Yellup slammed the fore-break and fired the rear lateral thrusters simultaneously, careening around a corner like a madman, a pack of Drakmundi beast soldiers hot on his tail. Darvik was leaning bodily out of the rear window, firing into the pack. A bullet hit one of the beasts square in the eye and it jerked back and tumbled to the ground, but rolled over and got back on its feet, its eye marred but not blown out.

Darvik shook his head and reloaded. “Creddik, if you could go ahead and take over their minds, that’d be great.”

“It’s not that simple, Darvik!” whined the cowering criminal from the seat next to him. “These guys have… defenses. I’m spent!”

“Is it too late to just throw him out of the craft?” asked Darvik angrily.

Trebor, leaning out of his own window, shot him a disdainful look. Darvik put a hand up in surrender and went back to his fruitless barrage of lead.

“Just another block here and we should be coming up on the Keep,” noted Yellup.

Another sharp turn proved him right, the imposing stone keep coming into view just a few hundred yards ahead. However, there were about two dozen purple-clad beasts between the building and the fleeing RTS agents. Yellup hit the breaks, looking in the rearview mirror to see that the first pack was still closing in.

“Alright, gentlemen,” said Trebor. “Either we go down or they do.”

Darvik and Yellup exchanged worried looks while Creddik whined, curled up in the backseat. Yellup fired up the engines while Trebor and Darvik took aim, racing down the final stretch of their journey towards an army of roaring beasts.

***

Doc stood over the bed of a sick Dromean child, looking at the chart and then the worried parents.

“Looks like a simple cold, folks,” he said calmly.

“Are you sure?” asked the child’s mother. “We’ve never been off-world before, could it be something… exotic?”

Doc shook his head. “Nope. And any infections common to Kirakna are easily treated by universal meds. We’ve gotten pretty good at dealing with ‘exotic’ infections after a few centuries of space travel.”

“I understand these are trying times,” said D’Jarric, coming into the room with a fresh pillow. “But it sounds as though you need not worry about this illness.”

“Oh, D’Jarric, the Solaran!” said the child, a female of early school age. “That means… you’re the Doc! I thought you were just, y’know, a doctor!”

“Our reputations proceed us,” said D’Jarric, smiling.

“I LOVE Talon Squad!” said the little girl. “Can I meet Reclan? She’s the best! Oh, sorry.”

“No, no, that’s just fine,” said Doc. The signs were subtle, but D’Jarric could see that he was enjoying the kid’s enthusiasm. “Reclan is an… exceptional individual.”

“I’m not sure what that means, but she’s so cool!” said the girl, kicking her feet, illness momentarily forgotten. “Can I meet her?”

“Maybe, maybe,” said D’Jarric with a laugh. “If your parents could be so kind as to tell me where you’re staying, I’ll let her know a fan would like a moment of her time.”

While D’Jarric sorted that out, Doc moved on to the next patient. Thankfully most cases were similarly mundane. Doc hated to think what the hospitals looked like on Griffonia. After their shift ended, he walked out of the medical ward set up in the arena with D’Jarric and went back to the Wingspan. Despite the fact they didn’t need to eat anything, the two squadmates joined the others for dinner.

Meals had been quiet since Vanbrook had his dust-up with Lawbine, and this one was no different. Vanbrook and Reclan nodded to Doc and D’Jarric as they took their seats. Raivyn sat in icy silence.

“Hey, how’s the hospital?” asked Reclan.

“Met a fan of yours,” said D’Jarric. “I have an address, you can visit anytime.”

“Some kind of creep?” asked Reclan suspiciously, taking a large bite of roast meat off her plate and tearing a bite off.

“No,” said D’Jarric with a laugh. “Cute little kid.”

“Oh, that I can handle,” said Reclan. “Maybe I can leverage that to get out of some of these boring odd jobs Dekken has us doing.”

“Yeah, that’s the spirit,” said Vanbrook derisively.

“Oh, so you’re enjoying moving crates and doing laundry?” asked Reclan.

“Well, I’m just glad to be staying busy for the time being,” said Vanbrook. “You know about half the Navy is orbiting the planet right now, waiting on word from Griffonia?”

“Joined by a few Wabuluban craft, I believe,” said D’Jarric. “Once they realized how serious the situation was they sent some firepower here.”

“And rumor has it some FRF ships are inbound, as well,” said Reclan. “And maybe the Aeratans will send some help, as well.”

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“I wouldn’t count on that stupid planet for anything but trouble,” offered Raivyn, breaking her self-imposed silence.

“That’s a bit harsh,” said Reclan.

“I left Aerat for a reason,” she replied with a shrug. “It’s always some kind of hidden agenda with them.”

“Talon Squad, please report to Dekken’s office,” said Triflin over the squad’s comms. There was a moment’s pause. “That’s the one down by the engine room.”

“We know where Dekken’s office is, Trif,” said Vanbrook.

“Cool,” answered Triflin. “Go there.”

“On our way,” said Raivyn.

Reclan looked up in protest from her half-full plate.

“C’mon, Rec,” said Vanbrook. “You’re not gonna starve.”

The squad got up around her, clearing their plates, and she wolfed down what she could as she joined them to make their way to Dekken’s office.

***

There just weren’t enough Marines. Grepk was leading a group of about a dozen, the survivors from a number of squads, in the fight to keep the doors of Griffon Keep open as long as possible. Eventually, the beasts would overwhelm them and the doors would have to be locked down. After hours of grueling fighting, dozens of Marines and Drakmundi beast soldiers lay dead on the ground. The Drakmundi could afford their losses. The Marines could not.

