Expanding Empire – The Breeding Ground Saga (Book 3)

Can she commit to “forever” with an alien?

She never committed a crime, but secret agents are determined to kill her. She’d tried to protect Earth from evil invading aliens, but that hadn’t been enough to win them over. Somehow, they’d learned of her pregnancy, and they saw the alien baby inside of her as an abomination. Why couldn’t her parents have come with her? At least she had Tryyg to protect her. 

Love is in the air. Too bad they won’t have time to enjoy it. Planet Meridian is crawling with Terrazonian soldiers, and elite hunter-killer robots. Tryyg will be forced to confront his past in order to unravel the mysteries of Lenora’s interspecies pregnancy. Something very weird is happening to Lenora, and she’s struggling to come to grips with it all. Should she tell Tryyg her secrets? Will she ever be the same?

Come find out for yourself. Get your copy today!

***COMING SOON TO PRE-SALE***

Can true love conquer all? If not, hopefully there’s something to be said for muscles and telekinesis.

CHAPTER ONE

Lenora pressed a hand to the slight curve of her stomach. Maybe it was all the pregnancy hormones, but she found herself experiencing a multitude of conflicting emotions. Everything about her future seemed uncertain. Reading might have calmed her, but she was in space and didn’t have access to a copy of What to Expect When You’re Expecting. Also, she doubted the bestseller had a chapter on interspecies pregnancies. Which was a shame, because that was exactly the advice she needed.

 After all she’d been through, she just wanted to go home, but Earth wasn’t safe anymore. It wasn’t just the Terrazonians who wanted them dead. Now A.F.E.L. was after them too. That was why they were in a spaceship headed toward Tryyg’s home planet— Meridian.

Lenora was surprised that within such a short time she could already clearly see the beautiful blue planet on the ship’s monitor. They must be neighbors, she thought to herself. But then, Tryyg had already mentioned that the Meridians and Terrazonians had maintained peaceful trade relationships for years before Raylor assumed power. 

Her body was still pumping with adrenaline. Minutes before, they’d barely escaped a bunch of honest-to-goodness fire-breathing alien dragons. If she never returned to Terrazon she’d consider herself fortunate. Now that they were safe, Lenora needed something to take the edge off. She didn’t know how to meditate, and pregnancy seemed like the wrong timea to take up drinking. She had one idea of how to burn off some excess energy, but it would require a partner.

She turned to face the hunky alien who had turned her normal human world upside down. Was he ready to do more than kiss? He was taller than her, so she had to look up to take in his finely chiseled jawline, and the intense gaze of his bright azure eyes. In the swirling blue orbs, she saw love, trust, and passion. Tryyg squeezed her hand warmly, and that was all the invitation Lenora needed. She glided closer to him, loving the feeling of zero gravity. This must be what flying felt like. His very presence was like a magnet drawing her closer. She wrapped her arms around him and nearly swooned when she felt his body press against her own. The only certainty in her life right now was that her alien loved her.

She’d just told him she loved him, and she’d meant it. Her heart began beating wildly again, but it wasn’t out of fear. It was due to anticipation. Lenora suddenly became conscious of the fact that she had everything she needed, and it had nothing to do with self-help books. When had Tryyg become the center of her universe?

Lenora sought his lips with her own. The kiss started out chaste, but then it quickly ignited into something deeper. Lenora sighed as she felt his tongue pressing past the border of her teeth. She had no worldly experience to draw upon, but as his tongue probed deeper, Lenora hoped they were finally going to do more than kiss! She was on board with whatever he had in mind.

Lenora felt Tryyg’s hands skimming across the smooth expanse of her back, and she felt electric shocks buzzing across her skin. Tryyg was a walking battery, so that shouldn’t have surprised her. Lenora remembered the sensation of his hand on hers when he’d charged her phone. It had been unlike anything she’d ever experienced before, and now she felt as if a live current was flowing through her body, warming her , and filling her with renewed energy. Moments before, she’d literally witnessed sparks flying off of him.

“Open your eyes,” Tryyg ordered.

Lenora did so reluctantly. “You can’t possibly want to talk right now!”

“Are you sure?” Tryyg asked. They were already mated according to the customs of his people, and he was more than ready to take their relationship further . . . but only if it was what she truly wanted.

Lenora was taken aback by the intensity in his gaze. She gave herself a moment to think before answering. Was she sure? They’d finally had the relationship talk. They both loved each other. They were bonded. They were having a baby. She liked it when he touched her. What else was there to discuss?

She didn’t know how to voice her needs, but she was eager to take the relationship to the next level. She’d never really dated anyone before, so she had no idea what to expect. Lenora had always imagined that when she was older, she would meet a nice guy. They’d date and eventually, they’d get married and have kids. But here she was pregnant and “mated” to an alien she hardly knew.

“If I get any more sure, I might spontaneously combust!” she joked sarcastically. “Are all aliens this dense?”

Tryyg let loose a wry chuckle, and then he made his move. Lenora gasped when she felt his hands gliding up the expanse of her spine. She felt as if her skin was electrically charged and alive. Her anger evaporated in an instant. Then his hands were sliding around her waist as he fiddled with the latches on her belt. He removed her knife belt and the deadly accessory floated off to the side.

As far as Lenora was concerned, this was her first time and she wanted everything to be perfect. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. Tryyg’s hands tilted her chin. Their eyes met, and the passion she saw there made her feel powerful on a primal level.

“I love you,” Tryyg murmured.

She would never get sick of hearing him say that. Lenora’s answering smile was radiant. “I love you too.”

“And you are sure?” he asked again, almost hesitantly.

