by Rachel Aukes
“No.” Sienna fired again. Missed. He kicked the gun out of her hand, and his boot shoved her hard. She felt herself hit the wall, and her breath burst from her lungs.
As she lost sensation in her limbs, Nalea filled her vision.
“Glad you could make it,” Sienna whispered hoarsely, no longer having enough strength to talk.
“Stay with me, Sienna. Stay with me.”
“We make a good team, don’t we?”
“Yeah, Sienna. We do.”
Those were the last words she heard before the world closed in on her.
Chapter Nine
I’m in hell.
That was Sienna’s first thought when she regained consciousness. Her head throbbed. Her mouth tasted like cotton. Every muscle in her body ached. She opened her dry eyes, but the room was dark.
When she moved to pull her body upright, hot pain shot through her leg.
“Ow,” she muttered hoarsely.
“Careful, tahren.” Legian’s arms enveloped her and pulled her gently into a seating position. “Here.” She felt Legian wrap her hand around a glass. He coaxed it to her lips, and she nearly coughed when the cool liquid splashed her throat.
“That’s enough for now.” He pulled the glass away too soon and wiped water from her chin with his finger.
Sienna lay her head back against the pillow.
She was alive, which meant that, by no small miracle, they’d held back the Draeken. And Legian was here. He’d survived. She reached out, and he grabbed her hand.
“It’s too dark,” she said.
She heard a click, and suddenly she could see him in the light from a small beaded lamp at her side. He squinted in the light but continued to look at her.
He was frowning. “I wish you had the Sephian ability to pull energy from others to heal yourself.”
“I wish so too.” She instinctively looked around for a window, even though she knew there were none. Where everything else on the base was shades of gray and black, in the medical ward, silky fabric draped the walls and all the furniture was soft. Even the plush mattress she lay on was nothing like a hospital bed. Everything was more like a surreal lounge instead of the chemical-laden cleanliness of hospitals she’d known.
Jax yawned in the corner and came to his feet. “You’re awake.”
Sienna turned, but her neck muscles were too stiff, and she closed her eyes. “How long have I been out?”
“You’ve been in the med-hub for four days,” Jax said.
Four days?
Legian spoke. “The first two days were hard. Fayel didn’t think you would pull through. But I told him you would. You don’t know how to give up.”
“I told him the same thing,” Jax said.
She gave a weak smile. “I’m glad you stuck around, Jax, instead of heading back to your unit.”
He shrugged. “Sommers wants to keep a man on the ground here. I was reassigned to advise Apolo.”
More likely, he was reassigned to keep tabs on Apolo, Sienna thought to herself. “So, what did I miss? Did everyone make it?”
“Nalea brought you here after the attack,” Legian said. “She saved your life. We suffered minimal casualties on the base; all thanks to you, from what I’ve heard. But, gods, Sienna. When I learned you faced the Draeken… on your own, no less…”
As his words trailed off, Sienna closed her eyes when she remembered. “All I did was cause a distraction until Nalea could get there with reinforcements.”
“Distraction?” Jax guffawed. “You took out an entire Draeken squad on your own.”
Legian smiled. “It seems that my tahren is the now the most beloved human on this planet.”
“Hi, Jax,” a woman said sweetly.
Jax gave her a friendly wave. “Hey.”
Sienna looked up to see a petite, Sephian female enter the room. Like all med-techs, she wore colorful clothes. On Sephia, everything was tied to energy. Med-techs were more about donating energy to those who needed it than actual patch-ups. It was a glossy example of how, in some ways, Sephians and humans really were from two different worlds.
“Don’t mind me,” she said when she approached the foot of Sienna’s bed. “I’m Risa. I’m just here to check your bandage.”
“Do you mind, Legian?” Risa asked, shielding her eyes from her lamp.
Legian clicked off the lamp.
Now enveloped in darkness like that of a night with a full moon, Sienna felt the med-tech fidget with the bandage that covered most of her left thigh. Her teeth clenched, and she sucked in a breath.
