A SPARTAN'S WAR

EARTH

GYTHEIO

MOUNTAIN VILLA OF ZARAH AND LUCIA

FEBRUARY 4TH, 2575, 0545 HRS EST

Zarah Leonidas stretched her lithe body on the bed, reveling in the new sensations and emotions surging through her. Not since before the attack on her had she felt these things and she knew without question it was due to one thing. Zarah rolled over in her bed reaching for Lucia and her dark eyes grew wide when she discovered no body next to her. As her hand slid across the sheets a fleeting moment of terrifying fear and loneliness swept through her and then her eyes lifted as the door to their bedroom opened and Lucia came in carrying the small tray. That fear vanished into the wind as her eyes fell on the deliciously naked body of Lucia.

Her Lucia.

Almost six months had passed since the attack, since they had taken her innocence from her. That day also saw Lucia enter her life and the healing had begun almost immediately. Lucia had saved her life without thought; had been beside her every day since then. The attraction between them was undisputable and unmistakable. The blood they had shared building upon and reinforcing the connection that was already there, made from across the stars. It had taken Zarah six months to work up the courage to try and experience physical pleasure the way it was meant to be. Consensual and loving. Their last two nights and most of the days together had been everything Zarah had ever imagined it could be. Neither of them had been with any partner before each other, but these last weeks and months of sleeping naked within each other's arms had chased away any unfamiliarity and left them more time to explore and delve into the deep mysteries that they were. Explore and delve is exactly what they had done to each other, finally and forever sealing their love for one another in a way nothing else could.

Zarah let her head drop back to the pillow as she watched Lucia move towards her. She had memorized every single contour and curve Lucia had, her lips and tongue reaching and then exploring every detail with great gusto while Lucia thrashed and cried out her delight. And then Lucia had done the same to her for hours on end, Zarah's blissful cries of rapture filling their bedroom and surely echoing along the mountain ridge where their villa was. Zarah had insisted that they purchase a villa together. A place they would call their home. With Eliani and Sadi's help they decided on this large villa sitting on the ridge and overlooking the gulf. Thanks to Sadi and Eliani's influence and contacts all the proper paperwork and transfers of Riyal were made within hours instead of days. Androcles had been the one to purchase the villa for them, his gift to them he had told them that day. He had also deliberately designed her schedule of working and training with the Durcunusaan to give her maximum time with Lucia. Zarah had figured this out very quickly, but instead of being angry at him for catering to her as he always did, she found she loved her older brother even more. Twice now he had saved her life, first upon that mountain on Apo Prime and then by not killing Lucia outright when he discovered them together immediately after the attack. He was the first to have seen the love in Lucia's eyes for Zarah when he discovered Lucia holding a battered Zarah within her arms inside a powerful Etheric bubble she had erected. Lucia had almost not let him enter that bubble, but even then she knew that Andro would save them both.

Zarah had held a tremendous fear that she would never be able to feel pleasure again after what was done to her. That she would never know the delight of loving someone and sharing herself with them for all time. Those fears, along with the last vestiges of the attack against her had been washed away in that first of dozens of blissful orgasms that Lucia had given to her. Feelings and sensations that Zarah eagerly returned to her equally upon discovering that she was not dead to emotion.

Zarah gazed at Lucia's lush body as she walked towards the bed and almost seeing the same thoughts and emotions racing through Lucia's head.

Lucia Moran… youngest child of Yuri Moran… and in the eyes of many of the Leonidas family, part of the glue that had held them together during that time. To Lucia… Zarah was a vision of exquisite beauty that now belonged to her in every way. So many years of loving her from a distance, having to hide that love from others was gone. Now she was with her beloved Zarah and nothing would ever come between them. Zarah had saved her from the darkness that had taken her mother and brothers, that single strand of power within Mindvoice that Lucia had clung to tenaciously for almost a decade until they were finally together. They were like one mind now, their sharing of blood bringing them far closer together than most people except their family realized. And Lucia was a Leonidas now… in body and soul. She didn't doubt her purpose or the path she walked with Zarah at her side. One conversation with Martin Leonidas had chased all the fears within her away with each word he had spoken to her. It had taken place while he was out among the stars searching for For'mya, a simple transmission that only held them. Lucia remembered his words that day perfectly, and she would take them to her life's end with pride and happiness.

