29. Twenty Nine

Twenty Nine

Jace - CSS Reliance

The ship shuddered. The sensation slightly different than a missile impact.

"We’ve been boarded," Jace observed, looking up.

He knew that particular sound. The thunk of Tsavitee ships bashing into the hull. Metal screeching as they penetrated the ship. Next, they’d create a vacuum seal to prevent the ship from depressurizing. Right before their landing party dropped inside.

It was the tactic they used to capture a crew alive.

Sometimes, though, it was less about capture and more about having fun with their prey.

"Captain, activate the quick reactionary team to that location and notify the rest of the crew. Prepare to defend the ship by any means necessary," Jace instructed.

As a rear admiral, Jace was technically not in charge of the Reliance. That role fell to its captain. Though as the ranking officer Jace could relieve the captain of his duties under certain circumstances.

Not that he ever would. Captain Bechler was one of his finest.

"Aye, aye, Admiral."

Jace undid his harness, rising from his chair to stride toward the weapons locker.

"Maintain fire on those ships. Do not let up," Bechler ordered his people.

"Yes, sir."

Bechler met Jace at the locker a second later. "I have to say we’ve landed ourselves in quite the situation."

Jace helped himself to one of the cold weapons, strapping the sword to his waist before grabbing an X-ON pulse rifle and distributing it to the petty officer Bechler had pulled from the crew and tasked with defending the bridge.

"I did say I wanted their attention," Jace said calmly.

Bechler grimaced. "I would have been okay with a little less of it."

Jace plucked a few grenades from the locker, handing a couple to Bechler and the petty officer before keeping one for himself.

When humanity reached the stars, the use of hot weapons fell by the wayside. When one mistake could result in the loss of an entire crew, they turned back to the cold weapons of their distant past. Things like swords and knives.

Grenades and rifles were no longer the first choice. Except when the situation was dire and death a preferable alternative to capture.

If they had to use them, the bridge was the best place. The bulkheads around it were the strongest in the ship. It could withstand heavy weapons fire and a few blasts—Jace hoped.

Otherwise, their distraction attempt was going to be pitifully short-lived.

"Status on the planet infiltration team," Jace called.

"There’s a problem with the drop ship. It took heavy fire during entry," Ensign Velasquez answered

Bechler cursed. "Please tell me this hasn’t all been for nothing."

Unlike the captain, Jace retained his calm. Vast experience with Kira had taught him to never count the Phoenix out. That woman had a way of surprising you.

"Lieutenant Himoto and the Curs are en-route back to the ship," Velasquez reported. "The Phoenix and her party continued on. No word on their status though."

There, you see. Just as Jace said.

Knowing Kira, she and the rest were probably causing havoc down there. It was up to Jace and his people to do their part.

The ship shuddered under another barrage.

"The least they could do is give us a break while their own people are on board," Petty Officer Green grumbled.

Jace patted him on the shoulder. "That would imply they care about the lives of their boarding party."

They didn’t. It was what made the Tsavitee such a difficult foe. Their principles were vastly different than a human’s. They lacked even the most basic elements of empathy. It made them ruthless. Even to their own kind.

"How is my ship, Ensign?" Bechler asked.

Jace and the petty officer, along with two ensigns, moved to set up a blockade in the event the Tsavitee managed to breech the bridge.

"We’re taking a beating. We’ve lost two cannons on the port side and another three launch tubes."

"Our fighters?"

Ensign Boone made a face. "A third are gone."

"What about the CSS Horizon?"

"Still in the fight."

That was something at least.

The ship groaned, shimmying a little from an explosion on the opposite side.

Bechler sent an uneasy glance at the walls. "We’re not going to last much longer like this."

"We don’t have to. Just long enough," Jace returned.

He was banking everything on this operation. His career. The future of the Consortium. His very life. Along with the rest of those who’d followed him in this mad plan.

They’d come this far. Might as well go the distance.

Jace had known this could be a one-way trip. So did the rest of his crew. But they’d come anyway in hopes that their sacrifice might make a difference.

Jace wouldn’t spit on that by turning and running now.

"I can no longer reach the CSS Lawrence. They’ve gone dark."

Bechler and Jace shared a look.

"Think they were destroyed?" Bechler asked.

"I hope not."

Shepperd was a good man. A brilliant leader. It would be a pity to lose him here.

