E:A Vol 1 Ch 11—November 2, 2116

When Victoria bridged into the Terra 2 control room two weeks later, she went straight to Vince Cavanaugh’s office and told him that she was ready to return to her normal duties, but that she’d be living on the Raythian home world. She also informed him that there were Rayth on the island who were willing to help in the serum research.

“Victoria,” Vince finally got a word in, “I appreciate all that you, and Dr. McKenna, have been trying to do, but I’m afraid I have some bad news for you.”

“What?”

“The Oversight Committee back on Earth has decided that you are a security risk and they’ve asked that I return you to Earth where you’ll remain, permanently under their watch.”

“They can’t do that,” she said as calmly as she could, “the research, getting these Rayth to submit to testing…Vince we’re getting so close! And you know I’d never…”

“I’m sorry, Victoria. I tried to convince them that you were needed here, but they believe you’ve been compromised.” He motioned to guards who had assembled outside of his door, “Your things will be sent to Earth.”

“Wait! What about the Commander? Don’t I even get to say goodbye to my husband?”

Vince sighed, “I’m sorry, Victoria. I know he doesn’t trust me and this’ll make matters worse, but this was out of my control. Both John and I fought it. Those guards were sent here two weeks ago for you. They’re not even under my command. Victoria, I am very sorry. I will inform the Commander of what has happened and I’ll keep trying to get this reversed.”

Dazed and confused by the news, Victoria found herself being dragged down to the bridge portal for transport back to Earth. Once back on Earth at Central Command, she fought with the Oversight Committee with all she had. She shouted, threatened, cried. She wasn’t a fighter. She never had been. She even offered to cut all ties with Terra 2 if she could return to her husband. She was denied. The husband was the problem they said. So she used the one weapon and only weapon she could: silence.

Week after week of interrogation followed, but she refused to talk. Her research was in Becket’s hands, he could tell them about their findings, but she wasn’t going to say a word to the Oversight Committee. The O.C. wanted to know about the Rayth home world, access to ship and weapons designs, possible strongholds or weaknesses, they wanted her to betray her husband.

She remained silent.

***

“I can’t do that, Commander,” Vince said, explaining Victoria’s sudden departure to the Supreme Commander the minute she had been forced across the bridge portal to Earth.

“You will allow me to bridge to your homeworld,” Zy’nayth hissed as he loomed over the general.

“If I did, they’d kill you on sight.”

“Then you will not tell them that I am the one bridging over.”

“It won’t matter, I know the protocol. They have a, as they call it, security risk in custody. They’re expecting you to come after her. The bridge portal control room will be in lockdown. The second you walk over, at the very least, they’ll capture you, but if you try anything, they will shoot to kill. I’m pulling every connection I have and calling in every favor owed me to try and get her released. I swear to you, I’m doing all I can to get her back.”

“You are not doing enough. Give me the code. Tell me where your homeworld is, I will find the code myself. I will take my fleet if I have to.”

“I can’t do any of that, Commander. Please, let me continue to try and get her released. Let’s not start a war. We’ve come too far.”

“You should tell this Oversight Committee that information. I will get my wife back with or without your help. And if it means war, I am angered enough to go that far.”

January 25, 2117

The Supreme Commander had severed all ties with Terra 2, except with Dr. Becket McKenna who was allowed to work on the island with the Rayth who were willing to help find a “cure” so that they didn’t have to feed on humans. But Zy’nayth spent most of his time on board the flagship working at the bridge portal log that he stole from Terra 2. He found out about Earth, and though he could easily bridge there from any of his own bridge portals, he knew Vince was correct—they would have the area as secure as possible. One of the issues the Andromeda: Expedition presented to the Rayth from the start were their weapons. Only a handful of worlds had projectile weapons—guns—and those that did barely harmed a Rayth. But the weapons from Earth were highly evolved and quite dangerous. He knew he had superior self-healing abilities than most Rayth, but he had yet to be hit by one of the larger caliber weapons he had seen John Hagen and his men carry. Thus far, it had only been the smaller hand guns that had pierced his body. And even he knew that a bullet to his skull would be deadly, no matter how fast he could heal himself. So bridging into their stronghold was not an option, at least not at this point.

“Ah, Commander, I wasn’t expecting you to be here,” Becket said as he entered Zy’nayth’s island home.

“It has been almost three months, doctor, I am out of options. I need your help, especially if General Cavanaugh is correct about Jason’s family being behind this.”

