“We’ll report as soon as we have something else. Thank you, Kyle.” She wiped her eyes, and the young woman moved to leave with her.

  When they’d left, I looked at Jai. “She was—”

  “Yes, when we got your messages about the Dox system and that there were a few who maybe did get away, we asked the ships across. The Razor, the Cristanna.” Jai swallowed, his fists clenching at his sides. “There were very few who got away. But they knew of others across the galaxies. They hadn’t said anything to anyone, but the with the dam broken, their stories surfaced. I’ve never listened to anything like it.” His eyes locked with mine. “I don’t ever want to again.”

  “I understand.” I didn’t want to hear either. But if someone wanted to talk, I’d listen just as he had.

  “You know our destination?” He looked back to the screen, fingers flexing. “Maybe we can get somewhere nearer? Not as much travel time?”

  “We found the perfect place to stalk, and I think somewhere we can have contact if we need it with some of their ships.”

  Jai brought up the image, and I looked at it. “How can they have these out here and no one’s dealt with it before?”

  “Just too much of everything else going on,” Jai said. “Plus, with the mech arena, the denti homeworld, everything. You’ve opened up their eyes. Everyone galaxy wide is looking to take out the bad—that includes these criminals.”

  “There’s been others try to stop them over the years?”

  “Yes, there’s been quite the opposition that takes them down. Cinna also launched its own strike force, but they’re the other side of the system, here.” Jai pointed, and I nodded. “At least we won’t be discovered while we tried to do this. Then maybe we might get word to the Cinna fleet and collaborate to clean this whole area.”

  “Hell, yeah.” I said.

  Jai smiled at me. The anger and fire here burned deep. “We should be within the first clan’s area to try to catch the catcher within the next few hours, I believe.”

  “Yikes.” I stretched my legs out beneath me. “I better get down to the hangar and see what you guys have come up with, share some information with Denn and the others.”

  Tyto stood with me, back straight, his eyes narrow, focussed. “We’ll be down there ready.”

  “To catch a catcher,” I said. “Kinda rhymes. Think we should have brought Corey back with us?”

  “We have a good few pilots here, we’ll be fine,” Jai said. “Can’t keep bringing your whole entourage with you every time.”

  “I like who I like,” I said and frowned. “I can’t help it.”

  “Come on.” Tyto pushed me gently toward the door. “There’re many others who want to see you I’m sure, in the hangars.”

  He was correct, of course. Artemis was a big ship; her crew had lost a few but gained others.

  “I’ll be on the bridge,” Jai said. “Will keep you informed as we draw in closer to the catcher.”

  “Thanks Jai,” I said. Heading down to the hangar bay left me feeling nostalgic already, though at the next junction we parted ways and headed back down to the belly of the ship. A place I’d spend lots of time in.

  “You feeling like I am?” I said to Tyto.

  “What, that this is like home?” He carried on walking. “That I’m happier here than anywhere else?”

  “Yeah,” I said. “I don’t know what it is about the whole ship.”

  “We went through a lot together. We’re bound to be closer here than anywhere else.”

  “Don’t get me wrong, I like the Razor,” I said.

  “Powerful ship, and amazing crew,” Tyto added.

  “But not like here?”

  Tyto shook his head. “No. Besides, Artemis was mine.”

  “I keep forgetting. You okay with all of this? Where we’ve gone?”

  His breathing steadied, his eyes flickered the once. “I’m with you till the end, be it here, in a mega-merge, or on the deck of a dreadnought taking on the universe.”

  “Hell, yeah,” I said and held my fist out to him. He bumped it.

  Silence drifted between us as we walked. For some reason, the distance to the hangar seemed longer, or I was tired.

  You are tired, Asht said. This has been a trying time. You never rest enough.

  Thanks, Asht, you’re right, I thought to him and our bond.

  The question sat on the tip of my tongue. “How are things with the denti?”

