by Ashley West
He followed her up the stairs, neither of them speaking as they made their way back to their rooms. Aedian watched as she pressed her hand to the sensor to let them in and then strode inside.
"Sit down," he said firmly.
"Excuse me?"
"Sit down. You want to know what it is I'm hiding, and I'll tell you. We don't have time for this argument."
Roxanne looked confused, but she did as she was told, sitting down on the couch in the main room. Her dark eyes were serious where they were trained on him, and Aedian found that now he'd gone and opened his mouth, he didn't know where to start with the telling.
At the beginning, he supposed, since it was important for her to know what exactly was happening.
"When we lived on Calphas, we were in charge of the entire quadrant for the most part. No one crossed us and lived. Many tried, but we put down threat after threat, doing what we had to do to cement our place. We also kept those who were weaker than us and loyal to us safe, in exchange for resources or aid when we needed it. That was always the way things were, and there was a balance.
"But then we had to flee Calphas. Our planet was dying, and there was no choice. There is no weakness in survival when it's the only thing you have left. Death is an honor when it's earned on the battlefield, fighting for what you believe in, but it's senseless when it's just because you were too stupid to know when to leave. I know that now."
"What does this have to do with anything?" Roxanne asked, brows drawn down.
"I'm getting to it," Aedian replied. "You have to understand. When we were there, we kept the balance. But when we left, the balance was upset, and another race moved into the space we'd left behind. The Platoks. They have tried to beat us several times, though they always failed before. But with us gone, they had free reign to conquer the ones we left behind. And conquer they did. They have had ten of your years to grow and pillage, and that's what they've done. And now... Now they've turned their eyes to Earth."
Roxanne's eyes were large in the dim light. "They...they're coming here?" she asked.
Aedian inclined his head.
"What do they want?"
He shook his head. "We aren't certain. To wipe us out, more than likely. They probably think us weakened since we've been here for so long, becoming used to peace. They think that we've forgotten how to fight."
"Well, that's definitely not true. What about us? About the humans? Do they...are they coming for us?"
"That I do not know. We're only guessing at their motivations, but we know they're coming. And we know that they won't hesitate to kill or enslave your kind if they can. That is just the way the Platoks are. They have no honor and seek to win at any cost."
"And they're coming here?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"Any time now."
His words fell heavy in the room and silence followed them as Roxanne seemed to process that. Her face was a mess of emotions, shock and fear winning out. When she looked up at him again, there was understanding there. "That's why you've been gathering weapons and training so much," she murmured. "You're going to fight them."
"Yes," Aedian said again. "Of course we are. This is our home now, and you are...well, you are as good as our people."
She seemed surprised to hear him say that, and he supposed that made sense considering some of the things he'd said about humans before. But things were different now. Everything was different now.
Aedian moved to sit down next to her, unsure of whether or not she would welcome being touched. "Do you have something you want to tell me?" he asked. "Like how you knew about the weapons?"
Roxanne blinked, seeming to come out of a trance. "Oh. I...well, I saw some of your kind carrying them around. I thought. I thought maybe you were preparing to break the treaty or something. I didn't know there was an outside threat. I don't think any of us thought anyone else would be coming from out there." She waved her hand in the direction of the ceiling.
The slight to the honor of his people made him tense, but then he sighed and relaxed again. It was a reasonable assumption, he supposed. After all, Calphesians had been planning for what to do if the humans broke their part of the treaty for years.
"We would not do that," he said gently. "And most other races avoid Earth. There are so many of you and you're unpredictable, which makes them think you aren't worth the time. It just so happened that we didn't have a choice in the matter and that is why we showed up."
"Makes sense," she said. "So...what's going to happen? Why aren't you telling anyone?"
"We wanted to avoid a panic," he explained. "But soon each head will be approaching their human representative. What happens from there is up to your kind. But we will fight."
Silence reigned again, and Roxanne let out a shaky breath. He could understand how she felt. After ten years of peace, humans had probably assumed they were safe. And now this. He wondered if she'd blame them once she figured out how much this was their fault. He wondered if it would change things.
"I will keep you safe," he said after a moment, watching her in the semi-darkness. "I vow to you that I will. I will keep as many of your kind safe as I can."
Her eyes were surprised but kind when she glanced at him. "I thought you didn't care about humans all that much," she murmured.
Aedian shrugged a shoulder. "You have your uses."
She cracked a smile at that and leaned against him, pressing her face to his chest. He let his arms come up around her, one hand going to the back of her head as he held on. It was the most they'd touched in days, and Aedian was shocked at how her touch calmed the storm of feelings inside of him.
It was impossible to know what was going to happen in the next few days, but Aedian was determined that he wasn't going to let anything terrible happen without putting up a fight.
