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Kai sighed as he walked into the gym that he had built in one of the many bedrooms that were in the house and stripped himself of his clothes. He bowed down to the mat and began his katas.

  ~ * ~

  The black hovercraft landed outside the four hundred story glass tower in the new Capitol of The New Nation. The glass tower held all of the government offices, including the President’s office. Shana stepped through the glass door and entered the tower.

  Three men surrounded her instantly, and held a long black wand out to her. One of the men in black patted her down while Shana held her arms out to the side. They were making sure that she had no weapons on her. The man in front of her nodded his head and the other two stepped away from her.

  “You can go up now,” the blonde haired man said, tilting his head to the side. Shana nodded back as she took a step toward the glass elevators. She stepped in as the men in black watched. Shana sighed as she punched the button that had the number four hundred written in red paint against the black, steel-metal background. Then she slid her card through the slot for clearance--the level she was going to was a very secured floor.

  She watched the three men as the elevator started to slide upward. They stood below, watching the elevator make the ascent to her destination.

  “What am I doing here in the first place?” Shana asked herself as she continued her rise to the President’s office on the top floor.

  The elevator stopped on the selected floor. Shana stepped onto a silk area rug that lined the half-mile corridor. She placed her hand over her stomach as it began to flutter with nerves. I wonder why he wants to see me? Shana thought to herself as she continued the long walk to President Jim Grogan’s office. The man was sleazy for a human being. He was also too much of a weasel for a President of the New Nation. Just thinking about the man made her skin crawl.

  The door opened automatically to the President’s office. Just like on the ground floor, Shana was searched for any hidden weapons on her person. Once that was complete she was given the nod to enter the actual office space that President Grogan occupied. The door was opened by a personal guard and Shana stepped through and waited to be announced.

  While she waited, Shana looked around the dark wood room that was furnished with brass light fixtures and oriental rugs that covered the floor, all done in shades of red and black. An old Earth painting from the Twentieth Century Era covered space on one wall. She turned to face the double, dark wood doors as they opened to admit her.

  “Agent Moon. Thank you for giving us your presence here.” The President spoke with a smile that made Shana’s skin crawl even more. She hoped that she returned his smile with one of her own. She watched him walk over behind his desk as she sat in the metal chair he had indicated with his hand. At least there was an inch thin cushion covering the seat. Shana thought as she took the offered seat and mentally grimaced when she realized that the cushion did not give very much padding against the hardness of the metal.

  “You must be wondering why I called you here this day,” he began, and she watched his eyes as he looked her over with a slow, sensual gaze. Her stomach tightened as she noticed the hungry look in his blue eyes. It took every effort of Shana’s control not to jump over the desk and hit him on the side of his head.

  “I have been wondering since I got the call on the com this morning.” Shana spoke in a smooth, controlled voice. At least she hoped that it was a smooth voice.

  President Grogan pulled an orange folder out of the desk drawer and slid it across the desk to Shana. She carefully opened it. A man’s picture was on top. He nearly took her breath away. His black hair seemed so thick and silky. His intense blue eyes stared at her.

  Her eyes traveled over his muscular body that appeared to be at least six feet tall, but she wasn’t quite sure--it was hard to tell exactly from looking at his picture.

  “This is your next target.” President Grogan spoke. Shana’s head snapped up at his softly spoken words. Her eyes were questioning when she flipped through the papers under the picture. There were three more pictures of the same man. Different poses, and in one picture he was shaking hands with a well-known criminal from Earth. She read his file and her eyes widened. This man, Kai Morgan, had dealt everything from illegal weapons to illegal drugs throughout the solstar system.

  “We need to bring this man to justice as soon as possible.”

  Shana nodded her head.

  “He can be found at theses coordinates.” President Grogan told her what she needed to know. Shana gasped, amazed, as she realized exactly where that coordinate was located.

  “That is in the unknown space,” Shana spoke rapidly. This time it was President Grogan who nodded his head. Shana looked again at the first picture of Kai Morgan.

  ~ * ~

  “Commandant Carlos Sanchez, what do you have for me?” Kai greeted a dark-haired, dark-skinned man.

  “There is not much to tell,” Carlos answered as he carefully sat in the stuffed chair across from Kai in the private study of Kai’s office at the Headquarters of The Guardian. The walls were painted white and pictures of various scenes of Paradise hung on them. Kai’s desk was made out of pure wood, smooth and varnished. Dark green carpet covered the floor from one wall to another.

  “What is there to tell?” Kai asked in a quiet, soft tone.

  “Earth is indeed where our ancestors are from,” Carlos answered in the same low tone.

  Kai stood up so fast that his chair banged against the wall a few feet from his desk.

  “Are you sure?” Kai demanded, as he stepped back from the oak desk and stared down at Carlos. His face paled as his breathing grew erratic.

  “Yes, I am sure of this.” Carlos began to sweat as Kai began to pace the six-foot square room. His finger was tucked underneath his chin and his eyes were downcast as he paced the room rapidly back and forth.

  “Do they know about us?” Kai stopped in the middle of the room and turned to look at Carlos.

