Colliding Worlds Trilogy 01 - Collision (32 page)

He held out an arm. Sienna took it, and he walked her into his old quarters, which she’d converted into briefing rooms. She sat on the newly added leather couch, and he took an overstuffed chair across from her.

“I wanted to stop by before I leave for Great Britain tonight,” he said before popping a slice of orange in his mouth.

Her brow furrowed. “You’re leaving already? I thought it would take longer for them to prepare for your arrival.”

“I did, too. Evidently the Brits are quite excited to get their hands on our technology.”

Sienna nodded in silent agreement.
I bet they are
.

He smiled. “They are also quite accommodating. They’ve established an old wartime bunker for us. Sunlight-free.”

“That’s the British for you. I’m guessing you’ll acquire an addiction to fine teas and crumpets in no time.” Sienna sighed. “With my luck, the Americans will try to relocate my group to an army base where we can be monitored twenty-four/seven.”

“Make no mistake. We are already being monitored. Every second of every minute of every day. So tell me, how does Jax fare?”

Sienna raised her eyebrows. “He’s going to be fine. Doc says his burn is healing nicely.”

“I’m not talking about his injury.”

She leaned back into the couch. “Risa’s betrayal knocked him down for a bit.”
It knocked us all down.
“But he’s getting right back on. I’ve assigned him to our Draeken prisoner to keep him busy. He’s been quite
diligent
in his duties.”

Apolo smiled. “It was wise to assign him to the prisoner. I think it was exactly what the soldier needed.”

Sienna shrugged. “I figured only drunkenness or duty would work with him, and duty seemed like a healthier plan.”

“That sounds like an excellent plan. And it’s good to have Jax and Legian operating at full capacity. However, your trinity is still broken. I have filled mine, but have you thought of a replacement for Nalea?”

Sienna inhaled deeply. She knew this question was coming. It had been on her mind too much lately. And she still had no answer. “Roden has her and he’s keeping her alive for a reason. I’m not going to replace her. Not as long as there’s hope.”

“I understand. But it may be wise to have a replacement identified. Just in case. Having a complete trinity is a critical strength of a leader. Being without one is a weakness in the eyes of the Sephians.”

“And replacing Nalea is also a sign of weakness. It shows that I’m giving up on her. To me, that is unacceptable.”

They sat in silence for several moments; Apolo finishing off the orange, Sienna staring at the wall.

“We will make it our priority to find Nalea, and I will work with the Brits on this as well. She is crucial to reclaim from the Draeken.”

“How so?”

He came over and sat down next to Sienna, then put a hand on her knee and squeezed. “That is something she needs to tell you herself. What I know, I know in confidence. All I can say is the longer the Draeken have her, the greater the risk.”

Sienna eyed him strangely, but he said nothing more. Finally, she spoke. “Well, Jax has reached out to his dad, and he’s offered to help out on the search as well. The general has promised to put forth whatever super-secret spy gadgets he’s got to track her down. I hope his dad means it.”

“Time will tell. The Americans have shown strong initial support.”

“By support, you mean the Rangers he’s assigned to the base? They’re here to keep an eye on us, not to keep the Draeken out.” Her head rested on the back of the couch, and she stared up at the ceiling. “We have a long road ahead of us, don’t we?”

Apolo smiled weakly.

She smacked the cushions with her hands. “But we’ll pull through. Even if our alliance isn’t written in stone yet, we’re all on the same page when it comes to the Draeken. We’ll have to build from that.”

“It’s something at least. Well, I’m short on time. I should be going.” He stood and looked around. “I’ll give you my location and will set up communications once I set up there. Even though our British hosts have offered a full telecommunications setup, I also desire something a little less
privy
to eager ears.”

She stood, held out a hand, and they shook Sephian-style. “Good luck. And Apolo, I’m glad I get to work alongside you. It’s an honor. I mean it.”

“Likewise.” With that, he gave her a formal Sephian handshake. Then he turned and headed out the door without another word.

• • •

The rest of the morning Sienna ran into several Rangers and Sephians on patrol, both keeping segregated from one other. She hoped that with time, they would come together. They already had two things in common. First, they both saw the Draeken as a common threat. And second, neither showed the respect to her like they did Apolo. They were going to make her earn it.

