“Any sacrifice is worth it for their command,” Esthi mutters, weapons fire echoing over her com feed. “The only difference between us is we fight for each other, not some made-up hierarchy assembled by self-important bureaucrats who just happen to have no qualms with jerking off a few engineers to get them to build some really big guns. Speaking of... Watch out for the big guns!”
Only then do I notice the hull-mounted cannons that swivel and track my ship.
Shit.“Roger. I see them.”
Pulling Evo’s orbit maneuver, I dive below the vessel, adjust my ship into a circular pattern, and target the belly shield generator. I take it out with the next missile.
The aft starboard quarter of the shield falls. As I rotate up again, I see Evo charge across the hull from a darkening engine and toward another Titan who moves like a shadow as he fights off squad after squad of Solcrue soldiers.
Another like Eon moves as a feathery cloud of darkness. I think it’s Wraith in his own battle: shooting, ducking, spinning behind cover, clearing a path, running, tackling Solcrue, and pushing their way toward the main guns at the front of the ship.
RageBurner makes a pass that takes out another engine on Aidathrin. They swerve overhead and take out a set of rail guns on the starboard side before darting away to chase a destroyer, leaving me to wreck a warship’s day in my little fighter.
Panic strikes me, but I talk myself through it.I’ve fought alone before. This ship is more capable. I need to protect Evo. Nothing else matters.
A wolf-like Titan bounds across Aidathrin’s deck, leaps onto a communications array, and tears it out with his teeth. Thirty more Titans are with them, shredding the outside of the warship and fighting off Solcrue that pour out of hatches like pissed off ants.
But as I rise again, I see the gun that had previously targeted me is now pointing down the topside of the hull. The barrels swell with green light. Dread of the impending blasts the Titans will take grips my stomach. What’s worse is that the Solcrue are going to fire on their own soldiers just to take out Titans.
That is how little they value life.
I target the guns and mash my Fire button. “Aera, Local: Incoming!”
My missile paints a bright light across the void as I pray. It smashes into the gun just as it goes off.
“Evo!”
He reaches his brother as the blast wave rips toward them.
I race by overhead and peer through the window to see them vanish beneath the green wave.
Anger and denial surge through me. “No!”
The blast fades.
Evo and Eon are gone.
In my heartbroken distraction, I nearly smash head-on into a Rebel fighter.
Shaking, I whip the controls to avoid the collision and see an opportunity to fire at the shield generator I missed earlier. It erupts in a cloud of fire and parts. But I’m too close, too blinded by emotion. Another gun glows and fires at me.
I tear the ship away in a defensive maneuver that sends me spiraling wildly into space, away from the battle.Impact Imminentwarnings flash and fade.
My fingers tremble over the controls.
“Evo...”
I wait.
“Evo, do you copy?”
Breath leaves me. I clench my teeth and swallow the ache in my throat when he doesn’t reply. Fury grows in me, steadies my hands, and gets me back on course for the warship.
“Raven, Local:Centurionhas jumped out of the system. Half of Rebel fleet is with them.AegisandBlazeStarpreparing to jump. Chasm relaying countdown. Ten...”
Aidathrin powers up the engines it has left and heads for the nebula, its forward guns cutting through Rebel ships. Solcrue are braving the clouds of Iridithatium in a desperate attempt to stop the Relics and Rogues.
“Group jump generators online,” Raven says in my ear com. “Seven... Six...”
