by Vi Voxley
Brion ships weren't many, but the ones that existed were by far the most powerful in the galaxy. And they fit even their carriers and lifter ships with enough guns to be worthy of anyone else's military vessels.
The fifteen grand flagships of their generals were practically floating fortresses, rumored to be indestructible. Tieran supposed they had to be grateful the Fearless hadn't gotten its hands on one of those, but that would have meant killing a general along with their entire army.
As one of the most proficient fighters in the galaxy, that feat would be difficult, if not to say impossible, even for a Fearless.
But a scout ship, alone and too far to call the flagship for aid… that made sense.
And raised ugly possibilities in turn.
"A Brion ship," Audrey suddenly said from behind him.
Both paladins turned to look at her. Tieran saw naked surprise on her face.
"That thing will blow us to pieces," she said bluntly. "Where did the Fearless get it?"
Tieran and Geroy exchanged a dark look. The day had suddenly become a lot less promising.
"That is not the main problem," Tieran said.
"How could it not be?" Audrey asked, incredulous. "We should run, right now. The Evela is no army, but it can provide support and…"
"We will," Tieran said, turning to Geroy. "I assume we've already changed course?"
"Yes, sir."
Audrey stared, disbelieving.
"Alright," she said hesitantly. "That is good, I guess. What am I missing here?"
Should I?
Tieran wondered whether he should tell her, but Palians didn't like secrets when they weren't absolutely necessary. And with her courage, Audrey had earned the truth.
"The implications of the Fearless having a Brion ship are terrible, to put it gently," he said. "Most urgently, it is capable of catching us, but that is the least of our problems."
"I'm not entirely sure how our impending doom is a distant priority," Audrey said seriously. "I would think that's a pretty big fucking issue. But okay, go on."
"It is," Tieran agreed, cutting in before Geroy had a chance to open his mouth, silencing the other paladin with a look. "What we're saying is that you know Brions. They are born warriors, that is what they are down to their very core. They're not so easily ambushed, or caught.
“They had to be lured somewhere they couldn't escape the Fearless. That requires planning, plotting a course of events that would allow the Fearless to gain such a ship."
Understanding was dawning on Audrey's face and she was very pale.
"So you're saying," she said slowly. "That the unstoppable, evolving monster is now a tactician too."
"I think that's a bit much to assume," Tieran replied. "But what this suggests isn't good. If the Fearless is capable of planning that, who knows what else it has in store? Think of what happens if we fail.
“If the Fearless gets to the lifestone stores, it will become the most powerful creature in the galaxy bar none. The piece it has now is strong, but it will run out. With Verien, and the lifestone stores there, it doesn't have to fear anyone anymore. It can go and take a Brion flagship then. An invincible creature hiding in an indestructible ship. And even if by some lucky chance someone kills it, the next one will know all the tricks."
He realized the bridge had gone very quiet. Everyone was looking at him.
Tieran let his eyes wander over the crew and ended back with Audrey. All eyes said one thing and that made him prouder than he'd ever been before.
"This changes nothing," he said, knowing they'd understood that already. "No matter what happens, it has just become vital that this Fearless never reaches the mines of Verien."
There were nods all around. Audrey remained staunchly by his side, looking grim but determined. When Geroy moved away to check the position of the enemy ship that was now chasing them, he turned to her.
"This is all going downhill fast, isn't it?" she asked.
When he didn't instantly reply, she just shook her head and went on.
"It's fine, Tieran, it really is. But I need you to promise me something."
"Anything," he said, unthinking.
Audrey's eyes went wide for a moment, but she regained her composure.
"This," she said, lowering her voice. "Whatever it is between us, I really like it. I really like you, I'm sure you know that. If this were some other time and a place, I'd want to know where this is going, but right now… promise me you'll do your duty first."
Her words took his breath away.
Standing there, sought by the most dangerous creature in the galaxy, trying to be brave, she was the avatar of everything he'd ever looked for.
"I don't want to die," Audrey finished. "I want to live and I want you to live too, but neither one of us is worth the galaxy. Promise me, Tieran."
It was almost ridiculous in the irony. Audrey was repeating the Palian creed to him, but for the first time in his life, the words sounded hollow to Tieran. She was right, of course, but without her the world would feel empty to him.
"No," he said.
Audrey's eyes flashed with disappointment.
"You are a paladin," she said accusingly. "Don't forget that."
"Never," he practically growled, making her back away a step.
He stood, bringing her into his arms, not caring who saw or overheard them.
"I am what I am, always," he told her, watching her beautiful eyes look up at him with hope and passion. "I will not let you die. I will not let the Fearless succeed either. You think that I have to choose, but I refuse to. Until my dying breath, I will not stop fighting until I have done both. I can promise you that."
The look that she gave him was indescribable, but before she could answer, the pilot called out.
"Commander!" he bellowed over the bridge. "The Fearless. It's here!"
Turning, Tieran and Audrey both stared out of the front panel of the ship at the visual of the space around them. The Brion ship must have been burning fuel at an insane rate to have reached them so quickly. Now approaching them with the calm of a monster who knows no fear, was the Fearless and the ship it had taken hostage.
