31

We stood near the reinforced front gate watching the skies with binoculars.

“I thought you said the ships this assault came from were small carriers,” Locke said. “That looks like another wave heading for the surface.”

“They are, but they are packed assholes to elbows,” I said.

“Karn for Cain, can you read me?” General Karn asked.

“Sure thing, General. What’s on your mind?” I asked.

“We’re attempting to engage the Union carriers. I hope to draw back their fighters,” Karn said.

“Be careful, General. I don’t know the capabilities of your warships, but I know Nebs is a ruthless son-of-a-bitch,” I said.

“Thanks for the warning,” Karn replied. “Good luck and try not to get Locke killed. I’ve invested a lot in his career.”

“I’ll do what I can.” Thoughts of Carson’s World came back. Protecting people wasn’t something I was good at no matter how hard I tried. “X, how’s the Jellybird?”

“She’s staying out of it and waiting for a pick-up request,” X-37 said.

“Good.” I glanced at Elise and Path, who apparently had some kind of contest going—who could require the most bandages, stitches, and glue packs to stay alive.

But they were alive. And that was enough for now.

“Locke,” I said. “I need one of the downed Union assault shuttles. It’s time to go on the offensive.”

Locke put one hand to his ear as he gave orders and received updates, then nodded. “You got it, Cain. Whatever you’re planning, you better do it now.”

“Elise, Path, stop screwing around, we’ve got a ship to catch,” I said, pointing the way we needed to go.

Locke led us to the Union ship. “There is one problem. We can’t make it work without a code.”

“Is the pilot alive?” I asked.

“He is,” Locke answered.

“I’ll need a moment alone with him,” I said.

“That can be arranged,” Locke said, then grimly made it happen. 

Guards took the pilot into the ship and left. I stood over the man while Path guarded the entrance and Elise started tinkering with the controls.

“I have to admit, Union pilots have guts,” I said.

“Thanks,” the pilot responded. “I think.”

“Unfortunately, your guts are going to spread all over the deployment ramp if I don’t get the code to start this ship,” I said.

“I think I’m going to vomit,” he said, swaying on the bench, the knuckles on his bound hands clenching until they turned white.

“It will be the last time,” I said. “Give me the code and I’ll leave you here for the Wallach authorities.”

“I could fly you to the UFS Nightmare,” he said weakly.

“Why would you do that?” I asked.

“Maybe Nebs would reward me for bringing you to him,” he said. “That’s what you’re trying to do, right. Get on the ship and try to assassinate him.”

“Yeah,” I said. “Apparently, you don’t think I can do it.”

“You haven’t met Nebs,” the pilot said.

* * *

The pilot’s name was Chuck or something less memorable. I couldn’t care less who he was or what type of game he was playing. There was a better option, nearly as desperate, but one that felt right.

Chuck got us off the planet and began to punch in a vector that would lead us to the Nightmare. Once that was done, I knew exactly where the capital ship was hiding itself regardless of its stealth cloak.

I put my gun to Chuck and said, “That will be all, you spineless traitor.”

He lifted his hands from the controls then froze. “Don’t kill me. I have to obey the vice admiral. You don’t understand what he’s like.”

“Path, put restraints on this man,” I said.

“Consider it done,” Path said, moving a bit slower from his wounds.

“Elise, get a hold of the Jellybird. I want to talk to Novasdaughter,” I said.

Elise smiled. “Good call, Reaper. I’ll have Tom get her ready.”

The wait was interminable, but I resisted all of my normal vices. This was my endgame and Nebs wasn’t going to win this time.

I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect when we docked with the Jellybird. The airlock opened and I saw a version of Lieutenant Amii Novasdaughter I hadn’t expected. She seemed relaxed but also full of determined energy.

“Did Tom explain what I wanted?” I asked.

She nodded.

“Are you in?” If she said no, I was going to have difficulty getting onto the Nightmare without falling into Nebs’s trap. That was always the problem with a counter trap. There was a serious risk of getting caught in the trap you were trying to beat.

