Chapter 18 Craze

The pulse for the battledagger is unexpected. I thought for sure they were going to darken my ultro via coilgun. Solcrue do love weapons as slithery as they are.

Instead, I'm launched into the side of a small ship, scattered like the others, but buried beneath many. The Solcrue soldiers don't move. It isn't easy to crawl out from under them. As I get up, I see a Tacticat race across the tarmac with Navi's limp body on the back.

They're moving her.

Macabre's running the crew with Jeela and sneaking aboard the ship closest to the hills. The others are on distraction tactics with grenades and guns.

I get on my feet, pick a course toward Navi and start running. A hoverdrone crosses between us at high speeds, and I decide the risk is worth it. So I jump onto the hoverdrone's moving platform and use it as a leaping off point to get me headed straight for the Tacticat Navi is on.

But as I dodge a soldier's fist, trying to reach the front where I can make the jump, a blue pulse slams into my side. I fly across the tarmac and smash into the hull of a battledagger.

I twist and land on my feet. Time is limited to get to Navi before she's gone for good.

When look up, I'm confronted with the ugliest mangled mess of flesh I've ever seen for something still living.

Rochir points a sword at me. Its blade glows red but doesn't light up with fire. It's a zembi, likely the one I lost in the lab when I saved Tangle.

I draw a gun and fire at him, but he doesn't flinch. A green shield shines around him.

"Aren't you going to ask me why I'm not dead?" Rochir asks.

"Kind of obvious, I guess. Aren't you going to ask what it's like to have friends?" I wave my gun around. "Those who have your back no matter what?"

He glowers at me. "You're outnumbered."

"Massively."

"How can you possibly stand a chance?"

"Because while you were busy trying to fuck up my chosen one, they were enjoying rigging up a few party favors."

CrazeLocal: Release the confetti.

Bombs punch upward from RamBash's chosen spots, swallowing the old plant we used to work in, two emissary cruisers parked on the side of the tarmac, and the new tower which sinks into the caverns.

"Hey look, it's like your dick when Sevrin's around," I tease.

Rochir fires his gun at me so fast and angry that my nanos burn the surface of my skin as they try to compensate. I return fire, get closer and knock the gun out of his hand. As I reach for the zembi, he whips the blade with his wrist, and stabs me through the middle. The blade is hot as it cuts into me.

Rochir steps back as I fall to my knees. Time creeps slower as the likelihood of death increases. My nanos leave my chest and shoulders, surging into my side.

"Pathetic for a machine." Rochir spits on the ground. "You are why I never got augments. Sevrin was unique for our kind, sick in the head but useful. The commanders wanted me to oversee his projects, keep him focused on developing versions of you that we could control." He bares his teeth and angrily taps a temple. "Flesh or nanos, not both."

Every breath pains me, but it isn't the zembi that hurts the most. It's the sight of beautiful Navi, both human and cybernetics, being loaded onto the central battledagger by Solcrue. My ultro shudders.

Rochir steps closer. I sense his triumph as much as I feel the heat of the metal in my gut.

I'm not ready to let her go or to allow others to speak of her in such a way. She has made me feel powerful and valued, like the protector I want to be. I cannot let her down and slowly reach for the blade. I tap the button on the side and wince as the blade cuts through me one more time, retracting into the handle.

"It's a tough existence, being a Titan," he remarks. "But it must be worse to know that in your end, you failed to protect your Bond—again.

My nanos storm my insides. In seconds I know if I'm going to live or die.

I spin the handle in my hand, grab it firmly and thrust upward. The zembi blazes open and cauterizes his flesh as it cuts through him. There's no coming back from that level of damage. "No. You're the one who gets an unexpected ending."

He laughs, chokes on blood. "You think Sevrin and I are the only Solcrue with twisted minds?"

"I'll find a way to roast them from the pits of their deal souls, just like you."

Rochir drops to his knees and slides off of my zembi.

I find a passing hoverdrone headed the way I want to go and catch an arm of its claw.

The piloting Solcrue picks up a gun to fire at me, but I'm faster and blast him off of the platform. Then I race back toward the battledagger with Navi on board. But on approach, I find the ramp already shut.

I sprint toward the vessel, but know I'm not going to make it. I have to get onboard before they jump to hyper speeds or I may never find her again.

A nearby battledagger has a LightBlade transport docked just inside a hanger. I slam the hoverdrone into a banked turn and bolt for the hanger. Someone sees me approaching and tries to close the access door.

I max the throttle, set it on autopilot and leap off of the platform, barely making it through the crack before the door shuts. My body slides across the polished floor, and I shoot down the soldiers in the hanger who turn to fire at me. Then I hurry to the ramp, swing myself inside the ship, knock out the two pilots, and drop them on the hangar's deck.

Closing the ramp, I take the pilot's seat and try to open the hanger doors until I remember that won't work because of this very situation.

I shrug. Looks like we're using guns.

I fire at the hull until I have a hole, then redline my thrusters and punch through.

The Battledagger is just entering space when I catapult up into the sky. I use Jeela's voice recording Tangle captured and relayed to all of us to request an emergency dock.

