“Your people don’t have birth control?”
“Of course we do. But once again we’re back to culture. You can’t impose birth control onto others. People need to be free to make their own decisions. And almost without fail, Humans will choose to reproduce, and not just to replace themselves, but create large families. There’s no discipline.”
“You’re not exactly ‘Mr. Discipline’ when the two of us are together, Rion.”
“And neither are you, Miss ‘I don’t care about protection’.”
“No. You’re right.” She nodded. “I said that.”
“The Ra also don’t reproduce anywhere near as fast or as often. Some of us not at all. Our genetics are very complex, much more than that of a Human. If the biology between two people isn’t just exactly compatible, it doesn’t happen. It’s part of the reason the gods are so few now. Even with our attraction.”
“This attraction we keep feeling between the two of us—” She added some rice and curried something to her plate, as did Rion. “It’s really strong.”
He nodded. “It’s what keeps our race from becoming extinct.”
“The Ra thump like bunnies, do they?” she smirked.
“It’s not funny, Serena. Attraction is a serious part of our genetics and our culture. Besides, I think you’ve already discovered some of it—with Alexis.”
“Huh? You think she and I were attracted?”
“Weren’t you?”
“I guess we were. It was odd in some ways.”
“I bet you couldn’t keep your hands off of each other.”
“That’s true.” She rolled her eyes.
“We may need to pay your friend a visit later. She might have some genetics she’s not aware of.”
“Do you think she could be a Reborn?”
“If you were attracted to her, it’s definitely possible.”
“Do all of the gods get into same-sex relationships?”
“Not all of them. But a lot of them. Enough that’s it’s not a big deal to us—not like it is in your culture.”
“What about marriages?”
“What about them?” Rion grinned. He already knew this was going to come up.
“Do the Ra marry each other?”
“We do, but not in the sense of what you’re thinking. Marriage is something Humans invented, as part of their religion. It’s cultural.”
“So the Ra don’t marry?”
“We have families, Serena. We raise children. But it’s more genetic. There isn’t some religion or government telling us—hey, you’re married, you’re a family, here’s a tax break.”
“That sounds really, odd.”
“Not really. But getting into a binding legal contract for two people to stay a family—that’s what’s odd.”
“So how do you stay together?”
“We’re just a family. Our genetics. Some of us add more as time goes on. But we’re always a family.”
“That sounds like there’s no monogamy—”
“Again, that’s Human culture. Monogamy is an unrealistic expectation. With our attraction the way it is, we have—”
The lights of the cabin dimmed to a shade of lavender as a musical chime sounded twice within the cabin. Their conversation faded as Serena looked around the cabin to see what was happening. A large shimmering three-dimensional gridded area hovering in mid-air glowed to life over their table with the strange characters and several graphic outlines of other planes apparently moving toward them quickly. Rion reached into the 3D space and taped one of the outlines. The display immediately zoomed in with what looked like an very detailed outline of a sleek fighter jet.
“SRF-91’s,” she heard Rion say under his breath. “That’s different.”
“What’s an SRF-91?”
“Human suborbital fighters. Originally SR-71’s, but these are a couple of generations later, upgraded for combat.” He got up out of his seat and began heading for the cockpit.
“How do you do areal combat at fifty-thousand feet?” she quickly followed behind him, noticing their table’s dishes were suddenly fading from it.
“Easy—you outfit them with ion weapons.”
Command, this is Raptor One. We’re fifty miles and closing.
Roger that Raptor One. We have a visual on the target. Copy.
Roger Command. Targeting systems are synced and locked. Forty-two miles to target.
Raptor One, this is four, they’ve seen us. Target is accelerating. They just cleared mach two, over.
All Raptors, accelerate to mach four and overtake.
Roger that, Command.
Serena watched the tactical screens as both she and Rion quickly buckled themselves into their seats. It was clear the eight fighter planes chasing them were suddenly accelerating faster than they were, and catching up fast.
“Can we outrun them?”
“I’m not sure.” Rion’s hands quickly played the controls. “I’m well over mach three and they’re still gaining. They look like the old 91’s, but they sure as hell don’t accelerate like them.”
“They’re faster?”
“A lot faster. I’ve never seen this energy signature before.” Serena watched him study a new monitor that had different graphs and sine wave looking measurements moving over it. “It looks like,” he shook his head. “Ion thrusters. Gods, who thinks up that shit?” he mumbled to himself, still playing his controls.
“What if they start shooting at us?”
“Oh, I think that’s pretty much a given at this point.”
“Rion!”
“Serena, calm down. I said they were gaining, I didn’t say we were defenseless. This vessel may look old, but I rebuilt it.”
Serena looked around at the interior of the cockpit that was now alive with floating monitors as Rion executed an evasive turn. There was nothing old-looking to her about the plane.
“How old is it?”
“These were made around, hmm, fourteen hundreds I guess, in Human time.”
Serena’s mouth fell open. “This plane is five-hundred years old? Wow.”
Rion looked at Serena’s surprise, “No Angel. Fourteen hundred B.C.”
