BAELAN: Fantasy Romance (Zhekan Mates Book 4) by E.A. James (23)

In addition, the gravity conductors would keep Kira and her crew firmly on the surface of the small mass. The mining colony did have its own gravity, but it was minimal. They couldn’t waste time bouncing around like fools trying to move from one place to another.

 

Returning to the common area, she found that Bron and Thor were already there, in their suits, waiting for her. It wasn’t long before Dario and Alaria returned, Zola following close on Alaria’s heels.

 

“Ha!” Vinnie yelled victoriously as he burst into the room, combat armor on. “Told you I could find one in my size!”

 

“Good,” Kira said, turning to face the entire group. “Are we ready, then?”

 

Everyone nodded.

 

“Helmets up,” she ordered.

 

Simultaneously, the entire group engaged their helmets. The thin, industrialized helmets sprung to life out of the suit collar and sequentially formed to each of their heads. When the helmet locked into place, a small display appeared on the transparent face shield and their comm systems engaged.

 

After testing the suits comms, Kira ordered that they file out. There was a tension in the air as they stepped into the Curio’s airlock and waited for the chamber to decompress and the exterior door to open. The tension did not decrease when they stepped out and were able to fully take in the scene around them.

 

The mining colony they had landed on looked as if it had been deserted in haste. As the group fanned out, examining the nearest caverns and the handful of man-made shelters, they all noticed a pattern.

 

Bron, Alaria, and Dario went into the base shelter, searching the bunkers for any signs of life or explanations for what could have taken place there. Kira, Thor, and Vinnie stuck to examining the mines.

 

Everywhere they went, they noticed one thing—the empty feeling hanging in the air. There was an almost ominous aura to their surroundings. It looked like an abandoned town, a place where all the inhabitants simply got up and decided to leave all at once.

 

“All of their supplies are still here,” Dario’s voice came over Kira’s suit’s speaker. “They clearly didn’t leave on their own accord. They were scared or forced out.”

 

“Does anyone see any signs of a struggle?” Thor asked.

 

“No,” Alaria answered. “It seems like a perfectly normal scene in here—table set with a rather suspicious looking lunch waiting to be eaten, the holo screen on in the den, dishes still in the sink.”

 

“What do you see out there?” Bron asked.

 

“Nothing,” Kira answered.

 

“Literally, nothing,” Thor added.

 

The mine was completely empty. There were a few tools lying around, but other than that, it looked as if the place was as deserted as the rest of the base. The section of the mine they assumed to be used for storing whatever mineral they were extracting was also empty—barren almost.

 

“It’s safe to say that whatever happened here, it had to do with whatever these miners were excavating,” Kira agreed.

 

“Anyone have any idea what that was?” Vinnie asked.

 

Kira turned to face him, to find that he had wandered off. He was heading back toward the mining base, but not in the direction of the building where the other three were. “Where are you going?” Kira asked.

 

“Clearly no one is around,” Vinnie replied. “I’m going to go search for supplies for my maintenance bot.”

 

“Kid always has to be doing something,” Bron said with a grunt.

 

“He has a point, though,” Kira commented. “We could take advantage of this and re-stock the ship. Maybe Alaria and Bron can find some parts for the Curio.”

 

“Good thinking,” Dario replied. “There’s some food in here, as well.”

 

“Agreed, let’s take what is useful,” Thor said.

 

“We should hurry, though. We still have two other colonies to explore. Maybe we can get some answers from someone on one of those about what happened here,” Kira pointed out.

 

Thor, wasting no time, began heading in the direction of the shelter. Kira followed closely behind, sending Bron and Alaria to where Vinnie was scavenging the supply bunker to look for anything useful.

 

The group worked quickly, in silence, as they each walked handfuls of items back to the ship. The task was made slightly clumsy by the combat armor. Even the highest, cutting-edge technology couldn’t make a pulse-proof, oxygen producing suit as light-weight as normal clothing. Finally, though, the task was nearing the end.

 

“Where’s Vinnie?” Kira asked as she loaded the last of the food from the shelter into the ship’s airlock.

 

“Here,” Vinnie’s voice came over the speaker in her suit. “I’ll be right there; I just need to get…”

 

His voice trailed off and a cold shiver ran down her spine. “Vinnie,” Kira said, looking out in the direction of the bunker he was rummaging through.

 

“Vinnie,” Bron said sternly. “This is no time for pranks.”

 

Still, nothing.

 

“Shit!” Vinnie yelled, his yell breaking through the silence, causing Kira’s ears to ring as she instinctively took off in the direction of the supply cabin.

 

Thor and Bron were on her heels. The closer they got to the shack, the clearer the events unfolding became.

 

“What the hell?” Thor asked, stepping forward and reaching for his sidearm.

 

A small group of oversized insects had swarmed out from a hole in the surface near the supply bunker.

 

“Zel’Dar,” Kira muttered, reaching for her Phantom. “How many are there?”

 

“Does it matter?” Bron asked, swiftly pulling his assault rifle from his shoulder and engaging the Zel’Dar.

 

The blast from Bron’s rifle quickly drew the Zel’Dar’s attention toward them. The massive insects, some doubling even Bron’s impressive size, turned slowly as one of their own was struck down by the pulse radiating out of Bron’s weapon.

 

“Four more,” Kira reported, watching the lifeless body of the Zel’Dar bounce slowly back toward the rocky surface.

 

“We can see that,” Thor replied, lifting his weapon higher as the large insects began to move in their direction.

 

“I wasn’t sure you or Bron could count that high,” Kira quipped as she lifted her Phantom and squeezed the trigger.

 

The Zel’Dar, accustomed to moving through Space without the need of suits or armor, zipped toward them quickly, ducking out of their weapons’ line of fire with ease. One of them broke away from the group, extending their circle out and drawing Bron’s attention with it. The remaining three continued their quick advance in Kira and Thor’s direction.

 

One of them appeared to hone in on Kira, focusing its red eyes on her and extending out an arm that was nothing more than a single, razor-sharp talon. Launching itself off its hindquarters, it threw itself in her direction.

 

She held her ground, knowing that this might be her only chance at a direct hit. She waited, Phantom raised, until the creature was no more than five feet in front of her, and squeezed the trigger.

 

The pulse burned into the insect’s exoskeleton with ease, sending streams of radiating heat through its body and causing a loud, screech like sound to come from its mouth. Within seconds, the blast had done its job, and the Zel’Dar’s body went limp.

 

There was no time for celebration. Bron was now facing off against one of the remaining three Zel’Dar, his back to Thor and Kira. He continued to shoot at the large insect who continued to dance tauntingly out of his line of fire.

 

The remaining two were both focusing their attention on Thor. He lifted his gun to shoot at one, and the other swarmed in behind him. The ease with which Thor moved out of the line attack was impressive. As much as he hated his enhancement, it definitely came in handy more often than not.

 

“Hey!” Kira yelled, trying to draw one of the Zel’Dar’s attention to her. “Hey!”

 

She fired a shot in their direction, but they both moved before the stream of energy could make contact with either of them. But, her attempts to draw their attention to her worked. One of them focused on her while the other once again turned its sights to Thor.

 

Now that they were separated, Kira and Thor had no problem taking them out. All that was left was the one that was continuing to taunt Bron. Kira was about to yell out to pull its attention off of Bron and onto her like she had done with the other, when a blast of light flashed through the air, hitting the creature square in the chest.

 

“First try!” Vinnie yelled victoriously as he ran out of the supply shack. “How many times did you shoot, Bron?”

 

“I’m beginning to forget why I keep you around,” Bron muttered, holstering his weapon.

 

“Obviously, because you need me,” Vinnie replied with a cocky smile.

 

“I would have gotten him,” Bron replied.

 

“Eventually,” Vinnie said. “But, we don’t have time to sit here, watching you dance around with a giant bug. In case you forgot, we have a mission to complete.”

 

Kira laughed, motioning for the others to follow her back to the ship. “He does have a point, Bron. No time for dancing around with giant bugs.”

 

CHAPTER TEN

 

“It doesn’t make sense,” Kira said, leading the crew back onto the ship.

 

Releasing her helmet, she inhaled deeply. She didn’t stop when they reached the common area. Her mind was set on getting to the next colony, on getting answers.

 

“The base is abandoned, so why would the Zel’Dar have any interest in it?” she continued to think out loud.

 

“Why were they traveling in such a small group is the question I’d like an answer to,” Dario added. “It’s unheard of, really.”

 

“Well, we’re not going to wait around here for more to show up,” Kira said as she continued her purpose driven march toward the flight deck. “Alaria, get to the engine room. We’re leaving for the next base—now.”

 

Alaria didn’t protest as she scurried off, followed closely by Bron and Vinnie.

 

“Dario, see if Thane knows anything about what’s been going on here,” Kira added over her shoulder as she exited the common area.

 

Thor marched quietly behind her.

 

“It shouldn’t take long to get to the next colony,” Kira said as she plopped down in the Captain’s chair and entered in the next set of coordinates Artanis had sent them.

 

“What do you expect to find there when we arrive?” Thor asked as he took his seat next to her.

 

“I honestly have no idea. I wasn’t expecting to find what we found here,” Kira replied.

 

“Do you think Grimm has anything to do with this?”

 

“I think that the Alliance should be giving us a lot more than just a cleared name for going through all this shit,” Kira replied.

 

“They haven’t even agreed to that much,” Thor reminded her.

 

“Assholes,” Kira quipped as she initiated the engines and lifted the Curio off the ground.

 

The flight to the next colony was less than an hour, as Kira had expected. What she didn’t expect, though, was what they found upon arrival.

 

“Told you I wasn’t going to try to guess,” she said as she leaned forward to gaze out the large view screen in front of her. “I could have said a lot of things, but this definitely would not have been one of them.”

 

The mining base was in a state of chaos. Destruction filled nearly every inch of the screens around them, illuminating and highlighting the tragedy that had taken place there. The bodies of dead Zel’Dar were scattered among the remains of Terran miners. Kira lowered the ship slowly as she and Thor scanned the area for any signs of survivors.

 

“There’s a bunker there,” Thor said, leaning forward and indicating an air-locked building that seemed to be more or less untouched.

 

“Perfect,” Kira said, guiding the ship just past the spot Thor had indicated and setting it down gently. “Get the others. We’re disembarking.”

 

Thor hurried away as Kira shut down the engines. Her thoughts were running wild as she exited the flight deck. Artanis had said that he suspected Grimm’s involvement in the events taking place on the mining colonies. In addition, they believed that if it was Grimm, it was just another attempt by the coup leader to divert more of the Alliance forces.

 

This, though, seemed like something else. Why would Grimm go to so much trouble to destroy a minor mining colony on the outskirts of the Terran space? He had to be aware of the fact that the Alliance was onto his plan to stretch their resources thin.

 

Perhaps that was it.

 

“I sent a message to Thane,” Dario said, walking up to her, cutting off her train of thought. “But he hasn’t answered any of my communications since we arrived at the Arbiter.”

 

There was a glimmer of worry in the man’s eyes. His relationship with Thane had always weighed on him. He felt guilt over putting his beloved in such a perilous situation. If Grimm ever found out that his assistant was feeding information to his enemies, there’s no telling what he would do.

 

“I’m sure he’s keeping a low profile for now,” Kira said, trying to encourage Dario the best she could. “So far, from what I’ve seen of Thane’s communications, no news is good news. I still jump every time that damn communicator goes off.”

 

Dario nodded, knowing she had a point.

 

“Let’s get out there,” Kira said, directing her comment to the rest of the crew. “I brought the ship down about a mile away from the bunker Thor spotted. We’re going to need to hike out there, but something about the situation isn’t adding up to me.”

