Leanne stuck close behind Resek. His worry was infectious. She glanced around, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Surely, no one could have gotten up here? No one but Resek new where the scientists were; why would someone make the difficult climb just to see the top of this particular mountain?

“Do they have other defenses?” Leanne asked softly just in case.

“They have a guard of four soldiers who live here with them. Their bunker is made to withstand attack if necessary. Even if someone did get up here, they are well equipped to repel an attack.”

He still sounded worried, and Leanne kept glancing around.

She soon saw where they were headed. The bunker was exactly that. A hunk of metal sticking out of solid rock. Surely, no one could have breached that? Though if they’d had days, weeks, anything could be breached in that time.

“Does anyone come to check on them?”

“Too risky. That would give away the location to whoever came to check.”

They didn’t speak again until they reached the bunker. As they got closer, it became clear that something was wrong. The door was wide open, despite the chilly wind. Resek went in, gun first, and Leanne followed.

The bunker was torn apart. It looked like there had been at least one fire, and most of the doors were ripped off their hinges. Leanne felt sick. Every step, she expected to see bodies, but there were none.

Resek led them to one of the most heavily protected rooms, judging by the thickness of the door. It too was destroyed.

Leanne made a sound of dismay, but Resek was reaching up to the ceiling, as though he expected to find something there.

He came away with a slip of paper and read aloud.

“Had to run. Can’t give new location, not safe. Killing Snu ends your stage. Find next Commander. Leave name at drop point. We will contact.”

Leanne looked at the note and saw that it was barely legible, clearly scribbled in a great hurry.

“There’s a compartment in the ceiling.” Resek explained as he pointed. “The guards did their job. If a stronger force attacks, their job is to escape, not to fight. The iluni scientists are safe.”

“What about the rest of it?”

“I never thought it would be so soon.” He stood staring at the note. “My stage in this war is over. Of course, I’ve been fighting most of my life, but I’d always thought this war would be the last thing I did. I thought it would get the best of me.”

“So what now?” Leanne put a hand on Resek’s arm. He seemed overwhelmed, whether with relief or shock, she couldn’t tell.

“I need to find the next Commander. He’s genetically matched to one of your friends. He’ll need to take the war to the next stage. I’ll need to tell him about the safe drop point for leaving a message for the iluni scientists, but beyond that, it’s between him and them.”

“That’s great!”

“Well, it would be, except look around. Everything is destroyed. The record of who the next Commander is has been lost.”

“Ok, but surely the iluni scientists can tell you who he is?”

“If they had that information, they’d have left it in the note. The names of the Commanders are kept highly secret; even the scientists don’t know them. They must have been found before they could pull the name out of the secure drive.”

“So what do we do?”

Resek’s smile seemed a bit forced as he turned to her. “Firstly, we get you home. I promised to take you back when my part was done. I keep my word.”

Leanne gaped at him, frozen by sudden, unexpected panic. She didn’t want to leave Resek. She knew she should be chomping at the bit to get back to Earth, but the thought of saying goodbye to him forever had her blood running cold.

“Not yet.”

Her voice was so hoarse that she barely even heard herself.

“I’m sorry?”

“Not yet.” She was stalling. “It’s not done yet. We still need to find the next Commander.”

“Of course, if you will stay for that part, it would be much appreciated, even if it wasn’t in our original deal.”

Was she imagining it, or did Resek look just as relieved as she felt to have the moment of farewell postponed?

“How will we do it?”

“Later. I must scout the area to make sure it’s safe for us to stay here tonight.”

“Wouldn’t it be safer just to leave now?”

“Not with the sun setting. Climbing by torch light is a nasty business.”

Leanne couldn’t say she was disappointed. She had a feeling that her legs would give out if she asked much more of them tonight.

Resek set her up with a gun at the entrance and left to search the small flat space on the top of the mountain. All indications were that the attack had happened weeks ago, but he still had to check. There might be Greli hanging around, hoping to capture anyone else who went to the effort of scaling the mountain.

By the time he got back, Leanne had managed to find some salvageable supplies and had started a small fire with a pot on top, ready to make a stew.

“We’re fine. They’re long gone.”

Resek sat down with a sigh and took off his boots. The two of them worked amicably over the next few hours, getting the outer door to close, clearing off two beds, sorting out a meal.

When they were sitting eating, Resek explained what would be next.

“We don’t know who the next Commander is, but there are certain genetic markers that any healer could recognize in a standard blood test. We’ll need to set up testing stations. Every soldier will be tested until we find the new Commander.”