“I hope he’s wrong about that. The McGuire’s…if they’re as bad as Victoria said they were…I don’t think there’s much I can do to help you. I’m not a politician or even part of the military, so I don’t know what I can do, but what do you have in mind?”

“I would like you to deliver a message.”

“I can do that. What is it?”

“Please convey to the Oversight Committee that if Victoria is not returned to me within the week, Earth will feel the full onslaught of the Raythian Empire. My ships have gathered, I have a course set to your galaxy, and I will unleash my ships and my men on the population of your world. Since I have acquired the location of your planet, I have kept it secret. That will change. The ships only know they are going to a different galaxy, the crews are unaware of the destination.”

Becket sank into a chair and ran his fingers through his hair. “They’ll try to stop you.”

“How?” Zy’nayth asked as he paced the room. “You do not have faster than light travel, I do. You do not have any weapon that could scratch one of my ships. I have thousands of hungry Rayth ready to cull some fresh food. With your huge population centers, even if your armies attacked, there would be enough fresh food for my people to keep self-healing and regenerating. I would lose a few men; Earth would lose millions.”

“Do you think this threat will work? Is it worth it?”

“I want my wife back. She is being kept against her will. Both you and General Cavanaugh have said that is the case. I will do what I must to get her back.”

“But to threaten an entire planet? And what about protecting your own planet? Isn’t that what you’re supposed to be doing with that fleet of yours? What about your position? What will your bosses say when they find out you decided to attack a planet in another galaxy just to get your wife back, who, by the way, is human and considered an enemy?”

“I have planned for anything that may arise.”

“Sir, I really don’t think this is the way to go. It could potentially start a war, not just with Earth, but within your own people. You said yourself how most Rayth don’t favor allowing human mates.” He paced the room, “What about…wait you can get to Earth, in a week? You’ve got that teleportation thing. Couldn’t you just go there and beam her onto your ship and leave?”

“Beam her?” Zy’nayth waved off the unfamiliar phrase. “If she has the tracking device on her, yes, I can teleport her to my ship. But I must assume that they have taken the tracking device from her. Unless they are completely inept.”

Becket continued his pacing, “I wish I would have known you could get to Earth so quickly…okay…I may be able to give her another tracking device. I can’t guarantee it, but I’d be willing to try. Anything to prevent a war. Could you put it into another piece of jewelry? Something that doesn’t look like her other one?”

“You would do this?”

“It’s better than you starting a war with Earth and within your own ranks. And don’t take all of those ships, just one. They might not have reliable space transport, but we do have satellites. No matter your intentions, if they see a fleet headed their way, it could turn ugly. They might not be able to hurt you, but some of their weapons…the fallout…could kill a lot of our own.”

The Supreme Commander thought about Becket’s idea and after a few minutes, he gave him a curt nod. “I will have something for you in two days. But if this does not work…”

“It will. It has to.”

“Meet me here in two days in the morning, then I will start my trip to Earth. I will get my wife back.”

February 3, 2117

Victoria was allowed to return to her Montana home, though under constant surveillance and though for nearly three solid months, she underwent interrogations. She didn’t have family and really didn’t want to think about looking for a job, so when she wasn’t at Central Command in Colorado being grilled, she spent her days in the woods around her place, and spent her nights staring up at the stars from the warmth of her back foyer. Sometimes even falling asleep there, in hopes of waking up in the island house under the open iris with her husband.

It wasn’t until the middle of her second month back on Earth that her trips to Central Command dwindled. Then one morning at the start of her third month on Earth, she found Becket sitting on her porch as she returned from a walk. Security detail was nearby, of course, but he was the first person from Expedition: Andromeda that she was being allowed to see.

She ran up to him and hugged him with all of her might. “It’s good to see you! I’ve missed you and everyone so much.”

He smiled as he returned her embrace. “It’s good to see you too, love.” He let out a little sigh, “I hate to say I came to work. I know you don’t want to hear that, but it’s the only reason they let me come. I could really use your help.”

“They sent you here to get me to help them?”

Becket shook his head, “No. My idea. I need your help with our project. Central Command okayed it. Vince, the others, have been trying to see you, to get you released, by the way. O.C. wouldn’t let them. It was only when I told them that I needed your help on our serum project…well, I’m here. The Supreme Commander has allowed me to visit the island, and I’ve made a lot of progress, but I need your help with a few things.” As he sat back down, he pretended that he’d just realized there was something in his pocket. “Oh, and I found this. Thought you might want it back.”

