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Chapter fourteen

Weakness and Strength

Niko and Elliott made their way under stealth through the Imperial Hunting Woods of Haneen, the name given to a bizarre “forest” of dense and hardy alien foliage, the same kind that had straight up taken an explosive shot from Niko on Uula and stayed standing.

Their wide trunks tapered into thin spirals which sported rubbery, vermillion leaves.

Gravel and broken rocks covered the ground, from which tenacious and thick new growth sprouted.

It quickly became a trial to both make brisk pacing and avoid tripping.

Beyond the Hunting Woods lay the grand city of Zaaka Narai, the heart of the Gheroun Empire.

Its conical buildings stabbed up toward the sky, cradled in a mountainous valley and all awash in mottled, faint green sunlight that filtered through swift-moving clouds.

The sharp silhouettes of the city reminded Niko of the jagged teeth of a great maw, ready to mangle them all and spit out the remains.

It didn’t escape him that the last time they’d been here, it was for the Starlight Awards, where everything had quickly fallen apart.

He, Elliott, and even Zann had spent several of the previous hours coordinating with Lady Death over the phone to piece together a course of action. The plan that had begun coalescing was intimidating, complex, and involved several moving parts.

Niko and Elliott would sneak into the Gheroun Imperial Palace under stealth, utilizing labyrinthine and enigmatic tunnels uncovered from old blueprints.

This was something even Elliott and Deleera hadn’t been able to secure data for, but Zann had come through, and produced rare and dated files from Galapol’s archives showing the hidden old routes used by the Gheroun imperials for centuries. Niko only hoped they still applied.

Lady Death and her people would run heavy interference to keep the attention of the Imperial Army off Niko and Elliott’s backs.

And the Legend, the aged bounty hunter who had tried—and failed—to bring Elliott and him down after coming out of retirement was, according to Death, going to join them, donning his own armor and playing a decoy of Niko.

Niko balked over the phone when she’d mentioned him. “Wait— The Legend? I’m not sure this is the best idea, D.”

“He’s with me,” Death had replied blandly. “And he’s going to behave himself, as far as you’re concerned.”

Elliott had worked diligently to create spare copies of the ORA, one for Oliver and Loolae each to use in getting them out unharmed.

The visor of Niko’s helmet displayed a holographic map of the secret corridors of the Gheroun Imperial Palace as they trekked through tangled alien overgrowth. That he was even in a place like this, let alone embarking on what they were about to do was dizzying to him.

The leader of the entire Gheroun Empire had taken his father.

Khaathra wasn’t just the leader of one nation or planet; rather, she headed multiple worlds and galactic outposts.

And it had been a hard-won position. She’d had decades of experience serving as a commander in the Gheroun Imperial army, before ascending to leadership of their people.

One of the most powerful and dangerous players in the entire galaxy had Oliver’s fragile life in her tentacles.

And she was anything but kind. He couldn’t bring himself to watch her videos again, knowing this time it was his family and friend who were there to suffer her wrath.

But the images from the first time he’d watched still haunted him, creeping through the corridors of his mind and taking up unwanted residence.

She was, apparently, a woman who bore a lot of unbridled rage.

And took it out on others behind closed doors.

He couldn’t let a repeat of history happen. He just couldn’t.

This had been his fault—all of it. Oliver should have been at home right then, settling down for the evening and watching his favorite sitcom or movie rerun. He shouldn’t be facing down his own demise. Yet he was, and it was all because Niko had so carelessly assumed he would be safe.

This was the reality that Elliott had long known. This was the reality that he’d had to face every day since his sister had been taken. Since she’d been killed and never came back home. Elliott had lived Niko’s worst nightmare. It wasn’t a fear anymore for him; it was simply his life now.

Niko shook his head. Sinking into the abyss of these dark thoughts would do nothing to help him. They had a mission to see through. He would get his father and Loolae out.

They would be fine.

They were fine.

They had to be.

“Here,” he muttered, heart leaping into his throat as he nearly stumbled over another curled, unyielding sapling. It was dense as an aged root. “Just ahead past this small hill and these, uh— Trees?”

“Trees,” Elliott confirmed. “They make up ninety-one percent of Haneen’s foliage, actually.”

