“The Egesa are probably trying to figure
out where that explosion took place. With luck, they’ll only be able to
pinpoint a general locale since they can’t get a direct visual. We’re secure,
right?”
“Yes. Because our monitors are separately
controlled, Kirk can block them, though he can see out now, which is going to
be of great value to us, as long as they remain functional.”
“What about communications?”
“Nothing long range, except to my ships,
which are using a separate grid.” She sat down on the couch that was still
unfolded into a bed. “Do you really think this is going to work?”
“As long as Daegal thinks what’s stored
here is too valuable to destroy the facility, then yeah, I think it’ll work.”
“And if he changes his mind?”
“Then we’ll be shit out of luck. Where’s
Grady?”
“He’s studying the plans, so we know
exactly how far up to go and where to break through. You know when we break
into the armory we’ll probably take some fire. They’ll think it’s the enemy.”
“I know. We’ll need to keep cover as much
as possible until you can call out and get their attention and identify us.
Whoever’s in there will know who you are, right? Even if they’re low-level
personnel.”
“Yes. They’ll know me.”
He set aside the weapons and sat down
beside her. “Good. I don’t want to kill anyone that we shouldn’t have to, just
to save our lives.”
“You have to give the order that there will
be no firing of weapons.”
“I can’t do that, Jaeda.”
“I trust you not to shoot unless forced to.
But Grady is volatile. I won’t fire on my own people. I don’t know how Kirk
will respond in a fight but he does follow orders well. This could get out of
control very quickly if we don’t set down some ground rules.”
He stroked her cheek. “Try not to worry
about it. It’s going to work out all right.” He leaned forward and kissed her
lightly on the lips.
She curled her fingers around his biceps.
She felt safe with Torque. She could take care of herself if necessary. But
being part of a team that she could trust added a lot of security. She wished
her shifter crew could get to them. It would be much easier to fight the Egesa
from the sky. Her ships wouldn’t do so without her direct order though. Alone,
they had too many limitations. But if they could team up with a squadron of
Xylon ships, they’d be unstoppable.
She opened her mouth and Torque slipped his
tongue inside. All his aggression seemed to have melted away. His kiss was
steamy but so gentle that she felt like weeping. An odd reaction for her.
Extreme circumstances often leant to a false sense of closeness with another
person. She knew that. But still, she felt her relationship with Torque was
real and not a product of the stress they were under. Slowly he lowered her to
the mattress. She broke the kiss and chuckled. “Again? Now?”
“Again. Now.”
If they survived all this, she had no idea
what the future held. Her dreams had never shown her that. Maybe because this
was all the future they had. She held him tighter, fighting against that
thought.
Torque slowly opened the front of her
uniform. He nibbled his way along her flesh and then grazed his tongue across
one of her nipples. She gasped. The slightly rougher texture of a Xylon’s
tongue caused much more sensation than she was accustomed to and she loved it.
He tugged on her uniform, continuing downward with his tongue until he reached
her pussy. The leggings of the uniform prevented her from spreading her thighs
widely but that didn’t stop Torque.
He speared his tongue between the lips of
her pussy and found her clit. He wiggled his tongue back and forth along the
tip of the fleshy bud, slowly building the sensations between her legs. She
arched her back and moaned. She needed to come so badly.
She reached down and tangled her fingers in
his hair. “You’re driving me crazy, Torque.” He cupped her bared ass in his
hands and pushed his tongue deeper, licking faster now, almost demanding that
she come. He growled slightly and somehow she felt the vibration through her
clit. “Oh!”
Her need escalated. She pushed her hips up
against his mouth. He grabbed her wrists and pulled her hands from his head,
then held them down on each side of her. She felt captured and at his mercy.
“Torque, please!”
Every time she felt close to climaxing, he
seemed to know and would ease the pressure of his tongue until she relaxed
again. He was torturing her on purpose, making her wait, making her beg. He
concentrated just on the tip of her clit again, batting it with his tongue.
“Ah, ah, ah.” She squirmed beneath him. She
knew he’d stop as she once more got close, so she relaxed her tightening
muscles. As soon as she did that, an orgasm shot through her body like an arrow
from her clit, through her stomach, to her nipples and into her brain. “Oh!
Yes!” Every nerve inside her came alive and she screeched his name in pure
pleasure.
