Amber
Something was up, because they called Rylen in before sunrise, and the atmosphere at breakfast was quiet and tense. I slid into a seat next to J.D. Sean was gone, too.
“What’s going on?” he asked me.
“I have no idea.” I sipped my coffee and peered around at the soldiers, downing their food and rushing to put their trays away. Devon came in and grabbed a muffin to go.
“D!” I called. He turned and came over to us. “What’s going on?”
“They received contact from headquarters during the night.”
“As in alien headquarters? In Nevada?”
“Yep.”
“Oh, my God,” J.D. whispered, setting down his spoon with a clatter.
“We’re all meeting this morning.”
I wiped my mouth and stood. “Well, then, we’re going too.”
J.D. looked up at me with a nod, and we followed Devon to the main building for the briefing. Rylen saw me and jogged over.
“I just checked for you in the room. I thought you’d sleep in.”
“I was restless after you left early.”
“I’m sorry.” He gave me a quick kiss. “Glad you’re here.”
Rylen went back to the front, and I took a seat with J.D. in the far back of the small auditorium.
From across the room, Officer Sean looked over with his stylish red hair and gave J.D. a nod.
“His hair’s looking awesome,” I said.
“He has amazing hair. Thank God they don’t make him buzz it off.”
“One benefit of the apocalypse, I guess.” Less stringent rules about appearance.
J.D. gave a dry snort. “So wrong.”
I lowered my voice. “How are things with you guys?”
A mischievous grin crossed his lips. “Let’s just say, your impromptu wedding caused some squishy feelings in me, which led to forgiveness on my part for when he so rudely manhandled me into leaving the cabin, and, well . . .”
My eyes widened. “You finally kissed?”
He sipped his coffee. “And stuff.”
I turned to the front, smiling, as Colonel Latham took the podium. He looked like he hadn’t slept all night, disheveled salt and pepper hair, collar slightly crumpled. I scooted forward in my seat.
“We have two major points of discussion. As most of you know, the Baelese believe that this base is still under their control, and they have been communicating with us. Up until last evening, all comm was fairly straight forward, yes or no type answers. Last night they confirmed that the breeding time for their people is in two weeks. Because their numbers were so small here, they’ve ordered that only forty percent of their Alaska crew mate. And they’ll need a list of who is fucking who by the end of the day.”
My heart thumped hard as a loud hum of whispers rose up.
“We believe we have found a list of the Baelese who were stationed here. At least, we hope like hell that’s what the list is. And we hope like hell that we are making correct guesses about which names are male and which are female. Because if we get this wrong, folks, they will know this base has been compromised. One simple suspicion could be all it takes for the shit to hit the fan. Comprende?”
Everyone nodded. J.D. whispered a curse beside me.
“On the plus side,” the Colonel went on. “This base is fully stocked with weapons, ammunition, and most importantly . . . planes. F16 fighters. A pristine AC130 Gunship that can shoot pinpoint rounds at painted targets. And a handful of pilots with balls of steel who are ready to fly them.”
A round of “Hooahs” rose loud into the room, and my arms prickled with goosebumps. I was both proud and terrified to hear Rylen’s balls spoken of that way.
“Now,” Colonel Latham shouted over the din. “For our other issue. As if the first was not pressing enough. We’ve received word that the three final ships from Bael will be arriving this summer. They referred to them as the Master Vessels. We are led to believe that these three ships carry their remaining population. Think massive. Upwards of ten thousand.”
Ew. My stomach could hardly handle the thought of so many of them crawling the Earth.
“They could be arriving during mating week, or weeks after. It is our goal to stop those ships before they can touch a single blade of grass. If they are allowed to set down and release their people and whatever stockpile of weapons they’ve got, it could be over for us. It could be over for humanity.”
Complete silence. We had less than two hundred people here. Versus ten thousand? And that wasn’t counting the Baelese spread across the world in small, powerful cells. I sat back heavily in my chair, feeling ill. J.D. reached over and took my hand. We held tight.
“We’ve been in contact with others like us. Rebels. Military personnel who found one another and banded together. To keep you, and them, safe, I will not say how many, or their whereabouts. Just know we are not alone in our efforts. If all goes well, when those bastards mate, we will attack. There will be a power shift throughout the nations, and we will be stronger and more able to take on whatever these master vessels throw at us.”
Hope mingled with fear of the unknown, a dreaded anticipation swirling around the room. Mine and J.D.’s palms were sweating now.
It was happening. Come what may, the battle for our world was just around the corner, and there would be no escaping it.