by Corin Cain
“But remember – each of those Reavers is manned by an Aurelian triad with three-hundred years of experience in killing Toads – and who’ll use the full power of all those hundred or so Orbs against you. You don’t have the element of surprise, frogspawn. You’ll hurt us, I know. You may even kill The Instigator – but you’ll pay a heavy price for it. We don’t need to win to hurt you, badly.” Aelon’s eyes flash. “So, choose, Toad – but choose carefully, because this might be the last choice you ever make.”
Aelon’s bluffing against overwhelming odds, but the Toad doesn’t know that for certain. He has to think there could be more Aurelians lurking somewhere, hidden away. There can’t be enough to overwhelm him, or Aelon would have started the battle already – but there could be enough to make a victory worth less than the loss in his own ships and soldiers.
I have the feeling this Toad cares more about his ships than his soldiers.
“Give ten Reavers, plus Orbs, then I make deal!”
The Toad’s speaking pattern suddenly changes, becoming more guttural. The greed is twisting his words and simplifying his manner of speaking.
Ten Reavers... That’s a formidable fleet…
…but it won’t matter if Meelon has ten Reavers. Not if the explosives work.
“You need to make the deal fast. Those chemical explosives are on a timer.”
Iunia telepaths the words that put more pressure on the situation. We don’t have much time.
Come on, Aelon. Give him what he wants!
“No.”
Aelon’s voice is cold and flat. He made his offer – and he said it was his only one. If he negotiated more, he’d appear weak – so the Toads might chance an attack, or demand even more. Aelon’s rock solid in his confidence to bluff, and his arrogance through the Bond is infuriatingly reassuring.
“You are in no position to negotiate!”
“I know your hand, Meelon. Are you certain you know mine?”
The holograph of the Toad suddenly disappears. The Bond blinks out of my mind again. Red lights flash as our comms-link is cut off entirely. The auras of my triad are replaced by my own hopelessness.
Is the Toad going to attack?
Our fate is in the hands of that vile creature.
Aelon suddenly cranks the thrusters – piloting our Reaver directly towards the Toad ships. Alarms flare up.
The AI screams a warning that cuts right to my soul: “Target Lock! Target Lock! Target Lock!”
Over and over it blares – warning us that countless Toad missiles have locked onto our vessel.
“Dismiss,” Aelon snaps. The AI instantly obeys.
He might have cut out the noise, but I can still read the displays.
We’ve now come into range of the Toad Mothership. Thousands of las-cannons are aimed right at us. One word from the Toad commander and we’ll be blasted into nothingness. No one could escape the wrath of those weapons.
I want to scream at Aelon to get out of range, but he pilots us forward, veering into the storm.
“We’re in sub-coms range.” Iunia’s voice is stressed, but the nervousness is gone. We’re in battle now. The guns might not be firing, but there’s no room left for fear. Iunia’s been in hundreds of battles under Aelon’s lead and he trusts his Captain fully.
Fully, if not wisely. Iunia trusts a Captain who’s just put us in range of enough artillery to raze a city. If our plan doesn’t work, it won’t matter how well the miners on the surface of Tarrion hide. The Toads will just destroy everything, causing an inferno of fire in the jungles that will sweep the planet until nothing survives.
I grip the back of Aelon’s seat. Any moment could be my last. I look to my triad, staring at the lines of their faces, etching the details into my brain. I don’t regret boarding this Reaver with them. I might see one last blink of energy as the intense light of the Toad las-cannons power up, launching at me and sending me to meet my maker, but I made this choice.
I will live or die with my triad.
More lights suddenly blink on the panel, and for a moment I think they’re incoming missiles. In fact, it’s just a message from sub-coms. Aelon presses a button to open the communication.
It’s Meelon. “I accept your offer, Aelon.”
The Toad’s voice on the sub-coms is scratchy, but clear. Aelon successfully bluffed him. His move of entering weapons range showed so much confidence that it shook the Toad. As long as he brings those Orbs onto his ship and behind his shields and armor, it’s going to be all over for him.
