Chapter 33

EXTRACTION POINT

WHITEWATER LAKE

CANADA

Ben throttled back the engines of Raptor 41 and was throwing switches and pressing buttons before the ship's engines were even completely powered down. He pulled his helmet off quickly, almost tossing it to the side as he locked the controls into place and pushed his seat back. His heart was pounding madly and he looked at his co-pilot, an elf he had been training for five months now, and a pilot that was going to be almost as good as Endith. He was not as instinctive as she was, but he was smart and made excellent decisions.

"Jasper?" He asked the elf male.

The elf male chuckled and nodded his head. Ben had been like a school kid acting his age when he learned that Endith and Tina were with Martin in Canada. They had dropped the load of Drow women and children before immediately turning and heading full speed back north.

"Go Benjamin." Jasper spoke with a smile. "I will power everything down."

Ben almost leaped out of his chair and took the four steps into the cargo area where four crewmen were preparing to take on another load of Drow. He hadn't been this happy in a long time, and the months apart had made Ben miss the two of them more and more each day. He ran down the ramp, his eyes searching. He found the sleek looking SPAT parked nearby, but no red or blond hair. He could seen hundreds of Drow women and children milling about, as well as men, not to mention the Spartans and elves of Tareif's division that were maintaining the perimeter.

"Benjamin!" The soft voice called out, causing him to turn to the east and a large smile to break out on his face.

Endith and Tina were running towards him at a fast jog and he didn't move as he looked at them get closer. They looked like they had slimmed down and packed on muscle, and both of them were much more tanned now. Endith was the first to reach him and she launched her petite body into his arms. Ben caught her hundred and six pounds with ease, their lips coming together almost immediately in a blistering kiss that made him remember just how much he had missed them. Ben may have been fifty five years old, but damn he wasn't dead just yet, and feeling Endith's firm power packed body in his arms made his body respond like he hadn't gotten laid in months, which he hadn't.

Endith took his weathered face in her hands and placed kisses all across his cheeks and nose. "Oh Benjamin I have missed you so." She said between her kisses.

"You have no idea I much I have missed you Little One." He told her, using his hands to caress her elf ears and seeing her shudder in desire. He leaned over and kissed her hard once more, feeling her press closer to him. Yep ... he certainly wasn't dead.

Ben pulled apart from Endith and saw Tina standing there next to them. Her smile was bright and happy. "Hey there big guy, think you can put up two undersexed females for a while?"

Ben laughed and pulled her into their embrace, laying a lip locker on Tina that had her shivering in delight. Their antics were catching the eye of many Spartans and elves, and one of the younger Spartans troops that had tried to hit on Endith in Sparta leaned closer to Atropos as they watched.

"Senior Lochi ... what does the human have that I do not? I am a Spartan and a wolf. I could please her more than he ever could." The young Spartan asked.

Atropos looked at the young man, relishing hearing that term once more. Lochi were the smallest tactical unit of Spartans, numbering fifty to a hundred in strength. When needed they would form with a Mora with three other Lochi to essentially make a Brigade sized force of six to eight hundred warriors. Given the current circumstances, Martin had asked the Spartan Senate to waive all punishment against him due to his time in exile and immediately reinstate Atropos to his former rank and position. The Senate agreed with the King unanimously, and not only was Atropos returned to his full status, he was placed at the top of the list for promotion to Polemarch.

Atropos smiled and shook his head. "Do not be too sure young Spartan." Atropos spoke. "Technically this man is older than you and has commanded the King's air units for as long as they have known each other. They are good friends ... and no doubt our King has passed on his skill with the ladies. It takes more than good looks and a big dick to impress female elves Lex. I have learned their ears are very sensitive, and if you find an unmated female elf and she looks interested, find a way to stroke her ears. That will make your intentions and desire known."

The young Spartan looked at his Lochi. "Forgive me Senior Lochi, but Lilika is a wolf. How do you know that?"

Atropos looked at him. "You forget the King's Captain is my brother Lex. He is mated to an elf, as is our King. Why do you think Kmyla and Queen Dysea walk around with smiles on their faces all the time? They are fulfilled thoroughly, not only physically but emotionally as well."

