by JC Cassels
Direct hit.
She swallowed hard and looked back into the flames, unable to meet his stare.
“I would expect nothing else,” he said.
He was right, of course.
“If it comes to that, Blade, I want you to promise you’ll leave me here.”
She waited a long moment for him to speak. A protest. Anything. The silence between them stretched on for a long moment. Unable to stand it any longer, she forced herself to look him in the eye.
“Promise me, Blade.”
He studied her in turn. A sad, distant smile on his lips as he shook his head.
“I can’t.” He said simply.
Bo groaned. She should have known he’d be stubborn about this.
“You have to.”
She had to make him understand. She paced in front of the fire, feeling none of its warmth.
“Don’t you understand?” she railed. “You’re the Sovran Heir. Your first responsibility is to the Commonwealth.”
He shook his head and returned to methodically sorting through his gear. “No, love. You don’t understand.” His hands stilled and he looked up at her again, his mouth tightened into a grim line. “If you’re facing a no-win situation with no hope of survival, that means I’m already dead.” He shook his head. “Nothing gets to you without going through me. Nothing. That’s my promise.” He reached into his bag, with a small sigh.
Holy Maker.
He said it with such conviction she had no choice but to believe him.
Tears stung her eyes. She blinked them away.
How many times had he placed himself between her and danger? She’d been blinded and struggling for each breath, but she still felt him flinch and heard him grunt as he’d taken the brutal beating meant for her. That was before they’d even known each other’s names.
Since that time… Her eyes traced the scars that told the story. That blaster burn on his arm as he’d placed himself in front of her on Gravis II. The puckered scar along his ribs from the vibro blade thrown her way by bangers in the arms deal gone wrong. The grated patch of flesh on his hip from when they’d had the hovercycle shot out from under them and he’d taken the brunt of the slide.
Her vision blurred.
“You’re an idiot!” She blurted as she swiped angrily at the moisture in her eyes.
He shrugged and grinned at her. “I know.”
Bo drew a ragged breath and studied his face. “I love you.”
He focused on the contents of his campaign bag. “No shit.”
Her lips twitched and she chuckled. “I’m trying to have a moment here.”
His humor faded. He didn’t look up at her. “You’re trying to say good-bye.” With a sigh, he braced his forearms on his knees and shook his head. He lifted his gaze. “Good-bye is forever, love. When it comes to you, that is the kind of forever I simply cannot do.”
“Then take my ship,” she said. “You’re so damn set on protecting me, let me protect you the only way I can. Take my ship.” She pointed to the armor he’d lined up on the floor. “You’re already wearing that to please Ian. Take Sundance to please me.”
“Will you quit nagging me and let me get back to work if I say yes?”
Not trusting herself to speak, Bo’s lips tightened and she nodded.
He sighed. His shoulders slumped, and he stared at the floor, clearly wrestling with some inner battle. Cursing under his breath, he pushed himself to his feet. He didn’t give her a chance to protest as he swiftly moved to her side and scooped her into his arms.
“I’ll take the damn ship,” he said. He carried her back into the bedroom. “Hell, I’ll even wear the damn armor.” He kicked the door shut behind him with his heel. “But it’s going to cost you.”
His eyes gleamed with carnal promise. He tossed her into the middle of the bed. “How much is it worth to you?”
Her breath caught. “What do you want?”
He favored her with the lopsided grin that had made him famous. With one knee on the bed, he loomed over her, bracing his hands on either side of her shoulders. His gaze raked her like a physical caress.
“I want you.”
***
The com-set beside the bed signaled insistently for her attention. With everything in her, Bo wanted to ignore it and hide, safe in Blade’s arms, but he was already extricating himself from her embrace. He tossed the covers aside and rose from the bed. With a sigh, she rolled over and picked up the handset.
“Yes?”
“Barron, sentries have reported numerous unscheduled hyperspace distortions in Mondhuic space. They are not responding to hails, and we are receiving no transponder information.”
Bo closed her eyes and gripped the handset tighter. Her mouth went dry.
This was it.
This was what they’d been waiting for.
This was war.
“Sound general quarters,” she said. “Have my senior staff report to Central Command and notify the fleet. Hold fire until fired upon, but hold the line at the heliosphere. I’ll be there shortly.”
Feeling numb, Bo climbed out of bed and reached for her uniform. After all this time…it all came down to this moment. She went through the motions of pulling on her uniform, but her mind raced through every possible outcome of the day.
Once the last pleat was smoothed into place, she gathered her hair into a sensible knot at the back of her head and pinned it into place. With one final look in the mirror, she reached for her gunbelt and wrapped it around her hips. The Capre hung heavy on her thigh, a silent reminder of centuries of tradition, and how much was riding on her success here.
She snugged down the thigh strap as the door opened. She looked up, directly into her husband’s stormy blue eyes.
The armored suit he’d carefully been sorting just an hour earlier now covered him from neck to toe. The glossy black armor gleamed in the light streaming in through the window. She hadn’t believed it was possible for anything to make him look bigger and more dangerous, but this did. Like the ancient, heroic knights he’d often played in holofeatures, Blade Devon was ready to ride out to meet the enemy.
