by E. A. James
Her smile didn’t falter. “It’s okay,” she replied. “I understand.”
“We would offer you a ride,” Alaria chimed in, “but we don’t have enough suits to get you to the ship.”
Janica nodded in her direction and shrugged.
“There are more ships coming, though,” Alaria continued. “A lot more ships. I’m sure you’ll find a way to freedom.”
“I truly hope you do,” Dario said, reaching out and taking her hand in his.
“Thank you,” she replied.
“We have to go now,” Daria said, pulling his hand back.
Janica continued to look down at him with a calm smile.
“I think she deserves more thanks than that,” Thor said.
Dario turned and shot him a dirty look. Kira laughed, and Thor shrugged.
Janica leaned forward. With the same look of annoyed anger on his face, Dario glared at Thor as he leaned in and pressed his lips quickly to her cheek. Her face flushed red and Kira couldn’t help but stifle a laugh.
“Take care of yourself, Dario,” she said, patting him on the shoulder.
And with that, she turned and walked away. Dario stood motionless for a second, watching her go. When he turned around, the angered look on his face had faded and a somewhat endearing expression had replaced it.
“She really wasn’t all that bad,” he confessed as he followed the group through the airlock.
“Does Thane have some competition?” Bron asked.
Dario didn’t honor his question with a response.
Kira smiled to herself. “Damn, it’s good to be back together again,” she said.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Sliding down into the Captain’s chair felt amazing. Kira’s entire body reacted to the feeling. Her fingers tingled as she reached for the controls; her heart raced as she initiated the engines; every nerve in her body buzzed as she felt the Curio come to life.
Leaving behind Jaantu 7 was almost as sweet.
The structure they were quickly flying away from was nothing like the ominous metal fortress that they had originally arrived at. Surrounded by ships, still raining their terror down on it from all angles, the impenetrable prison looked more like a long-forgotten space station on the brink of falling apart completely.
“We did it,” she said, turning to face Thor.
He sat in his usual spot, at her side. His eyes were fixed on the viewscreen filled with infinite space, dotted with infinite specks of light. There was a relaxed smile on his face and a look of triumph on his face.
“I never doubted that we would,” he replied.
“Me neither,” she said.
He shot her a look and she smiled in response. An easy, comfortable feeling fell between them, and for a split second, she was certain that everything going forward would be fine. She was sure that if they could face that, they could face anything.
Then, that moment was ruptured by the sound of the intercom crackling to life.
“We know you are harboring fugitives,” a thick, heavy voice filled the flight deck. “You have three seconds to change course and return them to BanCor authorities.”
“Three seconds?” Kira replied. “That’s not enough time to change course. Do you know how hard it is to get these old ships to turn around? I’ll need at least five.”
The voice on the other end of the intercom did not find her observation amusing. The only response she got was a simple, “you’ve been warned.”
The second the intercom connection dropped, the rear viewscreen filled with a ball of orange and yellow. Kira threw the controls forward, her body reacting instinctively. The feeling was familiar and warm and comfortable.
The ship dove just as the ball of flame went soaring past.
“Try the new cannons,” Bron’s voice came over the intercom.
“Copy,” Thor replied, reaching for his controls quickly.
Another explosion rang out behind them; the sirens wailed, and Kira’s entire body surged with adrenaline.
“No,” she said, pulling up on the controls this time. “We won’t shoot at them.”
“They’re shooting at us!” Thor replied emphatically.
“We just helped stage a criminally organized assault on the galaxy’s largest prison,” she reminded him. “We’re in enough shit as it is. I can already hear the lecture Artanis has prepared for us. The last thing we need is to be accused of firing on BanCor officials during our escape.”
Thor crossed his arms over his chest and slumped back in his chair. “You’re right,” he admitted.
“Alaria,” Kira said, speaking into the ship-wide intercom. “When can we reach FTL?”
“Soon,” Alaria replied. “Give me a few minutes.”
“I’ll give you one,” Kira replied.
The sirens continued to cry out.
She scanned the screens around her. There were four ships behind them, all of them gaining on them, all of them brandishing torpedo launchers and turret guns.
“Are you sure I can’t fire just one little cannon in their direction?” Thor asked, eyeing the screens as well.
“Not yet,” Kira said, urging the Curio to gain as much speed as possible.
The four ships behind her all fired at them simultaneously. The second she saw the streams of light blazing through the sky behind them, she pulled up on the controls. The Curio rose, and the projectiles skirted along the bottom of the ship.
The sound of metal grating against metal filled the air and the entire ship shuddered against the slight impact.
