by Reagan Woods
Arms crossed over her chest, Tara dodged his shushing finger to protest, “But it doesn’t work that way. It’s only your phero-.”
He used two fingers this time, clearly worried about putting his hands on her still-healing jaw. “Later. Until then, not a word,” he growled. “Nod if you understand.”
Eyes narrowed, she nodded. When he removed his hand, she warned, “I bite, remember?”
He snorted, laugh lines crinkling around his quicksilver eyes. “You’re adorable.” With that, he sauntered off.
“Jerk,” she muttered, pushing through the doors with a reluctant smile on her face. Her heart felt light with hope. Maybe she hadn’t completely lost him. Now, if she could exercise that considerable self-restraint every time he came around things would be fine. Should be a piece of cake, right? She snorted as she barreled into the chaos.
“Alright, people! Sorry I’m late. Hey, put that down!” she shouted as a young man picked up the CGA air-fryer, tipping the delicate machine upside down to shake it. “Jesus, it must be a full moon. Calm down, people. Here’s today’s plan…”
Chapter 16
During his shift, Calyx broke up three fights in the exercise yard before they could escalate into bloody free-for-alls. One was a group of ex-Earth soldiers disagreeing over the timeline of a battle long past. Since he could relate to Warriors bragging and brawling, he didn’t think much of it.
The other two fights were between civilian females. The first pair, engaged in a hairpulling slap-fight, was easy enough to head off. However, the other two combatants were clearly trained fighters. The precipitating event was not readily apparent, but neither was willing to go down without inflicting substantial damage on her opponent. He’d had to drag them to solitary cells to cool off.
“What happened to your pretty face?” Silex, dressed for an excursion with thin sun shades over his face and a riot helmet strapped on his field pack, caught up with him at the check point between the administrative ring and the Earther dorms.
Gingerly, Calyx popped his jaw back into alignment, tissue screaming in agony. Jaw dislocations were the worst. “I’m on yard patrol. Broke up a fight between two very angry, very skilled fighters,” he gritted between clenched teeth. “Should have let them fight it out. Need a wand.”
“I’ll say,” Silex agreed. “If you’re heading to the infirmary, I’ll walk with you. I have an errand that way.” He fell into step with Calyx. “Some of these Earthers aren’t as harmless as they seem.”
“These were females,” Calyx told him, bewildered. “You should see what they did to one another before I pulled them apart. They fought like droids; like they didn’t even feel the damage. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Silex’s booming laugh attracted several wide-eyed looks as they crossed the exercise yard toward the common building. “Nothing here is what it seems, I’m finding.”
“Everyone is on edge today,” Calyx felt compelled to warn his friend as they approached the common building. “I don’t know what’s going on, but the Earthers are restless.”
Silex stopped on the path to the main doors and rubbed a hand over his shining head as he scanned the area around the building. “Makes you wonder if they’re being tampered with, doesn’t it?”
That gave him pause. Perhaps that was the problem. “The reconditioners again?” He posited, concern for the Earthers twisting his guts.
“Maybe,” Silex agreed thoughtfully. “Or maybe they’re finally coming out of their shock and showing their true nature.”
“Where are you headed?” Calyx asked, nodding at his partner’s full pack.
“Nowhere. Yet. I’m on personal time. There’s something I need to check out.”
A fresh wave of pain radiated through his skull. “Alright.” Calyx rubbed his aching jaw. “I’m going to get this taken care of.”
“You do that.”
After sending a medic to solitary to treat the females and having his jaw seen to, Calyx filed his afternoon report and advised his replacement he’d be nearby if he needed backup. The feel of the camp was discordant – the very air felt electric and hostile. In response, he felt himself mentally preparing for combat – some of that aggression stemmed from the vague ache still pulsing through his facial nerve.
