The Covenant (15 page)

emergency program.” Larik’s face pulled into a frown of concentration.

“Now I need to get to Kartel.”

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Having a reliable light source was reassuring, but Aspen was still

worried about Colonel Pearce. They needed a medic and she was far from

one except for the basic medical training every officer was required to take.

“Hurry,” she said in succinct entreaty.

“I’m trying…fuck, it won’t let me in…oh, wait, there we go. Minoa

obviously knows something is going on because the signal is jammed with

communications. Let me try this differently.”

The colonel’s face was pallid and beaded with sweat. “If we don’t get

him out of here, he’s going to die,” Aspen said with conviction, but she

wondered how they would manage. Up above waited a terrorist ambush and

the other end of the tunnel was probably blocked.

“I just need to fill Kartel in on a very valuable piece of information.”

A moment later he stepped back, the panel slid shut, and he came over

to help Trey lift the colonel’s inert form.

“Back up?” Aspen asked.

“With the power back on, we can at least see them. It evens the odds.”

“I’m all for that,” Trey said as they eased back into the hatch.

At that moment came another explosion, this one so violent it knocked

Aspen off her feet. Dazed for a moment, she struggled to her knees and then

registered an ominous roaring sound.

“Come on.” Trey’s strong hand hauled her up and into the hatch. He

didn’t let her go but held her against him and she could feel the strong rapid

pound of his heart. “Get us the hell out of here, Armada, the tunnel’s

flooding.”

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Chapter 9

“We’re getting all sorts of thermal activity on Rapt One,” Ian Helm said

with forbidding conviction. “Every major city in the colony has had

significant explosive events, especially the capital, and no answers have

come to any of our communications. I believe—”

The door opened and he stopped mid-sentence. A young soldier came

into the room and gave a swift perfunctory salute. “Excuse the interruption,

sir, but you said if there was any development, to keep you informed.”

“What is it, Captain?”

Ran certainly hoped for good news. From the minute the emergency

meeting of the Council convened, the tension in the room had been palpable.

Ian’s report hadn’t made the situation any better.

The captain said, “Their defense shields have gone back up and we’re

getting distress signals, sir. The power grids are reactivated and Governor

Kartel is getting a repeated message on the military frequency.”

“From what we’ve heard so far, that’s impossible,” Leeta Vitol said

crisply.

Ian glanced at him and Ran gave him back a grim smile. “My guess is

Armada. What’s the message?”

“I recorded it for you, sir.” The young man strode over and handed him

a small reading device.

The screen said:
Not having a lot of fun at the moment by the way, but

thought you should know Acadien+The Covenant=UC member. L

He frowned and looked up, trying to remember what he could about the

Acadien colony experiment. It was years ago and all he’d seen on it was

some archived information on the colossal failure of the project. The

Covenant was a little more familiar, but not much. It was listed as a possible

terrorist organization, but he hadn’t actually heard any word of activity.

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However, Larik did nothing without cause so if he said a connection existed

and a council member was involved, it was probably true.

The other nine members looked at him expectantly. He looked back,

scanning over each one and wondering which face was a mask for a traitor.

The Brigadier General, Tercel, asked into the ensuing silence, “Well? If

this concerns the Rapt One situation, you are obligated by your oath as a

member to tell us, Governor. There are no secrets in this room.”

“Apparently there are,” he said in slow, deliberate denial.

Larik, damn you, you’d better be right.

“Ian.” He held out the device and Helm walked over to take it. He read

the message and looked up in much the same way, his gaze skimming the

seated members. Then he turned to the waiting soldier. “Captain, please go

pull for me any data on the Acadien Experiment and the intelligence we

have on the extremist group, The Covenant.”

“Yes, sir.” The captain hurried away, leaving the room in a tense

silence.

He addressed the Council. “As Chief of Universal Security, my

authority extends to investigating any suspicions involving high level

officials, including this assembly. Considering the situation on Rapt One, I

think you may all need to accept that you are detained until a determination

can be made.”

“Detained?” One of the elders looked outraged, the word little more

than a sputter.

Tercel narrowed his eyes. “I think some clarification on why would be

in order. One does not rise to a Universal Council position easily, General

Helm. What does Acadien and The Covenant have to do with any of us?”

Ian said with cool certainty, “I don’t know, but I am going to find out.”

* * * *

It felt brutal to ruthlessly urge Colonel Pearce back to consciousness

long enough for his eyes to open so they could scan out, but it was better

than all of them dying—including him, so Trey stifled his remorse and

helped Larik hold the man upright. Thank the stars, the hatch door opened.

Now, of course, they were right back where they’d been before, only

this time he could see the illuminated interior of the station. Rows of

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93

monitors blinked with the restored power, but he doubted that would last

long. Water already lapped at his feet, coming up through the hatch shaft.

“This place is too low.” He gritted his teeth and looped Pearce’s arm

over his shoulder. “We need to get out of here.”

“The doors are open.” Aspen pointed with her weapon, her glossy hair

disheveled and loose now, the neat, regulation hairstyle long since gone. “I

think that last explosion scared off Ravenot’s snipers. Plus, with the power

back on, we can fight back a little better. Out in the open doesn’t seem to be

their way of doing things.”

He couldn’t help but agree. “No, it sure doesn’t.”

“Let’s go.” She stepped out before he could stop her, warily looking

around. True enough, no answering fire came, no movement at all.

Good. Getting shot was never Trey’s idea of a good time.