“Just because I want to do it doesn’t mean I want to talk it over step by step! Talk about killing the mood!”

Tryyg looked relieved. What would he have done if she’d said no? Actually, this was Tryyg, so she knew exactly what he’d do. He’d never force her, unless she accidentally drugged him with a sedative. It wasn’t in his nature. He’d be the perfect understanding gentleman and give her all the space she needed.

Lenora didn’t want to think about that horrible night. She forced her mind back to the present. Now was the time for building new memories. Beautiful ones. The world might be on the cusp of an alien apocalypse, but at least they had each other. She had no idea what to expect when they got to Meridian, so she was determined to make the most of their remaining time on the spaceship.

Lenora’s fingers shook nervously as she undid the first few buttons on Tryyg’s shirt. Her hands dipped lower to tug his shirt out from where he’d tucked it in his pants. She grinned widely when Tryyg took a big gulp of air and closed his eyes for a brief second to compose himself. Never before had she been able to read his emotions so clearly.

Tryyg was usually so guarded with his thoughts that trying to discern what he was thinking was like trying to superimpose an image on a blank canvas. This was a nice change. Lenora finished unbuttoning his shirt and then tugged it hurriedly down his arms.

She bunched the fabric in her hands and then sent the shirt drifting lazily into the corner of the spacecraft. The ship felt crowded with all of the extra seats that Tryyg had installed for their mission to Terrazon. But there was still empty space on the ceiling. Tryyg pressed his spine against the wall of glass and tugged on Lenora’s hand to bring her with him. Was her first time going to be upside down and floating at zero gravity? She didn’t know who she’d ever share her story with, but boy would she have a memory.

Lenora wiggled her hand out of his grasp. She wanted to see his eyes on her. Removing her own shirt, she threw it carelessly to the side. She reached behind and held her breath as she undid the clasps on her bra and then removed that as well. She waited nervously for his reaction. Would he like what he saw? She watched, fascinated as his eyes changed color from a pale blue to a shade so dark it bordered navy.

This time, when Tryyg tugged on her hand, she let him pull her down, although they were upside down, so really it was up. Her skin sizzled when it connected with the bare expanse of his chest. She lay still for a moment, savoring the feeling. Then she scooted back and trailed her fingers across Tryyg’s chest and arms. His skin was covered in intricate blue tattoos, and they were beautiful. She couldn’t help but thank her parents for dosing her with the elixir, without which she wouldn’t have been able to see the exquisite artwork of his tattoos.

“You’re so beautiful,” Lenora whispered reverently. She ducked her head down and kissed one of the swirling designs on his arm.

“Is not handsome the word used for males?” he teased.

Lenora scooted back further and wiggled a little. Tryyg’s expression grew almost pained as he struggled to maintain control.

“Do you really want to correct me right now?” Lenora asked. “After all, English isn’t your native language.”

“I am beautiful,” he agreed quickly, throwing his hands up in mock surrender.

“That’s better,” Lenora quipped. She was feeling more confident by the minute. She also felt lightheaded, like she wasn’t getting enough air. She would have just chalked that up to the exhilaration of making out with the love of her life. But alarms began blaring all over the ship. None too gently, Tryyg shoved her to the side and air-swam over to the command center.

“That doesn’t sound good,” Lenora whispered.

Tryyg didn’t reply. He was frantically reading screens and adjusting controls. Lenora figured the best thing she could do to help was remain silent, so that’s what she did.

But inside her head, she was shouting, You’ve got to be freaking kidding me! I’m going to have a freaking baby without ever getting to experience sex!”

Was she cursed? Lately it didn’t seem like they were ever going to catch a break. Did it make her shallow if all she wanted to do was make love with her sexy alien?

“Stupid pregnancy hormones,” she muttered softly.

She pushed off the ceiling, floated over to the corner of the ship, and dug around the seats until she found her bra. Whatever was about to happen, she didn’t want to face it half-naked. She located her top next. She clutched Tryyg’s shirt patiently. She wanted to be ready if he asked for it. She was about to buckle herself into one of the many chairs when he turned to face her. His brows were furrowed, and his expression was frightening.

“We are losing oxygen at a rapid rate,” Tryyg said.

“But you can fix it, right?” Lenora asked.

“Chances are, if I attempted a repair, I would kill us both long before we ran out of oxygen.”

Lenora sagged back in the seat. She wasn’t liking where this was going.

“So we’re going to die,” she asked, frustration evident in her voice.

“I have an idea. It is what you humans call ‘out of the box.’”

“I’m all ears,” Lenora said impatiently.

“Our odds of survival would still be marginal at best.”

“And?”

“I have a space suit,” Tryyg began.

“Well, why didn’t you say so in the first place!” Lenora yelled.

“I only have one.”

“Oh,” Lenora’s whole face fell. “So that’s completely useless.”

Would he take the suit and split? Or maybe he’d stoically try to give it to her. She had no interest in trying to survive on Meridian alone, especially not with a baby bomb ticking away inside her, a bomb that might literally rip her apart from the inside out. On the plus side, if she died now, at least she’d never have to find out just how painful and disgusting it really was to shoot something the size of a bowling ball out of her nether regions.

“The suit was specially designed by my people. It does not have a power source,” Tryyg explained.

“Because you’re the Energizer Bunny,” Lenora added bitterly. So much for chivalry. He could have at least offered to die for her. “So, as far as I’m concerned, the thing is basically useless.”

“Correct.”

“Well, I guess it was nice knowing you,” Lenora sobbed. She bit her lip. She hated herself for crying, especially since his last memory of her would be her blubbering, but the tears came of their own volition.