Hunger gnawed at his belly. He’d missed his meal break in the afternoon’s furor. Tara kept the cafeteria stocked with nutrient bars and water between meal hours, so he headed that way. It was still a while before last meal, but she might be in the kitchens prepping already. If he happened to put eyes on her, all the better. Because of the eventful afternoon, it’d been far too long since he’d seen her.
She wasn’t in the kitchen and he didn’t see her in the cafeteria. He scooped up a bar and decided to check the kitchen’s outer door. The frustrating female might have it in her head to resurrect her garden before the plot became overgrown. Never mind that it might not be safe to loiter there during a work shift when there were so few people about.
Convinced he was going to find her there, Calyx took the shortcut through the kitchen. He stopped just outside the door. Tara wasn’t immediately visible, but he heard voices – one male and one female - on the other side of the windbreak. The meal bar turned to dust in his throat.
Fucking Shirok. It was time to put an end to the Doranos’ threats to his female. Dropping the food, Calyx barreled around the windbreak.
And stopped short.
It wasn’t a Doranos bent over his hapless female. It was a Warrior, a familiar Warrior.
His arrival didn’t go unnoticed.
Silex broke off from kissing the slender female and spun her behind his back.
“What the fuck, you Neanderthal!” She shrieked, small fists making solid contact with his partner’s broad back. “You can’t just kiss me when we don’t agree. It’s uncivilized and demeaning, dammit!”
Silex caught her wrist with one hand when she went to dart around him. “You’re not going anywhere,” he growled, locking her to his side with a thick arm. Then, he turned to Calyx, his already broad chest seeming to inflate. He spoke in Corian Standard, the language the Earthers clearly weren’t learning, “Something I can help you with, partner?”
“Er - uh – I’m looking for Tara,” Calyx explained uneasily, eyes flicking toward the female that was most definitely not Tara.
“She’s not here,” Silex bit out caustically, gesturing outward with his free arm. “I saw her enter her dormitory.”
“Is everything alright?” Calyx was torn. The Earther was clearly angry – or pissed, as Tara would say – her cheeks flushed, long hair tangled around her shoulders as she panted for breath, but she wasn’t scared.
“We’re having a difference of opinion, but we’ll work it out. Alone.” If the female were behaving as though terrified, Calyx would have no choice but to step in. She was definitely annoyed, but didn’t appeal for help.
“I’ll go wait for Tara. Somewhere else.” He took a deliberate step back to demonstrate he was no threat – Corian males were known for their possessive nature regarding females and their violently competitive attitude when it came to other males encroaching on their chosen one.
“Good choice.” Silex seemed to relax though he continued to hold the female close.
Calyx spun on his heel, gravel crunching as he retreated down the path. Before he was out of ear shot, he heard the female growl, “You’re a real sonofabitch, Si. Quit acting like you fucking own me.”
“Try meeting with that Doranos prick again, Francesca,” Silex’s icy reply was the last Calyx heard as he turned the corner of the building.
That was…unexpected. Silex was quick with disdainful comments about Earth and Earthers. He had never hinted that one had captured his interest.
The conversation Calyx had overheard led him to believe this Francesca must have an overactive pheromone response like Tara’s. That would explain his partner’s reticence.
He pondered the situation as he took what he
was coming to think of as “his” post outside Tara’s dorm. Was hovering over her like this smart? He didn’t want to push her away like Silex obviously was doing with his female. Perhaps Calyx should take a step back, let her live her life without interference from him.
It was possible Tara couldn’t invest in him the way he needed. He didn’t just crave her body. No, Calyx was greedier than that. He wanted – was borderline obsessed with possessing - her mind and spirit, too. He needed her to be as consumed by what was between them as he was.
Loving her was unwise. But she already owned him. Pulling away from her, disengaging from what he felt, was laughably unrealistic.
He couldn’t Claim her, couldn’t enforce their proximity so that he was the only male she imprinted on. That was an overwhelming problem. Thoughts of taking her from here, of keeping her where no other males could get to her slid through his mind in a dance of sinuous temptation.
