Flames of Arousal (21 page)

“What the hell is happening? Why are our own people turning on us?”

The Top Commander struggled out of the man’s hold, sending Daegal reeling backward. “It’s not our people. It’s Agents who were Warriors. They’re turning back to again serve Xylon.”

Daegal stumbled against a control panel. Once he got his feet securely under him, he stood speechless. When he finally did find his voice, he spoke low, feeling more defeated than he had in years. “That can’t happen. We have them under control.”

“Not anymore, it seems.”

He had to regain control. Quickly. “How are the Agents up in the fighters turning back into Warriors?” They wouldn’t just change loyalties without a trigger, and how could anything affect them in their fighters while up in space. He thought they’d made certain nothing like that could happen. “How? Tell me!” Someone had made a mistake.

That was the only explanation. And that person would die.

The Top Commander tugged at his facemask. “When we picked up on Xylon’s pods dropping the chemicals, I had them analyzed. The chemicals released were different than what was in Kam’s body.”

“Different? Why didn’t you tell me?” The Top Commander always kept him informed. He relied on that information. Maybe more than he should, he began to think, studying the man closely.

“I just got in the final analysis before arriving here. As you know from my preliminary report, the pods looked like environmental pods, so we didn’t analyze their storage bins until they started dropping their loads. When we identified a problem, we shot them down, but too late. I don’t understand it any more than you do. My people are still checking facts. I only know that our countermeasures aren’t working against the new chemicals, which are a variant of what we found inside Kam. I think the Lair did this on purpose. I think they knew we’d analyze Kam and they set us up.”

Damn
. He should have planned for that possibility. Laszlo was not a man to underestimate. “How’d the pilots get the chemicals into their systems?”

“The fighters who are turning now were still on the ground when the chemicals came down. The pilots obviously got them in their system before they boarded their fighters and transports.”

“Are we certain Kam Nextor is still under our control?” He wondered how deeply they’d been fooled. Laszlo was the bane of his existence! With anyone else, he’d feel confident of victory.

“I don’t know. We’ve been unable to contact Frost. But he should be. Like I said, the chemicals in his system were different.”

Even so he didn’t think it was worth the risk anymore. “As soon as you’re able, have her kill him. I don’t want to find out later that we’ve been fooled again.”

“Are you sure? He could prove useful later.”

True. And he hated to abandon their original plan, but he’d be damned if he’d take a chance. “I’m sure. I’d rather formulate a new plan now than worry about an uncertainty later.”

The Top Commander nodded. “Fine. I’ll take care of it.”

When the Top Commander turned to leave, Daegal stopped him with a hand to his arm. “We must finish this.” Though not something he’d been willing to do before, time was now running out. “Call back the rest of our troops. Get them out of range. Then launch the PowerIIRad Bomb at the Lair.”

The Top Commander’s eyes widened behind his mask. “The PowerIIRad? That will destroy everything on the planet. It will render the surface uninhabitable. And if the Lair takes a direct hit, there won’t be anything left down there to salvage. It was agreed in the Pact of—”

“Quiet!” He couldn’t hear this. Not now. “Just do it! I don’t want you questioning me. Do we still have access to the weapon controls for the Rad?” He didn’t care about any previous pacts made. This was not a war he intended to lose.

After a tense moment of silence, the Top Commander finally answered. “Yes. It’s not a part of our main weapons system grid, but housed in a separate secure chamber, completely under independent control.”

“Good. Take Xylon out. I want them annihilated.”

A sharp beep drew everyone’s attention. Halah’s heart skipped a beat as she and Kam moved toward the front of the orbiter. They’d risen several minutes prior, dressed and had been discussing her reentry into Warrior life when the alarm went off.

“What now?” She watched Pitch check the readouts. She hoped that beep didn’t indicate trouble. The orbiter was armed, but wouldn’t stand a chance against a Marid fighter, if one had picked them up on tracking. Hopefully, a Lair fighter was also in the area to assist should they need it.

“Everything’s all right. We’re cleared for orbit,” Pitch informed them with a smile.

“While you two were sleeping, I began moving us closer to the planet. The computers showed more Marid-controlled fighters moving off, so I wanted us to be in position to achieve an orbit as soon as they cleared. And now, I’m reading Xylon codes from the other fighters that are left. So we’re good to go.” His smile widened.