"Sir! We have reports from the brig. They’ve lost the general and are requesting backup."

Bechler growled. "I told you it was a mistake to let that thing on board."

"Our priority right now is the ship. Tell them to focus on defense," Jace ordered.

When Kira returned—and she was going to return—she wouldn’t be happy to find her prisoner gone. Jace couldn’t worry about that for now. The survival of he and his crew were the only things on his mind.

Action on the bridge came to a halt as the distant sounds of fighting filtered through the ship. The petty officers and ensigns shot uncertain looks toward the hatch.

"Green, get me eyes out there," Jace ordered as Bechler took control of the space battle.

Petty Officer Green accessed the ship’s cameras. "They’re heading in this direction. The QRT took heavy losses. I don’t think they’ll be able to hold them."

"Time to seal off the bridge," Jace said.

The petty officers stood by as Jace triggered a lockdown. The hatch to the bridge sealed. When it was fully shut, Green slapped a small incendiary device to the edge. It flashed, melting the metal together.

"I’d like to see them get through that," Green said smugly.

"They will. There’s no doubt of that," Jace answered.

It was how they’d lost so many ships during the war. The ones the Tsavitee didn’t shred were taken from the inside. Any crew captured was subjected to horrific torture at the hands of the enemy.

Banging came from the other side of the hatch.

Bechler left the problem of the boarding party to Jace as he focused on calling out orders to those still operating the ship.

"When they breech, plug the hole with their bodies," Jace instructed the four crew members with him. "Once they’re inside, switch to cold weapons as much as possible. We don’t want friendly fire."

If their systems went down, the Reliance would be next. While a self-destruct wasn’t out of the question, Jace would prefer to save it as a last resort.

"Aye, aye, sir," his team responded.

There was a loud boom from the outside.

"Here they come," Green muttered.

Jace unsheathed his sword in preparation as the others trained their rifles on the door.

"I can’t believe this is happening," someone murmured.

The smell of metal being melted came as a spot the size of a fist turned red hot. A second later a spear penetrated the softened metal. It acted as a grappling hook, barbs popping out to embed in the hatch. Metal screamed as it pulled tight.

The hatch bent outward. A little at first. Then more and more before the grappling hook ripped free, taking a giant hunk of the hatch with it.

"They’re through. Prepare for contact," Jace ordered.

The sound that came from the other side was a spine tingling reminder of other battles. The war cry that followed might as well have been a call to arms as demons and cannon fodder poured through the hole.

"Fire!" Jace shouted.

Green and his fellow petty officer did their best. Never letting up as they targeted those entering.

Tsavitee fell. A couple of them sniped in the head by a focused Green. As soon as one went down, their brethren yanked them from the gap, sending more through.

A couple made it past Green and the petty officer’s bombardment.

Jace stepped to meet one such demon, careful to keep out of Green and the petty officer’s line of fire. His sword whistled as he slashed the Tsavitee’s side.

The demon lumbered at him. Jace ducked under his reach, sinking his blade into his chest.

The demon went limp.

Jace ripped the blade free. "One down."

Too many to go.

In the brief lull, he took stock. Green and the petty officer were still firing as two other ensigns engaged with the Tsavitee who’d made it through the blockade.

Bechler shot one in the back of the head when it went for his weapons specialist.

Jace dodged a cannon fodder’s reach, slicing at the creature’s arm before running his blade through its neck.

"We can’t take much more of this," Bechler shouted.

Jace was aware of that. Unfortunately, doing something about it was easier said than done.

"Fire in the hole," Jace responded.

He chucked an incendiary grenade through the hole the Tsavitee had made in the hatch and ducked back behind cover. There was a boom and then the smell of smoke before the ship’s automatic fire suppression system activated, drenching everything outside in white retardant.

"Yes!" Green yelled. "Take that, you bastards."

His smile fell as did the rest of those around him as the clomp of footsteps came. A voice rumbled in Tsavitee, calling out orders to the rest.

Jace knew what was going to step through the breech before the general ripped the hatch the rest of the way off in a terrifying display of strength. The general made his way through the ruins, straightening to his full height. He towered over the humans. His body massive. An intimidating presence.

Damn. Just when Jace thought they had a chance.

"It’s been an honor, everyone," Jace said as the general swept a predatory gaze over the bridge.

