Analysis (Metatron's Army, Book 12)

By Elizabeth Maxim

To Win. For years Energy Shifter Verix Sterling lived a double life, the soldier Commander Christine Baker could depend on in a firefight and the Light Being who loved her. Now the path forward for the two of them is open.

To Lose. Verix must come to terms with the fact Xavier Casteel, a man Christine thought she lost, is very much alive and well. And in her bed.

To Seek Victory. Amid a backdrop of rising tensions and changing relationships, the men and women of Metatron’s Army must forge a new way or be pulled into a centuries old war friend and foe alike are all too ready to wage.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elizabeth Maxim
• Release date: Aug 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463455326

Elizabeth Maxim

If Elizabeth were to map her life’s journey, it would resemble the chaos of a Pac-Man game but out of this chaos came the foundation for her stories. She draws from knowledge, personal experience, and imagination in creating strong independent characters who steer their own destiny... often with a little help from love.Elizabeth studied alternative medicine with an MD for several years before earning a doctorate of philosophy in that field. She also holds a bachelor's degree in holistic childcare. Currently living in the Pacific Northwest, she is the author of multiple books, fiction and nonfiction, as well as two blog sites.You can follow Elizabeth at elizabethmaxim.com.

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

Analysis: The study of a game or a position, in order to evaluate the quality of the moves and various other aspects of the game or position

2011

Eol, Vetria System

Main Conference Room, EVS Phoenix

Time. Heals all wounds.

Doubtful.

Makes amends.

Commander Christine Baker stared out at the pink nebula visible whenever they were stationed at that particular docking slot.

Maybe.

One thing was certain. Time had become a phantom companion casting its shadow over her life. Or six weeks of it at any rate.

Six weeks since she and Corus parted ways so he could focus on recovering from Time Distortion Sickness and she could focus on being the leader of Metatron’s Army and all it entailed. Six weeks during which her team tried to find their bearings knowing the worst was behind them. Six weeks in which she tried to pretend her love for two men wasn’t ripping her apart. Fucking Iconoclast.

It wasn’t all bad she supposed. After all, she’d hit the bastard where it hurt. Not only did her team successfully destroy all but three of the artificial time gates he’d been using to destroy lives, she’d either killed or imprisoned his bastard cohorts, and although he was technically a free bastard, his wings had most definitely been clipped.

When the door to the conference room slid open, she turned.

Commander?

She smiled. Come on in, Roddy.

The senior officer joined her at the floor to ceiling window. He’d been one of her instructors at the academy, put in charge of her flight lessons when she became romantically involved with Corus Argai who normally would have taken her on as a student. He'd had done well by her and when she graduated and formed Metatron’s Army, she made him a part of the team. He’d repeatedly shown himself a leader even before the Tactical Instructor was pulled through the artificial time gate.

Corus’ disappearance had been hard on him and not just because he lost a friend who was more like a brother. There were those who believed that, with the Tactical Instructor gone, Roddial would take his place. With her. That the two of them were close only served to feed those rumors.

Oh, he’d come on to her once upon a time, but she shut that down – firmly, explaining – perhaps unnecessarily – he shouldn’t be thinking in that direction.

What is it, Roddy? she asked gently. It was evident from the shadows in his eyes; shadows that belonged to that damned entity of mischief, time, something was weighing on him. And she could guess what.

Fucking Iconoclast.

He’d been to see Corus the day before. It was the first time since the Tactical Instructor’s return to his native dimension that he’d allowed his friend anywhere near him. Damned pride.

Oh, Roddy.

Hating the haunted look in her friend’s eyes, she pulled him into a hug.

There was so much pain and confusion in the years after Corus’ absence and now that he was back it looked as if that pain and confusion only intensified. No doubt guilt played a role though he had nothing to feel guilty for.

* * *

Roddy spared a moment to consider he probably shouldn’t be hugging his commander, shouldn’t be appreciating how warm and how good she felt. How steady. But he was a selfish bastard and wanted this moment for himself, so he dropped his head, leaned into her, and just breathed.