Kam smiled in return. “Our people. They’re back! The chemicals worked. Let’s get this orbiter down on Xylon. The landing coordinates are preprogrammed.”

Halah felt a huge sense of relief. Xylon would be victorious in this war after all. She had no doubts now, and all of them could finally be reunited with their families and friends.

“Will do. Switching over to preprogrammed coordinates. Computer is pinpointing.

Laszlo has cleared us to descend and land. And…wait.” Pitch’s brow furrowed. “These coordinates indicate a location deep in the forest.”

The forest? Halah looked over at Kam. What was he up to now? The forests of Xylon were hostile, uninhabitable places. Nobody sane went there unless commissioned for some sort of mission or research project. And even those were few and far between from what she remembered.

“That’s where Josella is,” Kam explained.

Halah’s heart lurched.

“Underground. We’re going directly to that location, not the Lair. Don’t worry. It’s safe.”

Underground, yes, of course. She relaxed. The forests were actually the perfect location to build a secure chamber. Nobody who wasn’t supposed to would accidentally stumble upon it. And the Def’mal who lived in the forest, along with other forest dwellers, weren’t advanced enough to be able to figure out entry even if they did discover the location. “Good.” Halah smiled. “I can’t wait to see my sister.” Just a little more time and all the waiting would finally be over.

Kam squeezed her waist. “Let’s land this thing.” He directed Halah to an empty seat, then he slid into the pilot’s station. “Everyone strap in. We’ll be landing on a small pad, then taken underground, ship and all.”

* * * * *

Lair of Xylon

“Torque, I’m reading a large energy surge on Marid. The first wave stabilized after a few moments, but now my scans are showing a steady buildup in power.” Tara sent the readings to her brother’s terminal. A bad feeling crept up her spine. She’d never seen readings this high before. No explosion had taken place on Marid. Her instruments would show that. This was something different. Something more sinister, she feared.

He turned from his station, and his brow furrowed. “I don’t recognize the source.

Do you?”

“Not exactly.” She hated to speculate in case she ended up being wrong, but Torque deserved to know her thoughts. “It looks like…weaponry…of some sort. I don’t like it, Torque.” To say the least. She checked their planetary shields—ineffective against small ships and lasers, which could maneuver through any of the open energy sockets, but very effective against missiles and other trajectory-based weapons. Down to only thirty-five percent strength. Damn!

“Our fighters are ready to handle anything incoming, right?”

“Unsure. Fighter weapons are severely depleted.” She felt uneasy. They needed more protection. “I think we should focus our security satellite beams in Marid’s direction, just in case. They can help deflect any small or medium-class missiles, and will be effective against most laser attacks.” The satellites weren’t at full power either, but she was all for anything extra they could implement to keep Xylon safe.

“We have control of those?”

“Yes. At least, partially. They’re coming back online now.”

“Fine. Set it up and have the data show on both our screens. I want to monitor.

What happens if it’s not a missile, but something larger? Are we prepared?”

She wished he hadn’t asked. “I’d rather not think about it. We’re not prepared for anything beyond medium-class missile strength.” She checked her data. Not good news. “It’ll take approximately ninety-six hours to fix and re-power our main planetary shields to one hundred percent.” They’d have to rely on their fighters, the satellites, and whatever else they could scrounge up until then.

“How long before whatever it is hits us? Can we take it out?”

Good question. “Unknown on both counts. I can’t even confirm at this point that it is a weapon. But I don’t know what else would be outputting such a large amount of energy.” Damn it! Why couldn’t she pin down the source?

“Do you have a location of this energy output on Marid? Is it coming from the Dome? Fly an orbiter or pod over to send back confirmation of the source if you need to. Do we have anything close enough that’s available to transmit back the info in a timely manner?” he asked, rifling questions and orders at her, as he studied the information streaming across his screen.

“Redirecting a weather pod now. I have a general location. It’s coming from a deserted area on Marid. It’ll take a few minutes for the pod to reach the area and transfer back the data.” She just hoped it wasn’t too late. The Lair and Xylon could survive a lot. But the sense of dread she felt indicated something massive was on its way. How she knew that, she wasn’t certain. Maybe her training in security. Maybe something else.

