Phoenix Rising (Invasion #1)

by Bethany Shaw

  The seconds ticked by endlessly; he had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from asking for a report. Orion needed every second to make the plan a success and he wouldn’t interrupt him.

  Zephyr held his breath. Addison closed her eyes and he pulled her to him, trying to comfort her as best as he could. He knew not to question his friend; Orion would do what needed to be done at the right time. Hopefully, he’d found some other way.

  Orion smashed his hand down on the keyboard and turned around in his chair. “It’s done.”

  “Did the warheads make it out?” Addison asked.

  Orion grinned. “Narrowly. It was a close call.” He turned back to his computer then back to them. “The shield is up and covering the entire ground. The planet and our ship will be protected from the blast.”

  “The first warhead will detonate in ten seconds,” one of his officers said.

  “I want confirmation the ships have been destroyed,” Zephyr said as he ran his free hand through his hair. We are really doing it. Finally, after years of being beaten back and watching others suffer, they were going to hit the Imanji hard.

  “It’s going to work. It has to,” Addison said, her voice a murmur.

  The bridge fell silent except for a steady beep signifying the countdown to detonation. He counted in his head and turned back to his officers waiting for them to confirm the ships had been destroyed.

  Seconds ticked by and Addison tensed up next to him again. She inhaled sharply and let it out, her gaze fixated on a point out the large window.

  “Confirmed hits, Sir. The mother ships are being destroyed. Their debris is falling into the shield and being incinerated on contact.”

  “How long until the remaining warheads hit?” Zephyr asked.

  “Twelve seconds.”

  “I want you to confirm detonation for those as well. Orion, are the shields keeping the nuclear waste out of the safe zone?” he asked, glancing to his science officer who was already typing away on his keyboard.

  “Sir, we have confirmed hits on the remaining enemy ships,” his officer said. “Our sensors are indicating they’ve all been destroyed. Their debris is falling through the atmosphere, but it should be incinerated when it comes into contact with our shields.”

  Zephyr closed his eyes. They’d done it! They beat the Imanji and saved a planet. He smiled as a weight lifted off his chest. This was just the first of many battles they would win. Triumph had changed in their favor.

  “Thank you. Contact the leaders at Cheyenne Mountain and let them know our plan is a success so they can alert the rest of the world,” Zephyr said. He held Addison’s hand as he drew her toward Orion, again taking care not to interrupt his friend while he worked.

  Orion turned around. “The shields are continuing to hold at maximum power with little strain on their energy source. I think we did it. We won. We really won!”

  Addison clapped her hands together before jumping up and throwing her arms around his neck. He lifted her off the ground and held her to him.

  “We did it. Thank you so much,” she said as she kissed him on the lips.

  He grinned, not really caring that his entire crew saw the display of affection. “It was your idea,” he said, reminding her she had been the one to come up with it. He’d helped, but her ingenuity had saved her world.

  “Sir,” his officer said, clearing her throat. “I can’t get anyone on the line at the mountain. We just did a sweep of it and there are no life signs inside.”

  “Wh-what?” Addison asked as she sagged against him while her hands gripped his jacket tightly. “Run it again. They have to be there.”

  Zephyr nodded his head for the officer to rerun the scan. His stomach twisted—the scanners were never wrong. Earth was safe, but it had come at a great cost. Addison’s father was more than likely dead.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “I’m going down there,” Addison demanded.

  No one was going to talk her out of it. Her dad was alive; she didn’t care what the damn machines said. She could feel it in her heart he was still with her. He could be injured and in need of help. The sooner she got down there, the better.

  Addison met Zephyr’s eyes silently pleading with him before turning to look around the bridge of the ship. People sat at their stations awaiting orders. It wasn’t up to her, she realized; it would be up to Zephyr. She was at his mercy because she had no idea how to get off the ship and back to the ground.

