Haylie reached out to catch his arm. As she made contact, a blinding cold burned its way up her arm and slammed into her chest. She couldn’t move and gasped slightly for air.
Ray turned his head so they were mask to mask. His eyes, cold black beads, stared at her.
“What’s your source again?” he asked through clenched teeth.
“I’d rather not say.” Her skin seemed to itch like a thousand ants crawled over it.
“It would be reassuring if I could trust it. I’d hate to think you’re putting our lives in danger based on the word of a scoundrel. Or a traitor.”
Anger flashed through her. “My information comes from official records and my own observations. As chief of security, I think my word would be enough for your confidence.”
“Of course it is. I didn’t mean to imply otherwise.” He smiled, but even through the EV mask she could tell it didn’t reach his eyes.
Like hell he didn’t.
As they scrambled up the next dune, it was Haylie’s turn to slip in the heavy sand and instincts kicked in. She caught Ray’s shoulder in a tight grasp in an effort to stay upright.
He winced and cried out in pain as he jerked his arm free, sending her tumbling to the ground. They stayed like that for several heartbeats, staring at each other. She felt the blood pool in her stomach.
He was going to kill her. She wasn’t sure how or why, but she knew beyond a doubt that he would. He was going to take the knife he had in his survival kit, slash her air hose and suit and leave her to die.
“What’s wrong with your shoulder?” She adjusted her body slightly, so as to not alert him to her next action.
Something in his voice changed. His hands flexed into tight balls. “I had an accident. I tripped and someone drove a knife into it.”
As he lunged at her, Haylie swung her leg out, sweeping his feet out from under him and sending him crashing to the ground. The slight incline they were on made it difficult for him to regain his footing and gave her enough time to run. She bolted down the hill, heading southwest from the colony.
“Get back here, bitch!” his voice screamed through the speaker.
“Computer, switch to channel seven.” The words came out in gasps as she ran.
“Briel security. Is there something we can help—?”
“Shut up and listen. This is Chief Bond. Tell Taber there is an attack planned from the Corridor. I’m not one hundred percent sure, but I think it’s the Ecada.”
“Hold.” The voice was replaced by the steady hum of static.
Please god, let Taber be there.
“Haylie?”
She didn’t stop moving, but chanced a look behind her. Ray didn’t appear to be anywhere in sight.
“Taber. I don’t know where I am exactly, can you give me a loc.”
“You’re in sector forty-five. The scanner shows you just north of the Corridor. What are you doing there? Do you need assistance?”
She spotted some rocks to her left and made her way over to them as quickly as she could. Ducking behind one of the larger ones, she pulled out her blaster and waited. After a minute, she realized Ray wasn’t behind her. He should be right on top of her. Where the hell did he go?
“Haylie, respond.” Taber’s concern was apparent in his voice.
“Listen carefully, Taber. Ray must be off to alert whoever is waiting for him in the valley. He was the one who organized everything. I have to find out what is there quickly before they do whatever it is they are doing.”
“Doctor Ray?”
“No time to explain. Send every available squad to the station perimeter. Once they’re ready, I want you to maintain radio silence, but keep the line open. I don’t want to draw any more attention to myself until you’re ready.”
“Ready for what?”
Haylie prayed she was wrong. “For an attack against the station.”
She heard a flurry of activity on the other end as Taber barked commands at the officers in the room.
“Is there anything else you need me to do, Chief?”
Haylie reached out with her mind, hoping she’d find the one thing she’d missed more than anything in the past few hours. Kamran still blocked her. She should be mad still. But with the threat of attack, she couldn’t keep hold of her petty annoyances.
“Yes. Please see that Kamran is released. That prison is the last place I want him to be when all hell breaks loose.”
“That’s not possible, I—”
“Please.” Haylie heard the quiver in her voice, but didn’t care. She had to know Kamran was safe.
“I’ll find a way. Be safe.”
Why the hell had Kamran shut her out? “Just get him out of there. And keep him out of trouble.”
She switched into silent running mode and carefully made her way over the rocks toward her destination. She’d remember the layout of the survey map and what was there. She was closer than she’d realized to the valley. As she picked her way over rocks and across the slippery gray sand of the barren landscape, her mind continued to drift back to Kamran.
Taber would see that he was safe. She really didn’t need to worry about him. So why was she so freaked? She didn’t like the answer that was staring her in the face. Despite his arrogance and his unwillingness to see past a future that may never come to be, she loved him. Not a passing fancy, infatuation, or even strong feelings like she’d had for the few other men in her life.
This was gut-wrenching, mind-blowing love.
She had to stop to catch her breath. Great timing for a revelation. Hopefully, she’d live long enough to share this with Kamran.
* * * * *
Kamran had lain completely still, half naked on the table, for some time after Haylie left. It was only once the quiet had gotten to him that he’d released his other bound arm and got up from the bed. His legs were weak and it took him several minutes to lose the shakiness. He tried the computer pad that Haylie had used to contact the guards. No answer. Perhaps they’d gone on a break.
