A pop echoed in the orbiter. Leila looked around. “What—? Did you hear that noise?”
“The two interceptors are now breaking away. Looks like they’re headed back to Marid,” Erik reported.
“Why would they do that? Is a Xylon patrol on their way?” Leila unclicked the strap holding her in the chair at weapons’ control.
“Not that I’m picking up,” Erik answered.
She looked toward the back, then sat in the chair next to him at the front of the craft. “Do you want me to check out that noise?”
“No, stay up here with me. Kam, check it out.”
“On it.” Kam got out of his seat and headed back to where the pop had sounded. He flipped open a panel. “Well…we’ve definitely got a problem here.”
“Report,” Erik ordered. The man sounded too casual. The hair on the back of his neck rose.
“There’s a bomb on board.”
Chapter Eleven
Erik checked the airspace. Assured no other enemies lurked nearby, he put the ship on autopilot. He and Leila made their way back to where Kam stood. All three of them stared at a small bomb planted in one of the side compartments. Small, but large enough to destroy the ship. The timer on the top indicated they had seven minutes before the device blew.
“Eject it,” Leila said.
“The casing is bolted in,” Kam replied. He popped open the rest of the panels. “We don’t have the tools to get it loose. Just one small tool kit. We’ll never get the bolts off with anything in there. How long until we land?”
“Nine minutes,” Erik reported.
“Can you disarm the explosive?” Leila asked Erik.
He looked over the casing and wires. “I can disarm quite a few explosive devices, but I’ve never seen this exact type before. It’s old and certainly not a Xylon or Marid design.”
“I wonder if there’s one on Halah’s ship too,” Kam said.
“And I wonder if she planted this one.” Erik didn’t want to believe her responsible, but she’d specifically told him which ship to take. “She might have set us up right from the beginning.” The bomb, the too-easy to get data, no telling what that sterilization formula really contained—the whole thing put a bad taste in his mouth.
“I’ll never believe that of Halah,” Kam argued.
“Yeah, I know.” Softhearted Kam. Kam believed in Halah, believed in Laszlo, believed in the goodness of people. Not him, he knew better.
“I’m going to try and contact her,” Kam said.
“She’s out of range for the Marid communication devices. They’re fairly short range on these ships. We can’t contact her.” Leila patted his arm. “She’s smart and resourceful. She’ll be all right. And I don’t believe she planted this bomb.”
Erik didn’t comment. He grabbed the small tool kit from the storage unit. “I’m going to have to try to disconnect the explosive.” He looked at Leila and a deep, painful sorrow filled him. If he couldn’t disarm the bomb in time…
“You can do it,” Leila told him, her trust in him evident in her eyes.
“I’m going to see if we’re close enough to contact Xylon,” Kam said. “I’ll let them know what’s going on.”
Erik looked over the bomb. Multiple wires, each a different color, connected the device. Two wires led inside the casing, and two terminals were located on the outside.
The timer continued to run down. Each tick grated along his nerves. He wiped a hand down his face. Whatever he did would be guesswork at best. And this wasn’t a time for educated guesses. “Do you have Xylon?” he asked Kam. He needed advanced computer support.
“Yeah. Torque’s on. The signal is weak though. We’re still a little far out for this equipment.”
“Give me a headset.”
Leila handed him the equipment he requested. Her trembling fingers brushed his and fierce determination to save them grew and burned in his heart, urging him on. He put on the headset and adjusted the mic. “Hey, Torque. Kam filled you in, right?”
“Yeah, I’m filled in. This situation doesn’t sound good, Erik. What can I do to help?”
“I’m not familiar with this type of bomb. I need computer research support.”
“Describe the device.”
“About six-by-six, casing is bright green. Four wires—black, white, red, and yellow. Wait.” He brushed away some dust. “Code on the side is SB-11412.”
“Searching the computer databases.”
