The warrior prince: Sci-fi alien romance (Palaxian protectors of Earth Book 1) Read online

  The Warrior Prince

  Palaxian Protectors Of Earth

  Book One

  By

  Snow Morningstar

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One: Ragnar

  Chapter Two: Brittany

  Chapter Three: Ragnar

  Chapter Four: Brittany

  Chapter Five: Ragnar

  Chapter Six: Brittany

  Chapter Seven: Ragnar

  Chapter Eight: Brittany

  Chapter Nine: Ragnar

  Chapter Ten: Brittany

  Chapter Eleven: Ragnar

  Chapter Twelve: Brittany

  Chapter Thirteen: Ragnar

  Chapter Fourteen: Brittany

  Chapter Fifteen: Ragnar

  Chapter Sixteen: Brittany

  Chapter Seventeen: Ragnar

  Chapter Eighteen: Brittany

  Chapter Nineteen: Ragnar

  Chapter Twenty: Brittany

  Chapter Twenty One: Ragnar

  Chapter Twenty-Two: Ragnar

  Chapter Twenty-Three: Brittany

  Chapter Twenty-Four: Ragnar's Battle

  Chapter Twenty Five: Brittany

  Chapter Twenty Six: Ragnar

  Chapter Twenty: Seven Brittany’s Showdown

  Epilogue- Brittany

  Epilogue Ragnar

  The Gladiator - Preview

  Chapter One: Brok

  Chapter Two: June

  Chapter Three: Brok

  Chapter One

  Ragnar

  Knock, knock, knock.

  I t was 0300 hours when I woke up from a deep sleep. I was up late, drinking my favorite occasional drink, Palaxian whiskey. I don't want to be bothered right now.

  I hear knocking at my door. A voice was talking loudly from the other side of my bedroom door aboard the spacecraft I command.

  "Sir, your comm device has been beeping like crazy and the main bridge communications as well. You left your comm on the bridge again."

  Cadet Zark was on duty attending the bridge that night. My mind swirls in a haze.

  "Cadet Zark, go back to bed. I'll call whoever it is back tomorrow."

  "Sir, it's important." Cadet Zark replied.

  "If Jacx calls about the part for his ship again, Brok isn't finished modifying it yet. And if you wake me up again, tomorrow you can scrub my toilet with your toothbrush," I barked back, putting a pillow over my head to silence his voice. Zark is a young Palaxian cadet. He's here to finish his pilot training. He’s the same species as me. Sometimes, I think he's over-enthusiastic. He's taken on the responsibilities of my first in command, which is on medical leave.

  "Sir, it's the intergalactic council. They said it's urgent." Zark pleaded.

  "Glurk. I'll be right there," I let out a Palaxian curse.

  The sound of my boots clanged against the gunmetal steel of the ship's floor. The sound echoed off the sleek metal walls and down the quiet hallway as I headed to the bridge of my craft. It's one of many Earths surveillance ships that are posted around the atmosphere to keep intruders out. The only other sounds were the comforting sounds of the ship's various equipment—the soft rumbling of the engine. The low beeps were coming from the lab. There was an urgent call from the intergalactic council that couldn't wait. That's not good. What could be so important at this hour? I left my communication device known as a ‘comm’ on the bridge. I cursed to myself silently for forgetting the device again as I made my way there.

  I wear a t-shirt and sweatpants. A far cry from my grey, clean, pressed uniform that I usually wear. When I command my men, I want to look professional and severe. I know Jacx always looks more relaxed in his appearance when he commands his surveillance ship.

  I approached the bridge and ran my fingers through my hair, trying to flatten my hair around my horns, attempting to look presentable before accepting the video call on the deck.

  I sat down in my chair and pressed a button on the control panel. A holographic screen materialized in front of me.

  "Ragnar, we've been calling you for 20 certation’s! We had to send your cadet to wake you up!"

  I looked at three species of aliens staring back at me. They are a few members of the intergalactic council. The top of the council's elder is named Ronoke. I don't see him present.

