read about it before we get there. I can think of much better things to do right now."

"And what would that be?" A seductive smile curled her lips.

Rather than tell her, he decided to show her. Grabbing her hips he pulled her down to a laying position. She stretched out beneath him raising her arms above her head, her brown hair fanning out around her on the pillow, and wriggled under his gaze. Running his hands up her sides, he dragged her top up her body to reveal her full breasts. The pink nipples hardened, begging for attention. Leaning over one, he gave it a quick lick before blowing a breath on it, she shivered under his touch. Moving to the other breast, he gave it the same treatment. After placing gentle kisses all over them he moved down her body, removing her trousers as he went. He kissed each section of smooth skin he revealed.

When she finally lay naked beneath him, he stared down at her drinking in the sight. Her legs opened in invitation. Moving between them, he brought his lips down to join hers in a gentle kiss. She shuffled under him, attempting to get his penis where she wanted, but he eased back to prevent it.

"What's wrong?"

He smiled, loving how eager she was. "Absolutely nothing, I just want to try something."

She frowned. The frown turned to a look of bliss when he slid down her body and licked a long line up her pussy. Her legs opened wider revealing her core, which glistened with juices. Unable to resist, he stuck his tongue inside her. Her flavour exploded in his mouth, he moaned in appreciation.

Her hands gripped his hair, holding him against her unnecessarily as he had no intention of stopping. He licked and lapped at every part of her making her wriggle under his ministrations. Her soft sighs drove his own excitement higher.

He'd seen this done in many of the films he watched about humans, but he'd never imagined just how good it would be or how he would enjoy it just as much as she appeared to. The taste of her was so much better than anything he ever tasted before, and she seemed to be enjoying it much more than any of the women in the films did. She squirmed under his tongue, grinding against his face. He quickened the pace of his licks and inserted two fingers inside her. Within seconds, she clenched down on them and spasmed beneath him. Removing them, he crawled up her body and positioned himself at her entrance. In one swift movement, he slid inside. Her walls gripped him like a vice.

No slow build up was necessary, he could already tell she was close to release, and he wasn't far behind. Tasting her had excited him much more than expected. Pulling nearly all the way out of her, he paused then slid back in a few times. She grabbed his hips tightly, encouraging him to move faster. Following her lead he quickened his pace, sliding in and out of her forcefully. Within moments, her walls clamped down on him tighter than ever before as she screamed her release. A few seconds later he joined her in bliss before collapsing on top of her, gasping for breath.

Rolling to the side, he pulled her with him, cradling her in his arms. He'd told the men she would still be sold, and he intended to keep his word. He just hoped her rescue was as easy as he'd said it would be.

**Chapter 19**

Ariane sat in the control room, practically bouncing up and down with excitement. They were approaching the planet Melodious, and she was fascinated by the colour she could see on the surface.

"Sit down!"

The words were barked at her as she once again got up and headed towards the window. With a scowl, she crossed her arms over her chest and dropped back into her seat. Ax rolled his eyes while the other men sniggered.

"I just want to look."

"You can see from your seat."

She stuck her tongue out at Ax when he looked away.

"I saw that."

With a huff, she slumped in her seat. Honestly, men could be so mardy sometimes. She stayed that way for a few moments until the view caught her eye once more. Before the planet had looked all different shades of orange. Now she could see an emerald green colour mixed in. Subconsciously, she got to her feet and once more approached the window. A gasp tore from her lips when the shutters closed.

"NO!"

"Yes."

Ax continued staring at the monitor, his black hair falling over his forehead, making him look far too sexy for someone being so annoying.

"Why?"

He finally turned his smoky eyes her way. "Because you won't stay in your seat."

She frowned at the said seat, gave another huff, and headed for the exit.

Ax spoke again as the door whooshed open. "I've locked all the viewing windows. You can't open any."

In one fluid motion, she closed the door, walked back into the room, and sat in her seat. She could see Ax trying not to laugh. Bloody annoying man.

It seemed to take forever for the ship to land, but when it finally did, she was the first one at the door, waiting to depart.

Ax called everyone together. "Right guys, as you know we are in Galaxy Three. Last time we were in this galaxy we were Croms. Get yourselves changed."

All the men changed shape, this time, they grew shorter, no more than four feet tall. They lost all hair and their skin turned a reddish brown, their lips vanished making their mouths simple slits. Ax then held out his hand to her.

"Really? You want me to look like that?"

Ax grinned, revealing pointed teeth and making her shiver. "Croms control this section of Galaxy Three, and they only trade with their own kind. We have to look like them in case the ship is recognised."

With great reluctance, she grasped his hand and felt herself change. It was still strange to look down and see a body that shouldn't be there.

When Ax was satisfied with everyone's appearance, and her hand was tied to his, they exited the ship onto a surprisingly quiet planet.

"Where is everyone?" she asked as they crossed a field covered in orange grass. It hadn't escaped her notice that, unlike the other planets, this one had no docking bay.

"On the other side of the planet." Ax didn't look at her as he spoke.

Ariane frowned. Why would they all be on the other side of the planet? She stared into the distance looking for any kind of life. "Are we allowed here?"

"This is a tourist planet. Anyone can be here," Ax said calmly.

She raised an eyebrow. "A tourist planet with no people?"

"Let's just call this section of the planet, the less well-known bit, shall we?"

For a tourist planet, there wasn't much to see. "You have to pay to get on this planet, don't you?" Ariane asked.

Bizax cleared his throat. "Well, some people do. We prefer to enter low key and take the more scenic route to the attraction."

Ariane looked down at her Crom body. "So, why do we have to look like this if no one can see the ship anyway?"

"Better to be cautious than to regret it later," Ax said.

It turned out the more scenic route involved walking for what seemed like hours, through field after field, each one exactly the same as the last. While the sun blazed down on them. Ariane was close to saying she would wait at the ship and head back when they finally caught sight of civilisation, a large group stood in the distance. "What's that noise?" she asked as a low humming began to invade the silence.

Ax smiled at her. "That's what we came to see. Or perhaps hear would be a better word."

As they walked closer to the throng, the noise got louder, surprisingly it didn't appear to be coming from the people. It wasn't long before she noticed it resembled music, but she couldn't see where it came from.

Bizax walked ahead. Still being the largest of the bunch, he ploughed through the crowd, making a path for them to get to the front of the group.

When they broke through, Ariane gasped in shock. Trees and flowers glistened as if the petals were made of diamonds. Just past them appeared to be an emerald sea, the surf rolling towards them sparkled like polished silver. A warm soft wind blew from the water making everything dance.

"So that's what the green was," she murmured.

The breeze skimming through the trees and over the field created the most beautiful music she'd ever heard.

"What is that?" she whispered, scared to raise her voice in case it stopped.

Ax gave her hand a gentle squeeze and pulled her closer. "The plants singing."

"It's beautiful."

They made themselves comfortable on the grass. Praid and Jas wandered off to get refreshments, and together they watched the sunset as the plants sang.

"Thank you," Ariane said later as they headed back to the ship.

"I knew you'd like it," Praid piped up from behind her.

She smiled at him over her shoulder and chuckled as the breeze blew his tie into his face. "I did. I'm going to come here again someday."

The men went quiet, obviously thinking about her future sale. They might not think she would visit this place again, but she would.

"Oh, cheer up guys." She nudged her shoulder into Ax and grinned at him. The smile he gave in return was weak.

"Down!" Bizax suddenly called startling everyone.

They all dropped to the ground, taking her with them. "What's wrong?" she whispered in Ax's ear. He indicated for her to be quiet and pointed towards their ship. A Xan could be seen stood in front of it.

"Oh dear, looks like you're getting a parking ticket," she whispered, causing Trel to snigger.

Ax glared at her then indicated for the men to spread out.

They fanned out along the field, slowly inching closer to the ship. She noticed Ax made a point of hanging back, probably because she was with him. They watched from afar as more Xans appeared from around the ship. They stood talking for a few moments before leaving. Once they were sure the coast was clear they headed onto the ship.

"Check the ship," Ax ordered as soon as the doors were shut. "I want to know what they were doing."

"Maybe they were just looking for the ship's owners," Ariane suggested.

"Maybe," Ax agreed, but he didn't sound too confident.

As soon as they were sure no one else was aboard, they took off.

"I don't like them sniffing around my ship," Ax mumbled from his seat in the control room.

Ariane sat in her own seat, watching the men work. The relaxing ease they'd felt all afternoon was forgotten. She didn't really understand what had upset them so much. Xans had found a ship where it shouldn't be, and looked around it. What was so strange about that? For some reason, everyone was now on high alert. It made her very uneasy.

"Ariane?"

Ax stood staring down at her.

"Why don't you grab something to eat and get some rest?"

After placing a quick kiss on Ax's lips, she left the control room. No mention had been made of where they headed now.

Brise was in the kitchen preparing food. She'd learnt in her first week here not to get in the way of him cooking. "Hey, Brise," she said, taking a seat at the large table.

He smiled at her. "Hey."

"Why is everyone so on edge?"

He carried on stirring whatever he was cooking for a moment before replying. "We don't trust others."

"Why?"

Giving a sigh, he placed a bowl of stew in front of her and took a seat opposite. "We tend to find when we trust others they screw us over. We've learnt to only rely on each other."

"So what do you think the Xans were doing?"

Brise chuckled as he pushed his long black braid back behind his shoulder. "Probably looking for the owner of the ship."

"And if they weren't looking for the owner?"

"If they weren't, I think they would have broken into the ship. Since they didn't, there's nothing to worry about."

"Then why is everyone acting so worried?"

"Old habits die hard."

Brise got up and removed the bowl when she'd finished eating.

"Thank you," she said as she got up to leave. Pausing in the doorway, she turned to ask a final question. "Brise, I'm not really one of you, do you trust me?"

Walking over to her, he took hold of her shoulders and stared her in the eye. "I can't speak for everyone, but I trust you."

Ariane smiled, and on impulse gave him a quick hug before leaving the kitchen and going to Ax's quarters. She didn't even think about heading to her own room. In unspoken agreement, she spent every night with Ax. Climbing into bed, she intended to wait for him to join her, but her eyes grew heavy, and before long she was fast asleep.

"Ariane!"

She woke with a start seconds before the door burst open. Ax rushed to the bed and threw the covers off her. "Get dressed, quick, we need to get to the control room." A siren blared, and the lights began flashing red. Jumping from the bed, she pulled on some clothes. Her ears rang from the noise and her heart pounded in her chest. The look of worry on Ax's face sent a cold shiver through her body.

"What's going on?"

Grabbing her hand, he dragged her down the corridor. "Xans are attacking."

She pulled him to a stop. "What do you mean attacking?"

"Attacking, as in guns firing at us, now come on."

He dragged her through the corridors to the control room and pushed her into her seat. "Strap in."

The viewing window was still closed so she couldn't see anything, but the sounds coming from the monitors and the alarm siren that still blared did nothing to settle the fear running through her veins.

The ship jolted to one side.

"We've been hit," Praid shouted.

"We need to land," Trel called.

"Not really an option. They will follow, and we will be trapped without enough fuel to take off again. " Jas said jerking the ship to the right to avoid another hit.

"What the hell do they want?" Ax groaned.

"Us on a platter," Dyan replied while firing back at the other ship.

"We're losing power," Praid shouted seconds before they heard Bizax over the intercom.

"We got a huge hole in the side of the ship, Ax."

"Fex. Take us down, Jas."

The room went silent as all the men looked at him in shock.

"They'll follow us," Sek said after a moment.

Ax turned to him with anger in his eyes. "Do you have a better idea?"

Sek sighed and gave a quick shake of his head.

Ax surveyed the room. "Anyone got an idea? I'll take any we have."

All the men stood in silence.

"Land us on Crom, it's the closest planet," Ax said to Jas.

The ship lurched to the side again to avoid another hit before they began their decent.

Where normally they glided down to whatever planet they were landing on, this time, they shook and bumped from side to side constantly. Ariane's stomach churned as they picked up speed. For the first time since entering the ship, she had no desire to look out the window.

"We're going too fast," Jas called, swerving them again. "This landing won't be pretty."

"Everyone, strap in," Ax ordered.

The pressure in the room increased as they got closer to the planet. The faster they moved the harder Ariane found it to breathe. The whole ship began to shake, jolting her around in her seat. The straps dug into her shoulders and pressed on her chest.

"Nearly on the ground," Jas shouted.

Ariane finally took a deep breath right before she felt a sharp pain in the back of her head, and everything went black.

**Chapter 20**

"She's waking up."

Ariane forced her eyes to open then quickly closed them again with a groan.

"Ow, who broke my head?" She mumbled as felt around and found a decent sized lump forming.

Ax's voice sounded too loud when he spoke. "Ariane, can you hear me?"

She tried once more to open her eyes, this time; the light didn't hurt quite so much. She was no longer in her seat, but lying on the floor. "Do you have to shout?"

"Sorry," he said in a quieter tone. "Are you okay?"

Trying to sit up, she groaned and grabbed the chair for support. "Oh, I'm great, that hat in the chest of clothes you gave me will fit so much better now I have this lump on my head."

Ax grasped her arm and helped her back into a seat. "I can see your sarcasm is still intact."

She gave a weak smile before looking around the room. "What hit me?"

He followed her gaze. "Not got a clue. The place is a mess."

"Ax, the Xans are landing," Praid interrupted in a worried voice.

"Where are they?" He rushed over to the monitors. "Okay guys, we're going to have company soon, Xan up."

Ariane stared at the men bewildered as they all transformed into Xans. Her head was easing a bit. "Will they believe you're really Xans?"

"No reason for them not to believe it. Hopefully, they'll think they attacked one of their own by mistake."

"What about me?"

Ax turned to her and frowned. "Go to your quarters and hide. If they get hostile, we won't be able to stay in contact with you constantly to hold a Xan image.

She winced when she gave a quick nod and attempted to get to her feet. The room spun.

Ax grabbed her arm to steady her. "Lean on me, I'll help you."

When they arrived at her quarters, she scanned the sparse room. "Where am I supposed to hide? Don't you people believe in wardrobes?"

Ax chuckled. "Do you mean to tell me there's actually something you and all your nosiness didn't find?"

Ariane pouted. "I'm not nosy."

"Yes, you are." He walked over to the right-hand wall and pressed a tile on the floor with his foot.

Ariane gasped as a tall cupboard came up from the floor. "That was not there before."

"I assure you it was."

"Impossible."

"Or you're just not as good as you think you are."

Ariane frowned and opened the door to look inside. It was a wardrobe with plenty of room to stand in.

"Get inside," Ax urged.

She looked at it dubiously. "If I get inside, how will I get out again if it's down there?" She pointed to the floor.

Ax shrugged. "You don't. You just stay down there and rot if we don't come back for you."

Her eyes met his in shock. "But-"

"I'm kidding." He rolled his eyes. "There's a button inside to lower and raise it. Standard safety feature."

He showed her where the button was, and demonstrated it working. "Now stay here until one of us comes to get you, and don't make a sound."

Ariane stepped into the wardrobe. Ax caught her arm and stopped her. She gazed up into his face.

"Everything's going to be alright," he whispered, before bringing his lips down to meet hers. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back, clinging, afraid to let go. The kiss was too short. In no time at all, Ax brought it to an end and eased her away.

"Remember, don't make a sound."

She nodded and stepped into the wardrobe again. As much as she wanted to be with the others to see what was happening, she wasn't stupid. This was the safest place to be, but her heart ached because Ax wasn't hiding with her.

...

Ax watched the wardrobe sink into the floor before making his way back to the control room. As he walked, he took on the Xan image. This was bad, very bad. They often had skirmishes, but they hadn't been shot from the sky in years. Not since the hunt after Ethra had been destroyed.

He entered the control room to find everyone busy checking the state of the ship, despite the situation he was pleased to see no one panicking.

"What's the status?"

Praid looked up from his monitor. "Not too good. Besides a small hole, the ship's okay, but it needs closing in some way and the room airlocked before we can move. And if we get off the planet, I don't know if our fuel will last until Dealen.

He faced Bizax, who had joined them in the control room. "Go sort the hole."

Bizax's face fell. "Aw come on Ax, that's not fair. The hole can wait until after the fight."

More often than not Ax would have agreed; however, they had a human on board to think of. He shook his head sadly. "Sorry, I don't want them here with Ariane on board. We need that hole sorted."

Bizax huffed, but left the control room, shoulders slumped.

"How long, until the Xans get here?"

Jas groaned. "Not long enough. They're approaching now."

Ax checked the monitors. "Okay guys, let's head them off. I don't want them on my ship. Jas, you stay here. As soon as you can start the ship, do it!"

The men walked towards the entrance, each stopping to grab their guns on the way. Now Ariane was safe, he felt the first tendrils of excitement creep over him. It had been a while since they'd had to deal with unwanted guests. This was nothing like their trouble back on Solce. There the law was held with an iron fist. Here they had an even playing field. The Xans had started this fight. He would finish it. The chance to exercise his fighting skills was very appealing. The rest of his men seemed to feel the same way, judging by the knuckle cracking and grins. Yes, he hoped to convince the other ship they had attacked one of their own, but he still intended to kick their arse as payback.

Stopping at the ship's doors, he signalled all the men to be silent. Using the intercom, he asked Jas where the Xans were.

"They're coming up to the ship now," Jas replied. "Fifteen of them."

Ax turned to the men. "Okay guys, I'm opening the door, don't want them shooting holes in it, everyone ready?"

All the men gave noises of agreement and moved to either side of the door, in case the Xans opened fire instantly.

Ax pressed the panel, and the doors creaked open.

The doors opened, and instantly light rays entered the gap it created. Ax rolled his eyes as he and his men leant against the walls beside the door, letting the enemy waste some of their ammunition. Sek picked imaginary bits of fluff from his shoulder while Dyan polished the barrel of his gun.

When the firing finally stopped, he decided to make himself known. "Are you done shooting at my ship?" he called in a bored tone.

"That depends if you're going to stop being a coward and show yourself," a voice he didn't recognise said.

Ax squared his shoulders and stepped into the doorway. The other men stayed where they were, for now. A group of Xans stood before him, one closer than the rest. Assuming this was the leader Ax addressed him, steel in his voice. "Do you want to tell me why you shot at us?"

Shock passed over his enemy's face when they saw him. They hadn't expected to see another Xan.

"Who are you?" The Xan asked with a frown.

Ax crossed his arms over his chest but kept his gun ready to fire. "Axermaxacorm Kas, who are you?"

The Xan walked forward until only about ten feet separated them, his own men not far behind with their guns aimed. "You're Axermaxacorm Kas?"

"I am." He heard his men step out to join him but didn't acknowledge them.

"Here's the problem," the Xan continued. "I know this is Ax Kas's ship." He fiddled with his gun as he spoke, checking the sight. "I know Ax Kas looks like a Crom, but Wain here," he indicated a Xan to his right. "He believes Ax looks like a Vestor, and Kestel," he indicated the other Xan, whom Ax recognised. "He knows Ax too. Funny thing is none of us described the same person. Don't you find that odd?"

