24. Twenty Four

Twenty Four

Jace and Raider glared at each other. Neither willing to concede. If she left things as they were, Raider might get himself thrown into lock-up sooner rather than later.

"I guess I can’t expect more than that," Kira said, breaking the tension.

"Kira!"

"He’s got a point." Kira sent Raider a look, asking him to trust her. "We don’t have a plan. Yet."

They were asking a lot of Jace. She could see why he wanted certain assurances before he threw his life and career away.

Unlike Raider, he didn’t have a daughter or lover in danger. The only thing compelling him to help was his loyalty to them.

Kira made a point of not asking more of her friends than she thought they could give. This was skating dangerously close to her breaking that rule.

"Fine," Raider ground out.

Kira had no intention of letting Raider ship out with the rest of the battle group. If it came down to it, she’d use force to bring him with her.

That being said, they still had time.

Jace would figure things out eventually. The hole she put in his precious brig when she broke Raider out would be a pretty big clue.

Jace cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable. "There’s one other matter I need to discuss with you."

The way Raider stiffened distracted her. She glanced at him in question, only to find his face hard.

"You should know I’ve arrested Blue," Jace announced.

"Explain."

"She’s responsible for Rothchild. She is our leak." Jace nodded at the tablet in front of her. "All the information is there. See for yourself."

Feeling like she was having an out of body experience, Kira reached for the tablet in question and dragged it into her lap. It was already unlocked, the files queued up and waiting for her to access them.

"The records of Himoto’s you gave me go back years. Rothchild wasn’t the only thing he was investigating. There are files on every battle you mentioned. Every one that went unexpectedly wrong. Apparently, you’re not the only one who suspected a leak."

Kira scanned a few of the files. "You’re saying Himoto knew about Blue?"

The man she’d known would never have let a spy join the Curs. He would have rooted her out at the tiniest of suspicions. Evidence—or the lack thereof—wouldn’t have stopped him.

Unless—he hoped to use her to disseminate false intelligence.

Himoto could have given a masterclass on spycraft. It was one of the reasons she’d stopped trusting him in the latter part of the war. There’d been a small piece of her that feared the forty three were right about him being the cause of everything.

"It appears so," Jace admitted. "Himoto identified at least four highly placed officers in Centcom’s fleet who he thought might have been party to this. Admiral Kent was among them."

"No surprise there," Raider muttered.

Jace acted like he hadn’t heard. "Several government officials were involved as well."

"Are any of them still in power?" Kira asked.

"Many of them helped spearhead the Consortium’s withdrawal from the alliance."

"How is Blue involved? She left the Vega months before it was assigned that mission."

When Rothchild happened, Blue was attending a military academy on New Lexington. It was why Kira and Jin had excluded her from the list of suspects. Their orders hadn’t come down until long after she was gone.

"There was a sleeper program embedded in the comms array. It was set to send her regular updates as to the Curs’ status. Your status specifically."

Kira looked up from the tablet. "It’s funny. This is the second time today that someone has claimed to know who was responsible for Rothchild."

Jace frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"I ran into an old friend of ours down on the planet," Kira said, glancing at Raider as he leaned forward in sudden interest. "Remember, Diesel?"

Raider’s nod was slow as a thoughtful look entered his eye. "I do."

"He’s dead," Jace said in confusion. "I attended his funeral."

"Maybe he is now," Kira allowed, remembering the explosion that had leveled the Vega. "But earlier today he was as alive as you and I."

"What does this have to do with Blue?" Jace asked.

"Only that he claimed he was the one responsible for Rothchild."

There was silence at her answer. Then Raider exploded to his feet. "I told you it wasn’t Blue!"

Jace wasn’t listening. "Explain."

Kira took the storage device Diesel had given her and handed it to Jace. "You might want to get your people to look at this."

Jace took the device.

"When he handed that to me, he said he’d been approached by a woman looking to sell him ordnance. He was desperate due to the supply issues and took her up on the offer. What he didn’t know was that the weapons had trackers on them set to give away our position at regular intervals."

