Chapter 7
Second-in-Command Pax Curad
Instead of lingering around the house for dinner, as soon as I dropped the human off at the house, I got a message from the palace and had to leave. I wasn’t very happy about it, as my stomach was rumbling, but the food there was fairly good, so I went to where I was beckoned without too much concern.
Still, some small part of me was disappointed not to be able to enjoy a meal with the Yula after the evening we had spent together, but at the same time, it was better to get a little bit of space so we could each reflect on what had happened. Although she was reluctant to accept my claim on her, we had made progress. What that progress meant to me and what it meant to her, however, could be very different.
“Pax!”
“Doyan…”
I hadn’t been looking forward to seeing my brother, but it was beginning to feel urgent to understand what was going on with the planet.
“Where have you been? I have been needing you here.”
“Sorry, brother. I was in a place without any signal.”
“What? Why?”
I gritted my teeth. It was not his business where and how I spent my time, but at the same time, I was eager to be on his good side to try to put the pieces together of what his plans really were. He wasn’t letting me in on them, but it was starting to become frighteningly clear to me that I wasn’t going to be able to be able to see my brother as a man of dignity who had the good of the planet in mind.
“I had to see if there was anything the human could do with the geodas.”
“Ah. Was she able to come up with anything?” Grod asked.
“No,” I said, looking away guiltily, my mind returning to the tryst in the geoda mine. I had never experienced anything so intense before. It had somehow made me feel stronger; gave me a rush of adrenaline. It almost felt as if I could take on all the armies of Earth on my own and win with no problem.
“That’s unfortunate,” Grod said, eyeing me skeptically. “I need you to return to Earth. We are launching the attack to end the separation of worlds.”
I was shocked by the news and gaped at my brother in disbelief.
“When?” I asked.
“Tomorrow night. Lead all the other troops with you. But do not attack until my command.”
“And where will you be?” I asked, surprising both of us with the force of my question. I didn’t have any real reason to be angry, but the suspicion in my voice was unmistakable, and I could only hope that my brother was still self-absorbed enough that he would think nothing of it.
“I know, you nearly died the last time you were on that wretched planet. But this time I will make sure you get the proper amount of Vari-X to take to Earth with you.”
“All right,” I said darkly. “If you promise that to be the case.”
“Of course,” Grod said, a sickening smile on his face. “You are my brother, and I will make sure that you are taken care of.”
I nodded. “Dershalga.”
The sickening smile on Grod’s face spread further, and I turned away, rage bubbling in my chest. I decided to head to the dining hall of the palace to get something to eat before I left.
All I could think about was the book I had received from the elder. Once I was finished eating, I headed back to my home, disappointed to find that the human had already retired for the night and I wouldn’t get a chance to see her again until the morning.
“Welcome home, Commander.”
“Thank you, Kera,” I said absently, heading to my study and taking out the book. My heart thudded as I flipped through it, learning more about the complex relationship that the doyans in my family had with the Larex. It was very deeply entrenched, and the more I learned about it, the more afraid I became.
The Larex wanted us, essentially to destroy ourselves. They were the biggest bullies in the universe. I was tired from the day I’d had, but I couldn’t find myself winding down at all, not now that I was just beginning to understand what was really going on.
“What are you doing?”
I was snapped out of my research by the soft voice of the human. Ali was standing in the doorway of my office, dressed in a form-fitting white sleeping gown. My body responded immediately to her, and I sat the binder back down on my desk and motioned for her to come inside.
“I’m researching,” I said, trying to keep the concern out of my voice. For some reason, I wanted to be able to protect her at all costs, no matter what.
“Anything interesting?” she asked, her beautiful, clear eyes looking down at the binder.
“Oh, nothing much,” I lied.
Ali quirked her brow at me, and I felt suddenly ashamed of myself as if she could tell that I was lying. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if that were truly the case.
“All right, but please try not to panic,” I sighed.
Ali scooted forward in her seat and focused her full attention upon me.
“I am going to Earth tomorrow. The war is going to begin.”
Ali paled, and a soft gasp escaped her lips.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes,” I said. “But there’s something even more.”
Ali grimaced with trepidation, but she nodded bravely as if she were ready to accept whatever horrible truth he was about to impart to her.
“I am concerned,” I said quietly, glancing around the room. I doubted that there was anybody who would go back to Grod with the knowledge that I was privy to his plans, but that was still difficult. It was hard to say what lengths my brother would go to in order to stay in control.
“What are you concerned about?” Ali asked just as quietly.
