The Commanders' Mate

by Grace Goodwin

  “I accept your claim, warriors.” I didn’t know how she knew the words to say, but she did, perhaps from hearing them in the Brides Program testing dream. No matter how she knew what to say, I took the words into me. Felt them. Savored them.

  “Then we claim you in the rite of naming. You are mine and I shall kill any other warrior who dares to touch you.”

  The group of witnesses—no, fuck that—the entire battlegroup said in unison, “May the gods witness and protect you.”

  The sound reverberated off the walls, came from every comm station and communicator. Somewhere along the way, the scene had been broadcast to the entire ship.

  One glance at Chloe Phan and I knew who to blame… and who to thank. Not one crew member or civilian in this battlegroup would doubt my devotion to Erica now.

  I closed the collar about her neck, the bond complete. Her collar changed from deep black to warm brown. She gasped, her fingers going to the collar.

  I felt her then. Felt every part of her being. And now she felt me. Knew the truth about me, how weak I truly was, how terrified of losing the battleship, of leading my people into death. She knew exactly how badly I needed her, and how unworthy I was of her love.

  There was no going back. She knew it all.

  12

  Erica, Battleship Karter, Shuttle Dock 4

  * * *

  Kaed’s hand was in mine as he led me toward the shuttle that would take us to safety. A group of civilians and non-essential personnel would be joining us. His touch was different, his bearing, even the way he walked. He was in commander mode, the part of him his people needed right now. I understood the difference.

  And now I understood part of the reason my mate had tried to deny me his collar.

  He had a stone-cold exterior with molten lava on the inside. Makaed Karter was a silent storm, his emotions more powerful than I ever could have imagined. Pride in his people. Honor and humility at being trusted to lead them. Fear that he would let them down. Self-loathing for what he perceived as his own weakness, at his need for something to have for himself.

  His need for me.

  Ronan approached and I let Kaed go long enough to wrap my arms around my second and kiss him. “Come back to me, Ronan.”

  “I will, mate.” The sincerity of his vow, and the depth of his commitment to me came through the collars like a blast of cool wind, wiping Kaed’s need from my mind—and his.

  I kissed my second, because I could, because I wanted to let loose my love for these two stubborn warriors at least once before he marched—or flew off—into danger. They both felt it, as they were meant to. Their combined desire and love blasted through me until I could barely stand.

  God, if this was what they felt like in the middle of chaos in a shuttle bay, what was it going to be like when we were alone? Naked?

  Ronan groaned and broke the kiss. “Mate, you give me another reason to return.” He smiled.

  I smiled back. “What’s that?”

  “I will have you naked and screaming my name, female.”

  He’d known my thoughts. The collars!

  I stepped back, my hand slipping from his slowly until just our fingers touched. Then, nothing. “I’m going to hold you to that promise, mate.”

  Kaed’s arm wrapped around my waist and he pulled my back to his chest. Mine again. For now. “Return to us Ronan. We’ll be waiting.”

  Ronan gave a small salute and walked toward what looked like a super-cool black fighter jet. Except there were no jet engines. And it was a triangle. And black.

  Nope. Didn’t really look like a jet at all, except for the guns and missiles mounted under the wings. Rows and rows of similar fighter ships, all with pilots scrambling to get inside and go hunting for the Hive were waiting to take flight.

  “Shall we, Erica? We need to evacuate with the others.”

  I nodded and allowed my mate to lead me toward the shuttlecraft as another fighter lifted off the floor of the launch bay and shot off into space like a silent rocket. I stared at the fighter as it grew smaller and smaller, until it was the size of a star. That pilot was flying toward Chloe’s skateboard constellation.

  The thought made me smile.

  And stop dead in my tracks. “Kaed?”

  “Yes, mate? What’s wrong?”

  For a split second, I wondered how he knew I was upset, but then I realized that for the first time since we’d placed the collars around our necks, my emotion was stronger than his. He sensed it. “There is something out there.”

  Ronan appeared two steps ahead of us, as if I’d summoned him. “What’s wrong? I felt you, Erica. What is it?”