Jace was quiet as he considered this new information, absentmindedly turning the storage device over in his hand.

"What happened to Diesel?" Raider asked.

Kira shook her head. "I don’t know. We got separated. He stayed behind to delay the Tsavitee kill squad on my ass. After that, there was a rather large explosion."

"But you didn’t see him die?"

Kira shook her head.

"He could still be alive then," Raider said, looking like he almost hoped he was so that he could get revenge.

"This doesn’t absolve Blue," Jace said, gesturing with the device.

"No," Kira agreed.

But it did cast doubt as to her culpability. And it helped explained why Himoto had never done anything about her.

"Do you remember that time Blue tagged Bayside with a tracker beacon when he was on leave for R and R?" Kira asked Raider.

"He was pretty furious when he found out," Raider said with a light chuckle. "He’d been planning to visit the casinos and a bliss den."

Similar to the opium dens of old Earth, bliss dens were popular during and after the war as a place people could go to smoke an herb known for its relaxing properties.

While not illegal, the use was frowned upon by the higher ups. It was also not the kind of thing you wanted your annoying adoptive sister knowing about.

"Blue had extreme separation anxiety back then. It was bad enough that Himoto and I made it a requirement for her to see a counselor when she reached the academy."

Jace shook his head, looking impatient. "Don’t try to sweep this away by attributing her actions to a mental health issue. Maybe you’re right and she wasn’t working with the Tsavitee. She still exposed sensitive information to our enemy. Anybody could have intercepted those transmissions. That alone is enough to sentence her for treason."

"Only if her actions weren’t approved by someone higher up," Raider said thoughtfully.

"What are you talking about?" Jace asked.

Raider glanced at Kira. "She said Walker knew."

"That makes sense. They were always close."

Walker had lost a sister in a hovercraft accident before the war. Blue reminded him of her.

"You think he would have compromised your position for her?" Jace asked scornfully. "Walker wasn’t that type of person."

"No, he wasn’t," Raider agreed. "At least not without permission."

"He didn’t ask me," Kira said at Jace’s look.

She wouldn’t have agreed to that. Not even for Blue.

"You think he asked Commander Berry."

Despite the disbelief in Jace’s tone, he looked like he was considering it.

"Not just him," Kira said, looking down at the tablet. "Himoto knew too."

Beforehand or after. Either way, he hadn’t done anything with the information for a reason. Kira was betting it was because Blue was a red herring who wasn’t actually involved.

Jace sat back, looking defeated. "I can’t release her just on that."

"I’m not asking you to," Kira responded, opening the rest of the files and flipping through them. "Just take a second look at everything while keeping in mind what we told you and whatever you find on Diesel’s device."

If Jin was here, she could have him look into Blue’s transmissions and see whether they were the leak. She didn’t have his skills, though, and Odin was busy.

The smile dropped from Kira’s face as she clicked on a series of video stills taken from the miners’ last calls.

"See something?" Raider asked, leaning forward.

Kira didn’t answer as she ignored the bearded man in the foreground and zoomed in on the familiar looking side profile.

"Pallas," she snarled, recognizing the half shaved head and the slant of his nose.

Kira exited out of the photo, stabbing her finger at the next one as she looked for a better angle.

"Show me your face," she hissed, moving on to the next when the previous proved disappointing.

Over and over until she stopped on the last photo. The only one where her brother was staring directly at the camera. The look on his face menacing.

Under his image, someone had typed The Enforcer.

"What is it?" Raider asked when Kira froze in disbelief.

This wasn’t possible.

Pallas couldn’t have been there. And Himoto had known nothing about the forty three’s organizational composition or the role Pallas played in their ranks.

Then how did he know what Pallas was to the forty three? Their enforcer.

Kira’s blood ran icy as she remembered all the times Pallas had targeted the Curs. Always managing to stay just on this side of the line of what would infuriate Kira enough to go for his throat.