Waiting for her mother, Sienna spent hours walking the perimeter, stopping at every checkpoint to chat with the Sephians who now relied on her for direction. Whether they wanted to or not. Regardless, they were her people now.

Just as the ship touched down with her mother inside, Sienna leaned against the wall for support. The weight of the world was too much. Apolo was gone, leaving her the sole commander of the Sephian force this side of the ocean. Suddenly she felt utterly, absolutely alone.

“Are we good here?” Sienna asked.

“All scans came through clean. Your visitor is cleared for access,” the Ranger replied as he reached to remove her visitor’s blindfold.

Her mother looked just like the day Sienna had seen her last, except her brown hair with striking waves of gray was shorter. Kat had always been attractive, and age hadn’t changed that at all.
Maybe her and Jax’s father …

Kat rubbed her eyes and looked around, throwing out her arms when she found her daughter. “Sienna!”

Sienna smiled and hobbled to her mother, only to be pulled into a full embrace. “It’s so good to see you, Kat.”

“I’ve missed you so much, sweetie.” Her mother pulled back to take in her surroundings. “This is unbelievable, Sienna. And you’re in the middle of all this,” she said motioning around the hangar.

“C’mon,” Sienna motioned to her mother. “I’ll show you the gardens.”

Kat frowned, bringing out the fine lines at her eyes. “Can I have a tour? I was hoping — ”

“Only the gardens are approved for guests. I’ll see if I can get you more clearance next time.”

Kat nodded but still sounded disappointed. “Alright then. To the gardens.”

“They’re really something. You’ll see.”

As they went down a level toward the gardens, they walked past guards — both human and Sephian. But it was the Sephians that towered above them. Unlike humans, Sephian females stood as tall as their male counterparts. That genetic trait did nothing to help average-height Sienna earn respect at the base. Her size and her inability to pull energy to heal only made the Sephians believe humans were all the more fragile. Which meant she had to work twice as hard to get them to look up to her.

But, as the human, Sienna was the face of the Sephian force. The Rangers came to her or Jax rather than going to any Sephian, and she doubted it had much to do with her authority. Racism was still running rampant across the base — on both sides — which she hoped would fade over time.

“… I thought.”

Sienna glanced over at Kat. “Sorry. What’d you say?”

“Still the daydreamer, I see.” She smiled. “I was saying that this place is more normal than I expected. I don’t know what I thought I’d see, but this — ” Kat motioned around her “isn’t much different than any military base.”

Sienna shrugged. “Guess other than a few million or so miles separating our people, we’re not that different from each other.” Although there would always be some biological differences. They had just brightened the lights when the Rangers came. Now the Sephians needed to wear sunglasses all the time, but it was a small price considering the alternative.

With a
swoosh
, the door to the gardens opened, and Kat sucked in a breath. “Oh my. Incredible.”

“These gardens provide all the food for the Sephians on this base.” While the gardens that spanned over an acre were an incredible sight, Sienna had been here long enough to notice that the plants were quickly growing more and more sparse. The knot in Sienna’s stomach continued to grow.

The trip had taken a month longer than planned. With five hundred plus Sephians on board, that meant more supplies were used onboard than estimated. And the gardens weren’t intended to provide sustenance while on-world. While the Sephians were slowly accustoming their biology to Earth foods, they would be hard pressed to support themselves without the gardens. And, the gardens couldn’t last much longer. The Sephians needed to adapt and fast. And, having the proverbial Draeken wolf at the door didn’t make things any easier.

They took a seat on a bench under a low hanging fruit tree. The air was heavier here. Sephia had slightly higher concentrations of oxygen, and while the Sephians handled Earth’s air just fine, their plants were more sensitive.

Kat sighed. “Oh, Sienna. I wish you weren’t entangled in this mess.”

Sienna had to force herself not snap at her mother. She took a deep breath before she spoke. “I thought coming face to face with life beyond Earth was your greatest dream.”

“It was, but that was before you were pulled into this. But don’t you worry, dear. I’m going to make everything better.”

“What are you talking about?” Sienna asked with a frown.