Ax shrugged. "I guess you know imposters. What can I say? Lots of people want to be me. Kestel can confirm who I am. He was on this ship only a matter of weeks ago." He glared pointedly at the other Xan.

Kestel didn't look amused. "I was on your ship to confirm you looked like a Xan. Did you really think I was there to check your cargo? The guns we found were just a bonus."

"I assure you I'm Ax, and I own this ship, which you just shot from the sky." He stood straighter as he spoke.

All casualness left the Xan's face. "Well if you're Ax and you own this ship, I suggest you start explaining what you are because I know you're not a Xan. I've been watching you."

"Sorry, I don't mate with other males." Ax interrupted causing his men to snigger.

The Xan's cheeks got a hint of pink to them, but he carried on undeterred. "I don't believe you are really Xan."

Ax grinned. "We are better looking than most. I can see where you might get confused."

"You're no Xan I'm sure of it, you change forms, only one being can do that." Anger burned in the other man's eyes.

Ax stared levelly at the other creature without responding.

The Xan grew even angrier at his lack of reply. His fingers twitched near his gun trigger making Ax nervous. "You're Ethereal, you and your men. I'm sure of it."

Ax laughed in an attempt to hide his surprise at the accusation. "Ethereals are dead."

"I thought so, too, until I found you."

"You're wrong."

"Am I? Then you won't mind putting this on to prove it."

Ax gasped as the Xan produced a gold collar from his coat. He heard a similar response from behind him at the sight of the halt collar. The G.O.D.S had used them when hunting Ethereals. When it was placed around an Ethereal's neck, any current form was lost, and their particles were forced to stay unanimated.

A look of satisfaction crossed the Xan's face. "I see you recognise this item."

"Of course I recognise it, everyone knows what that is."

"But only Ethereals fear it." The Xan stepped closer. "If you would just put this on to prove I'm wrong, we will leave you in peace."

"Or you could go now before you leave in pieces." Ax raised his gun, aiming at the Xan's head.

"Never mind, we will try it on one of your friends." The Xan laughed.

All Ax's men held their guns a little higher, at the same time Ax fired and shot the Xan through his head. The collar clattered to the floor, as they dashed back to the ship.

"One down," Ax called.

The men ran from side to side of the ship's entrance exchanging gunfire, a few screams were heard as light rays met their mark.

When the other side ceased firing, Ax held up a hand to stop his men.

"Ahh, we have a volunteer," one of the Xans shouted.

Ax peered around the door to see Kestel grinning. He followed his line of sight, to find Jas being held at gunpoint. "Fex," he uttered. How had they gotten Jas from the control room?

"Don't even think of lowering those guns," Jas shouted as he struggled against his captor's.

The Xan named Wain walked towards Jas with the collar raised; fear was evident in his friend's eyes. "Shoot him," Jas hissed.

Ax raised his gun to shoot then lowered it again. If he shot Wain, Jas was dead. They were outnumbered, despite some of the Xans now being injured. They watched, helpless as the halt collar was placed around Jas's neck. His Xan image vanished to reveal his natural state, gold particles floating in a humanoid form. The collar firmly clipped around the form's neck held them in place, preventing them taking on a solid image.

In this state they were immortal, but without the ability to touch, feel, or communicate it was a futile life. The particles' natural instinct was to take on a solid shape. Unfortunately with a solid form came the possibility of death.

"I see we were right," Kestel shouted with glee.

Leaning against the wall behind him, Ax sighed. This was really bad.

"I suggest you come out, or he dies."

"Ax?" Praid said desperation in his voice.

Ax met the young man's eyes then peeked around the corner to see the collar had been removed, Jas stood once again in Xan form.

"We're dead anyway. Don't come out," Jas shouted.

Ax slammed his fist against the wall. The others looked just as anxious as he felt.

"Oh, you're not dead yet, I intend to sell you not kill you, unless your friends don't come out, then we kill you and sell one of them instead."

Ax turned to Trel. "It takes two to fly this ship. Find Bizax and stay out of sight. With any luck, they'll have lost track of how many of us there are. I won't let Jas die, so the rest of us go with them, you follow as soon as you can."

Trel nodded and headed back into the depths of the ship. Ax watched him go then addressed the other men. "Okay, guys let's get this over with. If they open fire, shoot to kill."

As one, they stepped out into the open. The Xans stood alert, guns aimed in their direction. Jas groaned when he saw them, but Ax ignored it. They were family; he wouldn't desert his brother in arms. Within seconds, the Xans had them disarmed and restrained.

"Check the ship for others," Kestel said.

Ax watched two of the Xans enter his ship before he was led away. He hoped Ariane did as she was told for once and stayed hidden.
**Chapter 21**

Ariane strained to hear from beyond the confines of the wardrobe. The gunfire outside had stopped some time ago, but she had no idea what the outcome had been. Her hand hovered over the button to raise the wardrobe. She'd been told to wait here until they came for her. But if things had gone well surely they'd have arrived by now. How long was she supposed to wait? She couldn't stay down here forever.

Taking a deep breath she pressed the button with a shaking hand. The wardrobe creaked as it made its way up into the room. For fancy, state of the art technology, it made a hell of a lot of noise. Cringing when it screeched to a halt, she opened the door a crack and peered outside. It stood empty just as she suspected from the lack of noise. Creeping across the room she listened to the hallway.

"Bloody fancy doors," she mumbled to herself as she pressed her ear against it. There was no way to open the door a crack, and peek out, she would have to just press the open button and hope for the best. This would be a good time to pray but since she now knew what God was, it seemed pointless.

Giving a sigh of relief at finding the corridor empty, she snuck to the control room. She was unsurprised to find it deserted but shocked by a huge hole in the viewing window.

"Shit," she muttered, not sure what to do. Then she saw the monitor that flashed showing the rest of the ship's damage. Well, if anyone remained on the ship they would be there, trying to repair it. Leaving the control room, she crept down the corridors. Pausing at each corner, she listened to make sure no one was there before continuing.

"Hey guys," she said cheerfully, walking into the damaged room to find Bizax and Trel trying to cover a hole in the ship's wall. Two guns suddenly appeared at her forehead.

Bizax lowered his first. "Fex Ariane, don't sneak up like that, we could have killed you."

Ariane chuckled. "Perhaps if you were more alert I wouldn't be able to sneak up."

Trel lowered his gun too. "I forgot you were on board."

"Gee, thanks," she drawled.

Bizax's cheeks took on a hint of pink. "Sorry," he murmured putting his attention back on the hole in the wall.

"So how can I-" she finished on a gasp when the barrel of another gun touched her temple.

Bizax and Trel glanced back at her and froze.

"Well what do we have here," a voice said in her ear, "we either have three Ethereals, or two Ethereals and a human. You just made our year."

Ariane froze as Bizax and Trel turned fully to face her.

Another voice joined the first. "What have you found?"

"Next year's salary," the first replied.

"Let the lady go," Bizax warned, squaring his shoulders.

"Drop your weapons," the Xan countered.

"Guys, it's okay," Ariane said gently.

Bizax raised his gun slowly. "No it's not, Let her go," he warned again.

Ariane huffed. "I said it's okay," she repeated, bringing her elbow back onto the Xan's crotch. There were definite advantages to being a short human around tall Xans she thought as he staggered back while squealing in pain. She could hear Bizax and Trel firing their guns but ignored them. She had a Xan to thrash. Spinning around she punched him in the stomach making him stagger again. Her foot came down on his as the heel of her hand made contact with his nose. Blood poured down his face from her attack. Raising her knee, she once again aimed for the crotch. It appeared to be a sensitive spot no matter what being you were. When the Xan fell to his knees, she kicked him in the chest as hard as she could causing him to fall flat on his back. His head hit the floor with a satisfying thump, knocking him unconscious. Next to him lay the other Xan, now with three gunshot wounds to his chest.

With a look of satisfaction, she faced Bizax and Trel. Bizax stood with his mouth hanging open in shock.

Trel broke the silence. "Wow, you kicked ass," he shouted giving a whoop of joy and holding his hand up for a high-five, a gesture she'd taught him. "That was awesome, though you're still doing the kicking thing."

Ariane grinned at the unconscious body with satisfaction. "Thank you."

Bizax shook his head in amazement. "Did Trel teach you that?"

Ariane shrugged. "Not as much as you'd think."

"Does Ax know you can do that?"

Ariane shrugged again.

Bizax grinned. "I can't wait to see his face when he sees you whoop ass."

Ariane glanced around concerned. "Where is Ax?"

Both men avoided her eyes. It was Trel who finally replied. "The Xans got them. They had to go in order to save Jas. But don't worry, we're going to follow and get them back."

Ariane felt her stomach turn. They had Ax. Who knew what they were doing to him? She looked dubiously at the hole in the ship. "How are we following?"

"Well, we're fixing this first," Trel told her.

She gazed at the Xan on the floor then back at Bizax and Trel. "Can't you just go on their ship as them?" She pointed to the bodies.

Both Trel and Bizax frowned. "Well, we shouldn't, and Ax said to follow once we fixed the ship."

Ariane understood these two were very loyal to Ax and didn't like to question his judgment, but if anything was to be done quickly, she would have to intervene.

"Okay guys, this is what we're doing."

"Wait." Trel held his hand up to stop her arrogantly "You're not in charge here."

Ariane held up a hand too, mimicking his action. "Okay, but hear me out first, alright?"

Both men crossed their arms over their chests and nodded, clearly humouring her.

"Okay. These guys were obviously sent to check the ship for more people," Ariane said.

The men nodded but didn't speak so she continued. "They will be expected back at their ship. If they don't turn up, more will come looking for them."

She could see the men were listening. "I say you sneak onto their ship, as them. You're Ethereals, you can look like them if you want. If you're on their ship already, you won't need to figure out where they're going."

"No can do."

Trel's short reply caught her off guard. She hadn't expected such a curt response. "Why not?"

"Ethereals don't take another being's persona, it's the law. We can take any image we want but it has to be individual to us. Taking another being's face just isn't done."

Ariane frowned at the two grave faces before her. "Aren't you defying the G.O.D.S law just by existing? What difference does it make if you break another?"

"You don't understand," Bizax explained. "It's not one of the G.O.D.S laws. It's a law of Ethra, one all Ethereals abide by."

"But Ethra doesn't exist anymore, so does the law even stand now?" The hurt that flashed across the men's faces caused Ariane to regret the words instantly. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, not meeting their eyes.

"It's alright," Bizax responded gently. "I suppose you're right, you make very valid points. But even if we do sneak on there, how will we escape without this ship?"

Ariane rolled her eyes. "This ship, which they will recognise if they spot it. And which hardly has enough fuel to get airborne again?"

Bizax and Trel looked at each other. Ariane crossed her arms and waited for them to reply.

"Okay, here's what we'll do," Trel eventually said. "We sneak onto their ship disguised as these two," he pointed to the bodies, "and just travel to wherever they're going."

Ariane's jaw dropped. "That's what I just said."

Bizax slapped Trel on the back and laughed. "Good plan, mate."

Her eyes narrowed. "Okay, what are you going to do about me?"

Both men looked at her and frowned.

"Well...you can..."

"You'll just..."

They both shrugged.

Ariane shook her head at them. "Pathetic," she mumbled.

"What do you suggest?" Trel asked.

"You're sneaking me along in a chest. Fill it up with stuff from the cargo hold, and me."

Bizax nudged Trel. "That bit can be my idea."

"What?" Ariane gasped. "What the hell do you mean your idea?"

Bizax looked at her and shrugged again. "When this is over, Ax won't be happy that we disobeyed him. Would you rather he blamed us or you?"

Ariane sighed and shook her head. "Whatever, let's get organised."

Trel caught her arm as she went leave the room. "Ariane, how did you know what we are?"

She laughed and patted him on his cheek. "Never trust a nosy woman with a computer."

It didn't take long to empty the trunk in her room and load it with treasures from the cargo hold. Expensive materials cushioned the bottom as she sat inside. The two men padded the cloth around her and made some air holes in the sides.

"I just hope you have the chance to get out before they look inside," Bizax said with worry.

"It'll be fine," Ariane assured in the strongest voice she could muster.

In no time at all, the lid to the trunk was closed. She felt it being lifted from the ground and wobbled inside as they carried her from the ship. They'd left the Xan she attacked tied up. Bizax and Trel had wanted to kill him but Ariane held them back, she couldn't let them kill someone that was already unconscious. It just wasn't right. Her two friends now appeared exactly like the Xan left behind. All being well, they'd blend in on the ship with no problems.

The trunk got hot, and the journey seemed to take forever. Ariane tapped on the lid. "Are we there yet?"

Bizax grunted. "Not yet."

"Well, how much farther?"

"Still, don't know," Trel replied.

"Can't we speed up a bit?"

The chest hit the floor as both men dropped it. Bizax opened the lid. "Now look here-"

Ariane flopped over the side of the box gasping and totally ignoring his lecture. "Fresh air!"

"Carting this box with you in it over a fexing desert is hard."

Ariane took in her surroundings. "Wow, no wonder I'm so hot."

"We're all hot."

Trel winked at her and smoothed a hand over his short blonde hair. "Some of us hotter than others."

Bizax attempted to cuff Trel around his ear, but the younger man moved too fast. "Can we stick to the topic, people? Ariane, I know it's hot, but we're going as fast as we can. It's not our fault the Xans landed so far away."

She flopped back into the chest. "Fine, but-" she groaned as the lid was shut again, cutting off her reply.

"Anyone want to sing a song?" Ariane asked a few minutes later, causing the men to groan.

"I see their ship," Trel said sometime after.

Ariane whooped for joy as she wiped the sweat from her brow with some cloth. She hoped the sight of the ship meant she'd be out of the portable oven soon.

"Okay, the ship's close so stay quiet," Bizax said about ten minutes later.

Ariane did as she was told. Just to be on the safe side, she curled into a ball and pulled one of the thin materials over her head.

A few minutes later she heard Bizax talking. "Lower your guns, it's only us."

"Hey, took you long enough. What you got there?" An unfamiliar voice replied.

"Took it from the other ship, its material, looks expensive."

"Let's see."

Ariane held her breath as the bolt on the chest rattled. She should have put more than one cloth over her. If they picked it up, she would be discovered.

"Let's get it on the ship first," Trel suggested.

She let out a breath of relief when they once again moved.

"We should put this in the cargo," she heard Bizax say.

"Kestel will want to see it first."

"I'm sure he'd rather just look later," Trel suggested.

Ariane shuffled around, quietly trying to ease more cloth out from under her. The deeper she was buried the less chance they had of finding her.

"What is that?" The words were barked by a new voice. "And stand to attention when you see me."

The chest shook as it hit the floor. Buried down as deep as she could get, it was hard to hear anything now but muffled noises. It got lifted again before dropping to the floor with a thump. A small groan escaped her mouth as she hit the ground. She held her breath. Did they hear it? She couldn't tell. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't hear what was being said.

The latch on the chest rattled, and the heat suddenly eased as the lid opened. She lay in the bottom holding her breath. The voices were easier to hear now.

"It is nice material." A hand moved the cloth on top of her around and lifted some out of the chest.
**Chapter 22**

This was so bad.

Ax sat in the cell with his crew and buried his head in his hands. For over a decade they'd lived in space, moving from planet to planet, and no one had been the wiser. Somehow these Xans had figured them out. How long had they been observing without him knowing? Did anyone else know?

What was he thinking? Before long, everyone would know.

It was rather ironic to think they were going to be sold as the last of a species, which was exactly what he had planned to do with Ariane. Now that he faced the fate he'd planned for her, he saw the error of his ways.

Ariane had entered their ship and slowly snuck her way into each of their hearts. Every one of them had fallen for her charm and accepted her into their fold. What would happen to her now?

Was she safe? Had Bizax and Trel found her? Had the Xans found her? He had no idea. The ship they were on had taken off ages ago. They could tell when it began moving, but with no windows in the room, it was impossible to tell where they were or where they headed. There were only a few possibilities for their destination. They were going to be sold to the highest bidder. They would be going to Dealen or one of its sister planets.

He just hoped they could escape before the auction. They couldn't be separated. There would be no way of knowing what planets they'd be taken to. At least they could still take different forms. The Xans only seemed to have one halt collar.

Praid took a seat on the floor beside him. "Nice to know Xans can be hospitable," he moaned as he loosened his tie and tried to get comfortable.

Ax examined the room. It was empty except for them. No furniture, no beds, nothing. "I wonder if they believe in feeding their prisoners."

Praid's stomach grumbling informed him he wasn't the only hungry one.

"I'm sorry about this, guys," Jas said from a few feet away.

"It's not your fault," Ax replied automatically.

Jas sighed and dropped down to his hutches. "Yeah, it is. If they hadn't caught me we wouldn't be here. I should have been more alert. I just didn't expect them to come through the control room window. I was so busy watching the door I didn't see them until it was too late."

"What's done is done," Sek said, "Now, what are we going to do about it?"

Ax looked at his men one at a time. They all waited expectantly for him to reply. "Well, I guess we could attempt to take over the ship."

Grins spread over their faces at his words. "We start by getting out of here if they ever open the door. Anyone got any idea how many we're up against? I've seen fifteen altogether."

"I've spotted twenty-three," Dyan commented.

There were six of them, not ideal odds, although they'd been in worse situations. Ax got to his feet and paced around the small room. "Okay guys, let's be honest here, six against twenty-three, not much chance of succeeding. However, our only other option is to wait until we hit a planet to attempt our escape."

Praid got to his feet too and moved to sit next to Jas. "We can blend in easier on a planet."

"But then we have to obtain a ship in order to escape. Here we already have a ship. We're just not in charge of it," Sek said.

Everyone voiced their opinion on the situation. Ax listened for a while before silencing everyone. "Alright, if we try to take the ship, there are six of us and over twenty of them, and we have no weapons. But if we wait until we get planet-side, we could be separated before the chance to escape arises. I say we attempt for the ship. Odds are we're too expensive to kill if we fail."

A murmur of agreement went around the men. "Sek, listen at the door for anyone approaching."

Sek stood by the entrance while they debated who would do what if the door opened. Sometime later footsteps were heard. "Someone's coming," Sek whispered, quieting the room. "Sounds like two of them."

Everyone fell silent, Sek moved to stand on one side of the door, while Dyan stood on the other. Ax faced it so anyone who entered would see him first. They all waited to see if the Xans were coming for them. Moments later the door swung open and two walked in. Sek grabbed the one closest to him and yanked its arms behind its back while Dyan put the other in a headlock.

"Well, that was easy," Ax drawled addressing their two captives. "Where are the weapons stored?"

"Up your arse," one groaned, "get off me, Sek."

Ax sucked in a sharp breath as one of them changed from an unknown Xan into a human Trel. "What are you doing here? I told you to help Bizax repair the ship."

The other Xan changed into Bizax and eased itself out of Dyan's grip. "Xans came checking the ship for more of us. We had to do something with them, so we tied them up and took their place. Figured we could help you escape easier that way."

Ax frowned at his men, puzzled. This wasn't what he'd ordered them to do. His men never went against orders, and none of them ever broke the laws of Ethra by taking another's form. "Whose idea was this?"

