Haver sent back images to us of the crashed ship as he flew near the site. It was smaller than our ship and it had a saucer shape to it. If I didn’t know any better, I would swear that it was the same type of craft that crashed in Roswell, New Mexico back in the 1940’s.
“Son of a biscuit eater!”I had programmed my translator to use some funnier Earth slang when a V’Zenian cussed in their language. I was tired of hearing all the rotten language that came from the mouths of the warriors now that I had my universal translator. “They have a ship that is half Zateelian and half Q’Tuelien in design! Why weren’t we told that they had broken our treaty and gave their technology to our enemy?” Commander Croso exclaimed.
Commander Croso stood up and paced back and forth after slamming his hand onto the console in front of him. “Why is there even a question as to if we will go to war with those cockroaches? It should be a done deal! The only question should be if we go to war with the QT’s as well.” He crossed his arms and tapped his left foot.
“Commander, I don’t know if the war council has seen images of the Zateelian’s ship. Maybe we need to send these to the President directly?” The Captain stood up and was doing something on her console. If I had to guess, I would say she was copying the images to send to their President.
“I saw the images from the battle in space. It wasn’t obvious that the Zateelians had so much of the QT’s armament. That laser cannon over there, next to the cluster of banyan trees, that is their latest piece of equipment. There is no way the Zateelians could have come up with that design on their own. It was given to them by the QT’s.” Commander Croso pounded his hand on the wall next to the screen. It shivered a little bit as the wall moved with the force of his punch.
The Captain pointed out more technology that belonged to the QT’s.
“Captain, how do you know so much about their technology?” I asked.
She cleared her throat. “We may or may not have intercepted an intel packet of theirs.” She kept her eyes on the screen and didn’t look my way at all.
Interesting, so the QT’s were allies on paper only. Made sense. I supposed Earth Allies spied on each other as well, so it wasn’t too strange that aliens did the same thing.
The ship landed and all eyes went to the screens while the chatter stopped instantly. It was like someone turned the volume off on a TV. One minute there was noise all over the room, the next, it was completely devoid of sound.
The Commander pushed a button on the console in front of him, and we could hear the communication from the mission team.
I sat up straighter and focused on the screen and cleared my mind of all thoughts. This was not the time to think about work or anything else. Now was the time to focus on Zelan. He took point as they walked out of the ship. One of the cameras was right behind him. He pushed the comm on his neck. “Command, this is Alpha One Leader, do you copy?”
Commander Croso replied, “This is Command. You have a go.”
They left the safety of the ship and moved toward the debris. On different screens I could see the various vegetation mixed with parts of the crashed ship. The animals must not have sensed our guys because I could still hear birds chirping and a few roars from what must have been a large cat, maybe a lion?
Zelan motioned, and his team split up into two groups. I watched only the screen with Zelan. My heart was racing, and I hoped he would be alright.
I had noticed that Venay took a squad and went in another direction, but I was more interested in following what Zelan was up to so I ignored the images from Venay’s team.
Zelan held up his hand in a fist, and everyone stopped. I could see his head moving in different directions, and then he went to the left. A camera followed him, so I assumed the rest of his squad did as well. After a few minutes I could see more debris from the ship, which included another one of those laser cannons that the Commander pointed out earlier.
The camera panned down for a good look at the cannon. Then it panned back up and followed Zelan. Within ten minutes they had a visual on the ship. He put up his fist again and the camera stopped its forward momentum. It panned to the left and the right slowly so we could get a good look at everything.
There were multiple mutant cockroaches outside the ship under a camouflage tarp. The green and brown tarps had been placed in various spots along the side of the ship. This must have been one of the ways they kept their location a secret for so long. Haver and Aysiaer did a great job with their recon if they were able to locate the ship with it’s disguise.
There must have been at least twelve bugs outside standing guard.
I heard another roar, and the guards turned toward their ship but then looked back out to the jungle.
I watched as Zelan pointed two fingers to the left and two to the right. Then he used three fingers to point forward. The camera was still behind Zelan, thankfully, as they slowly moved forward.
My breath caught in my throat as I watched in horror.
All at once, the mutant bugs looked right at the camera. They must have heard or sensed our warriors. I heard a screeching sound, and then the bugs ran toward my man. He pointed his phaser gun at the closest bug and fired. It was a direct hit to its face. The thing fell down but there was another directly behind it.
Zelan and the others, continued to fire at the bugs, who had guns as well and pointed them at our group. They fired at the camera, and it looked like a laser had been shot right at me. I couldn’t help but jump in my seat.
The cameraman dove to the left in time to miss being hit. I heard him grunt, so he might have been grazed along the arm or shoulder. He got up quickly and panned around looking for the bug that shot him, but it was already down.
The cameraman continued to fire at the enemy as he made his way to Zelan’s side. They were both firing at the heads of the insectoids closest to them. The enemy continued to fire at them while they scurried closer, and closer. Both Zelan and the camera took cover behind the nearest tree and then took turns firing from the sides of the trunk. Laser fire was all over the screen. This fight looked like something out of a sci-fi movie instead of my life.
