by Maya Kane
“It is their planet,” he said again. “They have thousands of years of knowledge that we could never know. They can help us find the Collective. Without them, we’re searching unfamiliar terrain for an enemy we know little about.”
“How do you even know they’re alive? The base looks abandoned. There’s nothing for miles.”
Aron shot Redon a challenging look. He ignored it.
“If the base is abandoned, then we’ll fly to the next inhabited place. And the next. Until we find humans or the Collective. Let’s hope we find the humans first.”
This time, there was a note of hope in the murmurs spreading through the room. Redon moved across the room to Aron. It was a conversation he didn’t want to have, but he couldn’t delay it any longer.
“You never mentioned the part about allying with humans.”
Redon shook his head. “No. Because I knew what you’d say.”
“You’ll have a mutiny on your hands.”
“I won’t. It’s the right thing to do.”
“Right for you because you think your other is here.”
Redon spun around and grabbed Aron by the throat, throwing him against the wall. “That’s not true,” he hissed. “It’s not. How could you question my intentions like that?”
Aron glared back at him. “It’s the only part of this thing that makes sense. I know you’re feeling it. I know what it looks like, unlike most of the others here. I felt it with Orosa, remember?”
Redon loosened his grip and pulled his hand away. The mention of Aron’s other, Orosa, had had a sobering effect on them both. “I’m sorry, brother.”
Aron shrugged. “It was a long time ago,” he said, not meeting Redon’s eyes.
“Some pain never dissolves,” Redon whispered, turning to the room. He glanced at Aron again. “Trust me. Even if my body screams for me to mate, I’ll put Dreon first. I always have.”
Aron sighed. “I know.”
Redon shook his head. There he was again, believing that this was the mating call. When it couldn’t possibly be; not unless his other was a crusty old human male at the military base. And he was sure that wasn’t the case.
But what if there’s a female, a tiny voice inside him taunted. A female who’s perfect for you.
Redon swallowed quickly. “We’ll go as soon as the earth sun rises in the sky. That way, they’ll be dazed from their rest. Those of you who kept watch during the night, go rest.”
“What if they don’t agree to cooperate?”
Redon gritted his teeth. “We’ll ask them nicely and beg if we must.”
Eren gasped.
Redon growled. “Of course we won’t. We’ll storm their bases and commandeer their communications equipment. We’ll keep the navigators and slay the rest.” He narrowed his eyes. “What did you think I was going to say? We’re Dreon soldiers. We’re fierce fighters and skilled combatants. But we’ve just crash landed on unfamiliar terrain. Please remember that before you go senselessly killing humans. Only if they dissent; remember that.”
***
Aron caught up with him as he marched along the corridor to visit the wounded before returning to coordinate their approach to the humans.
“Is it true?”
“Is what true?”
“What you said.”
Redon stopped and faced him. “Of course it is. What did you think I’d suggest? Move in with the humans and create a new mixed settlement based on peace and love? I’m in command of this unit—I didn’t get to this position because of the sheen of my wings or the polish on my boots.”
Aron rolled his eyes. “But you do appear to be calling for a human. That changes things—you have to admit it.”
Redon started walking again. “I don’t have to admit anything. This is different. We’re not on Dreon now.”
“So you admit it. It’s happening. I knew it was.”
Redon shook his head. “I don’t know what’s happening. But I know one thing: I’m capable of controlling it.”
He ignored the look in Aron’s eyes and carried on walking.
“Sir.”
“Don’t.”
“Sir.”
“Not now.”
“Sir!”
To Redon’s astonishment, the muscles in his shoulders went rigid; his neck contracted. He closed his eyes and leaned forward, trying to fight the change. He swallowed. It took every ounce of self-control he possessed to keep himself from passing the point of no return—the point where his Dreon reason left him and he became pure Drayon. He had spent years learning to control his body and he had mastered it. This was new.
He stared at Aron, still in a form halfway between his Dreon and Drayon selves. Half-formed sentences swirled around in his brain like mist, but he resisted the urge to try and explain. He needed to focus on not shifting.
Finally, with a strained grunt, he stumbled back against the wall. He had successfully fought the change, but it had depleted him of all the energy he had.
“Sir,” Aron said, rushing to him. The other Dreon’s face was full of anguish.
Redon shook his head, blinking in surprise. His whole world had just been turned on its head. There was no denying it now; no explaining it away as exhaustion or the impact of the crash. His soul had latched on to something on this planet. And whatever it was was close by, judging from the way his body was reacting.
“We have to find whatever’s causing this,” Aron said quietly. “You know what needs to happen.”
Redon groaned. The ridges on his temples throbbed almost painfully now. “I know. But I also know there are no Dreon females on earth.”
Aron shrugged. “Maybe it’s another species. Who says we can only mate to Dreon?”
Redon snarled. “Decency. And tradition.”
Aron shook his head. “This is bad. We’re facing an unknown enemy with technology that far surpasses our own. We can’t afford for you to be weakened like this. We need you.”
