Watching Veri run towards the battle would never be easy. Asher gritted his teeth and made his way to Command as quickly as he could. He needed to figure out what in the hells was going on and figure out a way to end this without depleting their army to the point they would be no help at all when they reached Khara.

The halls were full of warriors and personnel running – so many warriors heading to their fighters and everyone else going to their battle stations.

Another massive explosion hit his ship – the largest in the fleet – and Asher gritted his teeth, praying to any of the gods and goddesses who would listen. Their shields had been improved marginally, but they’d been focusing more on improving the weapons and the engines.

He burst onto Command, heart beating wildly and Asher calmed his breathing, demanding answers and explanations, reports, statuses – he needed it all. As numbers and info came at him, he watched the battle through the large floor to ceiling window nearly the entire length of the ship.

The armada had been forced to slow and engage. Speed would only do so much when the enemy was just as fast as they were. Had capturing that Neprijat alive triggered the attack? Or had it been Adelina taking Hai?

It didn’t matter. These Neprijat forces weren’t playing with them like they had the last time. The last attack on the border planets had been to eradicate their border supplies, forcing them to push back towards the Core and the capitol.

This time…Asher followed the patterns of their ships, mulling over the information he’d been given and…they were trying to stop them from reaching Khara’s border. They were afraid – to some degree at least.

Because if Asher was able to join forces with Adelina, it would be a lot harder to pick them off one by one.

“Shields?” he demanded, grabbing his spare armor from the compartment under his console.

“Should hold out for a bit longer, your highness,” the captain reported. “We’re at eighty percent, but their weapons—we can’t advance.”

“How many of them are there?” Asher asked, studying those black ships of death and destruction. They seemed endless.

“We can’t get a good count, your highness, but it seems like their whole fleet appeared out of nowhere. There are over five hundred thousand warships, not to mention their fighters.”

But it wasn’t their numbers – as the Royal Army and all those under him were far more. It was their strategy. They were separating as many ships as they could, sacrificing everything to take out the bigger ships.

Asher watched in horror as one of his warships broke apart. He couldn’t hear their screams as they died but he could feel them in his bones—his soul.

Tapping his console he waited for the cast to go through, pulling on his armor and activating it so it conformed to his body.

“Yes brother?” Adelina’s voice sounded concerned. After all it had only been a few hours since he’d heard from her last.

“I have sent out a probe to check if the coordinates we’ve received for the Neprijat home system are accurate. We are currently under attack by a much larger force than we assumed was still within our borders. I need to give you the probe’s command key.”

He couldn’t see her face, but the pause told him everything. She was terrified even if she would never let it show. “Ready to receive,” she said. Not a single word wavered.

Asher rattled off the key and then was silent as he held his sister’s gaze. “I will do what I can to preserve as many of our numbers as possible, but…we will not be retreating. Our armies are useless if we cannot reach you. When this battle is done we will send another cast to update on the current situation.”

He did not tell her he would be the one to send her the update, because Asher wasn’t entirely sure he would survive this battle as another royal warship crumbled and burned before him, just behind Adelina’s holo.

She understood. Adelina’s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly as she took that in, but she nodded without protest. Adelina didn’t try to talk him out of it, or tell him to be safe because right now she was his queen.

Not his sister.

And Draga needed his forces at the Kharan border. Their personal relationship didn’t matter in that moment and Asher checked the seal on his armor – ensuring everything was in the right place.

“May your hunt end in blood and victory,” Adelina murmured before she ended the transmission.

Asher selected the Ravager and all the privateers over the fleet-cast. “Captain Delphine is now in command of the privateer legion. Break through the enemy lines and follow the orders already given.” The orders their queen had given before this disaster.

They could not afford to fail if Princess Kaita were to have any chance of succeeding.

Delphine would fly to the Corinthian Princess and assist her in quietly infiltrating Khara. But first Asher needed them to barrel through enemy lines to cause enough chaos that his ships could tear down the confused Neprijat, just as they were currently doing to his own forces.

