Chapter 21
I want to get this war over with so I can get back to focusing on my mate. She has dressed in a suit of gray armor that she says is for her space repairs. It has minimal thrusters, no weapons, but solid shields. So I tolerate it. I would prefer her in a more battle-worthy suit.
Aura has gathered forces on Gravion, which has become a battleship since we liberated it three years ago. The civilians are now on his homeworld, building more ships for the Orillium orbs that reside in its mountains. They are capable in battle.
I hope we have enough.
We convene as a mass in a cargo hangar: Thorians, Draths, Amphirans, Mindor, Earthlings, and more. Nebulous fleets approach us from two sides. They have troop transports, frigates, cruisers, and fighters in great numbers.
Hatchet and Corzin are not far away. We have made eye contact, but we are with our respective squads now.
Aura is a symbol of power and not just the electric kind. It’s clear Fieri raised him, but he had much better results with Aura than the last three years he’s had with me.
Aura stands in humble Rogue armor of the soldiers of his species and speaks with purpose as he describes attack patterns, what the soft targets are for us and them, and how we will defend the planets without losing the numbers we have in the past.
“Humans call it hide and seek, except we set traps in our paths and keep changing our location. Amphiran and Drathious forces will be the traps. We leech onto the vessels as they pass. Amps will overload power systems. Draths will overheat thrusters, regulators, whatever you can get your pyretic claws inside. We do not want to kill them all. We want to take their ships and some of them so we can begin interrogations. Our specific target is Mesannok.”
Brynna hugs herself beside me and speaks quietly. “I have seen that one before. It was out past the old, desolate Denarsoan system.”
“Why were you out there?” I ask.
“A small colony of caldudin lives in the asteroid belt. They summoned me but would not come out of their shelter except to trade. I got ore for my tech printer and made my armored suits.”
“That is not safe. Please do not do that again without me.”
She barely spares me a glance as she listens intently to Aura. “Mesannok is one of twelve Empire Motherships, or so the caldudin said. They told me it circles the sun for sixty days before going on another mission. Then another sixty Denarsoan days.”
I consider the behavior. “They’re low on power or consuming too much, maybe both.”
Aura continues, “Once we have them dead in space, we need to determine what they want to see if there’s a way to assist them without risking lives.”
Eluni stops by to greet us and hand me a metal plate that she needs bent into a cylinder for a new project. So I take it, run my hands over it, heating it, and then curl the metal into a cylindrical shape.
“Doesn’t have to be perfect, just fast,” Eluni says.
I hand it back to her.
“Thanks.” Eluni touches Brynna’s shoulder with a loving look on her face, and then hustles off.
“What’s that about?” I ask my mate.
“There aren’t many of us females who do everything on our ships. We have to stick together out here.” Brynna smoothes her dark ponytail and ties it into a braid, then double-checks her armor.
I cannot lose her.
I will do anything to keep her safe.
Aura continues with fleet assignments. When the masses have departed for their ships, Aura regroups those of us who are left: Amphirans and Drathious.
“We have the more difficult task ahead of us.” He rests his hands on his hips and paces like he doesn’t really want to say what’s on his mind.
“No one has ever really boarded active empire vessels. We have taken them down on planets and destroyed them in space. But if we’re going to understand what we’re up against, we need to get inside.
But if that’s not on your possible death wish list, then you’re welcome to step down. No one will look at you as less.”
Nobody leaves.
Brynna looks up at me. “You do what you have to. I support you.”
“I should fight with my brothers. That’s why we’re here.”
She leans into me and kisses my shoulder. “Then that’s what you do.”
I tilt toward her, kiss the top of her head, and pray to Magmium that we survive this because I have found a female who understands and accepts my heart.
Aura opens up schematics of Neb ships. “We have scanned all of the vessels we have encountered. They are extragalactic in origin. Access points are located here.”
I memorize the doors, ramps, and hatches and follow along as he points out the propulsion systems, life support, weapons systems, and shield generators.
Brynna’s touch to my back beneath my wings makes me look down at her.
But she isn’t paying attention to me, just the pictures of battles with Nebs and their destruction.
She holds me close as Aura designates teams. Sidius, Vryskas, Rykarn, and Osiris stand just to Brynna’s other side. Aura has kept us together, and I’m grateful.
“Any females must remain near or on a defense-designated Amphiran vessel,” Aura adds.