“I said I have an idea,” Tryyg reminded her gently.

“Your captive audience awaits,” Lenora bit out.

Tryyg opened a small hatch built into the control console. Inside were two black bags that looked like something that belonged in a morgue. He retrieved one of them, and then he opened another hatch and pulled out a small vial of red liquid.

“If you are already dead, you will not require oxygen,” Tryyg explained slowly.

“What?!” screamed Lenora. “Your genius plan is to mercy kill me? You know, you come off all gallant-knighty, but you’re really just a big, nasty, selfish, despicable . . .” She struggled to find the proper insults for the occasion.

“I would never abandon you, Lenora,” Tryyg interrupted hastily. “This drug puts Meridians into stasis for especially long space flights. It is similar to the tools your people have to put individuals into medically induced comas.”

She’d been ready to make beautiful memories, but her day had taken a nasty turn.

“I have no idea how your body will react,” he paused, staring at her intently. “I cannot guarantee that I will be able to restart your heart once we re-enter the Meridian atmosphere.”

“Won’t we just both burn up in the descent anyway?” Lenora asked. She’d seen a lot of movies, and that seemed to be what happened when people tried to return from space.

“Both the spacesuit and the body bag are designed to withstand the heat,” Tryyg said. “Our smaller ships are not equipped with emergency escape pods.”

“So your genius plan is that you want to kill me and put me in a body bag? Well, that’s definitely some out-of-the-box thinking.”

“If there were any other course of action, I would gladly take it,” Tryyg said. “To attempt a repair of the leak mid-flight would require me to do a spacewalk while a skilled co-pilot monitored the oxygen levels and hull integrity on the instrument panel.”

Lenora was pretty sure Tryyg had already ruled her out as being the “skilled co-pilot” who could monitor the doohickey or whatever the heck he was talking about.

“We are running out of time to even attempt this,” he continued.

“There are no good options here, are there?”

There was a metallic groaning sound. It was almost as if the ship were collapsing in on itself. More alarms began sounding from the console.

“What now?” Lenora asked brokenly.

“Forget dying from lack of oxygen,” Tryyg said. “The ship is going to implode long before any of that happens.”

“You should just leave me,” Lenora sobbed bitterly.

“I will never do that,” Tryyg stated firmly.

 “I really don’t like you.”

“Well, I happen to love you.”

“Are you going to stick me with a giant needle or what?”

“No, you drink it.”

Lenora half swam, half floated through the air, closing the distance between them. She pressed her lips to his. She poured all her emotions into that kiss: fear, love, rage, remorse, and a tiny drop of hope. All too soon, she was pulling away. Standing by and doing nothing was the same as putting a bullet through his head. She wasn’t about to let him die because of her. She loved him far too much to allow that.

“Body bag, here I come,” Lenora muttered. She whipped around and stared intently at Tryyg. Being this close to death had made her realize that there was something she wanted even more than sex. “If we both make it through this alive, I want a real wedding, white dress and all. Promise me I’ll get it no matter what.”

“I promise,” Tryyg vowed solemnly.

Tryyg unscrewed the cap and handed the little vial to Lenora. She downed the bright red liquid in one gulp. She immediately felt woozy. Tryyg shook open one of the black body bags. In her opinion, it looked pretty flimsy for something that was supposed to withstand the heat of entering a planet’s atmosphere. That said, his suit didn’t look all that substantial either.

At least I won’t be awake to feel the flesh burning off of my bones, she mused.

She climbed into the bag and closed her eyes. It was pitch black inside, and she was still very much afraid of the dark. Having her eyes closed helped make the stygian darkness a smidge less unnerving. The drug was fast-acting. Lenora began to grow weak. She tried desperately to convince herself that this was like sleeping. And then there was nothing. Not even dreams.

Tryyg raced to don his spacesuit, adjusting the various harnesses and closures. He had little confidence in his plan, but he had to try. He longed to gaze at his mate one last time, but he couldn’t risk compromising the seals on the body bag. If only there was some way to verify that she was okay. He refused to let his mind dwell on the fact that he had no way of knowing how her human body would respond to the Meridian stasis drugs. The fact that she was pregnant with his child was just one more variable that he had no control over. What if he’d just killed the woman he loved?

A metallic whine resounded throughout the ship. He was out of time. He had no choice but to exit the ship. Below him was the blue glow of his home world; everywhere else was the pitch-black void of space. He drew on his telekinetic abilities to power up his suit. Then he held up a hand, opening the door with a surge of energy while using his other arm to cradle Lenora to his chest. Even with all his training, he found himself unprepared for the cruel vacuum that instantly sucked him outside. 

The immense expanse of space overwhelmed him with dread and feelings of isolation, even though he wasn’t actually alone. He was adrift, with nothing to guide him save the controls built into his helmet. If he deviated so much as an inch off course, he could run out of oxygen and they would both be lost.

Soundwaves don’t travel through space, so there wasn’t any noise when the ship exploded. He didn’t consider himself a sentimental person, but that ship had been his only surviving piece of Meridian technology. It was one of the last reminders of the ingenuity of his nearly extinct civilization, and there was no guarantee that he’d be able to find a working replacement anywhere on the desolate planet.

If he hadn’t been looking back, he’d have missed the explosion entirely. He squeezed his eyes shut to block out the blinding white light, and that was almost his undoing. An alarm began to sound angrily in his helmet. He blinked to clear his vision. Using the thrusters built into the boots of his suit, he began dodging the hurtling debris. If he’d had more control over his powers, he’d have been able to use telekinesis to avert the bits of wreckage. His father had often lectured him to apply himself, and he wished he’d listened. But he wasn’t strong enough, and there were far too many pieces for him to manipulate at once.

