Cat’s hand felt cold and lifeless.

“How’s he doin’?” asked Reev.

Aster turned her head, too tired to turn her body. Reev was in the doorway, skullfort under his arm.

“The same,” she said. She too felt lifeless and cold, despite the strange stirrings of her radiance. Her light bearing blood, it seemed, had transformed from a constant current to volcanic rumble.

Reev came into the medic tent, now empty that the humans were all dead. He sat on the bed next to Cat’s.

Cat moaned. Aster tightened her grip on his hand. “We spinning up?”

“Yeah. I screwed up, huh?”

He looked at the other bed where Forge sat, silently tinkering with the device for Netz. Eukary lay on the mattress, constantly kicking off her covers and muttering with closed eyes. She kicked her blanket clean off her body, sending it to the floor in a heap. Forge leaned over and picked it up.

“Vala gave me a day. It’s been four.”

Aster leaned over, almost slipping off the edge of Cat’s bed and touched Reev’s arm. “Reev, what are you talking about?”

He chuckled. “You’re the only one not mad at me, and I shot your boyfriend in the head.”

“That’s not why he’s like this. You helped him. He’d probably still be in that head of you hadn’t pulled him out.” She scooted back and held Cat’s hand with both of hers.

“Poor guy,” said Reev. “And Forge won’t even talk. It’s like he’s in another world altogether, and he’s alone except for Euk and the little project I gave him.”

“You did the best anyone could do with them.” Aster leaned down and kissed Cat’s sweaty brow, then stood. “I’m ready.”

“That makes three of us.”

“Three?’ Give me five minutes. I’ll get Ish off her ass.”

“You got two.”

Aster smiled, too fatigued to laugh. “You’ve been wanting to do that for years.”

“What? Arbitrallily demand you accomplish a task in less time than it can possibly be done in?”

“Hey, Reev, don’t be mad at the Colonel. She has a tough job. Tougher than ours. Tougher than anyone’s right now, really.”

“Yeah. Well, wait till she gives you a dressing down for not doing the impossible.”

“You know the Archeus took her entire team, right?”

Reev’s white eyes dimmed. “I guess I forgot.”

“Hey, bud, before I start calling you sir…” She stepped close and hugged him. “We’re in good hands. Cap had a reason to fast track your promotion. You’re gonna show everyone what that reason is.”

“Yeah, to motivate Euk not to screw up.”

Ru poked her head through the doorway. “Hey guys, look what I found.”

She stepped into the room, followed by a shaky Ishtar, her skullfort in her hands.

“Hey guys,” said Ish.

“I thought I was gonna have to throw you a beatdown,” Aster said.

“Bring it, girl.”

They shared a smile, the most mirth they could show.

“Allright, team, time to start calling me Sir.”

They all straightened their backs and saluted.

“Orders, Captain?” said Ru.

Reev’s voice, so often the charming tune that shined a light in dark places, was a cloud warning of thunder. “Blow the enemy out of the sky.”

Aster brought up the rear as they left the tent and crossed the camp to the landing field. Zep, their new pilot, only surviving member of his team, waited by their latest ‘new’ ship. It was the heaviest class of jumpship so far to carry the name H1.

“She’s a big ole’ gal,” said Reev.

“Mission specific choice,” said Zep.

And Zep was a big ole’ boy, just as tall as Speck with nearly twice the mass. He wore his tightly coiled hair close to his scalp and lightly waved, but let his wooly beard grow wild. His midsection promised a well-stocked galley, while his eyes promised combat readiness and his girthy arms a stalwart companion.

Reev shook the big man’s hand. “Glad to have you on the team, Zep.”

“It’s an honor, sir.”

The interior of the ship was surprisingly cramped. Aster, hoping to stay close to Ish, wound up between Zep and Reev. Zep frequently had to turn sideways to fit through doors.

“So, tell me about the ship,” Reev said. “I’ve never flown in a Turk class.”

“They use the same weapons loadout and stealth suite as the Bedouin class.”

