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I want to experience him when he can’t hold back.

“You have me at a disadvantage… You know my name…” Aelon’s voice drips confidence. He sounds like the one with a massive ship with thousands of las-cannons, and not the tiny Reaver facing overwhelming firepower.

There’s a strange sound. I realize it’s the Toad blowing air through his blubbering lips. “That is not the only advantage Meelon has on you, Aurelian! I know you have the stolen Orbs aboard your ship. Give them to me and Imaylet you live!”

“I’ve been waiting for you.” Aelon’s voice is a cold promise of death. If I were the Toads, I’d be wondering what trick he has up his sleeve. How can anyone face down overwhelming firepower without a trump card? I’m reminded of Aelon standing cocky in front of theWaywardScythein the loading bay, his chest puffed out and just daring us to try our luck.

“My patience grows thin, Aurelian. What do you bother me for?”

“I bother you with a deal, Meelon—and I suggest you think carefully about it. After all, would I feel so comfortable approaching your Mothership in a naked Reaver if I didn’t know I had the upper hand?”

"A bluff! You have nothing, Aurelian.”

He’s half right.

We’ve got nothing…unless they take the deal.

“Hardly, frogspawn,” scoffs Aelon. “I’ve got twenty-six Orbs loaded up in the Reaver behind me—yeah, the one that’s outside range of your weapons. You can take those Orbs and leaveoryou can see if I’ve got reinforcements lurking behind that moon, ready to trap you.”

He gives up the position ofTheInstigatorjust like that. He’s so confident he doesn’t care. It’s notTheInstigatorthat can save us. It’s what’s in our ship.

There’s ticking death in our cargo hold. I don’t know how Iunia concocted it, but the chemical explosives are unerringly reacting, a time bomb towards explosion. If Iunia misjudged…

I doubt I’ll ever know it before I’m dust.

“Your choice, frogspawn. If you want a fight, I’m not about to refuse you, but I’m hardly going to endangerThe Instigatorwhen we could solve this with a fair bargain. You shouldn’t risk your life, because, believe me, I’ll come after you personally if you do.”

“Fool! You have already given me everything that I desire. I can have my assault ships pick up that Reaver in moments.”

“You send ships out before we make a deal,” Aelon warns, “and the Reaver Orb-Shifts out. You’ll get nothing—except an ugly death.”

I picture the swarm of Toad attack ships converging on us now that the Toads know we hold the valuable cargo. If it worries Garrick, he doesn’t show it. His face is blank. I wish I could feel his aura, like Tasha can feel her triad. I wish I could experience his emotions and thoughts.

“We’re still out of weapons’ range,” says Markrin, reading the display.

That calms me…a little. It doesn’t mean that much. Hordes of Toad attack ships buzz around the massive bulk of the fetid ship. They could descend on us like piranhas. Even now, Meelon could have put the signal out to have his attack ships surround us, lurking out of our vision and ensuring our destruction if we try to run. Could we get away, or would they catch us?

“If Aelon says the word, we high-tail it out of here and shift,” states Markrin, trying to relax me. It does the opposite. If we get away, we have to leave behind Aelon and Tasha. They don’t have the luxury of staying safe out of range of the Mothership’s weapon’s batteries.

Meelon snorts, “My jammer technology is strong, foolish Aurelian. That Reaver cannot shift.”

Aelon doesn’t miss a beat. “No, it can’t, but it doesn’t need to. It’s far enough away already that you’ll have no ship that can outpace it. At my signal, that Reaver will hightail it out of here until they have enough distance to shift out.”

Aelon’s depending on us to leave them to their death.

I can’t let that happen. Tasha’s my best friend. I wouldn’t leave her to face the Mothership on her own. “You’d…you’d leave them behind? We can’t,” I plead with my triad, but inside I know there’s no other way. But how could I have a future with these three if we only survived because of my best friend’s sacrifice? There’s some things you can never go back from.

“They chose their fate,” growls Tar’ank. “We’ll have no time. If they attack Aelon’s Reaver, there’s nothing left to save. He might not even get a message out before he’s destroyed. Then it’s up to us to get the Orbs out of reach of the Toads. IfTheInstigatoris going down, we’re not going to give them 26 more Orbs.”

And not just any Orbs. These ones are huge, filling the Reaver’s hull to the brim. A much smaller one powers the ship itself. One of the big, stolen Orbs could provide backup power toTheInstigator. Two or three could power the entire ship.

It won’t be a choice to leave Tasha. If we have to run, she’ll already be gone.

“They better make the deal quick. We don’t have much time,” says Markrin, licking his lips. It’s the first hint that any of the three see danger.

The chemical explosives are undetectable to modern scanners, but it comes at a price. They can’t be detonated remotely, and they depend on a chemical reaction that probably hasn’t been used in thousands of years. I just hope Iunia was precise.

The coms-link blinks as the Toad’s voice continues. “An Aurelian fleeing from combat? Hah! Your species is too proud to run. I’d believe that as soon as I’d believe a bloodthirsty killer like you would make a deal.”