Guard Commander Drevick rushed toward Aleigha's dwelling, cutting between dwellings and small bushes. Panic rose in his chest, fear for her. He had to warn her.

On the way, he decided to call Council Leader Vorik; he needed to know about the situation, also. Pulling out his comm link, he called him. "Sir, we have a situation. You ask me to let you know if the girls are in danger. They are; I'm heading to Aleigha's dwelling now. Her sister, as well as Jada, needs to be there. It would be wise to make sure your mate has a blaster and not to open any doors for anyone, even if she knows them."

"I'll meet you at Aleigha; I'm on my way," Council Leader Vorik stated. His voice was tense. Clear worry for his own mate at the surface.

Guard Commander Drevick shoved his comm link back into his pocket and rushed toward Aleigha's dwelling. He had wished that Council Leader Vorik and been there for the interrogations of those named by the four taken outside of Aleigha's home. The situation went much farther than a disgruntled brother for his sister's execution.

Reaching Aleigha's door, he pressed the call button. He waited, not so patiently. No one answered, so he pressed it again. Panic rose at the thought that they had already gotten to her and her infant son. There was still no answer.

Using his security override, he forced open the door and stepped inside. Rushing from one room to the next, he searched for Aleigha and her son. The dwelling, he found, was empty. His panic for her safety bubbled over.

He quickly exited her dwelling, then secured the door again, and rushed across the small pathway to Niki's home. He pressed the call button and waited. The door slid open, and Niki stood looking at him, one hand wrapped around her bladed staff, ready to defend if she determined it was needed.

"Is your sister, Aleigha, here?" he asked Niki with barely concealed panic.

"Yeah, why?" She asked, one brow raised. Her grip tightened on her staff. She was ready to defend her sister if he tried to arrest her.

Without answering, Guard Commander Drevick pulled his comm link out. "Sir, we're at her sister Niki's."

Council Leader Vorik's voice came over the comm link. "On my way. Call Mikiel, Orik, and Jada and have them go meet us there, also."

"Yes, Sir," Guard Commander Drevick responded, then quickly called Mikiel. "Mikiel, come to Niki's dwelling. It's an emergency."

"On my way, sir," Mikiel's voice came through.

Niki just stood there, watching and listening to the communications across the comm link.

Drevick didn't pause. Switching his comm link to call Orik. "Orik, you and your mate need to come to Niki's dwelling immediately. It's an emergency."

There was a slight pause before Orik responded. "Bring weapons?" he asked.

"Yes," was all Drevick said before stepping through the doorway and past Niki, who had stepped aside for him. Her grip had loosened on her staff. Clearly, seeing him as no threat.

Aleigha was sitting on a sofa with an infant in her arms. She looked up. "What did I do now?" she asked defensively.

Guard Commander Drevick understood her demeanor after what had happened to her. "You're not in trouble," he told her. "You're in danger."

The call button rang again. Guard Commander Drevick pulled out his blaster, rushed to the door, and peered out the small window next to the door, making sure it was safe to open it. It was Mikiel. Jada and Orik were seen only a few yards away, rushing up to the dwelling.

Niki opened the door for them once they were all on the porch, not wanting to open and close it more than once.

Just as she was about to close the door, Council Leader Vorik rushed up. She let him in, too, before allowing the door to slide shut. Niki quickly pressed the locking mechanism, securing the door.

"What happened?" Council Leader Vorik stated as soon as the door clicked shut. His eyes were focused on the guard commander.

Guard Commander Drevick looked at his leader. "We interrogated those named by the four who were watching Aleigha. It's worse than we thought. Far worse. There is a Ramesian militia group. They want to kill all remaining humans. We tried to get the name of the leader, but none of them knew it. It could be anyone, even someone we know."

"Did you find out if they are part of all of the domes and the fleet, or are they only in this dome?" Council Leader Vorik asked. His gut tightened at the thought of them getting to his mate or human friends.

"The human dome only has Ramesian guards. So does the Kreq dome. None of the residences of the other domes were named. None were named from the fleet either. I don't want to take the chance of thinking they aren't anywhere but this dome. We have communication to the domes and the fleet; groups like that spread quickly," Drevick continued, his agitation could be heard with each word he spoke. "According to those we interrogated, Aleigha, Niki, and Jada are their primary first targets because they can fight back. They want them out of the way so they can go after the weaker ones without having to worry about fighting against them."