  Kaed looked out the giant view of the stars offered by the invisible energy barrier that kept the air inside the flight deck, but allowed the fighters and cargo shuttles to pass through. How it worked, I had no idea. “I don’t see anything. What do you see? Where is it?”

  I pulled Kaed down so that his face was next to mine, our cheeks touching, and raised my hand to point at the skateboard constellation Chloe had invented—and its three large wheels. “There. Do you see the line of stars that looks like a skateboard?”

  “A what?” Ronan had his cheek pressed to the opposite side of my face, looking.

  “A skateboard.”

  They both drew a blank, and I saw Chloe walking toward a fighter. “Chloe!” I screamed her name at the top of my lungs, but she didn’t hear me. My mates jumped back, startled by my shout.

  I turned to my mates. “I need Chloe. Or we need to go somewhere you have star maps and a telescope.”

  Both of my mates bellowed for Commander Phan and she heard them, loud and clear. No doubt, so did half of the ship.

  She jogged over, a frown on her face. “What is it?”

  All three of them looked at me. I turned Chloe around and pointed over her shoulder. “You see the skateboard?”

  “Yes.” She’d found it, named it, claimed it. I was relieved that she remembered. Not everyone was as star crazy as I was.

  “How many wheels does it have?”

  “Two—oh, shit. Three. Something’s out there. Something big.” She whirled and tapped the button for her comms. “I.C.C. – this is Commander Chloe Phan. The Karter has visual on a Hive attack vessel. Preparing to engage. Download all starboard visual data surrounding Beta Cluster 7-9-5-5. Analyze for anomalies.”

  When she was done, I stared in shock. “Beta Cluster 7-9-5-5?”

  She grinned. “Skateboard is a cooler name, but the Prillons don’t get really creative, nor do they know what a skateboard is.”

  My mates were both transfixed, staring out into the stars.

  “Fuck. I see it,” Ronan said, turning to look at me. “It has to be huge. How did you know it was there? No one has seen it until now.”

  I shrugged. “On Earth I was an astronomer. It’s what I do, I watch the stars. They’re familiar to me, until they aren’t. Like this thing in Beta Cluster… whatever.”

  His shocked fascination blended with Kaed’s rage at the immediate threat to his people. It was his turn to tap his comm. “Bard, this is Karter. Hive sighted starboard. Beta Cluster 7-9-5-5. Attack imminent. Sound the alarms. I want everyone off this ship. Evasive maneuvers. Reroute the evacuation vessels to new coordinates. Send the fighters out to intercept and buy them some time.”

  “Yes, Commander. Confirmed. We have a visual.”

  “Transmit visuals to I.C. and Prillon Prime. Broadcast to the incoming battlegroups. They need to know what to look for. This might not be the only one.”

  “Copy, Commander. Battle alarms in three.”

  The link went dead, but two seconds later the entire ship vibrated as an alarm rumbled through the air. Not a high-pitched screech, like I’d been expecting. More like what I imagined an Atlan beast might sound like when it roared on the battlefield.

  Ronan grabbed me, kissed me hard. “We have much to learn about you.” He took off running toward his fighter. I made sure to fill my entire being
with love so he would feel it and come back to me.

  Chloe gave me a quick hug. “Just like finding the Death Star in Star Wars, huh?”

  I thought of the movie and the huge evil space ship that had blown Alderaan to bits.

  I couldn’t answer because she was already halfway to her own ship. She was going to be in the heart of this battle, and her mates were going to have to deal with that, just like I had to watch Ronan walk away.

  Next to me, Commander Karter was a pool of calm, the layer of ice he’d placed over his emotions calming me as well. “You amaze me constantly, mate. Come. It’s time to get you off this ship.”

  I didn’t argue, not one bit.

  Ronan, Stealth Fighter Prototype HS-7, I.C. Defense Special Issue

  * * *

  I was halfway to the Hive weapon ship, flying solo. I didn’t have time to wait for the rest of the fighter teams to catch up. I needed to be up close and personal, gathering intel on that stealth ship and its weapons before the actual fighting started. “Going ghost, Karter. I’m going to disappear from your sensors in three… two… one… ghost.”