His eyes widened when he saw a large piece of debris approaching at an incredible speed. Time seemed to stand still as his eyes focused on the object.

At least now I know what destroyed my ship, Tryyg thought ruefully.

Thanks to the fire, there was nothing left but skeletal remains, but Tryyg recognized it instantly. It was a tanzyn. Or “dragon,” as Lenora had called it. He’d mistakenly thought they’d escaped the flock of dragons while fleeing the atmosphere of Terrazon. Apparently one of the tanzyn had managed to latch onto his ship. Tryyg cursed himself for his idiocy. If he’d been more focused on flying his ship instead of wooing his mate, this never would have happened.

The creature couldn’t have survived long without oxygen. Tryyg hypothesized that it had compromised his ship with its attempts to burrow inside. It was sobering to realize that even though it had been reduced to bones, the tanzyn still might still succeed in destroying them. Tryyg had to think fast. The dragon’s massive skeletal frame was hurtling toward them at lightning speed.

Tryyg thrust to his left sharply, clinging to the body bag. In that moment he was grateful for one thing; in her hibernating form, Lenora would be blissfully ignorant of this perilous new development. He battled the urge to sacrifice his life to save hers because without him, there would be no one to re-start her heart. Of course, that little detail wouldn’t matter unless they actually managed to arrive safely on Meridian, the odds of which decreased by the second.

The flying hunk of the tanzyn’s skeleton spiraled by, missing them by mere inches. He sighed, closing his eyes briefly because there wasn’t really time to celebrate. He paid a hefty price for momentarily letting his guard down. While his eyes were sealed shut, he’d failed to see that one of the tanzyn’s vertebrae had become detached and was trailing behind the larger segment. The bony debris struck hard on the back of his helmet. The unexpected blow caused Tryyg to lose his hold on Lenora. She began to drift away from him into the endless void of space.

Panic threatened to overwhelm him as he used his suit’s thrusters to close the growing distance between them. When he reached her, he wrapped his arms around her like a vice. He worriedly scanned the display built inside his helmet, but it only confirmed what he’d already suspected. He’d severely depleted his oxygen supply. Unlike his ship, the suit couldn’t recycle air. The required device would have been too bulky for the suit. The small canister barely held enough oxygen for anything other than a direct descent, and he’d been too far away to begin with.

He strove to slow his racing heart, taking only shallow breaths. If it was only his life on the line, he’d have already embraced defeat. But he would never do that to the woman he loved. He had to find a way to conserve his oxygen supply if he was going to land safely. It was only when he attempted to correct his course that he realized his controls had been damaged by the blow from the tanzyn’s vertebrae. He couldn’t run the projections to see if he had enough oxygen left to make it to his new destination. He couldn’t enter exact coordinates for where he wanted to land. He was essentially flying blind.

If only Mary Gates had let him die when he’d crashed his ship on Earth. Lenora would have been so much better off without him. Tryyg continued to drift toward Meridian, more out of habit than hope. He felt defeated, but love spurred him on.

While he cradled Lenora’s unconscious form in his arms, he had an epiphany. He was selfish at his core because, in spite of all that had happened, he wouldn’t have changed a moment of it. Without his pain and suffering, he never would have met Lenora. She had become the meaning for his otherwise empty life. She was all that remained of his heart. He stopped trying to calculate a new trajectory, choosing instead to treasure his last few moments with his mate. He repeatedly shut off the oxygen tank, holding his breath for minutes at a time in an attempt to stretch the precious commodity further.

His faulty sensors alerted him that he was approaching his destination, although he didn’t know if his oxygen supply would hold out long enough for him to reach breathable air. There were far worse ways to die than asphyxiation, especially with a view like this. From space, Meridian appeared predominantly blue, as with any planet sustained by water. But it had such a diverse range of ecosystems that the planet was a veritable kaleidoscope of color. There was the yellow of the rich clay regions, the brilliant reds from the lava geysers in the acid swamps, the greens of the fertile lands where his people had built their once great cities, and the rich purple of the Barren Dunes.

The Barren Dunes were regrettably uninhabitable, given how they made up the largest geographical portions of Meridian. They had a well-earned, if frightful, reputation. It was said that no one who visited the Barren Dunes had ever returned. The Barren Dunes held hosts of malevolent creatures and deadly terrain. The sands themselves were said to be imbued with magical healing properties. Daring scientists would venture to the borderlands to collect samples of the purple sands. But that was as far as anyone went

Due to the vast expanse of the Barren Dunes, Meridian was largely uninhabitable. Because of this, Tryyg’s people had always been careful to control their population size.

Of course, given the mass genocide of his people, the issue of population control was now moot. Tryyg himself had never ventured near the Barren Dunes, and he was doing everything in his power to keep it that way. If they landed anywhere outside of the habitable regions, he doubted he’d live long enough to revive Lenora.

Minutes seemed like hours. He felt dizzy, and the tips of his fingers tingled. He gripped the black bag even tighter. There was no escaping the torment of his thoughts. He began to visualize what he’d do if she didn’t survive. He would not live without her. Taking his own life seemed selfish, especially given the fact that his race was all but extinct.

For some time, he considered tracking down his son and freeing him from his enslavement. But with Danning dead, he had no clues about his location to go on. And he no longer had a spaceship. When the children from the mine popped into his head, he felt a strange sense of peace wash over him. If he couldn’t revive Lenora, he would go on a suicide mission to free the children in the mines. After all, those children were the only chance of a future his people had.

He felt as if a burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He would not be forced to bear the heart-wrenching desolation of losing his mate . . . not a second time, anyway.

