Page 7 of The Alien Warrior's Vow

“And how do you know the Heronas force fields are activated by Plutonian blood?” Lans snarled, his gaze hardening on Chozo.

The brood squirmed and ducked his head.

“Did Chozo show you the footage?” Korben narrowed his eyes.

Eema threw her hand out protectively over the brood. “This isn’t about Chozo and the footage. While you aliens were sequestered in here having your little meeting,we,” she pointed a finger at the females, “were having a session of our own.”

Ki-ah nodded. “If you think about it, you’ll see that we have a point. We can wear the zapten exoskeletons and sneak into the Heronas prison undetected, just like Sara did to rescue Clavas.”

“And we can find a way to destroy the generator powering the force field, allowing the Plutonian army to slip through.” Si-moon turned pleading eyes on her mate. “Zar, it’s a good plan.”

Zar shook his head. “You forget that the Heronas have upped their defenses on the outside which means they’ve tripled it on theinside.After the devastation of Chozo’s camp, they’re even more paranoid than usual. Imagine what they will do to you if you’re caught? Remember where we met? Do you want to go through that again?”

A solemn expression fell on Si-Moon’s dark face.

Lans frowned as well. Zar and Si-Moon had met inside a Heronas prison where the filthy bastards were trying to force a mating. With their species facing the Red Death, the Heronas were desperate to harvest the blood of humans and Plutonians. Their experiments had doubled and so had their kidnapping attempts.

Lans found Eema’s eyes.

She stared right back at him.

It was something she did no matter how flustered she got. Lans had been around plenty of females, many of whom rarely met his eyes. Most skittered away in fear when he showed up.

At first, he’d assumed Eema’s bravery was a human thing, something intrinsically born from the earthen DNA. But meeting Leel had cured him of that thought. The female with the tan skin and thick brown hair chatted incessantly and got spooked at the smallest things. She also crossed the room whenever he was around her. Eema, on the other hand, seemed to take pleasure in staring him down as if she wanted to duel.

“It’s dangerous,” he told her in a low voice.

“We knew that.”

“Planning for a war and actually being a part of one is not as easy as it seems.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Then we plan harder.”

“You may die.”

“I’m not going to let that happen.”

If the matter weren’t so dire, Lans would have scoffed at her impudence. Did she really think she could conquer the planet by her stubbornness alone or was that just a front to hide her true fear?

Sah-ah frowned. “You guys, how many times have we saved your behinds since we’ve gotten here?” She pointed at Korben. “I was the one who snuck into the Heronas camp and saved you, Pin, and Lans.”

Korben opened his mouth, only to snap it shut.

Lans squirmed.

“And they,” Sah-ah pointed at Eema, “held down the fort while we were gone.”

Ki-ah nodded. “I saved you from those orange orbs that were going to suffocate you all to death.”

Lans squirmed harder.

“She’s right,” Chozo squeaked.

Every Plutonian glared in his direction.

The expeh ducked again. “Sorry.”

“If you don’t trust us,” Si-Moon slapped her hand against the table, “thentrainus. Make us as strong as we can possibly get in a few days.” She lifted her chin. “And then let us help.”