Just A Bit Of Trust (Constel·lación #1) Read online

  “Don’t patronize me, Kugawa. Take your repressed snobbism down to the engine room and fix those sensors.” Didac looked around, barely able to contain himself. ”Just don’t sit there. Make yourself useful.”

  “Damn, I will tell you one thing, sooner or later the humans will find a way to penetrate our shields. We cannot wait for that day to come. The time to act is now.” Severus spoke.

  “Think carefully before you do this.” Annais bright eyes grazed Severus’ determined face.

  “Annais you have to understand that we don’t know what information Abramo has passed to Bradford, the time to act is now. I am still young, practically a virgin, I want to live, I want to find my true mate one day.”

  Didac’s titled his head up to acknowledge Severus’ statement and turned to Primo. “I want you to shut down any requests for incoming spaceships.”

  Primo replied Didac. “That will take some doing.”

  ”Then get some doing. I want you to check out every building with a camera to see if you can find anything.”

  “All right boss.”

  “Run down everybody. I want to know about everybody who has ever said a bad word about this planet; they might be working with Bradford and Abramo. Turn every source upside down, shake everybody, you hear me. I want to see results. The first twenty-four hours is the only twenty-four hours. Tell every damn department to call their families, find a place to sleep in our military quarters and a sleeping bag. Nobody is going home. I don’t want to see anybody walking; running is what I want to see. This is a threat that cannot be ignored.”

  “I will be right on it.”

  Annais made a final plea, “There has to be another way. Are you not doing exactly what you hate in humans: waging wars?”

  “There is no other way. I want the name of our people to stand for peace, but to subdue another planet means total war. We leave at once. ”Didac strode out of the prison vessel onto the boarding ramp to his planetary vehicle, signaling Primo to follow him.

  Annais watched the soldier on the floor, her heart heavy. Looking at a good man die was hard. It was not his fault. Cyborgs were not illegal in any way. Genetically enhanced soldiers who were created just for the express purpose of destroying upon orders were illegal. The man behind the robotic limbs was as human as he could be, with feelings that Annais had felt once the chip in his brain had stopped working.

  Chapter 3

  “Every planet is aware that Constel·lació is a self-sustaining planet. Whatever trade negotiations, they have with other planets and galaxies are in good faith.”

  “Why should there be good faith between us and these aliens. The humans are a far more superior race.”

  When things went his way, Martin Bradford could be charming and pleasant. And this was not one of those times. His mission to take over Constel·lació had failed. He backhanded Michelle, and she held on to the table to maintain her balance. Michelle was speechless. Even in the face of death, he didn’t want to listen to reason.

  “You have to surrender, Martin. It is suicide. You don’t need to do this. Think about your people; think about your children and me.”

  “The war will continue until one side concedes defeat.” Martin was resilient.

  “How much more must die because of you? “Her petition to constrict her tears almost failed. She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing how helpless she felt.

  “It’s an unavoidable consequence.”

  “What would it take for you to open your eyes, the destruction of an entire planet?” Michelle made an emotional appeal to her husband. ”Do you understand what it means if you start something like this?”

  He wasn’t satisfied with being the most powerful man in the biggest planet in the solar system. To attempt to take over Constel·lació was a stupid and dumb idea. Constel·lació was a military state. They were a good and kind warrior people. It was common knowledge that they found honor in death if provoked. They had combat experiences, training, and equipment far superior to any other solar system. And what they lacked in numbers they made up for in strength and speed. It was widely rumored that they had psychic abilities too. Colossus had nothing on them.

  “We must fight, we will not surrender.”

  For the first time in more than thirty years, she stood up for herself. She had nothing to lose. In a few hours, they could all be dead. God willing, if Didac was a good man like he was known to be, he would spare her children.

  “You are nothing but a coward.”

  He was a coward who only saw his leadership and privilege as a way to amass wealth and power, not as a social responsibility.

  There was nothing he could do now that he hadn’t already done to her. She started laughing hysterically. Martin looked surprised. Michelle was uninclined to hysterics.

  “You will die like the dog you are, but you will not drag my children with you. “

  He slapped her harder. Blood trickled from the corners of her mouth. She licked her lips. Martin felt blood rush to his dick. She laughed harder when she noticed the bulge in his pants. “You are a sick bastard, you know.”

  Martin rubbed the blood on the corner of her mouth with his thumb and kissed her.

  Michelle pulled her mouth away and slapped him. ”Screw you.”

  He gripped her neck tightly, lifted her and slammed her on his desk. She struggled to breathe and tried to push him away. Inserting himself in between her thighs, he ripped her panties and fumbled with his zipper. He thrust forcefully into her dry pussy, and she winced in pain. Michelle looked him in the eyes defiantly. Her defiance met with more forceful thrusts. Michelle remained still while Martin fucked her to a climax. When he finished, she pulled her skirt down and crossed her arms over her chest.

  What have I done to deserve this? Michelle’s soul wept.

  Martin pointed a finger in her face, “Don’t you ever disrespect me? Could I make it any clearer? When I hit you, it’s always for a reason. You cannot interfere with my affairs. “Is that clear?”