Victoria took the bracelet and immediately put it on her wrist. “I left this in the lab, didn’t I?”

“Yeah. Still finding some of your things, a hair ribbon or something thing, I give those to the Commander, thinking he’d like something of yours. But I thought you’d want this one back, I know you hated being without it.” He stopped. He didn’t want to oversell it and was worried he’d already done so. “So…willing to help me with a few things?”

“Only for you. I’m not doing anything to help Central Command.”

“It is for me.”

Becket did actually have questions about some of her computations, and the two of them did work well into the evening. Finally Becket knew his time was up and he hated to leave, especially without being able to take her with him. “It’ll take me a couple of days to run the simulations, but I think I’ll have news for you by Friday, if all goes according to plan,” he said as he gave her hand a squeeze, purposely giving her bracelet a little tap.

She nodded, “Thank you. And when you see the Commander, tell him I love him, and I miss him.”

“I will. Goodnight, Victoria.”

February 5, 2117

The Supreme Commander had left for Earth as soon as he gave Becket the tracking device for Victoria. He kept in contact with the doctor as long as communications could still reach Terra 2, then gave him his expected arrival date on Earth. Becket and Vince pulled every string they could to get Becket to Earth—to Victoria—before the Commander’s estimated arrival date. And there was no way to be sure that he would arrive on time and no way to inform Victoria of anything more than the expected day.

Victoria tried not to fidget or change her routine as she waited for her husband. Two days seemed like an eternity. And when she woke up on Friday, it was all she could do to keep herself calm. She ran to the door when the chime sounded, only realizing once at the door that her husband wouldn’t have stopped to ring the bell. Her disappointment deepened when two military personnel, as well as her regular guards, motioned for her to join them.

She sank into the transport’s backseat, looking out at the rather gloomy morning. “You know I’m not going to say anything. I don’t know why you’re even bothering.” The trip from her Montana home to Central Command in Colorado only took twenty minutes. All of it was gloomy.

“We thought that perhaps working with Dr. McKenna might have fueled your need to be more cooperative with us,” one of the military men said.

She folded her arms across her chest and went back to staring out of the window. When they arrived at Central Command, she was led into the interrogation room where she sat at the round conference table with the six Oversight Committee members.

They began asking her the same questions they had when she was first brought back to Earth. She sat silent, hoping her husband would get her out soon; hoping that she hadn’t misread Becket’s notice of when he’d arrive. She wasn’t paying attention to the questioners or their questions until a hand touched her wrist.

“And we’ll need the bracelet that Dr. McKenna gave you,” the woman said as she began to loosen it from Victoria’s wrist.

She jerked her arm away, “You’ve taken everything else. This is my bracelet, the last thing I have of my husband’s, and I’m going to keep it!”

The woman reached for it again and this time Victoria jumped out of her chair to avoid her. “Leave me alone! You’ve taken my life, you’ve taken everything! Leave me alone!”

The others began to crowd around her and she shrunk back into the corner, almost in a fetal position, tightly gripping her wrist and the bracelet on it, protecting it at all costs. Then the air warped and bent around the room followed by a scream.

They were on the Raythian flagship. All seven of them. The Oversight Committee members stared in disbelief at the tall, imposing figures around them. Their long white hair, their heavy, near-floor length black jackets. Victoria managed to get to her feet, still clutching the bracelet.

“Are you the ones who took my wife from me?” the growling voice boomed.

“Sir, there’s been a misunderstanding. We only wished…” the man went flying across the room with one quick thrust from the Supreme Commander’s arm. The two women screamed, the other three men began to back away from the hulking form advancing on them.

“You took her. You kept her from her friends and family. You kept her prisoner. Now you will see how Rayth feed and why it is vital that she should have been left to do her research.”

His right hand thrust onto the nearest man’s chest and the Commander began to feed off of him. Five other Rayth each began feeding on the others. Victoria fought with herself but ended up doing what she knew was right. “Send them back as living examples, not dead ones,” she said, in almost a scream.

He snarled and growled, glaring at her momentarily. But he released the man and gave orders for the others to do the same. “You will not interfere in our lives or work again,” he hissed at the Earthlings. “Should you choose to do so, you will lose more than a few years of your life.” He turned to his First Commander, “Send them back.”

