Alien General's Beloved: SciFi Alien Romance (Brion Brides) by Vi Voxley Page B

even his bulk was a problem on a ship with Torons, huge hunched beasts that worked the physically demanding jobs. Their large heads and powerful upper bodies, all covered in smooth gray fur, hid amazing strength. Corden had seen a few of them move cliffs that should have crushed them. As long as he remained no more than a shadow, he could pass for one of them.
    There was panic in the air that Corden caught the whiff of as soon as he stepped aboard. His frown deepened as he cursed Worgen, so close to bringing everything down that the Elders had achieved. If the Flora was lost, the Union would not forgive. They rightfully relied on the Brions to handle the matter of Worgen, and Corden was the man whose duty it was. In the course of that, he couldn't lose a ship like Flora , almost irreplaceable even without the massive casualties it would have brought.
    There was trouble to come, he knew that. One person was capable of amazing things. They could show great courage and portray stunning intelligence, but put a thousand of them in one room and all you had was a disaster. Crowds were stupid, easily scared, and panicky things. Nothing would stop a riot when the incentive was given. And Corden knew it didn't even have to be a good one, nor a just one.
    All the people needed was a little push and the Flora would became a monster that ate itself up.
    The people had a good reason to be terrified, he agreed. From muted whispers and terrified chatter, Corden learned of the massacre in the landing bay. Worgen was not out to make friends, then, but that was to be expected. His purpose was as brutish as he himself was.
    He followed a large group of Brions, staying carefully out of their hearing range. The Flora helped, masking his steps in the shadows under indistinguishable noise.
    They walked with purpose, which only meant one thing. Someone was going to die.
    Corden considered his options. As far as he could tell, Worgen thought him dead. That was a huge advantage that he didn't want to risk wasting. Not until he had a clear way to win. The Flora offered more hiding places, but there were also so many eyes to see.
    Right then, a voice started talking. Corden knew it, because his heart was tuned to the soft timbre, bringing a pleased smile to his lips. So Lana had found a way to get aboard the Flora too. That made things considerably easier for him.
    On the carrier, he was free to find and protect his gesha . Already he was feeling the full effects of the bind, pulling him relentlessly to his fated. Staying put and waiting outside of the Abysmal had been the hardest thing he'd ever done when his very being ached for her presence.
    Lana spoke to the Flora as their new captain. Her words were calm and wise. She urged the crew to obey the Brions, not resist them, and keep to their own quarters when possible. Corden listened with a grin, knowing the request was destined to fail. But he understood she had to try.
    Corden liked listening to her. It was clear by the sound of her voice that Lana was not immune to the fear the ship reeked of, but hers was in check. Instead of panicking, she was choosing to fight and try to help the people in any way she could. That was admirable to the general. Brions always admired overcoming weaknesses.
    For most of the thousands of souls on the Flora , the weakness was not being a Brion.
    Corden stopped when the warriors below him did and felt his pulse quicken to a thunderous pace when he saw why.
    There was a huge hall up ahead, filled to the brink with crewmembers. Mostly they seemed to be men. Corden had witnessed the other general's MO enough to know what was going to happen.
    He had limited seconds before the Brions would enter the hall, and after that, there was nothing he could do without exposing himself. One person can hold a secret. A thousand or more are completely incapable of doing that.
    Not only that, there had to be no evidence of a Brion-on-Brion fight.
    Now this is a challenge , Corden thought.