That was a good theory, but it had one gaping hole, as far as Leanne could see. “Um, Resek, how many soldiers do you have all over the planet?”

He hesitated. “Just over two million.”

Leanne sighed. How long was this going to take? Of course, the longer it took, the more time she’d have with Resek. She brightened considerably at that thought.

“It won’t take as long as it sounds. We’ll send word to all the healers to test everyone in their area.”

Privately thinking that it could take forever, as far as she was concerned, Leanne squeezed Resek’s hand.

Leanne kissed his palm and then put her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a proper kiss. He responded enthusiastically, kissing her back. The thoughts she was trying to keep straight in her head were slipping away. A tingling need and longing for Resek started taking over.

His kisses moved down to her breasts. He swirled his tongue around each nipple as they hardened in response. Soon she’d given up on all coherent thought and was focusing on his mouth.

Resek's kisses started moving down her body. His breath tickling over her skin had her trembling deliciously. She moaned with desire. He latched his tongue onto her clit. Leanne arched her hips up, desperate for more. Resek gave it to her, slipping one finger inside her slick pussy, pumping in and out.

Leanne rocked against his hand, riding his finger. The tingling increased as she writhed under his touch. It was so good, but not enough.

She tugged at Resek’s pants, managing to pull them down enough for his rock-hard cock to escape. She gave it a long lick, smiling at the moan of approval sounding from the back of his throat.

She didn’t linger there for long; she needed him too much. Leanne lifted herself up, positioning her pussy and gliding down on his cock. A jolt of passion surged through her as she enveloped his hardness. It felt amazing inside her, filling and stretching her pussy, stimulating her sweet spot in ways that made her head spin.

Resek grabbed onto her hips and moved her up and down. They soon got into a frantic rhythm, their bodies slapping together with a sound that made Leanne pant more.

She was close to coming, but Resek seemed to be holding off, maybe wanting it to last as much as she did. She gritted her teeth and tried to hold back the orgasm that was inches away from consuming her. It felt like trying to hold back the tide. When Resek’s hand lightly brushed over her clit, she lost control.

Leanne cried out as she clenched onto him, waves of pleasure flowing through her. Resek grunted, and she felt his heat coming into her.

Exhausted, she lay back, letting his cock slip out of her. They didn’t say anything. It was like they understood each other perfectly at that moment. She tried not to think about the next day as she fell asleep in Resek’s arms.

The climb down the next morning was considerably easier than the climb up. They still had to climb, but every few feet, they could let go and get caught by the suckers still attached to the rock. It took Leanne some time to get used to this. After all, her instincts weren’t too thrilled about letting go of a sheer rock face with nothing but air beneath her.

Once she got her head around it, it became quite fun. Just another thing to add to the list of things she’d miss when she went home to Earth. The thought wiped her good mood, and she suddenly had to fight the urge to cry.

When they finally got home, they were both exhausted, and Leanne spent another day doing nothing much other than sleeping. They soon recovered, and Resek got to work sending out instructions. The two of them went to monitor the closest testing station being set up, Resek trusting his generals to ensure that their own areas were properly equipped.

“We’ll save time by testing the soldiers of higher rank first,” he explained. “It’s likely to be one of them. Our genetics were altered at birth; we’re literally bred for command.”

Once Resek was satisfied that everything was running fine at the testing station, he went back to fighting with his men. Leanne wondered if he’d really give it up, even when they did find the new Commander. Fighting was all he knew.

The first day of this brought their first argument in a while.

“What are you doing?”

Leanne looked up from checking her gun. “I’m checking my weapon, just like you taught me.”

“You’re not coming.”

“What? After all the effort you went through to train me? No way, Resek. I’m coming.”

“You are not.”

“Haven’t I proven myself by now?” Leanne threw the gun onto the table and stood up, her hair slipping out of its careful ponytail. “I saved your life! You told me you were proud of me. I may not have the years of training your men have, but I’m competent and deserve a chance.”

Resek stood too, his anger matching hers. “I will not have you in danger again, do you understand? I’ve seen you badly injured too many times. I will not allow it to happen again.”

Leanne was momentarily lost for words. Somewhere along the line, things had changed. Resek cared about her too much to risk her life. She couldn’t help the giddy grin that spread across her face. If she was honest with herself, things had changed for her too. More than changed. She wasn’t the same person she’d been when all this started.

That didn’t mean she was going to let all those hours of training go to waste. “I want to end this too, you know. You’ve shown me what the Greli are capable of. They need to be pushed back, and I’m going to help. I’m not one of your soldiers, you can’t give me orders. I’m going to help fight, and that’s final.”