“Come on,” Redon said, standing.
“Where are you going? The exercise bay is that way.”
“We’re not going to the bay. We’re going to find what’s causing me to react in this way.”
“What are you going to do?”
Redon frowned. “You know there are only two things I can do.”
Aron’s lip curled. Redon knew what he was thinking. The prospect of mating an alien was undesirable. But the only thing worse was the idea of Redon killing an innocent creature. Either way, Redon had to choose or endure erratic interruptions to his powers during what had become the most important mission of his life.
Chapter 8
Kate rubbed her temples. The strange dizzy sensation was getting more and more intense. It wasn’t a pain; it was more like her brain had been wrapped in cotton wool, making it difficult for her to think clearly. She wouldn’t usually have minded a break from the constant noise in her mind, but this wasn’t exactly an appropriate time for a mental vacation.
She looked around the room. Commander Jessop was seated at the head of the table. Arrayed around him were several other soldiers from the base. She smiled across the table at Danni and Athena. Something about their shared experience of escape made her feel closer to them than two years of close confinement on the space station had.
“We need a plan. We’ve lost several crew members but the advantage is we have three experienced spacefarers whom we didn’t expect to ever see again. Commander, we need to act now. Who knows when they’ll discover us? There is nobody coming to rescue us. The cavalry? We are the cavalry.”
The commander’s face was flushed by the time she finished speaking. It was obvious that he was frustrated. And from the murmur of agreement that went around the table, it sounded like most of the others were too.
He sighed. “This isn’t a training exercise, Kate. Don’t you understand? Only a fool would strike out against a force like that without the proper intelligence. We may be the only humans left on earth. You want to make us extinct?
Over my dead body. Not to mention the more immediate problem of this new arrival.”
The group fell silent.
The tingling in Kate’s head was so strong she felt like she could just lean over and rest her head on the table. She might have done just that if it hadn’t been accompanied by a pleasant buzz in her core. She had no idea why she was reacting in that way and there was nothing she could do about it anyway. The only medic at the base, Ian, had grown tired of the uncertainty and fear and struck off into the desert alone.
“What if they’re not an enemy?” she said suddenly, blushing when all eyes around the table focused on her. She may have been a fierce soldier, but she hated the spotlight. It was especially awkward when she was suggesting something she knew was controversial. In fact, she had no idea why she’d even said it. She knew that logically they were enemies. But there was something… she shook her head, wishing she could get her thoughts in order.
“What if they’re not an enemy?” she said again. “We all know they crash landed here.”
Nick rolled his eyes. “That doesn’t make them our friends.”
Kate glared at him. “I’m not suggesting it does. But it might mean we have a common enemy. And you saw them—I’d rather have those creatures on our side than fighting against us. Besides, we can’t fight two enemies. We can barely form a plan to tackle the one that’s destroyed our government buildings and cities.”
“What are you suggesting?” the commander asked softly.
Kate stared at her hands. “I think we should approach them. Find a way to work together. They can fly—you saw them.”
Nick sneered. “So can ships. We have hundreds of them in the hangars.”
Kate told herself not to be riled by him. The two of them had never gotten along; not since the first day of their cadetship all those years ago, when Nick had lorded it over the female cadets as if he was in some way superior. Kate had soon set him straight and he had despised her ever since.
“I know that, Nick. But in case you didn’t notice, we’ve been unable to use them in case the enemy detects our signals.”
“So these dragon creatures are invisible; that what you’re telling me?”
If she could have kicked him under the table then she would have—damn the consequences. “Nick, you seem a little slow today. Have you taken your medication?” she rolled her eyes to the table at large. “They’re not invisible, but they’re the next best thing. Okay, so I know we don’t know much about them. But we know this much: they haven’t come looking for us. That tells me that they’re able to seek out ships and radio messages. They picked up our ship crashing and assumed their missile hit. Same with the dragons. Have you seen the damage to their craft? No weapon I know could do that—let’s assume they were shot down by the enemy.”
“Get to the point,” Nick sighed.
“Nick,” the commander said sternly. “Quiet. Let her finish.”
Kate cleared her throat. “They’re organic; the dragons. Like us. Now we’d need to see what sort of range they have, but they could be the key to all of this. If we can travel undetected then we can leave the base and begin to track the enemy.”
“I vote we don’t go opening ourselves up to these aliens we know nothing about,” Nick muttered sullenly. A murmur of agreement spread through the room.
“So you’d prefer to stay here? A sitting duck? I don’t know what they want, but they’re after something. They may leave immediately but what if they don’t? We can’t see them. We have no idea what they’re doing. We could be stranded here until our supplies run out. Is that what you want?”
He shrugged. “It’s better than being eaten by those dragons.”
“You always were a coward.”
“Better than being a—”
“Silence! Both of you!” the commander said, standing up. “I will not have this kind of unproductive talk. We’re here to decide on a plan.”
