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.”