Chapter 5
As they slowly lowered down to the Earth’s surface, Nix pointed to an area up ahead. “Land just here, outside the city. There should be a supply truck waiting for us.”
Corey looked at the mostly barren desert area stretching away from the city. He lowered the shuttle down while asking, “Why are we not landing closer to the government dome?”
“We have backpacks with human clothes we’ll need to change into, but we’ll change once we reach the city. I want to take our time to look around for potential problems. The fewer people from the dome or the tunnels see us coming in, the better we’ll be able to keep our mission secret. Also, since we’ll be leaving our shuttle, I want to make sure it is in a secure location. We’ll take our supplies to the dome, but our mission is in the tunnels, so we won’t be staying there. We’ll make our way down to the connecting entrance to the subway tunnels and then take the subway to your old tribe.”
“I don’t think we should do that.”
Nix looked at him in surprise. “This is the plan that Commander Estro and his advisers came up with.”
Corey turned off the shuttle, then shifted in his seat to face her. “The resistance isn’t just happening in the tunnels, it’s spread to the domes, too. We don’t know who to trust. Also, there have been problems with your own people betraying you. I know Commander Estro and his family are genuine, but how do we know we can trust any of his advisers? If our mission is exposed, we could be in danger.”
She thought about what he was saying and she couldn’t deny it had merit. That was one of the most frustrating things was not knowing which of her people were helping the rebels. “You’re right. There are spies on both sides who have caused problems. What do you think we should do about it?”
“I think we should deviate from the plan a bit.”
“Look, Mr. Nash, I am a warrior. I follow the orders of my commander. Commander Estro and his advisers have many years of experience. I understand there’s a possibility that one or more of the advisers could be assisting the resistance, but Commander Estro would have reviewed every detail of this plan before sending us out. I’ve been taught to follow the rules and protocol because they are designed specifically to protect us.”
“Sometimes we have to make our own rules when we find that following the same path doesn’t take us where we need to go. We should be able to deviate from the mission parameteres if the end goal is ensuring that it’s a success.”
“If that time comes, I’ll let you know. Until then, we’re sticking with the original plan,” Nix said, ending the conversation by standing and heading for the door of the shuttle. She didn’t wait for Corey to follow her. Who was he to question the orders of her commander and his strategy team?
Even as she thought that, something about what Corey said bugged her. What if the spies and traitors were higher up, part of the strategy team? If that was true, they could be heading into a trap. Nix had always followed orders, always. She wanted to prove that she was the best warrior, even if she didn’t have the size or strength. It went against everything she believed in to disobey her directives. Corey had to be wrong, but the doubts still plagued her.
She shook her head to clear her wayward thoughts, put on her helmet with the built-in oxygen supply and filter, and inspected their surroundings. A radiation storm was coming their way; it looked like it would be there in about thirty minutes to an hour. That was just an estimate, though; these types of storms were always spontaneous and could speed up or slow down or veer off on a different path.
She should check the computer to see how fast and strong the stormwinds were. Would they even have time to get to the city? They couldn’t afford to take any chances and needed to get to the truck so that they would have some kind of cover while they made their way to the city.
The truck was there waiting for them as expected. Again, Corey’s concern played through her mind. As he handed her her pack and shouldered his own, she took her handheld computer and closed the shuttle doors. With the earlier worries that Corey brought up, a sudden idea came to her. She programmed new coordinates and the shuttle lifted off, leaving them standing there out in the open.
“What’s going on? Where’s the shuttle going?” Corey looked at her in question.
“I’m sending it to different coordinates, just in case.”
She tried to ignore the knowing look he gave her. Walking forward, she said, “I’m still sticking to the plan.”
“Aye aye, Captain.”
“I’m not a captain.”
Corey snorted, “It’s just a saying.”
“You’re strange, you know that.”
“I’ve been told that a time or two.”
Nix didn’t understand him at all, but she liked him despite their differences. If only she hadn’t slept with him, maybe they would have been friends. She pushed that depressing thought aside.
She made sure to keep her eyes on where they were going. As they approached the truck, she had the feeling inside that things weren’t quite right. She stopped walking and just stood there to look around them. They were were out in the open, anyone could attack them. She didn’t see anyone else, but the feeling that something was off increased.