 

Helmets up and weapons holstered, the group exited the ship, prepared to face whatever came their way. There was a silent tension in the air as they alternated between racing toward the shelter and taking cover behind boulders at the slighted movement in the distance.

 

What they were afraid of, no one knew. That was the problem. No one knew what to expect.

 

As they grew closer, though, a fragile calm settled among them.

 

“I guess we didn’t need to be so cautious,” Kira said, standing up a little straighter as she turned to face the crew behind her.

 

“It’s still too soon to…” Dario began.

 

But he was cut short when Thor threw himself forward and tackled Kira to the ground, simultaneously yelling for the others to duck for cover at the same time.

 

Just as the hard earth rushed up and smacked her in the back of the head, Kira heard the sound of gunshots ringing through the air. The blaze of electric energy streamed past her, floating over Thor, who now lay on top of her, and disappeared into the distance.

 

“What the hell?” she asked, wiggling around to search for the source of the blast.

 

The door to the bunker slammed shut as the shooter retreated back to cover.

 

“He was Terran,” Thor informed her as he pushed himself up and reached his hand out to help her to her feet.

 

“Why is he shooting at us?” Alaria asked, popping up to her feet gracefully, her eyes flitting past Thor and Kira toward the large metallic bunker just ten yards away.

 

The door to the bunker swung open again, but this time, before the man could shoot, Thor stepped forward.

 

“Hold your fire!” Thor ordered.

 

The man ignored Thor’s request and pulled the trigger, sending a bolt of energetic matter flying in Thor’s direction. Without so much as blinking, Thor stepped to the side, letting the glowing current fly past him.

 

Thor continued to step to his left, leading the gun away from the rest of the group. The man followed his every movement with the barrel of his assault rifle, his eyes wide and his hands shaking slightly.

 

“You’re one of them!” he yelled, pulling the trigger again.

 

And again, Thor diverted the blast with casual ease.

 

Kira, finding her sidearm quickly, took a few cautious steps in the man’s direction. She held the gun out in front of her, training her sights on him. As she focused her vision, she noticed that the man was injured.

 

“You’ve come back to finish us off, haven’t you?” the man yelled, almost hysterically, as he pulled the trigger again.

 

Thor, clearly unamused by the interaction, reached for his gun as he gracefully moved out of the man’s line of fire.

 

“Don’t!” Kira ordered Thor as he lifted his weapon in one swift movement. “He’s injured.”

 

The man, now noticing Kira’s gun trained on him, swung his arm around so that she was in his sights. Thor tensed, but Kira gave him a long glance telling him to stay in place.

 

“We’re not here to finish anything,” Kira spoke to the man slowly. She lowered her gun, a sign of trust, and took a slow step in his direction. “We’re here to help.”

 

“Then why are you working with one of them?” The man asked accusingly, swinging his gun back in Thor’s direction. “One of those soulless machines?”

 

Kira had to stop herself from physically recoiling against the man’s words, not for herself but for Thor. She was beginning to understand more and more why he hated his enhancements.

 

“We’re not working with him,” Kira said, still calmly. “He’s working with us.”

 

The man’s helmet began to fog up as his breathing became heavier and more strained. His hands continued to shake nervously, and now his legs were joining in. He was on the brink of collapsing.

 

“Thor,” Kira ordered, “lower your weapon.”

 

He lowered his gun, but he did not holster it. Kira knew that if he wanted to, he could have the gun raised and the shot fired before the man across from them even had the chance to blink. Hopefully, he didn't know that, though.

 

“We have a doctor,” Kira offered. “Let us help you.”

 

“Why?” the man asked, still eyeing Thor down the sights of his gun. “Why do you want to help me?”

 

“Because that’s what we came here to do. We’re here on behalf of the Alliance. We’re here to help.”

 

The man looked as if he wanted to object, but his condition required a doctor. He knew that as well as the rest of them did.

 

“Fine,” he said, tossing his gun to the ground. He turned, without another word, and re-entered the shelter.

 

Kira waved the others on, and together they headed toward the entrance. Everyone was hesitant to enter the airlock, but the man had already disappeared through it. If they were going to get answers, they needed to follow.

 

“Can we trust him?” Bron asked.

 

“We don’t have any choice,” Dario replied. “We need to know what happened here.”

 

“Maybe I should stay outside,” Thor said, hanging back by the shelter’s door. “He’s clearly uncomfortable around me.”

 

The entire group couldn’t help but notice the hint of self-loathing wrapped around Thor’s words. Kira knew more than any of them how much of a struggle it had been for him to accept his past, how much he had struggled with what Grimm had done to him. She knew the man’s words had only reopened the wound he had been trying to heal since Thor openly rebelled against Grimm.

 

“No,” Kira said firmly, keeping her authoritative Captain’s tone heavy on her voice. “We do this together—all of us.”

 

Thor nodded and followed the others into the airlock. Once the air around them had been pressurized, the doors flew open, revealing what appeared to be a typical mining colony shelter. Kira and the others stepped inside, releasing their helmets and scanning their surroundings.

 

“Over here,” they heard the man who had been shooting at them call out.

 

His voice was weaker than before. His condition was worsening, and Kira knew that they had reached him just in time. He was huddled in the far corner of the room. Most of the lights were off, and at first, it was hard to see him.

 

As they moved closer and their vision adjusted to the low lighting, Kira saw the bundle of blankets piled next to him move slightly.

 

The man noticed Kira's apprehension immediately and lowered the edge of the thick brown fabric to reveal a Terran woman. Her eyes were pinched shut and her breathing was labored. There was blood running down the side of her face, and her entire body seemed to be shaking like a leaf.

 

“She’s worse than I am,” the man explained.

 

Dario rushed over to where the man and woman were seated. Kira and the others looked on as he assessed their conditions. The expression on Dario’s face did little to ease anyone’s concern.

 

“Alaria,” he said firmly, “go back to the ship and get my supplies. We can’t afford to move this woman, but she needs immediate attention.”

 

“The ship’s at least a mile away,” Kira replied.

 

“I can make it,” Alaria insisted.

 

“But can you make it fast enough?” Bron asked the question on all of their minds.

 

“I’ll go,” Thor offered.

 

He could run through the low gravity rocky terrain, burdened down by the combat armor, faster than any of them.

 

“Fine,” she said, nodding to him. “Hurry.”

 

“That’s why I’m the one going, isn’t it?” Thor replied, winking at her as his helmet snapped into place.

 

CHAPTER ELEVEN

 

“You have to help her,” the man kept saying over and over as Dario attempted to do whatever he could to ease the woman’s suffering while they waited for Thor to return with his medical supplies.

 

“What is your name?” Alaria asked, walking up next to him. She gave him her trademark kind, genuine smile as she lowered herself down in front of him.

 

“Myles,” he replied, not taking his eyes off the woman. “And this is Kora.”

 

“Why don’t you tell us what happened, Myles?” Alaria said, resting her hand gingerly on his shoulder.

 

Myles’ eyes went wide. It was as if he were seeing the entire thing playing out in front of him. He leaned back, finally shifting his gaze from Kora to Alaria. Alaria kept the kind smile on her face as she waited patiently for him to speak.

 

“It happened very fast,” he began. “We were working. It was a typical day in the mine. But then, out of nowhere, ships began descending upon us from above.”

 

“They rained down on us out of nowhere. They were filled with soldiers, Arkadian warriors," Myles continued. "Arcanum soldiers," he added with a clear hint of disdain.

 

“If the Arcanum were here, that means Grimm is definitely behind this,” Kira said.

 

“Not just the Arcanum, though,” Dario reminded them. “The Arkadians were here, as well.”

 

“Arkadian warriors?” Bron asked. He let out a quick scoff. “Those peace loving pussies actually have warriors?”

 

“They’re not as peaceful as they’d have you think,” Kira replied quickly. “Not all of them at least.”

 

“Why did they come here?” Alaria asked.

 

“For the Divarium,” Myles said matter-of-factly. “The mineral we mine here.”

 

“A mineral?” Vinnie asked, with a scoff surprisingly identical to Bron’s. “All of this for a mineral?”

 

“It’s not just a mineral,” Alaria answered for Myles. “It could be used as a catalyst for high energy reactors.”

 

“What would Grimm want that for?” Dario asked.

 

“He could make some huge ass bombs with it,” Bron suggested.

 

“He can make bombs with just about anything these days,” Alaria replied.

 

As the discussion continued, the hairs on the back of Kira’s neck began to stand up. Something about the conversation was beginning to bring back memories of a time in her life she had forgotten about long ago.

 

“Why would he raid these mining colonies for that specific mineral?” Dario asked.

 

Kira knew the answer before it was spoken.

 

“To purify the galaxy,” Myles replied.

 

Every face in the room went blank as they turned their attention back to the injured man huddled in the corner of the room.

 

“That’s what the Arkadian said,” Myles continued with a weak shrug. “His name is Mordecai. He’s some crazed Arkadian warlord who led the whole thing and went on and on about his work with Grimm to purify the galaxy.”

 

“It’s official,” Dario said, leaning back on his heels and looking at the group over his shoulder. “Grimm has gone completely mad.”

 

“How did you survive?” Kira asked, wanting to shift the conversation again. Her mind needed to piece everything together before she announced what she was thinking—what she was fearing.

 

“We took cover deep in the mine,” he explained. “We waited there until we were sure they were gone.”

 

“Then you came here? With her injured like this?” Dario asked.

 

“We weren’t injured initially,” Myles explained. “But Mordecai left behind a swarm of Zel’Dar to finish off whatever survivors he may have overlooked. There were eight of us—at first.”

 

“Son of a bitch,” Bron muttered.

 

“How long ago did they leave?” Kira asked, trying to calculate if they could make it to the third colony in time to stop them.

 

“About an hour ago,” Myles replied.

 

Just then, the door to the airlock slid open, and Thor entered the room. He had made the trip—a mile each way—surprisingly fast. Yet, he didn’t look to be winded or strained at all.

 

“Here,” Thor said, marching across the room and holding Dario’s kit out to him.

 

“Just in time,” Dario said, setting the kit on the ground and rummaging through it.

 

As Dario worked to patch up the two survivors, the others paced around nervously, trying to figure out their next step.

 

“We have to get to the third mining colony,” Kira said. “There’s a chance that this Mordecai and his men are still there. Maybe we can stop them before they completely destroy that place, too.”

 

“Is it really safe for the six of us to go up against a man leading an army of Arcanum soldiers?” Bron asked.

 

“We have to at least try to do something. He’s out there killing all these innocent people, collecting this mineral, who knows what his next step will be,” Alaria said.

 

“I say we just blow them all to hell!” Vinnie said, jumping up from his seat.

 

“Yes, we’ll blow them all to hell with the state-of-the-art missiles and cannons our state-of-the-art ship is equipped with,” Thor said, smiling sarcastically.

 

Bron huffed as he crossed his arms over his chest. “You keep complaining about the Curio, but without it, you’d still be stuck on Vandor—running from robot rodent bounty hunters and Roughneck pirates.”

 

“You’re right, this is much better. Now we’re running head first into the face of danger, instead of away from it,” Thor commented with a chuckle.

 

“We’re all set,” Dario informed them, crossing the room in their direction. “Myles is much better off, and I think I got Kora patched up enough to at least make the trip back to Earth where she can get proper medical attention.”

 

“Good,” Kira replied. She walked over to where Myles was still sitting on the floor next to Kora. “Do you have a shuttle?” Kira asked him.

 

“We do, but I’m not sure if it was spared during the attack,” he replied. “And, neither of us are engineers.”

