Chaos Theory (25 page)

Caesar had just been curious to meet her when he introduced
himself.

She’d been an ass about the whole thing. “I really have to
apologize about that.”

Blue waited.

He wasn’t sure what she would be saying sorry for, but he
wasn’t going to stop her if she gave him some insight as to what
was going on in her mind.

“
I wasn’t fair on him when I reacted to his … entrance. I
shouldn’t have been like that in front of him.” She took in a deep
breath. “I could have handled it better. I was surprised, and so
out of it after everything that has happened.” She placed the jar
down on the counter. “I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t hurt his feelings
too deeply. I’ve already spoken to him about it, and he was what I
suspect was his usual discerning self, but I wanted to talk to you
too.”

“
Nothing to apologize for.” Blue shrugged. “He wasn’t hurt. We
were confused because of our limited contact with females,
especially one I was considering as a … ah.…”

Blue was unable to locate the knowledge of what the verbal
etiquette was when it came to retracting an offer for courtship.
Officially, he just had to withdraw his offer, but it was harder to
do than just speaking the words, especially when he was still so
hung up on how he’d felt about her before.

Kali gazed up at him. She motioned to him then her. “This
feels weird now to you too, huh?”

He blew out a breath; relieved she said it first. “Don’t
change my mind easily, but yes, this no longer feels
right.”

She picked up the spoon, plunged it into the jar until the
glossy spread coated the surface. The action was born from
distraction rather than deliberate thought. “Maybe it’s because of
what they did to me. The changes. If … when I stabilize, it might
feel different again.” She peeked at him. “It’s not like either of
us are going anywhere. We’ll see how things go, right?”

“
Yes.” Blue touched her shoulder. It felt awkward. “Heard about
what happened with Howl.”

Her eyes welled. She shrugged to make light of the incident
that had made her cry for an hour straight. When Howl had woken
he’d reacted badly to her presence. She tried to stroke him and
he’d bitten her arm. “It’s not his fault. I’m the one who changed
not him. He needs time to get used to me.”

“
If he bites you again we’ll have to lock him up. If you can’t
control him he becomes a danger to us all.”

“
I know. If he gets worse I’ll tell you, I promise. Are you
confident about tomorrow?”

“
As much as I can be with the time I have to prepare. It’s no
secret I would prefer to wait, but Igor was right when he pointed
out we have a greater chance of success with the element of
surprise. We have a matter of days – maybe hours before the Novae
realise their Omicron is missing. When their attention turns to me,
I want us fortified here to see what their next move will
be.”

“
I appreciate you doing this.” She worried her lip. “I know
certain others are giving you hell because of it. I just … it’s
hard to explain, but deep inside there is this unrelenting tug that
I must save someone. I can’t go on feeling like my parents need me.
If they were in my position, they would never stop looking. My
fathers would use every resource at their disposal and stand toe to
toe with death for me. I will do the same for them. So thank you,
from the bottom of my heart.”

Blue stared at her. He wanted it to be like it felt before, so
he could kiss her. “We’re not together as I dreamed, but your
friendship is an honour, Kali. I will protect you.” She flushed and
offered him a lick of the spoon. He tried some and wrinkled his
nose. “That son of mine is confounding.”

Kali laughed and left, taking the early morning snack with
her.

Blue watched her walk away and felt bone deep sadness. They
seemed to be in accord that something had changed, but his heart
held onto that unique connection they’d had before the invasion. He
ached for that Kali, and feared he would until the end of his
days.

His eyes closed. He saw her reaching to him, face contorted in
pain, eyes wet with tears.

Shivering, he pushed the image away and focused on the
mission.

PART
FOUR: REPLICA

A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks
should be.

Albert Einstein

21.

Despite the rush, Blue had planned the rescue meticulously,
yet he found himself unprepared. He’d split the group into three,
in the hope that if one group was captured the others might
escape.

Kenshin waited outside the encampment gates with the FetchMes.
Kali was with Igor and Zeke. They were already inside the building
carrying out the rescue.

Blue had considered going with her, but it was best he kept
her away, to keep his mind clear. He had reviewed many possible
scenarios and had determined he’d be more useful guarding them.
He’d been right, of course. The downside to not having her in his
line of sight was the worry the Hybrid he’d charged with her care
could not keep her safe. Blue knew it was illogical to assume Igor
would not follow his orders when the male had displayed nothing but
obedience and competence.

This gave him comfort. Needed, as he stared at a considerably
large complication.

Lara, Max and Christabella were with him, and because of the
recent arrival had been thrust into substantial danger. Blue had
protested Christabella’s presence, but she insisted staying with
Max.

Shifting on the spot, a roof tile digging into his stomach,
Blue’s mind wandered.

He had hugged his son hard before he had left, startling them
both. Caesar had not commented on his strange behaviour, but the
resolute touch to his mind as he walked away fortified
Blue.

His son demanded he return.

Though small, Caesar had always been able to take care of
himself. It was both a curse and a blessing, he supposed. He knew
worrying about them was pointless, but recently, he couldn’t reason
himself out of the fear something would happen to the flesh of his
flesh when he was not there to protect him.

“
Is that really one of them?” Max breathed, breaking into
Blue’s fractured thinking.

It was a good thing. It pulled his mind back into focus.
“Yes,” Blue answered.

“
It’s bigger than I imagined.”

“
Let me guess, you thought they were little green men, right?”
Lara snorted. “Foolish Human.”

Max scowled. “I certainly didn’t think aliens would look like
that. I mean, what the hell?”

