by Tim Marquitz
Galforin stared at her as if trying to see inside her mind. She met his eyes with a steely gaze, willing him to believe her every word.
It was a bluff. Taj no more willing to blow up the planet than Galforin was, but she had to convince him. She had to make him think she would do exactly that.
“Do you think your fleet’s far enough away to avoid the planetary explosion, Admiral?” she pushed. “I don’t think it is, even with that Gate up there. You’d have to get back to it first. Not much time.”
Galforin said nothing.
Taj motioned off-camera, although there was no one there. “Light it up,” she ordered, forcing every ounce of conviction she could manage into her voice .
“Damn you, Furlorian,” the admiral snarled. “Stay your hand. I’ll order my troops back. Don’t do anything rash.”
“It’s not me who’ll be doing it, Galforin, but you,” she countered. “Call your people off now or I’ll set Krawlas ablaze.”
She glanced at Dent, and the AI placed his hand on the wall. Galforin gave the order and returned his glare to Taj. She heard the command relayed behind him.
After a few tense moments, Dent nodded and gave her a thumbs-up.
Taj growled at the admiral, “Don’t do anything stupid like that again.”
The AI cut the link, and Taj groaned, slumping to the floor.
“That was close,” she mumbled, rubbing her temples.
“He’ll find another way to get at us,” Dent told her. “I can’t monitor much of the area under the outpost. We got lucky finding this, Jak’s guy leading us to it.”
She nodded. “Speaking of Jak, I think it’s time we had a talk with him.”
He’d run off after learning of the Wyyvans tunneling their way and said nothing to Taj or her people, made no effort to warn them.
That didn’t sit well with Taj.
She’d believed things were settled when she offered to give the rebels a way off the planet in exchange for their help one last time.
Apparently, she had been wrong.
She hoped they weren’t doing something stupid that would compromise all their lives.
As bad as she felt about how things had worked out, she couldn’t let that happen. There was too much at stake.
Chapter Sixteen
“I thought we had an agreement,” Taj said to Jak once she found him and his people.
He stiffened at hearing her speak, and Rat’s eyes narrowed as she looked at them.
“What does she mean, Jak?” Rat asked.
“Stay out of it, Rat,” Malcolm warned. “This isn’t your place.”
“Not my place?” she shouted back. “Are you serious? How the hell is it not my place? I’m right here with you, aren’t I?”
Jak raised a hand for her and Malcolm to stop arguing and met Taj’s eyes.
“The Wyyvans are digging their way into the tunnels,” he explained. “There’s no more time to plot and plan. If we’re going to get out of here, it has to be now. We can’t wait.”
“So even though we gave you a way out, you were just gonna leave and not even tell us that the enemy was about to break down the walls?” Taj asked.
“You put us in the situation,” Malcolm growled, “so don’t expect us to get you out of it. Our loyalty is to our own.”
Rat glared at him, still looking around. “Wait, you knew the Wyyvans were coming into the outpost and you didn’t warn anyone?”
“Our people know, and we’re getting out of here,” Jak stated.
“You didn’t tell me,” Rat complained.
Malcolm shrugged. “Seems like you switched sides the moment that cat impressed you, girl. We’d have given you the chance to decide, but it wouldn’t make any sense to say anything if you’d just run and tell them, now would it?”
Rat growled and shook her head. “Is this what we’ve become? Cowards who run away at the slightest threat?”
“This isn’t some small threat, Rat,” Jak told her. “The Wyyvan are going to crush us in here, storming the outpost from the inside and out.”
“That’s not the case,” Taj explained. “We’ve warned them off.”
“And we’re just supposed to take your word for it?” Malcolm said, dragging the last out into a hiss.
“I’m not saying he’s going to hold off forever, no, but we know why he hasn’t just assaulted us from space,” she answered. “We’re sitting in a planet-sized bomb of Toradium-42.”
Jak’s eyes went wide as saucers.