  “I’ll accompany you. There are still going to be Imanji and their ships that were away from the mother ships when they blew. Their ground troops and ships are dangerous. Orion, assemble a search and rescue team,” Zephyr said.

  “Already on it,” Orion said.

  Zephyr took her hand again. “Come on. Orion, you have control of the bridge.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  Addison let him lead her off the bridge and down a few halls. Her mind swam with questions, mainly concerning her father. “Thank you for taking me to look for him.”

  “There is no need to thank me, Addison,” he said.

  “No reason? You helped save our planet. You’re taking me down to look for my dad. Thank you is not enough to say.” She could thank him a million times for his help and it still wouldn’t be enough.

  “I’d do anything for you, Addison. I hope you know that,” he said as they entered a room. He turned, shutting the doors behind them.

  Addison stared at him, surprised by his admission. It wasn’t really that surprising when she thought about it. She felt the same way. She felt a connection to Zephyr the first moment they met.

  He put his hands on her shoulders and stared into her eyes. “I know what it’s like to lose your parents. We’ll do everything we can to find your father.”

  Addison licked her lips. “Thank you.” She was saying it again, but she couldn’t help it.

  “Are you ready to fly again?” Zephyr asked.

  “Fly?” she frowned. What did he mean fly?

  “Yeah. We are lower to the ground. I can shift and fly us to the ground. It will be much faster than prepping a shuttle for launch. We can go right now.”

  Addison smiled and nodded. If they could leave now she’d skydive to the ground if needed. Flying was a much better option though. She was actually growing to like it, too.

  “Do you still have your weapons?” he asked.

  Her hand went to the back of her pants even though she could feel the barrel of the handgun pressing against her. “Yeah.”

  Zephyr kissed her lightly on the lips. “Good. You might need them. The Imanji will be in a panic and likely more volatile with their lead ships destroyed.”

  Addison shuddered at the thought. Even with the bigger threat gone, the Earth and its people were still in trouble. They weren’t out of the woods yet, not by a long shot.

  “I’m going to transition. Once I’m done and have a hold of you, I’ll need you to lift the cover over there and hit the red button. Do you understand?” Zephyr asked as he tapped on a clear box covering a button.

  “Yes.” This must be some sort of airlock, she realized.

  “I’ll squawk when I’m ready for you to push it.”

  Addison gulped. She definitely didn’t want to hit the button early. They might not be in space, but they were elevated and it was a long way down.

  “Oh, and hold your breath. We are at a high altitude.”

  “Got it.”

  Within a blink, Zephyr was gone and in his place was an enormous fiery bird. Heat radiated off of him as he slowly walked toward her. He crouched, jumped up and wrapped his talons around her jacket. Her feet lifted off the ground and she glided toward the button.

  Zephyr chirped at her. Licking her lips, sure she was as ready for this as she was going to be, she drew in a deep breath, flipped the box lid, and pushed the button.

  The door whooshed open and they dove out. She wanted to scream, but her lungs could barely draw in a breath through the thin air. Gasping, she fou
ght to breathe.

  As if he knew her dilemma, Zephyr dove, breaking the cloud cover quickly before swooping back up and holding her at a comfortable level.

  Addison drew in deep gulps of air and let them out. She was so focused on her breathing she didn’t see the black disk approaching them until Zephyr swerved hard to the right.

  She yelped as his talons grazed her skin. The phoenix darted to the ground, folding its wings against its body in a free dive. She reached up and gripped his feet as the ground seemed to be rising up to greet them. They were coming in too fast. If they hit, she was going to be splattered all over the sidewalk. A scream lodged in her throat, as they got close enough for her to make out the white lines on the roadway.

  At the last moment, Zephyr’s wings flapped out almost bringing them to a complete stop. Her feet dangled a few feet off the ground and she gasped when he dropped her into the brush before soaring back into the sky.

  The branches bit into her skin and she grunted as her body hit the unforgiving ground. She crawled out of the brush, flopping into a pile of dirt onto her belly before rolling to her back to see the sky.

