by Rachel Aukes
Sienna had never seen a blood-charge go off before. Not even when the Draeken had attacked the base. It was bizarre seeing an explosion without any sound. At first, it looked like dust filled the air. But she knew that small x-shaped barbs were in that poisoned dust, and they flew everywhere.
Giphers collapsed. Apolo and Bente hit the floor hard. Several others still on their feet fell to the ground, grasping at wounds she could not yet see.
Then the world returned to normal. Blood splattered the walls. Men yelled and moaned.
“Sienna? Sienna, are you hurt?”
She looked up into Legian’s concerned eyes at the same time she felt his hand against her cheek. “I’m fine.” Her dazed words came out like a shout. “You okay?”
His look of relief was instant and brief. The next instant, his frown returned and he jumped up and ran toward Apolo.
Sienna saw Sommers on the floor, and she scrambled to him. He held a bloody hand to his shoulder. She reached out to him. “Are you okay, Major?”
He winced. “Been through worse. What the hell was that?”
Rather than answer, she yanked off the bandana tied around her wrist and pressed it against his shoulder. “We need to get you to the med-hub.”
“Don’t move!” The muzzle of a gun pressed into her temple.
Sienna froze.
Chapter Eleven
“You better not move,” the major said. He placed his hand over hers and pulled away with a wince, keeping pressure on his wound while removing her hand from under his. Her bloodied hand fell to her pants, and the cold metal barrel nudged harder against her temple.
She looked out of the corner of her eye since she couldn’t turn her head. Golden and crimson blood splattered the walls, mixing together to form bizarre abstract art. Men lay on the floor and leaned against walls, gritting their teeth against the pain of their injuries. Sephians aimed blasters at the soldiers, who in turn aimed guns at the Sephians. The whole situation had become a face-off.
Sienna spotted Legian out of the corner of her eye, and he looked furious while he knelt by a wobbly Apolo and pressed his hand over his leader’s arm. Blood continued to ooze out, which meant it had been a very serious injury. Bente was down, and at least a dozen rifles were pointing at them.
With Legian’s help, Apolo pulled himself to his feet. She was impressed that the man was even conscious after losing so much blood. He seemed unfazed by the guns pointing at him. He turned to face the colonel, who fortunately looked like he had pulled through the incident unscathed though it was difficult to tell.
With the worst timing, the entire staff of med-techs came racing around the corner. Many weapons swung in their direction, but through either a miracle or training, no shots were fired. The med-techs stumbled to a stop, dropping supplies and nearly tripping over each other. They stared wide-eyed, looking from Apolo to the fiasco and back again. Risa was near the back of the group, flat against the wall.
Apolo held his uninjured arm toward the med-techs. “Allow my people to help your injured men. Their blood will not clot without the antitoxin. Anyone injured will die without assistance.”
The colonel looked over his bloodied men then nodded tightly.
Apolo motioned to the dozen or so med-techs. “It was a blood-charge. Help the humans first. And get Bente to the med-hub fast.” Two raced toward Bente, who lay unconscious on the ground, blood pouring from his back. They had him on a stretcher before the others gingerly stepped forward and spread out among the injured.
A young med-tech rushed to Apolo and swabbed him—the Sephian version of injections—with the antitoxin. Apolo stopped her when she rolled up her sleeve. “Help the humans first. Put the call out for more donors to heal the wounded Sephians.”
“But… you’re hurt,” the med-tech stammered. “You are our highest priority.”
Apolo glared at her. She paled, turned, and hustled to a fallen American soldier. Legian grabbed a cloth binding out of her bag and wrapped it around Apolo’s arm to staunch the blood. Then, without a pause, he bared his chest to the Sephian leader.
Apolo shook his head. “No, friend. I need you at full strength. I will take no more of your energy today. My wound is minor. I’ll wait for a donor once I know the more seriously injured are secure.”