“Even more reason for us to get out of here,” Malcolm stated. “That just makes it easier for him to kill us.”
“He’s not willing to risk his stash,” Taj reasoned. “That’s why we’re still here, and why he hasn’t used his fleet to bombard us. If he blows the outpost, he loses the planet and all the Toradium-42 it has to offer.”
“How’s that keep him from storming us to take it back?” Jak asked.
“I…uh…threatened to detonate it,” Taj admitted.
“You what?” Malcolm shrieked. “You’re insane!”
“I don’t actually plan to do it,” she told him. “I just needed Galforin to believe I would in order to buy us more time.”
“You’re as dangerous as the lizards.” Malcolm shook his head. “We’ll take our chances running.”
“You’d be a fool,” Dent stated. “Outside the outpost, you are an easy target—one that doesn’t require restraint by the Wyyvans. They can come at you with everything they have.”
“They’ll have to find us first,” Malcolm countered. “Loose groups out in the open desert? They won’t even know we’re out there.”
“Except that their fleet is within scanner range, and they still have fighters in the air, which have been circling the area since we took over the outpost. You will be found, and you will be killed, and there’s nothing we can do to help you,” Dent went on.
“You’d be making a mistake running now,” Taj warned. “While we certainly can’t guarantee your safety, we can give you a fighting chance and get you into a destroyer that you can use to defend yourselves.”
“And all we have to do is put targets on our backs while you formulate some wild plan that’s supposed to save the day?” Malcolm challenged.
“How is that any different from what you’re suggesting?” Rat asked. “Either way, we’re risking our lives running. One way gives us a chance to get off-planet, while the other leaves us here hoping the Furlorians win,” she argued. “Because if they don’t, it’ll just be a matter of time before the lizards come looking for us, to kill or enslave us again.”
“We can get you and your people out of here, Jak,” Taj reasoned, talking to Jak instead of the irrational Malcolm. Her best chance lay in convincing Jak that she and her crew were the best options for the rebels’ safety. If they ran now, Taj wasn’t sure she could save them or her people.
Their survival hinged on one another.
“So, you want us to sit on a bomb until you deem it’s the right time to go?” Malcolm went on. “This is a mistake, Jak.”
“Maybe,” the rebel leader admitted.
Malcolm scoffed. “You aren’t taking any of this seriously, are you?”
“We’re in danger no matter what we do,” Jak told him. “Having a destroyer at least puts us in a position where we get to determine our own fate. How long do you think we can realistically survive in the desert, Malcolm? Especially if the Wyyvans win?”
“As long as we need to,” he spat.
“You’re being unreasonable,” Jak said. “We’ve survived this long because the lizards didn’t give enough of a damn to keep track of our numbers. They didn’t know we were out here, but now they do. There won’t be any hiding and skulking in the tunnels anymore.”
“So, we’re just supposed to let these people dictate how we go out?” Malcolm shouted.
“It’s not that simple,” Jak argued.
“It really is, Jak,” Malcolm shot back. He gestured to the Furlorians.
“These are the people the lizards want, not us.”
“What are you suggesting, Malcolm?” Rat asked, inching forward and sneering at him. “That we turn them over to the lizards and cut a deal?”
There was the barest of pauses before Malcolm answered, and Taj realized that if the opportunity presented itself, that was exactly what the male would do.
“I’m not saying that,” he replied. “I’m simply stating that the lizards are focused on the cats right now. We’re not who they want. They don’t even give a damn about us,” he explained. “If we make a break for it, the Wyyvans will focus on them, not us. We can get out of here.”
“You keep missing the bigger picture, Malcolm,” Rat argued.
“And that fact that you need a young girl to point it out makes me question your faculties,” Dent added.
Malcolm snarled at the AI, “You just want us to play nice, so you can use us as bait so you can get away.”