Chapter 11: Spilling Every Bean
Roxanne understood the concept of a secret, she really did. She understood that the Calphesians thought they were doing the right thing in not telling them about the invasion, keeping the peace and all that. Once it got out, it was inevitable that people were going to panic. That's just how things like this worked. People panicked when they were faced with the thought of the unknown.
Aedian told her that she wasn't supposed to just go scream the news from the rooftops, but that didn't mean she was going to keep it to herself. Not when she had family and friends who deserved the chance to get out while they had the chance.
"Why are they coming here?" she'd asked him that night as they lay together in bed. "What's so special about here?"
"This is the biggest cluster of us," he'd explained. "And we're all gathering here to try and fight them off. They will be able to tell that."
There was more to it, of course, about how this compound was more easily defensible, about how they had more resources here than anywhere else.
It made sense, but all Roxy could think about was the fact that people she loved were going to be in the danger zone. And so when she got up that next morning, it was with a new determination to keep everything from going to hell.
Aedian seemed to be able to tell that she was going to do something, because he stopped her on her way out of their rooms. "Be careful."
"What do you mean?" Roxy asked.
He gave her a serious look. "Be careful."
She nodded and smiled at him, leaning up to kiss him warmly. It felt good not to suspect him anymore. The more she thought about what she'd assumed was going on, the more ridiculous it seemed. The Calphesians were all about honor, and while their definition of it was definitely different from the definition that humans had, it still meant that they wouldn't betray those they'd made a treaty with.
But an invasion...
That had never even occurred to her as being something she'd need to worry about.
With her head down and her mind already focused on what she needed to do, Roxy made her way to her car. On the way there, she passed group after group of Calphesians, all
armed to the teeth.
Some of them looked different than the ones she was used to seeing by now, and she remembered that Aedian had said that others were coming to help with the fight. These must be them. Some were larger, some smaller, and they all looked at her with a sort of wide eyed confusion that made her smile.
They had their own humans, she knew that much, but maybe they had different ways about them. The cultures were probably different, or maybe they just weren't used to seeing human women practically dashing through the corridors without fear.
Whatever it was, she didn't have time to dwell on it. Their arrival clearly meant that things were getting serious, and she had to warn the people who mattered to her.
Of course, she probably should have anticipated that gathering her mother and father and best friend together at the house and not telling any of them what was going on would cause problems. Especially when she got there after they did.
She walked into the house to see her father pacing the living room and Sam and her mother with their heads together in nearly frantic conversation.
Her father saw her first, and he rounded on her, hands on her shoulders as if checking that she was alright. "What happened?" he asked. "What's going on?"
"Dad," Roxy said, pushing him away gently. "It's okay. I'm okay."
"What's this all about, Roxanne?" her mother wanted to know. "Samantha seems to think it has something to do with the Calphesians?"
Roxy looked at her best friend who looked more anxious than she'd ever seen her. "Well, it does," she admitted. "Just. Probably not how Sam's thinking. I thought at first that maybe they were trying to break the treaty. Because I saw them gathering weapons and plotting and it worried me."
"And that's not what's happening?" Sam asked.
"Nope," Roxy replied. "Not even a little bit."
"Then what is happening?" her father demanded.
It took her a moment to gather her thoughts, and then she sighed, deciding to just come out with it. She'd gone and got them all worked up already, after all. So she told them what Aedian had told her the night before, explaining about the Platoks and how the Calphesians had kept them at bay when the problem was in space, but now the problem was coming to them and there wasn't much they could do about it. Other than run. Other than hide.
When she finished, the looks on her parents' and friend's faces mirrored what she imagined her own face had looked like when Aedian explained what was going on to her. They were shell shocked, and her mother looked like she was on the verge of tears.
"It's happening again?" Samantha asked in a small voice. "Why? What...why?"
"Because they want to wipe out the Calphesians, I don't know. Aedian says that they're going to stay and fight. That they're going to protect us."
"And you believe him?" her father asked.
And Roxanne understood why he was asking that question. After all, it hadn't been that long since she'd shown up here furious with Aedian for not respecting her. But she'd seen the look in his eyes when he'd said it, and she knew he wasn't lying to her.
"Yes," she replied simply. "I do."
"But will that be enough?" Sam wanted to know.
"I don't know. He said it's not that many of them that're coming, but I don't know if that means they'll be easy to beat. I don't know what's going to happen. What I do know is that we can't wait around. We need a plan."
No one responded to that, staring at her blankly, and Roxy sighed.
"A plan for what?" her father put in. "You don't expect us to fight?"
"No," Roxy said. "Are you crazy? I expect you guys to get out of here. They're all coming here. It's going to be like ten years ago all over again, only this time I'm pretty sure they aren't going to be willing to reason with us. They don't even care about us. According to Aedian, they see us like we see ants or roaches. We're vermin. Pests. They'll kill us as soon as look at us. You need to get away."