Council Leader Vorik thought about it a moment as he paced in agitation. Fear swelled in him.

"What about the tunnel city?" Aleigha asked. "We can discreetly take all the mated pairs down there, then the other humans. We can use personal cloaking shields to move them from inside the dome to inside the tunnel city."

Vorik stopped his pacing and looked at Aleigha. "That wouldn't work. There are full-time guards at the tunnel entrance."

Aleigha shrugged. "So, put ones that know what the plan is so they could let people through the door and into the tunnel. Once inside, they can take the cloaking shields off and give them back so that the next group can use them. We don't want the cloaking shields in the replicator, or we are all dead," Aleigha pointed out. I think the ability to make them should be limited to only you."

"Seeran's mate is Hope. She's human. They are going to want to be hidden too. Maybe you can put Seeran at the tunnel entrance?" Niki suggested.

"That wouldn't work," Aleigha said quickly before anyone could say anything. "Put Seeran at the entrance, and everyone will know there is something up. He's not a guard. He's the Gate Commander. It's like being demoted. Everyone will notice."

Council Leader Vorik watched the sisters debate a plan. He knew there was something to what they were saying. He knew if a guard was placed at the entrance of the tunnel, no one could know he or any of the humans were friends with them. Vorik looked around the room, noticing that he wasn't the only one watching them devise a plan.

"What about Van and Xant? Both have human mates, both are guards, and neither of them comes around any of us very often," Aleigha suggested. "Wouldn't they work?"

"How do you know those two?" Guard Commander Drevick asked Aleigha. He wasn't sure why he felt he needed to know how she knew the two males.

Aleigha looked over at the guard commander. "Xant's mate was leading a group of humans hiding in these tunnels when Tosh arrived. Van was Keirn's friend, but he stayed away from everyone with his mate, Sasha. She was from Travis's group. Shadick would be a good choice too. He doesn't come around either."

"Shadick isn't a guard. He's a Squad Commander. He leads those going out to search for survivors," Drevick stated, watching her.

Aleigha nodded. "You should warn him so he can find a way to protect Carrie, his human mate. She will want to warn her twin brother, Zack, and his mate Shelia. They also have two friends who are brothers; each of them has a mate too. All of them have infants to worry about. They will want to know so they can keep them safe."

Vorik started pacing again, trying to work out what to do in his head. "I think Van and Xant are the best choices," Vorik confirmed, not stopping in his pacing. When he finally did stop, he turned to Guard Commander Drevick. "Warn them discreetly. I don't want anyone overhearing. "I'll pass the information to Shadick. He and Zack are friends. They can spread the word to those they know. We can start moving humans and their mates immediately after hand-picked guards for this situation are placed at the tunnel entrance." Vorik turned his attention to Aleigha. "Make copies of your cloaking shield. Once everyone that needs to be safely in the tunnel city is there, we need to make sure that all of those made are accounted for. Even one missing could mean someone is hiding, waiting to harm or kill someone."

Aleigha nodded, understanding the danger. She handed the cloaking shield to Vorik. "It's best if you be the one to make the copies. It would start suspicion if any of us do it," she told him. "Use your security code. You should probably shut off the ability to copy anything when you're done, just to be safe."

Vorik took the cloaking shield and made multiple copies, then handed Aleigha her cloaking shield back to her. "I made twenty copies to use to take the humans to safety," he stated, then handed them to Guard Commander Drevick. "Make no more. We need to keep track of all of the ones we have. The more we make, the harder it is to keep track of them all. We don't want any of this militia group getting hold of any of them. Not even a single one of them."

Niki stood up, scanning the room. "If it's that dangerous for them to get ahold of one, perhaps you should block the replicators from copying anything at all until after this threat is resolved. You should probably lock the items that could be used against us by this group that is already programmed in the replicators. Make those wanting something locked have to get your or Drevick's approval. No one else. We don't know who all is involved and how high their ranking goes."

Aleigha had already suggested blocking the ability to lock the copy function on the replicators. It took her sister to repeat it and add the dangerous items for everyone to hear what she had said.

"What about closing communications between the domes and the ships? Wouldn't that prevent the Militia group from getting members from those places, too?" Aliegha asked.

Council Leader Vorik looked between Niki and Aleigha, then nodded. "I agree."

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