“I’m not going to lie,” Taj told him, whiskers flicking with irritation, “we need your help to get out of this situation. We can’t do what we need to do without sufficient bodies on those shuttles, but we’re not hanging you out to be killed. We’re taking a calculated risk that we can get you aboard a ship and get you out of here while accomplishing our own goals at the same time.”
“Bait,” Malcolm spat in response.
“We’re all at risk,” Taj countered. “Whether we like it or not, and regardless of whose fault it is, we’re in this together now. If you run, you’re gonna die. Then we die shortly after. It’s as simple as that.”
Dent stiffened, and Taj glanced at him with a questioning look. “What is it?”
“The Gate is powering up, and the Wyyvan fleet is advancing again,” he reported. “They’re bringing their troop carriers into play, positioning them to give them cover so they can reach the planet and defend the Gate at the same time.”
It’d happened sooner than she’d expected, but she had known Galforin would be cowed for only a short time. Because of that, she needed to advance everything and hope it worked.
Taj tapped Dent on the arm and nodded, letting him know to move forward with what they’d planned.
“How convenient,” Malcolm accused. “Of course they’ve chosen to push forward while you’re pitching your idea. It helps you pressure us.”
Dent raised his arm and activated his view screen, showing both Malcolm and Jak the view from the Decimator. The enemy fleet moved forward as the AI had reported.
“How do we know this is real?” Malcolm asked, unwilling to believe anything.
Taj groaned. There was no way she was going to convince the male that she had all of their best interests in mind, not just her own.
But the push of the Wyyvan fleet was actually a good thing from a tactical point of view. She just needed to make the rebels understand that.
“Look, Jak,” she started. “We have contingencies in place, one moving ahead right now, which should help turn the tide in our favor, or at least be a good distraction, but it’s not gonna do any of us any good if we’re sitting here arguing about all this. We need to be united, then once we’re back in space, you and your people can do as you will and leave us behind if you want.”
Malcolm shook his head. He wasn’t budging.
Jak was another matter.
He stared at Taj, and she could see the faintest glimmer of hope and uncertainty in his eyes. He wanted to believe, wanted to trust her and let her help lead his people out of their enslavement, but Malcolm was a strong presence.
She suspected he’d been the one to get inside Jak’s head earlier, convincing him not to let the crew know the Wyyvans were coming.
Taj pushed, hoping to sway Jak.
“Threatening to blow up the Toradium-42 cache was a bluff to buy time, that’s all. I’m not homicidal or suicidal. I want us all to get out of here safe and sound,” Taj explained. “We knew it wouldn’t give us much, but Galforin flinched. That’s given us an opportunity to get some of our assets into play. The admiral moving his pieces across the board only helps our cause. You have to believe that.”
“I don’t see how it can,” Jak argued, still unsure. “They’re going to land more troops on the planet. We don’t stand a chance against the force that’s already here, let alone one that’s a hundred times its size.”
“That’s why we want you on those shuttles,” she argued. “It helps us both, but we only have a few more minutes before the moment of truth is upon us. If we’re not in place and ready to get your people out of here, all of our opportunities are gonna evaporate. We’ll be stuck here, ready to be overwhelmed.”
“I won’t do it.” Malcolm snarled. “This is a mistake, Jak. They’re using us.”
“Shut the hell up!” Rat shrieked, punching Malcolm in the chest and sending him stumbling backward. He toppled to a knee, staring up at the young female with wide, surprised eyes. “If you want to stay here and die, that’s on you, but you don’t get to decide for the rest of us. I’m in.”
Rat glanced at the gathered rebels and received numerous nods and mumbled encouragements.
Jak scanned his people and gave in with a nod. “We’ll do it,” he said in a quiet voice. There was still uncertainty there, but he’d made the right choice.
“Then get your people to the tunnel leading to the shuttles,” Taj told him, wasting no more time.
“You heard her, people!” Rat called. “Get to those damn shuttles. Now!”
A few of the rebels cast furtive glances at Malcolm, who was still on his knees, but no one hesitated. All of them ran in the direction of the tunnel that led out of the outpost and to the shuttles Taj had had Dent prepare.
