Chapter 20 Navi

I can see my ship's schematics in my mind, and engage the guns like I did with Sevrin's ship. I launch a rapid assault as the last of my friends sprint up the ramp.

The moment Ranger joins us, I lift the battledagger's exterior shields.

"Proximity Alert. Brace for impact," the ship's automated voice says.

The other ship fires missiles at us that pummel the ship. The shield holds back the munitions, but they still explode in flaming plumes that send flashes of light inside the open ramp.

I scan for autopilot commands I can initiate from here and find something that I hope is enough.

Autopilot, Engage.

Emergency Evacuation Maneuvers.

I haven't a clue what it will do, but the ship lifts and begins to close the ramp, arcing away from the other Battledagger.

I tag Ranger's body with a shield. It catches him off guard for a moment, then he slings his gun over his back like it doesn't weigh a thing and turns toward a munitions facility. "I will solve this. Just go get Craze and the others so we can get off of this blasted fucking moon!"

"Yes, sir!"

He squints back at me but keeps moving. It doesn't bother him because I know he is free .

"Where is Craze?" RamBash asks.

I close my eyes and pull up the map, then send the Titans the visual signal over our network. "I want him pulled out however we have to, and everything he tags. And not one thing must be left standing on this planet, do you understand?"

"Bossy," Tangle mutters. He winces and takes a knee. "I apologize."

"Oh, for the love of fucking Pete."

"Who's Pete?" Macabre challenges.

"Figure of speech." I glower at him because this is not the time. "I, Commander Navi of acquired Fierynn Battledagger Six take Tangle, RamBash, Macabre—"

Axe steps into the hangar and hooks a thumb over his shoulder.

"And Axe," I continue, "to be Bonded to me."

They drop to their knees.

"And I release them from servitude forever so that they may be free."

The Titans get up, squirm, and rub their heads like something feels strange.

"You good?" I ask.

Macabre gives me a look that has just a hint of a smile. "Fuck yeah. Let's level this rock."

They head for the cockpit with my friends and leave me standing on the hangar deck. A Solcrue backs into the room and fires down an adjacent hallway. I turn to shoot them and find it's Jeela dressed in a new suit of armor.

The ship banks, and my splay alerts me that autopilot has disengaged.

"What happened to the one we got you?" I ask her.

She grins, and my stomach turns and the blood in her pointy teeth. "Been wanting to do that for so long. You think Rochir was the first to use me? Stars, no."

The red alerts switch off, and I sigh with relief. Through a window, I watch explosions shred the other battledagger and ever vessel and vehicle left in the landing area. Ranger whoops from down the hallway.

A moment later, he returns as the cargo deck glows green with a gravity beam. "Immediate threats neutralized, Commander. Macabre is on final assault, once Craze has been picked up."

Jeela sees him and skirts the opening floor to crash into him. "Ranger!"

He staggers back a step. "Uh, hi."

"You saved my life as a teen. Don't you remember?"

He studies her for a moment, recognition slowly dawning on his face. "Holy shit, kid! Wow, well, you're not a kid anymore, are you?"

Ranger returns her embrace. "I actually wasn't much older than you back then. Looked a little less worse for wear than I do now, anyway."

As they catch up, Craze rises into the hangar atop a pallet. Four more float up with him. Then the floor closes and the beam dwindles until everything settles into the floor. Locks engage, holding the parts in place.

Once Craze has dismounted, I initiate a shield around his Brother's parts and take him by the arm. "Look who showed up."

Craze glances in the direction I motion. He stills, looks at me, then wipes his eyes as he walks toward Ranger. The two share a firm hug.

"I am so sorry, Brother," Craze says, shaking his head.

"It's okay." Ranger pats him on the back.

"Was hibernation terrible?" Craze asks as he steps back.

Ranger shakes his head and waves us toward the cockpit. "No. I kept dreaming of you fighting for me, of seeing the stars and our brothers going through the portal. I would have been happy to go with such memory files."

"So about the portal," Jeela says. "We won't fit through with this beast."

Craze nods as we enter the cockpit. "We don't want to be so in the face about it. That's usually my tactic but that's also how coilguns get pulled and traps ruin everything. So we're taking the long way to scout and—"

Craze is cut off by a bullet that pings around inside the cabin. He ducks, charges behind us, and swats the gun out of the Solcrue's hand, then launches him away from us with a boot to his stomach.

The Solcrue hits the far wall, drops to his hands and knees, coughs, and then sneers at Craze. "You, baby-faced tin man. If she can control a ship with her mind, she can control you!"

Macabre gives me a worried look. He's the most skeptical of the lot.

I encourage others into the cockpit then initiate a shield between them and Craze. I stay in the open with him, hoping it proves my point. Maybe I could but I never would.

The Solcrue, a pilot by the badge he wears, gets to his feet. "I bet you're shittin' ions you're so full of radiation. It's got to be a mess up there in that knucklehead of yours."

Craze quietly fumes and tenses his fists.

"What, no come back?" The pilot snorts. "Pathetic." He turns to me. "As for you."

Craze tenses. "You keep your damn mouth shut about my mate or I will put these knuckles through your head!"

The pilot glances at him. "Boy, she has you around her finger."

I lean back, against a wall, knowing Craze doesn't need my help. Switch off.

The light in my eyes fades, and I lift a hand toward Craze. "Deal with him however you want, my love. You don't need me."

Craze smirks. "I do. In other ways."

"Ha, but you need permission?" The Solcrue still slides back a step as Craze stalks toward him.

Craze growls. He grabs the pilot by the chest of his uniform, lifting him until his feet dangle above the floor. "Say what you want about me. I do not care. But you do not get to even think about talking down to my mate."

Craze smashes the pilot into the wall. "My brothers." Slam. " Or my human sisters." Slam . "Aboard this ship." Slam. "Or any others anywhere in this universe, Solcrue scum!"

I turn away until Craze is done. I hear the trash chute open, suction shut, and clunk as it empties into space.

Craze huffs a sigh. "Now, where are we at with getting us out of here. Hyperdrive work?"

Ranger glances at me, amusement touching his eyes from where he sits in the pilot's seat. "Ready when you are, Commander."