by Abel, Regine
Legion straightened in his chair, a frown on his face. “That is indeed odd, but I’m not sure what conclusion can be derived from it.”
“I couldn’t derive one either, so I requested additional data from that specific time from all of our other allies who hadn’t reported a whisper. And I found a bunch more instances, which updates the map to this.”
Twenty-two more dots appeared for a total of thirty. They formed a clear path, slightly curved in places, which led from the heart of Kryptid space towards its western edge.
“This looked too much like a path to be ignored. So, I asked our scouts to send out some stealth drones alongside it to get some eyes on whatever the heck is out there. That’s why my report took so long,” I added with an apologetic glance at Rage.
“Well, someone’s been busy,” Raven said, sounding impressed.
“More than you know, scaly head,” I said teasingly.
He frowned, which made me chuckle. Rage gaped at us. He hadn’t been around me enough lately to have witnessed my whole mischievous personality slowly coming back to the surface. The other Warriors smiled in that amused, brotherly—if not fatherly—way they often did whenever Raven was concerned.
“You’re no longer allowed to hang out with my Soulcatcher. Sonia is ruining you,” Raven mumbled.
“Pfft, I was ruined long before she came into the picture. Now, stop distracting me and focus,” I added, unable to resist the urge to rile him up a bit more.
Chaos snorted, and I winked at him. I loved that big teddy bear of a Warrior who had helped me keep it together when my life had all but been shattered by Rage’s departure. He’d taken me under his wing, given me the tremendous honor of becoming his Soulcatcher, and weathered my emotional crises and bitchy outbursts with the patience and understanding of a loving big brother.
“Did the drones reveal anything?” Rage asked.
“They sure did,” I said, being deliberately dramatic.
Flicking my thumb over the remote I switched the image on the screen to a low-res video recorded by the drones. The Warriors gasped, tension rising in the room as they straightened in their chairs.
“Is this what I think it is?” Wrath asked.
“If what you’re thinking is ‘three massive breeding ships’ then you’re bang on,” I retorted. “The scans picked up thousands of Soldier larvae and Drone eggs on the two flanking ships. They couldn’t get through the disruptors of largest one in the middle vessel. So, whatever that one contains, your guess is as good as mine.”
“Where the fuck are they going?” Legion asked.
“Excellent question,” I replied, then pointed at the first dot at the bottom. “They are at the very beginning of the path, smack in the center of Kryptid space. Based on their general trajectory and speed, it will take them nearly a week to reach the final dot on the path. But I doubt that it’s their final destination.”
“Why not?” Rage asked.
“There’s nothing there,” I explained. “Well, that’s not quite true. There is an asteroid belt, which I suspect contains a lot of Taridium because of the high levels of electromagnetic discharges that mess up any probes or drones we’ve ever tried to send in the area. But the images of the belt show pretty closely-knit rock formations. So, whether there is an inhabitable planet or rock in that region, the breeding ships are way too massive and would never make it through the asteroids.”
“What does that mean?” Wrath asked.
I chewed my bottom lip, hating cases like these where I didn’t have a definitive answer on a situation.
“I have a few theories,” I said, thinking out loud. “One is that whoever sent us that path—and I’m certain it was deliberate—failed to get the rest of the coordinates or was interrupted before he could set up the other whispers. The second is that they had a glitch which accidently sent out that signal, and they are now hoping and praying that we didn’t notice. And the third is that this is actually a setup, and they’re just baiting us.”
“Baiting us?” Raven asked. “What makes you think that?”
“Their nearly non-existent escort,” Chaos responded in my stead. “The two liveships flanking the middle one are low-grade. We all know the General doesn’t give a shit about his Soldiers, so it’s not surprising that he would have their eggs and larvae travel on his cheapest vessels. But that middle ship is top of the line. He wouldn’t use it unless it carried something very precious. Which raises the question, why is it so poorly defended?”
“They are within their space, though,” Legion reflected out loud. “Technically, they would have little reason to feel the need for a massive escort as we currently do not have large fleets in the sector.”
“Correct, although long-range scans seem to indicate some ships might be moving to rendezvous with them, but it’s too early to be certain yet. And this is why I’m not sure if they are baiting us or if some ally is deliberately giving us a hint,” I said, banning the haunting image of the blond-haired hybrid that flashed before my eyes.
I’d only seen him twice, and both times he’d affected me in a way I didn’t want to dwell upon. Raven tilted his head to the side, his penetrating gaze making me squirm. He’d been growing far too perceptive over his years as head psychic trainer of the Vanguard. My close friendship with his mate had made him even more attuned to my moods. Some things, I preferred kept private.
“Some ally like Bane?” Raven asked, making my stomach flip-flop.
“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “But I don’t think so. Based on our history with the hybrids, they do not ask for help and do not contact us for anything. However, if we happen to be in the same location, and they can aid us, they will.”
The Warriors nodded in response to my comment.
“So, what do you recommend?” Rage asked me.
“That you forget about your scouting mission, and that we put together a small fleet to go destroy those breeding ships and find out what the heck is inside that fancy liveship,” I said with conviction, crossing my arms over my chest.