In response, Legian gave him a hard look. He slowly fastened his shirt and soldiered up at Apolo’s side. The colonel stood firm a few feet away.
As the leaders watched over them, Sienna turned her attention to watching the hallway turn into a makeshift hospital. Med-techs swabbed every injured soldier with the antitoxin before bandaging their wounds. Astonishingly, only Giphers had been killed, although several looked seriously injured. This wasn’t over yet. Not by a long shot.
Sienna no longer felt pressure against her temple, and she looked up to see Jax watching her, his hand on the staff sergeant’s gun, still inches from her head. After a tight nod from the major, the NCO backed off, slid the gun back into its holster, and helped Sommers to his feet.
A hand appeared in front of her and she grabbed it. Jax pulled her to her feet, saving her a lot of work, since her leg brace had been royally screwed up when she’d been knocked to the ground.
Jax motioned to the staff sergeant. “Ace, this is Gunny’s widow. Don’t point a gun at her again.”
“Apologies, ma’am,” Ace said. “Gunny was a good man.”
“He was,” she agreed as she leaned against the wall.
Without another word, the men moved. The major walked toward the leaders with Jax and Ace on either side. He paused to give her the bloodied bandana.
Apolo eyed the colonel, the soullare that vined around his eye making his gaze all the more intense. “I give you my word that I will get to the bottom of this outrage, and I promise you, justice will be both swift and merciless.”
The officer, however, appeared less than swayed. “I have no doubt, but how can you represent Sephians if you can’t even control your own people?”
“If I may speak, sir?” Jax asked.
The officer nodded.
Jax spoke. “I have seen the enemy, sir. The Draeken are like nothing we’ve ever faced. I saw them kill over two hundred Sephians in minutes. What I saw will destroy us all if we don’t stand together.”
The colonel cocked his head. “If they are as vile as you say, why haven’t they attacked us? Why have they only attacked Sephians?”
“Why haven’t they attacked us until today, you mean? Look around you, sir. The Draeken have just declared war on the United States.”
The officer glanced over the hallway and waved a hand in the air. “I saw no Draeken today. We have no proof. It could’ve been a mutiny by Apolo’s own people.”
“My people are loyal.” Apolo stepped forward out of Legian’s supporting arms. “I will get to the bottom of today’s attack. Let’s continue our discussion in my room.”
Colonel Jerrick shook his head. “I think we’ve talked enough for one day.”
Apolo’s lips thinned. “It is my greatest hope that we can form an alliance… for the safety of your world.”
The colonel watched Apolo for another second then nodded to Sommers, who in turn organized the soldiers. He then took a deep breath and looked around, his gaze settling on Jax. “Lieutenant, you remain here with your full platoon until further instructed. Report in to both Captain Fisher and Major Sommers at least three times per day.”
“Yes, sir.” Jax saluted and called out to his team.
“Apolo,” Jerrick said. “I’m continuing to leave my men with you as an act of good faith. I expect you to ensure they are treated with the utmost respect, and receive open access to your base, people, information, and materials.”
Apolo nodded. “You have my word. They will be given the same level of authority as my trinity.” He paused and motioned to a Sephian couple, who stepped forward as though expecting to be called. “I would like to send two of my people with you for your questions, and I’m sure your
doctors would like to better understand Sephian physiology. Sirlyn and Tejan are tahren—a bonded couple. As such, they are best equipped for you to learn about the key differences between Sephians and humans. And, I expect them to be treated as you expect your people to be treated here.”
“Of course,” the colonel replied.
Apolo continued. “In another act of good faith, I will not consider moving my base. You have our location. What you do with it will become a critical turning point in your world’s history.”
The colonel narrowed his eyes ever so slightly before giving a tight nod. “Until we talk again.” Jerrick turned from Apolo and walked away surrounded by his soldiers, minus Jax’s team of eight.
