Vorik stood at the window in the council room, looking down at the blue planet below. He was missing Alice. He was thankful Merrick could finally tell him his mate was safe. It was one less thing to worry about. Vorik was also surprised that Merrick had mated with a zombie female and that Medic Kaul was able to cure her.

The thought of Alice being pregnant with twins made him smile inside. More and more, he thought as time went by, he needed to do something about Council Leader Tosh. If he didn't, then all those pairs and their unborn children would suffer, including Alice and their twins.

It was becoming clearer and clearer that he was going to have to kill his leader to make everyone safe. It would be the only way, to avoid retaliation. He didn't know if he would die trying, but he had to do something. If he didn't try, he felt like more would die.

Council Leader Tosh ordered him to go to the surface so that he could re-check the border. Council Leader Tosh didn't believe that they fought zombies, and he didn't even ask co-pilot Renn, who had been injured by one of them and had almost been turned into one. Tosh was merely sending Vorik for busy work. Vorik didn't care. Anything to get off the mother ship and onto the surface. He wanted to find a way to see Alice. It had already been too long.

Sighing deeply, he headed out of the council room and toward his ship. He called Merrick early last evening, letting him know they had an early day today.

When he entered the shuttle bay, he quickly scanned for Pilot Merrick and his shuttle. He found him quickly. Co-pilot Renn was standing beside him, waiting for Vorik to approach.

Renn had a cast-like device on his arm where he was injured so that his injuries could heal and that he could still do his duty. Council Leader Tosh didn't seem to care that the co-pilot had been injured from the previous day as long as he could do his job.

Commander Vorik headed up the small ramp into the ship. Both Merrick and Renn gave formal gestures of respect. Merrick always did, but this was new for Renn. Vorik wondered what had changed.

Only nodding at Pilot Merrick and Co-pilot Renn, he made his way to his normal seat.

After sitting down in the co-pilot's seat, Vorik looked out the window but spoke to Merrick. "We need to check the border and figure out how the zombies broke through the dome. They shouldn't have been able to do that."

"Yes, Sir," Merrick stated formally and started the shuttle. He was wondering how his own mate had gotten in. He knew he needed to find out.

As they made their way down to the surface, co-pilot Renn spoke. "Am I to accompany you, Sir?" he asked. His tone was polite, formal.

Commander Vorik gritted his teeth; he was trying to maintain his temper with the co-pilot. "Are you able to do your duty with your injuries from yesterday?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," he stated. "I will do my best."

Nothing else was said for the rest of the flight. When they landed, Commander Vorik geared up, wearing his full set of black armor and his weapons at his side. He was always prepared in the event they had to fight zombies again. When he left, he noticed that Merrick and Renn were both with him and wore their own armor. Merrick always did, but this was Renn's first time.

Renn had apparently learned something after he was attacked on the previous day.

They headed straight for the border, examining it all the way around. The breach had been repaired the previous day. There were no breaches today.

Commander Vorik stopped at one of the guards, who immediately made the gesture of respect. They didn't do that on the yesterday.

"Have there been any more sightings of zombies or evidence that they entered the dome?" Commander Vorik asked the guard.

"No, sir," he stated formally. "The breach has been repaired. It appears they broke the connection between the plasma dome and the border walls. We have not figured out which substance can ground a plasma barrier," the guard continued.

Commander Vorik thought about it for a moment, not saying anything. The guard waited patiently. "Was there a residue of any kind at the breach point?" Vorik finally asked.

The guard looked surprised at that. "We did not think to look, sir. We have marked the breach point, however. If we go to the marker, we can look now for foreign residue," he suggested.

Commander Vorik nodded in agreement and headed toward the breach point. "Merrick, go to the medic and bring back a scanner," he ordered.

Pilot Merrick immediately ran toward the medic, disappearing around a cluster of homes. Renn stayed quiet, watching, nothing else.

Moments later, Merrick returned with a medical scanner. After handing it to Commander Vorik, Vorik set the scanner for the strongest setting and then slowly scanned the breach point of the plasma dome. The scanner buzzed for a moment over one side of the breach. Vorik studied the readout. "This doesn't make sense," Vorik breathed.

Merrick bent forward, looking at the screen. The readout stated that the residue was plasma. "Sir?" Merrick asked. "Someone sabotaged the dome, didn't they? Someone let those zombies in."

"It would appear that way," Vorik stated evenly. Then looking at the guards. "Was there a report of anyone near this area before the time of the breach?" he asked them. "Or did you notice anyone near the breach point yesterday that shouldn't be there?"

One of the guards swallowed hard. It was clear that he saw something. He glanced over at Renn, who was looking toward the breach and not at the guards. The guard appeared not to want to speak in front of Renn. Vorik took the hint.

"Co-pilot Renn, take the scanner back to the medic. They may need it. Keep an eye out for zombies unless, of course, you want to get attacked again," Vorik stated.

Renn took the scanner and ran off toward the clinic, for once not disobeying orders.

Vorik then turned to the guard. "He's gone; now tell me what you know. Whoever let them in put us all in danger."

The guard spoke quickly, glancing around, not wanting to be overheard. "There were two individuals at this breach point an hour before it was breached. One of them was Council Leader Tosh, and the other was Councilman Jak, Tosh's right-hand man."

Commander Vorik paled. "First, he floods the tunnel to kill the entire city of mated pairs, in which every single female was pregnant, and now he's letting zombies into the dome. Is he trying to kill us all?" he hissed.

After taking a few breaths to calm himself down, he looked at the guard. "Do you have proven evidence? I can do nothing without evidence."

The guard shook his head. There was silence for a while; then, a resigned looked set firm in his features. "I will agree to a public interrogation. No one can dispute the truth serum."

"That would be pointless," Vorik began. "You may have seen them near the breach point, but did you see them let the zombies in?"

"No, sir," the guard stated, slightly shaking his head in defeat. His features showed he understood the dilemma.

Vorik took a breath, unsure what to do other than monitor the dome and its grounding wall. "Monitor the boundary in pairs, at least. Continue to monitor the entire plasma grounding wall. Be on guard for zombies if you see anything that looks like a breach in the plasma dome or its grounding wall. You were there yesterday, so you know about their scent. You also know that you have to take their heads when you kill them." Vorik ordered. It was more of an advisement than an order. They all knew it needed to be done. He was just reminding them.

The guards gave the gesture of respect. "Yes, Sir," they acknowledged his order. It surprised Vorik by their change in attitude from yesterday. In truth, he wasn't sure what was going one with them.

Behind him, Renn was already on his way back.

Merrick had stayed quiet. His thoughts were on the girl with the emerald green eyes and raven hair who waited for him in the tunnels and the fact that she had somehow gotten into the tunnels herself. He wanted to know if Council Leader Tosh let her in or did she find her own way. Whatever the case, he needed to find out how she entered the dome. If she wasn't let in, getting in and out of the dome was far easier than he and anyone else thought, making it dangerous. If one zombie entered the city undetected. That meant many more could do the same thing.

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