There was no way to run, even if Tieran had wanted to. They had tried that already and it had failed. He saw fighters emerge from the scout ship and head their way.
"Prepare to be boarded!" he roared.
As the paladins rushed out of the bridge, ready to meet the attackers, he turned to the pilot.
"Keep flying. Alert the Evela. This is going to be a long shot, but we need to reach Verien and they need to be prepared. Tell the station they need to start reinforcing."
Audrey was still looking at the ship, shaking a little.
"I can feel it," she whispered when Tieran went to her. "It's coming for me."
Over my dead body.
Tieran’s mind raced. The Vehement was not a massive ship, but it was still large in its own right. The Brion ship was docking with it and would be able to cut several access points into the corridors and decks of the ship. Finding the location where the Fearless would attack from could take too much time.
Time that was precious for him now more than ever because of the brave woman by his side.
One option revealed itself to him, wrenching him from the inside. But it would be the easiest way.
“Call up the blueprints of the ship,” he barked, sending the nearest crewmember scrambling to provide the feed for him.
"Audrey," he said, hating to hurt her like that. "I need you to take the bracelet off. I need to know where the Fearless is. Can you do that for me?"
She nodded, a hint of fear and understanding muddling together in those jade pools he’d come to adore despite knowing he should not get sucked in them.
“I can,” she whispered.
“No one, and I mean no one, can hurt her. Geroy, assemble your squad. You must contain her, lead her away from the bridge, but don’t hurt her. She must be kept alive and in one piece. If you hav
e to, place the bracelet back on her wrist. Understood?”
“Commander,” Geroy acknowledged, pulling his glaive free and taking it into his hands in a way that he could use it for blocking and parrying instead of cutting with the sharp blade.
Several other men were forming a diamond pattern behind him.
“The rest of the warriors are with me,” Tieran boomed, before turning back to Audrey.
He wanted to stay and make sure that she was alright, but the farther he kept the Fearless, the better it was for her. He kissed her, sharp and fast, trying to imprint the taste of her lips on his mind.
“It’ll be alright,” she whispered, her voice steely.
“It will.”
Undoing the clasp of the bracelet, Tieran felt his body tense just as hers did. Audrey’s scream pierced the air, echoed by another – a deeper one, guttural and thunderous – from the depths of the ship. Tieran handed the bracelet to Geroy, both men looking sternly determined.
"There," Audrey pointed on the blueprints, gasping for air.
She still had control, but there was no saying if the Fearless would want to take over her again, even when so close to its prize.
"Keep out of its way," he ordered Audrey and the paladins he left with her, even as her eyes clouded over. "Let me know if she marks any changes of direction in the Fearless’ movements. I will be back for you."
With one final glance at the woman who’d impressed him so, Tieran rushed in the direction she'd shown to meet a legendary monster that he didn't know how to kill.
13
Audrey
As soon as Tieran was out of her sight, Audrey felt the Fearless move.
The movement was so sudden it left her feeling dizzy, like she was somehow riding along with the creature's nauseating scream. She could feel actual motion sickness, something she had never suffered from in her days of space exploration.
Audrey gagged, but her mind was still lucid and growing more furious with every second. She wondered if the Fearless saw Tieran leaving and was coming for her now that she was helpless.
It made sense, since she also caught glimpses of it. But somehow those moments were less clear than before. As though the Fearless was blocking her out.
Whether or not it was doing that to her, the Fearless become brighter in her mind with every step it took. Audrey had to bite back another scream, refusing to give in. All her body wanted to do was crumble into a heap on the floor and just not look until it was all over. She wanted to disappear.
But she knew she could not, and would not do that. No. She was a fighter and that’s what fighters did.
They fought. By any means necessary.
It was a wholly insane experience, to actually feel her death come closer with pounding footsteps. To feel the bloodlust of her future killer, the vicious drive that Tieran had spoken of.
Audrey got up, fighting down the horrible desire to just sit there and wait for it to come and find her. That, too, was new. Like an invisible hand forcing her to move.
Stumbling away from the bridge Audrey was getting the firsthand experience of just how powerful the Fearless was. Her mind was still her own, but if she didn't put the bracelet back on very soon, it wouldn't be much longer. The Fearless was forcing its will on her and it had so much more power behind it.
Her gaze flickered drowsily from Geroy to the other paladins. She knew they must have hated being there, guarding her, when there was a battle raging. Their sense of duty was bar none, though.
“Steady,” Geroy growled, and Audrey wasn’t sure whether it was to the paladins or to her.
They must have been expecting her to flip out on them at any moment, turning from a silver-haired diminutive governor to a conduit of the greatest evil in the galaxy. The juxtaposition would have been delicious, had she not been on the receiving end of it.
In her last attempt, Audrey focused on Tieran. That was the one solid, certain thing in her life right then and she held on to the image of him like it was the only lifeline keeping her sane.
Possibly it was.
The Fearless didn't seem to be able to banish him from her mind, but Audrey was well aware it didn't need to. Once it reached her – and damn, that thing was fast – she would be a goner.
