by Maia Starr
“Good. Then I think it is time that we set up the keddle. We don't need to turn it on just yet, but let's open the bank and make sure it gets out a clear signal when we do turn it on,” she said.
“Let's go; I am ready,” I said. She turned to walk out.
“Wait, where are you going?” I asked.
“I'm walking to the bank,” she said.
“There is no use in walking when we can get there quicker with flying,” I said. Then I shifted into dragon form. She smiled at me.
“If you insist, General,” she said. I scooped her up into my arms and then flew out of the window and over the village. But I didn't go straight to the bank.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Just taking the long way around. I have not taken you on a flight out of pure enjoyment. It has always been out of necessity. Look around you; enjoy the feeling of flying. The happiness you will feel is close to the happiness I feel when I am inside you,” I said.
“It is beautiful,” she said, turning her head to view the sky and trees. I dove in and out and around tree trunks and through the forested area of the village. She laughed and giggled against me. She was enjoying the flight, as was I. I wanted to give her some time of happiness and enjoyment to break up the fear and responsibilities that had taken over her life by being the sole leader of Providence. She deserved happiness and some fun. Her face lit up and her green eyes sparkled as she allowed herself to enjoy the ride. It made me feel like my heart was going to explode with joy at watching her be so happy.
Half an hour later, we landed at the bank.
“That was amazing. Thank you. You were right; I have not truly enjoyed flying with you the way I should have because it was always a way of escaping danger and that was all that I could think of. It is a completely different sensation when it is out of fun. I loved that so much. I can't wait to do it over and over,” she said giving me a kiss.
“I cannot wait to do it over and over with you as well,” I said kissing her back.
“But the fun is over. We need to get to work. Help me,” she said as she unlocked the bank and we went inside. She opened the bank vault, and we set up the panel. I hoped this trap worked.
We worked on it for an hour and then stood outside the bank waiting.
“General!” Lieutenant Reqan flew in over my head and landed near us.
“Yes, Lieutenant?”
“The first trip to Haven Brook was a success. The second and final ships are loading up the humans now. We have scouts going through the village to make sure that all are accounted for and that the village is truly abandoned, along with the list of names to check off that Sergeant Adams gave us. So far everything is going according to plan, and we will all be leaving soon,” he said.
“And you loaded Sergeant Adams bags onto the ship?” I asked.
“Yes, her personal items are on my ship.”
“Good, and my personal ship?”
“It is charged and ready to go.”
“Good. Sergeant Adams and I will be there shortly to make sure the last ships have left and to get my ship. Make sure that the guards on the fence have all boarded the last ship. I want you to see to that personally. We do not want to leave any behind,” I said.
“I will go patrol the fence now,” he said.
“Thank you, Lieutenant Reqan. Do not worry about us; we will be half an hour behind you. We will arrive in Haven Brook safely,” I said.
“You better,” he said as he gave me a hug.
Then he took off to patrol the fence to make sure all the guards were headed to the evacuation site.
“Let's go back to base so that we can get my ship and bring it here to the bank. This way it is close at hand when it is time for us to leave after setting up the trap. We can also check on the evacuation procedure,” I said.
“Yes, let's do that. But can we walk through the village? This way I can also check that there are no people there,” she said.
“Absolutely: one final sweep on our way to the base camp,” I said.
She locked the bank, and we walked hand-in-hand through the village making sure that everything was abandoned and empty. We did not see one person along the way. When we got to the evacuation site, it looked different. All of the camp areas we had set up were now gone. All that was left was our fleet of ships with long lines of people lined up to board. Soldiers were checking off names, and everything was happening in an orderly fashion.
"Everyone seems so full of hope. I am so thankful for this,” Sheila said as she squeezed my arm.
“This is all your doing. You are the one saving these people. This was your idea, and a great one,” I said looking at her with admiration.
She smiled a big, brilliant smile. “Thank you,” she said.
We watched as the last of the people boarded the ships. Lieutenant Reqan had returned and confirmed that all guards were on board the ships. Everything was going according to plan, and we couldn't have been happier. Sheila and I boarded my personal smaller ship, and I drove it to the bank. We only had one more mission.
Chapter 16
Sergeant Sheila Adams
The evacuation was a success. I was extremely happy and full of hope. Now, all we had to do was turn on the keddle and leave it for the Clenok to find.
“Ready to divert power to this baby?” he asked.
“Yes. But as soon as we turn it on, we have to get out of here. Do you think there has been enough time since the last ship left? It will drive attention in this direction when we turn this thing on, and I want to those ships to be out of range,” I said.