When Sienna felt the soldiers were a comfortable distance away, she rolled up her sleeves as she hobbled toward Apolo, who was now wavering on his feet. “Let’s get you to the med-hub. And you better take some of our energy on the way.” She leaned into him, trying to hold him up as Legian came to support both of them.
“That could’ve gone better,” the Sephian leader muttered, his voice sounding weak.
Sienna blinked as Apolo drained her energy. “It will next time.” And she hoped her words held true.
Chapter Twelve
So many thoughts swirled through Sienna’s head as she sat in Apolo’s room alongside Legian, Jax, and Nalea.
The door opened, and Sienna looked up to see a haggard Apolo enter the room. He now sported a fresh six-inch scar on his bicep, and a jagged line where a spur from the blood-charge must have slid across his arm rather than going straight in. Sienna had noticed the Sephians scarred more easily than their human counterparts and wondered if it had something to do with their accelerated healing abilities. Regardless of how fast a body healed, it still retained reminders. Instead of arthritis, the Sephians got scars.
Legian leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table. “Do you have an update on Bente?”
Some of Apolo’s stress looked like it washed away with the question. “They got to him before he lost too much blood. When I checked in on him, he’d gone through three donors already and was onto a fourth. If his body accepts the new blood, he’ll recover.”
Nalea leaned back in her chair and looked up to the ceiling. “Praise the gods.”
Legian nodded toward Apolo. “It looks like you could use another donor as well.”
“We have more important business to discuss,” Apolo replied with a sharp tone.
Legian gave his leader a disapproving look but, wisely, said nothing.
Apolo’s fist knuckled the table. “After today’s unfortunate incident, I believe it is safe to say that we remain on our own in our fight against the Draeken.” He turned to Jax. “It isn’t a lost cause; not yet. You and I will discuss how best to proceed tonight.”
Jax nodded tightly.
“However, the alliance is not our immediate concern,” Apolo continued. After a moment, he lowered his head and ran a hand through his long hair. “The Draeken influence is a festering wound in this base. Despite our best attempts, our comm-techs have found nothing. We are no closer today than we were before the ambush. We can no longer afford to wait for the traitor—or traitors—to make a mistake.”
“You don’t think Giphers did it,” Legian said it in a way that sounded like he already knew the answer.
“That kid didn’t have enough brains or balls for it,” Nalea added.
“Any news from your spy?” Sienna asked.
Apolo frowned. “I lost contact with him immediately following the first base attack. Since the information he provided on the Draeken camp was faulty, I think it is safe to assume he has been compromised. We no longer have a viable source of information on the Draeken.”
“Suvaste,” Legian muttered.
Apolo nodded. “All the more reason to act now. Today’s events made it clear. I believe the time has come to entice the fregee out of hiding.” He rubbed his nearly healed arm and sat down. “Before he was compromised, my informant believed Hillas died en route to Earth from injuries he sustained before he left Sephia.”
Nalea leaned forward. “If Hillas is dead, Roden is in charge of all Draeken.”
Legian scowled. “Unfortunately, we can’t know that for sure. We don’t know when your informant was compromised. They could have been feeding him misinformation longer than we realized.”
Apolo shook his head. “Possibly, although I doubt it. He’s too smart for that. The last communication I received from him was distorted and audio only, which I should have seen as a red flag. All we know for now is that we can no longer make assumptions about their military strategy.”
From what Sienna had heard, Hillas, the all-powerful Draeken despot, was an in-your-face brutalist. The Draeken leader was a brilliant planner, but he had no respect for life. He’d charge right into battle with no thought as to casualties on either side.
Roden, on the other hand, was a wild card, thought to be insane. No one could figure out how he operated. He often avoided full frontal assaults, yet was known to be fond of sending soldiers on suicide missions. He served as one of Hillas’s generals and was believed to be the only remaining high-ranking Draeken from the Noble War. Oh, and torture was his hobby.
Her leg throbbed at the thought of him.