Trel smiled widely. "Mine," he said with pride.

"Like fex it was."

Trel's face dropped.

"You two never go against direct orders."

"It was Ariane's idea," he mumbled, clearly sulking.

Ax eyes widened. "Where is she?"

"Relax." Bizax held up his hands in a placating gesture. "She's fine; she's hidden in the cargo hold."

Ax stared as anger burned through him. "Do you mean to tell me, you brought my fragile human aboard a ship filled with enemy Xans, and left her alone to fend for herself?"

Bizax held up his hands. "Ax, she's fine. We wouldn't let anything happen to her."

"How do you know she's fine? You're not with her," Ax snapped.

"We got her on board and hid her well, she's fine."

"How did you get her on board?"

"Hid her in a trunk of material. We had a moment when we thought they'd find her as they opened the trunk, but she was hidden well."

Ax closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Things had now past bad and gone straight to catastrophic. Ariane wasn't supposed to be here. She should be safe on his ship, but these two fools had let her convince them this was a good idea.

"Take me to her," he snapped.

Sek grabbed his arm as he went to pass. "Don't you think we should have a plan before we leave the room?"

Ax stopped in shock. This was why Ariane shouldn't be here. He got too easily distracted by her. "The rest of you wait here, in case a real Xan returns. I'll check on Ariane then be back."

Trel and Bizax changed back into their stolen Xan forms and cautiously the three of them left the room. Ax was relieved to note the few others they passed didn't recognise him as they made their way to the cargo hold.

The room overflowed with crates of all shapes and sizes. Ax gave a low whistle when he saw it. "What the hell is all this stuff?"

Trel shrugged, "Probably stuff they stole from other ships. Ariane's this way."

They walked through the huge room, heading towards the back.

"Ariane," Ax called quietly.

Her head poked up from behind a box further into the room. "It's about time. Did you bring food?"

Ax stormed over and grabbed her shoulders, pulling her to her feet. "Food, is that all you can think about? You should be safely on my ship. What were you thinking, convincing these idiots to bring you here?"

Trel and Bizax at least had the decency to look contrite, shuffling their feet and staring at the floor.

Ariane brushed his hands from her shoulders. "Nice to see you, too."

He narrowed his eyes on her. "You aren't supposed to be here. I hid you for a reason."

She gave him a sweet smile before patting his chest. "I know, but my plan is better. I mean, look, you're already out of your cell."

He huffed realising arguing was futile. She was here now. Cupping her face, he gently stroked her cheek with his thumb. "It's not safe for you here. What if they find you?"

"They won't."

"They might."

"I can take care of myself."

Ax huffed. She obviously didn't understand the danger she'd put herself in. "At least we're all together. You need to stay hidden until I decide what to do."

"We could take over the ship," Ariane suggested.

"We... my men and I, might do that. We're still debating options."

Her face fell at his words. "I can help."

"This is something men should deal with." He gave her a gentle smile. It was sweet that she thought she could help.

A frown marred her face. "I can fight."

He took hold of her hand and patted it. "Of course, you can."

Bizax tapped his shoulder. "Actually Ax, she can."

"I've been teaching her, remember," Trel piped up.

Ax smiled at his friends. It was nice of them to play along with her little fantasy, but he really needed to explain that it was dangerous to encourage her.

Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her into a hug. "Alright, you're able to fight, but I'd rather you didn't."

She glared daggers at him, but he ignored it. "Now, I need you to stay here. I'm going back to the men to plan our next course of action."

He eased her back from him and gave her a quick kiss. "Stay hidden, okay?"

Ariane crossed her arms over her chest. "Will you be back soon?"

"As soon as I can be," he replied, happy to know she wanted him. Maybe keeping her around would turn out to be a really good idea.

"Will you bring food?"

He frowned. "Is that the only reason you want me back quick?"

She had the grace to blush. "I'm hungry."

Ax shook his head. "I'm sure Bizax or Trel can get you something."

He pulled her close once more and brought his lips down to hers. This time, the kiss lasted longer. She wrapped her arms around his neck and opened her mouth for him. When he eased back, they were both panting for air.

"Stay safe," he murmured.

Ariane gave him one final quick kiss. "You too."

He hugged her before leaving the cargo room. She was safe for now. He just prayed she stayed that way.

Walking back to the cell, they didn't meet anyone. For a large ship, there were surprisingly few people on board.

"We plan to take control of the ship. Do you think we could succeed?" he asked Bizax once back in the cell.

Bizax rested against the wall. "I don't know. We're outnumbered, and if we try and fail, that's mine and Trel's covers blown."

"Our only other option is to attempt an escape once we get planet-side but if we wait and then fail our chance is gone. I suggest we try to take over and if we fail, try again later." Ax said.

A murmur of agreement went around the men.

"Alright, we'll stick with the plan to take over the ship." Bizax, Trel, you two are our eyes and ears. Go find out exactly how many we're up against, shift patterns, you know the drill. I guess the rest of us wait."

"Oh and Bizax." He stopped his friend as he was about to leave the room. "Take Ariane some food, please."

His friend smiled. "Will do."

Ax sat on the floor with a sigh. He was rubbish at waiting. His foot tapped in agitation, his eyes stayed trained on the door.

"She'll be fine," Sek said, sitting beside him.

"She's human, they're fragile," Ax replied.

Sek chuckled. "I don't think she's half as delicate as you believe."

Ax glared at his friend. For their sake, he hoped Sek was right.
**Chapter 23**

Ariane flinched when her stomach rumbled loud enough for the whole ship to hear. "Stay hidden," she mumbled.

She stepped closer to the door, desperately wanting to go and explore if only to find food. Unfortunately, she couldn't blend in like Ax and his men. She glanced at the surrounding crates, and then back at the door. She had nothing better to do, might as well see what's inside.

Carefully moving to the very back of the room, she picked a crate hidden behind some others, in case anyone entered. The lid seemed to be nailed shut. After some very persistent tugging she decided it wasn't going to open, so moved onto another. A group of chests, similar to the one she'd travelled in, sat in the corner. That was something she could open. With a grin, she removed a grip from her hair and went to work on the lock.

The chests were full of clothes and material, nothing interesting, and most importantly, no food. This wouldn't do, her stomach grumbled again, and her bladder ached reminding her it was hours since she'd been to the toilet. Did Xans have toilets?

Glancing at the door, she wondered how long it would take for one of the men to return. Unlike Ax's ship, this one seemed to have proper doors with handles. Sneaking closer she pressed her ear to it, in an attempt to hear outside. When she was met with silence, she opened it an inch and peered through the gap. The corridor stood deserted, and no sound could be heard from anywhere.

She looked back into the cargo hold. Her stomach grumbled again, making her decision. Cautiously, she opened the door, left the room and crept along the corridor.

Now she was out of the room, she wondered if she'd made a wise decision. Her heart pounded harder in her chest with each step she took. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to wait just a bit longer for one of the men to return. Turning around, she made a move to head back the way she came, but voices brought her up short. They seemed to be in the direction she'd come from. She quickly tried doors, hoping one would open. Sweat built up on her palms making the handles slip in her grasp. After the third attempt, she found one unlocked and dashed into the room, leaning against the door with a sigh.

Luckily, the room stood empty. She pressed her ear to the door and listened to the approaching footsteps, panicking when they paused near the door. Glancing around the room frantically, she searched for somewhere to hide in case they entered. Another door stood on the opposite side of the room, so she crept over there and opened it a gap. On the other side was a tiny cubicle. When the outer door's handle began turning, she entered it, shutting the door behind her.

Two Xans entered the room. Keeping her ear to the door, she tried to listen to their conversation, but she couldn't make out the words. The sound of them walking closer made her hold her breath. If they opened this door, she had nowhere else to go. She'd be seen for sure. When the steps receded, she finally let herself breath. A few minutes later, she heard the outer door open and close.

Leaning against the door, she closed her eyes in relief. This was getting way too dangerous. She wanted adventure, but at this rate, she'd have a heart attack. When she opened her eyes, she realised she appeared to be in a cleansing room, the same as the ones on Ax's ship. Relief swept through her when she stepped away from the door and suddenly heard a whoosh sound. The same tingling sensations she'd had when using the bathroom swept over her and within moments, the urge to use the toilet was gone.

"Thank God," she murmured, smiling. At least one need had been sorted, now if only she had some food. The first room she'd entered stood empty again. Sneaking back to the other door, she opened it a crack, relieved to find no one in the corridor.

As she re-entered the hallway, she debated what to do. With any luck, she could now get back to the cargo hold undetected, but she was still hungry. No sound could be heard from any direction. Would it really hurt to try just a couple more doors before going back?

The sensible thing would be to return to the cargo hold as swiftly as possible, but after leaving relative safety to get food, she really didn't want to return empty handed. Deciding she would try, just, the six more doors she could see, before going back. She headed in the opposite direction testing a few more handles as she went. A huge smile filled her face when she opened a door to reveal a kitchen, very similar to the one on Ax's ship.

"Hallelujah," she mumbled, opening their version of a fridge to find a mountain of food. Grabbing anything she could eat raw, she filled her arms. Her journey back to the cargo hold was uneventful, which was why she yelped in shock when she re-entered the room to find two Xans stood there.

The food she had been carrying hit the floor as she turned to run.

"Where the hell have you been?" A hand grabbed her arm. On reflex, she brought her fist up to hit her assailant in the face as she simultaneously stamped on his foot.

"Ow! Ariane!"

It was then she realised she'd attacked Bizax. Halting her struggle, she looked over her shoulder to see blood dribbling from his mouth.

"Oops."

"Oops? OOPS?"

She cringed as his voice got louder.

"Where have you been? You were told to stay here."

"I was hungry," she replied defiantly. Shrugging his hand from her arm and collecting the food from the floor.

He glared at her. "We said we'd bring food."

"I needed the toilet too."

He narrowed his eyes on her, knowing he couldn't answer that one. "Did you find one?"

"Yes."

"Good, then you have no more reason to leave this room."

Ariane sighed. "Fine." She actually had no intention of leaving again. She'd decided she preferred feeling safe, here. Sooner or later nature would call again, but she'd cross that bridge when she came to it.

"So what's the plan?" she asked around a mouthful of food as she bit into some kind of fruit. Trel stole one and she lunged to grab it back, but he swiftly stepped out of her reach.

"We're going to attempt to take the ship," he said.

She placed her food on a crate and sat on another. "Okay, can you make it quick? It's boring in here."

"Well excuse us for not providing entertainment," Bizax drawled.

"You're excused, this time, but I expect the accommodation to be upgraded, post haste."

Bizax rolled his eyes at her cheeky grin. "We'll do our best. In the meantime, you need to stay here... where it's safe."

Ariane nodded enthusiastically as she continued to eat while guarding her food against Trel's wandering hands.

Bizax pointed at her sternly. "I mean it. Stay here, out of sight."

"Alright, I get it, stay hidden, be quiet...you got it." She slapped Trel's hand as he tried once again to steal from her stash.

"Good, we'll keep you informed of the plan."

"Fine, but next time, don't bring him." She glowered at Trel while standing in front of her makeshift table, arms crossed.

Bizax chuckled. "Alright, just stay out of trouble until I get back."

She watched him shuttle Trel from the room while guarding her hoard. So, she was stuck here again.

Emptying material from some of the chests, she made herself a nest in the corner of the room and moved her stash of food out of sight in case anyone happened to enter.

She wondered how long it would take for them to develop a plan. Could they possibly succeed? There were eight of them, nine if she got included... and she had better be. But how many Xans were there?

How could so few take over an entire ship?

Resting down on the material, she covered herself with a thick fur she had discovered. The cargo hold was rather cold. With a yawn, she got comfy. If she got some sleep, at least it would help pass the time.

Her stomach churned from the strange food, and she found herself wishing for one of those horrible concoctions Brise gave her. It was rather worrying how often she felt sick recently. It also hadn't escaped her attention that she'd missed her period and her breasts had become tender. At first, she'd put it down to the fact she'd stopped taking the pill so suddenly, being inaccessible here. Then she'd blamed the strange food and the motion of the ship. Now she wasn't so sure.

The men had readily accepted her explanation, without question, but the thought it could be something else kept nagging at her.

Could she be pregnant?

Was it even possible to get pregnant by an alien?

Granted you saw it in films, but it never ended in a good way. She ran a hand over her abdomen and shuddered as she imagined a lizard type creature ripping through her stomach. She was being silly, Ax wasn't a lizard. He was an Ethereal. Could Ethereals and humans even mate? What would she have, a human, an Ethereal or a mixture of both?

How would she even find out if she was pregnant? It's not like she could pop to the local chemist for a test. Before long she'd have no choice but to broach the subject with Ax. Unfortunately, now wasn't the time. Later, when they had a ship and were safe and her sale and rescue were done, would be better. Because she had a feeling if she was pregnant he'd never let her go to auction. She wouldn't see the men struggle because of her.

She wished she had her computer so she could research how Ethereals reproduced. Her eyes drooped as she imagined a baby with Ax's smile. A chuckle escaped when she thought of Ax changing a dirty nappy. She could just imagine his face as she explained the process. Was it possible? Could she be carrying Ax's child?
**Chapter 24**

Ax leant against the wall, as Trel explained the layout of the ship. It sounded surprisingly small and would be easy to navigate. The plan to capture them seemed to be a fairly minor operation with very few people involved.

They'd been on board for one day, and the men had been extremely quick at learning everything they needed to know and ensuring they got guard duty. Apparently, no one wanted to watch the prisoners. The other Xans had been more than happy to allow Bizax and Trel the job.

It had given them the ability to walk around the ship undetected as there seemed to be minimal security and hardly any cameras on board. As long as one of them stood outside the cell at all times, they never got questioned.

"They're very lax," Trel explained. "I think the one you killed back at our ship was in charge. Those left are just following through with his plan to sell you, but they are new to all this. Kestel is obviously the leader now. However, he has no idea what he's doing."

"That will work in our favour," Ax said.

Trel agreed, "They follow no set schedule and bicker constantly about who will do what. They don't like following orders from Kestel, so he and Wain, are in constant disagreement. It shouldn't be too hard to slowly pick them off. I say we separate them one at a time and just take on their image until we each have one, and put their bodies in here. It'll even the odds for our final attack."

It made sense, and the sooner they started the better. Ax stepped forward. "Agreed, we don't know what planet we're headed for, so the sooner we infiltrate them, the better. I'll go first with Jas." He turned to his pilot. "I want you to have access to the control room to see how the ship works ASAP."

Jas stepped forward. "Ready when you are."

Together they exited the cell, leaving Trel standing guard and headed down the corridor with Bizax. He paused outside a room. "A pilot sleeps in here."

With a nod, Jas twisted the handle and crept into the room. A few moments later he poked his head back out. "No one here, I'll wait."

They continued down the corridor, confident Jas could handle himself and would subdue the pilot with no problems. The sound of voices coming towards them brought them to a halt. Signalling for Ax to be quiet and wait, Bizax continued around the corner they were approaching.

"Why aren't you on guard duty?" Ax heard one of the Xan ask.

"Got hungry."

"Food hall's in the other direction." Suspicion was evident in the Xan's response.

"Oh," he heard Bizax mumble, seconds before saying, "fex."

A loud thump sounded as Bizax shouted. "Coast's clear."

Turning the corner, he found his friend stood over the bodies of two Xans, who now lay unconscious at his feet. "Feel threatened, did you?"

"Bored," Bizax replied with a deadpan expression.

Ax chuckled. "Do you know who they are?"

"Just random lackeys."

"They'll do,"

Each heaving a body onto their shoulder, they rushed back to the cargo hold.

"Maybe we should just throw them out an airlock." Ax suggested a minute later. The Xan was no light weight and though he loathed admitting it, carrying one wasn't easy.

Bizax sniggered at his comment. "Need bodies in the cell in case anyone checks."

He grunted in response and lifted the body higher on his shoulder. Trel saw them approaching and opened the cell door. As soon as they entered the bodies were dropped unceremoniously onto the floor.

"Right, let's get them tied up and gagged."

Using belts and Ax's ripped up shirt they restrained the Xans before huddling them in the corner giving the image they slept. Ax changed form into one, indicating for Sek to become the other.

"Where's Jas?" Dyan asked.

"Waiting for the pilot," Ax assured. "You're next. Go with Bizax, I'm going to check on Ariane."

He watched them exit the room, then after confirming that the prisoners were secured headed for the cargo hold. The room was silent when he entered. Creeping forward he made his way towards the crates at the back. A sudden loud snort made him jump.

Rushing to the back of the room, he found Ariane curled on the floor in a heap of fabric. She snorted again, causing him to snigger and cringe at the same time. It was a good job there were so few people on this ship, or she'd be found instantly from the noise she made.

Changing back to his human form, he lay down on the cloth beside her and gently tickled her nose. She twitched it before sneezing but didn't wake.

"Well, that will teach me," he murmured as he wiped his hand on his trouser leg before gently stroking her face.

"Your turn to change him," she mumbled as she nuzzled into his hand.

Ax gazed at her mystified, change him? Change who? Did she want him to change into someone?

"Ariane, wake up."

Her beautiful blue eyes fluttered as she awoke. Burrowing deeper into the covering, she tried to escape him, but he continued to nudge her until her eyes met his fully.

A faint smile appeared on her lips, along with a pink tint to her cheeks when she noticed he was there.

"Hey," she murmured, inching closer and resting her head on his chest.

Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her closer. "Are you okay?"

She nodded her head against his chest then shook it, causing him to frown.

"What's wrong?"

"Need the toilet," she mumbled.

He sighed, this bodily function she insisted on having was very inconvenient. Getting to his feet, he pulled her up too. "Come on, we better find you a cleansing room. I have no idea where one is, though."

"That's okay, I know."

He stopped his progress to the door and frowned at her. "How do you know?"

She had the decency to blush and look guilty before mumbling, "I had to go."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "You went exploring on your own, didn't you?"

"Maybe?" She kept her eyes on the floor and shuffled her feet as she spoke.

"Don't do it again," he snapped before turning into the stolen Xan form.

She gasped at his change, and he remembered he hadn't informed her of his plan. "This is one of the Xan on this ship. We have him subdued in the cell while I use his form. There's no point in changing you too as you'd still be female, and there are no females on board."

She placed her hand in his, and together they left the cargo hold. Once again, she found the closet empty room and used the facilities before making her way back to the safety of the storage room.

"Why is this section of the ship so quiet?" she asked when they'd gotten comfy on the clothes.

Ax shrugged. "The Xans are too busy arguing amongst themselves to secure the ship properly." He rubbed his hand up and down her back. "Are you alright?"

She stayed very quiet, too quiet. He'd grown used to her bouncing off the walls with energy. She now lay in his arms almost asleep again.

"Feel a bit sick," she mumbled while running her fingers through the dark dusting of hair on his chest.

He frowned and hugged her tighter. The sickness she kept feeling was worrying him. Maybe her human body just couldn't cope with being in space. He'd never met a human before so had no idea how the climate affected them. She'd been suffering from sickness for a few weeks now, and he noticed she was sleeping more. The possibility she was ailing from something serious was becoming a very real worry.

