I walk slowly out of the ship, down the ramp, and stand beside him. Several of the animals cower away from me.
“They know you,” he rumbles, red eyes bright with triumph. Menace wipes the blood from his mouth with a hand. “I’ve been thinking about what we really needed, like you said: a way to mess with their heads, to disorient them, to distract them so we can escape.”
“What’s that?”
“A weapon Solcrue can’t control.” He motions to the massive pack. “I’ve been watching them. They always have a leader, a big mean one. I figured if I could tame it, I could control them.”
“Youfigured.”
“Don’t get your panties in a twist, babe. It worked.” Menace grabs me and crushes me against his body. His rigid cock presses into my belly as he rakes his teeth over my neck. “Let’s get them on board so I can do the other thing I want before this shitstorm starts.”
Sythius opens the secondary ramp into the cargo belly of the ship, and Menace slips himself from me to lead the welvirs below.
“This seems insane,” I mutter to Fracture as I climb the ramp to the flight deck. He watches in as much shock as I feel.
He shakes his head. “Relics are more primal than us Rogues and CyberGuards. They engage with the terran world in ways I’d never dare to try.”
Menace hikes back up. “I know, boys, but you’ll get your taste of fresh food soon. Ships full of snakes that need a taste of their own medicine.”
Once he’s closed up the cargo doors, Sythius seals the rear ramp. Fracture gets back in the pilot’s seat and lifts us up again.
A communication feed plays over the ship’s speakers. The face of a green-eyed female Titan fills a screen beside Fracture. “I have detected twelve Titan ultros in operation. They’re clustered together in a mud pit down south. They’re going to need to be dug out. You are most able to assist. Please confirm.”
“Confirmed. Please send coordinates,” Fracture replies.
A map ping lights on our navigation.
“Please save them and search for others who might be powered down.” The voice sounds worried.
“What’s got Clover so worked up?” Menace asks. Fracture relays Menace’s question.
“They’re my charges from the BlazeStar,” Clover replies. “They’ve been out of commission for as long as I was. You’ll have to be fast. Solcrue are increasing patrols. Mothership Torskus arrives in eight hours. And they’re bringing their whole armada. Another thirty ships from berserkers to battledaggers. That’s another five to six hundred Skysprinters inside.”
“That’s bad,” Sythius says what I think is on all our minds. “There’s no way we’re getting off-world if we have to confront that level of an assault.”
“All the more reason to get as many Titans back up and operational as possible,” Clover says. “If my legs were worth a damn, I’d hike out there and help. But I’ve got to do the final pre-flight checks for the BlazeStar. Savage is training crews.”
“We’ll make sure they’re with us for departure,” Menace tells her. “Whatever it takes. We’re going to need all the help we can get for the distraction plan I’m working on with Savage.”
“Thank you. Keep coms live. Initiate final stage of Echo Papa FlareDust.”
Menace and Fracture’s eyes flash. “Confirmed,” they say in unison.
“What’s that?” Sythius asks.
“Escape Plan Flaredust.” Menace jabs a finger at him. When Sythius cringes, Menace smiles. “Thank you for your help getting the range extender. But do not put my mate in danger ever again, even if your hide is threatened. I will forfeit leaving this hellhole to put you through the most pain you’ve ever been in, in your whole life if you harm a hair on her beautiful head.”
Sythius lifts his hands in innocence. “Understood.”
“How about we work on getting the other Titans dug out?” I ask. “Something good we can do together.”
Fracture’s fingers fly over the ship’s screens. He gets us moving toward the mud pits quicker than I anticipated.
Menace leans close to me and grazes his teeth over my ear. “I’d much rather take you in the back and get that kind of dirty than dig in the mud.”
I turn to him and savor the heat of his breath on my lips. “I like this animal you’ve become.”
He laughs softly. “I never thought anyone would understand me until I met you. But you still had to choose not to run from me. Why didn’t you?”