The men exchanged a look which reflected the same uncertainty I’d been warring with before finally settling on this decision.
“You are our best analyst,” Chaos said in a serious tone that revealed how conflicted he felt. “I can count on one hand the number of times you’ve been off. But this one not only sounds like a bit of a long shot, it really does feel like a trap. How strongly do you feel about pursuing this?”
I took a second to review all the facts in my head before answering. The women of the Vanguard were equal partners with the Warriors. While Legion and Chaos ‘unofficially’ co-led the Vanguard and took most of the decisions especially regarding missions; Soulcatchers, Portals, and Shields all had a say. Our words held weight. Our men’s lives rested in our hands, and we didn’t fuck around with that.
“I’m not going to lie,” I said at last. “This is riding equally on facts and instinct. My gut says we need to go, something big is about to go down. The General has been quiet for too long, so we know he’s up to one of his twisted experiments again. I am convinced these whispers are deliberate, and that they aren’t from Bane. He would have simply contacted Ayana rather than play games. So, my suggestion is that we go in two waves, the second one as backup in case it is indeed a trap.”
Chaos exchanged a look with Legion who nodded his assent. My chest warmed with love for the unconditional trust these Warriors showed us, ‘their girls’ as they often called us. They were as close to our hearts as any blood relative—closer even in some cases. We’d gone to hell and back with them and will continue to do so until the threat of the Kryptids has been eliminated or die trying.
“Do we have enough time to intercept?” Legion asked.
“If we depart by morning, use the Baryan Wormhole, and travel at warp speed, we should intercept them around here,” I said indicating a white dot a little past halfway through the path. “This would be the ideal scenario as there aren’t too many Krypti
d-controlled planets in that area that could send troops as reinforcements.”
“Since this is your discovery, I’m assuming you want to join?” Legion asked me.
“Of course,” I said. “Plus, I want to perform further analyses along the way. I’m asking for more data from our allies in the region.”
“Very well,” Legion said. “That means Chaos will lead it.”
“As if Ayana would have allowed you to leave with your two-month old baby,” Raven said teasingly.
“She will have to make her peace with it sooner than later,” Legion said. “And so will I.”
“But not today, old man,” Raven said mockingly.
“And you’re not going anywhere either, kiddo,” Legion retorted tauntingly, which made the others chuckle. “You’ve got a fresh batch of new Aspirants to train.”
Raven made a face at being reminded he was half the age of all the other Warriors. But thankfully, he no longer seemed to chafe as much at being babied by them.
“You two are excused,” Chaos said to Legion and Raven. “The rest of us have a mission to prepare.”
Chapter 2
Bane
I paced the deck overlooking the training ground fifty meters below us where over a hundred of my baby brothers were practicing dodging incoming projectiles while in flight. There was something soothing about the soft hum of their wings as the boys hovered above ground. As much as I hated our sire, I loved every one of my siblings and not just because our dragon blood demanded it.
“You cannot defy his orders,” Dread said, tension oozing out of his voice. “We’ve pushed our luck too many times lately.”
“I will not hand them over to him!” I snapped, immediately regretting raising my voice. Dread was my mother’s second living son, and the main reason I hadn’t gone insane years ago at the hands of the General. Taking a deep breath to calm myself down, I placed my hands on his shoulders, resting them atop the rounded tips of the bone spikes lining them. “He will sacrifice them,” I said with bone-deep conviction. “He doesn’t just suspect we’re not loyal to him, he knows. If we bring them to Zekuro, I have no doubt he will force me to kill at least a few of them—if not all of them—to prove my loyalty.”
Dread recoiled, his multifaceted eyes widening and his face, so like mine, taking on a troubled expression. “I know Khutu cares for nothing and no one aside from himself, but sacrificing his hybrid warriors seems beyond wasteful, even for him. He may sacrifice us, but our young siblings are still malleable enough for him to try to indoctrinate them.”
“No, brother,” I said, shaking my head. “Like us, they’ve bonded with their mothers in the womb. They can never turn against humans or anyone humans consider as allies.”
“He doesn’t know that, though,” Dread argued.
“I think he does.”
The bristling hum of wings prevented me from speaking further. Letting go of Dread’s shoulders, I looked over mine to watch Rogue approach and then make a smooth landing next to us. Black hair and a darker shade of grey skin than Dread and I, he was the first living son of Meredith, Chaos’s first human Soulcatcher. She’d been abducted alongside my mother on the raid of Dojenia. At twenty-nine, he was two years younger than me, and three years older than Dread. Although my mother had borne the General many other sons, after Dread, Rogue was the brother I felt the closest to. Despite his name, he was no assassin or infiltrator, but our Chief Medical Officer.
“Am I interrupting?” he asked with his incredibly deep baritone voice that clashed terribly with his eternal baby face.
“I want you to oversee the evacuation of Umbra,” I said to Rogue.
“But to go where?” Rogue exclaimed, taken aback. “Arkonia is far from ready, and we haven’t even opened peace talks with the Coalition. They would kill on sight half of our people for merely being what they are—what the General made them.”