“I will not live without her,” he whispered to himself.

Instantly he regretted speaking. It was a foolish waste of a finite supply of air. A new error message began to scroll across the screen of his visor;, it blinked on and off, a glitch resulting from the tanzyn damage. His oxygen was running out. He took a deep breath and shut off the tank. If luck was on his side, he would be able to breathe the planet’s oxygen momentarily.

He knew that his suit was designed to withstand the increasing heat of re-entry. He only hoped that what he had been told about the body bags was true. Even then, transporting a dead body wasn’t at all the same as moving a live one. This was not what the bags had been designed for.

His medical training had been too thorough for him to ignore these glaring details. The stakes were too high, and with so many variables at play, anything could go wrong. He could lose everything. He could lose her.

Tryyg felt lightheaded. He needed to turn back on the oxygen, but every second counted. He fought to hold it for as long as he possibly could. The moment he felt he could no longer channel his energy into the suit’s electronics, he flipped the switch back on. He sucked in a ragged breath. There was a faint whirring sound and then a shift in pressure when the tank emptied and shut off.

Then he had no choice but to hold his breath. It was a good thing he wasn’t a mathematician because he wouldn’t have wanted to know just how slim his odds of survival were. In his mind, he saw long brown hair and a smile that lit up the whole room. He’d come so close only to fail. He comforted himself with the fact that there were far worse ways to die. At least they would be together in the end.

CHAPTER TWO

As the stolen Terrazonian craft hurtled through space, Henry Gates was amazed that he had been able to bring them this far just with what he’d learned in his fifteen-minute crash course with Tryyg only a few hours ago. He was a brilliant scientist, but aeronautics wasn’t his specialty. He was a chemist. He’d never even flown a plane outside of a practice simulation. And that had been several years ago when he’d been visiting some colleagues at NASA. 

So far, this trip had taken them through parts of the galaxy that were as yet unreached by any man-made satellites. Henry had felt great relief when they’d finally entered their own solar system. The journey provided a breathtaking view of Saturn and Jupiter that no telescope on Earth could come close to replicating. 

Under any other circumstances, this would have been the adventure of a lifetime, especially for a man of science like Henry. But his thoughts weighed heavily on him, and it robbed the joy from the experience. His only daughter had been left behind on a dangerous alien planet. The tiny sliver of hope he had for her survival was in the hands of his best friend, the alien who had dramatically entered their lives years ago.

If anyone can keep her safe, it’s Tryyg, Henry thought to himself reassuringly. Tryyg had promised to protect Lenora with his life.

 He would have relished the opportunity to talk with his wife, Mary, about all that had transpired over the past few days. But if he was to stand a chance of getting them back to Earth in one piece, he’d need to focus on the alien instrument panel in front of him. Despite his good intentions, his mind wandered. 

He thought of the kids they’d rescued that were on the ship with him, the ones whose families were waiting for them back on Earth. Why had they been abducted? What were the Terrazonians up to? Assuming they didn’t die during re-entry, what awaited them all back on Earth?

He couldn’t stop thinking about the massive bombshell that Tryyg had recently dropped on him. He was going to be a grandfather! It was a lot to process. You couldn’t make this stuff up if you tried.

Agent Adams, the tall, muscular, bald-headed agent who had accompanied them on their journey to Terrazon and was one of the few survivors from the A.F.E.L. team, came over to check on him.

“How’s it going, doc?” he asked.

“Well, I don’t think this ship is going to make the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs,” Henry answered. “But if my calculations are correct, we should be reaching Earth within the hour.” 

“Ha!” Adams’ eyes lit up with an almost giddy expression that didn’t match his physical appearance at all as he patted Henry on the shoulder. “Good one!” 

“Yeah, I’m anxious to get to Earth too,” Henry answered.

“No, I mean your reference!” Adams replied. “The Kessel Run! Han Solo! I feel like whenever I talk about this stuff, people just roll their eyes at me.”

Henry returned Adams’ smile and then glanced back at the alien instrument panel. A fellow nerd, he thought to himself. Under normal circumstances, he would be thrilled to strike up a conversation with a total stranger about Star Wars fandom. But these were not normal circumstances. 

Mary still had her bullet-injured arm in a sling and was making the rounds to check on the high schoolers they had rescued on Terrazon. Most of them were huddled in a group, still in a state of shock from all they had seen and experienced. There was one girl who seemed more lucid than the others and was sitting upright. When their eyes met, Mary’s motherly instincts kicked in.

“How are you doing, sweetie?” she asked as she knelt beside the girl.

“Okay, I guess,” she answered with a weak smile. “I miss my family.”

“I know,” Mary answered. “I’m sure they’re missing you too. We should be reaching Earth soon. We’ll do everything we can to make sure you get reunited with them quickly.”

After a brief pause, Mary continued the conversation.

“I’m Mary. Mary Gates. What’s your name?”

“Samantha. Samantha Jenkins.” 

“Nice to meet you, Samantha. Why don’t you tell me a little bit about your family?”

“Well, it’s just me, my mom, and my little brother Dexter. My dad died of cancer last year.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that,” Mary answered with concern in her voice as she squeezed Samantha’s shoulder. “That must be very hard for you and your mom.”

“It is,” Samantha answered. “I miss him. My mom and I were both working, going to school, and taking care of Dex. We were barely keeping it together before this happened. I have to get back home.”

“I’m sure we’ll have you home in no time,” Mary said, feigning confidence she didn’t feel.

“Why were we taken?” Samantha asked. “Who were those monsters?”

“I don’t know yet,” Mary answered. “But I’m going to find out. Did they hurt you?”

