Chapter 21 #2
As our transport leaves Gravion to begin drop-offs, Fieri starts up the holographic display so we can monitor the approaching ships.
“Thorians have food. Their world grows it well, so we’re certain they’re going to raid these cellars first.” He taps a few locations on the planet’s surface.
“We’re taking down these ships by Mindor.
So if you’re on board, this is likely where you’re going to end up if you are unsuccessful. But you will be successful.”
“What do they want with Mindor?” Osiris asks.
“Have you ever seen a female Neb?” Fieri asks.
Osiris bears the Drathious mark of vengeance under each eye in black war paint that’s Inferno reactive, and the look suits him. “Well, no. But I just thought they kept them hidden.”
Fieri sits back like he’s totally comfortable with flying head-on into battle.
“It’s possible. They do seem to breed like rodents.
But Mindor does not have much in the way of ore, tech, food, or medicine.
They are still rather primal in their ways.
So my theory is that they are valued for their females.
Nebs and Mindor have similar body structure, teeth, and short fur. They are likely compatible.”
Our drop site appears, and the transport ejects us into space above Mindor.
“Any other concerns or questions?” Fieri asks as the pod’s autopilot mode parks us where we’re supposed to be, then cuts engines.
I check on my crew. Osiris nervously bounces a knee, clutching the rifle between his hands.
Rykarn chews on something as he looks out at the stars like they are his death sentence.
Vryskas swipes over the schematic again, while Sidius studies all of them like he’s trying to memorize their faces one last time.
I rest a hand on Sidius’ shoulder. The pained look he gives me says he doesn’t want to do this, but he won’t abandon the team. We’ve all lost brothers. Of the fifty-three orphans Cinuska raised, we are all that remain. The five of us.
“Can’t believe you gave up a week of partying to be here,” Blaize says to me.
I look over at him. “My family comes first.”
“What about Brynna?” Rykarn asks.
“She was as demanding as him.” Fieri closes his helmet. “Light ‘em up.”
Blaize closes his helmet. Green schematics illuminate on his visor, like Fieri’s.
“Burn them down,” Sidius growls.
I take one last breath of air and unfold my mask over my face. I will survive on my Inferno’s energy until I can access oxygen again. Sidius and my brothers close up their masks, too.
We climb out into frigid space. Blaize darkens the ship, and we split into two crews. Fieri takes one, and Blaize takes the other. I am with Blaize, Osiris, and Vryskas. Fieri has Rykarn and Sidius. Mesannok is our target, but we get whatever ships we get.
Blaize ignites his suit and drifts out into space. Osiris, Vryskas, and I ignite our wings and follow Blaize into the emptiness to get into position.
I already miss the heat of Brynna against me. Icy fingers of frost crawl over my mask as I ease out among the stars. Within a few minutes, we’re spread out in space like a treacherous mine field: silent, dark, and waiting to wreck the Nebs’ plans.
For many long minutes, we wait. I scan the distant void all around us, searching for signs of ships.
We get the tone over our ear coms.
“Here they come,” Fieri says in my ear.
I twist to see the fleet headed for Mindor as they cut their hyperdrive engines with pale blue-white flashes. There are hundreds of vessels.
There are not nearly enough of us.
“Fieri…” I say. “We’re going to have to split up.”
“I know. I know.” He says it like he’s frustrated and thinking hard. “Calculating.”
Blaize drifts just below me, eyes glowing green. “I can take seven or eight. I’ve been practicing in this Hellion suit with Aura. Ten if the situation permits.”
“MONA says twelve, or they’ll make it through,” Fieri replies.
Osiris swears. “How the hell are we supposed to wreck that many ships?”
“We’ll figure it out,” Vryskas says.
“Or die trying.” Rykarn rumbles a low note. “But I’d love to torch a neb ship as my final flight. Send me to Magmium on the wings of revenge.”
The first ship breaks into our orbit. It slips through our loose cluster like a lazy, unaware snake, hunting for its first meal of the day.
I see Fieri’s green eyes as he crawls over the vessel.
He’s claimed one, but he’s waiting. Vryskas snags the next.
He clings to a rear aileron near the dorsal thrusters. Osiris catches the third.
Watching my friends risk everything fills me with desperation that threatens to make my Inferno break cover.
Shut up. Hold on. We’ll get our chance. But not yet. We have to be smart, or we’ll never get to see Brynna again.
Only when I think about my fated, now truly mine, do I manage to wrangle my Inferno into submission.
A ship cruises over my head. It’s the size of a frigate and bears the guns of one.
I reach up and give just enough of a flare of lightless heat off my wings to nudge me within range.
I snag a crease in the hull near a shield generator and feel it tug on my hand.
Folding my wings up, I look back at Sidius and see him get picked up by another vessel.
I crawl over the hull, keeping my eyes open for sensor arrays and gun and hatch movement. Slipping myself over the propulsion housing, I pry a panel free, find the power supply system, and wait for the signal.
A single beep comes over my ear. Seconds later, two tones. When I get the three-beep pattern, I tear out the cords. Sparks fly around me. The ship I’m on falls dark. Propulsion cuts out.
I kick free of the ship and drift out into space again. The first wave of vessels hovers like a belt of metal asteroids far out of reach of Mindor’s gravity.
The five-beat pattern signals a reset for the next wave. I am far from my brothers now and want to fly back to where we are together again. But I close my eyes and think of Brynna.
Stay alive. Get back to her.
