He hums a note of amusement. “But it’s fun when we fight together. I have missed taking on your skills, brother. Do you not miss being invisible?”
“I like being solid when I’m flying a ship.” I wiggle my gloved fingers over the controls.
“Fair enough.” Eon leans back and chuckles in a way I have not heard in a long time. My memories of life before becoming Titan are few. But somehow, I know the sound of his laugh. The memory is blended with a hoppy flavor, neon lights, small darts, and the light thump of metal planting in cork board.
“I wish this could last,” he says. “This peace, this sense of relief I feel. But I know it won’t. War is coming. And there’s nothing we can do to stop it. I don’t know how we’re going to prevent a repeat of last time. We fought with everything. I am just…tired of fighting.”
So am I. “Navi, Craze’s mate, reminded me recently that many of us have been on the inside, seen Solcrue ships. That is something we did not have before.”
“Ihaveencountered interesting pieces among the wreckage.” Eon tilts his head and crosses his arms. “You make an interesting point. Perhaps, it is time we had a meeting with the anajas, see what they know. I’m certain the Solcrue officers they served let a few details slip now and then.”
“Relics have mentioned it. Celeste, Chaos’ mate, has already helped.”
Eon looks at his wristband. “My mate is calling. Jackknife needs my assistance with a repair. Flashbomb still has not learned self-control. Capsule is busy patching a leak in a sealscreen. It sounds like we’re going to have to disconnect Ravenger because the systems are just not compatible. The Mother AI onAegiskeeps blocking the vessel. So our meeting is postponed.”
Eon gets up. “I will fly myself toAegis. Unless you want to join.”
“I would like to process in peace if that is acceptable.”
He gives me a slow nod. “It is. Just do not getlostin the space in your core. Perhaps defragging of your drives would be beneficial.”
“Are you sure you don’t want a ride?” I ask.
“After two years of surviving in space, I don’t need ships anymore. Especially now that I have rocket boots. I’ll be back soon, brother. You’re onto something. We need to explore everything everyone knows.”
The flashing indicator on my screen makes me call back to him as he steps into the airlock.
Evo>>Eon: There is a solar storm coming our way. It will pass very close to the nebula. We may encounter some turbulence. Please relay to the fleet.
Eon clicks twice over our com feed. He got my message. Moments later, he’s gone.
I track him, racing back to the mothership, his boots registering as tiny specks of heat in the abyss. Relief from seeing him is brief.
The storm is in my sights now, along with a blip of something synthetically powered. I bank back to the edge of the nebula and zoom in on the anomaly.
What the hell is that?
Scanners sort out a broken emergency signal. I piece the words together, replaying them as I correlate the message with known ships and run the call through voice recognition programs.
Someone is out there, caught in the storm.
Solcrue are crazy enough to conceal themselves in such a manner, but their tactics have never been so isolated. They prefer numbers, smash and grabs, andannihilatingtheir opposition. It could be CSP, but they don’t typically risk their own hides for vengeance. Only human Rebels ever dare to face such danger when they are desperate.
Something pulls on my chest like a hot thread woven deep into my ultromotor. I look down at my digibadge built into the left breast of my armored suit. It lights up even though I have switched it off. I did not command it on, nor wish it.
“Please…Anyone.”
My voice assessment program runs.
Voice Assessment Complete: Human in distress.
Voice ID: Sergeant Aera Nereus, Omega Force StarJumper.
Omega Force?I didn’t think there were any left.
Critical Relations: Daughter of Inventor and Omega Force StarJumper Scranton Nereus, and CyberGuard Mother Leeta Nereus.
A Creator’s descendant is in trouble.