One of the beasts pounced on Grepk from behind, so he fired his jetpack and leapt into the air, the monster letting go and dropping to the ground with a scream as his uniform ignited. While at the peak of his jump, about fifteen feet in the air, Grepk’s armor seized up. He gritted his teeth and braced for impact.

The intermittent power failures from the enemy’s disruptor rays had been the cause of most of the fatalities. As Grepk fell to the earth, locked in his armor, a number of the beasts fell on him, striking his helmet repeatedly. The polymer dome stood up against the first few strikes, but a mighty blow from a closed fist erupted in spiderweb cracks. Hearing his suit hum to life, he reached out and intercepted the next blow, crushing the beast’s arm and swinging him like a club, bowling over a few of his fellows.

“We can’t hold out much longer,” said Krum-Bahk, just barely dodging a wicked blow.

“I know,” said Grepk. “But we can’t give up as long as people keep coming.”

“I’d rather die fighting than run,” offered Keshri, her claws raking open the chest of another beast.

“Lucky for me that’s not your call,” responded Grepk. “Hey, what’s that?”

Just down the street, a pack of beasts had all turned to some point of interest, and the sound of revving engines filled the air. In a burst of light and violence, a black hovercraft tore through the gathered crowd, guns blazing out of the windows.

“C’mon!” cried Grepk. “You six by the gate, stay where you are. The rest of you, let's get those folks in here. Clear a path!”

The Marines redoubled their efforts, focusing on pushing back the hordes rather than trying to kill them outright. The craft pushed in through the crowd of beasts, a number of them hanging from the bumpers. The craft was all but overwhelmed when Krum-Bahk reached it, but the thrusters flared, forcing the horde back.

With the beasts forced back and the Marines closing in, three RTS agents and a Dromean in street clothes piled out of the vehicle. For the second time in short order, Krum-Bahk was shocked to see Darvik.

“Come on,” he said, not addressing the reunion. “We'll keep a path clear to the building.”

A tight bundle of Marines kept the beasts at bay while the four haggard survivors rushed towards the massive gates. Darvik had little opportunity to attack the enemy as they hurdled down the street, but he managed one good thrust against a beastly face that appeared between two Marines. The blow was far from lethal, but Darvik took some satisfaction from the fact that the creature howled in pain as it fell away.

One of the remaining Marines was taken down by the horde of beasts, his helmet cracked open and his head struck by a flurry of claws. Grepk set his face and turned towards the door. The six Marines left behind had been whittled down to four and were quickly losing ground.

“Everyone inside!” called Grepk. “And that means EVERYONE. Looking at you, Kesh!”

Grunting disapproval, Keshri ran through the doors behind the rest, firing over her shoulder as she went.

Inside the doorway, Grepk grabbed Trebor by the shoulders. “Is there anyone else out there?”

“I don’t know for sure,” said Trebor, his face dour. “But I have no reason to believe there are any more survivors coming.”

“Close the gate,” said Grepk, his voice weak. He watched another Marine get dragged down as they kept the Drakmundi from crossing the threshold. He lifted his voice. “Close the gate!”

There was a sudden slamming noise as the gate was driven home. The Marines had jumped back at the signal, but a clawed Drakmundi arm stuck out from under the door, lifeless, blood oozing out around it. Silence reigned, any noise the hordes outside were making completely deadened by blast doors designed to withstand a great eye beam.

“That’s that then,” said Grepk, turning to Creddik and the RTS agents. “Welcome to Griffon Keep.”

***

Crush had related her story to the King and Queen and then set out on her expedition with Hacksaw and Yrinla, taking the Amalgam on its maiden voyage. Since they’d established orbit, she’d been trying to explain everything to her two advisors.

“So we’re all… like you?” asked Hacksaw.

“Not exactly,” said Crush. “I’m a Guardian, a psychic Coreborn. But all Robots are Coreborn. If we had been mined for and… assembled, I guess… on Cradle, we’d all be made of living stone like I am. But a Guardian is different, and exceedingly rare.”

The ship floated in silence, the leafy sails soaking in Cradle’s sun’s radiation. Crush paced across the deck in thought, her stone fingers tracing the smooth brown bark on the ship’s railing.

“I also can’t leave Cradle,” she said finally.

“What?” asked Hacksaw. “Why not?”

“Because I have to be here in case an aether beast happens by,” answered Crush with a weak shrug. “To do what I did on Gateway.”

“That’s ridiculous,” retorted Hacksaw. “The planet was doing fine before you showed up.”

“Was it?” asked Crush. “I’m really not sure. All I know is, whatever drove me to find this planet is also telling me that this is home.”

“Consider the story the Elders told you,” suggested Yrinla, speaking thoughtfully. “When Vibu left, he caused great strife.”

“Yes, but he blew up a sacred mountain on the way out, right?” asked Hacksaw. “That’s hardly the same thing as going to defend allies.”

“Only I have to remain behind, Hacksaw,” said Crush. “I want you to lead the fleet, as you have been doing already. I want you to be my Admiral.”

“Well- I- I’m flattered, Adm- um- Guardian,” stammered Hacksaw. “But I don’t see why you should submit to the demands of these so-called Elders.”

“We have learned much since we set out on our journey together, Guardian Sprout,” said Yrinla.

Crush sighed. “Oh, don’t call me-”

“Perhaps it would be wise to continue along the path you find yourself on,” continued Yrinla, ignoring the interjection.

Crush nodded thoughtfully. Despite her misgivings about the Elder’s co-opting of her life, Crush had to admit she was tempted to yield to them. She wouldn’t openly defy their orders. At least not yet.