Flames of Arousal

by Kerce, Ruth D.

  This facility? Which meant more facilities like this existed. Here on Xylon or elsewhere? Both maybe? A beep drew Erik’s attention. He flipped a switch on the communications panel. “Yes.”

  Leila’s voice came through the speaker. “Can you spare a few minutes? The babies are here. Two girls. Very healthy. And very beautiful, I must say. Braden would like you and Brianna to come see them. He’s beaming. Alexa is tired, but recovering just fine.”

  Relief spread through him. Alexa had given birth, and it sounded like all was well.

  Girls. No doubt they’d have Braden wrapped around their little fingers in no time. He turned to Laszlo, who had a wide smile on his face. “Do you mind?”

  “Yes, Laszlo, I’d love to go,” Brianna said.

  “Go. Both of you. See the babies. I’ll keep watch here.”

  Erik turned back to the speaker. “We’re on our way.” He flipped off the speaker and he and Brianna left the control room, eager to see the new arrivals.

  Laszlo watched them go. He felt happy for Braden and Alexa. He suspected Leila and Erik would want their own children now, too. Probably during the next Breeder Release—one of the prearranged time periods each year when Xylon Breeders became fertile.

  Leila was an excellent nurturer. And though gruff, he expected Erik would make an excellent father. Any daughters he had would be well-protected and any sons would grow up to be fine men.

  A sudden sadness overtook him though, overshadowing the happier thoughts, at what else the future held. He wished he could save everyone on Xylon and the surrounding planets, but there was no way. This “game” he’d been playing with Daegal for so many years would soon come to an end. Then a new command would emerge.

  All fated. And he’d learned years ago not to try and fight fate, because destiny could rarely be altered. The path which led to that destiny, though, contained many variables.

  So while he was still able, he’d try his best to save those who didn’t have to suffer for the mistakes made so long ago by his ancestors. When they all learned the truth, things would never be the same. The question now was how much to tell them…and how soon.

  “Now that we’re alone,” Briggs said, “what the hell am I doing here?”

  “You were briefed by your superiors.” ACE had to succeed, was destined to succeed—or so he hoped. A wildcard always existed though. Even in destiny.

  He hated to dwell on how many would die in the process, if this did succeed. And if for some reason destiny’s path veered in the other direction…

  “Not briefed enough. I suppose I can understand why. Nobody in their right mind would volunteer for this mission if totally informed. I have a feeling that I know very little of the whole truth, and I’m already having second thoughts.”

  The man was too smart for his own good. But then, he’d requested a smart man for this project. Someone who could think on his feet, especially when things went wrong.

  “What happened with the Initiation?”

  “You mean that group sex thing?”

  Laszlo chucked. “Yes.” From what he knew of Earth’s sexual customs, the Colonel may never have engaged in what he labeled as “group” sex. Or if he had, probably not with strangers.

  Briggs shrugged. “Didn’t happen. Well, we got started but were interrupted. Not that I didn’t enjoy it,” he chuckled, “but it’s not a military procedure I expected.”

  “It’s not exactly military. More medical, if you really need to classify it. What caused the interruption, and are you suffering any adverse effects from it?”

  “Something—the chemicals they gave me—didn’t work right. I went a little nuts for a while. Then it seemed to wear off. When the alarm sounded down in the chambers, Brianna called the Initiation off.”

  “Brianna was in the I-Chamber during the rite? Why?”

  “She was part of the ceremony or whatever you all refer to it as. Leading it, from how it seemed to me.”

  “Her sister was supposed to do that.” So the path had already been altered, not simply delayed as he’d thought. Or had he made a miscalculation? Whenever a path varied from what he expected, it caused a ripple effect that had to be compensated for.

  He’d recheck his genetic indicator to make certain all was working as it should. Then he’d recalculate the variables, using the new data.

  Briggs shook his head. “Well, I don’t know anything about that. Two other women were there, but she never called them by name. Maybe one of them was her sister, though they didn’t look anything like her.”