Serena’s mind buzzed suddenly with the non sequitur revelation. The thought that she was flying plane that was older than Jesus just did not make any sense!
“Rion this plane is not three thousand years old!” she demanded, noting from the panel that they were now passing mach four.
Suddenly a blinding burst of something flashed, rocking the plane slightly as they sped ever closer to five times the speed of sound.
“What was that?”
“Ion bolt striking the shields. We’re fine. If that’s the worst they’ve got we’ll be long gone.”
We have verified a shielded vessel, Command.
Roger that, Raptor One. Raptors Three and Seven. Charge and engage with ion torpedoes. Fire at will.
Raptor Seven, switching to ionic reactors now, Command. Full charge in fifteen seconds.
Copy that, Command. Raptor Three now charging.
Their plane rocked again as several more of the bolts struck them, reflecting harmlessly off their vessel’s invisible barrier.
“Rion they’re almost on top of us!”
“What do you want me to do?”
“What do you mean?”
“Serena, those men and women in those fighters out there—are trying to kill us.”
“You want to shoot back—” She suddenly realized.
“I didn’t want to just start killing people,” he grimaced, “not with you onboard to see it.”
Serena blinked at him, suddenly realizing what he was saying. Agent Spencer’s words were suddenly replaying in her mind, He’s murdered more people than you have fingers and toes. Serena suddenly realized the half-truth. He had killed that soldier in the woods, to save her.
“Rion you need to save—”
Serena didn’t finish. With as close as the enemy fighters were, their
weapons’ speed was too fast, Rion saw the massive torpedoes too late. Both of the massive energy orbs struck them.
The lights within the cockpit dimmed and their holo screens flickered as inertial dampening attempted to compensate for the wildly and suddenly uncontrolled craft sailing through the skies at close to mach six, stressing the both of them with incredible g-force.
Target has taken a direct hit. Repeat. Target has taken a direct hit. The vessel is tumbling. Reducing speed and altitude, Command.
Vessel status, Raptor One? Report.
We hit them damn hard, Command. I can’t tell if they have shielding or not at the moment. They’re dropping fast, recalibrating for pursuit.
Gunships. Recharge ion torpedoes. Destroy that vessel.
“RION!” Serena could see him pressed into in his seat, his eyes were closed, he wasn’t moving. She was trying to reach for him but the spin of their vessel kept her limbs pinned. Why were they spinning so wildly? Rion wasn’t piloting the plane anymore. She had watched him as he had taken it off of automatic control. Now no one was flying the plane. She could feel him in a daze. But, how was she able to feel him if he was—?
Her ring!
If she could talk to him, maybe she could talk to the plane as well.
Stop spinning! She thought in her mind to the plane, not really sure what else to do.
Suddenly several of the screens Rion had been using winked out of existence. Now she could all at once feel the plane, as if it were part of her somehow. Like she and the vessel were now somehow—one.
It was an odd but exhilarating sensation. For the first time in her life—Serena felt like she could fly! But it wasn’t just her, she could feel the plane’s minds, like other intelligences controlling things. Assisting her, ready to obey her commands.
She could feel the ground approaching quickly. In their death-spiral descent she had only seconds! Without really thinking, she quickly maneuvered and stopped their spinning. Their plane instantly righted itself, coming out of their spin. With her newfound skill aided by the plane’s own intelligences, she thought to sweep them upward and begin climbing again. Their vessel instantly responded in a elegantly graceful maneuver as their powerful engines now blast rocketed the vessel skyward.
She could see, or was it feel?, the squadron of fast planes that had been shooting at them, still several miles away overhead. Two more of the blindingly bright orbs appeared above her, bearing down on her quickly. Serena spiraled her way skyward, heading right for the torpedoes that were constantly trying to correct for her elegantly spiraling evasion. Both white-hot orbs slipped harmlessly past her as she danced her way higher. Unable to correct their course, both massive weapons detonated into the desert mountains turning night into day.
She now dodged a streaming barrage of bolts not quite so bright, but still hot. She wove in and around them. But one of the bolts glanced off her armor. It hurt. She was burned, but not badly. But the wound made her suddenly angry. She wanted to shoot back. It only took a moment. Suddenly her guns were all at once in her hands. She took aim.
“Fuck yew!” she glared, her Southern drawl cold and her aim—deadly. The bright lavender blast from her guns vaporized the front half of the Human plane into nothing. She whirled in mid flight, executing an unbelievable 90 degree turn while taking aim at the squadron now below her.
Jesus H. Christ! Did you see that! All squadrons, target craft is now above. Evasive maneuvers! Evasive maneuv—
The enemy pilot’s communication ended in silence as two more of the planes detonated in mid flight, breaking up into hot masses of wreckage as their squadron formation evasively separated and they accelerated away from her in all directions.
But Serena wasn’t done. She followed. One of them was desperately weaving and accelerating, mach eight, but the vessel was no match for her speed or her agility. She took aim. Her finger beginning to squeeze the trigger.
Then the weapons she was holding slipped gently from her hands. Rion’s presence was behind her, suddenly softly gliding with her. He lifted her upward. Taking her higher and higher. Until they could see the curve of the soft blue world far below them.