Lex smiled brightly. "I will try this Senior Lochi, thank you."

"Just insure the female elf is not already mated Lex." Atropos spoke with a laugh. "If you do this to a mated female elf, they will take great offense and probably cut your wolf balls off."

Lex blushed slightly and nodded. "I will make sure." He said.

"Next to a Lycavorian female Lex, female elves are the most demanding in bed. Prepare yourself if you choose to go that way." Atropos spoke. "And do not claim any woman you do not intend to spend the rest of your days with Spartan. If I discover you are simply slipping it to whoever is willing young Spartan, I'll cut your cock off myself. We are Spartans ... and we must think of our honor before our dicks. You are also a young Alpha ... have your fun ... but do not disrespect any female, elf or otherwise. Make your intentions known, and if they are agreeable enjoy yourself. But always be respectful to females of all races."

Lex nodded the smile on his face fading. "I will insure this Senior Lochi." He spoke.

Atropos nodded and saw Ben standing with Endith in one arm, his hand absently stroking her left ear. She was leaning into him, her expression speaking all she needed to say. "Watch him Lex ... you could learn quite a bit from this human flyer." Atropos spoke before moving towards where he was to meet the King.

"We were not privy to the entire plan." Donovan was explaining as they stood around the holographic chart in the observation platform of Raptor 34. "We were tasked to come north after your Raptors were seen in this area several times, and then we lost contact with a patrol up here investigating that."

"But up until then you were in on the plan to assault Eden?" Martin asked.

Donovan nodded. "Yes." He pointed to the map and the depiction of Eden. "There are six divisions of genetically enhanced vampires." He spoke. "All of them are roughly equal to what I have, all commanded by Colonels such as me."

Aihola stood next to Tarifa and Dekton and she looked up at him. "Why didn't the others become like you?" She asked.

Donovan smiled gently. "As I told King Leonidas, we were from the first batch of clones, and therefore granted more leniency in what we did so they could learn as much about us as necessary. As the other clones were produced they were allowed less such outside exposure. And ... they did not meet Rebecca, I did. It took me almost a year to handpick my men, and I played the good little vampire soldier who preached hate and vengeance that entire time. It was not easy ... but having my wife to go home too every night made the effort worth it."

"And you kept her hidden all that time?" Tarifa asked.

Donovan nodded. "I filed paperwork the next morning that she had become a casualty of training. That was ... that was how elves and humans were listed if they were..." All present could see that having to reveal that information was shameful to him.

"Enough about that," Martin ended the questions. "Donovan's future starts today and his past no longer matters. That is how we have treated everyone isn't it?" His eyes went around the small table and he saw everyone nod.

"Forgive me." Aihola said softly. "Part ... part of me still remembers the things I was forced to do while serving the Alliance and the shame it brings me."

"You are the Queen of the Drow." Donovan spoke. "Rebecca taught me to move past what I was forced to do and look to the future. You have done that here as Queen with your people Milady and you have found your redemption. My actions over the next few days I hope will bring me mine."

"Wise words Colonel." Tarifa spoke taking Aihola's hand, "And very true."

Vengal leaned across the table then. "How will they hit our city?" He asked.

Donovan looked at the chart. "The plan as I last knew it was very simple. They would come in from the north with at least six divisions of troops including three of the super soldiers. The south would be their focal point, as Colonel Moran felt it was better suited to our armored vehicles and breaching the defenses. The remaining divisions of genetically created vampires would hit from the south with at least ten divisions of our normal troops."

"Thirteen divisions," Tarifa gasped, "That ... that is half a million troops attacking from the south alone." She looked at Martin who remained quiet. Dekton's face was impassive as were Daniel's, Melancton's and Andreus. Vengal's face showed little surprise, though as he looked at the map his eyes grew narrow. "Martin?"

Martin looked at her, "Uhu?"

"Martin we can not stand against that many." Tarifa spoke. "I am no coward Martin, but we are facing nearly a million troops in total. And that does not include the vampire witch's brother and the hundred thousand he supposedly has. We have only eleven divisions Martin, possibly twelve if we draft enough to fill spots."

