Chapter 13 Evo
Aera cries and shivers in her sleep. She’s thin like most human survivors.
The moment my filtration is complete, I climb back into my armor and close up my helmet, then I pick up a blanket and cover her.
I pack away the equipment Ribos used on me, then sit by her feet, watching the entrance of the medbay and listening to the Titan network, so I can be ready to get Aera geared up and decide which ship is safest for her to be on for the mission.
I can still taste her kiss on my lips and linger in the delicate flavor of her beautiful living body.
Even when I felt the change tighten my skin and the pigmentation alteration registered in my vision, I knew I wasn’t becoming human any more than I can become Fracture or Armor.
It is just a temporary change, something I can never be again.
But I liked it a little too much.
When Lotus calls for the meeting, I gently brace Aera’s shoulder, wishing I could let her sleep. But I don’t think she’d appreciate being left out of the mission. She made it very clear, she wants to go.
She grabs my wrist and tugs me over, rearing a fist back like she’s ready to pummel me.
“Aera!”
When she sees it’s me, Aera immediately releases me. “Sorry! Sorry. I…”
Aera sits up, opens my helmet, and kisses me.
The change begins again and, for a moment, I don’t want to stop it.
I just want to linger in this tender moment here with her, in her affection, and this feeling that I finally belong somewhere.
But Lotus’ announcement repeats, and I have to break away from Aera.
I close up my helmet and get up. “I hoped you would sleep better.”
“Does anyone sleep well anymore?” she asks with a deep breath. Aera reties her long, wavy ponytail and pats the pocket with the chip in it. “That’s just what happens when Solcrue come in and grab you in the middle of the night.”
“Did that happen to you?” I ask.
She rubs her eyes as she walks into the hallway.
“A few times. That’s the problem with being low on weapons and supplies and staff, trying to survive in the deep black.
We ventured in periodically to trade supplies on Earth Minor for intel or protection for the movement of resistance cargo when they were still on Diemos.
But just because we can’t see something out there in the dark, doesn’t mean there aren’t things there.
“Centurion’s scanners were just outdated. It took a while to upgrade them. Like everything else. Mistakes were made. Sometimes more than once. But we survived. About nine percent of us. A little less.”
Rogue and Relic Brothers join us in the hallway as we gather in the main hangar for the briefing, even though I already know what they’re going to say because I’ve heard it over the Titan network. But we have to do public meetings so the humans can learn what we know.
Toriszi stands beside Chasm and Savage, now with Commander Tarrant from Aera’s ship, who looks like he’s feeling better than when we journeyed back to the nebula.
A woman with olive skin, wearing a set of noise-cancelling earmuffs, stands in the walkway as we enter the hangar, handing out small devices. She gives one to Aera. “Hi, I’m Cara!”
Aera winces and raises her voice. “I can hear you just fine!”
Cara smiles and hands her a device, then taps her earmuff. As she speaks, I see her code load in my telepathic network.
Cara>>Local: Sorry about that. I am the half-breed that can’t join you. But I would if I could. State your name so it links you in the feed.
Aera speaks as she hooks the unit over her left ear. “ Aera.”
Unknown>>Local: Aera.
I stop listening as their conversation registers in my mind.
Cara>>Local: Now it will display your name for the Titans when you speak.
Aera>>Local: Thanks. So I can hear what’s in their heads, too?
Cara>>Local: Yes. That’s good and bad. Just don’t take any of their guy talk to heart, yeah?
Aera>>Local: It’s all good. I’m Omega Force. I’m used to it. Nice to meet you.
Cara fist-bumps Aera, and we continue into the hangar.
Aera taps her ear com and shuts it off. “Guess I better be careful that this thing is off if I want to talk dirty to you.”
A hot wave of need dumps into my body. “Why…”
Aera motions a finger of her supple mauve lips. I’m quickly at attention inside my armor, my cock straining against my belt, praying she’ll give me a taste of her dirty talk just so I know she’s serious.
I’m elated that she's flirting with me at all.
When we stop at the edge of the group that’s preparing for the mission, I wrap an arm around her and draw her backward into me so she can sense just how hard she’s made me with her little tease.
Opening my helmet, I lean down to her ear.
“I don’t know when this change started in you, but it is getting distracting. ”
Aera bites her lip and peers up at me. “A muscled Titan saved my life. I basically woke up this way. Now you’ve distracted me, and all I can think about is that huge gun digging into my ass.”
