Phates mate, p.1
Phate's Mate, page 1
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Also By A.M. Griffin
Phate's Mate (Intergalactic Dating Agency: The Thelli Logs, #1)
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
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Also By A.M. Griffin
Phate’s Mate
A.M. Griffin
Copyright © 2023 A.M. Griffin
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This is a work of fiction and is not a reflection or representation of any person living or dead.
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Dedication
This book is dedicated to my sisters; Margie, Arthella, LaTasha and Tarnisha. Through our many ups and downs, we’re still bound to each other in this life. I love you all.
Phate’s Mate
The Thelli Logs
The three-person crew of the Halo One had one more assignment to complete before taking their much-needed vacation. Go on a surveillance mission to a small planet in a distant part of the galaxy, observe and report back. All was going according to plan until a solar flare sent their spaceship crashing to the surface. Now, Phate, Kien and Solgre have a new mission until rescue arrives.
Find out if Earth females are advanced enough to join the Intergalactic Dating Agency.
The Peacekeeper. When his shy neighbor knocked on his apartment door, Phate’s mission to stay off the humans’ radar until the rescue team arrived changed in a blink of an eye. He not only wants to tell this delectable human about alien existence, but he also wants to take her back to Thelli with him.
Getting to know her was proving difficult when his new mission involves joining a dating app in an effort to see if humans are compatible enough to join the Intergalactic Dating Agency.
The Workaholic. Tasha worked hard building her small business on Main Street and didn’t have time for distractions. With a fire-cracker best friend and three new mysterious neighbors, Tasha was finding herself thinking of something other than her boutique for a change. But fate? Fate has a way of intervening, and she finds out the hard way that she can’t run or hide from her feelings, especially when distraction as fine as Phate lives right next door.
These novellas are meant to be read in chronological order.
Book 1: Phate’s Mate
Book 2: Kien’s Kindred
Book 3: Solgre’s Soulmate
Prologue
“So that’s it, huh?”
Phate, Halo One’s, pilot, navigator and resident scientist, didn’t turn when Kien came up behind him and spoke. Kien, the systems engineer and his good friend, stood to his left and stared at the little blue planet visible from the port window.
Phate drew a deep breath of the regenerated air cycling through the vents. The lifeless air, although filled with high-grade oxygen and vitamins, was the only air he was used to now. He suspected his two crewmates felt the same since they’d been calling their Class Two spaceship home for the past ten years now.
“That’s it,” Phate offered in response as they stared at the new planet they’d traveled light years to observe.
Phate, like Kien and their Captain, Solgre, had seen the holo-pics of Earth and read the file provided when they’d accepted the assignment. No, not accepted. Accepted implied they’d had a choice. They hadn’t. The order to change course and forgo their much-needed vacation had been just that. An order.
A low, rumbling snort came from Kien’s throat. He stepped closer to the window that was almost as tall and wide as him and glanced from left to right. “Doesn’t look like much. No planetary docking station. No defense system. No crafts coming and going.”
“From the file provided, we know this species is technologically behind us and other advanced worlds.” With his friend’s body now blocking most of his view, Phate stepped to the side to continue staring at the planet. He squinted through the cloud coverage of pollution, hoping to see a hint of the defense system he’d read about. “They do have planetary defense systems. They’re using nuclear power.”
There were large structures on the planet’s surface, but Phate couldn’t make out anything remotely familiar. Not knowing exactly what to look for, he gave up his visual search.
Kien let out another snort as he shifted to widen his stance and fold his massive arms across an equally massive chest. Kien’s muscles and girth weren’t the product of genetic engineering favored among the younger males who thought a large appearance was a better indicator of prowess than a naturally honed body.
Kien had the traditional appearance of a Thellian that he’d gotten from his mother. But his sharp features and bulk came from his Phessi father. While not as big as the full-blooded Phessi, he exceeded other races in comparison.
“Their nuclear weapons would destroy every single living being on their planet—including their planet itself,” Kien grumbled.