“I’m in it to win it,” Novasdaughter said. “You’ve given me a lot of time to think. I’ve relived that day on the bridge thousands of times, but after meeting you face-to-face, things are different. I know the Union even better than you do, Reaper. I’ll help you get Nebs so he can’t hurt anyone else.”

“Good. Let’s do this,” I said. “Tom, put Chuck in the brig.”

“My name isn’t Chuck,” the shuttle pilot said. “How many times do I have to tell you that?”

“At least one more,” I said shortly. “Tom, get him out of my sight. He bothers me.”

“Of course, Hal,” Tom said, aiming his sidearm at the new prisoner. “Let’s go. I don’t want to shoot you, but I will.”

When the airlock closed, Amii Novasdaughter took the shuttle controls and headed for the Nightmare.

“What is that guy’s name?” I asked her.

“No idea,” she said, then typed in the clearance code to land in the Nightmare’s hangar. Micro fighters docked on the outside of the ship, but each assault shuttle had a place on the internal flight line. “Don’t care. Some of the Nightmare’s crew will make the same decision I’ve made, but people like Randolph and... Chuck...will require other arrangements.”

“Great,” I said, my eyes on the UFS Nightmare.

We were all giddy with excitement by the time Novasdaughter landed perfectly. There was only one ship left in the hangar, the Lady Faith. The elegant ship looked dark and lonely at the end of the flight line. 

“There are only two guards,” Elise observed, sounding surprised.

“Nebs threw everything he had at the power plant on Wallach,” I said. “He thought we would be unconscious when the shuttle landed.”

“What?” Elise asked. Even Path seem surprised at this news.

I looked at Novasdaughter. “Care to explain?”

“He would have gassed everyone in the chamber, including himself, then the remaining ship security could have taken everyone into custody, even the last Reaper.” She smiled dangerously. “I’m glad you remembered, Reaper. It makes me think I made the right choice switching sides.”

“What’s the plan?” Elise asked. “Take out these guards and rush the bridge to get Nebs?”

“No,” I said. “Let them open the door. It will be a rude surprise for them when they realize we’re awake and ready.”

* * *

Path and Elise stood on each side of the doorway, weapons ready. I waited with a cigar in one hand and my Reaper blade extended from the other.

The two soldiers entered and froze when they saw me. Path and Elise subdued them before they knew what had happened. There was a slight difference in their style. Path moved so smoothly into a restraint hold that I wasn’t sure his victim even knew he’d been captured.

Elise kicked her target in the back of one knee, then slammed him into the ground. A second later, she was kneeling on his stomach and pointing her sword at the vulnerable connection between the man’s neck armor and chest armor. “Don’t move. I just cleaned this sword and would rather not get blood on it.”

Novasdaughter joined me. “Sorry, guys, you’ll thank me later.”

“Go to hell, traitor,” one of the men said.

My new pilot flinched. She probably knew these men. Her childhood trauma had led her to where she was now, but she’d spent years working hard for the Union. Her dilemma made me think of Grady, my friend who died on Dreadmax while struggling with an equally difficult decision—betray a friend or betray the Union.

“We’ll need your uniforms and armor,” Novasdaughter finally said. “Don’t make me say it twice.”

I was impressed that they complied so quickly.

“It seems our new pilot has a reputation,” X-37 said. “It could be useful.”

“Elise and Novasdaughter will escort me to the bridge. Path, stay with the shuttle and be ready to come if I call for you,” I said. “We need to surprise him.”

“He’ll figure it out,” Novasdaughter said. “Elise and I are too small to pose as these guards.”

“It will work for a while. You’re the same size. If we use Elise and Path, he will see two guards escorting me who are suddenly different heights,” I said. “It’s time to roll the dice.”

Before long, Elise and Novasdaughter were escorting me toward a confrontation with Nebs. X-37 ran scenarios of how he would use his own LAI to kill us both. I was ready for anything, or so I thought.