To my relief a hangar door opens.

Landing inside, I realize it will be easier to hunt for Navi on the ship if they don't know I'm there. So I switch off and hide in a cabinet.

Security for the hangar looks inside and quickly leaves, calling out for the female. I sneak out behind them and skirt a maintenance bay where I steal a uniform and change in a shadowed corner.

A map in the hallway shows me where prisoners are kept. Only one cell is occupied.

When I turn to head down the hallway, I hear the com chatter fill with talk of a Titan onboard.

My element of surprise is broken, but that doesn't mean they're prepared to greet me. It's been a long time since a Titan infiltrated one of their ships. Of that, I'm sure.

I check my magazines as I march toward the engine room between me and Navi. I've left my friends behind, but they have each other. Macabre will lead them well, I have no doubt. I just hope he and Shavih don't kill each other first.

Scanning the engine room ahead of me, I find over fifty soldiers. I pull two grenades, twist them on with a three-second delay, and burst into the room. I toss the grenades, and then switch to guns as I charge across the catwalk to the other door.

I take out three Solcrue on the catwalk with me, the first with a simple shoulder block that crushes him against the wall. He falls as the others shoot at me. I duck, and their bullets graze my shoulders. One shot is all it takes to send each of them tumbling over the railing.

The grenades detonate as I reach the other side. I slam through the doorway and am greeted by a squad wielding spined whips. They have royal black metallic armor, soldiers called Tartarus.

They growl and glare at me with eyes so dark green they look almost black. The tails of their weapons spark as they snap them back and forth in warning.

Navi's cell is just beyond them.

"Navi!"

Her body is curled up and lies against the glass. She shifts a little, giving me hope she might be okay.

The first to sling his whip at me gets a surprise when I catch the tails, tug on the barbed threads and punch him in the face. He crumples from the force behind my fist.

I ignite the zembi and spin it in preparation. "Let's see who has better coordination."

The second man, on my left, takes a swing. I lob off the threads of his whip then launch him into the wall with a boot to his chest. The third overshoots me. My zembi cuts through his side. The fourth slings the whip at my feet, but he sees his mistake a moment too late.

I catch a railing overhead and pick my feet up. When he looks up at me, I give him a little wave and point to the end of the whip he's hooked on a pillar. I drop down and spear him with the sword.

He stills. As I walk toward Navi's cell, I push him backward and let him fall from the blade.

"Gorgeous?" I scour the cell's frame for a way in, then I think of the Tartarus I just cut down. Maybe they have keycards? Access codes?

She twists around and stares up at me. Her face is wet and her hair a tangled mess of inky threads I want to comb with my fingers. I want her in my arms.

"How do I get you out?" I ask.

Craze? She looks around at the cage.

Are the guards all dead? she asks.

I nod.

Navi closes her eyes, and the door swings open.

I don't understand how she did it, but I'll ask later. I snatch Navi up and turn for the escape pods.

Hang onto me, baby. Tightly , I tell her.

Navi hooks her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist while I pull up maps of the battledaggers I've been on in years past. I find the shortest route to the nearest transport.

Doors open behind us. A guard appears. I fire back and thrust us down a nearby hallway. Navi yelps and curls tighter around me.

Olive blood splatters our sides. A bullet whizzes past our heads. I turn around a corner, spin, and fire back. Headshots or no shots, as my Creation Trainer used to say. Missed shots waste ammo.

I clutch Navi inside the shield of my body and sprint down a, escape corridor. All of the escape pods are missing.

What the hell is going on here? I've never seen anything like it.

At the end is a hangar for a skysprinter. I grab another grenade, knowing there will be soldiers inside. I stick one end in my mouth and twist it. It blinks blue and starts the countdown as I burst into the hangar.

Flinging the grenade toward the cluster of Solcrue that always maintains the ship, I charge toward the vessel with the lowered ramp. Gunfire erupts, searing the air with fiery metal. I take a hit to the back as I sprint up the ramp.

Brothers come to mind as we take shelter inside the skysprinter. I twist and shoot down the two soldiers in range, then slam the close ramp button inside the ship.

The blast from my grenade goes off, billowing heat as the ramp rises and seals us from harm. The pilot gets up, sees me, and goes for his gun. I don't want to break our ride out of here, so I steady the zembi between us.

Navi gasps and looks toward the flaming sword as I slash the Solcrue back. Then I set Navi down, engage the shields of the Skysprinter, and sling his body into the refuse chute.

"Strap in, beautiful." I brace the back of her head and kiss her in passing. "We are getting the fuck out of here."

I slam myself into the pilot's seat and hear her buckles latch. I power up the thrusters as Solcrue try to overwhelm the ship with gunfire.

The shields hold. It takes something very heavy and large, like RamBash, Thruster, or Coil to break through Solcruean shields. I know we don't have any NutBuster missiles these days, but I'd sure like to punch a hole in the heart of their military again.

My body sinks back in my seat as I launch us out of the hangar. Just before we slip free, I see the Battledagger's status blink.

Battledagger: Self-destruct Initiated. Please evacuate. Two minutes remaining.