Blue refrained from revealing what he knew of the Novan moving
a hundred feet from them. He was conscious Christabella trembled
like a leaf, her fear pulsing in sticky waves. She was brave to
have come, he respected her for that, but he wondered if she was
strong enough. With a frown, he wove another barrier over her mind
to keep her thoughts and emotions as contained as
possible.

The alien was highly sensitive, and would have no doubt sensed
her mind, but would think it was merely one of the
slaves.

Standing nine foot high, the Novan glowed with unearthly
light. That light could brighten, haloing the being in a radiant
brilliance when it was submerged within the Reckoning. Moist,
elongated limbs were gently corded with muscular tissue.
Translucent skin revealed beryl and citrine coloured veins running
throughout its body. The stringy masses of its circulatory and
lymphatic system were scarlet, showing it had fed recently to
breathe in Earth’s oxygenated atmosphere. Multihued clouds of
firing synapses were visible at the back of its bulbous cranium.
Gigantic obsidian eyes glinting with galactic speckles dominated
the top half of its head, swallowing the space the human form
afforded for a forehead. Tapered black slits, nostrils, fluxed at
immense speed. The Novan’s chest vibrated it burned through its
respirations so rapidly. Appearing to the naked eye as a sheath of
textured skin, its mouth was sealed shut, but when they fed the
hidden seam would split to reveal the mucus soaked cavern rimmed
with luminous fangs. They did not have a tongue or a voice box;
such crude communication had been bred out eons past. Communication
was wholly mind-to-mind.

Host stood guard beside the Novan, the parasitic Symbionts
attached to the back of the Human’s necks at the base of their
skulls, suggesting careful placement opposed to hasty attachment in
battle.

A Hybrid stood in front of the Novan, nodding her head ever so
often.

Blue knew her. Valerie. She was spawned from Sigma stock, of
lower rank and ability.

His substitute.

Did they already suspect he had defected? Was that the reason
the Novan had touched down planet side?

“
How many aliens do you think there are?” Max
whispered.

Blue refrained from rolling his eyes at the male. Whispering
was not necessary. Did he think they would get this close to a
being with extrasensory perception without Blue first weaving
incredibly powerful barriers to block out any sound waves and
psi-gamma flares from their mental signatures?

“
We’re not sure. The Creator doesn’t think like you Humans do,”
Lara answered. “One is the same as a thousand to them. Their mind
is unified in a way you couldn’t possibly imagine.”

“
I’ll rephrase. How many do you think are in that encampment?
Are the others in danger?”

“
One,” Blue stated. “Logically, one has enough power to do the
work necessary. Why would there be more? Igor would have called for
help if there was trouble.”

“
Is it a girl or a guy?” Max asked. “I don’t like the idea of
hurting a female much, but it looks male. Can we take
him?”

“
The alien’s gender is irrelevant to us and them,” Blue
said.

“
What? Why are they so interested in our women
then?”

Lara sighed heavily. “Human females grow life, not males,
which is why the Symbionts only attach to male Hosts. It reduces
the chances of lost stock.”

“
I’ve noticed you tow the line between us, them, and you pretty
thickly.”

She jerked a shoulder. “Just telling it like it
is.”

“
I really don’t like you.”

“
The feeling is mutual, trust me.”

“
Trust? You?” Max snorted. “In what galaxy would that ever
happen?”

“
Enough,” Blue ordered, pausing to glare over his shoulder at
them. The tension between them continued to grow at an alarming
rate. He wished it was sexual because they would clash eventually,
and Blue wasn’t unsure of who would lose in that skirmish. He had
no desire to tell Kali she had to bury her friend. “Be ready in
case we are needed. Lara, you can handle this? If he senses us, we
must erect a barrier over the area to keep him from calling the
Hive.”

“
Just say the word, and I’ll give you everything I’ve
got.”

Max patted Christabella’s shoulder when she whimpered. “Why
don’t we just shoot him?” he asked.

“
That will definitely bring the entire Hive down on our head.”
Lara lost all colour at the thought. “That’s a psychic maelstrom we
must avoid at all cost.”

22.

“
I’m escaping.” Valiant said this as casually as possible, but
the man he’d muttered to still had to choke an exclamation and
thump his chest.

“
What?” Creighton whispered to the brawny male who’d suddenly
addressed him as if they were already having a conversation or were
old friends. Military, he guessed, from the fierce-looking
MainLander’s buzz cut. “What did you say to me?”

“
You heard me standard.”

Valiant leaned through the bars holding him prisoner and
looked down his nose to the man beside him. He was getting on, but
by no means out of the game. Wearing the loose trousers the Hybrids
had given the male prisoners, his chest was compact, but his
shoulders broad. There was some grey at his temples, wrinkles
around the eyes and mouth, but Valiant would place him at no more
then his late forties. HiCaste considering the vitality of his
skin. LoCaste tended to look a little gray from all that fake
air.

“
Why you telling me this?” Creighton asked.

His guess Valiant was military was confirmed when he turned
and exposed the black ink dog tags tattooed on his pectoral. “There
are other men here more suited to a breakout attempt,” Creighton
pointed out.

Valiant knew the men he was talking about. They were LoEco
citizens who were bruisers. They’d be great as a distraction
technique, but good for nothing else. He had no problem being
callous about the distinction.

In times of war, shit got deep.

“
That’s not what I need. I’ve been watching you. You’re
observant, quick-witted, calculating. That is what will keep you
alive. Together, we could get out of here. I would try by myself,
but I need someone to watch my back.”

He was tempted, but Creighton shook his head. “I’m …
waiting.”

“
The man that used to be inside the Host you keep getting
teary-eyed over is gone. You understand that?”