"We won't face that many." Martin spoke matter of factly. "Colonel..." He looked at Donovan to continue.

"The lead divisions will concentrate on breaching your defenses and bringing down the power stations that control your shield." He continued. "Moran believes that without the shield the regular Alliance troops with vampires mixed in can shatter your city ... our city," He spoke, everyone catching the correction in his words, "By hammering us with artillery until nothing remains on the surface, walking the artillery fire on line in front of the genetically enhanced vampires."

"How tough are these super soldiers really?" Danny asked.

"We were created to do battle with Spartan/Lycavorian ground troops. Against even pureblood werewolves we are a match in speed, less so in pure strength. We have all the vampire strengths, and like Queen Aihola, we can feed to heal wounds. Not to mention, we are designed to withstand more damage. Personally I do not believe we could sustain injuries like the Spartan troops and survive, for while you can shift to heal your wounds, we do need blood to heal ours."

"And you can't carry that much blood into battle with you." Martin said softly.

Donovan nodded with a cruel smile. "Each soldier will have perhaps a pint or two of blood with them on their person. After that ... they would need the blood that will be carried in trucks similar to ours. Destroy those trucks and Hoppers, and their advantage in numbers will no longer matter. The regular Alliance troops will not stand against what they will face, at least many of them won't. If what I know of Queen Tarifa's father is true, the War Master is a tactical genius when it comes to large forces and static defenses. His city defenses in Mountain City alone have stood for centuries with barely any losses."

"But never against so concentrated a force," Tarifa answered.

Donovan nodded. "The premise is the same Milady." He said. "My recommendation would be to target the blood trucks first. If we can destroy all of them, or enough to make the vampires in their ranks pause, the normal Alliance forces will not factor all that much."

"How far back do they usually travel?" Martin asked.

"It depends primarily on the division commanders." Nestor answered. "Some have them directly behind the main units, which I find ignorant. Others like me keep them several miles back but alert and ready to move forward."

"The human units," Danny asked now. "What about them?"

Donovan shrugged. "Most are former gang members and scum who have been given weapons and uniforms. Criminals really, and aside from a few scattered one sided contests against elf or human outposts, none of them know what actual combat is."

Martin shook his head. "Yuri doesn't strike me as the stupid type." He spoke thoughtfully to no one in particular. "The majority of their army is made up of scum?"

Donovan nodded. "I know sire, it is hard to believe, but you must understand, she has ruled with an iron grasp for centuries. Any voice that speaks out against her vanishes within hours of doing so, in well orchestrated accidents. She has Vampire Secret police that are constantly investigating her own advisors. This increased even more when Minister Torcrum was discovered alive and working with Eden."

"Sounds like the fucking Nazis all over again." Dan said.

Donovan looked at him. "Adolph Hitler was a pureblood vampire sire."

They looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. "You're joking right?" Martin asked.

Donovan shook his head slowly. "No Milord. It is written in the vampire history scrolls; Genghis Khan, Hitler, Josef Stalin, Saddam Hussain, many of the most vile and hated leaders in the history of this planet were vampires and or subservient to the High Princess and her father in some way."

"We've been fighting them this long and didn't even know it." Martin said.

"We have known sire." Melancton spoke now. "We have known since the time of your father. And we have always fought against them, directly or indirectly. They could not risk exposing themselves so openly back then due to the obvious human reaction that knowledge would have elicited. After the comet however things changed."

Martin nodded. "With the destruction of all known forms of government and the death of three quarters of the world's population they became bolder and more open."

Melancton nodded. "Many humans ... regardless of whether they tell you or not know, they know that vampires are among us and have been for centuries. The knowledge of our people was more closely guarded and many of the myths and legends that show us in a dishonorable light were begun by vampires themselves. That is why werewolves are considered the more barbaric of the two species. We never thought to dissuade this type of thinking. We have come to realize that tactic was wrong."

"Tarifa ... how many humans are left on the planet?" Martin asked.

Tarifa shrugged. "A billion ... perhaps slightly higher," She answered. "The comet wiped out entire races Martin, and the Alliance never conducted a census."