 

“Lucky for you, we’ve got one of the best engineers around right here,” Kira said, gesturing toward Alaria.

 

“It’s just across the way,” Myles said, pushing himself up.

 

“Perfect. Get suited up, and Alaria, Bron, and Vinnie will go over there with you to inspect the situation.”

 

Myles expressed his gratitude, and within a few minutes, the group of five were making their way toward the airlock. Bron carried Kora, who had regained consciousness and insisted she could walk. Still, Dario felt it would be best for her to save as much of her energy as possible.

 

Taking advantage of the moment, Kira filled Thor in on what Myles had told the rest of the group about the attack.

 

“Grimm’s lost his mind,” Thor muttered, mirroring Dario’s previous statement.

 

“Yes and no,” Kira said, shifting her weight back and forth.

 

“What do you mean?” Dario asked.

 

“Grimm’s working with the Arkadians,” Kira said, more in an effort to think out loud than anything. “But, as Bron pointed out before, the Arkadians are generally non-combative.”

 

“And?” Thor asked.

 

“There is a group, a sect really, that follow a religion known as Empyreanism. Within that religion, there are smaller, more extreme groups that believe in taking drastic measures to purify the galaxy.”

 

“’Purify the galaxy’,” Dario repeated. “That’s what Mordecai claimed he and his men were working to do.”

 

“How do they plan on doing something like that?” Thor asked.

 

“Death by the purifying light of a star gone supernova’,” Kira said, repeating word-for-word something she had heard before. Something she laughed at, at the time. “They want to find a way to make stars collapse in on themselves before the end of their lifecycle.”

 

Kira swore she heard an audible chill ripple through the air. Her own skin prickled with goosebumps at the thought of stars all across the galaxy imploding simultaneously.

 

“That would wipe out…,” Dario began.

 

“Everything,” Thor finished for him.

 

“I’m not sure that’s what they’re planning,” Kira said quickly. “That’s why I didn’t say anything earlier. But, it makes sense. Collecting the Divarium, the Arkadian soldiers, talk of purification…”

 

“They need to be stopped,” Dario said with purpose.

 

“That is what we’ve been hoping to accomplish this whole time,” Kira reminded him. “But now, we may have enough to get the bounties off our heads and actually team up with the Alliance.”

 

“We need to get a message back to Artanis,” Thor said.

 

“Dario,” Kira ordered, “go meet with the others at the shuttle. Tell Myles and Kora that they need to find Admiral Artanis and tell him everything that happened here. Tell them to make sure that he knows that we are positive Grimm is behind all of this.”

 

“On my way,” Dario said, nodding firmly as he marched toward the airlock, leaving Kira and Thor alone.

 

“We should get back to the ship,” Thor said, watching Dario disappear behind the sliding doors. “You’ll want to have the engines initiated and everything ready to go so we can get to the next colony as quick as possible.”

 

“I agree,” she said turning to face him.

 

He kept his eyes fixed on the metal doors. His face was stern but his eyes were filled with emotion.

 

“Are you okay?” she asked him, reaching out and setting her hand on his forearm.

 

“I’m fine,” he replied, turning to face her. “Really.”

 

“What that man said before…,” Kira started.

 

“Is not important right now,” Thor cut her off, pulling his wrist out of her grasp.

 

“It clearly upset you.”

 

“How could it not?”

 

“Because he doesn’t know you, Thor. You’re not like the others.”

 

“But, in a way I am. And no matter what, that’s how everyone will see me for the rest of my life. I can either hide it, hide who I am, or suffer being marginalized or demonized or…”

 

She stepped forward quickly, taking his hands in hers and squeezing them tightly. “Stop it,” she said to him firmly. “What they did to you can only define you if you let it. Your actions, your spirit, who you are, they can never take that away—they didn’t take that away.”

 

“Sometimes I wonder,” he confessed, inhaling sharply. “We have a mission to focus on right now. Let’s take care of business first.”

 

“Okay,” Kira said, stepping back and releasing her hold on his hands. “But, you know you can talk to me about this, right?”

 

"I know," he said, leaning forward and kissing her softly on the top of the head. "And I will when I'm ready."

 

“I’m going to hold you to that,” she replied smiling at him over her shoulder as she walked toward the airlock.

 

“I never doubted that you would,” he replied with a wink.

 

CHAPTER TWELVE

 

Their departure from the second mining colony was a mad dash of adrenaline pumped determination. Kira and Thor were already on the flight deck when Alaria, Dario, Bron, and Vinnie entered the ship.

 

The second Kira saw them cross through the airlock on one of the screens glowing around her, she sent a ship-wide broadcast, sending her crew into action. Alaria, Bron, and Vinnie rushed to the engine room, to keep an eye on things, while Dario joined Kira and Thor on the flight deck.

 

“It shouldn’t take long to get there,” Kira said, lifting the Curio off the ground and dialing in the coordinates for their next destination.

 

“Hopefully we’ll arrive before Mordecai has the chance to destroy the base the way he did the last one,” Dario added.

 

“That’s the plan,” Kira agreed. “We need to stop him from getting more Divarium if possible.”

 

“You really think that Grimm is planning to work with the Empyreans to destroy solar systems?” Dario asked.

 

He was standing behind the Captain’s chair, shifting his weight back and forth nervously as the mental images of white-hot implosions rippling through space once again shook through them.

 

“There’s really no telling what Grimm is up to,” Kira said. “But, I’m not sure what else it could be.”

 

“How would he even know about this religion’s extreme views? How do you know about it?” Thor asked.

 

“My first spec-ops mission,” Kira replied. “Right out of the Academy, Grimm recruited me to work with him on a mission to find and destroy the heart of the Empyreans’ experiments.”

 

“Did you?” Thor asked.

 

“Oh yes, it was a huge success. Can’t you tell?” Kira replied, shooting Thor a crooked smile.

 

“I just assumed anything you were involved in always was,” Thor replied, looking at her with the same playful smile.

 

“We thought we got them,” Kira continued. “At least, we disrupted them enough we figured they knew we were onto them and would stop.”

 

“How long ago was that?” Dario asked.

 

“About ten years ago,” Kira answered.

 

“Ten years? The threat of the Empyrean religion has been known for ten years, and no one has done anything to ensure that it was completely eradicated?” Dario said.

 

“Even then, the High Command didn’t feel that the Empyreans posed a huge threat. Once we found and destroyed their lab, they did acknowledge that something more was going on. But, Grimm was the one that took over the operation from there on out,” Kira explained. “He assured me time and time again that we had done our job, and that the threat had been wiped out completely.”

 

“Is it possible that instead of destroying them, he began to work with them?” Dario asked. “Even back then?”

 

“Again,” Kira said, “there’s no telling with Grimm. He’s done a great job obfuscating his reach. Everything he does, though, he does for a reason. But, what those reasons are, he rarely feels the need to explain to anyone. The one thing he always said, though, was that he was doing what needed to be done to protect Earth and the Terran race. Humanity’s survival was always his highest priority.”

 

“Seems like you two got pretty close,” Thor observed.

 

“He was my first mentor,” Kira explained. “He was the one who made me the soldier that I am. I can’t deny that. But, it’s been years since I’ve had any involvement with him. Well, besides the out-of-the-blue mission he sent me on to transport you to Jaantu 7. Just because I knew him once, doesn’t mean I know him now.”

 

"Still," Dario said, pacing back and forth now, "your personal knowledge of Grimm could end up being very beneficial in the future, Kira. It's like Ashford said, if we can understand his motivations maybe we can find a way to stop him. Or, at least a way of making sure that this ideology he's spreading can be shut down."

 

“That’s true,” Thor agreed. “He’s doing more than just staging a coup. He’s working with proxies, and by extension promoting, a very dangerous belief system. If that takes root, it will only strengthen his position.”

 

"Yes, well," Kira replied, keeping her eyes fixed on the viewscreen as the third mining colony came into view, "I don't think my memories of the times I had casual chats over lunch with Grimm are going to help wipe out an entire radical religious sect."

 

“Who said anything about lunch?” Thor said, leaning forward to get a better view of the colony, “it’d have to be at least dinner. Everyone knows that dinner is when serious conversations take place.”

 

“Well, that’s too bad then. We never had dinner together,” Kira replied.

 

Dario moved forward as Kira matched Thor’s hunched over position, squinting at the images in the distance. The mining colony was engulfed in chaos, but the closer they got, the easier it became to make out the images of Terrans, Arcanum soldiers, and Arkadian warriors scurrying about.

 

“They’re here,” Thor said, leaning back.

 

“It’s our lucky day,” Kira replied, taking the ship up higher. “Do you think they saw us?”

 

“It’s hard to tell,” Dario replied. “But, I don’t think it’ll matter.” He leaned in closer and stared out the view screen. “It looks as if they’re preparing to leave.”

 

“We need to hurry then,” Kira replied. “Thor, gather everyone up, now. Be in the airlock ready to disembark the moment the ship hits the ground. I’ll follow along soon.”

 

Thor nodded as he grabbed hold of Dario and led him out of the room, leaving Kira alone to search the horizon for a place to bring the Curio down. The rugged landscape of the mining colony complicated the task slightly, while at the same time gave them an unexpected advantage.

 

They needed to land somewhere that wouldn’t draw Mordecai and his soldier’s attention toward them. The countless ridges and craters would provide that, surely. Finding one that was level and wouldn’t end up top-siding the Curio was the issue, though.

 

“We’re ready to go when you give the order,” Thor’s voice came over the intercom.

 

“Good,” Kira said, spotting the perfect place to land the ship. She took the ship down, letting the vessel come to rest in the heart of a shallow gorge. The second the Curio hit the ground, she ordered, “Move!”

 

She didn’t wait to check her screens to make sure her crew got off the ship. She trusted that they did. Instead, she pushed herself up the instant the engines began to shut down and rushed out of the flight deck.

 

Her helmet was up and her Phantom in her hand before she reached the now empty airlock. The time it took the air to depressurize felt like an eternity. Kira's heart raced as she waited for the doors to open. Her body was pumping nothing more than pure adrenaline. They had to stop Mordecai. They had to stop Grimm.

 

Finally, the external air-locked door popped open with a hiss. Kira threw her shoulder into it, forcing it open faster, and stepped out into the open expanse of the mining colony. Ahead she could hear the sounds of plasma fire. They were muted due to her helmet, but she could never mistake the sound of a gun fight.

 

Climbing out of the gorge, she kept her head low and her eyes moving back and forth. The dark, open, vast star-speckled view of space served as the perfect backdrop for the scenes she encountered upon pulling herself out of the large hole.

 

Dario and Alaria had taken cover, not far from where she was. Both brandishing their weapons, popping their heads out from time to time to send a bolt of plasma flying in the direction of Mordecai and his men.

 

Bron, Thor, and Vinnie had moved further up. They were nearing the clearing where the enemy’s vessel was located. The large, metallic body of the ship shimmered as the glow of lasers, plasma, and electronic streams flew around it, some crashing into it, sending sparks of multi-colored matter flying into the air.

 

Many of Mordecai’s men were already aboard the ship, although many were still on the ground, as well. Kira marveled at the numbers. There must have been at least two dozen Arcanum and Arkadian soldiers still buzzing about their ship, using its belly for cover.

 

They weren’t attacking, though. Only a handful of the Arkadian warriors and Arcanum soldiers were engaging in combat. The others were focused on loading the ship.

 

“They don’t care about us,” Kira whispered to herself. “They just care about the mission, about getting the Divarium back to Grimm’s headquarters.”

