by Bethany Shaw
The room grew loud as everyone began speaking at once.
Zephyr stood up, suppressing the urge to flinch when dozens of guns were drawn and aimed directly at him. He cleared his throat and placed his hands on the table. The room quieted as people pushed back from the table, not wanting to be in the line of fire should the guards fire on him. “We have a little over twenty-four Earth hours before your planet is destroyed,” Zephyr said looking around the room to see he had everyone’s attention. “We need to start evacuating as many people as we can.”
“And we are just suppose to take your word for it?” the man in the suit asked.
“Why would he lie about this?” Addison asked as she shook her head and threw herself back in her chair.
“Because he’s an alien,” a man a few seats down from him said.
“Maybe so, but he’s saved countless lives already. You shot him down and instead of attacking everyone in this room he’s still here trying to help. Those yellow monsters out there are the enemy. They kill without mercy and continue to do so as we speak. Zephyr said this isn’t the first planet to have been attacked. Based on what we’ve all seen of the Imanji, I don’t see why there is any reason not to believe Zephyr when he says our planet will blow up,” Addison said as she stood and looked around the room.
The General cleared his throat, staring at his daughter a moment before standing as well. “Maybe other planets have turned tail and run, but the human race won’t do that. We intend to fight for our planet until our last breath. The best minds in the world are formulating plans and running simulations right now. We will find a way to save ourselves.”
“I understand and I commend you for that,” Zephyr said meaning every word. It was a noble cause and he admired them for it. “But there is no reason why you shouldn’t be evacuating nonessential personnel just in case the worst outcome happens.”
“How would this evacuation work?” the man in the suit asked as he picked up a pen and put the tip of it to his mouth. “Before we lost access to the emergency broadcast station we told people to go to ground and hide. Our military, what’s left of it, has been gathering at three different locations across the US.”
Zephyr studied the man. He was definitely the president, he decided. “My warship has shuttles that we can ferry people up on. We can fit several hundred on board at a time and it’s a two-hour round trip.”
The President tapped his palm on the table as he looked to the General. “If our plan of attack fails, then we’ll need a backup plan.”
“Are we seriously considering sending people with this man to his ship?” one of the men at the table asked. “We could be giving him exactly what he wants to destroy us.”
“This is an unprecedented event, Colin,” the president said. “There is no protocol for an alien invasion. Based on the weapons and ships we’ve seen, Zephyr Cree and his people are more advanced than us. If they wished to attack I have no doubt they would have done so already. Besides, I’ve known Addison Montgomery since she was a child. She seems to be of sound mind and I have no reason not to trust her. If she trusts Zephyr Cree then so do I. General, begin preparations to evacuate the civilians at this base. Work with Captain Cree to establish rendezvous points for civilians around the world. I want our satellites monitoring all extraterrestrial activity and fully operational within the hour. If Captain Cree is telling the truth, we don’t have much time to defend our planet or evacuate our citizens.”
Zephyr watched the men and women around the table. All sat silent for a moment before jumping into action. They fled the room quickly, hopefully off to see to the President’s orders.
“Mr. President, while my daughter and Captain Cree’s plan seems sound, there are some things to consider,” the General began. “I’m sure I don’t need to remind you launching nuclear missiles over Earth’s soil could have repercussions. If the alien craft aren’t high enough, we risk destroying our planet anyway. The Earth is no good to us if it is uninhabitable.”
The President nodded. “I’m well aware, General. I’m hoping once we get satellite imagery we’ll find the main mother ships well above the safety zone.”
“What exactly are these warheads you plan to use?” Zephyr inquired, curious as to what was so dangerous about them. Sure, any bomb detonated to close to the ground would cause chaos and destruction, but there seemed to be something more about these bombs.
“It’s a nuclear bomb,” Addison said. “The material inside it is toxic to the environment and humans. Fall-out from it would take decades for the Earth to recover. Humans directly exposed to the chemicals would die quickly and painfully. Those who use contaminated soil for farming or water to drink could become ill as well and eventually die.”
“I see.” What kind of bombs did these humans have? They sound particularly nasty compared to the kind his people used. Wasn’t blowing a ship up enough? Why the extra nonsense?
“If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to make a public address telling our citizens to be on the lookout for your shuttles for immediate evacuation. I also need to contact the other world leaders to let them know of our plans,” the President nodded at them before he, too, filed out of the room.
“I should prepare the evacuations. Captain Cree, if you could contact your ships and let them know to start coming down, I’ll have the evacuation coordinates for you in a few minutes,” the General said as he offered his arm to Addison.
“Right away.” Zephyr pressed the communication button on his jacket to contact his ship. There wasn’t much time for them to get their plan in motion and he didn’t know if it would work anyway, but he was willing to give it a try.
Chapter Eleven
“Captain!” Orion’s voice called out.
