The Zahkx Alliance: A Sci-Fi Dystopian Adventure (Dominion Rising Book 2)

by Katherine Bogle

  Selene grinned as she caught her breath. “Nice work, partner.”

  Rikkard flashed a small smile, his eyes alight with adrenaline.

  Butterflies flickered through her belly, and her heart raced, not with adrenaline or fear, but with warmth from Rikkard’s handsome face.

  “Let’s get out of here.” She smiled, and Rikkard nodded before they fled the tunnel back into the city.

  Once their adrenaline faded out, the ride back to Bakura became a quiet affair. Selene’s heart ached as she recalled the exploding tanker colliding with the tall skyscraper before it tilted sideways, the entire building plummeting towards the ground.

  Though they’d completed their mission and gotten not only Sav, but Kong to safety as well, they’d lost Lanny in the process. Had Flik broken the news to Sav yet? She imagined he had since the others would have gotten a good head start.

  She shook her head, trying to focus on the task at hand: getting back to Bakura and reuniting with the others. But it was a long flight back, and her thoughts continued to plague her.

  A couple hours later, they finally arrived at the old navy vessel and docked next to the larger cruiser. They’d need some supplies for their next mission, of that she was sure, and what better place to get them than in the largest black market in the United Americas?

  Selene and Rikkard hopped out, joining the others in the cruiser. Their boots beat up the ramp as they entered the cargo hold.

  Shadows descended on the large crates strewn throughout the room, giving the space a more dire appearance. Rem sat at his worktable, which was strewn with scrap metal. His holoscreen cast blue light on his face as he scanned waves upon waves of information.

  “Rem?” Selene’s eyebrows pulled together and her chest tightened. His head of white hair didn’t move, and his gaze remained riveted on the screen. “Are you okay?” It was an incredibly stupid question. Rem clearly blamed himself for what happened to Lanny, and this is how he was handling it, by throwing himself into his work.

  Rikkard’s fingers brushed her elbow, and she turned to look at him. Rikkard shook his head. It’d do no good to talk to Rem now. He wasn’t paying attention, and forcing him to listen to her would only make things worse.

  Selene sighed. She knew he was right, but part of her still desperately wanted to comfort Rem. Both of them slipped around Rem and entered the hall to the rest of the ship.

  “You’re back.” Eria appeared at the door to the living quarters. Though she’d stayed behind to get some rest, she still looked exhausted. Her wide eyes betrayed her worry, and she wrapped her arms around Rikkard in a quick hug.

  Selene quirked an eyebrow, and rolled her eyes before stepping into the kitchen. She’d rather not deal with Eria right now.

  Flik and Sav sat side by side at the kitchen table, their eyes cast down, and their faces sullen. Shit. Flik had told Sav.

  “Hey,” she said.

  They both glanced up, giving her a quick nod of acknowledgement before returning their gazes to the table. What was she supposed to say to her friends, who’d just lost one of their oldest comrades? They’d been through so much together. It’d be like Selene losing Rem or Darius. Her heart squeezed at the thought. She knew all too well what this felt like. She still hadn’t gotten time to grieve Sarah, just as she was sure they wouldn’t have time to properly grieve Lanny—not for a few days at least.

  Selene wrapped her arms around Flik’s shoulders, squeezing them tightly before she did the same to Sav. While Flik relaxed his shoulders at her touch, Sav tensed. She had a feeling he was going through a lot more than just the loss of Lanny. Being sent back to the Dominion after being free for so long was a special hell in itself.

  Once she’d hugged them both, Selene took a seat, not sure what else to do or say. “I’m sorry,” she said. Her fingers clasped together on the tabletop. What else did one say to people who’d lost so much?

  Flik looked up, and gave her the briefest of reassuring smiles. “We’ll be okay, Selene. Don’t worry.”

  “It’s kind of hard not to.” She matched his small smile.

  “I know.” Flik took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair. He glanced at Sav, his forehead skin pulling together to show his concern. “We’ll be fine.” He clapped a hand on Sav’s shoulder and squeezed.