Making a decision, Kira twisted the tablet so Raider could see.

His expression turned murderous.

"What is it? Why do you two look like that?" Jace asked with a frown, snagging the tablet and pulling it in front of him. "Did you notice something I didn’t?"

Neither Kira nor Raider answered, staring at each other in grim realization.

"The enforcer," Jace read. "There are a few other notes about him and a group called the forty three, but I wasn’t sure what they meant."

Himoto had known about the forty three. Not just that there had been other survivors from the camp, but much more than that.

What else had he known but failed to mention to Kira?

The door opened.

"I don’t remember giving permission for anyone to enter," Jace called, his scowl fading when Finn was the one to step inside.

The oshota focused on Kira. "They’re ready."

Finally.

Kira pushed off the couch, Raider joining her.

Jace looked between them in confusion. "Where are you going?"

"You said you wanted a location and a plan before making a decision." Kira nodded at the oshota. "Well, I just achieved the first."

Time to go figure out the second.

"Sir!" A soldier sprung to attention at Jace’s approach, snapping a salute as his colleague rushed to open the door to the conference room.

"At ease," Jace instructed, marching past without sparing them a look.

Kira and Raider followed, the latter jerking his head at Finn. "He’s with me."

Despite his obvious uncertainty, the soldier didn’t try to stop them as they entered the room.

"It would be more accurate to say you’re with us," Finn said as the door closed behind them.

"We’re standing in a human base. It’s pretty obvious who’s with who," Raider shot back.

Kira barely heard their argument, taking in the crowded briefing room.

Graydon and Wren, their oshota arrayed behind them like lethal looking bookends, stared down the three officers across from them with identical impassive expressions.

Two of the humans Kira didn’t recognize. Captains, the both of them.

The third was an old friend of hers.

"Commander Hollis, may I offer late congratulations on your promotion," Kira said.

The Commander laced her hands over her stomach and leaned back to look up at Kira. "Hearing that from you feels good. Just think—if you hadn’t pulled your disappearing act, you might still outrank me."

The commander was a middle aged woman of African descent with an unflappable personality and a mean right hook, Kira knew from experience.

"Coli, your friends were just informing me of their inclusion in this briefing," Graydon said, his tone dangerous as he gave the humans across from him an amused look. "Which is strange because I don’t remember agreeing to their attendance."

One of the captains, a blond man by the last name of Shepperd, according to the tag on his uniform, slammed a hand down on the conference table. "Watch yourself. You’re a guest in our home."

The atmosphere in the room changed. Hostility and aggression filling it on both sides.

"They’re here because I invited them," Jace interjected, stopping at the head of the table "This is my base, after all. Got a problem with that?"

The question was a challenge. As was Jace’s unfriendly smile.

Graydon looked up at Kira. "That would be up to her. Given it’s her mission and all."

Jace didn’t like that response. Nor did the two captains. Hollis’s expression remained neutral. An interested bystander for the moment.

"It’s fine." Kira touched Graydon’s shoulder in a request for him to tone down the antagonism. "Jace and I reached a tentative agreement."

Whether that would continue to be the case depended on what Odin had to share.

"As you wish," Graydon murmured.

Kira took a seat beside him, Finn taking up a stance behind her as Raider threw himself into a chair at the other end of the table.

Jace glanced at the man positioned beside the door. "Bring them in."

The man acknowledged the order with a nod, stepping to the door and opening it. Quiet murmurs came from outside.

They didn’t have to wait long before Odin strode into the room. The lack of an earring pointed to the Sye being in his male aspect.

The humans barely had time to register Odin’s presence before the person behind him claimed their attention. Chairs scraped against the floor as those across the table from Kira came to their feet.

There was an exclamation from both captains as they yanked their pulse pistols out of their holster to aim them at the general in front of them.

