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  DARIK: A Badari Warriors SciFi Romance Novel

  (Sectors New Allies Series Book 4)

  By

  Veronica Scott

  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  About the Author

  Other Titles by Veronica Scott

  Copyright 2018 by Jean D. Walker

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, places, characters, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Cover Art by Fiona Jayde

  DEDICATION

  To my daughters Valerie and Elizabeth, my brother David, and my best friend Daniel for all their encouragement and support!

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Julie C and The E-book Formatting Fairies!

  CHAPTER ONE

  Darik measured the size of the huge paw print in the snow, comparing the breadth to his own generously sized hand. “Big predator, nothing we’ve ever seen before. Nothing comparable in the lowlands.” He took a deep breath of the crisp mountain air, automatically sorting the scents and savoring many new to him. Small furred creatures, towering trees, elusive woodland flowers and moss – he enjoyed all the novelties. It was still a rare luxury for him not to smell the hated disinfectants and chemicals of the Khagrish lab where his kind were created.

  His metallic companion MARL12 shifted beside him, disturbing the air as the small alien device floated on an antigrav cushion. “Best to avoid an encounter with any predators.”

  Grinning, Darik rose to his feet and eyed the miniature ovoid, now positioned a few feet further away, orange and pink lights flicking across its shiny surface in rapid patterns. The one tiny patch of green on the machine which he’d noticed was consistently present blinked in the lower rear quadrant of the Alien Intelligence unit’s silver skin.

  Darik dusted snow from his palms. “Nervous? I’ll protect you, don’t worry.” He kicked loose snow over the tracks contemptuously. “Big as this animal may be, he’s not going to challenge a full grown Badari male like me. My talons are twice the size of his.”

  “We can’t afford to be diverted from our primary mission—”

  “Give it a break, MARL12. We’re in this animal’s territory and, unless he challenges me, I’m not looking for trouble. Live and let live.”

  Darik had been dropped off at a higher elevation in the mountains so he wouldn’t be spotted by the enemy based in the foothills. He’d descended thousands of feet since his arrival, taking a circuitous route to his assigned target. Neither he nor his Alpha wanted any hint of a Badari presence in the area to become known. He relished the chance to hike through the old growth forest, alone except for his annoying AI companion.

  “The sun will set in thirty two minutes and twelve seconds,” MARL12 announced in a crisp tone with no resemblance to the timbre of either human or Badari voices but was uniquely his own, as if a sizable bird had been given vocal chords.

  Darik glanced at the small alien AI dispatched to assist him on this reconnaissance and decided to poke its emotional responses with a little barb. “I can see in the dark perfectly well. It’s a Badari attribute. Can’t you?”

  A brief silence descended as the AI floated along on its antigrav cushion, bobbing over bushes and other obstacles. MARL12 might be a miniaturized version of its parent unit but the superior attitude was full scale. “I have complete visual acuity under all circumstances. My concern was for you to have a safe base camp established before dark.”

  Pausing, Darik leaned in close.

  The AI retreated a foot and hovered.

  “I can take care of myself, thanks. I don’t need a minder.” Standing at his full seven foot height, Darik sampled the air again. “There’s no predator in this area capable of taking on a Badari and hoping to win.” He flashed his talons and fangs for the sheer joy of it. Leaping to the flat top of a nearby boulder, he surveyed the vistas ahead and expanded his chest with pleasure. This was the way for a man to live—free, with unlimited nature to explore. Of course, I do have a job to do. Aydarr didn’t send me here to have fun.

  Jumping to the ground as easily as he’d first catapulted to the rock’s top, he continued his hike, but kept an eye out for a suitable place to camp. The AI was right—it would be simpler to have his shelter set up before dark. He found a likely place in the lee of several massive trees and built a small fire. For tonight, he was content with the ration bars and water from his canteen, but he vowed tomorrow he’d hunt as he proceeded, and would dine on roasted meat. Darik had grabbed enough berries to fill a pouch as he descended the slopes earlier in the day, and he finished his meal with those for dessert, enjoying the tang of the dark red globes.

  He rolled up in his sleeping bag, back to the trunk of the largest tree, and settled in for a night of soldier’s slumber, where he’d be only lightly asleep, ready to respond to any threat.

  “I’ll monitor the surroundings,” the AI announced, drifting in a large circle tracing the perimeter of the camp area.

  “You do that.” Darik pulled the edge of the sleeping bag tighter over his shoulder and closed his eyes.

  “At what hour do you wish to awaken? Sunrise exactly or—”

  “AI’s who keep talking and prevent me from sleeping will have a short lifespan,” Darik said, not bothering to open his eyes. “I have an internal clock and wake at the required time for the mission.” Being given a mini MARL for his assignment was an honor, but it was also proving to be more than a slight pain in the ass. Jill, his alpha’s mate, who owned the primary MARL unit, must be a lot more patient than he was.

