The Cyclops was deserted.

A gaping hole in her side was still smoking, and deep inside the ship, a fire was burning. Bullet holes pockmarked her hull, and she was listing slightly to starboard. Beno circled the ship cautiously.  The sea around her was filled with debris from the warplanes that had been downed during the battle by Elina’s EMP.

Theyn consulted the controls. “There are lifeforms on the ship, and some in the planes. All of the planes are transmitting distress beacons.”

Beno nodded. “Good. Then the Americans won’t be long in getting here.”

He managed to land on the tilting deck of the ship, activating the magnetic clamps in the landing gear to keep the shuttle securely attached. Sera groaned as the Cyclops pitched, and she clamped her jaws shut, struggling against the urge to be ill. Joely looked at her in concern.

“Are you okay?”

Theyn reached over and put his hand on Sera’s knee. He soothed her energies again and offered her a rueful but encouraging smile.

Sera looked at her friend’s concerned expression and confessed, “I’m okay. I’m just… pregnant.”

Joely’s jaw dropped, then she pounced on Sera with a bear hug. “Oh my God! That’s great! That’s amazing!” She stepped back. “I guess there’s another hybrid on the way, huh?”

She smiled. “Looks that way.”

Beno opened a compartment in the shuttle and pulled out a weapon, which he handed to Asa. “This button fires an energy blast that disrupts biochemical signals. Toggle it this way to stun, and the other way to kill.”

The Texan accepted the small, palm-sized unit. “This don’t look like any gun I ever knew. Does it kick?”

“Not at all. There’s no percussion or explosive charge.” Beno tossed a weapon to Theyn, who caught it and looked at it with grim distaste.  He took one for himself, then brought weapons to Sera and Joely.

“This button,” he said, pointing it out and giving them the benefit of the doubt by not repeating himself, well aware that they’d heard him talking to Asa.

“Thanks,” Sera said. “Who do you think we’re going to have to shoot?”

“Hopefully nobody.” He moved into point position. “Let’s go.”

They followed him into the smoky interior of the ship, Asa bringing up the rear, Theyn and the two women in the middle of the group. Ahead of them, they could see a man dart across an open doorway, his shadow the only indication that he was there. Beno brought his weapon up.

 

A pistol fired. The bullet whistled past Sera’s ear, and she heard Asa grunt. She turned to see him crumpling, wounded in the neck. Theyn instantly went to help him, his hands shining like beacons in the smoke. Beno returned fire, and the thud of a body hitting the ground told them that his aim was true.

Asa groaned as Theyn bent over him, his glowing hand cupped over the bullet wound. The energy swirled around them, growing brighter and brighter until Sera had to look away and let her eyes recover from the glare.  She could see the glow through her eyelids, as if someone was beaming a flashlight into her eyes.

The light receded, and she opened her eyes to look. Asa was blinking up at Theyn in wonder, the injury in his neck reduced to a faint pink scar.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t heal it completely,” the Ylian said. “At least you’re no longer bleeding.”

“I surely ain’t gonna complain,” Asa said. He offered a hand. “Thank you.”

Theyn misunderstood the offer of a handshake and pulled the Texan back up to his feet in one smooth motion. The human man blinked, surprised by the strength the maneuver had revealed.

“Wow,” he said.

Beno sounded impatient. “Come on.”

Joely rubbed Asa’s back as the group began to follow their Ylian leader once again. He smiled for her and for Sera, then shrugged. “I guess I’m the designated casualty for this trip.”

Sera smiled. “We appreciate your sacrifice.”

Beno led them further into the ship, through the bulkhead doors and into the corridor beyond. He looked around him before beckoning them to follow. When they were all safely through the hatch, he continued toward the bow of the ship, walking carefully with his weapon pointed ahead of him.

They spent several long, anxious minutes walking through the ship, none of them really knowing where they were going, until finally they reached the bridge. Captain Prescott was standing there, his arm in a sling that was stained with blood. He held a pistol in one hand, trained on the doorway. When he saw Beno, he dropped the gun to his side.

“What are you doing here? The American navy is only an hour away.”

“We know. We need to speak to them.”

Prescott gaped at them, his blue hybrid eyes nearly as vibrant in the smoky dimness as the full Ylians’. “What are you talking about? After all we risked to get you free, you’re walking back into their cage?”

Theyn spoke softly.  “I am sorry for your losses. This was not a foreseen circumstance, but please believe me when I say it’s necessary.”

“I lost my ship!” Prescott spat. “I lost my friends. And for what?”

Joely spoke up. “For the survival of Earth. There are bad things coming, and we can only stop it by getting Theyn and Beno here in touch with the US government.”

Prescott looked unconvinced, but he softened marginally when he looked at Joely. “Bad things.”

