by Corin Cain
My skin ripples with goosebumps. This is all too intense. My adrenaline is pounding harder than when I’d first been escaping the Toads – what seems like a lifetime ago, now.
There’s so much on the line right now. If we survive this, I’ve got thousands of years to spend with my triad – those three brave, gorgeous warriors who exist forever and impermeable inside my mind.
Right now, I can feel the anger and rage of these three warriors finally quenched. Those emotions are still in there – especially in Aelon – but they’re not at the overwhelming level they used to be. Now the emotions of the three Aurelian warriors have been eclipsed by a burning need for me.
Aelon expertly touches the controls, lifting the Reaver off the deck and towards the gaping loading bay doors and the vacuum of space beyond.
I grip the back of the seat as I watch through the glass of the cockpit.
My mind is racing – but one thing holds true. This ruse could work.
Just as Aelon and I misjudged the tactics of the Toads by thinking like Aurelians, I feel the Toads will misjudge us by assuming we’ll be thinking like Aurelians, too.
However, our plan uses the Toad way of fighting – using trickery and deception. Perhaps it’s less honorable, but if it keeps the miners and all of our crew safe, it’s what we’ll have to do.
Besides, if the Toads meet their comeuppance by falling foul to their own tactics, it’s fitting. Aelon told me he enjoyed using the species greed and hubris against them. This will be the ultimate demonstration of that.
“We’re ready.” It’s Garrick’s voice, transmitted from the other Reaver that will be following along behind us.
“You good, Sawoot?” I yell into the comms-link over Aelon’s shoulder.
“I’m good! Holy shit, let’s hope this works!”
Exactly what I’m thinking!
But whatever happens, my triad is with me. If one of us survives, we all survive. I trust them, and they trust me.
Aelon nudges the thrusters, and lifts the Reaver higher off the deck. It’s art, the way he pilots. Even by my own standards – and I’m a world-class pilot – his mastery of the controls is a thing of beauty. If I wasn’t attracted to him before, I would have been the moment I watched him punch this powerful vessel forward without hesitation. He clears the air-field at incredible velocity – the sort of speed that regulations would be appalled by.
Then, we’re out in space – hurtling towards our fate.
The Toads will be here any minute.
As we clear the huge doors of the loading bay, I feel what it must be like to be part of an Aurelian triad going into battle. The three men I’m sharing this cockpit with are strikingly different and yet perfectly complementary. Aelon represents cold, fearless leadership. I thought he’d be rage-filled and passionate going into battle – but while he’s not robotic, there’s nothing so treacherous as emotion to sway his decisions.
Aelon leads through example – piloting us towards danger like he’s flying to a vacation destination.
Iunia, at the first gunnery station, is calculating. His mind is quick – almost frantic – and his adrenaline is pulsating through the Bond. Yet, at the same time, his aura is focused and he’s totally dialed in. His body is pure tension, every muscle flexed as he sits stock still at the Orb-Beam. There’s no fluidity to him. He’s like a lion, waiting in the tall brush, as still as a statue as he readies himself to pounce into violence.
Vinicus, sitting opposite him, represents pure power. He’s not tense, like Iunia – but neither is he as clear-headed and cold-blooded as Aelon. He’s like a bull lead by a matador.
I relish in the deliciously different feelings of these three auras as they mentally prepare for battle. I let their being infuse me with their combined power.
Then, suddenly, all three of them wink out of my mind.
I was prepared for it, but it’s still disconcerting – like the feeling of thinking there’s one more step in a stairwell, and then losing your balance for a split second when it’s not there.
I never want to experience the absence of these three men again. In just a day, I’ve grown used to the emotion and awareness of these men, and the solitude of an empty mind is cripplingly lonely.
The HUD display is next to go, fuzzing out and going blank.
“They’re close,” says Iunia, vocalizing what we’re all thinking – because he currently can’t telepath it.
My heart pounds. I can’t hide my emotions behind a blank face, like I used to do as Captain of the Wayward Scythe. In those last moments before the Bond was suppressed, did my triad feel my aura as courageous? Or terrified?
