Without waiting for a response from the new human on the base, the Sephian leader turned and walked away.
“I’ll show you to your quarters,” the tall, yummy Bente said to Jax. He sounded polite enough. Except Sienna knew the guy. He was a bona fide smart-ass. If Sienna were a gambler, she’d lay her money on the guys being at each other’s throats in five minutes flat. And the bad girl in her hoped to be there to watch it happen.
She jumped in and put her hand on Jax’s shoulder. “A little later I’ll give you the tour. Wait until you see this place. It is incredible in a mother ship sort of way.”
“I’m sure the human is tired.”
“A tour sounds good,” Jax interjected.
Sienna smiled, knowing exactly what Jax was thinking about. Recon. “I’ve got to get cleaned up. Meet at the Commons area in one hour? Bente will get you there. Right, Ben?”
“Whatever you say, Sienna,” Bente replied, sounding put out.
She turned to leave, but instead walked into a wall of muscle.
“What kind of trouble is my
tahren
causing now?” Legian said to his closest friend as he wrapped his arms around her.
“The usual,” Bente replied and then motioned Jax down a hallway. “Pick up your feet, soldier.”
Where Nalea struggled with American vernacular, Bente had picked it up with ease. Sienna could almost feel Jax’s glare in the Sephian’s back as he turned on his heel and followed his Sephian guide. Four minutes to go.
“See you guys in an hour.” She waved as she and Legian turned down a separate hall toward the officer quarters.
“An hour?” Legian asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Better make it two,” she called out over a shoulder.
Two and a half hours later, Sienna showed up at the Commons with flushed cheeks, wet hair, and a satisfied smile. Jax leaned forward in a chair, hands clasped, arms resting on his legs. He cleaned up nice in a fresh Sephian black military suit and better fitting drades. His lips drawn tight, he looked like he was still on full alert. Not that she could blame him. It was entirely her fault he was basically a prisoner in a camp of ETs.
Bente stood at Jax’s back, his arms crossed in front of his chest. Paying no attention to Jax or Sienna, he looked preoccupied watching a table of Sephian females who looked up from their chatter every now and then to flash him flirty smiles.
Sienna rolled her eyes as she pulled out a chair and sat down. “Hey, Ben. Good to see your fan club made it.”
The amusement fell from his face when he looked to her, then Jax. The guys didn’t look one bit happy hanging together. At least they hadn’t killed off one another yet.
“Glad you could make it,” Jax said, his words dripping with sarcasm.
She blushed and held up her hands. “Don’t look at me. It’s not my fault. He’s hitting his time of the month again.”
Jax cocked his head and eyed her strangely.
“Sephian males. They’re fertile only a couple days every couple months. It makes them horny as hell — and they become total dickheads, too.”
Jax looked up at Bente. “I take it it’s your time of the month, too, Goldie?”
Bente flipped him off in response. One of the first things she’d taught him was the bird. And Ben was a quick learner. “It’s your lucky day. This is my natural sweetness. So suck it, human.”
Sienna blinked innocently at the guys. “Wow. Lovey dovey talking on your first date.”
She got a finger from both of them that time.
Bente snapped back first. “Speaking of dates. You and Legian trying for Sephlings yet?”
She scowled. “Kids? Are you insane?
Suvaste
.”
Jax cocked a brow. “
Suvaste
?”
“It’s Sephian. Means something like, ‘Oh, gods,’” she replied before turning back to Bente. “Maybe someday, far, far into the future. But now isn’t the best time to bring a rug rat into the world. In case you didn’t notice, we’ve been invaded by aliens.”
Bente chuckled in response. “Let me know how that works out for you.”
“We’re safe. We use protection.”
“
Human
protection,” Bente replied.
“Sephians and humans can …” Jax trailed off.
Sienna shrugged. “Since the
soullare
clearly works on humans, Doc seems to think the two races are genetically compatible. But that doesn’t mean there wouldn’t be issues to deal with.” She waved a hand. “Change of subject. How about that tour now?”
Jax stood, coming to attention, without a word. He joined her side and they walked through the cafeteria. Bente fell in step on his other side. Jax glanced over to the scruffy guy. But it was Sienna who spoke up first.
