Colliding Worlds Trilogy 01 - Collision (12 page)

It’s not like she was a superstitious person. Now Legian. He was another story. The Sephians were still in the Middle Ages with all their different kinds of superstitions. And, according to Legian, the only thing worse than
tahren
not wishing one another well before a journey was death itself.

This was going to screw with his head big time. She hoped it didn’t get in the way of the mission. Especially this mission. This one was too big for him to be distracted.

She couldn’t bear the thought of him getting hurt because of her. She’d never even told him how she felt. At that moment, she made a pledge. When he got back to the base, things would be different. She would quit holding back. He deserved that. He deserved her best.

Please, God. Please keep him safe.

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Sephians. Draeken. Aliens. In no way could either pass as human. Yet both were now inexplicably connected to Sienna’s people. And here she sat, left behind in a makeshift underground base/alien ship as the two fought for her kind. One for domination, the other for freedom.

She felt so
useless
.

In a daze, she stared down at the bottle of port in her hand, and rage took over. With a shout, she threw the bottle against the wall and watched blankly as blood red liquid and shards of glass rained down.

“So I guess we aren’t having wine?”

Sienna jerked to face her best friend, who was blocking her eyes from the brighter light in the room. She looked back at the wall now covered in abstract wine art. It hit her at that moment that it had been her last bottle.

She shrugged in response before breaking out in laughter. Loud, wild laughter. The sound an insane person made before cutting off an ear. At that moment, that was exactly how she felt. Nalea joined in, and they collapsed to the floor in a heap of giggles and snorts. After the hysteria seeped away like the wine, they leaned back against the couch and breathed deeply.

Before Nalea showed up tonight, Sienna had wanted to wallow in her own misery, had wanted to dwell on self-pity. But what she’d really needed was a friend.

“Don’t worry.” Nalea wiped a tear from her eye. “I have a stash in my room. Let’s grab one there and head down to the gardens.” Nalea wrapped her arms around Sienna, who bent into the hug and held on. No drug could beat the power of touch in making one feel better fast. And now that Nalea made the leap and crossed that threshold, she could see many hug fests in their friendship.

“That’s the best idea I’ve heard all day. Let’s get out of here.” Sienna backed out of her friend’s arms and pulled herself to her feet, leaning on the couch for support. Her anger was already melting away. She never could understand how Legian could handle her mood swings, but damn, the guy deserved sainthood.

Without another word, she grabbed the drades, and they left the room, not bothering with the mess. It would be there when she got back. She swiped her hand over the lock pad, and the door made a whirring sound when the locks clicked on. It was so handy never having to carry keys anymore. Everything on the base, including the ships, was DNA-coded. It had taken a couple weeks after she first came to the base for the com-tecs to work the kinks out of programming the lock pads for human DNA. She had been locked inside — and outside — her room several times.
Awkward
.

“Want to talk about it?”

“Not really.”

Nalea said nothing.

Sienna found the silence too nerve-wracking to not continue. “I’m still burned about not going on the mission. Especially when the new guy got to go. Makes me feel about as big as a gnat’s dick.”

Nalea raised an eyebrow at Sienna’s lame metaphor and then shook her head. “You just got back. And you did great. Apolo will slate you for one. I have no doubt.”

“He better.”

“As for Jax, don’t take this personal, but it was you who brought him here. You were the one to say how important it is to align with the military. You said it yourself that he was our perfect conduit to start relations with the U.S. military. Apolo listened. Be careful what you wish for, Sienna.”

“Just because — ”

Alarms screeched and lights blinked in muted neon colors down the hallway.

“What’s going on?” Sienna asked, glancing around.

The intercom answered her first.
The wards have been breached
repeated over and over. Thank God the Sephians switched everything to English in a step toward integration. She spent hours every day studying the complex Sephian language, and she still couldn’t interpret a full sentence.

They raced toward the com-room and were the first to join the com-tec on duty.

“Status,” Nalea commanded.

The com-tec started speaking in Sephian until he saw Sienna. Then he switched to heavily accented English. “Security has been disconnected at checkpoints
Ohni
,
Ufen,
and
Teni.
No reports from any checkpoints yet. Com-screens are also down everywhere. The entire base is off-grid.”

