“The tracks are clear and functional all the way to Colorado?” The man sounded surprised to Gina. He was more curious than dangerous at the moment, if she was reading him correctly.
“Yes, though we had to take it slow past the first few sets of tracks since none of our scouts had been able to go much further. We’re an exploration party, if you will.”
“Well, you found us. So how about you tell us what you want?”
“That’s pretty easy. You’re human. We’re human. We both have secure facilities where I assume you’ve got more people living. We want to make an alliance. To share information. If the foreseers are right, the time is coming when we’ll need allies.”
“You’ve got a foreseer?” The man’s gaze turned to Gina speculatively.
She smiled. “Not me. But yes, there’s at least one among Jim’s people.”
The man quirked a brow at her phrasing.
“Are you sure about this?” Jim asked in the privacy of her mind.
“Honesty is always the best policy. Better they find out now so they can’t accuse me of hiding anything later.”
“All right.” Jim sounded reconciled to her bold move. “I’ve got your back, baby.”
She could’ve kissed him right then, for his support. God, she loved this man.
“Jim’s people,” the stranger repeated. “But not your people? Why’s that? And what are you wearing?”
Gina stepped closer to the man, her palms open in an unthreatening pose. “Noticed my duds, huh? Very good. I’m an emissary from a secret sect of Alvians called the Zxerah. The Patriarch of my clan doesn’t want humanity to fail. He wants to facilitate us getting in touch with each other so we’ll be stronger when things come to a head. My clan has a few seers in it too, and the Zxerah Patriarch listens to them closely.”
“So he can figure out how best to hoodwink the humans?” the man challenged.
“So he can figure out a way for us all to live together in peace,” she countered.
“Burt, can you hear me?” The stranger spoke seemingly into the air, confusing Gina for a moment until a computerized voice answered in the affirmative. “Could you patch this through to Bill? We need his input.”
“Right away, Michael,” the computer answered. Only then did Gina notice a small speaker placed high on the ceiling of the tunnel. She hadn’t seen those before. Apparently they were much closer to the Canadian facility than she’d thought.
“I’m here, Mike. What do you need?” A new voice came over the speaker. It was a beautiful voice…with that distinctive Alvian trill, though it was well hidden. Still, Gina heard it. She’d lived with Alvians a long time, after all. She knew them well.
“Tell him what you just told me,” Mike directed her. The rifle in his arms was in a relaxed position, but it was still there.
“Greetings, brother,” Gina said hesitantly.
“What are you doing?” Jim asked, shifting toward her protectively.
“Trust me. That voice is Alvian, and there’s only one explanation I can think of.”
“Am I speaking with Prime Past?” Gina continued. She noticed Mike’s rifle move up to cover her once more, and the man in the shadows tensed.
“Who are you?” the disembodied voice came over the speaker, suspicion in his tone.
“Gina Hanson, adopted daughter of the Zxerah clan. Ronin Prime sent me.”
“Keep her there, Mike. I’ll be down shortly.”
“Well, that got a response,” Jim groused in her mind. “Mind telling me what’s going on?”
“I told you the Alvians were experimenting on returning emotions. The man who just spoke is most likely the first of those experiments. The seers said one of the Brotherhood would encounter him at some point and that he’d be an ally in our ultimate quest, but I didn’t think I’d be the one to find him. This is really good, Jim. I promise.”
“Give us lights, Burt,” Mike ordered and lights flared in the tunnel, showing them for the first time just how close they were to the end of the line. Just a few yards ahead the track ended in an open chamber much like the one they’d departed from. She saw the second man, also armed with a rifle, standing near the chamber entrance. “I’m Mike, and this is my cousin, Dave.”
The second man nodded at her. “You’re the girl from the Olympics, aren’t you? Some kind of ultimate fighter?”
Gina smiled. “I won gold for tae kwon do, but I’ve learned a few other things since then.”
“And got mixed up with the aliens apparently.” David’s tone invited her to say more.
“I literally ran into one of them during my flight from the coast. He took me in and protected me—even from the rest of his race. The Zxerah Patriarch has adopted many humans into his clan.”
“So how do you know our friend Bill?” Mike asked.
“If he’s who I think he is, I trained with him and his men once or twice. He’s part of the Brotherhood.”
“Not anymore.” There was real force of emotion behind the words as a tall, blond man entered the chamber and came forward to face her. “You’re looking well, Gina.”
“You too, Prime.”
“I’m not Prime any longer. Call me Bill.”
She dipped her head in agreement even as her lips curled upward. “Bill. It suits you. I’m glad to find you.”
“Dougal 17 didn’t tell you I was here? I ran into him in the skies a few days ago.”
“I’ve been out of touch with the Brotherhood for more than a week. I didn’t know you’d be here.”
“So why did you come?”
“My mission started in Colorado, making contact with Jim and his people. My goal was to inform him of the other confirmed and suspected locations throughout North America where we think humans are gathering and living in sites like this.”
“To what end?”
“To put them in touch with each other. Humans have few reliable ways of communicating nowadays. But these old military sites may hold the key not only for communication, but cooperation among the various groups of humans living together and hiding out for safety.”
“Why?” Mike asked. “Why would we need to band together? As long as we stay hidden, the Alvians pretty much leave us alone.”
“If you know any seers, you should have a good long talk with them,” she advised. “More than one visionary tells of a time when everything’s going to come to a head. The outcome for humans will be much better if we can speak with one voice. If we can show the Alvians that we know how to survive and rebuild our society, even in secret. That’s something their social engineers will respect, even while they can’t understand the emotion that drives us. But they will.”
“They will what? Understand emotion?” Dave asked, moving a few steps closer.
Gina nodded. “Sinclair Prime—or Bill, as you know him—was the first of what we hope will be many. Already another group of test subjects has been treated with the same gene-altering agent with good results. Little by little, the Alvian race is embracing a change for the better. A drastic change that will restore emotion to many, if not all of them, in the fullness of time.”
“You’ve got to be kidding.” Mike sounded amazed.
“I’m not. That’s the goal of the Zxerah Patriarch.”
“And he hasn’t got you all brainwashed or something? How can you be sure he’s not rounding us up? Getting everyone in one place to make it easier for them to capture us all at once?” Mike insisted.
“I have enough empathy to feel even his weak echoes of emotion. The Zxerah are warriors. As such, they have more emotion than other Alvians. He’s told me the truth. I know it.”