Drasus

The residual engine signature from the Habosu ship is degrading rapidly. Soon it won't be possible to follow it.

Draxx seemed impressed I could recall how to operate a gyik flyer, which did cause a growl which I hope he thought was static over the comm. Admittedly, I have somewhat impressed myself as to what is coming back and staying lodged in my head, rather than leaking out like water.

"The engine signature splits here,"Draxx says over the comm.

"Nev it! My instruments are about to lose the Habosu," I fire out. "What is the other ship?"

"I can't tell, but the second one is going back to the Kirakos," Draxx says.

This doesn't make sense. If the Habosu didn't return to the prison maze, why has this other ship? And which one has my mate on it, if she's there at all?

Frustration burns inside me. There are three of us, but splitting up now is going to cause further problems if we get into a fight. All I want is to have Coral back in my arms.

And then I want to pull every creature who touched her limb from limb, but I'm prepared to wait for my revenge, as long as I don't have to wait too long.

"Which way do you want to go, Drasus?"Draxx asks.

A pulsar bolt slams into the side of his craft, and he peels away from us. I slam my ship into a wide arc to take on whatever is after us and see the Habosu, his squat black ship readying for another volley.

"Draxx? General? Are you still with us?" I shout over the comm to a return of static.

Drelix is still with me, and I indicate we should use a pincer movement to return fire, when the Habosu manages to release a second volley and Drelix flips back over.

"Nev!" I release a psi-bolt directly at the Habosu guns. I can't take the risk of Coral being inside the ship.

The ship goes to move away, but my bolt hits, tearing through the plating and sending it spiraling away.

"Habosu!" I punch up the multi frequency in order to hail his ship. "Give me back the humans and I won't destroy your ship."

I frantically attempt to locate Draxx and Drelix as I increase my speed towards the Habosu ship, readying another psi-bolt to take out its weapon system. I cannot lose my warriors as well as my mate.

I cannot lose my warriors as well as my mate.

"You. Have. The. Female." The comm comes back, broken but readable.

"You don't have her?"

"No."

On the console in front of me, a reel of information shows only one life sign, that of the Habosu.

"You did have her though?"

"Grak you, Sarkarnii! When my client hears about this, your galaxian-days are numbered…"

A bolt slams into the engine area and the ship crumples in on itself. Draxx's flyer appears alongside mine, scorched but intact.

"I'm guessing you were getting bored of that conversation?" he says, and I can see his grin from my cockpit.

"Where's Drelix?"

Draxx drops back a little, and the third flyer is still with us, albeit he is losing atmosphere.

"We're going to have to go back to the Kirakos, follow the engine signature."

"I am in agreement, Drasus," Draxx replies. "You go, I'll get Drelix on board my flyer and we'll follow you."

My heart swells. I wanted to go into battle on my own, but I don't need to. I have my fellow warriors, and they will always look out for me.

"Go find your mate. Use the side of you she has unlocked to your best advantage." Draxx waggles his flyer from side to side. "It's the only way you will ever win her heart and beat your enemies. It is the best way to please the ancestors and get fate on your side."

From a former feral warrior, one who very nearly let the collar and his desire for revenge overtake who he was, Draxx is a mated male I should listen to.

"Yes, General," I say smartly and flick my flyer away, charting a course back to the Kirakos, the one place we should be free of, and yet the one place which keeps pulling me back.

The cold, dark expanse of space, lit with the stars which became our home, gives way to the prison maze itself. A planetoid, once rich in surface minerals, plundered for eons by all comers until it became what it was.

The fact the Ragad survived was something only the ancestors can explain. But at least it will no longer be the place the universe tosses the species it considers troublesome. The gentle Jiaka, their desire to take shiny items no more of a shock to Sarkarnii as we love shiny things. But Jiaka are used by many other species as thieves, so they ended up locked away not because of what they've done, but because of what they are.

And now they have a home, one which will forever be protected by the Sarkarnii. Once we have dealt with those who believe we are commodities.

There's a small cloud of space debris as the engine signature for the unknown craft dips to the surface. However as I follow, it clearly shows the ship taking off again, presumably after some altercation. Having checked the vehicle over, it has decided not to remain. Fortunately, because it powered down and powered up again, the trail it has left is easy to follow.

I feel it in my flight lungs. My Coral was onboard the ship. It makes me feel a little closer to her, my heart beats just a little harder, and my head is just a little clearer.

Whoever took her is going to pay for even looking at her, but not before my warriors and I have dealt with their threat once and for all.

I slip my flyer into overdrive and, with a single flick of a switch, I'm roaring towards my final destination, the one which ends with my mate in my grasp and where I never have to let her go again.