  Tara and Brianna looked enough alike for someone to suspect they might be related. So he doubted Tara was in the chamber. “You said the chemicals wore off?

  Naturally?”

  “Yes.”

  “Hmm.” He’d need to question Brianna more thoroughly later and find out exactly what had happened before making any plan changes. “I’ll look into it. You’ll still need to be Initiated though.”

  “For what? I mean, Brianna explained what the ceremony is for, but she seemed to think that it should have been canceled and that it’s not done on Earth men.”

  “Yes, I can imagine her thoughts. This is experimental, but highly important. You need to be protected, Colonel, before the next phase of the mission. That’s all I can tell you, right now. You will be Initiated. Soon. If it works, then we can proceed. How did Brianna know about ACE? Did you tell her?”

  “No. The information didn’t come from me. When she entered the chamber, she already seemed to know about the project. At least minimally. What is the next phase? I know I’m supposed to cooperate fully, no matter what, but a lot of what I was told just doesn’t make sense to me. And I’m not used to blindly following orders.”

  “All will make sense in time.”

  A frown crossed Briggs’ face. He started to say something, then shook his head and started again. “So what happens if this Initiation thing doesn’t work?”

  Too many questions, Laszlo thought. The injection Leila had given him was wearing off and weariness attacked his body. He didn’t possess the strength to handle much more at the moment. “I will explain everything to everyone involved when the time is right. Not that I don’t trust you, Colonel, but my own people deserve to know what’s going on first. That’s the least I can do for them now.”

  * * * * *

  Lair of Xylon

  “Are we dark?” Torque asked his sister.

  “Yes,” Tara answered. “Anyone scanning us won’t find any activity. We’ll look completely shut down to them.”

  “Good. That should stop further attacks. They’ll think all our systems have collapsed. Great work cloaking our energy sources.”

  The cloaking would give them more time to get the rest of their systems operational again without any interference from Marid’s computers trying to infect them with more malfunctions.

  The only reason they’d even been able to go dark at all was because so many of their systems hadn’t yet rebooted from the code changes. They’d stabilized, but not re-energized back to full power. Now, when they did, they’d be undetectable. Hopefully.

  The Lair couldn’t defeat Daegal at their current strength. But maybe they could save what they had and keep the lines stabilized until they could arrange a new means of attack on their enemy.

  Tara smiled at his praise, until something on her screens caught her attention.

  “Torque?” She seemed to be checking each screen over and over again.

  “What is it?” He’d been keeping one eye on her and the other on Council Member Delemar, just to make sure the man didn’t try anything stupid, like attempting to return to the Council Chambers and gather the other members to try some sort of takeover.

  “Something odd is happening. Several Marid fighters are starting to fire on each other.”

  “What?” He walked over to her screens, watching as the data came in.

  “What’s going on?” Delemar ask
ed.

  “I’m also reading…” She shook her head. “Some of the transports who dropped Egesa troops are now firing on those same troops on the ground,” she informed them.

  “Transports and some fleet fighters are moving off. Oh! Two ships just crashed to the surface! Right in the middle of the city.”

  “Damn!” They were too far down to feel the residual effect, but Torque checked his own screens and saw the damage reports streaming in from their auto-indicators. “Send out rescue teams and Healers.”

  “On it.”

  “Tell them we surrender, before it’s too late,” Delemar ordered them, jumping up from his seat.

  “Didn’t you hear what she said?” Torque asked in disgust. “The Egesa are being killed. The fighters are firing on each other. That’s good news.”

  “So they’re killing their own people with friendly fire. It happens in war. That doesn’t mean we’re gaining an advantage,” Delemar pointed out.

  “Their ships are moving off.” Torque couldn’t believe the man’s ignorance. “We have a chance.”

  “We have nothing, if we don’t surrender now!”

  “Quiet, you two,” Tara shouted. “I can’t hear.”

