Crush put nearly all the star tree eyes at her disposal towards the portal, but the beams bounced off the ring without doing any noticeable damage. The two great eyes that graced her bow, one on either side, she held in reserve, waiting for an opportune shot. However, the onslaught of the massive serpentine craft interrupted her efforts, its heavy energy fire forcing her to evade. An inferno burst out of its mouth, engulfing one of the gunships entirely and singeing others. When the flames faded, the ship was burnt and sparking. Another round of energy blasts from the multitude of energy cannons on the serpent reduced it to slag.

“Think like fighter crafts!” said Crush over the comms. “Keep formations loose, take shots against the target when you can!”

The ships followed Crush’s lead, playing a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse with the monstrous enemy. Crush scrambled the handful of skiffs she had at her disposal to harass the serpent. They were small and maneuverable enough to stay out of the bigger guns’ way, but had more trouble with the smaller sentry guns mounted all over the serpent’s outside and with the cloud of drones that seeped out of the various hangars located along the length of the vessel.

“Admiral Trich,” she said. “We need support! Can you send more fighters?”

“I’m afraid my fighters are all engaged with the war trains or stemming the tide of the serpent drones,” answered Trich. “We should have another war train eliminated soon. I’ll send back-up when we do.”

“That’ll have to do,” said Crush, watching another gunship explode and banking hard to avoid another blast of flame.

Epilogue

Despite the Wingspan’s inexplicable departure, the battle wrapped up quickly. The enormous serpentine vessel disappeared suddenly in a ripmed jump to an unknown location, allowing Crush to blast the ring with great eye blasts, quickly destroying it. The mirrored surface blinked out of existence and the aether erupted into victorious cheers.

The majority of the infiltrator crafts were destroyed before they hit the surface, and the war trains and drones left behind were mopped up easily by the overwhelming forces they faced. The next stop would be the surface, where the remaining infantry and beast soldiers had to be dealt with. Crush was almost looking forward to that.

A call came in via ripmed, and she answered it immediately.

“Yrinla, we won!” said Crush in lieu of an actual greeting. Her spirits fell as she noted the care-worn look on the old tree priestess' face. “What’s happened?”

“Cradle had a close encounter with the aether beast known as Tra’lik Kah,” she said. “The beasts are on the move, it would seem.”

“I’ll come back,” said Crush, guilt washing over her. “I’ll-”

Yrinla cut her off. “King Hua was going to see the Elders, against their wishes, as they feared just this scenario. He’s dead, Crush. The king is dead.”

***

Darvik stuck with Yulun, Trebor, Grepk’s squad, and a number of soldiers. It was hard fighting, but the seven of them in close quarters were able to put down the groups of two or three beast soldiers. They were fighting their way towards the holding cells, since Creddik hadn’t been freed prior to the attack. The hope was to pick him up and have him puppeteer a few beast soldiers to soften up the enemy. A cacophony of screams and gunfire came from the direction of the holding cells, where they found a group of Drakmundi infantry soldiers standing over the bodies of the jailers, evidently descending into the Undercity behind the initial force of beast soldiers.

Creddik was cowering in the corner of his cell, waiting for the enemy to turn their staff-like energy guns on him. Instead, they turned and began firing on the agents, Marines, and soldiers who had just barged in.

One of the Drakmundi at the back smirked as he figured out the lock mechanism on the captive beast soldier’s cage, opening the door for him. The beast soldier stepped out, stone faced, and the infantryman turned to face the enemy, only to find himself lifted off the floor and slammed into the ground, sharp claws tearing through his flesh. Freed from his prison, the rogue beast soldier began systematically ripping the Drakmundi infantry to shreds. By the time they realized what was going on, the Griffonian forces had pinned them from one side as the beast soldier tore into them from the other, and they soon all lay dead.

“Are you puppeteering this creature, Creddik?” asked Trebor.

Creddik looked up from where he sat huddled on the floor. “No! This cell is still T-proofed!”

A wide array of weapons were suddenly trained on the beast soldier, who held his hands up in a gesture of peace.

“Friend,” he said.

“Big guy here isn’t like the others,” said Darvik. “We’d better keep him with us.”

***

Talon Squad entered the Keep to see a massive hole in the floor of the entryway. An infiltrator ship had crashed right through the door and the ten-foot-thick floor inside, falling into the depths of the Undercity, just where the underground hangar lay.

“Shall we?” asked Vanbrook, slamming a piton into the floor and getting out his climbing gear.

“Can't we take the stairs?” asked Reclan. “Maybe the elevators?”

Vanbrook was already on his way down, so the others joined him and in moments they were descending into the depths of the Undercity, their shoulder-mounted flashlights blaring into the abyss.

“There!” said Doc. “The infiltrator ship.”

Looking to where he pointed, Vanbrook saw the ship, lodged in one of the massive towers that made up the Underkeep. The tower was only a few yards away, and when Vanbrook got down where he was level with the ship he saw light coming out around the edge of the hole the ship was in, the seal around the ship having partially failed.