“No one said these humans were very smart.” Phate tsked under his breath in agreement and inclined his head toward the nothingness to the right of the planet. “Hence why we were able to hyper-jump into their vicinity without so much as an acknowledgement from them. They probably don’t know they’re being watched.”
No scans came from the planet’s surface or the outdated space station orbiting Earth. They’d entered Earth’s space under stealth mode, uncertain of what to expect, but so far, the reaction or lack of was...anticlimactic. Halo One’s defense system was quiet.
Phate had thought there’d be some kind of monitoring system in place but there wasn’t any indication the humans monitored their planetary space for outsiders.
It was a miracle Earth and its inhabitants hadn’t been invaded yet. It was obvious Earth was rich with minerals and precious gems other species would literally kill for. The scans also picked up an abundance of native wildlife, water, sand, coal and trees.
“We’re not here to determine how smart these humans are,” Solgre said. As he strolled through the doorway and onto the bridge to join Phate and Kien, his boots thumped against the metal floor.
Phate and Kien snapped to attention, giving their Captain the respect due. Solgre had the confidence of someone who’d served his life on a spaceship, and it showed by way of the air of confidence that enveloped him.
Solgre, like most native Thellians, had blond hair and lavende r colored eyes. He was the same height as Phate and had a similar build; wide shoulders, toned waist and legs. Although the spaceship’s gravity mimicked their home planet, it was imperative they spend two hours each day lifting heavy weights, otherwise their muscle tone would be affected.
Solgre didn’t bother making his way to the port window. He went straight to the high-backed chair centrally located on the deck and pulled up the hologram of Earth along with the specs of the blue planet. “We’re here on a surveillance mission.”
“I know, I know,” Kien said, breaking away to take his seat at the engineer’s station. “Observe and report back.”
Phate turned away from the window as well and crossed the small bridge to take the navigator chair. He pulled up the map of the sector which showed the current star system and the other planets in the area—all uninhabitable. As missions went, this was an easy one.
A few months ago, the Thellian government had intercepted a capsule containing rudimentary communication about this new species. The humans had gone as far as to provide their DNA samples and their coordinates. A very naive and extremely dangerous move for a planet without any formidable allies or Federation protection.
Luckily for the humans, that capsule had reached Thelli, Phate’s home planet. Preying on the weak and stupid wasn’t what Thellians did. As a planet of explorers and scientists, their interest had been piqued by the rudimentary message.
It wasn’t every day a new species and inhabitable planet was discovered. In fact, the last planet to join the Federation had happened well before his birth. Actually, well, before his great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather had been born.
“We must stay focused on why we’re here,” Solgre stated, his fingers flying through the air, accessing the files and scrolling through the data Halo One had accumulated thus far.
“Their air is extremely polluted but breathable,” Kien said, eyeing the specs in front of him. “But not for long. Their ozone layer is gone to the Ancients.”
“Not our problem,” Solgre muttered in a dismissive tone. His gaze remained on the information as he read. “Phate, download their radio frequencies so we can transmit the updated data to Thelli. The sooner we give the lead scientists the information they requested, the sooner we can leave this solar system and head to Pesna-9.”
Kien whooped, his features flushed with excitement. “I have two Vulron’s waiting for me already.”
“Why? So, you can disappoint them both?” Phate smirked as he initiated a search on available radio frequencies. The amount coming from multiple places on the planet’s surface stunned him. He created a file and linked them for upload and transmission.
“Yes, but that’s no business of yours,” Kien countered.
Pesna-9 was where they were headed when they’d received the call from home base to alter their course. Instead of heading to a pleasure vessel, they’d had to make a slight detour. That “slight” detour being four deep space hyper-jumps away.
Besides, who else in their lifetime could say they’d not only witnessed this momentous event firsthand, but been a part of it?
“Do you think the humans will be civilized enough to make contact with?” Phate asked.
There was a noncommittal noise from Solgre. “Who’s to say? Maybe if an exchange agreement is formed between our two worlds.”