He took advantage of his solitude to explore his small surroundings. There was very little. The human cell contained mostly human amenities. Cup, toilet, clean worker’s uniform. He picked up the uniform, size large. Holding it up next to his body, it barely came up to his chest. Haylie was taller than this thing. His thoughts caught him off guard.
By the goddess, what had he done?
He sat back down on the bed, closed his eyes and inhaled every scent he could. A part of her was still here with him. The rest of her was in danger.
He spent the next few hours sitting quietly in his cell, pondering the events of the past few days. No one came to check on him. He hadn’t seen Taber since his arrest. And where was his defense council? His trial time would be approaching soon and they hadn’t worked on a strategy. Unless they intended on throwing him into the fire.
He walked over to the console on the wall. “Computer, time?”
Silence greeted him. Now that wasn’t right.
“Computer? Guards?”
Not right at all. He pounded on the cold metal door. “Hello. Is anyone there?”
Nothing. It stayed that way for another hour. He even considered going against his better judgment to open his mind to Haylie. Almost. The image of her storming away, leaving him alone, grated on him. He was wrong about her, about them. She couldn’t be his perfect mate, or else she never would have abandoned him this way.
He jumped from the bed and began to pound on the cell door again, calling out.
He was getting sick of this.
The scrape of the magnetic door sent him flying backward. His heart was racing, but there wasn’t anything he could do to protect himself. When Taber walked through the door, confusion filled him instead of relief. A group of Briel soldiers stood anxiously in the hall.
“What in the maker’s name is going on?”
Taber waved a hand to silence him and threw a bundle of clothing at him. “We have no time. Can you walk?”
He didn’t hesitate and quickly got dressed. “I’m missing boots, but physically I’m fine. Why?”
Taber motioned to one of his men, who removed his boots and handed them to Kamran. “There is going to be an attack on the base.”
“From who?” Attack? This must have been what they weren’t meant to know. Haylie had found something.
“We’re not sure yet, but Doctor Ray is involved. Something is in the Corridor. Haylie is there now.”
“Ray? Is Haylie okay?”
“I’ll explain as we go. Come on.”
* * * * *
The thirty minutes it took for Haylie to make her way over the outcropping of rocks seemed an eternity. Her own harsh breathing and the constant blowing of wind were the only sounds she could hear. She’d made it.
With great care to not rip her EV suit, Haylie rested against the jagged rocks and tried to see what was so dangerous that Ray had tried to kill her.
“Damn. I see something moving down there, but I’m too far away to make it out.” She spoke the words to no one in particular.
She switched on the zoom goggles built into her suit’s mask. Automatically, the device zoomed in on the area where she had been staring. It took her brain several seconds to acknowledge that what she saw was real and not something out of a nightmare.
The reptilian creatures walked on all fours moving about the confines of the valley, looking very much like they were swimming in water, not pacing on land. Their alien nature was difficult for her mind to grasp. But not only that, she had the feeling that they knew she was there. Her mind felt the itching sensation of her dreams. They were beating at what little protection her inner mental walls could offer.
“Oh, shit.”
Haylie took the chance and broke radio silence. “Taber?”
“Chief Bond? Taber isn’t here. What is it?” There was no mistaking the concern on the other end of the speaker. She vaguely recognized him as one of Taber’s men.
“I don’t…I’ve never seen creatures like this.”
“Can you describe them?”
“Ah, ever see a crocodile? Kind of like that, only pumped up on steroids, silver, with spikes coming out of their spine.”
“Crocodile?”
She shivered. “Tell Taber it’s the Ecada.”
There was suddenly a riot of voices on the other end of her speaker before a long silence. Haylie’s heart was pounding by the time the Briel officer returned.
“Ms. Bond, Taber and his men are on their way. They want you to stay there.”
The creatures in the valley must have sensed trouble was brewing. As if in sync with his statement, they began to pour from the valley, spilling over the sides of the rocks like a quicksilver river.
“No can do. These things are on the move. Tell Taber to lock onto my suit’s tracking ID signal. I’m going to follow them.”
There was no response. She’d half expected the Briel to protest in that politely annoying manner that they all seemed to possess.
“Eurus colony? Over?” she said, tapping the earpiece through the helmet.
Just wonderful. Haylie pushed off from the rocks and tried to keep as close to them as she dared. As she did before, Haylie got the sense that the creatures knew she was there. As she approached them, it felt like her brain was itchy and she fought to keep her eyes open.
Pull yourself together, Bond.
She had to give her head another hard shake to clear it.
Come on, Haylie. Where are you?
It took her a second to realize the voice in her head wasn’t her own.
Kamran?
Yes, it’s me. What are these things you’re following?
She then stared hard at them, trying to get as clear an image as she could.
Di machachta. It’s the Ecada.
Her eyes dropped closed, but this time she almost couldn’t get them back open. The buzzing in her mind now filled her ears. She wasn’t going to make it. They knew she was there and somehow they were trying to stop her. Forcing her body and mind to shut down.
“Haylie?”
Kamran’s voice now crackled from the speaker, jolting her awake again.
