Hotbloods 6: Allies

“Good. So, we agree to send four Fed ships to Earth—carrying Lauren, Angie, Ronad, and Xiphio separately?” I asked. “Meanwhile, Stone is going to come with Navan, Bashrik, and me to the base in a fifth ship, to set up the last shield position. A guard of merevins, lycans, and Rexombra will accompany each shield-bearer to one of the other four positions across the globe, on different continents. The shield-bearers will wear several nudus, to improve the strength of the shield in their section, yes?”

The Fed had tried to insist on sending agents instead of the four from my group, but Stone had interjected, explaining that the nudus had already chosen their hosts. Until the strength of those hosts waned, the nourishment was no longer enough, or the host died, the nudus would not attach to anyone else, leaving us with no choice but to send the original four. It pained me, knowing we might have had another option, but the nudus weren’t trinkets to be traded willy-nilly.

Anai raised a hand. “We will send only one Rexombran with each of these shield-bearers. One of our warriors is worth ten of these.” She gestured to the merevins and lycans at her side, though there was no unkindness in her voice. To her, it was a matter of fact. “We shall keep the rest of our warriors back for when things turn sour.”

“Probably a good strategy,” I said, with a nod. “Once these four shield-bearers are in position, we’ll need to wait for the Fed signal before raising the shields. This means you four can reserve your energy for when we really need it.” I looked to Angie, Lauren, Ronad, and Xiphio, feeling my stomach lurch at the thought of them disappearing off on their own, to perform this insane task.

Commander Mahlo made a hum of agreement. “We will send word as soon as we’ve launched our surprise attack. This should give you ample time to raise the shield before the queens even get close to the planet’s atmosphere.”

“Whether we win or lose in our ambush, the shields should still be raised before the outcome is clear, as an extra means of protection,” Agent Phocida added.

“I agree completely,” I said, trying to stay calm. “Now, we know the humans are going to freak out when the shield goes up. It doesn’t matter what we say or do—that’s a fact. But, if they know the blue nudus shield is trying to protect them, we might be able to reduce the kneejerk panic.”

Navan flashed me an encouraging smile. “So, to try and get this under control, Riley is going to make a live global broadcast across every available media outlet using some of the technology here at Lunar HQ. The human race might handle things a little easier if the news comes from a human.”

“Unless they think she’s a shapeshifter,” Xiphio chimed in. I could see his intentions were good, but that kind of talk wasn’t particularly helpful right now.

“We’ll have to hope they trust what they see,” I insisted, getting a murmur of agreement from my crewmates. The Rexombra nodded too, which seemed to alleviate any further concerns. It was like having the cool kid’s approval at school.

“Hey, yer missin’ the most important part,” Stone prompted with a friendly wink.

“Of course, sorry about that,” I said, with a nervous smile. It was hard to keep track of all the pieces. “Once I’ve made the broadcast, Navan, Bashrik, Stone, and I will be going to Siberia to infiltrate the rebel base. Using Stone’s powers, we should be able to freeze the enemy and overcome them without much bloodshed. Even so, we’ll need to take some lycan, merevin, and Rexombran soldiers with us, as backup.”

“Our blades are yours, Riley,” Anai said, her exotic voice igniting something brave inside me.

“And so are… our guns and things,” Commander Mahlo added, stealing a look at Anai and her three Rexombran guards. I wondered if she was seeking their approval, too, but Anai said nothing in reply, her golden eyes staring solely at my side of the table.

“Yup, that’s all o’ it in a grisly little nutshell,” Stone announced, sitting up straighter. “Ye try to outrun the big fightin’ for years, but it always catches up with ye.” He laughed cheerfully enough, having returned to his perpetually easygoing state.

“You are correct, ambaka,” Anai mused. “Truly, I wish our skills had been called upon far earlier, so we might have avoided all of this ugliness. We have an oath amongst our people not to involve ourselves in regicide, but sometimes exceptions ought to be made.”

The thought made me wonder how a Rexombran would fare in a fight against a coldblood. I’d heard about the impressive powers of the Rexombra and seen some of their stealth for myself, but could one assassin really have stopped all of this? I doubted it. Even now, they seemed reluctant to get right into the fray, preferring to keep to the edges, where they could dart in and out of the fighting. After all, these weren’t soldiers who marched en masse into battle; they were skilled warriors who dealt with one person at a time. Had we somehow managed to befriend them and enlisted them to kill the queens back on Vysanthe, before a single whisper of war had been uttered, we might’ve nipped this in the bud, but that moment had long since passed. There was no use in wishful thinking.

“Hopefully, it’s not too late to fix this,” I said firmly. “If we stick to the plans we’ve made and give it our all, then we can make this work. We can stop the rebels, Queen Gianne, and all their terrible plans for the universe, once and for all. It’s what the Fed were put here to do, and we are here to help you fulfill that duty, down to the letter.”

“For a human, Riley, you are a mighty leader,” Anai replied.

I grinned, despite the nerves shivering through me. “We’re tougher than the universe gives us credit for.”

“I believe that to be true,” Agent Phocida said, smiling.

“Well then, if everyone knows what they’re doing, then we need to get this ball rolling,” I declared, shaking off the all-consuming fear that kept threatening to freeze me in its grasp. I knew what I was doing this for, and I had to keep that firmly in my mind. Otherwise, I would lose all sense of hope. From the outside, this looked like a suicide mission—a one-way ticket to the end of the world—and though I would fight to my last breath, I was afraid I might end up with a front-row seat to Earth’s demise.

Everyone stood at once, scraping their chairs back, the sound an oddly domestic one that reminded me of high school lessons and meetings. It spurred me on, giving me courage, reminding me of what we stood to lose if we didn’t succeed—there were kids down there who deserved the chance to live. In fact, there was a whole species down there who deserved the same thing.

As we left the meeting room, Agents Phocida and Mahlo spoke into their comm devices, gathering a crew together. They would meet up with us outside. I had to get the broadcast out as soon as possible, with the queens’ ships arriving in less than twenty-four hours, but I refused to let my friends leave without saying goodbye. This time, for real, we had no idea when, or if, we might see each other again. The risks were way too high for any assurances of survival.

Stepping out into the dusty landscape, with the stars twinkling overhead, my friends and crewmates turned. Anxiety crackled through the air between all of us, and the atmosphere was thick with uncertainty. I moved toward Angie and Lauren first, holding them close, forcing myself to keep the tears back. This was no time for weakness of any kind, though all I wanted to do was sink to my knees and beg them to stay. A small part of me wanted to jump into the nearest ship and get the hell out of here—but that coward would never win over my heart.

“Make Earth proud,” I whispered. “Do it for everyone we’ve ever known and loved.”

“And you, Riley,” Lauren murmured, squeezing me tight.

“Yeah, give those rebel bastards a taste of human revenge. Hulk-smash the crap out of each and every one of them,” Angie added.

I laughed softly. “Will do. Just keep yourselves safe, okay?”

“I’d be more than happy to use one of those Rexombran hunks as a living shield,” Angie whispered, waggling her eyebrows. Although, as her gaze turned to Bashrik, her face morphed into a mask of sadness, her humor disappearing in an instant. “You take care of yourselves. I want to see both of your faces back here, in one gorgeous piece. Understand?”