“We found out something major after the
attack on Xylon. It seems that Laszlo, well, he’s both my father and Kam’s.”
Tara sat dumbfounded. Her translator must
be acting up. “Father?” She shook her head. “No. Kam’s father is a Xylon
Warrior, whereabouts unknown. And you’re—”
A shuffling sound caught their attention.
Tara saw Alexa stiffen. She put a finger to her own lips, telling Alexa to stay
quiet. Tara stood up and gripped the electro-zapper securely. It could just be
Pitch or Josella coming back, but if so, certainly they would have called out
or signaled her in some way. No other sounds reached her ears. But she knew she
hadn’t imagined it, for Alexa had heard it too. She moved forward slowly,
extinguishing the lights to help conceal their presence. When she heard
movement behind her, she glanced back as the last of the light faded. Alexa was
heading deeper into the cave where the babies were. Good.
Another slight shuffling sound. Tara froze.
Boots against pebbles on the ground? She pressed herself along the cave wall,
then ducked and peered through the entrance. Nothing. She slipped through as
quietly as possible, staying close to the wall of the cave. Whoever it was, she
would lure them away, then double back. When a shadow passed by before she
expected, her heart jumped.
Shit.
She froze, not daring to move and she
barely breathed.
He hadn’t seen her and a sense of relief
washed through her. Until he stopped. She saw him visibly tense. Or maybe she felt
his tension. It was too dark without a light stick to see much of anything. He knew
she was there. She’d bet on it. Possibly her scent. The Def’mal had keen
senses. But then he continued forward and she breathed normally again.
Cautiously, she turned toward the other
pathway. She’d make a noise and get him headed down the next entry. He was too
close for comfort and she intended to make certain he kept going. She wouldn’t
terminate him unless forced into it. She’d have to hit him directly in the eye
for a lethal shot to penetrate the brain.
A hand suddenly clamped over her mouth from
behind and an arm circled her waist. What? No way could he have gotten behind
her. The realization hit her hard.
There’s two of them!
She tried to cry
out or make any kind of a sound of distress so Alexa would know to stay hidden
but the Def’mal held her too tightly. She had to fight and hope that Alexa was
smart enough not to try to help.
When his grip loosened just slightly, she
jerked her head backward, catching him on the chin. He grunted and his hold on
her slipped. She turned enough to get him off balance and flipped him over her shoulder.
Where was the other one? The caves had turned quiet. Almost too quiet.
As she strained to hear movement, her
attention returned to the downed Def’mal. He lay motionless on the ground. She
didn’t know if he had hit his head and was out or if he was just disoriented.
Either way, she had no choice now but to finish the job. It was too dangerous
to leave him alive. She pointed the electro-zapper at his head, aiming for his
right pupil as best as she could in the shadows.
A beam of light hit her, blinding her for a
moment. The second Def’mal! He kicked her hand, sending the weapon flying.
“Ow!” She lunged forward to tackle her
attacker and managed to knock him on his butt. She heard him curse as he
dropped the light. She scrambled for her weapon but he got to it first.
“Stand down, woman,” he said. “We are not
here to hurt you.”
She recognized the voice. It was the
Def’mal who had saved her. He grabbed the light and adjusted the beam until
their whole area lit up in a soft glow. She scooted back against the rocks, now
trapped between him and the body of the other one.
He sat resting his arms on his knees and
chuckled. “You are a fighter.”
“I’m a warrior,” she said with pride and
defiance, stiffening her spine. She eyed him warily. His primitive look shook
her confidence and memories. He seemed much more feral than she’d recalled.
His eyes widened slightly. “Ah, so we
understand each other’s words now. Interesting.” His eyes narrowed as he looked
at his companion. “You did not kill him, did you?”
She shrugged as she studied him. He was
clad in animal-pelt leggings. No shirt covered his broad chest. His hair hung
low past his muscular shoulders, but appeared clean. Both his chest and face
were shadowed with a sprinkling of hair as were his forearms. Just enough to
make him look wild and dangerous. He wore a pair of boots—a hard-looking
material she didn’t recognize—that were the same color as his leggings.
He pushed himself to his feet. He nudged
the downed man who groaned and moved slightly. “Wake up.” The Def’mal stared
down at her. “The Egesa are up top. We believe they have come to take over what
is left of the planet.”
Everything inside Tara wanted to scream out
a protest. What had happened to all the off-world warriors? Certainly someone
remained to fight for their home.
“I see the thoughts in your eyes, Tara.
Your warriors have not kept your home protected.”