Sorry, Kira. Looks like I won’t be there for the end, after all.

The general’s gaze came to rest on him. "Puny human. Surrender or die."

"Death before defeat," Jace spat in Tsavitee.

He would not dishonor his mentor by lowering his blade at this juncture. If he was going to go, he’d do it taking one of them with him. It was the least he could do for those he’d sacrificed through this battle.

"You will scream for mercy," the general rumbled.

They’d see.

Green charged, firing his rifle in one continuous burst.

The general didn’t even flinch, casually knocking the petty officer away. Green’s neck snapped, his body flying across the room to hit the opposite wall.

The other petty officer screamed, rising to fire everything she had at the general. He dealt with her the same way he had Green. With one precise blow that left her dead on the ground.

Jace braced. He lifted his sword, refusing to back down.

Come on, then. Let’s see if you’re as good as her.

The general curled a lip, exposing a fang. He started toward Jace.

A black shadow hit him from the side. There were angry growls as a second general tore into the first.

"Hold your fire," Jace ordered as Aeron buried his teeth in the other general’s neck before ripping his throat out.

Jace and the survivors stared as Aeron got to his feet, his chest still heaving. His expression was wild as he took in the room with the wariness of a wild animal preparing to be attacked. His clawed hands opened and closed.

"You killed him," Ensign Boone said, voicing what everyone was thinking.

"Would you have preferred I let him kill you?" Aeron rumbled.

Boone shook her head. "Nope. I’m good with this outcome."

Aeron was still on edge as he fixed Jace with a look. "You’re losing this battle."

Jace flicked the blood off his sword. "I’m aware."

Winning was never the goal though.

"Simmons, Amir—check the corridor and make sure everything out there is dead," Jace ordered the ensigns who’d helped defend the bridge with him.

"They are," Aeron said with a frown.

"Let’s just double check that, shall we?"

Jace wasn’t a fan of surprises. Especially those that could have been prevented by simply following procedure.

"You’re supposed to be in my brig," Jace informed Aeron.

"I will not meet my death while trapped in a human cage."

Whatever his reasoning, Jace was glad for the assist. He’d probably be dead by now, the bridge crew with him, if not for Aeron’s timely interference.

Jace tilted his head at the dead general. "I never thought you’d be willing to kill your own kind."

The only thing he and Centcom really knew about the generals was how loyal they were to each other. They’d gone to pretty impressive lengths to avenge their own whenever one was lost in battle.

"Those who serve the Tsavitee’s masters cannot be considered one of us. They’re the hounds of the old regime. There’s no place for them in our future," Aeron declared, his chin arrogantly lifted.

That was an awfully hardline stance to take. Jace wasn’t going to question it though. Not when things had just worked out in his favor.

"Whoa. Hold on." Velasquez focused on the scanners. "There’s a fleet of ships rapidly approaching. At least six of them."

"Where are they coming from?" Bechler demanded.

"The direction of the Lawrence."

The bridge went silent. They all knew what that meant. If the fleet was returning from that direction, the Lawrence had likely fallen.

"That’s it then. We’ve lost," Bechler said.

Jace moved closer to the screen, his gaze on the approaching ships. The corners of his lips started to tilt up.

"They’re not Tsavitee." Velasquez turned to look at them. "They’re Tuann."

That’s his girl. Always with the last minute surprises.

This was the real reason Jace hadn’t wanted to abandon the fight even when things looked lost. Kira always had something up her sleeve.

He’d suspected when those Tuann broke onto his base that they might have a secondary force waiting somewhere nearby. A daughter of Roake would never be sent out without someone to watch her back.

"We’re being hailed," Velasquez announced.

Jace moved forward. "Put it through."

On the screen a man with the same blood red hair as Kira appeared.

"Kira’s uncle I presume," Jace drawled, not really needing the confirmation. The resemblance was unmistakable.

The Overlord of House Roake inclined his head.

"I didn’t think you’d be the one to come. Does Kira know?"

The man’s lips quirked in a micro smile that barely touched his eyes. "She’s unaware."

Jace watched a chunk of the Overlord’s forces break toward the planet.

The Overlord didn’t look away from Jace, studying him with a penetrating gaze that was all too similar to that of his niece’s. "What say you we forget about our people’s conflicts for the moment and work together for the next little while."