She looked over at her brother, working at his terminal, sending orders to their fighters. Swallowing hard, she memorized every feature of the man she so loved and respected. She hoped this wasn’t the last moments of their lives. She had so much more to do, to feel, to experience.

Love you
,
brother
, she silently voiced in her head, just in case. Of all their family, Torque had always held a special place in her heart.

* * * * *

Forests of Xylon

Halah glanced around as she, Kam, and Pitch materialized into a totally white room. She blinked and raised her hand to shield her eyes. “Damn, it’s blinding.” She wobbled slightly, feeling off balance and more than a little nauseous.

Kam slid his arm around her waist. “Are you all right? This is just a temporary stop.

We’ll be moved to the main chamber soon.”

Forcing the sick feeling aside, she swallowed hard. “I’m fine. It was just unexpected.” And disorienting. She could barely tell where the floor ended and the walls started. The orbiter had landed just fine on the structure in the forest—some sort of makeshift landing pad. As soon as the ship touched down, the pad descended with them still aboard. After the hole above them closed, plunging them into darkness, she’d felt the dematerialization begin.

Going from no light to a blinding room was quite painful to her eyes. The men didn’t seem as affected. She had probably spent too much time imprisoned in the dim slave cages on the Sand Moon. She wasn’t used to such brilliance.

“Pitch, are you all right?” Kam asked.

“Yeah, I’m good to go. What is this place?”

“It’s an underground security facility. Like an outpost of sorts. Highly secure,” Kam explained.

“Yeah, I got that. But what’s with this white room?”

“It’s a precaution. Our bodies and brain functions will be scanned while we’re here to make sure we’re who we’re supposed to be and that we haven’t brought anything down here that we shouldn’t.”

“Um,” Pitch began. “Who else would we be? And if Laszlo’s worried that we might be armed, well, we
are
on his side.”

“It’s not that simple. You know Daegal’s treachery. From the scan, Laszlo will be able to tell if we’ve been turned or not by our brain waves, or if we’re carrying any type of diseases. We don’t want to infect the others here.”

“We’re not sick, Kam,” Halah pointed out. “Even if we were, our bodies would just kick out the infections or bacteria or whatever might be wrong.”

“Remember, Josella is here. She doesn’t have the same protection we do. Alexa is also here and ready to give birth, if she hasn’t already. We need to protect the babies.”

Halah nodded. Yes, of course. He was right.

“What’s more,” he touched his throat, “I’ll feel better after this device inside me is scanned to make sure it’s nothing other than what it’s supposed to be.”

She’d feel better about that too. She didn’t trust Frost not to have planted something other than a Sonic controller inside Kam. She looked around uncomfortably as images of medical tables and equipment poking her body fluttered through her head. Just what she, personally, didn’t want to go through, after everything else. Kam seemed to sense her unease, or maybe he’d read his sensor, for he squeezed her waist.

“Don’t worry. It’s all done through thousands of sensors in the walls and floor,” he explained. “You won’t feel a thing. The data will be transmitted back to Laszlo. Then once we’re cleared, he’ll bring us to the main facility.”

“Oh.” She relaxed. That was all right, she supposed. “And that’s where Josella is?”

It better be. She’d waited long enough and been through too much, trying to reunite with her sister.

“Right. It won’t be long now. I promise.”

“What are we supposed to do in the meantime?” Pitch asked. “Just stand here?”

“You can sit.” Kam grabbed Halah’s hand and pulled her down to the floor with him. “We might as well get comfortable. It won’t affect the scan.”

Halah’s heart rate kicked up at the thought of finally seeing her sister again. But then what? Josella would probably want to go home to Sunevia. Could she leave, now that she’d been accepted back as a Warrior?

She didn’t want to be separated from her sister again, after everything she’d gone through to find her. She glanced at Kam. But she also didn’t want to be separated from—

Kam squeezed her hand. “It’ll be all right, Halah. Relax. How about a treatment to my temples? My head’s starting to hurt.”

Concern for him immediately took over her thoughts. Glad that she possessed the ability to help him, she nodded and rested her fingers against the sides of his head.

“Close your eyes.”

