Page 39 of Doom

“There are three proposals on the table. We agreed to give the Coalition an answer within the next five days,” Legion said, leaning back against his seat. “Option one, the greater part of our forces returns to Khepri to resume our war efforts in Coalition space. A small contingent of Xian Warriors remains to help keep the Drone population under control and slowly eradicate it with the help of human troops.”

“Option two, we move all the humans to Khepri since the reconstruction is almost completed. We nuke Earth, thereby eliminating any remaining bugs. With the humans on our homeworld, it will be easy to train new Soulcatchers, and the rest of us will have more opportunities to mingle and find our soulmates among them.”

“And option three, we make Earth our new homeworld. All of the planet members of the Coalition who chose to sit out this war will be forced to send us troops or be expelled.”

“The last two options won’t fly. The humans will never give up on their homeworld as long as there is a chance to save it,” I countered. All three of my brothers nodded, confirming they’d already reached the same conclusion. “Earth is poorly situated in relation to the other allied planets. Our response time would be adversely affected in most cases if we launched our rescue missions from here. Khepri is centrally located. But most importantly, Earth belongs to the humans. If we settle here, we will have to operate according to their rules or become invaders ourselves. The Vanguard must preserve its sovereignty.”

“Agreed,” Wrath said. “Going forward, the only way we will eradicate the threat of the bugs is if everyone pulls their weight. The planets who held back will face consequences. Heavy fines will be levied on those who can’t provide a solid reason for not contributing to the Battle for Earth.”

“This has already been conveyed to the Intergalactic Coalition,” Chaos confirmed.

“Good. That leaves us with the first option,” I said pensively. “The battle has become guerrilla warfare. We don’t need large battalions as much as better surveillance and faster response times. Although human technology still mostly qualifies as primitive, they are now part of the Coalition. We’ve already shared some of our technology with them. With more advanced transport and detection systems, humans could handle most of the scouting.”

“You know how reluctant the Coalition is in that regard,” Wrath cautioned.

“Fuck the Coalition,” I snarled. “If not for our loyalty to humans, the Coalition would have abandoned them to their fate a long time ago. These are our people, our mates, and our Soulcatchers. Humans are the future of the Vanguard.”

Legion nodded. “My sentiments exactly. I’m fine with sharing transport and detection tech with the humans, but we cannot completely dismiss the Prime Directive; no weapons and no warp capacity. They will need to develop those in their own time.”

“Agreed,” I said. Chaos and Wrath nodded. “It will take about another year to clean up this mess. Assuming General Khutu doesn’t start another wave.”

“Unlikely,” Legion replied. “The intensity of his attacks started diminishing the minute we spread the word about humans being Soulcatchers. Without them, he would have exterminated us. With them, he knows it’s a losing battle. He kept on with the attacks to diminish our numbers as much as possible while we were incubating new Shells. We’ve already won this war. We just have to deal with cleanup.”

He gave me an assessing look that put all my senses on alert.

“What?” I asked, suspicious.

“The Coalition and the human governments are asking us for a new leader since the Vanguard’s central command has been wiped out,” Legion explained. “Your name has come up many times among our brothers.”

“As have yours and Chaos’s,” I retorted with a defensive tone. “I told you, I squash bugs. Politics isn’t for me. You’re both prettier anyway while I keep collecting scars.”

My brothers chuckled.

“You are a formidable leader,” Legion argued, sobering.

“Then let me be a formidable leader on the field. We need your level-headedness, and Chaos’s OCD nagging to lead us in the right direction.”

“Bite me,” Chaos mumbled.

“I wouldn’t—”

“DOOM! Come to the medbay!”Rage telepathically shouted.“I’m taking Victoria there now. She collapsed in the hallway.”

I shot to my feet and stormed out of the boardroom under the startled looks of my brothers. I raced towards the medical facility, the three of them hot on my trail. Bursting into the room, I found Victoria trying to get up from the examination table she’d been lying upon.

Maria, The Avenger’s new human doctor since Victoria had mostly shifted to research, was giving my mate a stern talking to.

“Hey!” Maria exclaimed at our violent entrance. “This is a private consultation!”

Ignoring her, I rushed to my woman’s side, my hearts pounding frantically.

“My Red, what’s wrong?” I asked, examining her for any sign of injury.

“It’s nothing sweetie,” Victoria said, caressing my cheek. “I skipped breakfast this morning because I had an upset stomach. Then I got up too fast to go check on something and immediately face-planted. So, it’s probably just low sugar and a dip in blood pressure. Maria is already giving me an earful about it.”

“We’re going to feed you right now,” I said sternly, still freaked out. “And none of those grasses and grains you enjoy so much. You’re getting a huge steak … or two.”

She made a face and squirmed. “My stomach is still a little queasy. Maybe just some soup?”

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