The guys had finally set up grow lights in one tunnel, and they grew what they could. Mark had been the farmer of the group, having come from the Midwest in search of survivors. Chance knew a little, but that was mostly because of the pot plants he used to grow when he was a teenager.
Adam and Adrian were native New Yorkers used to the mean streets. They were the fighters of the group and had been instrumental in saving the lives of each of them on more than one occasion.
Gracie watched as her hair swished around her face as she leaned forward and drew in a deep breath. She tried to sound confident about what she was about to do, but in reality she was scared to death. She wasn’t sure it was going to work, and she knew if it did, there was an excellent possibility she wouldn’t survive.
She figured it would be a one-way ticket, but she also knew that if the guys knew that, they would never let her go. If there was a chance they could turn the tide of this war and defeat the aliens, she was going to take it.
The only reason she was the best candidate for this mission was because if the aliens figured out what she was doing and tried to stop her, she had a chance of counteracting their programming.
So, scared or not, she was it. She washed her face and brushed her teeth before pulling on a comfortable pair of worn jeans, an oversized T-shirt with a picture of New York on the front, and slipped into her running shoes. She grabbed some personal items and shoved them into her oversize leather bag along with an extra shirt and her hoodie.
Last, she grabbed her tablet PC and chargers. Looking around for the last time at the little bed set up against the stone wall, Gracie pulled aside the blanket she used as a door and walked down to the main staging area.
Chapter 2
Adam, Adrian, Chance, and Mark were waiting for her by the time she got to the center area they used as a main living quarter. Chance helped Gracie up onto the platform, then stood back as the other six men who made up Team Two looked her over.
“Not much to you,” one of the men said before he spit on the floor. “Maybe if they catch you they won’t think there is enough of you to eat. You sure as hell aren’t big enough for parts.”
Adrian, who was standing slightly to the left of the man, turned in a blur of motion and struck the man in the jaw, sending him to the floor on his ass. “Shut your mouth!” he snarled, clenching his fists tightly. “She is risking her life to do something no one else can, you piece of shit. Give her the respect she deserves.”
“And don’t spit on the floor. This is our living area,” Gracie said as calmly as she could.
The man’s words had sent a shiver down her spine. They frequently received reports that the aliens were using humans for parts to repair the damage to their own organic bodies. Gracie didn’t want to think of her family ending up that way.
Chance could sense how the words of the man upset Gracie, and it took everything in him to not just kill the bastard right then and there. He walked over and pulled Gracie close to his body, trying to give her what little protection and support he could.
“Gracie,” Chance called out quietly a few hours later.
Gracie and the guys had gone over the plans again with Team Two before calling it a night. They looked over every aspect of what they were about to do. It was essentially Gracie’s plan.
When she’d first worked out the programming to not only disarm the shields protecting the Alluthan spaceships, but also to override their system and bring it down using a simulator, she had been ecstatic. If a worldwide, systematic coordination of attacks could be organized, then it was possible to turn the tide of the war and possibly even bring it to an end.
It took over two months for Gracie to finally convince the four guys it was a possibility, and that only happened when she took over the supply ship now down in the old warehouse. The Alluthan on board had had no idea that it was not following a direct order from the mother ship.
Once Gracie proved she could override, control, and operate one of the spaceships, Adam began communicating with other rebel forces around the world through the ham radio and low-frequency signal setup.
Gracie knew she would never be able to sleep after the other team left. Crocker, from Team Two, said he would have the things she would need on the supply ship for her arrival at five the next morning. Everything was ready. Now she sat listening to the communications going on back and forth between the different bases of the Alluthans on the ground and the mother ship.
That is where their downfall will be, Gracie thought. They put all their eggs in one basket, or in this case, one ship.
The Alluthans believed the humans too primitive to attack them in space. Everything was run from the mother ship—all communications, orders, even power was distributed from there. If it was destroyed, then all their resources were gone.
Gracie started when she heard Chance’s voice call out to her. Turning, she watched as he came into the small computer room the guys had set up for her. She couldn’t help but smile as she watched him. She loved him so much. She had since the first time she saw him five years ago. His gentle touch had drawn her out of the alcove she was hiding in, and his strong arms made her feel safe.
She knew he loved her too. She’d tried to act upon their love six months ago, but Chance had said it was not the time. He had made a promise to Adam to wait until she was eighteen before he claimed her as his. She had argued, but Chance remained firm. Adam was the father figure to them all, and they respected him.
Adam wanted to make sure she was old enough to understand her decision. Gracie did understand. She also understood life could be short. With considerable reluctance, both she and Chance agreed they would wait until she was eighteen to act upon their physical desires.
Now, it looked like their love would become another tragedy in history—for she knew deep down she was never coming back. In a way, she was glad they had never made the final commitment to each other. Perhaps it would be easier for Chance to move on.
Gracie knew she would always regret not forcing the issue for her own selfish reasons, as she would have loved to have that memory to take with her when she died.