“As you command,” Delphine said over the fleet-cast. “Everyone to me!”

Asher watched as the privateers formed…an arrow. They would be a battering ram through the Neprijat lines and he had to be prepared. “Captain, you have command of the Rosanera. I will be in my fighter, issuing further commands from there.” He activated his helmet and made sure he was on the Draga Royal Army’s fleet-cast channel.

Every ship of his from largest to smallest, whether manned by one warrior or millions, would be able to hear him and follow his orders. This battle would require every single person to be at their best – for them all to work together as one like they’d trained their whole lives to do.

It took mere moments for him to reach his fighter. It was already prepped and ready to go. Asher hauled himself up as he mentally filtered through every battle and war he’d ever studied. Based on the numbers constantly flowing through his gauntlet they were losing.

There had to be a way for him to turn the tide of this battle.

“I want everyone split down the middle,” he said. “Everyone in the east quadrant get ready for Delphine and her legion to break through. Veri you’re in command. Then circle around those Neprijat forces and take them out. Same with the west quadrant which I will lead. Take out what you can and the Scyrian Army will mop up the rest.”

Sirus agreed as did the others.

It was a solid plan, but the Neprijat could still overpower them. The difference between their tech and weapons was less than it had been, but it was still better than what Draga currently possessed.

Asher could see the ships on his dash as they moved into formation, but the Neprijat caught on too quickly. They took out the largest ships first, going down the line. And Asher gritted his teeth as he took off, navigating into space to protect the Royal Rosanera.

The worldbreakers on the ships that were going down were launched at the enemy before they exploded in the ship while under attack, and took out their own forces. It was one of the orders he’d given weeks ago that had bile rising in his throat as he watched it come to fruition.

It was all they could do to keep the destruction to a minimum.

Asher had ordered all worldbreakers launched, and then those who could make it to the escape pods should do so. They would have a small chance of surviving the battlefield, but the med ships would pick them up and move them behind the front lines when they could.

Watching as that was exactly what the second largest ship in his fleet did as it went down…Asher felt a mixture of pride and horror. They’d done the maneuver perfectly as they’d practiced, but still so many lives had been lost.

He warned the fleet to protect the med ships as they started to move through the ranks of fighters and warships with their own small legion of fighters to guard them.

His fleet tried to maneuver as he’d ordered, but it was complete chaos.

Asher had to decide now whether to order a retreat, or to have them fight each enemy ship until none remained…and potentially none of their own. These Neprijat knew…they knew this was it by whatever orders they had and they didn’t hold back. They didn’t care how many fighters or ships they lost because their orders were to keep the Draga Royal Army from advancing to the border.

No matter how costly.

And each Neprijat would sacrifice their ship to take out as many Dragans as possible.

What could he do against that sort of reckless attack?

He took out fighter after fighter – bursting through the wreckage and fire before attacking another and another as his mind raced—as Delphine and her legion of pirates arrowed through the battlefield to shatter the Neprijat lines.

Every ship of theirs that went down took out multiple Neprijat ships, but with each report and farewell Asher’s chest tightened until it felt like he couldn’t breathe. He had to do something before that farewell and detonation was Veri.

“Prince Asher, Brogna Army reporting in. Looks like you could use a bit of help.”

The words were so foreign as they spoke with such a heavy accent, but… “Brogna?” he clarified, taking two more fighters down and flipping around to shake the third off his tail. Another warrior took that one out.

It gave him enough time to check his dash and the positions of the Neprijat and the fleet. And right there – there certainly was a new fleet, small but heavily armed as they headed for the battle amongst the stars.

Asher didn’t know what to make of it. How did they get there so quickly? When did Adelina contact them and why had they never responded to war summons until now?

But he didn’t want to question fate or destiny as those ships started firing upon the Neprijat.

“Yes sir,” the foreign voice confirmed. “We received the request for aid from the new Queen of Draga and mustered a force. What are our orders?”