“Yes, it has been plenty of time. They might not be far away as far as horizontal distance, but remember that they shot straight up into the atmosphere. They are practically in space. They are out of the Clenok range,” he said.
“Should we do another flyby over the village and gate? I am so worried that someone will be left behind,” I said.
“Every name was checked off of the list that you gave. I don't think that there is a soul left except for the both of us. You are worrying too much. Your plan is a success; I only have to do our part, and we can leave,” he said.
“You are right. I am just nervous. Okay, let's do this,” I said.
“That's the reckless spirit,” he said with a wink. I rolled my eyes at him and laughed. He always had a way of making the direst situations seem playful. But there was another reason that I was procrastinating on leaving. I had this feeling. My fiancé was slowly leaving my mind and leaving Providence would end that chapter in my life completely. I did want the chance to start fresh in Haven Brook with my own new lover, but I felt guilty for doing it. But I had to remind myself it is what he would have wanted for me. He loved me, and he would want me to be happy.
“Are you all right, Sheila?” Azlo asked.
“Yes, I am fine. Just some bittersweet memories about leaving this village. But I am ready, I am ready to move on,” I said. And I was.
“Good. Turning power on,” he said. He did some repair work on the panel, hooking it into the electrical in the wall of the building. Suddenly the panel came to life, lighting up. The virus drive was still in it. It was infected.
“That should do it. The virus might make this panel turn off again, but it will be on long enough to send out a distress signal to the machines. So we should get out of here,” he said.
“I am ready,” I said.
We went outside and boarded his small ship. I was excited to get inside; I had never been in a spaceship before.
Within minutes, we were up in the atmosphere. The sky turned a dark purple somewhere at the edge of Earth and space.
“This is beautiful. We did it. We set the trap; it was your mission all along to spread that virus and to make the people of Providence safe; you have accomplished that mission, General,” I said.
“I could not have done it without you, Sergeant. We are a team,” he said.
“Yes, we are. A team bonded together,�
�� I said.
“But my mission won't be complete until I have my human female safe in Haven Brook,” he said.
“You are female?” I said teasing him.
“Yes, you saved my life. But I fell in love with you from the moment I saw you,” he said.
“And you saved my life. I was barely living before you arrived; I was living without love. That is no way to live. I am happy to be your human, the human of an alien weredragon,” I said.
“I have claimed you, Sheila Adams; you are mine, now and forever,” he said.
“And I love you, Azlo Bron.”
Epilogue
Life at Haven Brook was better than anything I could've ever imagined. I did not have the weight of the world on me as there were plenty of capable bodies and leaders in this town. The people of Haven Brook opened their hearts to the people of Providence, and we blended in harmoniously.
Months later, we received word from scouts that went to the region of Providence. The word was that a Clenok cyborg repair facility in the region of Providence had gone dark, for no apparent reason. The scouts said the repair facility showed no signs of battle with humans. The building had not been blown up. The cyborgs outside the buildings were intact, only they were dead. It was like a cyborg graveyard, but cyborgs and keddles had powered down where they stood and never awoke again.
But Azlo and I knew. Our trap was a success. This would have been the repair facility that the keddle panel we infused with the virus would have been taken to. It was the closest one in the Providence region. The army must have come to Providence and taken the panel to the repair facility. That much was obvious. We were thrilled that our mission had worked. The scouts did not destroy the facility as we had ordered. No, it was better for another cyborg army to stumble across it and hook into it. Then the virus would spread to them as well. So now the repair facility was a trap too. It had all worked out the way we wanted, and we were getting closer to getting the upper hand on the Clenok.
Azlo could not wait to tell King Karik when he returned. The king and his human wife were on their home planet of Tivoso, and I was excited for them to eventually return so that I could meet them. They would be returning with more soldiers and more resources. The human and Veruka allies were only growing stronger. I was hopeful that maybe one day Earth would belong to the humans again.
But today was a day of celebration for another reason. It was my wedding day. I was getting married to the alien weredragon that had claimed me.
I wore a long white skirt and white sweater. It was the closest we could find to wedding clothes in the town. It was enough for me. We stood on the stage area of the Main Street Plaza.
“Do you, General Azlo Bron, take Sheila Adams to be your one and only human wife?”
“Yes, I claim this human female as my wife,” Azlo said.
He kissed me, and we embraced. We were now husband and wife and together forever. But this was just words and ceremony; we both knew that we were already bonded through my DNA attaching to his. That was for life, for eternity. I couldn't have been happier.
The End
Book #3-Jex
(Weredragons Of Tivoso.)
By Maia Starr
Chapter 1
Captain Jex Kailen
“Captain Kailen, I want you to report back to Haven Brook in six months’ time,” King Karik said to me.