  "I apologize for my unkempt appearance at this hour. I didn't have time to change. My cadet informed me it was urgent. "

  "Earth is under attack." Z'nar, a purple alien, replied. He's short and wide with white hair and bumpy skin.

  "How could this happen?" I suddenly stood up and clenched my fists.

  Another council member named Lokey, who was green with horns and a long white beard, replied.

  "It's not a large-scale attack. You know Znar can be dramatic. One or two ships have snuck past the sky border and landed a ship there. You are the closest to the location. It seems less likely to be a violent attack, and more likely they are sneaking in quietly to steal something. And hoping to go unnoticed." Bak, the green alien, is tall and slender.

  "Although we can speculate, they are armed and dangerous. We can't rule out an attack." Z'nar, the council member, replied. "Do you know who landed a ship?" I asked.

  "Zackles. That lot of reptilian species aren't exactly known for kindness." Bak, the green councilman, retorted.

  "Bloodsucking thieves is the term you are looking for. They'll steal to sell anything for a few credits. Someone likely sent them." I retorted. The Zackels weren't known for their intelligence. They commonly do dirty work for others. I thought to myself.

  "They don't have a reputation for anything good. They know Earth is a protected zone. Entering Earth's airspace and especially landing there breaks several intergalactic laws. Illegal planetary entry is a serious crime. What could they possibly want on Earth that they can't get somewhere else? It's a risky move just to steal something. Unless it's valuable." I questioned no one in particular.

  "That's what you'll go and find out. You need to go now. There is one human on the premises. The building holds some human technology. All of which you know is extremely primitive. From what we can tell, they have landed but haven't exited their ship yet." Bak said.

  "As we all know, human objects and artifacts can sell for exuberantly high prices at auction. It's become quite a problem. Peddling thieves sneaking onto Earth and stealing." Z'nar pointed out.

  "This is a troublesome trend that is becoming more frequent and needs to be remedied," Bak said. "Here is the human that's in the building," Z'nar told me, as a picture of the human suddenly popped up on the giant holographic screen, switching from the elders.

  "Now, here is a picture of the building she's in." It showed a white domed building.

  "The location is called 'Hawaii.' We will send you the exact coordinates," Lokey, the third councilman, explained.

  The picture of the human I was staring at on the large screen stirred something in me I had never felt before. An urge to protect. A desire to comfort her. I suddenly imagined myself running my fingers through her dark hair and whispering in her ear that everything would be ok. I suddenly tried to shake off the odd fantasy. By doing so, my blood boiled that this tiny human female was alone, with no way to protect herself from the Zackles. A surge of fear followed me. It was like a punch in the gut that took my breath away. If the Zackles find her, they'll kidnap her and sell her at a slave auction. Or worse, an illegal pleasure planet. There are legal pleasure planets in the galaxy. The high-class brothels don't hold their female’s captive.

  A species that's never before set foot onto another planet would catch a high price. The illegal brothels would do anything to get their filthy paws or tentacles on her.

  After a fluctuation of emotions, I felt sick. Nauseous if I were honest with myself. I would be damned if those disgusting slimy reptiles would ever lay a googly eye, let alone a claw or tentacle, touch her. My screen flashed back to the three elders. Z’nar, Bak, and Lokey.

  "Put her picture back on the screen!" My voice echoed like a boom on the bridge. I had to see her again to remember what she looked like. She had brown shoulder-length hair. Small succulent lips that seemed to seduce me innocently. Hazel eyes with eyebrows that seemed to sit on her face in a perfect spot. Delicate, but high cheekbones. She had brown skin, so unlike mine, which is blue. Her brown skin looked like smooth silk. Her brown skin was beautiful, a significant contrast from my dark blue skin.

