“We really gotta name this place,” said Revol.

They sat on the mountain where the Archeus slaughtered Strawberry Moon and her rifles. Across the plain, gusts of wind galloping like so many horses over the thin, wispy grass, the obelisk reared, a monument of power so thouroughly unmoved by the mass grave at its feet, stabbing the emerald sky with its ever reaching beam.

“I can’t think of any good ones,” said Ru.

He looked across the field at the crater made by Orak's parting missile. “Then we'll give it a bad one.”

“Yeah. We should have checked on the sniper. She bought us time.”

Revol stretched and took off his skullfort. “She’ll be fine. It seems we gotta be close for them to take us.”

Ru still had her skullfort on. “We should be down there with them.”

Euk writhing in her restraints, Cat screaming gibberish inside that head, Forge rattling off disturbing details about the Surge. Worst was Aster and Ish. All they did was sit and stare at the others or hide in their tent.

“I need a break,” said Revol.

“Yeah. I’m worried though. Especially for Euk. Whatever memories she had unlocked, they must be bad.”

Revol looked at his girl and gently pinched the chin of her skullfort. “Hey, keep that thing up. We’re Harbingers. We can handle anything.”

“Yeah? Then why is Cat raving like a lunatic? You saw what he did to Red and Sil when they tried to talk to him. Does it look like he’s handling things?”

He let her chin go. “No. I’m sorry. I was just trying to help you feel better.”

She sighed. “I know. It’s okay.”

She took her skullfort off and leaned her head on his shoulder. It was a chore to maintain a seated position on the ground while she leaned on him like that, but he always kept up the effort. It seemed to Revol that all good things came with a cost.

“You know,” he said, “we never talked about our memories.”

“Can it wait?”

“Things can always wait, Ru. But till when? When are we gonna get another moment like this?”

As he spoke, a thought struck him, and he decided then to address another need, slowly removing her armor and kissing every inch of her bruised, battle-worn body while they made love under the soft green sky of that nameless heavenly sphere.

Ru cried afterward, and burried her head in the crook of his arm while they laid still for an hour or more. Then they donned their gear and went back to the camp, sighing both when they saw Cat sill raving naked inside Red Orak’s severed head.

“I’m done with this,” Revol said. He reached deep with his mind, finding in his spirit the power to grasp and pull, then with a rush of inverted forced tore Cat from his charnel nest.

Cat screamed and flopped like a freshly caught fish.

“Oh, stop it.” Reev drew his sidearm and shot Cat in the head, knocking him unconscious and silencing his frightening rant.

“Reev!” Ru grabbed his arm.

“What? He’ll be fine. Euk did that to Forge with her shotgun once, ya know.”

“Yeah but he was crushed by a wrecked freighter and he asked her to do it.”

“Ru, was he gonna come out of there on his own?”

She let go of his arm and shrugged. “Maybe. I think they all just need time.”

“I think they need incentive. Wallowing never helps anyone. Think about us. How did we get better so fast?”

“I know.” Her head sunk groundward. “I just...”

“You care about them. So do I. We were on our own and had to fight or...”

She waited to respond. “Yeah. Yeah, we were both in a hurry. But I had Netz. She gave me tips. Helped me avoid some mistakes, too.”

“Hey, that’s it.”

“What’s it?”

“Let’s go spend some time with Netz. She’s gotta feel lonely stuffed in that thermos. I know I did.”

They saluted the colonels as they walked through the camp to the makeshift lab. Niche and Vala were standing outside drinking from insulated bottles.

“Be careful what you drink out of,” Revol quipped. Really?, he thought, regretting his awful joke. The girls laughed politely.

“Lietenant,” said Vala, “a word.”

Ru and Niche went inside the shed, Vala gestured for him to follow her a few paces away. He missed the calming sensation that came when Sensus spread his aura for private talks.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“I want an honest assessment of your team,” Vala said.

“They’re in a bad way, ma’am.”

“Currently I’m not counting Harbinger One as an asset. When do you expect your team to be returned to ready status?”

“I wish I could give you an answer, ma’am.”

Her expression remained stern, but she did give him a slow nod. “We’re in uncharted seas, and there indeed be dragons. I’ve ordered three teams to hold a cascading patrol radius. The outmost jumpship is on constant watch for courier probes. So far they’ve found no indication that Albion has even received the ones I’ve sent, let alone sent any to us. We’re blind, Lieutenant, and we’re alone. Until I hear back from your former captain, I’m operating as if we’re the only Harbingers left. I need every resource I have in this fight.”

“Understood, ma’am. I’ll whip ‘em into shape.”

“Good. I’ll leave you to it, then.”

“Ma’am, with your permission, I’d like to look in on Netz.”

