Ajos: The Restitution - A Sci-fi Alien Romance, Book 1, стр. 36

found her voice. “Hedgeruds? I thought you said the enemies were the Tasqals.”

“They are. The Hedgeruds are the mercenaries they use as muscle,” V’Alen answered. “Soldiers.”

Kerena let that settle in her mind as her gaze flicked back to Ajos.

He still had not said a word and he still wore that hard mask over his face as he stared ahead.

This was serious business. Not that she’d thought the opposite.

This was what these rebels did every day. This was their life.

And now it was hers.

Looking out the screen in front of them, to the fast-approaching planet, Kerena felt a change within her.

This was no longer only their fight—it was no longer their war.

It was her fight now too.

Her war.

She’d never met her enemy face to face, but she already knew they were scum.

Scum should be eradicated, and she was going to do everything she could to contribute to making that happen—not only for herself but for all those people left on Earth…Cindy Clawford…her parents…her coworkers…her friends and for every single being whose lives had been made into a nightmare because of the terror known as the Tasqals.

Her face hardened too as she looked ahead.

This was now her oath.

13

A huge dark-green planet with massive oceans appeared in front of them.

Kerena’s mouth opened, her eyes widening as she looked at the planet they were approaching.

It reminded her of Earth.

“This looks like my planet,” she whispered, her eyes traveling over the surface of the strange world. “What are the people that live there like?”

“The planet is uninhabited,” Ajos answered. “Engaging thrusters. We will navigate the rest of the way by sight.”

Kerena frowned.

A planet with so much vegetation that was uninhabited?

Even in some of the harshest places on Earth, life managed to thrive. She found it hard to believe the planet only had plant life.

“You’re telling me that this huge planet only has…plants?”

“Affirmative,” V’Alen said. “It is mostly untouched.” An untouched planet with some of the rarest plants she would ever see in her life. This was like every botanist’s dream. A feeling settled through her—one of mild trepidation mixed with excitement for the unknown. It couldn’t be a coincidence. There must be a reason she was sent to this exact spot at this exact moment.

She was sure of it.

This was probably going to be the most important trip she’d ever taken in her life.

It made her lean forward in her seat, her gaze locked on the dark-green sphere they went towards.

The closer they went, the more Choria G622 seemed like Earth.

The water was blue…the trees were green…

It looked all so familiar, yet not at the same time.

“I cannot determine the exact location of the signal,” V’Alen spoke. “It is scrambling my instruments.”

He turned his head and stared out the screen to the surface below. “I will try to land as close to where I think it is as possible.”

They were close enough now that she could see more definition of the surface, and it looked like a dense jungle.

It seemed illogical that nothing lived there. How?

“We will have to find the source of the signal on foot,” V’Alen said.

In silence, the ship swerved as he took them closer.

“Going in,” he said. It felt like the engines suddenly shut off and their ship was falling through the planet’s atmosphere without their control, but when the trajectory changed from vertical to horizontal, she knew V’Alen still had full control of the vessel.

Choria G622 looked like Earth from above, but as soon as they landed, the difference in the plant life was evident.

The tree trunks looked a little too thick, the leaves a little too big.

As soon as the ship settled and the engine powered off, her seating restraints released, and curiosity pulled her to the front of the shuttle to stare out of the huge screen.

Despite the larger size, the density of the plant life was rich, and nothing looked overly alien, but Kerena knew that was simply outward appearances.

If she could get some samples into a lab to investigate, she was sure the differences would jump out at her immediately.

It had been some time since she’d done any field work, having spent most of the last few years in different labs she’d worked for, and just looking outside now caused a thrilling feeling she’d long forgotten.

She’d always been more interested in the medicinal and chemical properties of plants more than anything, and what she was looking at now looked like a botanist’s gold mine to her.

“The ship has been compromised.” V’Alen suddenly broke the silence. “They damaged the mechanism that engages the hyperdrive. I will have to stay back to repair it.”

“Keh-reh-nah can stay with you, if she prefers,” Ajos said, drawing her attention to him for the first time in a while. “I do not wish to put her into more danger.”

He removed something from his pocket, a vial of ice-blue fluid, and without warning, he jammed it into his leg like one would do with an EpiPen.

Kerena grimaced but, alas, he didn’t appear to mind the attack he’d inflicted on himself.

As the blue fluid left the vial and disappeared into his body, Ajos’ eyes closed for a few moments and his jaw clenched.

Medicine.

That must be medicine.

“Keh-reh-nah, you stay here. It will be safer for you if you do,” he spoke through gritted teeth.

“And miss going out there? No, thank you,” she answered, studying him as she did.

When he finally opened his eyes, he didn’t seem in pain so much anymore, and he finally pulled the hood from over his head.

Stretching his arms, he pulled the entire garment off, leaving his undershirt behind, and Kerena was treated to a view of thick, muscly arms.

He seemed happy to be without it now, and when he turned and found her looking at him, she was sure she saw him smile a little.

“If you’re going,” V’Alen interrupted, “you need this communicator.”

He slipped the communication device that looked like a large watch over her wrist.

“Navigation may not work,” he said, before glancing at Ajos. “You will have to