25. CHAPTER 25

Oh, my God! That big blue ball in the sky looked no different from Earth. Well, the only difference was the landmass, but it was still beautiful. I braced myself as we entered the atmosphere, and after extensive traveling through what looked like the marshes, we came across a large body of water, an ocean. Sure enough, there it was, the colony tucked away within a mountain crater shaped like a half-moon. Rows of white domes lined several miles like an American suburb. Larger domes lined the outskirts, along with a large water tower.

"Wow," Cormac sighed as we approached. "Overall, we ain"t doing so bad."

I chuckled. "Yeah. It"s beautiful."

"Get on the turret!" Lorvian ordered, and I noticed he was dressed in his slimmer armor.

"Why?"

"My siblings are here."

We got closer to the colony, and now I saw the smoke on the horizon, along with several ships whizzing by overhead.

The colony was under attack!

I ran for the turret. As we flew by, I noticed the familiar animals of our homeworld scurrying toward their barns for safety and people running with their guns beside what looked like Travols. I fired on one ship which hovered over a larger dome. Cormac tilted us and looped around but the fast change in altitude disoriented me and I couldn"t get a shot in.

I saw Lorvian touch ground, and I fired on the ship that tried to hover over him before leaving the turret station.

"Cormac, land!" I grabbed the blaster I spotted on the podium console and headed to the airlock.

"This is insane!" Cormac yelled, but he hovered low enough for me to jump.

I opened the airlock, leaped from the ship, and landed on my wobbly feet. Blaster bolts zipped and whizzed through the air, passing a little too close for comfort. Cormac had flown back up, and it must have been Connor on the turret now because each shot landed with far more precision than any of mine.

Rolling into cover, I tried to remain as unseen as possible. I stumbled on a body of a young woman, a human. I held my mouth to stifle a scream. Humans, Travol, and Valisian soldiers were fighting, and judging by the bodies littering the settlement, we weren"t fairing too well.

I couldn"t find Lorvian among the soldiers, but I saw a familiar face; light-skinned, bald head, dressed in a white and grey uniform that looked militaristic. I ran over to him when the coast was clear.

"Derek!" I shouted but ducked low when a sword swung at my head.

I remembered Lorvian"s moves when he evaded my attacks.

"Derek! It"s me, Caspian! RA number 88603!"

He halted his attack and gasped. I had to remember how different I looked, I still wasn"t used to it because aside from the bouts of pain I didn"t feel any different. Before I could mutter a word, he grabbed me and led me inside one of the larger domes, which looked like a factory.

"Caspian?"

"Yeah, it"s me, I know I look different—"

"What the actual fuck?!" He touched my ears. "It is you!" He gasped in horror. "I thought you didn"t make it. What the hell happened?"

"It"s a long story. What"s happening here?"

"I guess it"s not a surprise to you that aliens are here. Someone named Daruuk prepared us for them. We never should have come here; now, over half the colonists are dead."

"The tall aliens call themselves Valisians."

"Yeah, I know that much."

"Oh. And this Daruuk might not be entirely trustworthy himself."

"You don"t look entirely trustworthy. Right now, I don"t care, whatever we can do—"

"Lorvian!" I shouted and pushed Derek out of the way as Lorvian punched a hole in the wall where he stood.

Derek fired on him, and Lorvian was on him, the obvious superior fighter.

"Stop it, he"s a friend!" I yelled, and Lorvian halted his attack.

"Caspian?" Lorvian looked at me as though he had seen me for the first time.

"Yeah." I nodded and beckoned him to me while Derek scrambled to his feet. "Don"t do anything, Derek. It"s okay; he"s a friend."

"A friend?" He exclaimed.

"We"ll talk later once I kick my siblings off this planet."

The foundations shook and rattled the structure. Lorvian held me tight and looked out the door. The horizon lit up in an array of fiery orange and black-grey smoke.

"Zantos has lost his fucking mind!" Lorvian gasped at the bombardment.

Lorvian yanked me deeper into the structure and held me close to his cold armor as rubble broke apart above us, taking us down with it.

I couldn"t see much of anything, but I could feel the warm blood spill on my face and leak between my pecs.

"Lorvian!" I yelled, but I got no response.

I used my feet to press against the thick rubble on his back, and I didn"t know what the hell I was doing, but I pushed with the strength of my legs and was surprised when it gave way and shifted until it fell to the side.

He used his body to bear the brunt of the fallen rubble.

Derek poked his head up once everything was clear. When I looked to the skies, I saw peeking from the clouds was a massive ship while the other tilted. Smoke bellowed and burned before it backed off and disappeared from the sky, leaving that other massive ship. I didn"t know what to expect, but the Valisians were scrambling to their shuttles and departing.

All became quiet, the fighting was at an end, smoke and debris littered the area along with greenish and black blood intermingling with red. That large ship still lingered in the sky, filling me with dread, yet it did nothing.

"Sir!" I heard a voice through the static, it was Swarti.

I grabbed Lorvian"s wristband communicator as he lay in the heap. "Hello! Lorvian is hurt! We need help!"