“System failure?” Nalea asked.

“No. We verified. All systems are online,” the com-tec replied, stress crackling his voice.

“How could security just disappear at so many places at once?” Sienna asked.

“Invasion?” The words were no more than a whisper as they passed from Nalea’s lips.

Sienna froze. Most troops were on the mission. The base was protected by no more than a skeleton force right now. They didn’t stand a chance against any kind of large attack. “Have you notified Apolo?” she asked.

He gave her a deer-in-the-headlights look. She’d seen that kind of look before. It was common in battles. When things got tough, some folks went into zombie mode to keep from losing it. Except without any other com-tecs on duty, they couldn’t afford a zombie. They needed eyes and ears. They needed a com-tec.

Sienna put her hand on the com-tec’s shoulders. “Tanel? That’s your name, right?”

He nodded.

She looked him straight in the eye. “Tanel, have you contacted Apolo?”

Suddenly, the com-tec wiped his brow with his forearm. “I tried. But, all coms are blocked. I don’t know what else to do.”

“Keep trying. You’re doing good. Let Lea or me know as soon as you get stats on what we’re up against.” She turned to Nalea. “We got to find out if it’s Draeken or human. Or Sephian. And how many. You with me?”

Nalea nodded. “First we need weapons.”

“What is the protocol for emergencies?” Sienna asked the com-tec, thinking back to what got her through all sticky situations in her life. She even had the acronym tattooed on her wrist. WWCKD. What would Captain Kirk do?

“Um. Um.” Tanel stammered several times before reciting the regs. “All non-troops should lock themselves in their rooms. They should know that already. Then. Gods. I don’t know. Apolo always handles everything.”

The com-tec looked like he was going to freak out. She grabbed his shoulders and looked him in the eye. “Okay, Tanel. It’s going to be all right. You feel me?”

Nalea looked at her, and she nodded. Sienna backed away, and her friend leaned down to speak to the com-tec. “We can’t risk a panic. Use the universal base-com to remind everyone of protocol. Sienna and I will cover things until you can get Apolo and the others back here. Do you have some kind of portable com that can’t be cut like the other coms?”

Tanel scrambled through a drawer and grabbed a couple small devices. “These are Apolo’s coms. They are kept decoupled from the network.”

“Good. If you need to reach us, use these.” Sienna and Nalea helped each another get them fastened to their clothing.

“Lock the door,” Sienna commanded. “Let no one in but us. Got it?”

He nodded.

“You’ll be safe here,” Sienna called over her shoulder before stepping into the hall. The nervous com-tec was out of his chair and at the lock pad before Nalea was through the door.

Nalea pointed to a map on the wall. “The armory is near checkpoint
Ufen.
”

They jogged down the empty hallway. They had yet to see another soldier. Shit had seriously hit the fan.

“
Ufen
,
Ufen
. That’s D. Can’t risk it. That one’s off the grid.” Sienna spoke her thoughts aloud. She came to a screeching halt and grabbed Nalea’s arm, stopping her instantly. “The training room. It has plenty of weapons there, and it’s closer.”

Nalea nodded. “Good idea.”

And with that, they cut down the hallway to their left and made it to the training room seconds later. They cautiously stepped into the large room and spread out. The facility was empty, and they ran to the weapons cabinet. Fortunately, all the lock pads still worked, and she followed Nalea’s lead in grabbing weapons and gearing up. Many weapons Sienna hadn’t trained with yet. Nalea had years of experience and operated like she did this sort of thing every day. While Sienna, on the other hand, had mutant killer butterflies in her stomach.

At that moment, the com-tec’s shaky voice came over the intercom, telling everyone to lock themselves in their rooms immediately.

“Ready?” Nalea asked.

Sienna nodded as she shoved a handful of hand restraints into the one cargo pocket that wasn’t chock full of weapons. At that moment she fell in even more in love with cargo pants. She felt like she could take on North Korea all on her own. A one-woman
Terminator
. Only more petite and more kick-ass.

She did one final check before looking up. “Ready.”

Nalea poked her head into the hallway. “Clear.”