Asher could barely comprehend what he was seeing—absorbing. All he could do was react, shooting down Neprijat that attacked, flying to take down more that were hellsbent on murdering as many of his fighters as possible.

What were the orders they needed?

“New plan of attack,” he said, making sure the fleet-cast now included the Brogna forces with a few quick taps on his gauntlet. “Shield Brogna and let them creep around the back. We will blast from the front and move around the sides to trap them. Target the largest warships with the worldbreakers and everyone steer clear of the damage.”

More acknowledgements as Asher flew. Fighters fell in tight as they started to herd the Neprijat tighter and tighter. The ones who tried to get through – they were taken down instantly. The largest royal warships followed his command. They locked on the enemy and fired, slowly moving forward, pushing and pushing as Brogna went around the back.

Asher’s eyes flicked from the battlefield to the readings on his dash and back again.

Certain defeat was slowly becoming victory – even if the cost would be high, at least they would have warships leftover. Even if Asher wasn’t sure if they would have the weapons Adelina needed.

It didn’t matter. They had to win this battle or they would never reach the Kharan border and Draga would be ripe for the taking.

Neprijat ships shattered and fell among the glittering stars. The only way one could see them was that the black was just a little brighter, a little sharper than that of space. And when whatever light existed hit those ships they shone like the sun on a thousand diamonds, but if Asher hadn’t known what he was looking at, they would appear as stars. A few against the billions smattered across the sky.

Asher maneuvered around the larger warships. He dodged shots fired from the enemy as more fighters joined him, latching onto his small legion as they tore through as many defenses as they could. Even as some of his legion’s fighters were blasted out of formation.

Listening to their death screams would haunt his dreams for the rest of his life. Asher silently sent prayers to the Gentle God to watch over his people as they were sent to him in droves by the Neprijat. Asher asked Katsia to honor the warriors and make room for them in her Hall of Heroes.

Then he was blasted to the side.

Asher couldn’t say he was surprised. Damage control would barely keep him aloft long enough to reach the Royal Rosanera. He would have to make it back alone if they had any chance of winning this. They could not afford any fighters to escort him back. Not when so many lives depended on each and every warrior.

Asher flew as he ordered his legion to meet up with Veri’s. His knuckles were white as he gripped the steering. Muscles strained as he fought with all his strength to keep his fighter from spiraling out of control.

“Keep pounding the enemy,” Asher gritted out, fighting the controls to maneuver himself onto the right path through the chaos – worldbreakers lighting up the sky. “Do not let up.”

Navigating the space between the battlefield and the Rosanera was hazardous at best. Thankfully his weapons were still functional. Asher gritted his teeth as he blasted his path clear. Alarms blared and fuel leaked.

He could not divert from this path or he would never make it back to the warship.

The smoke from his ship was a beacon and Neprijat made a beeline for him. Asher took them out but there were so many. He couldn’t get them all, not alone. Closing his eyes, he knew this would be it – the end.

A blast made his fighter shudder but heat and pain didn’t consume him. Asher’s eyes flew open and he saw the path cleared yet again.

“Mia principe, you thought I would abandon you?” Veri asked, flying up alongside him. “Let me get you to the warship, then rejoin me. I wouldn’t want you to miss out on all the fun.”

Asher would kiss her if they survived this for keeping things lighthearted. He knew she was just as worried as he was, but all they could do was keep fighting, focus, and pray Brogna had any skill at all in fighting as they circled around the back, camouflaged with their tech.

“It’s not abandonment if I ask you to leave me,” he teased right back, tapping the dash to let the crew on the Rosanera know he was coming in hot. The landing would be rough, but he was more concerned about getting in another fighter. It had to be ready as soon as he got there.

Veri took out another Neprijat and blocked the attack. Asher didn’t think they knew a royal was in his fighter, but they scented his weakness—the trailing smoke a signal for a feast.

But then his legion whipped by, taking out the ones who turned to chase him. Asher didn’t berate them for going against orders as he passed through the shield protecting the Rosanera. Veri and his legion peeled off once he was safe and headed back toward the main battle.