“Great,” said Ru. “I always wanted to serve on a fryer.”

Zep shot a glance over his shoulder. “You won’t mind the heat when we come out of stealth behind an enemy cruiser and saw their engines off with our heavy repeater.”

“Ooh,” said Reev. “I like those. Is that our main gun?”

Zep turned sideways, then pointed to the galley and the bunks while asnwering Reev’s question. “Yes sir. Point defense net is all laser.”

“What about downrange?” Aster asked.

“Missiles only,” Zep answered. Most of the ship’s size is housing for the ammo printer. It’s a Mark Eight. The heatsinks are primarily to keep the repeater running. The stealth capabilities are a bonus.”

“So, if we got a Mark Eight,” said Reev, “why is our PD net all laser?”

“The Mark Eight is directly chained to the main gun, sir. It has its own power supply too. We can keep that thing running just about as long as we want, so long as you can take the heat.”

“And the lasers run off the ship’s drive. Got it. Smart.”

“Sounds like a deadly ship,” Aster added.

“Very. I’ve mostly flown the more common classes; Derringers, Nomads, Imperators, like the OG H1. But Captain Glass requisitioned a Turk for a couple ops we ran. I like ‘em.”

Zep barely fit in the pilot's chair. There was a bench behind him, and a pair of small bucket seats that folded out of the walls in the back of the cockpit. She and Ishtar each took a bucket seat and strapped in, while Reev and Ru took the bench. Zep flipped a quintet of controls. The entire cockpit lit up in blue and yellow light, and the tokamak sublight drive roared to life.

“She’s donut powered,” said Ru. “This thing’s practically a museum.”

Zep looked over his shoulder. “If you want a different ship, ma’am, then I recommend you file a requisition with our Section Chief at the soonest opportunity.”

“Hey,” Ru said sharply, “if you’re gonna be our pilot, you’re gonna hafta requisition a sense of humor ASAP.”

“Yeah, bro,” Ishtar chimed in. “Lighten up, or this ain’t gonna work.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am. Been through a lot lately.”

“It’s okay, Private,” said Revol. “We’re all on edge. Let’s just get our job done.”

“Yes sir. As for the drive, she’s old, but reliable, and easy to maintain. I prefer familiar systems for that reason.”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“Yea,” said Ru, “I guess I just got a little soft with our old ship’s gasdynamic drive.”

The new H1 jerked into the air and banked shakily upward until it reached safe takeoff distance. The tokamak drive, called donut for the peculiar design of its interior, belched out power and with a gut wrenching burst they were off, rocketing starward along with the vanguard of other jumpships.

“Damn,” said Ru.

Aster sucked in her breath. The kzinti had indeed arrived in force, covering the retreat of their Tangent Overlord. Their large, imposing warships with their twin hulls and engorged weapon shrouds filled the spaces between the stars.

“Allright, Zep,” said Reev, “pick us a target.”

“Plenty to choose from, sir.”

“Get us a pretty one.”

Zep scanned the scene before them, then activated the heatsinks and accelerated the ship.

Vala’s briefing had been quite different than what Aster was accustomed to. Sensus was hyper detailed, where Vala gave broad objectives, leaving the specifics to each team. She worried at first, but when she heard the captains coordinating their plans outside the briefing tent, she saw the genius of Vala’s method. She only hoped it would be enough.

“Jump drive’s prepped, captain,” said Zep. “Coordinating with other jumpships.“ He flipped a trio of dials.

Reev leaned over Zep’s shoulder, eyeballing his text display. “Pick us out a ship yet?”

“Yes sir. Worm hole net in ten seconds.”

Reev stood and turned. “That’s our cue.”

They followed him to their insertion craft and strapped in.

“I gotta say, babe,” said Ru, “this is definitely one of your wildest ideas.”

“Why thank you, sweet thing. I just tried to think of something Forge would come up with.”

The team was quiet after that. Aster felt like she’d been punched in the gut. It was one thing to watch a teammate taking fire, but it broke her heart to leave them behind in such a damaged mental state.