 

Running up to where Alaria and Dario were, Kira ducked behind the boulder with them, her Phantom already locked and loaded. The second she caught her breath, she fell to her stomach and scooted herself around the edge of the large rock. Holding her gun out in front of her, she began to squeeze the trigger.

 

From that angle, it was harder to ensure precision, but it made it harder for their enemies to target her. Blasts crashed into the dirt ground around her, but none came close enough to cause her to retreat back.

 

Although her shots were hitting their targets, they didn’t seem to be doing much damage. Mordecai’s crew, like Kira’s, were all wearing combat gear. She pushed herself up and ducked back behind the boulder. Alaria and Dario were still firing sporadically toward the ship, but they, too, were struggling with delivering any lethal blows.

 

“We’re going to be here all day,” Kira said.

 

“We need heavier artillery,” Dario replied. “Even just a few grenades would do the trick.”

 

“Does Bron have any left?” Kira asked, peeking around the boulder again.

 

“If he did, I’m sure he would have used them by now,” Dario replied.

 

“Shit,” Kira muttered.

 

She scanned the scene in front of them. Vinnie and Bron were locked in combat with a handful of Arkadian warriors. The alien race’s large green bodies were almost completely covered by the sleek black material of their combat armor. Still, their sheer size was enough to give them away. They stood at least six inches taller than Bron, which was saying something.

 

Still, it seemed as if they were having some level of success. Vinnie, small and agile, was darting back and forth, getting as close as he dared, firing his plasma gun, then backing up before the bulky, clumsy Arkadian he was targeting could turn around. Vinnie’s cries of excitement continued to blare through their comm system.

 

Bron, too, was taking risks. He was facing off against a large Arkadian female. Her large frame made for an easy target. But, the fact that she was wielding an assault rifle of her own made it hard to get a clean shot off.

 

“Where’s Thor?” Kira wondered.

 

She fell back to her stomach and slid around the edge of the boulder, firing off a few shots as she searched through the chaos around them. A majority of Mordecai’s men had made it safely onto the ship now. There was only a handful left, buzzing about wildly, collecting any last-minute equipment they could find and ducking out of the way of any shots Alaria and Dario sent in their direction.

 

At first, she didn’t see him. How had she not seen him? He was in the middle of everything, locked in an up-close-and-personal fight with the largest of the Arkadians, the most well-armed, as well.

 

“Mordecai,” she muttered as she pushed herself up to her feet.

 

As she did, an Arcanum soldier seemingly fell from the sky. He landed on the boulder above them and turned his attention to Kira. His eyes flashed with evil as he threw himself forward, knocking her back to the ground and pinning her down under his thick frame.

 

His strength was unlike anything she had experienced before. He grabbed hold of her wrist, squeezing it tightly until she yelled out with pain and released her gun. Dario ran up behind them, firing a shot square in the man’s back. He didn’t even flinch. His eyes continued to burn down into Kira’s as he adjusted himself slightly, reaching for his own weapon, momentarily freeing Kira’s left hand.

 

Alaria now joined in with Dario, firing another blast at the man’s back. Still, he didn’t budge.

 

Kira thought fast. It was clear that his enhancement—or enhancements, there was no telling—seemed to make him invincible—to gunfire, at least. There was still one thing he was susceptible too, though.

 

As he shifted around to reach for his gun, she reached up and found the switch for his helmet. By the time he realized what she was doing, it was too late. The helmet retracted around his head, and within three seconds, he was clutching at his collar, desperately trying to re-engage the helmet. Kira took the opportunity to deliver a heavy kick to his ribcage which forced him to release his last remaining air. He fell to his knees, gasping at the vacuum of space before blacking out moments later.

 

Dario and Alaria rushed over and lifted Kira off the ground. She wiggled around quickly, grabbing her gun and glancing back to the place she last saw Thor.

 

He was still locked in combat with Mordecai. Mordecai, large and imposing, stood at least a foot and a half taller than Thor. He moved slowly, with precision. Thor, by contrast, moved with speed and grace, dodging each of his alternating blows with ease.

 

She could see that both of them had somehow lost their weapons in the fight. On the ground, just a few feet away from them, was the assault rifle she recognized as the make and model used by the Special Forces. She took a hesitant step forward, wanting to rush in and help in the fight, but not wanting to pull any of Thor’s attention in her direction. At the moment, the only clear advantage he had over Mordecai was his focus and reflexes.

 

She watched, waiting for the moment she could rush forward. She saw Thor land a blow square in Mordecai’s gut. The Arkadian man stumbled backward. He clung to his stomach and let himself fall to the ground.

 

Something wasn’t right. He was stumbling too far, there was no way he was that injured. Sure, Thor was strong, but he wasn’t strong enough to deal a blow that forceful through the layers of combat armor.

 

That’s when she saw it. Thor’s gun was on the ground behind Mordecai. As he tumbled backward, he stretched out his hand and grabbed it, rolling onto his back and simultaneously kicking Thor’s feet out from under him.

 

Although Thor didn’t fall, his reflexes too fast and his instincts too honed, he did stumble forward slightly. As he did, Mordecai reached up and pressed the pulse gun into his stomach.

 

Then, he pulled the trigger.

 

Time slowed. She felt the blast herself. She felt it hit her square in the chest, knocking the oxygen out of her lungs. She tried to open her mouth to scream but the words didn’t come out. As she watched him slump down, her heart sunk with him. Her hands began to shake as she tried to find her feet, her voice, her ability to move.

 

She was frozen in place, tears stinging her eyes, blurring her vision. Her ears rang as she watched Thor clutch his stomach in his hands, his face twisting with expressions of pain and agony.

 

Lying on the hard stone ground, he turned to her. His eyes caught hers, and he tried to speak. He tried to tell her to run, to leave, to fight—to do anything but let them win.

 

In a flash, the sounds of the fight raging around her came crashing back into her mind. Her feet began to move before she realized they were, and her instincts carried her forward.

 

“You son of a bitch!” Kira screamed, running at the gigantic Arkadian man, her Phantom held tactically out in front of her.

 

Her outburst drew his attention toward her, exactly what she wanted. She lifted her gun just as she saw Thor, out of the corner of her eye, roll to his side and grab hold of the Special Forces assault rifle she had spotted earlier. As soon as he lifted it off the ground, she let out another high-pitched scream, keeping Mordecai’s attention on her.

 

They both fired simultaneously. Mordecai, swift and well-trained, pushed himself to his feet and dodge her blast, but was unable to escape the plasma stream fired from Thor’s weapon.

 

A blast that close, like the one he had shot at Thor, would do damage. Combat armor could repel dispersed energetic matter, but condensed and coming straight at its target at close range, that was a different story.

 

He fell to the ground, clutching his right arm in his hand. Two of his men ran up behind him, grabbing onto his shoulders. Kira took advantage of the moment and ran to Thor’s side.

 

“What the hell are you doing?” he asked, his words weak. “Finish him! He’s down! You have to finish him!”

 

“His men are already there,” Kira replied, grabbing hold of Thor’s arm and slinging it across her shoulder. “Come on, Thor. Get to your feet!”

 

“Leave me!” Thor replied sharply. “Finish the job we came here to do.”

 

“We don’t have time for this,” Kira replied. “Get up! You have to get up!”

 

“You’re letting him get away.”

 

“I’m not worried about him right now,” Kira replied.

 

“Damn it, Kira, you have to…”

 

“You have to take an order, Thor. Shut up and let me help you!”

 

Thankfully, the men assisting Mordecai were too busy with their burden to return any fire. Bron rushed up to where Kira was clumsily kicking at the ground, trying to lift Thor’s massive frame. With ease, their Bandurian companion lifted him off the ground and slung him over his shoulder.

 

Thor let out a painful grunt.

 

“Maybe if you would have argued less and helped more, you wouldn’t be slung over a Bandurian right now,” Kira said to Thor as she pushed at Bron’s back to urge him to hurry.

 

The trio joined the others behind the boulders Alaria and Dario had been using for cover. Without a word, they ran together back to the ship. The entire time, all Kira could think about was Thor—his condition, his injuries.

 

She had never seen him take a hit like that before. She had never seen him go down in a fight before. He was always able to fight through the pain, to keep going, keep pushing. But, this time he didn’t. This time, she was genuinely worried.

 

“They still haven’t taken off,” Dario’s voice broke into Kira’s thoughts.

 

“Good,” Kira replied, pulling all her focus to the situation, letting her concern for Thor fade to the background, just for the moment. “Maybe we can stop them in the air.”

 

The crew entered the airlock together, Bron still holding Thor, who had continued to let out the occasional frustrated grunt during the short trek back to the ship. When the grunts stopped, though, Kira's blood ran cold.

 

Standing by the interior door of the airlock, once again waiting for the damned thing to pop open, she turned around slowly.

 

Thor was on the ground now, and Bron was kneeling over him.

 

“He’s not responding,” Bron informed them, trying to shake Thor back to a state of consciousness.

 

“What do you mean he’s not…?” Kira began, but just then the hiss-pop of the air-lock door opening jolted her attention back to the mission. “Damn it,” she said, spinning around. “Dario, Alaria, get Thor to the medical bay. Bron, with me.”

 

“What about me?” Vinnie asked, following Kira as she sprinted out of the airlock and headed toward the flight deck.

 

“You’re with me, too,” Kira replied. “More people, more guns, and more guns is what we need right now.”

 

Keeping her mind focused on moving her feet forward, on racing toward the flight deck and not toward the medical bay, was the hardest thing Kira had done on any mission to date. Her thoughts bounced back and forth between trying to loosely plan an aerial attack and wondering if Thor would be alright.

 

“Fuck,” Kira muttered. “Grimm was right.”

 

The memories of Grimm’s soldierly advice had been at the forefront of her mind. And now, one lesson, in particular, rang out in her mind. His warning—his constant warning that relationships had no place in the lives of military personnel, that all they did was distract soldiers from their ultimate purpose.

 

“What?” Bron asked, running alongside her.

 

“Nothing,” Kira responded quickly.

 

The instant they entered the flight deck, Kira began shouting out orders. “Both of you, to the pulse turrets,” she said as she plopped herself down into the Captain’s chair. She initiated the engines as quickly as possible and slammed her hand down on the intercom system, opening the ship-wide channel.

 

“Alaria, did you get him to medical?”

 

“Yes,” Alaria responded.

 

Kira held in the sigh of relief she felt pressing against her throat. This was no time to be thinking about that.

 

“Good, get to the engine room. I’m going to need the weapons array online as soon as possible.”

 

“Yes, Captain,” Alaria replied.

 

Alaria’s confirmation that all the ship’s defense systems were online and functioning couldn’t have come at a better time. Just as Kira lifted the ship off the rocky surface of the last mining colony, a small swarm of Zel’Dar became visible in her view screen.

 

“Mordecai left us a little present,” she said between gritted teeth, clutching the controls tightly. She let the buzz of adrenaline run through her, let the impending threat distract her completely from her main concern—Thor.

 

“Bron, Vinnie, you ready for this?”

 

“Hell yes!” Vinnie exclaimed.

 

“Do you need to ask?” Bron replied, a half-smile crossing his face.

 

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

 

Over the horizon, she could see Mordecai’s ship taking off. Her hands shook as she clung to the controls, her mind going too many different directions. On the one hand, she was preparing for the onslaught of oversized insects that continued to swarm ominously in their direction. On the other, she was trying to keep an eye on the large, unmarked vessel floating out into space. And then, in the very back of her mind, her thoughts continued to wander back to Thor.

 

She should just give up; she should just go to him.

 

She watched Mordecai’s ship drift further into space. They’d never catch them. They wouldn’t. Why should they try?