  I would love to rub my fingertips across her face, along with the tip of something else. I can see humans also don't have horns like Palaxians, such as myself. I wondered what it would be like to rub my hands through her hair without our females' small horns protruding from her scalp. I looked at her smile, no fangs either. Humans were so different from Palaxians females. The picture of the female was only a headshot. This human was beautiful. She looks like a delicate creature. My mind drifted in fantasy for a moment, wondering what below the shoulders looked like. My mind lost in thought wandered back to her slim yet succulent lips and them wrapped around my-

  "Commander Ragnar? Are you alright? If you're not up to the task, we'll send Jacx, commander of the next closest ship."

  "I know which ship he commands. No! " I growled. In anger, I slammed my fists down on the metal armrests of the chair. My growl and slamming fists boomed across the de
ck. The elders staring at me from the screen all jumped. I didn't mean to startle them.

  The screen switched back to the picture of the building.

  "Again, here is where she is located. You leave now. We don't know how they managed to slip past this many surveillance ships around Earth. They slipped right past you and Jacx. That's a conversation for another time." Lokey stated.

  "What's her name?" I had to know.

  "Brittany Kekoa."

  Chapter two

  Brittany

  L ook at this picture, June," I told my best friend. I've been watching these UFOs for a while. I watch them from the telescope I modified at the Mauna Kea observatory in Hawaii. Everyone who used to work here basically left to work on space shuttle programs years ago. That industry is booming. I can still get government funding—all of which I spent modifying the telescope. Let's say it can see far. Far, as a matter of fact. "Are you going on about this UFO stuff again?" June asks. "I’ve seen this ship before. And this one too.” I try to convince her. She thinks I’m crazy, spending too much time alone in the observatory. I’m the last person at the observatory. Everyone has left, even the janitor, to pursue better and bigger jobs. They mostly went to work on Nasa and other private space programs. Who needs a small observatory when you can send people and rockets into space? I suppose a telescope hardly compares to massive missiles and space shuttles and space stations. Why look at area when you can send big impressive rockets there? I guess watching and observing has gone out of style. It’s mostly considered obsolete. Or maybe it’s those guys with a small penis complex. Trying to make up for what they don’t have, I joke to myself. A lot of those rockets look like phallic symbols to me.

  As I’ve worked alone for the past few years, I was able to improve the viewing ability of the telescope. Correction, my telescope. That bitch can see almost as far as the Hubble. And I’ve mostly kept my findings and improvements to myself, except for my best friend June. I don’t think publishing the technology I’ve improved on to see so far and what I’ve seen would make me look like a credible scientist. I’d be labelled a crackpot for my UFO photographs and videos and or accused of photoshopping images just to sell them for a few bucks. So, I just publish what I call ‘average Joe’ work to avoid losing my funding.

  “I don’t think those are spaceships or UFOs,” June says, eyeing the pictures I’m showing her on my cell phone. “It’s probably space junk. You know, stuff that falls off of satellites and space shuttles. You know they are constantly blasting stuff into space. It’s probably lost GPS satellites that broke apart or something,” June says. I laugh out loud.

  “Ok. You’re cute, but no,” I say, trying to reason with her.

  “Then how do these two ship-looking objects meet in the same location? And more than once? I’m all for the space junk theory except, it would randomly float through space. These things don’t. They leave and come back. And sometimes to the same spot, like a meeting spot.”

  What I’m showing in June is only the tip of the iceberg. I’ve got hundreds if not more pictures and videos of UFOs. It’s not space anomalies. Or whatever it is that people call it these days. For June, it’s called ‘space junk.’

  “It might be space junk,” she says. “It is hardly space junk.” I retorted. “It’s more like the greatest scientific discovery ever made!”

  “It’s cool, whatever it is. So, what are you going to do with all this anyway? I know you’ve kept it a secret. Uncle Sam won’t be happy if they find out that’s what their tax dollars have been spent on. UFO watching,” June says with a chuckle. When she puts it that way, it does sound funny; I laugh too. We’ve had this conversation before. It’s best to keep the government out of it. They would confiscate my telescope and data. They would hire someone to photoshop all UFOs out of the images and then publish them, just like NASA. Since these findings aren’t fit for the scientific community, maybe I could sell some to the Tabloids? I’ll do it anonymously. I think I deserve a few extra bucks.

