Chapter 19 Navi

I tell Craze about the battledagger download as we set the SkySprinter down behind the broken tower. He grows unusually quiet.

"What?" I ask, adjusting the itchy Solcrue armor I've put on. I wager they can't feel how uncomfortable it is thanks to their scales. But after mating with Craze and riding his surprisingly silky shaft, I guess I've become spoiled and extra sensitive.

"You could've controlled that whole ship?" he asks.

"I did."

Craze massages a temple. "Why didn't you do it sooner?"

I get up from my seat and collect two guns from the weapons locker. "Because I thought you were gone. I thought I killed you with that pulse, the one I didn't really intend to set off when the data downloaded from the battledagger. The opportunity just presented itself. I wanted to help you not watch you die. It just wasn't in me."

He stands from his seat, walks to me, takes my hand in his, and kisses my fingers. "All I have ever secretly wanted was to know I was worthy of love, of Brothers and Sisters that endured beside me, to know I am not unhinged or unserviceable like many Creators said. They only put me to work because of the desperate need for Titans."

I guide his hand back to my mouth and curl my tongue around his index finger. The stirring lust on his face tells me my distraction worked. "Craze, they sent you into battle because when they weighed their options, they ultimately felt—when push came to shove—you would function as intended."

He draws me close and presses a kiss into my hair. Craze doesn't like my changes to his plans. I know he's afraid he's going to lose me. I'm more worried about him.

"Be careful," he says.

I smirk. "Will you?"

He laughs softly and shakes his head.

"Then I won't hold back either. Whatever it takes." I slap the Open Ramp button and switch on my body shield. "Go get your brothers. I'll round up the team."

"I love you."

I glance up at him.

Craze winks. "You look so good in a tactical harness. I'm going to rip that off of you later."

I kiss him through the air, steady my guns in my palms, and hustle out of the Skysprinter, heading for the main landing zone.

Craze runs in the opposite direction. I know Ranger is on his mind.

The battledagger Jeela and her crew were supposed to sneak onto still sits on the tarmac, but having left the moon for a short time makes me unsure of who is where.

NaviLocal: Status.

RamBashLocal: North of landing area. Pinned down. Request assistance.

Squads rush past me like I'm not a threat. I realize with my black hair and Solcrue uniform that I might be passable. But I'm usually too thick to be interesting. Perhaps I have lost enough weight in recent years that inside the bulky uniform, they can't tell my size.

I search for a Solcrue vehicle that I can steal, one still in operation. The tarmac and the old plant complex are littered with flaming debris, crumbled concrete, and twisted metal.

NaviRamBash: Is Eliana still with you?

He clicks back. And that's when I find them, tucked behind an overturned hoverdrone, taking fire from multiple positions.

MacabreLocal: Where did you go? Is Craze with you?

We don't have much time to waste. So I give him the simplest words I can.

NaviLocal: Space. He fine, but no. We need to get out of here. Two more Solcruean warships on approach.

Macabre swears over the local channel.

MacabreLocal: We need cover. We're stuck like RamBash. Tangle too.

I scan for them and brackets open in my vision, indicating their spread out positions. Macabre is cornered under a crumbled chunk of the building. Tangle and Aeri fire from behind a crate near the other battledagger.

It's impossible for me to help them all. So I start for Tumble, who is closest. I skirt the debris, burning crates, and overturned equipment across the cracked ground toward Tumble's location. I find the squad holding him down, aim, and fire a string of shots, knowing I'm not even close to as accurate as the Titans.

My splay blinks with messages.

Low and to the right. Adjust up and left.

It gives me a form of measurements I don't understand, but the targeting brackets help.

I take out two soldiers just before a blue blast slams into me, knocking me to the ground and causing my shield to flicker. My ears ring and dizziness grips me as I catch my breath.

The local network fills with com chatter about me being hit, but I'm still getting my wits back.

Rapid fire nears my position, making me sit up in a rush and search for the source as well as some cover that's worth a damn.

A busted-up Titan stalks up beside me, a multi-barreled cannon-like gun hanging from a shoulder. Bands of ammo loop over his shoulders. His deep gold badge becomes visible when he turns to me.

"Go! I know the plan. I will get the others!" Ranger sprays the enemy with so many bullets that I can't determine where one ends and the next begins. He stalks onward, teeth gritted in determination.

I can't believe it worked.

Ranger's in operation again!

I scramble up and run with my fading shield up the ramp of the nearest Battledagger. The moment I'm inside, I feel the pull of the systems. They recognize my splay and want to connect.

Enter Access Code to engage Fierynn Battledagger Six.

I input the one from Sevrin's Battle dagger but it's denied.

Oh, come on!

I race through the cargo dock until I find an onboard screen. I know how to find the code. I just need to get control before Solcrue soldiers figure it out.

Swiping through the screens, I pull up system operations, security, select the commander's level, and close my eyes.

Sounds of battle rip around me. One by one, our team hustles up the ramp thanks to Ranger's assistance.

Summon Passcode Recreation.

The windows pop up in my vision. I don't know what they say or mean, only what they do by the tags in the logged list in my left eye.

With the system open, I recode the access parameters and take over the ship. A steady green shield buzzes to life around me. I turn around and face the Solcrue inside. They know they can't penetrate the shield meant for their commander, but when they see my shield and that a human stands inside it, they try to anyway.

I find my friends, human and Titan, aboard the ship and tag them for shields.

Green light ignites down a hallway. Shavih steps back and looks over at me. She grins, lifts a rifle and lets out a battle cry as she fires and charges into the shadows.

Red alerts flash in my vision. I switch my focus to the perimeter of the ship and hurry to the edge of the ramp.

"What now?" I shout out of anger at no one in particular.

Proximal threat detected.

The battledagger on the other side of the tarmac has warmed its guns and is turned them on us.