“I’ll lock you in.”

“I’ll get out.”

For a moment, Resek looked like he was going to explode. Then, against all expectations, he chuckled. “Yes, I expect you will. You really are incredible, you know that?”

Leanne could feel herself blushing. “I learned from the best.”

She thought they’d reached the end of his over-protectiveness when the two of them made their way to the battlefield. A couple of soldiers came to give Resek a report. Things were going well since Snu had been killed. The Greli were reeling. It was time to take full advantage.

Resek gave a few quiet commands that Leanne couldn’t quite make out. A minute later, she was surrounded by about fifteen soldiers. They were packed so close to her that she could barely even see the enemy, let alone fight them.

“Resek!”

She didn’t know if he was even within hearing range as she tried to push her way past the protective ring around her.

“Let me through, I need to find Resek.”

“Sorry, but he’s at the front.” The soldier who was speaking wouldn't look at her.

“And?”

“It’s dangerous. The Commander ordered us to keep you safe.”

Leanne bit back a furious retort. It wasn’t their fault. She knew they wouldn’t risk Resek’s displeasure by obeying orders. On the other hand, Resek couldn’t avoid her forever. She waited until finally, she caught a glimpse of him working his way back. Another, fresher group went forward as tired soldiers helped drag wounded comrades to the healers.

“Resek.”

He waved his hand, and the wall of soldiers around Leanne parted.

“What is it?”

“You know very well what.” Leanne was practically growling. “I came here to help, not to divert your men from their jobs.”

All around, soldiers were rapidly backing away. Clearly, no one argued with Resek. Leanne ignored them.

“We discussed this.”

“I agreed to let you come.”

“Resek, come on! This is not what I meant and you know it. I spent hours going through your stupid exercises, all so that I could help. Now, I can help, and you’re going to let me.”

The immediate area around them was clear, everyone else having run for cover. Resek unexpectedly pulled her into a gentle hug. “I am only worried for you.”

“You think I don’t worry for you? You think it doesn’t make me sick knowing you’re out there in danger? You know what I do, Resek? I deal with it, and it’s time for you to learn to deal with it too. War is risky. People get hurt. We do the best we can to come home alive. Now, can we please stop with this nonsense?”

Out of the corner of her eye, Leanne saw the soldiers backing up even further. She thought back to when she was first brought here. She would never have dreamed of ever speaking to Resek like this, but she knew him better now. He cared about her and would never hurt her.

Apparently, his men didn’t know him as well; they were cowering as though expecting grenades to start flying at any moment.

“You drive me crazy, you know that?”

Leanne batted her eyelashes at him and pressed her body close to his. “I’ll be fine. I promise.”

Resek finally relented with a sigh, and Leanne had to fight the urge to start doing a victory dance. It wasn’t even that she wanted to kill Greli. She thought they should be killed, yes, at least the invading ones, but doing it herself didn’t really bring her any joy. She wanted to be by Resek’s side, though, fighting with him.

Even if it wasn’t fun, she believed in what they were doing. The other soldiers still hovered suspiciously close to her as she and Resek made their way into the thick of the fighting. She suspected that there were standing orders not to let any harm come to her, and they weren’t about to abandon those even if she was right beside Resek.

The thought made her heart warm a little. All positive feelings fled as she was forced to duck to avoid a shot from one of the Greli soldiers.

Leanne did as her training told her to; she fought.

They seemed to be there for years, though she knew it was only a few hours. Resek led a tactical team to take some ground to the west, which would give them a better angle to push the Greli forces even further back. Leanne wasn’t as good at close quarters fighting as the other soldiers, but with all the target practice she’d had, she had great aim.

She focused on that, shooting Greli soldiers one by one. She tried to think of them as moving targets and not people who once had hopes and dreams other than brutally conquering another species. As the day wore on, the other soldiers stopped standing quite so close to her, and she felt a flash of pride. Even they could see her worth.

She thought back to that first day. She’d felt like she was drowning, hopelessly lost in a sea of activity she didn’t understand. Now, she felt powerful. She was here for a reason, and she knew what to do.

When Resek came back from successfully taking the western territory, after leaving some men behind to hold it, his eyes immediately went to hers.

They stared at each other for a moment, silently asking if the other was ok. Leanne gave him a small smile and went back to the task at hand. She saved more than one Wescra soldier, shooting down their assailants before they could cause harm.

By the time the sun was setting, and Resek gestured that it was time to leave, the other soldiers weren’t looking at her like a helpless girl. They were looking at her like a competent ally.

And she liked it.