Gracie forced a smile on her face and rubbed the tears away as she looked at Chance’s worried face. “Hey, Chance,” she said in a husky voice filled with emotion.
Chance heard the tears she was fighting so hard to push back. Rushing forward, he wrapped his strong arms around her tightly. He pulled her close, holding her like he would never let her go.
“Let me go with you,” he whispered against her forehead. “Let me go with you, and we can both come back. I’ll tell Adam that you need me.”
Gracie squeezed Chance close to her and closed her eyes. “You can’t. I’m good, but not that good. The Alluthans scan each ship for heat signatures. If they pick up two signatures in a supply ship designed for one, then they will destroy it before it ever gets near them.
“Besides, Adam needs you here to help with the attacks. You are supposed to take out the camp holding my parents and sister. You promised to see if they survived,” Gracie said, looking up into Chance’s eyes, pleading with him not to argue with her.
Chance slid his arms up and gently cupped Gracie’s face between his large palms. He pressed a kiss to her lips, groaning when she opened to him. Tonight could very well be their last night together, forever. Chance briefly thought of his promise to Adam, then thought, To hell with it. Gracie was his.
“Come with me to my room. Let me love you, Gracie,” Chance murmured against her lips.
Gracie was torn between wanting to push Chance away from the hurt she knew he was going to feel when she was gone, and her own selfish desire to grab what little life she had left. The feel of Chance’s hand on her breast made the decision for her. She would be selfish and take what little happiness she could with her.
Chance squeezed Gracie’s hand as he pulled her after him out of the alcove set up as a computer room. He hated that he could not give Gracie a real bed for her first tim
e or even the promise of a full night. Instead, all he could give her was a small pallet on a cold stone floor and a few hours at best. He resolved to make it the most beautiful experience that he could for her. She deserved that and more.
They had almost reached the area he claimed as his own when Adrian came running up to them. He was breathing hard and looked pissed as hell. Chance instinctively pulled Gracie closer as his stomach knotted. Something had happened, and it wasn’t going to be good.
“Fighters are headed this way,” Adrian blurted out. “Word is they are going to level this part of the city, including the holding camps.”
Gracie gasped. Her parents and sister, if they were still alive, were in the holding camp. If the Alluthans took out the warehouse down by the river, then their chance of bringing down the mother ship would take much longer and more lives would be lost.
“I have to leave… now,” Gracie said. “When are the fighters expected?” she asked as she pulled away from Chance.
“A couple hours at most,” Adrian responded grimly.
Gracie nodded and looked back at Chance one last time before turning to follow Adrian. “Gracie,” Chance said hoarsely knowing his time with her was coming to an end.
“I love you, Chance,” Gracie said, letting one of her hands run up and over his cheek as a single tear coursed down hers. “I always will.”
The next hour was a blur as the teams worked together to get everything in place. All those who could be evacuated were in areas outside of the attack zone. Gracie reviewed the instrument panel of the supply ship and hooked up her laptop to the control panel. The software program she developed quickly uploaded. She designed a type of dump upload, so the program uploaded immediately, then unpackaged. This made it easier to get all the files on the system as fast as possible.
Gracie nodded to the men from Team Two as they began filing out of the supply ship. Crocker looked at Gracie for a long moment before saying anything. Gracie waited patiently for him to say what he had to say.
“You know, if you succeed you’ll be a hero. If your program does what it is supposed to do, you’ll have saved the Earth and millions of lives,” Crocker said gruffly.
Gracie smiled at the big man with the gruff voice. “I don’t want to be known as a hero. Just as another human who refused to give up or give in. I couldn’t have done this alone. It took everyone…” Gracie’s voice faltered as her throat thickened with tears at the thought of all the senseless deaths, “… everyone who has lived and died over the past five years to get to this point. I just hope it works. I’m tired of being afraid,” Gracie ended softly.
Crocker leaned down and brushed a kiss across Gracie’s forehead. “It is Gracie’s Touch that has given all of us the hope of seeing that day. Take care, little girl, and come back home.”
Gracie nodded as she watched the big, gruff man walked off the ship. She turned all the way around and watched as the four guys who she considered her closest family walked onto the ship. Adam was first, followed by Adrian and Mark, with Chance coming up in the rear.
“You stick with the plan. If you have any problems, if you get even the weirdest feeling, you abort and get your ass back planet side, do you understand?” Adam said sternly.
Gracie smiled as she watched his Adam’s apple move up and down. It was the only way to tell when Adam was upset about anything. “I understand. I will, I promise.”
Adam hugged Gracie tightly to him and kissed the top of her head. The thought of never seeing her again and being the one to give the order for her to complete this mission was killing him inside. His arms tightened for just a moment before he released her and walked out without a backward glance.
Adrian cleared his throat. He was the quietest one of the group and held his emotions close to his heart, never letting on he felt anything. He stared down at her for a moment before saying anything.
