“Yes. But then we’re going to have to fight in them, and we don’t even know how they handle,” Mordjan said.
High Leader Ruith looked down at his wrist com. “You have twenty minutes to find out.”
Mordjan turned to the others. “Begin sparring. Test every weapon you have that won’t hurt the ship.”
“He means don’t fire the ray guns,” IceBlood interjected.
While the cyborgs threw some tentative kicks and punches, Mordjan sidled up to the engineers. “I’ve fought these Ardaks. How well are these suits going to take their weapons?”
“They won’t buckle or break, and they aren’t going to succumb to claws or fangs, either. This is elven-forged armor we’re talking about. Our armorers on this ship make the best,” an Ardak replied.
“What about the ray guns or the red-bladed swords?” Simban asked.
The Ardak winced. “The ray guns will be fine because your suits will absorb the energy, which will actually make you stronger since it will loop the excess into your battery crystal. The swords are a different matter. They are just as likely to cut through the armor as they are to cut through air.”
“Damn,” Mordjan replied.
“Yes, it’s a shame. But even elven-forged armor can’t withstand the high-powered energy they run through those blades.”
He thought they’d had bad odds on Aurora, but if he lived through this, he decided his outlook on the future was definitely going to improve.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Fayelle
Fayelle watched as Simban met Borian and Jovjan met Chihon in rougher combat. At Simban’s punch, Borian flew backward. To Fayelle’s amazement, he somersaulted backward in the air and landed on his feet.
“Whoo-hoo!” he called out, his landing reverberating across the metal floor. “That’s one hell of a punch.”
Mordjan’s voice rang out over the top of them. “Don’t get overconfident. These Ardaks will be trying to kill you, and their red-bladed swords will still cut through your armor. Learn where your weapons are, how high you can jump, and how fast you can duck.”
Each of the cyborgs drew his sword, meeting the others in combat. This time, Mordjan wove through them, punching and kicking, ducking and weaving, eventually fighting both Jovjan and Borian at once.
Fayelle admired his skill as a fighter. He was faster, more efficient than the others.
“Fight as though your lives depend on it, dammit!” He kicked Jovjan back and met Borian’s blade, fighting back-to-back with Simban.
“Back-to-back,” he ordered, and Jovjan and Chihon fought back-to-back while the other three circled them.
“Elves!” he cried.
To Fayelle’s surprise, Ruith, Saara, Zaleria, and one other drew their swords or summoned their magic and joined the battle. Even IceBlood and GhostDemon joined in, using the red-bladed swords as practice.
She had never seen a sparring like this. She grabbed Mordjan’s knife from his armor and summoned her magic to join them. Soon fire and ice were flying, swords were clashing, and the practice session grew more frenzied. She clashed her knife blade with swords, amazed by the speed of the cyborgs. More than once magic or a blade skated by within a hairbreadth of her body.
It was so intense that the others who weren’t involved began backing away, and Irielle even threw up a shield. Mordjan crossed the floor, ducking and weaving, as he systematically tested the limits of the suit.
A blade came at her knees, and she magnetized the bottoms of her feet, jumping onto the back of a cyborg and using his suit to kick into a backward somersault.
Mordjan stopped. “Everyone halt! Fayelle, how did you walk on the ceiling?”
“I called on my earth magic to magnetize my feet.”
“Did it work just now on Borian’s back?”
She nodded.
Zaleria tilted her head. “I never thought of that.”
“Do it if you can,” Mordjan ordered.
They tried, and Ruith and Zaleria were able to climb the walls well enough to fight from the ceiling. They practiced for a few more minutes, then Mordjan called a halt and they all gathered around him.
“All right, we need two teams–but with five cyborgs, they’re going to be uneven because each cyborg can carry only one elf. Simban and I will take one ship. We’ve fought together for years, so we’ll let you three stick together.”
Ruith and IceBlood exchanged a glance. “We’ll go with you two. We’ve also fought together for years.”
