Chapter 5
Jo was up early the next morning, breakfasting quickly and hurrying to the flight deck, wearing her armour. To her surprise Allorus wasn’t there, but Tackus was; sitting in the captain’s chair.
“Good morning Tackus, where’s Allorus?”
“He’s on the landing deck, seeing the men off. Once they’ve gone we’ll take the ship into station above the town; hopefully it won’t take too long for the Xenorii to strike. They have some nerve targeting Montana, so close to where we are building new towns, and where this starship is usually stationed”.
“I think we became so tied up, with rebuilding and politics, that we haven’t been as vigilant as we should. We must patrol what we thought was empty countryside more regularly, on every continent. It will stretch us but once this plan is a success, as well as Acorus’ foray into Africa, we’ll review our patrols”. Jo sat down to wait for Allorus.
He hurried onto the flight deck issuing orders to get underway immediately; when he saw Jo he hesitated and said “My apologies, Lady Joanna, I didn’t realise that you were here”.
Jo waved his apology aside, “don’t worry about me, you have a job to do, and I’ll try to stay out of your way”.
The starship was rising into the clouds, which very quickly fell away under it. As it prepared to leave Earth’s atmosphere Allorus sat down next to Jo and checked to make sure her seat harness was fastened tightly enough. As more power surged through the ship the window shields slid into place and a warning sounded throughout the ship to send everyone to their stations.
Even though she had experienced the power needed to escape earth’s gravitational pull hundreds of times, Jo’s hands tightened on the arms of her chair. If Acorus had been there he would have placed his hand over hers in reassurance.
Once free of the Earth’s pull the starship reduced power and seemed to float through space. In a few minutes they were on station above Montana, with a soldier at every viewing tube. The window shields withdrew and North America was visible through them. Jo stood up and went to gaze at her planet, amazed, even after all the times she had seen it. The soldiers at the other tubes called out the position of the men, dressed as women, as they made their way through the scrub and desert towards a deserted rubble strewn area, that had once been a thriving town.
There was nothing to do now but wait, and hope that the Xenorii would take the bait; Jo decided to return to her quarters and rest until something happened, so she took her leave of Allorus and headed back. Tchu and Tjai were waiting for her and after she had showered and had a massage, they sat and had lunch together as Tjai told her how things were back on Scerior. A lot of the first half breeds were now old enough to mate and there had been a flurry of babies.
Many of the first females to be taken were now grandmothers, even though some of them were still having babies of their own. Some women were taking the contraceptive pills, that Jo had fought so hard to introduce, and were forging careers for themselves as doctors, scientists and business women: the Sceriae council was now made up of Sceriae males, Escorrii and human females. Andea was still queen but her health was deteriorating although she still insisted on doing her duty and sitting on the council. All minutes from each meeting were sent to Acorus who had the final say on everything. When Jo thought sensibly, now they were reunited, she realised why he had become so distant. The responsibilities he carried would have crushed a lesser male, and Jo now understood why they had drifted apart. She was honest enough to take half the blame herself, as she should have known him well enough to see what was happening to him.
However they were now back to where they should be, friends, partners and lovers, and she wouldn’t let them be pulled apart again. She was worried about him taking part in a raid on the Xenorii, but sensible enough to know that he was a soldier first and foremost. Losing sight of that was what had changed him.
As evening approached Jo put her armour back on and went to the flight deck to wait for the Xenorii to attack the men used as bait. Allorus was sitting in the captain’s chair but stood up as she entered.
“Do you think they’ll find our men?” she asked.
Allorus shrugged “Hopefully, but we may have to wait days; they could be anywhere. Although there were millions of people on each continent, there were still empty places in deep forest and inhospitable areas. Look how the people in Australia have survived when we thought that they were all wiped out. Many thousands survived in what they call the `bush`, thanks in most cases to the aborigines. The same could be the case in Russia, China, Africa, the Middle East and South America. The far reaches of Canada and Alaska haven’t been searched thoroughly by us. We were too busy with the countries that were still fighting the Xenorii, then with rebuilding them. We now need to let the people who have managed to hide themselves, from the Xenorii and us, know that it is safe to come out and receive help”.
“Yes, once Acorus returns we will organise the human armies in each continent to go out and find survivors. They won’t trust the Sceriae but should trust other humans; it will take some organising”. Jo replied thoughtfully.
Night had fallen over North America and the soldiers at the viewing tubes were changing shift. The new team had just settled in and Jo and Allorus were discussing plans for how they could arrange for patrols to search each continent, when one of the soldiers called out
“Metal glinting off something moving fast and low coming over the Canadian border”.
Jo and Allorus sprang to a tube and aimed it at the coordinates the soldier was now calling out. Sure enough the metal objects were travelling towards Montana. Unable to warn her men on the ground Jo clasped her hands and prayed that they would survive. Readjusting her tube Jo turned it on the area where her men were camped. Their fire was like a beacon against the darkness around them and the Xenorii fighters were closing in on it. Suddenly all three ships dropped to the ground and all but disappeared. Xenorii were seen emerging from the darkness, moving in the direction of the fire.