Kate’s heart sank. The commander was a conservative man at heart, she was realizing. She didn’t know how she hadn’t seen it before. He’d want to mull the problem over and identify the enemy before making a move. It could take weeks. That was fine when they were dealing with small matters in space, but this was an entirely different matter. They weren’t dealing with smugglers and pirates anymore. They had no idea what they were dealing with—they didn’t have weeks.
As the commander began to assign research tasks, Kate’s mind began to wander again. She found herself formulating a plan; a plan that seemed more and more foolhardy the more she thought about it. But she was beginning to realize there was little choice—it was either follow through and risk her life or see the base implode. She couldn’t allow that to happen—it would be the same as handing victory to their attackers.
“Are you going to the library?” Athena asked as she pushed against the table and stood up.
“Ah… I need to go to the bathroom first. I feel kinda weird.” She made a face that she hoped grossed Athena out enough not to follow her.
And she couldn’t have anyone follow her. Not with what she was about to do. Athena was brave, but she was careful. She knew they’d only try to stop her. Or worse—imprison her in the secure unit. And if anyone knew what Kate was thinking, they’d conclude that she’d lost her mind.
Kate gritted her teeth and walked along the corridor as if she was on her way to carry out several hours’ worth of boring research.
***
The tingling feeling grew stronger and stronger as she darted from building to building in the base and got closer to the alien ship.
Turn back. This is stupid, she thought. But her limbs felt heavy and wooden. She couldn’t have turned around if she wanted to. The strange feeling deep inside her was growing stronger too. It was addictive. It kept her moving even though her rational mind screamed for her to stop.
She knew what she was doing was crazy, but she couldn’t stop. She crept around the back of the base and pulled aside the covering that hid a gaping hole in the fence. Their base had always been a sleepy outpost. It was supposed to be a medium-security facility, but in reality the security had always been lax. Nobody in government cared about a desert base for a unit whose essential role was to police petty theft in the space colonies. There was minimal risk of anybody trying to break in and steal secret classified information—there was none of that at the base.
Kate breathed a sigh of relief when she had crawled through the hole and emerged on the other side. She was free. The strange metal craft glinted in the sun. She swallowed. It was only a couple hundred yards away. Now there was nothing between her and the strange alien creatures.
What if they’re killers? Am I crazy for humanizing them? She glanced back at the fence, now far behind her. The aliens she’d dealt with had been more nuisance than dangerous, but she’d never seen creatures like these ones before. She knew nothing about them. She clenched her fists. There’s no other option. If we do nothing and they’re fierce monsters, then chances are they’ll come for us at some point anyway.
Kate strode forward as if she was sleepwalking. The magnetic pull to the strange craft was immense—it was as if there was a cord in her belly pulling her to them.
When she was halfway across the desert plain, she heard a tremendous roar. It seemed to her that the ship shook. She shivered. The craft was twice the size of the Pelagon. It was the same size as the gym at the base which easily housed hundreds. If they had the power to move something that heavy, then what could they do to her.
She closed her eyes. She was seconds from the gaping hole in the alien ship now. When she opened them, she could see that the hole was in the place where there had once been a door.
What do I say?
Oh shit—what am I doing?
Kate shook her head and tried to focus. She had learned Uniton at the academy, but that was a long time ago. Her job had been to apprehend thieves and smugglers—not reason with them.
She tried to formulate a sentence but her mind wa
s slow and murky. She was out of time. She put one hand on the metal, intending to steady herself as she climbed inside. Wincing, she pulled it away. The unfamiliar metal was scorching hot to the touch. She was glad of the pain, though: it took her mind off the fact that those might well be her last seconds on earth.
I have no choice, she told herself again.
Clearing her throat, she stepped up into the gloom. “Bura,” she called out in Uniton, the most common language of the universe, which all space soldiers were supposed to learn but few did. Hello.
Chapter 9
It was as if Redon had been struck. This time he didn’t feel pain—it was a sensation he was unfamiliar with. His chest was on fire; his cock throbbed almost painfully. He leaned against the steel wall and looked at Aron in surprise.
“What is it?”
And then they heard it. Redon understood it well enough, but the voice was strange; alien. It called to them in Uniton, the space language that all officers were required to learn, which most of them forgot within the first weeks of the end of basic training.
Without another word, they turned and rushed in the direction the voice had come from. Excitement surged within Redon. He was sure now; sure the voice belonged to the one who had caused his strange physical reactions. What was odd was he didn’t feel horrified at the choice he needed to make. He simply felt calm. Here was his other.
They rounded a corner and Redon cried out in horror. Eren had reached the human first and was restraining her arms behind her back.
“Release her,” he roared.
If his roar scared the human, she hid it well. she faced him down even though her bottom lip quivered.
Eren backed away immediately with a grunt. “Why? Sir? It’s a human.”
But Redon barely registered him. His focus was on the human. There was no doubt in his mind that she was the one who had caused his body to react that way. His cock was hard now; straining against his thin spacesuit. He crept forward, drinking in her bright blue eyes and the strange smooth skin on the side of her face.