  “Understood. Shutting down interactive operations….now.” A hum echoed across the clearing.

  Darik opened his eyes the least little bit and saw the unit was still doing its patrol of the perimeter, but most of the lights had gone dark. We’ll see how long the silence lasts.

  Nicolle James hunched her shoulders in a vain attempt to avoid the light, cold drizzle falling and listened to the two Khagrish guards arguing vehemently. She tried to quell the shivers running through her frame and wished she was clothed in something more substantial than the basic beige jumpsuit. The fabric was water resistant but failed to provide much warmth in the cold mountain air. The discussion was in the guards’ own language so she had no idea of the details, but clearly it was about her and her nineteen fellow prisoners. The group had just arrived from the lowlands in a flyer, crammed together in a cargo hold but were either unexpected or unwanted at the destination. She focused on the ominous weapons the guards carried and shuddered. What will they do to us if we’re such a nuisance?

  Since awakening from stasis in a different lab, she’d seen how casually cruel the Khagrish could be, and how little they cared about their human prisoners. At first, the situation hadn’t seemed so bad, when she was able to stick close to her human friend Dr. Garrison, a physician, and help her with nursing other humans released from stasis too fast.

  But then Nicolle been shunted into a smaller group, transferred somewhere else, and kept in an isolation cell for about two weeks. S he’d tried to count the days, but things got confused in the tiny enclosure where she was held. The lights went on and off for strange periods of time, not correlated to any day/night schedule she knew. Meals arrived at random and, other than an occasional lab tech popping in to scan her or draw blood, she’d had no contact with other sentient beings. If the Khagrish had been testing her mental acuity, they’d done a fine job of messing with her head.

  If it hadn’t been for the cold rain, she’d have been happy to be standing outside now, breathing fresh air. The mountainous area was a change from the lowland lab. A single star shone above, the rest of the sky obscured by ominous clouds.

  The guards who’d dragged her and her companions from the flyer stomped to their craft, hastening up the ramp. Soon the ship was sealed and rose from the landing pad in a great hurry, flitting off into the night sky.

  Nicolle stared after the flyer. Alien and unfriendly as the security force might be, they were her last link to the other people from her colony. To the home across the stars from which she’d been kidnapped, along with many others.

  “I guess we’re staying,” muttered the man to her left. Greer was his name, and he’d been an agro worker at the Amarcae Seven colony they’d all been stolen from. She was acquainted slightly with him and his wife. There was no sign of his spouse in this small batch of prisoners, and Nicolle wondered if the woman was still alive at another facility. People died fast in captivity at the hands of the Khagrish.

  A Khagrish scientist appeared from the brightly lit interior of the new lab complex, her status identifiable from her green lab coat, covered with badges and insignia, and her tall crest of red and yellow hair. The guards saluted her deferentially.

  Hands on her hips, the newcomer regarded the humans lined up on the muster line with a sneer on her thin lips… She and the guard captain exchanged a few words then she stepped closer to the prisoners. “I’m Dr. Hidamirr, and I’m in charge of this program. I wasn’t ready for you yet—the experiment protocols are being negotiated, which is none of your concern, I realize, but research has shown facts help keep people calm. I’m sending you into the outdoor enclosure until I’m ready for subject intake.”

  “You can’t leave us outdoors exposed to the elements,” said a woman at the end of the line. “We’ll die.”

  Speaking up might get you killed faster. Nicolle tried not to think about what she’d seen at the first lab. Life was cheap to the Khagrish.

  Hidamirr stepped closer, the guards right at her heels, and Nicolle flinched as the scientist drew the small neurocontroller remote from a coat pocket. Expression flat, the Khagrishi pointed it at the woman who’d spoken and twisted the dial. The human woman gasped and grabbed the black neurocontroller bracelet on her wrist, crying in agony as pain was applied by their captor.

  The scientist switched the remote off curtly. “Don’t ever tell me what I can and can’t do. You have no standing here, human, other than to submit to orders as given. Without protest. Don’t mistake my pleasant attitude for weakness.”

  She handed the remote over and the guard increased the intensity of the pain being administered through the neuro bracelet. The woman who’d objected to their treatment screamed and collapsed. Nicolle wasn’t in pain, but she clapped a hand over her own black bracelet in sympathy, even as she prayed the guards wouldn’t punish the rest of them.

  After a minute of watching the human’s agony, Hidamirr nodded and the guard flipped the control off.

  Eyes narrowed, the scientist assessed the rest of them. “Anyone else have an objection or concern? No? Good. There’s a small cave in the enclosure, due west of here.” She pointed. “That will be your temporary quarters. Robos will bring your daily rations each morning. I’d suggest you enjoy the time of relative freedom because I’ll bring you inside for the experiments soon enough.” She pivoted without further comment and marched inside the lab.

  Nicolle had a sick flash of intuition telling her once she and the others were brought to the lab’s interior none of them would ever leave.