“Neat,” Niko grunted out. He shifted from one foot to another, his entire body craving action. He just needed to get to his loved ones, to see that they were alright.

They resumed moving in the direction that Galapol’s data indicated was the hidden entrance to one of the ancient palace passageways, Niko slightly in the lead, antsy to get a move on.

When he crested the hill, he froze. Almost two dozen figures no larger than ants crowded around where the secret entrance lay, half obscured by curling trees. “Guards.”

He magnified his visual of them through his visor, an unsettling realization turning his skin to ice beneath the suit as a familiar symbol came into view on each figure’s armor.

“Those aren’t guards,” Elliott confirmed, his tone turning a shade darker.

Several elite Galapol special ops agents stood around the area, their bodies clad in thick armor as impenetrable as Niko’s own. Niko tripped, the world around him suddenly spinning, but Elliott’s hand shot out to grab his arm, steadying him. The other man must have heard his stumble.

They’d talked about this with Zann. Galapol had sold their dignity at the cost of lives.

But to see it here, to see the same people—and the same insignia he’d once proudly upheld and defended with his brother—guarding Imperator Khaathra, and supporting her cruel captivity of Niko’s innocent loved ones was a shot straight through his heart. And it wouldn’t stop bleeding.

Galapol knew. Galapol had let it happen, had let his father’s life be put in the hands of an abuser and murderer.

They’d, likely, even worked with Khaathra to set a trap for himself and Elliott.

Even knowing what she’d done. After Elliott had sent them everything, nearly three years before.

And even after Deleera had released to the public at large all the rancid footage Elliott had painstakingly gathered.

They didn’t only just know that Khaathra had taken Niko’s family. They weren’t trying to recover them. They were, in fact, here helping her.

If Oliver and Loolae were even actually here. All of this could be for nothing, throwing their lives and the lives of Lady Death’s loyalists into harm’s way for two people who could be anywhere in the galaxy.

A deep rushing, rhythmic pounding filled his ears. It took a moment to realize it was his own pulse.

“Niko,” Elliott said quietly. “Are you alright?”

Niko hated the lack of surprise in Elliott’s tone. Of course he wouldn’t be surprised. Elliott had been trying to tell him this entire time, had tried to show him the truth that lay bare before him now.

“Yeah— I—” He fell quiet at a loss for words.

“Niko… We can take a moment, if you need,” Elliott offered quietly.

But Niko shook his head. He couldn’t bear the thought of his family in there still.

He swallowed down his own agony, filing it away to approach at a later time.

They needed him right now, and he wasn’t about to fail them again.

Death’s group was relying on them too; he could hear the staccato ring of gunfire and commands on his headset.

They were holding their own just fine, but in an operation as particularly dangerous as this one, right in the heart of the Gheroun Empire, even someone as resilient and seasoned as Deleera or the Legend only had so much time before they would be outnumbered.

“No.” After a moment, he spoke again. “Do you think they’re actually in there? I mean. Maybe this is all just a trap—”

“Of course it’s a trap, Niko.”

“No, I mean— With another layer to it, where—”

“I think they are,” Elliott said. “We saw people distinctly linked to Khaathra taking them on that footage I’d found.

People she has a history of trying to hide her ties to.

Not Galapol. They likely just figured it out quicker than we did and wanted to use it to their advantage, or she outright tipped them off. ”

Niko blew out a sharp breath, briefly fogging up the visor of his helmet.

He willed himself to try and calm his trembling body.

He didn’t know if it was more a relief or curse that his family was likely here after all, in the clutches of a known monster, rather than the unknown.

“How are we getting around them? I can try to make a diversion.”

“No, I don’t think that’s going to work,” Elliott said flatly.

Niko had no choice but to relent. For all Galapol knew, the two of them were out causing havoc in the streets, with the Legend as a decoy of himself.

Yet, this particular group still hadn’t so much as budged.

They were undoubtedly under strict orders to remain planted if even the Legend’s ruckus couldn’t draw them away.

He sucked in an unsteady breath, his lungs burning with uncertainty.

They’d have to do this the hard way. They couldn’t afford a fight.

“Yeah. We’ll have to sneak past them.”

“Mmh,” Elliott acknowledged. “That’s going to be… hard. They’re crowding that hidden entrance tightly.”

“You’ve done it before, right? Plenty of times.”