Page 22

I’m officially lost, trying to find the boundary between what feels risky and deadly. I can’t tell what’s a good idea and what’s a deadly idea.

Poppy powers up the ship as everyone else docks inside the BlazeStar for the portal jump. We’re going to rescue Titans just like she did during the jailbreak. I don’t want to leave them behind, including my sister, if she’s out there.

I climb out onto the hull as she races toward the stretch of downed Titans from EMPs. Opening the gravity beam array for docking to ships, I repair the charred regulator and replace the burnt wiring to the power cell. When I’m done, I close up the housing and hike back into the ship.

“You sure you can pick them all up with this tiny ship?” I ask.

“I brought a couple hundred Titans here,” Poppy says. “We crash-landed, but that’s beside the point. I can pick up a fraction of that with ease, no doubt. Your repairs going to hold?”

“Hope so.”

“Hope?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re such a human,” she mutters.

“Last I checked.”

“Armor, huh?” Poppy flies out across the dunes toward the crash sites and the EMP zone.

I shrug. “He’s the one thing I’ve always wanted in my life but never felt like I had.”

“A Titan?”

“Someone who wants to keep me safe instead of use and abuse me.” I clutch my harness as Poppy guides us through the low hills for the first pick-up. “I dug him out of the sand, and he shielded me from CSP and Solcruean ground forces.”

“Every Titan should do that for you.”

I chuckle. “Doubt every one of them wants to mate with me afterwards. But it took time to get him upright on his own.”

She switches on the gravity beam, tunes it to metals, and skirts the desert floor, kicking up dust. “Probably true. We believe in one mate. When we find them, we know.”

I monitor the progress on her screen. “Do you have one?”

“Had someone of interest, once.” She’s pulled up a list of all the missing Titans and, as they’re collected, they blink twice then slide to a Recovered list.

“What happened?”

The Titans dangle limply from the vessel’s belly, held on by only threads of light. Poppy lifts us up and scans again. “Stayed behind to guard a critical vault on Earth.”

“Looks like it’s holding,” I say.

Earth, huh? Not Earth Minor?

“For now.”

“What’s in the vault?”

She shrugs. “No idea. But I respect him more for taking on such a solitary responsibility.”

Her radiant fingers fly over her screens as she adjusts our payload, tightens them against the belly, and taps the Charge button. Titans arch and begin to wake beneath us.

CyberPilots are unique in a lot of ways I have yet to fully discover, but I definitely respect her skills.

PoppyLocal: One more pickup to do, boys. Stay still but ready.

Her communication with them logs on a dash screen even though I can’t hear anything over my suit. She scans ahead of us, adjusts our flight path, and descends toward the EMP field where seventeen Titans have fallen.

Before we can pick up the first, a pitch-black, vicious-looking ship darts in front of us.

“Poison Arrow!” Poppy swears. “She has been a thorn in our side for weeks! I knew they were sending in extra ships! I just didn’t expect a Poison Arrow, a fourth mothership, Scythe, and Venom all at once!”

“She?”

Poppy pulls up an image on the dash. “Thruster relayed this. She collected him with her ship’s magnetic belly and took him to a mothership in the sky for interrogation. She also, oddly, let them get away.”

My stomach knots as I study the picture. “What’s her name?”

“They call her KillStar.”

The Poison Arrow dips low along the ground and picks up the remaining Titans, the last few we were going to collect. She flies up from the sandy dirt, Titans lying flat under her ship.

Poppy’s furious. “I can’t fucking shoot her down because my Brothers are there!”

Poppy banks hard after Killstar as I strain to figure out what to do about my new situation.

“What?” Poppy practically screams at me.

I get on coms. There has to be a way to get through to my sister.

“Maybe you don’t remember, but I do. Soiridium is ferrous.

We had to use special tools to chip it out of the mountain.

The drills were diamond tipped but had to be made of hydramidium, because it was hard enough to punch through the rock, strong enough to take the heat, but also not ferrous.

“Dad ran the drill and trained me at eight. Mom worked in the dreg piles because of her eye for Creshnius, the fuel cell material Solcrue prefer.”

