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  “So are you going?”

  “No, I’m just coming off rotation. However, nearly all troops are going. Over two hundred total. Only troops going off shift and the tecs are staying behind. We hit the jackpop. We received intel with the location of their primary camp.”

  “First, it’s ‘jackpot,’ which further proves my point that my aim is far better than your clichés. Second, that’s great news. If we could take a camp that big, we could handicap them in one blow. They’ll never see us coming.”

  “That’s the plan.”

  “How fresh is this intel? Has it been verified?” Sienna asked.

  The Sephian shook her head. “We’re going off Apolo’s intel from his scout, and he’s never let us down before. Unfortunately, we don’t have time to check it out. Word is they’re planning to move the camp soon. It was a risk we all decided was well worth taking.”

  Sienna scuffed the floor with the toe of her shoe. “Wish I could go.”

  “You’ll join the troops in no time. You pulled off the meeting with the human military with flying collars.”

  Sienna snickered, imagining a flurry of collars flying like origami in the sky.

  “What?”

  “Nothing. Never mind.” She covered her mouth with her hand until she could keep a straight face.

  Nalea eyed her friend strangely. “But seriously, Sienna. It’s better you stay behind on this one. Having a tahren is still too new for both you and Legian. He needs his wits, and if you were with him, I fear he would worry too much for your safety and not focus on the mission.”

  Sienna paused a moment, then snapped around and fired a quick succession of shots at the already demolished target. “I hate this,” she said without looking at her friend. “I’ve been training for three months. That’s as long as or longer than any basic training camp.” She slid the gun back in her holster, turned to face Nalea. “I’m ready. I can do this. I know I can.”

  “I know you can, too. It’s amazing how much you’ve learned. But remember, most of us have been training our entire lives.” Nalea stepped closer, invading Sienna’s personal space. Then she surprised Sienna with a hug — a clumsy but full-on hug. At first she didn’t move because her body was in utter shock. Nalea was notorious for her need for personal space, and her awkwardness showed that. Then Sienna hugged her right back, and they both relaxed into the embrace. It was the contact they both needed, and so they remained, unmoving, for several moments.

  “Don’t worry,” Nalea whispered in Sienna’s ear. “You’ll get there. Maybe next time.”

  “It’s just that I’m not used to getting left behind. I need the action.” Sienna paused as a thought hit her. “Does Apolo hate me?”

  Nalea frowned. “Why would you think that?”

  “Every time I’m around him, it’s like he can’t get away from me fast enough. Like I’m some kind of Typhoid Mary or something.”

  “I don’t think he hates you. I think the bond you and Legian have remind him of his tahren. The pain of not being with Krysea nearly cripples him. I know he never wants to see Legian go through the pain of seeing his tahren hurt. Apolo nearly died when Krysea was injured at Xetul, and he couldn’t reach her.”

  “Then why did he leave Krysea to come here? I always figured they had a bad bond or something.”

  Nalea let out a sharp laugh. “I’ve never heard of a bad bond. Krysea asked Apolo to lead the mission here because of its importance. A chance to destroy the Draeken once and for all as well as make our first voluntary connection with another planet. Everyone knows there’s no one better than Apolo when a mission needs to be successful. He’s the greatest military leader our people have. Krysea has always put the Sephian people first. Even before her tahren. Apolo knew that before they bonded. I don’t think any other male could handle it except him.”

  “I’m surprised he doesn’t bang the stress out of being away from his mate.” Sienna couldn’t imagine being away from Legian like that. Geez, she would be a bitch on Sketchers.

  “Who’s to say he hasn’t?”

  Sienna’s eyes widened. “I had assumed … are you saying that you and he …”

  Now Nalea’s eyes widened. “Apolo and me?” She bent over and burst out laughing. “Good gods, Sienna. Don’t get me wrong. Apolo is very fuckable and probably a bull in the sack, but he’s not my type. We’re close friends. Besides, I’m on his trinity. I would never betray that trust. Literally. Me and Apolo … that is wrong in so many ways.” She gave an exaggerated shiver.

