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 26 – Silence before Dawn
Max blinked rapidly. He'd been riding for hours across the dark Antarian landscape and throughout the entire ride hadn't glimpsed a single dwelling or sign of life. Liam had informed him that the area had been fairly well-populated before the Fall, but the people who lived there fled from Kivar's rule. Many were now settled in and around the Resistance compound.
But now, after hours of darkness, Max thought he saw a glimmer of light on the horizon. He turned to ask Liam if it was the castle, but Liam spoke before Max could answer.
"Can you see the lights, Max?"
"Yeah," Max answered. "I was just about to ask you about them, actually."
"It's Skyview. We're almost there."
Max nodded silently, then looked over his shoulder to see if Michael and Kyle had heard. They nodded solemnly to indicate that they had.
Michael shifted his gaze from Max's face to the lights in the distance. It was finally hitting home to him that he was really going off to war. It had all been a little surreal before. It was hard to comprehend that it was really happening, that he really was the soldier he'd been genetically programmed to be. He thought of Maria waiting back at the compound and frowned.
Half the movies ever made are about soldiers with chicks waiting at home for them, she'd told him once. But he'd never wanted her to be one of those chicks. He tore his gaze away from the lights that got closer every second and buried the guilt he felt about Maria. He knew he needed to be as clear-minded as possible for the upcoming battle.
Not for the first time, Kyle wondered what he'd ever done to end up involved in something so complicated as life as an alien. Though he knew he had to participate in this war, there was still a part of him that wanted to run screaming back to the compound and just hide in a corner until someone else facilitated the takedown of Kivar. But what he'd said to Isabel of his commitment to the aliens was true. He owed them his life, and he would stand by them. Even if it meant going to war.
Too quickly for all concerned the lights got closer and closer, and soon the dark outline of Skyview Castle was clearly visible.
"All right, this is what we're going to do. Go to your assigned area and wait until sunrise, which is in...one hour," Liam instructed, glancing at his watch. "At sunrise begin the assault. There will be no waiting; we must all attack at once. To make the coordination easier, your watches will beep when it's time to launch the attack. You know the order of battle. Is everything clear?"
Max, Michael, and Kyle nodded silently.
"Max, we'll separate when you're ready. But first let me ask you one thing."
"What?"
"Please, Max. Be very careful. If something happens to you...or Michael and Kyle for that matter, but especially to you, the cause could very well be lost."
Max nodded solemnly, knowing the weight he carried on his shoulders was a heavy one. "I will, if for no other reason than the fact that my wife is waiting sleepless at home for me."
Liam nodded.
Max turned to his surrogate brothers. "Michael..."
"I know, Max. Don't worry; I got a wife waiting at home, too. I'll be just as careful as you."
Max nodded and embraced Michael, then turned to Kyle. "Kyle, I know we haven't always gotten on well, but I want you to know that I would trust you with my life, the lives of my family, and the life of my wife."
Kyle nodded, knowing how much that meant to both of them. "Thank you, Max. The same goes for you."
"If anything happens to me..."
"Nothing will happen," Kyle interrupted. "But if it does I will look after Isabel and Liz."
Max nodded and shook Kyle's hand and thumped him on the back in the classic "man hug."
Max shifted his serious gaze to Liam. "Let's go."
They split up, each giving the appropriate signals to their men to get moving. Each division quickly and quietly moved to their assigned positions to wait out the last hour of darkness.
Max thought of Liz. He knew she would be devastated if he died, knew she wasn't sleeping. He didn't question how he knew she was sleepless; he just accepted the strength of their connection. He tried to send positive vibes in Liz's direction, but he knew that it really wouldn't help much. He was still going to war. He turned his thoughts to the upcoming battle, and for the first time in a long time, said a prayer.
Michael blocked thoughts of Maria while inwardly praying for his safety for her sake. He tried to concentrate on the battle ahead. His eyes stayed trained on the eastern horizon, his ears alert for the beeping of his watch. He was ready to fight.
Kyle was running through a litany of prayers to Buddha, trying desperately to think of an official one for safety in battle. Too bad Buddhism is such a non-violent religion, he thought caustically. I don't think anybody wrote any prayers for protection in battle. He made up his own and waited for dawn.
The silence around them was deafening.
Tristan and Nikolai waited anxiously in the control room.
"You said Christiana said she and Serena were gonna be down here around nine?" Nikolai asked Tristan tensely.
Tristan nodded absently. "Yeah, nine."
"Great, we'll be full-swing by then."
"We can't keep them away longer than we already have."
"I know, but it won't be fun watching them worry."
"What if they bring the rest of the girls?"
Nikolai looked sharply at Tristan. "They wouldn't!"
"They might."
"This is no place for the wives of the men fighting! You can hear the fucking battle!" Nikolai shot out of his chair and began pacing. "It's bad enough that Christiana and Serena come, but they've been there and done that. Liz, Maria, Isabel...they don't what it's like!"
"Sit down, Nik. Maybe they won't come."
Nikolai nodded and sat down. The two men sat in tense silence, waiting for sunrise.
Liz sat silently in the study adjacent to her room. She was staring out an east-facing window, thinking only of Max, the battle, and the tall thin man she'd seen in her dreams. As she stared, the sun slowly rose above the horizon.
A/N – Glad you liked the last chapter. Sorry I've been away, but it couldn't be helped. Dragon Empress, it's nice to see how much you trust me, lol. Does anything happen to Max? Who knows? And just who is that tall, thin man with murder in his eyes? So many questions…answers are coming, though I've got a few more chapters in me before the story's done. Then we get to move on to the next one, lol.