The doctor moved between us while he monitored us both, and I watched as then Tyto came in helping Quill, while Los helped Bree.

  The nurse went to get more potions, and the doctor soon had them both sitting and drinking.

  Quill took the drink from her and downed it in one. “I will never question her loyalty ever again,” he said toward me.

  “Neither will I,” Bree added. “What she did in there—”

  “She saved us all,” I said again. “Maybe I could have helped, but sometimes two get in the way. Especially at our levels.” We’d discovered some of that before. Bouncing off each other was good, unless there was a slight disagreement in the course of action. She’d made the right call taking in these two. It proved a point.

  I sipped my drink, finding the taste a little tart for me. Despite Xe wanting more, I couldn’t drink it fast like Quill.

  “I’m glad you at least recognise what she did.” I nodded at Tyto. “We’ll rest up some, then help Denn if she needs more to fix the engines.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  It took a good few days for Rue to be back on her feet. I had my head buried deep in the mech we’d been trying to fix when I heard a soft cough behind me. I turned around a little too quickly and banged my head on the unit above me.

  “Hi,” she said. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you like that. Just reporting back for duty.”

  I slung myself down from the arm I’d managed to fix, and stopped before her. “Sounds good to me, how are you doing?”

  “Doc says I’m all good.” She tried to smile.

  “I didn’t ask that,” I said and handed her one of my tools. “I asked how you were doing?”

  She cocked her head at me, pretty much like a dog really would, and I tried so hard not to see them in that sense. “Er, I guess I’m okay. There’s still a little hostility around me. Oron says that might take some more time to settle. I’m okay with it.”

  “I’m not,” I said. “There are some things they’re going to have to see. And I’m going to show them.”

  “I don’t know what—” She stopped because I started walking.

  I’d pulled the footage of inside the engine rooms to watch with Oron what had truly happened. I knew Denn was trying to find permanent solutions to how the engines reacted around that amount of kenosi, but she might never fix it, and that meant every time we used it on-board the ship, we were building toxic substances inside them, just waiting to go bang again.

  “Come on,” I said. “Oron and I have put something together for them all to see before as part of their training.”

  I could see the worry cross her face, and I tried not to let her slow pace get to me. “Where are we going?” she asked, when I think she finally realised I was taking her to the main bridge.

  “We’re going to see Oron, so he can put the recording live. He wanted you to see it first.”

  I watched her fight the emotion which was so obviously there as her fists clenched. “It really won’t stop, will it?”

  I dropped my shoulders and felt her emotion wash towards me just as her kenosi did. I sparked mine and held the energy at bay gently. Then I reached out for her to show her my hand. “Every time we use this, we’re ticking that clock closer to our own destruction. Most people on the ship don’t even know they’re using it. They don’t know or understand it. So, they’re going to learn. If it means they have to witness the death of some of their own, and then you go to the rescue, then so be it.”

  We reached the bridge, and there were a lot of looks her way. No one spoke or said anything, but I could see it. And I knew this was a decision I had to make, and I had to follow through.

  Oron pushed play on the recording, and I watched her face as she saw the intense feat she, Quill, and Bree accomplished to rescue the energy which could well have ended all of us.

  She then turned to look at me and nodded. “Although I am the main focus of the recording, the message you give isn’t just about me.”

  “I don’t want their emotions to be so conflicted.”

  “I know, that’s why this comes from me. We don’t own you, or them. But they have to abide by the rules we set, or there’s no room for them on this ship. I will not have anyone speaking to anyone else in any derogatory way.”

  “There’s more?”

  “Yes, this is not just for you. There’s many different opinions across the ship, aimed at you, us. It all has to end today.”

  “Then okay, I will agree for them to see it.”

  Oron glanced at me. I knew he wasn’t looking for permission, really. But he didn’t say anything. “Ship-wide,” he said to one of the crew behind him.

  “You’re live,” the man said.

  I really wished I was much better with names. Oron spoke.

  “Attention, all crew of the Razor, friendlies included. I direct you to watch the video I am showing. Find yourself a couple of minutes somewhere safe, watch this, and then make your decision. I am moving the M-Wolves from ally to guild members.” I almost choked when he said this, but he held my gaze and carried on. “You all have a decision to make. You are either with us, or you’re dropped off at the nearest planet that can support life so you may survive. I will expect all members to click yes or no by the end of today.”

  He cut the comms. Nice and simple, right? Apart from the fact he totally put me on the spot?

  “Is the offer to join you not still out there?”

  Hiroto prodded. You can answer him.

  I coughed. “You’ll accept leadership from me above everything else?”

  I glanced to Rue, who also didn’t know what to say to me.

  “Kyle, you and the crew of Artemis have shown us nothing but sincerity since you came aboard. You fought for us, you protected us, and you helped one of our own realise her potential so she could do what she was born for. You’re already putting us in a position we’ve never been before or were likely to. I believe you deserve to gain any benefits towards taking on Arndale I can give you. If it means joining your guild properly, then if you’ll have us, I would be honoured to fight with you at that level.”