“All right, so Borian, Chihon, and Jovjan will take Saara, Zaleria, and . . .”
“Medic Filarion,” the elf supplied.
She studied each of the elves and cyborgs around her wearing their suits. As much as she didn’t like being left behind, there was nothing she could do about it. They didn’t have an extra suit, and there would be no one to carry her. She nodded and stepped back, sheathing Mordjan’s knife.
Mordjan nodded in agreement and turned to one of the engineers. “Do you have any other weapons on board?”
“We have arm cannons ready to go with the suits, but only two. And we’ve barely tested them.”
“Give one to Simban and one to Borian. Borian was my cannon specialist in the defense force.”
“All right, once these guys have cannons, let’s get to where we’ll deploy from. We can discuss defensive strategies on our way there.”
While they waited for the cannons, Mordjan turned to Chihon. “You have hacking ability, correct?”
At the other cyborg’s nod, he said, “Good. Do you have any experience hacking the Ardak ships?”
“No, but I don’t think it will be that hard to figure out.”
Mordjan nodded slowly before asking, “Do you speak Ardak?”
“Of course.”
“All right, I need you to monitor frequency 72.53. I’ll help you hack the system once I’m on the other ship. We’ll need to fly them once we take them over.”
“Good thinking,” High Leader Ruith said.
Fayelle had witnessed a marked change in Mordjan as he had taken command of the situation and the fighters. He stood taller, his eyes sharper, his mind more alert, taking in the situation and allocating resources in an efficient manner. His knowledge was obvious, and the other males, elf, cyborg, and Ardak alike, deferred to his expertise.
The engineers brought the cannons out to Simban and Borian. They weren’t as large as she’d imagined, and they snapped onto their exoarmor easily.
“You two need to keep in mind that these will require some of your power,” the engineer said. “Start on the lowest setting and then work your way up. Try not to shoot at the outside walls of the ships because the blast will go through at least one, maybe two of the metal walls easily even on the lowest setting.”
They nodded.
“All right, let’s get to the deployment bay,” Mordjan ordered. He glanced in her direction, and with a start, Fayelle realized that this was going to be goodbye.
He strode toward her, raising the visor on his helmet. “You stay safe over here, all right?”
She gave a weak laugh. “You stay safe out there.”
“I’ll try my best.” He heaved a sigh. “Fayelle.” It was almost a whisper.
She didn’t know what to say. Irielle sobbed loudly into Simban’s chest beside them, and she wished she had the comfort of tears. But that wasn’t her style, and he wasn’t her mate.
“Goodbye,” she whispered, taking his hand and holding it to her face briefly.
“Goodbye.” The word was barely audible, and then he turned and followed the warriors out of the room.
As she went to put her arms around Irielle consolingly, she vaguely acknowledged that Mordjan had successfully passed stage three. He was alive, but her magic couldn’t find him, and that snuffed out any joy she should have felt over it.
To her magic, he was no longer there.
Even when he’d touched her face, there was nothing.
In this final sta
ge, he’d literally unbecome her potential mate.
And there wasn’t a starry thing she could do about it.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Mordjan
Mordjan didn’t like the way Fayelle had said goodbye. It was too final, as if she really believed they wouldn’t see each other again.
Focus on the mission.
As they took an elevator down fifteen floors, he forced himself to clear his mind. There was nothing but the mission. It was his job to make sure they succeeded. Then he could come back for her.
“Are we going to the bottom of the ship?” Borian asked.
“Yes, we are,” IceBlood replied. “We thought it might be safer if we approached their ships from below. They might not be scanning there, and the way their ships are made, the viewscreens tend to look outward and upward.”
“Good thinking, Third Leader IceBlood.” Mordjan wanted to believe that if he hadn’t been so worried about the upgrades, Fayelle, and the Ardaks, he might have even thought of that himself.
