by Sarah Hawke
Once Doran was gone, Mosaad straightened his posture and clasped his hands behind his back. “Anything to report?”
“If Falric has any operatives on the planet, they’re embedded so deeply they won’t actually be able to learn anything,” the woman said.
“And to think, the Intelligence Directorate used to be the most fearsome covert organization in the galaxy. How far they have fallen in a few short years. Maybe Falric will finally fire the director.”
“Straight into a sun, if we’re lucky.”
Mosaad smiled and turned. The woman standing behind him was unique in the galaxy. Sleek and slender, Natalya Vesh had the pale skin and ghostly white hair of a Subari with the bright blue eyes of a human. As far as he knew, she was the only such hybrid the Convectorate had ever successfully created…or at least, the only one who was still alive. The Psychophage Initiative had been a complete disaster on every level, which was yet another reason the Dominion should have long since won this war. The Tarreen still couldn’t reliably create their own psychics—it was a testament to the corruption and decadence of the Seraphim Council that the CDF hadn’t been routed decades ago.
“Your crew is still unsettled by my presence,” Natalya said, her blue eyes narrowing at the door. “I could feel their revulsion the instant I stepped off the shuttle.”
“They’ll get used to it,” Mosaad replied, waving a hand. “And if they don’t, they’ll answer to me.”
The faintest trace of a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “You don’t need to protect me anymore, you know. I am a Blade of the Seraph.”
“I’d be protecting them from you. They can’t afford to get on your bad side.”
He leaned in to kiss her. The instant their lips touched he felt a spark of psionic energy course between their bodies, and their minds momentarily became one. Her anxiety and frustration washed over him, but tucked behind them was a rekindled ember of hope.
Natalya smiled in earnest when she slowly pulled away. “Are you certain you wish me to accompany you tonight?”
“Of course,” Mosaad said. “Every Blade on the planet is going to be there.”
“I’m not worried about our people. The officers, the nobles…they’ll react the same way as Doran, and you’re here to bring them together, not tear them apart.”
“They’ll live.” He paused and grunted. “Besides, you’re just making excuses so you don’t have to wear a dress.”
“I don’t own a dress,” Natalya reminded him. “And even if I did, I wouldn’t give them the pleasure of seeing me in it.”
Mosaad chuckled. He rather liked the idea of making the nobles uncomfortable, but he doubted it would be anywhere near as tense as she feared. They weren’t on Keledon anymore—the Seraphim Council and its “Purity Doctrine” were a thousand parsecs away. The families who had pledged themselves to his cause weren’t going to back out because of one Subari hybrid.
“I trust you’re still planning on meeting with Anara Trell tonight?” Natalya asked.
Mosaad sighed and glanced back towards the viewport. “I suppose I don’t have much choice, do I?”
“I don’t think I’ll ever understand you. This is a tremendous opportunity!”
“To plot and scheme like an Asraad-caste Tarreen, you mean.”
“That’s how the game is played.”
“Grayson told me the same thing back on Keledon.”
“And he was right,” Natalya said pointedly. “Falric completely outmaneuvered you, and if you hadn’t gotten lucky this whole insurrection of yours would have fallen apart right then and there.”
Mosaad grimaced. She wasn’t wrong, of course, and neither was Grayson. But that didn’t mean he had to like it. He hadn’t joined the Blades of the Seraph to schmooze with nobles at gaudy parties—he had joined to fight and kill Tarreen.
“You realize Lady Trell will probably sneer at you just like Doran did,” Mosaad said. “Her family isn’t known for their ‘tolerant’ views. Her father opposed the creation of the Alien Assembly.”
“I don’t expect to like her,” Natalya said. “But her family possesses considerable resources. You should at least listen to her offer.”
“I will listen. But I can’t promise anything.”
She grunted and placed her hand on his shoulder. “So stubborn…it’s no wonder Admiral Ferron never managed to kill you.”