  “Confirmed. No hits on sensors. Stealth mode engaged. Good luck, Commander.”

  I was going to need all the luck I could get.

  Fifteen silent minutes later, I flew directly at the ship that I assumed was responsible for the destruction of the Hyrad Battlegroup. Nine thousand lives lost. The Varsten. Thirty of the toughest warriors I knew, friends, dead, along with one of the most respected battle commanders in the fleet.

  And now the Hive was hunting the Karter and her crew. My mate and my new people. I hadn’t had a home for five long years. Longer, if I was being honest with myself. Erica and Kaed were my family now. Even so far from them, I could still feel the fierce pride and deep love Karter had for Erica as his mate, and for me—as his best friend and brother in all but blood. Erica’s pure, fearless love had poured through me like fire washing away the cobwebs and filth from my soul. I’d never felt anything so powerful, so pure. So fucking courageous. Love like that was dangerous. All in. Live or die. Dangerous.

  Her courage shamed me as nothing else ever had or would. She dared to love us, despite our flaws, and we’d been stupid enough to think we were the strong ones in this mating.

  We were weaklings compared to her fierce spirit. I’d do anything to protect her. Anything at all. Like flying right for a Hive super-weapon.

  Reaching for the controls, I deployed the decoy communication buoys behind me. Seven of them. They would bounce the quantum communication signal directly from my ship, around the Hive sensors and back to the battleship. Unless the Hive were scanning every single light frequency, they wouldn’t be able to hear or see me.

  Being in the I.C. had a few perks, and one of them was this ship. Fitted with the latest in stealth technology, I could go anywhere undetected.

  It worked. I knew it worked, because we’d stolen the technology from the enemy. My fighter ship had been reverse engineered from Hive technology we’d recovered on The Colony moon.

  Another reason I wanted to meet the human female, Gwen, and thank her personally for leaving behind the garbage for us to find.

  When the comm pinged that the relays were all in place, I opened the data link to the Karter. “Battleship Karter, this is Commander Wothar. Do you copy?”

  “Confirmed. Go ahead, Commander.”

  “Activating visual. Please confirm.”

  I waited as the data from my ship’s camera systems were transmitted back to the battleship, two, maybe three seconds to get through all of the light relays. “Confirmed visuals. We are recording. Proceed.”

  “Copy. I’m going in.”

  Pulling back on the throttle, I approached slowly, drifting toward the massive structure. The Hive ship was huge, easily five times the size of Battleship Karter. I’d never seen anything like it, and I’d seen too fucking much in this war.

  “Battleship Karter, this is Commander Wothar. Are you getting this?”

  “Affirmative, Commander. Rerouting to I.C. Command and Prillon Prime, as instructed.”

  “Good. Stay with me as long as you can.” That was an order for them to record and rebroadcast everything I did, everything I saw and everything I said—until I said nothing at all. In which case, I’d be dead, but the information I gathered would not die with me.

  “Understood, sir.”

  I killed the chatter and flew closer to the giant ship. The shape of a massive rod at least half a mile wide and a mile long, the ship spun around like a floating bullet revolving through space toward its target. The sides were rough, meant to look like an asteroid or stray rock rotating on its axis. Just another space rock, except the front was tipped into the shape of a five-pointed star that pointed directly at Battleship Karter and her crew.

  Over my dead body.

  The weapons array was massive, nearly as large as Battleship Karter all by itself. “Holy fuck. This thing is huge. I’m getting in there.”

  “Back off, Ronan. You’re too close. Wait for the rest of us. We’re two minutes behind you.” Commander Phan’s voice filled my small cockpit, but I didn’t take orders from her. Or Karter. The only one who could order me off this run was Prime Nial himself, and he was the one who had ordered me into the mouth of the beast in the first place. I had every intention of making sure whatever this was, no other battlegroup or planet would be caught unaware. Not again.

  Too many were dead now because of this Hive ship.