Corey stopped next to her. He looked around them, mimicking her. “What’s up? Do you see something?”
How did she explain these feelings of danger? She might sound crazy to him, but she just couldn’t shake it. She confessed, “I don’t see anyone but I have this...feeling.”
“What kind of feeling?”
“That something is off. Maybe it’s nothing.”
“If you are feeling something, then don’t blow that off. I’ve learned the hard way to trust my instincts. Maybe we should call the shuttle back.”
Nix was about to agree but movement near the rear of the truck caught her eye. The sight of a weapon had her jumping into action. She lunged at Corey, knocking them both down to the ground, just escaping a bullet that whizzed toward them. That had been a human gun. Both she and Corey rolled apart, pulling out their blasters and firing back. They crawled to a dip in the ground, about four feet deep, enough to give them coverage. A blaster hit the edge of the hole they hid in. The looked at each other in shock.
“That was a Drastan blaster.” Corey stated.
Nix nodded. Their attackers had both human and Drastan weapons. How the hell had they gotten their hands on them? She peaked over the edge and shot off a few blasts. “I think I see three males.”
“Can you call back the shuttle?” Corey asked, shooting as well.
Nix patted her pockets, then froze. “I don’t have my pad. I must have dropped it when I knocked us to the ground.”
“Fuck!” Corey took another shot. “Yes! Got one of those bastards, that leaves two.”
“That we know of.” Nix took another shot and wounded one of the males in the leg. “One of them is down.”
“Should we rush them?” Corey asked.
Then the sound of the truck starting up had them both standing up out of the hole. They fired at the wheels, but the truck kept going. They ran after it for a few paces, but the truck was already moving too fast.
“Damn it! They got away,” Nix said.
“At least we’re not hurt and we’re still alive,” Corey reminded her.
“Maybe not for long. That storm is almost on us.” Nix looked over at the rapidly approaching sandstorm. The wind picked up dust spinning it fast and high into the air. It was like a wall of dust coming toward them, making it hard to see past it.
“I’ll go look for the communicator and call the shuttle back,” Nix began to pull herself out of the hole but Corey grabbed her yanking her back down. He opened his pack and pulled out a blanket.
“There’s no time. Get on the other side of the hole, use your back to press this tight against the wall of the hole. Hold one end of the blanket and I’ll hold the other. Our helmets will provide oxygen even if we’re buried a foot or so right?”
Nix sat down, reaching for the blanket and pulling it over her head. “Yes.” Fear coursed through her entire body, making her shake. She didn’t like things over her head, like swimming underwater, caves, and definitely like being buried under sand. She could feel the wind trying to rip the blanket from them, then sand piling on top, making it heavier and heavier. She felt like she was suffocating.
“By the Gods, we’re going to die,” Nix whispered, closing her eyes. She always imagined her death would be an honorable one, giving her life in battle, fighting to protect her people. Not like this, buried alive in a sandstorm in the middle of nowhere. Corey would be missed by Maggie and the rest of his friends. Would anyone mourn her loss?
*****
Corey had never seen Nix look so vulnerable before. As the blanket started to get covered with sand, they lost the light. He could tell she was trembling.
“Nix, we’re going to survive this, we just need to stay strong until the storm passes. Talk to me.”
“Talk about what? I can’t think…”
“Tell me about your family. I know nothing about you.”
“I was born the only child of a high ranking commander. I’m a warrior. That’s it.”
“There has to be more.”
She sighed, “My father, grandfather, and great-grandfather all were commanders and served in the Drastan military. I followed into the military like them.”
“Your father must be proud.”
“I wouldn’t know.”
Her voice was tense. He couldn’t imagine any father wouldn’t be proud of a daughter like Nix. She was strong, smart, beautiful, and...other things. Corey couldn’t afford to think of those other things, so he continued to ask her questions.
“It sounds like you didn’t get along with your father. Not that I’m judging, my own father was a selfish asshole.”