 

As her mind continued to race, the insects grew closer and closer. There weren’t many of them, but enough to create a very real diversion. They were on them before Kira had decided what to do. They were there, glaring into the view screen in front of her, while her mind was wandering off.

 

“Captain,” Bron’s voice broke into her thoughts. “Orders.”

 

“Turrets ready?” she asked.

 

“Yes.”

 

In a flash, the decision was made. It wasn’t a conscious decision; it was an instinct. Her body buzzed with energy as she bit down on her bottom lip, her eyes fixed on the insects swarming outside their ship.

 

“Clear the way!” she ordered. “Fire at will!”

 

Vinnie and Bron, standing at the plasma turret gun controls behind her, began to fire bolts of red hot plasma at the Zel’Dar swarm. The insects were too close, though. She had let them get too close.

 

“Going up!” she yelled, pulling forcefully on the controls. As she did, the sound of the Zel’Dars’ razor sharp claws grating against the ship’s shield and hull made her grit her teeth.

 

They followed her up, sticking closely to the ship.

 

“We still can’t get them,” Bron said.

 

“I can see that,” Kira replied.

 

This time, when she sent the ship falling back down toward the mining colony, she didn’t yell out her warning. There wasn’t time. The Zel’Dar were slightly startled by her second sudden change in direction, and they finally left enough room between themselves and the ship that she was able to send the vessel forward. They followed behind her closely, but now, Vinnie and Bron were able to find them in the crosshairs that appeared on the rear-view cameras.

 

“Awesome!” Vinnie yelled as he bopped up and down excitedly with each trigger pull.

 

It didn’t take long for them to shoot down the small swarm. The point of sending them out wasn’t to destroy their ship, Kira knew that. It was to distract them long enough that Mordecai and his men could make a clean getaway.

 

When the last of the insects fell lifelessly back toward the asteroid, Kira didn’t let herself relax. She squinted at her sensor array, searching for Mordecai’s ship. There was a faint beacon, far ahead of them now pinging on the sensor array.

 

Without a second of hesitation, she pushed forward on the controls. The Curio shuddered slightly, and a wave of disheartening panic washed through her. But, the ship did respond. Although it didn’t respond as quickly as she would have liked, it continued to pick up speed, and they were soon pursuing the unmarked ship becoming slightly more visible up ahead.

 

“Don’t relax yet,” she said to Bron and Vinnie over her shoulder. “We’re going after them.”

 

The Curio continued forward, gaining on the ship. Kira felt her skin tingle with excitement as the prospect of taking down one of Grimm’s accomplices pushed all her previous thoughts from her mind. In that second she was only there, in the Captain’s chair, leading her crew on a mission through space.

 

The beacon of Mordecai’s ship grew brighter on the sensor array. But then, she saw something else. Two more points of light seeming to fall out the back end of the ship. She leaned forward, staring intently at the specks as they grew larger.

 

“Shit,” she muttered. “We have company!”

 

The two specks were small class fighters, and they were coming straight at them at full speed.

 

“Bron, Vinnie, lock in, this might not be a fun ride,” she ordered as she kept the ship on course.

 

The fighter vessels continued their beeline straight toward them, weapons lowered and ready. Kira didn’t flinch as she dared the ships to get closer.

 

“Don’t fire until I give the word, I’m not sure they know about our pulse cannons, and maybe we can surprise them,” she said to Bron and Vinnie over her shoulder.

 

She urged the Curio forward, picking up speed as she went. Finally, just as the fighter ships were too close for comfort, she pulled up on the controls.

 

“Now!” she yelled.

 

Vinnie and Bron both fired. Vinnie continued to yell excitedly as Kira pulled the ship higher. The plasma blasts hit the ships, but bounced off, spraying the energetic matter out into open space. Their shields were good, very good. It would take a lot more than a few shots from the Curio to bring them down.

 

Kira watched her screens as the ships began to climb after her. Their smaller size and sleeker designs meant that they maneuvered about better than her ship. But, that didn’t mean that they could outfly her. That was up to their pilots.

 

Kira leveled the Curio out, waiting for the fighter ships to do the same. Once they were directly behind her, she ordered Bron and Vinnie to once again begin shooting at them. Despite the fact that the blasts were doing minimal damage, Vinnie continued to cheer with excitement every time he hit one of the ships.

 

Kira waited, watching the screens. She needed the ships to split up, to fly in opposite directions. When they did, she let out a sigh of relief. The alarms began to ring out as one of the ship’s cannons locked in on the Curio. The ringing always annoyed her.

 

She let out a grunt as she spun the Curio around to face off against the ship aiming at them. The Curio shook slightly at the sudden change in direction but gave into her insistent urging. Just as she did, another set of alarms went off.

 

The other ship was also locking in on them.

 

“Idiots,” Kira muttered. As the first ship let its blast fly, she jerked the controls to the right, letting the projectile zip past them, just barely missing the Curio’s left hull. The missile drifted off into space. The second ship released its fire now. Again, Kira jerked the ship to the side, this time placing the Curio back in the line of fire of the first ship.

 

The second missile buzzed past them.

 

“What the hell are you doing? Dancing with them?” Bron asked.

 

“I’m trying something,” Kira replied. “Open comms down to the engine room. Tell Alaria that I’m going to need warp right now.”

 

Bron did as she asked, still eyeing her every move with uneasy suspicion.

 

“You have to have more faith,” she said to him, feeling his accusatory glare. She continued to jolt the ship back and forth. “You should know by now that you can trust me.”

 

“Trust you to scare the shit out of me,” Bron replied.

 

“Keep your shit where it is and get back to the turret,” she replied with a cocky smile.

 

She jerked the ship to the right again as the first ship sent another missile in their direction. Then, again to the left. She could sense that the pilots were becoming frustrated. It was evidenced by the way their missiles began to stream in her direction with less and less precision. The shots were coming closer together, meaning the shooters were taking less time to place them. When she felt the moment was right, she gave the order.

 

“Bron, you focus on the front ship’s missiles. Vinnie, you got the back. The second those missiles come out of the cannons, target fire them down. They need to be close to the ships, directly under them would be best.”

 

“Roger that!” Vinnie’s high-pitched, excited voice replied.

 

Kira tightened her hold on the controls, waiting for the moment to come. She had to time it perfectly. She couldn’t risk getting caught up in the ripple of the explosions.

 

She fixed her eyes on the screen linked to the front camera. The second the missile lowered into the cannon, she yelled, “now!” hoping that the ship behind them had matched up with his companion’s timing.

 

As Bron and Vinnie released the blazes of energetic matter, Kira pulled up hard on the controls. The Curio climbed, surprisingly swiftly. She didn’t watch the screens to see if the turrets guns hit their targets. She continued to urge the ship upward.

 

When a ball of orange and yellow heat rushed up below them, pushing at the bottom of the Curio, shaking the floor beneath them violently, she threw the controls forward and slammed her hand down on the warp accelerator. In a flash, the Curio leaped forward through space, leaving behind a scene of destruction in its wake.

 

Leaning back in her chair, the feeling of adrenaline pumping through her veins was not the only thing Kira felt. The rush of escaping the multiple onslaughts that Mordecai had left for them would have normally filled her with a buzz of excitement.

 

But not then. She looked to her right, the seat that had come to be Thor’s regular place, to find it empty. Her heart sunk as she sighed, leaning her head back against the headrest of her chair.

 

“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Bron said, walking up behind her.

 

She had forgotten that Bron and Vinnie were in the flight deck with her still. She shook her head and pushed herself up.

 

“He’s strong,” she replied. “I’m sure he’ll be fine, too. For now, though, we need to focus on our next step.” She leaned back and pressed down on the intercom system. “Dario, what is Thor’s condition?”

 

“Stable.”

 

“Can you leave him for a few moments? I need everyone on the flight deck,” Kira responded, feeling a wash of relief flow through her.

 

“Of course, Captain. He’ll be fine without me constantly hovering over him.”

 

“Good, then get up here. Alaria, you too.”

 

Kira leaned back, resting her weight on the row of consoles behind her. She knew they could have met in Thor’s room in medical. That way the doctor didn’t have to leave his side. But, doing that would not be the best thing for her. It was selfish, in part. She knew that if she saw him, in any condition, lying in a hospital bed, her mind would fixate only on that.

 

She couldn’t let herself do that, not yet. She had a responsibility to her entire crew, to the Alliance, to humanity. She had to stay focused, just a little longer.

 

“What is it, Captain?” Dario asked, walking into the flight deck with Alaria close on his heels.

 

“We need to discuss our next step,” Kira informed them. “We lost Mordecai in the fight. There’s no telling where he is, and I’m not sure venturing through space to search for him is the best use of our time.”

 

“I agree,” Dario replied. “But, can we return to Earth?”

 

Bron grunted, crossing his arms over his chest. “Your planet wasn’t the most welcoming to us the last time.”

 

“We need to warn Artanis about everything we’ve figured out,” Kira insisted.

 

“But, Myles and Kora have gone to do that,” Alaria said.

 

“They went to warn him about Mordecai’s activity on the mining colonies, but…” Kira’s voice drifted off as she looked to Dario.

 

“What?” Alaria asked, her big blue eyes bouncing back and forth between Kira and Dario.

 

“There’s more that he needs to know,” Dario answered.

 

“It’s not a certainty; it’s more of a hunch, really,” Kira added.

 

“What the hell is it?” Vinnie asked, throwing his hands out at his sides.

 

Kira quickly explained her belief that Grimm had teamed with the Arkadians to create the super-weapon she had once worked with the Colonel to destroy. She repeated, more times than she needed to, that she wasn’t sure; it was only a thought.

 

“It makes sense,” Alaria said. “We knew the mineral could be used in high energy reactors. It’d be ideal for creating a gravity weapon that could turn stars supernova.”

 

“The only thing the galaxy needs purifying of is madmen like Grimm and crazed religious zealots like Mordecai,” Kira replied.

 

Everyone looked at her. She hadn’t realized that her usual snarky tone had somehow shifted to something much darker. She smiled weakly and shrugged.

 

“Am I wrong?”

 

“No,” everyone agreed.

 

“Well, that settles it then. We’re going back to Earth,” Dario announced.

 

“Home sweet home,” Kira replied, spinning around to enter the flight path into the holo display. “Won’t be long, and we’ll be back in the heart of Terran space.”

 

“Still, no guarantees we still won’t be arrested on sight,” Kira said over her shoulder as everyone made their way back to their stations.

 

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

 

Thor’s condition remained unchanged during the first day of the trip. Dario informed them that the internal damage done by the pulse gun was minimal, thanks to the combat armor. But, the wounds were still there. The equipment he had on the ship was good, but not great. He wasn’t able to get a full-scope idea of how much damage had actually been done. Only time would tell.

 

Kira checked in on him regularly. She barely slept at all the first night, waking regularly to wander down to the medical bay to check on his condition. Thor mostly slept.

 

Her thoughts continued to shift back and forth, Grimm’s words constantly finding their way to the surface. His warnings about relationships, his urgings that her focus needed to be on her job. It was more than ten years ago, but still, his mentorship had long-since impacted her career, her life.

 

She had always valued his guidance. But, for obvious reasons, she was beginning to question it. Still, the momentary realization that she was concerned for Thor in the heat of a chase, so concerned, in fact, that she considered giving up completely and running to his bedside, still made her mentally retreat back to the time when she regularly turned to Grimm for direction. Something about the things he said made sense then and part of her felt as if they still did.

 

Alaria’s high-pitched giggle broke into her thoughts.