"… something I should have done a long time ago. I'm doing it now to show you how I feel. You have stolen each other's hearts… and I can not begin to tell you how happy that makes me. Andro has given me some idea of what you have endured Lucia… hiding the real you for so many years. Hiding your love for my daughter. I let my feelings for your mother cloud my judgment at first… I won't let that happen ever again. Know this Lucia… from this day forward you are a Leonidas. I will treat you with the same love and devotion as I treat my own daughters. Never fear me or what I will say for you are now part of my family. Love each other every day like there is no tomorrow. Never doubt. Never hesitate. And know that you will always have my love behind you."

Such simple words… but they had been the final line she had crossed to be who she now was as a person. She was Lucia Leonidas and she loved her Zarah like nothing else in this universe. Her bonded sister Seyra had also rejoiced and found new life and purpose among these men and women and the many dragons they called friend and family, making their bond even stronger than it was and enveloping Zarah within that very special connection. Seyra had grown viciously protective of both of them in every way and there were very few that she allowed to get close to her Bonded sisters.

Lucia settled her naked form onto the bed as Zarah sat up and she placed the tray between their legs. She leaned over without hesitation and caught Zarah's soft lips in a kiss of love and passion that lasted for several long moments before they parted and Zarah sat up completely, shifting her body so that Lucia could slide closer to her.

"We have taken quite a bit of each other's blood these last hours." Lucia said holding out the glass of pulpy orange juice. "We need to replenish that or the first training session we have both of us will collapse from exhaustion."

Zarah giggled as she took the glass. "But everyone will know why." She stated with some amusement. "And it won't be nearly as pleasant."

Lucia smiled and nodded her head, her black hair wild and unkempt at the moment and moving across her shoulders. "No… it certainly won't." She answered before sipping the juice. "What time do we have to meet with Thr'won and Syrilth?"

"1000 hours." Zarah answered. "Our lessons with them are giving me much more clarity and focus."

Lucia nodded. "Me as well." She said. "I can control my whips with more exacting control. It's amazing. My grandmother made the mistake of suppressing those vampires who showed promise within Mindvoice. Their Etheric abilities may have helped against the KFI in many ways."

"She was too frightened to allow others to reach her level of ability." Zarah said. "Andro believes that was more Xaxon's influence on her than anything. She didn't have the strength to fight him as you did my love. She was too long within his grasp."

Lucia looked at her silent for a moment before speaking again. "Zarah… do you think my mother will find peace?"

Zarah lowered her glass. "Yes." She said. "Perhaps… perhaps not as we have… but you remember what Andro told us. She was different Lucia… the darkness gone from her. It is why he could not kill her."

"Part of me wishes her to be happy." Lucia said as she scooted closer to Zarah on the bed. "But part of me still harbors a great deal of anger at her for what she allowed to happen."

Zarah shook her head. "Most of what she allowed to happen was not truly her Lucia." She said.

Lucia looked at her. "You defend her?" She asked.

Zarah shook her head. "No…" She shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe. I can't stop thinking that it would be if I was forced in some way to hurt you against what I knew to be wrong. To be able to control your grandmother as he did, for so many millennia and then infect your mother the way he did. With what your father and grandmother were doing to her, influencing her in the way that they did, there are very few who could fight that. It almost took my own father you know that." Zarah looked at her. "You know how I trust Andro my love."

Lucia nodded. "Yes. As I trust him now. How could I not? He was the first to fully accept that I loved you as I do."

"I have always trusted him implicitly." Zarah said. "His instincts. His sense of people. In many ways he is even more gifted than my father in regards to being able to sense a person's resonance and their inner being. He sensed something was different within your mother Lucia. He could not bring himself to kill her because of this. I may not know exactly what it was that he saw… but I trust my brother with all that I am. If he did not kill her for what she was perceived to have done then there is a higher reason. Something he saw within her that stayed his hand."

Lucia nodded. "Do you think we will ever see her again?"

"Do you want too?" Zarah asked.

Lucia stared at her for a long moment before replying. "Part of me does." She said softly.

"Then our roads may cross again if it is our destiny." Zarah said.