In reality, I’m both.
But I chose to be on this ship, instead of the relative safety of The Instigator, or waiting with Theme to be shifted out if everything fell apart. Choices are more important than feelings, because they’re something you can control.
“Switching to sub-coms,” Aelon flicks switches. “Garrick, are you in range?”
“Read you loud and clear, Captain. Sub-coms functional. Comms-link and Bond disrupted. We won’t be able to call for backup.”
“I thought you were my backup.” Aelon is deadpan. His cocky mastery of this ship is on full display. If we weren’t hurtling towards a grossly superior force, I might smile.
“You’re damn right we’re your backup!” Sawoot’s voice sounds across the communicator. It’s a high tremor, vibrating with intensity. She’s had my back since day one, and there’s no one I’d rather have supporting me right now.
The Instigator grows smaller in the rear viewports of our Reaver. The Aurelian warship lumbers behind the Moon. If our mission fails, we’ve given up the element of surprise. That huge, ancient warship will be obliterated – but none of us will be around to witness Aelon’s second in command mounting a futile last stand as he buys time for the miners to escape.
I can only imagine the humans on Tarrion scurrying like ants right now, setting up stations in the jungle to hide if things go poorly during the confrontation in the skies above them.
“Start light Orb-Beam fire, forward aim,” Aelon commands. “Rhythmic – we need the Toads to know we see them coming. Otherwise, they’ll go into attack speed the instant they see us.”
Iunia and Vinicus answer by firing their Orb-Beams – lancing them forward in unison. I can’t stop staring at the beams of blue-black light as they dissipate into the emptiness of space.
The beams are darker than the emptiness of space, and yet somehow brilliant at the same time, a contradictory pulse of energy from the most powerful source in the universe.
The Beams feel hungry as I watch them, as if they’re angry they’re being wasted out into the nothingness of empty space. I get that strange feeling that the Orb powering those beams would rather be rending flesh and ripping through metal and bone than lancing the vacuum as a display of power.
The firepower into empty space was no mistake, though. Anyone witnessing it will know it’s a message.
I thought I was ready for the sight of the Toad Mothership – but the moment it appears ahead of us, my stomach lurches. I’d forgotten how big it was. Aelon’s ship is massive, but the Toad Mothership is at least three times larger.
“That’s going to look pretty when we blow it up.” Aelon’s voice is pure confidence. Instead of fear at the overwhelming size of the massive ship, he remains calm and in control. My heartbeat slows slightly because of his reassuring presence.
Iunia and Vinicus keep up the slow, steady firing. I just hope the Toads are smart enough to understand the signal, yet cautious enough to open communications instead of just sounding the attack.
“They see us.” Iunia’s voice has a thread of nervous energy beneath it. He feels the same as I do.
I take a huge breath. If I let panic grab me, I’ll hyperventilate. I’ve been in life or death situations a hundred times over, and it never gets easier, but even by my standards this is tense.
Now, we’re fac
ing the first crucial moment. If the Toad Mothership blasts forward at full speed, opening its hanger bays and letting out its full fleet, they’ve moved beyond negotiations.
The Bond flares back into my mind. It jolts me – but it’s not at full power.
I realize I can barely sense the auras of my triad. That drip of awareness is like fresh air.
Suddenly, green lights blink in the cockpit.
Iunia checks his readings. “Comms-link restored, Captain - but it’s very weak. We barely have more range than sub-coms. Incoming transmission from the Toad Mothership.”
“Accept it.”
Iunia and Vinicus stop firing their Orb-Beams. Dead silence fills the cockpit.
The holographic projection of a Toad appears. We all turn to face him at the front of the Reaver.
This is no ordinary Toad. The huge, wet creature projected into our cockpit is flanked by a pair of Bullfrogs, the big, bulky warrior elite of their race.
The Toad himself is a massive specimen adorned by jewels and gold. I can almost smell the dank, fetid stench wafting from him. I thank the Gods that the holograph is weak. His huge warts are oozing like open sores, and if the colors were any more vibrant I’d probably throw up. For the first time in my life, I curse the heightened senses of the Bond – it lets me see everything in excruciating detail.