  Tyto looked back to me. “The news spread like wildfire; once the single respawns have all gone, there will be no more. The new respawn method itself will take a while to circulate. But there are going to be a lot of changes for people. That means getting used to a shared space.”

  “You think they’ll cope?” I asked.

  “They don’t have a choice. We’re a while away from it for some places, but those who have been fighting more… Aren’t fighting now, Kyle. This has really given them something to think about. There’s a lot who are really scared to share themselves with someone else.”

  “It’s weird,” I said, feeling Asht’s agreement with me.

  “I can only imagine.” Tyto frowned. “I’ve thought about it a lot myself, especially with where we’re going.”

  “Are you worried?”

  “I guess I am.” His frown deepened. “I mean, what happens with it? Where do we all go from here? After all this?”

  “Hopefully,” I smiled at him, bumped him, “to some very happy and fulfilling lives.”

  “I had word from Lara,” he said, voice low. He looked away. His face flushed. “Vitya’s sperm took. We’re expecting.”

  That was great news! But he didn’t look happy. I stopped walking. “What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t know why they want me around,” he said. “I’m just a spare part now. They can be a real couple. Have that family.”

  “You’re joking, Ty!” I said. “They both adore you. I’ve said this before.”

  “It’s so hard to see.” He lowered his head more, stared at the floor. “There’s a long way to go before we even know if the baby will carry to term. I’m scared they’ll walk away from me.”

  “They’d both follow you to the ends of the galaxies, and you know it.” I squeezed his arm. “Ty, the day I see you with a little Vitya in your arms will be one of the happiest days of my life.”

  When he looked up at me, his eyes misted. “Think I’d make a good father?”

  “One of the best, yes.”

  He smiled and seemed to straighten back up.

  “Then let’s get this job done. The wait is killing me.”

  I nodded and ran a hand through my hair. “I know, me too.”

  The hangar was full of lots of things I didn’t remember, but then again, we also had taken our mechs elsewhere. They were now with the denti homeworld and some trusted few to defend. I had seen the reports and those things that Cassie had sent on to me.

  Denn’s voice could be heard from out here as she started to shout at someone in the hangar.

  “Crap, better go sort that mess out. Wonder what the hell they’ve done to piss her off already?”

  We both made a dash for the bay, and to our usual chagrin there was Denn in the middle of it ordering the others, the younger ones, around. She looked to me, and I mouthed, “Problem?”

  She shook her head, and I motioned to Tyto to move over towards the fighters.

  “Seems they’ve taken up a good amount of funds to upgrade these too. They’re hot.”