“Not really. They just had me hooked up to some wires and stuff. I don’t think they got a chance to do whatever they were planning.”

“That’s good. How did you get out?”

“Honestly, I don’t really remember. It feels like it was all a dream. I was hooked up to this machine. And then this really attractive man . . . he had these amazing blue eyes . . . and he unhooked me from the machine and lifted me up.” 

“What happened next?” Mary asked eagerly. 

“Well then he handed me off to this girl with brown hair and brown eyes who couldn’t have been much older than me.”

“Lenora!” Mary interrupted. “That’s my daughter! Did you see what happened to her?”

“Well, she was hooking me up to this harness to pull me up through the roof, and then this monster scientist guy who’d kept us prisoner came back and started talking to the blue-eyed guy. Something about trying to stop their race from going extinct? And then they started fighting.”

Going extinct? Mary thought. What is going on? 

“Can you recall what happened next?”

“Not really,” Samantha answered. “I must have passed out after that because I woke up here. I’m sorry I don’t remember anything else.”

“It’s okay,” Mary answered. “You should get some rest.” 

“Okay,” Samantha replied. “But can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“How did you hurt your arm?”

“Well, when one of those monsters tried to shoot my daughter, I managed to push her out of the way.”

Samantha’s eyes widened. “You took a bullet for her?”

“I would do anything to keep my daughter safe,” Mary replied. “And I’m not going to give up until I see her again. I’m sure your mom feels the same way about you.” She smiled as she squeezed Samantha’s shoulder and stood up. 

“There it is!” Henry exclaimed at that moment. They all looked at the monitor and saw the beautiful blue globe floating in space. Earth. They were almost home. 

“Do you know how to land this thing?” Agent Dodds asked with a hint of skepticism in her voice.

“I sure hope so,” answered Henry. He knew that wasn’t exactly the answer the woman was looking for, but he’d never been good at lying.

“How are we going to avoid detection?” Adams asked. “The Space Force will be monitoring any unusual activity in the sky. They will spot us soon, if they haven’t already.”

“Ahh…” Henry answered. “I’m glad you mentioned that. Tryyg told me that this thing has a cloaking device.”

“A cloaking device?” Adams asked with big eyes. “Like a Klingon Bird of Prey?”

“Exactly,” Henry replied as he punched a series of irregularly shaped buttons on a lower panel of the console. There was a hissing sound as the entire bridge of the ship darkened somewhat except for several monitors throughout which all displayed the same blinking message in an alien font.

“I really hope that means that the cloaking device is engaged,” Adams replied with nervous excitement.

“Me too,” Henry agreed. “What happens if the cloaking device doesn’t work?”

“They’ll blow us out of the sky,” Dodds interrupted. 

“That’s a cheerful thought,” Henry replied. “Well, let’s pray this thing works.”

As the ship began to enter Earth’s orbit, Henry acknowledged the fear he’d tried to keep to himself this entire trip. He had no idea where to land the ship. This craft was much larger than Tryyg’s, and even with a cloaking device, he couldn’t just land in a cornfield. This was assuming, of course, that he could even land the thing at all, but that was a different issue. 

Almost as if she had read his mind, Agent Dodds took out her satellite phone and read the display. 

“I’ve got a signal!” she exclaimed.

“Call your people and ask them where we can safely land,” Henry replied.

“Attention! This is Agent Dodds,” she spoke into the handset. “Agents Simms and Riley are dead. We are the survivors of the mission to Terrazon. Requesting immediate assistance!”

“We are getting no reading of your location, Agent Dodds,” came the voice through the device. “State your coordinates.” 

“Well, I guess that means the cloaking device is working,” Henry answered in relief. “If I’m reading this correctly, we appear to be somewhere over the eastern United States.”

At that moment, the ship began to dip down rapidly. Everyone scrambled to grab ahold of something. Several of the high schoolers began to scream in panic. 

“Everyone hold on!” Henry yelled.

“What’s wrong, dear?” asked Mary.

“We’ve entered Earth’s atmosphere. This is a lot different than flying through the vacuum of space. I’m having a hard time controlling the ship!”

Henry began rapidly flipping strange-looking switches all while studying the alien symbols on the monitor. This was an impossible situation.

“Unless I can redirect us quickly, I think we’re headed for downtown New York City,” he said grimly.

“Doc, if you can’t get this under control, I’m gonna have to ask you to disengage the cloak and let U.S. military forces shoot us down so we don’t take out thousands of innocent people,” Agent Adams replied.

“Understood,” Henry answered. “If I can get us over the skyline, I think we can crash-land in the Atlantic Ocean.”

“You can do this, darling,” Mary whispered. She used her one good arm to squeeze Henry’s hand. 

“Prepare a rescue party!” Dodds commanded the A.F.E.L. people on the ground. “We’re gonna attempt a crash-landing in the Atlantic Ocean!”

“Roger that,” came the voice on the other line. 

“We’re gonna die!” screamed one of the students when she noticed how quickly they were approaching the city. The ship began to rock and shudder. Henry wondered if they’d even make it to the ocean before it split apart. But he decided to keep his fears to himself. Inciting panic certainly wouldn’t do any good.

“Everyone remain calm,” Henry said over the intercom. “We’re going to crash land in the ocean. But a rescue party is waiting for us there. They prepare for rescue missions like this all the time.” 

After he switched off the intercom, Henry leaned over to Mary and said, “Loving you has made my life complete.”

She wrapped her one good arm around his neck and kissed him fiercely.

“That better not have been a goodbye speech,” she warned him.

“I sure hope for all of our sakes it wasn’t,” he replied grimly.