These sprawling lands were massive and wild, true, but they offered countless places to hide. He could set up a place for her, a small house maybe. It would be illegal – Earthers were property of the CGA now. If someone found out, he would certainly lose his position as a Warrior and bring shame on his family. More importantly, if something happened to him, Tara would be in danger out in the decimated world with no one to protect her.
Madness. Every tantalizing facet of that scenario was madness. Tara enjoyed her work, loved being around the other Earthers and seeing them properly cared for. It wouldn’t be fair to take her away from that. Just yet.
Chapter 17
Calyx didn’t have long to obsess. Tara exited the dorm accompanied by another female. Tara’s companion was familiar, but he couldn’t place her. With nothing much to differentiate her pale skin and hair, she seemed to fade into the background next to Tara’s warm beauty.
The two Earthers were so immersed in discussion that they didn’t see him. Chuckling quietly at the way Tara’s eyes danced as she told her story, Calyx decided to hang back and trail them at a distance to the kitchen. His intention had been to see Tara safely to her place of work. There was no need to interrupt her conversation.
He wasn’t being a coward by avoiding the conversation she insisted they have. A Corian female would be quick to tell him that he wasn’t what she was seeking, that he didn’t have enough status or wealth behind his name. Tara wasn’t like that, but the way she’d held herself apart from him earlier in the day made him dread what she might say.
Calyx remained attuned to his surroundings constantly. No matter how the gentle sway of Tara’s hips enthralled him, he constantly monitored the area for unusual or suspicious activity. His experience as a Warrior had taught him well the dangers of letting his guard down on an alien planet. Earth might be conquered, but no place was ever truly submissive. A prepared Warrior knew this and planned accordingly.
Therefore, when the wave of panicked Earthers came pouring into the yard a full hour before the scheduled end of their work shifts, Calyx didn’t allow the sudden rush of fear to paralyze him; he acted. Calyx scooped Tara under one arm, her friend under the other, and sprinted toward the common building. When the doors were properly secured, the place was a veritable fortress, nearly impossible to breach.
Tara shrieked in terror and began to struggle to the point he nearly lost his grip. “Enough!” He bellowed to be heard over the din.
After that, he made good time across the yard. Both females cringed as the screaming and general confusion escalated. Ignoring the instinct to soothe, Calyx focused on getting them to safety.
He deposited the friends at the main entrance. “Go. Advise the medics to be on alert. Something is amiss. You must hide in a safe place.”
“Wha-?” Tara began, eyes wide with apprehension as she stubbornly latched on to his elbow. Underneath the fear, he saw her trust shining through, the faith that he wouldn’t let her down. He wanted to reassure her…but he had no idea why the normally rigidly organized camp was in turmoil.
With a tight grimace-smile, he motioned for silence and activated his internal comm. “This is a general appeal for information,” he broadcast through the system. “Earthers are flooding in from the perimeter and congregating in the yard. Please advise.”
“Suspected perimeter breach,” came the barked response. “All Warriors not on shift report to secondary duty stations.”
Shit. He needed to get to the perimeter. The General never sent Warriors planet-side without running drill upon drill upon drill. He knew the quickest route to each possible station to which he might be called. Somehow, this didn’t feel like a drill. Even as he had the thought, he saw other off-duty Warriors – Silex among them - traveling against the current of Earthers flooding the yard.
“Something isn’t right, Tara,” he told her, with a quick survey of the influx of confused people through the checkpoints. “Get moving!”
Tara nodded shakily and palmed her way into the building with the blonde in tow. “Be careful,” she shouted, sending him a brave, if worried, smile over her shoulder as he sealed the door behind her.
The whole exchange took mere moments. Now that she was reasonably safe, Calyx felt like he could breathe again. Resolutely, he began to shove his way through the melee. The stench of a hard day’s work emanated from the native workers and he was thankful his height helped him gulp cleaner air as he arrowed toward the nearest checkpoint. He didn’t need to scan his palm or flash credentials to get through as the on-duty guards were impatiently waving all brother Warriors through.