  “If not you, then who?”

  She shrugged. “I have no idea. I’ve never seen any signs. Maybe he’s faithful. He is more loyal than those domesticated beasts you talk about. But I couldn’t blame him. After all, his tahren is several thousand light years away. And you know how vigorous Sephian males can be, especially during their season.”

  “Good point.” Sienna turned, walked up to the wall, hit a couple buttons, and a whirring noise filled the room. The old target disappeared into the floor and a new target rose in its place. If she got any more points added to her name in the training room, she was going to be barred for a week. Again. Doing a quick check that everything was cleaned up, she turned back to Nalea.

  “Well, we can at least make the most out of getting the base to ourselves tonight. I have some wine in my room. Want to help me drink it?” Sienna asked.

  Nalea smiled. “Now that sounds like a plan. I’ve got to grab a nap. I’ll stop by at seven. See you then.”

  With that, her friend turned and headed out of the training room, with all the Sephian males in the room watching her with hungry eyes. Many of the females eyed her with jealousy. It was a regular occurrence around Nalea. She was sexy, strong, smart, and confident as hell. Shoot, if Sienna was a lesbian, she’d be all over that.

  But Nalea never seemed to notice any of the looks. If she did, she never gave any sign. Sienna chuckled and headed back to her room. She didn’t make it more than ten feet down the hall before she bumped into Bente and Jax.

  “Hey guys.” She gave a small wave, which froze in the air. “Why are you geared up, Jax?”

  “Apolo ordered me to join him on this mission.”

  “Invited,” Bente corrected.

  She clenched her fists. “No effing way.”

  “He thought it would be the best way to show Jax what we are up against so that he can bring firsthand intel back to his people,” Bente said matter-of-factly.

  Jax took a step closer.

  “You,” she retorted, pointing to Jax. “Stay out of this. And you,” she moved her finger to point at Bente. “I’ve been here months. Jax has been here for hours. That is so fucking unfair.”

  “Jax is a trained soldier,” Bente replied.

  “And what have I been doing? Playing Wii?”

  “What the fuck is ‘we’?” Bente asked.

  “Video games,” Jax and Sienna answered in stereo.

  “Shut up,” she snapped, even more pissed off. “Fine. Go play your war games. You guys suck.” With that, she cut right through them, making sure she gave each one a solid thump with each shoulder.

  Ignoring anyone and everyone on the way back to her room, she opened the heavy plastic-like door to her room and slammed it with extra authority. She leaned against the closed door and took a deep breath.

  “Legian?” she asked into the dark. Nothing. “Full lights,” she said into the air and the room brightened. She took off her drades and looked around. Walking to the closet, she opened it to find his gear missing. She clutched at her heart. He went on a mission without saying goodbye? They may have had a misunderstanding, but nothing ever got in the way of the premission good luck kiss before. Nothing. Fuck.

  Sienna slid the drades back on and peeled down the hall in the direction of the ramp. Some grunt grabbed her arm, and she about fell on her butt stopping so abruptly. In a blur, she turned her back toward him, grabbed his arm, and yanked him over, sending him flying to the ground.

 
“Hey, why’d you do that?” he asked, rubbing his head. She could imagine. It made a pretty solid sounding whack when it hit. She winced, pretty sure she’d just given the kid a concussion.

  “Why’d you grab me?” she asked and held a hand out to him.

  He eyed her warily before accepting her hand. He took it, and she helped pull him up. He stood, a little wobbly, but at least he was on his own feet. “I wanted to tell you that Legian was looking for you. They’re gathering in the Commons. He was going to — ”

  She didn’t hear anything else as she bolted back down the hall and to the Commons. When she got there, it had already been cleared out.

  “Cookie,” she called out to the stout man dishing out some slop onto a tray. “Where’s Legian?”

  The Sephian cook pointed his dripping spatula toward the ramp.