"I will kill my father and brother if I ever see them again." Lucia hissed. "They are responsible for so much pain and it doesn't bother them in the least. I hope Aunt Narice is able to find them and kill them. I…" Lucia looked Zarah as her lips came to hers and they kissed softly.

"Do not do this my love." Zarah told her as she pulled away ever so slightly. "We are together now. Nothing will ever change that. Let us… let us put our past behind us and go into the sunlight together."

Lucia nodded her head quickly. "You are right." She said without hesitation. She met Zarah's kiss with equal passion then but just as their kiss deepened, Zarah gasped and pulled away quickly, her hand tightening on Lucia's thigh. "Zarah my love!" She gasped. "What is wrong?"

Zarah shook her head as if trying to clear her thoughts. "I felt… it was a massive spike within Mindvoice. From Andro!" She rasped out.

"Andro?" Lucia asked.

Zarah nodded. "We have always been connected in a way since that day on Apo Prime. I have always been able to sense his Etheric resonance when he drops his shields low enough. But he almost never does that. Not unless…"

"Not unless what?" Lucia pressed her.

Zarah looked at her. "He never drops his shields low enough for me to sense him unless there is something wrong and he is acting out of rage or some other powerful emotion. Wherever he and Dorian are… something has gone wrong."

"I thought… I thought the mission he and Dorian went on was a routine pick up?" Lucia said.

"That is what he told me before he left." Zarah said. "Something is wrong though Lucia! I feel it!"

"Sadi?" Lucia blurted immediately.

Zarah shook her head. "Sadi is just like Andro. She maintains her shields at near their maximum ability all of the time. It is something the Feravomir taught her at the School of the Mages. Unless Andro has touched her directly she would not sense it. What I felt… it was focused and directed at me alone."

Lucia's hands gripped Zarah's. "If there is trouble then he is reaching for you because he knows you will not panic as the others will!" She gasped. "That must be it."

Zarah looked at her. "We need to get to Jomann!"

Lucia rose to her feet. "They will still be at their villa. It is less than a mile! Come!"

GYTHEIO

HOME OF ELIANI AND JOMANN

FEBRUARY 4TH, 2575, 0605 HRS EST

"…don't care what you have to do!" Eliani snapped angrily. "You get those supplies to the ship within the next hour! We are deploying at 1300 with or without them and if they aren't there I will have your nor in my hands Captain! It won't be pretty! Is that in any way unclear?"

"It will be done Princess!" The man stammered.

"Thank you!" Eliani barked before slamming her hand down on the COM panel and turning to look at Jomann as he entered the main living area of their home. "The medical supplies will be leaving within the hour." She told him.

Jomann nodded and tapped on his data pad. "I knew you would be able to move them." He told her as he stepped up to her and slipped his arm around her waist. Jomann pulsed her with a portion of his aura, not enough to incite sexual urges, but enough to calm and sooth her excited state.

Eliani rested her head against his chest as she felt his aura sweep through her and she returned the pulse with one of her own. She looked up at her husband and mate. "Why… why contact Vengal first and not us?" She asked.

"Sa'sur has been Andro's right hand for nearly seven years now Eli… and she knows how any of his family would react. Most especially Sadi and the others." Jomann answered calmly. "You would blow windows out in leaving the planet to go to him and that is not what is needed. It must be done with precision and force Innel… but also with complete secrecy."

Eliani looked into his ocean blue eyes and smiled when he called her baby. From any other male that word would have been insulting and provocative and it would have caused Eliani to react accordingly. From Jomann however, that word was music to her ears. When it rolled off his tongue, that one word held all of his combined love and desire for her and it surged through her being and made her wolf blood sing in happiness. "I know." She said finally.

"Two thirds of the Durcunusaan Division is loaded and nearly half of the human 82nd Orbital Drop Division." He stated. "We must maintain our façade in order to not alert the Kavalians who we believe are still on Earth. That is why we have been coordinating from here and we have not moved to Andro's villa."

"Sadi is going to pop a vessel when they finish that stupid interview and you tell her what is going on." Eliani told him.

Jomann nodded. "Probably… but she will understand very quickly why. Just as you do."

"I want to come with you." The second female voice spoke and they both turned to see Brendi Faith standing in the archway to the corridor that led to the three bedrooms in their villa.