“Come back,” he ground out before brushing a kiss across her cheek and turning to follow his brother.
Mark looked down into Gracie’s eyes and smiled. “Come home to us, little britches,” Mark said gently as he pulled Gracie into his arms and rocked her gently back and forth for a moment before kissing her on the lips. “Come home for Chance.”
Gracie’s eyes filled with tears as she felt Chance’s arms come around her and pull her away from Mark. She turned and buried her face in his strong chest. She wanted to remember what he felt like, what he smelled like, everything about him. She wanted… needed… this memory to give her the strength to turn away from him and leave. Gracie bit back a sob that threatened to escape. It wasn’t fair! She should be looking forward to having a future with Chance, not leaving him. She loved him so much.
“Gracie…” Chance choked out. “I… Don’t do this. Stay. We can find another way to defeat them.” Gracie was about to respond when the ground shook from an explosion several miles away. The attack had begun. She forced herself to pull away from Chance and looked up into his eyes one last time.
“I have to do this. Go on, go, while I still can. Go, Chance, please,” Gracie begged.
“Chance…” Adam called out from the platform. “Let her go. We need to move now.”
Chance growled out his frustration as he crushed his lips to Gracie’s in a brief, hard, passionate kiss filled with love, anger, and pain. “Come back to me, Gracie. You fucking come back to me,” Chance bit out harshly before he turned and walked down the platform.
Gracie pushed the control to close the platform door, watching as Chance slowly disappeared from her sight. She blew one last kiss to all the guys and smiled before the door closed, sealing her fate forever.
Chapter 3
Gracie moved into the pilot’s seat and strapped herself in. She could feel the vibrations from explosions, but ignored them as she set the supply ship’s course for the mother ship. She opened the front view screen panel so she could watch what was happening as she left the Earth’s atmosphere. The supply ship lifted off smoothly and moved rapidly upward following Gracie’s pre-programmed coordinates.
Gracie looked in dismay at all the destruction to New York. She could see the fighters in the northwest highlighted against the fires burning from their attack. She prayed everyone was able to evacuate in time. In moments, she was thrust back against the seat as the supply ship went through the Earth’s atmosphere.
As the blackness of space engulfed the small ship, Gracie got her first look at the mother ship. She stared at it in a combination of awe and despair as she saw how enormous it was. It had to cover at least the size of Manhattan alone!
Gracie knew if larger ships were coming, the Earth would never stand a chance. She needed to destroy this one. If she could take down the mother ship, it would not send for additional ones.
From what she was able to learn from the files she had accessed, these ships traveled great distances alone, one mother ship and its “offspring”—meaning the fighters, supply ships, and ground forces. If a planet was found to contain an abundant amount of resources, then the mother ship would send for more. If not, it would use what it needed before destroying the planet and moving on to the next one. Gracie needed to destroy it before it decided on either option.
She listened as the supply ship gave the needed code for admittance to the mother ship for refueling. As soon as the large panel doors opened on the outer edge of the ship, Gracie patched into the computer system through a backdoor she’d discovered a couple of months ago. The Alluthans were getting better at closing the doors, but they were still arrogant enough to think the humans too primitive to learn their language, much less their computer codes.
Gracie left a digital copy of her notes on deciphering both for Adam. She wanted to make sure all her work over the last five years was not wasted. That was one nice thing about having parents who were researchers, they believed in taking notes and showed their children how to do it also.
Gracie smiled as the virus she uploaded finished. It was a simple one that grew every time it
was uploaded to another system, changing its signature to make it more difficult to detect. It would wipe their system clean once finished. The Alluthans would lose control of everything.
Gracie watched as the supply ship connected to a docking port, and an arm extended, recharging the fuel cells. She monitored the activity, frowning when she heard a disembodied voice on one channel, giving directions for the attack on specific sites around the world. They were pinpointing some of the major areas where the rebels were.
Patching into the channel, she watched as the programmed instructions flooded her screen. She frowned again as she focused on the rush of data scrolling down it. Her breath caught as she picked out keywords.
Typing quickly, she began redirecting the fighters to other areas away from the original commands. Most of the areas were over open water and shouldn’t pose a threat to humans.
A warning flashed at the bottom showing a probe flash as the intrusion was detected. Gracie glanced at her other screen. The program to disarm the Alluthans defense systems was almost complete. It was spreading, but not as quickly as she wished. Gracie quickly typed in a few commands and watched as the warning faded.
She continued uploading one code after another, determined that if the Alluthans found and stopped one virus, they would not be able to stop them all. She uploaded the last one and looked at the power-cell indicator. Refueling was done, and it was time to leave before they opened the platform to begin loading and found her.
Gracie punched in the release code and waited anxiously until she heard the sound of the fuel arm disengaging. She hit the program that would take her home with a sigh of relief.
Maybe, just maybe, I will get to be with Chance, she thought as a wave of hope swept through her.