Tell me, she said into his neck.

After another handful of breaths, he stepped back, gave her a weary smile. You’re the best, Commander.

Tell me.

I saw Corus yesterday.

Right.

He looks good, Christine. Really good.

I know. I’ve seen. She received a comm from him that morning, boasting of hacking Ryn’s system and reminding her how proud he was of who she’d become. He’d assured her he was well and getting better every day.

Yeah, well, he apparently felt good enough to chew me out.

That was a surprise. Then again, maybe not. For?

He couldn't believe I resigned my position at Dynamic.

Did you tell him you are still a member of Metatron’s Army?

Yes. He said that in resigning my post, I left you without any support.

Which you -.

Did, he finished. She nodded.

Technically, it was true. Devastated by the loss of his friend and the near fatal injury she sustained the same day, he returned to his home planet, Ladhra 2 where his family owned a sprawling agricultural property. When she paid a visit, ostensibly to remind him of his allegiance to her army, he informed her he resigned from his post at Dynamic.

"I’m not that man anymore."

None of them were who they’d been but as he’d proved a valuable leader, and good friend, she was willing to overlook it. To that extent, she demanded he honor his commitment to Metatron’s Army.

As you pointed out to me, she reminded him, you aren’t that man any longer. You would have moved on at some point. Corus’ disappearance just spurred that decision forward. She wasn’t exonerating him, just stating a fact.

Let’s just say he expressed his disappointment in me for letting you down.

I’ll just bet he did. She gave him a gentle smile. Roddy, you have to remember, Corus is all about protocol. In taking the action you took you went seriously outside of protocol.

You mean his unwritten rules of loyalty.

We all have those unwritten rules, but yes, Corus is particularly sensitive to it. As am I, which is why I reminded you of your commitment to Metatron’s Army. And you honored that loyalty by coming back, and I have never for one moment since, regretted it, nor ever doubted that loyalty, nor not believed – absolutely - that I couldn’t count on you.

You think Corus needs to be made aware of that?

She shook her head. It won’t matter. What he said is true and in his world that’s what matters. Facts.

A variety of emotions passed across her friend’s features. If she didn’t know better, she’d say he felt as if she slapped him.

Roddy, Corus is playing catch up. He has to cling to rules and protocol and look at loyalty in terms of black and white. It’s all he has to cling to right now. So much of his world was lost when he was pulled through that time gate and in returning, he has to live that loss all over again.

Confusion was in his eyes, in his heart. He loved Corus, likely felt torn between his need to follow his heart and his desire to help his friend.

I don’t understand. He seemed okay to me. Certainly, sounded it.

Roddy -. She hesitated. So far as she was aware, very few other than her senior medic who was working on a cure for his condition were aware of a cruel twist to Corus' recovery and to her knowledge, none of them - other than Kara - were members of Metatron's Army.

If you’re worried about my blabbing something, he assured, easily reading her, don’t. I would never utter one word about anything I saw because I would never do that to him. Or you.

In reminding her of his trustworthiness he was laying the ground rules for continued dialogue. It meant he could continue to talk with her, and he needed to. With her, someone he trusted, who trusted him, who had a shared history with him, deepening that trust. To hold the pain and confusion inside would destroy him and infect the entire team.

I know. She sighed. It’s just – I feel so much of that loyalty, too. I feel as if by even saying it out loud – truth that it is – I’m putting it in stone, making it an irrevocable truth.

Is he going to regress?

No.

Then anything else can be managed. You can tell me.

For us, Corus was gone some two years. We moved on with our lives while he was hopping dimensions trying to find a way home.

Right. I was there, living it with you.

He told me that every time he jumped dimensions the clock reset.

I’m not following but I’ll be the first to admit, I know very little and understand even less about all this multi-dimension stuff. He shrugged. Just point me at a time gate and I’ll blow it up.

When he got back - to him – it had only been six months.

The color drained from his face. She reached out to steady him, held him when he felt the need to bury his face in her shoulder. Her eyes burned as his shoulders shook.

I can’t believe he had the strength to let you go, he said, his voice muffled. He would have thought -.