Jak helped Malcolm to his feet, and the older male snarled at Rat. Taj stepped between the two and shook her head.
“Decision time, Malcolm,” she told him. “In or out, but we can’t sit here waiting for you. If you’re not on one of the shuttles when they need to leave, you’re getting left behind.”
“He’ll be on it,” Rat spoke for him.
She grabbed his arm and dragged him off. He glared at the girl, but he went without fighting her. Taj watched them leave to make sure he didn’t do anything.
“You need to go too,” Taj told Jak. “Your people will need you.”
He nodded, although he still appeared reluctant.
They didn’t have time to wait, though.
Taj and Dent started off and Jak found his motivation, joining them. As they made their way quickly toward the tunnel, the AI held up his screen so they could all see it.
Like before, it had a view from the Decimator, and they could all see the enemy fleet advancing. Then there were two streaks of silver that hurtled toward the troop carriers.
“There are the shuttles,” Dent reported.
Although Taj knew what was coming, she found herself holding her breath in anticipation. A lot rode on all the pieces falling into place at the right time, and these were the first.
The shuttles shot forward, and it was clear that the Wyyvan fleet was prepared for them. Weapons fire shifted from the Furlorian armada to the shuttles without hesitation, bursts of energy streaking toward the craft.
To their credit, the shuttles were ready. The two ships pivoted and dodged, pulling off maneuvers that would have been impossible had there been living, breathing crew members aboard.
The shuttles spun in tight circles and made jarring turns, racing toward the troop carriers with their explosive load of Toradium-42 that Dent had had the bots put in while the shuttles were grounded.
Given how prevalent the mineral was on Krawlas and how close beneath the surface, the bots had been able to create their own mini-mining operation out of sight of the enemy, digging up a large quantity of the material.
It’d been how they’d exploded the other shuttles earlier, and the bots had been working non-stop to load other shuttles as well, preparing for this exact moment.
“Get the shuttles up and moving,
” Taj told the AI. Dent nodded, sending the message to the automated vessels.
The Wyyvans lashed out with everything they had at the approaching shuttles, and despite Dent’s frantic efforts to keep them from harm as he steered them toward their targets, the onslaught was simply too much.
The first of the shuttles exploded, a brilliant flare of whiteness blurring the screen for a moment. Then, as the flash retreated, Taj caught sight of the second shuttle being shot down.
Like the other, its load of Toradium-42 made the explosion much larger than one would expect of such a craft.
But the Wyyvans had gotten to them early.
Jak sighed when he realized the shuttles had failed to get to a distance where they were a threat to the enemy fleet.
The destroyed shuttles flared out and died, and the enemy fleet and its troop carriers remained unharmed.
Jak stumbled as if the weight of the shuttles’ failure had fallen onto his shoulders, but Taj grabbed his arm and kept him moving.
“The real plan has yet to be revealed,” Taj told him, grinning all the while.
Jak’s eyes focused on the screen as the trio reached the end of the tunnel. The gathering of shuttles tasked to take the rebels to the fleet above had mostly begun to liftoff, only one still remaining firmly on the ground.
The view on the screen shifted, and Taj spied the other two shuttles she’d sent circling around the planet earlier.
The Furlorian armada opened up on the Wyyvan fleet with everything they had, adding to the distraction. Taj swallowed hard as she watched the two shuttles creep closer.
It wasn’t until they were nearly in place that the sole destroyer protecting the temporary Gate realized they were there. The ship spun around, unleashing its full arsenal upon the shuttles.
Taj grinned when they did. “Shoot first, ask questions later.”
The shuttles darted toward the Gate as they were gunned down.
But it was too late.
Packed to the absolute limit of their open space, the two shuttles carried far more Toradium-42 than any of the other shuttles had. As a result, even the destruction of the shuttles far from the Gate wouldn’t stop them from carrying out their deadly mission.
