Zac
She wasn't going back to Earth? He stared at Laila, hardly believing her words.
“Say something, please?” She pleaded with him.
He cleared his throat. “What? I cannot say I am disappointed, but why aren't you going back?”
She smiled. “Because I love you, of course.”
Zac looked incredulous, stunned and happy all at the same time. Laila squealed in laughter, quickly smothered by his kiss. He pulled away slightly, eyes wide. “You love me?”
She loved him. He, who kept people at a distance, who avoided his family, was a self-confessed grouch, and wanted to be responsible for nobody and nothing. She loved him.
He dropped a kiss on her forehead. “What about your career?”
“You know they declared me dead, right?” She laughed. “Would you believe they wanted me to be the face of Space Force?” She shook her head. “I joined to make a difference, but they just want to use me.”
He sat up, looking into her amber eyes. “What are your plans?”
“I have no idea. All I know is that I needed to tell you how I feel. I guess I was hoping we could work something out.”
He pulled her closer and kissed her. “Aren’t you going to ask me where I was?”
“I know. You were on Taurus at the palace, with the Supreme Commander, right?”
He nodded. “You weren’t angry I left without telling you?”
“Dr. O’Malley told me you stayed by my side as long as you could. I knew there had to have been a good reason for you to leave.”
He sighed and moved her gently, “If you don't put some clothes on it will be a long time before I get to explain.” Zac stood and walked, naked, across the room to pull on a pair of sweatpants. He turned back to see Laila had pulled on one of his shirts, the fabric pooling around her thighs.
“They recalled me to Taurus the day we were evacuated from Elthea, but I waited until I knew you were going to be ok before I left.” He still hadn't had time to process the fact that his father had requested the meeting between him and Karik.
“So, what happened? Is everything OK?”
“Karik has a proposal for us.”
“For us? The Taurean Supreme Commander has a proposal for us? Together?” Laila’s brows drew together, confused.
Zac sat on the sofa next to her. “He’s my cousin, did I tell you?” Zac laughed at how quickly Laila’s eyebrows shot up. “He wants you and me to train and lead an elite team of humans and Taureans. We would complete operations similar to the one we did on Elthea. We go in, retrieve something or collect intelligence, and we get out. The challenge is that nobody except Karik and few others are to know about this. It is highly confidential.” He pursed his lips before continuing. “It's dangerous. There will be little support. But this opportunity means we will be on the forefront of eliminating the Xakul, not only for Taureans, but for everyone, including Earth.”
“This sounds amazing. So we're to be something like black ops or special forces?” She looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes.”
She whistled. “This isn't something the Taureans have done before, is it?”
Zac laughed. “If it is, would we know about it?”
“Ah, good point.” She laughed. “What’s our objective?”
This was where the request got murky, and even he wasn't fully aware of Karik’s long-term plans for Taurus. He was unsure how Laila would take it. “We will be on the front lines of intelligence gathering, making recommendations to Karik alone and deciding how best to eliminate the Xakul. We can make our own plans, select our own equipment and transports, and choose our own teams, within reason. We’ll be based on the Zataras. However, once we are dispatched, we’re on our own, and everyone on the team will have to be aware of the dangers.”
“So, what do you think? Are you interested?” Zac asked, his breath catching as he waited for her reply.
Not hesitating, Laila replied immediately, “This means two things to me that are super important; I could actually make a difference in this war with the Xakul, and I can work with you. It’s a no brainer for me, Zac. I’m in.”
She beamed at him. “If we get to pick our team, I want T’arq, Domik, Oren, and CJ. As captain of the Zataras, I imagine Tomas will be involved.”