His words angered her even though they did
mirror her thoughts. If even one warrior remained alive, they would return to
Xylon and fight. If not now, then soon. She believed that with all her heart.
Loyalty to Xylon was something that a true
warrior never took lightly. But then she thought of all those who had defected
during the uprisings, those who had joined with Daegal as highbred assassins
and hadn’t returned to Xylon when given the chance. What had happened to her
people over the generations? Was it possible that they had been responsible for
their own downfall?
Laszlo, with all his power, hadn’t even
been able to prevent it. Maybe a new leader was needed. Someone who could
restore Xylon to its former greatness.
Something in the Def’mal’s eyes changed and
a troubled expression filled his gaze. “You think too much, Tara. You must live
for the moment, for in the end, nobody may be able to save you. Remember,
little one, trust only yourself. Enemies are everywhere.”
She wondered at his words and their
meaning. He seemed to be referring to more than just the Egesa. Had he known
all of her troubled thoughts or just seen the emotions in her eyes? She used to
be called a cold bitch by subordinates because of her hard exterior and the
ability to hide her emotions. So much had changed. Even she had been altered by
this terrible war.
He crouched down and peered deep into the
cave. “Now…who has come to rescue you?”
Tara’s heart clenched. How did he know? She
couldn’t let them find Alexa. Who knew what they might do to the babies. She
scrambled to her feet to face him. The man on the ground stirred and groaned.
His eyes opened and he struggled to sit up.
Please, Alexa. Somehow, get
those babies out of here.
They might be the only legacy that Xylon has
left.
Planet Earth, State of Colorado, U.S.A.
Underground Tracking Facility
The door to the waiting room clicked and
opened. Everyone turned toward the sound and Torque felt the tension in the
room escalate. A lone man in civilian clothing entered and closed the door
behind him. He glanced around the room then abruptly stopped halfway. “Ramrod!”
A smile spread across his face.
Sam stepped forward. “Tee. It’s great to
see you, man.” He stepped forward and clasped the man’s arm, giving him a half
hug. “Where’s Jaeda?”
“She’s on her way. We’ve got a hell of a
mess on our hands.”
“Yeah, I know it. Even so, it’s great to be
home.” Sam turned toward the group. “Everyone, this is Kirk Logan. He’s in
charge of all the scientific shit they do down here and second in charge of
overall operations.”
Logan nodded.
Torque studied the man. Logan looked
familiar but he couldn’t place why, which escalated his tension. He’d figure it
out. Until then, he intended to remain wary of everyone down here.
“Have you been cleared on this project?”
Sam asked his friend.
“ACE? Yeah, I was brought up to speed. To
tell you the truth, it’s like some alien sci-fi flick. I wouldn’t have believed
any of it if someone had told me this was going to happen. But here you are and
here they are and this is war.”
“Officially declared?”
“Who knows? Everyone’s in a panic. When the
hits started coming in, all armed forces immediately went to Defcon 2. I think
we’re holding there for now but I’m not sure. We keep getting conflicting
information. I really hope you all are up to saving our asses.” He reddened
slightly. “Sorry, ladies.” He looked at the rest of the group. “Does anyone
need anything? Something to drink or eat? I don’t recommend the stuff in the
machines back there. It’s older than I am.”
“We’re fine,” Brianna answered for the
group.
The door swung open and a woman entered.
Torque froze at the sight of her. Tall, creamy-looking skin, long black hair
pulled away from her face, light gray eyes.
Her!
He moved toward the
back of the room and into a shadowed corner, not wanting to be noticed yet, so
he could silently observe her.
Her gaze immediately went to Briggs. “Sam!”
She gave him a quick hug. “I’m so glad to see you.” She grasped his hand. “I
hope you’ve brought the cavalry.”
“I did my best.” He turned. “Everyone, this
is Jaeda Spargo. She’s the operational lead at the facility and our official
contact.”
Brianna cleared her throat and stepped
forward. She glanced up at the hidden camera, before her gaze settled back on
Jaeda. “Can we speak freely?”
Sam stepped away from Jaeda and turned
toward Brianna. “This is Brianna Koll,” he introduced. “She’s ranking officer
of the group.”
Torque noticed that he didn’t introduce her
as his mate. Interesting. Though if he had, it would have stirred up more
curiosity and questions than they had time for.
“We can speak freely. I temporarily shut
down the surveillance in here before entering.” A compassionate look entered
Jaeda’s eyes. “I’m sorry about Xylon. I heard about what happened.”
Her response caught Torque’s attention.
She’d heard about Xylon? How? All communications were down.
“We’d hoped for survivors,” Kirk added.
“How many are left?”