Torque continued lightly licking her clit
and her muscles twitched with each flick. “I can’t—” She tried to pull her arms
free but he held her tightly. Then, to her surprise, she came again. A flutter
of pleasure that made her sob. Finally Torque released her and kissed his way
up her body to her mouth. She tasted herself on his tongue.
He whispered against her lips. “Say…I’m
Torque’s woman now. Say it.”
“I’m Torque’s woman now,” she whispered to
his command and without hesitation.
Underground, Planet Xylon
Tara sat looking at her captors. They
hadn’t found Alexa and the babies and she hadn’t told them about her or the
others, even though she’d been repeatedly questioned. She’d found out from them
that they’d only found a small fire pit and nothing else when they’d searched
the cave. Somehow Alexa had taken all the equipment and hid it, along with
herself and the babies. Braden would be proud.
The two men spoke in hushed whispers. Now
that they could all understand each other, the Def’mal were being more
cautious. Still, her hearing was acute and she knew they talked of clan
business.
She glanced around her surroundings.
Nothing much to see but dirt. And nothing to use as an effective weapon, so she
hadn’t tried to escape…yet. The last thing she wanted to do was accidentally
lead the Def’mal back to Alexa or to Pitch and Josella. She needed a plan.
The Def’mal that she’d rendered unconscious
during the fight stood and approached her. “You cause problems, woman. We
should kill you. You would be a valuable prize to the clan.”
“Dead?” she questioned. “A dead prize has
no value.” Her stomach churned, thinking about this man fucking her.
The other man stood and strolled toward
her. He sat across from her. A low fire burned between them. “Sit. We wait for
Belkor.”
“Belkor?” The more she knew the better, so
she intended to ask as many questions as she could without angering them.
“He is the other who helped me take care of
you. He searches for more Xylons.”
Tara felt relief and concern at the same
time. The unpleasant male scowling at her hadn’t been one of her original
captors after all. But now she worried about the others, knowing that someone
was still looking for them. Though she’d never indicated the presence of other
Xylons, the Def’mal were smarter than she’d anticipated and they knew someone
else was down here and had been with her.
“You waste your time,” she said, hoping to
convince them.
“Time will tell.” He handed her a water
bottle and a chunk of bread. “Eat and drink. You must keep up your strength.
You still are not completely healed.”
“Maybe we should fuck her,” the other one
said.
“Fuck yourself,” she whispered under her
breath.
The Def’mal lunged forward and grabbed her
by the hair, pulling her to her feet. The first man shot to his feet and pulled
the other one away from her. Tara stumbled backward. He’d reacted so quickly
that she hadn’t had time to react herself.
“Touch her again and I shall kill you.” He
pushed the man away. “Go. Find Belkor and tell him to stop searching for now. I
wish to speak with him and make plans.”
“You believe the Xylon bitch’s words? If
so, you are a fool.”
“Follow my orders!”
“The elders will hear of this. You and
Belkor overstep your boundaries. I will follow your orders. But you must also
follow theirs or you will face banishment. Remember my words.” He turned and
stomped off, disappearing into the darkness.
The Def’mal sighed and sat back down.
Tara sat also and studied the man in front
of her. She couldn’t help but feel a sense of compassion for him. Deserving or
not, she wasn’t sure. He continued to help her though and that was something
she couldn’t ignore. “What did he mean? Banishment?”
“The elders are aware of your presence. The
woman we sent to you was untrustworthy. It was my mistake. She reported that we
had found you. When she led the elders to your location, you had already gone.
They also know that you are of the Koll family line and thus a good prisoner
that they can use to bargain with to get the clan what we need to better
survive. If they discover that I found you again and am purposely hiding you, they
will banish me from here and from the clan.”
“Bargain with who? Nobody is left.” No one
could possibly know that Laszlo and her family still lived.
“We have seen the Xylon rescue ships. Soon they
will be able to land. We fight the Egesa alone until the warriors arrive. As a
surviving Koll, you will be a commodity to whoever is left. One of their last
high-ranking commanders. I do not know how long I can protect you.”
“Just because I’m a Koll, it doesn’t mean
that I’m valuable to the cause. And I’m not a commander. Not even close anymore.”
He cocked a heavy eyebrow at her. “Not anymore?
What does that mean, Tara?”