Minutes later, after his bioidentifiers triggered a Warrior-sized hole in the energy field surrounding the camp, Calyx slid into position on his belly at the perimeter station and fixed the heavy harness to his shoulders. Still panting heavily, he made a mental note to add more cardio to his PT as he scanned the horizon through the viewfinder of his laser cannon.
Though he was trained to move the hulking gun, with all its various sights and sensors, his heart pounded as he did so. This station and ones like it were the first place an enemy would attack if their goal was to take the camp. He was vulnerable here outside the protective energy field surrounding the camp and he felt that exposure through every molecule of his being.
Aside from the almost inaudible crackle as the field sealed behind him, it was eerily silent as he ran his sweeps. Nothing unusual appeared on his infrared scanner nor were there any chemical signatures indicating a possible enemy force had or was approaching. He must be missing something. After an equipment recalibration at speeds that would have made his Warrior Instructors weep with pride, he checked again. Nothing.
The wind whipped over the flat, dusty land with a hollow rustle. In the distance, he saw the dark lumps he knew to be rolling hills outlined in the fiery orange of the late afternoon sun. His instincts screamed for him to scan the skies, but that was not his task. His was to watch the horizon and monitor for any movement at ground level or below. He itched to shoot something, to attack and defend, but he mastered the urge.
Moving slowly, he wiped perspiration from his brow. With the heat of the energy field at his back, he was sweating even in the constant breeze. His mind wanted to think of Tara, to worry over where she’d taken shelter, but he ruthlessly forced himself to focus on his task, tuning the laser’s sensors into the distant hills and conducting another sweep. A momentary lapse in concentration might mean the difference between life and death for Tara and the other Earthers – not to mention, himself.
In his comm he heard, “Status check! Sector A: secure…Sector B: secure…Sector C: secure…”
He listened intently as the other operators reported no sign of an enemy. Finding no threat in any of his scans, Calyx reported the same. The all-clear sounded through his comm after an extended wait and several more futile scans.
“Stand down,” Skylan’s voice barked, but he didn’t immediately announce the cause of the alarm.
Calyx took his time shrugging out of the harness and bellying out of the cannon cradl
e. His bioidentifiers only allowed exit from the camp. Re-entry took time as someone had to verify each Warrior’s credentials before granting access through the energy field. It was a painfully tedious process, but it was necessary to ensure the camp’s security.
As was his habit, he turned his eyes back to the land and methodically stretched his shoulders while he waited. Maybe he’d misread the situation, he mused, eyeing the rugged terrain, and this was nothing more than a drill. If they were facing a real breach, though, and he was stuck out here while danger prowled within, he’d never forgive himself for leaving Tara to face it alone. The worry bubbled to the surface of his mind no matter how he forced it down.
He kicked at the dust under his boots in frustration. If Vank were here, they wouldn’t be left wondering what the status was. Vank wasn’t stingy with information like Skylan; however, if Vank were alive, none of them would be planet-side anyway – most perimeter defenders would be aboard the Horizon.
While he missed his friend, he took comfort that this was one of the most heavily fortified camps on Earth thanks to the glut of Warriors without a ship. Tara was safer in the heart of this camp than he could reasonably expect otherwise.
“Need a ride?” Silex’s gravelly voice came through on a private comm-to-comm connection.
Calyx spun, checking the area for movement. He noted the light was changing, the sun sinking closer to the distant hills. “Where are you?”
“I’m coming around from the southwest with a hover platform,” Silex advised moments before Calyx spotted the stealthy black streak. The flat platform, driver huddled low behind the windscreen, was barely discernable against the orange-lit purple rock. “Skylan wants us to meet him at the eastern perimeter. Says there’s something we need to see.”
The platform lowed and slowed enough for Calyx to jump on before they accelerated toward their destination.
Chapter 18
Silex