  “You heard her.” The lead guard gestured with the neuro controller. “If you don’t want to stand in the rain all night, get going. The Preserve is enclosed by force barriers, so don’t waste your time trying to escape.” With the toe of his boot, he nudged the prone, moaning woman who’d been disciplined. “Take her with you.”

  One of the men helped the woman to her feet and the group set off, Greer in the lead. He was older than most of the prisoners and acted as if he had an idea where to go, so the others appeared content to let him take charge. Nicolle marched along in the rain, taking quick glances at her new companions. Most were from the colony, but a few faces were unknown to her. Are the Khagrish raiding other worlds like they raided my colony? Surely her interstellar government, the Sectors, would take action. Wouldn’t they? The Sectors authorities couldn’t stand aside and allow mass kidnappings of innocent citizens. Although she puzzled over how those in charge of the Sectors could follow the trail to find her and the others.

  Her heart sank and she shook her head. You’re depressing yourself. Lifting her face to the sky during a brief break in rain showers, she tried to be in the moment and enjoy this relative freedom and the beauty of the three moons above. Detachment from the reality of her situation was made more difficult by the flimsy open toed shoes she wore, prison issue like the jumpsuits and totally inadequate for hiking in challenging terrain. She hoped the shelter they were sent to find had heat. From what the scientist said, there’d be no food until the morning.

  The rain intensified, and Nicolle was relieved when the people walking in front did indeed come to an incongruous rock formation jutting from the ground. Quick exploration revealed the opening to the clearly artificial cave, and the twenty of them hustled inside, pushing and shoving. Nicolle hung back with a couple of other women until the main group sorted themselves out and cleared the entrance.

  “There’s a fire ring,” Greer said, barely avoiding stumbling over the stone oval. The cave was faintly illuminated by a phosphorescent moss or lichen clinging to portions of the walls. “But no firewood.”

  “Anything outside will be too wet to burn tonight,” Nicolle pointed out. “Maybe tomorrow we can forage.”

  “I hope the damn aliens send something to start a fire with,” a man in the crowd said. “Rubbing sticks together will get tedious fast.”

  “True enough. Nothing to be done tonight.” Greer sounded philosophical. Or resigned. He stared at the others, who seemed willing to accept his lead. He was the eldest present by at least two decades and Nicolle remembered from her few encounters with him at the colony that he was a take charge person, running a crew of other agritechs and robos. “We’d better huddle for warmth and take stock in the daylight. I’m tired, and I’m guessing the rest of you are too, so let’s save the introductions for the morning. Grab a few hours of sleep while we can.”

  The humans arranged themselves in a line, sitting shoulder to shoulder around the cave, leaning against the rough wall. Nicolle was sandwiched between Greer and the woman who’d spoken up then been punished and was grateful for their combined warmth on either side.

  “How are you doing?” Nicolle asked in a whisper.

  The woman brushed away tears. “I’m terrified.”

  “Me too. And cold and hungry. Try not to annoy the Khagrish next time is my advice. You were brave but—”

  “Foolish. I know. I wanted to get out of the rain, to be warm again.” She untucked her hand from her sleeve and offered it to Nicolle. “I’m Callea Dane.”

  “Nicolle James.”

  “Keep it down, you two. We’re all trying to sleep here.” Greer’s whisper was gruff. “I said we’d do introductions in the morning.”

  The women exchanged glances, rolling their eyes in mutual annoyance, and then Nicolle curled against her neighbor and shut her eyes. Sleep actually sounded like a good idea.

  When Darik woke in the morning, as the sun peeked over the horizon , he took a deep breath to enjoy the fresh mountain air but then paused in surprise. A new scent had been added during the night. Humans.

  “MARL12, do our records indicate human prisoners at this lab?” Darik asked as he poked at the embers of his fire from last night.

  Lights played across the small ovoid’s surface in intricate patterns. As always Darik wished he could decipher the colors, which he was convinced had meaning but was forced to rely on the AI’s spoken information alone. “There’s nothing in the accumulated files about this installation at all, other than the location.”

  “Odd, because there sure are people here now.” The smell was faint but unmistakable: unwashed, frightened humans. Must have been brought in overnight.

  “What’s your plan for the day?” MARL12 bobbed on his antigrav cushion, as if ready to move out.

  Darik was heating a small container of water, reminding himself to be patient because of the high altitude. “First I’m going to have my tea, and then we’re going to make a circuit around the facility, scope the place out, see what’s what.” As the water boiled, he stirred a few pinches of dried leaves into it and inhaled the aroma appreciatively. “Someday maybe I’ll get to try this coffee the humans constantly boast of, but nothing beats a properly brewed cup of tea.”

  “We will make an attempt to tap into the lab’s artificial intelligence circuits.” MARL12’s comment was more of a statement than a question. The green spot pulsed, with red squiggles shifting to dance on the edges, with pale orange covering the rest of the AI’s surface.