If the explosives don’t detonate too soon. What did Iunia even rig them with?
“How disappointing,” Aelon scoffs. “I thought I might have one last battle. Very well. I’ll have my man drop the Orbs off into your vicinity.” Then, Aelon’s eyes narrow. “If any one of your ships passes by the drop point, it’s a declaration of war. This deal has exhausted my goodwill towards Toads. Count your lucky days that you came across me when I had more to lose than you did, because I’m still hungry for your blood, Toad.”
Before the Toad can respond, Aelon cuts the feed. He’s immensely confident in the face of the Toads, daring to provoke the species to show his strength. He doesn’t have to pretend that he’s unaffected by the Toad. I feel it in his aura.
Aelon nudges the sub-coms link.
“You hear all that, Garrick?”
“Loud and clear, Captain. Dropping payload.”
Aelon turns his ship around, backing away from the Toad Mothership. As our Reaver flies away, and the Toad weapon locks fade behind us, I feel like the pressure of the gun barrel has just been lifted from my temple.
The danger remains constant – but the dull horror of knowing your life could end in a split second – with nothing you can do about it – slowly fades away.
I watch as Garrick’s Reaver flies past us, and the doors open. The air-field blocks the emptiness of space from rushing into the cramped cockpit. I’m reminded of the ship captains of Old-Earth, who ventured into the open seas with nothing but wood protecting them from the water sluicing in. One hole could be the end of their vessels – and, to me, trusting an air-shield is the same feeling of being out in the elements.
Garrick’s triad throw out huge boxes into space. Even for the huge, muscular warriors, it takes all of their effort to lift them. Each must be filled with at least three Orbs. I’m surprised they managed to fit them all in the cargo bay of such a small ship.
I peer through the glass of the cockpit as those crates float through space. Each one contains an unbelievable fortune. Those Orbs were supposed to have made me rich.
Now, I’d just settle for alive. I don’t need money anymore – I just need my triad to be safe.
Iunia stands up, getting a better look.
“Each one of those boxes has a surprise hidden in it that can hurt him. Together, that Toad Mothership will be crippled – and if the Orbs join in, it’ll be annihilated.”
I’m confused. “The Orbs? What do you mean, join in?”
Iunia doesn’t take his eyes off Garrick’s triad as they continue unloading the Orbs.
“Orbs have a mind of their own – and that mind is hungry for killing. That’s my theory, anyway. People scoff, but I think there’s more to them than just a source of energy. I think, if they’re motivated to, those Orbs could add to the destruction.”
Orbs. There’s one powering the very Reaver we’re flying on right now – and the thought that they could be sentient makes me very uneasy. It also makes the irregularities with Orb-Shifting suddenly seem more ominous – more deliberate.
Garrick’s triad finally closes the door of the Reaver, after the last crate is flung out into space. They float there as the ship retreats.
Aelon follows. The Toad Mothership hangs back instead of moving towards the Orbs. Its hanger bays open, and it sends out a fleet of thirty assault ships.
I gasp, until Iunia places a reassuring hand on my arm.
It’s a move meant to intimidate us.
Meelon could have sent just a couple of ships to pick up the packages, but he wanted to show off his might. He wanted to demonstrate his overwhelming numbers.
Aelon, however, still hasn’t taken his eyes from the packages. They float in space, seemingly innocent and harmless.
“What did you use for explosives?” He asks.
Vinicus chuckles. “The mad chemist put together something I’ve never seen before.”
Mad chemist?
“I used an old mixture of chemicals that were used in the Galactic Wars,” Iunia explains – apparently the ‘mad chemist’ his battle-brother was referring to. “I learned how to back when we were running out of resources and had to make do. It’s a concoction so old it shouldn’t even be detectable by modern scanners.”
Shouldn’t.
That’s not the word I wanted to hear.