“Don’t you have somewhere else you need to be?” she asked without looking at the Sephian.
“Nope.”
“Just my luck,” Sienna muttered, turned, and Jax slipped her
that
look again. She got out the chair and leaned forward on the back of it. “Oh, chill, Jax. You’re not a prisoner here, is he Ben?”
“Nope.” The Sephian’s sneer made the word sound less than honest.
Jax didn’t respond. Instead, he looked around, like he was going to make a break for it.
Bente gave Jax a long, hard look. “Go ahead. I dare you.”
Jax stepped up to Bente, nose to nose.
She waited. This wasn’t her battle. The two guys needed a pissing match. Fine. Let them have it.
“You must have one hell of a death wish, human. You think you could take me on? Even if you got past me,” Bente chuckled drily. “There’s a base full of Sephians here who would skin you alive. You think you can take us all on?”
Jax wasn’t backing down, not one inch. “Try to take me down, and I guarantee you’re going to be hurting.”
“If you put my people at risk, I don’t give a flying fuck how you fight. I will put you down,” Bente said.
“If you put my people at risk, I will make it my life’s mission to see you rot in a very dark cell with a guy named Ben Dover,” Jax snapped right back.
She rolled her eyes. “For fuck’s sake, guys.”
Bente narrowed his eyes before backing up a step. “Truce. For now.”
Jax held out his hand. Bente looked at it for a moment, gave a slight smile, and then grabbed Jax’s forearm. Jax did the same, and it was like some pressure valve had been released. A bit, at least.
The men turned in sync and started walking down the hall, and Sienna had to nearly jog to keep up. “I feel a man crush coming on. You two need some time alone before the tour?” she asked as she fell into step alongside them, taking two steps for every one of their longer strides.
Bente belted out a laugh, and then muttered a curse in English.
She looked at the Sephian out of the corner of her eye. “Geez, Ben. I know I didn’t teach you that one. You’ve been watching too much cable.”
He shrugged.
“Everyone here speaks English?” Jax asked.
“And Spanish,” she replied. “Many can speak six or seven other languages already, too.”
“How is that possible?”
“We studied your primary languages on our journey here. We also have weekly required language and humanities lessons,” Bente replied.
Sienna smiled, thinking about the humanities courses she took in college compared to the lessons Bente spoke of. “Sephians are freaks of nature. They think they’re smarter. I think it’s because their language is so complicated, picking up new languages is a piece of cake for them. Hell, I’ve been trying to learn Sephian for three months and still don’t get it. And I’ve got two degrees and three languages under my belt.” She held up her hands in defeat. “It’s pitiful.”
“You’re telling me,” Bente cracked.
“Anyway, Legian learned French in under a week. Freaks.” She motioned to the large open area. “So, Jax. You’ve seen the Commons. Kitchen’s open twenty-four-seven so grab a bite whenever you’re hungry. I’ve even gotten the cooks to make pizza and burgers. But I warn you. They’re not very good yet. Actually, their attempts pretty much suck. For the record, Sephian food in general is lame. They’re vegans. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But they seriously need to learn how to properly season food. Blech.” She mimed putting her finger down her throat before continuing. “I’ll show you what to stay away from. Oh, be sure to pick up after yourself, like your food tray goes over there.” She pointed to a large receptacle attached to the wall. “They’re big on law and order around here. You get points against you for breaking rules.”
“Sienna’s a savant of sorts. Her name is on the wall for highest points in all categories,” Bente said.
She shrugged. Couldn’t deny it. It wasn’t her fault. The Sephians were way too Type A. They needed someone to loosen them up. And so she made it her personal duty every day to help them do just that.
Sienna returned to her tour guide duty when they came to place where the dark hallway came to a tee. “To the left are the officer quarters. I’m in the fourth one on the left. With Legian. Apolo’s is on the far end. He has a big room where all the meetings are held. I think he took the biggest room to make up for his — ”
“Sienna. Don’t add on more points to your record,” Bente cautioned.
“How many live here?” Jax asked, oblivious to their banter.