He swung over to the hole and grabbed on, only to have a thick, muscle-bound arm shoot through, grabbing him by the throat. He pulled his revolver and fired point blank at the arm, forcing the beast soldier to release him and howl in pain. Vanbrook slipped back, swinging out into the open.

The beast soldier ripped the hole back with his mangled arm, roaring at Vanbrook, who was now swinging back towards him. Vanbrook tried to level his gun and fire again, but his arm was still sore and his dexterity was suffering.

D'Jarric fired a bolt from above, and the beast stumbled back again.

“I'm trying to puppeteer it!” called Raivyn. “Hang in there!”

Vanbrook slammed into the wall and tried to scramble back up his cable, but the beast was reaching back out through the hole again. Its eyes suddenly went wide and it was pulled back into the hole. There was the sound of a struggle, and when Vanbrook swung back, it was Darvik who stood in the hole, reaching out to take Vanbrook’s hand. He took it unquestioningly and Darvik helped haul him inside of the tower. One by one, the rest of Talon Squad swung into the tower, as well.

“So what was wrong with the elevator, again?” asked Reclan.

“The repelling bit was Van’s idea?” asked Darvik.

Raivyn nodded.

“Sounds like Van,” sighed Darvik.

Vanbrook glared daggers at his old rival.

“Woah,” cried Reclan, spotting Darvik's Drakmundi friend for the first time.

“Oh, yeah, he's with us,” said Darvik.

“This is the rogue soldier?” asked Raivyn.

“Yeah,” said Darvik.

“May I speak with him?” she asked.

Darvik shrugged. “Knock yourself out.”

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Raivyn tapped the side of her head, then reached out and pointed towards the beast soldier’s head. He smiled and nodded ascent. She nodded in return, closed her eyes, and reached out to his mind with her own.

Hello, Drakmundi. My name is Raivyn. What is yours?

Fremik, came the reply. The creature stopped, as if struck with sudden paralysis, his eyes going wide. Yes, I am Fremik. I- I remember now. I- I remember… too much. He sank to the ground, holding his broad head in his enormous hands. I remember too much.

I’m sorry, Fremik, I don’t understand, said Raivyn gently.

I was not always like this, Raivyn, he replied. Not always a beast. My story is a tragedy, but I do not have time to explain it now. There may be a way to stop the Drakmundi scourging of the galaxy, but it must be done on Drakmund itself, and that is a grave thing.

“Hey, Fremik–our rogue beast soldier here–is saying we may be able to stop the Drakmundi if we go to their homeworld,” said Raivyn aloud.

“Of course he is,” spat Trebor.

“Oh, shut up,” said Grepk bitterly. “There’s clearly something different about this one. We at least need to hear what he has to say.”

“We must do whatever he says,” said D’Jarric, a fiery conviction in his eyes. “The fate of the galaxy may depend on it.”

Fremik, how do we get to Drakmund? asked Raivyn. And what do we need to do when we get there?

We must destroy the ability of the Drakmundi Council to control their army, answered Fremik. To get to Drakmund, we must go through the dragon’s maw orbiting above your world.

The portal, you mean? asked Raivyn.

Correct, said Fremik. It will take us to a fleet world, all of which are closer to Drakmund than any of the outer planets, such as your own.

How far is Drakmund from Griffonia? asked Raivyn.

I do not know, said Fremik honestly. The frontier, last I knew of it, was at least three hundred lightyears in any direction.

Raivyn was taken aback. Even with ripmed travel, a trip of that distance would likely take years, particularly if the location of the planet was uncertain and the paths were unknown. On top of that, no one was recorded of ever having traveled that far.

“We’re talking about the difference between an instant shortcut if we fly through the dragon’s maw–that’s what Fremik called the portal–or a trip that could take over a year if we knew exactly where we were going,” said Raivyn, walking into the tower and towards the stairs that would lead to the surface.

“You can’t be serious,” said Trebor, standing in Raivyn’s way.

D’Jarric stepped in front of Trebor, toe-to-toe, looking down into the man’s icy eyes. “Move aside, Trebor. This is beyond you.”

Trebor stared hard at D’Jarric, but moved aside. Fighting a Solaran was never a wise move.

The way now clear, Talon Squad climbed up out of the tower and back into the Keep itself, Darvik, Fremik and the others following behind them. The battle for the Keep was over, and Griffonian forces were moving towards the Depot, clearing the rest of the city as they went.

“To the shuttle, then?” asked Vanbrook.

“And on to the Wingspan,” said D’Jarric.

Talon Squad, along with Darvik and Fremik, went off towards the shuttle, while the Marines and the other two agents went south to join the battle. The sound of battle raged behind them as they went, and Raivyn kept looking over her shoulder.

“I’m needed here,” she said.

“What?” asked Vanbrook, shocked. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“I’m needed here,” she repeated. “I can puppeteer the beast soldiers. I can’t just leave.”