Sienna stepped forward, and her back pocket zapped her with a tiny electrical bolt. “Crap.” She recovered from the near heart attack and fumbled for the com that could double as a portable bug killer. Nalea had hers out and to her ear already.

“Go,” Sienna commanded into the flimsy bookmark-shaped device.

“It’s the Draeken,” the com-tec said in a rush. “They’re everywhere. It’s impossible. How’d they — ”

“Calm down, Tanel,” Sienna spoke into her com. “How many are there?”

“Don’t know. Dozens. Multiples of ten at least. More.”

Shit
.
Dozens
. Not good. Not good at all. “Where are they now?”

“Looks like they are all moving toward the Commons from the three checkpoints.”

Nalea frowned. “But there’s nothing at the Commons. Why are they moving away from the armory?”

“They have to go through there to get to the com room and the officer quarters. Or, ah, shit. Of course.”

“What?” Nalea asked.

“They plan to set up shop in the Commons to divide and conquer the base.” With the exception of a few smaller hallways that connected the larger hallways like spider webs, the base was set up in a hub-and-spoke pattern, with everything coming together at the Commons. The Draeken would effectively cut off all areas of the base from each other and sit and wait for Apolo to return. They could decimate the Sephian force in one blow with minimal casualties on their side.

“Good work. Keep us posted,” Sienna spoke into the com before sliding it back into her pocket.

“We can’t let them take the Commons. If the com-tec can’t get a hold of Apolo to warn him …” Nalea didn’t finish. Sienna couldn’t blame her. They both knew the outcome already, and it didn’t need to be put into words.

This was one seriously screwed up situation. And to happen at the same time nearly all troops were off base, the mess was way too screwed up to be coincidental. Decision time. “Okay. Here’s what we’re going to do. Split up. You head to the checkpoints that didn’t show breaches to pull together what’s left of our base forces. I’ll try to beat the Draeken to the Commons and set up a defensive position for us. We can’t let them take the Commons.”

“You can’t possibly think to hold off the Draeken on your own.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. But I can at least buy you time to bring in the cavalry.”

Nalea watched her for a moment and then nodded. “Kill on sight.”

“Damn straight.” They pulled each other into a quick hug. As they split to go down separate hallways, Sienna paused and turned to face her friend. “Hey, Lea?”

“Yeah?”

“You better not drink that wine without me.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” She gave Sienna a smile that was all too quickly erased by battle hardened features before disappearing around the bend of the hall.

Sienna was alone. Completely, utterly alone. Against an alien force she didn’t stand a chance against. She’d only seen one Draeken before — the scout that Legian had hunted to ground, and without Legian’s help, he would’ve killed Sienna. She reached for the com. “Update,” she commanded.

“Looks like each group is a full squad. Ten in each. There are at least four groups, maybe more. The
Ohni
group will be to the Commons soon, within a few minutes at most. Some med-tecs blocked the hallway. It slowed them down a bit. The other two groups are farther back. Looks like some of our folks are fighting back.”

Without another word, Sienna sprinted toward the Commons. Things were a lot easier with an eye on the base for her. Saved her from wasting time in being cautious.

There was no sound as Sienna approached the large, open area of the Commons. Not even the usual noise of pots and pans clanging in the kitchen. The med-tecs must’ve set up one hell of a roadblock. Good for them.

Looking around the room filled with enough tables and chairs to seat half the base, she turned back to the kitchen. It was the only place where she wouldn’t be a sitting duck. With a hop, Sienna hoisted herself over the waist-high counter and gauged her surroundings. The ceilings were ten feet high. It would limit the intruders’ ability to fly. And she could use all the help she could get.

One human against thirty or more winged aliens. She’d have better odds of winning the lottery. She shook her head. She needed to buy Nalea time. They could do this. She set out two laser guns on the counter in front of her. Time for the fight for her life.

A noise came from hallway
Ufen
. The temperature in the Commons skyrocketed. She was sure it was from her adrenaline, especially when she felt a chill slide down her back. More sounds followed, sounds of boots thudding, weapons clanging, clothes rustling. It grated against her nerves. Showtime.