Tuesday Teaser - Hamza's book

Chapter One (continued)

Hamza and his guards transported to the war room and walked into controlled chaos. All branches connected to planetary security—space and ground, plus their subunits—were housed here, along with the Space Academy.

Harried males read reports from Castron, Lowbrett, and Kiton. Others dealt with status updates on the deployed fighter’s or news on starships en route. Each relayed the information to their commanding officers.  

Hamza prowled into the middle of the chaos. “The Onfre are sending help, so be ready to assist when their warbirds arrive. Now, give me a report on the situation with—”

“Prince Hamza! Readings show a new wormhole opening! It’s not the Onfre. Three more Ne Reynian battleships are coming through. I repeat, three more Ne Reynian battleships have come through and are entering the atmosphere.”

Hamza snarled. The buzzing and eerie glow from the red alert annoyed his already frayed nerves. “Get a read on them. I need to know their targets.”

“Battleships descending unbelievably fast.” A male shouted from a computer. “It looks like…. Prince Hamza, according to long-range scans, one is aiming for us, and the other is targeting the palace. The last ship seems to be acting as a guard for the other two. ETA is five unit minutes for them reaching their targets.”

“Activate the red alert for Darkkit palace. Send a message through King Duran’s comm that they’re about to be under attack!”

“Yes prince!”

“On viewing screen. I want to see what we’re dealing with.” The last of the three battleships acting as a guard appeared. It was huge, ugly, and loaded with weaponry. Gods. Hurry, dabba. “We need starships engaging the enemy now. Update?” Hamza snarled at one of the commanders.

“The starship Archon’s ETA for the palace defense is fifteen unit minutes. Two more starships are due to disengage from space dock within five unit minutes. Add another twenty unit minutes to that before they can engage.”

“Too long,” Hamza whispered. “Palace on screen, please.”                                                                                                                

There simply wasn’t enough coverage. The palace was located in the heart of Darkkit, so the palatial city was in jeopardy too. All those people, helpless. Running for their lives. Neo’s at the Darkkit Hospital too. His heart pounded. No. Can’t think of that. If something happened to Neo, to any of his loved one….

“Fighters are engaging enemy ships, Prince Hamza.”

Powerless, he watched as a battleship targeted Darkkit palace. There was nothing he could do but pray. Please, please let them be okay. Please.

“Photon torpedo in-coming. Target is Darkkit palace,” someone yelled.

The flashed of light lit up the viewing screen as the palace sustained a direct hit. Hamza clenched his fists. Rage built as long unit minutes passed as the battleship relentlessly fired.

“Palace shields are holding but they can’t take many more hits like that, my prince.”

“Understood,” Hamza said. Please let them be okay.

“Sensors show the Ne Reynain battleship targeting us is powering weapons.”

“Shields are up too, my prince!”

Hamza swore softly. The very first thing he was going to do once this was over was have weapons installed here at the Tah’Narian Planetary Defense. They were helpless.

“Prince Hamza, a spread pattern of photon torpedoes has been fired at the palace. Detonation in three, two….

More flashes of light. Hamza wanted to scream in frustration. He checked his comm. There was no transmission from his dabba. Had they gotten Dayo and Szin moved in time? What about the patients in Medical? More unit minute passed as the assault continued. Now they seemed to be targeting certain areas. How much longer could the shields withstand such an attack? He squinted at the viewing screen. Was that smoke?

“We have confirmation of a breach in the shield! They’re hit, my prince, and shields are down.”

Hamza swore. “Where?”

“The sector that houses Medical.

Where the Royal Physician offices are located. “Damage report?”

“I can’t tell if that area took a direct hit but—” The console blared a warning. “Readings show unknown life signs in the vicinity of Medical.” The male typed fiercely. “Ah… Highness, they’re Ne Reynain.”

“What?” No. That couldn’t be right. Why would those females beam down and to that specific location? If the shields were down, why go there? “Report!”

“Scans are being disrupted due to the attack. I can’t get a fix on where the life signs are actually at in that sector, but they are definitely Ne Reynain and there are several of them.”