The men, dressed as women had heard them and jumped up, holding on to each other as they imagined women, in the dark and desperately afraid, would do. As the Xenorii surrounded them they pretended to try to escape, but were easily overcome. To Jo’s consternation one of the Xenorii had thrown a `woman` to the ground and looked as if he was about to rape `her`. The game would be up if he succeeded in tearing off her dress, and all Jo’s men would die. Fortunately a Xenorii who appeared to be in charge, pushed him off `her`, and Jo’s man jumped to his feet, and ran to join the others screaming.
The `women` were restrained by cables which clamped their arms to their sides and they were herded away from the campfire. Two Xenorii stayed behind long enough to heap sand over the fire to put it out, then they ran after their comrades. The area was pitch black once again and Jo, Allorus and the soldiers strained to see the Xenorii’s fighters direction. Finally they could see the metal of the craft glinting in the moonlight and Allorus ordered his starship to move slowly as they tracked them.
To Jo’s surprise, once over the Canadian border they turned to head out to sea towards Hudson Bay where they followed the curve of the land, still flying low to avoid radar, heading for Canada’s most northern inhospitable land.
The starship tracked the fighters to the territory of Nunavat, in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, one of the least inhabited areas in Canada. No lights showed anywhere in the vast expanse and when the Xenorii ships suddenly disappeared Allorus ordered Josh, his men and a force of Sceriae onto their fighter ships. The space between the starship and Earth filled with fast moving stream lined fighters heading down to wipe out the enemy.
***
Josh and his men sat crowded together in the small cargo space in the fighter; wearing oxygen masks they were still uncomfortably feeling the force of entering Earth’s atmosphere. However the captain had chosen a good trajectory and they were q
uickly skimming over the harsh terrain of Nunavat.
At first there appeared to be nothing but empty land under them, but slowly it became obvious that there were unusual hills and depressions, not natural, in that empty space. The fighter ships paused, their elevator beams flashed down and men and Sceriae surged towards the unnatural domes. The Xenorii were taken completely by surprise and most died without raising their weapons. The ones who had taken Jo’s `women` were just disembarking from their ships, herding them ahead of them; when they saw Josh’s force they raised their weapons to kill the `women` who dropped flat, as the Xenorii were mowed down by blistering fire.
Within minutes all the Xenorii were wiped out, and the `women` were free and carrying weapons. Josh shook each man’s hand and led the way into the complex. By now the enemy were aware that they were under attack and were returning dangerous fire. However they were no match for angry men and Sceriae with their blood up, angry that females had been taken by their deadly enemy.
As they penetrated further into the Xenorii complex the men were amazed at the way it had been hacked out of the frozen ground, although they hadn’t been able to penetrate as deeply as they would normally, due to the hard rock and ice bound land. To compensate they had covered the domes in earth and rock, quickly covered in snow and ice.
Fighting for every inch the Xenorii either died or fell back further into the domes. One of them, isolated from the others, was their blood farm. The indigenous people, mostly Inuit, were being farmed for their blood alongside some of Canada’s larger mammals like moose and bear. The Sceriae had seen this before but the men were overwhelmed by the sights and stench and many were violently sick, stumbling away in distress. The Sceriae covered them and bullied them back into reacting as soldiers, leading them away from that dome in search of others.
Finally they entered a dome full of cages; in each cage was a naked young woman, some little more than children. Filthy, covered in cuts and blood, at least they were alive. When they saw the men some started to plead for help but many just sat and sobbed. However if a Sceriae went near them they drew back in terror not making a sound. So Josh ordered the Sceriae out and he and his men gently freed them. Some were too traumatised to respond and all were weak and ill. Leaving them with some of his men to take them outside Josh carried on with the remainder of his force and slaughtered every Xenorii they could find. After an hour’s hard fighting they had secured the complex; the enemy had nowhere to run as there was no starship there. The Sceriae had managed to capture three Xenorii, on Allorus’ orders, cutting off the tips of their whips and cauterising them, to keep them alive. After Acorus’ accident with a Xenorii prisoner, that had become a standard order.
Going outside, the Sceriae’s captain called the fighter ship’s chief officer, who in turn called in the starship, and within minutes it was hovering close to the domes. Josh and his men had covered the women in blankets and now led them into the starship’s beam. Some of them screamed and fought as they were urged into the beam and the men held them tightly or in extreme cases knocked them out to stop them flinging themselves out of the elevator.
Seeing that the women would soon be on the landing deck Jo hurried from the flight deck to her quarters, where she changed into tunic and trousers, then carried on to the landing deck.
Once all the women were on the starship it moved away from the Xenorii’s encampment and the fighter ships moved in and reduced it to rubble. Some of the Inuit who had been in the blood bank were still sane, although suffering from illness and disease; their women had been with the American women in the cages, and they had all been freed. The ones who had been in a coma or insane the Sceriae had painlessly put out of their misery, along with the wild animals; it wouldn’t be right to release insane animals into the wild.
