Turning, her gaze dropped to Franklin, and for just a moment, she let the situation with him cloud her mind.

  She was definitely intrigued by him, but he’d brushed her off once, and she was the kind of girl that believed once was more than enough. Strangely, though, it hadn’t killed her attraction to him. Why is that?

  Shaking her head, she turned quietly and wandered into the corridor. Stomach gurgling, she wondered what arrangement they’d made for food, before the ever-present need to return to her research rose up. If only she had someone to call on, to check in with her plan. But everyone she knew who’d have some kind of understanding either had no interest in becoming involved or had gone into hiding since the battles had begun.

  Senna stepped back into the lab and surveyed the room, not just the equipment as she’d done yesterday. Her mind was still playing over the idea she was incubating, so what better time to investigate? And maybe she’d find things that could be taken to the infirmary.

  The door to the lab opened wide. “Everything okay in here?” questioned one of the guards she didn’t know.

  “Yeah, I’m just working on something.”

  As the door swung shut, she headed to the corner to check out a cupboard door. Bottles of chemicals, some she was sure would be welcome, remained in the temperature-controlled storage container. For the first time she mused, I wonder where the power’s coming from?” Clearly, it had remained on during all this time without being interrupted. At each cupboard, she scanned the labels and made a mental note of the contents.

  At the southeastern corner of the room, Senna discovered a door hidden by overflowing shelves, and she frowned. “I wonder where this leads to?” Pushing the barrier aside, she glanced beyond. With a deep breath. she stepped inside to examine the area. “I think I’ll have to close the door and hide the light to see here.” With that, she pushed.

  The door opened with a groan, and Senna slid the shelves in front to the side with care then propped it open with a large box, not wishing to get caught in whatever lay beyond.

  A set of illuminated steps led down to an office area. The room was comfortable with seating zones, a mini-cooler full of drinks still, and some science experiments that might once have been food, sitting on plates. “I wonder if this was his office.”

  Files littered the desk, and turning, she noted large tubes. She crept closer then reared back as she saw what was inside.

  “Oh my God!” Skeletons, some in various stages of bio-cybernetic enhancement. “I need to show Franklin,” she breathed, even as she carefully scooped up the paper files.

  The computer on the desk blinked, and the urgency to look clawed at her. What will I find?

  She reached out to touch a key then tugged her hand back, as if it burned. What if it was booby-trapped and she lost the information?

  Find Franklin, echoed in her brain. She headed for the stairs as she heard the shouts.

  Waking felt good. The aches in Franklin’s body had subsided, though he had to adjust the regen device strapped to his chest, but when he swung his legs over the side of the gurney—and it took a moment to remember why he was on one—he was pretty pleased.

  Checking his chrono, he noted the time wasn’t yet 0800.

  “Hey, Senna…” He turned to the gurney she’d inhabited and frowned when he realized she wasn’t there.

  The bed itself was rumpled, but there was no sign of a struggle, and he was a light enough sleeper that he would have heard anything untoward.

  After a quick trip into the bathroom he entered the hall. Young Jennerton, a second year recruit, loitered. “Have you seen Senna?” Franklin asked.

  The man-boy indicated to the lab. “Went in there about thirty minutes ago. I checked and she said she was doing something. Not sure where she’s gone. I went up to the supplies to grab an MRE, and when I came back, she’d left.”

  Franklin frowned. “Left?”

  “Thought maybe a bathroom visit, but you know. Now I don’t know where she is. Gunnar and Phil are checking the levels and told me to wait here. We’d just swapped shifts about two hours ago, so the others are sleeping. Gunnar said if we don’t find her, we should wake them.”

  Franklin rubbed his hands through his hair. Disappeared. Where? How?

  The rate of his heartbeat increased, but maybe there was a logical explanation. Still, he had to ask, “And she hasn’t come back out here?”

  “Not that we saw.”

