by Stella Sky
The troops would follow my lead at all costs, and I needed to be vigilant. I would not allow the humans to be destroyed before the Larex arrived to claim victory over the Earth. I would make sure that everybody was primed to receive a new threat and deal with it accordingly.
I waited until all the ships were in position before landing the ship stealthily on Earth, where, as far as I knew, nobody would be able to detect us.
“Stay here,” I ordered to the Verian troops that had ridden with me on the ship. “If you see anything strange, do not hesitate to attack.”
Ali seemed disappointed, but when I motioned for her to follow me, her face was relived. Did she think I was going to leave her on the ship?
When we climbed off the ship, Ali’s face broke out into a wide, beautiful smile, and she glanced over at me excitedly.
“I can’t believe I’m back home,” she said.
I felt a pang of guilt, considering it was my fault that she had been torn from her home in the first place, but when I caught her eye again, she didn’t seem to be holding anything against me. I still couldn’t help but feel bad about it, but the feeling was soon driven out of my mind as we headed near the place where we had first met.
“Do you think they’re going to be suspicious if I just walk back inside and start to work on the weapon?”
I paused to look at Ali. I hadn’t considered this, but it was possible that she would receive some judgment from her peers.
“Just do whatever you can,” I said, touching her cheek gently. “We must do our best.”
Ali’s beautiful oceanic eyes held my gaze, and I leaned down to kiss her forehead. She froze under my touch, and then we looked at each other wordlessly. It was clear at that moment that she was going to accept my claim, and I felt a rush of heat go to my loins.
“You had better go now,” I said, trying to tear myself away from her so that I didn’t overstep my bounds. Nothing would be more dangerous at this point. We had only a limited time before Grod and the Larex would arrive, and I had a feeling that our troops would only hold them off for so long. Without Ali’s weapon on the table, it was possible that Earth and all of its beautiful resources would be destroyed. She had to finish the weapon before Grod arrived and ordered the troops to face off against the humans and destroy each other, only to take the planet at its most vulnerable.
There was also the distinct and chilling possibility that if we didn’t have the manpower to fight the Larex, they would destroy us all. Why my brother would align himself with such a cruel and difficult race, I couldn’t understand. But I also didn’t doubt that it was within the realm of possibility that he would sell out his own people to meet his own ends, whatever they happened to be.
And yet, I wanted to have faith in my brother. He was my blood, and it seemed natural for me to want to hope for the best and see the best in him. Perhaps he was simply strategizing and working with what he had at his disposal to meet his goals. It was possible. Even if it was highly unlikely, it was possible.
“I guess I will just stay at the lab and try to get this finished before anything happens,” Ali said quietly. “I somehow doubt that anybody has tried to work on it since my abduction, but it’s possible that someone did start to make some progress. If it turns out that they have, then it will be a lot easier to get this going. Wish me luck.”
“Good luck, Yula. If there is time, meet me tonight at the mine where we first met. I will be setting up base there. We are going to have to try to help the humans understand the real threat somehow, and I believe that only you will be able to do that.”
Ali nodded, though she looked doubtful. I smiled as reassuringly as I could.
“You can do it.”
She nodded, though her brows were still furrowed, and turned away from me. I watched her walk until she was out of sight, my chest tight as I considered being away from her for the first time in so long. It was disappointing to consider that I may or may not see her again, but somehow, I knew that no matter what happened, she was as invested in taking down the Larex as I was, and if she had to, she would come back to me in order to do it. Even though my claim had been difficult for her, we were still bonded, and there was little that either of us would be able to do about it.
I got to work quickly, heading toward the mine to strategize. I knew that we didn’t have a lot of time to work, so I began to set the base up. If anything happened to the Earth, that would mean that everything my people had been working so hard for over the centuries would be for nothing. And no matter what my selfish brother’s intentions were, preserving the resources of the Earth was unbelievably important; it was something I had to honor at all costs.
***
“Commander, where have you been?”
I frowned at Kera, who had a tendency to worry about me, no matter how capable I happened to be on a field of battle.
“I’ve been setting up, preparing for the attack.”
“Of course,” Kera said.
“Any news?” I asked, taking a look at the men who were lined up in the ship in front of me.
“Grod said that he would arrive in two days’ time, and that he had something very special planned.”
I wasn’t thrilled to hear the news. Grod’s surprises were almost never good, but the men were all in high spirits considering what their leader might have in store for them. It was the highest honor to meet the doyan face to face, and the troops set to raid Earth and finish the war once and for all had all been promised such special honors. But only those who had been able to get the job done, and not those who were killed in the process of doing so.
“Well, that’s something special. What does he know of our position?” I asked. It would do no good if we were sneak attacked by my brother and his unfortunate allies, and if he knew enough about my strategy, he would be able to use it to his advantage, and that was something I could not tolerate.