  Glimpses of the fiery phoenix moved between the tree cover and she shuffled to her feet, searching for a break in the trees so she could see well.

  Up ahead was a clearing; she sprinted towards it, hurtling over logs and debris until she could peer up at the blue sky without objects in her way.

  The black ship and Zephyr were trading fire. Well, Zephyr was sending fiery blasts toward the ship and the Imanji appeared to be hurtling ice at him. She watched the deadly tango, hoping and praying the phoenix would come out victorious.

  Without warning, Zephyr belted a fireball from the edge of his wings, catching the Imanji ship on its hull. She jumped up cheering as smoke billowed out of the ship’s center and it started to fly erratically. Dropping altitude, it collided with the mountain before bursting into flames.

  Now they just needed to have the remaining Imanji ships go down in a scorching ball of fire and they could retake the planet.

  Zephyr circled around the wreckage a few times before starting his descent. She watched as he made his way toward her, but then zipped to the left, taking off again.

  Addison climbed onto a rock trying to see what it was that caused him to change course. That’s when the gunfire erupted.

  It sounded close and Addison bounded off the cliff top and sprinted toward the sound. She drew her gun out of her pants and slowed as the trees began to thin.

  Her eyes narrowed, taking in her surroundings; she was still not sure who was firing or what, or who, their target could be. The last thing she wanted to walk into was a gunfight without knowing what was going on.

  The road was ahead and she could make out the base of Cheyenne Mountain. A loud shrilly Imanji voice rang out, ordering the men to lay down their weapons. It sounded like there were survivors from the base; her dad could be one and she sure as hell wasn’t going to stand back as the Imanji sucked his life away from him or the others.

  She jogged toward the road, scanning with her eyes and keeping her ears alert for anything out of the ordinary. She heard the Imanji speak again, ordering the men to their knees.

  Their orders echoed in her mind, but she ignored them and continued to push forward. It was easier to push passed the compulsion this time and she was thankful for it. She needed to focus so she could help whoever was under attack.

  The road was not much farther. She could hear the padding of the Imanji feet and deciphered there were six aliens in total.

  She drew in a breath and let it out as she ducked down and slowly crept up the rocky terrain to the road. Peeking over the asphalt, she watched as the Imanji strode toward the kneeling military men. She searched their faces and stifled a cry when she saw her father. He is alive! But if she didn’t do something, he wouldn’t be for very long.

  Addison climbed up the rest of the incline and onto the road. Readying her gun, she took aim at one of the alien’s heads, curling her finger around the trigger and firing.

  The Imanji toppled to the ground, unmoving. She took aim again and fired as the remaining aliens turned on her. Her target dropped to the ground leaving only four.

  “Put down your weapon!” An Imanji said, its voice full of coercion.

  Addison’s hands trembled as she moved her gun, pointing it at one of the aliens. She squeezed the trigger. The bullet hit the alien between the eyes, causing a blot of green to ooze out as it fell to the ground lifeless.

  “Stop! Kneel!” the Imanji said. Its voice grew louder and higher pitched in her head as it began to panic.

  Addison’s hand bobbed up and down as she tried to keep her movements under control. She bit her lip as she narrowed her eyes. There was no way she was giving up. She’d taken down three Imanji; she could handle the rest.

  However, it didn’t look like she would have to when out of the sky a phoenix soared toward the Imanji, flapping its wings fiercely. A ball of fire shot out from its mouth followed by two more off the edges of its wings, encompassing all three aliens in a large inferno.

  Their wretched shrill filled the air as the fire consumed them and they crumpled to the ground. The phoenix landed, shifting into Zephyr who ran toward her.

  Addison smiled, checked the safety on her gun and put it away before racing toward him. He lifted her up, twirling her around as he clutched her close. “Are you okay?” he asked in her ear.

  “I’m fine. You?” she asked with a laugh.

