Page 160 of Return of the Nine

North sat back and listened to Maklin speaking urgently to all the Gaian researchers who had been brought to this base. The order to cooperate with the new aliens was urgent as the Tokkel began to mill in the halls. They didn’t know what was going on either, and it was just a matter of time before they decided to kill the researchers and abandon the base.

North hoped that Ianka’s senses were still keen. She was racing the clock.

Ianka sprinted through the halls, a sense of urgency swamping her. Derion was at her side and growing bigger with every attack. Her knives dripped with Tokkel blood, and she paused at crossed corridors to make sure she was heading in the right direction.

The barricade of Tokkel was a hint that she was in the right place.

She turned to Derion, “Down that hall.”

He nodded and let out a hunting roar that shook the halls. Members of the Fury, ready for battle, appeared around them,and as one deadly red tide, they surged forward.

Ianka dove through the heaving bodies, sliding along the ground until she was in front of a cell door. Her sense of smell told her she had reached her goal.

There was probably a key or a pass code or something, but she grabbed the bars and hauled with a strength she rarely accessed. The door tore off in her hands and she tossed it aside.

There were two women huddling together on the bed and one was belovedly familiar. “Mom?”

Beeda Senior got to her feet and made a beeline for her daughter. “Eek. Oh for the love of cellular degradation, I have missed you.”

Ianka hugged her mother but kept her blades ready. “Where is Dad?”

“The other side of the compound. They saw you coming with an army of aliens and warned us to cooperate.”

The other woman got to her feet and smiled. “It has been a long time, Ianka. You are looking well.”

Ianka grinned. “Thank you. Please keep my mom from tripping on anyone. I have to set the others free.”

Dr. Wells nodded. “Over there on the wall. A palm print from one of the guards will do the trick to open them all.”

Ianka nodded and headed back to the battle, finding a body and hacking off one of the hands.

She spoke to her mother and Dr. Wells. “The men at the end of the hall are members of a friendly species referred to as the Nine. They are also hostile to the Tokkel, so this is the best of both worlds for them. They won’t hurt you, but don’t touch them. They link chemically and even shaking hands can be foreplay if you are compatible.”

She slapped the hand against the pad and the doors slid open. Women cautiously crept into the hall whose entrance was being cleared by huge red creatures.

“They are the Fury, one of the species of the Nine. I need you to get onto the ship and to safety with a few of them guarding you while we head off to rescue Dad.” She was speaking to her mother but the other women nodded.

“Dr. Wells, take care of my mom. The ground will be a little slippery.”

Derion had been listening to her and he gave a few hand signals to his men, sending six of them with the thirty women.

Sighing in relief that her mother was out and on her way to freedom, she headed out to find her father.

She had kept the hand of the deceased Tokkel, and she used it to open all the men’s cells. One hundred twenty men appeared in the hall, but there was only one face she cared about.

“Dad!” She ran to the familiar figure, and he embraced her when she was in front of him.

He laughed and tears came from his eyes. “I felt Veed in my head last week. I knew you wouldn’t be far behind.”

“Come on, Dad. We have ships and we are all going home!”

One of the scientists snorted. “We are trading one set of aliens for another.”

She walked up to him and stared until he backed away. “What do you think happened after you were taken? Let’s cut the polite speech. We were blasted back to first gen colonization with our technology. We couldn’t fight and the Tokkel kept coming until the Nine arrived. They have a ship in orbit and have assisted us with medical treatments, rebuilding and protected us. The Gaia that you left is gone.”

“So, they have taken over?”

She chuckled. “No, they have not, though they have more of a right to it than we do. They evolved on that planet just as our race is evolving with every generation. Their people called it Underhill and they have cities that have been lost to time, butas we gain the ability to travel longer distances, we have been finding them.”

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