 

Kira was in the dining room, pushing a bowl of pre-packaged, dried-out oatmeal back and forth with her spoon. She had just been to visit Thor, to find his condition unchanged—again. Eating seemed like a good way to pass the time. At least, it seemed like that in the moment.

 

The instant she sat down, she lost her appetite.

 

“See? She likes you!” Alaria said, shoving Zola into Bron’s arms.

 

Kira looked up to see them, sitting on the couch across the room. The sight was an odd mixture of sweet and rugged. Alaria’s pale white skin contrasted beautifully with the dark color of Bron’s. The cat, small and agile, wiggled around wildly, trying to free herself from Bron’s muscular arms.

 

“No, she doesn’t,” Bron replied. “But I’m not fond of her, either.”

 

Alaria giggled again, taking the cat from him. Zola nuzzled at her face eagerly, as if thanking her for freeing her from Bron’s grasp. Again, Alaria’s laugh bounced off the walls, accompanied by Bron’s throaty chuckle. The sounds were a chorus of highs and lows, melded together perfectly in the simplicity of the moment.

 

Kira’s attention was drawn to the door leading from the common area toward the medical bay when Dario’s figured appeared in it. She pushed herself to her feet. Her heart skipped as she waited for another report on Thor’s condition.

 

Dario looked at her, her eyes wide, and shook his head. “Nothing’s changed,” he said solemnly. “Everything we can do for him has been done, at this point, it’s up to him. Plasma fire at that range causes cell death, and we can only hope his body slows its progress before it reaches his major organs.”

 

Alaria and Bron stiffened, their laughter falling out of the air as everyone waited for Kira’s reaction.

 

“He’s strong,” Kira said, “he’ll pull through.”

 

Everyone nodded in agreement, although no one spoke. Kira scanned their faces, noting the way they continued to stare at her as if waiting for her to say something more, to react, to break down.

 

“Can I see him?” she asked.

 

“You were just with him half an hour ago,” Dario reminded her, walking across the room and taking hold of her hand. “You need to rest. You haven’t slept in at least 36 hours. You haven’t eaten since we left the mining colony. You have to take care of yourself, Kira. This is not doing anyone any good.”

 

“I know,” she admitted.

 

Alaria and Bron recommenced their conversation, although there was something less light-hearted about it than before. Zola appeared to be the only one that didn’t notice a change in the mood. She continued to nuzzle playfully at Alaria’s face, and bat Bron’s hand away every time he tried to pet her.

 

“Dario, can I ask you something?” Kira asked as she slumped back down into the hard metal chair at the table.

 

“Of course,” Dario replied, sitting down next to her. “Anything.”

 

“Your relationship with Thane,” Kira began. “Do you ever feel like it affects your work? Do you find yourself worrying about him when you should be concentrating on something else, or just not able to focus on your job at all?”

 

Dario tilted his head to the side as he contemplated the question. “I think about him all the time,” he replied. “But, I don’t think it hinders my work at all. If anything, it makes me focus.”

 

“How is that possible?”

 

"What Thane is doing, sending the messages, is extremely dangerous. He's putting his life at risk to help me—to help all of us. Yes, sometimes I feel guilty that he's taking such great risks, but I don’t forget why we decided to do this. And, when I think about that, I use it as motivation to make sure that I’m doing all I can to repay him, taking the information he gives me and doing something with it. Together, we’re making a difference. We’re both risking a lot, but knowing that we have the other out there, working for the same purpose, keeps us going.”

 

Alaria’s light-hearted giggle once again filled the room, drawing Kira and Dario’s attention in her direction. Each time she looked away and looked back, Kira swore that Bron and Alaria were sitting closer together. Now, it even appeared that Bron was attempting to slide his arm around her, but Zola’s restlessness caused Alaria to wiggle about gleefully, making the situation adorably awkward.

 

“What about them?” Dario asked, smiling at the scene. “Do you think whatever is going on between them will hinder them from doing their jobs?”

 

“No,” Kira admitted.

 

“No,” Dario agreed. “We need these moments, these people in our lives.”

 

“But, with everything going on, with all the dangers around us…”

 

“There always have been and always will be threats, Kira,” Dario said patiently. “It’s the time we live in, the lives we lead. The universe is filled with uncertainties, with vast, endless space, where anything and everything could be lurking around any corner. The more we discover, the more we find out we have yet to learn. There will never be anything certain in our lives, but, there will always be people around us to love, support, encourage, and even challenge us.”

 

Alaria’s giggle and Bron’s deep, guttural laugh filled the air again.

 

“Let’s go for a walk,” Dario offered, motioning for the door.

 

Kira nodded and pushed herself up to follow Dario out of the common area. They entered the hallway, and as soon as the door slid shut behind them, they continued their conversation.

 

“I would recommend going anywhere but the medical bay, but I have a feeling that’s the only place you want to go right now,” Dario said, smiling weakly as he began to lead her toward the section of the ship where he was tending to Thor.

 

“I’ve never been good at mystery,” Kira replied with a half-smile.

 

“No,” Dario agreed, “you have not. That’s why I know your questions about my relationship with Thane are really about your relationship with Thor.”

 

“I know everyone knows about us,” Kira said, “but I haven’t been able to fully accept it, I guess. I’ve always felt such a huge burden to keep my relationships and my work life separate.”

 

“I dare say it’s impossible when you’re in a relationship with someone you work with,” Dario said with a sarcastic smile.

 

“That is why I don’t start relationships with people I work with. I don’t have relationships at all, really. I’m a pilot, a captain. I need to be focused; lives are in my hands. It’s a huge responsibility.”

 

"Regardless of your sense of duty, the conflict you’re experiencing is because you’re trying to deny the most fundamental part of your humanity – your need for connection," Dario explained, "it's what keeps us grounded, sane. It's okay to let someone matter to you. It's okay to worry about them. In fact, it’s more than okay, it’s necessary. You, of all people, shouldn't be concerned with your feelings affecting the way you do your job. You're experienced, dedicated, and completely focused."

 

“But before, when Thor passed out in the airlock,” Kira replied, feeling tears sting her eyes as the memories replayed in her mind, “all I wanted to do was run to him, to take care of him.”

 

“But, you didn’t,” Dario replied calmly.

 

They rounded one corner and then the next, tracing the route Kira had taken through the Curio a dozen times since leaving the mining colony.

 

“You stayed focused on what you needed to do. You got us out of there—alive. You navigated through an onslaught of Zel’Dar and an aerial battle with two of Mordecai’s men. And you did it with the same precision and zeal that you always do,” Dario continued.

 

“That time, but what if…”

 

“What if, what if,” Dario cut her off. “There are too many ‘what if’s’ floating around in the galaxy already. Don’t let them occupy your mind longer than is worthwhile. That which we do not master is destined to enslave us.”

 

They walked up to the door that separated Thor’s medical room from the rest of the ship. Dario didn’t hesitate before walking through, knowing that Kira would eagerly follow behind him.

 

“It’s hard not to,” she continued the conversation as they walked into the room.

 

She tried to keep her eyes from hovering over Thor. Seeing him, lying in the bed, made her stomach twist and turn with rage, sorrow, and fear. Dario walked up next to him, checking the equipment around him for any signs of change. He shook his head as he turned back to face her.

 

“Why?” he asked, keeping her focus on the conversation and not Thor’s condition. “Why is it so hard for you to let these feelings go?”

 

“It’s how I was trained, I suppose,” Kira admitted, sitting in the chair at the foot of Thor’s bed. “Grimm, he always went on and on about how relationships only hinder. We need to focus on saving the galaxy, not just one person. We need to realize that life is fleeting, and be prepared to give our life completely to our jobs, nothing else.”

 

“If we stop letting ourselves love, we lose what it is that makes us who we are. Humanity needs compassion. Life needs passion and unity and tenderness and trust. Without those things, we’re nothing more than machines.”

 

A sudden realization shook through her.

 

“That’s it,” Kira said in a harsh whisper. “Grimm—that’s his motivation. He lost the people he truly cared about, and he shut himself down to the possibility of experiencing that sort of pain ever again. He blamed the Alliance and he has taken it upon himself to make sure that any threats to humans were eradicated. He began to see the entire Terran Race as one collective, not as individuals. That’s what drove him to where he is now. He refused to let himself love. He refused to let himself feel. That’s the idea that he’s spreading.”

 

“What do you mean?” Dario asked, encouraging her to continue her path of understanding.

 

“He’s preaching the message that the only way to serve the Terran race is to glorify it above all else. He’s out there, claiming that the Alliance won’t do that. They won’t protect them at all costs. They only care about the money, the economic angle. He, though, will always do whatever it takes to protect our race, and he expects them to do the same. He expects them to give their lives completely to his cause, nothing else. He’s taking from them the one thing that makes humanity what it is—love, family, friends, relationships.”

 

“Then we should all feel a deep compassion for Grimm, to have lost so greatly only to have it change the very fabric of who we are is perhaps, the greatest tragedy of all,” Dario said in contemplation.

 

“It is,” Kira agreed. “He’s not a bad man, intrinsically. He really does believe what he’s doing is right. He just lost his way somewhere. He became bitter and cold and…”

 

“And a complete asshole,” Thor said, coughing as he tried to push himself up.

 

“Thor!” Kira exclaimed, jumping up and running to his bedside. “You’re awake!”

 

“No shit,” he replied, resting his weight on his elbows, “no one could sleep with all that talking you two were doing.”

 

“It’s nice to see you, too,” Kira said as she stepped back and crossed her arms over her chest.

 

“I’ll give you two a few minutes alone,” Dario spoke up. He checked Thor’s vitals one more time before nodding and walking out of the room, smiling back at Kira as he left.

 

“I can go, too,” Kira offered, “if you still need your rest.”

 

“Come here,” Thor said, reaching out and taking hold of Kira’s wrist, pulling her toward him.

 

She gave into his tug easily, her own longing to reach out and hold him pushing at her back, nearly throwing her into the bed with him. She sat down on the edge next to him, letting her eyes meet his.

 

“I was so worried about you,” she said, taking his hand in hers.

 

His upper body was exposed, his abdomen wrapped tightly in bandages where the pulsating energy of Mordecai’s shot burned through his skin. Her eyes drifted momentarily over him, remembering the first time she saw him shirtless, the first time they connected in the hotel back on Vandor. He opened up to her then, allowed himself to be vulnerable.

 

“I thought we weren’t allowed to worry about each other,” he replied, lifting an eyebrow as he waited for her rebuttal.

 

“When you get yourself shot, I’m allowed to worry.”

 

“But, I’m not allowed to worry when you run head-first into battles or insist on putting yourself in situations you know are dangerous? If that’s the case then I have a lot of things not to worry about,” he countered sarcastically.

 

“I only do crazy things like that because I know you’re there with me,” she said, smiling.

 

"Don't try to sweet-talk me, Captain Winter. You were searching for trouble long before you met me."

 

“Maybe, but I never found so much of it until you came along,” she replied.

 

“I could say the same.”

 

“Well, at least we can find trouble together,” she said softly, letting a serious tone work its way into her voice. “I really was worried about you, Thor. I was terrified that I was going to lose you.”

 

Her eyes began to burn as the memory of watching him collapse to the ground filled her mind. She pressed her hand into his chest on the spot just above his tattoo, and let the feeling of his steady heartbeat calm her.

 

He lifted his hand to her cheek, wiping away the single tear that had escaped her attempts to keep her eyes dry.

 

“I want you to worry about me,” she began, her words coming out in quick, short, emotional bursts. “I want to worry about you. I want to depend on you; I want to care for you; I want to protect you. I want to be with you.”

 

She inhaled sharply, swallowing the lump that was forming in her throat.

 

“I love you, Thor.”