Brendi Faith stared at them from the archway and couldn't believe she had just said that. She knew why of course… but she didn't believe she had reacted so instinctively in speaking. It was not something that she ever did. She blurted the first words that had popped into her mind and she struggled with the why of her statement but not the statement itself. Brendi Faith had been among these men and women as a whole for nearly six months now. Nearly everything of importance that the OSG intelligence pads had on the Lycavorian Union was in some way wrong or taken out of context. She had seen a people dedicated to each other, to their values and to peace. She had seen a people driven to the edge of a war they did not want and tried to avoid. A people that ultimately decided war was the only way to protect and defend what they had as a people. A war Androcles Leonidas had tried his very best to evade but when that decision had come, it was a decision he made without hesitation.

These last six months with the man and woman in front of her had also affected her own reasoning no matter how much she fought it. Brendi had been living with them for almost six months now, her parents and twin sisters living with the Spartan family of the man who was now her sister's husband. Their villa was enormous and had more than enough room for them but Brendi did not want to live with them after being on her own for so long. Her family was adapting far better than her and her younger sister Nicolle was happier than she had ever seen her, Tasha just as bubbly because she was Nicolle's twin. Her mother and father spent hours with Mento's mother and father, her own father drawn to the history and culture of the Spartan people like nothing she had ever seen. Jomann and Eliani would not allow her to have her own villa for security purposes. They just did not know if Corbin or the OSG would come after them. Brendi understood this reasoning and accepted it without question. She had no desire to fall into her brother's hands or see her family be captured by him. Mento's parent's villa was now a fortress unto itself and Brendi did not fear for them. She did not fear for herself either, as no one in their right mind would target the home of the Durcunusaan Captain of Androcles Leonidas. Not if they valued their lives even a little bit.

Brendi could go into the city proper whenever she wanted as long as she was under heavy guard. Surprisingly the Durcunusaan soldiers assigned to protect her made it seem as if they weren't there. She always had difficulty pinpointing where exactly the four men and two women were as they guarded her, and she had stopped trying. She no longer thought about them really. Gytheio was much more secluded than Sparta and since the events on Cranae Island that night, the Netnews reporters were no longer allowed to set up shop in the city limits by order of the Mayor. They could come and go as they pleased, but they were not allowed to be stationary for any length of time, and filming any member of the Royal Family now meant immediate arrest. Brendi had been trained to fit in, and that is exactly what she did, pleased with her skill at avoiding the Netnews. Something was happening to her however, and it was frightening to her.

Brendi Faith had actually begun to care about someone besides herself. She had begun to care about two individuals really, and that emotion had led her to become accepted by nearly all of Eliani and Jomann's family without question. She had become a fixture in the lives of Eliani and Jomann and unbeknownst to them, that meant more than she realized. They did not treat her as an enemy in any way. She was included in their dinners and their breakfasts, and Jomann had even begun cooking food that she loved. He was the most amazing cook, as was Eliani, and seeing them in the kitchen acting out their art was delightful. Whenever the Krypteria came to the home to ask her questions, Brendi told them whatever they wanted. She had no love for the OSG and if her answers went to eventually freeing the Eridiani from the OSG influence she was all for it. She had given them every name she knew of OSG agents on Earth and in turn, they had discovered more. The OSG had pulled their agents off Earth finally, adhering to Andro's orders but Brendi didn't doubt they had more who she was not aware of. The Krypteria agreed and was not hesitant to come to her about suspects they might have. Brendi had also spent the last months learning everything she could about the Kavalian people and any individuals of interest. Her expanded brain capacity allowed her to now know just about everything the Union had on any officer above the rank of Colonel within the KFI. Her near photographic memory was incredible.

Brendi Faith could no loner deny the attraction to Eliani Leonidas. At least to herself. The OSG and the Eridiani considered any kind of same sex relationship taboo to the extreme, and when it was discovered it was punished. Brendi knew all this and her first reaction upon realizing Eliani didn't shy away from this type of thing had been disgust. Now… now she could not explain the intense draw to the shorter woman. With Jomann it was easy enough. He was incredibly handsome, his physical proportions unlike anything she had seen before on a man. And if the howls of delight coming from their room at night were any indication, he was obviously a man who thoroughly enjoyed making his wife scream out his name in passion. They had kept her awake at night many times with their antics and didn't realize that their moans of pleasure and professions of love to each other had a distinct affect on Brendi. So distinct in fact that Brendi had begun to recently dream about being with them. Not only one at a time but also together. Brendi found herself wanting to submerge her body within their arms and experience what they shared so easily.