The Time Distortion Sickness would have wreaked havoc with that, and he would have slowly started to feel time slip away from him.

He pulled back. "So what! To him he would have wanted you, would never have understood why you might not feel the same about him. Six months is nothing! Hell, you were on the Vestik longer than that while he was on Eol!"

Roddy this has been a nightmare for me, too, but I’m not finished.

He dragged a sleeve across his eyes, sniffed. There’s more?

As he recovers? His system is reabsorbing – or I should say gaining – time. He’s now feeling as if those two years passed for him, too.

So, what you’re telling me is that, as he recovers, he loses what – what is he losing?

The insulation created by the idea it’s only been six months. It means he has to face that horrible truth the way we did only he has to face it in hours and weeks instead of months and years.

And without any of us there to help him.

He is not alone. Ryn was there when he was pulled through. Ryn was the one in charge of rescue efforts. Ryn has him living on the warrior compound and he, not Ryella, is overseeing his care personally.

Why -? Never mind. I don’t want to know. He glared. "I really don’t want to know. You guys were great together and I’m happy for you with Verix but I’m – sad."

"As are we all, believe me. But we are moving forward. Which brings us back to our discussion. So, he chewed you out for your decision. What else?"

I listened and didn’t really defend myself. I didn’t think it was the time or the place.

Which pissed him off royally since he saw it as you treating him as an invalid.

He gave a wry smile. You know him well.

So, you fought. Did he take a swing at you?

No, it was limited to a shouting match.

Feel better?

Yeah, I do, kind of.

And him?

Yeah. I think so.

And now?

We set a date for a visit three months from now.

"Roddy, I know you didn’t come to the Phoenix to my conference room to tell me this. What’s on your mind?"

Being in Corus’ office on Dynamic doesn’t sit well with me.

‘Because -?"

I’m not a member of the Dynamic staff.

She shrugged. That building has basically been turned into the headquarters for the Dynamic government which is associated with the Academy but independent of it. You have every right to that office. Did he suggest otherwise?

More or less but since I agree with him, I didn’t argue too much on that score.

She chewed the inside of her cheek for a moment. Did you come here to tell me you want to go back to Ladhra 2 to work on the Zana Ranch?

It was satisfying to see him redden.

No! What? No! I can’t believe -. After all that talk about loyalty -. He stomped away, came back. I can’t believe you’d ask such a thing!

Then what do you want?

He stared at her for a number of moments before answering. I want to be the liaison between the Academy and the Dynamic government. Officially.

She blew out a breath, nodded. God, it would make her life easier. She pinched the bridge of her nose before looking up at him. Are you prepared to deal with Senator Cushing?

The irritating man whose office was on the campus was a member of the political elite, a group she likened to university boosters. He was directly responsible for funding the ship they were serving on. He was also part of a group, known collectively as the Iconoclast, a group that had come close to destabilizing the fabric of time and space. But it didn't stop there.

Members were responsible for turning Light Beings into Arcs, for her kidnap and torture, and for Corus’ capture. They were also responsible for her infertility as well as that of the Light Beings in general. Although she and her team referred to the Iconoclast as a group, there was a head of that snake, and she had a pretty good idea who that was, though she was not ready or willing to share any theories at this point. There was enough chaos. The last thing she needed was someone taking matters into their own hands without understanding all the facts.

Knowing the senator’s involvement went to that philosophy. That he was still alive was a complicated necessity. She hadn’t shared the truth with many and certainly not the man before her though he probably knew. Chestin, former roommate and current member of her army had hacked every system from here to eternity. He would never sit on information like that though he did have the good sense not to discuss it – her decision to keep the sleaze alive – for now.

I think I’m fully capable of dealing with Senator Cushing, he replied, and, in that moment, she knew. He did know the truth.

No vigilante stuff. You are not authorized to seek vengeance for what happened to Corus. He is the only one who has that right. Is that clear? If it comes to that, he gets the kill. I mean it, Roddy. I can see your nostrils flaring.

You don’t see anything.