Shit! The static overpowered his voice; I called for him a few more times before giving up.

"Derek!"

"Yeah, I"m still alive." He limped toward me, holding his bloody sides. He looked over at Lorvian, who was unconscious. "They don"t look so scary up close." Blood shot out of his mouth.

"He"s not here to hurt you. he saved my life and has been taking care of me since I got here." A little lie wouldn"t hurt.

Derek dragged a slab of the prefab siding over and tossed it over Lorvian, shielding him from sight. "You have a lot of explaining to do," he groaned. "But right now, let"s make sure no one kills him. We have a hospital in the dome on the eastern section of the colony. If it"s still there, we can grab a rover and some supplies and patch him up."

This was the only plan that made sense. I slipped my hood over my head to cover my ears, and together, we walked through the leftover carnage. A tall, red-haired woman stood at the Outer Worlds Medical Center entrance, ushering the wounded inside.

"Derek!" She ran over to him to help him inside.

"It looks worse than it feels." He groaned when she sat him in a chair.

Every bed looked like it was occupied, blood and debris littered the floor, this was a war hospital and I couldn"t stand the symphony of wailing that bellowed throughout the hall. I needed to get to Lorvian as fast as possible. There was nothing I felt I could do for them but tell them what was going on as much as I could and leave.

Or maybe I was hit with the desire to run away like I ran away from my problems back home.

A man entered the glass doors, but he wasn"t human at all. He was Travol, and unlike Tavi, his face was wider and his jaw stronger. His blue face carried several scars and markings. He looked hardened, like he was ready to kill at a moment"s notice if given the opportunity. This was Daruuk himself, Tavi"s brother, the man who used her with her father.

"Hey," Derek called him over. "We have a Valisian, alive at the recycling facility, what"s left of it."

"No!" I shouted, feeling betrayed. "Derek!"

"I"m sorry, Caspian, but I don"t know what"s happening to you, and we can"t take a chance with our enemy."

"A living Valisian!" Daruuk"s face seemed to light up. "He won"t be for long!" He rushed out the door, and I ran after him, grabbing him and pulling him back with a strength I didn"t even know I possessed. He kicked me away and tore at my hood until it ripped off and displayed my ears and whatever else may have changed. I heard the charging weapons behind me, and Daruuk held up his hands to stop them.

"What manner of creature is this?" Daruuk walked a circle around me.

"I"m human!" I said, a creepy shiver crawling along my spine.

"I don"t think so, at least not anymore. You"re more understandable than the others. You humans, your language is so fucking difficult even with the chip!"

I saw our ship land at the large landing pad behind him and all I wanted was for Connor or Cormac to fire on these bastards, I wanted to leave now! I wanted to go back to our ship with Lorvian and just stay in the stars. It was like reality was hitting me all at once, and Tavi"s words rang in my head that I couldn"t fix my planet"s problems.

"Lock it up," he ordered when a small jingle sounded on his communications. "Tavi!!" He gasped, as if he knew straight away it was her.

"I"m on this ship behind you." She said, her voice still sounding weak.

He gestured to his men to approach the ship when a blast of fire halted their advance.

"Don"t even think of coming near this ship. We have plenty of weaponry to blast you away!"

"Tavi, we can talk about this."

"A Valisian capital ship is here, and it is filled with more soldiers than you can handle. Do you believe you can take on another assault?"

"Traitor!"

"There is a Valisian prince in that colony, one you are very familiar with."

"Tavi!" I yelled in distress. "That guy you have is his boy toy. I"m sure the two of you will have plenty to discuss."

I didn"t understand why she was doing this! was loyal to Lorvian; she said Daruuk had hurt her. Why would she help him by giving away Lorvian"s status? Now I worried about Cormac and Connor. Were they okay in there? That lying bitch!

Daruuk grabbed me crudely and laughed while taking me to the rover and tossing me inside. He gestured for Derek to come with us and lead us to Lorvian"s location.

We reached the nearly destroyed factory where we hid Lorvian, and a part of me hoped he had woken up and was in hiding somewhere else, but it was wishful thinking. Daruuk removed the panel, and he was there before I could think; Daruuk flew back from a powerful blast and was hitting the pavement. His shoulder was now smoking with a hole in it. Lorvian picked himself up sluggishly, and Daruuk was on his feet and grabbed me before I could register the movement.

"Now we can truly bargain," Daruuk growled, and pointed his blade at my throat.

"What do you want?" Lorvian replied as he leaned against a broken wall.

"So, did your own siblings turn on you? Now, do you know how that feels?"

"They"re fools just like you, Daruuk. I"ll never know what they thought they would accomplish by coming here to fight, but they must have a reason."

"I spoke to Tavi." He spat blood from his mouth. "She"s as feisty as ever."

"I"m sure you want her back in your bed so you can have her birth your half-wit children, but if she wanted to return, she could have a long time ago."

"And this human? Maybe I should cut my losses and just end him—"

"And what will you gain from that!?" Lorvian cut him off, I could see the small bouts of concern in his eyes though he kept them sharp and focused like a cat prowling prey.

