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Yeah, but… I guess there are no “buts”. I just need you to be safe, Jace admitted.

“I promised to come back to you. I keep my promises,” Khoth said.

I know.

“This will not be the last time we will have to fight,” Khoth reminded him. “But it will not be the last time we are together either.”

You’re right. Just last minute jitters, Jace said.

Jace saw the landing spot. It was about a quarter mile from the spot where the Khul were clustered with their goo bombs. The Khul were so focused on their work that they only had a handful of their number watching their back. Khoth would be able to take them out, especially if Jace was making a lot of noise the other way.

He landed with a clank that was far louder than he’d hoped. But none of the Khul guards moved from their positions. So the sound hadn’t carried that far. Khoth jumped down from his legs and walked around to his front, even though Jace could see him no matter where he was standing. Still it was sweet that he wanted to talk to Jace face-to-face so to speak. Khoth unsheathed his rahir and regarded Jace with all the somber seriousness of the Thaf’ell warrior he was.

“I will see you soon, Jace,” Khoth said.

Yes, you will. Remember not to start attacking until I have their attention, okay?

“Understood, Pilot.” Khoth bowed.

Jace tried not to feel like his heart was falling into his feet as he took off again. He watched Khoth as the Thaf’ell Commander became smaller and smaller and then Khoth ducked beneath the overpass and was lost to view.

I was better at this in the flesh than in the mech! Jace realized with a sad laugh.

He knew it was because before Khoth was still with him--or, at least, still with a part of him--that could protect the Thaf’ell Commander. Now they were apart and anything could happen.

How the Hell did I get through the thing in the Hive? Jace wondered.

He felt stretched thin at the moment. He knew why. All the broken systems in the building he piloted past were calling out to him. The half asleep AIs that perked up at his mental signal surged towards him. And then there was also the war above him, where he could only see the Osiris and not actually touch the big ship’s mind. At that moment, the Osiris’ main laser blasted the guts out of another hive. Hundreds of Khul were sucked out into the void of space.

Now, I’ve got to add some Khul to my tally, Jace thought.

I’ll take over the BFG, Jace! Gehenna suggested.

Sounds good! Give them Hell, Gehenna! He told her.

You, too! She giggled.

He rounded the last building and came up right to the edge of the underpass that ran along the southern flank of the Compound. Not twenty-five feet away, the Khul were setting their goo bombs and making their plans.

Let’s get their attention.

Jace dropped down the ground with a crashing CLANK! His two mighty metal legs made contact with the road. He spun two of his guns on the mech’s arms. He started the warm up for the big gun on top of his head. He began to move.

Clomp! Clomp! Clomp! Clomp!

He was like a tank walking. He was making so much noise that if the Khul were dead they would have heard him. But they were very much alive. The mech had night-vision and heat-vision, which helped under the semi-darkness of the underpass, but he would have been able to find them anyways, because of the glowing green containers of goo that were attacked all along the wall. There were over a hundred of them. A trace of unease went through Jace. Surely, the field would hold. He had upgraded the system and--

The first laser fire impacted Jace’s body. The bolt hit, but then ricocheted off the armored chest, leaving only a faint scorch mark. Annoyed, Jace started up the guns on his arms. The guns’ barrels rotated with a rattling sound as high velocity projectiles were spit out and tore through the line of Khul which were too slow to get out of the way. Cetix heads exploded. Limbs were shredded from Omull bodies. Khul torsos were simply ripped apart and their acidic blood fountained everywhere. When he stopped shooting, there was nothing alive before him. Jace grinned.

That, of course, was when the Khul who had taken cover at his very noisy approach started firing upon him.

He was hit from all directions. The mech was shoved to the right by a hail of blasts then to the left by another hail of blasts. He nearly lost his footing as the front was pummelled with yet more blasts and then someone sent the mortar shell at him.

Jace jumped. In his mind, he jumped. In the real world, the mech used its jets to blast off of the ground, hit the ceiling of the overpass which sent him careening back down again. He landed heavily on the right leg. The hydraulics stuck as he tried to stand upright. He saw the Khul aiming another mortar shell at him.

Oh, shit! Jace cried.

But where the mortar had been was suddenly a blooming ball of light. The mortar itself was destroyed and the Khul manning it was blown to steaming chunks. He just saw a flash of blue skin as Khoth moved lightning-quick between the pillars that held up the underpass.