  Sav finally looked up. His green eyes were bloodshot, and swimming with sadness. She wondered for a moment if that’s how her eyes had looked when she lost Sarah.

  “Hey.”

  Selene looked over her shoulder as Darius stepped inside. He leaned his shoulder against the wall and crossed his arms. Though the man usually wore a smile, he was all worry now.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  Darius shrugged. “I’m worried about Rem.”

  Selene nodded. “Has he been like that since you guys got back?”

  “He’s been like that since we got in the cruiser,” Darius said.

  Selene winced. She wished they had all gotten out together. That way she could have been there for him. “Has he said anything?”

  “Not much except to leave him alone so he could work.”

  Her chest panged. “He’ll come around.”

  Darius nodded. Rem and Darius had been thick as thieves ever since she could remember. Though Darius had joined the crew after Selene, he and Rem had been instant friends, and nearly inseparable since.

  The door to the kitchen whooshed open as Rikkard entered. He stopped only a foot from the door, his forehead wrinkled in confusion as he assessed the rest of them. He’d never been great at reading a room, but at least he was trying.

  “Anyone up for a drink at Radley’s?” he asked.

  Selene’s eyebrows rose. Maybe he was better at reading a room than she thought.

  “Yes!” Flik stood, his chair scraping across the ground.

  “Definitely.” Sav got to his feet a bit slower.

  “I’m down,” Selene said.

  “Me too.” Eria appeared in the doorway behind Rikkard, a smirk on her face.

  Selene worked her jaw and narrowed her eyes. This wasn’t the time for the former smuggler to be joining the rest of them. She’d barely met Lanny. Selene’s fists clenched, and she opened her mouth to say something, but Rikkard cut her off.

  “Let’s go.” He turned to the door, and led the way out, Eria smiling victoriously as she followed.

  Selene sighed, and followed the others to the cargo hold. Darius paused beside Rem, and Selene turned to look back when she realized he wasn’t following.

  “I’m going to stay here and watch him.” Darius nodded at Rem.

  Rem’s fingers flew across the holokeys as text continued to scroll down the screen. Her heart clenched, and she nodded. “Understood.” She glanced back down the hall of the cruiser. Kong’s hairy leg stuck out from the cockpit, twitching as he slept. She smiled slightly. “Keep an eye on Kong too.”

  “Of course.”

  While Darius remained with Rem and Kong, Selene caught up to the others as they slipped through the grimy halls of Bakura and settled in a back booth at Radley’s.

  Flik and Sav slid in first, Eria sliding into the other side of the curved booth, the faded faux leather squeaking beneath them. Once they were settled, Rikkard took Selene’s wrist and pulled her after him.

  “First round is on me,” he told the others.

  Selene smiled and followed him to the bar where a gorgeous black man with violet eyes cleaned out glasses with a rag. She recognized him as Darius’s co-worker, the same one he’d abandoned the other day.

  Rikkard leaned against the bar, extremely casual for someone in a bar full of criminals. Selene sat on one of the stools, glancing down the bar at an older man with a thick beard lying face down in a pool of his own drool.

  Selene wrinkled her nose, and looked away, just as the bartender approached them. He flashed a dazzling smile as he leaned on the counter.

  “What can I get you?” He winked at Selene, and her cheeks flushed.


  “A bottle of whiskey and five glasses,” Rikkard answered. He narrowed his eyes at the man flirting with Selene.

  She couldn’t help the amused smile that spread across her lips. It was good to know Rikkard got jealous too. Now she didn’t need to feel so guilty over disliking Eria.

  The bartender nodded, and backed off, grabbing a bottle of whiskey from the back shelf, and stacking three glasses on top of one another, and two in another stack. He slid them across the bar to Rikkard and Selene before setting a small silver screen in front of them.

  Rikkard slid his phone across the screen, transferring the credits due. “Thanks,” he said gruffly.

  “Don’t mention it.” The bartender gave them one last look before returning to work.

  Selene took the glasses, and they returned to the booth with the others. “I hope you guys like whiskey.” She slid into the booth next to Sav, and Rikkard followed, forcing them all to shimmy over, placing Flik directly beside Eria. Normally some sort of looks would certainly be exchanged, but right now Flik and Sav only seemed to have eyes for one thing: the whiskey bottle.