Zelan continued to fire at the insectoids as the cameraman climbed up the tree. He began to shoot into the mob of bugs once he got into position directly above where Zelan had been standing.
More enemies came flooding out of the ship, too many to count. It looked like hundreds of them. They were surrounding our guys … my Zelan.
My heart felt like it would explode with the fear and dread of what I could see taking place on the screen.
I had no idea how Zelan was going to get out of this, but he had to. He had to come home to me. There were too many of them to fight off.
Retreat, retreat. I pleaded mentally. I didn’t want anyone to think I was a coward, but I was. I wasn’t a warrior. All I wanted was for Zelan to come back to me safe and sound. I knew they had to eradicate the Zateelians, I knew it. But that didn’t mean I wanted Zelan leading the charge.
My hand went to my heart and I massaged the space above the organ that was about ready to break.
Zelan yelled via his comm, “NOW!”
I watched in horror as the screen grew bright, and the image coming from the camera flew backwards. It flicked out, and all was black on the screen.
“NO!” I jumped up and started toward the screen. “Get that image back. We have to know what’s going on!” I yelled as cold sweat dripped from my head.
I grabbed my head and yelled, “NO, they can’t be gone!” I looked around furiously at the other screens, but they had all gone blank as well. “What happened? Was there an explosion?”
The Captain looked at me, and my body chilled from the sadness I saw in her eyes. “Yes, it was a failsafe, in case they were to be overrun. Captain Zelan ordered the ship to be targeted and fired upon with a missile from our transport shuttle. There was no way any of our warriors were going to allow themselves to be used as hosts for the enemy’s hatchlings. Every one
of them agreed to this before going on the mission. This was why you were not allowed in that briefing. I am sorry, Natalie, but it appears…”
A static noise interrupted the Captain. “..his … lan … me?” I could only make out a few syllables, but it sounded like someone survived the attack.
“This is Commander Croso. Who is this? Identify yourself!”
The voice was weak, but the static had dissipated. “Commander, this is Captain Zelan. The ship is destroyed. Most of the enemy are dead, but I see a few slowly moving about. Are the cameras still working? I don’t see my team.”
I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Tears were streaming down my cheeks as I stared at the screens, willing them to work again.
“Captain, none of the cameras are working. Can you make it back to the ship? Can all of your warriors make it back?” the Commander asked.
“I will see who can make it back without help. Don’t let the transport leave without us.”
“Should I send one of our pilots out to help you? “
“Negative, we will carry our wounded and dead back ourselves. Just have the ship ready to take off and ready another missile to send into the area again as we leave, just to make sure we got them all.”
“Yes Captain, I will inform Haver right away.” The Commander comm’d for Haver, “Lieutenant Haver, do you read?”
“This is Haver. Did anyone survive?” He sounded tentative, as though he had been holding his breath waiting for the bad news.
“Yes, they are making their way back to you now. Be prepared to take off right away and shoot another missile into the enemy camp as you do.”
“Yes, Sir. Haver out.”
All I could do at this point was wait for them to get to the ship and take off. Once we got confirmation that they were up I would feel a whole lot better. I cleared the tears off my face and looked at the other people in the room. Even a few of them had tears streaming down their face. To hear that some survived was a miracle.
I paced as I waited for any information to come our way. I was so very grateful that Zelan had survived, but I wondered about the rest. Who made it? Who didn’t?
It was a long thirty minutes until we received the message that they had made it back to the shuttle. I practically dropped with relief when I heard Haver telling command that everyone was onboard.
My breath hitched and I thought I had caught a glimpse of Zelan from the ship’s exterior camera, but all of the warriors were so dirty and the alien I thought was my man had another alien over his shoulder, so the view wasn’t very good.
We watched the exterior cameras from Haver’s ship as the missile hit its target. Once the area on the camera blew up, not a single person in the room –alien or otherwise- were sitting. We all jumped up and shouted for joy! The tears were gone, and everyone was smiling and yelling.
I backed up into the wall behind me and breathed a sigh of relief as I waited for Zelan to get back.
The Captain came over to me, “Well, I guess now that you have seen how brave our new Captain is, will you be changing your mind about him?” She arched her eyebrows and walked away before I could comment.
What would I say to him? When I thought he was dead, I realized I wanted him, needed him. But I did not want to be on a battle cruiser in the middle of a war. The two battles I had witnessed were enough to tell me that I couldn’t handle it. I would most likely end up with a heart attack. My heart was still beating heavily in my chest. I put my hands to my heart and felt the muscle beating out its complaint.
Then my head shot up as I realized I hadn’t heard anything about Commander Venay. “Commander Croso, any word on Commander Venay? Did he make it?” I walked over to where the Commander and Captain were looking at images on their desktop screens.
“Yes, he had taken another squad, and they were further out from the enemy ship than your Captain was. He has some injuries, but no one was seriously hurt. Zelan’s team took the brunt of the explosion. They all have some injuries, and two of his warriors are dead. They will be here within the next ten minutes if you want to go and wait for them in the hangar.
“Thank you, Commander. Yes. I’ll go wait for them there. Has anyone told Paris yet?”
“No, I assumed Venay would comm her,” the Captain replied.