  “I wish I’d gotten here sooner.”

  “You were just in time.” She pulled back and kissed him, letting her tongue dance alongside his.

  Their moment was interrupted all too soon by someone clearing his throat. Addison pulled back and yelped seeing her father.

  “Dad! You’re alive!” She wiggled out of Zephyr’s embrace and sprinted to her dad, who opened his arms to her, pulling her into a tight bear hug.

  “We were able to set the keys remotely to go off and evacuate through an emergency hatch, sweetheart. I’m glad to see Captain Cree is keeping his word,” her father said as he lifted his brow when he pulled back to look down at her.

  Addison laughed as heat blossomed on her cheeks. She tried to read her father’s expression, but couldn’t. What was he thinking? Was he mad? Would he be okay with Zephyr? It didn’t change how she felt about her phoenix, but it would sting if her dad didn’t approve.

  “It’s my intention to take care of your daughter for as long as she’ll allow me,” Zephyr said as he came up behind her.

  Her dad’s eyes widened as he stared at Zephyr before turning his attention to her.

  Addison smiled and met her dad’s gaze as she took Zephyr’s hand in hers. “Dad, Zephyr—”

  “Don’t.” Her dad held up a hand. “There is no need to explain yourself. I can see he cares for you and he helped save you and our planet. I’d be hard pressed to find anything to hate about him at the moment.” He chuckled before narrowing his eyes at Zephyr. “That doesn’t mean I won’t think of reasons in the future so you better continue to take care of my little girl.”

  Her dad turned back to the men behind him, nodding before meeting her gaze again. “I’ll leave you two to it. We need to contact the other world leaders and let them know our plan was a success. At least I’m guessing it was based on your elatedness,” her dad said, quirking his brow.

  “It was a success, General. All of the Imanji mother ships were destroyed. The only ones remaining are there small fighters,” Zephyr said.

  Her dad nodded and turned back to the men.

  Addison laughed and leaned forward, pressing her forehead against his. “That’s about as close to a blessing as we’re going to get from my dad.”

  “That makes you happy?” Zephyr asked.

  Addison licked her lips. “Yeah. My dad means the world to me and I’m glad he approves. It wouldn’t change how I feel about you though if he didn’t.”

  “And how do you feel about
me?” Zephyr asked as he leaned in to capture her lips again.

  “I’m falling in love with you,” she said in one breath as she pulled back to meet his eyes.

  “Good.” He gave her a lopsided grin. “Because I’m falling in love with you, too.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Two weeks later...

  Zephyr touched the button on his communications screen, watching as it went dark. He sat back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. All was quiet in the galaxy according to his superiors. He didn’t know if that was a good thing or not, but for now he’d take it as good news.

  The door to the bathroom whooshed open behind him and he turned in time to see Addison exit. He would never get tired of seeing her first thing in the morning.

  “Everything okay?” she asked as she used the towel to dry her hair.

  A smile spread over his lips. “Seeing you, yeah, everything’s perfect.” She’d all but moved into his room on board The Retribution.

  With the military’s assistance, they were working on rebuilding and setting up housing in safe zones. The mother ships were gone, but there were still countless Imanji shuttles and troops all over the world. It would be a long time before they eradicated the last of them from Earth. Many of Earth’s weapons facilities and fighter jets had been compromised in the initial attacks, but the governments of the world were pooling their resources to attack the remaining aliens. With the combined forces of the phoenixes and humans, the Imanji didn’t stand a chance.

  Addison set her towel on an end table as she sauntered over to him. Slipping her legs over his hips, she straddled him, setting her hands loosely behind the back of his head.

  “I have good news,” he said as he kissed her gently on the lips.

  “Oh?”

  “I just got off the comms with my superiors.”

  She licked her lips. “And?”

  “There are no signs of any Imanji ships near Delphi or entering the Milky Way Galaxy. The skies are clear.”

  “That is good news,” Addison said letting out a long breath.