“He knows that we are on Earth and preparing for the attack. But they do not know where or how. You have been keeping the strategy under wraps, and he didn’t really inquire about it.”
“I understand,” I said thoughtfully. That was odd. Grod was usually always busy micromanaging everything that the military was doing, so not having any direct communication with him was more worrying than it would have been if he had been busy reaching in and trying to get me to do things the way that he thought they should be done.
“So, are we going to begin by attacking Zone 70?” the leader of the battalion asked, his eyes steady and serious upon me. “I know that is the most powerful Zone on Earth.”
“We are going to be sure to do whatever needs to be done,” I said carefully. “But it is possible that the threat we are going to face is unprecedented. Because of these unknown circumstances, I am going to have to ask you all to be patient with me and to play it by ear. I will give you the commands, and you are to follow them to the letter. Is that understood?”
“Of course, Commander Curad.”
I dismissed the troops and sat heavily in the seat in front of the control center, sighing heavily.
“Are you all right, Commander?” Kera asked.
I nodded, but my mind was working at high speed. If I was going to have to face my brother and the terrifying threat of the Larex, then I would have to make sure that I knew as much about their weaknesses as possible. Kera had been reading and studying the binder thoroughly, and getting in contact with other Pelin throughout the galaxy to see what all they might know about the situation with the Larex.
“Have you learned anything about the Larex yet, Kera?” I asked.
“Yes…they are big and will probably come with reinforcements. I believe they might be recruiting the Yorga warriors.”
I sighed deeply and closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose. It was not good news. The Yorga were fierce warriors who had no qualms about destroying everything in their paths. It would take a lot of manpower to win a battle like this.
But it was something that I
believed we would be capable of doing, provided the human was able to talk sense into her kind. If we pulled together, we would be able to defeat the great menace once and for all and preserve the integrity of Earth.
Chapter 8
Dr. Ali Monroe
“Ali! We thought you were dead!”
I smiled and made a beeline for my workspace, which had a small bouquet of flowers on it.
“No, I’m not, but we all will be soon if we don’t get this up and running. Who has made any progress on it?”
“I worked on it a little bit.”
I cringed at the sound of Dr. Cranston’s voice, though I was still pretty relieved about the fact that somebody had managed to get some work done on the weapon. If he hadn’t, I didn’t even want to begin to think about what might happen to us. The threat was looming.
“Dr. Cranston. How far have you come?”
“You can take a look for yourself, can’t you? I have better things to do.”
“Actually, I’m not sure you do. There is a major strike coming. An attack unlike anything we have ever dealt with. The Verians were ready to take over and launch the massive attack. But there are some complications. The entire planet could be destroyed.”
“What have they done to you, girl? This is ridiculous. She’s talking madness.”
Dr. Cranston looked around the room, laughing to himself and inviting everyone else to look at me as if I were insane or something. It was infuriating, really, but I did my best to ignore him just as I always had, and took charge.
“You have no idea what is going to happen if we don’t get this weapon done. Now.”
I looked hard at Dr. Cranston, who shifted uncomfortably under my gaze.
“Well, we had been working on getting that finished up anyway,” he said dismissively as if it had been his idea to finish it up all along. “Just don’t hurt yourselves.”
He turned on his heel and disappeared from the room, leaving me alone with the superweapon. A few scientists reluctantly came to join me, and we were soon getting to work on the weapon that, with any luck, would be enough to save the Earth from the massive destruction that would befall it at the hands of the Doyan Grod Curad.
***
“How did it go, human?”
I sighed and fell heavily into the low seat that Pax had set up in the mine where we had first met.
“The weapon will be ready tomorrow. But we won’t be able to test it without really giving our position away.”
“Well, that will be fine. We will get it finished just as Grod is coming into the galaxy. I do have some bad news though, Yula. They may be coming with some reinforcements.”
My heart panged hard in my chest. “Reinforcements?”
“Yes,” Pax said, coming toward me, his face drawn and pensive. “The only possible way to survive the coming attack is to make sure that the Verians and the humans are unified in battle. And we have only a day or two to do so.”
“The scientists at Zone 70 are not very tolerant of the Verians at all. They weren’t even very thrilled to see me because I am wearing Verian clothing. They don’t trust me at all.”
“They will have no choice but to trust us if they want to survive this assault. You know the Larex want one thing and one thing only: to bleed the universe of life. And they will not be happy until they have fully done so.”
“I don’t understand why anybody would want to do that,” I sighed. “There is so little left to appreciate in the universe. So little life, so few planets capable of sustaining such life. What could they possibly have to gain from destruction?”
Pax shrugged, his handsome face creased. “It gives them a false sense of power. That power helps them to feel important when in other times throughout their lives, they may have considered themselves insignificant.”
I considered this briefly and then nodded. “That makes sense.”
Pax grinned at me, and I sighed.
“What is it, Yula?”
His eyes flashed with concern, and I looked down at my hands.
