The Warrior's Pet (Cadi Warriors Book 1) Read online

  The Warrior's Pet

  Stephanie West

  Contents

  Contents

  Preface

  1 Assessment

  2 Planning

  3 Waging War

  4 Strategic Attack

  5 Disposition of the Army

  6 Forces

  7 Weaknesses and Strengths

  8 Military Maneuvers

  9 Variations and Adaptability

  10 Movement and Development of Troops

  11 The Battlegrounds

  12 Epilogue - Attacking with Fire

  Preface

  Giselle didn't know how long she lay near catatonic willing the terrible headache to go away. She sat up as one of the reptilian aliens entered. Giselle backed up and looked around realizing she was alone in a gilded cage.

  "What's going on?" She stammered.

  "If you're wise you'll keep quiet, pets don't speak on this planet." The creature admonished.

  A pet? Giselle's eyes widened. She hadn't misheard.

  Her cage was moved into a large tent. There were hundreds of aliens gathered for the auction, and these creatures were the largest yet. Their flesh was red like some kind of demon might be, with hair a uniform dark black. From what Giselle could see their eyes were a stone cold obsidian hue. Giselle noticed the fearsome creatures had long tails that rose out from what looked like chain mail kilts. Giselle shrunk back when she saw the creatures also had sharp fangs.

  How in the hell could she get out of this and if she did how could she possibly survive on an alien planet?

  Kagan beheld his pet. Nothing like her kind had ever set foot on Cadi. Kagan wondered where in the universe her unique species hailed from.

  Giselle refused to behave and even enjoyed his attempts to rebuke her, reveling in the rough handling a male usually held back with females. Giselle was brave instead of meek, standing up for herself in a sea of foreigners.

  Kagan had at first insisted that Giselle understand her place in Cadi society. But something more valuable than precious metal or jewels would be lost if Giselle was forced into the role everyone thought she belonged.

  Can Giselle find acceptance and love on an alien planet or will she always be nothing more than a warrior's pet?

  1 Assessment

  Giselle

  Giselle roused. As her lashes fluttered open she was accosted by a harsh bright light that made her quickly squeeze her eyelids tightly closed again. Subtle murmuring reached her ears as she lay in a bed that was clearly not her own.

  "Where am I? What is going on?"

  Her mind blurted the questions as Giselle flexed first her fingers then her toes. Perhaps some sort of accident had occurred while she slept safe and sound in her apartment. She wouldn't put it past the four wannabe frat boys next door to do something stupid like set the apartment on fire.

  The guys were partying hard last night and just as Giselle wandered out the door to tell them to shut the hell up, she'd been greeted by the king of idiots blowing a spray of vodka ignited by a lighter. The moron nearly singed her hair with little more than a slurred apology. At that point she went inside, stuffed cotton into her ears and prayed to get a few hours of sleep before her first midterm as a grad student.

  "Midterms!" Giselle's eyes flew open.

  She had to get to Ballentine Hall. If she screwed this first semester up, they'd pull her scholarship for sure.

  What greeted Giselle was not her bedroom, it wasn't even a hospital room, at least not the kind at the university hospital. She looked over to see the shadow of two figures talking behind a frosted wall.

  "Hello?" Giselle said with a scratchy voice in desperate need of a drink.

  There was no response.

  "Hello! Excuse me." She stated louder.

  Still the people conversed, ignorant that she'd awoken. One of them was gesturing emphatically as she spoke. Giselle sat up the rest of the way to hear better. She threw her leg over the sleek stainless steel bed covered in an odd transparent blue rubber sheet, then paused. The simple motion made her tired and somewhat dizzy.

  "What the hell? I wasn't drinking last night!" Giselle wondered with a shake of her head. "I bet those idiots did burn the place down and I barely survived carbon monoxide poisoning." That would explain the dizziness and scratchy throat. "Well at least I have a better excuse for my professors than oops I overslept."