“What about talking to Fremik?” asked Vanbrook.

“You guys will figure that out,” said Raivyn.

“So who is going?” asked Vanbrook.

D’Jarric, Reclan, Doc, and Darvik raised their hands.

“Alright,” said Vanbrook. “I- I trust your instincts, Rai. I trust you.”

She ran to him and hugged him. He hugged back, and they stood there for a long moment, eyes shut tight, no words spoken. The world was just her head nestled into his shoulder.

“I’ll see you again soon,” whispered Vanbrook.

“Go,” said D’Jarric. “This is the way it’s meant to be.”

Raivyn turned back towards the battle, tears in her eyes, while the other six ran full-tilt towards the shuttle.

***

Crush swung the Amalgam hard, avoiding another onslaught from the giant mechanical serpent. She had managed to hit the ring a few times, but she’d ultimately found herself focusing her fire on the serpent. Of the ships that made an attack run on the ring, only the Amalgam and the Maul were left. Most of the fighters that had assaulted the serpent were destroyed as well.

A well-placed pair of great eye blasts had damaged the enormous flamethrower mounted in the serpent’s mouth, and sustained attacks appeared to be damaging the vessel. The portal became a distant memory as she banked to make another run on the serpent.

“Maul and Amalgam, this is Textbook,” said Drixen over the comms. “I’ve freed up First Squadron and we’re heading your way.”

A trunk buster slammed into the massive serpent’s jaw, further damaging the flamethrower. It burst into a ball of flame that quickly sputtered out of existence.

“The help is much appreciated, Textbook!” said Crush. “Let’s finish this thing off!”

***

Farbin scowled as he watched the damage reports come in. He’d lost his flamethrower, which was a serious nuisance. His war trains were all in critical condition, and the drones pouring through the maw were not enough to stop the Griffonians and their allies from gaining the upper hand.

World Serpent Farbin, this is Councilor Hagan, said a trembling voice over the console. Farbin frowned. He had expected the message to come, but he had expected it to be full of anger. He did not sense anger, only fear.

I am here, Councilor, answered Farbin.

You are to abandon Griffonia, World Serpent, said Hagan. Dispatch half of your remaining beast soldiers to the surface and prepare to use the ripmed drive installed in your vessel.

Farbin was incensed. To go where?

Where you are sent, World Serpent! snapped Hagan. You serve as you are told! We have been informed of a world by–it does not matter who. A world where you will find allies.

What is the name of this world? asked Farbin.

There was a pause, then the answer: Koomia.

***

Hunt watched in surprise as the serpent turned from the battle space, evidently intending to leave Griffonia. A shower of infiltrator craft rained down from one of the segments as it went.

“All guns, focus on those infiltrators,” ordered Hunt.

“Sir,” said Kiflin. “Talon Squad has boarded the Wingspan. They are on their way to the bridge.”

“What?” asked Hunt. “Why?”

“Because we need this ship to go through that portal,” said D’Jarric, stepping onto the bridge.

“Excuse me?” asked Hunt.

“You have some inkling of what I am, correct?” asked D’Jarric.

“I- yes, I suppose, something more than another mortal sapient, I’d say,” stuttered Hunt.

“I am a messenger of the Progenitor,” declared D’Jarric. “You know that I am as old as the stars and that I have insights beyond you or anyone else on or around Griffonia. And I am telling you we need this ship to go through that portal.”

There was a long pause while Hunt stared into D’Jarric’s fiery golden eyes.

“Kiflin,” he said at long last. “Tell Dekken to get us ready for a ripmed jump, and to get us steered through that portal.”

“Yes, sir,” said Kiflin.

Hunt hung his head, shaking it slowly as if to carefully pour out whatever insanity had collected in it just now.

“Wingspan, this is Admiral Trich, why are you maneuvering that way?” asked the Admiral over the comms.

“The Solaran Prince D’Jarric has ordered me to go through the portal, Admiral,” said Hunt, careful to martial every bit of confidence he could.

“Cease and desist immediately, Admiral Hunt,” commanded Trich in a warning tone.

Hunt sat quietly, trying to decide how to respond. A few moments ticked by.

“Admiral Hunt, do not go through that portal!” screamed Prime Minister Skritka.

“I’m trusting D’Jarric, Prime Minister,” answered Hunt.

“You answer to me, not the Solarans!” raged Skritka.

“We all answer to the Progenitor, Prime Minister,” offered D’Jarric.

The portal was growing ever larger as they approached it, its perfectly reflective surface displaying a Wingspan so detailed Hunt could almost see himself sitting in the bridge.

“Hey, wait for us!” shouted Drixen. “That is to say, please open the hangar doors.”

The hangars were opened and Drixen’s squad, at least those who had survived the battle, swung in. Just after the hangar door closed, the Wingspan reached the portal. The ship sailed right through the mirror-like surface as if it wasn’t even there. The Griffonians and their allies watched in disbelief as the Wingspan crossed the threshold and disappeared.