Bo swallowed hard.
Maker, what would she do if anything happened to him?
“Good flying weather,” she commented, her voice a little hoarse.
Blade glanced toward the window, his expression unreadable. “It’s as good a day as any to die.”
A sudden chill swept through her, and she looked up at him sharply. She opened her mouth, but closed it again when a slow, lopsided smile quirked his lips.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
A sense of calm settled over her. She nodded. “I’ve been ready for this for seven years.”
His lopsided smile broke into a grin. “Is that all? Hell, Barron, I’ve been waiting for this my whole life. Let’s do this.”
He held out his bare hand to her. Bo took it, grateful for the skin to skin contact.
He pulled her close and brushed a quick kiss to her lips. Together, they headed for the door. He paused only to shoulder the bag containing his gear. Neither spoke as they entered the lift and rode the capsule down, deeper into the mountain stronghold.
The lift halted and the doors parted. He squeezed her hand before releasing her and stepping out into the hangar, where Sundance and his men waited for him.
As he walked away without a backward look, Bo’s heart turned over in her chest.
There was so much that she wanted to say... so many things she hadn’t told him. Before she lost her nerve, she slapped her hand against the lift doors, holding them open.
“Hey!”
He stopped and turned back to her, one eyebrow lifted in silent question.
The words withered on her tongue. How could she possibly squeeze a lifetime into a few words?
“I love you.” She blurted.
He shook his head in disbelief and lowered his head to stare at the rocky ground. His shoulders shook with silent laughter. When he
finally looked up at her, his heart shone in his eyes.
“No shit.” He winked at her. “See you around, Barron.”
At the familiar farewell, hope swelled in her chest. Maybe, just maybe, they stood a chance of pulling this off. A slow, answering smile curved her lips.
“See you around, Dev.”
He looked her over one last time before he turned and walked away. Bo watched him. He wouldn’t look back. He never looked back. It wasn’t his way. His mind was already on the task ahead of him.
When he reached the ship’s ramp, he hesitated and turned. He touched his fingertips to his lips and raised his hand in farewell.
With tears in her eyes, Bo returned the gesture.
When he finally boarded the ship, the hand she held raised clenched into a fist and she pressed it to her lips to stem the tide of her emotions. Closing her eyes, she forced her feelings aside with a deep breath and stepped back into the lift.
The door slid shut and the lift continued on its way, taking her deeper into the mountain, to Central Command.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“Barron, two Warhammers have slipped through the line!”
Bo tore her attention from the ship-to-ship conflict.
“Show me.”
Two small red points of light streaked toward Mondhuoun.
Her stomach lurched.
“What’s their trajectory?” She already knew the answer. She just had to hear it.
“New Gallis.”
The hum and buzz of activity and chatter faded away.
“Holy Maker…” Someone said.
“Indeed.” Bo squared her shoulders, pushing past her fear. “By all means, pray. In the meantime, let’s exhaust all our options.” She pointed to the blue point nearest the Warhammers. “Notify that ship’s commander. Destroying those Warhammers is priority.”
“Barron, Sundance has already changed course to intercept.”
Sure enough, the blue dot representing her ship drove toward the Warhammers.
Leave it to Blade to identify the threat before anyone else.
Bo’s lips twitched. “Notify the Mondhuic of the incoming threat,” she said. “If they make atmo, it’ll be their job to take them out. I don’t have to remind you of the dangers of detonation in the atmosphere. Tractoring those beasts will be impossible sub-coronally.”
“Barron, Agent Devon is on the com.”
“Go ahead.”
“Bo, we’re in pursuit of two Warhammers heading straight for New Gallis. Edge is trying to tap into their guidance systems, but there’s too much shielding. It looks like Ian and I are going to have to hop aboard and place relays manually. If all goes well, they’ll self-destruct before they enter the atmosphere.”
“And if it doesn’t?”
“One way or another, I promise you, they’re not going to hit New Gallis. Devon out.”
Bo muttered a curse. “Relay that information to the Mondhuic,” she said. “Tell them not to fire on the Warhammers until our men are clear.”
She turned to the junior officer hovering at her elbow. “Notify the New Gallis civil defense of incoming. We need to give the population time to reach shelter.”
The young woman nodded and stepped away, opening her com. “New Gallis civil defense, this is Central Command…”
Bo lost the rest as activity buzzed around her. The tiny blue dot representing her ship sped unerringly across the display toward the Warhammers.
Blade Devon never made a promise he didn’t keep.
Bo forced her thoughts away from the lengths he may have to go in order to keep this one.
***
“Now remember, you have less than eight minutes to board the Warhammers and place the relays,” Edge’s voice came over the ship’s speakers, following Blade down the corridor. “Any longer than that and you’ll get sucked into the planet’s gravity well. Those assault suits aren’t meant for maneuvering within the planet’s atmosphere…if you don’t burn up on re-entry, that is.”
“Understood.”
The helmet seal of Blade’s IC Assault Armor clicked into place, hissing as pressure inside the suit equalized. He tapped the control panel on the bulkhead and the airlock irised open. He keyed his mike as he stepped through.