“I’m an only child...a female child. It wasn’t what the great renowned Commander Saber wanted. He pushed my mother into getting pregnant again but she lost the baby—another girl—and died of complications. My father put me off on family and friends while he devoted his time to going into one battle after another, until one day, he didn’t come back. He died as a warrior with no sons to continue the Saber line. It died with him.”
“You’re a Saber.”
“I’m female.”
“I don’t get it, your people are so advanced. You should be beyond the sexist thing.”
“My world is still male-oriented, much like yours. Many different species believe the male is the stronger of the species and that their job is to protect the female of their kind.”
“I know I want to protect those who can’t protect themselves, but I also know many women who are as strong, if not stronger, than men inwardly if not physically. I saw men fall apart after the nukes hit, just lose their shit. Women, even young girls, held themselves together, organized and helped others to form the tribes. Without those strong women, many more would have died.”
“Women like Maggie?”
Corey couldn’t help but smile at the thought of his best friend. “Maggie was tough as shit from the moment I met her. Hell, she was just a kid, but she had already survived things that no person should ever have to endure and at a young age. I may have been physically stronger, but there were times that Maggie and Lily helped keep me going when I felt like giving up. They had an inner core of strength that was unprecedented.”
“I’m sure you helped them survive as well.”
“Well, yeah, that’s what families do. We love each other and support each other through the good times and the bad. Even if we were angry with one another, we still had each other’s backs.”
“Some families are like that, not all.”
“You said you went to live with family and friends. Who took you in?”
“I got passed around until I ended up with Quinn’s family. His mother took me in and looked after me. She was the closest I had to a mother and Quinn was more like a brother.”
“Lieutenant Quinn Estro, Liam’s cousin?”
“Yeah. The Estros are the only real family I’ve ever known. I would do anything to protect them.”
Corey chuckled that this would be the thing they had in common. “It’s amazing how people who are not blood-related can be more like family than those who are blood.”
She smiled. “That’s very true.”
They sat in silence for a while. He felt a connection to her that he hadn’t felt before. He was starting to understand her just a little bit more and he found that he…liked her. He wanted to know more about her. His attention was brought back to their current circumstances. The wind started to die down. “I think the storm is passing.”
“Good, let’s see what we’ve been left with.”
Chapter 6
“How do we do this?” she asked.
“You keep your end up while I let mine down. When I lower the blanket, the sand on your side will slide down to me. Hopefully, there won’t be that much coming in on us. Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
Corey dropped the blanket and immediately was covered with sand and dirt. It just kept coming and coming and coming. Nix could feel the weight that had been on her end moving off until she was able move it away and see the open sky. She looked over at Corey and felt sympathy for him. He had six inches of sand covering him.
She pulled her pack on her back then gripped the edge of the hole and tried to pull herself up, but it caved in on her, making her fall back. Corey was there to catch her.
“Let me help you up.” Corey knelt down and cupped his hands together.
Nix stepped into his hands with one foot and he lifted her up until she could get to solid ground. She turned and offered him a hand up. Once they were both out of the hole, she surveyed their surroundings. The truck was gone with no tracks at all to show the direction the rebels had taken.
“I’ll try to find the computer,” she told him as she walked over to where she thought she and Corey had been standing before they hit the ground. Using her boot, she kicked at the sand but didn’t feel anything.
“Even if you find it, it’ll probably be ruined. I can’t get anything from the built-in communicator in my helmet but static.”
She sighed. “Me too. We’re completely out of touch with the command ship or any other warriors for now.”
“So, boss, what do we do now?” Corey asked.
“I don’t think we should go directly to the dome. The truck could be heading there. We don’t know if the rebels are from the dome or the tunnels, but they may be looking for us to head to the dome since that was the original plan. Like you said before, we’ll have to change our plans, do something unexpected.”
“So we’re going to the subway first.”
“Yes, but we should use a different entrance than might be expected. Do you know of another one we can reach from here?”
“Yeah, we can take the East entrance. It’s further away from the nearest dome. How are we going to contact the commander and let them know what happened?”
“We’re not, at least not right away. The rebels think they left us here to die in the storm, so they’re not expecting us to show up, and I want to keep it that way for as long as possible. I’ll contact the commander once we reach the tribe. I’m actually hesitant to do that right away.”