"What is the elf population?"

Tarifa looked at Aihola her eyes wide. This was something they had never thought about. She looked back to him. "I ... I don't know." She said, "Certainly several hundred million I would think. Again a complete census has never been conducted."

Martin nodded slowly. "Yuri has been using maybe several million vampires to rule all of the humans and elves with fear and hate and distrust." He shook his head. "Damn that's impressive."

"Sire?" Andreus looked at him surprised.

"No ... I mean the humans have allowed them to rule, even knowing what they were. The elves had no say in it, they were born into slavery. The humans had a choice and they decided to let the vampires rule." Martin said his anger growing at the knowledge. "How many Spartans have died protecting a race that has the intelligence of a fucking knat?"

"It was your father's wish sire." Melancton spoke.

Martin nodded. "Yes I know ... but I wonder if it was worth it all of these years." He spoke.

"Martin my love, you aren't suggesting we abandon the humans to their own fate are you?" Aricia asked, stepping up to him and taking his arm.

Martin shook his head looking at her. "No. I would never do that." He replied. "I'm thinking there has to be a change of leadership on this planet, and the elves need to play a major role in that or the humans are going to become extinct either by their own actions or because they choose to fight the elves."

"We have started that Martin." Aihola spoke hopefully, "With Eden and the many other settlements. There are far more humans that feel as we all do than we ever knew."

"Yes we have, but now we need to expand it across the planet for it to work fully." Martin said. "It's the only way to keep the vampires from returning to earth once we win."

"Win?" Vengal spoke. "Forgive me Milord, but we have not yet begun to fight."

Martin smiled. "Yes I know ... but we'll win." He said confidently.

"You sound so sure." Vengal asked.

Martin nodded. "I suppose I am." He answered with a smile. "I positively hate to fucking lose." He looked at Nestor. "Colonel how good is your acting skill?"

Donovan looked at him confused, "Sire?"

LEONIDAS I

THREE DAYS FROM EARTH

Isabella bounced back lightly on her feet deflecting the weighted end of the staff as her senior soldier attacked. She wore only a pair of black skin tight stretchable fabric shorts and a white half tank top that left her rippled abdomen exposed. The black shorts left little to the imagination, as they appeared painted on and outlined every luscious curve of her hips and her muscular ass. Her large breasts strained against the fabric of the tank top, extremely firm and round without the need for any support. Her black hair was pulled into a long pony tail and braided with fine elfin silk. She wore the black leather gloves and the forearm gauntlets which effectively hid the Shi Viska from plain sight. She twirled the staff in her hands, deflecting another aimed attack by her senior soldier. They had been sparring for close to an hour, and Isabella was feeling full of herself. He had not come close to landing a blow on her, while she had tagged him at least a dozen times. This soldier had been with her for decades, always protecting her, and fighting beside her. Isabella suspected he had a very large infatuation with her, but aside from the five times he had been able to land a blow on her and claim her for the night, she had never shown any interest in the man. Even their five nights of fucking had been nothing more than release for both of them, though she had found herself at least looking forward to the times with him.

Isabella felt none of that now. No desire ... no anticipation of sex ... it was not there anymore. She found herself fighting harder than ever to keep her troops from landing blows on her and she could not explain it.

They had drawn a crowd now, her other three soldiers, plus almost a dozen Lycavorian scout troops that had come aboard. Many of them had never seen Isabella in action, and they were impressed to say the least.

She glanced at her senior soldier and grinned. "You are tiring Tomas." She taunted him. "You surprise me."

"You are fighting hard Princess." Tomas replied arrogantly. "Much harder than you usually do, almost as if you do not wish my company this night."

Isabella looked at him and forced the smile to hide the exact same thought. She also noticed Tomas seemed different somehow, more on edge and angry. "Perhaps you have just grown weak." She spoke softly. "You know I despise weakness, and that is why I fight harder."