The silence was killing her. “Too bad this is a onetime trick.”

“You never know,” said Ishtar.

“Oh,” said Reev, “I’m sure the Artifexus will at least try to weaponize our jump drives.”

“Or make a portal gun,” said Ru.

Then they were all quiet again, until Zep gave the signal for Reev to start their launch sequence. Reev punched the command into his vam and the insertion pod launched.

Zep brought H1 in even closer than expected, well within the enemy vessel’s magnetic shield grid. Their pod’s anchor tore through the kzinti hull, softened by the new H1's heavy repeater, and the fore ramp exploded outward, boring a hole for them to board through. They leapt through, rifles ready, and shot down three kzinti crewman before securing the room.

“Good job team,” said Reev. “We’ve conquered the mop closet.”

“Time to clean the rest of the ship out,” said Ru.

“Come on, guys,” said Aster, annoyed.

“Come on, sir,” Ishtar reminded her.

“Sorry. I’m on edge.”

“Nah,” said Reev, “you’re right, Aster. Let’s move out and find the engine room.”

“They’re coming,” said Ru.

Reev went first to the door, signaling for them to take their counter infil positions. Aster took cover behind a plasteel crate, and when the kzinti marines broke down the door took one down with six rapid shots to his helmet.

There were only five of them, and they didn’t last long. Ru had her rifle trained on their leader before the door even opened, and Ish and Reev held the others down with kinetic force while Aster and Ru executed them point blank.

They moved into the hallway, quickly and quietly. The kzinti ship was dimly lit compared to Albion. Amber bulbs lined the floor and ceiling along the edges of the corridors, and as they wove their way through utility rooms and crew quarters, a klaxon sounded loudly, followed by the thunder of heavy boots and growling shouts.

The ship had few windows, and they were small, round ports only slightly larger than a dinner tray. Aster still caught a view of Reev’s brilliant plan. The worm holes, spheres of distorted star light, peppered the space outside, catching two thirds of the enemy vessels and sending them lightyears away.

Reev kept them moving through non-essential rooms. They dodged two marine detachments, hurrying past them towards the deck where their insertion craft breached. A third saw them and engaged, drawing a pair of security patrols into the mix.

Reev raised his hand and signaled for Aster to follow Ru through a door to their right. Inside, Ru focused her attention while Aster guarded the door, gunning down the security personnel in their lighter armor while Ish and Reev whittled down the marines with rifle rounds and blasts of energy. Aster was in awe of how much more powerful their radiant attacks were, Reev’s in particular. She tried one herself, feeling a strage, unnerving euphoria rush through her as she sent a heavily armored kzinti soldier barreling down the hallway with only minimal effort.

“We need to take the main corridor,” Ru said suddenly.

Reev signaled their advance with a raised fist followed by two fingers pointed forward. They made their way quickly to a spacious hallway and ran. Aster brought up the rear, keeping the space behind her up in her PIP.

As always, Ru’s ability to sense ripples in space worked to their advantage. They avoided all the marines heading to where the ship’s security cameras saw them, entering the engine room with time to spare.

“Missing Forge right about now,” Reev said while he opened the access panel in the fuel injection controls.

“You got this, captain,” Aster said.

“Marines inbound,” said Ru.

Aster saw them on her motion detector shortly after. She joined Ishtar by the door the marines were moving toward.

“Reev,” said Ru.

“Workin’ on it.”

The marines were near the door.

“Slow ‘em down somehow, guys.”

“Yes sir,” said Ishtar. “Aster, help me.”

Aster followed Ish and helped her drag the kzinti engineers they dispatched on infil to the door and piled them on top of each other. They took positions against the wall on either side, then opened fire when the marines broke through and tripped over their fallen crewmates.

Another alarm sounded and Revol signaled their retreat. They made a dead run for it, keeping their rifles at low ready. Ru got them to their exfil point quickly, where Reev blasted through the airlock door with a massive burst of focused radiance. They dove out of the ship as Zep made his pass and caught them in his tractor beam.