Zephyr finished his conversation with the pilot of the shuttle parked on the road outside the mountain. They’d made a few adjustments so they could fit even more people on board the shuttles in an attempt to save as many lives as possible.
After the president made his announcement, people began showing up all over the place to be brought onto The Retribution. The shuttles were swamped and often had to leave many behind to wait for the next pickup.
“Do whatever you have to,” Zephyr told the pilot. The more people they shuttled the better. He turned to his friend as Orion jogged over. “What is it?”
“I spoke with General Montgomery about the nuclear warheads. Nasty devices. I think I might have an idea on how to protect the planet,” Orion said.
“One that could actually work?” Zephyr asked. Humans were by far the most advanced civilization they’d come across, but could they actually hold the Imanji ships off?
“I think so,” Orion said as he rubbed his hands together.
“Let’s hear it,” Zephyr said.
“The General has contacted sites across the world that will launch their nukes at a specific time, each targeting specific enemy ships. There are eighteen total Imanji ships, by the way. I believe they have enough missiles to destroy our enemy.”
“That’s good news.” Maybe there was hope yet.
Orion nodded and inhaled. Zephyr frowned; there was something more and he could bet he wasn’t going to like it. “What is it?”
“The Imanji mother ships are too low to the ground and growing closer by the hour as they plan to make their final attack. By the time the humans are ready to launch, the ships will be too close and the damage to the planet will be great, leaving over eighty percent of it uninhabitable for years,” Orion said.
“I thought you said this could work?” Zephyr said shaking his head.
“It could, with our help.”
“What are you suggesting?” Zephyr asked. Orion was one of the most intelligent men on Delphi. As a teen, his friend had been one of the key developers in upgrading Delphi’s defense shield.
“We need to bring The Retribution into Earth’s atmosphere.”
“Can that be done?” Zephyr asked lifting his brow. The ship was built in space; it wa
sn’t meant to come into orbit, let alone stay there for any amount of time.
“With a few adjustments, yes, I believe so. Then I can boost the shields on the ship to cover the entire planet.”
Zephyr shook his head. “That won’t work. The nuclear warheads will hit the shield and blow up.” Only his people’s tech and missiles could penetrate the ships shields when they were up. Anything else would bounce off and detonate in the safe zone.
“I know. We launch the warheads and the second they leave the shield perimeter, we put them up.”
Zephyr rubbed a hand over his face. “That would require all the warheads to be launched exactly on time. Is that possible?”
“The General is coordinating the attack as we speak. They should all launch at the same time. Zephyr, this is the first planet we have a real chance of saving. These people are smart and have the most tech we’ve seen aside from our own and the Imanji’s.”
Orion was right. The humans did stand a chance at defeating their enemy.
“If The Retribution is low enough to the ground, can we reverse engineer our teleportation tech to get the humans on board?” Zephyr asked. If they did, they could increase their evacuation and save even more lives.
Orion tapped his chin with his thumb before nodding. “At that range, probably.”
“And if the plan fails, will we be able to open a window into hyperspace?” Zephyr asked. If they couldn’t open a hyperspace window to jump into FTL then this plan was pointless.
“We’d have to haul butt out of Earth’s orbit, but we should have barely enough time,” Orion said.
Zephyr let out a breath. The plan seemed solid enough, but if it failed, not only would the planet be lost, but his ship could be too and everyone on board. He was responsible for every one of them. They knew what they signed on for, but that didn’t mean he liked putting them in the line of fire.
“Make the preparations,” he said.
“Thank you, Zephyr. This is going to work. I can feel it.” Orion clapped him on the shoulder before he sprinted off to set his plan into motion.
“I really hope so,” Zephyr mumbled.
***
Addison wiped her brow as she watched the shuttle lift off the ground. Another group of people were being taken up to The Retribution. From what she understood, this was the last group to be ferried from the base. The rest would be teleported in a few hours when the ship got closer. She shuddered, not sure if she liked the idea of it, but reminded herself she’d already done it once. Besides it couldn’t be worse than flying, right?
Speaking of flying, Zephyr was outside watching as the ship sped away out of sight. She jogged over to him. “Hi,” she said with a smile.
He returned her grin. “Hey. I’m sorry I lost track of you earlier.”
She waved her hand. “It’s okay. I’ve been busy, too, helping organize the evacuation.”
“I’d hoped you were on that shuttle,” Zephyr said as he met her gaze. “I want you safe, Addison.”
Addison shook her head. “My dad wanted me to be, but I wanted to stay here with you.” Her cheeks burned with her admission.
Zephyr reached out, pushing her hair back. “I’m still glad you remained.”
“Me, too.” Her heart skipped a beat at his admission. “I’m supposed to be teleported up in a few hours. Are you going to be as well?”
Zephyr nodded. “As captain, I need to be with my ship.”
That made sense and it was also the reason her father had chosen to remain on Earth during the launching. She didn’t like the idea of him staying, but she knew better than to try to talk him out of it. “Do you think this will work?”