“You’re lucky to still have your leg, let alone your life,” Risa said. “If Jax hadn’t been here to transfuse blood, you might not be here. We were very lucky his blood worked. It’s too bad you don’t have our ability to heal. It would save you a lot of time and pain.”
“So I’ve heard,” Sienna gritted out, and threw out, “Thanks, Jax. Now, we’re even.”
“Not even close,” he said.
Risa continued. “You’re human. Do what humans do. Embrace the pain. It means you’re on the road to recovery. Though, you’ll be lucky to walk again.”
Sienna frowned. “I don’t believe you.”
“Who’s wearing the medical uniform?” she replied curtly.
Sienna swallowed. “Doc thinks I will be able to walk again, right?”
“You’ll walk again,” Jax said with confidence.
Legian spoke. “Sienna, there was considerable muscle damage. Fayel believes that, with physical therapy, you may be able to walk again with the help of a full leg brace.”
“I’ll walk again,” she said to reassure herself before changing the subject. “How’d the mission go?” When no one responded, she asked, “What happened?”
“Your leg is looking better. I’ll be back to check on you a little later.” Risa grabbed her gear and left the room in a rush. On her way out, she added. “Maybe I’ll see you at dinner, Jax?”
“Yeah, sure. See you then,” Jax said.
Sienna turned back to Legian. It was then that Sienna recalled Roden saying there was no camp. She’d prayed their mission was a dull hop around the patch. Her gut told her that her prayers hadn’t been answered. “Legian, turn on the light so I can see you.”
The lamp clicked on, but he had his face turned away from her.
Jax watched Legian with a hooded gaze, clearly waiting for the other man to speak.
She turned to Legian. “Tell me what happened.”
When she thought he wasn’t going to answer her, Legian finally spoke. “It was a trap. And, like blind children, we walked right into it. The intel showed the Draeken camp to be in a deep valley. We thought it was perfect for an attack. We didn’t realize until it was too late that there was only one way in and out of the valley. It was a bottleneck. A perfect ambush. They came at us from above and below. We didn’t stand a chance. Over half our ships were destroyed in the first minutes. Only four ships escaped safely.”
Four? There had been five times that many. “Oh, Legian, I’m so sorry,” she whispered. She wanted to hold him, but he had distanced himself.
He continued. “We lost nearly two hundred troops and any military advantage we may have had. Jax and I escaped only because we were with Apolo. Another ship allowed themselves to be slaughtered so we could escape. Fifty Sephians sacrificed their lives to save ours.” His hands covered his face. “We ran, while our people were slaughtered.”
“Don’t,” she whispered, frowning. “Don’t tarnish their sacrifice. It was their choice. They gave you a chance to survive to defeat the Draeken next time.”
He paused at her words then continued. “In one brilliant strike, the Draeken crippled us. We were overconfident after pushing them off Sephia. We don’t stand a chance against them now.” He stopped, turned to her, and then turned the other way. Like he was trying to escape the demons in his mind.
“It will be okay,” she said, not knowing what else to say. Without Apolo, the Sephians would
be lost, but she knew that as long as Apolo lived, the Sephians wouldn’t break apart.
He swung back to her. “No, Sienna. Don’t you understand? We have failed. I have failed you, your world, and your people. I should have seen the trap. Instead, I let myself become proud. Too proud to think the Draeken may be one step ahead. Too proud to consider we might not stop them. We’ve never been able to stop them, only run them off… and now it’s too late for your world.”
“You’re wrong; you haven’t failed. We’ll stop them. My people outnumber them by billions. Our military is strong—”
“Do you really think your people stand a chance against the Draeken if they want this world?”
“Yes, I do,” she said with conviction.
“I do, too,” Jax echoed. “We’re stronger than the Sephians give us credit for.”
Legian shook his head. “You don’t know the Draeken. Not like I do. They’re not like any opponent your world has ever faced. Their technology is too advanced. Everything we have, we’ve taken from them.” He paused. “I had a sister. Did I ever tell you that?”
Sienna blinked. “No, you didn’t. What’s her name?”
