Lynn loved piloting the crawler. She patted the control board. What a ride! She grinned up at her man, clinging tight to the hatch with the loping bounds of the alien machine. Unfortunately, Team Earth’s progress came to a screeching halt with the towering meat shield between them and the objective. She circled around, searching for a weak point.

Sighing, she threw herself back into the chair. “It’s impenetrable!”

Pablo patted on the glass. “Maybe not!” And pointed over at the cliffs.

Lynn tucked her elbow in with a “Yes!”

Molly crested the cliff-face, dragging the Tritan armory in tow. Kyle and Smith climbed out. Papa-crawler arrived by surfacing from the lake alongside the caldera. Jack waved to their forces.

The trebuchet fired its first shot. The sight of men and monster melting beneath the shining gold ammunition made her turn away. She didn’t want these nightmares. Something brushed her shoulder, and she looked up to find Pablo’s hand through the chute-hatch. She gripped it and stared into his eyes. The Icari screamed in agony. They held each other and waited for the next round.

None came. But the crowd suddenly called out, shouted, and cheered.

They both looked to the sky. Tameka returned with someone entirely new. Another Seamswalker?

“Is that T.A.O.?” Pablo asked aloud the question Lynn wondered to herself.

The tawny Progeny woman with her disarming freckles and bright red hair looked hollowed out around the eyes. As if someone scooped out part of her soul.

Lynn muttered, “I hope the fight’s going okay for them.”

Pablo murmured his agreement.

Again with the solid green, then deep blue eyes. Tameka hovered over the cylindrical barrier guarding the caldera. Earlier, she targeted the Villam and drained it dark for a time. Now, she concentrated her sights on millions of Icari and monsters.

An entire army fell to its knees.

The thunderous roar of the Collective army’s celebration resonated throughout the valley, shaking the crawler and disturbing the lake. Andrew flew up to Tameka, who disappeared shortly after with her new companion. The Progeny man joined his brother on the cliff-face as Team Earth went back to work.

With the army out of the way, nothing stood between them and disarming the Tantamount. Except maybe living. The plans Pablo and Lynn found at Iona-29 described a process in reverse to the detonation. It required nacre sacrifices for the explosion and blood for the deactivation. Not as rich as Icarean blood, but with nacres, two humans might produce enough to disable it. They might even survive. And so they rode in.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The only other person who knew how to reverse the machine was Tumu, and he conveniently disappeared right at the self-sacrificing part of the battle. Caedes and John hung in behind them. If she didn’t know any better, she’d say John tried to flag them down. Maybe they knew how to get into the nacre cylinder.

“Hey, baby. Do you know what they’re doing?” Lynn glanced up just in time to see Pablo leaving with Bones. At the last second, her man turned to her. Lynn’s heart stopped, and her blood ran cold at the determination on his face. Pablo shouted, “Don’t worry about me.” And took to the sky.

She slipped through the chute, leaving the crawler to its own devices. “No. No, no, no, no, no… NO!!!!! NOOO!!!!” She screamed as Bones breached the cylinder with Pablo. That’s when Lynn remembered. He never swallowed the nacre. His blood wasn’t potent enough. He’d die and not even stop the Tantamount.

The crawler loped to a stop, and Caedes parked alongside. The stout Icarus abandoned the vehicle. “I’ll take you.” She damned near leapt into his arms as he opened his wings. “John, the Reipon lamias are on their way here. You make sure they know his name.”

John’s face was grim as he gave a firm nod.

Lynn did not sob against Caedes’ firm chest as he carried her into the sky. She refused to think of a future without Pablo. Over and over again, she repeated, “We’re gonna save him. We’re gonna save him.”

The cylinder surrounded the caldera and the Tantamount beside the volcano. The water inside reminded her of the blue-holes back home. The stream of lava reminded her of hell. It smelled of sulfur and fire. The steam condensed within the amber tube flattened her hair to her face.

“Where’s Pablo? I don’t see him. Caedes?”

“Bones is right there. I know Pablo isn’t far.”

That’s what she worried about. Bones stared down into the massive weapon. The Icarus twisted Teeth’s nacre where it dangled from a chain around his neck. Caedes called out to him before landing, “Did he go inside?” He let her go on the rocks.

Wasting no time, Lynn ran to the Tantamount’s lift.

Bones called out to her, “You don’t need to do this.”

“Yes, I do. I won’t let him do this alone. He’ll die.” She reached to hail the elevator when it suddenly whirred from below. “What’s happening? Is he down there?”

Bones tone went from somber to impatient. “That’s what I was trying to tell you—” Caedes put his hand on Bone’s shoulder to stay the warrior.

Pablo stood inside the lift. “Hey.”

She punched him in the shoulder, and he cried out. “Fuck! You’re strong.” He grinned at her sheepishly as he rubbed the site.

Her voice cracked on a sob, “I thought you were planning on dying like some hero without me.”

Bones confirmed, “He was.”

Lynn punched him again, half-heartedly.

“Ouch. Baby, I’m all right.” He pulled her to him, and she cried into his shoulder. Underneath the smell of soot and sweat was him. Fresh air and hospital soap. She breathed deep as if it were the last time. “I couldn’t do it.”

“You’re damn right you couldn’t leave me—”

He patted her on the back. “No, I mean I physically couldn’t do it.”

Caedes called from the control panel, “Hey, is this—”

Bones explained, “The Tantamount isn’t fully assembled.”

Lynn turned and looked at them both. “Did I hear you right?”

Pablo brushed one of her twists behind her hair. “I went down to confirm. The parts aren’t even here for it.”

Andrew called to them from above, “Coming in.”

Kyle took a hit on his joint mid-flight in Andrew’s arms. “I’m sure they’d figure that out when we landed.”

Lucas dropped without his wings until right before he landed.

Andrew watched with naked admiration.

The golden-eyed Icarus shrugged. “You’ll learn with practice. It’s easier without the baggage.”

“Fuck off, dude.” Kyle, the baggage, peered at the machine. “Hey, this thing isn’t live.”

Lynn asked aloud the question they all wondered to themselves, “Why?”

Pablo seconded, “Why the battle? The charade?”

The Progeny and Icari looked amongst one another. Everyone came to the same conclusion at once.

“Rayne.”