Tomas's face took on a snarl and he launched himself at Isabella with renewed fury, his staff flashing forward with electrifying speed. With a cry of surprise Isabella shifted her own staff just enough to deflect the blow as she rolled to the side. He was upon her like a striking viper, his staff a blur of motion as Isabella backpedaled quickly, blocking each impact, but unable to counterattack due to the ferocity of his strikes. She could feel the jarring impacts against her staff, each blow sending jolts of pain shooting through her arms and shoulders. His anger was fueling his strength, and he was using his larger size to complement that.

Isabella was no fool however, and she was a supremely skilled fighter. She lowered her left shoulder as he drove another blow towards her left hip. As his strike was sliding off the end of her staff, Isabella spun around with vampire speed, blurring in motion and bringing her staff up quickly. She snapped it into the back of his shoulders with a loud crack, the blow carrying enough power in it to drive him forward until he lost his balance and careened forward staggering until he sprawled onto his face and chest on the mat beneath him rather ingloriously.

Isabella laughed as she finished her spin and turned to face him. "Tomas ... you are losing your touch! A second year student would know enough to block that type of attack. You are slipping my Senior Guard. We have been training all afternoon and we are tired. We will end the training for today I think." Isabella turned casually and began to make her way to the ladies portion of the locker room. The Lycavorians who were watching the training began to break up complimenting to each other on Isabella's skill.

With an inhuman howl, his eyes now cobalt blue and his fangs extended, Tomas came to his feet and leaped at Isabella once more.

Isabella whirled at the sound of his howl, her hazel/green eyes going wide as she saw him bringing up his staff in a vicious uppercut strike. His staff had already been in motion when he howled and Isabella turned far to slow to counter the attack. The end of the shaft hit her cheek with the force of a hammer, causing stars to flash in her eyes, as her cheek split open and blood splashed wetly across the mat. Isabella staggered from the force of the blow and spun around dropping to her knees, her staff skittering across the floor of the gym. The other vampire soldiers and several of the Lycavorian scouts stood stunned at this turn of events. The vampire soldiers were stunned because their senior guard had never gone this far against the Princess, his cobalt eyes filled with bloodlust and pure sexual lust. The Lycavorian scouts had never seen a fight between Isabella and her soldiers before and therefore did not know what to make of what was happening.

Tomas stood above Isabella triumphantly, and he laughed. "Never drop your guard Princess!"

Isabella shook her head to try and clear her thoughts, her vision blurred and her face throbbing with pain. "I ... I ended ... ended the training." She gasped.

Tomas hissed in reply at her, his fangs fully extended. "The training is never over!" He screamed. "I have connected with the Princess and I claim my right!"

Isabella felt the blood pouring freely from her cheek, the pain sharper than anything she had felt in a long time. Her mind was confused and she was unable to focus, the spots still very bright in her head. She could feel his presence above her, standing over her.

"You will ... you will not touch me!" Isabella hissed as she turned, trying to bring her focus back under control.

Tomas laughed and slapped her injured cheek hard, causing Isabella to gasp in fresh pain and reach up to clutch her face as she fell over onto her side. "By your own decree, if we contact you in battle, we have you for the night!" Tomas roared. "I intend to make you keep that decree."

Tomas bent over to grab Isabella's legs and never saw the combat boot coming from the side. As his head lowered and the boot came up it caught him squarely on the nose snapping his head up with such force that his legs left the mat and he flipped ass over head to come smashing to the mat on his stomach, his nose a flattened mass of blood and broken cartilage. He felt no pain though and his eyes lifted to glare at his new attacker.

"Your Princess gave you an order." Gorgo spoke coldly, standing in a combat ready stance next to Isabella, who was still on the mat trying to get her bearings. "I suggest you follow it now."

"Do not come between me and my prize she-wolf." Tomas growled rising quickly to his feet.

Gorgo sniffed the air quickly, her senses fully alive now, her dark eyes changing to become a dark yellowish brown color, her fangs extending fully. "You have not fed Tomas!" She barked loudly. "Your blood lust is peaking! You must control it, for I have no wish to hurt you."

"I will not control it! Not any longer! I relish it!" He screamed.

"You fool!" Gorgo spat. "You know what happens to your people when you do not feed! You lose control of your cravings and become nothing more than a wild animal. You are not an animal Tomas! Control it and we will get you blood to sustain yourself."

