This had turned into a helluva day. First the foundry explosion, then the abandoned train on the tracks, and now this mess.

The cafe-style dining car vibrated with nervous energy. The entire Shadow waited around the alien-tech communication system. Andrew listened alongside Kyle for Pride to respond. By the frown on Xelan’s face and Lucas’ wilted smile, the successful capture of an Iona base meant very serious consequences for the good guys.

“Wingmaster, four casualties in Pride team. Over.” The entire room fell silent as John relayed the dire news. Andrew dumped back into a white booth and rested an arm across the black tabletop. Sagan turned away and stared out the tinted window, her hand cupped over her mouth.

Rayne jumped on it. “What are our options?” Her gaze bore into Xelan and Lucas with an intensity Andrew recognized from the J. A. Fair fight. The bright white perimeter lighting created a metaphorical backdrop to the hope which radiated from her face like a halo.

Not all was lost.

“We call them back, right?” Andrew asked. It was the most logical course of action.

Rayne glanced at him then back at the others.

Xelan said, “We can call them back, yes. We have protocols in place for this scenario.”

Kyle asked, “Like what?” Suspicion ladened his voice. He cast a glance at Tameka dressed in Xelan’s shirt and scowled as she leaned on her man’s arm. Never a dull moment, the happy couple had rejoined the living right as this mess started.

Andrew startled at the sound of Lucas’ velvety voice behind him as the Icarus suggested, “Reclaim Iona-29.”

Xelan agreed, “They have the supplies and the equipment. We don’t know for sure, yet, if they have the manpower. They’ll have to do some recon.”

The people surrounding Andrew were all crazy. He said, “They might get killed.” This was un-fucking-believable.

“You’re not wrong, Andrew.” Rayne offered him sympathetic eyes. He puffed up a bit, feeling good about himself until she went on. “But we can’t let them have it. There has to be a reason he packed so many traitors in one location. Why this base?”

“Tectonic weapons.” The group turned to Sagan. Her voice quiet, as if stricken by some awful, hopeless circumstance.

Tameka asked, “What about them?”

Sagan perked and turned to Lucas. “When you designed the Iona bases, you said you made them earthquake-proof?”

“Well, yes.” Lucas’ molten gold eyes searched her face.

Sagan continued, “Did you do a geological survey on 29? About the divide?”

Xelan said, “Yes. Part of the reason we picked that real estate was the lower cost because of potential tectonic activity.”

“Not just activity.” Sagan’s voice grew gradually more dramatic until it bordered on foreboding. “Devastation. The Yellowstone Caldera sits on the Great Divide.” She hopped off her stool and went to the center of the group. “If it blows, it will set off a chain reaction of volcanic and tectonic activity leaving North America drowned in ash. And that’s just to start.”

Kyle pointed at Sagan. “Okay. Icari, how do the tectonic weapons work, and Sagan, why do you fucking know this?”

She explained, “We just learned about it in Environmental Science III. We were covering fault lines in the United States. Ms. Penny called it ‘Mother Nature’s Reset Button.’”

Rayne’s eyes grew enormous.

Andrew blinked.

Xelan jumped in and answered, “The Tantamount are detonated on sight, putting the controller at risk, like in Corpus Christi. It requires a plate or an active fault line to trigger an earthquake.” The room grew quiet, each of them reliving the same nightmare. “But the bigger the job, the more energy it takes. Nacre energy. To activate something like the caldera would require sacrificing half of Nox’s army.”

Andrew asked, “How big is this fucking army again?”

“Millions.” Lucas peered over at him. They locked eyes, and Andrew tried not to fall into them. Respect passed between them. The beginning of something, maybe.

When Sagan shook her head, both men turned to her. She said, “But not on Earth. He doesn’t have millions here. Not yet, anyway.”

“They can conduit-skip.” Xelan bit on his thumbnail and cradled his elbow as he paced, concentrating. He glanced at Rayne. “The ability Nox used to escape on the roof. It was something I’ve only ever seen T.a.o. do.” Sagan perked up as Xelan went on. “She’s the only person who can travel across conduits of her own making that I know of, and yet, they can use one of her abilities. Not the full range. Nowhere near it. But they can shift paces away by making a conduit. I wonder…”

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Xelan continued pacing down the car.

Tameka gave an apologetic smile for him, saying, “Strategizing distracts him.”

Rayne said, “Regardless if he can do it now or later, this seems as good a reason as any for him to take Iona-29.”

Xelan whirled on her. “You’re right. You’re the General, Rayne. You make the call. What should our teams do?”

This wasn’t exactly a test.

Andrew trusted Xelan to give Rayne control when she could handle it, but this whole situation was a cluster. ‘Mother Nature’s Reset Button’ and all that.

Rayne went to the communications device. “Pride, this is Progeny Alpha One. Over.”

The group tightened around the center of the car, waiting for the response.

John came on the line, “Progeny Alpha One, this is Pride. Go ahead. Over.”

“Pride, commence reclamation protocols for Iona-29. Standby for reinforcements. ETA four hours. Over.”

Andrew frowned. “Reinforcements?”

