Page 64 of Alien Peacock

“Very good, General,” Arelion calmly replies. “We’ll finalize the plan, and then we’ll go.”

I watch for a while as the freed captives help load Peroena’s battleship full of the supplies for the army, eager to do something for their rescuers. It only takes maybe thirty minutes.

Then General Peroena and Arelion start a deep discussion and planning of the first battle. I get the feeling that they would rather not have spectators, so I give Arelion a kiss and bring one of the military tents to the small, new saucer. TheRevengeis full of captives, sleeping in most of its many rooms.

The small saucer only has one room aboard where the tent fits, so I let it erect itself and crawl inside.

It’s dark and cool, and the smell of the alien tent reminds me of sleeping safely in Arelion’s arms. And it reminds me even more of what we did before that.

I should be able to sleep soundly. But I can’t stop thinking about Tara in a cell, about to be executed. Even if it’s not her, if it’s just a random Earth girl, I should probably see what I can do.

My overthinking kicks in. Tara being taken out of her cell right now, brought into a room with some horrific machine that she knows is going to kill her. Thinking that nobody’s coming to save her, that the Resistance has forgotten about her, that her sister is still on an occupied Earth…

“Shit.” I sit up, wide awake, my heart beating fast. “I’ve spent too much time not trying to complete my mission,” I mutter to myself. “I’ve mostly been helping Arelion with his.”

And now I’ve got a way to get back on track. Tara may have only hours left. Or minutes.

I check my suit. I’ve still got one first aid pack left. The fighting stick is in its holder, and I hope Arelion won’t mind if I borrow one of his ray guns.

A cold spear goes through my heart.

Arelion. If I do this, there’s a good chance I’ll never see him again.

No, I can’t think about that. I have to do what must be done. He was a distraction, nothing else.

I make my way to the control room.

“There you are,” Bari says, standing in the middle of the floor. “I thought you were asleep.”

“Couldn’t sleep,” I tell her as I go over to the controls. “I’m about to leave. I recommend you stay here on Gigori. It’s much safer than where I’m going.”

She jumps up on a console and sits down. “Do I sense some kind of intrigue? You’re not being banished, are you?”

I pick the armor pieces off the floor and put them on. “There’s something I have to do. My mission.”

“Does that blue bird-man know about this?”

“He will know when he sees the saucer missing. Have you heard of a place called Xap?”

“It’s not far from Eo,” the robot puppy yips. “Is that where you’re going?”

I made sure to check how Arelion turned the saucer off, and now I’m doing the opposite to turn it back on, pushing panels and touching screens. “There’s supposed to be a space station there.”

“There is,” Bari says. “Not a safe one, I hasten to add.”

Some lights come on, and there’s a slight wobble as the saucer quietly rises. I carefully, slowly fly it out of the asteroid and into the blackness of space. “There’s only one place in space that’s safe for me,” I tell her tightly. “Arelion said so. We’re leaving that place right now. Which direction?”

Bari shows me, and then I’m on the way.

My heart sinks as I see Gigori grow smaller on the screen. It’s not the place itself that was safe, of course.

It was safe becausehewas there. Anywhere he is, I am safe.

16

- Arelion-

I straighten up. “That will surprise them. If we win that first battle, it could be enough to win the war.”