Tryyg hadn’t exactly prepared Henry for this type of quick navigation. Based on Henry’s limited experience, it was a lot easier to avoid hitting planets and moons than it was to navigate around cities and buildings. There wasn’t nearly as much time to react.

Henry narrowly missed the tallest skyscrapers as the ship continued its trajectory over the ocean. There was a new problem. How was he supposed to slow the ship down? None of them would survive if they landed in the water at the speed they were going. He tried to visualize how it would go down. His mind vacillated between images of a semi-truck crashing into a brick wall, and a sumo wrestler executing an enormous cannonball in a pool. Neither looked pretty to him.

The passengers were starting to get restless. The closer they got to the water, the more anxious they became. It had all transpired so quickly.

“Brace for impact!” he yelled.

He could see the ocean now, and they were seconds away. He turned to his wife, wanting her lovely face to be the last thing he saw. To him, she was still beautiful even after two decades of marriage.

“I love you,” Henry said.

There were tears in her eyes as she said, “Not as much as I love you.”

They’d had twenty years together, but Henry wanted more time. The ship hit the water at an angle and began hydroplaning across the surface of the Atlantic. They bounced up and down a few times, like a rock skipping across a pond.

Although the initial impact had been harsh, it wasn’t fatal. It violently jolted the passengers, and more than a few of them would probably suffer from whiplash, but they’d live. Some of the students were clapping and cheering. Henry was more shocked than anything else. None of his worst-case scenarios had become reality. They hadn’t been crushed on impact. They weren’t all burning alive from a terrible explosion. They’d made it. Or had they?

The ship had ceased its rock-like skimming. It was slowing down rapidly. Suddenly Henry’s heartbeat began to pick up. His mind had honed in on a new terror. He could feel the change in pressure, like an elevator descending too fast. The ship was sinking. If they didn’t get out of here soon, they were all going to drown. Alarms were sounding off all around the ship. Henry suspected that the frame had been severely compromised during the landing. 

The cheering had long since ceased. Although Henry had said nothing to dash their hopes, the kids must have figured out on their own that the ship was sinking. Henry was searching for the right words to say when suddenly there was a harsh squealing sound, like a giant circular saw was going off above them. Then there were several loud clanging sounds spaced out around the ship.

There was hardly any time for them to speculate about what could possibly be making the noise. Everyone gasped when a giant harpoon ripped through the bridge of the ship. If Henry hadn’t moved to stand by Mary, it would have gone right through him. Water streamed instantly through the hole. Henry and Mary both worked to undo her harness with shaking fingers.

On the plus side, their rescue party seemed to have arrived. On the downside, the rescue attempts weren’t off to a great start. They’d narrowly avoided skewering Henry, and now it appeared they were set on drowning them all. Henry threw open the door to the main body of the ship where all of the students were situated. He and Mary rushed through and bolted the door to the command room shut behind them. That slowed the rush of water, but it was still streaming in around the door jamb. The relentless ocean spray would make its way through one way or another. The question was, would the rescue party get them out in time?

“Everyone needs to remain calm,” Henry said, even though he felt anything but calm. Adams, Dodds, and the other agents were trying to corral everyone together. 

The water level had already risen to cover their feet, and they had no way of communicating with the people on the outside. Time was running out. It seemed cruel to have made it all the way from Terrazon only to drown in the Atlantic Ocean.

Henry held Mary close to him, trying to savor his last few minutes with his wife. The water level was rising rapidly. It was already up to their chins. Pretty soon they’d all have to tread water in order to keep breathing. They could still hear pounding on the ship’s exterior, but it wasn’t as loud now. Was the water muffling the noise or had they slowed their efforts? Then there was a strange rising sensation, almost like the feeling you get in your stomach when you go up a few floors in an elevator.

“I feel it too,” Mary said when she saw Henry press a hand to his abdomen.

The lights flickered on and off, eliciting a new round of screaming from the high school students. As horrible as the sound was, Henry couldn’t bring himself to stop them. His only focus now was Mary. She wouldn’t be able to swim with her injured arm. He was determined to keep her alive as long as possible. The water level continued to rise until it tickled their mouths. Henry pulled Mary up with him as they both pedaled awkwardly with their feet.

“At least we’re together,” Mary said, spitting out water.

“Wrap your good arm around me,” Henry ordered. His voice broke halfway through, ruining its stern effect.

Mary did as she was told, freeing up both of Henry’s arms to swim for the both of them. The back of the ship had a higher ceiling, so that was where they needed to be. Several of the students followed behind him as the lights flickered on and off. They were scrambling for higher ground.

“This way!” he shouted at a group of high schoolers who’d stopped swimming. It was almost impossible to instill hope in others when he didn’t have any of his own.

 The water continued to rise until their heads bobbed all the way up to the ceiling. Henry and Mary took in a giant gulp of air before the water completely submerged them all. The lights shut off and Henry wrapped both of his arms around Mary. Swimming didn’t seem to matter anymore. He was beginning to grow dizzy from lack of air when he felt a shift in the water pressure. Water began to drain out of the ship. 

Henry couldn’t believe it when he felt the cool touch of air on the top of his head. The water level was receding. He hoisted Mary up so that she could feel it too. She squeezed his hand firmly to signal that she was still there with him.

The lights flickered back on, and when Henry and Mary saw the gap growing above them, they tilted their heads back until their lips broke through the surface of the water. They both inhaled vigorously. Henry coughed and took another greedy pull of air. He looked around and what he saw terrified him.

Although there were a few people who had realized there was air again, most of them appeared to have squeezed their eyes shut. They were still completely submerged.