* * * * *

Erik waited, but not patiently. He paced, then stopped and looked over Laszlo’s shoulder while he worked, then paced again. “Where are they?” Though he and Kam often disagreed on issues, they were still friends and he wanted to be assured of the man’s safety. Besides, he had questions. He’d also worked with Pitch on occasion—a good Warrior and security officer. They needed all the good Warriors they could get on their side. Halah, well, she was another matter.

“Give me a minute,” Laszlo told him. “They’re clear and will be materializing over there.” He pointed to a corner of the room.

Erik stopped pacing. His gaze flickered momentarily to Josella, who stood anxiously waiting, fidgeting back and forth. The slight, almost imperceptible whine that accompanied the materialization caught his attention. He looked toward where Laszlo had indicated. The air shimmered. Pitch appeared first, then Kam, and finally Halah.

Josella immediately rushed forward and threw herself at her sister. “Halah!” The two held each other for a long moment, then pulled back and began speaking in hushed whispers, too low for Erik to hear their words.

While the ladies reunited, Kam approached him and Laszlo, Pitch following behind.

“Is everyone all right?” Kam asked.

“If you can call it that,” Erik answered. Kam had to know who all was here. He was too relaxed not to know. Besides, he’d have immediately asked for names otherwise.

Kam had probably told Pitch everything, for the man just looked around curiously, but didn’t ask any questions either. “How much about all this did you know beforehand Kam?”

“Good to see you, too, Erik,” Kam replied, clapping him on the back. He looked over at Laszlo and cocked an eyebrow.

Laszlo responded with a barely perceptible shake of his head, which caused Kam to frown. Frustration rolled through Erik. They were still keeping secrets. He could literally smell the deceit on them. “Well?” he questioned Kam, when the man didn’t answer what he’d asked.

“We’ll talk later. There are more important things to concentrate on right now. Are the babies here?”

“Yes. Girls. Very healthy,” Laszlo answered. “You and Halah did a good job.

Daegal has backed off and many of our Warriors have returned to us.”

Pitch cleared his throat.

Laszlo laughed, turning toward the Warrior. “You too, Pitch. Good job. Thanks.”

“Happy to help.”

“Pitch did well.” Kam nodded. “I’m happy with the outcome. We couldn’t have done it without Halah though. She saved our butts.”

Erik wasn’t happy that Kam had put him off. But then, maybe a private conversation later was better. Braden would want in on the discussion. Halah had saved their butts? Hard to believe. “You know, Kam, you’re getting to sound exactly like Laszlo.” Much too evasive.

Kam smiled, looking from him to Laszlo and back again. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You would.” He couldn’t help but smile back at the man. No matter their differences, they’d been through too much together to let anything stay in the way of their friendship for long. Besides, Kam was Alexa’s brother. They all needed to get along.

An alarm suddenly blared, drawing everyone’s attention and concern.

Josella covered her ears. “What’s that?”

“That’s a destruction-alert alarm.” Laszlo rushed over to his control station. “Shit!”

“What’s happening?” Erik asked. Destruction-alert? He’d never heard that type of alarm in his life as a Warrior. He’d never even been trained for it.

“I can’t believe Daegal would do this,” Laszlo said, panic in his voice. He turned off the alarm with a snap of a switch. “Marid has launched a PowerIIRad bomb right at the Lair.”

“Impossible,” Halah replied joining the others. “I disabled all their weapons.”

“Yeah, right,” Erik answered. “Sounds like you missed one.” She frowned at him, and he saw the anger on Kam’s face, but he didn’t care. Halah couldn’t be trusted. And this proved it. A PowerIIRad. Shit!

Laszlo looked over at him. “Can you disarm it, Erik?”

His mind began working on the problem. “I don’t know.” His training was in weapons control, but he’d never even seen a PowerIIRad except in old technical and weapons manuals. He turned and worked at the control panel, trying to gain access.

The normal codes weren’t working.

“Let me help,” Halah said.

“I think not, lady. You’ve done enough,” he told her, not wanting her anywhere near the controls, where she could lock them out, if she so chose.

“Halah is a weapons expert too,” Kam said. “She’s on our side. And she’s helping.

Take the other station,” he told her.

When Laszlo nodded, she rushed over beside Erik. He cursed under his breath, but said nothing more. Both their hands flew over the keyboards and side controls, trying to deactivate or cause a malfunction in the incoming bomb.

