I followed Tavik into the boardroom, along with the Zane, Valdus, and the members of the Second and Third Battalions. We all sat down around the thick cement table and Ryder called the meeting to order.
We’d left Kaela behind with her sisters, but I missed her already. The two of us had become close and she wasn’t only my lover, she was also my friend. What Nix had done to her had pissed me off more than anything. Given the chance, I’d rip his tongue from his throat, right before I slashed him clean in two.
The leader of the Second Battalion, Ryder, cleared his throat.
“What have we missed since we’ve been gone?” Tavik asked.
Ryder gave us an updated report on the information that Davon had been able to gather on dark cyber since we’d been gone. The Starrider’s location. The numbers we were likely to face, what kind of artillery.
Roan, the commander of the Third Battalion, updated us on the gathering of supplies and I was impressed at the weaponry at our disposal, including an impressive increase in the number of ships, as well as ultraviolet, laser, and anti-matter bombs. We had enough gun
s and combat gear to outfit the entirety of the Resistance, gathered by shipments garnered by our supporters. Since I’d last been here, our number of allies, both here on the ground and in space, had increased two-fold.
Next, it was our turn. Tavik debriefed them on the events of our mission to retrieve Kaela. The other battalions were quiet as he spoke, clear evidence of their respect for him. I was proud to serve under him.
Tavik explained our run-in with Nix and his men. Everyone at the table was concerned when they heard that Nix had landed on Earth already and they pressed Tavik for details on Nix’s arrival.
But, when he got to the part where Kaela had been taken hostage, he paused for a long moment before starting to speak again. Tavik could hardly contain his fury as he described what had happened to her. Zane, Valdus, and I all gritted our teeth. We had wanted revenge before all that had happened, but now, we wanted to tear him apart, limb by limb. When Tavik was finished, the room was quiet for a long time until the leader of the Third Battalion began to speak.
“We have to be prepared. Nix could choose to attack any day and we have to be ready,” Roan said and the rest of us nodded in agreement.
We spent hours strategizing over reports and didn’t leave the room until well after dinnertime. We talked about various attacks plans, be it offensive or defensive depending on Nix’s next move. Finally, we ventured out of the boardroom with a solid battle plan, using all the resources we’d gathered within it.
Immediate preparations were started, and direct orders were given to commanding soldiers. We’d be ready for battle within hours and we’d remain ready, no matter what happened.
Already, I missed Kaela and I wanted her back in my arms, better yet bare assed and ready for me to fuck. I licked my lips and grinned, catching Zane’s knowing grin.
“Alaina and her sisters are in the training room. Apparently, Kaela has decided to enter the tournament,” Ryder said with a smirk.
I chuckled. Leave it to Kaela to take on a challenge. Tavik, Zane, Valdus, and I went in the direction of the arena, and the others followed. When we arrived, I saw her in the central ring, fighting against a bright red hologram in hand to hand combat.
I knew this kind of training was common in many various armies throughout space, as it allowed this kind of fighting without injury to any of the other soldiers. The holograms were solid, like artificial lifeforms that would disappear once the module was complete. The challenger could get hurt, but the chance was minimal, as once the chances of a critical injury was computed by the hologram, the module would turn off before actual contact was made. The longer a challenger lasted, the harder the module became, but that didn’t seem to be stopping Kaela at all.
The timer on the wall said it had already been fifteen minutes.
She was gorgeous as she fought, twisting and kicking in one direction and swiftly moving onto the next. One after one, she took out one combatant after another. Her speed was faster than I remembered, but also incredibly graceful. Her arms blocked the assailant’s kicks and punches as though she was born for combat. The more she fought, the more I was reminded not of a human, but of a Vakarran. It was a bit unnerving.
Roan stood next to me then, watching Kaela as she fought.
“You know, it is rumored that humans can take on Vakarran abilities once they’ve found their true mates,” he began.
“Is that true...” I answered cautiously, not taking my eyes off Kaela. I had heard of such rumors from time to time but hadn’t given them any mind until now.
“It is. Danika is able to change the color of her skin, just like we do. Alaina can communicate with her mates using their telepathic link,” he said, turning to me.
“She did seem to heal from her injuries with Nix remarkably fast, even considering what we did to help her,” Valdus said.
“It is said that components of our DNA can intercalate with theirs and they can take on certain abilities that our species has access to. Maybe Kaela has inherited your strength. Maybe even more than that,” Roan said, and I looked at him thoughtfully before turning back toward her.
My eyes moved to the yellow projected scoreboards on the side of the room. I saw Kaela’s name appear in the tenth spot in the human ranking and as the minutes passed, it creeped upward.
It didn’t take long for her to reach the number one spot. Her score kept climbing though and I noticed it was on par with the number one alien, a Vakarran known as Zanuck. The entire arena stopped and watched her, and I had the feeling that such a performance was unprecedented, especially amongst the human challengers.
“It seems you have your very own super soldier as your mate,” Roan observed, and, in that moment, I couldn’t disagree with him.
Kaela fought on until her module timed out and she didn’t even seem tired as she came to a stop. Even her sisters looked impressed. They glanced at one another and then, Danika and Alaina entered the ring. Before we could stop them, they began to spar with one another. Two against one, still Kaela forced them to take steps back as she twirled, punched, and kicked her way through them. Eventually, the girls stopped and stared at one another.
“You’ve changed, Kaela,” Alaina whispered as Kaela’s eyes flickered toward her.