Page 27

Chapter

Twenty-Seven

Volten

I kept my hands steady on the controls as we cut through the planet's upper atmosphere, feeling the familiar vibration through my fingertips as I guided us lower.

"Checking invisibility shielding,” I announced, eyes flicking between the readouts and the viewport.

Beside me, Zoran nodded, his face illuminated by the soft blue glow of the tactical display. "Atmosphere composition is within tolerable parameters," he said. "Visibility improving as we descend."

Dawn was breaking on this side of the planet, stretching tendrils of warm light across the horizon.

The landscape below emerged as we passed through the last swirling clouds.

The small planet was mostly vast marshlands punctuated by low hills and sparse vegetation.

Not exactly the vacation spot of the year.

"There," Zoran pointed to a plume of dark smoke rising from a compound in the distance. "That must be the facility from the distress signal."

I banked the ship toward it, keeping our altitude low.

"Running thermal scan,” Zoran said, as the readout flickered to life, showing heat signatures moving around the building complex.

I counted at least twenty figures scurrying like insects around a disturbed nest. "Can we get a species identification?"

Zoran studied the data, his brow furrowing. "They're not Drexian or human," he said finally, his voice hardening. "Kronock. All of them."

The word alone was enough to make me taste bile. The reptilian conquerors had laid waste to a dozen worlds before the Drexians had finally pushed them back. My grandfather had lost an arm fighting them in the Battle of Tharsis Prime.

"Should we set down nearby?" I asked, already calculating approach vectors. "They might have prisoners inside we can’t detect.”

"No," Zoran said, studying the movement patterns on the screen. "Look at how they're moving—organized search patterns radiating outward from the facility. They're looking for someone."

"Escapees," I murmured, hope flickering to life. "Sasha and Deklyn might have gotten out."

Zoran gave a curt nod. “Which means they’re somewhere on the planet.”

We flew unseen over the dimly lit swamp, the ship's sensors sweeping the terrain below. The marshland seemed to stretch endlessly, broken only by the occasional copse of twisted trees or rocky outcropping.

"I'm not picking up any other biosignatures," Zoran said, frustration evident in his voice. "If they escaped, they're either well-hidden or they've moved beyond our current scan range."

From the rear of the cockpit, Fiona leaned forward. "Any sign of a crashed ship? We know they went in hard.”

I shook my head, checking the instruments again. "No debris field that I can detect. And I'm not picking up any emergency beacon."

"Just because we're not receiving a signal doesn't mean the ship crashed," Zoran said, but I could hear the fear behind his reassurance. His adjunct was on that missing vessel.

We continued on, passing over a range of low hills. The sun had fully crested the horizon now, bathing everything in a golden-orange glow that made the landscape seem almost beautiful, if desolate.

A vast body of water appeared ahead, its dark, placid surface glittering in the morning light. I banked the ship to skirt its edge, bringing us around in a wide arc that would eventually lead back to the Kronock facility.

"We need a plan," Jess said, moving up from her seat to stand behind Zoran. "We can't keep circling indefinitely."

"We could try landing on the far side of those hills," Kann suggested, pointing to the range we'd just passed. "Set down, send out a reconnaissance drone."

Fiona shook her head. "Too slow. If they're in trouble, every minute counts."

"And if we land in the wrong spot, we could alert the Kronock to our presence," Zoran countered. "Right now, our invisibility is our only advantage."

Kann leaned forward, his massive frame casting a shadow over the console. “Perhaps we should consider a direct assault on the facility."

"With six of us against what looks like an entire Kronock battalion?" Fiona scoffed. "That's suicide."

“Not for Blades,” Kann said with a broad grin.

Jess gave him a gentle nudge in the ribs. “A Blade who’s still recovering.”

He grumbled at this. “We're wasting time debating. Our friends are out there somewhere, possibly injured, definitely being hunted?—"

I let their arguments wash over me, my attention drawn to the smoke still billowing from the Kronock building as we completed our circuit. Movement on the roof of the complex caught my eye. Two gray, angular shapes rose from a concealed hangar. Kronock fighter jets.

My gut clenched. I’d been trained to do battle with the Kronock, but still the sight of their ships chilled me. Their engines flared bright against the sky as they launched, accelerating rapidly toward the rising sun.

Toward the hills we'd just passed.

And then I saw a small black dot silhouetted against the orange beams of sunlight, moving fast and low across the planet's surface.

My heart seized in my chest. The way the ship banked, and the precision of its movements were a distinctive tell. I’d know that flying style anywhere.

"I think I found the ship," I said, cutting through the ongoing debate behind me. My hands were already adjusting our course, pushing the engines higher. "But so have the Kronock. We’re going in, and you’d all better brace.”

Everyone fell silent, moving to secure themselves as I accelerated.

"It's Ariana," I told Zoran with absolute certainty. “No one else I know flies like that. I'd bet my life on it."

"Why aren’t they cloaked?" Fiona asked.

"Their cloaking system could be damaged,” I said. “Regardless, those fighters are on an intercept course."

Through the viewport, we could see the Kronock vessels gaining on the distant ship. They were faster and designed for the atmosphere, while Drexian vessels performed better in space. In an air chase, the advantage was theirs.

"We need to get their attention," Zoran said, "and let them know we're here."

"And reveal our position to the Kronock?" Kann countered.

"If we don't, they'll be shot down," Zoran snapped.

I made my decision, banking hard to port and pushing the throttle to maximum. The ship responded instantly, surging forward.

"It's about to get bumpy,” I called out, as I rocketed toward the distant confrontation.

For the moment, we had surprise on our side, but once we engaged, that advantage would vanish.

I watched as Ariana executed a tight spiral to evade the first volley of Kronock fire. Beautiful flying, but she couldn't keep dodging forever. Not against two fighters.

My hands tightened on the controls, a familiar calm settling over me. This was what I was born to do. What I had trained my entire life for.

"Weapons systems online," I said, my voice steady despite the adrenaline coursing through my veins. "Disengaging cloak on my mark."

I could feel everyone holding their breath behind me as we closed the distance, invisible and silent. The Kronock fighters were fully focused on their prey, unaware of the predator at their backs. Just the way I liked it.

"Three," I counted down, making micro-adjustments to our approach vector.

"Two." My thumb hovered over the weapons release.

"One." I took a deep breath, the world narrowing to just me, the ship, and the targets ahead.

"Mark."