They all moved to look. Explosions stood out in stark relief against the backdrop of the void as the Reliance and the Lawrence started their attacks. From the planet, beams erupted from the energy cannons.
Luckily, the two ships were out of range or their hulls would have sustained heavy damage.
Dozens of smaller shapes darted out of various sections of Jace and Bechler's ships. They swarmed the much larger Tsavitee vessels, looking like tiny bees next to them.
Raider's hands clenched. "Let's not waste their efforts, Curs."
"Yes, Master Chief!" the humans intoned.
Raider nodded. "Suit up."
Maverick and Tank donned their helmets and tested their suits to ensure they were sealed as Nova jerked his chin at Graydon and the rest. "What about them? I’m not seeing any helmets."
Amila gave the human a happy smile, her eyes glittering as the scales of her synth armor crawled up her throat. The helmet it formed was impressive, made of the same protective layers as the rest of her suit.
The faceplate was the only exception with a thin black membrane that made her and the other oshota look about ten times more intimidating than they did normally.
Devon and Joule's suits weren't quite as dramatic, but they possessed a similar functionality.
"Fancy," Nova drawled. "Where can I get one of those?"
Raider slapped him on the back of the head. "Don't even think about it."
Nova made a face as he lifted his helmet and maneuvered it into place. Himoto did the same in the front of the shuttle craft as Graydon and the rest followed suit.
"Remember, boys and girls." Raider grabbed the handle strap on the ceiling, balancing as the shuttle entered the most outer layer of the planet’s atmosphere. "Keep your head on the swivel once we're down there and don't get dead."
Odin made a happy sound as the shuttle jolted. "Kira, I did it. I found him."
She yanked the wires out of her tablet, crossing the short distance to kneel in front of Kira. The Sye flipped the tablet so Kira could see.
"Look—that's him."
Kira squinted at the blinking dot, taking the tablet from Odin so she could see better.
"There was an encrypted program in the drone that I think he created so he could always track his spawn," Odin explained. "Remember how we used the spawn to find Jin on Jettie? This is the same concept only reversed."
"Can you upload that to mine and Kira's systems?" Raider asked.
Before Odin answered, the shuttle veered suddenly.
Kira grabbed Odin. Graydon doing the same for Raider.
The rest of the shuttle's occupants weren't as lucky. Nova and Maverick crashed into the side as Amila caught hold of Tank.
The Tuann fared a little better due to their ki.
"What the hell was that?" Himoto snapped.
"That's what we'd like to know," Nova snarled, picking himself up off the floor. "I thought you said no engines until we were ready to drop."
"I had no choice. We just got a target lock notification." Himoto's voice sounded strained as she took control of the ship. "You need to prepare to drop. I won't be able to hold out long."
"I thought you said shutting everything down would make us invisible to their scanners," Nova demanded.
"We must have been wrong."
"Then are we wrong about the waveboards being able to slip through their net too?" Maverick asked.