  “I don’t know what bonuses I can get with you suddenly joining. But I know there will be lots of demands too. I take the responsibility for all your well-being. To feed, house, pay for anything you need.”

  “I know, it’s a big leap.”

  Big, Hiroto said. I really don’t think he knows what suddenly taking on a few hundred thousand people will do to resources.

  I believe they have more than enough to balance us out.

  I held out my hand. “If all the contracts are signed to me within the day, I will accept your offer of joining. Everyone who doesn’t, you will find a home for, correct?”

  He shook my hand. “Yes. I believe Maal already has a place we can stop. They will be dropped off.”

  I watched a counter appear on the screen, and as the recording played out, the counter started ticking down. “There are already thousands of your people not even thinking about it?” I asked.

  “Many already believed what we were doing was the right thing anyway, that recording of Rue and Quill working together to save us all. Prove to them two people of different minds can not only work together, but that we have a long way to go, to grow, and they need you and this partnership.”

  Look at those numbers fly! Hiroto said.

  I couldn’t do anything else but watch. Rue actually stepped closer to it and put her hand on the screen.

  That’s when messages started to come through, flashing before us in split seconds. Even I struggled to catch the odd one.

  Without Rue, my pups wouldn’t have a future. Guild joined!

  Thank you, Rue!

  You took a knock there, Quill. Glad you could man up!

  I could see her eyes were filling with tears. “Those messages...” she said. “They’re coming in for me.”

  Oron stood next to her. “As much as I regret what decision we made, I am glad Pico didn’t isolate you from us.”

  I looked to Pico and he moved in closer to wipe her tears away.

  As the counter reached the last few thousand, it started to slow. There were obviously a lot of people who were unsure, but we watched it as it continued to go down for another minute.

  When that last one person seemed to stick and teeter on a decision, it clicked off, and the result was zero. I whoop-whooped to them both. The whole bridge crew were actually looking at us, and they all started to cheer with joy.

  I saw the notification flash up in my view. Crap.

  THE M-WOLF PACK ARE REQUESTING TO JOIN THE METAL TITANS.

  WARNING - PLEASE THINK ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES OF ADDING SUCH A LARGE NUMBER TO YOUR GUILD…

  ACCEPT

  Y/N

  I didn’t need to think about it for long. I was more than sure there would be penalties if I couldn’t feed them or look after them. I clicked the Y.

  There were so many things going off in my head, I felt overwhelmed. Taking a step backwards, I bumped into Maal. “Sorry,” I said but leaned on his station.

  Give yourself a moment or two. I’ll watch and check all the info, Hiroto said.

  I was suddenly much more than happy Hiroto was with me. I don’t think I could have managed all that information coming in. I tried to shake my head and focus. There was the room. Thankfully.

  I also heard something else, new skills?

  Awesome, and while I was at least steady, I looked to my character sheet.

  There was a whole new section—I presume it had come in earlier when we made the guild in the first place?

  Yes, Hiroto said. I just didn’t want to distract you too much. It wasn’t really big enough to warrant drawing extra attention.

  Heh, and this does. Hell, yeah. I was more than excited.

  BONUSES FOR THE M-WOLVES

  THE M-WOLF PACK JOINED THE METAL TITANS

  + 5 STATS TO ALL SELECTED CLASS SKILLS

  + 7% TO WEAPONS DAMAGE

  + 4 % CLAN SPEED

  + 2% TO EXPERIENCE GAINED TRAINING

  I read through the next screen, too.

  + RANK UP IN KENOSI

  + RANK UP IN LEADERSHIP QUALITIES

  WHILE YOUR CLAN IS FED AND WATERED YOU HAVE + 4% HEALTH BONUSES

  IF YOU DEFER FROM YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES, YOU WILL START TO SEE MINUS EFFECTS

  I could deal with all of those.

  What it did do was also give Hiroto access to their main stats. Not everything, but he could see just how much of an asset out there in the field they’d really be.

  I like it, Kyle, Hiroto said. I really like it. Some of their warriors—take Quill, for example. He’s one of the strongest I’ve ever seen. Beyond what you saw in the training hall. I mean...

  Even more impressive than Tyto?

  Hiroto laughed. Well, no, but you know.

  Thanks, I said. Keep an eye on everyone, run some trackers, do whatever it takes. I want to see progression from everyone in the next week.

  I motioned to the comms. “Mind if I address my guild?”

  Oron moved out of the way. “They are all yours,” he said, and I waited for Maal to connect through to Jai and the others in the ships that belonged specifically with the guild.

  Interesting to see. Look, Hiroto said and brought up a view of those around me. Red and green shone at me. We’re the green. Just look at our numbers…you’re turning all of them, Kyle.

  “Connect me to my allies too,” I said in the end. I waited, cleared my throat, and when I got the nod from Maal, I pushed the comms to speak.

  “To the M-Wolf pack and to all my guild, what you witnessed as your fellow comrades joined the Metal Titans will probably never happen in that degree ever again. Every one of us received bonuses, and while I applaud the M-Wolves for your quick decisions and your messages, I want to stress how important working together actually is. For all of us to survive, we’re relying on every single one of us. Do your jobs to the best of your ability. Help the person next to you if you see them struggling with anything. Together we are stronger, and together anything is possible.”