  “What’s going on?” Torque asked her, his attention returning to the data screens.

  “Are more—”

  “Wait!” With a sharp movement, she held up her hand. Tara turned a control knob and tapped her earpiece. “We’ve got fleet communications.” She turned toward Torque.

  “It’s our Warriors! Piloting the Marid fighters and transports!”

  “What? Could it be a trick?” Torque asked, his heart rate kicking up.

  “No way! They’re annihilating all of Daegal’s fighters and troops! Our Warriors have returned to Xylon!”

  * * * * *

  Dome of Marid

  Daegal grabbed the Top Commander by the collar. Panic rolled through him.

  “What the hell is happening? Why are our own people turning on us?”

  The Top Commander struggled out of the man’s hold, sending Daegal reeling backward. “It’s not our people. It’s Agents who were Warriors. They’re turning back to again serve Xylon.”

  Daegal stumbled against a control panel. Once he got his feet securely under him, he stood speechless. When he finally did find his voice, he spoke low, feeling more defeated than he had in years. “That can’t happen. We have them under control.”

  “Not anymore, it seems.”

  He had to regain control. Quickly. “How are the Agents up in the fighters turning back into Warriors?” They wouldn’t just change loyalties without a trigger, and how could anything affect them in their fighters while up in space. He thought they’d made certain nothing like that could happen. “How? Tell me!” Someone had made a mistake.

  That was the only explanation. And that person would die.

  The Top Commander tugged at his facemask. “When we picked up on Xylon’s pods dropping the chemicals, I had them analyzed. The chemicals released were different than what was in Kam’s body.”

  “Different? Why didn’t you tell me?” The Top Commander always kept him informed. He relied on that information. Maybe more than he should, he began to think, studying the man closely.

  “I just got in the final analysis before arriving here. As you know from my preliminary report, the pods looked like environmental pods, so we didn’t analyze their storage bins until they started dropping their loads. When we identified a problem, we shot them down, but too late. I don’t understand it any more than you do. My people are still checking facts. I only know that our countermeasures aren’t working against the new chemicals, which are a variant of what we found inside Kam. I think the Lair did this on purpose. I think they knew we’d analyze Kam and they set us up.”

  Damn. He should have planned for that possibility. Laszlo was not a man to underestimate. “How’d the pilots get the chemicals into their systems?”

  “The fighters who are turning now were still on the ground when the chemicals came down. The pilots obviously got them in their system before they boarded their fighters and transports.”

  “Are we certain Kam Nextor is still under our control?” He wondered how deeply they’d been fooled. Laszlo was the bane of his existence! With anyone else, he’d feel confident of victory.

  “I don’t know. We’ve been unable to contact Frost. But he should be. Like I said, the chemicals in his system were different.”

  Even so he didn’t think it was worth the risk anymore. “As soon as you’re able, have her kill him. I don’t want to find out later that we’ve been fooled again.”

  “Are you sure? He could prove useful later.”

  True. And he hated to abandon their original plan, but he’d be damned if he’d take a chance. “I’m sure. I’d rather formulate a new plan now than worry about an uncertainty later.”

  The Top Commander nodded. “Fine. I’ll take care of it.”

  When the Top Commander turned to leave, Daegal stopped him with a hand to his arm. “We must finish this.” Though not something he’d been willing to do before, time was now running out. “Call back the rest of our troops. Get them out of range. Then launch the PowerIIRad Bomb at the Lair.”

  The Top Commander’s eyes widened behind his mask. “The PowerIIRad? That will destroy everything on the planet. It will render the surface uninhabitable. And if the Lair takes a direct hit, there won’t be anything left down there to salvage. It was agreed in the Pact of—”

  “Quiet!” He couldn’t hear this. Not now. “Just do it! I don’t want you questioning me. Do we still have access to the weapon controls for the Rad?” He didn’t care about any previous pacts made. This was not a war he intended to lose.

