Chapter 21: Armor
I don’t like leaving Esthi behind, but she will be safe on the BlazeStar. Kelta gets word of Poppy’s arrival, reassuring me that Esthi’s made it back. Savage pilots with Kelta. She and Sefina managed to modify a ghostcloak for Menace’s BoltBurner.
We are the shielded Titans and the most animalistic of the Brothers. We cannot win in an outright battle, but we can take a stealth ship, sneak ontoCorenge,and rip out its heart.
Sefina, Menace’s mate, is dressed in a StarJumper’s suit and moves around in it like she’s done it a thousand times. “Through the ion trails under the belly. If they’re going to catch us, that’s the last place they’ll be watching.”
“That’s dangerous,” Kelta counters. “But I like it.” She shuts down thrusters as we approachCorenge’sblack hull. Green lights gleam along the perimeter of each rounded layer of the vessel. Even as we approach, a few more Skysprinters and other fighters depart the far hangars.
We drift in silence until we’re through the gap in the shield by the engines. It’s the only way to avoid setting off an alert. The heat of the thrusters sends red alerts flashing over the screens.
I shift nervously between my feet.
“It’s okay, guys. We’ll chill in just a second.” Kelta kicks the engines on as we cruise under the ship’s belly. Then she switches them off again. “Bump thrust will get us what we want without getting caught.”
Beside me, Thruster’s engines light up for a second, and I know exactly what he’s thinking about.
“Kelta, don’t talk like that. I’ll lose my head.”
“You better,later.” She winks back at him. “Just make sure I get it back in one piece.”
Thruster leans around her seat and kisses her as she sets us down, making me wish I’d had a chance to see Esthi one more time before we left.
I replay a memory of her skin against mine and let it burn in my ultromotor until I can’t stand the idea of being away from her.I have to get back to her in one piece, too.
Fury readies his rifle in the back. We’re all dressed in Starjumper suits and form our squads behind Sefina.
Commander Savage joins us, leaving Kelta alone on the ship. She’s the only one in a simple armored spacesuit without thrusters or weapons.
“You leave if I tell you to.” Thruster points at her.
Kelta doesn’t respond, just watches us leave through the airlock Firebolt’s fried. I’m the biggest Titan here, so it’s up to me to open the door.
I kick in the mechanical release, grab the door handles and pull. It slides open, letting out the scent of gilkyworm cakes and hot oil. I hold it open while our three squads enter. Fury is first with Redline, Javelin, and Whip. They’re fastest and scan the area, rifles radiant and ready.
“Clear,” Redline whispers.
Savage leads his team in next. Menace stays close to Sefina, his mate, while Shifter and Thruster bring up the rear. My squad is last with Mace, Karambit, and Firebolt. When they’re inside, I close the door, and Kelta closes her airlock.
We enter the ship in a lower maintenance area.
Commander Savage glances back at us. “Two minutes and counting. Mark.”
I start a timer in the corner of my vision. On average, it takes Solcrue about three minutes to detect a breach, track it down, and get crews to the location. We’re narrowing that window to be extra cautious.
Sefina leads us through the dark hallways ofCorenge.
Mace reaches out into the shadows and swipes a blade through someone’s neck without a sound. He gets back on track, a line of blood across the chest of his armor and a smile gleaming inside his suit.
Redline dashes down a hall and is back with us before we’ve passed the opening. The blade in his right hand drips.
We continue toward the engine room, the speed units taking out every Solcrue who might see us but are out of reach for the stealth units like Mace, Karambit, Savage, and Menace.
Sefina leads us around a jog in the hallways, rifle up and ready. Menace mentioned she used to work for a bounty hunter. Watching her now, I believe it.
Holding her rifle in one hand, she signals us with the other that there are two combatants on an upper level, three on a lower, and six in the middle.
I move to the front with Whip, Redline, Javelin, and Firebolt.
