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7: The Plan

Leaders from all of the Dorzeli-Ki families and the officers from all four columns watched a large screen upon which the image of the Soriss stronghold of Aybabtu was displayed in side of a large camouflaged tent that could hold a three ring circus. All saw that it was a series of concrete bunkers fitted together and built into a hillside so that, along with its ten gun towers, multiple layers of cross fire could be brought to bear across a cleared out zone ten kilometers in front of it. Its rear was protected by palisades which bordered on the treacherous western sea. It was obvious that a normal frontal assault would be suicidal.

"That's why", explained Colonel Thorn, "Lieutenant Matthew Thorn, using his unique Dorzeli stealth abilities, will get as close as possible to Ayabatu and use his beam cannon to take out the towers at the beginning of the attack. This can be accomplished due to the fact that the Kroon ban on the Dorzeli possessing offensive weapons has a loophole that excludes any transformed individuals."

Matt was not surprised by this turn of events. He had speculated as to why Jason had given him such a powerful weapon if he could not use it to defend himself against any hostile Dorzeli since it was given to him; he had come to the conclusion that it was to be used for some special purpose. Whether this was always Jason's original plan or if it was his insurance against the power loss that he had sensed and had finally suffered during the last space battle above the planet, Matt could not help but feel that he had been used, but he still knew his duty as a soldier and would carry it out without question if it meant he could stay with Feih. But, this was not to be the last of the surprises that night.

"Under his covering fire the other three columns will launch a Cherrodon shielded frontal assault and a special ops team, jointly co-commanded by myself and his mate Feih Desslat." She pointed to the right of the base and the picture zoomed in to what looked like a side entrance. "We will use Commander Lasteri Hatelo's access codes to gain entry to it and its secured areas so that we can locate the ancient Dorzeli ship and fly it out using Chire Feih Desslat's unique knowledge of its operating systems. As soon as this is accomplished the full firepower of the fleet will be brought to bear upon the base to insure its destruction."

Matt looked at Feih and could not help but wonder what "unique knowledge" she could have of a ship that no Dorzeli had set eyes on in over a dozen generations.

Opinions were asked for without regard to rank during the latter half of the meeting. One question concerned how Matt was going to approach the base with such a powerful weapon.

Sarah asked, "Lieutenant, please arm your gun." Matt did not hesitate to do so and kept the barrel pointed upwards. She next turned to the left side of the stage; "Sergeant, will you please scan the tent for energy sources." The Medallian soldier did so and his scanner beeped whenever it picked up the various sources that were present, including the guards' weapons, but when it was pointed toward Matt it did not register. "As you can see the suit that Jason designed for him nullifies all energy sources on his person and will also mask him from their sensors." She smiled at him and Matt felt somewhat better about his part in the mission.

A human officer next brought up the question of Jason's involvement in the mission. Specifically, why he could not go in and get the ship himself and spare most of the troops present the risk of such a hazardous battle.

He took Colonel Thorn's place on the stage and gave the reason to the gathered assembly and by encrypted transmission to the other three teams.

"As you know, since being turned into a Dorzeli Prime, I have, in that form, participated in every battle against the Soriss fleet, who we now know out number our present number of ships by two hundred to one." For many this was the first time they had heard the true enormity of the odds against the new Alliance and a dead silence greeted the rest of his speech.

"Luckily for us the majority of their ships have been held in reserve due to their long-term antagonism with the Kroon Empire. Even so they still have such an overwhelming advantage over us that I had to be involved in these battles, but this may soon change, because I've recently received reliable intelligence that they have begun a general mobilization.

"Even at full power Freerah and I together cannot hope to defeat that many ships." He paused for a moment to let the information sink in. "And despite rumors to the contrary our power is not inexhaustible; that last attack, combined with the Soriss use of anti-matter cannons, drained me completely. I'm, at present, in what might be euphemistically called a 'cycle'."