  Rikkard uncapped it while Selene handed out glasses. Once each of them had a shot in the bottom of their cups, Selene took hers and held it up in a toast.

  At first she paused, not sure what to say about Lanny, or the mission that had gotten him killed. She wondered if Sav and Flik blamed her, or the others for their fallen comrade, or if Sav wished they’d never come for him.

  Taking a deep breath, Selene’s fingers tightened on her glass. “For Lanny.”

  Flik and Sav raised their glasses first, and clinked them against hers.

  They all took a drink of whiskey, the alcohol searing her taste buds as it burned down her throat. Selene’s eyes watered and she shivered as it warmed her stomach. She set her glass down, and it was promptly filled with another shot.

  Selene flashed a look at Rikkard, who simply shrugged at her question. He must have understood they all needed this—a break, and maybe a buzz.

  “For Lanny.” Sav raised his glass next, a solemn look in his eyes. “The smartest man I’ve ever met.”

  Flik clinked his glass against Sav’s. “Here, here!”

  Selene followed suit, taking her shot, and shaking her head to clear the foul taste. With another shot quickly poured, Flik raised his glass next.

  “Lanny was the best of us,” he began, his gaze riveted on the table. “And he didn’t deserve to die.” His fingers tightened around his glass. “But he’ll always be remembered.”

  They all shared another cheers and another shot before warmth started to collect inside her belly and rise into her chest. Her cheeks flushed, and she wiped her clammy hands on her thighs.

  Sav smiled at the table and spun his glass in his hand. “I remember when I first met Lanny,” he said. “He had this extreme no-nonsense personality that I thought was so funny back then.”

  Flik grinned at the memory. “He was a bit of a tight ass before we found you.”

  Sav’s smile darkened and his gaze again lowered to the tabletop. “I’ll miss his know-it-all ass.”

  Flik sighed. “Me too.”

  Selene watched the two former Alliance members, her eyebrows furrowed with concern. “I’ll never forget when I met you guys,” she said. Flik and Sav glanced up at her. “It’s a bit hazy, but I’m pretty sure he’s the one I booted in the face.”

  Sav grinned and Flik laughed, recognition flashing in their eyes. Selene could still remember dangling from the ceiling in the back of the truck used to transport her from the Dominion laboratory, hardly able to see as she kicked out at the men trying to save her.

  She smiled, and they all took another drink, and then another, until her senses were dulled, and her chest swelled with warmth and sadness. She leaned her head against Rikkard’s shoulder. He took her hand and squeezed it beneath the table.

  Though Lanny was gone, she was sure they’d never forget him. He was the best of them, a genius like Rem, and he’d died far too soon. Though his death had been unfortunate, they had gotten Sav back, and in doing so, they’d moved one step closer to getting her body back. Now more than ever she wanted to find Zelena Stein, rip her from Selene’s body, and send her straight to hell. She was just another pawn of the Dominion, but she was still one of them, and just like the rest of the government who knew far too much and disclosed too little, she deserved to die.

  Selene’s fingers tightened around Rikkard’s as her resolve strengthened. Tomorrow they’d plan and prepare, and not long after, they’d fight. For each other, for Lanny, for Sarah, and for every other person harmed by the Aldar Dominion.

  A loud beep rang from her pocket. Selene growled as the heavy box in her arms slipped. Her heart leapt as she caught the bottom, just barely getting hold of it before it spilled onto the floor.

  Another day gone. It was time to get supplies and get ready for another fight. This fight would have to be very carefully planned, and it was safe to assume they’d need a few necessities like clothes, weapons, and food. Even if clones didn’t need to consume a lot, Flik and Sav weren’t clones, and they’d nearly cleaned out the pantry after late night drunk eating.

  Selene sighed and hiked the box back up into her arms, carefully cradling the non-perishables as she climbed the cargo hold door.

  Whatever message she’d received could wait until she set the box down.

