Page 36 of Possessed by the Dragon Alien (Zarux Dragon Brides #6)
TWENTY-FIVE
The sub-command deck thrummed with energy as Nena settled into the central chair. One level above the main command center where Madrian and his brothers coordinated the battle, this secondary bridge would become their lifeline once the Zaruxians departed for their dragon mission.
Her five friends had moved to their stations with determined precision.
Not long ago, they were farmers. Now, they were commanding officers.
“Remember that I still can’t read as well as you,” Nena said.
She’d been learning, studying constantly with the help of her friends, but it was still hard and she had a long way to go before she could look at a screen and know what was on it at a glance. “I’ll need lots of updates.”
“We’ve got you covered, Nen.” Turi’s hands flew over the pilot controls. “Navigation systems are online. I can fly this beast if needed.”
“Weapons and shields responding,” Sevas called from the tactical station. Her yellow hair was pulled back in a severe braid that matched her focused expression. “Though I still think we should be down there fighting with them.”
“We are fighting,” Lilas said sharply from the defensive array. Her short, fuchsia hair gleamed as she bent over her displays. “Someone has to keep this ship functional when they go dragon-crazy.”
Fivra’s fingers danced across the communications console. “I’ve got feeds from all our allied ships. The damages are mounting fast.”
Cerani stood at the navigation station where her gaze tracked the same patterns Madrian had one level below them. “Madrian is right. The Axis formation isn’t random. They’re herding us toward specific coordinates.”
Nena activated the internal comm system. “Madrian, can you hear me?”
His voice came through immediately, tight with tension. “Yes, Nena.” She could hear the relief in his voice.
“We’ve been listening to everything you’ve been discussing down there. We’re prepared to take over command when you leave,” she said firmly. “But those mines came as a surprise. I need to know what you’re thinking.”
A pause. Through their bond, she felt his spike of protective instinct warring with respect for her capabilities. “The mine network changes everything. If we can’t get to Zarux’s atmosphere, we can’t attack.”
“How close do you need to get to fire on the dome?” she asked calmly.
“Close enough to breathe the atmosphere,” Madrian replied. “Dragons can handle thin air and cold, but not vacuum.”
“So we need a way through the mine field.” Nena turned to Cerani. “You see patterns better than any of us. What are you reading?”
Cerani bent over her displays, her artist’s eye tracing the energy signatures. “The mines are arranged in overlapping spheres. Without being set off, there’s no way to avoid them.”
“There must be another way.” She glanced at her friends, drawing strength from their presence. They had survived abduction, auction, and imprisonment. They’d found love and purpose among the stars. They weren’t about to give up now.
“Nena, I’m not sure I can transform,” Madrian’s voice was barely above a whisper. “What if the Axis conditioning runs too deep? What if I fail you all?”
Nena leaned forward, surprised by his raw vulnerability.
Her chest ached for her mate. “I’m not afraid,” she continued.
“You know why? Because I know you . You chose me over an empire. You brought us all together.” She paused.
“Your dragon will protect his mate, his brothers, and his planet. The Axis made you into a weapon, but we made you into something better. Trust that.”
“It may irrelevant. This net of mines cannot be breached by anything other than a ship impact,” he said. “I will not ask any ship here to—”
“We’ll figure out the mines,” Lilas interrupted over the comm. She’d been listening in—well, they all had—but only Lilas would interject with her opinion. “But you can’t dragon-fire anything if you’re too scared to try shifting.”
“Lilas, stop eavesdropping,” Turi muttered.
“It’s true though,” Lilas added. “We didn’t come this far to watch you second-guess yourself. If Nena believes in you, you can do this.”
Sevas looked up from her tactical display. “Besides, if you don’t transform, I’m coming down there to kick your scaled ass myself.”
Despite everything, Nena heard Madrian’s rough chuckle through the comm. “Five against one hardly seems fair.”
“Six against one,” Nena corrected gently. “I’ll kick your ass, too.”
The ship shuddered under another barrage. Sparks showered from an overhead conduit, but Nena barely flinched. Her friends calmly rerouted power to maintain systems.
“Nena,” Madrian’s voice carried a new weight. “If something happens to me—”
“Don’t. Nothing’s going to happen,” she cut him off, unable to even think about such a thing. “But if it does, you shouldn’t worry. I have five sisters beside me.” She gestured at her friends. “We can and will handle whatever comes next.”
“She’s right,” Cerani said simply. “We’ll be here for each other no matter what.”
“But you are coming back,” Fivra added. “All of you are. Nena loves you so much.”
Nena felt something settle in her chest. Leadership had always felt strange to her, and this was as official of a role as she’d ever had. This wasn’t about keeping crops growing or settling disputes. This was about freedom for entire worlds.
