“So what do you have in mind by way of cooperation between our two installations?” Michael brought the conversation back on point.
“Communication to begin with.” Jim took charge. “Information exchange. Reconnaissance of what goes on outside in our respective areas. We have very limited information about what goes on in the rest of the world. I think that works to our detriment. Knowledge is power and all that. In return, we have some of the original scientists who worked in and designed these facilities living among us. If you need information on how to repair or work some of your systems, we might be able to help you. Hell, we might even be able to trade. Our hydroponics farm unit turns out more than we can use sometimes. I hate to see food go to waste and if we can keep the tunnels open, we can use them to transport goods back and forth.”
“I like the idea, but I’d want to see your facility and meet your people before we agree to anything.” David was cautious, but it was good to see he was interested.
“That can be arranged. We have extra seats in the pod if anyone wants to travel back with us, but I noticed on our way up that you had a couple of pods yourself.” Gina hadn’t noticed any pods, but then Jim was a lot taller than she was and could see more of the area while her view had been blocked by the big men all around her.
“Bill is our head farmer.” Dave gestured toward the Alvian man. “He’s gotten the hydroponics section started and now that we have more people, he has some help, but we’ve only been living down here a few months.”
“Really? The Colorado facility has been in continuous habitation since the cataclysm. Like I said, a lot of the original staff hid out there and brought their families in when it became clear there was no going back to the old world. I arrived later, having made my way over land to get there.”
“You knew about the facility before the bombardment?” Mike asked shrewdly.
“I was CIA. I’d been in spec ops and had done some work for NORAD. I’d been to the Cheyenne Mountain facility a few times and knew the codes. It was the most likely place I could think of to regroup after I heard what the Alvian goon squads were doing.”
“Good thinking,” Dave agreed. He took the woman’s hand and brought it to his thigh, a clear and unconscious sign of affection. “We only found this place a couple of months ago when Jaci needed a place to hide out, but it was in really good condition. The base computer had been powered down in preparation for a new crew’s arrival according to BURTIN.”
“Is that the computer you were talking to before?” Gina had never heard of such a thing, but she’d seen it with her own eyes, like something out of an old science fiction book.
“Yeah, this whole place is monitored and maintained by an artificial intelligence prototype. BURTIN stands for Basic Underground Resident Type 1 Intelligence Net, but we just call him Burt. He monitors everything and lets us know if anyone or anything stumbles upon us. That’s how we knew you were in the tunnels, though nobody’s ever arrived that way before.” Mike scratched his face, which was showing the beginnings of a beard. “Now that word’s got out here and there about Bill, we get a lot of people tromping through the woods looking for us. Burt helps us find them before they hurt themselves or alert the sporadic patrols to something fishy going on down here. We mostly take them in, though a few bad seeds have been sent on their way with a warning not to return. Bill’s real helpful in that department too.”
The cousins shared a laugh, and Bill just looked uncomfortable.
“Must be good to have a shadow warrior around.” Gina was upset on Bill’s behalf. It wasn’t right for them to use him that way. Not if he’d truly given up his assassin’s ways. “I assume they come because you’ve been out flying? You should know that the Council has heard the rumors spreading among the human populace about an angel. They sent Grady Prime to investigate, and he was given full access to your former squadron.”
Bill stood violently, overturning his chair as emotion swamped him. Gina could feel the almost overwhelming confusion, despair, anger and regret mixed up in his conflicted soul. She stood and went to him, holding out her hand where he could see it before she touched him. One didn’t sneak up on a former Zxerah assassin.
“I’m sorry.” She touched him, offering what little mind healing power she could to help settle his emotions. “I didn’t say that to upset you.”
A hand settled on her shoulder. It was David. “Stop before you deplete yourself. Mind healing isn’t your true calling, is it?”
She let go, giving up her place to David. The man took Bill’s arm, and even Gina could feel the instant peace he was able to transfer to the confused Alvian male.
“No. I’m not much of a mind healer. Not like others in my family. Not like you.”
Gina felt her strength ebb and she swayed on her feet but Jim was there to catch her, holding her back to his chest as they stood together. He gave her strength, and she realized both Alvians were looking at her strangely.
“You Hum,” the woman said softly, a smile spreading over her face. “Are you true mates?”
“I don’t know what that means,” Jim answered carefully.
“But you do.” Mike’s tone was accusing as he looked at Gina. “You know what it means to Hum for an Alvian.”
“I’ve heard the term,” she admitted. “Grady Prime told me I Hummed with him, but of course I can’t hear it. If it really exists.”
“Oh, it exists all right. You Hum with both Grady Prime and Jim? This could get interesting.” The grin the other woman gave her was mischievous. “Both are warriors and leaders. I wonder if they’ll try to dominate you—and if you’ll let them?”
Gina was confounded by the woman’s knowing grin. “Look, I’ll probably never see Grady again.”
“Did you have sex with him?”
Gina gasped at the woman’s rude question, and Jim’s arms tightened around her.
“What’s this about Humming?”
“It’s an Alvian thing,” Mike explained almost offhandedly. “When mates touch, their bodies resonate on a cellular level, creating a Hum. It’s a sound audible in a range beyond our hearing, but the Alvians can pick it up. According to our two resident aliens, you Hum with Gina.”
“So then we’re mates?” Jim didn’t sound too happy about that, and it was Gina’s turn to be upset.
“It’s not that easy. The Hum just means you have the potential to be mates. The other tests are the Kiss and the Embrace. Do those with a tuned crystal nearby and watch the fireworks. If you’re true mates, each of those will generate a more intense response from the crystal, confirming your resonance. If you can make the crystal glow like a star, you’re Resonance Mates, like we are with Jaci.” Mike tugged a crystal out of his pocket and placed it on the table, then pulled Jaci into his arms, laying a kiss on her that could melt rubber.
The crystal glowed.
“Well, I’ll be damned. I never saw a crystal do that before.” Jim let Gina go as he bent to get a good look at the shining shard of quartz.
Mike let Jaci go, and the crystal dimmed until it no longer glowed. “Why don’t you two try it?”
Jim didn’t even give Gina a chance to object. He just tugged her around and laid one on her. She couldn’t see the crystal and didn’t care, frankly, what it showed. She was too wrapped up in Jim’s kiss.
But the room was definitely brighter and when he let her go, the crystal slowly dimmed as they drew apart.
“So we’re mates?” Jim asked again.
“Close, but to be really sure, you need to Embrace her. Take the crystal. Try it later, and you’ll see. If the crystal glows even brighter, you’re definitely Resonance Mates and according to ancient Alvian law, mates can never be separated for any reason. It’s a good ace to keep up your sleeve, if you’re so inclined.” Mike tipped his nonexistent hat to them both.