Come on, Myria. You have to remember. Please remember.

“We were born to work the mines, not to save the universe from itself. We just knew that loyalty was the only way to survive, and we did something about it.”

Poppy cocks her head. “What the fuck are you doing?”

The Poison Arrow straightens out and hums in front of us like it’s on autopilot.

I ignore Poppy’s complaints. “I was nine when they put me in training. Cybernetics. Ship design. Engines. Weapons. Shadow soldier tactics for staying hidden, infiltration, recon, and manipulation.”

Poppy shuts off the coms. “Esthi! You’re broadcasting that!”

I look over at her. “I know. There’s no one left from my camp. If the Solcrue hear, it won’t matter. There’s little left they can take from me.”

Her brows knit for a barely visible moment. She slowly sits back.

I switch the coms back on. “No matter who I pretend to be, who I have to kill, I remember why I was made into who I am . Because without that anchor, I am lost to the stars. I have always been with you, with our family, our camp, our species, and our Creations. ”

Poison Arrow hits the brakes and slides back alongside us.

“Shit,” Poppy mutters.

I look over at my sister . Her eyes are a radiant blue now—inhuman, like most of her body.

“I have always loved you,” I add. “I never forgot you. I never will, no matter what you do today or tomorrow. I know this life hasn’t been easy. But it can still be just, right, and filled with purpose even if it is short and painful.”

Poppy gasps quietly beside me.

“Lenarro told me,” I say to my sister. “He’s still here, somewhere. I’m sorry I didn’t get to you sooner. I tried.” Tears form in my eyes. “Stars, I tried.”

“Is Joey still with him?”

I choke up, hearing Myria’s voice even if it is flat and apathetic. “Yes.”

“Then humanity is still in trouble.” She leans forward and engages something. Myria climbs out of her ship, all glinting metal and radiant synthetics and dark armor.

Even Poppy gasps at the sight of her. “Like an obsidian BloodCypher. Fuck me. Solcrue are building those?”

Myria stalks down the ship, pries free a unit that looks like a tracker and throws it overboard. “This isn’t over. I will see you soon.”

She drops back into her ship and closes the hatch, then gives me a hand signal.

“Devil’s horns!” Poppy growls.

I smile. “That’s my big sister. She’s on our side.”

“No, she’s not!” Poppy warms her guns. “She captures and tortures Titans!”

I give Myria the hang-loose gesture like I always did as a kid. She slides closer, almost smiles at me, then moves her ship overhead so we can see the Titans she’s collected.

“Last load. But I will scan for more.” Myria switches off the magnet, and the Titans fall to our roof. “I will find you, Esthielle. Count on it.”

Her engines roar and blast with green light. Myria darts off at twice our speed.

Poppy frantically ignites grav beams to hold the dark Titans in place on our hull, then banks us back toward the BlazeStar. “I do not know what the fuck that was. You will have to explain your strange behavior sometime.”

“All you need to know is that KillStar is not out to destroy us.”

“She was.”

“So was Evo. But you have accepted him back into your ranks.”

Her jaw cocks to one side. “Fair enough. For now.”

Poppy gets on coms as she guides us inside the BlazeStar’s opening hangar. “Incoming injured Titans in need of immediate medical care.”

Titans and women rush over the moment we land, directing hovering gurneys to us.

Clamps secure the ship for transport as Poppy, and I climb out. When I get down, I look for Armor but can’t find him anywhere.

I stop a Titan who is helping unload his dark Brothers. “Where is Armor?”

The Titan’s eyes flash. “Left the ship. They went dark.” The kind-faced Titan rests a hand on my shoulder. His digibadge reads Coil. “The units that went dark all at once likely did so because they’re on a stealth mission. You cannot reach them. I’m sorry.”

“Damn it.” If Armor’s gone, I’m going to need my own back online. “Where can I charge my suit?”

Coil directs me to a wall with cells, some filled with suits, others empty. “Step in backward. You can request to be released or stay for the charge.”

“Thanks.” I rush across the hangar floor and climb into the cell. Hoses and cables clip into the suit, bringing it back online and raising the power level.

