“My Brothers need help.” Evo circles back for the third Skysprinter. I don’t miss this time and move on to target an approaching frigate. But its shields are already down. There’s a Titan on top. Metal sprays out as the Titan bores into the ship.
“Carver,” Evo states. He looks over at another ship where a blaze of lightning zigzags through another cruiser and darkens the interior. “Firebolt.”
“Why can’t I hear you all over my ear com?” I ask.
“Because we are not using words to communicate,” Evo replies, glancing at me so I can see the flickering light in his eyes. “I see all of my Brothers fighting everywhere. My core processes and selects relevant information. Fire.”
I follow his eyes, promptly target the fighter, and take it out.
Evo races forward and banks in behind a passing destroyer. A thump on our hull makes me look up at a Titan with jagged gold lines through black armor.
“Firebolt.” Evo sways us again. Another thump. “Carver.”
He dips us and pushes the ship hard under another darkened cruiser that balloons outward, like an explosion goes off inside. A Titan punches out of the hull, careens into us, and catches Carver’s hand. His StarJumper’s suit reads Boomer.
Evo looks up at a fighter racing across the stars far above us, then rises to meet up with it, when a fourth unit, Storm, his body dark as the void and covered in smoky swirls, lands on the nose, giving me the impression he might be a tornado in humanoid form. He looks back at us with eerie slowness.
“Squad Three ready,” Evo says. I hear him in my ear com this time. “Target: Gargresk.”
I clear a path, shooting down every Skysprinter that gets in our way. An emissary’s cruiser parallels us. The Solcrue inside glare at us. I wave and smile as I tap Fire.Hi,Fuckers.
The ship jerks away, taking minor damage to an aileron.
Evo darts us over a Rebel ship and aims for the warship withGargreskon the side. “Ready to deploy.”
Storm, Firebolt, Carver, and Boomer collect on the nose, looking ready to jump.
“Aera...”
“Hang on... Got it.” I grip my harness.
Evo surges toward Gargresk and flips us ass-over-nose in a rotational orbit around the warship. As we pivot, the Titans jump. Guns fire up at us, but we’re already circling the ship,unloaded, and darting underneath, back into battle before the guns on the belly of the warship are even hot enough to fire.
The moment I can, I peel my hands from my straps and target passing cruisers, fighters, destroyers, frigates, anything that isn’t marked in blue. A green ship I target switches to blue onscreen, and I freeze.
“Talon,” Evo reports.
The fighter, covered in claw marks, launches across space and starts taking out Solcrue Skysprinters.
I know we built Titans to be superior in battle compared to humans, but being out here and seeing them in action is just proof that the Creators did what they set out to do.
Evo is completely calm even as we take a hit from the side. “Shields at ninety-two percent. Holding.” He changes a setting that dims cabin lights. “Ninety-nine percent. Picking up for warship Tharsiiren.”
I shoot down three more fighters on our way to the underside of a darkening frigate. Two Titans land on our hull and barely glance down at us as they monitor the battle. They’re both covered in shiny facets. Javelin and Spike steady themselves as Evo swerves to avoid a collision with a CSP ship.
“What the fuck are they doing out here?” I ask.
“That is Scythe.”
“I know the ship.”
“Savage and his Relic team took it with Esthielle, the CyberTech, Armor’s mate, when we were fighting our way off of Planet Ellipsis.” Evo flies us over Scythe, and a thump of metal rumbles up from our belly. Seconds later, a scaly Titan in blues and golds crawls up to watch the battle from between Javelin and Spike.
A squad of Skysprinters races toward us.
I target each one, but I’ve seen their formation before, and I know they’re going to break the moment the guns heat up.
“Evo, take us below them.”