I hesitated, and then slid the binder across the desk at her, opening it to the same page that had been shown to me initially.
“Those are some ugly guys,” Ali said, laughing softly.
“Their actions and behaviors are even more ugly,” I said.
Ali’s face grew serious as she began to read through the information, and I found myself impressed by her knowledge of the Verian language.
“Do you think this is what he’s doing?” she whispered, her voice hushed and afraid.
“I do,” I said, my stomach in knots. Apparently, the human was just as aware of how dangerous the information might be and was reluctant to speak the terrible truth out loud.
“God…”
I nodded.
“So what are we going to do?”
I was surprised by the serious look in the human’s eye. She was ready to do whatever it took, and I considered this for a moment, the strange strength that had been so obvious after my tryst with Ali. It was then I knew that, no matter what, we were going to save the Verian race, and the human race, all together.
“We are going to take care of it. You will come with me tomorrow. You will get your weapon ready, and we are going to fight.”
Ali’s eyes widened.
“I’m going back to Earth?”
I nodded, smiling despite myself. “That’s right.”
She grinned, but briefly, and then her face grew dark and pensive. She was quiet for a few moments, and I waited patiently for her to find her words again.
“I’ve been thinking about that weapon,” she admitted. “I think we can really do this.”
I smiled at her. “I know we can.”
Her beautiful eyes lingered upon mine, and she reached across the desk and took my hand in hers.
“Then let’s do it.”
***
“Ready for launch!”
Ali’s eyes were round as she watched the Verians moving frantically about the cab of the ship, with Kera standing beside her with his big hand over hers soothingly. Most of the men knew better than to give her the dirty looks that they wanted to give her. They thought we were going to Earth to fight the humans, but what they didn’t know was that there was something more sinister that was about to take place.
“Ready.”
“Remember my orders,” I said over the speakers to every ship in the fleet. “Only I will actually land on Earth. Everyone else must stay vigilant. Form a link around the Earth.”
“Understood!”
I nodded, and soon we were taking off into the vastness of space.
Ali kept her eyes forward, and I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pride; I knew that this human, who I had claimed whether she wanted to admit it or not, was considering doing whatever she had to do to protect her planet from the destructive Larex. I wished I could speak freely to her about it, but nobody, save for Ali, Kera, and I, knew the full scope of just what was going on.
The troops would follow my lead at all costs, and I needed to be vigilant. I would not allow the humans to be destroyed before the Larex arrived to claim victory over the Earth. I would make sure that everybody was primed to receive a new threat and deal with it accordingly.
I waited until all the ships were in position before landing the ship stealthily on Earth, where, as far as I knew, nobody would be able to detect us.
“Stay here,” I ordered to the Verian troops that had ridden with me on the ship. “If you see anything strange, do not hesitate to attack.”
Ali seemed disappointed, but when I motioned for her to follow me, her face was relived. Did she think I was going to leave her on the ship?
When we climbed off the ship, Ali’s face broke out into a wide, beautiful smile, and she glanced over at me excitedly.
“I can’t believe I’m back home,” she said.
I felt a pang of guilt, considering it was my fault that she had been torn from her home in the first place, but when I caught her eye again, she didn’t seem to be holding anything against me. I still couldn’t help but feel bad about it, but the feeling was soon driven out of my mind as we headed near the place where we had first met.
“Do you think they’re going to be suspicious if I just walk back inside and start to work on the weapon?”
I paused to look at Ali. I hadn’t considered this, but it was possible that she would receive some judgment from her peers.
“Just do whatever you can,” I said, touching her cheek gently. “We must do our best.”
Ali’s beautiful oceanic eyes held my gaze, and I leaned down to kiss her forehead. She froze under my touch, and then we looked at each other wordlessly. It was clear at that moment that she was going to accept my claim, and I felt a rush of heat go to my loins.
“You had better go now,” I said, trying to tear myself away from her so that I didn’t overstep my bounds. Nothing would be more dangerous at this point. We had only a limited time before Grod and the Larex would arrive, and I had a feeling that our troops would only hold them off for so long. Without Ali’s weapon on the table, it was possible that Earth and all of its beautiful resources would be destroyed. She had to finish the weapon before Grod arrived and ordered the troops to face off against the humans and destroy each other, only to take the planet at its most vulnerable.
There was also the distinct and chilling possibility that if we didn’t have the manpower to fight the Larex, they would destroy us all. Why my brother would align himself with such a cruel and difficult race, I couldn’t understand. But I also didn’t doubt that it was within the realm of possibility that he would sell out his own people to meet his own ends, whatever they happened to be.
