Reckoning Read online

  Reckoning

  Katieran Prime Series Book 13

  KD Jones

  Copyright 2017 KD Jones

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Prologue

  Commander MarIK made a decision that led him down the wrong path. Now he has to find a way to help the Katierans and protect the beautiful negotiator who was in danger. Then he can take his own vengeance against the leader who used him and others and now made alliances with the enemy. OrIN had finally gone too far; MarIK would not let this slide. A day of reckoning was coming. May the Goddess help any who stood in the way.

  Chapter 1

  Purist Rebel Transport — Deep Space

  When MarIK first met OrIN in warrior training many years ago, they both were young and full of hopeful dreams. They were assigned different locations and hadn’t seen each other again until about three years ago. MarIK had suffered several losses, including one involving his mate, RowANa.

  RowANa had a weakened immune system caused by the mutation of the virus the Morins had cursed them with. RowANa’s entire family suffered. The females didn’t live past the age of twenty-five. He had traveled with her from the Colonial planet where they had resided to Kiljor and Katiera in hopes that the medics would find a way to save her life.

  She went to the next life three years ago while they were on Katiera. At about the same time he lost his mate, Katierans were bringing transport ships full of healthy Earth females to breed with. He watched from the sidelines feeling his heart was broken as so many others welcomed the different species with hope and joy.

  OrIN approached him and expressed his displeasure in females from another planet being brought to Katiera for breeding purposes. In truth, OrIN had been having issues with the Primes for years complaining that they were unfit to rule. Prime Commander KydEL had knocked him back in rank because of his attitude. At that moment, MarIK was grieving and angry; he was open to hearing what OrIN was saying. In retrospect, he could now see that OrIN played on his weakness and heartache to manipulate him.

  “OrIN, what you are asking is that we become traitors to our people.”

  “Never. That is not honorable. What I am asking you is to be a part of a rebellion against the true betrayers of Katiera and all that we hold dear. The diluting of our bloodline is a transgression. Prime Leader RendEL needs to be replaced and these aliens returned to their own world.”

  At the time, MarIK was not in a place where he could think things through properly. The pain from his loss was overwhelming him. He was also full of anger. He was watching as hope filled Katiera at the arrival of these females, while his love had been torn from him too soon. He foolishly believed in OrIN and followed him, becoming the commander of the rebellion, following OrIN as its leader.

  Years later, he knew he would have to make a stand. A few months ago, OrIN had gotten his hands on one of the Earth females that the Katierans had brought to Katiera to breed with. MarIK met the female, Melody, and she reminded him of his long dead mate RowANa. It suddenly hit him that this was not what his mate would have wanted him to do and that he was not behaving honorably. He had allowed OrIN’s sick mind to take the one thing he still had — his honor as a warrior — and almost destroy it.

  MarIK secretly helped the Katieran interrogator, StrykER, escape with the female. OrIN was furious they got away and his demeanor had become even more questionable and unstable. His decision-making had become volatile and senseless which had led them to his unholy alliance with the enemy of their people — the Morins.

  MarIK was filled with rage and disgust as he watched the Purist Leader OrIN clasp forearms with the Morin leader. OrIN was making a deal with the enemy to defeat the Katierans. This went against everything he believed in. It went against what OrIN had promised him and the others that chose to follow him.

  Looking at the Morins brought back memories of watching his mate die at such a young age — all due to the mutation that the Morins deployed on the Katierans. There was no way he would be able to hide the hatred he felt for long, but he had to discover what they were up to and warn the Katierans. He was determined to regain his honor before he went to the great beyond.

  He knew OrIN was up to no good after he lost the captured female Melody and was betrayed by StrykER. OrIN was out to avenge himself and he would use any means available to him. OrIN didn’t trust him or anyone, so discovering his nefarious plans would be harder than ever.

  Knowing that OrIN would not appreciate an interruption, MarIK checked on his crew that he had personally picked out. These males had indicated many times that they, too, were uncomfortable with the path OrIN was taking them. Slowly they began coming to him and he had taken his time vetting them to make sure that they were not spies for OrIN.

  He had told the males to meet him at the old storage area that they kept locked. Only he and five of his select team had access to it. There were others that he felt would follow their lead if they rebelled against OrIN, but he didn’t want to call on them for anything yet. MarIK arrived at the storage area and used the code to get inside. Two of his team, DayES and TurnEN, were already there.

  “Where are the others?”

  TurnEN answered him. “JarOD, LanIN, and SeAL are setting up the communications link we will need to send out messages. They will put the transmitters on the far corners, which should keep them hidden. They think that Kiljor would probably be the best contact for our messages because that planet is the closest.”

  “Warrior DayES, what have you found about the Morin transport?”

  “Their transport is badly damaged. OrIN has sent a crew over to help them. It’s older and they had manipulated the parts but what they did corrupted their sensors. All their power had gone into their cloaking ability.”