“They can’t stay here,” I said in a mulish tone. “The General knows of this place. If my suspicions are right, while we are escorting our mothers to his new lair, he will raid Umbra to make sure we haven’t left anything hidden from him here. He wants us and anything we care about under his thumb. That’s why he’s willing to jeopardize the lives of our youngest brothers, even though they will struggle to breathe on Zekuro.”
“Fuck,” Dread muttered, finally understanding where I was coming from. “If he finds out about the Scelks…”
“He’ll kill us all,” Rogue finished for him.
The Scelks had been one of the most horrible experiments Khutu had performed on the peaceful and primitive people of Janaur. He’d mutated an inoffensive local insect, turning it into a parasite that took over control of the host’s mind and nervous system, eventually killing the soul of the host. Their psychic powers had nearly brought the Vanguard to their knees and could very well have wiped them out. But we’d stepped in and turned the mature ones to our side, while eradicating the young before the General could unleash them upon the galaxy. He believed them all dead during the cleansing of Janaur. If he ever found out over two hundred of them followed my command, he wouldn’t hurt me directly, but exact revenge on those I love.
“He also believes Silzi died after Ayana ‘escaped’ capture,” I continued. “In light of his successful experiment on her people, if he finds out about her, he’ll want to mutate her as well.”
“Is he seriously planning on giving you her sisters as your queens?” Rogue asked, bewildered.
I hesitated. “Honestly, I’m not sure what to think. There’s no question he would want offspring combining their mimic abilities with our soul-transfer and bioengineered powers. But he pretty much stated that he’s worried I would use my sons to depose him. He would never put this much power into another’s hands. So, I’m leaning towards him planning on killing all of us, but first, he needs me to bring you to him.”
“So, what’s the plan?” Dread asked with resignation.
“We bring all of our young brothers to the Brides Ship. Khutu will scan us for a headcount. If any of them are missing, he’ll know something’s afoot,” I explained when both my brothers gave me a disbelieving look. “It is a top of the line vessel made to resist the most brutal assaults. Therefore, it will be the easiest and safest way to transport all of our most vulnerable people away from Kryptid space while the rest of us give them cover to make a clear getaway.”
I turned to Dread, my gaze boring into his. “Divide our warriors in as many of our best ships as possible. Have two sets of Shells ready for everyone in case we need it. We will rendezvous with the breeding ships, transfer our siblings, and escort them peacefully up to the Nolusk region. That’s when we will take out the Kryptids. I need you to make the assignments as to who will escort our mothers to Arkonia and who will battle. Either way, I want Storm piloting the liveship. So, make sure he gets ‘left behind’ on the Brides Ship after he’s transferred our young there.”
“Got it,” Dread said.
“Rogue,” I said turning to face him, “prepare the rest of our people for evacuation. I’m not sure if Khutu is already monitoring us so they must begin the move no sooner than three hours after we’ve left. All of them in stealth. Since all of us must join the breeding ships escort, the Scelks will lead our people to our new home.”
“The Scelks only listen to you,” Rogue cautioned.
I swallowed back a sigh of irritation. Unfortunately, dealing with our ‘extended family’ had many challenges. The Scelks, like every other experiment the General had performed, were meant to be ruthless killing machines who only obeyed one master. He had intended that to be him, but turning the tables on my sire came with its downsides, too.
“Right. I will speak to Varnog,” I said in a conciliatory tone. “Let’s get to it. We must be en route for the rendezvous point by first light tomorrow morning.”
My brothers nodded, their dark scales creasing with worry beneath the half-moon shaped, black Deynian horn adorning our foreheads. If only I could take awa
y their burden… But right now, the survival of the people I’d been fighting for my entire life rested on my shoulders. And I wasn’t so arrogant as to think I could carry it alone. Without a word, they spread their wings and flew away. Summoning my own wings, I welcomed the slight burn as they protruded from my back.
“Bane!” a feminine voice called out before I could take flight.
Turning around, I saw Silzi walking hastily towards me, the small rocks and packed dirt crunching beneath her feet. She nervously flicked her black hair over her shoulder as she closed the distance between us, revealing the vertical gills along the right side of her neck. The Mimic’s normally light-blue skin had taken a darker hue that indicated she hadn’t been in a large body of saltwater for far too long. My stomach knotted with the need to better care for her and all those who looked to me for protection.
With Silzi’s people on the verge of extinction, I’d rallied the Mimic to our side after the General had sent her on a mission to assassinate the Soulcatchers within the Vanguard HQ itself. She’d been more easily swayed, knowing what kind of barbaric corporeal punishment awaited her for having failed to fulfil that mission. Having been on the receiving end of such beatings and floggings for my own ‘failures’—which had in fact been deliberate sabotage—I probably wouldn’t have been able to stand by idly while Khutu brutalized her. My body would be a network of scars had it not been for my occasional rebirths in a new Shell.
“What is it, Silzi,” I asked in a gentle voice.
“Is it true?” she asked, her stormy grey eyes flicking between mine, searching.