"I thought you’d never ask."

Kira

Everything around Kira felt distant and muffled, her senses overwhelmed as ringing filled her ears.

Kira wobbled to her hands and knees. She pressed a palm to her head as her gaze landed on the drone in the Osiri’s hands. "Jin?"

"I’m here." There was a groan. "Why does it feel like I just did ten rounds with a battleship?"

An apt description for their present states.

Kira’s body hurt in a way she hadn’t known it could. The last time she’d felt like this was in the aftermath of using a burst. When every cell of her being felt like it might fall apart. Only worse. Because it wasn’t just her physical self that was in agony. But her mind and spiritual one as well. The area surrounding her connection with Jin one massive wound. The nerve endings so badly damaged that all she could sense from either him or her was pain.

The Osiri knelt just out of her reach. "It’s fascinating—your bond flows both ways."

Kira squinted at the Osiri’s face, wishing she could get her hands on his throat. She’d rip it right out. If only her limbs didn’t feel like overcooked noodles.

"I’m assuming the bio feedback resulting from such a connection is why the soul bound is stable. It’s a pity."

"What is?" Kira ground out, part of her registering movement from Pallas’s body.

The Osiri had straightened to his full height. "We have no need for a soul bound who cannot maintain his own soul."

The Osiri squeezed. The sphere cracked, a spider web of lines running over the exterior as Jin started to scream. At the same time, it felt like a hand had reached into Kira’s center to crush the well of ki that anchored her being.

The Osiri’s grip eased, his inhuman gaze resting on her with a hint of intrigue. "Perhaps I was hasty in my assumption. His use may lie in another direction."

He meant as a means to control Kira.

"Kira, I don’t know about you, but I don’t plan to go out like this," Jin rasped.

"Right there with you, buddy."

She wouldn’t let their bond be tainted that way.

Jin’s anti gravs roared into full reverse. At the same time, he unloaded every bit of his firepower into the Osiri’s face.

The Osiri’s hand clenched, dagger like claws erupting from the tips of his fingers and spearing Jin’s casing before he flung the drone across the room. It hit one of the cryopods, denting it enough for liquid to start leaking out before dropping to the ground.

Finn dropped from the ceiling, his blade already flashing.

The Osiri caught it an inch from his neck. "Is that all you’ve got?"

There was the sensation of something cold and awful piercing Kira’s insides. But when she looked down, there was no wound she could see. Just unblemished armor.

Raider fired his pulse rifle from the opposite side of the platform, taking the Osiri in the back. "Nope. It’s not."

Kira was up and across the platform, barreling toward Elena and Thea.

There was delight in Thea’s face at Kira’s approach.

The briar’s lashes sprang from beneath the walkway. Kira didn’t have time to dodge as they wrapped around her leg, the thorns in them biting deep.

Blood ran in rivulets, splashing the water below.

A roar came from the depths of the pool.

The Osiri stopped. "Impossible."

Thea, sensing danger, tried to recall the briar. Kira grabbed one whip, keeping it in place. Its thorns bit into her hand, drawing more blood.

"Let go!" Thea yelled.

Kira bared her teeth at the other. "I don’t think so."

Elena took advantage of the distraction, lashing out with one hand to bury a dagger that looked disturbingly like a piece of bone in Thea’s shoulder.

Thea shoved Elena away from her. "Brat."

Elena toppled over the edge of the walkway and into the water. It closed over her head, swallowing her niece.

"Enough of this," the Osiri murmured.

He shoved Finn back. The oshota collided with the platform’s central device.

Raider pounded toward the two, firing his weapon as the air around the Osiri’s hand warped and condensed into a spear. The feeling it gave off so wrong and evil that Kira found it hard to breathe.

The Osiri’s spear took Finn through the chest, piercing his armor easily.

"I think you’ll be a nice replacement for the toy I just lost," the Osiri informed him.

Finn coughed, blood spurting from his mouth as his lips stretched into a tired smile. "Think again."

Pallas rose from the gloom like an avenging reaper, his face merciless as he swung his sword. It removed the Osiri’s head from his shoulders.

They all stood there, staring.

"That’s it?" Pallas asked, looking confused. "It’s over? I thought killing one of them would be harder."

