Gracie's Touch Zion Warriors 1 (5 page)

“Walk with me.” Kordon said moving without checking to see if Mohan followed. He waited until they were in the lift before he nodded for her to explain her presence.

“Sir, you asked to be notified immediately if I heard any unusual signals or conversations.” Mohan began.

“I am assuming from your presence in engineering you found something.” Kordon responded.

“Yes sir. Over the past several hours there has been some routine communications between several long-range freighters. There was nothing unusual about their transmissions, signals, or any indication they were having difficulty from a foreign source.” Mohan stated as she watched the numbers flash as they went up.

She tried desperately to ignore the scent of the man standing next to her. It was becoming more difficult the higher they went. She fought the shiver of desire that rippled through her as she remembered the feel of his strong hands against her fur coated breasts. They had one brief, incredible night of passion on a spaceport in the Cumin system before she transferred onto his warship, the
Conqueror
. At the time, Mohan didn’t even know his name. They met in one of the local bars and before she knew it, they were in her bed. Kordon was the best lover Mohan ever had and she was devastated the next morning when she woke alone. Eight months later, she found herself commissioned to his ship. Kordon calmly explained he choose her because she was the best communication’s officer in the fleet. He also made sure she knew he did not fraternize with crew members. Mohan was forced to bury her embarrassment and her desire for him. Unfortunately, she still seemed to have problems with her fur changing colors around him. He knew it meant she desired him and was trying to entice him. Fortunately, other crew members just thought it was natural for all Ta’nee as it seemed everyone of them did it.

“What is unusual then that would force you to interrupt me?” Kordon asked impatiently. He had things to do. He still needed to review the reports from Toolas.

“There was another message being broadcast in the background using the same signal signature as the species that attacked the colony.” Mohan said hesitantly.

Kordon’s eyes swung around at that, narrowing. “Could you decipher it?”

Mohan nodded reluctantly. “Yes sir, but it was strange. It was a call for help. I’ve translated it and sent both the translated version and the original version to your office.”

The doors to the lift opened and Mohan gave a sigh of relief. She waited as Kordon strode out of the lift heading from the admiral’s office off the bridge. Kordon ignored the men standing at attention as he made his way to his office. Perhaps they finally had a lead.

Kordon sat down in his chair and swung around to his console. Pushing in a series of passwords, he accessed the files Mohan sent him. Within seconds, he heard the soft, lilted voice in the message. A shiver went down his spine as her voice seemed to touch something deep inside him. He ordered the program to restart and increase volume. Seating back, he closed his eyes trying to imagine the face behind the voice.

“This is Gracie’s Touch reaching out to anyone who can hear this. I am currently stranded on an unknown planet or moon. If you can understand this, please respond. I repeat…this is Gracie reaching out to touch any friendly ship who could offer assistance. If you receive this message and can respond I need assistance.” The voice was soft, hesitant at first but gained in strength as the female repeated her request for help. Kordon frowned as he listened to the slight tremble in it, as if she was afraid. The voice sounded young and the cadence was strange. He didn’t understand what she was saying though some of the sounds sounded familiar. It was her last words that held him transfixed to his seat.

“This is Gracie’s Touch saying goodnight.” The soft voice said before it faded away.

She sounded sad and something else. Kordon gritted his teeth. He didn’t like that sound in her voice. A voice like that should never be sad or…heartbroken. That was it. She sounded like her heart was broken. Kordon swung around and stood up. Walking over to the windows overlooking the darkness that surrounded them, he stood stiff with his legs slightly parted. His mind played the message over and over. The sound of the female’s voice seemed to call to him, beg him to find her, protect her…love her. Kordon started as that thought passed through him. Love? He had heard of it. He supposed he had even seen it before in others. That emotion was as foreign to him as feeling fear. As a Zion w
arrior and commanding officer in charge of the C
onfederation of Planets military, he did not allow emotions to be a part of his life
.
Zion warriors were bred to be fierce in battle, in control at all times, and nearly indestructible with an ability to heal rapidly and withstand great amounts of pain. That was why they were the officers of the Confederation of Planets. While many of his crew came from other galaxies, his fighting force all came from the Zion galaxy. Those were the only members of his crew he trusted explicitly.

“Have Lt. Mohan report to my office immediately.” Kordon said to the computer without turning around.

Within moments Mohan was back in front of the only man who could truly scare her. “Yes sir?”

“Explain the language the female is speaking. It is somewhat familiar. What history do you have on it?” Kordon asked turning to face Mohan.

Mohan cleared her throat flushing as it came out as a purr. “The female is speaking an ancient dialect from a planet called Earth. It is on the outer regions of the Confederation and is rather isolated. It did not come into the Confederation’s attention until one of their spaceships ventured into the path of one of the long distance freighters back in 2198, Earth year calendar. The language is taught only to those in charge of studying Earth history or those who want to listen to the old recordings from the Great Battle against an unknown species called the Alluthans.” Mohan paused. She was hesitant to tell Kordon what her search came up with using her private archives.

Kordon kept his expression blank but he could tell Mohan was holding something back. “Continue.”

