Chapter Twenty-Six
Bren had disappeared inside Alpha’s jet, and Cam was already kicking himself for not trying to talk to her. So much had happened in the past few hours, it was hard to process anything clearly. But the fog of anger and adrenaline was beginning to clear, and he was left with the realization that he’d let his emotions—or more specifically, his fear of those emotions—cloud his judgment.
Yes, she’d defied his orders. But, like that moment inside the camp when she’d feared the CS soldier was going to shoot him and she’d been prepared to divulge information to save him, he’d likely have made the same choice.
His own fear of being made vulnerable by Jordie’s sister had ended with him hurting her, instead. He should have at least apologized, even if it was too late for anything to come out of their time together.
“Regretting something?”
Seb’s blunt question brought his attention away from where the engines of Alpha’s jet were coming online.
“You have no idea,” he muttered.
Hell, any sane person would have had their life views rearranged after surviving a building dropping on top of them. But he still hadn’t been able to swallow his pride long enough to give Bren the apology she deserved.
“FYI, she didn’t defy your orders. It wasn’t her fault you guys were captured.”
His heart skipped a beat, because it was the truth he hadn’t wanted to face.
“How do you know?”
“When they first brought her into that room we were locked in, she explained what happened. She started making her way to the rendezvous point, but came across a couple more CS soldiers. They’d already captured the pilot you were meant to meet. The shuttle wasn’t coming and the CSS were closing in. She had no other choice but to go after you, so don’t think she let her emotions drive her decision.”
He cursed under his breath, not just feeling like an idiot. He was an idiot.
Seb started to turn away, but then paused. “And, if you can’t get your head out of your ass and realize she’s not her brother and never was, don’t bother trying to see her again. Otherwise, Alpha and I will have some strong thoughts on that, and we’ll be speaking with our fists.”
Seb didn’t wait for him to reply, but jogged over to where the second jet was waiting to take him on board and follow Alpha and Bren back to the Valiant Knox.
Yeah, he totally deserved that. And probably more. But he couldn’t do anything about it now. There were troops on the way, and he needed a clear head to lead them.
The final battle for Ilari was imminent. Before he could fix the mess his personal life had become, there was an entire planet that needed saving.
…
Several hours later, Cam stood in a tent a few miles outside the Pontifex’s residence with Halden, along with a group of other high-ranking rebel soldiers and his UEF colleagues. Intelligence was filtering in that the Pontifex had definitely passed away, leaving his legacy crumbling.
They were coordinating the final push to take several key targets including the Pontifex’s compound, where most of the CSS top echelon of leaders were entrenched, as well as the main airfield housing the majority of CSS shuttles and ships, an ammunitions and supply complex, and the base where the CSS coordinated their military movements.
It was a big ask to successfully take it all, but so far, the momentum of the combined forces of the rebels and UEF, paired with the disarray of the CSS leadership, had seen them take more than half the Holy City with little resistance. Bren leading the UEF squadron of fighter jets was working like the icing on the cake, their mere presence often deterring the CSS or sending them scattering without shots being fired.
As a final strategic show of power, Commander Yang had brought his massive battleship down into Ilari’s atmosphere. The Valiant Knox was easily twice the size of the Holy City, its looming presence blocked out the moons and stars, seeming to confirm UEF and rebel victory, even though they hadn’t taken the final, pivotal targets yet.
A few last-minute adjustments on troop positions were being made before giving the final order to push ahead with the assault on many fronts at the same time. Part of Cam wished he could be on the ground alongside his men, personally leading the attack.
However, he was not only exhausted but also injured with the gunshot wound in his upper arm, courtesy of the CS soldier in the reeducation camp earlier. He wouldn’t be any good to anyone out in the field tonight. The smartest thing was to watch it all unfold from the war room, aiding Commander Emmanuel—who had turned up with the contingent of troops—in coordinating their people.
When dawn touched the horizon, the order was given, and all Cam could do was hold his breath and watch the dozen screens set up on one wall of the tent, showing as multiple attacks were launched on the key targets. The first call for additional support came from the troops at the CSS airfield, closely followed by another call for a secondary attack point at the ammunitions factory where they encountered more resistance than expected.
The next few hours became a blur of frenzied activity, relaying information to the Knox for the fighter pilots to do their thing, while reassessing tactics on multiple fronts with the changing conditions of the CSS forces.
By midmorning, they’d taken the airfield and the ammunitions factory. The CSS forces were holding out at their military base and the compound holding the last of their leaders, but the Pontifex’s sprawling residence was about to fall, and several high-value CSS members had been caught trying to sneak out. It was clear they were going to claim victory.