Promise me.

I can’t. I won’t do anything unless I have to. That’s the best I can do.

I accept.

Wait. That was too easy. She let out a breath as she realized the vengeance wasn’t for Corus, it was for her. Roddy, no.

Don’t ask me to pretend, Christine. Second best is never best.

Keenly aware that Roddy – hell nobody outside her father and a handful of Light Beings – well – and the real Xavier – knew the truth about her relationship with Verix, she wasn’t about to pass judgment on the fact he hurt for her because she'd lost Corus. They had been good together. She closed her eyes. Roddy -.

Don’t.

She opened her eyes, gave a slow nod. Okay. I won't pretend to know how you feel. It sucks. There are a lot of people hurting over this but the time for illusions is over.

"Illusions? I’m not kidding myself about anything, Commander! I was there when you walked onto that airfield the first time. You think I didn’t see Corus’ entire body react to you? His entire body, Christine! I’d known him years and never once had a female had that effect on him!"

Okay, so it was a once in a lifetime thing, but it was also convenient for a lot of people, including you.

What are you talking about? Love isn’t a convenience!

It didn’t escape her notice he sneered that last.

Do you think I don’t know how people – you included – were beyond puzzled at what the hell was going on? This freshman from nowhere comes in and is accepted into a highly competitive program -.

Your scores -.

"Fuck the scores and you know it! Protocol, Roddy, something Corus adhered – still adheres to! He – and everyone else in your sphere – was breaking protocol over a nobody from nowhere! You can’t begin to tell me you weren’t curious if not pissed. What the hell did I do to deserve -?"

Christine -.

"No! You listen to me, damn it! You think I didn’t feel the hostility – from you – about being accepted into the program? You resented my presence. You resented that I wasn’t committed one hundred percent – that I was taking the spot of someone who would have been – and you resented that I took Corus away from you!"

CHAPTER TWO

Chest heaving, the senior officer glared but kept his mouth shut. Probably afraid she’d kiss him into silence if he didn’t.

No one doubts -.

"Silence!! Her voice, like her eyes, was pure metal. She turned, pushed out a hand. A viscous roiling energy pushed everything on the conference table off at a speed and with a force that left a dent in the wall where a small metallic object embedded itself. Deciding the demonstration likely accomplished what hours of talking couldn’t, she went through centering exercises.

Blue eyes met green. "There is so much more to what I am – not who – what – than you or I will ever know. Would you begrudge a Light Being entry into the program?"

You know I wouldn’t, he managed, but you’re no Light Being.

No?

What are you saying?

That I don’t even have the truth, Roddy. I was told my father injected a serum into my bloodstream when I was an infant. Another dose was administered when I was two. This serum contained Light Being DNA that enabled me to traverse dimensions without suffering Time Distortion Sickness. What else it was it meant to do? She shrugged. I can tell you this. When I enrolled at the Academy? I knew nothing of it. My eyes? My voice? They never did this. That little demonstration? Never. As far as I was concerned, I was a peon from Earth - caught up in a bizarre set of circumstances - believing I had nothing to lose since my world in that other place had dissolved. Everyone I knew and loved was dead or gone. The life I was looking at – working at a real estate firm – my best friend putting his life on the line every day? The man she loved – Xavier – dead. I didn’t sign up for this, Roddy.

* * *

Roddial Zana stared at the metal ball embedded in the wall. I think you might want to get that out before the next staff meeting.

He turned, saw the slightest uncertainty pass –a cloud that was almost transparent – behind her eyes. Her pain was his, a pain they’d shared since the day Corus disappeared into a time gate. He pulled her against him, dropped his head to her hair.

Roddy, she whispered, the words disappearing into his chest.

I know, he whispered back, placing a kiss to her hair. He stepped back, drew a finger along her cheek. I love you. His eyes widened as he realized how that might sound. He made to clarify but she shook her head.

No, I get it.

She gave him a wry smile he appreciated. It told him she really did. He blew out a breath, pushed a hand through his hair, stepped over to the window. I’m so damned glad I went with my gut and took you to the officer’s club that day. Where he dangled his prestige – such as it was – in front of her and all but demanded she take him into her confidence and onto whatever team she put together.