It took all his skill to land the fighter without crashing, but Asher managed it, silently thanking his warriors for their loyalty. It could easily have been his end out there. Now he had to get back into a working fighter so he could return the favor.

The landing sent sparks through the hangar but the fighter crew didn’t shy away. They were there putting out the fire instantly, pulling off panels for repair while one helped him out, silently directing him to another fully functioning ship.

Asher gave them a nod in thanks. There was no time to waste on pleasantries.

Hopping into the cockpit he flipped on the displays, pleased to see the engines were already on and merely waited his direction. A single alert rang through the hangar and Asher took off – flying through at a speed he would normally punish someone for.

But this was combat. Combat takeoffs and landings held their own rules.

The Rosanera let him through – the shield allowing him to pass into outer space while keeping the precious oxygen inside. “Veri report,” Asher demanded with one eye on his dash and the other on the ships in the battlefield.

He spun to avoid some debris and fired, taking out two Neprijat and then two more as he looped around to where Veri’s signal was.

“Asher we are closing in. The worldbreakers from each warship are locked and ready at your command. We have them mostly contained, but they are trying to retreat.”

Grinning, Asher could taste their desperate victory on his tongue like a fine wine. The Neprijat were trying to run and they were about to realize there was no such chance for them.

“Brogna?” he asked, praying once more to Katsia Goddess of War.

More Neprijat fighters exploded under his fire as he waited for the answer—wasting no opportunity to rid their system of the monsters where he could.

“We’re behind the Neprijat lines, ready when you are,” whoever led the Brogna forces stated.

Then the confirmations of each warship carrying worldbreakers sounded down the line, including Sirus at the head of the Scyrian Army.

“Fire.”

Asher watched as those deadly worldbreakers arrowed through space as Delphine had through the Neprijat lines before disappearing as he’d told her to. It didn’t matter how many times he’d seen it now…each time was just as harrowing as the first.

When the weapons met with the targets the enemy tried to scramble away—but Draga fighters kept them from escaping…

There was a moment of silence where it felt like the very universe held its breath.

Then a percussive wave exploded outward.

Crumbling warships took out others. Some took out his own forces and Asher remembered each name that went dark on his console as they refused to let those Neprijat through the line so they could escape.

The explosions went on for what felt like forever and Asher watched the destruction with grim determination. Thousands of ships broke apart. Bodies were sucked into the vacuum of space. Fires burst and then were instantly put out when the oxygen was burned up in the vast dark nothingness.

The victory left a bad taste in his mouth.

Asher followed his fighters into the fray along the edges and took out the remaining smaller ships. Reports came in of the warships destroyed and the ones still holding on to life for as long as possible.

Giving the order to wipe them all out was the hardest one Asher had ever had to give in his life.

Knowing the Neprijat preferred death over capture was a small comfort.

The fleet-cast went silent as Brogna held that line. Then Scyria came through the battlefield that stretched as far as the eye could see. Sirus gave no quarter as he destroyed every single Neprijat vessel still limping along. He was Death incarnate.

Asher circled the battlefield again and counted the number of forces they had left.

Nearly half. Half of their fighters and warships had been decimated.

Adelina would not be pleased, even if they had taken out a quarter of the Neprijat’s forces.

Too many. There were too many of those monsters. They would not win this war with numbers. They had to find another way – a smarter way. Asher mulled it over as he gave the order to reform the lines, take care of the wounded, repair what damage they could, and then resupply before advancing on the border.

“Veri, to me.” Asher was not looking forward to the conversation he would have to have with the queen.

“Prince?” she asked, coming alongside him a moment later.

Asher knew what Veri really asked, but it wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have in detail just yet. “Congratulations Draga, a decisive victory,” he said instead, glancing out of the cockpit to meet those turquoise eyes of hers. The pain there reflected his own.

But Veri just nodded. “I’ll see you on the Rosanera, Prince.”

He still owed her that kiss.