 

"Kira," he replied softly, "there isn't a bounty hunter, pirate, or rogue Colonel anywhere in the entire universe that will ever keep me from being with you. Nothing will ever make me stop caring for you, and even before you gave me permission to just now, I worried about you. You're the person I want by my side not only in battle but all the time."

 

He cupped his hand around her neck and pulled her down to him, pressing his lips to hers softly.

 

“I love you, Kira,” he said, still holding onto her tightly.

 

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

 

The feeling of freedom that washed over her was instantaneous. She knew that she had made the decision, completely, to be with him. All of her fears melted away as she lowered herself to him, letting her lips hover over his, letting the taste of him fill her mouth.

 

He wrapped his hands tightly around her waist as if he was afraid to let her go, afraid to let the moment pass.

 

“This is for real, then?” he asked, lying back in the bed and pulling her up next to him. “No more trying to hide it, no more denying it, no more figuring things out?”

 

“Does that scare you?” she asked, sprawling out next to him, resting her hand on his chest.

 

“A lot of things scare me,” he admitted, lifting his hand to the side of her face and running his thumb along her cheek, “but being with you never has. Not even when you had a gun pointed at my face on day one.”

 

She let out a soft giggle. It was an odd sound for her. Perhaps she had been spending too much time around Alaria, or perhaps she was simply happy for the first time in a long time. Either way, she couldn’t help it.

 

“You had a gun pointed at me, as well,” she reminded him, pushing herself up slightly, resting her weight on her elbow and positioning herself so that her face was inches from his.

 

“Look how far we’ve come,” he replied, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her up on top of him effortlessly.

 

The instant her torso hit him, his face flashed with a sign of pain.

 

“Your wounds,” she said, pushing herself up quickly. “You’re hurt.”

 

“It’s worth it,” he said, reaching up and pulling her back down onto him. As he did, he grabbed hold of the edge of her shirt, lifting it off over her head swiftly.

 

The feeling of his bare skin pressing against hers sent shivers of excitement running up and down her spine. As she wiggled her way under the blanket still covering his lower half, she noticed very quickly that he wasn’t wearing anything more than a thin pair of combat briefs.

 

She could already feel him, hard and eager, pressing up against her. Her heart raced as she nestled herself down closer to him. She ran her lips over his neck as he dug his fingers into her sides.

 

When she let her teeth sink into his skin, softly and playfully, his skin filled with goosebumps and his hold on her increased. She knew he was still restraining himself, that his sheer strength could crush her. Still, she enjoyed pushing him, driving him crazy with longing.

 

She pushed herself up slightly, drawing a soft line with her fingertips from his chest down to his stomach, tracing over the outlines of his muscles, the rise and fall of his toned body, his perfectly sculpted physique.

 

As she lowered her hand a little more, he lifted his, finding her chest. He took one of her breasts in his hands, squeezing it softly, running his thumb over her nipple a few times, sending a fresh wave of chills running down her spine.

 

Just as she slid her hand under the waistband of his briefs, he moved his hand from her chest down to the fastenings of hers. The speed with which he was able to snap open the button and push them down to her thighs made her mind reel.

 

Before she even had the chance to take hold of him, his hand had found her pleasure center, and his fingers were sending waves of satisfaction mixed with the lustful desire for more washing over her. Her entire body reacted, her toes curled and her stomach tightened.

 

She bit down on her bottom lip, keeping in the moan of satisfaction that threatened to escape her. She tried again to take hold of him, to return the pleasure he was giving her. But, before she could, he wrapped his free arm around her waist and flipped her over, throwing her down onto her back and positioning himself above her.

 

“Your wound,” she said again, still breathless from the whirlwind of his sudden movements.

 

He reached down and pushed her shorts down even further until they were past her knees. She wiggled around, kicking them off eagerly.

 

He leaned in and kissed her softly, letting his body rest on hers, the feeling of their skin coming together again sending a bolt of longing spreading from her chest to her stomach.

 

“I’m fine,” he replied, pulling back from her and positioning himself between her legs. “I’ll prove it to you.”

 

With that, he thrust his hips forward. He didn’t use as much force as he could have, but still, the feeling of him sliding inside of her sent an unwitting gasp of pleasure flying from her lips.

 

She pinched her eyes shut as she arched her back, allowing him access to her, letting the moment wash over them both.

 

It wasn’t the first time they had been together, but it felt like it. There was something raw and passionate about it. There were no reservations, no fears, nothing between them and nothing holding them back.

 

She had made the decision to be with him, and he with her.

 

Their bodies moved in harmony with each other. Each time she lifted her hips, he lowered his. Each time she dug her nails into his back, he thrust himself deeper inside of her, just the way she wanted him to. Each time he leaned in to press his lips to hers, she was already waiting for him to do just that.

 

When she felt her stomach begin to tighten and her heart to race just a little faster than it already was, she reached up and grabbed onto his shoulders, tightening her hold on him and tilting her head back.

 

She tried to hold it in, to hold onto the moment, to let the feeling last as long as possible. But, it was impossible. The pleasure was too great; the passion was too real.

 

There was no stopping the satisfied moan from escaping her lips. There was no way of keeping in that feeling of ecstasy. Thor, pressing himself into her one last time, buried his face in her neck as he, too, let the feeling of release rush over him.

 

As he rolled off of her the moment of bliss continued to hang in the air. She moved to the side, making room for his muscular frame, and draped her arm across his chest, resting her head on his shoulder.

 

“I’m glad you figured everything out,” he said, turning to look down at her.

 

“Me too,” she agreed.

 

“Was it really something Grimm said to you ten years ago that made you so hesitant?”

 

“That, and personal experience,” she replied. “I wasn’t lying when I said that men in my life have always had an issue with my rank.”

 

“What exactly did he say?” Thor asked.

 

“It wasn’t so much what he said,” she replied. “It was how he said it. He has a way of making you believe him, of making you want to trust him, everything he says and does. That’s what he’s doing now. He’s so passionate about what he believes in. It seems so pure and genuine when he explains it. It’s so simple to fall into his trap, to let him into your head.”

 

“Well, he certainly got into yours. I suppose that’s just another reason for me to despise him.”

 

“I think you have enough reasons to despise him,” Kira replied, pushing herself up onto her elbow and lifting her hand to his face. She ran her fingers back through his hair, letting her eyes fix onto his.

 

“Yes, well, my personal beef with Grimm isn’t something that can be figured out or worked through. It’s permanent. What he did to me is permanent. It’s sewn into my genetics.”

 

“It’s horrible what he did, but like I’ve always said, it doesn’t have to define you.”

 

“Easier said than done I’m afraid,” Thor replied. “But who or what he made me—it will always be the only thing anyone sees when they discover what I can do, the only thing anyone thinks about when they find out what I really am.”

 

“What you really are?” Kira asked, pulling back from him slightly. “What you are is a fighter, a kind person, an obstinate asshole, at times,” she added with a flirtatious smile, “and the man I love.”

 

He shifted his gaze away from her, his eyes darting around the room as he searched his thoughts.

 

“Thor,” she urged, pulling his attention back to her, “for what it’s worth, I met you after the experiment, and I fell in love with who you are now. You can’t spend your whole life a slave to the past.”

 

He pushed himself up and pressed his lips to hers. It was a slow, tender kiss, filled with more feeling than words could express. And, he didn’t try to put his feelings into words. When he pulled back from her, he simply wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her down onto his chest.

 

That night, she did sleep, right next to him.

 

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

 

“Look who decided to get off his ass!” Bron exclaimed as Kira and Thor made their way into the common area together the next morning.

 

Even though Thor was still recovering and needed to save his energy, he insisted on getting out of the medical bay the next morning. They would be entering Earth Orbit soon, and he wanted to be at least mobile when that happened.

 

“Well, since your fat ass was too lazy to visit me, I figured I’d have to come to you,” Thor replied quickly.

 

“Ah, I can feel the love,” Kira commented, helping Thor over to the couch.

 

They slumped down together. Thor left his arm draped around her shoulders, and despite the awkward feeling that instinctively threatened to form in her stomach at being so open with their relationship, she settled in next to him, letting the feeling of being close to him push all concerns aside, where she intended to keep them.

 

“Do we have a plan for what we’ll do when we get to Earth?” Dario asked, walking over to the sitting area, followed by Alaria.

 

“Find Artanis,” Kira replied.

 

“Hopefully we find him before the bounty hunters find us,” Thor added.

 

Dario took the open seat across from Kira and Thor and next to Bron. Alaria lowered herself to the ground, between Dario and Bron with the effortless grace that always accompanied everything she did. The instant she relaxed back, she opened her arms, ready to embrace Zola, who had come running spryly into the room.

 

The cat didn't run to Alaria, however. She leaped swiftly up into Dario's arms and meowed loudly as her communicator implant began to chirp.

 

“Thane!” Dario exclaimed, pushing back the cat’s fur to release the implant from its hiding spot. “I haven’t heard from him since we got to the Arbiter. I’ve sent messages, but he never replied. I was worried. I hope he’s okay.”

 

With each exclamation, Dario’s voice got slightly higher. His hands shook as he pushed himself up and set the transmitter down on the table in the center of them.

 

Thor tensed up slightly as they waited for the transmission to begin. Kira, too, felt a nervous twinge in her stomach. Messages from Thane rarely filled anyone else with as much excitement as they did Dario. They were usually filled with bad news or pieces of information that left a hollow feeling sitting in the pit of everyone’s stomach.

 

Dario clasped his hands together tightly, impatiently waiting for the message to begin. Bron and Alaria leaned forward, and Thor took Kira’s hand in his.

 

The instant the image of the attractive young man spilled out of the device, the message began.

 

“Dario,” Thane spoke quickly and in hushed tones, “I apologize for not responding sooner. Things here have been chaotic. Grimm is going non-stop. He’s working us all like dogs. He’s planning something, something bigger than he’s ever planned before. He seems in high spirits lately, which is not a good thing. He’s confident, Dario. He’s very confident.”

 

The man in the hologram paced back and forth a few times, running his hands through his hair as he collected himself to continue.

 

"He's planning large-scale assaults throughout the galaxy. I don't know when, or where, but I know they're going to happen. His forces consist of mostly Terran soldiers that defected from the TAF—Arcanum among them. He also has a small group of Arkadians working with him, and collections of bounty hunters and mercenaries. He's been biding his time, expanding his force, developing his weaponry. He won't divulge what he's planning exactly. The closer it gets, the more secretive he becomes. I will send more when I can. I’m sorry I haven’t sent more useful intel, he’s intentionally shutting out non-essential personnel. I miss you, Dario, dearly. Please, be safe."

 

And with that, the message ended. Thane’s image was sucked back into the device, and the familiar silence that followed his transmissions hung in the air.

 

"Large-scale assaults?" Bron asked. "What does that mean?"

 

“It means that what he’s been doing so far is nothing,” Thor replied. “The attacks on the mining colonies, the attempts to thin out the Alliance forces, they were just precursors.”

 

“They were a distraction,” Kira agreed, finally piecing together a question that had been burning in the back of her mind since they left the first mining colony.

 

“A distraction, from what?” Dario asked. “If they were to distract from the fact that he’s organizing a wide-spread coup, they didn’t do the job. We all always knew that there was the risk that he was planning something more.”

 

“They were a distraction from what he was doing to prepare for that something more,” Kira explained. Everyone focused their attention on her. “Grimm, unfortunately, is a very intelligent man. He never does anything without reason. All of the attacks on the outlying territories, yes, they pulled forces away from the Alliance. But, they did something else, as well. They exhausted the TAF. They masked Grimm’s real target—the mining colonies. If we hadn’t shown up, no one would have been sent from the Alliance to figure out what was going on there. Because everyone assumed he continued to stage attacks as false flags.”