  He pushed open the doors to the lab. It was empty. Where was she? He scanned the room as voices echoed down the hallway. “Not here! But we’ve got company on the way!”

  The doors swung open, and the team hurried inside, even those who were supposed to be resting, rubbing their eyes.

  “What the hell is going on?” He spun and watched as a shelving unit moved, and he lurched forward as Senna hurried from behind it. “What? Where were you?”

  “There’s an office down there, but what’s all the shouting?” She moved closer, clutching some paper files to her chest.

  He sputtered and scratched the back of his neck with the ring he wore on his right hand, his mind whirling madly. He might not be the ideas guy, but he was the senior here on this mission. What to do?

  Fzzt. Fzzt. In his pocket, an insistent buzz began. For a moment, he ignored it. Then understanding welled. “Shit!”

  Eyes turned to him.

  “What?” Senna demanded.

  “We have incoming unfriendlies. On their way.” He whirled, and she reached out, clamping her hands on his.

  “How do you know we have incoming, and how long do we have?” Her voice was low, deep, and shaking with panic.

  He dragged the unit from his pocket. Scanned it. The information was minimal. He’d need to know more before he could make informed decisions.

  “Long-range scanner. I placed some secura-tags around the perimeter yesterday. All I know is three have entered the grounds, though two have retreated. One is still inside the grounds somewhere.” His fingers tapped the screen, then he pushed, slid, and glared at the unit in his hands. “Dammit! I can’t get a visual tag. But an eye-in-the-sky shows what looks like a platoon heading in this direction. We have maybe an hour—if that.”

  She hissed. “But I still have to—”

  “No more time, Senna. Load up your equipment and anything you consider necessary. We’re going to have to take this back to base now. Get everything together. We won’t be back.”

  “But I’m at a critical phase—”

  “Critical or not, our safety is key. Jennerton will carry whatever you need. Take two others and load up as much as you can, then show me this office.” His mind whirled as he considered. “No! Show me now. I’ll see what’s there and grab what I can.”

  He pushed the shelving unit aside and the large box, but not before he noted the way she rolled her eyes.

  “I put it there so the door wouldn’t shut on me. You know, being trapped down there is not what I’d like. Especially when you get a look at what I’ve found.” She sounded winded, but not alarmed.

  Her tone intrigued him, and he trotted down after her into the lush work area.

  At the bottom of the steps, Senna stilled him. “I checked the cooler, but there’s nothing of value in there. The comp is over here along with some paper files. I planned to take them with me and ask about the comp.”

  He grunted, scanned the room, and considered how quickly he could empty the things they’d need. “Good work, Senna. We’ll take it back for Maylin. See what she can find.”

  She turned, so her chest nestled against his. It felt really good, but it wasn’t the time or place. Before he could speak though, she did. “Umm, then there’s that.” She pointed over his shoulder and he turned.

  “Oh…” A skeleton in a tube, metallic inserts capturing his gaze. His stomach lurched. “We should…” He gulped, sickened to realize exactly what he was seeing. “We need to snap pics for Jonah.”

  “That’s not the only one, Franklin. Behind it there’s more. Children in varied states of gestation. It’s…it’s sickening. Horrific really.”

  He peered close. Bile burned its way up his throat, scouring him from the interior. “I… You take the pics. I’ll grab the files.” He shoved his communicator at her. “Just don’t send them. We’ll report this face-to-face.”

  War and death on a battlefield he could handle, but the vision before him was too much like a horror vid. A graphic reminder of the inhumanity he was fighting against. He turned away, needing to focus on something else while he wrestled his gut back under control. As it was, a cold sweat broke out all over his body, beading his upper lip, and the ever-present sick taste on his tongue was enough to warn him of the danger. He shivered as a chill snaked down his back.