As soon as they got to safety, he intended to research her symptoms and try to find a cure for what troubled her.

"Get some more sleep," he whispered, placing a kiss on her head. "I'll watch over you until you wake."

Within minutes, she'd fallen asleep once more. He pulled the covers tightly around her and gently stroked her mahogany hair as he watched her chest rise and fall with her breaths. He couldn't believe how quickly he'd grown attached to her. She had a hold on him; he was powerless to resist. He found himself thinking of her all the time, even when he'd seen her not long ago. He wondered what she was doing and had grown curious about her feelings. Since meeting his human, he felt a whole range of emotions he'd never encountered before. Ever since he found out she'd come aboard this ship, he'd also discovered he worried about her, if she was alright, if she needed him.

These new feelings were all foreign, but not altogether unpleasant. It felt as if something had been missing from his life for a very long time and he wasn't sure what. Now he knew, what had been missing was her, his other half, the one who completes him. He'd realised as soon as he had discovered she was aboard this ship. The fear that gripped his heart could be caused by nothing other than his soul mate in danger.

He knew of soul mates. That's what his parents had been, two halves of a whole. When they finally discovered each other, they were able to create him. That's how soul mates knew they were destined to be together. They were able to create new life. When his race had been destroyed he, and the rest of his men, had all assumed their soul mates had been destroyed too. Apparently not, as it seemed his other half was not one of his race at all, but a human. A woman who completed him in every way he could imagine. She made him smile, she challenged him, and most importantly she taught him to care.

As soon as they were free of all this, he needed to have a talk with her about what he was, explain what sort of life she would live if she stayed with him. He only hoped she was amenable to the idea because he didn't think he could live without her.

The door to the cargo hold creaked opened, and he stiffened, carefully pulling the fur covering over Ariane's head to conceal her.

"Ax."

He breathed a sigh of relief when he recognised Trel's voice. "Back here."

Trel's head appeared above a pile of crates, he frowned with concern. "Is she alright?"

"Just tired." He wasn't sure that's all it was. But he didn't want to worry the men with so many other things to deal with. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to let you know all the men have images."

Ax raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Already?"

Trel gave an evil grin. "It's surprising how easy these Xans are to get. I'm amazed they even know how to fly the ship."

"Some must be trained," Ax said as he continued to stroke Ariane's hair.

"Some are, but not all."

"Well, I guess we should attempt our take over before they notice something's not right. Go to the cell. I'll be there shortly."

Trel nodded and left the room, leaving Ax to wake Ariane.

He shuffled her around beneath her. "Ariane."

"Too early," she mumbled, causing him to smile.

"Ariane, I have to go."

She groaned and tightened her hold on him. "But you're comfy."

He chuckled. "The sooner you let me go, the sooner we can take over a ship and cuddle like this in a bed."

Her arms released him instantly as she shoved him away and rolled over, taking all the cover with her. "Bye."

He laughed and pulled her back. "Would you not even give your man a kiss before he goes off to war?"

She snorted. "It's hardly a war."

"It's still a fight," he tried his best to look offended.

"Fine," she said before giving him a quick peck on the lips.

"That's not a kiss," he murmured, yanking her closer and plundering her mouth with his. She yielded beneath him instantly, opening her lips and surrendering to his will. His hand itched to grab her breast, play with her nipple, then travel lower to the place he knew would be wet and begging for him to fill. It took all his willpower to resist and pull away.

"I have to go."

He smiled at the pout she gave, her shortness of breath proved she had been just as eager as him for things to go further.

"Soon," he whispered, getting to his feet.

"Well, can I come too?"

"No."

"But-"

"No!"

Her hurt look made him soften his tone. "I need to know your safe, or I won't be able to concentrate."

"Fine," she snapped.

He ignored her attitude and headed for the door, he'd just reached for the handle when her voice stopped him.

"Ax."

He faced her but didn't step closer for fear he wouldn't leave.

"Be careful," she said with fear in her eyes.

"I'll be back in no time." He smiled, displaying confidence he didn't quite feel.

"In that case, bring me back food," she called as she flopped back onto the covers and out of sight.
**Chapter 25**

"The best thing to do is split into pairs." Ax stood in the cell in his stolen Xan form, organising his plan of attack. "If we spread out over the ship, we have more chance of getting them alone and picking them off one at a time. There are eight of us, fifteen of them. Not bad odds, if we can dwindle their side down, even better."

He eyed the pile of, now dead, bodies in the corner. Most of them had been strangled and looked like they were sleeping. They had been necessary deaths. He wasn't about to risk them escaping and stopping their plans. "Hide any kills. The longer we have to pick them off the better."

Murmurs and nods of agreement went around the men as they paired up. Jas and Dyan would go together, both needing to make their way to the control room. Brise would go with Trel, and he with Sek. Praid, being the smallest of them all would go with Bizax the largest. Despite stealing a Xan image, he would still only have the strength of his smaller self. As soon as they were all prepared, Ax opened the door to Trel and Bizax, who stood guard.

"Okay guys, let's go hunting." He slapped Sek on the back, and together they walked down the corridor, both alert, looking for any kind of movement.

They hadn't gone far when Sek's hand, firmly grasped his shoulder bringing him to a stop. Indicating to be quiet, Sek nudged his head in the direction of a door to their left. He and Sek were used to working together, so he knew Sek must have heard something. They each stood on a side of the door. The handle was on his side, carefully reaching over he turned it as quietly as possible then snatched his hand back, leaving the door to glide open on its own. It didn't take long for the Xan inside to investigate what had caused his door to open. As soon as he appeared, Ax grabbed him. Restraining his arms to his body, he held him firm while Sek snapped his neck in one smooth motion. Quickly moving the body back into the room, they hid him in a closet.

"Fourteen to go."

Sek nodded in agreement, and they continued on their way down the corridor. They needed to dispatch as many as possible as quietly as they could.

Moving strategically through the ship, the men checked room after room eliminating anyone they came across. Some put up a fight. Most were caught unawares and didn't know what hit them. By the time they reached the control room the opposition was down to six, including Kestel and Wain. Ax didn't have experience with the rest of the Xans but hoped they wouldn't put up too much of a fight. All the men except Jas and Dyan had met up in the corridor a few moments ago. If everything had gone as planned, the other two men were already inside.

"How do you want to play this?" Sek asked standing a few paces from the door.

Ax looked amongst the men. As they travelled through the ship, they'd each acquired weapons.

"Storm the fortress," he said, "no matter how we play it, all of us entering there at once will look suspicious. Hopefully, if we dash in together, we can take them out unaware. I'll go in first and warn Jas and Dyan, you all follow. With any luck, we'll be able to surround them." Giving his friends one final look, he entered the control room.

As soon as he walked through the door, he knew something had gone wrong. The guns pointing straight at him gave it away. "Whoa, what's all this?" he asked, holding his hands up.

"Name, rank and previous ship." Wain barked at him.

Trying his best to look harmless, he attempted to lower his hands. Guns being powered up abruptly stopped the action. "Hey, no need for that. What's going on?"

Wain addressed him down the barrel of his gun. "It appears the prisoners have escaped and taken over some of the crew." He waved a hand to his left to indicate Jas and Dyan who were still in Xan forms but were now on the floor tied up, Kestel towering over them. Jas appeared to be wounded. His right trouser leg had a growing blood stain on the thigh.

"Taken over?" Ax raised an eyebrow and tried not to look at his friends. "How do you know?"

"Because Merd." Wain pointed to Jas, "Has lost his limp. Everyone is being checked."

A Xan stepped forward from the right, holding up the halt collar. Every instinct in Ax screamed at him to run, but he held his ground. As the collar was brought closer, he took an involuntary step back. The light of satisfaction gleaming in Wain's eyes made him groan.

"I see you don't want to prove you're a Xan."

There seemed nothing he could do; they were going to collar him. He had no choice but to allow it or fight. And what of the others? They were about to walk into a trap. He only hoped they were listening and knew what was happening.

Seconds later the door burst open. Gunfire began instantly. The Xans spread out and hid behind any furniture available, taking shots when they could. A bullet grazed his arm, causing him to hiss in a sharp breath as he dropped to the floor. The entrance stood ajar, his crew shooting around the door frame. Staying close to the floor, he tried inching his way towards Jas and Dyan, who were temporarily left unguarded. Everyone was distracted by the gunfire, it didn't take him long to reach his friends.

Untying them as quickly as possible, he kept a constant eye on the action behind him. He'd just loosened the last knot on their wrists when one of the Xan finally became aware of his actions.

"I'd stop that if I were you." The gun pressed to his temple encouraged his hands to stall.

"If you were me, you would be wondering why someone is crazy enough to hold a gun against your head."

A dry chuckle escaped the Xan. "I'm not crazy. I know exactly what I'm doing. You and your friends will make me rich."

"I promise you, we won't." He slowly rose from his crouching position, leaving Jas and Dyan to finish untying themselves, and faced his enemy.

"Yes, you will."

The air was sucked from his lungs as the Xan placed the halt collar around his neck. Instantly the Xan image he'd been holding vanished, he was forced into his natural state, golden particles of dust. The state wasn't unpleasant but no longer felt normal to him. He'd grown accustomed to his human form, and his essence strained to become that once more.

With the collar firmly placed around his neck, the Xan left him in favour of trying to subdue Jas and Dyan. He was forced to stand idly by as his men fought to claim the ship. In his current state, he had no way of helping. With no physical form, he couldn't lift a gun, he couldn't punch someone. He was useless. Gunfire continued to rain around the room.

He was relieved to see Dyan defeat the Xan who'd collared him. Jas then limped to his side to examine the unwanted jewellery around his neck.

"It needs a key," he said after attempting to open it while Dyan covered them. "I can't prise it open alone." He wobbled and grabbed onto the wall for support as he spoke.

Ax hovered by, as his friends worked their way along the wall in order to surprise the rest of the Xans, whose attention was on the door. So far they appeared to be unnoticed. His fingers itched to pick up a gun and join them. This was why no Ethereal stayed in their natural form. It was a life half-lived. He floated along behind them watching their movements.

One of the Xan cried out when a bullet hit him. He fell to the floor as black blood spread across his chest. He had no way of knowing how his men outside the room were faring. He could easily go there without getting hurt, but he didn't want to hamper their view.

Hovering on the outskirts, he watched as Jas and Dyan both shot, grazing their marks but not stopping them, while each using chairs as covers. A cry came from the hallway indicating one of his men had been hit, but he had no idea who.

One more Xan fell to the floor, three remained, but he could only see two. Worry hit him, where had the other Xan gone? Twisting around his movement stopped abruptly by a hand grabbing the collar around his neck. Kestel stood next to him, firmly holding the halt collar and immobilising him.

"Well, aren't I lucky? You're all wrapped up and collared for me."

If Ax could have groaned, he would have. Unfortunately, without a solid form, he couldn't even talk. Kestel dragged him around the room keeping a tight hold on the collar and headed to a small door at the side of the control room. Ax had no idea where it led, having never seen this part of the ship before. With no way to communicate with his crew, he was helpless.

Unnoticed, Kestel ran down the corridor towing Ax. Opening a door at the very end of the hall, he entered an old-fashioned escape pod and pulled Ax in behind him.

Panicking, Ax wriggled trying anything he could to get the collar off, but it was no use. This was why all Ethereals feared them. He attempted to hit Kestel, but it did no good. As his hand came in contact with the solid form, the particles just changed shape to accommodate the thing in their path without making contact.

"Will you stop that? It's very annoying."

At Kestel's words, Ax increased his movements, attempting to poke the other being in any place he could, including the head. Unfortunately, it did no good, other than to make him feel better. The escape pod engine hummed to life, and in alarm, Ax attempted to pass through the door. The halt collar clinked against the metal pod as his particles dispersed before reforming once more.

"Right, enough of this." Kestel dragged him back and tied a rope around the collar then attached it to a chair, before steering the pod out of the docking bay.

It appeared this one's loyalty lay with himself. Within moments, the pod separated from the ship. Ax floated on the seat watching as the ship, and his friends grew farther and farther away. He had no idea if he'd see them again, and what of Ariane? He only hoped his crew succeeded in acquiring the ship, or who knew what fate awaited her.

Did his crew even know he'd been taken? If they did know they'd have no idea of his destination. His fate was sealed either sale or death. All he could do was hope that the others didn't share the same fate.
**Chapter 26**

Ariane's hand reached for the handle of the cargo hold door, but she pulled it back. She'd promised to stay here. But what if no one came? What if Ax and his men had lost?

Sighing, she flopped against the door. This was crazy. How long did Ax expect her to wait? She desperately wanted to know what had happened. Was everyone okay?

Footsteps coming down the corridor jolted her from her worry. Hurrying across the room, she hid behind a crate. Her breaths quickened as the steps got closer. A cool blast of air blew through the room as the door opened and she heard someone enter.

"Ariane."

A breath she hadn't realised she held came out in a loud exhale as she jumped to her feet to see Bizax stood in the doorway.

"Biz." Rushing forward, she flung her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly and nearly knocking him off his feet in the process. If he'd been a smaller man his bum would have hit the floor. "Is everything ok? Did we win?"

She strained to peer around his large frame, trying to see anything that would tell her the outcome of the battle. Common sense told her they must have won or Biz wouldn't be standing here but she still needed reassurance. "Where's Ax?"

When he didn't reply straight away, she walked around him and peered into the corridor. "Biz, where's Ax?"

Bizax still didn't reply. A feeling of dread settled in the pit of her stomach. If everything was okay, Ax would be here... with food. Spinning around to face Bizax, she got brought up short by his sad expression. Something was wrong, very wrong. She was running through the ship before she knew what she was doing, calling Ax's name as she went. She heard Bizax shouting hers but didn't stop. Chasing down the corridors, it didn't take her long to find the control room. Running through the open door, she stopped in the centre of the room and surveyed the men who all faced her with looks of sorrow.

"Where's Ax?" she asked, her voice shaking.

Heavy footsteps behind her told her Bizax had entered the room, but she didn't face him. No one answered her; she glanced at them one by one. "What happened, where is he?"

"They got him," Bizax replied.

She spun to face him, anger in her eyes. "What do you mean they got him?"

"They got a halt collar on him during the fight. It shows us for what we are and stops us taking a physical form. Kestel escaped and took Ax in the process."

Her gaze darted around the room, hoping someone would call him a liar, or maybe Ax would jump out and shout 'surprise'. It didn't happen. The sad looks just confirmed he was telling the truth.

Walking to the nearest chair, she dropped down into it and ran her hands through her hair, gently tugging on the ends. This was not good. Of all the silly things to do, he went and got himself captured.

After a moment, she sat up straighter and faced the men. "Okay, since Ax has been careless enough to get captured, I guess we'll have to go and rescue him. Where have they taken him?"

"Ariane, we have no idea where he's gone."

She glared at Jas, who dared to answer, and not say what she wanted to hear. She noticed a bandage wrapped around his thigh. "You're hurt."

"Funnily enough, I noticed." The small smile he gave her took the sting out of his words.

"Can't you change forms to fix it?"

He shook his head and chuckled. "That only works in stories. If I change, I'll still be injured."

"Oh." She eyed the men one by one, Sek and Brise each had some cuts Sek had a nasty one on his waist while Brise had one on his arm. Praid was also hurt. A large bandage now covered his midriff. "Praid?"

"I'm okay," he assured.

His pale complexion and the slight shaking of his hand when he gave her a little wave belied his words, but she didn't call him out on it. The men obviously had pride and didn't want her to know they were hurting.

"Okay, how did the Xan escape with Ax? Can't you ask the others where he would go? Where are the other Xans?"

The men suddenly became very interested in the mechanics of the control room. No one would meet her eyes. "Biz?" She asked.

A faint hint of pink tinted the large man's cheeks as he too avoided her gaze and started retying his long blonde hair.

"Where are the prisoners?" she asked once more.

"Floating in space about three miles away," he mumbled, staring at the floor and rubbed the back of his neck.

Her eyes widened at his words. "You chucked them out an airlock?"

"Seemed like a good idea at the time. They were all dead anyway."

"Oh well, that's okay then." She flopped back into her seat with a sigh. "There must be some way of knowing where they went."

All the men sat or made themselves comfortable, leaning against machines, as they considered their options.

"I say we head for Dealen," Brise suggested. "He's going to want to sell Ax. That would be his best bet."

Trel shook his head in disagreement. "No, he won't go there. If the G.O.D.S hear about the sale, they'd kill Ax. There's no money to be made from a dead Ethereal. He'll head for one of the sister planets, they are less heavily guarded. Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing which one."

"How many are there?" Ariane asked, feeling her hope of rescuing Ax dwindle away the longer they talked.

Praid was the one to respond again. "Six, too many to check individually. He will be sold and moved before we have even checked two."

She stared out of the viewing window and felt a tear escape her eye and trickle down her cheek. She wiped it away before anyone could see. Why was she crying? It would do no good.

Stiffening her spine, she pulled herself together. "How did the Xan escape anyway?"

Praid tapped a few buttons on the controls before replying. "There are three escape pods built into this ship, they were designed for the important members of the crew to escape if necessary. He took one."

"If they were for important people, don't they have tracking devices or something?" she asked.

Bizax placed a hand on her shoulder. "Sorry, but no, it appears the tracking devices have been disabled.

The little spark of hope she had felt extinguished.

"Actually, that's not exactly true."

She snapped her head up in shock. Praid straightened his tie then frantically began pressing buttons on the ship's control panel. The monitors beeped and came to life under his ministrations.

"What do you mean?" Sek asked for her. "We checked. The trackers were disabled."

The smile Praid sent her way gave her a bit of hope. "This ship is an old G.O.D.S ship. Odds are the pods would have had trackers on them that would be accessible from their mainframe."

Sek shook his head with a sad smile. "This obviously hasn't been one of their ships for a very long time. Any tracking devices will have been disabled long ago."

"On the ship, yes." Praid seemed to be getting more excited, the more buttons he pressed. "Any on escape pods would lie dormant until the pod is deployed. A basic sweep of the ship wouldn't detect them."

Ariane shot to her feet and went to peer over Praid's shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"Hacking into the G.O.D.S mainframe."

"Won't they know you're doing it?"

The grin he gave her made him appear cheeky and evil all at the same time. "Nah, I know how to cover my tracks."

She raised an eyebrow as she watched him scan through computer files. "You didn't get out much as a child did you?"

He seemed genuinely perplexed when he asked, "Who needs to go out when you have the universe at your fingertips?"

She rolled her eyes. "Remind me to introduce you to girls one day."

His laughter followed her as she went back to her seat.

"Let's head for Dealen for the time being," Sek said, taking over the role of captain. "It beats doing nothing."

A murmur of agreement went around the men. They started the ship moving, each growing accustomed to the new controls.

A loud grumble from Ariane's stomach caused her to cringe as a few of the men chuckled.

"Come on," Brise said, strolling passed her. "I'll make you some food."

Not needing to be told twice, Ariane jumped to her feet and followed him from the room.

"What would you like?" he asked, rifling through the cupboards and pulling out random items.