  “Son of a bitch,” she muttered and turned on her heels. As she sprinted toward the ramp, she heard the sound of the engines starting. To be more accurate, it was the sound of a lot of engines pre-starting. Once they started, Sephian engines became silent. But starting up was a different story. Starting them was like strangling opera singers. Kicking it up a gear, she made it to the ramp in time to see all the ships’ doors beginning to close in slow synchronization.

  Growing desperate, Sienna called out his name over and over, running onto the ramp and zigzagging from one ship to another.

  “Sienna!”

  She jerked around in time to see Legian through an opening growing smaller until the door to his ship closed, severing her view of him.

  No.

  The ships lifted straight off the ground. She collapsed onto her knees. She stared while the ships lifted out of the now open roof of the underground base. She didn’t even realize she was crying until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up. Tears hampered her vision, and she wiped them from her eyes. Nalea watched her with concern.

  “I didn’t get to say goodbye,” she mumbled, feeling faint.

  Nalea helped Sienna to her feet and wrapped an arm around her. They walked back to her room in silence as Sienna’s mind wandered.

  It’s not like she was a superstitious person. Now Legian. He was another story. The Sephians were still in the Middle Ages with all their different kinds of superstitions. And, according to Legian, the only thing worse than tahren not wishing one another well before a journey was death itself.

  This was going to screw with his head big time. She hoped it didn’t get in the way of the mission. Especially this mission. This one was too big for him to be distracted.

  She couldn’t bear the thought of him getting hurt because of her. She’d never even told him how she felt. At that moment, she made a pledge. When he got back to the base, things would be different. She would quit holding back. He deserved that. He deserved her best.

  Please, God. Please keep him safe.

  Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

  Chapter Ten

  Sephians. Draeken. Aliens. In no way could either pass as human. Yet both were now inexplicably connected to Sienna’s people. And here she sat, left behind in a makeshift underground base/alien ship as the two fought for her kind. One for domination, the other for freedom.

  She felt so useless.

  In a daze, she stared down at the bottle of port in her hand, and rage took over. With a shout, she threw the bottle against the wall and watched blankly as blood red liquid and shards of glass rained down.

  “So I guess we aren’t having wine?”

  Sienna jerked to face her best friend, who was blocking her eyes from the brighter light in the room. She looked back at the wall now covered in abstract wine art. It hit her at that moment that it had been her last bottle.

  She shrugged in response before breaking out in laughter. Loud, wild laughter. The sound an insane person made before cutting off an ear. At that moment, that was exactly how she felt. Nalea joined in, and they collapsed to the floor in a heap of giggles and snorts. After the hysteria seeped away like the wine, they leaned back against the couch and breathed deeply.

  Before Nalea showed up tonight, Sienna had wanted to wallow in her own misery, had wanted to dwell on self-pity. But what she’d really needed was a friend.

  “Don’t worry.” Nalea wiped a tear from her eye. “I have a stash in my room. Let’s grab one there and head down to the gardens.” Nalea wrapped her arms around Sienna, who bent into the hug and held on. No drug could beat the power of touch in making one feel better fast. And now that Nalea made the leap and crossed that threshold, she could see many hug fests in their friendship.

  “That’s the best idea I’ve heard all day. Let’s get out of here.” Sienna backed out of her friend’s arms and pulled herself to her feet, leaning on the couch for support. Her anger was already melting away. She never could understand how Legian could handle her mood swings, but damn, the guy deserved sainthood.

  Without another word, she grabbed the drades, and they left the room, not bothering with the mess. It would be there when she got back. She swiped her hand over the lock pad, and the door made a whirring sound when the locks clicked on. It was so handy never having to carry keys anymore. Everything on the base, including the ships, was DNA-coded. It had taken a couple weeks after she first came to the base for the com-tecs to work the kinks out of programming the lock pads for human DNA. She had been locked inside — and outside — her room several times. Awkward.

  “Want to talk about it?”

  “Not really.”

  Nalea said nothing.

  Sienna found the silence too nerve-wracking to not continue. “I’m still burned about not going on the mission. Especially when the new guy got to go. Makes me feel about as big as a gnat’s dick.”