Her mother came to her feet and pulled something out of her purse.

“Kat?”

She made no response as she lay what looked like black plastic wrap over a control panel. Instantly it melted around the panel and started to grow.

Sienna’s heart dropped as she stared at her mother and back again at the growing black liquid.

She held out her hand. “Come. It’s finished. We must hurry.”

Sienna yanked out of Kat’s grip. “What have you done?” She scrambled in her pocket, finding the com she always carried, and hit the panic button, which would now be sending a constant signal to both the com-room as well as Legian.

“I did what needed to be done, dear. The Sephians are here to commit genocide.” Kat unbuttoned her sleeve and pulled up her shirt, revealing a tattoo of the Draeken imperial family’s symbol.

She brought a hand up to cover her mouth. “Oh, Kat, you didn’t.”

Her mother smiled as she glanced down at the tattoo. Then her smile fell, and she snapped at her daughter. “We must hurry. We don’t have long. We must get out of here before it’s too late.”

“
Mom,
” Sienna snapped. “These are my people. I’m never leaving them.”

Kat’s lips thinned. “I’m sorry it has to be this way, but the Draeken Age is here, and I can’t miss it. Good bye, Sienna.” She turned to run, but Sienna tackled her.

“Sienna, no! You’ll kill us both!” she cried out from under her daughter.

“Then deactivate that thing.”

She looked confused. “I can’t.”

Footsteps pounded the floor, sending vibrations through her. She looked up to find the Rangers first on the scene.

She pointed to growing black liquid-like substance and yelled out, “She’s attempting to sabotage the base!”

They looked at the substance and back to Sienna as if waiting for instruction. The door to her other side opened, and she watched Legian, shirtless and barefoot, lead in several Sephian troops.
Oh, thank God.

Everything felt slow-motion as he took in Sienna, Kat, and then finally the black substance. The look on his face was pure dread.

Legian’s eyebrows shot up as he faced Sienna. “Find cover! The bomb is small enough that we may be able to burn it in time.” He visibly swallowed. “If it burns,” he said quieter, clearly just to Sienna. “The blast will still be powerful enough to destroy this room.”

And everyone in it.
The terror amongst every Sephian there was answer enough. As he lifted his gun, she wished she had her weapon. But protocol prevented her from carrying a weapon when with a visitor. “Get down!” she shouted to the human troops. But none listened. Instead they pulled out their weapons as well, following Legian’s suit.

She pushed her mother against the floor hard, and fortunately the woman didn’t push back. Armageddon broke out when the Sephians opened fire above Sienna.

The air grew hot as all weapons continued to fire for what seemed to be well over a minute. Sienna closed her eyes and pressed her head into her mother’s back, who was crying out against the Sephians.
She’d been too late. The bomb had grown too much —

An explosion sent Sienna flying off Kat and through the air, crashing into a bench, knocking her breath from her lungs. Fire burned her skin, and she sucked in a breath.

Eyes, nose …

Throat …

No, her lungs were on fire.

She couldn’t breathe.

Blackness.

• • •

Sienna came awake with a moan scratching her raw throat. Opening her burned eyes, tears began to pour against the cold air. All she saw was the large Sephian holding her, golden tears streaming down his darkened face.

She wanted to tell him how good it was to see him, how she knew he’d survive. But she settled for, “Hey.”

Much of her body hurt. Like she’d been out in the sun all day and was now the center attraction in dodge ball tournament. She frowned, or at least tried to. Strangely, some parts of her were completely numb. She glanced down at her blistered hands. They weren’t numb, but her shoulder — and much of her face — felt
weird.
“Help me up.”

“I need to get you to Med.” She hadn’t heard that level of concern in Legian’s voice since the base attack.

“I’ll be okay,” she replied, trying to pull herself up but finding no strength to do so.

Reluctantly, Legian pulled Sienna up, holding her carefully. She glanced around. Most of the human troops covered the floor, motionless, many clearly never getting up again. Several of the Sephians were down as well, but the med-tecs were already helping them. From the look of Legian’s skin, he’d gone through several donors while she was out. Then she spotted her mother, sitting in the middle of the mess, her hair gone and blisters covering her face.