  “No. I am sure that they don’t. I was very careful about not telling them about us. I even used the persona of a notorious criminal.” Carlos winced at the hard look that Kai gave him when he mentioned the persona that he had used. “I didn’t want them getting suspicious when I made the inquiries about what happened centuries ago. But I now know what happened to their past history.”

  Kai looked away from him for a moment. “Just get to the point,” Kai mumbled as he walked back to the desk and slouched in the chair.

  “Here’s the shortened version of what happened on Earth after the colonists left to discover new worlds to populate. A world war broke out, severing all communications to the colonies and Earth.

  “Earth was once again in the Ice ages for a century. Once the melt occurred, then they began to prosper once more. They lost the ability to communicate with us, and over the centuries they have forgotten about us. To them we are a myth.”

  “Thank you for telling me all of this, Carlos. You may leave now,” Kai told him and turned as he watched the commandant get up to leave. Kai nodded his head as Carlos quietly left the room. He swore once the door was closed behind Carlos. Kai walked back to his desk and sat down. He smoothed his forefinger under his chin as he stared at the closed door. With the same hand he pounded his fist on the desk.

  He wasn’t sure if he wanted to believe what the Commandant had just told him. He placed his hands on the desk and stared at the wall across from him.

  We’re a myth to them? Kai asked himself. He smiled as the words were turned over in his mind, as old hatred filled him. He could turn this myth to his advantage.

  “I knew all along our ancestors were from Earth. Damn.” Kai muttered under his breath as he stood up once more and began to pace the length of his office.

  I should just seize this anger and let it go. Kai told himself sternly as he stopped and gazed at the painting of his long ago ancestors who had discovered the planet they called Paradise. Kai shook his head and turned away from the man in the painting. He wa
s shaking internally.

  That is what I will do. Let the anger go for these people who have forgotten us. It was their fault that this happened. Kai sighed as he walked to the door and exited his office.

  I need some air. He told himself.

  “Lara, I’ll be out for the rest of the day,” he told his receptionist as he walked past her to the elevators at the end of the hall.

  Kai jumped into his hovercraft and turned on the vehicle. A soft breeze ruffled through his hair as it lifted from the ground. Being considered a myth was not the only thing on his mind. It was past time that he took a mate. Kai was already a year past the age of thirty, a year past the time for him to take his mate. But he couldn’t find the right woman. His youthful passions had died when he turned twenty-nine. Once he turned thirty, his desire would rise once more when he found the woman who was to become his mate.

  It was the best-kept secret from the women on Paradise and the rest of the universe.

  He swore once more at his failure to find his mate that he had searched for a good part of the year. All of the women that he had found on this world had failed to raise his desire. What if I never find her? Will I go through the rest of my life as a... He didn’t let the thought be completed.

  Kai’s expression was hard as he set the hovercraft on the soft sand next to the blue ocean. He walked next to the shoreline and watched the waves crash onto his bare feet. He walked backwards until he was at least a foot away from the water and sat down in the sand. He drew his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs.

  He sat there for hours gazing out to the ocean until the sun began to set on the horizon. His stomach began to growl as he stood up and wiped the sand from the back of his black leather pants. He began to walk to the hovercraft when he suddenly tilted his head to the side and mentally contacted his Bot at home to prepare dinner and notify him he would arrive home in about twenty minutes. Kai looked back over the ocean with one last gaze before he started the hovercraft and lifted from the ground.

  Twilight had turned to dark by the time Kai arrived at his empty house. His only companion was the Bot. The metal robot was not very much company for his lonely existence.

  “Do you think that I should bring home a date tomorrow night? I think it’s time that I search for my mate again,” he told the Bot as he sat at the table eating the casserole prepared for him.

  The only answer that Kai received was a series of beeps and flashing multicolored lights.

  “I did promised Prix that I would do a run through with him in the jungle. I can’t break that promise,” Kai said in a soft voice. “The run through will help ease some of his fear of becoming a father. Don’t you think?” More lights and beeps answered him.

  Kai had a small microchip implanted inside of his brain that enabled him to communicate with his Bot. It was standard procedure on Paradise when a child turned the age of ten.

  He pushed his plate back and stood then he wiped his mouth and tossed the napkin onto the plate. Kai noticed how quiet his house was. He turned and walked down the hall to the room that had been the family’s nursery. He gazed longingly at the crib that stood in the corner of the room, which had been unused for the past thirty years. He was the last one to use to the family’s heirloom.

  But not for long. That I do promise. Just until I find my mat, Kai thought before he turned and walked out of the room.

  It was late at night when Kai pushed the cover from his naked body. He was tired of sleeping alone. He was covered in sweat from having an erotic dream, but the dream failed to make his shaft rise. He swore as he stepped out onto the terrace and gazed at the stars.

  ~ * ~

  “I have to go,” Shana told her friend over the com-link. “The president has ordered me.”

  “But you promised to be here when the baby is born,” Mikla whined.

  “I know. But this can’t be helped. Sometimes I think he does this just to punish me for some unknown reason.” Shana paused in the middle of packing a bag for her new mission. “Maybe it’s time that I get out of the service,” Shana said softly as she turned and sat on the bed.