“Although it appears they haven’t mastered interstellar space travel yet, if the resources discovered on our initial scans prove viable, it would make them a valued partner to several worlds,” Kien added.
As he waited for the download to complete, Phate brought up the specs of the current population. It was one part amazing, and one part comical to think all these humans lived on one planet. He imagined they had to compete for everything from space to food to basic living needs.
This planet didn’t look big enough to hold that many people. Why hadn’t they at least colonized the little moon orbiting them? Thellians had colonized all three of their moons.
As he read the information regarding the population a sudden thought crossed his mind. IDA.”
“What did you say?” Solgre asked.
“The Intergalactic Dating Agency,” Phate said louder. “The humans’ natural resources are plentiful, but they can’t stay on this planet without depleting them completely in a few short lifetimes. They’ll need to colonize either their moon or find another habitable planet. According to the computer, there are almost four billion females currently on the planet. We haven’t had a species join the IDA with that many available females in many years.”
Solgre and Kien let out low whistles.
Thelli wasn’t hurting in the area of females, but with any advanced species, they knew the way to longevity was the female population. There was no growing or sustaining life without them.
“We, Thellians, would get the first pick of females, of course.”
“We’re compatible with them according to their DNA samples,” Solgre said, a thoughtful look crossed his face.
“The government officials would need to determine if it’ll be worth engaging and exchanging, though,” Phate added.
Kien leaned back in his chair, causing it to groan under his weight. He kicked his long legs out in front of him. “Maybe we should hop down there for a quick visit. You know, just to look around and see what these females look like. Maybe even sample a few?”
Solgre cut his sharp gaze toward Kien. “Not our mission. Keep your dick in your pants and wait until we get to Pesna-9.”
Kien grumbled under his breath then jerked upright in his seat. The smile left his face abruptly. “What’s this?”
Solgre and Phate turned in his direction. Kien’s playful mood had dropped. A sense of foreboding washed over Phate. He too dropped the jovial mood.
“Give it to me,” Solgre commanded.
Phate switched his attention to the planet’s surface. Nothing of concern showed on his holoscreen.
“There’s an energy spike coming from their sun,” Kien noted.
Phate frowned as he switched from monitoring the planet’s surface and focused his attention on the sun. “Could it be a solar flare?”
Kien’s eyebrows pinched together. “That’s what the system is saying, but it’s also larger than any flare we’ve calculated before.”
Solgre waved a hand through the air and the image of Earth disappeared, replaced by Halo One’s specs. Phate did the same on his end.
“I’m increasing the shields to one hundred percent,” Phate said as he made the adjustments.
Kien started the count off. “Incoming in three, two, one.”
Nothing.
Phate held his breath for a second longer. On the next exhale, he breathed out, “Crisis averted.”
Solgre stabbed his fingers through his light-colored locks. “Good, now get the—”
The lights flickered and a rough shock rolled through the ship, sending it teetering to the side.
“Brace yourself!” Kien yelled over the noise of groaning metal.
Metal should not groan, Phate realized. Alarm bells blared over the loudspeaker and the bright lights above turned red, indicating the power reserves had been triggered.
“Systems report!” Solgre snapped, his voice almost drowned by the booming sounds around them.
Phate ran a quick scan. It didn’t look good. Adrenalin kicked in but he wasn’t on high alert yet. They’d been in worst situations before, namely going up against space pirates and asteroid belts. This, this they could handle. He initiated the jump sequence to get them out of range.
The system didn’t respond.
Hmm.
“We’re holding steady!” Kien yelled over the noise. “Hold tight and ride this wave out.”
“We’re only receiving thirty percent of the flare,” Solgre noted. “Shields status?”
“Shields down to fifty percent!” Phate’s chest tightened. Indicators revealed a small amount of radiation already leaking through. If the shields didn’t hold, radiation would breach the hull and none of them would be visiting Pesna-9. They’d be dead.
He initiated another jump sequence and like before, nothing happened.
“Status?” Solgre asked.
“Radiation in the ship at ten percent,” Phate said, heart sinking. Maybe this was worse than going up against space pirates after all.