Mosaad smiled. In many ways, they were different people—very different people, in fact. It wasn’t particularly surprising, given that she was a genetically-engineered psychic operative born in a Convectorate lab. If he hadn’t saved her all those years ago, they would have undoubtedly been enemies.
Instead, they were so very much more.
“You know where I stand,” Natalya whispered after a moment. “Ultimately, I still don’t think we’re going to destroy the Convectorate or reform the Dominion with plasma cannons and battleships.”
“At the moment, there’s no other way,” Mosaad said. “We can’t bring them to the table unless we put them on the defensive.”
“Attacking them directly will only convince their allies that we’re still a threat. The last thing the Defense Pact can abide is victory. The Kreen, the Krosians, the Vol-Teesh—they all hate each other as much as they hate us. Once they stop thinking about the Dominion for a while, they’ll turn from the Convectorate and—”
“You sound like Falric,” Mosaad interrupted. “Please tell me you don’t want to surrender.”
Natalya sighed. “No, of course not. But there are other options besides an armistice or a head-on assault. Forging an alliance with Lady Trell is the first step. We need to start playing a longer, slower game. We need to bide our time.”
Mosaad shook his head. “We’ve been biding our time for decades, and in the process we’ve allowed billions upon billions of people to suffer. That ends here and now.”
She stared at him for a long moment, her blue eyes glittering in thought. “I know you want to do the right thing, and I love you for it. But you can’t afford to keep thinking like a warrior forever.”
“I am a warrior,” Mosaad said, turning back to the viewport. “And I always will be.”
Chapter Two
Maz Sepa
Varsellian Sector, Far Rim
1101.7
After leaving Selorah in engineering to continue her repairs, I stumbled back to my quarters on the Gazack in the hopes of catching a few hours of sleep. I only managed ninety minutes before the irritating warble of my holopad informed me that Shandris and Grinner had finally returned from their supply run. I took a quick shower, choked down a protein malt, and dashed out to the landing zone just in time to watch the hauler drones start tugging crates out of the transport’s cargo hold.
“Well, that took twice as long as it should have, but at least we found what we were looking for,” Shandris said, her hands perched on her hips as she watched the robots work. “I’d like to officially thank you for getting a bounty put on my head, by the way. It’s definitely not annoying to have to wear a disguise every time I leave the base.”
I offered her an apologetic smile. “If it’s any consolation, you look pretty badass right now. Though you could probably afford to chop a few centimeters off those heels.”
She scoffed and crossed her arms. “Flats are for Succubi with long legs and human girls in short skirts. I have to keep my edge somehow.”
I chuckled softly as I wrapped my arms around her waist from behind. She had ditched her normal jumpsuit for a sleeveless vest, pants, and knee-high boots that would let her blend in on any port in a dozen adjacent sectors. She had also tied her blue hair up into a no-nonsense pony tail, and I was surprised how different it made her look.
“Anyway, no one gave me any trouble, not even the Red Ring thugs we ran into on Tebora.” Shandris said, placing her hands over mine and squeezing gently. “Selorah’s hologuise worked perfectly.”
“Are you honestly surprised?” I asked.
“No. That girl could build a hyperdrive out of scrap metal if we needed her to.”
“You’re not wrong,” I said, nudging her ponytail out of the way so I could kiss the back of her neck. She had only been gone for a few days, but I had spent so much time in the Valkyrie I felt like I hadn’t touched her scalding skin in a month.
“Grinner didn’t give you any trouble?” I asked, eyeing the bulky, moon-faced man as he reviewed their manifest with Blackstar.
“Not in the least. Sandbox has his balls in a vice. It’s honestly impressive.” Shandris craned her neck so she could smirk at me. “It gave me some ideas, actually.”
“I don’t even want to know…”
She giggled and kissed me. Her tongue was so hot in my mouth I could already feel the sweat beading on my forehead.
“Anyway, how have things been here?” she asked when she finally pulled away. “Considering our luck, I assume we’ve had at least five or six catastrophes over the past few days.”