I had thought she would be freaked out by seeing me in my natural form, but it appears to have stirred up the opposite. I can’t comprehend it.
Chasm steps onto a crate. “We have fifteen minutes to get everyone on course for the cruiser.
Remember that this is not worth dying for.
If you cannot give your best on this mission, I do not want you to go.
Let someone else take your place. We are all tired.
But this way, with our new numbers, we can afford rotations and rest cycles.
“If you are not battle-ready, but you want to help, remain here with us and prep our united fleet to move out of the nebula. This mission will certainly bring more attention to us.
“We need to be ready. To everyone who goes on this mission, thank you for the risk you take, and give the enemy a hot rocket boot right up their asses!”
Ash is the first to let out a war cry. Aera and many others join in.
But I am starting to have reservations about going.
The idea of setting foot on another Solcrue vessel of such caliber makes me cringe inside.
But I pack it away and encourage Aera in line for the available, charged StarJumper suits.
She sighs as she trades out her armor for the suit upgrade and pockets her chip inside. “A little too big, again.”
“Just don’t take a hit there,” I tell her.
She thinks about it and moves the chip to a pocket by her neck. “If they take me out, they take out the chip too.”
Vandal>>Evo: Shit. Your girl is dark.
Vandal grins as he slinks by us to grab weapons from the crates.
Aera hands off her old suit to a group of Rebels that has assumed the job of armor charging and refurbishing with Diesel’s mate, Rhee, guiding them. We save everything we can.
When Aera is dressed, she confidently walks to the crates beside Vandal, takes a handgun and a rifle, stocks her belt with extra ammo, and waits while I do the same.
Vandal keeps throwing me twisted grins while he chews on a piece of wire and dances his brows suggestively.
I shake my head and ignore him as I encourage Aera to a Rebel ship at the end of the hangar.
Aera looks up at me like she’s annoyed. “You’re not letting me breach the ship. We’re going in last.”
“Yes. But we are still going. This is our compromise.” I encourage her up the ramp and to a drop slot in the main cabin just ahead of mine.
“Welcome, Rebels.” The com in my stall crackles lightly as it clicks on and off. “I am Reidar. I’ll be your pilot today. We will be dropping last because my sister, Kelta, is a jerk face and won Rock Paper Scissors.”
I lean out of my drop slot to peer up front. “Aera, what is Rock...”
She snorts a laugh. “A stupid game humans play to decide who gets something. It’s not a mission-critical detail. I think it’s a joke more for us humans.”
“Oh.”
Reidar continues. “I will circle on patrol while you clear. When I get the signal from Toriszi, who is the commander on this mission, I will meet you for pickup in the hangars.”
He powers up the ship as the last slots in the sides of the vessel fill. “This drop ship is equipped with gravity nets. Should you become lost to space during battle, please use your rocket boots to aim for the big blue balls swinging in the void, and you’ll be pulled inside.”
Reidar flips a switch in the side of the ship. “Rocket boot check.”
I tap my heels together for just a second and get a green light in my vision.
Aera closes her helmet and does the same, then holds her thumb into the aisle way.
Up and down the rows, people stick out their thumbs.
Only one slot lights up with a red light.
A soldier in StarJumper’s armor hikes up to the front to join Reidar and the copilot. There’s no time to fix his boots now.
We’re on a tight deadline to get to the Cruiser in the window of time Chasm and Savage have decided is appropriate.
Reidar hovers us out of the hangar and gets us in line for Toriszi’s portal.
It ignites and swirls with ink. Ahead of us, the ships disappear like they’re cloaked with Aegis’ technology, and I’m certain they’ve had upgrades while the rest of us were out helping Aera’s colony.
Of the crew on this ship, five are Titans like me.
Castor is three drop slots ahead of Aera.
His armor gleams with the blue swirls of his body.
Vandal, who’s in front of him, glances back at me, his green eyes blazing in the darkening ship.
He wears his typical smirk like he’s elated to be heading into battle again.
Across the aisle from us are three Relics: Banshee, RamBash, and Cobra, along with a mix of Toriszi’s Rebels. There are Titans on every ship, but I have lost Eon’s ping.
I call my twin as we near the portal.
Evo>>Eon: Are you with us, Brother?
Eon>>Evo: On Kelta’s ship. First in. We have stealth units: Menace, Morbid, Nighthawk, Savage, Wraith, and Amarok. Raven is on the second ship with a Rebel pilot. See you on the inside.