 

“When, in reality, the mining colonies were his target all along. He wanted the Divarium,” Dario concluded.

 

“Exactly,” Kira said with a firm nod. “If he had started his campaign there, every fleet in the Alliance would have been sent to stop him. But, he didn’t. He knew better. He planned it this way all along, and it was easy for him.”

 

“Well, shit,” Bron muttered, slumping back in his chair.

 

“This doesn’t change anything,” Kira spoke, letting the confidence of her position as Captain work its way back into her tone. “Our mission remains the same—find Artanis and share with him the information we have obtained, clear our names and hunt Grimm down before more lives are lost.”

 

Everyone agreed, and a feeling of purpose once again finding its way into the air. Still, there was something troubling hanging around them. A silence filled the room.

 

That silence, however, was short-lived.

 

“Hell yes!” Vinnie exclaimed running into the room.

 

He didn’t even notice the worry on the faces of everyone around him. His smile didn’t falter as he ran up to them, spinning around and stretching his arms out. Everyone looked in the direction he came from, the direction he was indicating, and waited.

 

“Ship’s overall condition can be classified as terrible,” a robotic voice announced.

 

Before anyone could speak, the maintenance bot Vinnie had been working on rolled around the corner and into the room.

 

“That thing is bizarrely perceptive,” Kira quipped, shooting a smile over her shoulder at Bron.

 

“First priority, abandon ship,” the bot said as it rolled past the group and continued on to the kitchen.

 

Kira couldn’t help but laugh, as did Thor and Dario. Even Bron joined in once Alaria was unable to contain her high-pitched giggle any longer.

 

“Did you program it to do that?” Alaria asked, watching as the bot turned the corner and disappeared from sight. “To talk like that?”

 

“No,” Vinnie replied. “I guess the previous engineer did. I’ll try to fix it. I was just so excited I got the damned thing working I wanted to share it with all of you!”

 

“Well, we definitely needed the laugh,” Dario said.

 

“And, I think we’re going to need a lot more in the future,” Bron added. “Leave it as is, for now. I may lose my patience with it eventually and smash it for bruising my ego.”

 

“Oh, don’t let it get to you,” Alaria said, turning around to look up at Bron. “I think your ship is great.”

 

In a swift, graceful movement, Alaria pushed herself up off the ground and leaned in to place a quick, delicate kiss on Bron’s cheek. His eyes went wide and a smile crossed his lips. Everyone in the room watched in shock as the dark shade of Bron’s cheeks became even darker.

 

Kira couldn’t keep the smile from her lips as she observed the large, Bandurian man melt into a grinning schoolboy. Alaria giggled and spun around to face everyone.

 

“Well, we should probably focus on getting ready for arrival, don’t you think?” she asked, her smile wider than it had ever been before and her cheeks a bright shade of red.

 

“Sure,” Kira said, pushing herself up, “that’s what we’re all focused on right now.”

 

Everyone laughed as Kira and Thor left the common area, heading toward the flight deck together. Still, the smile would not fall from her face. Dario was right. Relationships, in any capacity, were the only thing that made everything they were doing worth it. Moments like the one they just shared, laughter, love, companionship—that was what would push her forward and keep her focused.

 

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

 

Walking into the flight deck, Kira and Thor took their usual spots, side-by-side, at the forefront of the action.

 

“It’s good to have you back up here,” Kira said as she grabbed hold of the controls in front of her.

 

“It’s good to be back,” Thor replied, sliding down into the co-pilot’s seat to her right. “I’d rather be here, clinging to the armrests out of sheer terror, than lying in a hospital bed, clinging to life.”

 

“Sheer terror?” Kira asked, feigning surprise. “Come on, now. It’s not like we’ve gotten into any situation that was that bad.”

 

“Yeah, you try sitting over here and seeing it from my perspective sometime and tell me that,” Thor replied.

 

“Let you fly? That would be something terrifying.”

 

“I thought you liked adventure.”

 

“I like breathing more.”

 

“You just like being in control,” he replied.

 

Kira took the ship out of warp, letting it drift into Earth Orbit. “What gave it away?” she asked, turning to shoot him a cocky smile.

 

As she turned her attention back to the viewscreen, though, something caught her eye and caused her pulse to begin to accelerate.

 

“Damn it,” she said, pressing down on the intercom button. “We’ve got company.”

 

“Already?” Alaria asked as Thor wondered the same thing.

 

“It’s a TAF patrol,” Kira said, checking the screen in front of her to confirm her suspicion. “They must have picked us up coming out of warp,” she reminded herself and her crew at the same time.

 

She reached down for the controls, ready to throw the ship into high-speed when an unfamiliar voice came over the intercom.

 

“Curio,” the TAF patrolman said, “we’re under orders to escort you to the TFS Victory. Please disengage your weapons array and assume formation.”

 

“Like hell we will,” Kira muttered under her breath.

 

“Admiral Artanis has been awaiting your return,” the voice continued.

 

“Artanis?” Kira asked, now opening the communication channel so her utterances could be heard by the patrol ship.

 

“Yes, he asked to have you brought to him the moment you returned to Earth.”

 

“Perfect,” Kira agreed, switching off the intercom before any more external calls could be picked up. She disengaged their weapons array and fell in behind the patrol vessel as they made their way to Artanis.

 

“That explains how they found us so quickly,” Thor mentioned. “If Artanis was looking for us, the Curio would have been a priority.”

 

“We’ll see soon enough, I suppose,” Kira replied, sitting back in her seat and piloting the Curio just behind the TAF patrol.

 

Arriving at the TFS Victory was an odd feeling. Kira had left that ship a respected combat pilot for the Terran Alliance Forces. She was returning as a wanted criminal with a bounty on her head and knowledge of her former Commander's descent into madness.

 

It came as no surprise to her that she and her crew were escorted into one of those damned rooms with no windows. The rooms she had been in a million times before, debriefing after missions, and usually getting scolded for some reckless act.

 

As she walked in, the sight of Artanis sitting at the heavy metal table in the center of the room made her feel like she had stepped back in time—to a time when things were simple, a time when getting a swift talking to was the worst thing she had to worry about.

 

Artanis sat upright like he always did. His lips were pursed and in his hands was a tablet, just like always.

 

“Captain Winter,” Artanis began in the same authoritative voice he used so well, “Commander Rockhold, Dr. Marner.”

 

The way he was speaking made Kira’s stomach turn to knots. It was so official, so dry. But, when the faint hint of a smile crossed his lips, she felt herself relax almost instantly.

 

“Your recent efforts to show your support for the Alliance have not gone unnoticed. It is because of that, and a little because of my insistence, that I am glad to announce that your bounties have been removed. Your names are clear.”

 

“Really?” Kira asked, reaching out and grabbing hold of Thor’s wrist.

 

“Indeed,” Artanis replied, the smile now fully spreading across his face.

 

“Yes!” Kira and Thor exclaimed in unison.

 

The entire group shared a moment of celebration. One they knew would be over quickly. The instant the excitement died down, Artanis cleared his throat, pulling everyone’s attention back to him.

 

“The two survivors you sent from the mining colony told me about the events that transpired. Is it true that Arkadians were raiding the colonies?”

 

“It is,” Kira said, stepping forward. “Their Warlord’s name was Mordecai. We did the best we could, sir. But we were unable to stop his men before they finished with the third colony.”

 

“We’ll need to make sure we keep tabs on this Mordecai,” Artanis said, reaching for his tablet and making a quick note. “In addition,” he added, not looking up at them, “I would like to ask you, Captain Winter and crew, to join me in an unofficial capacity in the endeavor to bring down Grimm.”

 

“Unofficial? Last time someone asked me to do something unofficial, I ended up with a bounty on my head and what feels like an entire galaxy out to get me,” Kira replied.

 

Artanis smiled to himself and leaned back in his chair. “This is for your own safety, Kira. Grimm will be looking for you—all of you. If he didn’t know you were still a threat to him before, he does now, considering your presence at the mining colonies. Once he sees that the bounties have been lifted, the Alliance will be the first place he checks. It’s best if we keep your involvement in the operation off the books.”

 

Kira considered what he said. She turned to face her crew. They were ragged and tired, but the spark of purpose was still in their eyes.

 

“We’re tired,” Kira said, keeping her back to Artanis. She let out a long sigh, before continuing. “But, hell, we’ve been tired since this damn thing started.”

 

She turned around and crossed her arms over her chest, assuming her familiar air of determination and authority.

 

“We’re in.”

 

“I’m very glad to hear it,” Artanis said, once again turning his attention to the tablet in front of him.

 

Dario stepped forward and nudged Kira in the back, forcing her forward a little more.

 

“There’s something else,” Kira said, quickly.

 

Artanis placed the tablet down on the table in front of him and regarded Kira closely, seeming to note the gravity of Kira’s tone.

 

“It’s only an assumption. There’s no certainty in it,” Kira began.

 

“Is it worth saying? You seem unsure,” Artanis replied, leaning back in his chair.

 

“It is,” Dario spoke for her.

 

Kira quickly spat out what she knew about Grimm's past with the Arkadians. She recounted their mission to find and destroy the Empyrean's laboratory, and her fear that Grimm may be working with them now to create the super weapon they once worked together to ensure would never come into existence.

 

“If there’s one thing I know about Grimm, sir,” she finished, “it’s that he won’t stop until he gets what he wants. He’s willing to burn the whole galaxy down.”

 

“He believes he’s doing what’s best,” Kira continued. “He’s weeding out the weak; he’s building a super army and putting himself in charge of it. He’ll do whatever it takes to come out victorious.”

 

“Victorious?” Dario asked.

 

“The Terran High Command,” she answered. “The governing body he believes to be too weak to do what needs to be done to protect us. He thinks himself the only person capable of leading the Terrans to greatness. As far as he’s concerned, the only way to ensure Earth’s safety is to make us the strongest, most feared race in the galaxy, with him as our leader.”

 

Artanis’ eyes narrowed as he listened. He waited to reply once he was sure that Kira had said all she needed to. But, a sudden, blaring whine erupted out of the tablet, stopping the words before they could escape his lips and drawing everyone’s attention to it.

 

Artanis sat up quickly. “An emergency message is coming through on the Galactic News Network,” he said, entering a code into the device and sitting back.

 

Out of the device pored a holographic image of the news report. Except, it wasn’t a news report at all.

 

Kira let out a muted gasp as Grimm’s face filled the space hovering over the table. His eyes, as cold and piercing as she remembered them, stared out at them.

 

“I am Colonel Baron Grimm,” his icy voice filled the room, bouncing off the walls and sending chills down Kira’s spine. “Undoubtedly, the news of my rebellion against the TAF has been echoing through the corrupt and despicable media channels across the Terran Alliance. This message is a warning—a warning for the Terran Alliance Forces. Surrender the remaining TAF personnel and turn over control of your forces to me, or there will be dire consequences. As you have seen, my actions have been calculated with precision. Do not make the mistake of believing I have not thought further ahead.”

 

The image remained suspended in the air for a second, or two, or ten. Kira wasn’t sure. It felt like an eternity. Finally, the broadcast ended and the light sucked back into the tablet.

 

“Oh,” Kira said, looking back to Artanis, “and that, we forgot to mention that. He’s planning on attacking soon.”

 

“Maybe you should have started with that,” Artanis said, standing up quickly and collecting his tablet. Tucking it under his arm he extended his hand to her. “It’s good to have you back, Captain Winter. Now, you and your crew need to begin preparing for war.”