They had just returned from finding the scout ship near the dome. Council Leader Vorik was rushing to his command center on Earth to notify the fleet to keep a lookout for Kreq disks. He also told them to plan for battle discreetly. He didn't want the Kreq to find out that they knew they were there. If they knew, the Kreq would attack the fleet immediately. He didn't want that. He wanted as much time as he could get before anything would happen. He wanted time to prepare for battle.

Council Leader Vorik had ordered everyone in the fleet to train and wear full battle gear and blasters at all times. The Kreq had a habit of infiltrating battle cruisers. He needed to both warn his fleet and to have them prepare in the event of a surprise attack from the Kreq ships.

Once Council Leader Vorik finished notifying the fleet and giving out orders, he headed for the closest gate to make rounds to each portion of the dome to give them their orders. They needed to know that there was a threat and to be on high alert. There was the possibility that they were being watched, so they had to be discreet in preparing the dome for battle and getting those who needed it to safety. Everyone in the dome was required to wear battle armor, carry a blaster, and train, just like those in the battle cruisers.

As a precaution, teams of soldiers escorted pregnant females and females with infants into the city in the tunnels. They had to be as discreet as possible, knowing full well that they were being watched. They didn't want to lead the Kreq scouts to where the females were hiding. It would mean their death. They had not cleaned the tunnel city since the last time they used it. They kept it as it was in case they required it again. It appeared that it had been a good decision. They wanted the females and their children to stay safe; that was the best place to hide them.

Vorik remembered that the hidden door helped to hide them even if someone was standing right in front of it. The door was so well hidden that you had to know it was there to see it.

Vorik knew he couldn't move the pregnant females or women with small infants and children who were in the battle cruisers. There was too much risk in making trips in the shuttles back and forth from the fleet and to the dome on Earth. The Kreq would take the opportunity to blast them out of space. Council Leader Vorik didn't want that. His duty was to do what he could to protect them, not put them in danger. He had to think through every decision he made to make sure it was the right decision for his people.

Once the main dome's staff was given their orders, he had to have Merrick fly him to the next dome to repeat the process. He worried he would be shot down before he could warn them all. He had two domes to visit after all. It was unfortunate that there wasn't a hidden city in the other two domes, too. It would keep more people safe.

They had warned the second down, now they were headed to the final one, thankful that nothing had gone wrong.

As they flew to the third and final dome, the shuttle's communication buzzer went off, notifying them that someone was trying to contact them.

"This is Council Leader Vorik," Vorik called through the shuttle's comm link.

A female voice came through. "Is Merrick there, or Rask? You two had better be coming back to get us. We're not staying on this ship during a battle. We'll stay in the tunnels. You'd better come to get us!" It was Niki. Aleigha could be heard behind her, agreeing with her. Neither of them sounded happy. They sounded irritated, on the verge of being pissed off.

Merrick and Rask looked at each other before looking at Vorik for guidance. They couldn't do anything without Vorik's permission. Vorik rolled his eyes, something he got from the Walker sisters, as well as Jada Nelson. Vorik sighed, nodded, then bent forward to speak in the shuttle's comm link. "We'll come to get you as soon as we can. Let Alice know that she and the twins are coming with you."

"Fine! We're packing now. We'll let Alice know and help her get ready. We're also taking weapons with us. You may have our short staff programmed in the replicators, but there is nothing like the real thing," Niki stated before closing the link and not giving them any time to say anything in return.

Merrick looked over at Vorik. "If the Kreq doesn't blow us out of space when we pick up our mates, Niki and Aleigha will protect Alice and the twins. The girls are due soon, so they have to be careful, but they will protect her and your children."

Rask nodded, backing his friend up. "I think it's safer for them anyway, off the battle cruiser. I'm relieved they want to come to the planet. I don't like the dangers of getting them here, but I will be relieved once they are down here, where it will be much safer if there is a battle."

Council Leader Vorik nodded. "I agree. I like that the sisters will stick close to Alice and the twins. She's much safer with them."

Once they finished preparing and giving orders to the third dome, they cautiously headed to the mother ship. Vorik scanned the space around them, looking for the disk. When the disks are cloaked, if you look carefully enough, you can see that there is a disturbance, a subtle distortion in the atmosphere around the outline of the disk. It was barely seen. It was the same way with the scout ship when they found it. He scanned the stars intently but didn't see anything at all. Nothing was indicating a hidden Kreq disk as he scanned the darkness of space.

When they entered the mother ship, Niki, Aleigha, and Alice were standing, waiting for them. Their bags were packed and waiting at their feet. Alice carried one of the children while Niki carried the other. Both Walker sisters were pregnant with their own child. They were also about to deliver their babies, making their bellies very large. It could be any day now.

Neither Merrick nor Rask wanted them fighting while they were so close to delivery.

After loading the bags, Niki and Aleigha got in the shuttle, Alice right behind them. Niki handed the child to Vorik as she could get into her seat, then took the child back. The same process was done for Alice. She couldn't close the safety straps, still holding a newborn infant.

Once all the girls were settled and the infants were placed in a secure infant carrier, Merrick cautiously flew the shuttle back to Earth. He was thankful they weren't attacked on their way back.

After landing on the landing pad, Vorik took them all to the hidden city in the tunnels. "Medic Kaul will be down there with you. He is the best medic to care for everyone. His mate just had her baby, so she is already down there with her infant," Vorik explained as they headed to the secret door of the city. "The only issue is going to be Mia Danicky. Kaul is reluctant to work with her, and she is afraid of him and everyone else. Renn will be the only one who will help Mia instead. He is also the only one who is allowed to go near her without her own invitation."

"I heard about her. She's the one that Travis tortured, right?" Niki asked.

Vorik's face paled in thinking of it. "Travis did a lot more than that. Just be careful with her."

"Sure thing, boss," Niki stated before walking through the hidden door into the tunnel city.

Niki scanned the large opening. Renn was sitting on a bed with another bed beside him. He had placed the girl he was caring for on the bed close to the wall. Niki smiled. He placed her in a safe spot where attackers would have to go through him before they could get to her. "I must say, Renn's changed from being an ass-wipe spy to a great caregiver," Niki observed aloud. "He even put her in a protective position with him closest to the attackers."

Council Leader Vorik looked toward the area where Niki was looking at Renn and Mia. "He has impressed me as well," Vorik told her. "I don't know what we would have done with her without him. He's the only one who hasn't done something to frighten her."

Niki looked at Vorik. "Is he her mate?"

"No, he's not. She's afraid of her own shadow. He has never done anything to show she can't trust him," Vorik explained. "Besides, we asked him, and he said he's not."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.