She nodded. “Horrible things.”

He closed his eyes for a moment, then nodded. “Fine. I can’t stop you anyway, and I’m in no position to defend you when the destroyer gets here.”

Beno came forward and looked at the bridge instrumentation. “There are people in those planes, and in the areas below. How many of your crew survived?”

“32 out of 58,” he answered bitterly. “Most of them were killed when the engine blew. My engineers are all gone, and many of my deck officers.” A warning signal began to wail, and Prescott turned his attention to the readout. “US destroyer off the port side, approaching at 40 knots.”

Theyn turned to his human companions. “Joely and Asa, this needn’t concern you. I would like you to stay with Captain Prescott.”

“What are you going to do? What about Sera? She’s knocked up.”

Beno smirked. “Elegantly put, and yes, we know. We’re just going to ask to be taken to someone we can talk to about the Taluan threat.”

Asa snorted. “Just.”

“Yes, just. It’s not like we’re asking to speak to the American President.”

“But you’re an alien. Aren’t you supposed to say, ‘Take me to your leader’?” Joely teased, trying to lighten the moment as awkwardly as ever.

“We don’t want to talk to politicians,” Theyn said. “They won’t help.”

Prescott turned away in disgust, putting his weapon on the radar station. “I’ll hide you in the crew cabins. Follow me.”

Joely gave Sera a tight hug before she followed the captain out of the room. “You’re going to be a great mom. Don’t be afraid,” she whispered.

Sera hugged her back.  “I’ll see you again, I promise.”

She hugged Asa, too, and then the captain led her friends away.  Theyn put a supportive hand on her back, and she leaned into him.

“I’m scared,” she admitted.

“So am I.”

***

Prescott returned to them, and they waited and watched as the destroyer hove into view. The ship dispatched a series of Zodiac inflatable boats loaded with armed men who boarded the Cyclops and swarmed onto the bridge.  They held their rifles on the four people who were waiting for them, and Theyn and Beno made no effort to conceal their alien traits.

To his credit, the man in charge of the boarding party showed no reaction. “Drop your weapons.”

Prescott shoved his pistol aside. Beno held up his hands in a show of harmlessness, but Sera knew he had tucked his Ylian weapon into his pocket, and he was still wearing his electronics-disrupting glove.

Sera spoke first. “I am an American citizen and I demand to speak to a representative of the CIA or the Pentagon.”

The officer’s game face slipped a trifle as he smirked. “Oh, really? You think I’ve got the CIA on speed dial?”

“These two men are aliens, and that man is an alien hybrid, and I’m carrying an alien child. Your officers on that ship knew who was going to be here.  You might not have their numbers, but your C.O. definitely does.” She raised her chin and crossed her arms. “Now, put those guns down. We’re not going to fight you.”

“No, ma’am, you are not.” He ordered his men, “Zip tie ‘em.”

None of them resisted as their hands were bound behind their backs. The African-American sailor who was binding Beno shook his head. “Man, you look like a brother, but these scales are off the chain. And those eyes…”

“I’m not your brother.”

“Obviously not.”

Outside the windows of the bridge, they could see the Navy mounting a rescue effort for the pilots of the downed planes, and more men were coming on board the Cyclops. The officer of the unit in front of them said, “Where’s the captain?”

Prescott raised his head. “I’m the captain.”

“You’re going to make an announcement telling your people to stand down.”

He looked resigned and went to the intercom.  “Attention,” he said. “Attention. This is Captain Prescott. Do not – repeat – do not resist. We have surrendered. Put down your weapons and go peacefully.” He clicked off the comm. “Happy?”

“Overjoyed.” The officer nodded to his sailor, who finished zip tying the captain’s wrists. “Now, all of you… move.”

***

They were taken onto the destroyer and marched down to the brig, where they were placed in separate cells, still bound.  Sera could hear and feel the ship moving at speed, and she wondered if they might have made a serious miscalculation.

Beno, she called. Theyn?

Here, her mates replied in unison. She relaxed marginally, despite the aching in her shoulders.

Are you all right? Did they hurt you?

Beno sounded annoyed. I’m unhurt.

Theyn?

Fine. You?

She sighed. Fine, just scared. She tried to make one more contact. Captain Prescott?

There was no response, and after a moment, Beno, who was the only natural telepath of the three of them, made the same attempt. Captain Prescott?

The hybrid’s mental voice sounded startled. What the hell?

She could feel Beno smiling. Just checking in, he said. This is Commander Beno. Are you unhurt?

Prescott nodded. The motion felt like water moving over the mind-to-mind link. Yes, I’m fine, apart from my shoulder.

The door to Sera’s cell opened, and an officer stood there, a friendly smile on his face. “Dr. Cooper? I’m Lieutenant Commander Percy Morris. I’m the X.O. on the Lincoln.”