“Highness! Reports say our fighters are taking heavy loses too. They’re inflicting damage to the battleships, but—”

“In-coming! We have in-coming photon torpedoes at our position.”

Hamza braced himself. The building shook as the torpedoes were deflection by their shields, and the lights blinked. Males rushed around Hamza, calling out status updates.

“The starship Archon has arrived and is engaging the Ne Reynain battleship targeting the palace.”

“Thank all the gods.” Hamza watched as the battleship broke off its attack to defend itself. “Get me information on the palace. Now.”

“My prince, the Unity has its full crew complement and is leaving the space dock. ETA twenty unit minutes.”

“We have a worm hole opening!”

Sweat beaded at Hamza’s temple. Gods help them if it was another Ne Reynian battleship.

“It’s the Onfre! Five warbirds have dropped out of warp and are in-bound!”

Weak in the knees, Hamza grabbed the console next to him.

“The Ne Reynian battleships are pulling back. They’re retreating. I repeat, they are retreating!”

“Did they beam up those who invaded the palace?” Hamza barked.

“Unsure. I can’t raise the palace and can’t get a reading now.”  

Cheering echoed around Hamza. He hardly noticed the slaps on the back. Why were they retreating? Were the Ne Reynian that afraid of the Onfre? He didn’t believe that, considering most Onfre officers were male, and they all knew how the Ne Reynians felt about males in positions of power.

He needed to get to the palace and find out what was happening. Hamza caught a flash of white from the corner of his eye. Relieved, he turned to face his dabba. The smile on his faced died when he saw Keyno standing there. A soot covered, clothes torn, Keyno.

Hamza’s heart beat faster.

“Hamza? I need you to come with me. Now.”

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Chapter One

“Transporter ready?” Hamza asked, stepping onto the pad. His royal guard spread out around him.

“Yes, prince. Coordinates confirmed for Darkkit palace transporter room.”

“Energize.”

Moments later, Hamza strode toward the Royal Physician’s suite with several of his guards flanking him. The clicking of their boots on the polished floors echoed in his ears, ratcheting his anger higher. Tension radiated from him, sending palace employees scurrying out of his path. Damnation. Those around him had nothing to do with the violent urges seething inside him, so he shoved his burgeoning rage deep inside. Still, he fingered the phaser on his hip.

Stopping by the door to the birthing suite, he took a breath and tried to marshal his thoughts. Dayo and Szin were in labor, and the families were in attendance. What should be a wondrous occasion was soon going to be spoiled. As much as he hated that, he didn’t have time to spare. His guards stayed back as Hamza stepped inside.

His dabba, King Duran, turned to him, a smile gracing his face. “Hamza! We were wondering—what’s wrong?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Hamza saw Malk, Kia, and Laken enter. Had he been so rattled he hadn’t noticed them as he stormed down the hall? He’d been trained better, but the news he brought stole his focus. Hamza swallowed and shoved his slipup from his mind.

“Hamza? Where’s Neo?” Doc asked. “We thought the both of you would be here.”

Hamza bowed his head toward his mate’s dabba. “He wanted to be, but something came up, and unfortunately his presence was required elsewhere.” Hamza faced his dabba. “Sire?”

King Duran frowned. “Speak freely. What has happened?”

“There have been multiple attacks on Tah’Nar. The cities of Castron, Lowbrett, and Kiton were bombed by photon torpedoes ten unit minutes ago. The war room is code red.”

“Shit,” Dale whispered.

“Oh God.” Chad grabbed Gibor’s arm.

King Duran inhaled sharply. “Who, Hamza? Who dares attack Tah’Narian cities?”

“Five unit minutes ago, three Ne Reynian battleships appeared via wormhole in orbit around the planet. Hails were sent and ignored. Red alert was activated on all space ships due to this. The Ne Reynian battleships immediately entered our atmosphere. They were moving at a speed I have never seen, Sire. It was like warp drive, but that’s physically impossible since wrap is used to jump from star system to star system. It’s not utilized for this type of short distance travel.”