“It’s not as strong as conventional explosives,” Iunia continues, “but as long as Meelon brings those inside his shields and into his loading bay, there won’t be any armor to protect the Mothership. The explosion alone will damage the ship severely. If it starts a chain reaction with his weapons systems and engines, that Mothership will be crippled completely.”
If. Should. As long as…
Those are words that indicate so much can still go wrong. This plan is getting riskier by the second. I wonder if I should have trusted Aelon’s original plan of hiding on the dark side of the moon and waiting for the Toads to descend on Tarrion. Picking that fight would have been suicidal, but at least I’d know what we were going to face.
Like this, at any second, our ruse could be discovered.
Aelon turns to me. His hazel eyes are clear and confident. “Trust the plan, Tasha.”
He can’t feel my aura through the Bond – not with the Toads still blocking it – but it’s as if he can read my thoughts anyway. The certainty of his voice centers me. I’m so used to being the one in charge that it’s actually reassuring to have that responsibility taken from my shoulders.
It’s not just the riskiness of the plan that worries me, though. It’s that feeling of not being in control. It’s still so hard to accept that all I can do is wait and hope.
The Toad assault ships surround the crates cautiously, like dogs sniffing at a meal. They send out scanner drones.
I hold my breath. Every muscle in my body is tense as the scanners analyze the crates. The Bond has enhanced my sight, my vision, and my hearing, but it’s also enhanced my emotions. I can barely control my anxiety. I experience fear so raw that it makes my skin crawl.
Then, the drones grab the packages, pulling them through space toward the assault ships. The vessels open their cargo doors and take the crates inside.
Now, they just need to return to the mothership.
“Come on… Come on…” Vinicus is edgy - hungry. The Toad assault ships turn towards the Mothership. They seem to be moving in slow motion.
Aelon holds his position, waiting and demonstrating to the Toads that he’s watching to see if any of those assault ships try to pass the line in the metaphorical sand he’s drawn.
“Just test me,” Aelon breathes – making the dark promise under his breath. If it wasn’t for the heightened hearing of the Bond, I wouldn’t have caught it.
“Ten minutes to denotation,” Iunia murmurs, “I hope.”
“You hope?” I turn to Iunia nervously.
“I had only two minutes to mix up chemicals using a ten-thousand-year-old recipe. If it worked perfectly, then in nine minutes and forty-eight seconds, the reaction will be complete.”
Oh, Gods. What if the assault ships delay their return? What if the explosives don’t work?
Again, it’s as if Aelon can read my thoughts.
“Calm, Tasha. That Toad is going to be so greedy for the Orbs he’ll bring them right into his ship without question. First thing he’ll want to do is see them with his own eyes. I just wish I was there to see his expression when he realizes what we’ve done. He won’t have enough time to get them off his ship. They’ll be the last thing he sees.”
Aelon is so confident – but a minute’s delay could ruin this plan.
Tension fills the Reaver as the assault ships grow blurry. They’re entering the haze of the Toad Mothership shields. A moment later, they’re inside the immense, green ship.
Now, even if the explosives detonate early, they’ll wound the Mothership’s armor and exterior.
Wound.
Not cripple, or kill.
“Please, please, please,” I pray, hoping the Gods are listening. When I’m not in command, I don’t need to put on a front of bravery. I don’t have men and women depending on me for courage and reassurance. Instead, I can tap into Aelon’s inexhaustible well of strength.
“They’re going to dock! They’re going to dock!”
Sawoot’s shrill voice sounds through the sub-communications. It’s practically giddy. I want desperately to smack her for potentially jinxing this scheme – as if her words could affect the outcome of our plan.
The huge doors of the Mothership open. I feel awe as the assault ships dock inside. Even compared to The Instigator, that vessel is huge.
The big doors clamp shut, and I can barely believe it. Those Toads have just bypassed the walls of their armor with our Trojan Horse under their arm.
“Three minutes to denotation. It didn’t blow early. That’s good. That’s very fucking good.”
Iunia’s tense voice puts me on edge. Now all we need to do is wait.