“Specific numbers are unknown at this
time,” Brianna answered. Her voice remained steady, though her eyes revealed
genuine sorrow. “Our communications grid was disabled. Our own people here on
Earth may not even know what happened.”
Torque remained quiet, waiting for Brianna
to ask more questions. Why was she just standing there? Jaeda was the exchange
linked with Briggs. But with the grid down, certain knowledge wasn’t possible,
unless…
He didn’t like the explanation that popped
into his head. His impatience and anger slowly began to grow. If she or Kirk
Logan had made an agreement with Daegal, then that would explain their
knowledge.
What would he do if she actually had
betrayed Laszlo and Xylon? The answer came quickly and without mercy. First
he’d fuck her. Then he’d see to it that she was sent to a banishment zone for
the rest of her life. And Logan? Well, he’d feed the man to the nearest pack of
blood minions he could find. A merciless sentence for both. But this was war
and the survival of his people came first.
“When I couldn’t get in contact with
Laszlo, I went to other sources.”
Other sources? Torque shifted and his hands
clenched into fists. He itched to step forward and shake the truth out of her.
Leila cocked her head. “What other sources?”
“Before we get too sidetracked…” Briggs
turned toward the group. “Let me introduce everyone else so we can move things
along.”
Torque shook his head. Briggs had
interrupted on purpose to deflect the conversation. Torque was almost certain
of that. He was surprised when Brianna still didn’t say anything. Even Leila’s
curiosity had been piqued. It didn’t make sense unless Briggs had already told
his sister something that she hadn’t bothered to pass along. He stepped out of
the shadows and came forward. When Jaeda noticed him, Torque saw her freeze and
her eyes widen.
Briggs continued speaking and told her
about Halah piloting the ship and waiting on their return. He explained Leila’s
role and told Jaeda about the serum. Torque wondered if she’d even heard his
words for her gaze never left his. He stepped close as Briggs introduced him to
her.
“This is Warrior Torque Koll. He’s
Brianna’s brother.”
Brianna said something to him but he missed
it. “What was that?” he asked, never taking his eyes off Jaeda.
“Do you two know each other?”
Torque smiled. “Yeah.”
“No,” Jaeda answered at the same time.
Brianna frowned as she looked from one to
the other. “Which is it?”
Torque allowed the smile to slip from his
face. “My apologies. For a moment, you looked familiar.” He wasn’t mistaken but
no need to complicate their mission even more. Not at the moment.
Before anyone could question them further,
the door again opened and a large man entered. His age, uniform and bearing
indicated he was a man of importance. “People.”
Jaeda turned. “General Adair. I’ve been looking
for you. Your office—”
“Destroyed. All my staff gone. I was in the
facility, in the weapons section, when we got hit.” A flicker of emotional pain
entered his eyes before he nodded to the others. His gaze settle on Sam, who
was standing stiff as a rod. “Colonel Briggs. Good to see you again. At ease.
I’ll assume these others are the Xylons. I have an update. We are officially at
war. The Egesa have begun transporting to the planet. Our fighters have been
unable to shoot down very many of their ships. They seem to have some sort of
shielding that we can’t easily penetrate. But we have been holding our own with
their ground troops. They’ve requested meetings with the leading governments.
So far only China has agreed to meet with them. We’re waiting to hear your
recommendations.” He looked over the group. “Who’s in charge?”
“I am,” Brianna said, stepping forward.
“Class 1 Command Warrior Brianna Koll, 1210854684846, Sir. The Egesa do not
negotiate. Talking with Deagal would be futile and only weaken your position.”
“Understood and my thoughts exactly, which
I’ve already passed on to our senators. You and Colonel Briggs will accompany
me to a high-level meeting with the president to help us lay out a plan of
attack. I’ve been informed that your planet has been taken over by the Egesa.
Can we count on reinforcements from your people or are we on our own?”
Informed… Torque wondered at their level of
knowledge. Someone had to be feeding them data. Someone with comm abilities who
hadn’t been affected by the attack maybe? They were genuinely concerned about
their planet. He could see that. So they had a common enemy. Daegal. But they
must also have a common ally.
“Reinforcements are on the way, General. We
also have Xylon Warriors already armed and on Earth. Torque Koll, my brother
here, will coordinate.”
Torque stepped forward. “General.”
The general nodded. “Given the fact that we
can’t effectively shoot down their ships and will have to defeat them from the
ground, what do you have for us?”
Brianna took the lead once again. “We
brought a serum for Earth’s military forces. It will protect your male soldiers
from the Egesa poisons and diseases. Even one scratch could be deadly for your
people.”
