Dekkir (Galaxy Alien Warriors #1)(34)
Twenty minutes later, Dekkir stood before High Chieftain Dorin and his assembled court. I let him do the talking while I sat in the front row of seats, maintaining a tenuous mental link with Tabirus while I held on to some of Dekkir’s gear for him. Now and again, I relayed updates on the humans’ progress toward the planet’s surface, but that was all I could do to help. I had no fresh ideas. I had already given the Lyrans everything I knew about the technology that would soon be arrayed against them and the tactics most commonly used by Earth Command. Other than that, I was useless to them, and I felt it. This was Dekkir’s show now. And for all my faith in him, I was terrified.
“We must act now. The humans are approaching rapidly. Their ships will land as close to us as they can manage. Tabirus will attempt to manipulate them mentally into miscalculating their landing. If he does, they will land in the jungle and be subject to the local hostile wildlife. But even then, at least some of them will make it this far.” Dekkir’s deep voice rolled commandingly through the guesting hall. He folded his arms across his armored chest, his broad, handsome face set in determined lines and his silver-gold hair caught back in a braid to coil under his helmet, which I held for him as he spoke bare-headed to the assembly. He glanced up at the throne behind him, and his father looked on and nodded.
“The seers must work to assist Tabirus in monitoring and deceiving the humans,” Dorin rasped and then coughed into his fist. He was still recovering from being poisoned. His skin was ashen under its olive tone, but the determination in his eyes matched that of his son. “The gatherers who know the jungles will act as guides for the warriors.”
Dekkir nodded. “A second contingent of warriors will protect Highfort. Half that number will attack from the air using our Rilleen mounts as empathically controlled proxies. The rest will arm the walls and strike back with projectile weapons. We will coordinate with the seers’ guidance. I will keep direct command.”
I listened and did my best to stay calm . . . or at least look that way. Inside, my stomach was in knots. My heart pounded, and I wanted to cry. I had come to Lyra in the service of Earth Command. Now they had betrayed me, along with the principles they supposedly stood for. They came to destroy, conquer, and pillage this world of everything they could.
Maybe it should not have been a surprise. Humans had a reputation for preying on each other; why wouldn’t they do it to aliens? I’m an idiot. A damned idiot. And suddenly, in the middle of everything, I found myself fighting tears.
Dekkir turned his eyes to me as he fielded questions from the assembled court. He couldn’t reach out and hold me in the middle of everything, but I felt a strong, fierce wave of his love and protectiveness wash over me. He would not let me be hurt. He would look after me, just as he aimed to look after all his people. Just . . . much more personally.
I love you, I thought at him gently with my still slightly inept telepathy, trying to push aside my anguish. But even with his love burning inside me like a brilliant flame, I couldn’t manage it.
“How do we counter their weaponry?” The speaker was a warrior armored in gray scale, with a shock of dark-blond hair that was cropped close, unlike most of his brethren.
“The seers will foul their aim while aiding us in aiming true. Telekinetics will disable what they can of their machinery. Telepaths will misguide them using illusions. Empaths will disable them with nausea, pain, or other strong emotions or sensations, as well as disrupting morale.” Dekkir paused to aim a glance at the willowy, hooded chief seer, who nodded back curtly. He then looked up and addressed everyone. “Unless we work with unity and courage, we will not win. I call on each one of you to accept the roles assigned to you and give your very best to the effort.” He looked back at his father, who nodded at him proudly as he gave his beard a thoughtful tug. “Do it for your people, your high chieftain, and yourselves. The freedom of our planet is at stake.”
Shouts of affirmation rose as he turned on his heel and strode back to his seat beside me.
CHAPTER 14 / GRACE
“I’m scared,” I admitted softly as soon as we were alone together. He had sensed my suffering the entire time he had addressed the court, and as soon as he had gotten everyone’s orders out to them, he had taken me aside into one of the small meeting rooms. Now he cradled me against his chest, stroking one hand through my hair. I drew in deep breaths of his warm, woodsy musk and laid my cheek against his heartbeat, my arms wrapped tight around his solid, powerful torso for security.
“Have faith in your new people, my love.” His voice was so gentle it was almost a purr.
“I do. I understand we’re not helpless and that we’ve got more than one surprise for them when they get here. But there’s more riding on this for me than just survival. No matter who dies today, they will be people I don’t want to die. It doesn’t matter which side they’re on. With the exception of Norcross himself, I don’t want anyone dying.”
He tilted his head, gazing down into my eyes, his adoration and support tinged with curiosity. “Are you that merciful, even to those who make themselves your enemies? They will not be merciful to you.”
“I know, but . . . my tie to them still exists. You talk about the Lyrans being my new people. But . . . these were supposed to be my people as well. Humanity, I mean. My family is human. Humanity is still my race. With the exception of people like Norcross, I thought they were basically good. Instead, they’re suddenly the bad guys. But they won’t see it that way. The people back home, the people I care about, I . . . I’m alienated from them now. I’ll be branded an enemy of the planetary regime. There’s no way I can ever go back to Earth after this. I . . . I’m never going to see my family again.”