“Hurry.” If Xylon possessed no data on this bomb…
“Hey, I got it. Bringing up the disarming procedure now. Damn. That model must be fifty years old. Be careful. It’s Sunevian and unstable, from what I’m reading here.”
What more bad news could they receive? Sunevian. Halah was half Sunevian. Erik didn’t voice his concerns aloud. Leila and Kam looked worried enough without him adding more doom and gloom to the situation.
“All right. First, unscrew the right terminal.”
Erik carefully followed Torque’s direction. One wrong move and they were all no better than the dust he’d brushed off the casing. “Done.” Sweat dripped down into his eyes. He swiped it away, feeling suddenly very closed in. All the air in the craft seemed to disappear. He purposely slowed his breathing and forced himself to stay calm.
“Now cut the yellow wire.”
“Speak up! This transmission is shitty. Did you say yellow?”
“Yes, yellow.”
Luckily, the small tool kit contained what he needed for the job. “Cut.”
“Unscrew the left terminal. Then cut the white wire.”
“Hang on. Damn thing is screwed tight.” Someone stripped it when they put the bomb together, probably on purpose. Damn it! “All right. Got it. And the wire is cut.”
“Remove the bottom screws and then open the casing.”
Four screws lined the bottom. He loosened and removed each one. Gently, he lifted the casing, trying not to rattle anything inside. “Open.”
“Remove the inner chamber. Don’t bump it on anything. And make certain the wires don’t pull loose.”
“Removing.” He carefully set it aside. The inner chamber connected the black and red wires with the timer.
When he glanced at Leila, she sent him a look of reassurance. “You’re doing great.”
“Now cut the red wire. The timer will stop.”
“Cutting…” Oh, shit! “Um, Torque?” His heart pounded painfully.
“Yeah?”
He looked at Leila as he spoke. She didn’t return his gaze. She stared at the bomb, her eyes widening. Erik cleared his throat. “The timer didn’t stop.”
After a moment of silence on the other end, Torque said, “What’s the timer say?”
“Three minutes.”
“How long?” Torque’s voice rose among the static.
“Three!”
“Nearest transfer orbiter is four minutes away, Erik.”
“What’ll we do?” Leila turned toward him now, fear in her eyes. “Maybe cut the black wire?”
“Can we cut the black wire, Torque?”
“Not unless you want to die right now, instead of three minutes from now.”
Erik stroked Leila’s arm. She felt so cold. “Torque, what kind of bomb is this? How does it work?”
“Self-contained electrical trigger. Fairly archaic, compared to current, microchip models.”
“Can the trigger itself be shorted out?”
“Probably, but since Kam said the bomb was bolted in, you can’t get it to a secondary electrical source. And nothing that can be physically moved on the orbiter contains enough power to do it.”
“Oh, yeah?” Erik reached inside the jacket Leila wore and ripped out Halah’s electrical power source. With the tools, he opened up the black box and stripped the wires.
“What are you doing?” Kam asked, looking over his shoulder.
“I’ll bet Halah keeps this thing juiced up to maximum.” She’d better. Their options ran out after this.
>
“Hurry, Erik.” Leila’s gaze darted toward the timer.
Erik wrapped the wires around the trigger mechanism on the bomb. “Stand back.” He engaged the power source. Sparks flew everywhere and they all jumped.
A column of black smoke rose from the bomb.
“Look!” Leila shouted. “The power surge didn’t work. It’s still ticking down.”
The electronic readout showed three seconds, two, one… The timer stopped on zero.
Erik grabbed Leila. All three of them hit the floor.
Silence. No explosion.
“Did I miss something? Leila asked, her voice sounding more than a little shaky. “Are we dead?”
“I don’t think so.” Kam sat up and looked toward the bomb.
“The surge must have worked.” Erik sent up a prayer of thanks.
A sudden, loud poof made them jerk. A fine mist drifted out of the bomb’s inner chamber and filled the orbiter. They began to cough.
“Get the oxygen masks,” Erik ordered. “That’s poisonous gas coming out.”