“Can’t you send up some fighters to intercept?” Josella asked.

“They’re not powerful enough,” Pitch explained. “Not even combined. Nothing can break through the shielding of a Rad.”

“What will happen if it hits?”

“Don’t ask.”

“I can’t get in!” Erik shouted. Frustration made his fingers feel like they moved in slow motion.

“I can,” Halah said. “I’m almost there. They’re using an archaic control structure that—I’m in! I’ll try…damn it. There’s not going to be enough time to disarm. The sequencing they’ve used is too long.”

“Try!” Kam encouraged.

Braden rushed into the room, followed closely by Brianna. “We heard the alarm.

What is it?”

“Daegal launched a PowerIIRad bomb at the Lair,” Erik informed him.

Shock, fear, and panic all crossed Brianna’s face in the space of a moment, before she masked her emotions. “How?”

“I thought all their weapons were taken out.” Braden glanced at Kam in inquiry, then Halah.

“Apparently not,” Erik replied for them. He looked over at Halah who seemed to be working feverishly to stop the bomb. But how could he be certain it wasn’t an act?

Braden grabbed Laszlo’s arm. “You have to get Torque and Tara out of the Lair.”

“Torque and Tara are still in the Lair?” Kam asked, sounding shocked.

“There are a lot of people still in the Lair,” Laszlo said, sweat forming on his forehead. “It wasn’t supposed to happen this way.”

“Get Torque and Tara!” Braden shouted. “Now!”

“I’ll try.” Laszlo rushed over to his personal controls and began feeding in commands.

“Can you get a lock?” Brianna asked.

“Give me a minute. I’m trying.”

“Now, Laszlo,” Erik told him. “We’re not going to be able to do this.” He continued to help Halah with the disarming sequence, but even he could see it was a losing battle.

By hand, they couldn’t work fast enough. And since the normal code bases weren’t working, the computer wouldn’t be able to take over for them and complete the sequencing.

“I’m locked on to someone,” Laszlo said, sounding breathless.

“Who?” Braden asked.

“I can’t tell. I’ll bring them directly to this chamber.”

The air shimmered and Torque appeared. Erik glanced over at Braden and Brianna and saw them visibly relax. He felt for his friends, who had to be worried to the point of breaking over the safety of their family.

“What the fuck?” Torque looked around in confusion.

At Torque’s words, Braden seemed to sober and his whole posture stiffened. “Get Tara!”

“Hurry!” Brianna replied.

“I’m locked.” Laszlo worked the controls.

“The bomb’s going to hit!” Halah screamed. “Everybody down!”

The room shook, throwing them all to the ground. Lights flickered, but remained functional. Control panels went off momentarily, but then surged back to life. With a last whoosh, the air vents shut off automatically, indicating a problem with the outside atmosphere.

Erik scrambled back to the controls. “Backups have kicked on.” He switched on the screens, reading the data. No… He hung his head, putting a visual onscreen. “The Lair has been destroyed. The facility took a direct hit. Xylon’s atmosphere is filling with deadly gas. The Rad took out everything.” Their people were gone or soon would be.

Anyone left in the Lair or on the planet’s surface could not survive.

“A Rad bomb?” Torque asked.

“Did you get Tara?” Brianna asked, jumping to her feet.

“Tara?” Torque looked around for his twin, obvious confusion on his face over what was going on. “Is she here?”

“Over there,” Laszlo said. “Materializing now.”

The air shimmered and a form slowly appeared, faded out, but then appeared again, solidifying this time.

Torque paled and fell to his knees.

Looking wobbly, Braden reached for the wall to support himself.

More than one woman’s gasp filled the room.

Brianna reached out to Braden, burying her face in his shoulder.

Erik’s heart squeezed tightly. This couldn’t happen. Please, not this on top of everything else.

Laszlo appeared as if he’d aged a century. “Delemar…” he greeted.

“What’s going on?” the Council member asked, looking shaken up. “Where am I?

Laszlo?” His eyes widened. “It is you! We thought you dead. Koll? You’re here, too?

And Rhodes? How’d I get here? I think I tore my robe. What’s going on?”

The room fell silent. Nobody answered. Nobody seemed to even be breathing. Erik set the computer screens to black.