Fleet Commander Vorik froze, then looked at Merrick, shocked. "What did you say?"

Merrick spoke quietly. He didn't know if anyone was hiding, listening in on their conversation. "I have been trying to tell you since I found out, but every time I am near enough to tell you, Tosh's men have always been following you. The tunnel city and its population survived the chemical burnout. Shadick knew what to do. After you gave me my orders to evacuate the home, on the way to follow my orders, I called and warned Jamie, and he went to Shadick. They're fine." He started. "They're all fine."

Commander Vorik looked at Merrick in shock. His heart lifted knowing that all those people were safe. He had thought they all had been killed by the chemical burnout. He could say nothing due to the shock. He only looked at Merrick and waited for him to tell him more.

Merrick continued, while scanning the area for signs of someone listening. "When Alice went to the tunnels, a zombie attacked her. A zombie bit her on the leg. Medic Kaul treated her injury and has been draining toxins from her bloodstream every few hours so that she wouldn't turn into one of them. When Kaul scanned her, she was pregnant. He said that the fetus was too small to take the toxins out." Merrick Continued. "They realized the fetus was a zombie after multiple toxin evacuations and that it was infecting Alice, trying to change her. The other night, I spotted a young female zombie in the area we searched today. When I looked at her, she was my mate. She didn't bite me. She acted timid and scared. I took her to the tunnels. Kaul took the toxins from her bloodstream; now, she's an ordinary human. Medic Kaul used that knowledge to take the toxins out of Alice's fetus. That's when Kaul told her that her twins would be fine. We didn't know it was twins until after he cured Alice of the toxins."

Fleet Commander Vorik's face paled. "I wish I had known."

"We couldn't tell you. You always had Tosh's men with you. If they had figured out the people in the tunnel city were safe, they would have done something else to them. Maybe something even worse," Merrick stated. "I'm worried, too. You're not the only one separated from his mate. Mine is down there, too," Merrick told him.

Commander Vorik heard nothing else. He only heard Alice was safe. "Alice is safe?" he asked. His mind needed it to be confirmed. He had thought she had died in the burnout. He was now learning he had been wrong all along. He needed to make sure he wasn't dreaming and would wake up with no mate in his future.

"Yes, Commander Vorik. They are all safe." Merrick confirmed, seeing the look on his friend's face.

With the confirmation, relief washed over Vorik. "How long have you known?" Vorik asked.

"I don't know, maybe two days after the chemical burnout. Every time I tried to tell you, Tosh's men surrounded you or followed you. I couldn't say anything without them finding out that the burnout never worked."

Vorik nodded in understanding. There was a long silence before anyone spoke. "There is a lot you didn't tell me before Tosh arrived, isn't there?" he asked. He understood the situation. He knew they hid a lot from him. Not to hide things from him, but to protect him and the people in the tunnel city.

"It was part of the plan, sir. We knew they would use the serum on you. The less you knew, the better," Merrick explained. "I am the communication between the city and the dome. The bunker is being protected. No one knows about it. If you need a safe place to go, go to Keirn's home. He and Vernisa are acting as a couple to hide Zack and Carrie's bunker."

Vorik listened to everything Merrick was telling him. He chose not to speak, only to listen. His mind was reeling that his mate was safe and she was carrying twins. His twins.

"There are others that are trusted that surround the bunker to keep it safe and to keep an eye on the tunnel," Merrick continued.

Vorik sucked in a breath, holding up his hand to stop Marrick. "Do not tell me anymore. They could still use the serum on me again. I can't stop what I say. They will know everything you tell me if they use it again," Vorik stated slowly. Even though he wanted to know all this, he knew that knowing too much was too dangerous for all the others involved. If Tosh decided to use the truth serum on him again, it would put them all in danger. Just from the little that Merrick had divulged, it was already too late. He didn't want to make it worse.

Merrick and Fleet Commander Vorik continued along the border of the dome. With each stop they made, they investigated the dome, looking at every inch for a possible breach. They found no breach anywhere along the boundary.

Merrick wondered how the zombie girl got into the dome. There had to be a way if she had gotten in. They had swept the entire area before building the dome and after ensuring there were no threats inside the city. He worried that if she was able to enter the dome, others could too.

They had watched the tunnel for a long time. No one entered or left it after they chemically burned the tunnels out. Merrick needed to talk to his mate and try to get her to tell him. He wanted to know her name as well. He didn't even know that. She had refused to speak.

When Merrick and Commander Vorik finished their search, they went back to the shuttle. The young co-pilot, Renn, was there. He did not see them return. He was talking to Council Leader Tosh as they were walking up.

Merrick and Commander Vorik stood several feet out of Renn's view and listened to their conversation.

It was clear to them that Renn was upset that they sent him back to the ship.

"What did you do to be sent back to the ship?" Council Leader Tosh barked out. His anger could be felt through the comm link.

"I got caught following them, Sir," Renn complained. His tone was shaky.

"Did you find anything out? Anyone they are intimate with. Good friends? Anything?" Tosh asked the co-pilot.

"No, Sir. They only did their job. They were both distant from each other and everyone they came in contact with," he continued. "I don't think that there is anyone working with the Fleet Commander, Sir." Renn Continued. "Pilot Merrick treats him like he does all of our superiors, sir."

There was a long pause before the council leader spoke again. "You found no evidence?" he asked the co-pilot. It was as if he was trying to confirm.

Renn sighed. "If I knew what I was looking for, perhaps I could find something, sir."

"I need to know if he is working with anyone. That's it!" Tosh snapped. His anger seethed as he spoke. He seemed to be easily angered.

"Fleet Commander Vorik doesn't seem to be working with anyone, Sir," Renn started. "And Pilot Merrick stays away from everyone. He just follows orders."

"Good!" Tosh snapped. "I don't trust Vorik. He wants to protect the humans of this planet and our people who form a mating attachment with them. It's disgusting!"

Co-pilot Renn's comm link went silent, and he went back to work, getting the shuttle ready for departure.

Merrick and Commander Vorik waited for a while before entering the shuttle. They didn't want Renn to know that they had been listening in on his conversation with Council Leader Tosh.

In front of co-pilot Renn, Vorik called Council Leader Tosh on his comm. "Sir, we found no evidence of zombies, sir. We spoke with all the border guards and searched for a breach ourselves. We found nothing. What are your orders, sir?" Vorik asked Council Leader Tosh formally.

"Try again tomorrow and take co-pilot Renn with you when you go," Tosh barked out. He was still angry, which was something that Vorik was already used to. All the man did was yell.

From the reflection in the glass, both Merrick and Vorik noted the smug smile spread across Renn's face.

"Yes, Sir," Vorik stated, not even flinching at Tosh's order to take the co-pilot.

After he closed the link with Council Leader Tosh, Fleet Commander Vorik turned to Pilot Merrick. "I need the shuttle ready first thing in the morning. It looks like we're searching again. It may take longer since we have to babysit your co-pilot."

"Yes, Sir," Merrick stated, noting that Vorik was trying not to smile. Merrik then turned to start the shuttle, trying not to smile at Vorik's 'babysit your co-pilot' comment.

The young co-pilot, Renn, didn't like the comment about having to be babysat. They saw his scowl through the reflection on the glass, making both Merrick and Vorik smile.

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