“Five hundred twenty three,” Bente replied. “All are of Sephian blood except for Sienna. And now you.”
Jax looked at a keypad on the wall, like he was trying to process the all the details of the place. “Everyone here military, or are there civilians based here as well?”
Bente answered. “They are all considered military, but our military is structured differently from yours.”
“I noticed.”
Sienna frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Haven’t seen many guards. Most the folks at the Commons seemed pretty casual. No one’s geared up. This place doesn’t look like a very secure base, especially for being an HQ.”
Bente shrugged. “We’re shorthanded. I won’t deny it. The Draeken have controlled our world longer than our historical records date. All Sephians who have reached adulthood were born into slavery, so for many of us, our military training was surviving the Noble War. We learn as we go.” Bente pointed at Jax. “But make no mistake. Our lack of training is not a sign of weakness. Everyone around you is a survivor and will do anything it takes to stay that way.
Anything
.”
Bente eyed Jax when he said the last.
“The Noble War. That where you fought the Draeken?” Jax asked.
“Yes, and we beat them. Our race was nearly destroyed. But the Draeken fared even worse. We estimate they now number in the mere thousands. The Draeken who survived the Noble War jumped off-world in the chaos that followed. It was a mass exodus over the span of one single night. We destroyed every short-range vessel that attempted to escape, but four of their larger, faster core ships got away. We tracked one of those ships to Earth.
“Everyone you see here are volunteers who have sworn their lives to see that the Draeken do not enslave another world. They have more advanced technology and have hidden their base — or bases — from us, but we will find them and destroy them before they build up enough strength to attack,” Bente said.
Jax raised a brow. “And if the Draeken attack first?”
“Our numbers are fewer, but we came here better prepared,” Bente replied.
“You sure about that? You assumed we didn’t know you were here. Look what that got you.”
Bente shook his head. “We have someone on the inside. If they have anything planned, he’d know.”
“If you’re right and the Draeken are still getting organized, now would be the best time to stop them. You need to share this information with my people. They will listen. I know at least one general who will,” Jax said.
“Or your people could wage war against both us and the Draeken,” Bente retorted.
“And could you blame us? You haven’t exactly played your cards right,” Jax snapped right back.
Sienna butted in. “You don’t know that, Ben. Just because humans aren’t as technically advanced as you, we’re not idiots. Mistakes have been made. But that doesn’t mean things won’t work out right. Besides, the U.S. government already knows about us. Last night proved that beyond any shadow of a doubt.”
“It’s Apolo’s decision. He’ll tell us when it’s the right time to meet with the human leaders.”
“Well, he’s shooting himself in the foot by waiting,” Sienna replied, pushing her drades up her nose and walking ahead of the golden man. It ticked her off that the Sephians thought they could control everything. The lack of confidence in her race was going to come back and bite them in the ass. Of that, she had no doubt.
Tamping down her frustration, she continued the tour, pausing outside a door where beautifully strange a capella music emanated from. She pointed at the door. “That room’s off limits to us humans.”
Jax raised a brow.
“It’s where Sephians worship their gods. They are very protective of their beliefs,” Sienna added.
When he nodded, she continued down the hall. “Here’s the training room. I recommend checking it out sometime. Great for letting off some steam. I could see you two coming here
a lot
.” She opened the door, and the three of them stepped inside. “The gardens are the next level down. Depending on how you let off steam. They’re gorgeous. Most of the Sephian food is grown down there. I recommend checking them out.”
Turning her attention back to the training room, she noted the series of ten-foot circles on the floor where several pair of Sephians were sparring. When the door closed with a
whoosh
, all activity stopped and heads turned at the entrance of the newcomers.
“Uh, hey everyone. This is Jax. He’s joining us from the U.S. Army Rangers,” Sienna said.
Jax nodded.
They stared at him for moment and then went back to sparring without any other kind of acknowledgment.
“It takes a while for them to warm up.” Sienna had been on the base for three months and still felt like she was the alien. A little help from Bente would’ve been nice right about now. Instead, he posed in his classic I-don’t-give-a-shit stance.
Dickhead
.
“It makes sense. I wouldn’t want an enemy walking around my camp, either,” Jax said.