Gorgo's urgent hand signals to the vampire soldiers had the desired effect. Two of them broke into sprints from the gym to find their blood supplies, while the third hefted his staff and stepped up next to Gorgo ready to help defend his Princess.

"She is mine!" Tomas screamed spittle flying from his lips. "And I will have her in front of all of you if I have too."

Gorgo quickly turned to the third vampire soldier and snatched the staff from his firm grip, surprising him with her strength. Gorgo spun the staff gracefully in her hands with the skill of a Master surgeon, the eyes of the vampire soldier and the Lycavorian scouts wide in astonishment and shock. This was the mild mannered woman from the Tuya University on their home world. Many of them had been taught in one of her classes. She was a skilled educator, and a very firm teacher, never giving grades away to student, most certainly never playing any favorites and always challenging the students to think.

Gorgo looked at Tomas, her eyes firm and her hands steady. "Then let us fight Tomas!" She snapped. "You will not defile the person of your Princess while I stand here breathing."

Tomas grinned madly, his mind totally lost in the blood lust of a vampire who had not fed in several days. "I will skewer you she-wolf." He spoke hysterically, his hateful words spilling out easily now that his mind was gone. "You are nothing more than a teacher of Lycavorian scum!"

Gorgo smiled and it was not a pleasant thing to see in any way, as her lips came back in a snarl and her fangs were revealed in their white glory. "Then allow me to teach you." Gorgo spoke calmly before leaping at Tomas.

The move caught him by surprise and before he could bring his staff up, Gorgo had landed directly in front of him and pummeled him three times with the training staff. Two quick, hammer like blows above his waist and one that smashed into his jaw, snapping his head skyward yet again. Tomas staggered back several meters, bringing his staff up to the guard position. His cobalt eyes went wide when Gorgo simply slap it aside with a flick of her wrist and drove the opposite end of her staff into his chest with startling force. He winced and howled in pain as three of his ribs shattered under the impact and Tomas suddenly realized he was not facing just any school teacher. His eyes were wide when he looked at her and Gorgo simply smiled.

"You looked surprised Tomas!" Gorgo spat. "Did you mistakenly assume I was always a teacher? That will be your final mistake this day." She whirled the staff around viciously above her head watching as his eyes followed the movement. When Gorgo had his attention focused upward, she halted the spinning of the staff and drove the low end in her left hand forward and up. The blow caught him directly under the jaw for the second time in as many minutes, the sound of his jaw popping and breaking in more than one spot extremely loud in the stillness of the gym. Tomas lifted off the floor and came crashing down onto his back, unbearable pain lancing through his body. His staff fell quickly from limp hands and he withered on the floor, his screams muffled due to the broken jaw. His arms and legs twitched and strained, the muscles appearing as if they would rip from his skin as the full force of the bloodlust coursed through him. His eyes were wide in agonizing pain, blood gushing from his mouth where his vampire fangs had sliced through his lips.

Gorgo stepped forward to go to him but felt the fingers close around her arm and stop her. "No." Isabella spoke softly as she got to her feet, the cut on her cheek barely beginning to heal. "There is nothing we can do for him." She spoke. "The Blood Fever has destroyed his mind, and now it is killing him. Even blood will not save him from his fate."

Gorgo had never seen a vampire die from Blood Fever, and Isabella's words rang true a few seconds later when the veins in Tomas's face began to shrivel and burst open underneath his skin. It was what many vampires feared most, starving without the opportunity to feed on fresh blood, and thousands of vampires had died through the years due to this. Their minds would be destroyed first, turning them into nothing more than raving mad men, and then it would spread to the rest of their body, their internal organs shriveling into nothing. A few had survived the Blood Fever, only to live out the remainder of their days in clinics securely tied to beds. It was not a pretty sight to watch, and it took nearly a full three minutes for Tomas to die. His skin was now streaked in ruptured blood vessels, his cobalt eyes now leaking blood and turned a sickly red color. His face was frozen in a hideous death mask of pain, blood leaking from both his nose and his ears. When she was finally able to tear her eyes from the scene they had returned to normal and Isabella was staring at her.