Page 109 of Veiled Vixen

People on the platform with us.

And every single one of them is a princess.

An angry Cygnian princess aiming their weapons as they rush the center of the platform where we’re standing.

Serpint fires first and a girl in tactical gear with long golden hair and blazing yellow eyes is hit in the chest. She goes careening backwards, stumbling.

My hand goes out automatically to pull her back, even though I’m not anywhere close to her.

And then she falls over the edge.

There’s an audible gasp in the station. Then screaming. And finally, once her body hits the bottom, a roar of anger from below. A battle call.

More and more princesses rush us.

We all have our weapons out now. Even Veila has pulled a SEAR knife from some hidden place on her body and dialed it up to sword length.

Lyra has a rifle and she’s shooting them, two and three at a time. Just dragging the line of plasma across their bodies. Thick, black scorch marks penetrate their chests.

She will hate herself later for this. But not now.

Now the only thing on our minds is living long enough to feel that guilt.

Crux is screaming now. “Stop! Stop! We’re all on the same side!”

But no one hears him.

This is the heat of battle. Who is on what side doesn’t matter anymore. Everyone in the station is fighting. Everyone.

Each level is nothing but a riot of anger and killing. Bodies packed together twenty, thirty deep. Blood, and screaming, and the smell of plasma fire and burning flesh.

People from above are still throwing themselves over the side. It’s either that or suffocate from the lack of air, and that only sparks more anger and heat from below as the bodies fall past. A reminder to anyone with any wits about them that this is it.

It’s over.

Their life on Harem Station is over.

And what did we expect, really? How could this end any other way?

Millions of violent outlaws on one secluded station? Are you kidding me? We all knew what ALCOR was doing when he made the decision to bring in the most dangerous people in the galaxy and offer them sanctuary.

He was building an army.

The most ruthless army imaginable. One that had no banner to stand under. One that had no loyalties beyond the all-powerful AI who left them to die here in the middle of some desolate sector of space with no hope of rescue. Cut off from everyone and everything like prisoners.

We did this. We built this place.

And now that army of prisoners has turned against us.

Turned against each other too.

I look around. Lyra’s eyes are lit up bright pink. Twin beams of light shooting through the darkness with anger and fear. And Veila’s eyes are the same, only they are white now. Just pure uncolored white. Her mouth open in a scream as a group of princesses rush toward us.

Crux and Serpint are back to back. Circling and shooting. The light within them makes a violet bubble around their bodies.

And then I look down and realize that I’m doing it too.

I am a bubble of purple light.