  “What is clear to me is that I have wasted a lifetime hoping that you will be the husband, I always dreamed you would be.” Michelle wondered out loud, “Did you ever love me at all?” She had given her body up and everything in it including her time and energy to elicit love from him, hoping that when he got through with all his theatrics, he might become a better man.

  “You know why I married you, whore?” He smiled. He always took pleasure in her pain.

  Tears rolled down her eyes. That had been a stupid question. She had dared to believe that maybe somewhere in that cold heart, Martin did love her a little. Yes, she knew why he had married her. Because he was an ambitious sadist who only cared about her father’s influential name. It hurt every time he reminded her. If only her father were still alive, this wouldn’t be happening. She couldn’t believe that she had once accepted and loved this man, unconditionally. The humiliation she had been subjected to by this man was beyond comprehension. Hiding the abuse was a price she had been willing to pay even it meant being beaten and humiliated. When she wasn’t willing to pay that price anymore, Bradford had almost killed her and threatened to take her children. Everyone working at the Whitehouse knew that Martin Bradford was the law. She had nowhere to run. Leaving him hadn’t been an option. After thirty years of being faithful and putting up with his abuse, she had found out he had an illegitimate daughter just a few years younger than her daughter, Vivian. Martin had refused to acknowledge the poor girl. As much as she wanted to hate her, she couldn’t. Michelle had been quite taken by the young woman. Paka had turned out to be a well-grounded girl despite being raised from one foster home to another. It broke her heart when Martin thwarted any attempts on her part to help her.

  A knock on the door broke the stiff silence. Bradford walked over to the door and opened it.

  The Chief of Staff who also happened to be Michelle’s sister looked at her sister’s swelling lip, the purple bruises on her neck and face and ran to her. ”No
t again! You bastard! Michelle, you don’t have to put up with him. I don’t even understand why you stayed with him so long.” Maxine walked over to Michelle and touched her cheek.

  “He is my husband. He is the first man I ever loved and the only one.”

  “Love! Your love has meant nothing to him. The only thing that he ever loved was the power and money that came with marrying you.

  “He is just having a hard time.”

  “This is the time for you to stop making excuses for him.” Maxine knew there was nothing she could do, but standing up to him made her feel better. Martin didn’t answer to anyone. It broke her heart to see her sister like this.

  “It’s none of your business,” Martin said to Maxine.

  “You have manipulated and stolen my sister’s life and everything that was important to her. You threw her in a hole until she was off her mind and you tell me if that is not my goddamn business, what is? ”

  Martin pulled Maxine by the elbow, and she shrugged him off. ”Go ahead motherfucker. Is this how you get your moppets to winkle? I am not Michelle, you know.”

  “I don’t have time for this.” He pulled her by the hair and dragged her to the door. He opened the door and threw her out.

  The lingering smell of war permeated Michelle’s nose. The smell of gunpowder, the metallic smell of blood and the skunk spray smell of burning bodies filled the air. She understood the concept of war as they were taught in history. It had not been dignified Mother Earth in centuries. This was his entire fault.

  “Clean yourself up.” Michelle took that as a dismissal and walked outside towards her sister.

  “I wanted to protect you.”

  “I know, Maxine.”

  Michelle looked up and noticed all the leaders from the International Security Council waiting obediently outside for their President. The crowd of politicians in the white house disconcerted her as if they were rubbing shit on her nose with their complacency. Hypocrites. They all stood by and watched Martin abuse her all those years and did nothing.

  ******

  “Sir the aliens have breached our defenses.” The Secretary of Defense, Callahan informed Martin.

  “Three-quarters of Mother Earth is now a wasteland. Our best troops have proved to be more than useless.” The Chief of the Army stated.

  “Our last squadron has been lost.” The Chief of the Department of Air Force, William added. ”With all due respect, sir, I suggest we surrender, there is not enough of us left. It was a poor decision to attack Constel·lació.”

  “I do not make poor decisions.” Martin shot him a cold look. ”Are you questioning my patriotism?”

  To hell with patriotism. It was getting out of hand. He used patriotism to control everyone.

  “No, sir, I am questioning your judgment. I think we need time to think about what we are going to do next.”

  Martin shot William in the head. ”I don’t.” And then he turned around. “Does anybody else have something to say?” Martin asked. Everybody in the room looked at each other discontent, but said nothing. ”I thought not. This is how everything is going to work from now on. I will be giving orders to the army.”

  “But sir………..”Callahan didn’t finish what he was going to say before Martin shot him in the chest.

  “I hate people who do not listen. I am the law around here, right here and right now. Everyone listen to me carefully: Do not speak unless spoken to.”

  The next day

  ”Mr. President there is no time. Didac and his army are approaching. They are signaling for permission to land.”

  Martin Bradford was aware it wasn’t a request and responded bluntly. ”Grant it.”

  Chapter 4.

  An attack rocked the ship. The alarms went off, and the computer voice was evident over the loud noise, “We are under attack!”

  Didac spoke to the computer. “Lower the shields.”

  “Command received.” The computer voice replied.