“Watch it!” Bron’s voice came over the intercom again. “We just repaired the hull and shields!”
“And aren’t you glad we did?” Alaria’s voice bounced in the background. “There’s no way the ship would have withstood a grazing like that before.”
Kira ignored them. She continued to urge the ship forward. The four ships following behind them now closing the gap at an alarming speed. When they split into two groups, Kira knew exactly what they were planning to do.
Two flew to her left; two flew to her right.
Their turret guns swiveled around, pointed directly at the Curio.
“Hold on,” Kira warned, throwing the controls forward before the four BanCor ships were even locked in on their position.
The Curio dove, and a string of shots zipped by overhead. Two of the ships were hit by their own group’s fire. Their shields were good, though, and the blasts seemed to have little to no effect on them.
They dove right along behind her.
Kira leveled out the Curio quickly; her eyes drifting over to the FTL gage. It was at ninety percent. Again, the ships behind her dropped their torpedoes into position.
“Fine,” she mumbled, looking over at Thor. “Shoot, but only the torpedoes. Don’t hit the ships.”
His eyes lit up excitedly as he reached for his controls. “I make no promises,” he replied.
His hands clutched the controls as his eyes fixed on the rear-camera screens. The sirens around them began to wail with more zeal as balls of flame ignited below the ships. The projectiles flew in their direction at a surprising speed.
Thor squeezed the release trigger just as the torpedoes reached the half-way mark between the Curio and BanCor police.
“Dive!” he ordered.
But, Kira was already doing so. The BanCor police behind them pulled up as they dove down, a ball of explosive fire rippling out between them. Leveling out the Curio quickly, Kira threw the controls forward again, using the force of the blast to propel them along.
“You’re good to go, Captain,” Alaria informed her. “FTL is online.”
“Just in time,” Kira replied, initiating the ship’s Faster Than Light capabilities.
The ship lurched forward, jolting a little at first, and then sliding smoothly into the high-speed jump through space. Kira’s hands remained on the controls until she was certain that the BanCor police didn’t follow them.
“How did that fee
l?” Thor asked, turning to face her.
“Amazing,” she replied, turning to face him with a genuine smile. “I didn’t realize how much I missed that.”
“Want to renegotiate our bet?” he asked.
She wrinkled her nose. “Our bet?”
“About how long you would survive a simple life. I’m still holding strong at two weeks.”
She rolled her eyes and programmed in the ship’s autopilot. “I could go longer than two weeks,” she replied.
“I doubt it,” he said. “You don’t see what I see from over here.”
She looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
“The look on your face when you settle into that chair, it’s like you’re a little kid. Your eyes dance and a smile crosses your face that’s different than any smile you wear in any other situation. It’s like you’re completely you when you’re sitting there.”
“You know, you’re supposed to be watching the screens, not me. Some co-pilot you are.”
Another smile exchanged between them brought that feeling of security bubbling back up inside her, although it was a little less forceful this time.
“Holy hell!” Aldo exclaimed, bursting into the flight deck.
Again, the feeling evaporated.
“You can fly, Captain,” he said.
“Fly!” Kardok exclaimed, following him inside.
Kira shrugged. “That was nothing,” she said.
Aldo walked up behind them, his eyes fixed on the screen in front of them. “It was impressive to me,” he said.
“It’s because you haven’t seen her actually fly this thing,” Thor said, shooting her a grin. “She’ll scare the pants right off you if you give her the chance.”
Aldo’s nose twitched as he chuckled absently.
“I never thought I’d see this again,” he said listlessly. “Space—wide open space. I really do owe you all a lot for getting me out of there.”
“I thought you were expecting us to be the ones thanking you,” Thor reminded him.
“We all contributed to that break-out,” Kira said.
“We’ll call it even, then,” Aldo said, smiling down at them.
The air in the flight deck was peaceful. They all wanted to enjoy it; they all wanted to embrace their freedom. Their differences were in the past; they had left them behind in the prison, and that's where they would stay.
“Okay,” Thor agreed.
“Oh, how sweet. We’re all finally starting to get along,” Kira said. “Just in time to save the Galaxy.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Walking into Artanis’ office never felt so good. Even with the disgruntled look on his face and the familiar tense posture he always seemed to have when she was coming back from a mission, Kira was glad to see her former Commanding Officer.
“Admiral,” she said, walking up to the desk slowly. “I’m happy to report that we were successful in our mission.”
He looked at her, his eyes tired but a hint of a smile on his face.
“I’m glad you’re back, Captain,” he replied. “Even though, I will say I had expected you to return in a more discreet fashion.”