  Franklin tugged one drawer out, used it as a file box, and dumped everything into it he could find. Small backup devices he dumped into the box too, then set to dismantling the comp. Satisfied he’d found everything he needed, he ushered Senna up the stairs, handed the box to Jennerton, then proceeded to box up everything she requested. As he worked, she started opening cupboards.

  “What are you doing?” he demanded.

  “There’s medications and things that Michael may need. Plus, I want to grab some of the equipment—”

  “We don’t have time, Senna. Just what’s necessary.”

  In the end, she packed several boxes of bottles and packets as well as surgical equipment, and they loaded it into the vehicle.

  Jennerton came running up, a small device in his hands. “Time’s running out, sir. The eye has them almost at the grounds. We have to go.”

  Franklin nodded. Their safety was top priority. But he had one last task to achieve. Something he’d had the men put in place as they retrieved what they needed. “Into the vehicles and strap down. Then move forward, but keep enough room for us in the center. We’ve got all the files and Sergeant Reed here.”

  Senna climbed into his vehicle, the back obscured by boxes, but he felt the weight of her gaze as he pushed a box onto the wall. The corresponding one in his pocket.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, her voice suspicious as she watched his movements.

  “Making sure this location is no good to them.” He started the engine, rolled it forward into the middle of the convoy as they’d agreed. At the edge of the clearing, he stopped, dipped his hand into his pocket, and drew out the tiny device. He pressed the button, and as she gasped he floored the accelerator.

  “What did you do, Franklin?” She clutched the door and stared in horror as fire pulsed and the building rippled.

  “Whatever’s left, they won’t be able to use.” He felt no satisfaction though. It was a loss. One he was sure Jonah would agree with once they’d explained what was coming. Still, even though they couldn’t afford for the equipment to fall into the warrior kids’ hands, it was a loss they could ill afford.

  Just before the entrance, he and the team turned their vehicles, so they traveled down a side track, then pulled up to wait.

  “What have we stopped for?” Senna demanded.

  “Shhh.” Franklin placed a finger against his lips, the vehicles now hidden in the middle of the underbrush.

  The ground shuddered as several aircraft zoomed overhead.

  “What was that?”

  “A pre-emptive strike.”

  “Pre-emptive…you bombed them?” Her eyes were wide, and he read the horror on her face.

  “They would have killed us, Senna.”

  “But if we had that capacity, why haven’t we used it before? We could have…”

  “Senna, stop. Think. Usually they engage in an urban environment. Whoever is running their missions uses that fact to make it obvious its war against children. That’s what they want the civvies to see. Except they aren’t children. They’re warriors. Genetically manipulated to kill. With cybe implantations that make them stronger and faster.” Her face paled at the horror he was describing, but he needed her to fully understand. “Trained to slaughter us.”

  He understood her fears. Knew that on every front it was an untenable situation.

  “You’re a soldier. Were a soldier. You need to think like one again, not a civilian. It’s us or them, Senna.”

  Her eyes closed, and a tear trickled down her cheek as she nodded slowly. “I know. I do. It’s just—”

  “It’s yet another reason they’re so efficient. It attacks every aspect of our soul and they trade on that. But we have to think of the big picture. The millions who’ll pay if we don’t do our job and hold the line.”

  She sniffed and opened her eyes. “You say you’re no strategist, but that’s the most strategic thinking ever. Franklin, I—”

  She reached out, and it took everything in him to shake his head. “Later, Senna. Later.”

  CHAPTER 8

  Senna and Franklin drove in the entrance to the base, followed by three additional vehicles, all of them jam-packed with comps, documents, and equipment. Franklin pulled up outside the commandant’s office, and the others pulled up nearby, windows slid down.

  “Take the comps to Maylin,” Franklin instructed. “The lab equipment goes to the infirmary, along with the records and drugs Senna collected. Then take some downtime. Report to your officers at 1300 hours. And good work.”

  As they drove off, Franklin reflected on the situation at hand. One full platoon of warrior kids defeated. It had been harrowing heading back past the smoking remains, but they’d had no other option. His mind wanted to shy away from what they’d seen, but he couldn’t change what they’d witnessed.