Matt was shocked that Jaaon had revealed this secret and more so when the Gresiel sisters, who had never been keen on Jason, humans or any of his or Feih's plans, stood and open protested his worthiness as a leader in Dorzel. This caused many of the human and Mendall personnel become nervous; even though they did not understand their words they could tell that that family's leaders had just challenged their commander's authority.

Feih rose to his defense and it soon appeared as if it was going to escalate into a full-scale fight between the Desslat's and the Gresiels when they turned to face her, but before the situation could escalate out of control Feih snarled something at them that caused Matt and the two sisters, Astari and Sakessa, who led that clan, along with the other family heads to look at her in shock. When they turned and looked at Jason they appeared as if they had seen the most frightening thing in their lives. Matt saw it too: a full sized outline of his Dorzeli Prime form surrounded him like an aura. He glanced at the non-Dorzeli and saw by their confusion that they saw no difference in him.

The sisters became meek and apologized for their behavior and sat down, much to the relief of all. Matt was also relieved for not having to fight another Dorzeli again.

Jason resumed his speech after order had returned to the tent; "I hope that we won't have another outbreak like that, because we can't afford to be fighting amongst ourselves at this critical time." The sisters apologized again, this time in Kroon so that everyone with a translator could understand them.

"As I was about to say before I was interrupted," he gave the sisters one last angry glare, "despite my present condition I should be ready by the time the battle is well under way."

Out of the corner of his eye Matt saw both Feih and Daihas smile at this announcement. What he was not prepared for was what happened next.

"In a related development; Commander Hatelo has informed me that the Soriss commander that had been trying to exterminate the Dorzeli since their invasion, Field Marshall Kesdek Grahdal, who had been inspecting their last intact outpost before being called back to Aybabtu, was with the convoy that the Gresiels attacked two days ago."

When his picture was displayed Matt almost choked; it was the soldier he had killed!

"I have to congratulate them for ignoring their justifiable lust for revenge by keeping half of the Soriss personnel alive so that we could gather more intelligence on their movements and the base; however, they informed me that he and five of his support staff were not among them or the ones they had killed." The moment the lights were turned up Jason looked at Matt and smiled when he saw his reaction to this news. "They may have escaped, but I don't think they got very far."

He felt a sense of betrayal at Jason almost telling everyone that he had killed the Soriss officer, but when Feih licked him he forgot all about that and the handful of eyes that had bothered to look back at him. That was when he saw that the Gresiel sisters were as surprised as he was at the identity of the prisoner they had left behind. Feih looked at them and gloated over this news.

After a few loose ends were taken care of Jason made one final announcement; "I'm very happy to announce the first cross species marriage between Feih Desslat and Lieutenant Matthew Thorn and if they come up to the platform I would be more than happy to perform an Earth style ceremony."

A loud round of applause greeted them as they left Feih's family at the back of the tent and walked up the broad aisle toward the stage. Despite the tent's large size they often had to duck their heads to avoid its supports. When they arrived at the stage Matt hesitated.

Jason reassured him of its sturdiness; "I tested it out before my temporary power loss: if it can hold me it can definitely hold you two." With this assurance he took a tentative step onto it and found it more than solid enough to support his weight. When Feih joined him Jason carried out the ceremony.

After eating their fill at dinner, which had been turned into a wedding feast, both Feih and Matt excused them selves and left the dining area.

No one remarked on their early departure. They had been warned about the sensitivity of Dorzeli hearing, but the thoughts of many were reflected in their smiles when the two left the main body of the camp. Their attention was so concentrated on the couple that it went unnoticed by most that the other Dorzeli-Ki had also retreated from the area and that all of the smaller Dorzeli-An that had accompanied the column stayed and made themselves comfortable amongst their new allies and friends.

On the trail ahead of the camp the newlyweds found their path blocked by the Gresiel sisters. Feih warned Matt to stay back and approached them.

He was tense the entire time they talked; one sister always kept an eye on him. The conversation ended with a warning growl from Feih. They bowed to her and ran off, but not before taking one last look at him. She turned back and found, to her pleasant surprise, that he had been prepared to leap to her assistance at the slightess provocation. She smiled and returned to his side.