Weapons arm on the Solcruean ship, heating red hot. I watch on the scanners as I race us back toward the moon. Solcrue wouldn't risk firing at us with their own ships within range, but we have to get close enough for my tactic to work.

Then, out of nowhere, a pale blue light crawls around the battledagger.

Are those—ice shields? I think back to the last time I saw them. The research vessel, the one with Navi—

I unbuckle my harness, swivel in my seat, and look back at her.

Navi's eyes are bright, and narrowed with vengeful delight.

I guess I'm not paying attention to how much time is passing when the battledagger erupts in the stars.

Anyone who managed to chase after us is likely gone. The compression wave rocks our skysprinter and sends alerts beeping and flashing on the dash. But I've endured it enough times to know—with the ice shields up—we'll be okay.

I get up slowly, an inexplicable lust surging through me. Did you do that?

Do you mean initiate the self-destruct, lock the doors with the ice shield, and blow it to high hell? A sly grin eases onto her face.

"Maniacal, and I love it," I rasp.

In one move, I free her harness, pick her up, and steady her hips against mine. "Please let me Bond with you, Navi. Forever. Will you accept me?"

She takes me by the back of the head and draws my mouth to hers with urgent force. Need surges, and I stagger into the back where I crush her against the wall.

I want inside of her. I need her tender heat to surround me and block out the memories of my lost Brothers, the burn of battle, and to remind me that my purpose is not lost. I must feel her against me so I know—without a doubt—she is still with me.

Navi tears down my zipper and frees my erect cock then strokes its length with admiration. She plunges her tongue into my mouth and glides it over mine with tact until I am a raging mess.

"Hurry," she whines.

When trying to get her pants off becomes frustrating, I grab a fistful if the fabric, clutch her against me and tear it free.

Surprise fills her eyes in a way that I like.

Spreading my feet to steady us, I grab my shaft and guide my searing tip into the succulent wetness of her opening.

My ultro spools faster until I am a frenzy of electricity and urges to drive into her—hard. But she is a small female.

Navi arches and inhales sharply as I push inside of her gloriously tight pussy.

Her moan of approval as I find her deepest spot, makes me bump-thrust just a little further.

"Oh, Craze!" Her fingernails dig into my shoulders.

I like the way my female says my name, the way she melts in my arms but grips me from the inside like she doesn't want to let go. The sting of her nails biting into me only heightens my pleasure.

Withdrawing, I sweep my lips over hers. I will always come for you Navi, no matter where we are.

Then I plunge into her hot core, growing in speed. My female's body responds to mine. Her clenches strengthen as I pump harder, deeper, stretching her so she can comfortably take my larger Titan cock.

Navi's body glistens as we mate. I just want you to cum here, now.

Her sweet musk fills the air. A bead of her nectar runs down my balls, and I nearly lose it.

When her heels dig into my ass and she draws me into her with force, I feel the tremors of her climax begin. Just knowing that her eyes roll back because of me makes me rush over the edge of my own ecstasy.

I fill her pulsing core, deep, with everything I can give her. Her beautiful, strong pussy takes me, milks me in tensing waves that make me never want the descent to come. I could live in this moment forever.

My female. My mate.

Navi is mine!

When her body stills, I set her feet down and guide the loose strands of hair away from her eyes.

"To answer your question," she says. "I accept a Bond with you, Titan Craze."

I take a knee before her of no choice of my own. The Bond program initiates, and takes me back to every general I've ever served.

"But only as a free Titan to choose your destiny and be free of your punishment protocols and other regulatory shit forever."

The program blinks and fades. A weight in my chest lifts. My name in my visual field flashes.

Free Titan Craze

"Now I need some damned pants. Ideas?" she asks.

I'm struggling to keep up with her in my satiated state and suddenly know how my brothers feel with me. I punch a nearby container. The door drops open, exposing Solcrue uniforms and armor inside.

But instead of reaching for the clothes, she presses her half naked body to mine. Her shoulders nearly come to mine where I kneel before her. She wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me.

I savor the taste of her, grateful she's safe with me.

"I thought you were gone," she says.

Do you not wish to speak to me as a Titan?

"There's a lot of data still scrolling through my head. I want to keep it on lockdown as much as possible until I can be sure it won't bleed into the net and drive you all mad. But it's quieter now after—" she bites a lip. "Thanks for that, Sexy Beast."

I chuckle . Is that what you think of me?

"We'll talk more when I'm dressed. Besides—" She motions to the nearing moon's surface. "We're going back for our team, right?"

I hug her tightly. "Yes. As much as I'd love to just disappear with you forever— Wait, you said our team. Like Titans and humans, united?"

"Well, we are, aren't we?" She kisses me quickly then turns to dig through the clothes.

Climbing back into the pilot's seat, I guide us toward the blazing battle below, reveling in the idea that I have a mate, and I am forever free .

"Two more warships on approach," she adds, climbing into a black suit of armor.

I see them enter the solar system in our scanners, heading our way from the opposite direction as Ellipsis.

"Navi, I think I have a plan."