All around them were the flashes of the kzinti ships buckling from internal explosions, eventually erupting as their engines burst from being overloaded with fuel.

“There’s still a few left,” Reev said over their skullfort comms. “Zep, bring us in and get another insert craft loaded in the hooks.”

“Copy that, captain.”

Aster clamped her rifle to her backpack and loosened up for the rush of the tractor beam’s pull. Another kzinti vessel exploded, then another. She saw Reev’s concern, though. For all the ships they sent to random regions of space, the cats had sent a large enough fleet that they would likely have to make another two or three boarding runs to wipe them all out.

“Guys,” said Ishtar, her voice quaking.

Aster looked at her, then where her face was pointing. “Oh no. Captain, Ru, it’s...”

She couldn’t say the word, and she didn’t need to. They all recognized the jets of fire coming into view. Tiny at first, then raging as they drew near, and behind them the bulbous, throbbing masses of flesh and steel, their outer layers charred by cosmic radiation.

For a moment there were only a dozen masses, escorted by a few hundred suicide flyers. But by the time Zep retracted H1’s tractor beam there were hundreds of masses and thousands of flyers.

Red Ten was the first other captain to signal their ship.

“Revol, we gotta get out of here.”

“Agreed. Red, call team eleven and...”

H9, flying alongside H1, banked to port as a cloud of flyers came seemingly out of nowhere. It dodged the first dozen, but another dozen pelted its hull from starboard. The jumpship buckled, then exploded as a cluster of flyers came from behind and burst through its engines.

“ALL CRAFT RETREAT!” Reev bellowed.

They turned and dodged another of the larger flyer clusters. Aster pointed to a mass heading their way.

“I see it,” said Zep.

Another jumpship ignited in their view.

“Damn it,” said Reev.

Aster felt her sweat hissing away as her suit’s climate control system evaporated it. They were sitting ducks while their jump drives prepped, having expended their readied energy to launch the kzinti fleet out of the battlefield.

Another jumpship exploded. She magnified her visor and saw the team rushing to surround their pilot. By the time they reached her, her body had been completely mangled by the vacuum of space.

The mass was getting nearer. Zep maneuvered the best he could, but he was hampered by his need to maintain his jump trajectory. Of all the skills a jumpship pilot needed to learn, wormhole navigation was by far the most difficult. She could see his brow glistening as he simultaneously made his micro recalculations and dodged incoming flyers.

“They’re reapers,” said Ishtar.

“What?” Aster asked.

“The flyers. They’re here to reap us, like our lifeforce is... grain for them to harvest.”

Aster saw what Ishtar meant. The teams of the destroyed ships were fighting off the flyers, but they kept coming to them, eventually overwhelming them with sheer numbers and carrying them to the masses, now tripled in number.

“Are we prepped yet, Zerp?” Aster asked, knowing the answer.

“Not yet, ma’am.”

“What do we do?” Ru asked, looking to Reev.

He starred silently out the window.

“Wait,” said Aster. “Do you feel that? Ru, you’ve got to...”

“It’s...” Ru stammered, “is it... it’s not... what is that?”

The mass was near, its fore section opening like a sphincter. Tentacles of black wires and pink flesh whipped out and wrapped around H1. Hideous, pulsing members throbbed eagerly inside the mass’s opening as the tentacles pulled them in. Behind, in the distance, a white light shined in the void, and the masses all turned as one, there’s letting them go and closing its profane maw.

Aster had never seen anything she could compare the object to. It was beautiful and terrible, a dervish of wings inlaid with horrible eyes surrounding a cluster of burning lances.

The masses, the reapers, they all abandoned their attack on the Harbingers and moved towards the strange arrival. But that thing, that fearsome apparition, lashed out at them with whips and lances of searing light, cutting through the masses and engulfing the reapers, and the void ran red with the blood of the Surge as the unexpected savior unleashed its rage in full.