  “Why would they be this far out without a way to fully repair their ship? Do we have anyone we trust that is going over there?”MarIK asked.

  “Yeah, a couple of males, engineers from the mining community, were sent. They will contact us with updates,” Warrior DayES answered.

  “I heard they had tried to take females before. Do you think they have any over there? What shape would they be in?” TurnEN asked in concern.

  “I doubt they have females but if they did, we will find a way to free them,” MarIK reassured them. Based on their relieved expressions, he knew that these males were good males and had just been led down the wrong path like he had been. They, too, wished to restore their honor. Many of the followers MarIK found were from the mining community OrIN had overtaken. They watched their families torn apart and used as a way to manipulate them into compliance. When the Katierans sent help for StrykER, they were able to free a lot of the enslaved miners, but the community still experienced losses.

  Every l
ife should be treated as the gift that was intended by the Goddess KatieRI. The Goddess created all that was good, and yet MarIK watched as first the Morins and now OrIN tried to destroy it. MarIK was determined to correct the wrongs he had been involved in.

  “Commander, if the Morins want assistance in repairing their ship from OrIN, what does OrIN want in return from the Morins?” TurnEN asked.

  MarIK wondered about this as well. What could OrIN hope to gain from the Morins? If their transport were more advanced, that would be the sharing of technology. The only thing that the Morins had that OrIN didn’t was the… Oh. “He wants the cloaking technology.”

  “If OrIN perfects that technology, he could attack the Katieran Prime City without detection. Millions would die.”

  That’s what OrIN wanted — to destroy the prime city and prime family ruling Katiera. He would then try to step in as leader. “See if any of our people can take a look at that cloaking system. I want all the schematics on how it works, how to uncloak them, and how to mimic using it.”

  “Yes, sir, but what can we do about keeping it out of OrIN’s hands?”

  “I’m still working on that. If OrIN suspects what we are about, he’ll end us before we have a chance to do anything. Let me have a few days to figure something out. Let me know as soon as those transmitters are up. We’ll have to pick the exact moment to use them and use them sparingly. We might not get but one chance at it before discovery.”

  “Sir, we have moved several shuttles to the repair section of the docking bay to use for an emergency evacuation as you requested,” Warrior DayES told him.

  “Good, once we use those transmitters, I want you to organize as many of our followers as you can to evacuate. Set coordinates to Kiljor if that is the closest region and give them the name StrykER. Tell them that MarIK sent you.”

  “You’re not going with us?”

  MarIK had thought long and hard about it, but he didn’t see any way that he could walk away without confronting OrIN once and for all. Also, he felt the need to avenge his mate and her family who had died needlessly because of the mutations the Morins caused. Justice for their deaths and all those who had been mutated pressed on his conscience.

  “If it’s possible for me to evacuate, I will.”

  “We will make sure we leave a war ship for you to at least use to escape.”

  “I appreciate that.” MarIK’s comm link was going off. He motioned them to be quiet while he answered. “Commander MarIK here. Yes, Leader OrIN, I will be right there.” He ended the communications. “I have to meet OrIN in his command room. I’ll contact all of you in a few hours for an update.”

  Leaving the storage area, he made sure no one spotted him and glanced at the security cameras he had previously adjusted to avoid the door to the storage area. They were still where he had placed them.

  He took the lift up to the third floor of the transport that they had confiscated from the Katieran disposal area. The Katierans had sent transports that required a lot of maintenance to the disposal area to use for parts. OrIN had found out the disposal location and the team had stolen a transport and the parts to fix it. The repaired transport had been their escape plan from the mining planet. OrIN was nothing if not very methodical. He had planned for every contingency.

  After knocking on the closed door leading into OrIN’s command room, he waited until he heard approval to enter.

  “Come in!”

  He slid the door open and entered the room, grateful that the Morin leader wasn’t there. OrIN stood in front of a huge desk with a hologram map over it that depicted the Katieran star system. He waited patiently for OrIN to look up and acknowledge him.

  “I know this must be hard on you, MarIK, having the Morins here.”

  “It is. I don’t understand why you bring them aid.”

  “There’s a saying — the enemy of your enemy is your friend. Prime Leader RendEL is our enemy and the Morins are the key to destroying his claim to ruling Katiera. Once I take control, we can deal with the Morins. I’ll gladly leave that in your hands.”

  MarIK suppressed his outrage at the idea that was enough to convince him to fall in line. No way in Kitana would he have more Katierans die at the hands of the Morins. Not as long as there was breath left in his body.

  “What is the plan?”

  “I’m contacting the Katierans to let them know that I am willing to negotiate a surrender.”

  MarIK looked at him in surprise, but the glimmer in OrIN’s eyes told him that this was a ploy. “What are you really after?”