  Senna followed him into the building, still gripping the communicator with all the images, both of the carnage that remained of the children and the skeletal remains found in Colvert’s office.

  At the door, she stopped him, her hand on his shoulder. “We’re doing the right thing, I know that, but it still feels wrong. I know we have to beat them, but killing kids, no matter the situation, doesn’t feel right.”

  Now he turned, faced her, and cupped her cheek. “I understand, and yes, it feels like the greatest betrayal, and yet it’s the only way to assure humanity has a future. Come on, he’ll be waiting for us.”

  He understood the psychological morass she was trying to overcome. Hell, he faced it too. After this was done, though, it felt as if he too would be looking to retreat away from the memories of the things they’d had to do in order to survive.

  Just like those David and Erin had addressed before them. Daniella and Jonah, Michael and Clarissa too.

  Perhaps, he might even discuss that with them once this war was done? If it’s ever done. He shook away the thoughts, because for now, the focus had to be on overcoming their enemies and winning. Healing would have to wait.

  The building was a seething mass of bodies. News outlets, who’d previously stayed away from the base, swarmed, and military personnel rushed to complete their reporting or to prepare mission briefs. Franklin slid an arm around Senna, and they shoved forward until they reached where Daniella and Jonah stood before a lectern, addressing the people via a vid-feed.

  “The combatants were neutralized, but not without personal cost to my people,” Jonah stated. “They had followed them to one of Jeremy Colvert’s private facilities. He was the mastermind behind the biocybernetics implantation of the warrior children. Information is still sketchy on how many, but somewhere in the order of fifty combatants converged on my people.”

  Jonah eyed them down, and Franklin wondered where this newfound confidence his friend exuded had come from. Was it because of Daniella or had it been dormant the whole time, ready to emerge when needed?

  His introspection was cut short by a question from the man beside him. “Is there any truth to the rumors that the colony ship will be ready in the next few days?”

  Daniella strode forth and cleared her throat. “We are not in a position to comment on that, however, I will say the safety and security of our colonists is at the forefront of our minds. Now, if that’s all?” She glared, at her haughty best, her blonde hair glowing in the artificial light, makeup impeccable along with her figure-hugging white suit and her spine stiffer than a rod. “Thank you for your attendance. Media kits will be circulated on the transport back. Our people will escort you to your transports.”

  Senna and Franklin stepped back, watching as the sea of people departed among mutters of ‘far too sure of herself’ and ‘who do they think they are?’

  Jonah and Daniella came forward once the door was shut. “Glad you’re okay. What do you have for us?” Jonah said.

  They were about to answer when the door opened and a woman rushed inside, spraying red paint at them and screaming, “Murderers! You’re killing children!”

  Franklin blocked Senna as Jonah shielded Daniella. Personnel streamed in, grabbing the woman and tugging her outside. Once she was gone, Daniella shivered. “They don’t understand, do they? No matter what we say or how we show them, they think these warriors are children. They’re not!” Her voice broke, and Franklin watched as Jonah pulled her close, whispering. Senna shivered beside him.

  “Your report, Franklin,” Jonah demanded.

  “Worse than we thought. This is what we found.” He took the communicator from Senna and showed him the images. Daniella watched on, clearly shocked, color leaching from her face.

  “That’s… That’s horrible. Obscene!” She tottered away, then sank heavily onto a chair nearby.

  “We retrieved what we could in terms of equipment and resources. The comps are on their way to Maylin and the reports to Michael. He’ll be able to make sense of them—”

  “Along with Windhower and the professor,” interposed Daniella, who’d visibly pulled herself together. The attack had really shaken her, Franklin realized having never seen that before.

  “Yes. But the files are sensitive. I’d hate for Clarissa to see them.” Franklin stared at Jonah who shrugged.