  After a tense moment of silence, the Top Commander finally answered. “Yes. It’s not a part of our main weapons system grid, but housed in a separate secure chamber, completely under independent control.”

  “Good. Take Xylon out. I want them annihilated.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Xylon’s upper atmosphere

  A sharp beep drew everyone’s attention. Halah’s heart skipped a beat as she and Kam moved toward the front of the orbiter. They’d risen several minutes prior, dressed and had been discussing her reentry into Warrior life when the alarm went off.

  “What now?” She watched Pitch check the readouts. She hoped that beep didn’t indicate trouble. The orbiter was armed, but wouldn’t stand a chance against a Marid fighter, if one had picked them up on tracking. Hopefully, a Lair fighter was also in the area to assist should they need it.

  “Everything’s all right. We’re cleared for orbit,” Pitch informed them with a smile.

  “While you two were sleeping, I began moving us closer to the planet. The computers showed more Marid-controlled fighters moving off, so I wanted us to be in position to achieve an orbit as soon as they cleared. And now, I’m reading Xylon codes from the other fighters that are left. So we’re good to go.” His smile widened.

  Kam smiled in return. “Our people. They’re back! The chemicals worked. Let’s get this orbiter down on Xylon. The landing coordinates are preprogrammed.”

  Halah felt a huge sense of relief. Xylon would be victorious in this war after all. She had no doubts now, and all of them could finally be reunited with their families and friends.

  “Will do. Switching over to preprogrammed coordinates. Computer is pinpointing.

  Laszlo has cleared us to descend and land. And…wait.” Pitch’s brow furrowed. “These coordinates indicate a location deep in the forest.”

  The forest? Halah looked over at Kam. What was he up to now? The forests of Xylon were hostile, uninhabitable places. Nobody sane went there unless commissioned for some sort of mission or research project. And even those were few and far between from what she remembered.

  “That’s where Josella is,” Kam explained.

  Halah’s heart lurched.

>   “Underground. We’re going directly to that location, not the Lair. Don’t worry. It’s safe.”

  Underground, yes, of course. She relaxed. The forests were actually the perfect location to build a secure chamber. Nobody who wasn’t supposed to would accidentally stumble upon it. And the Def’mal who lived in the forest, along with other forest dwellers, weren’t advanced enough to be able to figure out entry even if they did discover the location. “Good.” Halah smiled. “I can’t wait to see my sister.” Just a little more time and all the waiting would finally be over.

  Kam squeezed her waist. “Let’s land this thing.” He directed Halah to an empty seat, then he slid into the pilot’s station. “Everyone strap in. We’ll be landing on a small pad, then taken underground, ship and all.”

  * * * * *

  Lair of Xylon

  “Torque, I’m reading a large energy surge on Marid. The first wave stabilized after a few moments, but now my scans are showing a steady buildup in power.” Tara sent the readings to her brother’s terminal. A bad feeling crept up her spine. She’d never seen readings this high before. No explosion had taken place on Marid. Her instruments would show that. This was something different. Something more sinister, she feared.

  He turned from his station, and his brow furrowed. “I don’t recognize the source.

  Do you?”

  “Not exactly.” She hated to speculate in case she ended up being wrong, but Torque deserved to know her thoughts. “It looks like…weaponry…of some sort. I don’t like it, Torque.” To say the least. She checked their planetary shields—ineffective against small ships and lasers, which could maneuver through any of the open energy sockets, but very effective against missiles and other trajectory-based weapons. Down to only thirty-five percent strength. Damn!

  “Our fighters are ready to handle anything incoming, right?”

  “Unsure. Fighter weapons are severely depleted.” She felt uneasy. They needed more protection. “I think we should focus our security satellite beams in Marid’s direction, just in case. They can help deflect any small or medium-class missiles, and will be effective against most laser attacks.” The satellites weren’t at full power either, but she was all for anything extra they could implement to keep Xylon safe.