Amp comes over my helmet com, not just in sound, but in a visual. He crosses his arms, which are decked in radiant green tracework. “Hello, Esthi. So your sister is KillStar? Poppy just reported in.”

I sigh. “I didn’t know until we encountered her. She’s gone now. Returned the last of our Brothers. I think she went after Joey and Lenarro.”

He makes a noise I can’t decipher. “Ours?”

I realize my slip. “I don’t claim ownership, just that you all feel like Brothers to me. I miss my blood brother. But I can’t bring him back. I can only protect the family I have left. Right now, that’s all of you.”

Amp looks away. “Joey and Lenarro, huh?”

“A-firm. Joey has blood trackers. General Erdox is apparently his father. I don’t think Leah knows that. Erdox held Leah’s life over Lenarro’s head. It’s why he’s stuck guarding Joey. But I think he’s on our side. Sounded like he was leaving to fuck some shit up.”

Amp nods and looks behind him. “Your mate, Armor, is with Commander Savage. I am aware of the mission. I will let you know the end result.”

“Good or bad?” I ask.

“Whatever the outcome, yes. You are welcome to stay with us if this is their final mission. Let’s hope not. Please ensure you’re locked in. Amp, out.” The com feed closes.

Alerts fill my vision and the monitor inside the regeneration pod.

Portal Jump in 0:30. Short Range - Operational. Long Range – Disabled. Please secure yourselves and loose items.

I grab the handles inside the chamber and close my eyes. Please, let this work. Please don’t tear apart the ship.

Leaving Armor behind doesn’t give me good vibes. We need them with us, but there’s nothing I can do. I have to focus on what I am capable of.

A flash of blue glazes the back of my eyelids as the ship jolts. A ripple of cold air passes through me.

After a second to catch my breath, I look up and see the navigation in my suit.

Navigation… Location ID - Orbit: Ellipsis.

We made it?

My suit is quickly back to 100 percent, so I step out and make my way toward the cockpit. I want to be in on the action, find out where we’re at and what I can help with, when I encounter a squad of Titans in StarJumper suits heading into a nearby hangar.

“What’s going on?” I ask over helmet coms.

“Portal’s not responding to pings for startup,” Chaos says. “Not this one, the main one. They’ve disabled it or something. Sounds like it has taken fire.”

I throw my hands in the air. “Oh, come on, universe! This is bullshit!”

After a calming growl, I turn and sprint to catch up with the squad as another team merges with them.

“Esthi, you’re joining us?” Chaos asks.

“Sounds like I better.”

The Titan behind him nods, and I realize the Trio of Terror has separated and put on individual Starjumper suits. “Would be helpful.”

“Trio of Terror coming out to play?” I tease.

The third Chaos grins. “So good to stretch my legs again. All six of them.”

“Be careful!” Celeste calls after them . She waves at me. “All of you!”

Leah walks up to her. “Where are they going?”

“To fix the portal. Clover says it isn’t responding.”

“We fly, fight, and survive together,” the Titans say simultaneously.

Or die. I draw in a deep breath and take the tether one of them hands me. “I’m going to want some tools, too.”

Turbo motions me to a nearby storage cabinet. “I think we’ve got what you need over here.”

When he opens it, exposing racks and bins filled with parts and tools, I punch the air in joy. I definitely want to make it back to the BlazeStar. This ship is amazing. But I’ve got to get it somewhere safe first.

I grab what I need and point to additional items. “Bring those, if you can. We need to make this happen in one go, not multiple trips.”

Bomber reaches over Turbo’s head and collects a bag with wiring and circuitry. “I like your thinking.”

When the Titans are loaded up and we’re at the edge of the hangar’s platform, Chaos forms up on either side of me. The BlazeStar rotates until we’re a short jump from the portal’s framing.

I stare out at empty space, my stomach flipping. They can’t be serious.

“Together.” Chaos on my right offers me a hand. I take it as the Chaos on my left offers me one too. We form a chain. “On three.”

Fuck, fuck. Fuck! I’m not ready.

Deep breath, Esthielle. You can do this. Myria’s voice echoes in my memories.

Please find me again, Myria. Please stay alive, and I’ll do the same for you.