Finn lowered himself to sitting, his face pale. The flow of blood had stopped as his armor clamped down on his wound, staunching it.

Raider bypassed the others, heading for the place where Elena had fallen.

Kira shifted, keeping an eye on Thea.

Raider knelt at the edge, searching the water for his daughter. "Where is she? I don’t see her."

Thea’s shoulders started to shake. A giggle left her. The sound growing until it bounced off the walls of the rotunda.

Pallas threw her a look. "Silence, traitor. Your reckoning will come soon enough."

"You don’t get it. Gods can’t be killed." There was a look of worship on Thea’s face as she stared beyond their shoulders.

Pallas and Kira’s eyes met in realization. They turned too late as a being made of madness and light unfolded from the body of the Osiri.

Kira caught an impression of scorching gold where its eyes should be. The rest of the face’s details indistinct and hazy. As if her brain refused to focus.

The Osiri’s voice was something out of a nightmare. "You will die painfully, screaming for your end."

Kira’s ears buzzed from the assault. "Pallas."

He flicked her a glance, a grim understanding there.

Seeing it, Kira reached for her primus. It slammed into her consciousness, flooding her body with power and strength she’d desperately need.

Pallas tossed his sword in the air. Kira grabbed it, stabbing it into the Osiri’s center.

The Osiri grabbed its length, using the blade to haul Kira closer as it lowered its face to hers. "You waste your time. I am eternal life. Unending. Undying."

"Haven’t you ever wondered why they call me the Phoenix?" Kira snarled.

Flames started to lick along Pallas’s blade. Orange and yellow with hints of blue at their center.

The origin of her namesake channeled down Pallas’s sword. It wasn’t the best medium, but for her purposes it would do.

Kira shoved her power down its length.

In this place where her natural connection with her soul’s breath was severed, it wasn’t easy. It took chunks of herself. Bits and pieces, gladly sacrificed.

If this was what it took to destroy this blight, she’d offer it willingly.

The Osiri shrieked, the sound awful and penetrating. Like taking razorblades to her ear.

It wasn’t going to be enough, Kira realized. He was going to win.

Child.

Kira faltered, her consciousness suddenly in the pool below. Eyes flashed in her mind.

If she concentrated, she could make out the dim form of a coiled lu-ong crouched in the depths. Scales missing along its length. Open wounds that bled into the water around it.

Scars covered its snout and face.

Free me, child of a different era, it hissed with a touch of madness and a level of rage that was capable of toppling empires. You will not be able to destroy him by yourself.

"I don’t know how."

The blessing does.

Suddenly, she was back in her body. The Osiri before her. Her flames still licking his body. Already weaker.

Off to the side, Raider was helping Elena out of the water. Thea was on the ground, her eyes lifeless. Pallas stood over her, his gaze on Kira and the Osiri.

Finn was fast fading from his wound on her other side.

In all that chaos, Lathan pacing out of the gloom along the edges of the room caught her attention. The only thing she could see in that moment. Lathan stopped on the edge of the walkway. Directly above the pool where the lu-ong was imprisoned. The lenacht was cradled in his arms as his eyes seemed to ask her a question.

"Do it," Kira ordered.

She didn’t know what was going to happen, but she didn’t really care. Nothing could be worse than what would transpire if they didn’t take this chance.

Lathan smiled and opened his arms, letting the lenacht fall. It dove into the water with a splash.

Kira’s ears popped as pure ki swept into the room, the pressure squeezing her body. A torrent of sound followed it. The roar of a beast finally finding its freedom.

"No," the Osiri breathed in horror.

A power originating from the lu-ong and lenacht rushed through Kira, twining together in a way that was stronger than they would have been separately. Her flames flickered and then caught, growing ever brighter as the unfiltered ki the two below were generating flowed into her soul. A deluge that threatened to destroy her in its flood.

Belatedly, she realized she was a conduit. A conduit for their will.

The water erupted just as her mind began to buckle. A massive lu-ong burst upwards. He crashed through the ceiling and beyond. All the way to the open sky. His body continuing upwards until even his tail vanished out of the opening.

Wreckage rained down on them. Raider cursed as he threw his body over Elena’s.

Still, the ki the lenacht and lu-ong had flooded her soul with continued to burn. A fire devouring her body and soul.