He asked, "What was that about?" while he made sure they had left.

"They wanted to know how you were able to pick out the one Soriss that we've all been trying to get our claws on for the past ten years." She narrowed her eyes at him, "And I want to know too."

Nervous, he replied, "I-I don't know how. I just felt something wrong about him." He looked away from her. "I'm sorry to have ruined your chance to avenge your parents and sister."

He felt her grab his hand and lift it to her face. He turned back and found no hint of anger in it.

"I am upset at not being the one to have gotten him, but I'm proud that it was my mate who did and you've also avenged every Dorzeli on this planet." She pulled him close and nuzzled the left side of his face. After a few seconds she separated from him and told him of their other request. "They proposed that our families formally merge; they see you as an asset that could make our combined power a formidable force that the Kroon governing council could not afford to ignore, or attack, once we returned to our home world."

Matt knew what that would mean if it should come about. The merger would be more than just political.

She saw how deeply troubled this had made him and gave him her answer to the Gresiels' request; "I told them that what they asked of us was inappropriate (she repeated the same growl that had sent them packing) at this time, so you don't have to worry about having to be with them. And I forbid it in any case, because I will not share you with anyone else on this special night." He relaxed and they continued to walk toward their destination.

She changed the subject back to what had been discussed in the tent. "It was a wise choice of Jason's to wait until tonight to reveal his power loss. The other families might not have agreed to this mission ahead of time if they had known that he was almost powerless."

Mat was still troubled by what occurred so he asked, "But, is what you said true, about what could happen if he got angry enough or was forced into a premature transformation?"

She became solemn and nodded her head yes. "He'd go into a berserker mode and treat everyone around him as the enemy until either he was killed or everyone else was dead. Add to that fact that 'Primes have been known to become cannibalistic while in that state of mind you can see why they calmed down so quickly." She dispelled his fears when she saw him become frightened at what this could mean about the true nature of the Dorzeli. "Only the Primes and full blooded Mu's do that. We Ki's don't eat our own so you were never in that kind of danger had you not killed Grahl." She pointed to her horns, "And unlike the Primes our horns are permanent so you don't have to worry about losing what powers you do have because of their habit of shedding them every few weeks."

Matt breathed a sigh of relief then asked, "What I can't figure is how he got Hatelo to cooperate against her people?"

Feih looked at him from the corner of her eye and grinned. "I can guess of a few ways."

"I don't think he'd do that," dismissed Matt. "Freerah would kill him and he doesn't believe in torture."

"You're right. Maybe he had someone else do it for him. But as she's transforming into a Dorzeli she may have become cooperative especially if Jason was in his Dorzeli form at the time?"

"Probably." When she stopped walking Matt turned to see that she looked worried about something. "What's wrong Feih?"

"I didn't want to worry you, but I saw my brother carry off your sister after our feast. If you want I can go after them."

He dismissed her concerns. "Don't worry; I gave him permission to talk to her. I guess she agreed to his request." He noticed that she was puzzled by his new attitude toward her brother and explained further. "She said she could handle him and I believe her."

"Then I won't interfere, but I hope you're correct." She smiled, leaned over and licked him on his left cheek in such a way that he knew what she wanted, but as a joke he said, "We'd better get some rest. We'll have to leave before dawn if we're going to get to the base in three days."

"I have a better idea," she told him with a sly grin.

"Well, we could go back and eat some more. Jason brought quite a load of fresh meat from Mendall for all the carnivores here."

Feih play growled, "You know that's not what I had in mind."

"I know," teased Matt, "But I still think we should keep ourselves fresh for the battle."

He expected further protests from his continuing joke, instead she took his hands and placed them on her lower abdomen. "It's time."

Matt smiled and, in one smooth motion, swept her off her feet. She protested until he explained his actions.

"This is a tradition where I come from. I wanted to wait until Jason made our mating formal before I showed it to you." He leaned his head down over and kissed her.

Feih ceased her initial struggles and allowed him to carry her off to a more secluded area while two cloaked individuals followed them.