“You hear that?” she said to Madrian. “We’ve got this. All of it. The ship, the battle, the aftermath. You just focus on breaking that dome.”
Through the comm, they heard alarms blaring on the main deck. New ships were dropping out of fold space around them—massive Axis dreadnoughts that dwarfed their rebel fleet.
“The real battle’s starting,” Fivra reported from communications. “Our casualties are mounting fast.”
Nena closed her eyes, feeling the weight of thousands of lives pressing down on her. All those ships that had answered their call. All those people fighting for freedom. They needed this plan to work.
“Nena.” Madrian’s voice was steady now, drawing strength from her calm. “If the fortress is breached, you need to—”
A new voice crackled through the comm system. Male, bitter, speaking on the in-ship frequency. “Razion, you bastard. Can you hear me?”
Sevas frowned. “Who the fek is that?”
Lilas went very still at her station. “That better not be who it sounds like.”
Through the comm, they heard Razion’s sharp intake of breath. “Krask.”
The name meant nothing to Nena, but she felt the emotional punch it carried for the gold-scaled Zaruxian. Pain, betrayal, regret.
“Your old first officer?” Madrian’s voice was carefully neutral.
“The one who betrayed me because he didn’t approve of Lilas,” Razion said tightly.
The transmission continued, clearer now. “I know you can hear me, Captain. I know what you think of me. And you’re right.” A pause filled with static. “I joined the Axis after I left you. Thought they’d give me purpose, respect. Instead, they made me into something I barely recognize.
“The Axis knows what you’re planning,” Krask’s voice continued. “The dragon-fire attack. The mine field is specifically designed to stop you. But I’ve been watching their patterns. There’s a gap in grid section seven-alpha. It’ll only stay open for two-point-six piks after I trigger the charges.”
“What is he talking about?” Sevas demanded.
Through the comm, they heard Razion’s voice, rough with emotion. “Krask, what are you doing?”
“What I should have done cycles ago. Choosing the right side.” Static crackled. “Tell Lilas… Tell her I’m sorry. And Razion? You were a better captain than I deserved.”
On the display, Nena watched a single Axis fighter break formation and streak toward the mine field. The small ship moved with desperate purpose, accelerating far beyond safe limits.
“He’s going to ram the mines,” Cerani breathed.
The explosion lit up space like a newborn star. Chain reactions rippled through the mine network as automated systems struggled to compensate. Right there, a clear corridor opened to the planet’s atmosphere.
“Now!” Nena commanded. “Shuttles away!”
Through the comm, she heard the rush of activity as Madrian and his brothers raced for their ships, which were attached to air locks off the command deck. Her attention stayed fixed on the screen. The narrow window of opportunity that Krask’s sacrifice had created was already beginning to close.
“Turi, bring us about. Sevas, concentrate all fire on those warships. We need to keep them busy.”
Her friends responded instantly. The ship turned with surprising grace. Weapons blazed to life. Around them, the rebel fleet threw everything they had at the Axis forces, creating chaos and distraction.
“Shuttles away,” Fivra reported. “All three are heading for that gap.”
“They’ll make it,” Lilas added, watching her screen. “With point six piks to spare. Fek , I’m good at math.”
“You have a computer,” Sevas said as she fired a bombardment of plasma cannon blasts toward an Axis warship. “But you always were good at math. That’s why we always asked you to calculate seed rations for the farm plots.”
“Huh.” Lilas shrugged. “I thought that was because you all thought I didn’t care if I got yelled at.”
“You didn’t care if you got yelled at,” Fivra said.
Nena allowed herself one moment to relax in her friends’ banter and breathe out in relief. She knew they did this to alleviate stress, which was, well, impossibly high. But one challenge had been met and overcome. There were plenty more ahead of them. She pushed it aside and focused on the battle.
“Krask did betray Razion, you know,” Lilas said suddenly, as she worked her station and adjusted the ship deflector shields to cover a damaged section.
“He’d arranged to have me sold off, he wanted me off the ship so badly.
After Razion kicked him off the crew, Krask revealed our location to the Axis.
But Razion’s going to be torn up over this.
” She frowned and bit her bottom lip. “I do forgive him. That was a noble way to go out.”
“It was. And he gave our mates an opening. A chance. Now comes the hard part,” Nena said to her friends. “We need to keep this fleet together until they get back.”
“What if they don’t come back?” Lilas asked, and for the first time that Nena could recall, genuine worry creased her brow.
“ They will ,” Nena corrected firmly. “They will come back to us. I feel it.”
Because failure wasn’t an option. Not when freedom itself hung in the balance.