“I tend not to listen to authority. I like
to do things my own way. I was punished for it and my authority was
downgraded.”
He chuckled. “In that, we are similar, my
feisty one.”
His easy manner relaxed her. “Why are you
protecting me and risking banishment from your kind?”
A man stepped out of the darkness. “I found
no Xylons.”
Tara jumped in surprise. She hadn’t even heard
him approach. The Def’mal moved so stealthily, like wild animals. It was
unnerving. She recognized his voice though. Yes, this definitely was the other
man who’d been kind to her. Belkor.
“Where is Genok? He went looking for you.”
“I did not see him. But I knew you would
camp here.”
“As I hoped you would look here for us. It
is a familiar place with supplies.”
Belkor looked down at her. “I see you found
our little
yunep
in health. This is good. She should not have left our
care.”
“She understands us now, so heed your
words. And, in truth, it was we who left her.”
“Only temporarily. How does she understand
us?”
“My translator came back online.” That was
as much as she wanted to say.
“Someone has been helping her as we
suspected, but she refuses to acknowledge such. I fear Genok will go to the
elders and tell them that she has been found.”
Belkor nodded. “Then we should move her
now. We do not mean your people harm, Tara. But if they are caught by the
others, it will not go well for them.”
She thought on his words. Would they be
better off if she told them everything? She didn’t know. One thing that Braden
had taught her was when unsure of what to do, then don’t do anything. Wait and
the correct path will reveal itself. So, for now, she said nothing.
* * * * *
Planet Earth, State of Colorado, U.S.A.
Underground Tracking Facility
Someone cleared his throat and Jaeda looked
toward the door.
Torque turned his head, following her gaze.
“What do you want, Grady?” he asked.
“We’re ready to go.”
Jaeda looked over Torque’s shoulder. “Give
us a few minutes.”
He nodded and disappeared.
They both sat up on the side of the bed.
They’d cleaned up earlier and opened the door but had then lay back down just
to be close and hold each other. She never would have thought of Torque as the
type to cuddle. She gave out a little snort of laughter.
“What?” he asked as he adjusted his
clothing.
“Nothing. I was just thinking what an odd
situation we’re in.” Which was the truth. She felt better now that they had a
plan. But working away from her crew, both the shifters and her Earth coworkers
made her uneasy. At least Kirk was here. And it had probably saved his life.
She hoped the others—the ones who helped her run the control room and this
facility—weren’t dead. Even if enslaved, as long as they lived, there was a
chance to free them.
Once they penetrated the armory, there
would be more of them and they’d be better able to protect themselves from harm
and a complete takeover. If they could also help the warriors defeat the Egesa,
all the better.
She got herself prepared and followed
Torque out to the control room to join the others. “So, let’s go over it and
make sure we’re all in agreement,” she said.
Kirk nodded. “You and Torque will climb up
to the armory level here.” He pointed to a spot on the blueprint.
“Wait,” she interrupted. “I thought I was
going up alone. Then the rest of you would follow after it’s clear.”
“You’re not going alone,” Torque said. “If
we didn’t need you to identify us, you wouldn’t be going at all.”
“Don’t get all male protective on me, Torque.
I’m the only one whom those guys up there know, except for Kirk, and he needs
to stay here to engage the explosives. If the soldiers see you, they’ll shoot
first and listen later.”
“They’re not going to see me until after
you tell them we’re clear. Go ahead, Kirk.”
“Okay. When you reach the level, you’ll
signal Grady, who will signal me. I’ll set off a series of three explosions.
You’ll blow the sealed door after you hear the second explosion. The Egesa will
think all the explosions are from the external charges or the facility
crumbling due to them. It should also distract the armory soldiers for the few
seconds that you’ll need to identify yourself.”
“Or it’ll get them so worked up that
they’ll fire at will.” Grady grumbled a curse under his breath. “But provided
this plan somehow does work, once it’s clear, I’ll follow you up. Then Kirk.”
Torque’s brow furrowed. “When we blow that
door, if there’s anyone too close on the other side—”
“Doubtful,” Kirk interrupted. “It’s located
in their storage area, like ours.”
“It’ll work,” Jaeda said. “The priority is
making sure that the Egesa don’t know what we’re doing. Anything else, we can
handle. We’ll let you know when it’s safe. But, Kirk, you and Grady need to stay
down here, at least initially, in case we need added support from control.
