His heart squeezed just a little at the thought of her. She was counting on him to return, and he didn't want to disappoint her. Even though it meant living without her after.

A noise to his left brought his head up. A guard stood ten meters away with a rifle pointed at him. Zain fought the instinct to reach for his weapon.

"What are you doing?" the stone-faced man asked.

Zain tipped his head. "Updating my personal unit," he replied, trying to mimic Ferretu's voice.

The guard didn't look convinced. "You are supposed to be on 93."

"It's clear," Zain told him. As he spoke, he moved his finger a fraction and pressed the button to clear all the information from his datapad, including the way home.

The man listened carefully to his voice. After a few seconds, he raised his rifle and ordered, "Remove your helmet."

Zain clenched his jaw. Failure taunted him. Not again. He wasn't going to let IG win this time. Too many lives were on the line, including Lacey's. InterGlax needed to be stopped, no matter what the sacrifice. The detonators weighed heavy in his cloak. He knew just where they were.

Slowly, he took off the helmet and watched the guard's eyes widen. In that split second of surprise, Zain tossed the helmet at him and reached in his cloak for a detonator.

Lacey rubbed her arms, even though it wasn't cold in the ship. The twin gazes of Pio and Oliver watched her. It beat the inhuman stare of their captive outside. She couldn't take much more of him. No wonder Zain had slept so poorly, with men like that hunting him.

Reene had placed a satellite image of a mottled green-and-brown planet in the holodeck. The image zoomed in to the northern hemisphere, to a particularly dark and desolate region. Details filled in around a sprawling complex wedged in a valley. One mammoth building sat in the center, surrounded by smaller structures and a sizable network of streets. The place was huge, far more complex than Lacey had ever imagined. And Zain was in the middle of it all.

She pushed aside her fear. She trusted his abilities. He promised he'd be back, and that's what she would believe.

"How is he going to return?" she asked.

"The datapad is programmed to initiate a portal activation from one of the portals on Avakur to here."

Simple enough. What could go wrong?

"I have incoming data," Reene announced. "Zain is transmitting the compound's schematics and systems."

Inside the large square building, layers of floors materialized, along with corridors, rooms, and equipment. She watched with growing alarm as the image grew more defined. To her surprise, the center section of the building was completely empty, displaying a sizable courtyard.

"Reene, I could have sworn the main building had a solid roof on the satellite image."

"The roof appears to be an illusion created by an energy field, much like the one that covers this basin."

"Interesting," she said aloud, watching the compound render like a CAD drawing. Six locations flashed red: a large one in the center courtyard, two smaller ones inside the main building, one on the rooftop, and two large locations on opposite ends of the surrounding area.

"What are the red marks?"

"Portals. They are typically used in large installations to facilitate high-speed transportation."

Lacey shook her head. Why anyone would willingly dismember themselves one molecule at a time was beyond her.

Reene continued, "In addition to these, I have applied the dome coordinates to Avakur and detected several dormant portals located outside the IG compound."

That didn't make sense. "What do you think they are for?"

"The number of portals indicates that the Narous may have used Avakur as a main transfer point or even lived there at one time."

Lacey stared at the setup. "This is simply fascinating."

"I have received the security access code to our armory," Reene announced.

Relief swept through her. "So you can shut down the energy field and lasers over us now?"

"Affirmative."

She leaned back in her chair. Excellent. Now all Zain had to do was set the detonators and get back here. It was all going to be okay. InterGlax would be stopped, and Earth and other worlds like it would be safe-for a long time, she hoped. And he and Reene could leave this basin in one piece.

On the downside, she'd be returning to Earth. Until now, she'd been so worried about Zain's safety, InterGlax, and her world, she hadn't thought much about what her life was going to be like without Zain. One word came to mind: lonely.

And the assassin outside reminded her that Zain would still be an outlaw for the rest of his life. It would haunt her as well. Every morning she'd wake up and wonder if this would be the day InterGlax caught up with him.

It wouldn't be so bad if she hadn't fallen in love with him.

Reene spoke up. "I have an explanation for the countdown."

"Go," Lacey said automatically.

"I have analyzed the data Zain sent from the Command Center and confirmed ninety-five other installations identical to this one, each covering a specific part of the galaxy. When the countdown hits zero, all drones are scheduled to launch from armories across the galaxy for as long as five cycles. The preset attack sequence indicates that multiple targets will be hit."

Her eyes widened. "Holy shit. How many targets?"

"Over one hundred thousand," Reene replied.

Lacey gasped. "Earth, too?"

"Affirmative."

"Good Lord," she whispered, overwhelmed. The entire galaxy was about to be attacked, including Earth! How many planets would suffer the fate of Maadiar? How many people were going to die? The launch had to be stopped and Zain was their only hope.

Reene said, "Zain has wiped his datapad. All information has been deleted."

Her heart thudded to a halt in her chest. "Then how will he activate the portals to get back?"

There was a weighty pause. "He won't."

She stared at the holo-image in disbelief. No. He couldn't have failed. He was too good, too skilled and he'd promised her.

"Is he alive, Reene?"

"Unknown. I must tell you that his final orders were to return you to your planet if anything went wrong."

Fear and hopelessness clawed at her. Home. She wanted nothing more than to escape this nightmare. All she had to do was walk to the back room and she'd be gone, back to where her life was simple and ordinary and safe. But it wouldn't be safe for long. The aliens were coming.

And Zain. Her chest tightened. She wouldn't leave him, no matter what she'd promised. Dammit, she wasn't running, not this time. She took hold of her fear and set it aside. It was time to show the galaxy what Lacey Garrett was capable of.

"I'm not leaving," she replied. "How much time on the countdown?"

"Just under four hours."

"And you have absolute control over the armory, Reene?"