What a way to go. I can imagine the headlines already. "Governor Audrey Price eaten by a monster."
She really had the worst sense of humor, Audrey concluded.
The Fearless was getting very close now. The Vehement wasn't a big ship and the only thing slowing it down were the corners. Audrey was honestly surprised it didn't just barge through walls, but perhaps it really wasn't as reckless as Tieran had guessed. The warriors must have been slowing it down as well, though Audrey knew that there weren’t many of them to spare. Especially with a whole squad dedicated to making sure she didn’t rip one of the bulkheads out for the hell of it.
Audrey wished she could have contributed more to the fight, but now she was only going to be another victim.
Her strength was quickly running out and she didn't know where Tieran was. There was no way even the paladin could have outrun the Fearless. She wished she hadn't let him go away, but back then it had seemed like a good idea.
The Fearless moved so quickly that pointing anywhere on the likeness of the ship was useless. The bridge gave up on reporting the changes before she was done trying, but the outcome was the same. She’d managed to show Tieran where the beast had entered, but that was all that she could really offer.
And then she saw it.
Audrey felt the Fearless slow down first and then a man rounded the corner, coming her way with very casual, completely un-monster-like steps.
“Halt,” Geroy barked, but the man did not do so much as pause in his steps.
The man was a Brion. Audrey saw a horrible smile on his face and torment she couldn't even imagine. The poor guy the Jorcossi had used as a host on Verien had been lost, completely taken over by the splitter, but this one… The Brion was still there, somewhere.
The pain in her head as the creature approached was growing unbearable. She knew it was the Fearless, knew it as clearly as that air was needed for breathing. She felt herself choking, overwhelmed by the power of the beast, when the bracelet was slapped shut around her wrist by Geroy.
But before the latch locked, she got the feeling the Fearless was letting its victim, the Brion warrior, keep its consciousness on purpose, enjoying the anguish.
She felt something else, too. Audrey hadn't had time to see it before, but now that she knew, she couldn't believe she had no way to let Tieran know.
The Fearless was powerful, yes, but the host was not. Right then, the Fearless had picked the best host it could have hoped for, but it wouldn’t be good enough. Brion warriors were trained from birth, their senses and abilities were far beyond most.
The host, therefore, could take much more punishment from the Fearless than a regular person would have. But as the Fearless filled the host with its own power, it was bound to eventually fall short. The man was still in there, fighting against the beast, and it would only hasten how quickly his body would break down.
Even now, Audrey could still feel the utter tiredness of the man. His legs had carried the Fearless across the ship and away from Tieran faster than the Brion would have been able to run on its own. His legs were almost broken and his body was bruised from the Fearless' uncaring maneuvers.
That was a weakness that could be exploited. Even though it was a Brion warrior being used as a vessel, he could only take so much, and the breaking point could not have been far. Audrey had no idea how to let Tieran know that.
For some reason, life didn't flash before her eyes. The bracelet was blocking most of the lifestone's awesome presence, pulsing within the Fearless, but Audrey still felt the monster, standing almost in front of her now. She felt malice, but not… threat, specifically.
It didn't want her dead.
"You," the host gargled, speaking like someone who hadn't used w
ords in a long, long while. "Come with me."
Audrey's mind was spinning. The most dangerous, ruthless creature known to the galactic whole hadn't killed her, or the paladins around her protecting her from it. That meant there was something it wanted from her.
“Miss Price,” Geroy started, a warning in his voice.
She held up her hand, silencing the paladin. Her gaze remained on the Brion.
"Why?" she asked after a moment. "You have no use for me. I don't even have a stone."
The host cocked its head to the side and Audrey could hear an ugly crack in its neck. Terrible pain flashed by in the Brion warrior's eyes.
She shuddered.
"See him?" the Fearless asked. "I can do this to you. I want you whole, but if you refuse, I can make you claw your own eyes out. Get up now. Walk."
Well, that certainly was a request she couldn't refuse.
Audrey straightened up, watching the lifeless eyes of the Brion, wondering if he was still alive or the Fearless had snapped his neck. She assumed he was, since Tieran had told her that Jorcossi couldn't take over a dead body. It needed to be alive, even if by a thread. If the Fearless had simulated the capabilities of the Jorcossi now, it would stand to reason that the same rules applied.
Not that she could really make any assumptions about an ancient evil that seemed to be on a whole other level of evolutionary standards.
The warrior was walking oddly, though. Like he was trying to act natural while most of its body was broken. His valor squares pulsed a deep, muddy maroon.
Audrey pitied him with all her soul, but another part of her was glad. The Fearless was making a powerful enemy. Brions were a proud race who would never forgive what it was doing.
“Miss Price, I cannot let you do that,” Geroy snapped, putting his glaive in her path.
Both she and the Fearless turned their attention to him. The paladin remained unfazed, just like the rest of his men.
Mission-driven, all of them, she thought with a hint of pride for the men she was surrounded by.
“If I don’t go with him, we will all be dead,” Audrey whispered, another certainty in her mind that could not be argued with. “I will be the last, but everyone on this ship will be slaughtered. I do not want that.”