“Only one, really,” I told her. “Apparently the shipyard has already started cranking out fighter drones.”
Shandris’s expression sank. “Then we’re too late.”
“Not quite. Only one of the auto-factories is operational, but we really can’t afford to let them build a few squadrons of drones before we attack. We’ll have to move up the timetable.”
I could feel her tension level spike even before she slipped out of my arms. “Is that even possible?”
“It will have to be,” I said flatly. “Raxyl has shown us a lot in the past week.”
She swore under her breath. “I still can’t believe he’s a Wing of the Seraph. And I really can’t believe he lied to you for all those years…”
“Yeah, well, I can’t believe most of what’s happened to me these past few months,” I muttered, glancing across the landing zone to our Valkyries. “There are plenty of times when it still doesn’t feel real.”
“I know what you mean,” she whispered, her cat-like amber eyes narrowing in thought. “This whole suicide mission always seemed so far away that I never really thought about it, but now…”
“Cobalt and Morningstar love to remind me that I am supposed to be the skeptic here,” I said, offering her a lopsided smile. “The rest of you aren’t allowed to lose faith.”
“I haven’t,” Shandris said almost mechanically. “It’s just…well, I figure no matter what happens we’re going to lose a lot of good people. I’m not ready to deal with that.”
I nodded soberly as I swept my eyes around the ramshackle structures we generously called a base. Two months ago I hadn’t even known these people existed, and one month ago I’d thought they were all crazy. It was dizzying how quickly that had changed.
Or rather, how quickly I had changed.
“I suddenly wish we had stolen another ship or two,” I said, tossing a wayward glance at the Vantrax. “But I guess this big boat will have to be enough.”
“Selorah will make sure it is,” Shandris said. She let out a heavy sigh, and I could practically see her drag herself out of a well of dark thoughts. “I trust you’ve been keeping her company while I was gone?”
I shrugged. “We’ve both been pretty busy.”
“Uh huh. Somehow I bet you’ve still found time to chat.”
I shrugged. “A little.”
Shandris rolled her eyes. “You have no idea how lucky you are that I’m not the jealous type.”
“On the contrary, I know exactly how lucky I am that you need to go through me to get to Kaveri.”
“It’s true,” she said. “Where is her beautiful blue ass hiding, anyway?”
“She and Master Mosaad have been working on something,” I said. “I’m not exactly sure what.”
“Well, whenever you see her, send her my way. She’s overdue for a checkup.” Shandris followed my eyes to the Vantrax. “In the meantime, I should probably finish setting up the new infirmary.”
“Is that code for ‘I want to go and flirt with Selorah?’”
“No,” Shandris lied. “Why would you possibly think that?”
I grunted. “You know, she may not be into girls.”
“Everyone is into girls. They just don’t always know it right away.”
She winked and started off towards the ship, but I reached out and snatched her wrist before she got too far away. “Playtime can wait,” I said. “Now that you’re here and we have a few spare minutes, there’s something I’d like to try.”
Shandris arched a blue eyebrow. “Out here in the open? Your loyal subjects might not look at you the same way once they’ve seen your royal dong.”
I groaned. “You just spent a couple of days flying around the sector with Grinner. How did he do?”
Her eyes narrowed slightly when she realized I was serious. “I didn’t fuck him, if that’s what you’re asking. I’m not really into guys—or getting beat up by Sandbox.”
“I meant his flying,” I said. “Did he have any issues?”
Shandris glanced across the landing pad to the others and lowered her voice slightly. “I suppose you could say he doesn’t strike me as a natural. But this transport’s not a Valkyrie, and besides I’m not one to talk.”
“He’s actually having more trouble with the Valkyrie, and so is Sandbox,” I told her. “Hammer isn’t doing much better, and everyone else is way too green.”
“What are you getting at?”
“We have a twelfth Valkyrie that still needs a pilot. Since we have a bit of time here, I thought you should maybe give it a try.”