I smiled and ran toward the hanger bay. On the way I comm’d Paris, and she had just spoken to Commander Venay. He was just fine. She was on her way to meet me.
When they landed Paris and I were both there waiting for our men. I was bouncing on my feet by the time Zelan walked out. He didn’t look good. My warrior was covered in soot, blood, leaves, and who knew what else. But I didn’t care.
I ran into his arms and almost knocked him to the ground with my enthusiasm. I kissed him, not caring that his lips were dirty. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me back. I could taste the acidic ash that was on his lips and thought nothing in the world tasted better.
“Zelan, I’m so glad you’re okay!” I exclaimed as I pulled back from him. “What happened? Why were there so many bugs there? I saw on the monitors in the control room. How could they have had so many bodies? That makes no sense, not after we killed at least a thousand of them last week.”
“Natalie, my love. I am so glad to see you! I will answer your questions later. First, I need a shower, and then I have to take care of my men. Will you go back to my apartment and wait for me?” He took my hands in his and kissed them.
“Yes, of course I will wait for you there. Hurry up.” I looked over at Paris and Commander Venay. “Commander, it is good to see you are alright as well. I’m sorry for the losses, but very glad so many of you made it back safely.”
He put his arm around Paris. “Thank you, Natalie. I will see you first thing tomorrow in the office. Zelan, you got the debrief?”
“Yes, Sir. I have told the men to shower than meet me in the control room, and we will debrief tonight before going home.” Zelan must have been in pain, he wasn’t standing as erect as he normally did when addressing the Commander. In fact, he was a bit hunched over and when I looked in his eyes, I saw it. He was holding it together for the Commander, and maybe even me, but he was in a lot of pain.
“Good, get a good night’s sleep. You did great today. I am honored to call you one of my best warriors. It was very brave of you to order the missile strike before you got out of the line of fire.” The Commander nodded to Zelan and walked away. Paris waved to me as they left.
“I can’t believe you did that. How could you take a chance like that? You almost got blown up with those bugs. I never would have forgiven you if you had.” I hugged him close to me.
He sighed and rubbed my back, then whispered in my ear, “It is good to see you care so much.” He kissed my ear, and then slowly kissed his way down my neck but stopped when he got to my shirt collar and sighed. “I will see you in a few hours.” He kissed my cheek quickly and walked away.
“Oh, I’m in trouble.” I whispered to myself. That man was a heart attack waiting to happen. I rubbed the pain in my chest as I turned and walked to his apartment. Once I was outside, I noticed how dirty I was and turned toward my barracks so I could shower and put on clean clothes while I waited for him to get done.
Chapter 17
I was so exhausted from the stress and the adrenaline rush that I fell asleep in Zelan’s chair. He picked me up and brought me to his bed when he came in. “Hey, sorry I fell asleep. Is everyone going to be okay?”
“Yes, other than the two warriors I lost today, everyone else is fine. A few needed attention from the doctor, but nothing too serious.” He kissed my forehead after he laid down next to me. “I really need you right now. Would you mind sleeping here with me tonight? I promise I will behave.” His smile wasn’t his usual one, and he pulsed blue.
His emotions filled me, and I wasn’t sure If I was feeling sad on my own or if he was affecting me. It was so confusing. All I knew was that I needed him.
“Of cour
se, I could use your arms around me right about now.” I leaned up and gave him a quick kiss on the lips before turning so that we were spooning. He put one arm under my neck and the other was resting comfortably around my torso. It felt right to be in his arms like this. I wasn’t going to overthink it. We both needed the comfort after what happened today, and I had zero desire to do anything more than sleep in his arms. From the looks of him, I doubted he wanted anything more either.
“Zelan, what happened? How did they have so many mutants? Do that many travel in their ships?” I didn’t see them all, but I did overhear one of the warriors counting on the screens. He said it had to be over one hundred and fifty bugs that he could see, and who knew how many more were in the ship.
“I didn’t see it, but Commander Venay saw a pile of Z’Girguan’s. They are indigenous to this planet and look similar to your lions. It is believed that the Zateelians are using those animals to reproduce.” He nuzzled my neck before continuing.
“We knew they could use other warm-blooded animals as hosts but did not realize that they had already discovered the Z’Girguan’s were compatible. I was hoping that none of the animals here would be so well-matched. Not all will be.” He kissed my forehead, and then he laid back down. After a few minutes I could hear him start to breathe a bit heavier. He must have been utterly exhausted.
I looked back over my shoulder and his were closed. It didn’t take me long to fall asleep either.
The next morning, he woke me up with a kiss to my neck. I smiled as the remnants of a wonderful dream went through my mind. We had married, and I was pregnant with our third child. What a dream to wake up remembering. My body was screaming for me to accept my fate and mate with this wonderful, alien man. But my mind was telling me not yet.
I turned around so that I was facing him. “Good morning. How did you sleep?”
“It was strange. I had a dream where we were mated, and you were pregnant with our third child. I want that vision to come true, Natalie.” He caressed my face with one hand and kissed the tip of my nose. “No pressure, but if I agreed to stay here, would you become my mate?” The earnestness in his eyes pierced my heart and I was lost.
Worlds Collide Page 16