The next wave of ships maneuvers carefully around those of their dead-in-space brethren. But they fall for the same trick. I climb over another vessel, a cargo transport this time. I rip out the propulsion power harness, savor the heat of the sparks, think of Brynna, and kick free into space.
When the Nebs send another wave in the same way, I start to wonder if they have any tactic other than overrunning their enemy with numbers. We aren’t necessarily killing them unless they’re too dumb to fix their power, and life support gives out.
By the seventh wave, we’ve filled space with dead ships, and I’m starting to think we should stop. Mesannok looms closer, keeping its biggest ships tight against it like a wall of protection.
“This isn’t right,” someone finally says, breaking com silence. “I can see them inside. They’re dying. We’re mass murdering Nebs, and they’re not even trying to fix their ships.”
“On our way,” Eluni’s voice cuts in.
Minutes later, a fleet of Orillium charges through the solar system, releasing green blasts that coat the ships we’ve darkened, encasing them.
They fly through with a speed that startles even me.
They’re in and out before I can count them all.
They trail green light as their hyperdrives launch them for Thorian space.
“Why are you saving them?” someone screeches. “They deserve to die! They’ve killed millions of us.”
“We know next to nothing about them,” Aura calmly replies. “They were non-combative. The next wave, however… Shields up!”
I look out at the approaching vessels and see guns illuminate. “Shit!”
Missiles streak across the stars, turning them into a grid of death. I break cover and race back toward my team, my wings streaming fire. Osiris’ speed isn’t like the others. He is furthest back in our flight. The deadly wave of Nebulous ammo is quickly gaining on him.
“I’m maxed out.” Osiris sounds broken.
I give in to my Inferno, let him take over, and feel the heat crawl over the surface of my skin. We can’t let him die. I can’t lose more brothers.
I’m almost to him. Missile fire flares just ahead of me. Come on.
“Jorusk!” Fieri calls to me. “Get out of there!”
I smash into Osiris and charge toward the pod. But before we can get to it, it bursts into flames and a pop of metal fragments.
I dart us around the blaze and call Fieri. “You’re going to have to team up!”
Osiris swears over his com, but he latches onto Fieri’s back when I drop him off. We aren’t winning with our cover blown. It’s time someone takes out the vessels that are the biggest threat. No more fighters.
I want the biggest one.
I jet out into space to confront the remaining fleet.
“Where are you going?” Osiris calls after me.
“Where no one else can.” I dodge the missile fire, draw the rifle from my back, and pinpoint the fuel supply system on the next closest ship.
I fire, sending sparks up from the panel, eating a hole in it.
I burn through an entire magazine of rounds, but the carrier sprays blue-white fuel into space.
One lick of a flame from my wings and the fuel catches fire, setting off a catastrophic explosion that takes out three nearby vessels.
I look back at the blaze and grin. That’s what we need.
The fighters, frigates, and carriers ahead of my position turn their firepower on me.
It’s a satisfying thrill, darting through the onslaught to the next ship and destroying another fuel system.
Five more ships go down with it. The blast launches me harder toward a destroyer.
But this time, my rifle is empty, and the propulsion system of the vessel is buried further into the ship. I can’t access it from the outside.
Eager to find a way to stop the assault, I dive between the blazing bullets and land on the destroyer.
Guns swivel and turn toward me, spraying fire in my direction.
I’m not eager to test my immortality, but the more rounds they blow on me is fewer they have to use on my brothers.
So I sprint across the deck, my lightly magnetic boots keeping me attached to their hull.
A green Orillium missile bashes into the weapons shield of a neighboring carrier, spraying out in sparkling fractal patterns. Seconds later, the entire fleet begins smoking.
The empire has upgraded their shields and masking techniques. But they still don’t have an effective compartmentalization system to prevent full ship detonation when they take a devastating hit. I’ve seen that much already.
Bullets cut through my path ahead. I drop and slide along the smoking hull toward the propulsion system and skid to a stop in the access chamber.
The thrusters of this destroyer are bigger than DIA.
They vibrate with the force of Gravion engines.
I can’t do much on a system of such magnitude except disrupt the cooling system.
I fold my wings back and crawl over the hull to the metal pipelines that keep the engines from overheating the power generation systems. Tearing several coolant lines free, I launch myself into space. The engines redden like they’re overheating as I sink deeper behind enemy lines.
While I look back to check on the developing catastrophe, I notice the battle around Alpha Prime. It sparks and flashes with rapid weapons exchanges. Mesannok has turned away from Mindor and is headed for them.
My com feed fills with reported movements of squads and changing targets. Orillium, Drathious Pyralites, StarEmbers, Earthen fighters, and a few other ships unfamiliar to me fight back. Gravion isn’t visible, but I can still hear them on my com feed.
The vessel I’ve left blows an engine that sets off a chain reaction, taking out another ship, then another.
Cheers erupt over my ear com.
Brynna is safe. Let’s keep it that way.
But as I turn to charge the next ship, an icy missile bashes into me. The frigid gel coats me, knocks my fire out, and freezes my wings in place behind my back. Ice coats my mask, sucking the heat out of me. My Inferno shudders and dies inside me. The lack of oxygen becomes suffocating.
Panic strangles my cry for help. Dizziness grips me, and I drift aimlessly into the dark abyss.
This isn’t how I wanted to die.
I just pray Magmium can find a way to reach through this battle and carry me home. If I can’t have Brynna, at least let me wait there for her. I hope she takes her time.
But I cannot feel the pull of the motherland. I do not sense her spark in my soul. The poison is too strong this time.
Magmium… Where are you?