I was readying my fleet of ships to head northeast to a human colony.
“Yes, my king. As you wish,” I said with a bow of my head.
“If I am not here you will still report. The report will get to me,” he said.
“Yes, my king. I will not fail you. We will make sure the mission is successful in the region I am assigned, and I will report back the progress to you,” I said.
“Good. Now you are going northeast and General Razook is going southeast. That should cover the area along the east. I just hope the human colonies Vanessa has told us about are still there,” he said.
“So do I, my king,” I said.
“Carry on, Captain. You are free to leave at will. As soon as you and your soldiers are ready, you are cleared to leave on your mission. Best of luck to you, and remember what I told you about the blackness plague and the cure,” he said.
“I cannot forget that information, my king. It has given me hope that there is still time to save the Veruka race,” I said.
“It has given me hope as well as your king. Now go and make your king proud, Captain Kailen,” he said. He held out his hand, and I grabbed his forearm, and he grabbed mine. This was the Veruka handshake. He walked away. He was a good king. I was eager to bring him glory and victory. He was a king that you wanted to fight for and there were a few of us that thought of him as a brother, even if not by blood. We followed him to Earth without a second guess. I would see him again.
I walked around my fleet of ships, inspecting them to make sure they were to the utmost standards. We were going on a long journey. It was not a space travel journey, but it would take many miles to get where we were going. Then I decided I would stretch my wings before being cooped up on the ship. I shifted into weredragon form. My emerald wings spread out behind me and stretched. I pulled my arms over my head and pulled to stretch my muscles. Then I ran at full speed and flew up into the air. My wings flapped the wind getting me higher and higher. I flew fast and hard over the small village of Haven Brook. I wanted to fly until I felt like I could not fly anymore. I inhaled the crisp air of Earth, allowing it to fill my lungs. Then I flew back to the camp. Now I was ready to go on this mission. I rounded up my soldiers for inspections.
Later, I left with my band of soldiers to find the small colony called Willow Springs. According to Dr. Vanessa Lopez, there were less than one hundred humans in the colony, but that was a couple of years before. A lot could have changed since then and going there was the only way to find out. I needed to get this virus to them, but I also had my own mission.
Yeah, I was loyal to my king and loyal to accomplishing the mission, but I also had my own plans. I was going to take care of myself, and I needed a human female in order to do that. You see, King Karik had discovered something during our time in the Haven Brook village. He had come down with an illness called the blackness plague, something that our race of Veruka had been dealing with on Tivoso for years.
It was the reason we had come to Earth in the first place. But we had come to attain the medical knowledge that the humans had that could possibly help us to defeat this illness that was plaguing our weredragon community. But instead, the king stumbled upon the cure. He fell in love with a human female and mated with her. When he did, he found the most extraordinary results.
Being with the human female gave him an intense feeling of euphoria, complete blissful joy and wellness. But that wasn't all; he had found that he was cured of the blackness sickness. Being with a human female somehow bonded her DNA to his own. The human genetics somehow cured the illness of the blackness plague inside of him. It was an astounding find that left the Veruka race filled with hope. If you became ill, you simply had to mate with a human female, and you would be cured. But it wasn't as simple as that. You had to make sure this was a human female that you wanted to mate with for a long time because the two of you would become bonded, inseparable. You would be able to feel her even when she wasn't near you.
We were still trying to figure out the complexities of the situation, but one thing was for sure: mating with human females made you resistant against the blackness plague, and because of that, I was going to get me one. I thought of it as a sort of vaccination that would make sure I did not come down with the illness in the first place. That was my real mission in going to the human colony called Willow Springs. If I was going to be surrounded by human females, I might as well get one to mate with me and make sure that I never got this illness in the first place.
But I had to make sure that it was a human female that enticed me, drove me to complete lust, and was a true match. When I was stati
oned in Haven Brook, I did not have the time to look for a female because we were under a constant threat of battle by the Clenok cyborgs. I was military elite as a captain, so I had to make sure that I was available and my higher-ranking commanders always had work for me to do. But now that had changed. I was on my own mission. I was in charge. Nothing could stop me now. Now all I had to do was find her.
Chapter 2
Helen Maven
The sunlight gleamed off the water of the bay like sparkling glitter. It was beautiful and peaceful. I was sitting on the banks of a large estate. It was an old, grand home. It was the kind that you read about in the old, old, books, like the Great Gatsby. It was a palatial sprawling mansion with art deco architecture. The mansion was a dark gray color with white accents. There were over twenty bedrooms inside the house, and ten more small cottages around the grounds that were used for servants back in the day. Inside the mansion were chandeliers, marble floors, beautiful, luxurious furnishings, and a big library.