"Oh, anything." She picked up a few items and sniffed them. She still couldn't remember the name of most of the food so was unable to say what she wanted. "This smells great." She handed a food to Brise.

He stared at her frowning for a few minutes. "Are you feeling alright? You normally hate this."

"I'm fine." She continued rummaging through the food refusing to meet his eyes.

"Really? No sickness?"

She suddenly found a food in her hand very interesting. "No, none."

"She was ill this morning."

Spinning around, she huffed at Bizax, who'd entered the room. "Who asked for your opinion?"

Brise flipped his long braid over his shoulder and leant against the counter. "What's going on?"

She carefully put the food back down and turned to face the two men. "Nothing's going on, why?"

Brise and Bizax exchanged a look. It was Bizax who finally addressed her.

"Ariane, we know something's wrong. You're a terrible liar, so just tell us what it is."

She focused on the two men. Her eyes settled on Bizax who had first befriended her. She had to be honest with them.

"I think I may be pregnant," she said, refusing to meet their eyes.

When neither man commented, she snuck a peek at them to see them both appearing extremely puzzled.

"Pregnant as in reproducing?" Bizax finally asked.

She nodded her head.

"But how? There are no other humans here."

She huffed and crossed her arms. "Well, you all take on human forms now, and Ax and I did what humans do to reproduce."

"What do humans do?"

Her jaw dropped at Brise's question. There was no way she was explaining the birds and the bees to an alien, it just wasn't happening. "Never, you mind, we just did, and now I'm having a few symptoms of pregnancy, that's all. But I'm not sure, and there is no way of testing so let's not worry about it, for now, okay?"

She turned back to the worktop and continued examining the food. After a few minutes when the men still hadn't moved she sneaked a peek at them, they both stood side by side, glaring at her.

"What?" she snapped.

"How do you test?" Bizax asked.

She frowned at him and put the food down once more. "Test what?"

"How do you test for pregnancy?"

"Well, I don't know," she replied in an exasperated voice. "You go to a chemist and buy a test, but there are no chemists here."

"And what does the test do?"

"Measures a hormone in your body."

"What hormone?"

"Do I look like a doctor?" she snapped.

Bizax stared at her for a few minutes. "Follow me," he said, walking from the room.

She gazed longingly at the counter, and her stomach grumbled again. "What about food?"

"Brise will make you some. Follow me."

Grabbing a fruit as she passed, she rushed from the room and down the hallway to catch up with Bizax. "Where are we going?"

"Control room."

"Why?"

"To find out what your test searches for."

"But-"

"No buts." He spun to face her. "If you are reproducing, we need to know."

"Why?" A bit of fear crept through her.

Bizax's face softened, and he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "So we can make sure both you and your child stay safe."

His words relaxed her. Giving a nod, she continued down the hallway beside him.

"What's wrong?" Sek asked as soon as they entered the control room.

Bizax replied for them. "We need to know what hormone a human pregnancy test searches for."

Sek frowned before his eyes widened and shot to her. With a quick nod, he turned to a computer. "It searches for Human Chorionic Gonadotropin in either blood or urine."

Both men regarded her with expressions of disgust. "We'll check the blood," Sek said to Bizax.

Within moments she found herself in some kind of medical unit, though similar to the one on Ax's ship it didn't look quite as nice. She sat on a bed while Sek used a machine to prick her finger.

"It usually takes more blood than that," she mumbled, in no hurry for a needle but not wanting to have every finger pricked before they finally brought out the big guns.

Sek rolled his eyes. "Primitive human medicine," he commented before placing the finger prick thing in a bigger machine.

She watched the machine make a whooshing noise and spin. Her temperature increased as she waited to see the outcome, small beads of perspiration developed on her forehead. Bizax and Sek stood in silence watching the machine. All too soon the whooshing stopped, and writing appeared on the screen. Sek read it as Bizax placed a hand on her shoulder, whether to make her feel better or him she wasn't sure.

"Hormone level 48,500. You're reproducing."
**Chapter 27**

When first leaving the ship, Ax had been forced to stay in his natural form, then before they docked, Kestel had removed the halt collar to avoid drawing attention to them.

Ax had adopted his Xan form as soon as the collar had gone, figuring it would be the least threatening appearance he could have. Unfortunately, it didn't encourage his captor to be more sociable.

He'd been unceremoniously dragged from the ship at gunpoint and shoved into a transporter, and then transferred to this room where he had been for three days, chained to the headboard of the bed and staring at the same four grey walls. He knew his captor was promoting his sale. On his first day here Kestel and another man had forced the collar around his neck. Once his Ethereal status had been confirmed, he'd not seen either person again. Once a day food was brought in, and one hand was released while he ate at gunpoint.

He fiddled with the lock on his wrist while, wondering how his crew was and if Ariane was alright. As far as he knew, she'd remained safe in the cargo hold throughout the fight. Was she still there? Did his men succeed in claiming the ship?

If they had, Ariane would be safe. If they hadn't, she, herself could be sitting in a cell, awaiting her own sale?

He had no way of knowing, and it was tearing him apart. At the time he'd been pulled from the control room, his crew had been equally matched. Who would be the victor, had been impossible to tell. He had faith in his men; unfortunately, sometimes faith wasn't enough.

He grunted when the hair grip, he'd taken from Ariane, slipped out of the lock again. He was glad he'd kept it on his person, thinking it might be handy one day, but he really should have asked her to show him exactly how to use it. She had made this look so easy, but he'd been attempting to pick the lock since he got here with no success. He widened the metal a bit more and put it back in the hole, jiggling it around. When the lock popped open he blinked in surprise. Finally, he'd gotten it.

The door handle to the prison turned, jolting him from his musings. Grabbing the chain, he quickly wrapped it around his wrist, giving the impression he was still chained. Kestel strolled towards him with confidence. As soon as he was within reach, Ax lunged. His fist connected with Kestel's jaw making the bone crunch. Kestel staggered, ignoring the pain now radiating through his hand, Ax took advantage of the opportunity and shoved him to the floor then kicked him in the gut.

Fleeing the room, he dashed through the building searching for an exit. Door after door stood locked but he kept running. The building seemed strangely quiet until he found a set of stairs leading upward. The higher he climbed, the more he could hear. Reaching the door at the top, he shoved it open, astonished to find it unlocked. He stumbled into a room, which resembled a bar, crowded with of all kind people. Standing straighter, he weaved through the crowd trying not to draw attention. It didn't take long to find an exit and dash out into the street.

He seemed to be in the centre of a busy town. The pavement heaved with people rushing to and from places. Joining the flow of traffic, he walked as fast as he dare away from the building. A loud kerfuffle behind him caused him to quicken his pace. A check over his shoulder confirmed Kestel along with a few others scanning the street for him. Darting between two buildings, he attempted to get out of sight, but the noise of them searching grew louder as they headed in his direction.

He wove in and out of alleyways, in between buildings trying to increase his distance from them, testing transporter doors along the way. No matter where he went, the footsteps seemed to get closer. Finally finding an unlocked door, he jumped into the driver seat and frantically tried to start it. Most transporters had remotes, but he hoped if he could access the controls he might be able to do it manually. It was times like this when he wished for Praid's ability with machines. His friend would have had the transporter started in seconds.

A glance in his mirror showed his pursuers approaching. Abandoning his attempt to start it, he swiftly changed into his Crom form.

"He's around here somewhere."

Kestel's voice penetrated the doors of the vehicle. Crouching down, making himself as small as possible, he stayed as still as he could, hoping they would pass him by.

When the door got yanked open, and he was pulled from the machine, he yelped in surprise.

"Did you really think it would be so easy to escape me?"

The satisfaction in Kestel's eyes made him see red. Wrenching his arm from the Xan on his right, he thrust his fist forward. Immense satisfaction filled him when it landed on the already purple bruise on Kestel's jaw. The arm was instantly grasped again and pulled behind his back. Breathing heavy, he snarled as his captor.

The fist that connected with his stomach was expected. He knew some retaliation would come.

"Get him back to his cell," Kestel ordered as he wiped the black blood from the corner of his lip.

Ax made another attempt to break free and got rewarded with something hitting him on the head. As his eyes closed and he slipped into unconsciousness, he wondered how they had followed him so easily.

Ax woke back in the same cell he'd occupied before though this time he wasn't chained. Gently touching the back of his head, he felt a tender lump where he'd been hit.

"Bastards," he mumbled, getting to his feet. "Hitting a guy from behind."

Wobbling, he rested his hand on the wall and waited for his head to stop spinning. When he'd regained his footing, he checked the door. As he'd expected, it was locked and couldn't be opened from inside. With a groan, he sat again.

How had Kestel found him so easily? Even changing forms hadn't hidden him. He began to systematically check his clothing, searching for anything which shouldn't be there, any kind of tracking device. It didn't take long for him to discover something. Inside his jacket lining, he found a small piece of metal that flashed periodically. It had to be how they'd found him.

"Discovered your tracker, did you?" The words were spoken through a small hole in the door, seconds before the handle was turned and Kestel entered.

"Very clever," Ax said, flicking the metal across the room.

Kestel caught it with ease and held it up between his thumb and finger to examine it. "Handy little gadget, isn't it?"

The tracker was about the size of his little fingernail. He'd never have spotted it if he hadn't been looking.

"Yes wonderful," Ax replied drily. "Although now I've found it, it's rather useless."

"This one is, yes." He dropped the device on the floor and crushed it under the heel of his boot.

Ax narrowed his eyes, waiting for Kestel to expand on the comment.

"You didn't think this was the only one, did you?" The laugh that came from the Xan made Ax cringe.

"I've checked myself, there are no more."

"None you can see."

He almost called Kestel a liar. It was on the tip of his tongue to say he was sure there were no more, but the more he looked at his enemy, the less confident he was about that. Kestel had the air of a man who'd already won.

"You're wondering where they are, aren't you?"

The satisfaction in Kestel's eyes made Ax snarl. "If there are more, prove it."

"Now why would I do that?" The Xan walked further into the room, two others appeared in the doorway, preventing Ax from escaping. "I could show you where they are, but I won't. I want to leave you guessing. Though be assured, they are there. If you escape again, I'll find you just as easily as this time, and if you try to change forms, you won't live to regret it."

Kestel spoke with clear confidence. Was he telling the truth? Was it now dangerous for him to change forms? "Why tell me about them? You know I'll search."

Kestel met his eyes. "You can look all you want, you won't find them. I told you simply to save your time and your life. Escape is futile. I suggest you give up and accept your fate."

"Never!"

"I'm afraid you have no choice. Your sale is in five days. Oh, and I wouldn't expect your friends to save you. Word has already spread about them. As we speak, ships are out searching. They will be captured before you even go to auction."

Ax crossed his arms and leant against the wall, nonchalance in his every move. "Do you really expect me to believe you have paid people to find my crew?"

Mocking laughter came from Kestel. "Paid them? Oh no, I simply told them about your crew, I couldn't care less what happens to them. I just want to make sure they don't rescue you. You're my meal ticket, the others are fair game."

With those parting words, Kestel left the room. His two goons following close behind. Ax sat on the floor once more and stared at the door. He believed he had trackers despite not knowing where they were, and he believed people were hunting his crew. Although it sounded bad, it did give him a little bit of hope. If his crew was being hunted, they must have won the ship. It meant his men and Ariane were safe, for now. All he could do was hope it stayed that way. His fate appeared to be sealed, but they still had a chance as long as they didn't blow it by trying to rescue him. Unfortunately, he had a feeling that's exactly what they would do.
**Chapter 28**

Ariane stared unseeingly out the control room viewing window. This seemed to be all she did at the moment. Against her will, she had been banished from the engine room. Apparently...It was too dangerous for a reproducing female.

Trel would no longer train her to fight...It was too dangerous.

She was no longer allowed to get her own meals...It was too dangerous. As soon as her pregnancy had been confirmed, Brise had told her she couldn't prepare her own food. She didn't know enough about their produce to know what was safe for her to eat. He, on the other hand, was doing extensive research on the subject.

Everything was now too dangerous.

With nothing to do the days seemed never-ending, even using the computer had grown tiresome. As they headed closer to the Sixth Galaxy in search of Ax, Ariane found time dragging with no way to occupy herself. She couldn't move without someone hovering over her ensuring she was alright.

No one had any idea how her pregnancy would progress, this was new territory. Apparently, when Ethereals reproduced they merged their particles in their natural state and when they separated each left a piece of themselves behind to create another Ethereal. It appeared Ariane was doing things the human way but did she carry a human? She had no way of knowing.

Resting her hand on her stomach, she gently rubbed it as she sent loving thoughts to the child inside. No matter what it was, as part of her and Ax, she would love it.

"What's wrong?"

She jumped when Sek appeared on her right, worry creasing his face.

"Why would anything be wrong?"

"You rubbed your belly." He indicated her hand, which still rested low on her abdomen.

"And?"

"I thought maybe it was hurting."

Ariane removed her hand and slumped into a seat. "It was just an affectionate gesture. I'm fine."

Relief washed over his face. "Oh, good."

She rose, only to be stopped by his hand on her shoulder.

"What do you want? I'll get it for you."

She nudged his hand away. "I don't want anything."

"Then where are you going?" Panic seemed to be rolling off of him as he hovered above her.

"To the bathroom," she gritted out between her teeth. Spinning away, she stormed from the room, her footsteps thumping down the corridor. When she encountered Praid, he stepped out of her way, obviously seeing the anger in her face and in no hurry to question it.

Entering a room she'd claimed as her own, she flopped onto the bed and groaned. This was getting ridiculous. The men were hovering over her like mother hens, refusing to let her do anything. It had to stop. Ax was missing, and despite Praid's best efforts, they hadn't been able to track the escape pod. They had more important things to worry about than what she could have for breakfast. Resting her hand on her stomach, she instantly felt guilty for the thought. She had to be careful with the new life she carried. That didn't mean she needed the men watching over her every second of the day, though. She felt fine. Besides a hint of sickness, she was healthy. It was easy to believe she wasn't really pregnant, but the men were convinced the test was correct. She found herself longing for the day when she would feel movement and have confirmation there really was a child inside her and that was alive and well.

Knocking on the door caused her to grip the bed covers in frustration and groan again.

"Ariane are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Her fingers dug deeper into the comforter as she attempted to keep her voice steady.

"Are you sure?"

Springing into a sitting position, she yelled at the door. "Yes, I'm sure."

"You don't sound alright."

Shooting up from the bed, she stomped towards the door and yanked it open, causing it to swing on its hinges and hit the wall with a thud. "I said I'm fine."

Bizax stood in the doorway, arms crossed and totally unimpressed with her mini tantrum. "You done trying to break the door?"

"It depends on if annoying men are going to keep knocking on it."

His body stiffened, and he crossed his arms over his chest. The scowl on his face made his scar more prominent that ever. "Well excuse us for being concerned about you."

Her breathing quickened as she scowled back. "You don't need to be concerned."

"You're carrying Ax's child. Of course, we need to be concerned."

"The child's fine."

"We just want to make sure it stays that way."

All the fight left Ariane. Her shoulders slumped as she walked back to the bed and sat down. A few moments later, she felt the bed dip when Bizax took a seat beside her. She understood why the men were worried about her. She was pregnant with their captain's child, a half Ethereal. Their race was nearly extinct; this wasn't just a baby to them. It was the continuation of their species. There was no way of knowing how the pregnancy would progress, but the more they hovered, the more she worried. She wasn't used to people being concerned. She had been on her own so long, it was hard to adjust to a family who fretted about her, and that's what she had become, part of their crazy dysfunctional family.

"I'm scared." The words were torn from her before she knew she was thinking them.

A comforting arm appeared around her shoulders. "The child will be fine. We'll make sure it is."

She raised fearful eyes to him. "But what about Ax?"

The laughter that emerged from Bizax vibrated through his arm, causing her to shake. "Ax will be fine too."

"Saying that doesn't make it real."

The laughter died as serious eyes met hers. "No, it won't. But I have faith in Ax. He's resourceful; he knows how to take care of himself. He's probably already escaped and borrowed a ship to make his way back to us."

The door bursting open made her jump as an excited Dyan rushed in, gasping for breath. "We know where they're holding Ax."

Ariane faced Bizax, one eyebrow raised. "Already escaped, huh?"

Bizax got to his feet and grumbled, "Fexing guy's useless without us."

"Hold on," she called as the two men made their way towards the door. "What happened to all that talk about Ax being resourceful?"

Bizax shrugged. "He is, but there's no harm in helping him is there?"

Jumping up, she chased after them. Pregnant or not she had no intention of being left out of their plans.

The control room had come alive. The men rushed around plotting a course and bringing up every bit of information they could on Ax's upcoming sale. Stopping in front of a monitor, she watched an advertisement for the auction. In it, they showed Ax having a collar forced around his neck and turning into his natural form. Her heart lodged in her throat as she watched him struggle against his captors, then be held in place by one of them gripping the collar tightly. Staring transfixed at the screen, it was strange to see Ax become a glittering form. The image cut off to show the word, Mart.

"What's Mart?" Ariane asked, restarting the advert to watch it again.

"A small planet two away from Dealen," Praid replied.

"That film is in wide circulation," Sek commented from behind her.

If the sale was being advertised a lot, Ax would be heavily guarded. "At least they made it easy for us to find them."

"They made it easy for us to know where they are going. I doubt they'll get there until the sale is near. It's impossible for them to advertise Ax's auction without the G.O.D.S finding out so they'll keep the location tightly under wraps and not head there until the last minute."

"So what's the plan?" she asked, dragging her eyes away from the screen.

Sek eased into a chair and cupped his chin thoughtfully. "We need in on that sale."

"No one knows the actual location yet," Trel said. "They won't reveal it until the last minute, and then only to serious bidders."

"We need to find a serious bidder," Sek said. "We know they're heading for Mart so we need to get there first. Something like this is big. It shouldn't take long to spot someone wanting to buy an Ethereal. We'll follow them to the location."

"Can't you take their place and go to the auction instead?" Ariane asked, watching the advertisement again, unable to tear her eyes from her lover on the screen.

"They will probably be checking all bidders, on the lookout for us," Praid said.

Bizax moved to her side and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll find another way in and get him back."

Giving her friend a sad smile, she left the control room and went to her bedroom. Finding another computer to use, she began researching Mart. At least that was something she could do which wasn't too dangerous.

It was a very small planet, comprised of mostly water, the land on it only about the size of London. It couldn't be too hard to find someone there. Scanning the map, she made a list of all the possible locations the auction could take place. Some of the areas would be impossible, due to how busy they were. A heavily guarded building would be spotted too easily. Other places were too obvious. The G.O.D.S would check all official auction houses. She narrowed the options down to three possible areas. They were quiet and out if the way, places in slum areas which could get overlooked.

Maybe she was totally wrong. Maybe people with enough money to attend this auction wouldn't dream of stepping foot in those places, but she made a note of them anyway. It made her feel as if she did something useful, rather than sitting twiddling her thumbs. Studying the locations in those areas, she made notes of the surrounding streets, businesses, anything which might be of use later. She also took note of the nice hotels where possible bidders might stay and places they could observe the hotels from.