They scrambled to their feet.
Leila searched the compartments. “There are no masks.”
“Erik,” Torque said over the headset. “Are you still there?”
“Yeah. The bomb didn’t go off. It’s disabled, but gas is filling up the orbiter. We don’t have any extra oxygen up here.”
“We’ve got a transfer orbiter right off your starboard side. We’ll get you off.”
“Thanks, Torque. Kam, prepare for a mid-orbit transfer.”
“Right.” Kam moved in front of a control panel and flipped some switches. “Atmospheric hatch activated. Ventilation reversed to draw the gas up into the system. We should have enough air for the transfer, as long as we relocate fast.”
Leila staggered, and Erik lifted her in his arms. “Hold on, sweetheart. Just a few more minutes. Breathe shallowly.”
* * * * *
Back on Xylon, deep in The Lair, Erik, Kam, and Leila walked down the ramp of the rescue orbiter. Erik was amazed. The transport center looked filled with Warriors, there to greet them. A deafening cheer went up.
Erik searched for Braden in the crowd, but he didn’t see his friend. His worry escalated.
Torque stepped out of the milling throng. “Welcome home.” He clapped each of their shoulders, then glanced with interest at Leila’s bare legs. He cocked an eyebrow.
“Slave outfits.” She held Halah’s jacket closed around her breasts.
“Ah, yes. Of course.”
Erik clapped Torque’s shoulder, grabbing his attention. “Good to be back. They got to us just in time. Thanks for your help.”
“What happened with Halah?”
“Last we saw her, she was headed for the Sand Moon with a Marid interceptor on her tail. Did we ever get Josella back?”
“No. She’s still missing. I called off the search for her after the transport orbiter picked all of you up. Pitch and my sisters are on their way back home now.”
“Is there any way we can contact Halah or find out if she made it to the moon?” Kam asked.
“I’ll see if her tracker code is in the computer. Though the device seems to have a glitch or two, so don’t hold out hope of locating her.” Torque turned back to Erik. “You have the formula and data?”
Erik hesitated. “Yeah. We brought back what we could.” Whether what his pants contained turned out to be useful or not still needed to be determined. “Where’s Braden?”
Everyone grew strangely quiet.
“All right, what’s going on?” Something was obviously very wrong. He wanted to know the problem, right now. “Where’s Braden?” he asked again, more forceful this time.
The Warriors surrounding them began to disperse, murmuring among themselves.
A worried look crossed Kam’s face. “What happened? Is Alexa all right? The babies?”
Torque’s eyes revealed his sadness. “We don’t know. A lot’s happened while you’ve been gone. Let’s get you all some decent clothes and head to the Council Chamber. You all need to be briefed on the recent news, and the Council wants to debrief you on the Marid mission. We have some planning to do.”
Epilogue
In her bedchamber, Erik held Leila in his arms. Given the present situation, neither of them felt right about a Branding ceremony at this time. But soon. He wasn’t going to let her get away from him for long. He’d petitioned the Council for permission to permanently join with her. After they obtained that permission, they’d decide when to hold the rite.
“It’ll work out,” she told him, rubbing his chest and shifting under the covers.
Somehow she didn’t sound all that convinced. He commanded The Lair now. Laszlo had disappeared. Alexa was gone. Braden was missing. He held Leila tighter, determined to protect her from everything that might ruin their happiness together. “It stops here,” he whispered. “No more losses.”
“What are we going to do about Braden and Alexa?” she asked him. “The Council is discussing plans, but by the time they decide on a mode of action, it might be too late.”
“We’re going to find them.”
“But how?”
“We’ll build a secondary booster for the tracker. And I want you to come up with a diagnostic for the brain chips. See if you can create one to fix glitches remotely.”
“It’ll take time.”
“Put it on priority. Even above analyzing the sterilization formula.”
“The Council won’t like that.”
“Stall them. I’m going to send out search teams.” No way was he just letting this situation sit. He’d do everything in his power to get his friends back, if they still lived, or their bodies, if they didn’t. His heart clenched at the disturbing thought.
