Chapter 37
Hand on Nia’s jaw, he studied her sleeping features, memorizing them. How was he supposed to let her go?
But he had to. For both their sakes. She wasn’t safe here.
Brushing his knuckles against her cheek, his hand moved lower, stroking her arms, then hip, and spine, engraving her curves into his mind. She sighed, snuggling closer. His heart had never felt so full or so broken at the same time.
When his vambrace beeped with a summons from Admiral Krispin, he knew their time had come to an end.
He couldn’t move for the longest time, but knew if he didn’t, he never would. The inner voice screaming for him to hold tight was the same one that had shouted for him to take her on Elara Five.
Gently, he disentangled their limbs, careful not to wake her. It would only make it harder. He’d said everything he could with his mouth and body over the past few hours, taking her twice more.
He tucked the blanket around her, and kept his gaze averted as he dressed. If he didn’t, he was liable to slide in next to her and make love to her one last time. His vambrace beeped again, spurring his movements.
It wasn’t until he stood by the door, that he took another moment to stare at her. Tucked securely in his bed, she looked like she belonged there. If only he could return after retaking Orion and find her in this exact same spot.
Throat tight, he touched the control to the door and stepped outside. It slid closed, blocking his view. Clenching his jaw, he swallowed all the emotions wanting to erupt from his chest and headed toward the bridge of the Phalanx.
The door to the lift opened on deck one. The expansive bridge covered two decks, three holotables at its center. People moved in all directions. Terminals lined the outer bulkheads, systems monitored by men and women wearing techie uniforms. Repetitive beeping sounds of systems checks intermixed with voices.
Images floated above the holotables, including one of Orion, asMace headed to the briefing room on the port side: the war room. On the edge of one holotable lay the bio-weapon Cache had found on the smuggler. A team of techies examined it.
Scanning his hand, the door to the briefing room slid open, and he stepped into a long space filled with warriors. A bank of portholes lined the hull on the one side, a gray bulkhead on the other. Through the thick, oblong glass, smaller ships moved between the larger vessels of the fleet, stars glinting behind them.
Cache stood at one end of the holotable, Grey beside her. Her head jerked when she saw him, eyes narrowing but shadowed in relief.
Mace strode toward them. Commanders and sub-commanders from Orion and others from the Rebel and Phalanx conversed, the room buzzing. Mace nodded to those who acknowledged him, a few he hadn’t seen in years. Foley was there, standing beside Poole, and when their eyes met, momentary alarm swept through Mace.
If there was one person Nia needed to stay clear of, it was Foley. The urge to go over there, shoot Foley in the head to take care of the problem, made his steps falter. Not the time. They needed every person they had, even the homicidal ones, for the upcoming offensive.
Foley grinned at him, but calculation filled his eyes.
“I didn’t realize you’d returned,” Cache said with a frown when he stopped beside her. She narrowed her eyes at her vambrace.
“Or you would have already issued a formal reprimand?”
“Yes.” She tapped her vambrace, and his beeped in response.
He could take it as her being petty, but knew he deserved it. Instead of evacuating with Grey and the tyros, he’d gone after Nia. From a professional standpoint, he should regret the decision, but he didn’t. If he hadn’t gone after her, she’d be dead. His chest panged.
Cache crossed her arms, and Mace knew she had the urge to yell at him, could feel the rage pulsing from her.
“What happened to Lexi?” Grey asked, and Mace knew he would have had questions as soon as he’d received the message directly from her.
“A Guardian took her into custody.” His tight throat made the words hoarse.
Cache’s eyes softened for the briefest of moments. “We’ll find her.”
Mace gave her one nod. He would stop at nothing to see his sister safe, even if he had to take on a whole Guardian by himself. But they had to find out where they held her first.
Cache’s formidable expression returned. “Was she able to send the information on her work?”
“Yes. Everything is in the database of the Condor I arrived in.”
“I’ll get a team on it.”
“Did you pick up that shuttle she tagged?”
When Cache nodded, his heart raced. The need for blood consumed him.
“He’s in the brig.” She put a hand on his arm when he made to leave right then. “It needs to wait until after the briefing.”
He knew she was right, but the urge to take every bit of his rage out on the coward overwhelmed him. Mace clenched his fists, pressing them against the edge of the table to ground himself. Justice wasn’t going anywhere.
The briefing room door slid open, and Admiral Krispin entered. All the warriors straightened their posture. Conversations halted mid-sentence as he strode to the other end of the holotable. The admiral’s eyes surveyed everyone as they gathered on both sides.
His eyes settled on Mace for a second before he passed his hand over the surface of the table. Images of Orion and the sectors surrounding it materialized in the middle of the holotable.
Krispin spoke, voice hard. “We have only one chance to reclaim Orion and we need to move quickly. Our attack includes Captain Litka of the Rebel,” he nodded to the woman on his right, “and Captain Ionadi of the Mercenary who will be joining us in two hours.”
Good.Ionadi was a hell of a captain. Mace wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of her weapons.