  Giselle leaned forward and listened to the couple, waiting for a break in what seemed to be a heated discussion.

  "Ion I understand how you feel but the female's genetic anomaly makes her unsuitable." A deep almost resonant male voice stated.

  "Exo surely we can do something besides euthanize the female. What if we sterilize her and have the next group pick up another subject to replace her?" A melodic higher pitched voice replied.

  Giselle wondered if she wound up in a vet clinic instead of a hospital. That would certainly explain the rubber sheets on the overly large metal bed. Wasn't there an exotic animal sanctuary not far from town? There must've been some major catastrophe if they were diverting patients here.

  "Ion you know the colony cannot support her at this stage of its development."

  "But this was not her doing. We did not do our jobs well and now she must suffer." The woman responded her voice going high tinged with anguish.

  Giselle agreed with the woman. It seemed a shame to put down some poor creature if spaying it would work. And if the thing needed a home, hell she'd take it in. Giselle opened her mouth to chime in then closed it realizing there was no way she could take in more than a dog or cat, and even that violated her lease. The vets probably had some poor wolf or something that needed rescuing. Still she was a softy like the woman outside the room. If the critter could be saved, they should at least try.

  "We are too far to return her and she cannot go to the colony." The man insisted.

  "Please Exo." Giselle watched a small hand with narrow wrist reach out and touch the man placatingly.

  The man's shoulders seemed to drop, and he sighed. "The Jurou Biljana were sighted not far off."

  "Exo they are flesh merchants." The woman exclaimed with a gasp as she quickly drew her hand back.

  "But there are worse things. It is your only choice."

  Giselle saw the woman nod slowly. She felt so bad. Flesh merchant, was that like sending the poor beast to the sausage factory? That wasn't better than being put down.

  "What the hell?" Giselle wondered as she hopped down off the gurney to give the man a piece of her mind.

  Giselle's knees gave out as her feet hit the frigid glass-like floor. She caught herself before hitting the ground but got tangled in the white robe she was wearing. A pinging alarm sounded and Giselle turned to see a light on the arm of the bed flashing.

  A shocked gasp behind her had Giselle turning back around. What greeted her caused Giselle to lose her grip and immediately slide to the smooth floor.

  In the doorway stood two impossibly tall slender individuals. It was hard to discern from the bright lights all around but the pair were not normal looking. As they approached, Giselle could better see their eyes. The dark large orbs were almost almond shaped and had no discerning features like pupils or an iris. Their arms and legs were long enough to give the two a gangly appearance, with skin so pale it almost glowed. The shorter female bent down to help Giselle up and she noticed the woman had a finger missing on each hand.

  Suddenly things fell into place in her mind, like tumblers in a lock. The duo looked not quite human because they weren't!

  "Aliens!"

  Giselle inched away from the hand outstretched to her, horror dawning on her face. They had be
en talking about her. They had taken her from her home to go to some weird colony. She was the one they were going to put to sleep or hand over to flesh merchants.

  "I don't think so." Giselle shouted.

  She summoned all her energy and hopped up, much to the surprise of the two alien creatures in front of her. Giselle fled to the opposite side of the bed and stood crouched waiting to see what they would do.

  "How in the hell am I getting out of this one?" She wondered with mounting fear.

  The woman looked at her sadly. As the man pulled her from the room Giselle thought she saw the woman mouth the words, "I'm sorry."

  No sooner had they gone when a sweet almost metallic odor filled the room. Giselle's head nodded then lolled to the side as her legs gave out, tunnel vision obscuring her view.

  "Nooooooooo! They're putting me to sleep." Was Giselle's final desperate thought as darkness closed in.

  Giselle was shocked when she came to, her arms flailing, her fist knocking painfully into a hard metal wall. She cracked her eyes, but the room was dim. Her muscles were stiff from lying on the cold steel floor.

  "Where are the aliens?" Giselle wondered.

  There was shuffling, and she rubbed at her eyes hoping they would adjust faster to the dim light.

