Operation: Marauder
Chapter 13

Rowan swore for the fifth time today as they cleared another warehouse, and there was no sign of the Wraythe. "Where the fuck are they?"

After a day of surveillance, coming up with nothing, they decided to sweep through each building in the district one by one, pretending to be inspectors or in full gear if it was abandoned. They found a camp of vagrants, a group of delinquents, and a bunch of stray cats. No Wraythe. Rowan wanted to strangle someone.

The other team called them shortly after they had finished their assigned area and came up with the same conclusion as his team. They weren't here.

Another unsuccessful day.

"Maybe Zoey was wrong," Maliki offered, hesitant. When Rowan pinned him with a dangerous look, he took a wary step back. By now, they all knew better not to mention Zoey unless it was impertinent. His Fever was just starting to set in and all he wanted to do was hunt her down, break down whatever door they had her hiding behind, and claim her as his own.

But he couldn't have her. As frustrating and infuriating as it was, he would do as Jack asked and keep his distance from Zoey. She deserved more than what he could offer her.

And it was only the start of his Fever. For the next seven days, his core was going to burn as hot as a star until he was satisfied. Or he'll simmer in his frustrated rage and take it out on everyone around him.

Jack rubbed his jaw in thought, ignoring Rowan's seething for the time being. "I can ask her to describe where they took her again."

"No point," Cas dismissed with a heavy sigh. He brushed a hand through his hair and glanced around the dusty warehouse with scrutiny expected from the medic. "They'll know she's under our protection now and will have changed locations. We missed our window, boys."

Rowan didn't want to admit it, but Cas was right. As soon as the Wraythe figured out what happened to Sid, the Wraythe Zoey had killed, they would have packed up and left. They were coordinating with local law enforcement, but so far they hadn't found any bodies to give them clues. The Wraythe were being annoyingly resourceful on this planet. He had been hoping they wouldn't be as good as they had been at blending in with the humans.

"Fuck!" Rowan kicked an empty paint pail across the warehouse. He knew his anger was irrational. Yes, it was frustrating to be so close to the Wraythe and unable to replace them. Yes, he wanted to make the fuckers pay for laying their hands on Zoey. But not to the level of rage boiling inside him. It was his Fever. His body only wanted one thing right now and he was fighting with everything he had to stay focused on the mission.

Jack peered around to the others nervously. Thankfully, Knox and Maliki weren't at all fazed by Rowan's outburst, which seemed to bring Jack a small measure of comfort. "Um. . . should we do something?"

Cas gripped Rowan's shoulder, sympathy in his eyes. "Maybe you should let us take care of this, boss. Find a female on the base to ease the burn. We'll take care of things from here."

Get it together, Rowan. You've gone through the Fever without before, you can do it again. It had been a shitty week and he had been on a mission that took longer than expected, so he couldn't have done anything to ease the burn or he'd risk his team being shot. It was different now. He was on a planet full of women he was compatible with, he just had to pick one. Unfortunately, that one was Zoey and he couldn't have her, not without hurting her.

"I'm fine," he assured them. He took deep breaths and, with great effort, managed to appear sane. "Let's keep looking. They have to be somewhere in town."

"I can take a look at the scanners again," Mave offered, "see if they can pick up on any traces of Terbium. They might be using some cloaking tech they scavenged from their ship."

Rowan nodded to him in thanks, because everyone else was looking at him like he should take the week off. Work was exactly what he needed right now. It was a big enough distraction to keep his mind off his dick. "Maliki, go with him, see if you can give them a boost."

Maliki made a clicking noise with his tongue, shaking his head. "We'll need more Terbium for that, Cap."

Rowan considered this. "You said with the way the engines are, we can reach a few planets outside of this solar system, right? Check out their Terbium deposits."

Saluting, Mave and Maliki took a car back to the base.

Jack regarded Rowan a moment, gauging just how fine he was; he looked like he wanted to say something about his current state, but Rowan beat him to it. "You said you have a few ideas of where else the Wraythe could be hiding?"

It was all the distraction he needed. Jack pulled out a map and laid it down on a barrel. He gestured north of town; Rowan wasn't familiar with the area, but the buildings looked large on big plots of land.

"What's over there?"

The human let out a long, tired breath. The days' fruitlessness was wearing thin on all of them, but every one of Rowan's men knew they couldn't stop. They were the only ones who could deal with the Wraythe threat and it was entirely their fault those blood suckers were here to begin with. The least they could do was exterminate the threat before they left. "Wineries, breweries. They're secluded, surrounded by meadows."

"Sounds promising. Let's go."

Today, Zoey was graciously allowed to leave Jack's room--provided she had an escort. Sergeant Timber remained at her side, giving her directions to the cafeteria, library, and gym, telling her she couldn't go down this corridor or that hallway.

Tired of being told what she could and couldn't do, she logged back onto Jack's computer, plugged in her earphones, cranked the volume, and played the flight simulator again. At least that was interesting. She had picked up a few novels to entertain her later in the afternoon, but she anticipated the simulator would be the peak of her entertainment while she was stuck in the base.