We reached the bridge, and I expected him to gloat over my capture or possibly kill me outright. The door refused to open.

“What’s the problem, X?” I muttered, staring at my feet to hide the fact that I was talking to myself.

“It seems to General Karn and his CSL have taken matters into their own hands. They’ve requisitioned several assault ships and they are headed this way in force,” X-37 said. “Other Union assault ships have abandoned their attack on the power plant and are pursuing the stolen dropships toward the Nightmare.

“Damn,” I cursed. “Talk to me, Novasdaughter.”

“They won’t have the codes. Nebs will know they’re trying to board the Nightmare and kill him,” she said.

“X, get this door open,” I demanded.

“I’m doing my best, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said slowly. My LAI was focusing all of his processing power to cracking the door code.

“He’s not going anywhere,” Elise said. “We have him and his ship. You said it yourself, most of his soldiers went to the surface. Locke and his people will get here first. We’ve got this. We win.”

“He can leave anytime he wants,” Novasdaughter explained. “There is an escape pod built into the bridge.”

“X, get the door open!” I shouted.

“I am doing my best, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said shortly. “Locke and his attempt to infiltrate the Nightmare has been detected. They are shooting their way into the landing bay, which I must remind everyone is extremely dangerous.”

I punched the talk button. “Nebs, come out here and fight me like a man!”

The voice that answered sounded tired. “I should, Reaper. I’ve got some surprises for you that you won’t like. You’re clever. Smarter than I thought, but this won’t happen a second time. And you’ve doomed all of your friends. From this day forward, I’ll show no mercy.”

“Just get your ass out here. Let’s settle this,” I said.

“Lieutenant Novasdaughter, I order you to kill the last Reaper,” Nebs demanded.

“Go to hell, sir. And take the rest of the Union with you,” she answered.

I expected a response from Nebs but heard James Henshaw instead. “It’s about time you showed up, Mr. Cain. Would you like for me to open the door?”

“What the actual hell,” growled Nebs. “Henshaw, you better stop whatever it is that you’re doing.”

“Did you actually think you could hold me against my will? I don’t do confinement. We discussed this. I said I’d never be your prisoner again,” Henshaw said, his voice sounding strange through the intercom—like he was hijacking the ship’s maintenance programs again.

“Open the door, Jimmy. I’ve got a boss to kill,” I said.

“Right away, Mr. Cain,” Henshaw said. “Please stop calling me Jimmy.”

The door slid open.

I rushed through, but Novasdaughter grabbed the back of my armor, trying to pull me back.

“He’s launching his escape pod! Seal your helmet!” she ordered, then grabbed a safety tether from the wall and hooked us to it.

Elise, always quick to react, sealed her helmet and hooked herself to the wall as the escape pod blasted away, leaving an opening that vented atmosphere from the bridge. The entire back wall was gone.

Path flew past me. I grabbed him with my Reaper arm and dragged him back. “Where do you think you’re going, sword saint?”

Path’s answer was more breathless than I’d ever heard. “To my death, I imagine.”

Atmosphere continued to vent. The escape pod was intended to be used only if the ship was literally coming apart. We fought our way into the hallway and closed the door.

“That went well,” Elise said.

“I’m not in the mood, kid,” I said, pacing the hallway as I planned my next move.

“Reaper Cain,” X-37 said. “There is a very short window of opportunity to steal the UFS Nightmare, save your friends, and rush fuel to the Bold Freedom.”

“I wanted Nebs,” I said.

“So you could torture the location of your mother and sister from him. I agree this would have been very helpful, but let’s not cry over spilled eggs.”

“Milk,” I corrected.

“Pardon?” X-37 asked.

“It’s cry over spilled milk, not eggs,” I said, distracted by about fifty decisions I had to make in the next three seconds.

“Of course, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said. “I shall update my vocabulary. In the meantime, I suggest you greet Locke and his commandos in the docking bay and prepare to defend the Nightmare from Archangels intent on retaking it.”

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