  Name - Artemis

  Cargo First Battleship - Model 71719 -

  Level - 62

  Manufactured by - Arndale Corp

  Crew Min/Max = 7/142 - Troop Carry - Max 4000

  Ship Cost = New 14,618,616

  Ship Quality - Maximum

  Hull - Heavy Armour - Reinforced at Several Exposed Areas

  Bulkheads Reinforced

  Dual Hardened Cargo Unit

  Cargo Slots = 34 Slots/Repurposed Space 14 = 20 Slots Remaining - 10 Full

  Specialised Mech Dock x 6

  Fighter Bay With Dock x 17 Medium Full

  Nanite Engineers x 580,786,688

  Engines -

  Upgraded to Class 20 Hyperdrive

  Solar Sails with x 6 Battery Storage Under the Belly of the Freighter

  Manoeuvring Jets for Tight Docking

  Extra Battery Storage for Longer Space Missions

  Fabricators = Small - x 3

  Fabricators = Large - x 2

  Weapons – Operable

  x 4 - Missile Tubes - 1200 Missiles in Stock

  x 2 - High Velocity - Rail Guns x 2 – 10,000 Packs in Stock

  x 2 - Light Laser Beams - High Cost to Ship Battery Packs, Available

  x 8 - Medium Laser Beams - Massive Cost to Ship Battery Packs - Use Wisely

  Computers -

  Navigational Computer - Level 34

  Predictive Trajectory - Level 38

  Auto Pilot - AI Assisted

  Sensors -

  Deep Scanner Array - Level 35

  Defence Tracking - Level 28

  Surveyor - Level 22

  Communications -

  Weapons Jam - Level 20 = 80% Effective

  Interspecies Communicators - Twelve Languages

  Uses Arndale’s Relay Network - Level 39

  Uses Kiain Relay Network - Level 15

  FIGHTERS x 17 various levels

  Model - Various

  Quality - High

  Re-Enforced Cockpit and Belly

  Engines –

  Duel Engine - Level 20

  Four Vector Jets for Tight Docking

  Four Batteries for Energy Storage

  Computer -

  Auto Targeting - Level 22

  Space Jammer - Level 28

  Sensors

  Defence Tracking - Level 27

  Full Sensor Array - Level 48

  Comms –

  Interspecies Communicators - Twelve Languages

  Uses Arndale’s Relay Network - Level 28

  Uses Kiain Relay Network - Level 22

  Weapons

  x 2 Rail Guns

  x 2 Heavy Lasers

  26

  “We’re ready to try to bring one aboard,” Denn said, coming over to us both later.

  “Everything okay with them now?” I glanced back to the young team that were clearly involved with making the operation work.

  “Yes, they had just skipped a couple of protocols they shouldn’t. I taught them a valuable lesson as to what they shouldn’t and what can go wrong if the parts they skipped checking were faulty.”

  “Out here, that can be dangerous. Maybe not the best thing to do while we’re just trying to get one of those criminal devices aboard.”

  “They know now,” she said. “Let’s see if we can get one aboard, hey?”

  I flexed my fingers. “Ready as we’re going to be, Jai.”

  The pilot, Abi, was the young tech head I’d originally programmed the nite drones with. I smiled as she waved at me one minute and then was gone out into space the next.

  “She’s a good pilot,” Stan said from behind me. “And this was the mission—she’s been wanting to test out the other pet project you got her started on. With the drones.”

  I turned to meet him, and we grasped hands. “Stan,” I said. “Good to see you.”

  “When we lost Finn and Corey was drafted with Rahan, we needed a good pilot. So, she’s done nothing but train in the simulations. She’s not been into real space too often, though; we’ve had too much to do around here.”

  “Fair.” I frowned, looking around. “We left you with plenty of damaged bits.”

  “Yes, you did.”

  Denn waved us all over to a large screen. “We can see her from here. She’s coming up to one of the catchers now.”

  Onscreen nice and steady, Abi closed in on the catcher. Its sharp metallic structure spun before us, triangular, with three glowing spikes at the centre of each side. My breath hitched as it glowed, then sharp spikes shot out, its defences triggered. Abi’s fighter pushed out several drones, blue shields lighting the screen, weapons sparking. The drones opened fire. The catcher spun like a wild dog; a long-spiked tail shot out. The drones tried their best to combat it, dodging in and out. We watched as they were slaughtered.

  The catcher’s engines fired up, and I clenched my fists. Come on!

  Several mag locks spat out towards the catcher, and they hit hard, ripping the catcher back towards Abi.

  “Yes!” Denn cried.

  The drones had been a distraction. We had it. It was hooked.

  Yet before our eyes, it twisted. Engines fired in different directions. It pushed back.

  Abi struggled with it, wrestling back and forth. It was trapped.

  Sparks exploded outwards. I sucked in a breath. “It’s going to detonate!” I slammed my hand on the console. “Abi, get out of there!”

  It was too late. I was sure it was too late. The detonation would take her out . . .

  Abi cut the mag locks, dropped and spun with opposing thrusters.

  I never saw a ship of ours do that—it was a hell of a manoeuvre. “Wish she could teach some of ours that on the training base,” I said in awe. “What the hell have you guys been doing out here?”

  “We’ve been working with the Cristanna and Razor. We’ve had a couple of shuttles going backwards and forwards with things we’ve requested. They’ve all really helped.”