“Yes. We’ve already received reports of
such about our wounded. What about our women?”
“Unfortunately, due to hormonal
fluctuations, it’s too unpredictable and not entirely safe for human females. I
advise that your women remain out of situations that could put them
face-to-face with the Egesa. But for the males, the serum will work quite well
and will also help them heal at a faster rate, which will greatly increase your
attack effectiveness. Our senior healer here, Leila Abdera, can coordinate with
your medical teams. The serum will have to be tested, and of course then
duplicated and distributed quickly.”
“Spargo, you’ll see to that.”
“Yes, Sir.”
The general’s brow furrowed. “I’m still not
hearing how we’re ultimately going to defeat these creatures. Especially if
your reinforcements don’t arrive on time.”
“I’ve been thinking about that,” Leila
said, stepping forward. “Very few of them will have any natural immunity to
your diseases. Maybe only those who have served a goodly length of time here at
a substation. If you have something that humans are now protected against but
was otherwise deadly in the past, we can infect the Egesa and take them out. It
will naturally have to be safe for our people too.”
Torque nodded. “That might work. But it
will need to be fast-acting, so they fall quickly and don’t have a chance to
create anything to counteract it. I can design a bullet-casing delivery system.
Something that can be shot right into them. The disease will need to be highly contagious
to their kind, otherwise it won’t get rid of enough troops quickly enough to tip
the balance in our favor.”
“I’ll contact our top center for contagious
disease research for you,” General Adair responded. “If any such thing exists,
they’ll be the ones who know about it and have it. If we can get them some
Xylon blood and DNA, they can test for safety.”
“I can arrange that,” Leila replied. “I’ve
also brought along my own device for additional testing.”
“Good. The military has already provided
the center with an Egesa for study. We’ve managed to capture a handful of their
soldiers and we also have several bodies, so we’ll be able to do tissue tests.”
“General,” Brianna spoke up. “Even if we’re
successful with the serum and infecting the Egesa, the sheer number of them is
not going to make this fight easy. If enough Xylon Warriors survived and make
it here in time, we can and will destroy them. Our fighter ships carry more
deadly and powerful weapons than theirs do. But if our backups don’t arrive—”
“Understood. With Xylon’s apparent power,
how did they defeat your planet, Commander?”
“They used an older bomb that we weren’t
prepared for. One that was supposed to have been deactivated long ago due to
its complete destructive powers.”
The general paused and looked
uncomfortable. “Could they use one of those weapons on Earth?”
“No, Sir. The bomb, along with its delivery
system, is too massive and complicated. It can’t be transported aboard their
current ships even if they have additional PowerIIRads that are still
functional. This takeover will be done country by country, not all at once.”
“Good to hear.” Adair’s posture relaxed,
but only slightly. “Briggs, you and Commander Koll are with me. The rest of you
are with Jaeda. I’ll have a rep from the disease center contact you. Let’s work
fast, people.”
Torque watched Sam and Brianna follow General
Adair out to their meeting. He stepped forward. “I’m going to need to get out
of here and over to the Xylon substation to coordinate with the warriors in
this area, then get the word out to the other substations around the planet.”
“The substation has been abandoned,” Jaeda
said. “All the Xylon substations have.”
Leila gasped. “What? How do you know? What
happened?”
Torque’s eyes narrowed. “Good questions.”
Doubts about Jaeda and where her knowledge was coming from again plagued him.
His heart warred with his head about whether to trust her or not. He rarely
trusted anyone. He’d thought she would be different. Damn it. This woman was
different! She had to be.
“I’ve been in contact. When the attack
occurred, they relocated. Several substations on the planet were raided early
on. Somehow the Egesa knew the locations. A traitor, no doubt, tipped them off.
Or maybe Daegal somehow tapped into their computer systems to locate them.
Either way, they didn’t fare well. Those warriors remaining and unharmed bugged
out.”
“Are you still in contact?” Torque asked.
Tension made his voice gruffer than he’d intended. The thought of another
possible traitor caused his to stomach churn.
When had their society become so corrupt?
How had they not stopped it? They’d managed to weaken Daegal’s hold on many
warriors, not long ago, and a goodly number of them had returned to Xylon and
remained loyal to this day. But not all had returned home and those were the
true traitors in his eyes.
“I have to wait until they call in. Someone
checks in every few hours as they’re able. The last time I spoke to them I
informed them that I’d hoped you, more warriors, were on the way.”
Torque stepped closer. “How do you know all
this?” He understood, being the exchange contact, that she was probably
routinely kept informed about their conflicts with the Egesa. But without
current communications there was no way that she could know so much about
recent events.