Eukary tightened the straps on her new breastplate again.

“You’ll have to break your new suits in,” Zep said as he dialed up the specs for a Binary Aphelion Mod 4 combat shotgun with dual loading tubes, an adaptive buttstock and a barrel bored for six guage shot and ballistic slugs.

Eukary hated new armor. Once the memory fiber straps figured her body and movement out it was fine, but those first moments in new gear were torture.

“At least we don’t have to figure out new harnesses,” said Ishtar.

“I kinda like Reev and Forge’s new harness concept,” Eukary said. “But I agree. Brand new armor is enough.”

The printer whirred to life and began compiling the materials needed for the shotgun’s various parts. They all watched quietly as the weapon materialized. When it was finished, Zep took it from the ship’s printer and handed it to Eukary. “Here you go, sister.”

“Thank you.” She held it at low ready, then aimed it. The weight and balance were perfect.

“You gonna name it?” asked Reev.

“No. I’ll let this one name himself.”

“We need a full armory, Zep,” said Catalyst.

“Yes, sir.”

Flea and Zep ran both ships’ printers through the night, fabricating Harbinger One’s favorite weapons and attachments, as well as expanding the stores of both vessels’ munitions and small artillery. Eukary smiled when she overheard Forge insisting Zep let him remake his gravity hammer himself.

When they all had their best guns remade, Cat ordered both teams to fashion a temporary briefing tent from spare bulkheads and electronics. Flea, clearly faster with the printing software than Zep, finished arming Harbinger Five early and printed them comfortable benches to sit on.

Cat called the teams in for a brief and Eukary found that while Flea’s benches were plusher than those at the barracks in Albion, they were a bit short, only seating two, and the bigger guys could not sit by each other. She, being taller and more muscular than the other girls, was practically sitting on Forge’s lap.

“Fellas,” Red said from the far end of the structure, looking past them. She turned her head and let out a laugh. Gilgamesh and Mangonel were sharing a bench and were each spilling off the opposite side.

“Sorry cap,” said Gilgamesh. He stood and took a seat by Flea.

“We’ve lost people,” said Red Ten. “Harbinger and human alike. Our human brothers and sisters are gone for good, and the Harbingers we lost are being tortured inside the Anunnaki. I don’t even wanna know what they goin’ through. So let’s grow up a little. Aight?”

“Yes, sir,” they said in unison.

“Captain,” Red said with a nod, then sat in the front row next to Ishtar, who’d doubtless picked her seat strategically.

Catalyst replaced Red Ten at the end of the tent. “Here’s the situation: Colonel Vala is bringing our entire contingent to wage a full-scale assault. In the meantime, we need to determine where Vala should make her beachhead, how to best infiltrate Orak’s subteranean fortifications, and what we’ll need to…”

Aster went running as soon as he hit the floor. Eukary and Forge rose together, followed by the rest of their team, and went to his side. Harbinger Five looked on nervously.

“Captain,” Eukary said, crouching by his side.

He was on his back and clutching at his temples. Aster pulled him toward her and cradled his head on her lap. He laid there still for a few minutes, then began to scream. When he finally calmed down, Forge and Reev helped to his feet. Everyone sat back down.

“Forgive me,” he said.

“We just hope you’re okay, captain,” said Gilgamesh.

“I will be when Orak’s dead. As I was saying, Vala needs a beachhead.” He clutched his temples again. “Red, I need you to lead the briefing.”

“Yes, sir.”

Red took Cat’s place and Cat left, whispering quietly to Aster at the entrance for a few seconds.

“I know we’re all trying to take this in,” Red began, “and some of us might be a little scared. We’re used to fighting battles we couldn’t help but win. I think the worst thing any of us ever faced before now is the Surge, and we only had skirmishes. Imagine if we actually had to face one of the Onslaught. Well, that’s the level this enemy is on, and they aren’t just blasting through like they did when Colonel Vala’s generation fought them. They’re getting inside our heads now, and they’re taking ground as if they’re here to stay.

“Now, Orak told Cat in his head that he’s here for the Child. Whatever that means, we have no intention of letting him accomplish that or any other goal. Flea…”

Flea tapped a series of quick commands on his vam. The spare computer they set up in the briefing tent booted up and projected a holo map between them and Red. He stepped through the map and pointed to locations as he spoke, careful not to trip over Forge, Eukary and Ishtar’s toes.

“Catalyst has gone over the images he drew from Orak’s mind. He’s certain the entrance to his underground base is here. These regions here and here would be ideal for Colonel Vala’s landing, and naturally the enemy has placed SAM and SAS missile batteries in the surrounding hills. These areas highlighted here, here and here are passable landing sights, and they too are fortified.”

He turned and faced the others, standing off to the side to avoid blocking the map. “Suggestions?”

Eukary pondered the map, searching for other clearings for the other teams to land. She searched at first for places where large groups could stage an advance, but as Red pointed out, there were no such locations that were left safe to approach. At least not within close range, and their best advantage would be to hit hard and fast.