  Abi didn’t give up. A moment later, she locked back on with a different set of mag locks that sparked kenosi. The catcher spun wildly, energy dropping inside its core. The energy fluctuated once more, almost blinding me, then dropped.

  “We knew about the detonation devices. They’ve been evading us for many years with those.”

  “The pulse knocked out the detonation?”

  “Yes, she’s got it, look!”

  I watched as she did indeed have it. The next weapon she fired knocked it out. It stopped spinning and hung limp in her grasp.

  I wanted to whoop for joy. I didn’t need to, because the rest of the room did.

  We actually had one—and on our first attempt, too. This was awesome.

  A few short minutes and she was bringing it in behind her. The crew on the hangar where she would usually land were lying in wait. As she did come in, they hooked the mag locks and pulled the catcher inside too.

  I was itching to get in and get a look at this thing myself. I mean, it did a terrible thing. It stole lives.

  But they were struggling with the energy levels it was giving off. I could see they were going to do something else and shock it. But I got a flash of something else. Energy? Oh. My. God.

  When I drew in closer, I felt something off. “Ty, there’s people in there,” I said.

  Denn heard me. “What?”

  “There’s people in it. Did you never even think that there might be?”

  “Shit, I just thought they were sent straight on.”

  “Careful with that!” I shouted and rushed forwards, my kenosi harnessed right away. I threw up a shield as it bounced off the deck of our ship, but not to protect us, them.

  I heard Tyto comm for Jai right away. “We’ve got live souls inside.”

  “How many?” Jai asked.

  “I have no idea. Kyle’s going for them now. I’ll report in as soon as I know. Get the med bay to fire up the pods, now.”

  “We don’t have any singles left,” Jai said. “We only have what Cassie gave us. The bare minimum.”

  “I know. They’ll have to take what they take if they want to live.”

  I focussed on the catcher; it was literally as big as the fighter. I could see its internal whirring and mechanisms, and I had to try to keep it from destroying what it did have on the inside.

  “There’s seven,” I shouted to Tyto.

  I heard him relay the information, and then I moved in closer. Denn was at my side.

  “What can I do?” she asked.

  “I need to use Molecular Insight. Get the souls to release. They should then go to the nearest pods. Ours.”

  “Okay. How can I help? How can we help?”

  “If you can keep it from hopping about still. I’m not sure that pulse from Abi decommissioned it. The machine’s still thinking, and it’s as angry as fuck.”

  “We’ll do what we can. You do what you need to.”

  I moved in closer till my hands could touch the metal of the structure. I avoided the spikes. I had never felt anything this evil. Obviously connecting to darkness in general was bad, very bad, but when I touched the metal here, the evil I could feel made me drop to one knee.

  I felt things I never wanted. Torture. Pain.

  I saw abuse on such a personal level.

  It didn’t matter to those monsters what sex the person was, they would abuse anything, any species. They were forced into denti bodies no matter who they were, and they were made to do . . . terrible things to themselves and to others. I forced those thoughts and feelings away. I reached in to try to help the minds that were in there, but I couldn’t talk to them. I did feel how terrified they were.

  I couldn’t do anything else, so I guided them out. It was kind of like trying to lead Dylan when he was lost. My soul split, and I knew it.

  SOUL SPLIT - RANK 8 ACHIEVED

  They were there, but they weren’t. This was slightly different. I was stronger. Keeping them in line, trying to corral them towards our med bays, was exhausting. But no sooner had I crossed the threshold and the door opened to them, I saw them move fast. Like the ghosts they were. Then in a split second I was pushed right through to my own body once more. The weight of the catcher and what I had done for those seven people was just huge. Luckily, I was already on my knees.

  SOUL SPLIT - RANK 10

  Denn came in behind me, her hands on my shoulders. “They okay?”

  “I think they will be, yes.” I took one of her hands in mine. My residual kenosi pulled back.

  “And you?” she asked.

  “Just winded.” I gave her a squeeze then dropped her hand, resting forwards on my knee as I caught my breath still. “Give me a little time.”