She got in a few hours before her stomach began to growl. With Timber in tow, she wandered over to the cafeteria. She felt everyone's eyes on her as they went; she gritted her teeth, hoping word hadn't gotten out of who she really was. The last thing she wanted was for her dad to hear she was being held in the base for protection and fly over here. If he cared enough to.

She waited in line for her food then plopped down at the only empty table. Timber held the hard, stony gaze he had worn all day on the entrance, unmoving, silent, like a statue. He might as well be one. She had tried to spark up some semblance of a conversation with him, but he remained quiet, his unrelenting gaze on entry points. She felt more like a prisoner than a guest.

Sighing, she stabbed at the sad excuse of mashed potatoes. She had been hungry in Jack's room, but wandering through the white monotonous halls, thinking about her situation, made her lose her appetite.

A shadow loomed over her. She looked up at the large man, recognizing those blazing amber eyes instantly. It was hard to forget someone so pissed off.

Mave. Rowan's pilot.

Timber stepped up, motioning for him to move along. Completely ignoring the Sergeant's warning, Mave sat opposite her, placing an equally unappetizing tray on the table. "The cafeteria is full. You can't hog an entire table, even if she is a guest."

"Prisoner," she coughed into her hand.

Timber crossed his arms, stern as ever. "I am here to make sure she specifically doesn't come into contact with any of you." He made it seem like Mave and his team had rabies. Rude.

Mave locked a heavy dull glare on him. "She's not making contact with me. I'm making contact with her. Are you going to stop me?"

Timber ground his jaw then gave in with a sigh. "I'm going to get some food. You have ten minutes. Don't say anything you're not allowed to say."

Jaw slack, she watched in disbelief as he walked away. She turned her attention to Mave, amazed. "Did you use a Jedi mind trick or something? He's been on my ass all day."

He raked a hand through his cropped brown hair and shrugged. "I saved his life," was all he had to say about that. "There's something I wanted to talk to you about. I've been checking on Jack's progress with the simulator I made for him and noticed he's improved significantly since you've arrived. I don't suppose you would know anything about that, would you?"

She blinked in surprise. Unaware she had been monitored--and that it appeared work related for Jack. She thought he was just being a dick when he said the simulator was classified. "Um. . ." She twiddled her fingers, hoping he wouldn't be mad. It was hard to tell with him; his expression was constantly flat. Unreadable. "I may have been playing around with it. I was bored. I miss being in the cockpit. I'm sorry if I messed up your data."

He pushed his tray of deplorable food aside so he could lean on the table towards her, eyes intent. "Don't be. You have some raw talent. Better than half the Fleet. Imagine what you could do if you had real training, if you only knew. . ." He bit his lip and sat back, restraining his excitement. "I've said too much. I should go."

"Wait!" Zoey caught his arm--and was surprised his skin felt rough like Rowan's. It made her wonder if all the members of their team had skin like that. If so, what made them so different? "What fleet? Why is everyone so afraid of you?" She saw it in their eyes as they talked, quick glances, low whispers. Everyone knew not to mess with his crew.

Very gently, he pried her hand away. "It's for your own protection that you don't know."

Something inside of her snapped. She spent her entire life being told what was best for her. It took her far too long to realise that the only person who would look out for her was herself. The military couldn't care less about her safety, they only wanted to cover their asses.

"My protection be damned! If I hadn't researched the vampires, I would be dead. I wouldn't have known how to kill Sid. You're afraid. You can't control me. You don't know what I'll do if I know the truth. You're all a bunch of self-righteous cowards." She stood up and left before he had the chance to storm out. No way was he going to be the one with the final word.

Timber jogged after her. "Miss, Somner!"

"Leave me alone, Sergeant." She walked faster to get away from him, from it all, but he grabbed her and yanked her to a stop.

"You know I can't do that."

She growled at him. Or at least she thought she did. It was actually coming from behind her.

After a frustratingly unsuccessful and painfully sexless day, all Rowan wanted to do was eat some mediocre food and jerk off in the shower, hopefully replaceing some relief.

He was on his way to the cafeteria, ignoring Cas and Knox's sad attempts to make him feel better. There was nothing they could do, though, which they knew, and it didn't help that they were also annoyed they couldn't replace a single trace of the Wraythe.

Then he heard her voice, infuriated and frustrated. Then another man, who refused to leave her alone.

He froze in his tracks for a beat--then he was on the move. He was aware Cas and Knox had picked up the pace, also hearing her voice, and called after him to back off. He didn't care.

No one touched his Zoey.

He rounded the corner to replace Sergeant Timber grabbing her, even as she tried to free herself.

In the back of his mind, he knew that Timber was doing his job. Knew that he had to stop her from going out of line and to protect her from other soldiers. Knew that he wouldn't hurt her. If he wasn't in Fever, he would have easily been able to rationalize all of this and walk away before she could see him, before he could glimpse at those full lips and wide hips. The fact of the matter is, he was in Fever, right smack in the middle of it, and Timber was touching his woman.