“Orion seems to think so. He’s the best at what he does and I trust him with my life,” Zephyr said.
“He’s more than just your science officer, isn’t he,” Addison questioned, wondering how close the two were.
“We were in the academy together. We’ve been good friends ever since.”
“That’s how Holly and I are. This was our first year of teaching.” She huffed and ran a hand over her hair. “A few days ago my biggest stress was having my students meet their reading goal. Now, with all of this, I don’t even know how the education system is going to work. Or if there even will be one. Makes me wonder how the history books are going to refer to the invasion on Earth.”
By the time they rebuilt everything, what would the world look like? What would it be like? Life certainty was going to be different.
“You seem like a capable planet. I’m sure you will figure it out. Besides, if this plan works, my people can stay behind to help out,” Zephyr said.
“Really? You’d stay?” she asked. Even if he did remain, he would have to leave at some point. His ship was the only warship his people had. The Imanji would probably attack other worlds and he would need to help them as well.
She closed her eyes at the thought. What kind of future would she and Zephyr have? Could they even have one?
“If your people will allow us to help, we will.” He looked to the sky and narrowed his eyes. “Come, let us get back inside.”
She glanced up to where he’d been looking, but she didn’t see anything, though that didn’t mean there wasn’t something there. The Imanji seemed to be particularly duplicitous.
She wondered if other Earthlings would accept help from the phoenixes after the ordeal was over. Some of the president’s advisors already didn’t like the idea of accepting alien help. Would that change after this plan was successful? She really hoped so. The thought of Zephyr leaving, of never seeing him again, caused her heart to constrict.
“I’d like you to stay on Earth and help us rebuild.”
Zephyr wrapped an arm around her and guided her back into the mountain base. She let him lead her through until they stopped outside a closed door. It took her a moment to realize it was a general quarters room. She lifted her brow in question.
Zephyr motioned to the door. “I’m certain you haven’t slept and if we are to be ready in a few hours, we should both get some rest. I’ve done everything I can on my end, as have you. We should rest while we have the opportunity.”
She nodded and opened the door as they entered. Everything she could prepare was complete for the moment. Now, everything else was up to the leaders around the globe.
They had a few hours to rest, but as she stared at Zephyr and the way his uniform hugged his physique, the idea of sleep escaped her mind.
Would it hurt to have just one more taste of him? For all they knew this could be their last few hours. If she was going to die today, she couldn’t think of a better way to spend her last moments.
She reached out and touched his arm, letting her fingers trail down to his hand. Gripping his palm and lifting it, she placed it over the zipper to her jumpsuit.
Zephyr’s eyes widened as a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. He took a step forward as he slowly slid the zipper down, exposing her bra.
Addison wiggled out of the jacket letting it fall to the floor. Her hands went to his jacket, removing it as she kicked off her shoes.
His hands went to her butt and lifted her up, pressing her against the door. His warmth enveloped her and she found it comforting. Her ankles locked together at the small of his back and she moaned as his already hardening cock pressed against her inner thigh.
He was so big and already so hard. She whimpered, needing to have him inside her again. Part of her wondered if she would ever have her fill of him, though she already knew the answer. Zephyr was unlike any man she’d ever met and not just because he was an alien. His personality was unique and it didn’t hurt that he was totally ripped.
When his hand unhooked her bra she eagerly slipped it off, letting it join her jacket on the floor. Her overly-sensitive nipples brushed against his and she gasped at the contact.
If she didn’t have him soon, she was going to combust. Her hands went to his pants, loosening the fastener. He set her back down on the floor so they c
ould both remove their remaining garments.
Her eyes widened as she took in his member. It was bigger than she realized. She reached out, touching it so she could pump it up and down. Pre-cum dribbled out of the tip and she rolled her thumb over it before guiding his cock to her entrance.
Zephyr’s hands went back to her ass again. He lifted her up and pushed inside of her. She gasped as he filled her, stretching her wonderfully. He felt so good she felt she might come any second.
When he started to move, she leaned forward gently biting his shoulder to keep from screaming. His cock was so warm and hard and it was hitting her in just the right places.
One of his hands went to her breast, gently rolling the nipple between his fingers. His lips went to her ear to gently nibble on the lobe as he continued to thrust inside her.
It was almost too much to handle. Her whole body was on fire and she clung to him, enjoying the way he was loving her body.
“Do you like that?” Zephyr whispered.
“Please don’t stop,” she said as she kissed his shoulder and worked her way up his neck.
Her fingers threaded in his hair as their lips met. His tongue danced alongside hers in time to his thrusts.
A throaty moan tore free from her throat and she moaned his name repeatedly as her orgasm washed over her. Zephyr increased his rhythm, hitting her harder, making her release that much more intense. He pushed into her a couple of more times before he came with a growl, burying himself in all the way to the hilt.