“Denarso have been spotted working with the empire in recent months in increasing frequency. We now have auto-locking systems to isolate rooms when a Denarso are detected. Portals won’t work.
But we are done playing games. No one fucks with our females or our families.
If you see a Denarso, rip out his heart.
“In the words of my good friend, Sa’Tai, ‘Fight well. Love hard. Make peace.’ Let’s get this done.
We want Mesannok in our custody tonight and the Nebs retreating to their galaxy.
Keep Mindor and Alpha Prime safe, and we might just get what we need to finally begin to win instead of always playing defense. ”
A human in inky Amphiran space armor lets out a guttural yell, “Huah!”
Amphirans in the cargo bay, hundreds of them, give a resounding huah in response that echoes with power along the metal hangar walls. When the man tilts and kisses Eluni on the cheek, I’m certain it’s her mate and Jovie’s friend, Talros, who served on Terran forces, years before I did.
Aura gets down from the crate he’s on and half-jogs, half-walks over to us. “Jorusk, my fiery brother!”
He hugs me firmly and pats my back. “Watched what I could of the race.”
Aura steps back and grins down at Brynna. “I was impressed the first time I saw your agricultural ship. But now I know you can take the heat, too.”
“Yes, sir.” Brynna still hasn’t let go of me.
Aura hangs his head. “But I would like you to stay here with Eluni and the other females. I cannot bear the idea of a possibly pregnant female dying in battle. Without a way to test, I must ask that…”
“It’s okay,” Brynna says. “I know. I comply.”
He sighs. “Thank you. Now where is that damned gruntpa when you need him?”
“Right here,” Fieri growls from behind us. “Blaize, too.”
A familiar Amphiran with a beard grins at me. “Jorusk. You’ve started many fires since we last worked together.”
“Yeah, he has,” Brynna mutters. She cranes up and kisses my chin. “Come back to me.”
Then she slaps my ass and hurries off to where Eluni waves and the females group up.
Sidius punches Fieri in the shoulder. “Cinuska asked if you were still fuming.”
He scowls at my brother. “I am always fuming. What does that female want?”
I glance back at him with a waggle of my brows. “I told you.”
He squirms and looks away. “We are not compatible.”
Aura chuckles. “I beg to differ. But we all have to get through this first. Your transport is landing now. They will take you to your drop site. You’re going to be offline, your backup pod in stasis.
“Stalk, leach, breach,” Sidius says. “Got it.”
A passing Thorian female in a star suit with a fur draped over a shoulder growls in lust and gives Fieri a once-over.
His brows knit as he looks over at her, then refocuses on the group. We’re all staring at him. “What?”
Blaize snorts a laugh. “Yeah, what the fuck, man?”
“I don’t know! Did you draw on my armor again, Blaize?” Fieri spins around, trying to check his back plate as our transport lowers the ramp.
I smear the symbol with my hand. “Down to mate.”
“Oh, you have to be kidding me!” Fieri chases Blaze onto the transport. “Come here, you little fucker!”
Aura walks with the rest of my team to the ramp. “I will be with Squad Twenty-Five, out by Alpha Prime. Call if you need anything. I will help where I can.”
“Same goes for you, brother.” I extend a fist. “And thank you again for DIA and…”
“Don’t mention it." Aura grins. “I was right to trust you years ago. Call us even.”
I watch as he walks off, kisses Jovie goodbye, and then hikes into a different transport. Beside her is Zariah, in a high-tech armored suit, the kind I wish Brynna had. Zariah’s mate, Elix, the one with green skin and the serum that saved Brynna’s life, nuzzles Zariah’s face and hustles after Aura.
We are families being separated by the reckless needs of others. Sky and her Mindor, Corzin, and Hatchet and Quinn are out here too. And I fear for all of them. For all of us.
I hike after my team into the transport and the small pod that will house us at our drop point. It’s a tight fit. We are just one seed of chaos among many in the belly.
“Com check,” Fieri growls. He refuses to even look at Blaize, as we put our ear coms in and verbally confirm our link.
“Ooh, he is mad at you,” Rykarn mutters to Blaize.
Blaize’s green eyes light up. “Usually. If he isn’t, that’s when I worry.”
There are weapons in the small vessel, and I take a rifle and three extra magazines. We sit in a circle around the holographic schematic table beneath the weapons rack that closes into the ceiling.