  Suddenly a hairy arm snaked out and grabbed her round the middle tugging her off the floor. Giselle cried out in panic but the furry hand clamped over her mouth as it hauled her into the middle of the room.

  The hairy arms were like bands of iron as the thing held her to its chest. From how big the hands were and how high she dangled off the floor the creature must be huge. More shuffling and the sounds of a dozen panting breaths and grunts approached her. Giselle caught sight of a large furry shoulder then a face loomed in front of hers.

  If Giselle's mouth hadn't been covered the blood-curdling scream would've deafened the creature staring into her eyes.

  The face that looked back at her reminded Giselle of something straight out of Planet of the Apes. The beast had short fur all over except its face and the palms of its hands. Its eyes were chocolate brown with harsh brows. The alien face had a nose that was large even for the beast's size, wide and turned up at the end. Its nostrils flared as it huffed. When the thing bared its mouth full of sharp teeth Giselle nearly fainted, her heart beating a mile a minute.

  Dozens of large hands covered in various shades of brown fur reached out and prodded at her. Giselle attempted to squirm free, but it was a waste of energy and only seemed to incite the alien creatures further.

  One incredibly tall beast reached out and tore her robe off leaving her naked. The hands continued to come at her. One picked up and stared at her foot, another her hand. Someone else pulled her long hair, but it was hand that went between her legs that had Giselle frozen in fear.

  A light suddenly turned on and there was a strange voice hissing at the door. The creatures backed away and the one holding her set her on the floor. Giselle tried to back up but was still surrounded. She couldn't see who had been at the door over the behemoths but all the beasts seemed to heed whatever was said.

  In the light Giselle got a better look at the giant creatures. Her first impression had been correct. They were some kind of ape men. Giselle noted they were all huge, and they were naked, although it didn't seem to matter with all the hair.

  The large one who had torn off her robe approached again. Giselle opened her mouth to cry out but the stern look of his creased brow and the way he put his finger to his mouth silenced her. He made several gestures to his companions, and they grunted as they gestured back in some form of sign language.

  Next thing she knew Giselle was being herded further back in the large room. As the group fanned out Giselle could see they were in some kind of large metal holding cell. Along the wall other furry naked creatures huddled.

  The big beast motioned and one of the creatures laying on a rough looking mattress rose up and came forward. The beast that wandered towards her was smaller than those surrounding Giselle. The closer the creature came she could make out what looked like breasts.

  The furry female reached out and took Giselle's hand in her much larger one and led her back to a group of other females. Giselle glanced up and gasped.

  Clinging to the hair on the female's back was a baby about the size of a human toddler. As Giselle huddled by the woman, the babe blinked its wide innocent eyes at her, then detached from its mother. It poked one fist in its mouth then toddled towards her, its other hand outstretched.

  The female quickly grabbed the child but not before the baby had a handful of Giselle's long blonde hair. The beast woman gently untangled the child's fist then made a gesture to Giselle. She looked apologetic.

  Giselle wasn't sure what to do. She clearly wasn't supposed to speak, none of the creatures did. Giselle was almost afraid to move her hands for fear of communicating something she hadn't intended. So instead she sat quietly watching.

  The woman leaned back against the wall and hefted her child to her breast, the large babe latching on eagerly. The little one stroked its mother's arm contentedly as it suckled making little grunts and slurps.

  Giselle smiled tentatively then was surprised at the hand that patted her knee. The furry woman gave a closed lipped smile, her eyes pleasant and nonthreatening. Giselle felt comfort in the gesture and she sighed letting go of some of the tension in her shoulders. The woman leaned her head back seeming to take a nap while she fed the baby.

  Giselle relaxed despite her nudity and the chilly air, wrapping her arms around her middle and pulling her knees up. Even though she stared at her lap Giselle could feel dozens of eyes upon her. This was far better than the harrowing moments following waking up in this metal cell.