  There were several more cheers from inside the immediate bridge area, and then in the semi-circle around us. I looked to all the faces, and they were all looking at each other, smiling and laughing.

  I heard a comms call. Maal spoke up. “Captain,” he said, then looked to me.

  I moved out of the way. “Oron is the captain of the ship still, don’t worry. The hierarchy stands. I am just a guide who will set overall missions.”

  He nodded then looked back to Oron. “Jai is requesting he speak with both you and Kyle in private.”

  I hadn’t expected this, but I looked to Oron. “Do you have somewhere we can go?”

  “Of course, I have a small room at the back of the bridge, for me to sit in away from the bustle if I desire. We can lock it out.”

  I motioned for him to lead the way, and I followed.

  When we were inside the small room, he turned on a shield and sat down. I followed his example at one of the chairs that was in the room. He pushed for Jai to come through on comms inside the room.

  “What is it, Captain Trix?” Oron asked.

  “I’ve had some plans come over while you were busy, for upgrades to your engines. I know they’re being put forward to your engineering team at the moment—they’re from my most trusted—but I have some concerns. I’m forwarding you the file right now.”

  Oron pulled up the schematics and looked to me. “I don’t understand a lot of how or why our engines work, I’m sorry to admit.”

  “Oh.” I took the view from him and pulled it closer to me. “I’ll look. I’ve been pretty intimate with the engines and amplifiers the last week or so.”

  He nodded. “What’s the issues?” I asked Jai.

  As I focussed on the drawings and tried to bring the design inside, I sparked kenosi and Molecular Insight without realising, the view of the schematic taking on more and more of a real shape. I found myself actually wandering inside one of the engines, seeing the changes that Denn actually did want to make.

  The change would not only limit the amount of kenosi going to the engines, but stop it altogether.

  It was restricting the possibility of the Razor actually ever being able to make a space jump. Was that it?

  I brought myself back to the room, noticed how Oron was watching me. “Was I gone for long?”

  “A little while, nothing I couldn’t watch over, or was worried over. I was talking to Jai over a few other things.”

  “What are your thoughts?” Jai asked me.

  “I see your concern about the jump capability. But isn’t it worth it to stop the actual build-up of crud in the engines in the first place?”

  “I don’t think so, no.”

  “You’d put the ship at risk by allowing it to still build up?”

  “No, I think she’s going the wrong way. She’s trying to stop the energy instead of harnessing it.”

  I felt Hiroto cringe. What?

  “What?” I asked because he did.

  “Take a look at this. I know I’m no full-on engineer, but I want Oron’s team to look this over.” Jai then pushed another design my way.

  Oron brought it up, and this time I didn’t quite go as deep. I could see what he wanted. “I think you’re right. I don’t think stopping the energy from reaching its potential is the way to go.”

  I stared at his plans, a little raw, but while I was there, with my kenosi nice and sharp, I couldn’t help but start to move things around and alter his design. I pushed wires, instructions, added in other metal components, and by the time I actually drew closer to what I saw in my mind when looking at it, it kind of looked like an amplifier in the engine itself.

  I stopped and looked to Oron again, well, to where he had been. He wasn’t there anymore. I glanced to the door. Bore him to death? I asked Hiroto.

  He left a few hours ago, yes. But he has been checking on you, so has Jai. They’ve both been talking on and off.

  I checked my health. I hadn’t used a lot of energy, just brain power. I felt exhausted.

  The door clicked, and Oron came back in. “Good to see you finally came around.”

  “Sorry, sometimes these things just take a while.” I pointed to the new design.

  “I will pass it to my engine teams,” he said. “They will let me know how much they really think it’s possible.”

  “I know it is, but it’s a matter if my top gal does,” Jai’s voice came back. “With us here, on Artemis, it was different. We didn’t store the energy. The sheer amount of kenosi you’d need to jump means you need to either have some super beings on board to power it, or as this design suggests, you store it. Denn’s worried any amount of kenosi stored in the engines will cause much bigger problems.”

  I did trust Denn, and her judgment was good. But I also knew I trusted where I wanted to be going too. I had to go and talk to her. It was the only option.

  Chapter Eighteen

  It was easy to pass Denn the design, and she told me she would look them over. So I left her to it; she had her elbows inside their engines already and basically tried to avoid me.

  I didn’t push her. I knew she had to come to terms with what I wanted on her own. She was more than capable of doing the upgrades and instructing the others. I just couldn’t understand her hostility to me over a new design. It was supposed to help. Get us back out, moving again.

  Maybe she’s struggling with the M-Wolf tech doing what she wants, Hiroto said.

  If that was the case, she only needed to be honest and say so. I wanted to ask her, but also knew in this mood she wouldn’t talk to me yet. I needed to let her figure it out.

  No matter what I seemed to be doing of late, there were mini battles inside the ship. All of them from people I would trust with any job I’d usually given them. It was confusing me.

  “Kyle, you’d better come now.” Tyto’s comms came in, panic in his voice.

  “Where?” I tried to ask, but he’d cut me off.