“Her name was Cepa. She was beautiful. Some even compared her to Krysea. Cepa was five years younger than me and had more spirit than a pack of wild fregee. Ah, the messes she got us in.” He chuckled, shaking his head, and then sobered. “A Draeken wanted her for himself. It was the master’s son. It didn’t matter that she’d already found her tahren.”
Sienna sucked in a breath. In the corner, Jax’s features were tight as he listened.
Legian continued, as if he were talking to himself. “When the master’s son came to take her, Cepa’s tahren managed to kill him. But he was killed as well. Cepa was devastated. She tried to end her life, but the master claimed her for himself as punishment and proclaimed that she was not to be allowed to die. During the final battle, when I found her, what I found was a shell that looked like my sister. Cepa’s spirit had fled with her tahren’s. I did the only thing left a brother could do. I helped her body join her spirit.”
“Oh, Legian. I’m so sorry,” Sienna said.
His head lifted as though it weighed a hundred pounds. “That’s what the Draeken do. They claim everything, and they won’t grant you peace of death until they’ve taken everything worth taking. How can you beat that?” Legian looked pointedly at Sienna and Jax in turn.
Sienna swallowed. “Your people beat them once. Now it’s my people’s turn. We’ll succeed. With Sephian knowledge and guidance, we can beat them. Together, we will beat them.”
He crossed his arms over his chest as though to challenge her. “And you believe that?”
She nodded. “Absolutely.”
Chapter Ten
Two weeks later.
Sienna leaned on her cane for support. She was at Legian’s side, finding it impossible to stand still. Her adrenaline was too amped up. She found herself fidgeting, so she tucked her free hand in her pocket. She’d never been to any event as important as this one.
Getting to stand at Apolo’s side, she was being afforded an incredible honor, even though it was for show. Similarly, Jax stood at Apolo’s other side. She glanced over at Apolo and Jax. Straight as soldiers, neither looked the least bit stressed.
They reminded her so much of Bobby right then. He’d been a gunnery sergeant under Jax. Bobby and she hadn’t been married long enough for her to get to know many in his unit. She’d been ready to follow Bobby wherever he was stationed, but a teenaged driver, driving while texting, had changed everything in an instant.
The doctors had said Bobby never felt a thing. One second he was walking across a cross-walk, the next, he was taken from her forever. Just an ordinary accident. Sienna had quit her job the following week; two months later she sold their loft, and began construction on her cabin. She’d had enough of a world that no longer made sense; had enough of the bullshit. She wanted to be alone. Alone was safe. Alone didn’t break her heart.
Then something happened that went against all the plans she’d made and all the promises she’d pledged to herself. Just when she thought she had reclaimed control, Legian had literally crashed into her life and thrown all those plans to hell. She knew now though that helping the Sephians gave her renewed purpose. She was exactly where she needed to be.
The huge hangar doors began to open, jarring her from her reflections. The loud whoomp-whoomp of a large helicopter reverberated around the space. She watched in awe as the Chinook settled through the doors and onto the open ramp below. It dwarfed the Sephian ships, and she wondered if Apolo was ready for the change touching down on the landing pad.
It seemed to take forever for the huge blades to stop moving. Sienna’s heart thumped in her chest as she willed herself to calm down. She’d told Apolo so many times that he could trust humans. Apolo was stuck behind the proverbial eight ball; his troops had been decimated, he’d lost touch with his spy, and they didn’t stand a chance against the Draeken alone. Now, humanity’s future teetered on humans accepting the Sephians. Jax had updated his CO every day, but still, today would be a moment of reckoning.
At least two dozen troops, all dressed in black fatigues with matching emblems on their shoulders, poured out of the helicopter. The colonel had come prepared. Even though the Sephians still outnumbered them twenty to one, Sienna had no doubt the officer had more than enough reinforcements waiting an arm’s reach away to take the base if necessary. She prayed it wouldn’t become necessary.
One of the last of the group to emerge, the colonel stepped out of the helicopter, safely encircled by his soldiers. It was easy to recognize him; even in basic black, there was a presence about him, that indefinable air of confidence that surrounded all strong leaders.
