Kamran had lain completely still, half naked on the table, for some time after Haylie left. It was only once the quiet had gotten to him that he'd released his other bound arm and got up from the bed. His legs were weak and it took him several minutes to lose the shakiness. He tried the computer pad that Haylie had used to contact the guards. No answer. Perhaps they'd gone on a break.

He took advantage of his solitude to explore his small surroundings. There was very little. The human cell contained mostly human amenities. Cup, toilet, clean worker's uniform. He picked up the uniform, size large. Holding it up next to his body, it barely came up to his chest. Haylie was taller than this thing. His thoughts caught him off guard.

By the G.o.ddess, what had he done?

He sat back down on the bed, closed his eyes and inhaled every scent he could. A part of her was still here with him. The rest of her was in danger.

He spent the next few hours sitting quietly in his cell, pondering the events of the past few days. No one came to check on him. He hadn't seen Taber since his arrest. And where was his defense council? His trial time would be approaching soon and they hadn't worked on a strategy. Unless they intended on throwing him into the fire.

He walked over to the console on the wall. "Computer, time?"

Silence greeted him. Now that wasn't right.

"Computer? Guards?"

Not right at all. He pounded on the cold metal door. "h.e.l.lo. Is anyone there?"

Nothing. It stayed that way for another hour. He even considered going against his better judgment to open his mind to Haylie. Almost. The image of her storming away, leaving him alone, grated on him. He was wrong about her, about them. She couldn't be his perfect mate, or else she never would have abandoned him this way.

He jumped from the bed and began to pound on the cell door again, calling out.

He was getting sick of this.

The sc.r.a.pe of the magnetic door sent him flying backward. His heart was racing, but there wasn't anything he could do to protect himself. When Taber walked through the door, confusion filled him instead of relief. A group of Briel soldiers stood anxiously in the hall.

"What in the maker's name is going on?"

Taber waved a hand to silence him and threw a bundle of clothing at him. "We have no time. Can you walk?"

146.

He didn't hesitate and quickly got dressed. "I'm missing boots, but physically I'm fine. Why?"

Taber motioned to one of his men, who removed his boots and handed them to Kamran. "There is going to be an attack on the base."

"From who?" Attack? This must have been what they weren't meant to know.

Haylie had found something.

"We're not sure yet, but Doctor Ray is involved. Something is in the Corridor.

Haylie is there now."

"Ray? Is Haylie okay?"

"I'll explain as we go. Come on."

The thirty minutes it took for Haylie to make her way over the outcropping of rocks seemed an eternity. Her own harsh breathing and the constant blowing of wind were the only sounds she could hear. She'd made it.

With great care to not rip her EV suit, Haylie rested against the jagged rocks and tried to see what was so dangerous that Ray had tried to kill her.

"d.a.m.n. I see something moving down there, but I'm too far away to make it out."

She spoke the words to no one in particular.

She switched on the zoom goggles built into her suit's mask. Automatically, the device zoomed in on the area where she had been staring. It took her brain several seconds to acknowledge that what she saw was real and not something out of a nightmare.

The reptilian creatures walked on all fours moving about the confines of the valley, looking very much like they were swimming in water, not pacing on land. Their alien nature was difficult for her mind to grasp. But not only that, she had the feeling that they knew she was there. Her mind felt the itching sensation of her dreams. They were beating at what little protection her inner mental walls could offer.

"Oh, s.h.i.t."

Haylie took the chance and broke radio silence. "Taber?"

"Chief Bond? Taber isn't here. What is it?" There was no mistaking the concern on the other end of the speaker. She vaguely recognized him as one of Taber's men.

"I don't...I've never seen creatures like this."

"Can you describe them?"

"Ah, ever see a crocodile? Kind of like that, only pumped up on steroids, silver, with spikes coming out of their spine."

"Crocodile?"

She shivered. "Tell Taber it's the Ecada."

147.

There was suddenly a riot of voices on the other end of her speaker before a long silence. Haylie's heart was pounding by the time the Briel officer returned.

"Ms. Bond, Taber and his men are on their way. They want you to stay there."

The creatures in the valley must have sensed trouble was brewing. As if in sync with his statement, they began to pour from the valley, spilling over the sides of the rocks like a quicksilver river.

"No can do. These things are on the move. Tell Taber to lock onto my suit's tracking ID signal. I'm going to follow them."

There was no response. She'd half expected the Briel to protest in that politely annoying manner that they all seemed to possess.

"Eurus colony? Over?" she said, tapping the earpiece through the helmet.

Just wonderful. Haylie pushed off from the rocks and tried to keep as close to them as she dared. As she did before, Haylie got the sense that the creatures knew she was there. As she approached them, it felt like her brain was itchy and she fought to keep her eyes open.