Krispin touched the holotable, and an image of Orion rose at its center. The same two Guardians Mace had seen during their escape flanked the station. The CORE had cleared a larger path in the minefield, a corridor wide enough for warships to move easily. Two more Guardians protected the edge.
“These are the last updated positions we have of CORE forces defending Orion—or Obsidian Station, as they have renamed it. Two more Guardians, the Alliance and the Prestige, will be here in thirty hours.”
A rumble went through the group. Three Destroyers against four Guardians was doable. But six?
“Our siege will begin in twelve hours. Commodore Cache will be coordinating the infiltration team. Commodore…”
“Thank you, Admiral.” Cache touched the table’s surface and the minefield and the Guardians protecting it disappeared while Orion enlarged, showing the inner workings of the station. “I’ll be leading a covert team of eight to infiltrate Orion to obtain control of her command center and fly her out of the system. We have apprehended a CORE freighter stocked with Marauders. We’ll use the freighter to bypass their security and gain access to the station.” She highlighted the docking bay in Section A. “The infiltration team, led by Commander Mace, will cut a short path to the command center.”
Mace raised an eyebrow, which she ignored. He would never shirk any mission given to him, but it would have been nice to get a heads up.
Cache continued, “I’ll also have a technical team with me. We’ll gain access to the main terminal and use the emergency systems to vent the atmosphere, clearing most of the station’s defenders in one maneuver.”
Mace frowned. It was an extremely risky operation with a lot of holes.
“What of the survivors on the station, sir?” This was asked by one of the sub-commanders at the far end of the table.
Admiral Krispin answered. “From what we understand from multiple sources, when they took the station, they used extreme prejudice. We’re expecting no survivors.” Hisses and growls rumbled through the group. “Which brings us to our frontal assault. I’ll be coordinating with Captain Litka and Captain Ionadi to destroy the Guardians protecting the corridor.” He touched the panel and Orion shrank, replaced by the image of the two Guardians, the mines columned on either side. “We will begin the attack once the freighter has landed. The frontal assault will serve as a distraction and aid the infiltration unit.”
“What of the two Guardians docked to the station?” Commander Sheefra asked. Beside her, Foley stood with his arms crossed over his chest. His hard eyes assessed as he stared at the images of the Guardians.
The Admiral enlarged the image of Orion once again. “From our intel, we know the majority of their crews were deployed to the station, leaving skeleton crews aboard the docked ships. It’s unlikely the Guardians would undock and join the fight in the corridor in the time frame we’re implementing.
“However, they each have a full detail of Marauders at their disposal. That’s where our third prong comes in. Commanders Sheefra and Foley will launch Strix and lure their fighters into the minefield. Once Commodore Cache has control of the station’s systems, the technical team will be able to use the mines against the Marauders as well as the Guardians.”
“How do we know they don’t have control of the mines already, sir?” Foley asked.
The Admiral looked to Cache.
“We were able to lock key systems before evacuating,” she responded. “One of those was the remote mines. We don’t believe they were able to circumvent the override because they used a controlled detonation to create the corridor.” She paused a moment to enlarge Orion’s command center. “Once in control of the station, my team will unlock those same systems and use them against the four CORE Guardians.”
Foley was still frowning. “And how do we know they won’t use the station’s weapons against us, sir?”
“The weapons were disabled by the virus implanted by the same traitors who blew the engine cores. Even then, as a precaution, we were able to lock the CORE’s ability to access the weapons.” Cache cocked her hip to the side. “Unfortunately, we were rushed and once we gain control it will take some time to get Orion’s defenses up and running.”
“Some time, sir?” Foley asked with eyebrows raised.
Cache didn’t respond.
“Sir, what of the Marauders on the freighter? Can we use those?” Commander Sheefra asked.
“Unfortunately, no,” Cache answered. “We need the entire quantity so scans of the freighter won’t betray us. As well, we can’t exceed their crew compliment, eight in total. I have three on my technical support team. Commander Mace will have three others on the infiltration team.”
Krispin checked his vambrace, “The freighter will disembark in five hours, ten minutes. Be prepared to reclaim Orion. Dismissed.”
The group scattered, their voices punctuated with restless adrenaline. Admiral Krispin indicated he wanted to speak with both Mace and Cache. They walked through the departing warriors to the end of the table.
“Sir,” Mace said once he stopped in front of him.
“It’s good to see you Commander, even under the circumstances.” He extended his arm, and they clutched each other at the elbow briefly.
“You too, sir.” A close friend of his father’s and nearing his nineties, Krispin was war-weary. Mace knew he would much rather be with his wife, kids, and grandchildren than coordinating a high-risk offensive.
Krispin frowned at Cache. “There seem to be a few details left out of your plan. Are you prepared?”
“We will be by the time we depart, sir,” she assured him.
The Admiral narrowed his eyes at Mace, then looked to Cache. “Do not make this a suicide mission. I would be extremely irate if it turned into one.”
“Yes, sir,” they said in unison and turned to leave.
The Admiral’s voice stopped him as they made their way to the door. “Commander Mace, one more thing.” Cache paused mid-step, then continued out while Mace stood before the Admiral.