“They are going to attack the colony. Kamran, you have to make sure they don’t. They’ll kill everyone.”
“It’s not safe for you there. Can you take shelter somewhere?”
Why the hell was he worrying about her when the entire colony was in danger?
“Don’t worry about me, Ambassador. I’m close to the colony now and should make it back before they get to me. Just get our defenses up.”
“Taber has pulled everyone he can find. Even the miners have grabbed their equipment and laser torches for weapons and have joined us. We’re moving as fast as we can, but we need time.”
Time. Never enough of it.
“There’s a supply depot south of my position. I don’t think I can get to it, but it’s full of explosives. Have some of the miners set it to blow. That should cause enough of a distraction to buy a few minutes.”
She hoped she sounded braver than she felt right now. There was no way she’d make it back in time. Even if she did, she was on the wrong side of the fight with little more than a blaster. Her safety wasn’t worth all the lives on the colony. Kamran was protected and that gave her a sense of satisfaction. As she collapsed to her knees, consciousness fading, everything seemed all right. The buzzing of the Ecada in her head was too much, too strong to fight.
“Where are you? I don’t want you getting caught out there with no place to go.”
She heard him talking, but despite her best efforts, she couldn’t reply.
“Haylie?” Kamran sounded desperate, even to his own ears.
She wished she’d been able to tell him how she felt before now. Life wasn’t fair. Haylie gave up the fight and let unconsciousness take her over.
Chapter Fifteen
Kamran tapped his own communication unit in his EV suit, before letting out another curse. He tried once more to reach out with his mind, but their intimate connection was fading as well. The warmth of her now constant presence in his mind began to retract, leaving a dead space in its stead.
He stood at the brink of their quickly erected defenses between the oncoming horde and the fragile colony. Briel and humans alike were bringing out what limited firearms they had, preparing for battle. With the damage that had been done to their backup EV suits many were left to wait inside the colony in case the Ecada breached their outer defenses. Few spoke as they listened for sounds of the approaching horde. Kamran grabbed an X5 pulse rifle and pushed his way past a huddle of security officers strategizing over a map.
“Ambassador, where do you think you are going?” Taber’s gruff voice invaded his ears, coated in static.
“To get Haylie. I’m not leaving her out there alone.”
“That is not wise.”
Kamran turned to face his friend and fixed him with a stare that sent Taber’s second in command scurrying away.
“At least let me send a unit with you.”
“No. They won’t bother me. Individuals aren’t seen as a threat by them. Plus, we need everyone we can get here.”
“They may bother with the ambassador who tried to stop them from getting what they wanted.”
He didn’t respond, taking the time to check the rifle’s power supply. Fully charged.
“She can’t be too far from our present location. She was moving toward the base when we lost contact,” Kamran said with every ounce of conviction he could muster. If only he could still sense her.
Why had he blocked her earlier? Stupid fool.
Taber nodded. “I have every confidence that the chief is well. She may have needed to break contact for safety reasons.”
Great makers, let that be the case. “I hope to beat the Ecada back here.”
An unnatural scream pierced the silent planet landscape, silencing every soul at the defense base. The sand began to tremble with the slight rumble of
the enemy’s approach. The beat of hundreds of feet were coming toward them.
“That may be overly optimistic. You better move. They will be here in moments.”
Kamran saluted his friend in the traditional military form. With any luck, they would see each other again. He then slung the rifle over his shoulder and set out in search of Haylie.
Despite his long legs, it took an unacceptably long time to make his way toward her last known location. His weight made walking quickly a challenging prospect. Once he found her, he was going to kill her for doing something so stupid. She was only one person. What made her think that she could take on an entire army?
A sense of knowing exactly what she was capable of created an air of confidence in her he’d only seen in a few other beings in his life. Even if she held doubts, Haylie charged ahead sticking to her convictions once she’d made a decision. Whatever reason brought her out here, he knew she wouldn’t stop until she saw it through. Or she was killed. He closed his eyes and breathed as deeply as he could in the EV suit. She’d better be okay.
Because he didn’t think he could live without her.
Over his shoulder to the right, Kamran tried to catch a glimpse of the oncoming Ecada horde. They had either switched routes after Haylie’s last transmission or had engaged a cloaking barrier. Neither of which boded well for the defenders. A second later, a large explosion shook the ground. The miners had created their distraction.
A loud beeping from his hand broke into his thoughts. The EV location ID tracker had a lock on a lone signal—Haylie.
“Haylie, can you hear me?” He repeated his message on several different channels. Please let her hear.
The locater showed that she was due south of his current position.
He began to run as quickly as he could. “Haylie, I’m almost there. Hold on a few more minutes.”
Static answered his plea.
He should be able to see her once he crested the next hill. But reaching the top didn’t reveal a body. A glint in the sand caught his eye and he slid quickly down the hill.
No.
He picked up the metal transmitter, bits of Haylie’s torn EV suit still clinging to it. Kamran spun around, but there was no indication of anyone or anything. Someone else had gotten to her first. Kamran’s stomach sickened. He was too late.
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