by Maia Starr
“Ravinn, what the hell?” the commander said.
“I am sorry to interrupt, sir, but it is happening. The invasion is happening. Our radar just picked up a fleet of the opposition approaching eighty miles away in space. They will be here in two hours!”
“Shit!” Cerik shouted. He grabbed his loincloth and put it on.
“Maria, get dressed!”
“You can take her to Amelia. Amelia and our son are going to the emergency bunker. Since Maria has not been trained on that, she can learn from Amelia what to do. I am going to my home now.”
“Good, good idea. I will meet you at your home and leave Maria with Amelia. Go now; I am right behind you.”
Ravinn ran out of the home and flew away. I looked at Cerik with wide eyes.
“Do not worry; just get dressed,” he said pulling on his boots.
I pulled on the top and bottom of the clothing and reached for a sheer purple dress. “I cannot believe this is happening. What exactly do they want? What is going to happen?”
“Battle,” he said. “I assume they are trying to get to the water supply. This battle will be a distraction, but they probably don't know that we know they want to contaminate our supplies. We are ready for them.”
“Battle?! That sounds dangerous. Please be careful,” I said.
“I will; I have more to worry about now than myself. It is very important I stay alive, for you and for our child,” he said putting his hand on my belly.
“Ready?” he asked as I strapped the last strap of my sandal.
“Yes,” I said.
CHAPTER 16
COMMANDER CERIK HADE
I was extremely happy to hear the news that Maria had for me. Truth be told, I did think that Ephane had infected her. After she had told me that she thought she had the virus, I thought for a long time about it. Why else would Ephane put her to sleep the way he did if not to test his new invention? But now that she was pregnant, I was relieved. The thought of having a child with Maria only made my life feel complete. We had been in a very blissful period lounging in bed every morning having sex and sex at night. It was too good to be true, and it did not last long. As soon as Ravinn told me the news of the oncoming invasion, I knew the blissful period was over.
“Come, it is time,” I told Maria as I shifted into Dragon form and walked out onto the platform to wait for her. She walked out, and I scooped her up into my arms.
“You are trembling, Maria,” I said to her.
“I am frightened is all,” she said. I held her closer against my body and placed a soft kiss on the top of her head.
“It will be all right, you will see. I have to get you to Amelia,” I said and then ran off the platform and jumped off the edge. I spread my wings wide and flew as fast as I could straight to Ravinn’s home. He was on the platform with Amelia and their child. I landed next to them and put Maria on her feet.
“Amelia, thank you for waiting for Maria. I leave her in your hands. Show her the bunker and what to do once inside.”
“Of course, I am here for you both,” Amelia said. Then she turned to Ravinn and they began to whisper their goodbyes. I turned to Maria to do the same.
“You follow what she says. I love you, Maria. Do not worry about me,” I said.
She began to cry, “I will worry, I can't help it.”
“Whatever happens to me, if I don’t make it, promise you will let a new Draqua into your life so that our child, Kazon, has a father,” I said even though it was a hard thing for me to say. I did not like the idea of another being with my Maria or raising my child, but I also did not like the idea of leaving them alone and abandoned. The child would need a father and Maria would need the support and love. I needed to hear that she would be all right if I did not make it. I needed to be able to fight to my fullest and not hold back.
“Don’t talk like that. Promise me you are going to come back to me. I need to know that you will be fine. Don't talk like that,” she said hysterically.
“It is a battle, Maria. It is dangerous. I am a damn good warrior, but I can never predict what will actually happen. I don't need you to be worried; and I need you to promise that you will let another in.”
She was quiet for a few seconds; she was not going to promise me I knew that much. She was too damn stubborn. Then she looked at me confused and said, “Kazon?”
“Yes, that’s the name I picked out for our child.”
“I like it. Now come back so that you can be the one to name him when he is born,” she said.
I pulled her into my arms. She tilted her head back, and I pressed my lips against hers. Her mouth opened slightly, and I pushed my tongue, in allowing it to caress hers. I kissed her as though it would be the last time that I ever kissed her. My hands moved up and down her back and over her bottom and back up again. I pushed my hands into her long hair and her fingers twisted in mine. It was a heavy kiss. It was full of longing and goodbye.
“Commander, it is time,” Ravinn broke my mesmerizing kiss. I pulled my body from Maria's. I placed my hand on her belly.
“I love you,” I said.
“I love you,” she put her hand on top of mine. Then I pulled away and looked at Ravinn. We both ran to the edge and flew off of the platform. It was time for battle.