And just like that, the six Oversight Committee members were gone. The Supreme Commander turned to his wife, “If you wish to return with me, now is the time to gather your things.”

She nodded, “Take me to my house; I didn’t even unpack. Everything’s piled up.”

He led her to a monitor that showed Central Command, then her house. “Your home?” he asked, getting a nod in reply.

“Teleport her things to the cargo bay. Find the original tracking device and get that on board as well.”

The First Commander nodded and was able to lock on to the bracelet and teleport it to the flagship. “Transport room confirms her items are in the cargo hold,” the First Commander said as he picked up the bracelet from the floor.

“Take us home,” the Supreme Commander replied. “Victoria, come with me.”

She followed behind him and once in his private chambers she nearly collapsed, but his arms easily caught her and held her close. “You are free now, Victoria.”

Her tears turned to sobs as she began shaking. He lifted her and rested her on the bed. “I wish to stay, but there are matters I need to tend to. We pushed our engines too hard in order to get to you on time. I must see that they are tended to and check for other repairs that may be needed.” She nodded as he wiped away her tears. “You are safe now, my beloved,” he whispered then kissed her. “Rest now. Sleep. Would you like to see the stars? The wall panel fades so that you can look at the stars.”

She nodded. “I looked at the stars every night. I looked for you,” she cried. “I was worried you might not come…I…”

“I was ready to start a war to get you back,” he smiled. “Becket intervened. Your comlink is on the table. You can talk to him once we are in range. It will be a few days though. I am quite sure he is eager to hear that you are safe. Rest. I will return as soon as I can.”

She caught him in another kiss before allowing him to leave. For the first time since being taken to Earth, she fell into a deep, restful sleep.

***

After her nap, she grew bored and a bit uneasy, so she ventured to the science lab, the only place she was allowed to go. The First Science Commander gave her a nod as she entered. “Dr. Carson, it’s good to see that you are unharmed.”

She was taken aback since Rayth seldom acknowledged a human, even one married to the Supreme Commander. She gave him a nod and thanked him. “May I be of assistance? I need to feel useful.”

“Your station is still operational. I believe Dr. McKenna’s latest research is already networked in if you’d like to work on that.”

“Yes. Thank you.” She went over to her station, happy to really be back to work, and happy to put Earth behind her. After several hours, she stood and stretched. “Sir, I’d like to take a short break. I’m starving.”

“You’re not under my command any longer, Dr. Carson. You may come and go as you please.”

“Oh. Uh…thank you.”

She returned to her husband’s quarters, hoping there was still some canned food in the kitchen. She smiled when she found fresh fruit and vegetables from her own garden in bowls on the countertop along with a note from Zy’nayth saying he didn’t forget to tend to her plants. A tear ran down her cheek as she held the note close to her heart.

“They are just plants,” the voice said behind her.

She turned and ran to him, “Have I told you how much I love you?”

He held her close. “A couple of times today. But I do not mind hearing it again. I came to see how you were doing. I take it you have not eaten all day.”

“No. I’ve been in the science lab. Just realized how hungry I was.”

“Then fix yourself something to eat. I have become quite fond of those red berries.”

“Strawberries,” she said. “You’re eating food?”

“You told me to sample things so that once you find a way for me to actually be sustained by food, I would know what I like. Besides tending to your garden helped me to feel like you were there with me. At least in a small way.”

“Can you stay for a little bit? Just while I eat. I don’t want to be alone.”

He sat in one of the two chairs and watched as she quickly stir-fried some vegetables and boiled some rice, then she sat across from him. “I didn’t tell them anything.”

“I was not worried that you would,” he replied.

“I tried to keep the tracking device. I fought for it,” she bowed her head, “I’m still not a very good fighter.”

“I am sure you did your best. We should resume your training, though.”

She burst into tears, “I tried to get them to let me go. I tried to get back! They wouldn’t let me. They wouldn’t even let me send you a message.”

He stood and walked over to her, drawing her into his arms. “You are back now and I will not let them get to you again.” When he felt her settle, he went behind her and massaged her neck and shoulders until she had finished her dinner.

“Sorry to keep you here, I wasn’t planning on crying like that.”

He leaned down and kissed her ear, “It is quite all right. May I return to work now?”

“A kiss first,” she said turning to face him, “I love you, Zy. I love you so very much.”

He tenderly kissed her, “You are everything to me, Victoria.”

 

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