Jomann shook his head. "Brendi… I do not think that is a good idea." He told her shaking her from her thoughts.

Brendi blinked several times and moved into the main room with them. "I can help." She stated. "I've studied every dossier on every Kavalian within their military! I… I know how they think! I… it's what I do! I can…"

Jomann's eyes narrowed. "What?" He gasped looking at Eliani just as quickly. "Eli?"

Eliani met his gaze with a sheepish grin. "I may have given her access to the files." She answered with a lopsided grin.

"You gave her access to Krypteria files?" Jomann hissed. "Are you insane? If…"

"I am not the enemy Jomann!" Brendi insisted as she moved closer to them.

Jomann met her dark brown eyes and fought down what both he and Eliani had been feeling these last weeks. "I know you are not Brendi." He told her honestly and with no hesitation Brendi saw. This fact registered in a small portion of her mind and made her very happy. "There may be others who do not see it that way however! Eliani this was not a good…"

"I am a Princess of the Union." Eliani spoke confidently. "It was my decision to give her the files. Saarrieemeran's brain capacity is four times the normal human and she processes this information twice as fast as a Lycavorian. She's nearly a walking computer. She's also not bad in CQB either. Zarah can vouch for that as she and Lucia are the ones who have been schooling her."

There was that word again Brendi thought. They had called her that on several occasions and Brendi knew what it meant. Every time they spoke it to her or in regards to her it made her flush. They had told her one night why they called her that but Brendi sensed there was a hidden meaning to them behind it.

Jomann shook his head. [Eli… I… we have spoken of this.] He told her. [No matter how much you desire her…]

Eliani moved closer to her handsome husband and mate. [How much we desire her?] She corrected him.

Jomann nodded instantly. [Yes. How much we desire her.] He spoke. They had spoken of Brendi many times over these last weeks and months and what she made both of them feel. They were Anomes… soulmates. Nothing living or dead would ever come between them now, but both of them could feel the powerful draw Brendi had on both of them. Her wild strawberry scent could excite them both and it certainly had grown sweeter to them over the last weeks. [Is this the way to go about it though?]

[She is not our enemy Jomann.] Eliani said.

[I know this.] He said.

[She is searching for a purpose Jomann.] Eliani told him. [She sees how quickly her own family has come to accept and trust and embrace their new lives and she is trying to discover a way as well. She is an Intelligence analyst. Her insight could be invaluable.]

Brendi moved forward until she was directly in front of them. "Stop that." She said softly. "I know you are talking about me. It's very disconcerting to do it right in front of me.]

They both turned to her. "Saarrieemeran… we trust you." Jomann spoke to her. "There are others who still do not. Doing this will expose you to them. It is why Eliani has had you training with Zarah and Lucia. We can not predict what others will do."

"I'm not afraid." Brendi told them. "I'm not afraid and I want to do this. I can't prove to anyone that I can be trusted if I am restricted in where I go and who I see."

Jomann nodded slowly. "That is true." He admitted.

"Then let me help!" Brendi pressed him.

Jomann glanced at Eliani quickly and then back to her. "Your brother will have my nor… you know this." He spoke finally.

Eliani pressed close to him and cooed into his ear. "I'll make them feel better my love." She whispered into his ear.

Jomann growled softly in his chest at her words and nodded his head. "Contact your family and tell them you are leaving with us so they do not worry. Do not tell them where we are going Saarrieemeran."

They turned at the buzzing of their door and watched as it opened to reveal Zarah and Lucia who rushed past the two Durcunusaan just inside the doorway.

"Eli… Jomann!" Zarah exclaimed. "What is going on? Something is wrong with Andro! I felt him touch me!"

Jomann turned back to Brendi. "Go Saarrieemeran. Use the COM unit and then pack your gear."

Brendi nodded with a smile and turned to do just what he had said. Jomann turned back and saw Eliani taking Zarah's hands.

"Calm down Zarah." Eliani said. "We already know about it and we are taking action."

"What is happening?" Zarah demanded.

Whatever happened from now on was in the hands of the gods he knew.