By the time she climbed into bed that night, she knew enough about the planet to be confident she could travel around it with ease. Of course, she didn't expect the men to allow her to go planet-side with them willingly. However, she felt confident she could convince them it was unsafe to leave her aboard the ship.

Hunching down under the covers, she grabbed a pillow and hugged it, wishing it was Ax's warm chest below her cheek and his body she hugged. She felt lost without him beside her. Where was he sleeping now? Did he even have a bed to lie on?

Subconsciously, she began rubbing her lower stomach. Her child needed its father. A tear trickled down her face, and she buried her head into the pillow making a small damp patch as she wept. Damn hormones, making her cry. She never cried. They had to get Ax back if only so she could kick his arse for turning her into a blubbering mess.
**Chapter 29**

Ariane sat in a bar opposite one of the best hotels on Mart. Her hand was tightly tied to Bizax and her form resembled a Martian, native of the planet Mart. She'd actually laughed when Sek had told her that's what they needed to look like. She'd instantly imagined the cartoon character Marvin the Martian. In reality, she was nothing like that. Her shape remained humanoid, though her skin was now the colour gold. She stood about six feet tall, and her figure was thin, verging on gaunt. Catching her reflection in the window, she admired her cheek bones for about the fifth time since changing.

It had taken a lot to convince the men to allow her along. At first, they were adamant she must stay on the ship. It was only after reminding them the ship had been stolen, and would likely get seized if spotted, that they allowed her to come. Of course, it helped that she'd been the only person who bothered to research the planet and learn where everything was.

Now they sat surrounded by the smell of alcohol, and she wished to be back on the ship. Chancing a peek at the drink in front of her, she felt her stomach revolt. Apparently, the green sludge bubbling in her glass was Martians' version of fruit juice. A bubble popped and the vile stench it produced wafted up to her nose, causing her to heave and shove the glass away.

"Now that's a buyer if ever I saw one," Sek said in a low voice, dragging her attention back to the window.

A Xan in richly decorated robes climbed from a car-like vehicle which hovered, and hurried into the hotel, closely followed by four muscular males.

Ariane got to her feet, straining for a better view, but was urged back down by Bizax. "Don't draw attention to yourself," he murmured.

Ariane took her seat again, relieved to see no one paying attention. "What do we do now?" she asked Sek.

He gave her a pointed glare. "You stay here where it's safe. Trel and Dyan, keep an eye on him. We'll watch another hotel just in case this one isn't a buyer."

With a nod, the two men left the building.

Sek turned to Bizax. "You and Praid take her back to the hotel and stay there Brise and Jas, you're coming with me."

Ariane grabbed Sek's arm as he went to rise. "But-"

"No buts!" He turned hard eyes on her. "Ax will kill me if anything happens to you. I want you safe."

With a sigh, she let go and watched him leave.

...

Ariane fidgeted on the creaky old hotel bed trying to get comfy. The PD she'd brought from their recent ship rested on her lap. The hotel had a form of Wi-Fi, which Bizax had connected it to. With nothing better to do, she researched the planet some more.

"Once we get Ax, how will we leave the planet?" she asked some time later, causing Bizax who was dozing in a chair to jump.

"What? Uh, leave... um," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

Praid who sat in another chair laughed. "We'll buy another ship."

"Buy?"

"Of course, buy." He seemed aghast at her implying they would do otherwise.

Ariane raised an eyebrow. "And how will we buy this ship with no money?"

"We'll borrow some."

"And will the lender know we're borrowing their money?"

Praid huffed. "We won't have time to do everything, you know."

With a laugh, Ariane went back to her PD. The men seemed pretty confident it would be easy to get off the planet. She wasn't so sure but had no intention of arguing with them.

Their previous ship had been left on the other side of Mart, and they'd taken a boat here to escape notice. Everyone was in agreement. Too many people would be searching for that ship to continue using it. Hopefully, the new ship would buy them some time until other arrangements could be made.

It was evening by the time the others returned. Everyone crowded into her hotel room and gave a rundown of their day. It turned out the Xan they'd originally followed had been on Mart to find an anniversary present for his wife. Luckily, a Gornned, who Sek and the others followed, appeared to lead them to the auction site.

"He went down here." Sek indicated a road on the map Ariane had spread over her bed. "Unfortunately, we lost him at this crossroads. He had to be heading to the auction site. He returned to his hotel an hour later. My guess is he went to be vetted as a bidder. They'll be checking everyone beforehand."

Praid gazed over the area Sek had indicated. "There are quite a few locations it could be, I'll have to do some research."

"It's here." Ariane pushed Praid's hand away and indicated where the sale would take place.

A sigh came from her left. "Ariane, we can't just pick a building and hope for the best."

She bristled at the comment and sat straighter. Narrowing her eyes at Sek, she placed her finger on one of the five building options in that area. "This is an abattoir, this is a mill," she indicated the next building then moved along. "A dairy... and this belongs to the Mayor's mistress, it's a well-known fact he has her stashed there. It's highly unlikely he'd hold an illegal auction there. This property is abandoned and used to be a farm. It's got to be where they were headed."

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat as the room fell silent and all eyes rested on her. "What?"

"How do you know all this?" Sek asked suspiciously.

Picking up the PD, she waved it slowly in front of his face. "Duh."

He scowled at her response, obviously realising the comment was an insult of some kind. "Fine," he snapped, turning back to the others. "We know the location."

"Word on the street is the sale's tomorrow," Praid piped up.

"Right," Sek said. "We know the location and day. My guess is it will be in the afternoon. The rich like to sleep in. Get some rest everyone, early start tomorrow."

The men filed out of the room, each going to their own quarters. Only Bizax remained, stating he'd sleep in the chair to watch over her. Lying down, she snuggled into the covers and tried to relax. The sound of Bizax's quiet breathing reached her from across the room. "What will happen tomorrow?" she asked into the darkness.

Leather creaking met her ears as Bizax fidgeted in the chair. "We'll go to the location early, keep an eye out for Ax's arrival. Once we see him, we'll get him out of there."

"You make it sound easy." She fiddled with the corner of her pillow as she spoke.

"It will be. This time, tomorrow we'll be safely away from here, with Ax."

Ariane wished she had half the confidence he did. She just couldn't imagine it being as simple as Bizax envisioned. Hugging a pillow tightly, she tried to sleep, hoping tomorrow, Ax would be with her.

Knocking on the door woke her abruptly. Sitting up, she clutched the covers and scanned the room. Bizax rose at a more leisurely pace and strolled towards the door, not at all concerned that the knocking had now become a persistent banging.

"Rise and shine," Sek called pushing his way into the room, carrying a bag of what smelled like breakfast, closely followed by the others.

Scurrying up towards the head of the bed, Ariane neatened the covers and held her hand out for food. The inviting smells made her stomach grumble. She peeked into the bag and gave a contented sigh. Ignoring the conversation around her, she tucked into the food, only listening to the men when the meal was nearly finished.

"You take Ariane with you. She'll be safer away from the auction."

"Wait... What?" Her head shot up as Sek's words registered. "I want to come with you."

"It's too dangerous."

Fisting her hands, she growled, that damn saying was becoming a real pain. "You need me; I know where the location is."

Picking up her PD, Sek waved it slowly, mimicking her action from the night before. "So do we."

"But-"

"It's too dangerous!"

Clambering from the bed, she chased after Sek who headed for the door. "What if he's chained up or locked in a room? I can pick locks... you need me."

Glaring at her, Sek stepped away from the door and instead walked towards the closet. Without breaking eye contact, he shot his arm out, hitting the door with the palm of his hand. It flew inwards, tearing from its hinges and effectively breaking the lock.

"What locks?" he asked. "You go with Bizax, Jas, and Praid. Jas and Praid are too injured to fight but you'll be safe with them." He left closing the door in his wake.

Ariane flopped back down on the bed with a huff. She wanted to go with the others. She wanted to see Ax. What if they failed? What if they got caught too?

"Sek's right," Bizax said gently. "It's too dangerous for you to go there. We'll get a ship, ready to leave as soon as they return with Ax."

Ariane sighed and rested a hand on her stomach. She knew they were right, she couldn't go with them. It didn't stop her wishing she could. While Bizax went to secure them a transporter to the dock, she collected a change of clothes and headed into a surprisingly Earth-like bathroom. It seemed not all species were as advanced as Ethereals.

She re-entered the room, refreshed and ready to leave. "So how do we go about getting a ship?"

Jas and Praid raised their heads from the PD and eased a few inches apart. She eyeballed the two men questioningly, but they simply ignored the gaze and answered her spoken question.

"In a few moments we'll have access to a very rich man's coin, we then go and buy one," Praid said with a surprisingly evil grin.

"What rich man?"

"A Gornned named Hent," Jas supplied for her.

She frowned, not recognising the name. "And who is Hent?"

Praid chuckled and turned the PD off, passing it to her. "Not a clue, but he's about to buy us a ship."
**Chapter 30**

Ax sat in his cell listening to footsteps echo back and forth along the corridor outside. His sale was today, he'd heard it mentioned earlier. Leaning his head back against the cold wall, he closed his eyes and sighed. He had no idea what to do. His only hope was that someone made a mistake while transporting him and he saw an opportunity to escape.

Though he still worried about the tracking device they claimed to have put in him, he wouldn't meekly go to the auction block. He had to make an attempt to get away.

Footsteps pausing outside the cell brought his head up sharply. As the lock clicked and the door opened, he climbed to his feet.

"Ah, I see you're ready for us." Kestel entered the room, closely followed by two other Xans.

Ax heard the words but didn't respond. His eyes wouldn't leave the halt collar held by one of the men. "What do you plan to do with that? You said it's dangerous for me to change forms."

The laugh Kestel gave in response hissed through his teeth. "Don't you worry about it, I lied."

Ax shook his head, berating himself for believing the other man's bluff.

The halt collar was passed to Kestel as the two Xans advanced on him. Ax retreated until his back hit the cell wall. Each Xan grabbed one of his arms. Yanking against them, he caused one to stagger and let go. Not about to miss his chance, he swung the arm around punching the other Xan in the jaw. Just as the Xan's head snapped back Ax lost form.

Kestel stood beside him with a tight hold on the collar which now rested around Ax's neck. Something fell to the ground with a ching. Glancing down, Ax saw two microchips on the floor which must have been planted in him as trackers.

Without another word, Ax was unceremoniously shoved inside the crate that sat in the corridor. It wasn't long before he heard the muffled voices of the Xans as they carried it from the building.

Ax floated around inside the box until it came to rest and a transporter began to move. He cursed being in his natural state. It may provide comfort and prevent his form from feeling the heat of the confined space, but it made escape impossible. When he attempted to move the lid, his hands simply dispersed like spilt water before reforming. The journey didn't take long. In no time at all, the roads turned rocky, and he became aware that the travelling wasn't as smooth by the way his form shuddered.

When they finally stopped, the box was dragged from the vehicle, making a loud thump when it hit the floor. The move had obviously been done to annoy him. Did the idiots not realise he couldn't feel anything? Yes, his form got shaken and distorted, but it didn't provide any discomfort.

When the lid of the box finally lifted, he slowly drifted out. He found himself once more in a kind of cell. This one had a window. Unfortunately, in this state he had no way of opening it.

Kestel stood in a doorway. "Don't get too comfortable, you won't be in here long." The door shut with a bang that vibrated around the room as he left.

Ax stared at the door for a moment then moved to the window. He appeared to have been taken out of the city. All he could see were fields and a large building in the distance. He attempted to grab the window latch despite knowing the effort was futile. His hand moulded around the shape, acknowledging there was something there, but he couldn't grasp it. He had no way out as long as this collar hung around his neck.

Staring into the distance, he wondered what his men were doing. Part of him still thought they'd try to rescue him. At this point, he didn't know if it would be a good idea or bad. Common sense told him they should flee as fast as possible and never look back, taking Ariane with them. His heart was in total disagreement and wanted them to appear and help him out of this damn mess. He felt pretty sure his crew would be in agreement with his heart and attempt a rescue. He just hoped they didn't get captured in the process.

Ax had no idea how long he stayed in the room because the planet's sun wasn't visible through the window. Time dragged while he waited to be led to the auction block. His thoughts were in chaos, debating his options, wondering if the crew was nearby, and hoping he might get the chance to escape. He didn't expect the collar to be removed before his sale. Still, he hoped it would be taken off at some point. As soon as it was gone, he'd take the first chance that arose to get away.

When the door finally opened revealing two Xans, Ax went with them without the need for force. He couldn't fight them even if he wanted to. They stepped from the room and led him to his fate.

The corridor appeared just as unwelcoming as his cell, the building old and neglected. Paint peeled from the walls and some windows he passed were broken. As they walked through the house, there appeared signs of work recently done to improve the place. A fresh coat of paint had been added to the walls of the main entrance hall. Their destination also looked better than the rest of the building. It was much cleaner and had new furniture. His gaze swept around the room taking note of the eight males seated around the edges with bodyguards behind. Kestel stood on a stage in the centre, an evil smile curling his lips.

A shudder went through Ax, making his form distort before regaining its shape. A feeling of dread settled over him.

"Ah, the guest of honour has arrived," Kestel called, glorying in his triumph.

Anger coursed through Ax as he was herded towards his enemy. The murmur of voices filled the room, excitement evident from the prospective buyers. He would get revenge for this, no matter how long it took. Kestel would pay for selling him like cattle.

Standing in the middle of the stage, he stood tall as all eyes examined the evidence of his Ethereal status. Everyone stared with open curiosity. Very few ever saw an Ethereal in this form. It was usually only revealed to others of their kind. It was unnerving to have so many see him in such a vulnerable state.

"Quiet, if you please." Kestel's voice demanded attention. "I understand some of you believed this sale was a scam, as you can see it's genuine. Meet Axermaxacorm Kas, a great warrior, known and feared throughout the galaxies, and an Ethereal!"

Ax wondered where the warrior rubbish had come from having never been a warrior in his life. Kestel seemed determined to make sure he got the best price he could from this sale.

The chatter started once more before being waved to a stop. "I know you're excited, but if you don't mind, I would like to proceed. I will be conducting this auction in Xan currency if you don't mind."

Nods of agreement went around the room.

A sly smirk touched Kestel's lips. "Excellent, shall we start the bidding at fifty thousand?"

A hand quickly raised, indicating the first bidder, a Gornned. It was followed by a bid from a Martian. One by one hands rose, outbidding each other, sixty thousand, seventy thousand, eighty... one hundred... five hundred. At nine hundred and fifty thousand, Ax stopped listening. His eyes rested on a spot on the wall just above the Gornned's head. He had no interest in his final selling price. With no intention of remaining their prisoner for long, he didn't care what they paid for him. The room around him faded as he remembered Ariane, her laugh. The way she got excited over the simplest of things. The way she kissed. He would get back to her again. He refused to accept any other outcome.

It was some time before the word "sold" brought his attention back to the room. The Gornned looked extremely satisfied. He must be his new owner.

As the other bidders filtered out with murmurs of disappointment, the Gornned approached the stage. The tentacles on his fingers twitched with excitement as he circled Ax.

"Excellent," he said.

Kestel's glee at his sale price was evident in the way he beamed and rushed to answer the Gornned. "So glad you approve. If you would follow me to a more comfortable room, we'll finalise the transaction."

The Gornned gave Ax one final glance over before following Kestel from the room.

Ax watched his two guards approach him. He edged back when one tried to grab the collar. He couldn't fight, but he had no intention of being dragged around. A scowl appeared on the Xan's face, he once more reached for the collar.

Ax blinked in surprise. One second the Xan stood in front of him, hand outstretched, the next second he hit the floor. Staring at the body in confusion, he chanced a glance at his other guard just in time to see him join his friend.

"Are you planning to stand there gawking at them all day?"

His gaze shot to the door where Sek stood with a silenced gun in his hand. Elation filled him. Obviously, he would have found a way to escape on his own. That didn't mean he wasn't grateful for the help now.

Sek grinned at him and strolled into the room, casually stepping over the dead bodies, to peer at the collar still around his neck. "Well, didn't you get yourself into a pickle. Do either of them have a key?" He indicated the two Xans.

Ax shook his head.

"Hmm, so where is the key?"

When Ax didn't respond, he rolled his eyes. "What am I asking you for, you're stagnant."

Stagnant indeed! He wasn't lifeless, he just couldn't communicate. His form jolted and dispersed slightly when Sek grabbed the collar and attempted to yank it apart. If he had a body, he'd be getting choked. Honestly, for a friend, Sek was very careless.

"I think we can break it off. Idiots didn't make it very strong because they know you can't touch it," Sek said with a derisive laugh. Grabbing hold of it, he dashed towards the door dragging Ax behind. Outside the room, stood Trel and Brise, across the hallway he could see Dyan keeping watch. "Let's get out of here. We'll deal with the collar on the way."

Stepping over more dead guards, Sek hurried out the front door, closely followed by the others. The collar restraining Ax stayed tightly in his grasp. Hastily making their way around the side of the building, they reached a large transporter just as the first shots were fired at them.
**Chapter 31**

"Fex," Sek ducked behind the transporter, dragging Ax with him.

Ax noticed blood oozing from Sek's arm, but the others appeared unhurt.

"How many are there?" Trel asked, attempting to peer around the side of the machine. More shots fired causing him to swiftly get down again.

Ax held up seven fingers in answer.

Sek checked the sight of his gun then reached for the vehicle door before seeming to change his mind. "Trel, give me a hand with this collar."

While Brise and Dyan exchanged shots with Kestel's men, Sek and Trel each grabbed a side of the collar. On the count of three, they both yanked as hard as they could.

The snapping of the metal was the best sound Ax had heard in days. Before the collar hit the floor, he'd changed into his Xan form and pulled in a huge gasp of air.

"Feel better?" Sek asked chuckling.

Narrowing his eyes, he glared at his friend. "You dragged me around like a pet."

Sek's chuckle developed into a full blown laugh, which sounded quite out of place amongst the gunfire and shattering glass of the transporter windows. "Thought I'd get you used to toeing the line. After all, you have responsibility now."

His friend's comment made no sense. He'd always been the one in charge and responsible for the others, unless he meant Ariane. "Where's Ariane?"

Sek's expression turned serious. "Don't worry she's safe. She's with Bizax, Jas, and Praid, getting a new ship."

Ax's heart pounded. He clenched his hands into fists to prevent himself from wringing his friend's neck. "You sent her to steal a ship?"

"Of course not." Sek looked rather offended at the accusation. "She's with them, buying a ship...With stolen money."

"That makes it so much better." Yanking the door of the transporter open, he indicated for everyone to get in. Keeping low, they crawled inside. Ax took the driving seat since he had no gun.

He stepped on the accelerator making the engine roar as they zoomed down the road while his friends continued to fire through the broken windows.

"They're following," Brise called when the gunfire ceased.

The sound of more engines starting behind them could be heard. "Anyone know which way we go?"

"What's wrong, Ax? Has the captain lost his sense of direction?" Sek teased, poking his head out the window to check behind them. He quickly pulled it back in when a shot whooshed past.