"There's tons of places," said Reev.

"Show me," said Red.

Reev approached the map and pointed almost at random to over a dozen places. Eukary thought he was being sarcastic at first, but any of the places he pointed at would have been perfectly fine for a single team's insertion craft.

"In her subspace message," Red told him, "Colonel Vala informed us that she would be bringing all our available forces for a pitched assault. She's looking for a place to land an army."

"Huh," Reev grunted. "Well, that's dumb."

"That's dumb, huh?" Red was not amused.

Easy, Reev, Eukary thought.

"Yup," Reev said with a nod, "pretty dumb. Pretty stinking dumb."

Red's jaw tensed. "Well, Lieutenant, explain how all the single team insertion points you suggested are the smart way."

"Colonel Vala wants us all to act like regular soldiers. I caught that vibe from her when we spoke back on Urthona. While I see the appeal of a regular army composed of Harbingers, I can't say I agree that we're cut out for that kind of combat. And besides, that's what Orak is used to, and what he's expecting. So I say we land all over the damn place and swarm his ass. The way we're used to operating and coordinating, he won't have a clue how to fight us."

"He's right," Eukary chimed in. "All Orak's fortifying is designed to stop mass troop drop offs. If we insert in separate points, we'll be able to infiltrate his surface facilities en-masse. What does he have for anti-personnel defenses?"

Red nodded towards Flea, who entered more commands. Turrets and bunkers lit up, as well as a series of doors built into the ground for armored vehicle deployment.

"We can handle all this," said Forge.

"In force," said Red, "I agree. We can handle this. My concern is this." He nodded to Flea again and a series of purple dots appeared. "This is where Ehrgeiz and Raphael have observed the Archeus and Anunnaki in their recon. They're guarding what we have assumed to be their jamming towers. I will admit that I am less concerned now than I was before the revelation that our radiance is not being suppressed. However, we have to be aware of the threat the Archeus pose." He stepped forward and turned to see the map. "I'm starting to like your scattered landing idea, Revol. But we need to pick our insertion points carefully and draft a plan for our jumpships. We gotta use every asset we have, afterall."

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

He turned his head towards the benches. "Flea, Zep, give Cat and I some options.”

The pilots went straight to work after Red ended the briefing. Eukary wanted to stay and listen, and maybe study the terrain they’d be fighting in. She felt guilty for the state she’d been in since Ulro, especially when Harbinger Five had been so busy scouting while her team floundered. But Zep and Flea were talking faster than she could think, and they didn’t seem to notice she was even there, so she left and went to check on Cat.

Cat was laying on his bunk with the lights off. Eukary sat by Aster on the floor next to him.

“He knows we’re coming,” Cat said.

“How much does he know?” Eukary asked.

“That we’re more dangerous to him than he expected.”

“But he had to have encountered Sol when he was in Ulro.”

Cat shook his head. “He remembered Sol as a frightened animal. He couldn’t have expected the changes Sol went through after escaping. And now we’re going through those changes.”

“I wish we understood them,” said Aster.

There were eight of them. The oldest was ten years her senior, the youngest two years her junior. There were girls in the group as well. Mostly they just beat her, but still…

“Yeah,” Eukary agreed.

A gentle cyan light broke through the darkness. Eukary and Aster both turned.

“Hey you,” Eukary said.

Netz floated in gracefully, the little ‘arms’ Forge made for her fidgeting like she was hatching a scheme.

“How are you holding up?” Eukary asked her.

“I’m… scared.”

“Yeah? What are you scared of?”

“Everything.”

“You’re gonna be fine,” said Aster.

“Yeah,” said Eukary. “Just stick with us.”

“I’d rather not.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because you’re in the middle of all of it.”

“Well,” Eukary was careful to keep her voice comforting, “you’re free to go wherever you like. But we’ll miss you if you leave.”

“I don’t want to. I just wish we weren’t going to fight him. At least not so soon.”

Cat rubbed his temples and rolled to his side.

“Sorry captain. Netz, wanna come train with me? I need to get past these new armor jitters.”

Cat suddenly sat up. “Yes. We need to train.”

“Don’t you need to rest?” Aster asked, looking up at him with her big bright worried eyes.

“No. I need Orak dead.” With that he rose and left, stopping to don his new gear in the armory.

They ran basic drills at first, and all the while Eukary puzzled over how they’d been able to simulate the functions of something as advanced as a skullfort without even realizing it.

“When you think about it,” Reev said as the two of them shot down rocks flung by Netz, “all our skullforts do is extend our natural sensory powers.”

“They do a bit more than that.”

“They can, sure. But have you been using any different visual spectrums lately? Or translating new exo languages?”

“Fair point.”

There were eight of them.

“What you’ve been doing is floating over your bed. Kinda creepy, by the way.”

She wanted to laugh, but she remembered how badly she wanted to fly away when they came for her. She raised her fist. “Hold.”

Netz flung a few more rocks before she realized what Eukary was telling her.

