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Standing on the deck as we began our descent into Haven’s atmosphere I stared at my grandson with growing worry. The boy’s restlessness was driving me even more insane than I already was. Even though he was doing a remarkable job of hiding his emotions, I knew him well enough to see the deep fear he felt that we were running out of time to save Keran. Over the past two days, he had forced us to push our ship to its limit in order to make the journey from Braxia in record time.
In all my years watching him grow into the formidable young man he’d become, Gavin had never acted so frantic. Whatever his supernatural sense had perceived had him—and by extension me—on edge. While his parents had entrusted his warrior training to my care, they had not been thrilled to find out that I was taking him into what would likely be a real battle. As they also dearly loved Keran and trusted in my ability to look after their first born, they had not opposed Gavin joining the mission. Then again, as the boy had reached legal maturity, he wouldn’t have required their consent.
Still, I was now beholden to bring back the firstborn sons of two of the couples dearest to my heart.
As expected, the moment our ship began its descent, air control hailed us. As soon as Captain Yulan opened the communication on screen, the young-looking human who appeared began demanding we either turn back or come dock at the spaceport for proper identification. Frigates like ours—clearly a war vessel—were not allowed to enter Haven’s space to protect the various endangered species the planet sheltered.
“We are here on a rescue mission,” I replied in a firm tone. “Our Crown Prince, Jakar Keran Xeldar, is in trouble. We are here to save him and expect a great deal of hostility from those holding him.”
“What?!” the controller exclaimed through our com. “You are mistaken. Jakar Keran Xeldar left Haven nearly two weeks ago. He eloped with the human Dawn Merrick who formerly ran the Genxia shelter for Braxian hybrids.”
“Youare the one mistaken,” Gavin countered in a sharp tone. “The Prince is here and in a dire situation. We are not turning back, and there is no time for us to come deal with your administrative steps. Send back up to our location as well as first aid. Time is of the essence.”
“You cannot enter our airspace with vessels of war,” the controller exclaimed, his youthful face taking on a panicked expression. “We do not want to initiate a war with the Braxians, but if you persist in violating our airspace, we will be forced to send troops to take you down.”
“You’ve heard my grandson,” I intervened harshly. “We’re here on a rescue. Send those damn troops. We told you we might need backup. Your failure to assist while the future heir of Braxia is in danger on your own planet will be the cause for war.”
With a gesture of my head, I indicated to my captain to end the communication. Yulan complied. Our com immediately went off with the controller attempting to contact us again, but we ignored him.
“Where to?” Yulan asked Gavin.
“North,” he replied with assurance.
“Uh… How far north?” Yulan insisted.
“Just go north. I’ll tell you if you need adjustment,” Gavin said, his tone hardening.
Yulan cast an uncertain glance my way. I gave him a stiff nod to proceed as requested. Although clearly unconvinced, my captain obeyed and changed our course towards the north. Most of the crew shared Yulan’s sentiment regarding this mission. As much as they respected my grandson, Braxians didn’t have these kinds of seer powers. A part of me regretted convincing him and his parents to keep his abilities a secret.
The harshness he had displayed since sending us on that mission had further distressed my men. Gavin always had a friendly, polite, and often mischievous personality. My clansmen interpreted this change of behavior as additional proof that something had gone awry with the boy. I saw it as a sign of the intense stress, worry, and sense of urgency he felt where Keran was concerned. I didn’t need to understand what Gavin senses were telling him, or how irrational some of his statements came across as. I implicitly trusted him.
And that trust was the very reason for the unrelenting sentiment of dread that knotted my insides. For Gavin to be this distraught, something terrible had happened—or was happening—to Keran. I didn’t want to imagine a scenario where I would return home to Ravik with his son in a body bag.
Gavin suddenly stiffened, his greige skin—a shade in the paler spectrum for most Braxians—grew paler still, setting all my senses on high alert.
“Adjust our course northeast,” Gavin suddenly ordered Yulan before turning to me, his face tense. “We need to power up all weapons and have our men ready to take flight in the chasers. We will only have one chance.”
This time, Yulan appeared determined to challenge Gavin’s command. A part of me also wanted to tell him this was getting out of hand. We already had the defense forces of Haven coming after us in all haste. Now, with our weapons powered up, we would be deemed a clear and present danger to the safety of the population they were sworn to protect. If he was wrong and we ended up exchanging fire with Haven’s peacekeepers, it would create a diplomatic nightmare with long lasting consequences for Braxia.
And yet, I did not hesitate.
“Change course northeast and power up weapons,” I ordered Yulan before opening the ship-wide com. “All men to battle stations. Pilots and troops, prepare for immediate takeoff.”
I didn’t miss the grateful glance Gavin cast my way before refocusing on Haven’s landscape on screen. We couldn’t see anything but a sea of giant trees forming a thick forest straight ahead. However, as we closed the distance, two of the strangest ships I’d ever seen came out of stealth and began to fire on targets on the ground that we couldn’t see just yet.
Every member of my crew started cursing and burst into action, all doubt evaporated. Relief at my grandson being thus vindicated warred with the worry I felt for Keran. What the fuck had he stumbled onto? Who would be so bold to launch such an attack against the Braxian heir on a sanctuary planet?
Gavin stepped up to the navigation board, partially taking over for Yulan, who didn’t challenge his actions. Normally, that would have been unacceptable, but the boy likely felt it would be easier for him to simply input the commands his infallible gut was telling him were required rather than wasting time trying to explain them to someone else.
“Do not let them align,” Gavin shouted, before turning around and shouting at the battle stations on each side of the deck. “Shoot them down! Shoot both of them down now!”
Without waiting for their response, Gavin ran out of the deck. I cursed under my breath.
“Shoot down those vessels and protect our people,” I said. “Yulan, you have the bridge.”
With that done, I ran after the boy. As I suspected, he made a beeline for the hangar and boarded one of our three chasers. I followed him in and ordered the pilot to take off. We didn’t even bother to take a seat like the rest of our men already on board.
Outside, a surreal spectacle greeted us as the forest parted into a vast open space. A building similar to the strange vessels sat in the middle of the clearing, surrounded by countless personal shuttles. The two vessels were shooting both at the shuttles and the entrance to the building. A zoom in on the latter revealed the presence of countless hybrids. It took me about a second to realize they had been attempting to get to their shuttles before coming under attack and were now racing back inside the building for shelter.
