STAR BURST 
 

CHIVALRY LIVES ON

    Captain Beth Williams takes a year's leave of absence from the Allied Nations of Earth's space program to travel to the planet of Shimura. Her holiday turns into a nightmare when she is abducted, then finds herself stranded in an uncharted quadrant of the universe.

Commander Marcus Valen of the Shimuran Starship Command is forced to become the master of his latent abilities and sets out to rescue Beth and defeat the evil that has invaded his tranquil world.

Together they overcome incredible odds, and discover in themselves strength to endure, along with a loving bond strong enough to transcend the evil and bridge the cosmos...

Chapter One

Earth date: January 21, 2026:


Captain Marcus Valen of the Shimuran Starship Command (SSC) bolted upright in bed. The hair on the nape of his neck stood up on end, and a shiver ran down his back.

Something was amiss.

He took stock of the soothing hum of the crystal warp drives—nothing wrong there. Life support and environmental controls appeared to be operating, so what woke him?

An ear-piercing wail shattered the silence and echoed through the ship, making the hair on the back of his neck stand up on end. He leaped to his feet and dashed for the door. "FAI, what in the fiery blazes of Zorn is going on?"

"It's Beth, sir. My scanners indicate she has an irregular heart beat, labored breathing and an unusual level of adrenaline pumping through her body," Earth Angel's onboard computer responded. "Cardiac arrest appears immanent."

"Not while I'm onboard." Marcus raced to the end of the corridor, slammed against the bulk head when he made a hard left, and skidded to a stop at her chamber door. His heart thudded against the inside of his chest. Spirit help him, because he was no medic. He only had his basic training to fall back on and that was twelve annums ago. He slammed his hand against the palm pad, and forced his way inside before her chambers before the door had completely retracted.

Another terrified screech emanated from beneath the blankets.

No wonder she couldn't breathe. He grabbed a fistful of the bedding and gave it a yank. They didn't budge. Beth remained tangled in their midst. The bundle of bedding rolled from one side of the queen sized bed to the other, tangling them further as she squirmed, and yelled from within.

Enough was enough. Marcus climbed onto the bed and pinned her writhing body between his knees. "Stop squirming. I'm only trying to help."

Beth must have heard him, because she suddenly ceased all movement.

Marcus peeled away the blankets, and brushed the mass of long dark hair aside. Earthlings were pale skinned by Shimuran standards, but Beth's face was a sickly grey and her crystal blue eyes had a glassy shine that gave credence to the computer's findings. Spirit help him. He was too late.

Placing one palm over the other in the valley between her breasts he started CPR, but stopped when he felt the strong, rapid beat of her heart beneath his hand.

Her eyes widened. She sucked in a raged breath which caused her naked breasts to rise, filling one hand while pressing the other against his forearm.

Marcus released her immediately. She was still alive.

 

An oppressive weight had settled over Captain Beth Williams of the Allied Nations of Earth Space Agency (ANESA). She awoke to find herself staring into a pair of large, brown, whiteless orbs—alien eyes, belonging to a man…who was holding her captive on the bed.

Terror welled up from the center of her being, temporarily immobilizing her.

She counted to ten, blinked several times to bring her assailant into focus, sucked in a deep breath and screamed like a banshee. The high pitched sound threw her attacker off balance. She yanked her arms free and clawed at his bare chest, arms and face with her nails.

He grappled her left wrist and yanked it above her head.

Beth balled her free hand into a fist and smashed it into the side of his face. It was like hitting a brick wall. Her knuckles burned, and throbbed but she refused to give up. She swung again, but this time he was ready, and caught it easily within his bear-like fist.

Tears burned in the corners of her eyes. Why her? She slammed her lids shut to blot her aggressor from sight. What had she ever done to deserve such degrading treatment? Did she have a stamp across her forehead saying she liked to be abused?

"Beth! It's..."

Damn it! She didn't, and wouldn't succumb to such abuse ever again! She bucked beneath him, rolled from side to side until her shoulders felt like they'd pop, but the mammoth of a man wouldn't let go. Ignoring the pain, she fought with every last ounce of her strength.

Her assailant shifted, pressing her body into the bed with the full weight of his body. His labored breath tickled her cheek.

"Nooooo," she screeched as she flailed her head from side to side.

"Stop struggling. Beth…"

He knew her name.

"...don't want to hurt you," Marcus pleaded. "Beth, stop fighting me."

He said her name again. She ceased struggling, and listened to the deep, resonating tone of his voice, speaking way too close to her ear, yet calm and soothing nonetheless. A tingle, similar to static electricity, ran down her arms and settled into her chest. It didn't hurt, only startled her. Her eyes snapped open. "Marcus, what the Hell are you doing in my room? Get out of here, right now!"