Ravinn and I flew toward the barracks. Looking down I could see the chaos of the village. Everyone that was a female or child was running for the bunker, and everyone that was a warrior was flying toward the military barracks. There was a lot of shouting.
Ravinn and I landed in the middle of the landing port where ships were being prepared. King Hydros himself was shouting orders. I landed near him.
“Commander, it is just as you expected, an invasion. Ravinn, you know Ephane best. What do you think?” the King said.
“I think his entire purpose of the invasion is a distraction. He will want to get to the water or the food supply. Anywhere that this virus can be dispersed. I think we need to hold them off as soon as they enter the atmosphere; do not let them anywhere near the land. Then there should be those that stay behind guarding every single inch of the shoreline on all sides of the island for any opposition stragglers. I think he will only send in a few of the opposition warriors to contaminate. It is easier that way. The battle will be a distraction to let those few stragglers in. They will be the ones to carry the virus; I am almost sure of this tactic. I know him well,” Ravinn said.
“I think that sounds right. Ravinn, see to gathering this guard and putting them in position on the shoreline all the way around the island. Commander, you see to the water and food supply and make sure that the guards are ready and tell them it will just be a few stragglers that might come in to contaminate. I will see to preparing for the battle to hold them at the line over the ocean; we won't let them through. Go now,” the king said.
We dispersed. I shot straight up into the air. I flew hard and fast to the water tanks. There were many warriors gathering on all levels guarding it. I landed on the highest level to address them.
“Warriors! Listen up!” I shouted. They all turned to me.
“The opposition is coming. They are heavily armed with many ships. But we believe that the battle they want to give us is merely a distraction. It is a distraction because they want to let a few warriors onto the island. My guess is they will be flying in on wings and not ships. We cannot let them get close to this water tank. It is possible they will shoot a vial of this virus directly at the water tank. It is possible they will try to fly over and drop it. It is important that you keep an eye out for these individuals. They are the biggest threat. Put the cover over the water tank now!”
The warriors went into action, and the water tank shield began to slowly move, covering the top. It was an extra shield; now there were two barriers they would have to get through. I made sure they were all in proper positions to not leave any holes in the defense.
“Commander! Look!” one of the warriors shouted pointing in the direction of the sk
y over the ocean.
“It is them! It is the opposition!” another shouted.
I looked to see a large black math entering our atmosphere. It was the opposition, and there were many, many ships. There were two large ones and many small ones surrounding them. They had come for a fight, and we were going to give them one.
“Charge your blasters. Prepare for invasion!”
Then I left and flew back in the direction of the barracks. I was going to fight. That was where I belonged. As I flew, I thought about Maria and our unborn child. This was the first battle that I had ever been in that I had so much riding on the line. I now had a major distraction. Before, I went on reckless missions and fought and many dangerous battles with no one to think about but myself. I was a very selfish Commander, but now all of that had changed. I had more to think about than just myself. I only hoped it would not distract me and have dire consequences while I was fighting.
“They are coming!” I shouted as I landed on the landing port.
“Commander, are you with me?” Ravinn shouted as he began to climb into a battleship.
“I am!” I flew directly to him and boarded the ship. There were already many battleships in the air flying out toward the ocean. I took the seat next to Ravinn as he flew. We had two Warriors in the back on each side manning the guns. I was in control of the missiles.
“Charging missiles!” I shouted.
“Look at that. There must be a hundred ships,” Ravinn said as we flew past the shoreline of the island and over the ocean toward the opposition invasion.
“That looks about right. I bet Ephane is on one of the bigger ships,” I said.
“If he is on one at all. He is a coward. He might have stayed on the space station,” Ravinn said.
“Perhaps, but this virus is his baby. I think he would want to indulge in the victory if it is successfully planted on the island.”
“That is true,” I said. I got a closer look at the bigger ships as I used the scope to zoom in on them. Then I saw something that shocked me.
“Shit!”
“What? What is it?” Ravinn said.
“We were wrong about the water contamination. That is not what he is going to use to spread the virus,” I said.
“What do you mean?”
“The largest ship. I can see underneath it. There are sprayers on the underside. They mean to fly over the island and dust it with the virus, spray it all over the place.”
“No! We cannot let that happen,” Ravinn said. “We can shoot it down before it gets near the village. I am making a beeline for it right now.”
“Yes, go to it. But we cannot shoot it down.”
“What? Why not?” He asked.
“Because that ship is obviously carrying large amounts of the virus if it is enough to be able to spray it all over the village. Which means if we shoot it down, it will just sink into the ocean. The ocean will be contaminated and so will the food supply, possibly, or simply bathing in the ocean can be a problem. It is too risky; we don't know what we are dealing with.”