  “Stay back, Chloe. They can’t see me. Fifty fighters flying right at them, and they’ll launch a response.”

  “Damn it, Ronan.” Chloe cursed at me, but I was right, and she knew it. “I can’t let them fly right past us. The Karter’s back there. We have orders to intercept.”

  “I know.” My ship slipped into the cave-like mouth of the weapon’s star shaped opening, and I peered at the towering crystalline formations within, circled slowly, making sure I got a clear vid of every inch of the new weapon. “Draw them off, if you have too. But stay away from the bow. I’m in stealth mode, but I don’t need company.”

  “Copy that. All fighters on me. Battle formation. Keep it tight. We’ll come in on their six. We’ll try to keep them away from you, Ronan. Do what you can. Yell if you need help.”

  “Confirmed.” I continued my report. Their six meant the rear of the ship. It was Earth slang, but everyone in the fleet had picked it up quickly, once the humans started showing up in fight squadrons. They were good pilots. Small. Fast. Coordinated. And fearless. Human ReCon teams had saved thousands of warriors, breaking into Hive-controlled vessels and dragging our people out.

  And now, another female, my mate, might be the sole reason we destroyed the Hive’s newest weapon. Erica Roberts might just save us all with her brilliant mind. Had she been matched because of her knowledge of the stars? Was she matched to save us all in this moment? I doubted I would ever know that answer.

  Pride swelled in me nonetheless, but I had a job to do. “Star formations, five points, weapons’ cluster is located inside the bow of the ship. Looks like magnetic coils the size of shuttle craft wrapped around the base of each crystal array.” I flew in deeper, took a couple shots at one of the arrays with my ion blasters as the sounds of voices shouting, shots fired and the general chaos of battle filled my small cockpit with noise. I turned off incoming transmissions, kept the data flow out open wide. I could not afford distractions.

  The ion blasts my ship fired bounced off the arrays like insults off Kaed’s back. “Close range ion blaster fire is ineffective. Switching to rail guns.”

  Rail guns were old tech. Centuries old, but the Fleet had continued to use them. Sometimes the best weapons were tried and true.

  I fired. Flew close. Watched. Waited.

  Not a scratch, and I had to scramble to make the turn before I crashed into the side of the Hive ship. It was like flying inside a cave full of massive, indestructible stalagmites towering up from their bases to point ou
t into the stars. At us.

  At life.

  At my mate.

  Fuck.

  I turned my comms back on to monitor the battle. It sounded like hell out there. Our fighters were being swarmed.

  “Ronan! Whatever you’re doing, make it fast. It’s like you just kicked the beehive and they’re pissed, pouring out like water. We’re outnumbered and overrun. We can’t hold our position much longer.”

  As Phan spoke, three drone fighters appeared above me, their scanners on, looking for the threat. I went dark, melting into the side of their ship beneath one of the huge coils. I was still in stealth mode, which meant they wouldn’t see my ship unless they looked with their own eyes. Not likely. Like all the warriors in this war, we relied too heavily on our sensors and gear, and not enough on our own instincts. Our sight. Our senses.

  But then, the Hive were assimilated, part of a large, collective group-think. Did they still have instincts?

  “Karter, this is Commander Wothar.” I spoke quietly, even though I didn’t need to. Instinct.

  “Go ahead, Commander.” The voice in my ear was clipped, no doubt the warrior was stressed and heavily engaged in orchestrating the fight going on just out of my sight.

  “Ion blasters and rail guns were ineffective. Do you have electromagnetic, computational and radioactive data readings on the target?”

  “Affirmative. We’ve got it all. Transmission to Prillon Prime is nearing completion. Transmission to I.C. will be complete in the next five minutes.” Intelligence Core Command was significantly farther from my present location than Prillon Prime.

  “Make sure you send data to the rest of the fleet commanders. Do it now. I don’t want this data delayed. The Hive might have another ship like this out there, ready to attack the Fleet.” If I.C. had something to say to me about this later, I’d deal with their wrath. The fleet commanders had a right to know what we were up against out here.