Nothing,” Dakar said, searching around the dark green crystal cavern.

“We are entering the next chamber,” Thunder murmured into the comlink.

Small crystals floated around the fighter. The sound of them bouncing against the ship’s hull reminded them that they were in a structure made of glass. Behind him, Thunder heard Vice hiss.

“This would have been better in a shuttle transport than in a fighter,” he muttered.

“Did you see a shuttle with a cloaking device on it? You know, you could always take over and pilot this thing,” Thunder commented.

“No, if we are going to die, I want you to be the one who gets blamed for it,” Vice replied with a grin.

“Sometimes I wonder…,” Thunder started to say before he whistled. “Found them.”

Vice leaned forward behind Thunder and looked over his shoulder. “How the hell did he get that thing in here?” Vice hissed in surprise.

“It was definitely a tight fit,” Thunder agreed. “Dakar, we have a visual. We are moving to intercept.”

“Confirmed. I have no signal with the Nebula One. I will fall back until I get one,” Dakar stated.

“Confirmed,” Thunder said. “Vice, do you have a visual on an entry hatch?”

“We will have to enter from the belly of the ship. The top is practically touching the ceiling of the cavern. Can you get us under there?” Vice asked.

“I’ll get us under. You get us sealed onto the hatch,” Thunder stated in a grim tone.

Thunder delicately maneuvered the fighter toward the spaceship. He was almost to the hatch near the stern of the transport when he saw the turret turn, and they were suddenly facing the wrong end of a laser cannon. Sweat beaded on his brow as he stared into a pair of dark gray eyes filled with determination.

He was too close to the ship to lift his hands from the controls. Holding the fighter steady, he realized that the person couldn’t see them. Making a split second decision, he shut down the cloaking device. The woman’s eyes widened when she saw the fighter suddenly appear. Behind him, he heard Vice’s smothered curses.

“I hope she doesn’t push the button on that damn thing,” Vice said.

The woman’s hands slowly moved away from the controls. Thunder saw her twist in her seat and disappear. Deciding that was a good thing, he continued aligning the fighter with the underbelly of the ship and the hatch.

“Connection complete, airlock sealed. Opening hatch,” Vice said, checking all of the readouts before pressing the release on the top of the fighter. “Let’s see what kind of welcome we get.”

Thunder released his harness and then reached up to press the release on the hatch. The first, then the secondary hatch slid open. He froze when he found himself staring down the business end of, not one, but three, laser rifles.

“I’m glad you decided to go first,” Vice remarked.

“I think we found some of the missing women,” Thunder said before he raised an eyebrow. “We’ve been searching for you.”

“Yeah, you and half the galaxy. What the fuck do you want?” one woman with dark gray eyes demanded.

“He looks like a Trivator,” a woman behind her said.

“Yeah, but does he smell like one?” another feminine voice retorted.

“Smell? What are we supposed to smell like?” Thunder asked in confusion.

“They do know that it only takes a single burst from one of the rifles at this range to kill, don’t they?” Vice commented.

Thunder was about to make a similar comment when the rifles disappeared and another dark-haired woman replaced the older female. This one held a laser pistol in her right hand and knelt on one knee to look down at him. He could see hope with an edge of desperation in her gaze. He waited for her to speak.

“Edge is dying. Can you help him?” she asked in a soft voice.

“Take me to him,” Thunder ordered, climbing out of the cockpit of the fighter and up through the hatch.

* * *

Lina bit her lip and stood near the wall. Bailey was explaining what had happened to Edge, the drug that the Waxian had used, and what she was doing to slow the damage. The two men listened intently before they looked over the chart. She straightened when the bald guy shook his head.

“Is there anything else that can be done to help him?” she asked, stepping forward.

The man named Thunder turned to look at her. Her stomach dropped when he shook his head as well. Lina looked at Edge where he lay cocooned in the surgical cylinder.

“We don’t have the medical skills to do more than what you are already doing,” he explained.

“He needs advanced care. The healer aboard the Nebula One would know what to do,” Vice added.

“Then we get him to the Nebula One,” Lina replied.

Thunder and Vice looked at each other. Shifting her focus back and forth between the two men, she lifted her chin.

“What is it?” she demanded.

“There are four Waxian warships searching the moon for you as we speak,” Thunder said.

“They followed a tracking signal placed on this ship. I’ve disabled it,” Mechelle said.

Vice turned and looked at Mechelle in surprise. “A tracking signal?” he repeated.

Mechelle nodded. “Edge told Lina before he collapsed that there was a strange signal coming from the shields. I found a script running in the background. It wasn’t hard to disable it once I knew what I was looking for,” she replied.