“Of course. She’s a resource, is she not?”

He hadn’t thought of her that way, but Vala had a point. He gave the colonel a smile. “I suppose she is. Give me three days and I’ll have my team ready for everything.”

“You have two. I want you suited up on the third.”

“Do you have an op planned for us, Colonel?”

“I have a need, Lieutenant.”

“Understood.”

She gave him a salute which he returned, then went in the direction of the jumpship landing field.

The thermos jiggled when he entered the lab.

“She likes you,” said Niche.

“We’re thermos buddies,” he replied. He grabbed a stool and sat by the bench they kept Netz on. “Hey kiddo, how’s the mug life?”

“I’m cold.”

“Yeah? Well, why don’t you come out here where it’s warm?”

She was quiet for a moment. “I’m not sure I can.”

“Why’s that? Were you in Ulro too long?”

“I think so. I changed, the way your radiance did, but I don’t have a vehicle to ride like you do.”

Revol looked at Niche and gave her an expectant look.

Niche opened her arms and shook her head. “This is the most she’s said to anyone.”

“Hey Netz,” he said, leaning close to the thermos, “we’re in a tight spot right now. I know you’ve been through a lot, but we need you on our team. Whaddaya say?”

Again she hesitated before answering. “What would I do?”

“Whatever you can, and nothing more.”

“Not much I can do in here.”

“What if I had Forge cook you somethin’ up?”

He felt Ru’s hands on his shoulders.

“I need to be airborne,” Netz said. “And it would help if it were pressurized.”

“You don’t breath, though.”

“But I’m afraid what Briah will do to me. I’m just so different, down to my coding. A short time is okay, but if I’m going to live here now...”

“Airborne and pressurized it is. Anything else? Weapons? Something to grab things with? Maybe some movies in case you get bored.”

“I don’t get bored. But I’ll take those other things.”

“Okay. I’ll get Forge on it right away.” He stood, then lifted his arm for Ru. “Milady.”

She smiled as she took his arm. “Milord.” But she let go once they were outside, and they met their follow wariors with curt nods and short salutes. They saw no sign of Red Ten, but the rest of Harbinger Five was busy with the others in their preparations to refortify.

They found Forge sitting alone on a large, flat rock, putting a collection of small stones in a changing order.

Revol came to him quickly. “Corporal!”

Forge looked up slowly, still aranging the stones.

Ru put her hand on Revol’s arm and stepped forward. “What are you working on, Forge?”

“Tracking the Surge.”

Revol did his best to keep a straight face.

Forge pointed to each of the stones as he talked, hovering over the largest four at the end. “Their hunting packs are moving in formation. They typically are random, searching by smell for biomass to add to the Onslaught.”

“How long we got?” Revol asked, suddenly feeling his humor fade.

“They’re moving in a sweeping arc. I think they’re picking up as much mass as they can before they approach the Wheel.”

“The Wheel?” Ru asked.

“Of Destiny,” Forge answered. “The mamani homeworld was part of it. This world is part of it.”

“What is this wheel?” Ru asked.

Forge shrugged. “I don’t know anything. I just hear what they say. The Wheel of Destiny. A wheel within a wheel. Wake the Healer. Close all the wormholes. I don’t know what any of it means.”

“It’s still good intel,” Revol said. “I’m sure we can use it. Good work.”

Forge smiled, but it was a sad smile. “I know what you’re thinking Reev. I’m thinking it too. I wish I could shut this down.”

Revol sat on the rock next to Forge. “Ru and I had it easy. But we’re here for you guys. Whatever you need.”

Forge’s smile faded. “Of course you had it easy. You weren’t alone. You had each other. You always have each other. What do Euk and I have? What do Cat and Aster have? Excuses. We all have excuses. But you have each other.”

“Well then you go in that cave and take Euk by the hand and make her yours. Pull her out of whatever nightmare she’s suffering in and you be hers, Corporal. And when that’s done report to Niche in the lab and make Netz a pressurized, airborne vehicle with weapons and some sort of grabby things. You copy, soldier?”

Forge gave him a weak salute. “Yes sir.”

Revol returned Forge’s salute, then stood. He and Ru watched their brother walk towards the cavern, slowly at first, then gradually gaining speed.

“He just needed something to do,” said Ru.

“He needed something to fix and something to build. Allright. Time to go get Cat to put some clothes on.”

“I’m gonna leave that to you.”

“Allright. I’ll re-robe Cat while you go take care of Ashtar and Ister. Ya know, I hate how similar their names are.”

Ru laughed, then gave him a kiss before leaving to find her sisters.

You were right Forge, he thought, looking back towards the cavern. Now go make that scary lady your forever girl.