I think they got the message, she felt him say.
Serena looked over at the now conscious Rion sitting in his pilot’s chair, his mind seamlessly connected to hers. Both were quickly out of their seats and embracing tightly.
Serena! She felt him all over inside of her.
God. Rion. She felt back within his feelings, holding him close, her body trembling slightly.
“It’s okay. We’re safe now.” He said audibly.
“Are you okay?” she looked into his eyes.
He nodded. “I must have blacked out when they knocked out our shields. I’ve never seen those weapons before.”
“I took control of the plane.”
“I noticed. You saved us. Both of us.”
“I just did—what I had to.”
“I know you did. I saw.”
“Rion! The people in those planes—” she began.
“Don’t worry about them, Angel.” He pulled her closer. “They’re gone. Like you said. You did what you had to.”
“Are we safe—up here?”
He nodded. “We’re up too high. There’s nothing up here for their wings to carry them on. We’re safe, Angel. Don’t worry.”
23
D ad, it’s Jake,” the tall, slender but broad-shouldered and well built young man with thick black hair spoke in perfect Hebrew. “I just got a call from one of Serena’s friends. Serena didn’t come home last night. She was out on a date with that new guy and now both of them have disappeared.”
“The same man I ran the phone number on a couple of weeks ago?”
“Yea.”
“Are you sure they didn’t just take a drive to a beach house somewhere or go visit her folks?”
“Well, that’s the other odd thing, I can’t reach her folks. I can’t get her brother on the phone either.”
“What?”
“I know, it’s like everyone’s just vanished.”
“Families don’t just vanish, Jacob.”
“You’re right. They don’t,” he emphasized. “There’s more. Celeste said that Serena got a visit from the police a couple of days ago. A whole cadre of federal agents showed up to ask her some questions. To top it off, someone found a body in the woods yesterday afternoon, just off of Serena’s favorite running path; and no one from the local authorities is talking.”
There was a brief pause on the line.
“Hmm. I can put some resources on it.”
“You already have resources on it. I’m already in Austin heading for San Antonio.”
“Keep your wits, Jacob. We all know how you feel about Serena.”
“Don’t argue with me, Dad.”
“I’m not arguing. We don’t have the friends we used to in the States, Jacob—be careful, son.”
“I will, Dad.”
* * * * *
Rion and Serena’s plane came down at a very steep descent over the Cascades. Serena watched as Rion slowed the plane to what felt like an unbelievably low airspeed for flight. Although it was a clouded night over the mountains, the windshield made it seem like it was almost day; Serena could very clearly make out colors and the snow-covered forest as their plane moved silently over the tops of the trees. They hugged the rugged snow-covered terrain for a few minutes until they came to a high-mountain lake that looked partially frozen. Rion vertically landed them in a small clearing, next to the lake where an A-framed lake home was surrounded by thick forest and tall rugged mountain terrain. The house and lake were sitting atop a kind of natural plateau that reminded Serena of a mountain crater of sorts. Tall snowy pines, clustered everywhere, surrounding them.
They deplaned down the ramp and walked out into the winter night air. With neither of them wearing jackets, the bitter cold was biting to Serena. She folded her arms and began shivering, her breath visible as they approache
d the lit porch of the home. Rion rubbed his hands up and down her upper arms and headed them into the house.
Once inside, the air was toasty warm. They kicked the snow off their cowboy boots while Serena looked all around a massive great room. The decor was definitely not Rion’s uptown taste at all. It was very lodge-like and rustic; not at all what she would call ‘elegant’.
A large wood-burning fire burned lazily in the great room’s central open fireplace. The massive river-rock chimney towered three stories above them before exiting out of the steep thick-raftered roof. Equally massive logs many feet in diameter formed the base structure of the home, running like A-frame ribs supporting the walls, an open second story, a third story loft and the roof. Smaller but still massive rustic debarked logs formed other supports for the terraced upper floors and various cross braces.
They made their way to the large fire to warm up.
“Who lives here?” she asked Rion.
“I do!” a voice answered from above them.
On the second floor terrace, a thin, neatly gray bearded and fit looking man, probably in his fifties, smiled widely. “Welcome!”
She watched him spryly descend the wide spiral log stairway.
“Serena, I want you to meet Sevrin; he’s one of us.”
“Very pleased to finally meet you, Serena,” Sevrin offered, politely holding her hand and smiling with an enthusiasm that seemed to be part of his over-the-top personality.
Sevrin then embraced Rion like he hadn’t seen him in a very long time. “It’s good to see you, my boy. That little dog fight over Utah gave us quite the scare for a moment.”
“Don’t worry about it. We got through it okay.” Rion assured.
But Sevrin wasn’t so sure. Perhaps Rion was just downplaying the event for Serena’s benefit. He dropped the subject.
“I need to get you two something hot to drink.”
“Actually, I’d like to freshen up first.” Serena excused herself. Rion and Sevrin watched her exit the great room and disappear into a hall restroom.
Interra (Awakened Series Book 5) Page 23