Pull yourself together, Bond.

She had to give her head another hard shake to clear it.

Come on, Haylie. Where are you?

It took her a second to realize the voice in her head wasn't her own.

Kamran?

Yes, it's me. What are these things you're following?

She then stared hard at them, trying to get as clear an image as she could.

Di machachta. It's the Ecada.

Her eyes dropped closed, but this time she almost couldn't get them back open. The buzzing in her mind now filled her ears. She wasn't going to make it. They knew she was there and somehow they were trying to stop her. Forcing her body and mind to shut down.

"Haylie?"

Kamran's voice now crackled from the speaker, jolting her awake again.

"They are going to attack the colony. Kamran, you have to make sure they don't.

They'll kill everyone."

"It's not safe for you there. Can you take shelter somewhere?"

Why the h.e.l.l was he worrying about her when the entire colony was in danger?

"Don't worry about me, Amba.s.sador. I'm close to the colony now and should make it back before they get to me. Just get our defenses up."

"Taber has pulled everyone he can find. Even the miners have grabbed their equipment and laser torches for weapons and have joined us. We're moving as fast as we can, but we need time."

Time. Never enough of it.

148.

"There's a supply depot south of my position. I don't think I can get to it, but it's full of explosives. Have some of the miners set it to blow. That should cause enough of a distraction to buy a few minutes."

She hoped she sounded braver than she felt right now. There was no way she'd make it back in time. Even if she did, she was on the wrong side of the fight with little more than a blaster. Her safety wasn't worth all the lives on the colony. Kamran was protected and that gave her a sense of satisfaction. As she collapsed to her knees, consciousness fading, everything seemed all right. The buzzing of the Ecada in her head was too much, too strong to fight.

"Where are you? I don't want you getting caught out there with no place to go."

She heard him talking, but despite her best efforts, she couldn't reply.

"Haylie?" Kamran sounded desperate, even to his own ears.

She wished she'd been able to tell him how she felt before now. Life wasn't fair.

Haylie gave up the fight and let unconsciousness take her over.

149.

Chapter Fifteen.

Kamran tapped his own communication unit in his EV suit, before letting out another curse. He tried once more to reach out with his mind, but their intimate connection was fading as well. The warmth of her now constant presence in his mind began to retract, leaving a dead s.p.a.ce in its stead.

He stood at the brink of their quickly erected defenses between the oncoming horde and the fragile colony. Briel and humans alike were bringing out what limited firearms they had, preparing for battle. With the damage that had been done to their backup EV suits many were left to wait inside the colony in case the Ecada breached their outer defenses. Few spoke as they listened for sounds of the approaching horde. Kamran grabbed an X5 pulse rifle and pushed his way past a huddle of security officers strategizing over a map.

"Amba.s.sador, where do you think you are going?" Taber's gruff voice invaded his ears, coated in static.

"To get Haylie. I'm not leaving her out there alone."

"That is not wise."

Kamran turned to face his friend and fixed him with a stare that sent Taber's second in command scurrying away.

"At least let me send a unit with you."

"No. They won't bother me. Individuals aren't seen as a threat by them. Plus, we need everyone we can get here."

"They may bother with the amba.s.sador who tried to stop them from getting what they wanted."

He didn't respond, taking the time to check the rifle's power supply. Fully charged.

"She can't be too far from our present location. She was moving toward the base when we lost contact," Kamran said with every ounce of conviction he could muster. If only he could still sense her.

Why had he blocked her earlier? Stupid fool.

Taber nodded. "I have every confidence that the chief is well. She may have needed to break contact for safety reasons."

Great makers, let that be the case. "I hope to beat the Ecada back here."

An unnatural scream pierced the silent planet landscape, silencing every soul at the defense base. The sand began to tremble with the slight rumble of the enemy's approach. The beat of hundreds of feet were coming toward them.

"That may be overly optimistic. You better move. They will be here in moments."

150.

Kamran saluted his friend in the traditional military form. With any luck, they would see each other again. He then slung the rifle over his shoulder and set out in search of Haylie.

Despite his long legs, it took an unacceptably long time to make his way toward her last known location. His weight made walking quickly a challenging prospect. Once he found her, he was going to kill her for doing something so stupid. She was only one person. What made her think that she could take on an entire army?

A sense of knowing exactly what she was capable of created an air of confidence in her he'd only seen in a few other beings in his life. Even if she held doubts, Haylie charged ahead sticking to her convictions once she'd made a decision. Whatever reason brought her out here, he knew she wouldn't stop until she saw it through. Or she was killed. He closed his eyes and breathed as deeply as he could in the EV suit. She'd better be okay.

Because he didn't think he could live without her.