"Didn't pay attention before, I was kind of tied up." Ax drawled while taking a sharp right in an attempt to lose their followers.

More buildings appeared the closer they got to town and other vehicles started to provide cover. The gunfire stopped as they left the rural areas. Kestel and the Gornneds obviously didn't wish to draw unwanted attention, but they continued to chase.

He was forced to slow their speed when they reached the busy town centre. Kestel remained close. It appeared they wished to follow them to their destination. Well, that wasn't going to happen. Ax took a sharp left hand turn.

"Ax you're going the wrong way. The docking bay is right," Sek said with worry.

Ax checked his mirror to make sure Kestel was still following. "I know. I saw the sign, but I'm not about to lead them to Ariane."

Nodding in understanding, Sek sat quietly beside him as Ax headed once more for the outskirts of town. He parked outside what appeared to be an abandoned building. "Everyone out."

In a matter of moments, they'd kicked their way into the house and positioned themselves in doorways ready to kill anyone who entered. Two vagabonds, who seemed to be living there, collected their belongings and hurried into a back room, but Ax paid them no mind. He wouldn't be here long. His body stiffened when he heard the low hum of a transporter pulling up outside. Forcing himself to breathe evenly and relax, he exchanged a glance with Sek who gave a brief nod in acknowledgement.

"You might as well come out, you're surrounded," Kestel called from outside.

Ax sniggered along with the others. How stupid did Kestel think they were? At the most, there were seven outside, nowhere near enough to surround them. "Why don't you come in?"

The shot which hit the wall by his head made him jump, but the one that got fired straight after it and the cry from the entrance way made him grin. Chancing a glance at Sek, he saw him tick one in the air. A series of shots got fired into the house, none of them particularly aimed. Two more were fired in response, each resulting in another cry.

"You won't get out of there alive." Frustration was evident in Kestel's voice.

Ax leant his head against the wall and checked a gun Sek had given him. "Really? Because it seems to me, your side is the one with people dying."

A loud growl echoed through the empty hall as more shots were fired. Eyeing up the window across the room, Ax came to a decision. Indicating to Sek he was moving, he snuck over to it, peeking outside. There was no one in sight so carefully opening it, he climbed through the gap and inched his way to the corner of the building. From this view, he could clearly see Kestel and three other Xans. The Gornneds were nowhere in sight. Scanning the area, he tried to spot them, but they didn't appear to be anywhere near.

It seemed almost too easy. The thought crossed his mind that it was bad form to shoot someone in the back, and then he remembered the halt collar and his sale. Raising his gun, he aimed and fired two shots. Two of the guards hit the floor. At the same time, a third shot was fired from the house sending the third guard to his death. Only Kestel remained. Standing alone beside the open doorway, he looked around in panic before running towards his transporter.

"Stop!" The word echoed off the surrounding buildings as Ax emerged from around the corner and trained his gun on Kestel. The Xan instantly stopped and dropped his weapon on the ground. It didn't take long for the others to leave the house and join them.

He prowled towards Kestel, a predator stalking his prey. "Where are the Gornneds?"

The evil smirk that touched Kestel's lips was in no way reassuring. "Waiting for you."

Ax stopped less than a pace away. He was slightly taller than Kestel and a lot broader. He saw a flash of fear cross the other man's eyes. "Waiting where?"

"Why would I tell you?" scoffed Kestel.

"Because you want to live."

The two men stared at each other; the Xan lowered his eyes first. "I'm dead anyway, so I'm not telling you anything."

It was on the tip of Ax's tongue to deny it, but he found he couldn't. Kestel was correct. He had no intention of allowing the Xan to live. With a swift nod, he raised his gun and fired a shot right between the eyes. Kestel fell to the floor, dead. "I'm willing to bet the Gornneds went to the docking bay. We need to get there, fast."

Climbing back into the large transporter, Ax drove as fast as he could towards the dock, without drawing attention. His hands gripped the steering sticks so tightly his palms started sweating. Quite a few times he found they were picking up speed and forced himself to slow down.

"She'll be alright, she's with Bizax, Jas, and Praid."

Despite Sek's reassuring words, Ax felt his worry growing the longer the journey took. By the time they stopped outside the docking bay, his heart was hammering in his chest. Rushing from the vehicle, they dashed through the warehouses to the ships docked at the back. Thankful that this was a small planet with little to no security, he scanned the area for any sign of his friends.

Bizax was easy to spot amongst the beings that milled around; he stood a good head above the others. Being sure to keep his eyes peeled for Gornneds, he crossed the platforms and headed straight for his friend.

"Ax!" As soon as he got within grabbing distance, he found himself engulfed in a huge hug. "Good to see you," Bizax exclaimed, taking a step back and giving his friend a once over.

"And you." Ax assured while covertly scanning the surrounding area for Ariane.

Bizax chuckled and slapped him on the back. "She's fine. She's with the others on the ship."

Ax's felt his cheeks heat up. Pulling himself to his full height, he gazed around the dock. "Which ship is ours?"

"Follow me." Biz weaved his way around crates, luggage, and all sorts of things that were being loaded on and off ships.

"We need to leave immediately," Ax said, continuing to scan the area. "We believe Gornneds are coming searching for us."

Biz nodded as he continued to walk. "Jas is refuelling, and Praid's in the control room doing last minute checks, as soon as that's done we can go."

Ax wanted to argue, he wanted to say they needed to go now, he wanted Ariane away from here, but he knew he couldn't. It was no use leaving if they didn't have enough fuel to last. "How long will it take?"

Biz shot him an understanding look over his shoulder. "Hopefully not long."

The ship, when it came into view, was beautiful. Not huge, but a decent size. Silver and shiny, it was obviously rather new and hadn't seen much flight time. "Very nice," Ax murmured, a smile touching his lips.

"We thought so."

Seeing Jas near the fuel tanks, Ax waved and scanned the area once more. The sight of a Gornned disappearing round a corner of a ship, three bays down, made him curse.

"Where's Ariane?" he said to Biz, cold dread creeping into him.

Biz frowned. "She's inside."

Dashing up the ramp and onto the ship, he shouted to Sek to follow the Gornned.

"Ariane." He dashed down the ship's corridors, calling her name, opening doors as he went. By the time he reached the control room, his heart was racing, and moisture had developed in the corner of his eyes. Going to the viewing window, he scanned the dock, and then slammed his hands on the controls in frustration.

Praid got unsteadily to his feet. "Ax what's wrong?"

"She's gone."

"What?" Praid's eyes widened.

"Ariane's gone." Turning to run back off the ship he came face to face with Sek.

"They got her," his friend said. "I got to the ship just in time to see them carry her inside and take off."

Ax closed his eyes as a shaft of pain pierced his heart. Stiffening his spine, he looked out the viewing window. "Get everyone on board, we leave now."

His friend gave no comment, simply left the room as ordered. Moments later everyone entered the control room, and the ship's engines hummed to life.

Ax sat in the captain's chair staring out of the window. She would be alright, she had to be.

"We'll get her back."

Ax grunted at Sek's words.

"Ax, there's something you need to know."

The room fell silent as Ax raised his eyes to meet his best friends.

"What is it?"

"Ariane is reproducing."

He frowned at Sek's words. "What do you mean? How's that possible?"

His friend took a seat near him. "She's doing it the human way, a child is growing inside of her, your child."

The air rushed from Ax's lungs as his friend's words sank in. Ariane was carrying his child within her. He was going to be a father.

He stared out of the window. He could see the faint light of the ship Ariane and his child were on up ahead.

"Increase our speed."
**Chapter 32**

Ariane parked her bum on the bed, the sole piece of furniture inside her cell, and it was a cell, complete with metal bars for doors. It was hard to believe she was actually on a spaceship and not in some Earth prison. The metal creaked as she leant against the wall. The only other thing in the room was a small partition. At first, she assumed it hid a toilet, but on closer inspection, she found it was just a small enclosed space where Creets dealt with any hygiene necessity. At least she had a means of using the bathroom.

This was a far cry from the treatment she received when kidnapped by Ax. Her new captors appeared to be much more versed in how to treat prisoners.

She couldn't believe she'd been stupid enough to get caught. As soon as the ship sale had been finalised, the men had ushered her aboard and settled her in a room, telling her to stay there until they returned. Jas went to get fuel and Biz went to keep a look out for the others.

After spending a few moments to familiarise herself with the room, which in all honesty was practically the same as Ax's first ship, she sat on the bed and sighed. Unable to find a computer she had nothing to do but wait, and she'd never been a patient person.

When she heard footsteps approaching her room, she hadn't thought twice. Heart racing she rushed to the door and flung it open, expecting to be greeted by Ax. The smell that hit her nostrils made her step back in shock when she realised her mistake. Two Gornneds entered the room and advanced towards her. For short, ugly, smelly creatures they could move damn fast. One second she was punching one in his yellow face, the next second she woke up here.

She gently touched a tender spot on her neck. This habit aliens had of knocking her out was bloody annoying, hardly what you would call fighting fair.

A guard walked past her door, sneering at her and running his tentacles along the bars as he went. So far he'd made three passes since she woke. She couldn't be sure of how long it was between them, but there definitely appeared to be some kind of schedule. Her nose starting to grow accustomed to the smell, she snuck to the bars and watched him turn the corner at the end of the corridor. The past three times no one had walked past until he did his next round. However, this time was different. Movement at the opposite end caught her eye. A Gornned walked through the doors, dragging someone along with him. Ariane's eyes widened as she realised it was an Ethereal. It looked just as they had on her computer.

Fear gripped her heart as she watched them come closer. She grasped the bars with suddenly sweaty palms while the Gornned used the collar to shove the Ethereal into the cell opposite hers.

As soon as the cell lock clicked, the Ethereal floated towards the bars and stood apparently waiting for something.

Ariane watched in amazement as the Gornned produced a key and, reaching through the bars, removed the collar. Instantly the Ethereal changed forms, but it didn't turn into Ax. Standing opposite was a beautiful female, dressed in beige trousers and a white vest top. She was about the same height as Ariane although slimmer. Her form was humanoid. Her skin had a blue tint to it and jet-black hair, resting behind pointed ears, hung to her waist. The surprise was evident in the other woman's eyes as she noticed Ariane.

The Gornned followed the woman's stare to Ariane. "Ah, I see you've noticed you have company, Calis. This is an Earthling. She's now just as rare as you." With an evil laugh, the Gornned turned and walked back the way he came.

Ariane stared openly at the other woman. It was only when she noticed the raised eyebrow and glare of the Ethereal that she grasped she was being rude and lowered her eyes.

"Err... hello," she mumbled, letting go of the bars and taking a step back.

"Hello." The Ethereal sounded wary and untrusting.

Bringing her eyes back up, Ariane squared her shoulders. "I'm Ariane, Earthling, last of!"

The Ethereals lips twitched as she observed her. "I'm Calis, Ethereal, one of the few remaining."

Ariane felt herself relax as a smile touched Calis's lips. "Are you to be sold?"

A derisive laugh escaped the other woman as she grabbed the cell bars. "I wish... No, I'm being kept to breed. Kreed wants to get a male Ethereal for me to mate with and then sell our children. He said he was going to buy one, but instead he brought you back." Confusion was evident in her face.

Ariane studied the other woman. She appeared to be telling the truth about her situation. Ariane saw no reason why she'd lie. "He planned to buy my mate, but I think he escaped, I got captured instead." It felt strange calling Ax her mate but that seemed to be the term used so she took it. After all, what else could she call him? He was the father of her child. Subconsciously her hand wandered to her stomach, but she quickly dropped it. It wouldn't be wise to let the Gornneds know she was pregnant. If Calis noticed the gesture she didn't comment.

"If he's your mate, he'll come for you."

The certainty in Calis's statement surprised Ariane. "Why do you say that?"

"Ethereals don't abandon their mates."

The statement was said with such conviction, Ariane felt her stomach twist. "He can't come here, what if he gets caught?"

Calis shrugged and moved to sit on her bed, which was extremely unhelpful in Ariane's opinion.

"How long have you been here?"

Calis's expression turned sad as she plucked at a loose thread on the bed covering. "Ten years."

Ariane gasped, bringing a sad smile to the other woman's lips. "It's not so bad. I'm too valuable for them to risk hurting me."

Taking a seat on her own bed, Ariane studied Calis. "How did you end up here?"

"When word got out that the G.O.D.S were destroying Ethra, we were visiting friends on Treet." At Ariane's perplexed expression, she chuckled. "You don't know what that is, do you?"

The question was asked in friendly jest, so Ariane took no offence. With a small laugh, she shook her head. "No, but please continue."

Calis picked up where she left off. "Our friends hid us in an attempt to save our lives; unfortunately, Kreed found out despite us appearing like Treetions." She waved a hand indicating her current appearance. "He lived not far away and told the authorities we were there, though we didn't know he'd been the one to tell at the time. When the G.O.D.S guards showed up, he made sure he was there and offered to take me and hide me, to keep me safe. I was only twelve at the time. My parents thought they were saving my life. They didn't know they were sending me to this prison." A tear slipped down her face as she surveyed her room.

Feeling dampness on her own cheeks, Ariane found herself crying for the other woman. She brushed the tears away, damn pregnancy hormones. "And you've been here ever since?"

Calis nodded. "Here or at Kreed's home. It's not so bad really, each day I get to leave the cell for a bit, providing I'm wearing the halt collar, and I'm allowed to read." She indicated a stack of books on the floor beside her bed. Apparently, the Gornneds didn't trust prisoners with computers as Ax did.

Ariane huffed, well that may not seem too bad for Calis, but to her it was torture. She had no intention of wasting her life away sitting surrounded by the same four walls all the time, and she didn't want Ax coming here to rescue her. What if he got captured again?

No, it simply wouldn't do. She would just have to rescue herself. "Well, I'm not prepared to spend the rest of my days here waiting to be sold, or worse."

With determination, she walked back to the doors and checked the corridor before removing a grip from her hair.

Calis got to her feet and came to watch. "What are you doing?"

Ariane grinned. "Seeing how easy this lock is to pick."

Calis's eyes widened. "You can do that?"

The lock clicked open. "Easily," Ariane replied with pride, however, she didn't open the door yet. "Do you know how often the guards walk by?"

Calis, whose eyes were glued to the lock in amazement, seemed to give herself a mental shake. "Guards?.., Err... yes, fourteen times, periodically in daytime, two times during night time."

Her surprise at the quick reply must have been evident on her face.

Calis laughed. "I've been here for ten years."

"Then I take it you know the layout of the ship?"

"Of course," Calis agreed. "But I only leave this cell with a halt collar on. I can't do anything in that state."

Ariane waved the comment away. "Does this ship have escape pods?"

"All ships have escape pods."

Smiling at the other woman, Ariane put the grip back in the cell door to relock it. "Good, we leave tonight."

"We?"

"Yes, we."

"But I don't know how to work the escape pods."

Ariane clicked the lock back in place and grinned at Calis. "Then it's a good job I do."

Calis's eyebrows shot up once more. "You know how to use a space pod? How? I thought Earthlings were backwards creatures." Her face turned bright red as she realised what she had said.

Ariane stiffened before forcing herself to ignore the comment. After all, it was exactly what Ax had thought when they first met. "Earthlings are quick learners," she bit out before returning to her bed.

"I'm sorry." Genuine remorse showed on the other woman's face as she forced her eyes to meet Ariane's. "That was dreadfully rude of me."

Ariane gave a brief nod. "It was."

Calis flinched at her reply.

"But it's alright. I'm slowly learning that's the general consensus of the universe. I look forward to surprising them and proving just how clever and resourceful Earthlings can be."

A small smile touched Calis's lips. "I look forward to being surprised."

Footsteps clunking along the corridor made the two women retreat to their own beds. The Gornned, who passed by, paused outside their cells and gazed between them. "You not going to get to know our Earthling guest Calis?" he asked, disdain dripping from his voice.

Calis snorted and lowered the book she had feigned reading. "Do Earthlings even know how to talk?"

"Of course, I can talk," Ariane snapped, deliberately losing all signs of friendliness.

"Well, I'm sure anything you have to say is of no interest to me." Calis raised her book once more, pointedly ignoring them.

The Gornned turned his attention back to Ariane. "Guess you're going to remain bored and lonely," he said with a laugh before continuing on his way.

As his steps retreated around the corner of the corridor, Calis lowered her book.

Ariane smiled at her. "We should get some rest. As soon as the ship settles tonight, I want to go."

In agreement, both women climbed into their bed. Below the covers, Ariane rested her hands on her stomach. So far everything seemed alright, although she couldn't help worrying. What had been in the drug the Gornneds knocked her out with? Could it have hurt her baby? She prayed not.

Sleep seemed to evade her. Her mind was a bundled mess of worry as she wondered what was going to happen. Was Ax ok? Had he escaped? Was he coming for her right now? Calis seemed convinced he would be, but that just caused even more worry.

She didn't want him here and in danger, and if he did come to her rescue, how long would it take?

Would she be able to keep her pregnancy secret until then? Her best cause of action was to escape tonight. She needed to get her and her child to safety, and Calis was coming with them.
**Chapter 33**

It was hard to tell if the ship's occupants had settled down for the night. The cells were in constant silence with the exception of the guards who walked by on schedule.

"That's the last day check." Calis's voice sounded awfully loud in their quiet part of the ship.

Sitting up, Ariane glanced over at the other woman. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "The lights will turn off soon."

As if they heard her, the lights dimmed, sending their section of the ship into darkness. Ariane stayed motionless for a moment, allowing her eyes to adjust to the low light. "When does the next check take place?"

"Not until the middle of the night."

Climbing from the bed, she put her pillow under the covers in an attempt to make a sleeping form. It was an old trick that probably wouldn't work, but she could try. "Do what I'm doing."

Calis observed her then copied the motions on her own bed while Ariane worked on her cell door. She struggled with the lock this time, nerves making her hand shake. When it finally clicked open, she breathed a sigh of relief. After exiting the cell, she closed the door once more and relocked it as fast as she could. If the night guard decided to check the sleeping forms in the beds, unlocking the door could give them more precious moments to escape.

Moving to Calis's cell, she working on her lock as the other woman stood waiting impatiently hoping from one foot to another.

"Are you sure this will work?"

Ariane paused to gaze levelly at the other woman. "No, but I have to try. You don't have to come if you don't want to."

Calis looked at her bed before standing up straighter. "I'm coming."

"Can't you just go glittery and slip through the bars?" Ariane said as she struggled with the lock.

Calis shook her head. "I've tried before, but my natural form won't condense enough to get through."

Moments later, the lock clicked, and Calis joined her.

"Which way?" Ariane asked as soon as the cell was locked again.

Calis immediately walked in the direction the guard had gone. Moving silently behind her, Ariane began feeling a bit of unease. Could she really trust this woman? Unfortunately, she had no choice. With no idea where the escape pods were, following Calis seemed to be her best course of action.

"Are you alright?"

The question caught her off guard, making her aware she wasn't paying nearly enough attention to her surroundings. "Of course, why?"

Calis's gaze dropped to her stomach where her hand rested. She removed it swiftly.

"You keep touching your stomach. I thought perhaps you were ill."

"I'm fine."