"You kill him, and you and all your men along with these humans will die, everything you have will be mine. And all you will get is a small bout of satisfaction before I make you eat your cock." Lorvian shrugged. "So now the pointless threats are over. What do you really want, Daruuk? As you can see, these humans are far more valuable than your species. Even now, I hear my child"s heartbeat within him, and I have it on good authority that his change means that my child will be born right, as close to pure Valisian as a child with another species can get."

I gasped at the knowledge. I didn"t even know I was pregnant!

"So, you see, you are in a much more powerful position than you think."

The other laughed. "I suppose I am! I hold the future of your people in my arms. I guess we can bargain. First, return my sister to me at once. Then I want you to release all Travol women and men from your service and harems. Kick them from your sovereign planets so they will have nowhere to go but home, then we will have peace!"

"Fine. My people are already here to collect the humans. Tell your men to step aside so we can work."

"Gladly."

"Wait!" Derek cried out. "What the hell is going on? Are you going to let them take us?"

The knife wobbled before it rose as someone picked it up with the most tender touches. Was this Lorvian"s power? I didn"t think about it long. I took the opportunity and reached out to grab it, and without hesitation, I sank the blade into Daruuk"s leg and twisted it. He groaned in pain and let me go, and I stumbled away from him. Lorvian was on him, pounding his face until he ceased to move.

"Are you okay?" He asked me after delivering the last punch. Daruuk stayed down as Lorvian rose.

"Yeah!"

Derek stood behind me, and behind him, another Rover pulled up. That red-haired woman got out and ran to his side.

"It would seem I don"t need you to translate," Lorvian breathed. "I see the scars of an implant on that one," he pointed to Derek.

"Uh…yeah, an alien who looked like you held our people hostage and forced me to get this implant to understand his demands better."

"So you sold the colonists out to protect yourself?" I sneered.

"No! We were held hostage and he took whatever he wanted. I was just recovering from my landing on this planet, what else was I supposed to do?"

"And Connor?"

"Who?"

"The Connor model?" I asked, wondering if Derek was the human Connor was speaking of.

"What about it? I gave him one. Once again, what was I supposed to do?"

"What did this alien look like? Any distinguishing features?" Lorvian huffed.

"Blond hair, shaved at the sides with the long part swept in a bun…He had a scar across his cheek, like an X."

"Regis." Lorvian sighed.

"After they left that blue alien named Daruuk showed up and gave us weapons, telling us that we had to fight the Valisians. He gave us the will and power to fight back. And now I just feel like a damn pawn in a game I have no fucking clue about!"

"I told you he was just using you all." I spat at Derek, feeling vindicated as hell.

"I"m a friend," Lorvian said. "Perhaps the only one you humans have at the moment. If you have the means, lock him and his people away."

Derek looked to the woman, translating everything Lorvian had said.

"We don"t trust you either!" The red-haired woman shouted as she kept her gun trained on Lorvian, forcing him to hold up his arms. "Like hell we"re gonna allow ourselves to be used as canon fodder!"

They locked them both in a cell, Lorvian in one alone and Daruuk in the other. I tried to protest, but Lorvian shook his head so that I could stop. I still didn"t understand why he allowed himself to be locked up when our ship was here, but I had to trust that he knew what he was doing.

"I"m sorry, Caspian." Derek sighed, looking as though he was tired of the world. "We"ve been through our own nightmare since we arrived. All of our leaders are dead, and they destroyed the communicator to Earth. We are flying by the seat of our pants here."

"Sir!" A young man who looked no more than sixteen hollered for Derek to come.

Outside in the center of the colony"s courtyard, a shuttle had landed, and over a dozen soldiers poured from inside with Swarti at the center.

Every human capable of holding a gun rushed to the scene but who the hell were we kidding, we were outgunned for sure.

"Caspian," Swarti called, and I approached, unsure what would happen. I remembered Lorvian had told them to go—unless it was a lie. And what of Tavi and her story? Once again, I trusted no one but Lorvian, Connor, and, surprisingly, Cormac.

"Lorvian is safe but locked up."

"I see." He looked around at the carnage. "Tell them we"re willing to talk."

"Look, we just want some answers here," Derek said, having enough.

"You have a translator? Good." Swarti smirked. "And you will have them, along with a mutually beneficial relationship, we, all of us, your leaders, mine, and even Daruuk." He spoke loud enough so that the few Travol soldiers who came with Daruuk could hear.

"We can use our ship for this meeting," I said, hoping this would net us some advantage. I wanted Lorvian out of jail and wanted us in a position to leave anytime we needed to.

If Tavi"s story was a lie, then perhaps Swarti was still Lorvian"s man. If he was, then the tides favored us, and there was no reason the colony could keep him locked away. As for Tavi, I planned to speak to her in person to uncover her lies.

But Lorvian came first. I returned to the cells to retrieve him, demanding they release him, which the guard reluctantly did once Derek gave the go-ahead.

"Lorvian."

"Caspian, don"t worry. It"ll all work out." He held me close and kissed my forehead. Nothing mattered; we were safe, as safe as we could be.