"How much time do we have?" asked her mother.
"I don't know. They don't know. Not long, probably. Aedian said any time now. So you have to go."
"Wait," Sam interjected. "Wait, wait, wait. Why do you keep saying it like that? You're not saying we have to go, you're saying it like you aren't coming with us."
Trust Sam to pick up on that. Roxy had been hoping that she could save that part for later. "Well..." she hedged.
"Roxanne!" her mother exclaimed. "What are you thinking?"
"That I would stay here?"
"Why? What would possess you to do that?"
She shrugged, suddenly cowed by how intently her mother was looking at her. "I don't know, Mom. I just. I can't run away and leave him."
"The hell you can't!" Alan cried. "You most certainly can. You can't stay here if there's going to be some kind of...alien war!"
"I'm not just going to leave him."
"Why not?" Sam demanded. "Why would you stay for him?"
"You were the one who told me that maybe one of them would be good to me!" Roxy retorted. "And now I found one who is and you want me to abandon him? What about the treaty?"
"Forget the stupid treaty! They could kill you, Roxy! Don't you think that if they find out you matter to a Calphesian they might take you hostage or something? Or kill you on the spot? And how do you even know that Aedian's telling the truth. Calphesians don't care about us! If it comes down to it, he'll just let you get hurt." Sam was crying now, tears in her eyes and on her face. "I'm not prepared to lose you."
Roxanne shook her head. "You're not going to lose me. I'll be fine, Sam, I promise."
Samantha turned to Roxy's parents. "Are you going to talk some sense into her? Make her come with us."
Her mother and father exchanged looks, and her dad sighed. "Roxy's an adult now. If she wants to stay...we can't force her to come with us. For now...we need to decide where we're going."
And the conversation turned to planning. Samantha said that she was going to call her parents and try to get them to come with them to a safe place. Somewhere far enough away that they wouldn't be affected by what was sure to be a bloody battle. Everyone remembered how messy it had been when the Calphesians first came to Earth and killed that first wave. No matter how many years the treaty had been in place, no one was going to forget that.
If they were fighting an enemy who was going to fight back with more power than the humans had, it could be devastating.
Roxanne listened to them plan, keeping herself on the couch and out of it. Part of her couldn't believe what she was doing. That she was all of a sudden throwing everything away to stay with Aedian, who just weeks before she would have said she hated. But...it felt right. It felt like somehow her place beside him had been carved out, and while she wasn't stupid enough to try to be physically beside him in the battle, she wanted to be there in spirit at least. To be not that far away in case something happened.
She flipped on the television on low as they talked, flicking through channels and absorbing very little until she hit on the afternoon news.
In large red letters "BREAKING NEWS" scrolled across the bottom of the screen, and she sat up, turning up the volume.
"Earlier today government representatives met with the heads of several Calphesian clusters around the world, and the outcome of those meetings is now known," said the anchorman. "After ten years of peace and quiet from those who live beyond our skies, it seems that we're under attack once again."
In plain terms he laid out what Roxanne already knew. None of them were safe and the Calphesians were going to try and minimize the threat as best they could.
"If you can, try to get somewhere safe." A map appeared behind him with different areas circled in red. "These are the zones where the threat is believed to be the biggest, and if you live in one of these areas, immediate evacuation is recommended. It's advised that you stay off the streets and keep to your homes. If you have basements, you’re advised stock them up and make them as safe as possible. Lock your doors. Board your windows. It's unknown how this
will play out, but you're all urged to make yourselves as safe as possible. When we have more information, you'll hear it here first. And now here’s Marsha Campbell with the weather."
That was about as close to an official announcement as they were going to get, Roxanne was sure. Even as the weather woman stood in front of her map and talked about systems of pressure, the message about evacuation continued to scroll along the bottom of the screen.
She turned to look at her parents and Sam and found all of them staring at the television.
"At least we have some warning this time?" she said, trying for a smile.
It was no surprise when it fell flat.
When Roxanne got home that night, she could tell that something had shifted. The whole compound was in a flurry of activity, Calphesians rushing to and fro, armed and ready. For a moment, she wondered if this was the moment. If the Platoks were already there and she was standing in the middle of what was about to become a war zone. She didn't see any others, though, (and she could only imagine what they would look like) and none of the Calphesians looked like they were about to leap into battle immediately.
She let out a relieved breath and looked through the throng to see if she could find Aedian. It wasn't all that easy, considering they all pretty much looked alike, but she spotted him a moment later, talking with a Calphesian even larger than himself and hefting a sword that looked big enough to cleave a person in two.
She made her way over to him, hanging back while he finished his conversation. All around them she could hear others talking, snatches of their words drifting to her ears. "The humans know" and "In force" and "less destruction if possible". None of it was comforting, and she glanced around, watching them all scurry and realized that she'd never seen any of them scared before.