“Thank you,” IceBlood retorted, baring his teeth in what Mordjan recognized as an Ardak grin. “And it’s just IceBlood. Forget titles—on this mission, we’re all the same. Two cohesive teams, fighting for our lives.”
“Agreed,” Saara said. “Title and rank only matter on the paperwork.”
When they reached the deployment bay, everyone sealed their suits, pressurizing and checking for leaks. The cyborgs switched their suits to flight mode.
“How far are we going to be from the Ardak ships?”
“It’s hard to say,” Ruith admitted. “We want to be as far as possible for the safety of the ship, but as close as possible for our safe deployment.”
“What about having the ship slow, then start again once the Ardak ships get close?”
“That’s a good idea. Let me radio up to control.”
Just then, another blast rocked the ship.
“I believe that’s our cue,” Simban said.
“Control, can you hear me?” Ruith said into his wrist com.
“Yes, this is Darion, I hear you.”
“Take us out of hyperdrive and let the Ardak ships get as close as possible before you start the ship again.”
“Are you serious? How close is close?”
“Close enough for use to make it to their ships safely,” Ruith replied. “Make it happen.”
“Done.”
“Do you have any line or cord we could use to tie ourselves together?”
“As a matter of fact, we do. Come with me.” Zaleria hurried across the docking bay, and Mordjan and Simban followed her. “These cords are used to tether two ships together if one has engine problems.”
“Great.” Mordjan took one and Simban grabbed the other. They each hooked one end of their cord to a release inside the docking bay. “We’re going to need someone here to release it.”
“We’ll do it,” Fayelle stepped out of the shadows, her arm linked with Irielle’s.
Mordjan wanted to argue, but really, he didn’t have a better option, so he nodded in thanks.
Each team took a tether and secured it onto their armor.
“Once we’ve reached the end of the tether, Fayelle and Irielle will release it. You’ll need to pull it in quickly, and one person needs to hold the end and secure it to the Ardak ship as it goes by.”
There was no time for questions because a moment later, they dropped out of hyperdrive with a jolt and the ship shuddered as it slowed violently.
“Everyone turn on your coms,” Mordjan ordered.
They each sounded off as Ruith closed the inside air lock. “Elves, hang on to the belt of your assigned cyborg. All set. We’re go in three, two, one.” Ruith popped open the external door.
Mordjan took a deep breath and stepped out into the blackness of space. The Ardaks’ ships were behind them and coming closer at an alarming rate.
“Now, we just pray that they aren’t looking out the window.” Zaleria’s voice was breathy over the com.
“They probably are looking out the window, trying to figure out why the ship stopped.”
“They’ll probably think the blasts hurt us. Even if they do spot us outside, it’s going to be difficult for them to hit us—space weapons aren’t meant for tiny targets.”
“Don’t they have close-range lasers?” Borian asked.
“We’ll find out if they start shooting them,” GhostDemon said.
This was the craziest, riskiest mission he’d ever been on, and he was a cyborg in an elven metal suit that made him ten times stronger than he’d ever been. Yet, his heart was hammering away at a frantic rhythm and he was struggling to keep his breathing even. He couldn’t imagine what the elves must be feeling.
The Ardak ships loomed in front of them, and Mordjan pressed his com button. “Follow my lead. Once we’re close enough, IceBlood will scan for a break in the shield.”
“One minute to impact,” Jovjan said.
“Release the tethers and raise the ship. Draw their attention, Darion!” Mordjan ordered.
Fayelle’s voice came back. “Tethers released.”
“Drawing their attention.” An explosion came from their ship.
“Don’t blow up my ship to do it! Traako!” Ruith bit out.
“It was just an escape pod. No damage to the inside.”
Mordjan turned to the others. “Start pulling the tether in. Quickly!” They pulled in the tether as quickly as possible, winding it in wide loops. “IceBlood, tell us where there’s a hole in the shield, aim for beneath the vessel.”