“This is Devon. I’m in position.”
“This is Kendall. I am also in position.”
“Copy that,” Kayne’s voice came over the com, tinny and thin on the helmet speakers. “Sealing the inner hatches.”
Glancing over his shoulder, he waited for the control panel to flash green, indicating a proper seal.
“Blade, confirm hatch seal.” Phinny’s voice filled his helmet.
“Seal confirmed.”
“Ian…”
“Yeah, yeah. Seal confirmed. You’re not going to blow yourself out into space. Let’s get on with this before a bunch of innocent people get turned into slag.”
The corner of Blade’s lips lifted in a small smile.
“Right boys,” Kayne said. “We’re pulling alongside the Warhammers. Your target should be coming into your viewport now.”
Blade peered through the transparisteel viewport in the outer hatch. Sure enough, the sleek and deadly missile loomed larger as Kayne deftly maneuvered them into position.
“I see it.”
“Target acquired.”
“Get ready…”
One eye on the countdown, Blade got into position, mentally preparing himself for the sudden explosive depressurization of the airlock as it opened. It came with all the force of a fallen angel. Blade’s pulse and respiration readouts spiked across his HUD as adrenaline surged through his body.
Maker help him, he loved the rush.
Keying his propulsion, he sped the last few kilometers toward the Warhammer, striking the missile’s outer plating hard. Carabiner in hand, he attached his tether to a ring just ahead of the main engines.
“This is Devon reporting connection.”
“What a ride! This is Kendall. I’m hooked on.”
“Good luck boys,” Kayne said. “We’ve got your backs.”
Sundance dropped out of formation, pulling back to a support position. A timer counted down on Blade’s HUD, letting him know how long he had before point of no return in the planet’s gravity well.
He wasted no time getting to work. Pulling a tool from his belt, he used it to remove the panel covering the guidance systems.
“Hey, Blade, wanna make this interesting?”
Grinning, he followed the wiring until he found the connection he was looking for. “What’s wrong, Ian? The stakes aren’t high enough for you?”
“What’s a little wager between friends?”
“I’d have to like you to be your friend.”
“Ouch,” Ian said. “I am truly wounded.”
Blade shook his head. “I am not that lucky,” he teased. His brow furrowed as he replaced one tool for another, keeping one hand on the wire he needed. “You are a pain in my…shit!”
Superheated plasma danced along the wire. Blade released it before it reached him.
“What’s wrong?”
Frowning, Blade pulled his hand scanner free from its clip on the leg armor of his suit and took a reading.
“I tripped a self-defense program. A plasma burst just locked-up the guidance system. There’s no way to hook the relay in for reprogramming. I’m going to have to manually reconfigure the trajectory.”
Ian’s soft humming came over his helmet speakers. “Yeah, there it is. Oh, this is a beauty – a work of art. Let me just…there. Got it. Thanks for the warning.”
Blade studied the fried relays, his mind working on an alternate solution. He glanced at the countdown on his HUD. “This may take longer than I anticipated.”
“Well, there goes my friendly wager,” Ian said. “I was going to say the last one in buys the first round.”
Blade’s lips twitched. “I concede. Edge, are you seeing this?”
“I’m siftin
g through data now, but with everything going on, I don’t have the processing power at my disposal. I’ll keep working on a solution, but it looks like you’re on your own.”
“Relays engaged. Course change set.”
A glance over his shoulder confirmed the other Warhammer’s response to Edge’s course change.
“Kendall clear of the missile.”
“Great job, Ian,” Kayne said. “We’ll slide in to pick you up. Blade, talk to me.”
Squinting against the reflected glare of the Mondhuic sun, Blade studied the new trajectory of Ian’s Warhammer.
“Edge, how much did you have to shift the course?”
“Just a few degrees and it’ll skip the atmo. I can safely self-destruct it just beyond upper orbit.”
“You need a hand, Blade?”
Blade glanced at the countdown. His mouth went dry.
“No, Ian,” he said. “Get aboard Sundance. No sense both of us risking our necks.”
“What are you thinking?” Ian asked.
Blade worked quickly to remove another panel over the maneuvering thrusters. “If I can manually activate the thrusters, I might be able to shift its trajectory a little; hopefully enough to send it after the other one.”
“That’s going to take too long…”
“Maybe.”
“I’m coming to help you.”
“Negative. Board Sundance, that’s a Sovran order.”
Blade reeled in the slack on his tether and gripped the handhold tightly. The stiff fingers of his gauntlet triggered one of the thrusters.
The Warhammer changed course, but not enough.
“I need you to monitor its course. Let me know when it’s heading after the other one.”
Blade patiently nudged the Warhammer onto a different course, trying not to look at the countdown on his HUD. He fumbled through the thruster’s inner workings, firing first one and then another.
“That’s it,” Ian said after a long moment. “Course changed. Get clear.”
Blade released his tether and glanced at his HUD. His heart sank. The countdown glowed red, the numbers rising. He keyed his suit’s propulsion unit and pegged it at full. It did nothing to slow his inexorable plunge.