“With Hillas, we knew what to expect. He’s always operated with some sense of moral code. We cannot make such theories if Roden is now in command. Going forward, we will operate under the assumption that they may employ any strategy necessary,” Apolo added. “Although we did gain one valuable piece of information today.”
Sienna’s eyes widened. “What’s that?”
“The traitorous dog leaving its stench around this base is on a Draeken leash. I am convinced the humans had no hand in either the ambush or the incident today. It narrows our scope considerably. The traitor is a Sephian with ties to the Draeken. Ties that have remained hidden to us. We will entice the traitor come to us.”
Sienna winced. He’d thought the traitor could have been a human?
“To draw out the fregee, we need to offer something it cannot resist,” Legian said.
Sienna tapped a finger to her lips as she thought. “How about letting it leak that the colonel shared the location of the Draeken core ship? That kind of intel should be irresistible to someone sympathetic to the Draeken.”
Apolo tapped a forefinger to his lip. “We have kindling. Now we need a spark.”
“Perhaps you conveniently keep the location and attack plans in your room,” Legian added.
Apolo considered for a moment. “Yes. That should do it. We’ll need to be careful about how we share this information. We don’t want the traitor to become suspicious.”
“My team can help with that,” Jax said.
After another hour of planning, the group stepped out into the hall. The trap was ready to be set, and each person had a role to play. The traitor would be stopped tonight, no matter what.
Chapter Thirteen
It was a dull, recurring dance. Sit, stand, pace, sit again. Boredom threatened to overtake the group holed up in the tech-hub.
Bente was furious at Apolo for making him stay in the med-hub. His temper played into the plan perfectly, although Sienna felt sorry for the med-techs on duty. He’d proven to be the worst patient she’d ever seen. She’d picked up some new Sephian cuss words when they had restrained him, which must have been pretty colorful, since even Nalea refused to translate them for her.
The restraints wouldn’t have held Bente if he’d really wanted out, so it was a good thing he’d obeyed his leader and remained there to play his part. Apolo had apprised Bente of the plan, which had only fueled Bente’s anger at being bedridden during an important night.
On the down side, not having Bente in the room threw off the group’s cadence. Even with the constant white noise of audio filtering in over the monitors across the base, the tech-hub was quieter without his quips, making the minutes drag. Her eyes glazed over while she
stared at the dozen monitors on the wall, each of them showing different angles in Apolo’s rooms and the hallways outside it.
If the information they had leaked made it to the right ears, Bente was miserably stuck in the med-hub—fact—while Apolo, Legian, and Nalea were to be off base tonight negotiating a new source for supplies—fiction.
The plan was beautiful in its simplicity. First, Legian and Nalea had grabbed a bite to eat at the Commons and told a few key people—the gossips—they were heading out tonight with Apolo. That kind of thing happened often, so the news was sure not to raise any red flags. Part one accomplished.
Two was where Jax’s team came into play. Jax and his men had hit the training room during its busiest time to make sure they had plenty of company. After a half-hearted attempt at a work-out, they’d chatted about how Jax had got the okay to move into the officers’ hall, converting the storage room next to Bente’s into living space. They went into how it was great to hear some of the scoop first hand, such as the news of a bona fide Draeken base being found, and how Apolo was sitting on the news to play it safe.
To add a cherry on top, they had spilled that they were heading into town after Jax had moved his gear to his new room. It wouldn’t take a scientist to figure out the officers’ hall would be left empty, leaving only the tech-hub staffed. And the comm-techs were notorious for staying holed up in the room until their shifts were up.
The Sephians already had a disdainful view of human intelligence, so for Jax and his team to leak important information fit right into their preconceived stereotypes. With three hundred Sephians cooped up in an underground bunker, the news had likely zigzagged the entire base before they’d even left the training room. Aside from the continuously staffed tech-hub, this left the small officers’ hallway vacant and ripe for the disreputable to pluck.