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"Go." He gently pushed me to the ladder, and I swung one leg over the roof's edge while our eyes kept hold of one another. His eyes were dilated, letting me know how much he wanted me too.
I quickly descended and noticed how his climb down was less agile than it had been on the way up, and I smirked when I realized that the part of his body I craved the most right now was probably giving him a hell of a time.
I jumped the last few rungs, landing in between the unconscious soldiers, giving them a wary once over to make sure they would stay that way for a little while longer before I pulled out the hidden box of explosives I had stashed behind the generators.
Without me prompting him, Kendryx pulled the soldiers away from the area and out of the line of the next explosion just as I saw the first lights of a chopper going out. The noise the thing made almost drowned out an approaching Humvee, and I yelled at Kendryx to hurry.
We barely made it behind the generators before two Humvees rushed by us, followed by the bright beam of a chopper's headlight.
To be safe, we waited a minute before we emerged from our hiding spot, while my heart pounded inside my chest so hard, I was getting dizzy.
"Let's get this done," Kendryx advised, and I couldn't have agreed more.
Crouching, we made our way over to the Humvee garages, pulling the cord on a spool with us. The first garage we entered was completely lit up, but thankfully empty. I imagined the Humvees, as well as the choppers, were combing the base and the surrounding area for us.
Further down, I heard yelling, making me assume squads were clearing the garages for us. We were about to run out of time.
I didn't hesitate when I pushed the small red button that would ignite the fuse and send an electric pulse through it. The pulse would move up first on top of the roof, exploding the small boxes that would in turn disintegrate the solar panels, before the pulse would move back down and take out the generators.
We waited for the large explosion that once again rocked the FOB, before Kendryx took the lead to get us out of the base.
Iwasslightlymoreprepared this time for the loud detonation, the way air was pressed out, and the ringing in my ears that followed. Still, my mind was reeling with the power of it and the kind of destruction wrought by those little boxes I helped Chrissy install. There was little doubt in my mind how our strongholds, no matter how formidable, would have fared against it.
A war with the Terran Confederation would have been just like Uthar had predicted: violent, bloody, and devastating. Even on the off chance we would have won, our world would have never been the same. Incredible gratitude toward Chrissy swelled my chest. She was an amazing kallini for giving up her roots to fight for what was right, and I wondered what I would have done in her boots. Would I have gone against the Thyres?
Honor was deeply ingrained in us, honor and responsibility for others, to stand up for what was right and the weaker. We were warriors trained to defend our territories and denizens, and I thought that, kar, I would have fought just like Chrissy, with everything I had, to do what was right. It wouldn't have been easy to stand against Gryck, but I would have.
It wasn't an entirely honest comparison, because Gryck, like my fellow warlords, would have never done what the humans did. Even going so far as betraying their own species.
The dead warlords, Fionbyr and Grobhan came to mind. They had betrayed their warriors and denizens by wanting to empower themselves, making me concede that there could be traitors in any species.
Which led to another thought of how much I had hated the Vandalls, every single one of them, for killing my brother. It wasn't right to hate an entire species for the deeds of a few. Having gotten to know Thorodoth and how he and his brother were about to change their people, I needed to simmer down my hate and rethink my oath to avenge my brother.
All this was running through my mind while I led Chrissy through the burning base. Chaos reigned. The second and third explosions had truly devastated the humans' sense of security. We even passed a group of eleven soldiers as they hastened to the fire and didn't even give us a glance.
"We need to get up there on the wall," I told Chrissy, pointing at the walkway that connected two watch towers with one another and where I left the rope hidden behind a pile of trash. "Unless you know another way out of here."
Chrissy's head flew in the direction of the giant gates, which still stood open, but many soldiers were streaming in from having fought the fire by the forest, while others stormed out in groups.
"They'll be fanning out, looking for us on the outside," she pondered out loud.
A loud rumble coming from our right announced the arrival of one of the armored transportation devices I had seen driving around before.
"Do you still have your gun?" Chrissy asked, and I pulled out the handgun she gave me.
"Good. I'll distract them, you get them out of the Humvee."
Before I had a chance to process her words or respond, Chrissy jumped in front of the incoming Humvee, spread her arms and legs in a wide X and jumped to flag the vehicle down.
It hadn't been going very fast, and the driver stopped a few feet from her. In the bright headlights, Chrissy looked small and fragile, and my heart thudded hard. I waited for the driver to cautiously roll down his window and yell at her. I didn't listen to what he said because blood rushing through my ears in fear for my mate made hearing nearly impossible anyway. Instead, I rushed the driver from the side and pulled him out of the vehicle through the window.
Chrissy rushed by me while I grappled with the man, and she flung the door to the Humvee open.
"Out!" she barked, waving her gun.
Doors opened and frazzled looking soldiers poured out of the large vehicle.
"Get in, hurry," Chrissy yelled at me, while jumping into the driver's seat.