  Well, I’ve called the tabloids several times. I’ll try it one more time.

  Ring, ring, ring. I have my phone pressed against my ear in anticipation. I’m very anxious.

  “Thank you for calling the Tabloids. This is Brandon speaking; how can I help you today.”

  “Hi, my name is Brittany Kekoa. I had called about selling some great UFO pictures. I sent a sample, and no one called me back.”

  “Oh, Miss Kekoa. It was on my plan to call back, and I apologize for the delay. Upper management decided it was best not to go ahead with this content.”

  “What? Why?” I ask, shocked. I thought they were kings at stuff like this.

  “Well, while many people believe the Tabloids are a fake news network, we work hard to publish true things like celebrity divorces, for example. We’ll feature the less popular spouse’s story. So, they get a chance to explain what happened. Or when a celebrity gets wrongfully accused of a crime. And no one will listen to their side of the story. See where I’m going with this? Hoaxes we just don’t do.”

  “This is hardly a hoax! It’s real. I took the pictures myself. You can see a shadowy figure in a spacecraft through the window. You can see the shape of the windshield!” I’m distraught now. I’ll defend my work, even to this jerk magazine.

  “Either you are good at photoshop or a great photographer. Maybe try to contact the bigfoot hunters? Good luck to you.” CLICK.

  That bastard compared my work to bigfoot and hung up on me. See, this is why I was reluctant to do something like this. People have been exposed to so much fake news. They can’t see the truth when it’s in front of them.

  It’s not dark yet. I’m here at the observatory. I make way for the breakroom and grab a water bottle from the fridge. I’m way to upset to eat. I have a small camping cot to take naps on in the breakroom. I’ve been staying here a lot. I’ll usually nap for a couple of hours before an all-nighter on the telescope. As I lay here angry, I calm down a little. I’m so close to getting more explicit images on my telescope. I need more funding. I can’t get it without a good reason. They want to know exactly how it’s spent. I’ve done pretty good fudging paperwork so far. Just one more part I need. Then I’ll be able to see the faces behind the windshields of these spaceships. Right now, there’s too much glare. I need an anti-glare photo lens. A big fucking photo lens, at that. I need it made in a specific way which means custom. Custom parts are expensive.

  BANG. What was that?

  I awake from a deep sleep.

  It’s dark.

  I must have drifted off into a deep sleep and was more tired than I thought. It sounds like someone kicked the door down. I’m getting robbed. This can’t be good. I have a desk in here also. Lucky for me, the front of the desk faces the door behind the desk where I will hide faces the wall.

  When I sit at my desk, I usually leave the door open because I can see my telescope from here through the doorway. I jump off the cot and under the desk. I’m suddenly kicking myself for not getting something in here to defend myself. Seeing as I’m alone here, soon, word would get out. I’ve meant to get pepper spray or a taser. And now, here are lowlife thugs trying to find something to sell to pawn shops. I’ve got news for these idiots. The few things small enough for them to carry out of here to sell, they wouldn’t even know what it is or how to use it. The only thing in here they could steal is my laptop. And I’m under the desk. I curse myself for not finding a better hiding spot. The only other place to hide in here is the bathroom. Thieves always look for desks because that’s where the expensive stuff is. I tuck my necklace into my shirt. It might just look like a butterfly. It’s a jump drive. Every day I backup all my photos on it. Encase something like this happens. I just never thought I would be here when it did. I hear footsteps. I hear some weird voices.

  Like clicks and static, it is even screeching. It’s incredibly eerie. It sounds like something out of a movie. I pinch myself to see if I’m dreaming. Nope. The door to the break room opens. My curiosity gets the best of me as I hear stomping around the room. When I hear the fridge open, I peek around the corner.

  OK. Did I accidentally consume a hallucinogenic? I must be tripping. I ate pizza with mushrooms for lunch. Somebody put the wrong mushrooms on my pizza.