Hatchet and Corzin are not far away. We have made eye contact, but we are with our respective squads now.
Aura is a symbol of power and not just the electric kind. It’s clear Fieri raised him, but he had much better results with Aura than the last three years he’s had with me.
Aura stands in humble Rogue armor of the soldiers of his species and speaks with purpose as he describes attack patterns, what the soft targets are for us and them, and how we will defend the planets without losing the numbers we have in the past.
“Humans call ithide and seek, except we set traps in our paths and keep changing our location. Amphiran and Drathious forces will be the traps. We leech onto the vessels as they pass. Amps will overload power systems. Draths will overheat thrusters, regulators, whatever you can get your pyretic claws inside. We do not want to kill them all. We want to take theirships and some of them so we can begin interrogations. Our specific target isMesannok.”
Brynna hugs herself beside me and speaks quietly. “I have seen that one before. It was out past the old, desolate Denarsoan system.”
“Why were you out there?” I ask.
“A small colony of caldudin lives in the asteroid belt. They summoned me but would not come out of their shelter except to trade. I got ore for my tech printer and made my armored suits.”
“That is not safe. Please do not do that again without me.”
She barely spares me a glance as she listens intently to Aura. “Mesannokis one of twelve Empire Motherships, or so the caldudin said. They told me it circles the sun for sixty days before going on another mission. Then another sixty Denarsoan days.”
I consider the behavior. “They’re low on power or consuming too much, maybe both.”
Aura continues, “Once we have them dead in space, we need to determine what they want to see if there’s a way to assist them without risking lives.”
Eluni stops by to greet us and hand me a metal plate that she needs bent into a cylinder for a new project. So I take it, run my hands over it, heating it, and then curl the metal into a cylindrical shape.
“Doesn’t have to be perfect, just fast,” Eluni says.
I hand it back to her.
“Thanks.” Eluni touches Brynna’s shoulder with a loving look on her face, and then hustles off.
“What’s that about?” I ask my mate.
“There aren’t many of us females who do everything on our ships. We have to stick together out here.” Brynna smoothes her dark ponytail and ties it into a braid, then double-checks her armor.
I cannot lose her.
I will do anything to keep her safe.
Aura continues with fleet assignments. When the masses have departed for their ships, Aura regroups those of us who are left: Amphirans and Drathious.
“We have the more difficult task ahead of us.” He rests his hands on his hips and paces like he doesn’t really want to say what’s on his mind. “No one has ever reallyboardedactive empire vessels. We have taken them down on planets and destroyed them in space. But if we’re going to understand what we’re up against, we need to get inside. But if that’s not on your possible death wish list, then you’re welcome to step down. No one will look at you as less.”
Nobody leaves.
Brynna looks up at me. “You do what you have to. I support you.”
“I should fight with my brothers. That’s why we’re here.”
She leans into me and kisses my shoulder. “Then that’s what you do.”
I tilt toward her, kiss the top of her head, and pray to Magmium that we survive this because I have found a female who understands and accepts my heart.
Aura opens up schematics of Neb ships. “We have scanned all of the vessels we have encountered. They are extragalactic in origin. Access points are located here.”
I memorize the doors, ramps, and hatches and follow along as he points out the propulsion systems, life support, weapons systems, and shield generators. Brynna’s touch to my back beneath my wings makes me look down at her. But she isn’t paying attention to me, just the pictures of battles with Nebs and their destruction.
She holds me close as Aura designates teams. Sidius, Vryskas, Rykarn, and Osiris stand just to Brynna’s other side. Aura has kept us together, and I’m grateful.
“Any females must remain near or on a defense-designated Amphiran vessel,” Aura adds. “Denarso have been spotted working with the empire in recent months in increasing frequency. We now have auto-locking systems to isolate rooms when a Denarso are detected. Portals won’t work. But we are done playing games. No one fucks with our females or our families. If you see a Denarso, rip out his heart.
