Page 29 of Heart's Keeper

"We won't all go in right away," Lana said, crossing her arms. She looked to her team, who stood by waiting. "Krel, Gyrix, I want you to scout ahead. Find out what you can, but be sure you aren't seen."

The pair bowed, Krel's eyes alight with excitement as they turned and exited the ship. Lana ordered the others out of the ship as well to scan the surrounding area. They would meet with Elise and Nezka who had landed not far from them, their ship using a cloaking device to keep hidden.

Instinctually, Lana turned back to the monitors as the others went to work. Xerus hadn't moved even from the landing as Lana had predicted. Still, she felt a grip of disappointment on her heart.

"He will come around," Xilya said from beside her. "In time."

"I know," Lana said, unable to turn her eyes away.

Xilya remained quiet for a long moment before saying, "I have a hunch when he does wake, he won't be wild right away. He won't like it, but he'll understand we must keep him inside. It is unfortunate but necessary."

Lana nodded but said nothing.

"It's a shame. I would have liked to see him fight. A predomis is the best warrior a vrisha can be. "

"I don't know if he will ever be able to fight again," Lana said. "If he can't control himself..."

"True." Xilya scratched her jaw thoughtfully.

"But I still have hope. Once we can talk again, we can figure it out together." Lana turned her head slowly and caught Xilya’s gaze. "I think if he sees me, can feel me, he will remain himself longer."

She only caught it for a moment, a shadow passing over Xilya's eyes, her expression rigid but passive. "Maybe...but I would not risk getting too close," she said cautiously.

"He wouldn't hurt me."

"Are you sure?"

Lana frowned and turned back to the monitor. "He wouldn't hurt me," she said firmly. "He will see me, and he will come back to me."

Xilya didn't respond, and it was just as well she didn't. There was no use arguing. Lana wouldn't turn from Xerus. Not again, not ever.

Xilya bowed. "I am going to make a call to my friends in Xolis to let them know what's happened. If you have a need for me, I will be in the callroom."

Lana remained silent and rigid, trying to appear calm as Xilya left, but inside she was a raging storm of emotions she could barely control. She took a deep breath and turned back to the monitor, her hands shaking at her sides.

***

It took only a little over an hour for Krel and Gyrix to scout out the station and come back with a report. And what they found was no short of a surprise.

The station was, in fact, much more than one building but several by their observations. What they considered to be a town that was walled off and gated on one side. Along the wall, men with weapons walked the perimeter. Krel had taken the liberty of scaling one of the steep hillsides and climbing up a tree in order to look down into the compound. What he saw was groups of people walking in and out of different-sized buildings, all accompanied by more men with weapons. There were "energy-makers" as Krel put it and a long metal tower. The energy-makers sounded like generators and the metal tower some kind of transmitter by what Lana could guess. There were also transparent buildings, which he couldn't see inside but looked steamy within, and domed-shaped buildings with lights on their tops. Lana speculated that they were growing their food within and had a very self-sufficient setup. The armed men could only be military which meant it was likely a base. A very small one at that.

Gyrix also mentioned that there were large shooters on the tops of the wall as well, seemingly big enough to launch something into the sky. It was obvious the station was packed for any possible threat and guarded well. If they wanted any sort of answers, they would need to go in carefully. Which meant not allowing the vrisha or the hunter Nezka to be seen.

Lana had everyone gather outside the ships to make a possible plan of action.

"We don't want to start a fight, but if they see anyone who isn't human, they will likely become defensive very quickly," Lana said. "We need to show we aren't their enemy."

"We could sneak in and find the information needed," Dyrsa suggested.

"And how would you know what to look for?" Lana said. "We need answers, but they won't come in a form any of you would understand."

The team looked at her with concern, knowing what she was thinking.

"You want to go in alone?" Nix said.

"Not alone." Lana looked to Elise. "I would have a bodyguard."

Elise immediately looked over to her hunter Nezka, whose eyes narrowed.

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