"Affirmative. I now have access to all portals, weapons systems, teleportations, and launch sequences." "Launch sequences?" she asked. "You can target specific locations? Where they go? What they hit?"

"Yes. The fighter drones operate under one common attack program."

She raised her eyebrows. Did he say program? She leaned forward. "Reene, can you build an interface so I can modify that program?"

"Of course."

A spark of hope ignited a fledgling plan. But she could use some help to pull it off. Preferably someone who knew how to handle a gun. "I don't suppose Zain has anyone he trusts hanging in the general vicinity?"

"Rayce Coburne and Cohl Travers are several days away."

Too far. "What about Torrie?"

"Based on her last transmission, she should be relatively close."

Lacey looked out at the dome before them and embraced risk.

"Contact Torrie. We're going after Zain."

Chapter Twenty-four.

T minus zero Torrie Masters was a tall, striking woman in a blue flight suit that molded to a very physical body. With her thick, wavy cascade of red hair and green eyes, she could have been a stand-in for Maureen O'Hara. A long, light gray duster swept around her as she exited her ship, and walked to where Lacey waited next to Reene. Sizable pistols were strapped to each of her thighs and a packed weapons belt was slung around her waist. Maybe aliens had invented cowboys.

Lacey glanced down at her own baggy pajamas and fuzzy purple slippers that had seen one too many stones. For the life of her, she couldn't figure out why Zain had wanted to sleep with her.

"Greetings," Torrie said with a bright smile.

"Thanks for contacting me." Her gaze dropped to Pio, standing next to Lacey.

Lacey motioned to him. "This is Pio, a krudo. We'd be dead without them."

Torrie's eyes lit with a passion Lacey recognized only too well; it was in Zain's eyes, too. Obviously, she herself wasn't cut out to live in space. Meeting new aliens didn't do a thing for her. Well, except for Zain himself. And he did all kinds of wonderful things to her.

As they headed to the ship, Lacey nodded toward their captive. Ferretu's head was back against the wall and he squinted at them in the morning light. A half-dozen krudo kept watch around him.

"Meet Ferretu, your friendly neighborhood assassin.

Torrie's eyes narrowed. "Can we kill him?"

"Only if he moves," Lacey told her. "I'm still waiting."

"Too bad," she heard Torrie mutter. Lacey led her into Zain's ship. On the way to the front, she caught Torrie eyeing the single rumpled bunk, but Torrie didn't comment. Lacey took Zain's seat and Torrie settled into hers. Sitting on the console, Oliver acknowledged them with a half-second of interest.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Torrie," Reene chimed brightly.

Torrie's eyes met Lacey's with more than a little humor. She said to the computer, "Nice to meet you too, Reene. You disobeyed orders. I think you're in big trouble."

"I did not disobey a direct order," Reene sniffed. "I simply took Zain's requests in the strictest sense. He did not forbid Oliver from contacting you. And clearly, Oliver needs a translator."

Lacey grinned at their cooperative effort. She had a whole new respect for Reene. He could be positively devious when he wanted.

Reene had already briefed Torrie on their situation and she started studying the holo-image of the base. "Any idea where Zain is now?"

"His last transmission was from here." Lacey pointed to a second-story corridor.

"Nothing since then. We don't even know if he's still breathing."

Torrie gave a small smile. "What does your gut tell you?"

Lacey crossed her arms. "That he is alive and very pissed for screwing up."

Zain's sister laughed. "You have him figured out. I'm impressed."

"Actually, it's my fault he's there to begin with," Lacey admitted. "I thought we should stop InterGlax from attacking defenseless planets. Obviously, it was a bad idea."

Torrie shook her head. "Zain didn't do it because you told him to, trust me. And it's not your fault that something went wrong. But I have to tell you, this isn't going to be easy. That's a big installation with major weaponry protecting it. The four blue locations on the rooftop are remotely controlled turret guns. Very effective, and very hard to take out. Interesting challenge."

Lacey eyed Torrie's pistols. "You seem to know a lot about weapons."

Torrie answered with a big grin. "And I'm not afraid to use them, either."

"I need exactly one sharpshooter," Lacey confessed.

Torrie leaned back and crossed her arms. "I'm your woman. What did you have in mind?"

"I think I have a plan on how to get Zain back and stop InterGlax," Lacey said. She looked at Torrie. "We only have a few hours to get ready, and it'll be just the two of us. You with me?"

Torrie smiled. "Are you kidding? And miss the chance to hold a rescue over my brother's head forever? I'm in."

Guards relieved Zain of the detonators and weapons, and bound his hands in restraints before shoving him into a windowless three-meter-by-three-meter confinement cell. A translucent force-field door sealed the room. On the other side, three Avakurian guards dispersed, their duty done. He watched them limp and massage assorted body parts. At least he'd given them a struggle they wouldn't soon forget. Unfortunately, he'd failed to activate even one of his detonators.

He sat on the only chair in the cell to try to sort out the situation. One thing was for certain: This was no InterGlax operation. These guys couldn't fight worth a damn, and no one recognized him. He knew his face was plastered all over IG's Most Wanted lists. That meant the Avakurians were stealing from InterGlax without direct association. The realization made him feel slightly better on several levels, but it blew his theory of the connection to his past. If IG wasn't involved, then how were their fighter drones ending up with the Avakurians?

Zain rested his head against the wall and tasted his own blood. He winced at the pain in his ribs and battered fists. He'd gotten off easy. The Avakurians could have just shot him and been done with it. But, for whatever reason, he was still alive. An interesting turn of events. Maybe they were going to have a special execution ceremony. Something to look forward to.

He closed his eyes. This time, he had not only failed the galaxy he had failed Lacey as well. The thought of her derailed all his other thoughts. She would go back to Earth and wait for the Avakurs to show up someday.