The Ardak pointed slightly downward from their position.
“We need to sink below their ship, and then one cyborg will need to rise up and try to catch the cannons on the lower front with your tether.”
“What if we miss?” Simban sounded less than pleased with the idea of floating out into space.
“Don’t miss. They’re going too fast for us to board.”
“Do it now,” Mordjan roared over the chatter so he didn’t scoff at the directions IceBlood just gave. He didn’t wait for them to confirm they heard before he angled to travel under the ship.
“Thirty seconds to impact,” Jovjan warned.
“Fire on the ships,” Mordjan instructed.
Ruith didn’t argue. “Darion, fire on the Ardak ships!”
“What if we hit you?” Darion’s voice was high and worried.
“Fire now,” Mordjan commanded. “Slow them down or we will die.”
Cannon blasts hit the topside of both ships, and to his relief, the ships did slow. It would have to be enough.
“Once you’re tethered to the ship, rise under the bottom and board through one of the docking bays.”
“Passing through the shield,” IceBlood announced.
“Impact,” Jovjan announced.
“Hang on,” Mordjan ordered.
The tether caught on the front of the ship, beginning to pull them along. The speed made it difficult for him to gain a hold on the ship, but he did his best and then the drag lessened and he realized Simban was helping him.
A few seconds later, he was wrapping the tether around the docking bay door handle.
“Contact.” Mordjan examined the door. “I need two more knives,” he said. Moments later, two more appeared over his shoulder, and he inserted the three blades into grooves by the docking bay door. “Manual override complete.”
“Contact,” Borian said, and Mordjan relaxed a little.
“Good job, team two. Insert three knives into the grooves by the bay door and pull downward, as if you were an Ardak paw.”
“Will do.”
His own bay door was open, and Mordjan switched all of his focus to this ship. The other team would have to function on their own until he could walk them through hacking the control center.
“Going in,” he announced to his team. The area was dark and empty, but it wasn’t likely to stay that way for long. The monitors would be flashing with warning at the breac
h, and the area would be crawling with Ardaks soon.
He pulled in IceBlood, then Ruith, then Simban before closing the bay door behind them. “Through the halls to the bridge at full speed, kill anything that moves. Keep Simban and me in front so our suits can absorb any shots they manage to get off.”
They all nodded, and Simban raised his cannon. Mordjan grabbed two ray guns from a cubby beside the bay entrance, glad that all Ardak ships were standardized with the same equipment.
Then he opened the door to the main corridor and began to sprint toward the front of the ship. When they turned down the second corridor, there were Ardaks heading toward them, weapons raised. They’d obviously been assigned to check out the docking bay.
All three shot at them, but the cyborgs’ shields absorbed the fire, and Simban shot the arm cannon once, obliterating all three as well as the walls on either side of them.
“Wow,” he said, examining the cannon.
“I don’t think that’s an indoor weapon,” Mordjan commented, sprinting toward the bridge again.
“Maybe not, but I like it.” Simban’s grin was feral.
“How did it feel to use it?”
“Not too bad. There was a jolt, but nothing I couldn’t handle.”
Mordjan nodded and they kept pushing forward. The corridors were eerily quiet, and they didn’t see or even hear any other Ardaks as they made their way to the control room. When they got there, they found out why. All the Ardaks had banded together to protect the bridge. There were at least thirty in the corridor and an unknown number on the bridge.
Simban raised his arm and shot the cannon, taking out the first ten.
Then the rest began to fire.
“Do it again,” Mordjan said.
“I can’t,” Simban sounded slightly out of breath. “I think it takes time to recharge, and that shot took more out of me than before.”
Mordjan pushed forward, firing round after round.
When they saw IceBlood, the Ardaks began to howl and roar. Words like traitor and wapiska were hurled at him. As they got closer, the Ardaks sprang at them, biting and clawing, using ray guns and knives. But nothing penetrated the suits.
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