The Toad sits upon a floating chair, his spindly legs dangly from his huge body.
“So,” he gurgles, “you see your doom coming, Captain Aelon. Hah! It won’t matter. I don’t need surprise when I have you so outnumbered.”
He knows Aelon’s name.
That’s not ideal. Aelon’s spent his last hundreds of years killing Toads. I just hope this one hasn’t lost any friends to the leader of my triad.
“You have me at a disadvantage… You know my name...” Aelon remains glib in the face of overwhelming numbers. The Toad started to smile victoriously as Aelon started his sentence – but his bulging eyes narrow as he finishes it.
The Toad harrumphs. His cheeks wobble as he blows air out of his nose.
“That is not the only advantage Meelon has on you, Aurelian! I know you have the stolen Orbs aboard your ship. Give them to me and I may let you live!”
Aelon’s gambling for our lives, and yet he’s as cold as ice.
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
Meelon stiffens, as if he wasn’t expecting that ominous answer.
“My patience grows thin, Aurelian. What do you bother me for?”
“I bother you with a deal, Meelon – and I suggest you think carefully about it. After all, would I feel so comfortable approaching your Mothership in a naked Reaver if I didn’t know I had the upper hand?”
It’s hard to read emotions on a Toad’s face, but I’m looking at Meelon with a complete focus, aided by the Bond. His lip quivers, and he draws back. “A bluff! You have nothing, Aurelian.”
“Hardly, frogspawn,” scoffs Aelon. “I’ve got twenty-six Orbs loaded up in the Reaver behind me – yeah, the one that’s outside range of your weapons. You can take those Orbs and leave – or you can see if I’ve got reinforcements lurking behind that moon, ready to trap you.”
Meelon says nothing, peering suspiciously through the projection.
Aelon smirks, and I see now why the persona he’d adopted as the infuriatingly cocky captain has served him so well. He’s implacable – the ultimate poker face.
“Your choice, frogspawn. If you want a fight, I’m not about to refuse you - but I’m hardly going to endanger The Instigator when we could solve this with a fair bargain. You shouldn’t risk your life – because, believe me, I’ll come after you personally if you do.”
Meelon’s huge tongue slips out of his mouth, lapping over his lips. My stomach lurches.
Finally, the Toad gurgles:
“Fool! You have already given me everything that I desire. I can have my assault ships pick up that Reaver in moments.”
“You send ships out before we make a deal,” Aelon warns, “and the Reaver Orb-Shifts out. You’ll get nothing – except an ugly death.”
Meelon smiles. A hideous sight. I can see deep into his maw, and I have to look away before my stomach churns. I can’t even imagine what it would feel like to see the inside of that huge mouth before he bit my head off.
…and that’s what I’ve heard they do – that the worst of the Toads eat humans alive.
Meelon snorts: “My jammer technology is strong, foolish Aurelian. That Reaver cannot shift.”
“No, it can’t – but it doesn’t need to. It’s far enough away already that you’ll have no ship that can outpace it. At my signal, that Reacher will hightail it out of here until they have enough distance to shift out.”
“An Aurelian fleeing from combat? Hah! Your species is too proud to run. I’d believe that as soon as I’d believe a bloodthirsty killer like you would make deal.”
Meelon’s jowls jiggle disgustingly.
“I know your reputation, Aelon the Merciless. You killed my brother twenty years ago!”
Fuck.
My heart sinks. I’m suddenly nauseous, and I have to stop myself from throwing up. I force the bile back down, but it swirls in my stomach, eager to rise again.
Only the steadiness of the faint auras of my triad calms me. With the comms-link restored to basic power, so too has the Bond disrupting device been cranked off a notch.
The emotions of Aelon and his battle-brothers hasn’t changed with the devastating news. Its as if they know something I don’t.
Aelon snorts: “I’ve killed a lot of Toads, frogspawn. If your brother attacked me, then I put him down with good reason.”