Hollis retreated from the table, giving herself room to maneuver as she did the same. The guard on duty beside the door plastered himself against the wall as he fumbled his weapon out of its holster before finally pointing it at Aeron’s head.

"What is one of them doing here?" Shepperd demanded.

His companion, Captain Bechler, didn’t speak, his expression strained as he remained focused on the enemy in front of him.

Joule moved in front of the general, a shield already activated in the event someone got a little trigger happy. Devon flanked him, his sword held at his side.

Aeron took in the room with a sneer. "I can’t believe we lost the war to you idiots."

Talon sauntered around Aeron, taking in the weapons pointed in his direction like he thought they were cute. "It would be a very bad idea to fire those at any of us."

"Oh yeah?" Shepperd asked, his finger flexing on the trigger of his pistol. "And what do you call letting that monster on our base?"

Talon’s smile widened. "Tactics."

Shepperd drew in a sharp breath, looking about three seconds from doing what Talon had warned him not to do.

The oshota at Wren and Graydon’s side shifted. Finn’s face was blank. The oshota showing little concern for his colleague.

"Lower your weapons," Jace ordered tiredly. "You can’t shoot him."

Jace’s unhappiness about that fact showed in his voice.

Hollis was the first to partially lower her weapon. "You knew about this?"

Jace glared at Kira. "You could say that."

Kira leaned back in her chair, stretching her legs out under the table as she returned his glare. If he didn’t want his people to overreact, he should have warned them before letting a general loose among them.

"The prodigal daughter returns," Talon declared, spotting Kira. "Did you have fun without your oshota?"

Kira quirked an eyebrow. "Define fun."

"Kill anyone?"

"A few here and there."

Talon snickered as he moved further into the room. "Sounds like a good time to me."

Shepperd and Bechler finally lowered their weapons, but they remained standing where they were, keeping plenty of distance between them and Aeron.

Odin plonked a device the size of a fist on the table. "Can we get down to business now? There’s a lot of ground to cover and we don’t have a great amount of time."

Shepperd gestured at Odin with his gun. "Who is this?"

"I’m the All Father," Odin announced with grave importance.

Shepperd squinted at him before turning to Jace. "Who is this?"

Jace’s face was unhappy as he stared at Odin. "That’s not what is important."

"No, it’s not," Odin agreed.

Shepperd gave the room a disbelieving look. "Somebody please explain to me what’s going on?"

Bechler nodded in agreement. "I wouldn’t mind that either. We’re in the midst of preparing for deployment. What is so important that you called us away from our duties?"

Hollis moved closer to the table, still careful to give Aeron a wide berth. "He has a point, Admiral Skarsdale."

Aeron lifted a lip in disdain, dismissing the humans as he focused on Kira. "What took you so long?"

"I had to deal with a few of your friends. It delayed me."

Aeron grudgingly moved toward the table, not seeming to care when the humans scattered like mice before a feline. He grabbed a chair directly across from Kira, the one that had belonged to Shepperd, and took a seat in it.

"They must not have been my very close friends. Otherwise, you’d be dead," Aeron said with a humorless smile.

"I highly doubt that," Kira murmured.

Shepperd gestured sharply at Aeron. "I’m not sitting at a table with one of them."

Hollis and Bechler’s harsh silence showed they agreed.

While they were distracted, Joule shot Kira a quick glance that showed the discipline he was exercising in not throwing himself at her in welcome. Devon was more reserved, giving her a nod in greeting.

Graydon leaned over to Kira, still watching Jace and his fellow humans. "How much longer do they plan to do this?"

Shepperd glared at the emperor’s Face. "I’m sorry. Are we keeping you from something?"

Graydon’s smile was vaguely contemptuous. "As long as you realize."

Shepperd spun back to Jace. "What are the Tuann doing here again? The only good thing about breaking that alliance is not having to put up with their bullshit any longer. And could somebody please explain what a general is doing on this base!"

"He’s here to answer a question that has been plaguing the human race since the last war," Odin declared, touching the sides of the device he’d placed on the table. Shepperd and the other two humans went silent as a star map formed.