And yet, I wanted to have faith in my brother. He was my blood, and it seemed natural for me to want to hope for the best and see the best in him. Perhaps he was simply strategizing and working with what he had at his disposal to meet his goals. It was possible. Even if it was highly unlikely, it was possible.
“I guess I will just stay at the lab and try to get this finished before anything happens,” Ali said quietly. “I somehow doubt that anybody has tried to work on it since my abduction, but it’s possible that someone did start to make some progress. If it turns out that they have, then it will be a lot easier to get this going. Wish me luck.”
“Good luck, Yula. If there is time, meet me tonight at the mine where we first met. I will be setting up base there. We are going to have to try to help the humans understand the real threat somehow, and I believe that only you will be able to do that.”
Ali nodded, though she looked doubtful. I smiled as reassuringly as I could.
“You can do it.”
She nodded, though her brows were still furrowed, and turned away from me. I watched her walk until she was out of sight, my chest tight as I considered being away from her for the first time in so long. It was disappointing to consider that I may or may not see her again, but somehow, I knew that no matter what happened, she was as invested in taking down the Larex as I was, and if she had to, she would come back to me in order to do it. Even though my claim had been difficult for her, we were still bonded, and there was little that either of us would be able to do about it.
I got to work quickly, heading toward the mine to strategize. I knew that we didn’t have a lot of time to work, so I began to set the base up. If anything happened to the Earth, that would mean that everything my people had been working so hard for over the centuries would be for nothing. And no matter what my selfish brother’s intentions were, preserving the resources of the Earth was unbelievably important; it was something I had to honor at all costs.
***
“Commander, where have you been?”
I frowned at Kera, who had a tendency to worry about me, no matter how capable I happened to be on a field of battle.
“I’ve been setting up, preparing for the attack.”
“Of course,” Kera said.
“Any news?” I asked, taking a look at the men who were lined up in the ship in front of me.
“Grod said that he would arrive in two days’ time, and that he had something very special planned.”
I wasn’t thrilled to hear the news. Grod’s surprises were almost never good, but the men were all in high spirits considering what their leader might have in store for them. It was the highest honor to meet the doyan face to face, and the troops set to raid Earth and finish the war once and for all had all been promised such special honors. But only those who had been able to get the job done, and not those who were killed in the process of doing so.
“Well, that’s something special. What does he know of our position?” I asked. It would do no good if we were sneak attacked by my brother and his unfortunate allies, and if he knew enough about my strategy, he would be able to use it to his advantage, and that was something I could not tolerate.
“He knows that we are on Earth and preparing for the attack. But they do not know where or how. You have been keeping the strategy under wraps, and he didn’t really inquire about it.”
“I understand,” I said thoughtfully. That was odd. Grod was usually always busy micromanaging everything that the military was doing, so not having any direct communication with him was more worrying than it would have been if he had been busy reaching in and trying to get me to do things the way that he thought they should be done.
“So, are we going to begin by attacking Zone 70?” the leader of the battalion asked, his eyes steady and serious upon me. “I know that is the most powerful Zone on Earth.”
“We are going to be sure to do whatever needs to be done,” I said carefully. “But it is possible that the threat we are going to face is unprecedented. Because of these unknown circumstances, I am going to have to ask you all to be patient with me and to play it by ear. I will give you the commands, and you are to follow them to the letter. Is that understood?”
“Of course, Commander Curad.”
I dismissed the troops and sat heavily in the seat in front of the control center, sighing heavily.
“Are you all right, Commander?” Kera asked.
I nodded, but my mind was working at high speed. If I was going to have to face my brother and the terrifying threat of the Larex, then I would have to make sure that I knew as much about their weaknesses as possible. Kera had been reading and studying the binder thoroughly, and getting in contact with other Pelin throughout the galaxy to see what all they might know about the situation with the Larex.
“Have you learned anything about the Larex yet, Kera?” I asked.
“Yes…they are big and will probably come with reinforcements. I believe they might be recruiting the Yorga warriors.”
I sighed deeply and closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose. It was not good news. The Yorga were fierce warriors who had no qualms about destroying everything in their paths. It would take a lot of manpower to win a battle like this.
But it was something that I believed we would be capable of doing, provided the human was able to talk sense into her kind. If we pulled together, we would be able to defeat the great menace once and for all and preserve the integrity of Earth.