But I knew it might not be enough.
The highest levels of command didn’t want to alert the civilians on our planets to the fact that we were having trouble stopping the Hive. It was frightening, and could potentially cause panic. We were proof of that failure and we couldn’t uncover that political nightmare with our presence on the home worlds.
The Coalition Fleet was barely holding its own, struggling to hinder the Hive expansion into Coalition-controlled space. We were on the brink of losing this damn war.
When Prince Nial became Prime of our planet, he’d inherited the mantle of command over the entire Coalition Fleet. Prillon Prime was the first world to stand up to the Hive and to recruit others, and the Coalition had grown around us. We’d been fighting a long, long time. Centuries. When Prime Nial took power, he’d lifted the ban on Hive-contaminated warriors going home, especially since he was one of them. One of us. That had led to more revelations…had forced the I.C., the Intelligence Core, to come forward with some hard truths.
We couldn’t go home. Ever. Not all of us.
Prime Nial was infected with Hive tech himself. But after his ascension to the throne, he’d met with the I.C., and they’d explained things to him, things those of us on the Colony already knew—that there was no way to ensure he could control himself in the face of a Hive command. The technology imbedded in his body still obeyed its master, and would answer when called.
The Prime had been given a special implant by the I.C., a permanent signal inhibitor designed to keep him free of Hive control. But it was experimental. And even with the inhibitors available, most Coalition planets refused to lift their ban on contaminated warriors rejoining their civilian populations.
Contaminated warriors were too big a risk. I didn’t disagree. I had to deal with them on a daily basis. Hell, I was one of them. Hoping that those on Prillon Prime would accept me and Tyran as normal was too much, even for me.
Prime Nial did his best, but in the end, most of the Prillon warriors on the Colony, myself and Tryan included, decided to stay. We’d all fought to protect our people. Going home like this, even with the experimental tech the I.C. offered, would place our families in danger and make our sacrifices, and the deaths of so many friends and fellow warriors, worthless. None of us wanted to lead the Hive to them, to turn on them and lose control.
So we stayed in a prison of our own design.
And hoped for a reprieve, for a bit of life to enter our lives.
For a mate.
“This feels like a death sentence.” Warlord Rezzer growled and I saw the beginning of his transformation to beast in his face as the bones seemed to melt and elongate, then return to normal. “They should have left me in that cave to die.”
“I’m sorry.” I motioned to the warriors standing at attention along the walls. “We all felt the same way when we arrived.” The room was large enough to hold at least fifty fully armored fighters. With eleven, it felt like an empty cave echoing back our isolation. “But it gets easier. And the Colony has begun receiving mates from the Interstellar Brides Program. As soon as you’re settled, you can be tested for a match.”
“No.” The Altan rose, his shoulders increasing in size as he snarled at me.
“Calm your beast, Rezz.” The Prillon warrior dispassionately seated in the chair next to him, Captain Marz, was about my size, and, like me, his hair, skin and eyes were golden, a pale hue associated with the colder regions of our home world, Prillon Prime. That was, until the Hive took him. Now his left eye was a strange, shimmering silver, the Hive tech implanted in his skin turned the flesh a pale silver as well. The color surrounded his affected eye, wrapped around his temple and disappeared beneath his hair. It was like looking in a mirror, and a bit unnerving. I had his file open and knew he had more under his uniform, more Hive scars. We all did. Even scars that weren’t physical. That was why we were here.
Rezz rotated his head on his neck, making a series of cracking and popping noises in his spine as he sat back down. From the corner of my eye, I watched Tyran settle back against the wall and we all took a deep breath in relief. Fucking Atlans and their beasts were unpredictable bastards. We’d be lost without them on the ground in the war, but they didn’t really belong inside, sitting calmly and talking politics. Not when their beasts were on the edge of losing control either from anger or mating fever. With Rezz, I suspected both.
“Captain Marz. I have assigned the four of you to work together in Section 9. Prime Nial has ordered us to increase fortifications around all Colony bases and prepare of expansion.” I focused my attention on the Prillon captain. I’d seen this before. Knew exactly what happened to these warriors. They may not have known each other before their capture, but somewhere in the agony, Captain Marz had been the one to take control, to hold them together. To keep them sane. And now, the Warlord and the other Prillon seated across from me, Lieutenant Perro, depended on Marz. He’d become their group leader. Which was good. These guys were going to need all the friends they could get. Friends, and a sense of purpose. “We need more men to help engineer and fortify the walls there.”
Captain Marz nodded and we both ignored Warlord Rezzer who was slowly regaining control.