“Hey, guys! I hate to break up the welcome party, but we have company,” Andy yelled from the bridge. “Shit a gold brick! I think I see some bald-headed milk duds. We’ve got douche bags at seven o’clock. I don’t think they’ve seen us yet.”

Lina twisted and took off at a run. Behind her, she could hear the others heading to different parts of the ship. Gail was taking the top turret, she would take the bottom, and Mechelle would take the port side once it could be extended. She was surprised when she saw Vice behind her and not Thunder.

“He will pilot the ship. I’ll provide cover,” Vice said, swinging down the ladder and closing the hatch.

She drew in a deep breath and hurried to the ladder leading down to the turret. They were so close to freedom and yet still so far away. She slid into the seat and swung the turret around until she was facing the two fighters that she could see through the green crystal. In another few seconds, all hell was about to break loose. The only difference was this time, she wouldn’t have Edge sitting beside her.

* * *

A shiver ran through Lina as she waited. Until now, she’d never really thought about the saying that your life flashed before your eyes when you were about to die. She’d faced many life or death situations over the past ten years. She wouldn’t say that she’d never cared what happened to her before, because she had. It wasn’t like she’d had a death wish, but there had always been a part of her that just accepted that she would die young.

She had experienced plenty of things in her life that kept her fighting to live—her brother, her friends, hell, even just to prove she could do it! Yet, she realized now that she had only been existing more than participating in life. For the first time in ten years, she wanted more and a future.

Memories of Edge’s face rose in her mind—the expression of awe, hope, and fierce determination in his eyes when she had stepped into his cell; the teasing looks and curiosity as he had struggled to regain his strength; the passion that burned like fire in his eyes when he looked at her; and finally the love that made them shine like the brightest star.

I love you…. The memory of his softly spoken words tore a choked sob from her. Throughout everything he had been through, he had never given up. He had grasped life and wanted a future while she had just become aimless, existing without thinking of anything more than making it to the next day.

For years she had harbored a hatred for the aliens who had come to Earth. Then she had transferred it to Colbert and the aliens who had taken her from her home. Her fingers trembled on the grips of the weapon in her hand. She wanted more. She wanted a future… and she wanted it with Edge.

She bit her lip as she remembered Tim’s quiet words two days after Leon’s death. Lina, we were able to retrieve Leon’s body. According to Doc, he was killed by a gunshot wound to the chest.

The words had meant little to her at first. It hadn’t mattered whether the alien standing over him had killed the man she loved or the humans had; nothing would bring Leon back. She had wrapped herself in her grief and turned her anger toward the man who had been standing in the street, simply because he represented everything that she had lost. The same man whose life would cross paths with hers again light-years from Earth.

“Powering on all systems. Be prepared for a rough exit,” Thunder’s voice echoed in the turret.

“What are you going to do?” Lina asked.

“Get us out of here,” Thunder grimly replied. “The Nebula One, Vice, and Dakar will provide cover.”

“We’re all going to die,” Andy added. “I hope you have clean underwear on.”

“We are not going to die and why would it matter if your underwear is clean or not if we do?” Thunder growled before the comlink closed.

A soft chuckle escaped Lina. The exasperation in Thunder’s voice reminded her of Edge. A new sense of purpose filled her. No, they were not going to die today. She had too much to live for.

“Lock and load, ladies. It is time to kick some ass,” Lina said, flipping the switch and watching her console light up. Her eyes brightened when she caught a glimpse of open space below the ship. Only a thin layer of crystals blocked their exit. “Thunder, how about if I open up a new door out of here?”

“I see it. Gail, can you take out the two fighters?” Thunder asked.

“Done,” Gail replied.

Lina pressed the fire button on her laser cannon at the same time as Gail opened fired on the two Waxian fighters. The ship trembled from the twin explosions. Crystal fragments floated around them, and Lina could see other large sections breaking apart.

Thunder expertly rotated the ship and angled it toward the opening. Lina’s breath caught in her throat, and she was pressed back against her seat when the ship suddenly accelerated. They shot through the floating fragments and out into space.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lina caught sight of four warships orbiting above as they exited the moon. Two of the smaller ones were suddenly lit up with explosions. Fighters swarmed the area, firing randomly into space before suddenly breaking apart in a flash of light. Out of the darkness of space, powerful bursts of laser fire lit up the shields of a giant warship.

She watched in horrified fascination as the last smaller warship tumbled end over end directly into the path of the larger ship. Several fighters turned toward them. She automatically swiveled the turret around and began firing on them. She could see streaks of added fire from Gail and Mechelle.

“Prepare to jump,” Thunder ordered.

Lina braced her feet against the footpads and gripped the handles on the cannon. She felt the familiar drop in her stomach before everything sped up. In a flash of light, the last thing she saw was the huge Waxian warship firing on its smaller counterpart.