  “I am requesting a female negotiator to accompany a male negotiator.”

  MarIK narrowed his eyes, “They will never send a Katieran female.”

  “Exactly. I need an Earth female to be taken by the Morins. They will send out a transport, maybe several to recover her.”

  “So they face off with the Morins, then what?”

  “We will hit them where they least expect it. Make sure that all repairs are made on the Morin transport. You have five days to get them ready.”

  “Yes, sir.” MarIK left feeling very uneasy. He knew he hadn’t found out all of OrIN’s plans, only that the request for negotiators was a trap. He had to warn Prime Leader RendEL as soon as possible. Whatever the real hit was going to be, he knew it would be bad.

  Chapter 2

  Kiljorn Homeworld

  Sharon stood on the training field and looked around at her surroundings. She was currently on the planet of Kiljor, which was beautiful and so different than Katiera. Kiljor had more metallic and shiny buildings, and it had differing geographical climates like on Earth — mountains with snow, deserts with no water, and then places with islands all around.

  She had been on Katiera a few years and had nearly adjusted to the lush greenery and the gorgeous green water that covered most of the planet. She had arrived on Katiera with her military friends from Earth as part of a relocation program. It wasn’t until they were on board the transport and had taken the culture classes that they became fully aware of some of the reasons of why only female travelers had been chosen for the program.

  The Katierans were dying out as a people because their numbers were diminishing. They hadn’t borne many healthy children in almost twenty years, although Katiera had plenty of natural resources to sustain life comfortably.

  Earth had the exact opposite problem. The Earth World Government (EWG), which was made up of leaders from all over the planet, came together to try to solve the problems of diminishing natural resources and overpopulation. They had even sent out a message to nearby solar systems asking for assistance. The Katierans answered that call and made a deal for an exchange. They would help rebuild Earth’s natural resources in exchange for allowing the Katierans to run a relocation program, which would exist on a volunteer basis. Sharon suspected that the volunteers seeking to relocate were selected based on their age and childbearing usefulness.

  If she had known before leaving Earth that her whole purpose would be to help repopulate an alien planet, she wasn’t sure she would have chosen to come. It’s not that she hated the Katierans; in fact, she could understand their desperation to save their people, just like the EWG was desperate to save Earth. She made her choice and, as her granddaddy would say, she had to “make it work for you.”

  Sharon didn’t want to sit around waiting to bond with one of the Katieran males, even though they were all well built and sexy as hell. Their unusual eyes, with golden irises, were exotic, and many of the males were charming. She had shared sex with a few during her time on the planet and had enjoyed it, but when they wanted to claim her by releasing their seed inside, she refused each time.

  Her friends called her too picky, but Sharon had an idea in her head of who “the one” was supposed to be. As she was growing up, her grandparents and parents set a high standard for her. Each of their marriages were love matches, and that’s how she had always imagined it would be for her. Hitting her thirties, however, had her ques
tioning the choices she had made.

  On Earth, she trained with the police as a hostage negotiator and worked with the FBI and even the military. She was an expert on profiling terrorists and finding out what they wanted and ways to take down their networks. It kept her pretty busy and her social life suffered because of it. When she traveled to Katiera, she gave all that up, so she began to feel she lost her purpose. She started talking to her friend, Lieutenant Lucy Daniels about returning to Earth. That’s when she was asked to come to Kiljor, a neighboring alliance, for a mission.

  So, here she was on another alien planet, surrounded by sexy aliens who stared at her with curiosity and desire. Maybe coming here was a mistake, too.

  “Sharon Task?” a male’s voice called out.

  She turned to stare up at the hugest guy she had ever seen. He was at least seven feet tall, with wide shoulders, trim hips, and a gleaming bald head. Wow, just...wow.

  “Yes, I’m Sharon.” She remembered at the last moment not to try to shake hands. It was their custom to clasp forearms with other warriors, but it was rare for males to touch females.

  “I’m Commander TylOR. Welcome to Kiljor.”

  “Thank you. I’m curious about this mission.”

  “We’ll get to that. First, I need to access your abilities.”

  “You need to do what?”

  “I assume you know how to fight. I need to see the skills you have and if you will need extra training. Though training is going to take up time we may not have.”

  Sharon held up her hand to stop him from talking. “I’m good with showing you my skills. Give me a second. I didn’t exactly dress for tactical practice.”

  She went over to a bench and took off her leather jacket with the hoodie that had been covering her head. Now her short blond hair was revealed. She knew everyone was watching and what they were thinking. Females from their world didn’t cut their hair except for a trim, so her short hair was going to draw attention. Also, it was startlingly blonde, which was not a familiar hair color for these aliens with their naturally bronzed skin tone and dark shades of hair color. Except for Kiljorn commander, she had never seen any of the males with bald heads before.