  Bernat enjoyed thrilling risky situations; it always left him with a sense of confidence when it was over. It was a real self-esteem boost, “We anticipated an attack and I say what we have experienced very nearly qualifies it.”

  Esteve ever the perfect gentleman “It does seem like an unfriendly act.”

  “Gentleman, War or not, we have a job to do. Mother Earth has spoken. “Didac looked each and every one of his crew members in the face. “Let’s do this.”

  Didac deboarded his spaceship on Mother Earth ten solar systems later. He blinked a few times as his eyes tried to adjust to the new light. Agostino struggled to keep up with Didac as he strode purposefully toward the door of the spaceship. Agostino was shorter than Didac’s six feet nine frame, but he had a firm body with gray eyes and silver hair, which was familiar with their species.

  As childhood friends, Agostino understood what motivated Didac. The fact that Bradford had refused to surrender had unhinged Didac’s anger. His adrenaline had spiked. The hankering for danger was like a potent cocktail that made it necessary for him to survive in battle. He had almost destroyed over three-quarters of Mother Earth when Bradford had finally given in.

  Didac unconsciously touched the back of his ear. Esteve had assured him that the new programmer would dictate any language known and unknown and would allow his people to communicate with the humans. His human studies stated that there were over sixty-five hundred languages on Mother Earth. That was absurd. A species with different languages was heading towards disintegration.

  Didac watched the humans awaiting his arrival as he approached. The smell of their fear was stronger than the smell of pollution that penetrated the air. He almost smiled in amusement. He wanted to be feared by humans; he didn’t need their respect.

  If they continued along this path of destruction by polluting the gifts that nature had given them, they would be extinct in a few centuries. His eyes scanned around him, looking for any signs of danger.

  “Welcome to Mother Earth Master Didac, It is a great honor for my people and my family. “Bradford looked stiff, and his chin raised. Didac took that as an act of aggression. He admired his courage to stay so calm and in control in a situation like this however misplaced. Bradford’s life was in his hands.

  Didac was tired and hungry. “I don’t think so.” He didn’t believe in superficial courtesies. “Your decision to attack us is a violation of our treaty. It makes no difference whether you welcome me or not. Your planet is under Constel·lación rule now. Breaches of our rules and regulations, even the smallest of them all will be punishable by death.” Didac’s constant examination stayed on Bradford’s face challenging him to defy him. His lips curled in a sneer when Bradford’s jaws clenched in disapproval. ”You disapprove of this.”

  Bradford lowered his eyes and answered with a small voice. ”You do not need my approval.”

  Didac surmised why Bradford had won the election from the few meetings they had before the war. He was very articulate and knowledgeable. He had extensive knowledge of his people, but not enough for him to be considered dangerous in any way until now. Who knew what knowledge he had of his people? Abramo wasn’t that stupid He wouldn’t divulge all their secrets to any other species because if he took over Constel·lació like he intended to, it would leave him vulnerable.

  The male in front of him had no integrity. It was an unfortunate and lethal combination in a leader. He wasn’t about to leave him in charge. “Naturally, I will leave some of my men behind to represent me and should any one of them die, a thousand of your people will die, is that clear?”

  An acrid and the textural smell of shame lingered on Bradford. Bradford’s eye moved sideways to look on his left, and Didac’s turned his head to look. Three females and a young male stood behind him. They all smelled like Bradford.He detected the scent of the older woman on the redhead and the young male, which led him to the conclusion that it was his children. Another scent of the dark skinned woman indicated that she was not biologically the older woman’
s but still she was Bradford’s daughter.

  The distinctive elemental smell of the redhead female hit him. Human females generally smelled sweet, but this was different........Delightful. A banana smell fused with a slight smell of pomegranate. The longing to move closer to her consumed him. He inhaled deeper; the pull of the smell was unyielding, pulling him deeper into the realm of lust. The unbelievable scent that overwhelmed him with its beauty was corrupted by uncertainty, fear, and pain. He suddenly realized that he faintly felt what she felt. A miserable feeling in the pit of his stomach gathered and was suddenly replaced by anger: anger at the source of what caused the pain. The need to eliminate the bittersweet smells corrupting her intensified. He wanted to know more about the female. Didac’s need to be near and touch the female was inexplicable. His body tightened as his brain fought the need to mate. For the first time in his life, he didn’t feel alone anymore. He had found her.

  His inner voice spoke. Mate.

  Shock and surprise raced through him when he realized the implications of what he was feeling. A mating fever.

  His father had told him that when he sees his soul mate, he would know. No, it couldn’t be? There had never been a mating between a Constel·lación and a human in centuries. Didac fought hard with his emotions. He took his time to scrutinize her. Her soft hazel eyes were distant...Too mellow......Almost scarred. She was neither small nor big. She had a solid body. Her nose was cute with a subtle upturned tip. Her hair tumbled down her shoulders. It was an unusual color. Flame red, which was unusual among his people. Did it feel as soft as it looked?

  He made a move towards her, his green eyes sparkling. The female recoiled in fear.

  Agusti recognized Didac’s frenzy for what it was; every male in Constel·lació lived their whole life searching for their mate. “Didac: calm down, man. Focus. Remember where you are.” He whispered for Didac’s ears only.