“Go! I’ll be fine,” Mary shouted, laying on her back so that she could float.

Henry didn’t want to leave her, especially with her injury making it impossible for her to swim properly, but he couldn’t ignore her order. She was right. He had to save as many of them as he could. He gave Mary one last kiss and then he was off. He swam until he reached the nearest person and jerked her out of the water.

“Breathe!” he screamed at the girl, attempting to snap her out of her stupor.

The girl’s eyes fluttered open, and she gaped at him in shock before filling her depleted lungs with much-needed oxygen.

“Help me pull them up!” Henry yelled at the agents.

The lights continued to flicker on and off, so a lot of the time they were feeling around blindly. Diving under the water in the dark was terrifying, but Henry and several of the others persevered. He didn’t have time to check to see if Mary was still floating. He refused to imagine any other outcome.

Hammering sounds grew louder, and suddenly, it was as if whoever was outside was directing a full-on assault on the door to the cockpit. Suddenly the door was wrenched open, flooding the ship with sunlight as most of the water gushed out of the cabin.

A squad of A.F.E.L. agents burst through the opening wearing hazmat suits. They had flashlights mounted to their guns as they scanned the room for danger.

“We need medics in here!” shouted Henry.

Thanks to the light pouring in from the opening where the door had been, he was now able to see clearly how many of the students were lying prone on the ground. Henry began performing CPR on the unconscious body nearest to where he stood. As soon as the girl began coughing up water he moved on to the next victim. He didn’t have time to stay with any of them for long.

Pretty soon more agents flooded in, all wearing similar gear. As Henry moved from one person to the next, he never stopped searching for his wife. There were so many bodies lying around that it was overwhelming. Too many of them had already succumbed to a watery death. Their short lives had been prematurely snuffed out. If only they could have held on a little longer.

“Mary!” Henry shouted minutes later when he still hadn’t managed to locate her.

“Over here,” a tired voice sounded off to his right.

Even though she only had one functioning arm, Mary had still been helping perform CPR with Samantha’s assistance. She was timing the breaths while she directed the girl on how to work the chest compressions. Henry staggered his way over to her and crushed her roughly to his chest.

“I thought I’d lost you,” he cried, pressing his lips to her forehead. “I’m never letting you out of my sight again.”

“That’s going to make my private restroom breaks awkward,” Mary joked lovingly.

Henry was too upset to laugh. He just continued to hold her close. The ship had risen some, allowing natural light to flood through the glass-like panels on the sides of the ship.

“Henry Gates?” shouted a voice that Henry recognized instantly. It was the man who’d been speaking with them on the satellite phone. He was wearing a hazmat suit like all the other members of the rescue party. Agents Adams and Dodds were standing next to him.

“Over here!” Henry called out loud and clear.

The man shone a light in his direction. Then he waved a couple of medics over to him, but Henry shook their hands off. There were still high schoolers waiting to receive CPR.

“I’m fine,” Henry said firmly. “Help them.”

The medics looked back to the man and didn’t move away from Henry until he nodded his assent.

“You need to come with me immediately,” the man stated.

“What about them?” Henry asked, gesturing in the general direction of the many high school students.

“They’ll be taken care of. We must depart forthwith,” he stated imperiously.

“I’m not going anywhere without my wife,” Henry declared matter-of-factly.

“Of course,” the man acquiesced readily.

Henry helped Mary to her feet, and they made their way across the sea of bodies to the cockpit. Henry refused to count how many of them hadn’t survived. If he tried to process that it would cripple him. He was disgusted by the substantial loss of life. The fact that they were all so young only made it worse. They returned to the cockpit where they’d first fled the water after their crash landing.

After being in the dark for so long, the harsh rays of the unfiltered sun temporarily blinded them. Now that they were on the outside of the ship, Henry could see what had been making all of the racket. The rescue team had drilled holes all around the ship. Then they had inserted flotation devices. The tubes had been filled with air, which had caused the ship to float back to the surface.

Henry was beginning to wonder whether the rescue mission had been more focused on saving the ship than the people trapped inside. He kept his observations to himself. He and Mary could discuss his theories at length later, when he was certain that no one else was listening in on their conversation.

He also noted that there were scores of thick cables connected to the spacecraft. Henry followed one of the cables all of the way back to where it connected to a large boat nearby. It looked like they were preparing to tow the spaceship somewhere. No doubt they intended to study and reverse engineer the alien technology. That’s what they had done with Tryyg’s much smaller ship after they’d discovered it where he’d parked it in a cornfield. And they’d be fools not to, he thought. Humans had a lot to learn if they were going to stand a chance of eliminating the Terrazonian threat.

Henry helped push Mary up to the helping hands that were waiting to pull them out of the ship. Henry, Mary, Adams, and Dodds, along with the still unnamed man, were loaded into a small rowboat and ferried over to a full-sized Naval ship. 

“I need you all to put these on,” the man said as he gestured to four hazmat suits.

“Is this really necessary?” Henry asked.

“It’s just a precaution,” the man answered. Henry, Mary, and the two agents complied. As they were zipping up the suits, the boat reached its destination. 

The moment the man stepped onto the ship a helicopter whirred to life.

“What your heads!” he shouted as he ducked his tall head safely below the range of the chopper blades.

He didn’t speak again until one of the A.F.E.L. agents had closed the door to the chopper behind them. Henry struggled to hear through the clunky helmet over the loud sounds of the helicopter.

“Where are you taking us?” he asked as the chopper lifted off of the ground.

“To your new home for the foreseeable future,” the man answered. “There is a lot of work to do.”

***COMING SOON TO PRE-SALE***