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NORDVULK:
Alex follows Shaw out to the vehicles, and steps in front of her before Mack and Pandora enter the limousine. “This is a big mistake.”
“It’s out of my hands, Alex.”
“Would you at least tell me where you are taking her?”
“That’s classified. I’m sorry Alex, but she is our only leverage against the ship.”
Alex moves over in front of Pandora. “Please reconsider your decision to kill us. That’s the only way I can keep you out of jail.” He notices the intensity of her eyes decrease and hopes she is considering his offer. She suddenly appears to be in agony, rubbing her temples.
Pandora fights hard to regain control of her mind from the ship, and for the moment, wins the battle. She smiles at Alex, then throws her arms around his neck and puts her lips close to his ear. “It’s me, but I don’t have much time. The ship is angry that you won’t let me go. Don’t trust any promises. I may not get another chance to do this.” She leans back and stares into his eyes.
Alex realizes her intention and expects brief lip contact, but she suddenly pulls him against her body, placing her lips against his. His mouth is suddenly full of her saliva just before she bites his lip. He jerks his head away and steps back, then spits the bloody liquid on the concrete. “What the hell was that for?” He watches her eyes flair, and knows the ship is in control again.
“Pandora needs you, Alex. I need you. Until you and Pandora are united, I will continue to destroy your race.” She turns to Shaw. “Release me now or face the consequences.”
Shaw looks over at Alex, who appears embarrassed, then back to Pandora. “I don’t believe you.” She turns to Mack. “Put her in the car.” She looks at Alex. “What does she mean they need you.”
“I have no idea.”
***
Hardin watches Cave kiss the woman and jump back. Why would he kiss someone who wants to destroy us?
He sees the two limousines drive away with everyone except Cave and his three friends, who are left standing on the steps with Sliven. When they all walk back inside the building, he starts the engine and heads back to his off-site facility.
When he arrives, he carries the equipment inside, plugs the laptop into his computer, and saves the data on the hard drive. He logs onto the internet and attaches the file to an email with a brief note. “We are in big trouble. Call me after you watch the recording.”
***
Alex calls Donner. “How could you allow Shaw to arrest Pandora?”
“What? I didn’t authorize it, Alex. Shaw must have done it on her own.”
“Well, you had better call the President and find out where they took her, because Pandora is pissed, and we both know what she is capable of doing to us.”
“I’m sure the President doesn’t know anything about this, or he would have told me. I’ll find out what I can and call you back.”
Alex heaves a deep sigh of resignation. He knows Donner would never lie to him. “All right. We’ll head back to the base.”
“I know you have a lot on your mind right now, but I’m worried about the arctic device and the one in Fallon. If Pandora can control the one in space, she can probably control all of them. I want the recovery of the devices to be a top priority.”
“Okana and I will get started right away. We’ll drop Essex off at Fallon before we go to Groom Lake.”
Alex puts his phone away and looks at Sliven. “Could you arrange a ride back to the airport?”
“We can take my car. I’m finished here anyway.”
Alex and his team follow Sliven to the side parking lot. He climbs into the passenger seat, while his friends climb in back. No one speaks on the short drive to the airport, and Sliven shows his VIP pass to get them to the jet.
Alex reaches across to shake Sliven’s hand. “Thanks for all the help. I’ll keep you posted on any changes.”
“In case you didn’t notice. I have brown eyes. I’m scared, my friend.”
“So am I, Director. I’ll find out where they took Pandora and stop all this from happening.”
Alex climbs out just as the jet’s turbine engines start to whine, and jogs up the steps. He presses the button to bring up the stairs, and latches the door in place before looking into the cockpit. “Take us to NAS Fallon again, Skip. We’ll drop Mister Essex off on the way to the base.”
He walks down the aisle, and sits next to Jadin when she waves him over. He fastens his seatbelt as the plane starts to taxi, then feels her hand on his, and looks over. “What’s on your mind?”
“I saw you spit blood after Pandora kissed you. What happened?”
Alex reaches up and shows her the inside of his lower lip. “She bit me.”
Jadin undoes her seatbelt, jumps out of her chair, and runs over to the mini-bar. She finds a bottle of vodka and an empty glass, and hurries back to Alex. “You might have some type of alien bacteria in your wound. Swish this around in your mouth.”
Alex does as instructed, wincing when the alcohol hits the cut. Spitting the liquid into the glass jogs his memory. “She had a lot of saliva when she kissed me.” He hands the glass and bottle back to her.
Jadin hurries back to the bar and puts the bottle and glass away, then hurries back to sit down just before the jet races down the runway. “She did something to you, Alex. I know it.” She stares out the side window for a moment, then snaps her head around to face Alex. “I’ve got it! When she said she needed you, I bet that means she needs your DNA. That’s why she bit you. To get a sample.”
“It would be too contaminated to be viable. No, I don’t’ think so. The ship is angry. It took it out on me, is all. You should have seen the way her attitude changed when I said I didn’t want a relationship with Pandora.”
“You may think your DNA is no good to her, but we have no idea how her physiology works.”
“She won’t be able to do anything with it while she’s in confinement. Even if they release her, my sample would be too degraded to be of any use to her.”
“You hope.” She suddenly remembers Pandora’s eyes during the meeting. “I saw the way her eyes sparkled when she was stating her demands. Is that what you see all the time?”
“Yes, but they are much brighter when the ship is in control and pissed off about something. I think that’s why the rest of you were able to see them that way.”
“It was a little scary. I thought she might melt my brain.”
“I don’t think she has any superhuman abilities. She didn’t stop Mack from taking her into custody. The ship has all the superpower, and even that is limited. Without the SV1 she can’t harm us.”
Essex swings his chair around to face Alex. “I heard what you said about the SV1. You’re right. We have to destroy it. You could have your friend Donner order a missile strike and blow it up.”
“That won’t work. The alien device is indestructible. Trust me. I know what I’m talking about.”
Essex gives Alex a sly grin. “Not the thrusters and our control system. If she can’t move it where she wants, she can’t target anything.”
“How long will the thrusters last before they run out of propellant?”
“That depends on how often they are used. Our plan was to use them sparingly, only making small maneuvers. We estimated there is enough nitrogen to last a year, then I would go up and recharge the system.”
Alex’s phone rings and he recognizes Carter’s number. “I’m here, Paul.” He listens for a moment. “All right. Thanks for letting me know.” He puts the phone away and looks at his friends. “Pandora just used the SV1 to melt the International Space Station. There are no survivors.”
Jadin puts her hand over her mouth. “Oh my gosh. I knew the Commander.”
Essex slams his fist against the armrest. “You need to tell Donner to shoot out the thruster control system.”
Alex thinks about it. “It would never work. She could melt anything we try to send up.”
Essex smiles. “Not my spaceship. I’ll go up and remove the control system myself.”