Title: King's Opening
Rating: PG-13/R
Category: M/L, M/M, Ky/I
Disclaimer: I don't own Roswell and I never have. Don't sue me, I'm just a poor college student, you wouldn't get anything anyway.
Summary: Part One of the Battlefield Antar series. The group is summoned to Antar after a year roaming the US in their battered VW van.
Chapter 25 - Tense
"You understand your mission?"
"Yes, General."
Kivar smiled thinly. "Be sure you succeed."
The thin man standing in front of Kivar nodded and then hurried out of the room.
Liz sat at the big writing desk in the study adjacent to the room she shared with Max. Pulling a slim dark green book from one of the drawers, she chose a pen from the jar on the desk.
July 2nd. Max hasn't even been gone twelve hours and I already miss him as if I haven't seen him in weeks. I know I need to be strong for Isabel and Maria, but I still can't help but worry about Max and the rest of the guys. I mean, they've gone off to war. This whole alien thing, this whole I-now-live-on-another-planet thing seems very unreal sometimes, but war...war is real no matter where you go to fight it. All I can do though is pray and wait for news from Max.
Liz signed her name at the bottom of the entry. She smiled at the still-fresh pleasure of seeing her name joined with Max's. Deep down, she knew the simple thrill of being able to sign things "Liz Evans" would never fade, no matter how long she and Max were married.
She capped the pen and put it back in the jar. Still smiling, she closed her journal and slipped it back into its drawer. Underneath it was her old journal. Her smile softened and she took on the look of someone absorbed in memory.
"Those were the days..." she said softly. She pulled the old journal from the drawer and sat down in one of the overstuffed and very comfortable reading chairs in the corner of the study. Flipping on a reading light, she opened to September 25, 1999.
"So, Maria," Serena began. She and Maria were curled up on opposite ends of the couch in the living room of the Royal Quarters. "What's it like being the only human in a family of aliens?"
Maria laughed. "It's a lot of fun most of the time. There are some times when I get a bit jealous that everyone else has powers and I don't, but then I remember what it took for Liz and Kyle to get those powers." She shook her head. "That kind of turns me off."
"I suppose it would," Serena said laughingly. Then she sobered. "Are you enjoying it here on Antar? Besides the whole my-husband's-off-on-the-warpath thing, I mean."
Maria gazed pensively off into nothing for a moment before answering. She looked over at Serena. "You know what, Rena? I think I am."
Serena smiled happily, and Maria smiled in return.
A knock sounded on the door of the room Max, Michael, Kyle, and Liam sat tensely in. Liam shot out of his seat to answer it. Michael stood up and began to pace.
The soldier from before stood at the door.
"General Knight is on the com line."
"Finally," Liam growled. He strode to the front of the room and pressed a button. Erik's tense face appeared on the conference screen.
"Hey Erik, what took you so long, buddy?"
"Can it, Liam. I'm doing the best I can." He glanced behind his back as if checking to see if he was being watched.
Max pushed up from his seat, walked to the screen.
"What can you tell us, Erik?"
"You guys gotta get your asses out here pronto. We got reinforcements equaling the number already here with an ETA in forty hours. You'll want to be settled in before they get here."
"Are you sure you've had enough time to prepare things, Erik?"
"Dammit, Liam! I've used all the time we have. There is no more time. Put the damn operation in gear!"
Kyle, who had sat quietly watching the whole exchange, leaned forward so that Erik could see him.
"Erik. Why are you this worried?"
Erik glanced sharply in Kyle's direction, then Max's. "No reason."
"No," Liam said quietly, "Kyle's right. You are reacting oddly. What's going on that you aren't telling us?"
"I just have a bad feeling. Kivar wouldn't have been satisfied with the promise of reinforcements in forty-eight hours when they knew we could move any day we wanted. He would have done something else, put someone or something here as insurance."
The five men exchanged serious, slightly worried expressions. Max hardened his face. "Don't worry, Erik. We'll get our asses out there ASAP. See you soon."
Tristan and Nikolai sat in the main offices of the Resistance compound. They were hunched over sophisticated computers and communications devices and had just finished reading Liam's hasty report on Erik's communication.
"It's really starting," Nikolai said solemnly. Tristan nodded.
"Here we go. It's gonna be a long night."
Unknowing of the men's headlong rush to battle, Liz, Maria, Isabel, and Serena shared a late dinner in the Royal Quarters.
"Would you like to stay here with us, Serena?" Isabel asked with a hint of shyness. She still wasn't used to letting people in sometimes.
"I don't know," Serena replied.
"We'd really like you to," Liz put in cajolingly.
"You can have my bed," Isabel offered.
"Where will you sleep?" Serena asked.
"Probably in Kyle's room. I know he won't mind."
Liz exchanged raised-eyebrow glances with Maria, but didn't comment.
Serena agreed to stay in Isabel's room. The four girls quickly washed up and headed off to bed.
Isabel sighed as she slipped into Kyle's bed. It smelled like him. She took a deep breath and curled into a self-protective ball. Concentrating on the comfort of Kyle's scent, she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
Serena and Maria slept dreamlessly as well, although Maria felt the bed was far too big without Michael on the other side and Serena wished she could feel Liam nearby.
As most people in the compound slept peacefully around her, Liz began to dream. She was walking through Skyview Castle, and though she'd never been there, she knew exactly how it looked and somehow knew where she was going.
A sense of urgency entered her mind and she began to run. Sounds of battle began to fill her ears. Suddenly she stopped running and began to creep silently along a wall, somehow knowing she was sneaking up on someone.
She reached a balcony above the courtyard where the main fighting was taking place. She could see all of her men fighting valiantly. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw another figure standing on the balcony watching the battle.
A tall, thin man with murder in his eyes.
She shot awake, sitting up in the bed she shared with Max and gasping for breath.
"Max!"
A/N – I'm soooooo sorry about the lack of updates, but I was moving to college and had no access to the computer. But I'm all moved in now and back to writing. I'll try and be as regular with updates as before, but as of right now I have no idea how busy I'll be. Hope you liked this chapter! ~~Liz