“X.O.?” she echoed.

“Executive Officer. You have a visitor who just arrived by helicopter who’s keen to talk to you.”

She rose. “Well… fine. Who is it?”

He took her elbow in his hand. “Come this way.”

She didn’t have much of a choice, so she went where he guided her. He took her out of the brig and to an office down four corridors and three turns away. She had no sense of direction inside big boats.

Inside the office, a man in a black suit was sitting at the desk, and behind him was Domingo Rodriguez. The Mexican official nodded to her when she came in.
“Dr. Cooper. Long time, no see.”

She was guided to sit in a chair across from the man in the suit. Morris left her alone with them, closing the door behind him as he left.

“Nothing to say to your old colleague?” the man in the suit asked, gesturing toward Rodriguez. He had an American accent.

“Hi,” she said grudgingly.

“I’m Robert Waner,” the seated man said. “CIA. I’m told you wanted to speak to me.”

“Yes. This is important.” She leaned forward. “The Earth is about to come under attack, but the men I was captured with have a way to save us all. It will take time and money, but they can build a machine that can keep the bad aliens from ever finding us.”

Waner lit a cigarette. “Is that a fact.”

She scowled at his cancer stick. “Listen, you know that Beno and Theyn are aliens. There’s no hiding that. So you should know that they know a thing or two that the CIA doesn’t.”

“Like the thing that was dismembered on Asa Brunner’s ranch?”

“Yes!” She nearly jumped up in excitement. This might have been easier than she thought. “That thing was a Taluan. It’s one of a race of aliens that attacked and destroyed Ylia, Theyn and Beno’s home world. They’re coming for us.” He blew smoke into her face, and she leaned back in annoyance. “Do you mind?”

He smirked. “Looks like these Taluans, as you call them, are already here.”

“That was just a probe.” She looked from Waner to Rodriguez. “This is deadly serious. There are other Ylians on Earth. Some have even intermarried with us and had children with us. There’s a whole island full of them, with Ylian technology and everything, that you and your satellites have never found, because they’re hiding. They can use the same sort of technology to hide from the Taluans.”

She imagined the thick cloud layer covering the Earth and briefly faltered, wondering what that would do to the planet, but she remembered that there had been bright sunshine on Itzela. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a big deal. She shook her head. She was out of her depth here.

“How can they do that?”

She sighed, and Waner flicked ashes onto the deck plate. Rodriguez had a strange look on his face as he contemplated what was being said.

“I don’t know how they can do it. I just know they can.” She took a deep breath. “I am just an archaeologist. I know about dead societies and how to dig up artifacts and tease history out of things that other people have left behind. I don’t know about technology like this, or space travel, or anything else. I’m a one-trick pony. But Theyn and Beno and their people can help, and they’re our only hope. Otherwise we’re all going to end up ripped apart and served up as some Taluan’s dinner.”

Waner quirked an eyebrow and took another drag on his cigarette. “Really? They’re going to eat us?”

“They ate the Ylians.”

Rodriguez’s face puckered. “That’s horrible.”

“Yes, it is. And they’ve got a captive colony on a world called Bruthes where they’re raising Ylians for meat. It’s disgusting. I don’t want that fate for humanity. I don’t want them to come and strip our planet of all of its natural resources.” She leaned forward again, ignoring the cigarette smoke as much as she could. “Please. Call your superiors. We need a government to bankroll this project, but it’ll be so worth it.”

Waner sat back and stared at her for a long while, studying her face as if he could read her mind. She stared back and tried to look confident while her hands were going to sleep and her anxiety was ratcheting up. Finally, he said, “I’ll talk to your friends and see what else they can tell me.”

“Fine. Good.”

He called out, “Mr. Morris, please return Dr. Cooper to her cell.”

The door opened, and the navy officer came back into the room. He helped her to her feet and guided her back out the door.

She stopped halfway. “Rodriguez, why are you here?”

“I’m representing the interests of the Mexican government. Your alien friends still belong to us.”

Waner smirked. “On a timeshare.”

“Of course.”

Sera scowled. “They’re intelligent beings, not rental cabins. You don’t time share people.”

“We don’t time share humans,” the CIA agent said. “Usually.”

“Is that meant to be a threat?”

He shrugged. “Take is as you will. Mr. Morris, please…take her away.”

This time, she left without protesting.

***

Morris cut the zip ties on her wrists when he returned her to her cell. While the door was open, she briefly saw Theyn being led down the hallway. He had been stripped to his underwear and his hands were still bound behind his back. A black bag was over his head.

“Theyn!” she called.

His head lifted and turned toward her, but the officers who had him by the arms bore him away.

Don’t worry, Sera, he told her. All will be well.

It was the last time she heard or saw either of them.