“What’s up?” asked Reev.

“What Sol told us all when he kindled us, that there are traces of living light left over from the creation of the universe…”

“And sometime those traces give life where there’s death.”

“And a person with that light inside them can help the light give shape to that rebirth.”

“If we’re being honest, Euk, that nursery rhyme never made any sense to me, and I think it’s total bubkis.”

“I don’t know, Reev. I might have agreed with you before, but now…”

“After Ulro.”

“After Ulro. I don’t think the ohr a Harbinger finds when they kindle another Harbinger gives them the body and memories of a dead person’s echo. I think we are those people.”

Reev attacked his rifle to his pack. “So, living light… ohr, as Sol calls it, floats around space until it passes where someone who lived a seriously messed up life died a horrible death. Then it decides ‘Oh I’m sure this person wants to come back so they can do it all again’? And then all it takes is an already kindled Harbinger to wander along and push print? No offense, Euk, but I think I find the nursery rhyme version more plausible.”

“Life coming into being is always miraculous, Reev. Think of how many sperm and egg cells don’t combine when a moral child is conceived.”

“Yeah, but mom and dad are doing the nasty at the time those cells are all swimming around.”

She chuckled. “True. But Sol told us he had a feeling he was going to find us before he did. Maybe he was being called too. Or guided even. And if that’s the case, who’s to say how far that call can reach?”

“So who kindled the first Harbinger?”

“Who kindled Imogen? You know, I’ve never thought of that before.”

“And how do we know she was the first? Eh?”

“Okay, I’ve gotten as deep as I can tonight.”

“Aw c’mon, Euk, you can’t start a ‘chicken or the egg’ debate and bail out after one hand.”

She gave Reev another chuckle, then went to where Forge was testing his new hammer, nearly catching her foot in one of the craters he’d made.

“Ready up,” he said.

She gathered energy in a disc and held it over her head. Forge raised the hammer high and brought it down, almost completely dispersing her barrier.

“Dayum! That new hammer kicks!”

Forge nodded. “Zep knows his printcraft, but Jormundworks hammers have a few minor design quirks I never cared for. It would have taken too long to explain them all to him.”

She patted the butt of her shotgun. “He made this fella well enough.”

“Form up, team,” Cat ordered over the comms.

Eukary felt euphoric over having a skullfort again.

They found a flat space between three tall hills for the exercise Cat had planned.

“We keep learning,” he said. “Every time we fight, we get stronger. And the more damage we take the stronger we get. So we’re going to put each other through their paces, starting with me.”

He dropped his rifle.

“No guns.”

They all dropped their weapons.

“Come at me!”

He whipped both his arms in a semi-circle, sending a sickle-bladed flare that knocked Reev, Ish, Aster and Ru to the ground. Eukary managed to drop underneath it and lean backward. Forge just stood there and bore it, then sent a series of round bolts at Cat, which their captain absorbed with a simple barrier.

Eukary kipped up to her feet and ran towards Cat, but Reev and Ru were already on him, coordinated radiant kicks and punches. Cat dodged Ru’s kick and caught Reev’s punch, then dropped him with three quick headbutts.

Ru caught the back of his head with her elbow and made him stumble forward. That’s when Eukary made her move, bringing a line of light searing across the ground and pulling it up into his face.

But he rolled to the side at the last moment and swept her feet out from under her with a whip of green light.

Ishtar then hit him with a barrage of rapid shockwaves. He stumbled backwards and Forge caught him in a bear hug. Before he could squirm loose, Aster came out of nowhere with a tiny orb of light that grew around his skullfort and stunning him and knocking him to the ground.

“We gotcha boss,” said Reev, now holding a spread of radiant incendiaries in the air over Cat. “Unless you want this to get dirty.”

“No. You did well. Better than I expected.” He extended his hand and Reev helped him up. “You’re up, Euk.”

She boosted herself off the ground a dozen feet and back, firing a salvo from her new peacemaker. Reev was hard after her, launching the incendiaries he had ready for Cat and running so fast she had to launch backward again. She landed in a shockwave from Forge stomping on the ground and rolled to the side after falling, dodging two kinetic blasts from both Ru and Ish. Cat was one her next, holding her in some sort of kinetic net. Then Aster came with the same attack she subdued Cat with ready.

There were eight of them. Eukary remembered the first boy who grabbed her arm. He was one of the older ones, and he looked afraid. Why? She always wondered but never knew. Now she felt like she had the answer. He was afraid of what would happen to him if he didn’t join. Hand humankind fallen so far? Were children on other worlds also behaving like abominations? As the hands kept taking hold of her she could only think of flying away. But she couldn’t fly, and as she desperately wanted to more and more her anger became surpassing.

“NO!”

She lost consciousness for an instant. When she came to, she was twenty feet or more in the air, standing on nothing and looking down. Her team was sprawling, and there was a crater in the middle of them that glowed with violet embers.

She slowly lowered herself to the ground and helped the others to their feet.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” said Reev. “We can use this.”