Between the two of them he and Larik got the colonel out of the

building. Once outside, they all coughed in the haze of post-attack smoke,

trying to figure out what direction to go. One of the planet’s moons hung

low in the sullen sky and it was dark, the street chaotic with panicked

citizens.

The chirp startled him and Trey saw Larik reach to his belt where he’d

fastened Pearce’s communicator. Armada said, “If it isn’t our old friend,

Ravins. I’m going to guess I’m not his favorite S-species male at this

moment.”

Trey couldn’t help it, he laughed. “I’ll bet that’s true. See what he

wants.”

“And let him pinpoint our location? Hell no. Power may be restored and

help on the way, but he’s probably still in control for now and I’m not

interested in what plans he might have for us.”

“Pearce needs medical care and we need transportation.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

They found both a few minutes later in the form of a military patrol that

started to pass by. One look at their uniforms and the unconscious colonel,

and they were all hustled on board. They shot past the draining lake, the

water level leagues lower, the iridescent blue glow startling with the reduced

depth. While Aspen filled in the commander in precise short phrases on the

possible situation, Trey and Larik did their best to keep Pearce from being

jostled, the speed of the journey necessary but not all that comfortable.

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“What do you think Ravenot is doing?” Trey asked as they skirted a

burning building, the destruction not complete by any means, but extensive.

“The explosions seemed to have stopped.”

“Waiting for orders.” Larik’s mouth curved in one of those signature

grins. “With luck, Kartel will make sure they aren’t coming. Without their

driving force, The Covenant is impotent. One powerful identity can

influence a lot of followers.”

“Orders from the source on Minoa?” Trey guessed.

“Yes.”

“Speculation or fact?”

“Oh, fact, I’d say. I have a good idea who it is, too, but the dossier of

background information is as whitewashed as Ravenot’s, if not more. Kartel

is going to have to figure it out on his own for now.”

Trey looked at Aspen, still conversing with the leader of the military

team, her expression serious and all business. Yet, despite the uniform and

disciplined conduct, she was also all female, slender and delicate, and he

couldn’t control his protective instincts. “What about us? For my part, I’d

love to get the hell off Rapt One and never come back.”

Larik followed the direction of his gaze. “I couldn’t agree more. With

Universal forces coming in, it’s going to get real interesting down here. I’d

rather be out of the line of fire.”

Trey sent him a challenging look. “Can you get us anywhere near a

transport craft?”

His companion grinned. “What do you think?”

He grinned back. “You find it, I’ll fly it. We’re gone.”

* * * *

She was sleepy and Aspen lay back in the seat, her eyes half-closed.

Outside the windows the stars flashed by, little glimmers of light that barely

registered.

“You need to go to bed.”

There was no argument from her, but she didn’t have the energy to

move. “Are we out of range?”

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95

Strong arms slipped under her lethargic body and lifted her. Trey

whispered in her ear, “On a set rendezvous for a military ship headed to

Minoa. Guess how we can entertain ourselves most of the way.”

How could her body stir when she was so tired? Maybe it was the sultry

tone of his voice, maybe it was that Larik followed them into the sleeping

quarters. The bunks were narrow and meant only for one person at a time, so

she found herself on a blanket on the floor, supine as together they

efficiently stripped her uniform off.

They both undressed with unhurried precision, and she could feel the

answering rush of dampness in her pussy as she saw they were both erect,

both ready and hard. Larik spread her legs first, lowering his head, his

mouth grazing her labia, causing tingles of sensation. Trey lightly massaged

her breasts, his skillful fingers working magic before he began to tease her

nipples with his tongue.

Heaven. The pregnancy did interesting things to her libido and she

shifted, opening her legs wider, the first climax building easily before it

exploded in a shimmering cascade of pleasure. Larik kept her there, gently

stimulating her clit until she came again, this time with a small scream.

“On your knees.” Trey urged her up, lifted and positioned her. “Suck his

cock, Aspen. I want to watch while I’m inside you.”

Up until this point she’d resisted doing anything that made her feel the

least subservient. Maybe the events of their tumultuous escape from Rapt

One made her less resistant, maybe it was the imprisonment and their

harrowing experiences in the tunnel, but she obeyed. She moved to her

hands and knees, with Trey behind her and Larik on his back in front of her,

his legs spread so she was between them, the stiff length of his cock jutting

upward. As she leaned forward to lick the glistening crest, she felt Trey’s

hands at her hips as he entered her from behind.

All of him. That long length delicious stretching her throbbing saturated

tissue, nudging her fertile womb. She took Larik’s stiff penis in her mouth,

sucking with light pressure, and saw his lashes drift down as he made a

sound like a growl low in his throat.

“By the stars, yes,” he said on a gasp, his thick blond hair tousled and

those sapphire eyes half-closed.

Trey began to move in slow, heated thrusts and she couldn’t stifle a

small moan. With one hand she braced herself, with the other she stroked

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Larik’s rigid length and fondled his testicles as she caressed him with her

mouth.

They moved as one. She swayed forward as Trey thrust into her body, at

the same time taking Larik’s cock to the back of her throat. Then they

moved in tandem backwards, a delicate erotic balance of entry and

withdrawal, of taking and giving.

Larik came first, pulling free from her mouth and ejaculating so that

sperm coated his broad chest, the small pulses sending a spray of gleaming

liquid over the defined muscles. Trey followed almost immediately, pushing

deep and going still, his fingers finding her clit and exerting just the right

amount of the pressure so she shuddered in reaction and the inner clench of