“Then what? What do we do?”
“I have an idea. Get as close to it as possible.”
Boom! The first shots were fired, and suddenly every ship was engaged in battle. It was chaotic and crazy as we saw a couple of opposition small ships fall into the ocean, then a few of ours. Ravinn flew, maneuvering precisely through laser blast and missiles aimed at us. We had one mission, to get to that damned ship before it got to the village. I only hoped my crazy plan would work, even if it killed me.
CHAPTER 17
MARIA COVALLOS
Saying goodbye to Cerik was harder than I thought it would be. It was possible that he was going off to die; it was a hard pill to swallow. It was also completely unfair; why did this have to happen in the moment of extreme happiness. I had only known that I was with child for less than twenty-four hours, and then the celebration was ruined. We were in a state of bliss and out of nowhere this invasion comes along. I did not get to have a chance of having one full day of knowing that I was pregnant and spending that time with my lover, the commander.
But I was completely shocked when he asked me to promise him that I would find another lover if he did not come back. He was not the type of warrior to say such a thing; he was arrogant and selfish. He wanted me all to himself; he couldn't even handle my friendship with Hekan when there was nothing there. So for him to tell me that I should find another if he did not come back made me feel sick to my stomach. It made me realize just how dangerous this invasion was if he was already thinking in those terms.
“This way, follow me. Dekan, stick close to me. Do not wander off,” Amelia said, grabbing her child's hand. I followed them across the rope bridge from her home toward a massive tree. We went through the arch, and there was a spiral staircase inside. I quickly followed her down the stairs. There was a lot of chaos and shouting as others moved down the stairs as well. The commotion in the village was getting louder.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“Into the jungle. There is a secret underground bunker. It is where all of the females and children are heading. We must go quickly,” she said.
We emerged from the massive tree and out onto the ground. Amelia grabbed her child's hand and looked at me. Then she began to run at a fast pace; I ran after her into the jungle along a dense path. There were many running in the same direction. Overhead, I could see many full dragons and hybrids flying, as well as the hum of ships criss-crossing. It was complete chaos in my heart was beating so fast.
“We are almost there!” Amelia shouted at me over her shoulder.
Soon the jungle cleared, and there were many females and children lined up and entering a massive hole in the ground. It wasn't a raw hole; it was more like the entrance to a tunnel that went straight down with stairs.
“That is it. That is where we are going,” Amelia said.
“I understand,” I said. Then she squatted down next to her child and began to comfort him. I looked around at all of the females doing the same, at least those that had children. Others were just helping where they could as they entered the tunnel. Finally, we were at the entrance, and I followed Amelia and her child in. It was a good four flights of stairs before we reached a massive room. It looked like an airplane hangar.
“This is massive,” I said.
“Yes, let's find a place to camp,” Amelia said.
I followed her to a couple of beds in the corner. She sat on one next to her child, and I sat on the other.
“Each bed has a basket underneath. Look, there will be food and water,” she said to me. I watched as she took out a basket from underneath her bed. She opened the water and gave it to her child. I took the basket out from under my bed and put it on top. I drank some of the water. I could not eat. My stomach was in knots.
“How long do these battles last?”
“It is different. I have only seen one before, and it lasted less than an hour. But I have heard that in the past they could last days.”
“Days? That is insane,” I said.
“I know. But you must not worry yourself. Ravinn and the commander are excellent warriors. You have nothing to fear. They will return to us,” she said.
I wondered if she was saying it because she believed it, or if she was trying to persuade herself that was the truth.
“It is just that… I am pregnant,” I said to her.
She smiled a big smile, “Congratulations, Maria. That is excellent news. I am happy for you and the commander.
“Thank you, but now I am extremely worried. What if he does not come back to me and I am in this condition?”
“I am in the same condition,” she said.
“Oh my God. You are right. I am sorry. You have two children now; I know that you are worried just as I am.”
“I am. But we must not let that worry harm us. Did you have time to eat breakfast?”
“No, we had only just awoken when we heard the news.”
“Then let us eat. I did not eat either, and we are both with child, and we cannot let the children inside of us suffer because of our nerves. We must put something in our bellies.”
“You are right,” I said glad that she was here with me. She was helping and very calm. She knew more than I did about this entire crazy alien life. I rummaged through the basket and pulled out some dried fish and dried fruit and began to eat. Amelia did the same and also gave some to Dekan.
About ten minutes, later I was full. I put the basket aside, and that was when I heard a loud boom. I looked at Amelia.
“It is starting. That was the sound of battle,” she said.
“Oh God,” I said as I stood up and began to pace back and forth in front of the bed.
