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I feel terrible leaving Astra behind, but I know she’ll be safer back in the cellblock, especially after I’ve blocked the door controls leading into that part of the ship. Now the Genixarians can’t get to her and she can’t wander into danger in case she tries to be brave and go after me.
Me? I do what I’ve been trained for. I stalk through the ship, checking behind every door to make sure I don’t have enemies at my back. I kill a Genixarian walking down the hallway and another sleeping in his bed. I don’t take any prisoners. Show no mercy.
I find an access point to the ship’s system and use the dead guy’s hand to unlock it. After sending a short, encrypted message to my squad, I retreat into the lower levels of the ship.
The Genixarians have finally noticed that something’s amiss, and are now searching the ship in groups of four, carrying laser rifles. I’m a damned good fighter, but no one can fight off a shot from a laser rifle, so I hide.
I take out one of the scientists who’d probed my Astra and caused her to cry. The snap of his neck is quite satisfactory. His buddy, who thought it was a good idea to operate on my Myále without sedatives, is not around, but I’ll find him later. We’re going to have a little chat.
I try to dial down my violent urges. In truth, we’re supposed to be arresting these guys and bringing them back for trial. There’s no death penalty in the UGC’s legal system, so they’ll get life in prison, probably on an asteroid mining colony. Not a great life, but still better than they deserve. They touched my mate. I want them dead.
My comm lights up with incoming transmission. I duck into the nearest room, making sure I’m alone before accepting the call.
“Nova 2, this is Nova 1, over.”
Hearing the captain’s voice makes me smile. Damn, I’ve missed my squad. “This is Nova 2,” I answer. “Took you long enough to join the party, Nova 1.”
“Fuck you, Tareq,” a female voice grumbles. “Why didn’t you signal us earlier?”
I’m not about to go into details of my failed plan over the radio. There will be enough time for that later. “It’s great to hear you too, Lyriana,” I say, grinning. Lyri is the only female on our team and she’s perpetually grumpy. “I ran into issues, but they’ve been dealt with. ETA?”
“Eight minutes,” says another familiar voice. “I’m glad you’re safe, Tareq. We’ve been worried about you.”
“You know me, Faelin, I’m indestructible. Which airlock will you be breaching?”
Faelin chuckles, in a good mood as usual. He’s Lyriana’s polar opposite, always cheerful and optimistic even when everything around goes to shit. “Actually, we’re just going to land in the hangar bay. The door’s open, so we’ll take them up on the invitation.”
“Open? Where are we?”
“Orbiting over Ralax 8a,” the captain responds. “Another forbidden planet. We’re detecting a shuttle returning from the surface. Their ETA is the same as ours. You better hurry if you want to join the party.”
Do I ever! “Copy that, Nova 1. I’ll be there.”
I sprint out of my hiding spot, running straight into two Genixarians. They look to be technicians, their body suits smeared in engine sludge, their belts bristling with wrenches and other tools. They watch me in terror, the one I’ve knocked down trying to crawl away.
It would be easy to kill them. A little too easy, perhaps. My instincts scream at me to just snap their necks and be done with them, but they’re technicians. They may be on a slaver ship but they’re still just stupid mechanics.
“Do not make a sound,” I growl, quickly stripping them off their comms and all the tools. I don’t have any handcuffs at hand, so I stuff my prisoners into a tiny supply closet and smash the door controls. That should hold them.
As I close in on the hangar bay, I hear the sounds of the fight. I recognize the sound of the captain’s heavy machine gun and the high-pitched huffs of Omni’s sniper rifle. D’Aakh and Lyri are using the standard-issue laser rifles. And Faelin…
I can’t help but laugh as I hear his roar. A Genixarian screams in pain. A heavy thud later, the enemy’s cries die out in gurgles. The door opens for me just in time to see Faelin wielding his hammer, making his way between enemies like a madman, unafraid of the projectiles and laser beams flying around him.
“Tareq!” he beams at me even as he swings the hammer against a crate two Genixarians are hiding behind. One peeks out of the cover with a rifle, ready to shoot, then falls back when a laser beam hits him straight into the center of his forehead.
Faelin cheers. “Bullseye! Great job, Omni!”
“Shut the fuck up and take cover, you idiot!” Omni yells back at him. With one mighty flap of his wings, he leaps up to an overhead walkway, immediately aiming his rifle at the remaining Genixarians.
“I don’t need cover,” Faelin chuckles. “I have you.” He pats my shoulder, his toothy grin wide. “It’s good to see you, friend. I was worried when you didn’t report as planned.”
I grunt and reach for Faelin’s pistol since he’s not using it anyway. The doofus doesn’t like firearms. He likes smashing people with a hammer. “Yeah, there’s been a slight change in plans.”
“Oh, let me guess,” Lyriana snickers as she joins us, “you fucked up and got captured, didn’t you?”
She’s not wrong, but I’m not admitting it. “I was supposed to infiltrate the ship. I’m on the fucking ship. Who cares how I got here?” I reply gruffly, shooting at one of the few remaining Genixarians.
“Mhm. Totally fucked up,” Lyriana teases, grinning at me. She’s going to make fun of me for weeks, but I realize I don’t really care. I’ll be spending those weeks with Astra, anyway.