Hollis drew closer. "What are we looking at here?"

Odin’s smile was small, as if he’d been expecting this question. "When the Phoenix woke from her coma after the contribution she made to the Falling, she didn’t retreat from society to go live the lonely life of a salvager and nurse her mental and physical scars."

Hollis frowned and glanced in Kira’s direction. "I hadn’t heard you were in a coma."

"Himoto kept it secret."

For many reasons. The primary of which was to keep their enemies from taking advantage of Kira’s weakened state.

"Get to the point," Kira told Odin.

"I’m getting to that. I have to set the stage first. They need to understand just how much blood, sweat and tears went into procuring this information."

Correction—Odin wanted to grandstand. No amount of prodding on Kira’s part was going to hurry that along. In that case, she might as well relax and enjoy the ride.

Aeron huffed, seeming amused at her inability to control the Sye.

"Contrary to popular opinion, it wasn’t guilt or sorrow or madness that drove the Phoenix from civilization. It was hope—and a deep seated belief that the war humanity thought over was, in fact, not over. Rather it had gone underground where the enemy could wait and gather strength for its next attack."

Shepperd huffed. "She’s a damn prophet."

"Yes, she is," Odin agreed.

Hollis studied the star map thoughtfully. "I take it that her reasons for becoming a salvager had something to do with her beliefs."

"Very good." Odin smiled at the commander. "I see why that old man promoted you—even with all the nasty business over that disputed mining colony."

Hollis’s face went cold. "What would you know about that?"

Odin’s eye danced. "You’d be surprised at all the things I know."

"Odin," Kira warned in a low tone, waiting until he looked at her. "Get to the point."

"Always so impatient," Odin chided, snapping his fingers.

The map changed. It expanded until a large swath of the galaxy came into view. One dot was brighter than the rest. It was located in the quadrant of space that Odin and Torvald’s sources had identified as the likely location of the Tsavitee home world.

"You did it," Kira breathed.

Wren was a statue on Graydon’s other side. Motionless. As if he might shatter at any moment. Maksym and Zoella’s faces had gone cold, stoic masks as they stared at that dot.

Graydon’s expression was alert. A hunter who’d just identified his target.

"This—" Hollis drew closer, looking like she wished she could reach out and touch the home world right here and now.

Shepperd and Bechler were equally fixated. Their fear of Aeron forgotten as they honed in on the star map.

"Are you serious?" Shepperd asked, his earlier antagonism forgotten.

Bechler’s expression was fierce as he locked on Odin in expectation.

This was why Jace had invited them to this briefing. It was bait to test their receptiveness to the thought of attacking the Tsavitee home world without orders from Centcom.

Smart. A move worthy of Himoto’s successor.

"You have the general to thank," Odin said, satisfied with their reactions. "If not for him, I’d still be scratching my head."

"How certain are we that this is accurate?" Hollis asked, reluctant to look away from the star map.

Odin gave her a cold look. "Very certain."

Raider focused on Jace. "This is what you requested, right? A location? Well, you have it. Now, what will you do?"

"Watch yourself, Chief Petty Officer," Hollis warned. "You’re still a noncommissioned officer in this fleet. You will conduct yourself with respect."

Raider flicked a glance at her. "Maybe not for long."

Her eyebrows lowered. "What does that mean?"

Raider didn’t answer, focusing on Jace as he stared down at his hands in thought.

"Defying Centcom’s orders will carry consequences," Bechler murmured.

"You’re saying we should ignore this chance?" Sheppard asked scathingly.

"Not at all. I’m saying we need to consider all outcomes."

Kira ignored them as she looked at Jace. "Raider’s right. You wanted something concrete." She nodded at the star map. "There you have it."

Whether he planned to do anything with that information was up to him. Kira wouldn’t force him. Humanity was responsible for their own decisions.

Kira hoped they would seize this chance. If only because it seemed fitting that those who’d been with her at the start were there for the end.