"Get your fucking hands off her. Now!" He was amazed he hadn't tackled the guy, let alone managed to sound calm. For the most part.

Timber jumped back then turned to the new threat. His hand hovered over the sidearm on his hip. "Rowan, back off. You were ordered to keep your distance."

Zoey peered over his shoulder then stepped around him. "Rowan?"

Timber grabbed her, pulling another growl out of him. Zoey pushed his hands away. "Will you stop that? I'm not going to run away--I just want to talk to him."

Standing still as she fought to get closer to him was the hardest thing he ever had to do. He knew once she touched him, he would be undone. All the extensive hours of training he had undergone for self-control would have been sucked right out of the airlock.

Timber held fast. "I can't let you do that, Miss Somner."

She glared daggers at the Sergeant, giving an Arthonian female's temper a run for her money; there was nothing sexier than a fierce woman who dominated anyone who dared to defy her. Except when she chose to submit to him. Just the thought of her giving herself to Rowan made him hard for her. His cock throbbed, begging him to replace release deep within her.

Zoey threw her hands up in the air in a display of her irritation towards the Sergeant. "For Christ's sake, it's Adams! I hate that name!"

Timber swallowed nervously, looking a little lost as to how to handle the situation. "Sorry, Miss Adams, I wasn't aware."

Cas and Knox caught up to Rowan, griping either of his shoulders and holding him in place. "Let's go," Cas whispered at his side. "You shouldn't be here, Rowan. You'll make things worse."

He didn't care. He wanted her more than he more than he wanted any female in his life. She was only a few feet away. It would take nothing to close the distance between them, to tear her pants off and drive himself into her. . .

Get. It. Together.

Zoey stepped closer. "Rowan, can we talk? Please?"

By the Architect, he loved how she said his name; he wanted her to scream it as he made her come.

He closed his eyes. Resisting his wild fantasies was much easier when he couldn't see her. He only wished it would make his hard on go away. "Let's go."

He turned, Cas and Knox's hands heavy on his shoulders as they went.

"Rowan?" Zoey called. "Hey! Fine. Let's not talk like adults. Asshole."

No matter how much he wished he could explain himself to her, tell her it was better for her in the long run if he kept his distance, he didn't turn back. He went down several corridors, Zoey's shouts fading behind them, before his men released him. He clenched his fists and fought every urge to turn around.

It's for the best. For her. Definitely not for him, but she was worth it. The worst part was that he would never know what made her worth it. He only knew that she was.

"Rowan!" Mave caught up to them, a hard line set on his mouth. "We need to talk."

"What's wrong?" Knox asked. Mave didn't use that tone if everything was all right.

He met every one of their gazes then let out a huff of indignation. "There's more of them. A lot more." They didn't need to ask to know he was talking about the Wraythe. Even as unlikely as it was that there would be more than the six--now five, thanks to Zoey--they anticipated.

Cas frowned, on the same wavelength as Rowan. "How is that possible? An escort ship can only accommodate a crew of six."

Mave gestured for them to follow him back to their quarters. Rowan was more than eager to learn more, in need of a distraction, and followed him in silence, giving himself even more distance between him and Zoey.

Mave shut the door behind Knox then collected a pile of freshly printed papers from the printer. He handed a stack out to each of them. Rowan took one look at the picture of the humans' theatrical representation of a vampire, blood running down his face as he hissed at the camera, then frowned at Mave, in need of an answer.

"Zoey said she did some research on them," he explained as the rest of the team gave him a similar look Rowan gave him. "It wasn't an accident she knew how to kill the Wraythe. So I did some digging into this vampire myth she's mistaken them for. There are some uncanny similarities between the two. Pale skin, fangs, abnormal strength, diet restricted to blood? I think Wraythe have been here a lot longer than we have. We're talking centuries. Earth clearly isn't a culling planet, so my guess would be their ships malfunctioned and they needed somewhere to stay, but because there's not a lot of Terbium, they couldn't fix their ships to leave. They've been stranded on this planet, with no choice but to integrate themselves into human civilization. Some humans must have seen them in the act of feeding and named them vampires."

"So what you're saying is. . ." Knox deciphered, "is that we don't know how many Wraythe there are on this planet, but it's too many for us to deal with."

"If they're coordinating," Cas offered. "But if they're not all in contact with each other, we might be able to snuff them out one by one."

"We can't even replace the five we're looking for," Rowan muttered. "If we could get the Marauder's sensors running at a hundred percent, we could replace them."

"That's where Maliki comes in," Mave reminded him. "He's looking for nearby planets we can mine Terbium from. In the meantime, we need to prepare the humans. The Wraythe that shot us down have found Wraythe that have been stranded on this planet for years. With that advantage, they'll know how to blend in with the humans. The things we told them to look for no longer apply."

Rowan rubbed his jaw as he considered this, even more thankful Zoey had returned to the base with them--even if it tormented him to no end and she hated it. This compound was the safest place for her to be.

He sent Jack a quick text to meet him in their quarters then turned to his team. Zoey would never know how much she had helped them. Now it was time to put it to work so she would never run into another Wraythe again.