“What, none of you guys do?”
A chorus ofno’sanswered her.
“How did you guys communicate with them on the battlefield?”
“I always ignored them,” Edam replied.
“I could tell when they were mocking me by the tone of their voices, so I just cursed back at them in Common,” Nix chuckled. “It was fun to give them a dose of their medicine by shooting back whatever crazy shit I could think of. I’ve called them ‘dumb as nails’ and ‘a bunch of space rats’ and various other colorful things.”
At that moment, Jaiya wanted to smack the kid so hard. Nix was the youngest in their crew and had only gotten in because he was Edam’s younger brother. The guy was a fine pilot, but his lack of tact would get him in trouble, or worse, killed someday.
“Edam, you are in charge of making sure Nix doesn’t say anything foolish,” she announced. “I don’t need him to piss off the Daextru any more than we already have.”
“Yes, Captain.”
“That goes for the rest of you, too.” Jaiya checked her controls to make sure the transport and all of her wing’s comms were open and connected to her system. “We don’t have a foolproof backup plan if this fails.”
Her comms dinged, signaling she was being hailed. A split second later, she answered, not wanting to make them wait.
Prince Idris greeted her, with Erlyn and Ajexk positioned behind him.
A flash of worry crossed his teal eyes before they hardened into those of a man on a mission.
“What can I do for you, Jaiya Lian?” Idris asked, his voice cold as ice.
“I am here to warn your people about an imminent attack. My Rear Wing Pilot has urgent information to send you; I hope we aren’t too late,” she sighed. “I know you may not have the fondest of feelings towards me—or my people—at the moment, but I am hoping you can look past that. The fates of many of your own people’s lives are in your hands. It is up to you whether or not you are willing to trust me and allow me to help.”
“Why should I trust you?”
She flicked her gaze at Erlyn, who stared at Idris in disbelief.
“You once gave me my beamblade and asked me to show you how it was used. I could have stabbed you then, but I didn’t. If it wasn’t for your assistant’s trust in me, if he hadn’t returned my beamblade after youattackedme in the arena, I wouldn’t have had the means to save your life the very next day.”
Idris stared at her, his face devoid of any emotion, as if testing her—or deciding her fate.
“You and your team will be escorted to the hangar bay, where you will dock and undergo afullinspection. Only after you pass will we speak.”
“Thank you, Prince Idris.”
“Don’t thank me yet.”
