Colonial Commander Read Free

torn clothes and bruises. Was she sexually assaulted?”
    Medic LawsON growled in anger. “I wish I could have killed her attackers myself. They have no honor, attacking a young female, still a child in our people’s eyes.”
    Ava was taken aback by the strength of the man’s aggression. The medics were normally so calm, even in emergencies. “I thought medics were peaceful.”
    He snorted. “I may be a medic, but I am also fully trained as a warrior. All our males have to be trained in case we are needed in battle. After the Morins almost annihilated our people, every male was expected to step up and protect those who are weaker. Until now we’ve never had to face such a threat, but re-emergence of the Morins has all three nations on alert.”
    “I don’t know anything about the Morins apart from what I’ve seen on this trip. They are cruel. I wish I could get my hands on those men who hurt Lizetta, too. I’d beat the crap out of them.”
    The medic laughed, breaking some of the tension. “I cannot imagine someone as small and delicate as you hurting anyone.”
    “You’d be surprised. I’m vicious when it comes to someone I care about.” She’d had to learn to defend herself a while back. She wasn’t a warrior or anything like that, but she knew basic self-defense, and how to get away from an attacker. “Let me know when they both wake, if I’m not back before then. I’d like to speak with Lizetta about what happened.”
    “Are you one of the Earth mind doctors?”
    Mind doctors? Oh, he must mean psychiatrists. She shook her head. “No, but I have some experience with this type of thing. I’ve volunteered in similar situations to this.” Most of her experience was with natural disasters, and there was nothing natural about what had happened to Lizetta, but she was sure the other woman would need a friend.
    “Very well, I will let you know if either of them wake earlier than expected. We will have staff here at all times to care for them. We have to get all of the survivors ready to transfer to the Katieran transport as soon as possible.”
    She paused on her way to the door. “You’re going to move them? Why?”
    “Commander AshOR wants the survivors to travel on the Katieran transport when it goes through the wormhole. It will allow our crew to continue on our original mission of hunting down the Morins.”
    Damn it! These people don’t need to be passed around from ship to ship. Hell, they’ve probably never even seen a spaceship before. What they need is to be stabilized and to feel secure and safe. “Let me know when they wake. I’m going to get some rest.”
    She left the medic wing, pissed off. How could AshOR turn these helpless people in need away? She was going to give the Colonial commander a piece of her mind when she saw him next.
    *****
    AshOR sighed as he let the water run down his body. He closed his eyes, wanting to wash away the images of death and destruction from his mind and soul. Goddess, how can a species like the Morins commit such atrocities? Do they have no souls at all?
    He turned the water off and stepped out, drying himself with a towel. He needed to find something, anything, to take his mind off the horrors he’d witnessed. But first he needed to speak to his brother. He dressed quickly and headed to operations.
    Walking in, he told his second-in-command, “Get me a secure line with Commander TylOR in my ready room.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    It took a few minutes to get the communications set up, and while he waited he picked up his digital tablet and went over the detailed report of what his warriors had found. One Morin had been discovered on the planet, but he was nearly dead and uncooperative when questioned. He died before making it to the transport. After reading the reports AshOR felt like he had even more questions than before.
    “Good to see you, Commander AshOR.”
    “You too, Commander TylOR. How is your side of the wormhole?”
    “Quiet—a little too