  As Giselle sat, it finally sank in that she was somehow a captive, no longer on Earth. In the span of hours she had seen more aliens than she thought possible in her life. Giselle was angry with the pale lanky ones who had kidnapped her. The image of the tall female came to mind. She had been so sad and had argued to keep Giselle alive. She had to be thankful for that at least.

  Giselle realized she must be on the Jurou Biljana, the flesh merchant's ship. That meant the beast surrounding her were also captive. What did that mean? The only thing Giselle could fathom was that the Jurou Biljana were slave traders. The thought made her tremble uncontrollably.

  A warm arm wrapped around her shoulders and tugged her close. Giselle looked up to see the furry female didn't look aggressive. She rubbed Giselle's cold skin as if attempting to warm her. The female grunted and a responding grunt came from several feet away. Giselle looked up to see the massive male from earlier. The female lifted her hand from the baby and made a series of motions.

  The male approached slowly. He probably expected her to start screaming again. He knelt tentatively in front of Giselle before climbing onto the tattered pallet. His hulking form encompassed her left side while the hairy female bracketed her right. Then they went back to sitting quietly making a Giselle sandwich.

  The male kept his hands to himself so Giselle relaxed, an incredible warmth enveloping her. She started to notice the hairy creatures in the cell were all making subtle motions with their hands. The gestures were as complex as sign language she'd seen on Earth but never learned. Did the creatures not speak or did they not want to, given their captive circumstances?

  The creatures hadn't hurt her even when they man handled her. In fact the female had been almost sweet calling the male over to help warm her. Giselle wondered if the whole experience had really been their way of figuring out who or what she was. She was different from them, hairless and small. They seemed to accept her and treat her as they did one of the mid-sized furry ones several beds away, probably a juvenile. Maybe they thought she was a child too.

  Giselle wondered if it was really necessary to strip her bare, but then again the creatures were all naked. Besides the near death alien captive thing being nude was perhaps the most unsettling occurrence. Giselle wasn'
t ashamed of her body but like most people she was used to being clothed in public.

  Again her thoughts drifted to the fact she was imprisoned on a slave ship. Giselle wasn't sure what was going to happen to her. One day she's working on a History Masters with a hard earned scholarship and the next she's a captive, naked, and huddled between two Wookiees. It made worrying about where she'd get a job once graduating seem beyond trivial.

  "At least I'm not dead." Giselle nearly sobbed tears spilling down her cheeks.

  Movement startled Giselle out of her misery. The little babe was crawling over top of her lap again, moving to wrap its little fists in her blonde tresses. Instead Giselle distracted the baby by tapping on its little nose. Its little hands gripped both of hers and started waving them as it bounced excitedly. The hairy female nodded in ascent so Giselle relaxed and played with the jaunty infant.

  "Man you are a husky little one." Giselle said as she stared wide eyed at the drooling babe. He had a few teeth coming in and boy they looked sharp. Ouch

  The large male reached out and put his finger to her lips and Giselle realized she'd spoken out loud. This time he didn't smother her though. Giselle nodded and tickled the babe who barely gurgled though the little boy was clearly happy.

  A moment later a loud burp erupted from the child. Giselle had to repress a giggle with the back of her hand.

  The female picked up the babe and burped him before getting up and walking off. Giselle watched her move to an area on the opposite wall that had a trough hanging on it. The woman held the baby over the trough and it released more urine than possible for a creature its size. Giselle was impressed the baby was able to hold its bladder like that. The mother washed the child in a nearby large tub fed by a spigot up on the wall before returning.

  The giant male got up and took the baby setting it on the mattress beside Giselle. He grabbed the female's arm and pulled her several feet into the room where he bent her over. Giselle stared in shock as he turned to the side exposing a giant cock parting his fur. If she'd wondered before about him being male she was sure now. The creature gripped the female's hips and started thrusting. The female's high pitched pants mixed with the male's grunts as he pounded away. The female collapsed on all fours but he followed, his hips slamming, never missing a beat.