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“Have you consulted with Dr. Lafrei about this?” Khoth gestured to the database.

“The Neenda scientist? I know that she’s working on Thausia, but we’ve kept this… secret,” Amana explained.

“My sister spoke to her in depth. It led her to know that the Osiris came from Thausia and its purpose,” Khoth said.

“Which is to destroy the Khul?” Typhon asked.

Jace nodded. “It’s a warship and the Pilot--me--cna use all of the Altaeth technology against them. I--oh!” A smile bloomed on Jace’s face. “Mom’s here! I can’t wait for her to see Haseon. I know that… no…”

All the color drained from Jace’s face. His eyes were that bright, electric blue that occurred when he was connected deeply with the Osiris. Jace turned towards Khoth.

“The Khul… they’re here,” Jace said.

And that was when the general alarm sounded. Something never heard on Haseon before.

Big Gun

Khul…. 11 Hives… overwhelmed…

That was what came through from the Osiris. A jerky, incomplete stream of words that could only cause terror in Jace’s soul. Then pain ricocheted inside of his head and Jace let out a gasp.

The auras smeared the air around him. Tinnitus whined like a thousand hornets in his ears. A headache split his skull open. Or that’s what it felt like. He fully expected to see his brain spilled out onto the floor. It was so bad. He must have wobbled because Khoth’s hand shot out and grabbed him, steadying him.

“Pilot?” Khoth asked.

Jace blinked and fought through the pain, focusing on the moment. An image seeped through his connection with the Osiris. It was a full color, live feed from his ship.

Eleven Hives arrayed themselves in a line as they shot out from the gate. His mother’s ship--clunky, old, and sub-standard because it was Nova’s parting shot at him--was directly ahead of them and was dwarfed by the Hives. Then countless Thylacine-class fighters flew out from Hives in endless waves.

Laser fire obscured the black space between the Hives and his mother’s ship. Her shield lit up like it was set on fire, but unlike the Osiris whose shields absorbed and used the hits to continually fuel its defenses and offenses, hers would soon drain away to nothing. And the shields wouldn’t be on fire. The ship would be. Cut into a million pieces. Bodies expelled into space. Dead in moments with frozen breath in frozen lungs.

Mom…

A massive blast came from the Osiris that vaporized the Thylacine-class fighters in a wide arc around his mother’s ship. Space was black again. His mother’s ship made a bee-line towards the Osiris, hiding behind the massive, one of a kind Colossus-class ship like a toddler behind its mother’s legs. Jace gasped in relief and tasted something hot and coppery running down his throat and out of his nose. But he didn’t care.

Osiris, thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

The live feed from the Osiris flickered out. Jace could not see the battle progressing. He heard nothing from the Osiris to tell him that all was well or that things were going to Hell, which was more likely. But the pain remained.

Jace clutched Khoth so hard that his bones creaked with the effort. He was completely cut off from the Osiris. Alone. Lost. It was like he had been in the Hive. But this was different.

“Jace, you’re bleeding.” Khoth was using the sleeve of his uniform to blot Jace’s nose.

Osiris? Goddamnit! I thought you could multitask! Talk to me! Jace cried, even as he knew it was pointless. Unlike on the Hive where it had just been him and Khoth in danger, now everyone was and he was not in the right place to fix it. Gehenna, are you getting anything?

The Khul have engaged some kind of field dampener, Jace! It’s going to make it hard for us to communicate with the Osiris even out of the labyrinth! Gehenna answered.

This is what happened when I went into the Khul ship!

Yes, it appears their tech and your, uhm, well, your--

My disabilities? They’re messing things up! Fury filled him. The helplessness he used to feel at being limited flooded back. Here he had god-like powers, but no, no, his disabilities swarm back in to stop him from helping. I get it, Gehenna.

Jace, you’re healing! You’ll be able to break through this--

But not now so not soon enough! I need to be up there! Jace cried.

“I’m okay,” Jace finally got out as he realized Khoth must be truly freaked out to be calling him “Jace” instead of “Pilot” in front of everyone. “I’m okay. There are 11 Hives and over a thousand Thylacine-class fighters above Haseon.”