Seeran walked into the new council room with his friends, Trei, Rai, Mikiel, and Yarven, followed by Orik. They pause, scanning the room and looking for a grouping of empty seats large enough, finding one that would accommodate their group, then went and sat down, waiting for the council meeting to start.

He didn't particularly want to be in the meeting. His mate was in the clinic, being watched over by another medic. Seeran would rather it be Medic Kaul, but Kaul needed to be in the council meeting as well.

The soft chatter filled the room, muting out individual conversations as everyone waited.

At the head of the room, there was a long table that stretched the length of the room, with a long line of chairs that faced the audience.

Directly in the center sat Council Leader Vorik, with his mate, Alice, by his side. Vorik had reluctantly agreed to take the position after the encouragement of many.

On one side of Vorik sat Zack, Carrie, Shadick, Shelia, Merrick, Aleigha, Rask, and Niki, with two empty chairs on that side. On the other side of him, next to Alice, was Joe, Nisa, Jamie, Lera, Medic Kaul, Julie, Xant, Tina, Keirn, and Vernisa. It was the group closest to Vorik who had helped to protect the hidden city in the tunnels. It was a mixture of humans and his own kind.

Seeran scanned the faces at the council table. It was all mated pairs, except for Keirn and Vernisa, who were only pretending. He didn't yet know why they were; he just knew their relationship was a ruse.

Just as the meeting began to start, Seeran's comm link buzzed. "We need you at the east wall, sir," the voice on the comm spoke.

Seeran looked at his friends. "Let me know what happens," he told them, then quickly got up to go to the east wall.

This was supposed to be the first public council meeting that Council Leader Vorik was having. He knew it had to do with the coming changes. He didn't know what those changes were. He didn't want to be away from his mate, yet he wanted to be at the meeting to hear it for himself. He knew he needed to hear it himself, so he chose to come, leaving his mate with another medic.

After exiting the council room, he weaved around homes and pathways to get to the east wall. Up ahead, he heard footsteps. Looking up, he saw three of the border guards heading his way.

When they reached him, they stopped, taking a second to catch their breath. "Sorry, Sir. We were trying to intercept you, to warn you. At the gates of the east wall, there is a group of humans. They are seeking sanctuary, sir. But I noticed that many are well-armed. What do we do?"

"How many are outside the east wall?" Seeran asked the border guards.

"Five, sir," he stated. "But in the distance, there are many more."

Ignoring the guards, he continued toward the east wall. The humans out there waiting must be desperate if they were coming to the dome or if they were here to attack. He couldn't let them in until he knew for sure that it was safe. The fact that only a small group arrived, and more were waiting in the distance. It didn't feel right.

"Don't let them in," Seeran stated to the border guard. "Something doesn't feel right."

The guard nodded as Seeran picked up a set of binoculars and peered at the group in the distance. He could see the group as they worked, preparing vehicles with large military-style weapons attached.

"Those humans are a ruse. They are here to stall us. Gear up for battle. And Hurry; by the look of them in the distance, we have very little time," Seeran ordered.

The guards suited up in sleek black body armor and blasters at their sides, preparing for battle.

Seeran took his comm link out and called Council Leader Vorik. "Sir, we are about to be under attack. There are humans at the gate as a way to stall us. In the distance, there is a large group gearing up with large military weapons, sir." He told his new leader.

Once in battle gear, he went to the gate, looking at the small group of humans.

The plasma shield flickered. Seeran turned to the guard at the panel in question.

"The shield has been strengthened, sir," he explained.

Seeran nodded. "Make sure it's as strong as it can be. These shields are meant for plasma guns and blasters. Their weapons are solid canisters filled with explosives."

He pressed several buttons on his control panel, and the dome flickered.

"Full capacity, sir," the guard stated.

Seeran nodded at the guard, still looking at the group in the distance, preparing for battle.

Using his comm link, Seeran called each of the stations around the dome. "Look out in the distance for incoming. We are about to be attacked," he warned.

One by one, each guard station called back. There were no more groups; this appeared to be the only one.

Seeran didn't want to chance it, notifying all guard stations to be vigilant. Just because they can't see them doesn't mean they're not there.

He stood at the guard station where the group of humans waited, asking for sanctuary. Behind them, the dust rose in the distance as the larger group made their way to the dome.

Behind him, Van, Rask, and all five of his friends showed up. "Do we know what's going on yet?" Trei asked him, the others letting him speak for them.

Sighing, Seeran shook his head. "I would guess this group was a decoy to either stall us or get into the dome to do something to hinder our ability to defend ourselves."

"Why would they need to stall us?" Trei asked as the others listened.

"When I came up here, I saw the larger group in the distance. When I looked through the binoculars, they were preparing for battle. They have large military earth weapons. They were packing up, getting ready to fight," Seeran explained.

Van took the binoculars and looked through them at the approaching group. "That's a lot of firepower they have. I think you're right. This smaller group was meant to stall."

They all waited and watched the large group get closer.

The Walker sisters arrived with their mates. Vorik, just ahead of them.

"Report!" Vorik ordered as soon as he was close enough to Seeran.

Seeran looked at Vorik, first giving him the gesture of respect. "This small group came to the guard station. Many of them are heavily armed. On the way here, I noticed movement far in the distance. When I looked at the area with the binoculars, I saw that it was a very large group that was gearing up to do battle. They have a lot of heavy artillery. I ordered the shields to be set at full power since the dome is meant for plasma weapons and blasters. Their weapons are solid," he explained. "I refused to allow the group of humans in until we know for sure their intentions."

"You did well. They could be here to stall us from preparing for their attack, or they were meant to come inside and hinder our ability to prepare or sabotage our efforts in fighting back," Vorik stated evenly. Vorik turned to Van. "I'm going to gear up for battle, myself. Keep me informed on the comm link. I won't be long."

Van nodded. "Yes, Sir."

It took only ten more minutes for the human army to arrive at the dome. Once they did, the small group dispersed, going into vehicles waiting for them. The lead man looked irritated as he first scanned his people who had been sent to the east wall's guard station, as his plan to stall or sabotage failed.

His eyes turned to the guard station, narrowing in anger, watching as a small group exited, facing the attackers.

The girl behind their lead man looked directly at Aleigha and Niki, both well-armed themselves. It was possible that they had more weapons that were not visible. They were both experts in weapons after all.

The girl gave them a disgusted look. "You're both traitors to your race!" she yelled. "Look around you! They destroyed everything!"

Niki stepped forward, her sister only a couple of feet behind. To the trained eye, it was to give each other enough room to pull their short-bladed staffs. It was Niki who spoke. "The one who ordered that is dead. I know because I killed him myself."

The girl, facing down Niki, scanned the crowd in front of her. Mostly aliens. Her eyes stopped at Van. She gasped, then gritted her teeth, moving back to Niki. "He may have given the order, but your new leader followed that order. A bad, unethical law is no law. He should have refused!" she continued to yell. Her features were pale, like she was fighting her own emotions.

The girl stepped forward, pulling her machete out. Before she had it grasped in her hand and fully extended, she was thrown back several feet with the force of a dagger, hitting her chest close to her heart.

Van ran up to her, catching her before she hit the ground. The shock of it made everyone pause, but only for a moment, before chaos erupted.

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