Her amber eyes blinked in disbelief. “Uh…what?”
“You’re one of the strongest psychics here, and from what I’ve seen you’re a fast learner too.”
“Seraph’s mercy, you’re serious,” she breathed. “Cole, I’m not a pilot. I owned a nightclub—I know how to mix drinks and dance in heels. That’s it.”
I folded my arms over my chest. “How many healing techniques have you mastered in the past month?”
“That’s not the same thing and you know it!”
“You’re right—most doctors need to spend a decade in medical school, whereas most fighter pilots only need to clock a hundred hours or so.”
Shandris scoffed. “Don’t be an idiot. I’ve barely retained anything from the medical database. Everything I do…I don’t know, it’s just instinctual.”
“Valkyries are psionic starfighters that merge their systems with a pilot’s consciousness,” I reminded her. “What about that doesn’t sound instinctual to you?”
“I am not flying one of those things,” she insisted. “You’re crazy.”
“Shandris, listen to me,” I said, taking both her hands. “You saw how fast Cobalt and Morningstar picked things up once I showed them a few tricks. We’re not talking about a normal piloting course here. I’d just like to see how naturally it comes to you.”
She swallowed heavily and glanced over my shoulder towards the Valkyries. “I’m telling you right now that this will be a waste of time.”
“Wasting time with you is one of my favorite things in the galaxy,” I said with a wry smirk.
She didn’t smile or smack me or even roll her eyes again. “I’m not a soldier, Cole,” she said gravely. “I don’t know the first thing about fighting.”
“You held your own back on Varsus when the compound was attacked.”
“I picked up a gun and hid behind Raxyl. And I never would have made it off the Heap if Kaveri hadn’t been there to protect me.”
“That’s true for all of us,” I replied mildly. “But seriously, I’ve seen the way you work under pressure. You’re not giving yourself enough credit.”
Her cheek twitched, and I could feel the tension in her muscles. Shandris wasn’t just annoyed or anxious; she seemed genuinely afraid.
“Hey, I’ll be right there in the cockpit with you the whole time,” I told her, placing my hand on her cheek. Her skin was shockingly cool for a Kreen. “And if this doesn’t wo
rk out, that’s fine. At least we’ll know.”
Shandris eventually swallowed again and sighed. “Fine. Just don’t be surprised when this fails miserably.”
She slipped out of my hands and strode towards the Valkyrie. I was seriously tempted to call her back and just scrap this whole idea—I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable and I definitely didn’t want to make her angry. But we really were running out of time, and if there was even a small chance she could do this…well, I owed it to the squad to find out. Having another prodigy in the cockpit could easily make the difference between victory and defeat.
I gave her a moment to inspect the fighter while I rolled over a ladder. Her forehead creased when she ran her fingertips along the fuselage.
“I promise, it’s not as scary as it seems,” I assured her. “I’ll be right here with you the whole time.”
“You do realize there’s only one seat, right?”
“Kaveri and I have managed a few times. It’s…cozy.”
Shandris scoffed. “Yeah, well, I’m not made of blue liquid.”
“Red liquid is just as good. Besides, you’re a few centimeters shorter. We’ll be fine, trust me.”
She grumbled something in Kreen as I started up the ladder. I sank into the pilot’s chair and reclined it back as far as it would go, then beckoned for her to join me. She eyed me warily even as she nestled into my lap.
“You know, if you just wanted to get me alone so you could fuck me, all you had to do was ask. The Gazack is right over there.”
I smiled as I wrapped my arms around her waist. It was going to get warm in here pretty quickly; her body was like a smoldering coal on my legs. Thankfully, the sweet scent of her hair was worth any discomfort.
“Maybe later if you behave,” I teased, sliding my fingers beneath her shirt so they could rest on her firm stomach. “The faster you humor me, the faster this will all be over.”
“Then let’s get on with it,” she said, eyeing the controls. “You realize I don’t know what any of these do, right?”