Jace’s gaze lifted to hers. "You realize if I say yes, I could be court martialed."

"Only if we fail."

And they weren’t going to fail.

"Besides, who doesn’t have a court martial or two on their record," Kira said dismissively.

Jace was the only one of them who’d avoided such a blemish. That was probably why he’d ended up as a rear admiral and they hadn’t.

"You still have no plan," Jace told her.

"You know that won’t stop me."

Jace’s low laugh was disbelieving as he shook his head. "All you have is a location. You have no intelligence on the size of the army we’d be facing. You don’t know what defenses their planet has. Nor the number of ships they have protecting it."

Kira tilted her head at Aeron. "Good thing I brought someone familiar with all those details."

Jace scoffed. "You want me to trust the word of an enemy? Are you out of your mind?"

"Sometimes," Kira admitted. But she didn’t think this was one of those times. She leaned forward. "Wouldn’t it be nice to fight this battle on someone else’s home ground for a change?"

Her words got through to at least one of them as Shepperd nodded in agreement.

"You know you can’t win a war built on defense. Centcom already tried once. The Tsavitee will gnaw away at your lines little by little and it’ll be the civilians who pay the price."

Bechler looked at Jace. "We have our orders."

Impatience moved through Kira. "Orders you know come from corrupted officials working with the Tsavitee. That’s who you’re going to listen to?"

"She has a point," Hollis said.

At Kira and Jace’s look, the other woman shrugged. "I can read the writing on the wall just as well as you two. I know there are issues in our government and Centcom. This latest bullshit regarding the treaty is evidence of that." Hollis focused on Jace. "Ultimately, this decision is yours. You’re the one they’ll go after if we fail."

Jace was quiet, his head bowed as he stared at the table. No one spoke as they waited for his decision.

Kira held her breath. Come on, Jace. You know this is the right play.

"Alright," Jace said, his gaze finding Kira’s. "You win. We’ll do this."

Raider slapped the table. "I knew you wouldn’t let me down."

"We’ll do this," Jace reiterated, ignoring Raider as he focused on Kira. "But I want a plan. A real one. Not one of those half-baked plans you’re famous for."

Graydon’s lips curved as he shot Kira a look. "So, I’m not the only one who has noticed that habit of yours."

Kira sent him a dirty look.

"I guess that means I’m up," Aeron drawled.

The humans flinched, seeing him reach for Odin’s device. Aeron paused, a droll look on his face as he made a show of reaching for it again. Slower this time.

Bechler and Shepperd eyed him carefully but made no further movements.

Aeron tapped Odin’s device. The star map shifted. A planet forming over the table.

"You’re not going to be able to take this planet with the puny number of forces you currently have," Aeron started.

"How do you know our numbers?" Bechler asked sharply.

"Please." Aeron sneered. "We’ve been studying you for years. Our spies have infiltrated every walk of life. We’re in your government. Your military. Your civilian population. We know everything we need to know."

"I doubt that," Jace said.

Aeron blew out an impatient breath as he rolled his eyes. "Yes, we know about the ships you received from Luatha. And your attempts to reverse engineer them. We also know you’ve had limited success with the help of Kira’s cousin and her people." Aeron pinned Jace with a look. "Like I said—we’ve been watching you."

The humans went silent, their expressions fierce as they stared at the general.

Aeron ignored their antagonism, continuing with his presentation. "The home world is heavily defended. In addition to a large ground force, there is a fleet patrolling the neighboring sectors. Trust me when I say, if you were to encounter it, your ships would be shredded before you get anywhere close."

Shepperd tapped the table thoughtfully. "A distraction might work. If we can draw their forces far enough away, it might give us enough time to get in and do some damage before getting out again."

"Did you not hear what I said?" Aeron asked.

Shepperd waved him away. "Yeah. Yeah. They’ll make mincemeat of our ships. Don’t worry. I don’t think it’ll be as easy as you assume. Us humans still have a few tricks up our sleeves."