Kira redirected it, channeling it through the sword and into the Osiri despite the whisper in the back of her mind urging her to keep some of that power for herself. With it she would never risk having to lose anyone again. She could protect them. All she had to do was hold a little back for herself. Not much even. A tiny bit.

But loss was a part of life. She’d finally realized that.

If she held onto this power the lenacht and lu-ong had bestowed on her, she’d eventually become like this being in front of her. Corrupt and greedy.

What would be the point then? If it destroyed the beauty and good in her.

No. This gift had one purpose. To kill the undying and rid the universe of its taint.

She poured the last of her will down the sword. The Osiri’s answering scream was like that of a dying animal as he writhed under her blade.

Kira collapsed to her knees a second later. That was it. She had no more to give.

"He’s gone," Pallas said with some shock.

Kira stared unseeing at the walkway beneath her hands. Oh God. Jin.

Somehow, she stumbled to her feet, ignoring Pallas’s call as she staggered over to the place where Jin had fallen.

She hadn’t noticed before. The damage to her bond with him too extensive. Not to mention the intentional block he’d put up.

Still, how could she have missed something so important?

"What are you—?" Pallas broke off at the sight of Jin’s broken body.

His sphere lay in two pieces. The processing system damaged.

Kira’s hands hovered over him. Afraid to touch for fear that anything she did would accelerate what she could already feel happening.

"It’s okay, Jin. We’re going to be okay."

She was going to fix this.

"Oh, brother—this was not the fate we wished for you," Pallas whispered sorrowfully.

Raider pushed Elena toward the platform. "Help Finn."

Elena didn’t move, staring at Kira and Jin. "Uncle."

"Do what I say," Raider ordered, waiting for her to follow his instructions before heading toward Kira and Jin. He knelt beside them. "Kira."

A little time. That’s all she needed. Just a moment to figure out what to do.

"Kira, he’s gone."

She yanked away from Raider’s hand. "He’s not gone! I can still feel him."

That’s right. She could still feel him.

His soul. The thing that made Jin. It was still there. Fading quickly—but there.

Jin was never the drone. Hadn’t he proven that over the past few weeks? The sphere with all its circuitry and parts was nothing more than a vessel. One Jin could change at will.

"His spawn. Do you have it?" Kira asked desperately.

There was her answer. A vessel.

Raider’s face showed confusion.

"The bird, Raider. I need the bird."

She just needed a medium to anchor Jin to. Preferably something that already carried his imprint.

Raider shook his head. "It’s not with me. I dropped it when I was fishing Elena out of the pool."

"No," Kira whispered, collapsing in on herself.

She couldn’t lose Jin. Not like this.

Her gaze focused slowly on the cryopods. Specifically, the last one. The one that carried the boy that looked exactly like Jin.

Of course. Why didn’t she think of that before?

"What?" Raider asked.

Kira shoved her friend out of the way, scrambling toward the pod. She fumbled for the controls, getting it open a second later. Water gushed out, spilling through the grates to the pool below.

Kira set a hand on the boy, her senses delving into him.

There was only one problem with the idea of placing Jin’s soul inside the boy’s body. And that was if the boy already possessed a soul of his own.

It was the biggest reason Kira had never gone this route before. Clones held their own sense of self. They weren’t empty containers you could simply fill with whatever you wished. At least not without driving out what was already there.

That was a sin neither Kira nor Jin had wanted to shoulder. It stunk of their old masters. A level they never wanted to descend to.

"No soul," she breathed a second later.

Finally, something that went her way.

"Kira, wait. Are you sure?" Raider’s face reflected uncertainty as he looked from her to the boy. "This clone is Tsavitee made. We don’t know what it really is or its purpose for being here."

Raider had a point, but Kira found she didn’t care.

"I’m not letting him die here."

Not in this awful place.

Jin needed a vessel. There it was.

"Do what you’ve got to do. I’ll guard your back," Raider told her.

"Thanks." Kira’s voice was soft, picking up the two halves of Jin’s sphere before turning back to the boy. "This is going to work. Do you understand, Jin? Otherwise, I’ll never let you hear the end of it."

Beads of sweat dotted Kira’s forehead as she concentrated, pulling out the drone’s essence. Jin’s soul with it.

"There you are, my friend. Time for a new chapter in our story."

Kira slammed Jin’s soul into the boy’s body.