He didn't move. He just stared at her like she hat two heads.

"FAI, if Captain Valen does not depart my chambers within the next five seconds, stun him!"

A reassuring sparkle glittered in the corner of the room.

"One," she hissed.

Marcus released her hands.

"Two."

He scurried from the bed.

"Three." Beth untangled herself from the bedding and rolled off the other side, placing the bed between them. "Four."

Marcus reached the portal, spun on his heel and glared at her through the opening.

Beth rose to her feet, squared her shoulders and looked angrily back.

His eyes grew as big as saucers. They surreptitiously roved over her from head to toe, and she watched in amazement as golden skin turned a deep shade of bronze before he averted his gaze. He looked like a cat that had swallowed a canary--guilty as charged. It irked her that he wouldn’t maintain eye contact with her. "Explain yourself!"

"I was trying to help."

"Ya, right. Help yourself was more like it. Don't ever come into my chambers again!"

"But--"

"Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

Marcus' head jerked up, but his focus was riveted to a spot beyond her left shoulder.

What? Had the six-foot-six, mammoth of a man, lost his courage? Couldn't he face up to the fact he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar? Well, she was no-one's midnight snack, least of all his. Beth glanced at the tussled bedding, became painfully aware of her lack of clothing, and dove to the floor behind the bed. With every fiber of her being she wanted the floor to open up and swallow her whole, but it didn't. She peeked over the top of the bed.

Marcus’ hulking form filled the doorway, and his gaze was now locked with hers.

Heat rose to her cheeks, but she stared him down nonetheless. "Get out!"

Marcus tipped his head in a mock salute, squared his shoulders then walked away. His deep chuckle echoed down the hallway.

Beth jumped to her feed, raced to the portal and sealed it shut. What the Hell had gotten into him? Her best friend, Karen O'Reilly, had assured her that Shimurans were pacifists, always putting the rights of others before themselves, and renowned for their fairness and equality. It sounded too good to be true as far as she was concerned, but for Karen's sake she didn't argue the point. Karen had a biased point now that she was married to the leader of Shimura.

And it was that marriage that landed her in this mess in the first place.

When Karen asked her to pilot Earth Angel to Shimura. she had readily agreed on the premise of twenty-six blissful days of solitude, light years away from the male dominated ANESA space agency and all men in general. Then, Fleet Admiral Caradoc Rimon, Karen’s new husband, put a monkey wrench into her plans. He pulled rank on his wife, and assigned Captain Marcus Valen to Earth Angel for the voyage to Shimura.

Why, oh why had she agreed to those terms?

Not only did she loose her solitude, she was forced to interact with an alien. She didn’t like them, and she certainly didn't trust them either.

Beth stuffed her arms into her blue silk wrap, tied the sash then sank down on the side of the bed. It wasn't fair. She hadn't taken a bonified holiday in seven years. She sucked in a few calming breaths, closed her eyes and counted to ten. Just because she had a problem with men didn’t mean Karen had to forego her honeymoon. Besides, Marcus was supposedly harmless--a gentle giant and safe traveling companion.

Not!

Their first night alone onboard Earth Angel and look what happened. Marcus barged into her chambers, uninvited!

Beth jumped to her feet and started pacing the narrow confines of her chamber. That meant Karen was wrong. Shimurans were no better than the people of Earth, or stinking Morians for that matter--raping, pillaging and taking what they wanted without fearing the consequences of their actions. No wonder Shimurans were on the brink of extinction.

"FAI, level ten securities on my chamber. If anyone enters without my consent, stun them."

"Affirmative," the ship’s artificial intelligence (AI) intoned. "Captain," blips and bleeps stuttered from the speaker.

Beth stopped pacing and glared at the box in the corner of the room. The red, laser-like eye traveled erratically back and forth across the speaker. "What?"

"Captain Valen heard you screaming. When he inquired what was wrong, I made the mistake of misreading your life signs. He only wanted to save your life. If you must chastise anyone, it should be me."

Beth turned back to her bed, took a closer look at the twisted state of the bedding and realized her mistake. It had happened again, and by the looks of the tangled mess, the nightmare had been worse than before. She sank onto the edge of the bed and covered her face with both hands. All that money and time spent with psychologists and hypnotherapists undone in one night, and it was all Marcus' fault! His mere presence onboard the ship was her undoing, making all those suppressed memories fresh in her mind again. Not only was he alien, but he was big, strong, and so--male. She didn't have the strength to live though it again...

 

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© ANN O'BANNON 2007