The Toad laughs at Aelon’s audaciousness. His huge belly rolls with his gasping mirth. “You did Meelon a favor. He stole a great deal from me.”
My nausea fades. I suddenly sense that this was all a game. Meelon wants to take the deal. I can feel it deeply. Despite the bluster he’s scared that ‘Aelon the Merciless’ has called in more forces, and he doesn’t want a fight.
But he doesn’t trust Aelon, either – and not without good reason. He knows my Aurelian’s reputation for violence.
Aelon doesn’t budge. He simply sits and waits, saying nothing – letting his offer sink in.
Eventually, Meelon takes the bait.
“Tell me, Aurelian,” he gurgles. “Why do you go from killer to negotiator? The brave Aelon the Merciless would never shy away from a fight – not even a suicidal one.”
The Toad spits the word brave like it’s a curse. Their species is greedy and fearful, a mixture that leads to a vicious cunning. Aelon cocks his head to me. I don’t need him to telepath anything to know what I have to do. I can just feel it.
I step forward, into the Toads view. His head shifts towards me instantly, and I feel his beady eyes staring at me.
“Who is this!”
“My Fated Mate,” Aelon replies. “If you’d come hunting me a week ago, you’d already be dead, frogspawn. Fortunately for you, now I have more to live for than vengeance. I’m giving you one chance – take the deal, or don’t. It’s your choice: Riches, or violence. I’m equally well-versed in providing both.”
The Toad licks his lips as he stares at me. I wish I’d had time to change into something less revealing than this thin slip of a dress. The material barely hides my body – and I hate that this disgusting creature can see me so revealed.
The Toad’s gaze is slimy, and I can almost feel the wetness emanating from him. I know he’d want to use that huge tongue on my body if he had the chance.
“All twenty-six Orbs? Just like that? You’d give up the entire shipment of Orbs rather than fight?”
Orbs grow in power exponentially with size, and the ones we’re offering him are larger than the ones that power a Reaver. It’s a huge haul, and I know this slimy bastard can’t wait to get his warty hands on them.
“All twenty-six,” Aelon nods. “I’m out, frogspawn. I’m retiring.” Then, that smile widens. �
�You a gambling man, Meelon?”
“I’ll take a winning gamble.”
“Well then, it’s your lucky day. If I hadn’t met my Fated Mate, you’d already be dead. Instead, you’re already rich – if you choose to be.”
Aelon cocks his head to me, and I step out of the Toad’s view. I instantly feel safer, but I still step closer to the reassuring bulk of Vinicus, wanting to feel his proximity. He can’t protect me against the overwhelming firepower of that Toad mothership, but the illusion of safety is all I need right now to calm down.
Aelon, meanwhile, continues his banter.
“You’d be dead, fishface. Maybe I’d be dead, too – but I can tell you now, I’d have taken you down with me. Every battle is a coin flip.”
He leans back in his seat. Fuck, Aelon is magnificent when he’s like this. Somehow, removing that burning rage and fury from him seems to have made Aelon even more fluent and irreverent. The cockiness I’d detested when I was on the receiving end of it is now entertaining, magical and sexy to watch. He uses his tongue with the same skill he uses his Orb-Blade, pilots a Reaver, or…
I shudder.
…fucks.
Even though he’s not looking at me, I see Aelon’s lips curl, and I realize he could sense my adoration of him through our muted Bond.
He continues taunting the Toad commander:
“Now, I know what you’re thinking, frogspawn. You’re thinking you can succumb to your greedy Toad nature and demand more. You’re thinking you take the deal, and then you fight me for the scraps of ore on the planet down below, and whatever else you can salvage from my ship. Think carefully if you want to flip that coin – because I know how it lands.”
The Toad commander grunts. “Each one of your Reavers has an Orb. I stand to capture over a hundred of them.”
“Yes. Hundreds of small, mid-sized Orbs from my Reavers. Hundreds of even smaller ones from our Orb-Blades – not to mention the massive one, probably half the size of the one that powers your Mothership, right there in the bowels of The Instigator.”
Aelon leans forward menacingly.