“I’m worried about what’s going to happen.”
Pax came to me and took my hands in his, looking into my eyes. A surge of heat coursed through me, and I wished more than anything that I could just forget the things that had happened and that the planet was in danger so that I could just enjoy this intimate moment with him.
“Nothing is going to happen,” Pax said. “Nothing that we do not have the power to control.”
“So you believe it’s going to be okay?” I asked quietly.
“I know that it’s going to be okay,” he said, his deep voice gentle and reassuring. “I really believe that we are going to handle this and succeed. I know my brother, and he is not as clever as he thinks he is.”
“I can’t believe that it’s come down to this,” I said with a soft laugh, shaking my head in disbelief. “There’s never been any time in history that the Verians and the humans were forced to work together. Do you think that the troops are going to be able to pull it off?”
“I believe that Grod is going to come to gloat,” Pax said with a slow nod. “I think that he will make it clear what his plan is and that will convince the Verians that they have put their faith in the wrong man.”
“I hope that the humans are willing to prioritize. I don’t think it would be constructive in the least for the humans to believe that the Verians are the only enemy,” I said. “I should try to get in touch with the leaders of Earth. You need to come with me. They have to know what’s going on.”
Pax looked suddenly afraid and stared at me as if I were telling him to jump into a fire. “Are you suggesting that I join you in Zone 100?”
“Yes, they really need to know what’s going on.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. It’s the only way to make sure that we are going to deal with this.”
Pax pursed his lips. “You know they will probably shoot me on sight, right?”
“I think that if you came as a diplomat, they would receive you. Just show them your credentials. You’re the second-in-command to the doyan of your planet. They would be willing to speak with you and let you leave. We can be honorable. You know that, right?”
“No, not really,” Pax said with a soft laugh. “I would rather just stay here at my base.”
“That’s not an option. We have to go, and go quickly.”
I stood up and took Pax by the arm, pulling him forward. He came along reluctantly, sighing as he did so.
“Come on; you don’t have to act like this is a chore. We need to do it to save Earth. It won’t do anybody any good if the entire planet and everybody on it is destroyed just so those assholes can feel superior about something.”
“All right, Yula, all right. I’m coming.”
“Good.”
Pax grinned and said nothing more, and we walked to his ship together, my hand guiding him firmly. He didn’t seem to mind the arrangement very much and I smiled to myself inwardly. I was really starting to like spending time with him. Too bad the whole planet was probably about to be destroyed and we wouldn’t have very many other days like this to spend together.
When we boarded the ship, Pax typed in the coordinates, and everybody on board was suddenly on the alert. They had been waiting there for their orders for many, many hours at that point, and the whole ship smelled of freshly cooked oka. Kera was walking around with a tray of food held high over his head, and the troops were watching Pax and I walk toward them, taking small bowls out of politeness as Kera offered the tray to us.
“What is the word, Commander?”
“We are going to Zone 100.”
The whole place erupted into loud protests as the men took the information in and I looked at Pax, who seemed as if he were about ready to join them. Everybody knew that the Verians were not welcome on Earth, and the idea of going to the most powerful place on the planet as far as political activities were concerned was terrifying to them.
“I prom
ise, I won’t let any harm come to any of you. Only the second-in-command will be coming in with me, and they will not hurt him. We just have to talk about what’s going to happen.”
“What is there to speak of?” one soldier demanded. “We are going to win the battle against the planet Earth, and it is going to be a surprise. We are going to win.”
“Do you not trust my judgment?” Pax demanded loudly, causing everybody there to quiet down. “It is up to me what we do and why, and I do not need you talking back about what is going to happen. There are certain things I need to discuss with the leaders of Earth. That is all there is to it.”
“Does the doyan know about this?”
Pax froze and peered into the crowd at the man who spoke. He was short by Verian standards, and his face was sour and angry.
“The doyan put me in charge here,” Pax said coolly. “And if you don’t want to deal with that then I suggest you get off this ship and do whatever it is you think you’re going to do without us to back you up.”
I watched as the energy between them grew thick and their eyes met. I could practically see the sparks flying between them, but eventually, the smaller man backed down, and Pax stood up straight, heading back to the command center of the ship. He motioned for me to follow, and I could feel the confused and judgmental gaze of the men surrounding us as I followed him to his seat.
“All right human,” Pax said, once we were alone again, as Kera had left the room to finish feeding the soldiers. “I trust you not to lead me astray. I am going to ask you to please do whatever needs to be done to get me back safely to my men and help me convince your government to squash this threat once and for all.”
I nodded, troubled by something the men had asked.
“What is it, Yula?”
I sighed. “Why haven’t you told them that Grod isn’t a good man?”
Pax leaned back in his chair and sighed heavily. “They would never believe it until they see it. I would sound like I had gone mad from the pressures of my job. Mad and conspiratorial. It would serve nobody.”
