Page 51
Pronkus fumes as he sits behind a lattice forcefield in jail. There isn’t much worse we can do to him without a Storm to drain. He’s basically a big, pissy, purple human. Eluni wants him dead. Allele wants him to think about what he has done, taking the son of a Keeper.
Eluni knows a lot about our history as a people. She just couldn’t say anything until now. But she will prove to be a useful guide in the days to come.
“When Vybron is done interrogating him over the treason, he’ll be taken to a long-term cell,” Fieri informs us.
Blaize clicks his tongue. “We could do better. Send him to a desolate planet with no tools and leave him to fend for himself. Preferably one with lots of poisonous critters.”
“I’ll request a vote on what to do with prisoners,” Wystor remarks. He’s been more than happy to join Genesis.
As we turn to leave, Pronkus throws a bone from his last meal and hits Blaize in the head.
Fieri grunts and plants his hands on his hips. “He must like you.”
“What? Why?” Blaize picks it up and tosses it in the trash.
“He threw you a bone.” Fieri shrugs like he doesn’t understand how Blaize didn’t get it. “Wants to see you again.”
“Dude, we have to work on your sense of humor,” I chuckle.
Fieri sighs. “I am not a Gruntpa. I am cool. You cannot claim I am that old.”
“You know that’s a compliment, right?” I point out. “And have you seriously been fuming about that this whole time?”
“Yes!”
As we leave the jail area, sharing a laugh, a blur of black and orange flies out from a hallway. Fieri grabs the Denarso by the throat and slams him over his knee. The crack of the enemy’s neck is audible.
Fieri sets a hand over his chest, pushes the Denarso to the floor, and electrifies a hole.
“Still a few of these bastards roaming the ship.” Fieri gets up, grabs the Denarso by the collar, and casually drags the body to the nearby hangar as if he’s taking out the trash. “It is delightful to have use of my Storm again.”
Wystor turns to me and mouths, “Delightful?”
I shrug. “Fiesty Fieri has a fiery streak.”
Wystor clutches his tablet to his chest.
I rest a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t fear anyone here. If anyone hurts you or anyone else, I will kick their nuts into the next solar system.”
“Where is Jovie?” Fieri asks. “Is she unwell?”
“She’s getting checked by Amphiran doctors to make sure all the surges didn’t hurt the baby. It’s still really early.” I hook a thumb over my shoulder, trying to stay calm despite the sudden rush of thoughts and concerns about becoming a father.
I’ve been keeping busy with Gravion repairs to block out the worry. “I’m going to go check on her, then talk to Vybron about our trip to Amphir.”
“Give him a kiss for me?” Blaize asks.
“Sure, I’ll grope him a little for Fieri, too.” I grin.
“Leave me out of that,” Fieri remarks with a head shake.
Jovie exits the door beside him.
“Done early?” I ask, gathering her in my arms.
She kisses me. “Have time for me?”
“Always.”
Fieri grumbles. “I don’t know why you picked him.”
She snorts a laugh. “Someone had to draw the short straw.”
I gasp in mock offense. “Ouch.”
She rolls her eyes. “Oh, come on. You know it’s a joke. You’re anything but short .”
Blaize whistles suggestively.
“Can I prove it to you?” I’m already getting worked up and wanting to give Jovie my own check-up.
She winks. “In a moment.”
“Where are Tal and Eluni?” Blaize asks. “I thought they were escorting you.”
Jovie purses her lips.
“What?” I ask.
She shrugs and sways. “Tal is playing doctor.”
Blaize pumps a fist. “I’ll have to high-five that bastard later. She is terrifying when she’s mad. He’s got to have some serious…”
“We could use some help,” Jovie loudly interjects with a grimace. She shivers like she’s grossed out and twists a finger in her ear. “As I was walking here, I overheard an argument. It sounds like the crew isn’t sure what to do about Amphir.”
Blaize, Fieri, and I follow her to the core commons of Gravion, where a large crowd has gathered. It’s a mix of people from pilots to merchants, soldiers, and previous Royals now in Rogue armor painted with a green stripe.
“We can’t just go to Amphir. To the best of our knowledge, it’s abandoned,” a pilot remarks. “There’s nothing there.”
“I don’t really feel like running the risk of getting my Storm ripped out like Pronkus. I mean, I’m loyal, but I also obeyed for a long time,” someone else adds.
“It’s not entirely abandoned,” my mother says. She wears a long gray cloak covered in ashen symbols unfamiliar to me. “But we will need supplies, Terran survival gear.”
Many years have passed that I should’ve been learning from her. I have a lot of catching up to do. “I have a contact who can help us with that.”
“You do?” another officer asks. “We haven’t done many Terran missions with motherships. It’s a lot of bodies to feed, clothe, and protect.”
“I have contacts in the colonization and refugee fields. I can get us gear.” Allele, can you contact Elix and Zariah and let them know the situation?
Yes, Aura.
My mother smiles. “There are still the familial castles and caves. I remember going there as a child.”
“But it’s so far away. We’re not even sure how to navigate the nebula.”
“Allele can do it,” I say. “It’s where I found her.”
Everyone looks at me like I’ve sprouted an arm from my head, everyone except my mother. Ephinium beams at me with such admiration that I know she’s proud of me. I just wish I felt like I had earned it.
“This isn’t something many are ready for,” a Royal-turned-Rogue remarks.
“That is your homeworld,” Jovie cuts in.
“It deserves to be protected just like any of your ships. And you should hang onto it for as long as you can. I might hate Earth because of a few shitty people, but I still helped protect it from Denarso because the last thing I want is someone taking and ruining something that doesn’t belong to them.
We cannot hesitate. We must move on this before New Order attempts it in case they manage to get through. ”
I look down at her. “Already taking to a position of command.”
“No. I just want to see your people get what they need and want.”
“What’s that?”
“A real place to call home.”
Table of Contents
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- Page 51 (Reading here)
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