She winced back, expecting the lecture.
“Organizing a criminal assault on Jaantu 7 was not what I had in mind at all. Although, I don’t know why I expected anything else from you, Kira,” Artanis continued. “The prison was almost completely destroyed and many of the criminals housed there escaped. BanCor is going crazy trying to round them all up, but once they do, they have no idea where they will put them.”
“To be fair,” Aldo said, stepping forward, “the criminal assault was my idea.”
“Aldo Firax,” Artanis said, shifting his gaze toward the Rengar fugitive. “Now, somehow that doesn’t surprise me. From what I’ve heard, you have a long history of getting yourself into trouble.”
“And surprisingly, it wasn’t my background that got me thrown into Jaantu 7,” Aldo replied. “It was Grimm, who actually hired me because of that colorful background.”
“Colorful!” Kardok exclaimed.
“And this must be Kardok,” Artanis said, shifting his gaze to the large green Arkadian clapping his hands together happily.
“Kardok!” Kardok yelled.
“As I was saying,” Aldo continued. “It was me that sent out the call to action.”
“That doesn’t change the fact that it was Kira’s crew that took up the role as leaders of the criminal revolution.”
“I also did that,” Aldo admitted.
Artanis shook his head and rubbed his eyes gently with his hands. Letting out a soft sigh, he looked around the room at the eight faces surrounding him.
“You all make quite a team, you know that,” he said, pushing himself up. “And I’m sure I’ll end up with a bald spot from all the stress you will cause me working together. But, I know this is what is best for the Galaxy. Aldo Firax and Kardok, you are both officially granted immunity. Your charges will be dropped and you will be brought on as mercenaries for hire, working with the T.A.F. to stop Grimm and his coup. You will work alongside Captain Winter and her crew. Your ship will be returned to you, and you will be rewarded for your service, once everything is said and done.
“All I ask from the eight of you is that you attempt to keep the destruction down to a minimal. Although, I’m afraid I may be asking too much.”
“As long as you know that,” Kira said with a grin.
Aldo and Kardok exchanged excited glances, the thought of their freedom bringing an instant smile to both of their faces.
“This is all under one condition,” Artanis added quickly. “The whole reason we staged this mission was that we were under the impression that you both could provide us with information on Grimm’s location.”
“As long as he’s still holed up in the same place he was a few years back, it won’t be a problem,” Aldo said.
“Good,” Artanis said, reaching for the tablet sitting on the table between them.
Just as his fingers brushed it, the device came to life. Out of it spilled an image that made Kira’s blood run cold. Artanis took a quick step back, his eyes going wide. Thor stepped forward, taking hold of Kira’s shoulders. Everyone else in the room stood frozen.
“Greetings, fools,” Grimm’s voice filled the room.
His dark, dead stare peered out at them from the holographic image. His face filled the screen, making his presence feel almost real and very powerful.
“I have given you warnings; I have given you time. I have given you my patience. Well, today, that patience is up. I told you what would happen if you didn’t surrender the remaining T.A.F. forces to me.”
Grimm took a step back and the image hovering in the room became one of a station, or a ship, or a laboratory. What it was wasn’t important, though. What mattered were the screens Grimm was now directing his obliged audience’s attention toward.
“Just remember,” he said as he lifted up a small black device, “you had the chance to prevent this.”
And with that, his finger gently compressed a small red button on the device in his hand.
Kira wanted to look away, but she couldn’t. Her eyes were glued to the image; her breath was caught in her throat.
The screens behind Grimm remained unchanged for a second—a long, seemingly endless second that passed slowly and then all at once. It started with a small dot that began to grow on the center screen. The light expanded out, growing brighter and brighter until it filled the screen-covered wall behind the coup leader.
And then, darkness.
Kira gasped.
Thor tightened his hold on her.
The darkness seemed infinite and unyielding at first. But then it did yield. A ripple of orange, red, white, and yellow spilled out of the dot in the center. Kira had never seen the blackness of space pushed back with such force before.
“That,” Grimm said, stepping back in front of the screen, “was not a test; that was not a simulation. That was a star goin
g supernova. And if you try to stop me, dear T.A.F. officials, Admiral Artanis, Captain Winter…”
The second her name slid past his lips, Kira felt her heart leap up into her throat and her skin turned to waves of goosebumps.
“… the next star to endure the power of my Divarium fueled weapon will be a little closer to home. The Sun, perhaps. Perhaps, not. Go ahead and test me if you dare. Just remember, you can stop all of this anytime you wish. With one simple word: surrender!”