Even Xelan watched for her response with curiosity and a touch of something else. Was it pride?

“Roger, Progeny Alpha One. Over and Out.”

Rayne started messing with the knobs on the device. Sagan appeared beside her. They exchanged a smile.

On the local channel, Rayne said, “Ambush, this is Progeny Alpha One. Over.”

The group peered at one another.

Xelan grinned, and Lucas nodded, sagely.

Caedes’ gravely voice responded with a “Go ahead.” Rayne asked him to come to the dining car.

“So, Xelan. What’s the maximum capacity for this cafe, man?” Kyle waved at the full car.

Xelan pulled Tameka into a booth with him to make room. “We’ve definitely exceeded it.”

Kyle perked up. “I have an idea. Rayne. Sagan. If you both get in a booth with me, we’ll make—”

Caedes came through the door, shutting the sounds of the tracks behind him. “You summoned me, General?”

Andrew watched Rayne straighten her shoulders and raise her chin. She said, “Pride needs reinforcements for an important mission. I would like your team to assist them.”

Before Caedes said another word, he sniffed the air and then locked onto Tameka. The bald Icarus raked his eyes down her Xelan-shirt-wearing body, glanced briefly at Xelan, then returned his attention back to the leader of the human world. It was the creepiest, eeriest thing Andrew had seen since Korac fought Sagan in a school cafeteria.

Hands down.

Especially the look on Caedes’ face. It wasn’t predatory or monstrous. In fact, one might say he looked lost.

Andrew glimpsed at Lucas to catch his reaction. The other Icarus glared upside the sizable man’s shaved head. It was good to know Andrew wasn’t the only one affected in the train car. Was it really a good idea to let this dude help on the mission? The group had warmed up to Caedes after he saved Tameka’s life and all, but they still didn’t know the full extent of his involvement with Frullop.

Caedes said, “Anything to get me off this train.”

Rayne paused like she was considering her next choice of words carefully. “Lucas and I will brief you on the mission and the details of the operation. But first, a word with you. Please.” She turned and charged through the aisle, and everyone jumped out of her way. Caedes glanced one more time in Tameka’s direction before he followed Rayne into the observation car.

“That was intense.” Sagan blew the air out of her cheeks.

Tameka snuggled in next to Xelan. Neither said a word.

Out of nowhere, Lucas said, “Unrequited love can be difficult to manage.”

The entire car stared at Andrew and Lucas’ booth in silence. Andrew almost squirmed. He glanced over at the Icarus across from him and wondered if he spoke from personal experience. Andrew blurted, “It doesn’t have to be. People need to communicate these things.”

Sagan’s mouth fell open.

“Yes, I suppose you’re right.” Lucas nodded and drew his fingernail along the seams of the booth. He concentrated awfully hard on it. Almost as hard as the rest of the room concentrated on them.

As Andrew went to ask what the fuck everyone was staring at, the door to the observation car opened. The gazes shifted, and Andrew blew out a grateful breath as Rayne and Caedes took stage center. “Ambush leaves in thirty minutes.”

Lucas climbed out of the booth and crossed the aisle to Rayne and Caedes toward the back of the car. The three of them discussed the details regarding the Tantamount weapon, the tectonic plates, and the details of Iona-29. The rest engaged in a conversation about Iona-30.

“So, we’re going to Canada? But I don’t have my passport,” Kyle quipped.

Andrew longed for the days where John stayed on top of Kyle’s antics. It was such an exhausting job on his own. Andrew said, “I’m sure the Mounties will let you through this once.”

Colton burst into the dining car. He’d left the train on autopilot. Something big was going down to force that man away from the helm for more than a second. He glanced at Xelan, then at Rayne. “Boss, I think the General needs to hear this.” Lines strained around his eyes as he stared intensely at Rayne.

Xelan looked at Rayne, who nodded back.

Colton started fussing with the built-in radio for the train. Static. Nothing. Then came an irritatingly rich voice in mid-sentence, “…four days left. If you do not make an appearance, I will destroy six of the remaining major metropolises in the world. Dress accordingly.” Andrew’s blood boiled and his stomach turned. The message started from the beginning. “Celindria, we will parlay and discuss negotiations. We can come to agreeable terms for both our peoples. You know where to meet me. You have four days left. If you do not…”

Lucas commented first. “Six cities. That’s overkill for a date.” He fell back into the booth across from Andrew, elegant and graceful.

Tumu entered the very cramped cafe. “Dress accordingly?” He peered at Rayne, who shrank into her own skin.

Tameka muttered, “He’s insane.”

Kyle agreed, “There’s no fucking way we’ll go anywhere near him for some trap.”

Andrew watched Rayne closely as the surrounding people commented on her choice in the matter. She went quiet and stared at the carpet and left them to deliberate on their own. Andrew knew that look.

Rayne had made up her mind already.

“I’ll bury him in rubble before I take you there, Rayne,” Xelan ground out.

“I get a say.” The entire room turned to their General. “I have an idea.” Xelan opened his mouth to argue, and Rayne spoke directly to him, to them all. “And I need your help. I need everyone’s help.”