“Why?”
“Someone on the strategy planning level must have revealed where we would land. We were set up. If we can discover those rebels, we might be able to find out who the Drastan traitors are.”
“How do you think we’ll find the rebels?”
“I injured one of them pretty bad. He’ll be searching for treatment.”
“That’s right. It looks like there might be another storm coming this way. We need to leave now if we hope to make it to the city before it strikes.”
They walked side by side and Nix couldn’t stop looking at the barren area. A desert stretched out in all directions, surrounding a outcropping of broken down buildings. The city looked like a mirage, one that spoke of destruction and death. The wasteland of sand and cracked earth would not support life of any kind for many decades to come. If there was any water, it would have to be underground, deep below. She didn’t understand why the people of Earth wouldn’t jump at the chance to be relocated to a more suitable planet, or even to go to Drasta.
“You’re in deep thought over there. What’s on your mind?”
“I was just thinking, I don’t understand why anyone would choose to stay here when the surface of the planet is uninhabitable.”
“It’s our home. We were so divided—race to race and country to country. Even after the disaster, there was a great deal of fighting just to survive. Everyone was looking out for themselves. It took a long time for people to realize they had to work tegother to survive, especially in the tribes. Now, we all want to rebuild our world. Nothing brings people together more than having a common goal.”
“I have to admit, that’s admirable. I don’t know if I would have stayed when given the option to live elsewhere.”
“There are some who are applying to travel to Drasta to live there now that Commander Estro has gotten approval.”
Nix couldn’t stop herself from asking, “What will you do? Will you stay here, or travel to Drasta?” She hoped she didn’t sound too hopeful. He wasn’t the asshole she originally thought that he was. The more she learned about him, the more she wanted to learn.
“I haven’t decided yet. I’ve been training to become a Drastan warrior, but Maggie’s father spoke with his superiors about a position for me here if I want it. He’s recommending me also to eventually become a dome leader.”
That surprised her. “I didn’t think he knew you that well.”
“I’m friends with Maggie, we’re like family. I don’t really think I’m qualified, but I think Maggie has convinced him that I walk on water or something.” He smiled as he said it.
A tinge of jealousy wedged its way into her thoughts. “Yes, you all seem really close, especially you and Maggie. Were you two ever…?” She had been told by Maggie before that there was nothing between them, but seeing them together and the way Corey looked at the pretty human, with reverence and longing, had her questioning their relationship. Whenever they were together, they looked like a couple. At least, until Liam came in and took his spot next to his mate; then there was no question that Maggie and Liam were meant to be together.
“Honestly, there was a time when I hoped that Maggie and I would come together. I told myself I was waiting for her to be ready for a relationship. She was attacked when she was a teenager and it took a long time for her to deal with that and the outcome of it. It never happened for us, though.”
“Why not?”
“She fell in love with an alien from another planet.”
So it wasn’t that long ago that he had loved and wanted Maggie. Did that mean he still wanted her? The thought hurt her inside. She didn’t say anything else and neither did he. They continued on for what seemed like five hours, but probably was only about two. They finally reached the edge of the buildings, the last sign of where a prosperous city once stood.
Corey pointed to a half-standing building to the right. “That’s as good a spot as any. It’s half-covered and will give us the privacy we need to change out of our uniforms. Our packs should have Earth street clothes that will help us blend in with the other tribespeople.”
“How familiar are you with the tribes on this end of the city?” she asked as they stepped over rubble and through what had once been a doorway.
“I’m not that familiar with them. The tunnel that connected my tribe was blocked from this side, making it hard to get through. Occasionally, while scouting for food or traveling to another tribe to trade, I would run across someone from this side. That usually only happened if they came above ground to get to the unblocked section.”
“Do you think they’ll know we don’t belong?”
“Not right off. With the tunnells opening up, more and more people are moving between tribes and some even going to the domes. It’s actually probably a good thing that I don’t know that many people on this side. It won’t blow our cover. The clothes will help, but let me do most of the talking.”
He could see her shoulders stiffen. “Why? Is it because I’m female?”
“No, not at all. You just don’t sound completely human.”
