We wait in silence as it gets to the tunnels and expands outwards, draping the area in a thick fog and obscuring our view.Xavier glows purple, the same color as his mist, and he mutters a few words and does a few complicated hand signals. I don’t know this kind of magic, since it isn’t anything we’ve touched on in our lessons yet, but I’m sure we will get there eventually. Suddenly, it all dissipates until nothing remains, like it was never there in the first place.
“Okay, we’re clear. There were some cameras, but they have been neutralized,” Xavier tells us.
“Isn’t that going to alert them to us being here?” Ghosie asks, a frown creasing his brow. I miss all his beautiful fur, but we decided that being fully covered was less of a risk to us during the mission. I live for the day when we won’t have to worry about it, and I can put my hands on his sexy body whenever I want without having to worry about scarring anyone.
“No, because instead of destroying them, I created a loop that will show the same image. It won’t pick us up as we pass in front of it.”
I let a little sigh of relief out as Brannock leads us forward. I’m shuffled into the middle of the group. Saxon and Brannock are in front, Ghosie and Xavier are on either side of me, and Tirrian and Zeydan bring up the rear.
We get to the entrance of the tunnels, our laser weapons drawn. Saxon holds up his hand, making a fist, and we freeze. I strain my ears to listen, pushing the limits of my Vilaxian hearing, but I can hear nothing except for an inconsistent dripping somewhere further down the tunnels. There are no signs of life—no heartbeats, breathing, or rustling of clothing or fidgeting of limbs.
“We’re clear,” he says.
I heave out a sigh, some of the built-up tension draining out of my body, and stash my weapon in its holster.
“Okay, we need you to head down the tunnel in mist form and cut the power to the top secret level. The rest of the facility shouldn’t be any wiser.”
“But it will put the remaining guards on high alert, right?” Tirrian asks.
“Possibly, but there have been power malfunctions in the past. I heard guards talking about rats chewing holes in the cables. I’m hoping they will assume the same has happened and send a team to investigate,” Brannock explains, staring down the tunnel with longing.
“And we will be ready to take care of them.” Zeydan cracks his knuckles, and he frees his tails from his body. The nine animals yip and screech as they gather at his feet, bristling with anticipation for the fight to come.
“Huh, that’s handy. We just added nine more to our team,” Ghosie whispers to me, and I snicker.
“Is it just the one generator?” Saxon asks, and Brannock shakes his head.
“No. There are two, which is why Lila needs to go too—one on either side of the tunnel and slightly apart from one another. You need to switch them off at the same time. One powers the outer facility, and one powers the one on the other side of the door we need to go through. All the prisoners will go into lockdown and be returned to their rooms, making them easier to rescue.”
“You’ve really thought of everything.” I stare at him in wonder, and he nods ruefully.
“I’ve had a long time to scheme and plan my daughter’s rescue. I just never imagined I’d have so many allies to help me,” he says solemnly, his eyes shining with gratitude.
“Family, not allies.” Saxon slaps him on the shoulder. “Alright, let’s get this show on the road.”
Xavier and I allow our bodies to turn into mist. We’ve been practicing all week between rehearsals, and I pretty much have itdown now. The only thing I struggle with is manipulating matter while in this form. I need to get it right today, though, because failure is not an option.
We float down the tunnel. It’s weird being in this form. Although I have all my senses, the feeling of my body is gone, and it’s slightly disorienting. I smacked into quite a few things before I learned to go around them or use cracks to go through or under them.
I can see and feel the lasers lining the tunnel, but because we are basically vapor, we glide through them without setting them off. We arrive at the first generator. It’s a huge unit, the tunnel having been widened on one side for it to reside in.
You do this one, and I’ll go to the next one, Xavier instructs me telepathically.
I do a lap around the machine, looking for the off switch. I find it and feel a thrill of success when I open the cover. I just need to wait for Xavier to give the command. My mind is a mess of emotions—nervous anticipation, relief, and excitement all wrapped together with the burning need for revenge against Smith. How dare he do what he’s done? How dare he treat aliens like they are his own personal play toys to exploit? To think he was creating an army for his own use. I don’t know what we will find behind that door or how successful his program has been.
Brannock said the program is in its early stages, and that it’s only been running for about ten years, so we won’t have any brainwashed adults to deal with. I made the guys promise that anyone behind that door who comes at us will be incapacitated as opposed to being executed, and we can work out guilty and not guilty once they are all safely back on the ship.
The Celestians are sending a transport to bring them back to their health facilities and are en route as we execute this mission. Link’s med bay wasn’t going to be big enough to handle the influx of victims we are expecting, so they converted thehologram warehouse to an overflow med bay, setting up beds for treatment of any injuries. We are hoping there aren’t many, but who knows? There may be a number of pregnant females. We’re preparing for the worst-case scenario.
Okay, I’m in position, Xavier says, and I jolt in surprise but quickly get my shit together as he starts a countdown.On three. One, two, three…
I flip the switch on the generator, and the lights and lasers in the tunnel turn off, plunging it into complete darkness.
I reform as I hear the others make the journey toward me. They use their enhanced speed and join me within seconds.
“Good job.” Tirrian gives my waist a quick squeeze. They all know how worried I was because my skills were a bit hit and miss.
Suddenly, we hear a shout echoing down the tunnel from Xavier’s direction.