“Wait,” Keyno gasped. “Are you saying they entered our atmosphere and then in five unit minutes managed to get from where they appeared… to where they attacked?”

Hamza glanced at Keyno. “I’m afraid so. The speed was faster than impulse, but it wasn’t warp. It must be a new technology. I scrambled fighters from bases near each city as a first wave of defense. The Sunder and the Obsidian Cross starships were not spaced docked and are on an interception course, but right now, only the fighters are engaging the battleships. There has been massive damage to those three cities.”

Keyno growled. “Major cities of ours. Three major cities on three different continents on Tah’Nar.”

“Yes.” Hamza nodded. “Starships are being dispatched from various orbiting space stations as we speak but that takes time. Other ships are recalling crew members. In the meantime, I’ve increased fighters around Darkkit and the Tah’Narian Planetary Defense building.”

Ti straightened. “King Duran? The Onfre stand ready to assist you. Shall I call for reinforcements?”

“Please,” King Duran said. “Thank you, Ti. Your peoples help will be much appreciated.”

Ti pulled his comm from his pants pocket and moved to a corner of the room.

Hamza watched the easy-going look on Cielo’s face dissolve into ruthlessness. Mentally Hamza corrected himself. No, that wasn’t Cielo. That was Cielo’s other personality: Colt, the gangbanger. The killer. The sociopath who would do anything to protect his love ones. All of them had grown up hearing about Colt.

“They did it. They attacked us. Oh my God, they actually went through with it. I can’t believe this.” Dale pressed his hands over his mouth. Chad released Gibor and hurried to Dale, wrapping his arm around Dale’s waist.

A shrill cry of a new born young came from the birthing suite.

King Duran clenched his fists. “My friends, I’m going to have Szin and Dayo moved into the underground bunkers since they just gave birth. Hamza? Return to the war room, please. I’ll be there as soon as I take care of this.”

“Yes, Sire.” The war room was the nickname for the Tah’Narian Planetary Defense building. It was actually a misnomer since it wasn’t a ‘room’ but more of a sprawling complex.

Standing in the outer chamber, Hamza watched his dabba lead everyone into the birthing suite. Ti stood behind King Duran. Colt had his arm around Dale’s shoulders.

“What’s going on?” Dayo questioned.

“Ti?” Takeo asked.

Hamza heard Dale try to speak, but his voice broke.

“Guys, what the hell is going on?” Szin demanded.

King Duran cleared his throat. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, especially at what should be a joyful occasion, but the Ne Reyn have not only attacked the Unity, but now they have launched a strike directly at our planet. Captain Ti is here to witness the birth of Szin and Takeo’s young, but he also came bearing news. The Onfre stand with us. Gentlemen, we are at war.”

From the floor, a mist swirled, and the arkhim who had bonded to Dayo appeared. Dayo and Raiden quickly assured everyone there was no danger, but still, tension rose at the sudden appearance of Dayo’s new guardian.

Hamza had been briefed about the magical animal, but hearing about it wasn’t the same as seeing it… or caught in its fierce gaze. Hamza gulped. It was large animal with an arrow-shaped head, a long muzzle, and a lengthy neck. Thick, white iridescent scales cover its powerful body. A row of small, clear horns that shone like sparkling ice ran down its spine. A tail stretched out from behind it. Damn thing was rather intimidating in appearance.

Composing himself, Hamza turned from the outer room of the birthing suite and stepped into the hallway. His guards stood silently. Face carefully blank, he nodded at them. They fell in behind him, and together, they returned to the transportation pad.

War. They were at war once more.

All hybrids were well aware of what happened the last time Tah’Nar got itself into a battle with another species. Due to Tah’Nar attacking the Onfre for resources, the Onfre released a virus that invaded the Tah’Narian reproductive system and destroyed it, rendering all Tah’Narians sterile.

But anyone pregnant had a much worse fate. The virus flooded the surculas, attacked and killed the young, and then kept going, eating its way through the surculas and attacking the rest of the body. The person was literally dissolved from the inside out.

The catastrophic change to Tah’Narian way of life resulted in a desperation for mates. Earthlings called it ‘the harvest’.