Chapter 18

King Denhardt had taken over a room off the war room for his personal office. Loki’s Mischief and the two stealth ships had just returned. He’d summoned Carmichael and Elle to give him a quick briefing before he called in everyone.

There was a knock on his door.

“Enter.”

The two came in and took their seats.

Up to this point, the mission had been radio silent. While in the system, they’d used tight-beam communication between the three ships so the Burel couldn’t eavesdrop on what they were saying.

“We think we found them,” Elle said.

“Think?” King Denhardt asked.

“It appears their homeworld is surrounded by some type of holo-emitters to mask their location. We witnessed an asteroid disappear when it approached where we estimate the planet is located,” Carmichael said as he displayed what had happened.

“But you’re not sure?” King Denhardt asked.

“Once we made our assumption, we looked closer. There is a large gravity well there, big enough that it’s likely a planet,” Elle said.

“It’s where the transponder signal is coming from,” Carmichael said.

“Then we’ll assume we found them and plan accordingly.”

“May I make one suggestion?” Loki asked.

King Denhardt would have to consider how he could prevent the nosy AI from overhearing and commenting on all of his conversations.

“Go ahead,” King Denhardt said.

“Because it is an unknown situation, I encourage you to send the Pursuer and Relentless in again with more AIs and thrusters. We could be facing the Burel home fleet and have no idea how big it is.”

“I agree with his assessment,” Carmichael said.

“Make it so,” King Denhardt agreed.

Brodie asked Sylmar to give them a moment to discuss what he’d shared about the Griss.

“What do you think?” Brodie asked.

Kyle snorted. “I don’t trust them.”

“If I hadn’t seen the Griss in action, I would agree,” SwiftClaw said. “But they are killing machines while the Burel are simply evil.”

“I don’t see any other way out of this,” Aurora pointed out.

The Yahve and Vuln agreed with Aurora, while Alabaster didn’t indicate what he was thinking.

Brodie nodded and summoned Sylmar back in.

“To this point, your people have captured our people, were doing something sketchy with our women, and slaughtered the Kackh males for some feast. The room is split over whether it wouldn’t be a good idea to simply let the Griss deal with you,” Brodie said.

Sylmar stiffened at his words.

“If we were to help you, what would we get out of it?” Brodie asked.

“I don’t think you’re in a position to be making demands...” Sylmar began.

SwiftClaw leaped over the table. Brodie barely grabbed her ankle in time, preventing her from ripping out the Burel commander’s throat.

She hissed at Brodie but climbed back to her side of the table.

“I assume you see how we feel about you right now. If you’re willing to go it alone, so be it,” Brodie said.

“How would you be able to help?” Sylmar asked.

“I would bet that a human spacecraft has already found your system...”

“How did you know?” Sylmar asked.

Brodie had guessed right but kept it off his face. Meanwhile, the others in the room reacted and quickly covered their excitement when Brodie raised a hand.

“That was a scout confirming our location. It’s a precursor for an invasion fleet that will soon follow. You’re about to be faced with a two-front war,” Brodie said.

The door burst open, and Gargi burst in, followed by Brodie’s guards.

“Commander! The early sensor buoys have been triggered. The Griss are coming.”

A moment later, sirens began to blare, letting the Burel populace know they needed to head for their ships.

“If you save us, I’ll ensure you get whatever you want. You have my personal word,” Sylmar said.

“As much as I hate to admit it, I trust him,” Aurora said.

Brodie nodded his head.

Once they agreed, Sylmar said, “Get everyone on the Nexfor. We need to get off this planet.”

“You heard him. Let’s get out of here,” Brodie said.

“Captain, ships are coming through the veil,” Arnulf announced.

The Pursuer had just finished its last run to release thrusters. Val was worried they’d been discovered.

She watched as a handful of ships appeared and began to form up. Then, much larger ships began to leave the cover of the holo-emitters.

Val quickly calculated that the Burel would’ve been too much for them to handle if all their ships had jumped into the system. The vision of what would have happened caused Val to lock up in indecision. In her mind’s eye, she could imagine the deaths of many of her friends and colleagues.

’Am I having a stroke? What the heck is it that you’re supposed to do when you’re having a stroke?’ Val wondered.

At that moment, she finally understood something Brodie had told her before he went off to school.

’Many people think being part of a ruling family is a privilege, a gift given only to a lucky few. In some ways, I’m sure they’re right. But most don’t understand the obligation that comes with the birthright. Sometimes, I wish I was just an everyday kind of guy with the freedom to live as I please. But someone has to step up when the fecal matter strikes the rotating impeller.’

Val forced herself to take a deep breath to calm herself; she had to step up. Brodie had entrusted her with command. She shook her head to regain her focus before asking, “Where are they headed?”

“To the edge of the system,” Beck, her AI, said.

“Do you think they’re running?” Arnulf asked.

“Their weapons are coming online,” Beck said and then added, “Should we target the fleet?”

“Hold for now. I would hate to waste the asteroids if their fleet jumps to another system,” Val said.

“You have an incoming message from the Relentless, asking for orders,” Beck relayed.

“Order them to hold their position for now,” Val said.

When they stepped outside the building, there was mass chaos as people ran to transports to take them to the starport. Burel troops created a corridor for the prisoners so they could reach the Nexfor. Everyone quickly loaded into the cargo hold.