Sienna immediately recognized Major Sommers behind the officer, and realized this was Jax’s platoon, plus more.
The pair walked toward Apolo’s group, a wall of men flanking them on both sides. The colonel stepped with intent as though he was attending a ribbon cutting ceremony rather than stepping on alien territory for the first time.
Jax stepped forward, meeting them halfway, and saluted. “Welcome to the Sephian base, Colonel Jerrick, sir.”
Jerrick? She furrowed her brow while she examined the officer. Gray buzz cut where Jax’s was brown. Both had the same chocolate eyes. Same nose, same chin. The older man even had the same saunter. That was why he had seemed so familiar. He had twenty or so years on his son, but the resemblance was uncanny.
The colonel was speaking. “Good to see you, Lieutenant. How have they been treating you?”
“I have been treated fairly and with respect, sir.”
The officer watched him for a moment, as if he were gauging the sincerity of Jax’s words. Then he nodded. “Good to hear. Now, let’s get this show started.” He turned his attention on Apolo and approached the Sephian leader.
Jax motioned to Apolo. “Colonel Jerrick, this is Apolo, leader of the Sephian force here on Earth.” Jax said the last word with a slight hesitation, like he’d never used it in an introduction before, which he probably hadn’t. “Apolo, this is Colonel Jeremiah Jerrick, commanding officer of the 51st Joint Special Operations Task Force, a battalion operating within the U.S. Space and Strategic Defense Command.”
Apolo held an open hand out to the officer. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Colonel. Having your son as our guest these past couple weeks has been a tremendous opportunity for us to learn from one another.”
The officer returned a hearty handshake. “I look forward to our conversations. And I’ll warn you—I won’t beat around the bush. That’s not my style. I have plenty of questions. And I’m expecting even more answers.”
Apolo nodded. “I would expect as much. I have placed the safety of this base and its three hundred souls in your trust.”
“A gesture well received,” the officer replied.
“Now, if you’d like to come with me, I have a room for us to talk cand
idly. We have much to discuss.” Apolo gestured down a hallway.
The officer nodded. Bente and one of the officer’s men stepped in front, and the two leaders walked away side by side, with their officers falling in behind and the remaining soldiers forming up around them.
A dark-skinned soldier sidled up next to Jax. He gave Jax a salute then a smile that was quickly returned.
“Staff Sergeant, it’s good to see you,” Jax said.
“Lieutenant,” he replied.
The pair stepped in line behind the officer and Apolo, and Legian and Sienna followed after.
Sienna was far enough behind the leaders that she couldn’t make out their words. Not that she tried. She assumed it was casual chit-chat, as they would wait to reach Apolo’s secure quarters to get into negotiations. She hobbled with her cane to keep up with the group.
“Yltar!” a young Sephian yelled as he jumped out into the hallway. Everyone froze. Standing before Apolo and the officer was a young Sephian man holding a blood-charge. Bente and a soldier stood on either side of the man, both poised to attack. The sounds of bootsteps and movement erupted around Sienna.
“Giphers. Give me the charge,” Apolo commanded as he stepped between the officer and the newcomer.
The Sephian shook his head, and he started to cry. “I’m sorry. I have no choice. They’ve got her. They’ve got Giras.”
“Who has your sister, Giphers?” Apolo asked gently, yet his voice clearly demanding an answer.
“They’ll kill her if I fail. My life for hers, they said.” Tears streamed down his face, and he scowled. “We shouldn’t have come here. They need us on Sephia. Let the humans deal with the Draeken. We don’t owe them anything.” And with that, Giphers moved his fingers, and the blood-charge lit up. He tossed the device in the air. He lowered his head to his hands and wept.
Legian threw Sienna to the ground. He landed on her leg, and sharp pain tore through it. She gasped as she tried frantically to move.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion as the charge armed over a two-second timer. Apolo dove for the hovering charge while Jax and the staff sergeant tackled the officer. Apolo grabbed the charge and threw it away down the hall as Bente covered him. It exploded in mid-flight, exactly as it was designed to do.