Grady can be the go-between.”
“I’m not an errand boy. I’m higher in grade
than Torque. Let him stay down here.”
Torque clapped his shoulder. “My rank has
been temporarily reinstated and I carry Laszlo’s command insignia. You’re a
Class 1, not a commander. That means I’m making the decisions. Now follow
orders or I’ll beat the shit out of you. Again.” His fingers visibly
tightening.
Grady pulled away and rubbed his jaw.
“Fine. But I don’t like it.”
“Noted. Let’s go, Jaeda.”
She followed Torque back to the supply
room. Grady followed on their heels.
Once there, Torque grabbed one of the Egesa
weapons and set it on high. Then he stepped over to the hole in the wall and
looked down. “Don’t look down.” He looked up the shaft, then held out his arm.
“You first.”
“Good luck,” Grady said and the sincerity
shone in his eyes.
“Thanks.” She stepped over to the hole and climbed
through, grabbing onto the side ladder. She wrapped one arm around the back. If
her front hand slipped, she could hopefully prevent herself from falling.
Torque followed after her and they slowly ascended.
Without the direct light from the supply
room, the shaft grew darker as they climbed higher. A few emergency lights were
still functional, just enough to keep her from feeling completely engulfed by
darkness.
“You’re slowing down,” Torque said from
beneath her. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, just being careful. If I fall, it’s
both our asses because I’d probably knock you off too.”
“You’re not going to fall. And if you did,
I’d catch you.”
Right.
Not
likely possible, but his words held some comfort for her. “What if your people
don’t arrive to help? Our plan kind of hinges on that.”
“They’ll be here. We’ve already gotten
partial grid comm signals, which means they’re alive and well. Besides, Leila
said that she sensed they were headed this way.”
“Sensed?”
“Through the branded connection with her
mate. He’s a fleet leader.”
“I hope she’s right. Get ready. It’s only a
couple of more floors.” She felt Torque climbing closer to her now. Her heart
began to thud in her chest. She didn’t know how much time had elapsed. It
couldn’t have been too long, but somehow it felt forever. Then, in the shadows,
she saw the reflective number on the sealed door. “We’re here.”
“All right. I’m coming up behind you. Don’t
move.” Torque climbed up behind her, secured himself and took out the
disruptor. He looked down the shaft. “Grady, we’re ready! Keep your head down,”
he told her. “When I blow the door, shit is going to fly everywhere.”
“Kirk, set off the charges!”
Jaeda barely heard Grady’s order. Torque
pushed himself tighter against her. The first blast went off and the shaft
rattled. Torque aimed the gun and as the second blast rocked the building, he
fired on the door. It exploded inward but quite a bit of debris also flew into
the shaft. A large chunk hit Torque on the shoulder.
“Ow!” The force of the hit rocked him off
balance. He slipped and dropped his weapon. “Shit.”
Jaeda grabbed the shoulder of his jacket as
he grabbed one of the rungs to stop himself from falling. His weight about
pulled her arm out of its socket. The disruptor clanked down the shaft, firing
as it descended.
“Damn, the lock must have jammed,” Torque
replied. “It shouldn’t fire at will like that.”
She heard Grady yell something—a curse, she
thought. She hoped he hadn’t been hit. Then a third blast jarred them, not as
strongly as the other two, but enough to rattle her teeth.
“Get out of there!” Grady shouted.
Jaeda looked down, hearing him clearly this
time. Beyond Torque, she saw a large fireball coming at them. “Oh hell.” She
climbed as fast as she could, with Torque close behind. She heard yelling above
them.
“Stop right there or we’ll shoot!”
The soldiers. “It’s Jaeda Spargo. Commander
Koll is with me. He’s an ally. Don’t fire!”
“Go, Jaeda, go!” Torque shouted.
“Stand down,” one of the soldiers ordered.
“You’re clear,” he said into the shaft, reaching for her hand. His eyes widened
as he looked past her. “Oh shit. Fire in the hull!” He yanked her onto the
floor.
Torque followed behind and they all rolled
to the side as the fireball shot up and through the door. Other soldiers ducked
just in time. The fire seared the walls around them. The automatic sprinkler
system clicked on and doused them all with water. Then as quickly as it all
happened, the event was over and they all simply lay there breathing heavily.