Kira was beginning to like this brash captain of Jace’s. She could see why the other man had made it into her friend’s inner circle.

"Even if you’re able to distract the fleet long enough to attack the planet, you’ll find the surface guarded by a network of automated defenses. If by some miracle you make it through them, you’ll be up against the ground to atmosphere energy cannons which will target any unauthorized ship attempting to land." Aeron’s face was grim as he looked at Kira. "This is a suicide mission. Even for someone as powerful as the Phoenix."

Maybe so, but Kira wasn’t willing to give up. There was always something. Some little detail or overlooked chink that she could leverage.

She absolutely refused to walk away. Not when they were so close.

"We do it like we did on Paxus," Kira said.

Graydon and the rest of the Tuann showed confusion as the humans turned stiff.

"What happened on Paxus?" Graydon asked when no one spoke for long moments.

Raider shifted uncomfortably as he darted a glance at Kira. "We nearly died."

"But we didn’t," Kira responded.

And that was all that mattered.

"Would it work?" Jace asked.

Raider considered before nodding reluctantly. "The Curs might be able to do it."

"We do what Shepperd suggested," Kira said urgently. "We create a distraction to move the bulk of their fleet away from the planet. Then the rest of us go in for a targeted attack."

"Were you not listening?" Aeron demanded. "There is a defense network. You’ll never get close."

"Yes, we will," Jace said, holding Kira’s gaze. "One ship to lure the fleet. The other two to trigger the defenses and create a gap just wide enough for a small drop team to be inserted into the atmosphere of the planet. Once down there, they do as much damage in as short a time frame as possible. That’s what you’re thinking, right?"

"Got it in one."

They always did work well together like this.

Odin lifted a hand. "I can help with the last part of that plan."

Jace’s face puckered as if he’d tasted something sour. "How?"

"I’m a decent hacker. If I do say so myself." Odin’s grin was mischievous. "And I have some familiarity with their outer defense network. I might be able to make a blind spot big enough for a ship or two to slip through. It’d give your drop team a chance at least."

Jace seemed tired as he agreed. "Fine."

"What about the general?" Bechler asked, watching Aeron carefully.

"He’s coming with us," Jace instructed, rising. "If he’s lying about any of this, he’ll be the first to die."

A dangerous rumble came from Aeron. "Keep dreaming, human."

"I do. Every night." Jace focused on Kira. "I can only commit three ships to this attack. The rest of the fleet will still deploy according to Centcom’s orders."

Kira inclined her chin. "Understood."

That was three more than she’d been expecting when she flew onto this base.

Jace jerked his chin at her. "We’ll ship off in three hours."

The officers rose as a sign of respect as Jace strode out of the room.

"Phoenix, it’ll be good to fly with you again," Hollis drawled with a twinkle in her eye.

"Same to you," Kira said as the commander rose and followed Jace.

"We should get going too," Bechler told Shepperd. "There’s a lot to prepare."

The other captain nodded distractedly. "Do you think they’ll court martial us for this too?"

Bechler snorted and shook his head as they moved toward the door. "We’re probably all going to die so I don’t think worrying about what comes after is necessary."

Shepperd shrugged in agreement. "Going out in a blaze of glory doesn’t sound so bad."

Graydon waited as their voices faded before focusing on Kira. "Heart of my soul, all these months together has made me aware of your intelligence. Despite the occasional reckless action on your part which challenges that conclusion. Which is why I’m going to give you one chance."

Finn and Wren took seats on the other side of the table next to Aeron. Talon found a wall to lean against as the other oshota spread through the room, their stances much more relaxed now that there were no humans present.

Joule and Devon held their breaths, afraid that drawing notice would see them evicted from the room.

"And if I don’t do what you want?" Kira asked.

Graydon lips curved, his smile a little evil. "I act unilaterally in your best interest. You won’t be a fan of my methods, I can assure you."