"I want in."

She tried explaining the consequences, what it would mean to be a part of that team, but his arrogance kept him from listening, from seeing the depth of what it entailed.

Christine stared at her friend’s back. She didn’t have to be a Light Being to know his energetic field was fluctuating, his emotions driftwood in a turbulent sea.

Can you give me a little time to make your request official? It will give me time to create the position in its entirety and give you the authority you deserve, that you've definitely earned.

Still reeling from everything he’d seen and learned, he nodded. I can do that.

I’ll warn you this is likely to put a bit of distance between us in terms of Metatron’s Army."

He turned. I’m counting on it.

She cocked her head.

As I was returning from Azlaan, I was thinking how now that we’ve got Corus back, the time gates destroyed, the Council dissolved, we really do need to evolve.

We do, she agreed.

* * *

"You guys were great together and I’m happy for you with Verix but I’m – sad."

Verix. The Protector.

Christine’s stomach warmed. That was one situation where time had indeed made amends. Six weeks earlier, to be exact.

The very day she and Corus officially ended their engagement, she learned – thanks to Corus no less –Verix was the Light Being with her on Earth.

Xavier

That he was alive at all was nothing short of miraculous. Light Being physiology was such that their energetic core – what she likened to a human soul – could be put into a new body through a process known as reorganization if the one it was in ceased functioning.

Alexander, a fellow Light Being was with him when he suffered a fatal energy spike due to emotional overload. The Energy Seer had taken his body to Ryal Kinkaid, a brilliant geneticist who happened to be her biological father, in time to have his energetic core captured and put into a new body.

That she hadn’t recognized Verix as the Light Being, she’d known on Earth was a matter of happenstance. He’d been surgically altered before traveling to Earth but even had that not been the case, his reorganization meant she wouldn’t recognize him in the new body. And then there was Verix himself. He hadn’t remembered her. Not at first. It had to do with the reorganization process.

After an energetic core took root in the new body, an energetic veil was placed over it. This kept the individual from remembering a previous existence unless and until the veil disintegrated which, for Verix, happened years earlier and came out of necessity rather than natural process.

By the time the Light Being who was overseeing her studies at the elite military academy on Eol remembered their time on Earth, she was in love with another, his colleague and friend, Corus Argai.

For years Verix lived a double life, the colleague she could depend on in a firefight and the Light Being who loved her – had loved her - long before the Tactical Instructor entered the picture. And now, the path forward for the two of them was open, thanks to that phantom entity time.

Years earlier, while investigating an artificial time gate on Catana, Corus was dragged through it by an enemy being from an alternate dimension. Since only Light Beings and a few others could travel between dimensions without suffering Time Distortion Sickness – and Corus was no Light Being - his return was both wanted and dreaded. But returned he was, and - thanks to an environmental anomaly on a planet owned by allies - recovering. Under the watchful eyes of those allies. Watchful eyes that included those of a Master Healer who was in love with him, likely had been even when she was engaged to him.

It was bittersweet. In order to regain his health, he had to remain on Azlaan. In order for her to embrace the chance she had with Verix, she had to walk away from the life she knew; a life rebuilt after the previous incarnation was thrown into chaos.

That Verix – as Xavier –helped her escape that chaos should count for something, but the pain and uncertainty associated with so much loss, confusion from learning the truth - that he and Xavier were one and the same - was never far from the surface, complicating everything.

To date she’d dealt with it the way she always dealt with that which would overwhelm. Work. In this it helped that Verix was who he was, a Light Being for whom emotion was more or less the enemy. It meant he was right there with her, going through the motions and allowing things to evolve as they would.

If only it was working. He’d spent a night or two sleeping in her quarters. Or, trying to. Unused to the powerful being so close, so naked, she felt claustrophobic. Unused to having a soft body curled to his side, he spent countless hours awake, meditating and trying not to push her away. They tried sleeping on opposite sides of the bed, switched sides even,