  “I should see about breeding. But I don’t think that I can raise a child on my own as some of the women do on Earth. I think that after this mission I’ll resign and seek a mate from the government,” Shana said in hopeful voice.

  “Shana, don’t. I know you. This is something you don’t want. Going to the government is the last resort. I know that you were holding out for a love match of your own. Don’t do this. Please,” Mikla begged.

  “Okay. I’ll think about it.” Shana spoke in a cheerful voice, even though that was not what she was feeling at the moment. She rose from her position on the bed and began packing once more. “I promise to think long and hard, then give you the answer when I get back.” If I get back, Shana didn’t say to Mikla as she terminated the call.

  Shana took one last look around her tiny apartment. She had very few possessions since she traveled so much of the time in her line of work.

  Tired. I am so tired of living like this, Shana thought as she hefted the bag to her shoulder and walked out of the apartment.

  Instead of taking the hovercraft to the spaceport, Shana had decided to walk across the city. People walked on past her or shoved past her when she didn’t move out of their way fast enough. Shana inhaled the aromas of the vendor’s delights as she passed by them. It was something that she was going to miss while she was away on the ship. Traveling through space was a very lonely life.

  Two

  The forest was dense and heavy with foliage and a heavy mist filled the cool air. Birds sounded their calls throughout the jungle, calling to one another in loud whistles, chirps and clicks. The people on the ground were shaded by the thick-leafed trees above them. Kai had slipped underneath one of the three-foot wide green leaves. He palmed the trigger of the black laser cannon in his hand, and sweat began to bead on his forehead. His hearing was attuned to his surroundings, waiting to hear the slightest sound from his opponent.

  He stood and waited under the tree that was dripping with moisture from the rain that washed over the forest earlier in the day. He stomped his black booted feet on the ground, silently. He continued to wait as he crouched down low. Kai placed his palm against the bark, his laser cannon upright in his hand with its butt resting on the wet earth.

  There--a sound that was not part of the forest. He squatted on his haunches. The laser cannon was cocked and ready, resting on his shoulder. His grip on the laser cannon tightened as he waited a moment longer. The crunching sound came closer. His heart had begun to beat a little faster as he waited for his opponent to appear. Sweat beaded on his upper lip. His eyes, shining from his black painted face, were alerted to every moving object in the forest. The green camouflage that he wore blended in with the heavy green foliage that surrounded him.

  Just a moment longer, Kai thought to himself. His opponent was only a foot away. Kai lay on his stomach, his hands spread out in front of him, the laser cannon in one hand. His eyes were on his opponent. When the opponent turned his back on Kai, he began his attack in one swift move.

  Kai jumped to his feet, silently, and fired the laser cannon. A loud beeping sound came from his opponent. Kai grinned at his friend and opponent as he turned toward him with a surprised look on his face.

  “You did it to me again, Kai. After all of these we have been through, you would think that I would know all of your tricks of winning by now,” Prix said and wiped the sweat from his face with his forearm. His fingers combed his blond hair back from his face. He was not surprised that Kai had beaten him at this game once again. They had been playing the game together since they were children.

  “One of these days you will have your turn.” Kai chuckled as he slapped his hand on Prix’s back. The two men turned and started to make their way up the slope of the forest. They slipped and caught their footing with every few steps they took.

  “Tell me, how is your wife
doing?” Kai asked as he stepped over a thick green vine. He heard the vine rise and fall back to the ground with quiet ease.

  Prix turned to glare at the vine that had moved. “She is doing better these days. Sira will be glad when our son arrives. The doctor said that it could be any day,” he said, giving Kai a wide smile that lit up his entire face. Kai could tell by the sound of Prix’s voice that he was very anxious about the birth of his first child.

  Kai nodded his head.

  “I would ask if you want a sparring match when we get back, but Sira asked me to come home early tonight.”

  Kai smiled and shook his head, “I have a date tonight, anyway. I need to shower--it’s an early date that may last until morning.” This time it was Prix who slapped Kai on the back as the hovercraft came into view. Both men were weary from the game they had just played and ready to go home.

  ~ * ~

  It was late in the evening. Heavy breathing could be heard in the bedroom of Sonya’s house. Kai’s body was cradled between Sonya’s legs, but he had no erection at this point in their lovemaking. He kissed her deeply and his hands caressed her breasts, making the tips pucker and ache for a release. His lips lifted from her reddened lips to the side of her neck. Her dark brown hair teased his check as he moved to nibble along her shoulder. He waited for his shaft to harden. It hadn’t happened yet.

  What is wrong with me? Kai asked himself. His breathing deepened and his caresses began to grow bolder and more intense. He knew the reason why he was not hardening, and he was beginning to grow frustrated that he could not fulfill this need that he had making him unable to find his release.

  Sonya’s hands traveled down his chest and cupped his shaft. She moved her hand slowly up and down his shortened length. He had still failed to harden. She was growing more agitated that he could not put out the fire that was growing into an inferno inside her. She couldn’t seem to understand why he wasn’t hard yet. She had used every seductive trick she knew to make him erect, all to no avail. She made a soft sound that told him that she was ready for her release.