Page 34

Chapter

Thirty-Four

Deklyn

T he ship's hull creaked and groaned as we dropped out of the jump, the sensation of being compressed fading almost instantly. My hands flew across the navigation console, confirming what my gut already knew.

“We made it,” I said, more to myself than anyone else.

Drex hung before us, but the gray and blue swirling cloud cover had never looked so beautiful before.

"Ladies and gentlemen," I called over my shoulder, unable to keep the smirk from my voice, "welcome to Drex. We'll be landing at the Academy shortly."

The cheer that erupted behind me was deafening, a mixture of laughter, whoops, and sighs of relief that bounced off the walls of the ship. I could practically feel the tension draining from the air, replaced by the electric buzz of victory.

Next to me, Sasha's eyes were wide as she took in the sight of my home world. She'd been unbelievably calm throughout our escape, but now that we were truly safe, I could see the slight tremble in her hands.

"That's Drex?" she asked quietly, her voice barely audible over the celebration behind us.

"Home sweet home," I replied, my eyes still scanning the readouts. "Well, for some of us. From what I hear, it’s not much like Earth.”

She snorted, a sound that somehow managed to be both delicate and dismissive. “As long as it’s nothing like that Kronock prison, bring it on.”

I couldn't help but grin. Most humans would be shell-shocked after what she'd been through, but Sasha had fire. They might have damaged her body and tested her will, but they hadn’t broken her.

Before I could respond, footsteps approached the cockpit, and I turned to see Ariana and Volten. Ariana's eyes were locked on her sister, tear tracks visible on her cheeks despite her wide smile.

"You're hogging my cockpit, Inferno Force,” Volten said, crossing his arms with mock seriousness. "And my sister-in-law."

“Sister-in-law?” Sasha and I said at the same time as Ariana swatted the Drexian pilot.

Sasha spun around. “You got married without me?”

Ariana shot daggers at Volten. “No, I did not.” But then her expression softened. “But I’m not ruling it out.”

Sasha grinned. “I guess I have a lot to catch up on.”

“And I have all the time in the world to tell you about it.” Ariana’s eyes welled with tears. “After I feed you.”

“I won’t argue with that plan.” Sasha stood and allowed her sister to pull her into another hug. The two of them clung to each other, and I found myself looking away, feeling like an intruder on their moment.

Behind us, the celebration continued to grow. I turned in my seat to observe, watching as the various members of the rescue team reveled in their victory.

Fiona had her arms wrapped around Commander Vyk's waist, her head buried in his chest while he stood stiffly, his expression a mixture of pleasure and profound discomfort at the public display. His hand eventually settled on her back, a small concession that made Fiona beam up at him.

"Is it odd that I’m excited to get back to our tower?” one of the females asked another.

“Is it weirder than I’m excited about Drexian stew?”

They collapsed in laughter, which was almost contagious. Even the admiral was congratulating the various cadets and crew.

Volten dropped into the seat beside me as Ariana led Sasha around the crowded ship, making introductions. "This is Fiona, my best friend and the most terrifying strategist you'll ever meet," she was saying. "And that's Britta, who can fix anything with circuitry, and Jess..."

The sound of their voices faded as I turned back to the console, my eyes scanning the readouts more carefully now. As happy as I was to be back, something felt off. I'd learned to trust my gut through years of missions that had gone sideways at the last moment.

Volten turned from the celebrating crew to me. “Everything okay?”

I frowned, unable to answer him. The consoles showed our approach vector, the academy's landing coordinates, and the status of our ship's systems. Then I realized what they didn’t show.

There was no other ship.

" Grek ," I muttered, my fingers tapping the control as I checked and rechecked the sensors. "Tiv was right behind us."

I activated the comms system. "Drexian vessel, this is Deklyn. Do you copy?" I waited, the silence stretching painfully before trying again. "Tivek, Morgan, respond if you're receiving this."

Nothing but static answered me.

“The other ship didn’t make it?” Volten whispered so no one else could hear.

But someone else had. I turned as I felt someone behind us. Admiral Zoran’s expression was grave as he watched me.

“Is there a problem?” he asked quietly.

I ran another sensor sweep, hoping I'd somehow missed them. The results confirmed my worst fears.

"Admiral," I said, keeping my voice low enough that it wouldn't carry to the celebrating crew, "Tivek and Morgan's ship didn't make the jump."

Zoran's face remained impassive, but I saw something flash across his eyes. "Are you certain?"

I gestured to the readouts. "They were right behind us when we exited the nebula. They were jumping right after us.” I slammed my fist against the console. " Grek !”

“We can jump back for them,” Volten suggested.

“We only had the one jump,” I reminded him.

“Get us back to the academy, and we’ll send out a ship to find them,” Zoran said.

“I’ve got it,” Volten told me, taking over piloting us to the surface as I sat motionless in my seat.

After everything that had happened, I’d failed. I might have gotten Sasha back, but I’d failed Tiv. I’d failed my own brother. The brother who’d always been right behind me, until he wasn't.