  Nalea raised an eyebrow at Sienna’s lame metaphor and then shook her head. “You just got back. And you did great. Apolo will slate you for one. I have no doubt.”

  “He better.”

  “As for Jax, don’t take this personal, but it was you who brought him here. You were the one to say how important it is to align with the military. You said it yourself that he was our perfect conduit to start relations with the U.S. military. Apolo listened. Be careful what you wish for, Sienna.”

  “Just because — ”

  Alarms screeched and lights blinked in muted neon colors down the hallway.

  “What’s going on?” Sienna asked, glancing around.

  The intercom answered her first. The wards have been breached repeated over and over. Thank God the Sephians switched everything to English in a step toward integration. She spent hours every day studying the complex Sephian language, and she still couldn’t interpret a full sentence.

  They raced toward the com-room and were the first to join the com-tec on duty.

  “Status,” Nalea commanded.

  The com-tec started speaking in Sephian until he saw Sienna. Then he switched to heavily accented English. “Security has been disconnected at checkpoints Ohni, Ufen, and Teni. No reports from any checkpoints yet. Com-screens are also down everywhere. The entire base is off-grid.”

  “System failure?” Nalea asked.

  “No. We verified. All systems are online,” the com-tec replied, stress crackling his voice.

  “How could security just disappear at so many places at once?” Sienna asked.

  “Invasion?” The words were no more than a whisper as they passed from Nalea’s lips.

  Sienna froze. Most troops were on the mission. The base was protected by no more than a skeleton force right now. They didn’t stand a chance against any kind of large attack. “Have you notified Apolo?” she asked.

  He gave her a deer-in-the-headlights look. She’d seen that kind of look before. It was common in battles. When things got tough, some folks went into zombie mode to keep from losing it. Except without any other com-tecs on duty, they couldn’t afford a zombie. They needed eyes and ears. They needed a com-tec.

  Sienna put her hand on the com-tec’s shoulders. “Tanel? That’s your name, right?�
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  He nodded.

  She looked him straight in the eye. “Tanel, have you contacted Apolo?”

  Suddenly, the com-tec wiped his brow with his forearm. “I tried. But, all coms are blocked. I don’t know what else to do.”

  “Keep trying. You’re doing good. Let Lea or me know as soon as you get stats on what we’re up against.” She turned to Nalea. “We got to find out if it’s Draeken or human. Or Sephian. And how many. You with me?”

  Nalea nodded. “First we need weapons.”

  “What is the protocol for emergencies?” Sienna asked the com-tec, thinking back to what got her through all sticky situations in her life. She even had the acronym tattooed on her wrist. WWCKD. What would Captain Kirk do?

  “Um. Um.” Tanel stammered several times before reciting the regs. “All non-troops should lock themselves in their rooms. They should know that already. Then. Gods. I don’t know. Apolo always handles everything.”

  The com-tec looked like he was going to freak out. She grabbed his shoulders and looked him in the eye. “Okay, Tanel. It’s going to be all right. You feel me?”

  Nalea looked at her, and she nodded. Sienna backed away, and her friend leaned down to speak to the com-tec. “We can’t risk a panic. Use the universal base-com to remind everyone of protocol. Sienna and I will cover things until you can get Apolo and the others back here. Do you have some kind of portable com that can’t be cut like the other coms?”

  Tanel scrambled through a drawer and grabbed a couple small devices. “These are Apolo’s coms. They are kept decoupled from the network.”

  “Good. If you need to reach us, use these.” Sienna and Nalea helped each another get them fastened to their clothing.

  “Lock the door,” Sienna commanded. “Let no one in but us. Got it?”

  He nodded.

  “You’ll be safe here,” Sienna called over her shoulder before stepping into the hall. The nervous com-tec was out of his chair and at the lock pad before Nalea was through the door.

  Nalea pointed to a map on the wall. “The armory is near checkpoint Ufen.”

  They jogged down the empty hallway. They had yet to see another soldier. Shit had seriously hit the fan.