The seconds pass by like hours. Assault ships – albeit only a small portion of the Toad fleet – buzz incessantly around the Mothership like flies around a pile of dung.
If those doors open again, we’re doomed. It will be to send out the entire assault fleet.
“Thirty seconds.”
My hands are clenched into tight balls. Aelon slowly backs the Reaver away, putting distance between us and the Mothership.
"Ten... nine... eight... seven... six... five..."
Please detonate. Please detonate...
"Four... three... two... one!"
Nothing happens.
The Mothership sits there – a huge beast, just waiting malevolently.
Then those massive loading bay doors start to open. The sub-communications light blinks.
“You fucking cunts! I’ll kill you!” Meelon screams through the sub-coms, and it’s like he’s yelling right into my ear.
His ship blasts every one of its countless las-cannons towards us.
Light beams out, blinding me as the immense firepower of the entire Mothership expends itself towards us, all in one moment. I rush forward, running to Aelon, hardly able to see anything in the blinding brightness. I grab onto his arm, feeling his sturdiness, and he turns to look at me.
His blue eyes are so, so deep.
We’re about to die – but at least the last thing I’ll see is his love. I feel it. I feel his love for me, and it calms the terror in my heart as the las-beams blast towards us.
Our Reaver whines as Aelon slams it into full power – every ounce of that fearsome Orb-Energy churning into the reverse thrusters. At the last instant, Aelon cancels all power to the engines, throwing it onto the forward shield.
He didn’t need it. The beams fade out a hundred meters in front of us. He judged the distance from the Toad Mothership perfectly.
Assault ships pour out of the Toad Mothership…
…just as it explodes into a ball of light.
Fire, wreckage, and glimmering blue-black Orb-Energy mix together – creating a supernova of screaming light and power as the Mothership explodes outward, sending a churning ribbon of energy pulsating out across the emptiness of space – brushing the assault ships aside like an angry bear swatting away flies.
Sawoot whoops in victory as our enemy explodes into that blinding light. Blue lightning arcs out from the dying ship. Just as we think it’s over, the Orbs themselves add to the explosion. I don’t know what triggered Iunia�
�s chemical explosion – what the chain reaction is, or why the normally indestructible Orbs combined with the detonation – but together, they annihilate the entire ship.
There’s nothing left.
Literally nothing – not even dust, ash or wreckage.
Instead, just twenty-six Orbs sit in space – having sent out a blinding ripple of power at the moment of explosion, and then sunk back into their swirling, sinister, serene form.
I blink. It’s like that immense, green hulk had never been there. I was expecting debris, dust, something – anything.
There’s nothing.
“Gods be damned. The Orbs deleted them from existence.”
Vinicus is in awe. I look at the twenty-six Orbs with newfound respect and fear, not quite knowing what to make of them.
Iunia’s idea that the Orbs have a mind of their own is chilling – and suddenly believable.
“There was enough firepower from my explosive, trust me.” Iunia takes the credit for the victory, and I have to hand it to him – but there was Orb-Energy in that explosion.
Still, he was the one who’d started the chain reaction. Iunia deserves credit.
Not everybody agrees.
“Well, it was my plan!” Vinicus laughs, and I can picture him downing pints of strong beer after the victory, laughing and cavorting. He was the one who came up with the idea, it’s true.
Aelon stands up from the cockpit.
As far as credit is due, it was he who deserves the lion’s share. Aelon led us bravely into battle. His unshakeable calm gave us the confidence to fight a battle against nearly impossible odds.
He looks down at me and reaches out to touch my shoulder.
“Let us give credit where it’s due. It was Tasha who came back to warn us. Without that, we’d have been annihilated.”
Aelon’s battle-brothers nod in agreement.
The Captain kneels down, until he’s eye-level with me. His now-blue eyes smolder with affection. He squeezes my hands tightly.
“Tasha – I don’t care why you left. I just care that you came back.”
Then, he kisses me – and the feeling of being alive blossoms in my mind. It’s electric.
There’s a moan that sounds like it’s coming from someone else - and then I realize it is.