Calis stared down at her, obviously unsatisfied with her answer and crossed her arms over her chest.

Ariane nibbled her bottom lip while Calis stared at her. She needed help to get off this ship. She couldn't just wander around aimlessly looking for the pods. There was too much risk of being caught. Realising she didn't have much choice, she rested her hand protectively on her stomach once more. "I'm pregnant."

The confusion on the other woman's face told her she didn't understand. Remembering what Sek had called it, she tried again. "I'm reproducing."

The confusion was replaced by shock. "I don't understand, I thought you said you were mated to an Ethereal."

"I am, but I'm reproducing the Earthling way."

Calis's features hardened, and she stared down at Ariane's stomach. Ariane fidgeted under the gaze. Had she made a mistake trusting the other woman?

When the Ethereals eyes finally met hers, she appeared a lot stronger than before. "Whatever you do, don't let the Gornneds find out. We have to get you out of here."

Grabbing Ariane's hand, she quickened her pace down the corridor, only stopping at corners to check they were clear.

Ariane felt relief crash through her. It was going to be okay, they were going to escape.

It alarmed her when Calis came to a sudden stop causing her to run into her back. Shuttling them away from the corner, she signalled they needed to be quiet.

Ariane became aware of voices approaching from the other end of the corridor. Looking around frantically, she dragged Calis to a door and rushed them inside.

Entering a kitchen, they stood by the door and listened to the voices travelling closer. When the footsteps stopped outside the room, they glanced at each other in worry.

The only other door in the room led to a tiny store room. Squeezing inside, the two woman shut the door and held their breath, listening. When the outer door to the kitchen opened, Ariane started to panic. Her heart pounded so fast she was sure they must be able to hear it. Calis, who still held her hand in a tight grip, was obviously just as scared.

Together the two women listened to the Gornneds move around the kitchen. When one of them stopped near the storeroom door, Ariane felt beads of sweat appear on her forehead. As the footsteps moved away again, she let out a relieved breath, then worried they had heard it. The smell of food cooking caused her stomach to churn, and she covered her mouth, scared she would be sick.

Calis stared at her concerned, but unable to do anything to help.

The sound of chairs scraping against the floor told them the Gornneds had settled down for a while.

Before long, the tiny store cupboard got hot with them both in it. With nowhere to sit, her legs ached. Ariane debated leaning against the wall, but what if she knocked something over? Time ticked by as the two women stood motionless, waiting for their chance to escape. Long after the food had been eaten and the smell had gone, the Gornneds sat at the table talking.

When a loud siren sounded, Ariane jumped in surprise, knocking a shelf in the process. Luckily the alarm muffled the sound, and both men rushed from the room without hearing it.

"They've discovered we're gone," Calis said in a shaky voice.

The kitchen was now empty, so both women dashed across the room, gasping for fresh air after their tight confines. Footsteps pounded past the door as everyone reacted to the siren. When the sound of them ceased, Calis risked a peek into the corridor.

"They're gone," she said grasping Ariane's hand and hurrying from the room. Together they ran down the hallway, only pausing at the corners. The ship was huge. As they ran Ariane began to wonder if there really were any escape pods. The sound of footsteps and doors slamming could be heard behind them.

Calis glanced over her shoulder. "They're looking for us."

"How far are the escape pods?"

"There's one just around this corner."

They ran around the bend and came to an abrupt halt. A Gornned stood guarding the pod.

"There you are," It said with a big grin showing off small yellow teeth. "Haven't you two been busy tonight?"

Calis took a step back, attempting to take Ariane with her, but she stood her ground. Their escape was right there, just a few feet away, she couldn't run.

"Move," Calis whispered, tugging her hand.

Ariane shook her head with determination. "He's not stopping us from getting in that pod."

The laugh the Gornned gave was mocking. The tentacles on his finger wriggled with excitement as he waved her closer. "You think you can beat me, little Earthling... Come and try."

Ariane carefully eased Calis's fingers from hers and stepped closer, she stopped just out of the Gornned's reach.

"You scared, little human?" he taunted, lunging for her.

Stepping to the side, Ariane evaded his grasp and kicked him in the back. He stumbled towards Calis, causing her to yelp and dash across the corridor. When he rounded on Ariane once more, she was ready for him. Swinging her fist up, she punched him in the jaw, swiftly followed by a kick in the shin. With a growl, the Gornned punched her in the cheek. Her head snapped to the side, and her cheek suddenly felt like it was on fire.

"Oh you didn't," she said as she turned back to him and saw the satisfaction on his face. "Didn't your mother teach you not to hit girls?" Without giving him the chance to reply, she punched him again in the face and kicked him in the groin, all in one fluid movement. He crumpled to the floor.

Carefully cupping her cheek, she raised her eyes to Calis and froze. The Ethereal was about ten feet away. A Gornned stood behind her, his arm wrapped tightly around her waist. His other hand held a knife to her throat. Tentacles suctioned off and on her cheek and neck making her cringe.

Ariane didn't know what to do. She scanned the floor for a weapon.

"Go," Calis called, and then gave a brief cry when the Gornned pulled the knife closer making a trickle of green blood travel down her neck.

Footsteps approached from another direction. Ariane could see five more Gornneds running towards them. The pod was to her back. She could go, but what of Calis? She looked at her new friend once more and saw understanding in her eyes.

Calis mouthed the word, "Go."

Ariane nodded and dashed inside the pod. "I'll come back for you," she called seconds before the door shut. She locked the pod and rushed to the controls as the Gornneds started banging and attempting to enter. It didn't take long to locate the power button and activate everything. Sending a silent prayer of thanks to Biz for teaching her all this, she engaged the air locks and enabled the thrusters. Opening the portal doors, she waited impatiently, glancing every few seconds at the pod's entrance, petrified they would find a way to open it. The portal doors separated slowly, too slowly. "If the ship was on fire I'd burn to death in this time," Ariane mumbled.

The sound of something hitting the pod's door made her jump. Glancing back she saw a dent beginning to appear. She'd run out of time. The portal doors were only three quarters open, but she'd have to risk it. Another bang increased the dent and shook the pod. She could see space. It was there, so close. Closing her eyes she prayed, to anyone that listened, she wasn't about to make a huge mistake. Without opening them, she pushed the gear stick forward.

The pod jolted as it got hit again. Gripping the stick tighter with one hand, she pressed the button, releasing it from the docking bay. It shot forward faster than she expected, forcing her back into her seat. Her eyes opened as she rocketed towards the portal. The gap wasn't wide enough. She squeezed her eyes shut again. The sound of metal scraping on metal invaded her ears as the pod slowed down, and then it was through, shooting into space, leaving the ship behind. She gave a shout of joy as she realised she'd made it. The Gornned's ship got smaller and smaller. She half expected them to start shooting at her, but they didn't. In no time at all they were just a speck in the distance.

Taking her first proper breath since entering the pod, Ariane finally loosened her grip on the controls and slowed down. She'd done it, she'd actually rescued herself. Her thoughts went to Calis. The other woman had saved her. Without her help, she'd never have found the pod in time. She meant what she'd said. They would go back for her, she'd insist on it. But first, she had to find Ax.

Okay, so Ax would come searching for her, but where would he look?

Glancing down at the controls she became aware that she only knew the location coordinates of one planet. Carefully pressing buttons she sent the pod to the place she said she'd return to.
**Chapter 34**

Ax gripped the seat arms as the Gornneds ship got closer and closer. That's where Ariane was. The Gornneds who'd dared to take her would die for it. His heart rate picked up pace as he thought of all the things he'd do to them. If they had harmed one hair on her head, he'd... Well, he'd still kill them, but the cause of death would be much more painful.

"Ax, we're picking up a signal coming from their ship."

He dragged his gaze away from the viewing window to address Praid. "What kind of signal?"

"Some kind of emergency siren."

Ax raised an eyebrow and studied the other ship. His mind went back to Ariane setting off their alarms when they'd first taken her. The Gornneds wouldn't have let her loose on their ship, would they?

"Do you think it's Ariane?" Sek asked from beside him.

Ax shrugged. "I wouldn't be surprised if it was. How long until we reach them?"

Praid pressed some buttons before replying. "Not lon... Ax look!"

Ax followed his friend's stunned gaze out of the viewing window. Rushing closer, he pressed his hand to the pane and stared at the object his friend indicated. A space pod had separated itself from the main ship and was hurtling off into space. "Who is that?" he practically shouted.

Spinning to face his friends he was greeted with blank expressions. His cheeks warmed as he realised his question was stupid. How would they know who it was? Facing the window once more, he watched the pod travel farther and farther away. By the time it had finally vanished from sight, he understood their mistake.

"That was Ariane," he exclaimed, facing his crew.

He was met with dubious and sympathetic looks. Sek placed his hand on his arm. "Ax, it could have been anyone."

"It was her," Ax replied with conviction, shrugging Sek's hand away. "Follow it."

"You can't be sure."

Ax's jaw tightened, and his shoulders stiffened. "Look at that ship!" he shouted while pointing out the window. "You said a siren was going off. Do they look in trouble?"

Murmurs and shrugs went around the room.

"Does anyone here see any reason why someone would abandon that ship? You all know what Ariane's like. They probably let her loose near some buttons, and she set the thing to self-destruct."

Sek raised his hands in a calming gesture. "Ax, listen to yourself, it can't be Ariane. She wouldn't know how to fly it."

Ax closed his mouth not sure how to reply, his hope slowly slipping away.

"Yes, she would."

All eyes turned to Bizax, who stood in the doorway. "I taught her how to control a pod."

Ax looked at his friend in shock and gratitude. "It has to be her, follow it."

He heard Praid pushing buttons and Jas steering the ship as he walked over to his friend. "What else did you teach her that I don't know about?" he asked quietly.

Bizax grinned and slapped him on the back causing him to stumble. "Nothing you need worry about, old friend."

Ax didn't think that was much of an answer but knew it was the best he'd get.

"Ax," Praid called.

Joining his friend across the room, he grabbed the back of his chair to look over his shoulder at the monitor.

"She moved too fast and is too far away. We can't follow," Praid said, not meeting his eyes.

His hands gripped the chair tighter as he squeezed his eyes shut.

"Where would she go?" He didn't know if he spoke to the men or himself. Straightening, he paced around the room. "Ariane's clever, we know that. She learnt how to fly a pod, but she wouldn't know how to find us, so where would she go?"

"She's not going to fly around aimlessly," Sek said. "She must know we'll be looking for her."

Ax ran a hand through his hair. "She'd have to head somewhere we can find her. Where would she be able to get to on her own?"

The room fell silent, everyone deep in thought. It was Praid who spoke first, "She knows the coordinates for Melodious."

Ax's head shot up swiftly. "She does?"

Praid pressed buttons as he spoke. "She does, I told her them when we visited. It's the only place she knows how to get to. She must be going there."

...

Ariane sat on the cool grass listening to the plants' peaceful song. A breeze caught the cloak she wore, and she quickly grasped it, tightening it around her before anyone saw her face. It was the only bit of her visible, which could give away her Earthling status. She'd covered herself from head to toe with emergency clothes she'd found on the pod.

The sun was setting over the emerald sea, and tourists were slowly leaving, returning to their accommodation, or flying home. She'd have to go soon, too. Sticking around on her own would draw too much attention. Glancing at the few groups of people surrounding her, she figured she had a few more minutes. As the wind picked up, the singing changed pitch and grew faster, almost as if it was building up to a big climax. A shiver went through her so she pulled the hood of the cloak lower over her face.

When someone sat beside her, she stiffened and kept her gaze forward, only relaxing when the spicy scent, that was all Ax, hit her nostrils. "You took your time."

A faint chuckle came from Ax as he inched closer.

"A girl could freeze to death waiting for you to rescue her."

"You don't appear to need rescuing."

"Well, that shows what you know. I've been stuck on this planet for two days waiting for you to get here. Damn pod crashed when it landed."

Ax laughed. "You mean you crashed it?"

She finally faced him, unsurprised to find him in his Xan form. He was still a sight for sore eyes. "No, I mean it crashed. The bloody thing must be faulty."

All humour left his face as he raised his hand to cup her chin and gently ran his thumb over her bruised cheek. "Did this happen when you crashed?"

"That happened when I escaped the Gornneds. Don't worry he looks worse." She chuckled, but Ax didn't laugh with her, his grey eyes were stormy with emotion.

"They will pay for that." He gulped and appeared to have to force his next words out. "Did they hurt you anywhere else?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm fine."

He glanced down at her stomach. "And the child?"

She smiled wondering how he had reacted when he first heard about her pregnancy. "I'm pretty sure the baby is fine too."

His eyes snapped up to hers. "Pretty sure?"

"They used a drug to make me unconscious. I don't think it had any adverse effects-"

Her sentence was cut off as Ax stood and swept her into his arms. Grabbing the hood of her cloak, she yanked it over her face fearing someone would see her.

"We're practically alone," Ax murmured, but she didn't dare release the hood.

"Are you planning to carry me all the way back to the ship?" she asked as he walked.

"I find I'm unwilling to let you go just yet."

"Your arms will get tired."

"The ship's not far."

"Really?"

"Really." He smiled down at her. "I was in a hurry. We actually paid the docking fee."

Ariane smiled and snuggled down into his arms to enjoy the ride. All too soon they entered the ship, and he placed her on her feet. As soon as she touched the ground, he transformed into his human form. Pushing the hood of her cloak back, he pulled her close and crushed her lips under his.

She melted against him, luxuriating in the feel of his embrace. "I missed you," she murmured when they parted for air.

"I love you," he replied.

Her jaw hung open as she heard his response. "You what?"

Placing his finger under her chin, he closed her mouth and smiled down at her, emotion burning in his eyes. "I said, I love you."

"I didn't know Ethereals could love humans."

He swept his eyes over her gently. "I missed you when you weren't here. I worried about you constantly." He grazed his thumb over her cheek once more. "I want to kill anyone who hurts you." His other hand rested low on her stomach. "I can't wait to see you grow with our child inside you." He stared into her eyes once more. "I love you." The truth of his words shined in his eyes.

"I love you, too."

"Of course you do," Ax murmured seconds before his lips met hers once more. She laughed into the kiss and clung to his shoulders when he scooped her into his arms again. This time, when he put her down, they were in a medical unit. Within moments, he had her strapped up to a machine, and they both heaved a sigh of relief as they heard their child's heartbeat. A hologram appeared above the machine showing a four dimensional, coloured image of their growing child.

"Everything seems fine," he said, holding her hand and staring at the screen.

She gently touched the image. "Can this machine do other things?"

"Like what?"

She stared lovingly at the image. "Can it tell me when the baby is due?"

Ax pressed some buttons, and the machine began measuring the baby. "Roughly seven Earth months," he said.

Ariane sighed. "Can't it tell us an exact date?"

Carefully removing the pads he'd placed on her stomach, Ax helped her sit up. "I'm sorry. We don't have enough details on human anatomy here to do that."

With an understanding smile, Ariane slid from the table. "That's alright. I'm just no good at waiting."

A bark of laughter escaped Ax. "Funnily enough, I had noticed."

Slapping him on the chest, she pushed by him and left the room. "Stop trying to be funny and show me our new home."

Chuckling, he caught up with her and explained where everything was as he led her through the ship. When she entered the control room, she was greeted with cheers and warm welcomes. Even Bizax was there. Engulfing her in a huge hug, he told her how glad he was she'd returned alright, at the same time as berating her for getting captured.

"Alright that's enough," Ax said, coming between them and frowning at Bizax. "Ariane needs to rest now."

Praid stopped them before he ushered her out the door. "Ax, before you go, where are we headed?"

Pausing in the doorway, Ax rested his hand on the frame and faced his crew.

"We're going back to the Gornned's ship," Ariane piped up before he could reply.

His gaze shot to her with surprise. "Ariane, I know I said they'd pay, and they will, but we have to plan. We can't just go dashing in there, guns blazing and hope for the best."

Ariane crossed her arms over her chest and took on a stubborn stance he was coming to recognise. "We don't have a choice. The Gornneds have another prisoner, an Ethereal. She helped me escape, and I promised I'd go back for her."

Eight identical stunned expressions stared at her. It was Ax who found his voice first. "An Ethereal, are you sure?"

"Yes. You were purchased to breed with her. Kreed planned to sell the children."

Gasps filled the room, Ax's jaw tightened. "That's not even possible. Only soul mates can breed."

"Well, no one has explained that to Kreed."

"Set a course for the last location of that ship," he said to his men.

Leaving them to plan their route, he grasped Ariane's hand and proceeded to drag her from the room.

"Wait, where are we going? What about the Gornneds?"

"The crew will get us to their ship. You need to see this ship."

"I've already seen all this ship."

"Not all of it."

"What did I miss?"

Coming to a stop, he spun to face her. His body came into contact with hers as he eased her back to the wall, their lips mere inches apart. He ground his hips into her making sure she could feel his erection. "You didn't see our bedroom yet."

"Oh." Her breaths became pants as she felt the evidence of his excitement. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pushed her breasts against his chest and moaned at the tingling sensation it created. "Well, what are you waiting for?"
**Epilogue**

Praid left the control room and headed for his own quarters. So, they were going to rescue another Ethereal named Calis. He couldn't believe after all this time they had discovered they weren't the only ones left. Were there more out there? Did the others have soul mates waiting for them? Maybe some were even other Ethereals. Whoever they were, he hoped they were suitable. Not like his. His soul mate was someone he shouldn't want. Someone the laws of Ethra would never have allowed him to mate with.

There were so many unanswered questions.

He lay on his bed and stared at the ceiling, wondering when life had got so complicated. Well, he knew when his had. It was as soon as he began using this fexing human form. Ever since taking this body, he'd been experiencing the strangest feelings. Feelings that were wrong and right, all at the same time.

He lowered his hand to his penis and gently ran a finger up the side of it. A shiver ran through his body at the movement. He gently squeezed the shaft before sliding his hand up to the top and back down again. Excitement coursed through him as he repeated the action. The faster his hand moved, the better it felt. In no time at all the balls that hung below his penis pulled up closer to his body. With a final pull on the shaft, he came, hot ropes of cum landing on his chest as he groaned out the name of his mate. "Jas."

###

Thank you for reading my book. If you enjoyed it won't you please take a moment to leave a review at your favourite retailer.

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**About The Author**

Gem Stone lives in England with the man of her dreams and her two children. She spends her spare time reading, writing, blogging, and talking to her pets. She is a firm believer that surprises make life worth living, you can't pick who you fall in love with, and everyone deserves a happy ending.

If you want to know more about her, this is where she can be found:

Website: https://www.gemstoneauthor.co.uk

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**Look out for Jas and Praid's story**

**Ethereal Law**

**Ethereals Book 2**

What do you do when you realise your mate has been right under your nose all your life? And she's a he!

In Jas and Praid's case, they reject it. Fight it, and decide to hide it from everyone. Unfortunately, when you live on a space ship with your best friends, who along with you just happen to be the last of your species, keeping secrets is hard.

As old enemies get closer, and new enemies join their ranks, Jas must decide what's more important, his secret or his mate.

**Coming 2017**