Jo reached the landing deck to find a state of noise and chaos. The released humans were finally sobbing with relief and Josh’s men were searching among them for their wives sweethearts, sisters and mothers. Issuing orders to the Escorii and Sceriae, Jo persuaded them to move to the large room that had been prepared for them. Although still terrified of the aliens the women were allowing the men to help them. Jo passed among them calming and reassuring them that they hadn’t moved from one horrific nightmare to another. Suddenly she was pulled into a bear hug and her guards moved to free her as she realised that it was Reed, the militia man who had given her the scented soap. Waving them away she smiled at him.
“Jacki, um Jo, I’ve found my wife, she’s here alive. I don’t know how to thank you!”
He was holding a young blond woman’s hand refusing to let go, even though she was trying to get away from him. A thin high pitched whimper was coming from her and drool was dribbling out of her mouth. She was covered in cuts and bruises and smelled vile, obviously out of her mind with pain and fear.
“Reed, let’s get her to her quarters and let the doctors have a look at her. Once she’s hydrated, clean and out of pain she should be in a better frame of mind”. Jo took him by the hand and tried to move him away from the landing deck.
His wife collapsed onto the floor still emitting the shrill noise and finally Reed realised that she was out of her mind. Picking her up he hurried away towards the central room with Jo hurrying after him to make sure he got priority from the doctors working on the rescued humans. As soon as Jeksa saw her she prepared a strong sedative, but it took Reed and two Escorii to restrain her until the medication took effect.
Reed sat with her cradled in his arms, rocking backwards and forwards, loathe to let her go. Finally Jo persuaded him to let the Escorii clean her and tend her injuries. Once clean it could be seen that she had been very pretty and Jo’s heart broke for her. She was covered in bites where blood had been taken straight from one of her veins, her breasts were bruised and torn and her sex was so bruised and lacerated it was badly infected. Like all the others she was put on a drip to get her hydrated and administer strong antibiotics. Human and Sceriae doctors were combining their different skills, working together in perfect harmony. They would be working flat out for days, patching some and operating on the worst damaged. Reed refused to leave his wife’s side, even though she was unconscious, helping clean her and putting salve on her injuries; he had to be bullied into eating and Jo worried about him becoming ill.
The starship was now back in position just above where Washington had been and some of the rescued humans were being taken to the new hospital, in the new town. All of the women were traumatised, but weren’t insane, so they could be freed into the care of humans. The worst cases were kept on the starship to be cared for by the Escorii, who would use their mind control to try and help them. Some may never recover and the Sceriae doctors thought that it would be kinder to let them die in their sleep. Although the thought should have horrified Jo, she knew that that would be the kindest thing for some of them, but the human doctors and nurses wouldn’t countenance it, so over time they would just have to appear to die naturally.
***
Josh and his men were now working happily with the Sceriae, training hard and eating healthily, and their bodies were responding by becoming fit and muscled. Although most were shorter than the Sceriae and still not as strong, some were matching them in practice. Some had got their wives back, but had lost mothers, sisters and even their children. Their hatred of the Xenorii was absolute, and all they lived for was to exterminate them.
Jo was so busy, helping the girls and women who had been rescued that she fell into bed each night exhausted. Worried about what Acorus was doing she often had nightmares about him being captured and tortured. She was irritable and short tempered and even Tchu approached her with caution.
Communications from Acorus were scarce as he was slowly and thoroughly working his way across Africa clearing out pods of Xenorii. The starship watching over his force, sent brisk and impersonal reports to Allorus, who passed them on to Jo. Acorus was hopeful t
hat he would discover a large blood bank and Xenorii starship buried in the wilds of Africa and his army was moving in from all sides clearing out small groups of the hated enemy as they went.
Many countries were beginning to recover, and with the Sceriae’s help new armies were formed, all dedicated to ridding the world of the Xenorri. For the first time every country was united and the Sceriae hoped that soon they would be able to go home.
Chapter 6
Allorus
When Allorus saw the females who had been rescued from Nunavat he was horrified; how they had survived their ordeal he couldn’t imagine. He had known what the Xenorii were and how they farmed other species for their blood, but he had never seen any survivors. He had always thought of humans as a weak race but to see these females, traumatised, in pain and terrified, trying to speak to their husbands, fathers and brothers, to reassure them, brought a lump to his throat.
Josh’s men had fought ferociously against the Xenorii, but were not ashamed to have tears in their eyes as they cuddled a loved one, or realised that their loved one was not there. Since Jo had become his father’s mate he had seen how they were with one another and he had thought that it was just them who were so entwined with each other. But now he saw that it was normal in human society and he yearned for what he saw. Men like Reed wouldn’t leave their wives side without persuasion, even though human nurses and the Escorrii assured them that they’d look after them.
One young nurse drew Allorus’ attention; petite but with a perfect figure, heart shaped face, brilliant green eyes and deep auburn hair, she moved with natural grace. She was kind and thoughtful and seemed able to calm the females who were most traumatised. As he watched her moving around doing her job, his cock became uncomfortable and stood to attention. He wanted her so badly he thought that she must sense this, but she treated him shyly, with respect as the son of Acorus, and a future king.
Scerior Part II Page 7