Jace and the survivors stared as Aeron got to his feet, his chest still heaving. His expression was wild as he took in the room with the wariness of a wild animal preparing to be attacked. His clawed hands opened and closed.
"You killed him," Ensign Boone said, voicing what everyone was thinking.
"Would you have preferred I let him kill you?" Aeron rumbled.
Boone shook her head. "Nope. I'm good with this outcome."
Aeron was still on edge as he fixed Jace with a look. "You’re losing this battle."
Jace flicked the blood off his sword. "I'm aware."
Winning was never the goal though.
"Simmons, Amir—check the corridor and make sure everything out there is dead," Jace ordered the ensigns who'd helped defend the bridge with him.
"They are," Aeron said with a frown.
"Let's just double check that, shall we?"
Jace wasn't a fan of surprises. Especially those that could have been prevented by simply following procedure.
"You're supposed to be in my brig," Jace informed Aeron.
"I will not meet my death while trapped in a human cage."
Whatever his reasoning, Jace was glad for the assist. He'd probably be dead by now, the bridge crew with him, if not for Aeron's timely interference.
Jace tilted his head at the dead general. "I never thought you’d be willing to kill your own kind."
The only thing he and Centcom really knew about the generals was how loyal they were to each other. They'd gone to pretty impressive lengths to avenge their own whenever one was lost in battle.
"Those who serve the Tsavitee's masters cannot be considered one of us. They're the hounds of the old regime. There’s no place for them in our future," Aeron declared, his chin arrogantly lifted.
That was an awfully hardline stance to take. Jace wasn't going to question it though. Not when things had just worked out in his favor.
"Whoa. Hold on." Velasquez focused on the scanners. "There’s a fleet of ships rapidly approaching. At least six of them."
"Where are they coming from?" Bechler demanded.
"The direction of the Lawrence."
The bridge went silent. They all knew what that meant. If the fleet was returning from that direction, the Lawrence had likely fallen.
"That's it then. We’ve lost," Bechler said.
Jace moved closer to the screen, his gaze on the approaching ships. The corners of his lips started to tilt up.
"They're not Tsavitee." Velasquez turned to look at them. "They're Tuann."
That's his girl. Always with the last minute surprises.
This was the real reason Jace hadn't wanted to abandon the fight even when things looked lost. Kira always had something up her sleeve.
He'd suspected when those Tuann broke onto his base that they might have a secondary force waiting somewhere nearby. A daughter of Roake would never be sent out without someone to watch her back.
"We're being hailed," Velasquez announced.
Jace moved forward. "Put it through."