The Hunter, Kiel, watched and waited like the predator I knew he was. He hadn’t spoken, not a single word, but I had no doubt he knew the position of every one of my security forces in the room, including what weapons they carried and how attentive they were being to the meeting. He wasn’t part of Captain Marz’s group, but I needed to change that. Even a lone hunter needed somewhere to belong, a reason to get out of bed in the morning. And he was the only Everian on Base 3. As far as I knew, he was the only Hunter ever to survive Hive capture.
Silent until now, the other Prillon warrior, Lieutenant Perro, crossed his arms over his chest. His arms were bare of Hive implants, the soft brown of his skin uninterrupted. I’d looked at his file as well. His implants were mostly in the neck and spine, a few in his brain tissue. Should the Hive ever break through here, his brain would probably leak out his ears. But for now, his eyes were clear and sharp, a copper that matched his hair. “What, exactly, are we supposed to do for the next sixty or seventy years? Build walls? I’m a pilot, and a damn good one.”
Yes, he was. And insubordinate, and a bit wild. Which was probably what had led to his capture…and ultimately his suffering on the Hive Integration Unit’s surgical table.
“I am aware of all your qualifications. Every new arrival spends time building. It helps work out some stress and allows you time to get to know the others. This isn’t a place where you can go it alone. During your acclimation, you will be processed and considered for other duties as well.
“We do run ships to the other bases, and we need pilots for those. But most transfer of goods or personnel is done using the transport pads. If the doctors clear you for flight, you may be assigned to an air patrol crew that monitors the planet’s outer atmosphere. But, as you are new here, you need time to adjust. Time to heal. You may not agree with that, but for now, you have no choice. None of you will be assigned to critical areas until you’ve been here for several weeks.”
Or longer. Especially if the rest of the warriors didn’t like or trust one of them. But I didn’t say that. To give them some of that damn hope, I added, “After that, everything is open for consideration.”
Captain Marz nodded. “Fine. I assume we’ve all been assigned quarters in the same area as well.”
Thank the gods, this was almost over and Marz was going to take it from here. I saw it in his eyes, the need to make sure his men were protected and taken care of. At least one of them understood the changes they had to accept. If one was willing to try, then he could talk the others around better than I ever could.
I liked Marz instantly, and made a mental note to move him through the process quickly. With the recent Hive attack, and the defection of one of our own, a medical officer named Krael, I needed men I could trust. Men who had honor. Not that the others didn’t. The other three had stellar records and survived the worst of the Hive. If they adjusted well, acclimated to their new lives, they’d be put into positions of importance. We valued everyone on the Colony, if they wanted to give their all.
Still, traitors surfaced. Krael brought a Hive transmitter onto Base 3, the poisonous frequencies led to many taking ill, including our own Governor, and had led to Captain Brooks’ death. He’d been a warrior from Earth who’d been carefree and liked to laugh, even considering what the Hive had done to him. He’d been my friend, and I wanted nothing more than to catch the bastard traitor who’d killed him. Who’d destroyed him from the inside.
I turned to the Hunter, Kiel. Perhaps I had a good use of the Hunter’s skills after all. “You have been assigned the same duties and region.”
“Of course.” His voice was even and unperturbed, like talking to a corpse. I wanted him to argue with me, to break through that damn cool reserve. He’d never deal with his pain, his new reality, if he kept everything sealed up tight.
I stood and rolled my shoulders, the tension there making my head ache. Again. I’d never suffered from headaches before—before the Hive put their needles and microscopic implants into me. Now, they were a constant plague, a reminder that I’d never be what I was before. “Very well. This is Phin, a member of my security team.” I angled my head toward the guard. “He’ll lead you to your quarters and take you on a tour of Base 3. You report for your first work shift in eighteen hours.”
Captain Marz stood, Perro, the Atlan and the Hunter following behind as four of my team led the way down the corridors to the private quarters. The men had arrived with nothing, so it wouldn’t take long for them to settle and explore the base. We didn’t have many Atlans, and Kiel was our first Hunter. They would, no doubt, draw a crowd and many challenges in the challenge pits.
I watched Tyran size up Warlord Rezzer as he passed and knew my second was thinking the same. Tyran was currently the reigning champion in hand-to-hand combat on Base 3. A position I was sure the Atlan Warlord would enjoy taking from him. If the newcomer could prevail. Tyran wouldn’t make it easy for him to do so.
I followed the group to the door, stopping next to Tyran as the new arrivals and their heavily armed escort moved on. “He’s going to break you, friend. Like a stick.”