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The bright light got larger and his black eyes grew panicked. I watched as his head began to bulge, increasing in size just like the laser ball. The light of the lasers continued to grow, the converging point turning into the gathering place of an ever-unsteady mixture of power, heat, and intensity. Nix tried to claw at his head, but it was no use. I knew that by now, his brain was boiling inside his skull.
Above us, ships waged war and the Starrider’s emergency countdown continued. All around us, our men battled weakened soldiers from Nix’s army. In the middle of our circle, the ball of light grew larger and soon encompassed the entirety of Nix’s skull. It increased to the size of a small car, before it burst. Outward and upward, the light exploded, destroying Nix into vaporized blood and ash instantly.
When the light finally faded away, there was nothing left, just floating ash, bits of bone, and the blood that had spattered onto our faces and clothes.
We’d killed him.
We’d killed the leader of the Vakarran army. The Resistance was a success.
Above us, our troops were gaining significant ground in depleting Nix’s ships. Now that he was dead, their formations suffered and moved around like they were lost. The arrival of the Vengeance seemed to have secured our victory within the sky.
“Fifteen seconds until self-destruction.”
The ISS Starrider was starting to rise high up into the sky, every single light on its hull fla
shing a bright red in warning. My heart fell. It was too late.
Kira.
There was no time. There was nothing we could to do find where Nix had imprisoned her. Nothing we could do to infiltrate the ship and take her by force. Fifteen seconds wasn’t enough time.
I felt my sisters take my hands and together we looked toward the sky, tears of loss already streaming down our cheeks.
“Ten seconds until self-destruction. Proceed to escape pods immediately.”
I choked with a sob and the three of us huddled together, hugging one another as our grief cut us into pieces. I could focus on nothing but the Starrider, and the sounds of war grew quiet around us. I didn’t hear it anymore.
Silence reigned in my head as shrapnel, fire, and destruction fell around us.
The only thing that mattered was saying goodbye to the woman that had started it all.
“Five seconds until self-destruction.”
“I love you, Kira. Without you, we would have never been free,” I cried, tears pouring freely down my cheeks.
“We’ll remember you always,” Alaina cried.
“It’ll never be the same without her,” Danika sobbed.
A massive boom echoed and at once, the Starrider was consumed by a massive explosion of fire, light, and smoke. A shock wave pushed us down to the ground and my ears began to ring painfully. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. A burning cloud burst upward, blocking out much of the light from the sun, slowly dissipating outward and encompassing all that remained of the sky.
As the seconds following the destruction passed, the remains of the ISS Starrider vaporized into nothingness, leaving not a trace of its existence behind.
I pressed my hands to my ears as the ringing began to stop, only to be replaced by roars of victory surrounding me. Tavik, Zane, Valdus, and Caleb lifted me off the ground, hugging me close between them, but I didn’t have anything to say.
All I knew in that moment was that I had completely lost Kira. My family was forever fractured. I held onto my men and sobbed, and they let me grieve as much as I needed to. I knew Danika and Alaina were doing the same.
We may have won the battle, but we had lost so much more.
It took a long time for my tears to run dry, and still, dry sobs racked my body. Eventually, they began to calm and all I could do was breathe.
“It’s okay, baby. You got revenge for her. Remember the good times. Remember how much she meant to you and honor her by leading the troops to victory,” Tavik whispered and I knew he was right.
“I know how strong she was. Any woman who can take down Nix’s boss should be honored,” Zane murmured.
“We’re here for you, Kaela. Take all the time you need,” Valdus added quietly, brushing the trails of tears from my face with his fingers.
“We’ll always be here for you,” Caleb whispered.