  Rem remained seated just where he’d been the night before. Though he’d been sound asleep on his holokeys when they returned in the early morning from Radley’s, they’d quickly woken him in their drunken stupor, and she doubted he’d gone back to sleep since, especially when he was popping caffeine boosters like candy.

  Selene shook her head and continued past him to the kitchen where she unloaded the cans into the cupboards. While she took care of food, Flik and Sav were still fast asleep, along with Eria, Kong, and Darius, who’d stayed awake until they returned. With only she and Rikkard to take care of supplies, they’d split up and decided to meet back at the cruiser when ready.

  Slipping the empty box under the counter, she quickly collapsed it, and slid it in beside their meagre cleaning supplies, which she was sure had come with the ship. There was no way the boys would think to grab any such thing. It had always been Sarah’s job to do so, and with Sarah gone, Selene would most likely be the one in charge of such things from now on.

  With the food safely put away, she dusted off her hands, and took out her phone. A small envelope icon appeared on the home screen, and she tapped it to unlock the device and read the message. At the top of the screen, Selene’s old number appeared, the name Ivy written beside it. She gulped. It had been awhile since she heard from the Icarus woman.

  Pate is back. He’s looking for you. Watch your back.

  Selene read the message several times, a sigh pushing from her lips. She sent back a quick text: ‘Message received’, then turned off the device and returned it to her pocket. Pate returning to the city meant nothing. He’d have been informed about her escape from his security team by now, and his return to New Manhattan did nothing to bother her, especially now that his fortress was gone.

  A small smile slid across her face as she took a seat at the kitchen table, pulling up the holoscreen on the wall beside the table. It wasn’t a large screen, maybe two feet wide, but it took up the majority of the wall, and cast a faint glow on her tawny skin.

  “I wonder what’s going on in town…” she mused aloud, flicking through the few Dominion sanctioned channels until she reached the news with the co-hosts she’d come to know all too well. Her blood ran cold as they went through their usual spiel.

  She remained frozen in her seat, unable to look away as the co-hosts flashed away to show yet another press conference featuring Zelena Stein.

  Selene’s nostrils flared and her eyes narrowed. Zelena’s days were numbered. As soon as Selene figured out where and when they could strike, Selene would have her body back, and Zelena would never sh
ow her face on another holoscreen.

  But until then, the woman continued to parade around on air, spouting her ‘words of wisdom’ about government reform, and joining the humans and aliens for good. It was almost comical, as Zelena was the biggest part of the problem. She was the first successful Icarus, and Selene hoped the last.

  “Hey, what’re you watching?”

  Selene jumped as Eria appeared in the doorway, leaning against the frame with an eyebrow raised.

  “The news?” Eria slipped inside, crossing her arms, and making a face at Zelena Stein before glancing at Selene and back at the holoscreen. “Damn. So Rikkard was telling the truth.”

  Clearing her throat, Selene sat back in her chair, loosening her hold on the remote. “What are you talking about?”

  Taking that as an invitation, Eria took a seat next to Selene. “You were some kind of crazy human experiment. I mean, how else do you explain that chick on TV looking exactly like you?”

  Selene looked between the screen and Eria. She had a point.

  “There is no such thing as twins anymore, and clones are always recycled,” Eria continued. “The fact that there are two of you must really twist their panties in a knot.”

  Selene snorted and Eria flashed a grin. “Yeah I can’t imagine they’d be too happy if they knew I was alive.”

  Eria raised an eyebrow. “How are you still alive?”

  Selene shrugged. “I’d say I have friends in high places, but he’s really not a friend.”

  “I see.”

  Silence rested between them, only filled by the yammering of Zelena Stein. Selene quickly lowered the volume. She’d heard the same speech what felt like a thousand times. Aliens and humans should be under one government. One president. One leader. They’d been together for three centuries, and no one saw that changing anytime soon, so why not unite them once and for all?

  If only the population knew exactly why Zelena wanted them united. If only they knew what the Dominion did behind closed doors to ensure their unity with humanity. Selene shook her head and crossed her arms.

  “Rikkard is different than I remember,” Eria said.