“I have studied your Earth languages thoroughly and can read and speak five of them fluently.”
“That’s the problem, you’re too good. Your pronunciation of words can be a little too exact and then your accent shows at times. Also, your looks might be a problem, so you’ll need to keep your head down or wear a hoodie or a hat.”
“What’s wrong with my looks?” she demanded.
“Nothing is wrong with you looks! Hell, I like… You’re pretty—too pretty. What I’m trying to say is that your complexion is flawless, your hair dark and silky, healthy-looking. With your eyes, it makes you exotic. However, you’re supposed to look like someone who’s been surviving in the tunnels for years.”
“I can understand the first thing, but the last...I don’t know if I should take that as a compliment or as an insult.”
“Nix, I didn’t mean to offend you.”
She held up her hand, silencing him. “I’ll go over there on the other side of that partial wall and change.”
***
Corey watched as Nix walked away. He hadn’t meant to insult her. It seemed that since day one of meeting the feisty Drastan woman, he had done nothing but get on her bad side. What the hell was up with that?
He had been popular with the girls when he was in school without having to work at it. After the disaster happened, he had a few sexual experiences, and seemed to leave his partners happy. Some had wanted a more serious relationship with him, but he had backed off from that. Truth was, he had stopped having sex with other women the moment he realized he loved Maggie. He had hoped that they would one day be a couple and didn’t want to make it uncomfortable for her to be in the same tribe with his previous lovers.
Now, though, Maggie was happily married with her baby and Corey accepted that. Actually, since the start of this mission, he’d found himself really feeling at peace with the situation for the first time. Maggie was no longer the dream. No, his dreams now all seemed to star the woman that was ten feet from him.
God, how did that happen? There was an attraction between them, had been from the very first time they met. At least on his side. He’d done what he always did when trying to impress a woman: told jokes, teased her, winked a few times. Sometimes he would glimpse a smile on her too-serious lips, a lovely blush on her cheeks, and he could swear she swayed those hips a little more when she knew he was watching. Maybe it was all in his head, though. Maybe being on the command ship affected his thinking.
“How do I look?” Nix asked, stepping around the wall.
Corey glanced up and smiled. “You definitely look like a human.”
“Aren’t these clothes too baggy?”
“Yes, but most people living in the subway wear worn clothes that were not always their size. No one will question it.” Which was all certainly true, but he found he definitely preferred Nix in her habitual (and more form-fitting) uniforms. She seemed more herself.
An image flashed through his mind of her naked and underneath him. He blinked, startled. What the hell? Where did that image come from? He had never seen her naked. Or had he? His dreams of her sometimes seemed so real: the feel of her soft skin, the taste of her arousal on his tongue and her moans—sounds of need and pleasure. He would wake confused and hard as hell. There were times he could swear he still felt her touch on his body.
He would surely remember bedding her if that had happened. Unless…unless maybe he hadn’t been in his right mind? There had been one night, a few months back, where he had memory loss. He remembered going to the recreation lounge, where the bar was, after a long week of training. Some of the other warriors he trained with had invited him to sit and try some of the Drastan beverages.
Corey hadn’t realized how strong those drinks would be or how his body would react. He remembered seeing Nix come into the bar. After that, there were only snippets here and there remaining in his memory. He guessed he must have said something that upset her, because after that night, she never smiled at him again or laughed at any of his jokes. He felt like someone who had come out of the darkness and gotten a glimpse of the sun, only to have it ripped away again to leave them in the dark once more.
Self-preservation had led him to act like nothing was affecting him, but training with her and seeing her easy interactions with other men while she showed no interest in him made him extremely jealous. That confused him even more, because he had no right to be possessive of her.
“Is something wrong?” Nix asked, running her hands along the jeans she wore.
“No. I’ll just go change into my clothes as well.”
“Okay. I’ll check the perimeter.”
Damn it! He should have done that. It felt like he failed again at protecting someone who was depending on him. He swore not to let that happen again, no matter how distracting she was. He would keep her safe. They were going to be traveling into his territory and he knew what to expect there. This was the reason he had been sent on this mission, his experience with the tribes. He needed to focus. Commander Estro believed in him and he refused to let him down.