Mohan flushed again. “The name the female kept repeating sounded familiar, as well as, the words she kept saying. I knew I had heard them before but was unsure of where. I…have my personal archives with me. My father was very passionate about his home world and its history. I went through the copies and cross-reference the name and keywords. But…” Mohan looked at Kordon confused for a moment. “…it doesn’t make any sense. There must be some mistake but even the computer is giving me an incorrect reading.”

Kordon fought to keep from reaching out and shaking Mohan. Why couldn’t she just give him the facts he asked for without him having to drag it out of her? Breathing deeply through his nose, he waited as she worked out what she was hesitant to tell him.

“Earth history tells of the rebel forces that fought against the Alluthans. One group, called the Freedom Five, was made up of four males and one female. The female was called Gracie
Jones
. For several hours each day over the course of five years, Gracie would broadcast to the millions of humans fighting. She called it Gracie’s Touch. She always ended her broadcast the same…except for her very last one which was received several days after the Alluthans were destroyed.” Mohan said ringing her furred hands together nervously.

“Why do you think the computer is giving you incorrect readings?” Kordon said as his gut tightened.

Mohan looked unsure for a moment as she responded. “I did a cross-match of voice, rhythm, pronunciation, everything. It all came back with the same results.” Mohan said in puzzlement.

“What were the results?” Kordon bit out impatiently.

Mohan’s head jerked up at the change in tone. She couldn’t remember Kordon ever speaking in anything but a cold, calm voice. Even when he made love to her, he spoke the same as he did if he was giving a speech or talking during one of their meetings.

“They came back as being Gracie Jones, the female member of the Freedom Five.” Mohan responded.

Kordon felt the muscle in his jaw tighten as he forced his next question out. “What happened to the female?”

Mohan smiled sadly. “She was killed but not before she saved millions of lives on Earth and brought the end to the Alluthan invasion. She is credited with bringing down their shields. It is thought she was killed when the mother ship exploded.”

Kordon nodded tensely. “Send me a copy of the files you have on her including any images.” Mohan nodded and turned. Kordon stopped her before she left to ask her one more question that was bothering him. “Mohan?”

“Yes sir?” Mohan asked turning at the opened door.

“You said her last transmission was different. What was different about it?” Kordon asked.

Mohan’s eyes grew sad as she spoke the words that she memorized as a young cub. “She said, "This is Gracie saying goodnight and goodbye, my love." Mohan waited a moment to see if there were any more questions but Kordon had already turned his back on her. She turned and left wondering if he even realized she was gone.

Kordon stood gazing out the window again letting Gracie’s finally words echo through his mind. He would know her voice anywhere if he heard it. Her haunting last words shook him. He did not want to think of the female with the voice he heard being dead. Kordon frowned as the waves of foreign emotion washed through him. He hoped the image of this long dead female would lay them to rest. Kordon unclenched his fists as his computer sounded letting him know he had new information available.

Kordon moved almost with a sense of dread towards his console. He touched the screen and immediately the file opened to reveal a young female with eyes the color of rarest gems and a smile that knocked the breath out of him. Kordon gripped the armrest on his chair and sank down slowly. His eyes absorbed every minute detail of the female. His fists clenched in rage that something so beautiful, so delicate should be destroyed. Reaching out to touch the soft curve of her cheek, Kordon was amazed to find his hand was actually trembling as he gently stroked it.

Gracie was tired. She didn’t sleep much the night before. She was worried about whether she should have sent out the message. She spent the
daylight hours working
hard
,
hoping it would allow her to fall into an exhausted sleep. She hunted for fruit several miles away, gathered enough firewood for a couple of weeks, and cleaned the supply ship until she was sure it was shiny enough to be seen from outer space. Throughout it all, she forced herself to stay away from the control console. By late afternoon, a storm developed forcing Gracie back inside. She kept glancing at the communication’s console before finally giving up and switching it on. She let it rotate through the pre-set sequence feeling dejected when she didn’t hear anything. Maybe last night was a fluke. Maybe no one was really out there and it was all just her wishful thinking. Gracie fought a dozen battles with herself before deciding she needed to try to send a signal again. If no one heard it or responded, then she was in no worse shape than she already was.

Gracie leaned forward and began transmitting. “This is Gracie’s Touch reaching out to anyone who can hear me. I am stranded on an unknown planet or moon. If you receive this message and can understand me please respond.” Gracie repeated it several times before she let her forehead rest on the console. With a tired sigh, she pushed up to end the transmission. “This is Gracie saying goodnight to all.”

“This is the
Conqueror
. I have received your message. Waiting for a response.” A soft, accented voice responded just as Gracie was about to switch off the console. “I repeat. This is the
Conqueror
. I have received your message. Waiting for a response.”

Gracie giggled as the first words she heard in three years came over the communication’s console. Her hands shook so bad she had to shake them before pressing the transmission button. “This is Gracie. Who am I speaking to?”

Mohan turned and quickly told one of the men working next to her to get Kordon. “This is Lt. Mohan Ta’nee from the warship
Conqueror
. Please identify yourself.”