“What if the Council won’t sanction a search? They’ve never supported searches, when it takes too many Warriors from their posts. And since they have you to lead The Lair, they might not be so eager.”
“Alexa’s a super breeder. They’ll want her back. And Braden has super breeder genes.”
“That didn’t seem to concern them when they banished Torque all those years ago. He has the same genes.”
“Banished, yes. But they had access to him, if they needed him.” His vid-cell beeped. He reached over to the table beside the bed. “Yeah?”
“This is Torque.”
Erik clicked on the speaker so Leila could hear. “You have Council news?”
“Just came in over the computer. The Council has decided not enough evidence exists to warrant a search at this time. They think Alexa’s disappearance is a simple domestic disturbance, and also say there’s no proof of foul play in Braden’s disappearance. They want to wait and see if they both show back up on their own before allocating Warriors for a search.”
“Typical bureaucratic—”
“There’s more, Erik.”
“What?” The tone of Torque’s voice worried him.
“Your request to permanently join with Leila has been denied.”
Leila gasped.
Erik surged upright in the bed. “What? Why?”
“They say you two need to breed with off-planet, DNA-compatible mates, like Braden did, to strengthen and expand the gene pool.”
“Erik—” Leila grabbed his arm, panic in her eyes.
He covered her hand with his. “The Council can kiss my ass. I want you to follow the orders I gave you earlier. Agreed?”
“Will do. I’m with you on this, Erik. And I’m sure Kam will be, too. He wants his sister found. And we all know you and Leila belong together.”
Though still reeling from the news, knowing Warriors supported him kept Erik sane. “Good. We’ll meet in the morning to set up our game plan. Keep this quiet. Bring Pitch and your sisters in on this, but no one else outside the circle.”
“Consider it done.”
Erik disconnected the cell.
“Erik—”
“Shh.” He gathered Leila in his arms. He
r trembling tugged at his heart. “Don’t worry.”
Leila hugged him. “I love you, Erik. I can’t lose you.”
“And I love you. I won’t allow us to be separated. Ever.”
“What are we going to do?”
Only one solution existed. Erik held her at arm’s length. “Get on your stomach.”
“Erik, now is hardly the time—” Her eyes widened. “You’re going to Brand me without Council approval.”
“That’s right. It’s the only way, Leila. Once my mark is placed, nothing and nobody can undo it.” The Council had no right to deny their request to officially join. They were strong Warriors, would make strong Breeders, and produce exceptional children. Exactly what Xylon needed.
“They’ll banish us!”
“With Braden missing, no way. Who’s going to run The Lair? Even if they do, as long as we’re together, I don’t really care. Do you?”
Without hesitation, she shook her head. “No, not as long as we’re together.” Excitement leapt into her eyes. “We’ll need two witnesses.”
“Braden instigated that rule as a precaution, in case either party changed their mind. I’m in charge now, and I don’t want other Warriors involved. Banishment would be mandatory for them if the Council refuses to budge on their decision about us.”
“But you’re already getting the others involved.”
“In a military capacity only, and I intend to be very careful with their assignments, so no punishment comes to them.” He needed to protect them all as much as possible. Their loyalty to him wouldn’t be their downfall. He respected them too much to allow anything to ruin their lives.
He laced his fingers through Leila’s and stared deeply into her gorgeous cinnamon eyes. “I want our ceremony private. After it’s done, we’ll continue to keep quiet about the Branding for as long as possible. With your hair so thick and long, the mark won’t even be seen. You just have to be careful and always wear your hair down.”
“I can place one of my skin patches over the Brand. No one will ever know.”
Yes, perfect. This would work. “Excellent idea. That’ll give me time to work things out with the Council, if I can. If not, we’ll handle whatever comes our way together. Now, get on your stomach, baby. Let’s do this.”
Xylon Warriors II: His Carnal Need Page 24
