This grinding afterward wasn’t easy. We’d been pulled from many of the lectures and the testing we were supposed to have been doing. The rest of our squad went through it, Walter, Declan, and Justin kicking and screaming about us having an easy pass.

  It wasn’t an easy fucking pass. The TAP knocked me on my ass. There were no nanites, no rehab that was going to be complete in a few weeks. This was weeks and weeks and weeks of healing. Weeks of agony and pushing my body till I couldn’t do anything but collapse.

  I’d a dedicated nursing team and rehab team. Yes, I’d forced myself into that helo the first time, but it was really just to feel how it was, see how much I’d to gain.

  Because after we got back, I crashed hard. My body and mind went into shock.

  Malaki knew what it was like, and she guided me through it every step of the way. If she couldn’t be there physically, she was there with me in thought. Every night, she told me stories of the day. Invented or not, I didn’t care. All I wanted was to hear her voice. I prompted her now and then to talk about Aspa. But she deflected those more often than she actually did talk.

  I loved her for all of it. She wouldn’t leave me alone, first thing in the morning till last thing at night.

  Malaki started our helo up, and I saw her in a totally different light. Justin was interested in her, both physically and emotionally, and I couldn’t blame him at all. She was purely amazing.

  Was I jealous? I really didn’t like her like that, did I?

  No, Apex said. You don’t. But you are jealous.

  Those thoughts had my mind in utter turmoil. Malaki being with Justin could break us apart as a squad. But her being with me would ruin—everything.

  79

  The grind had been real, nothing more than that, up, run, listen to audio, study, eat, study, fly. Weekends were the same, we moved to the new wall build and spent as much time there as possible. They tried to get us permanently assigned but we had to study, we needed to keep our heads down and do the work. That’s exactly what we did.

  August went, September went.

  I was exhausted, but a happy exhausted.

  Tonight, I’d fallen asleep without even thinking about it. Showered off and hit the pillow snoring.

  My internal comms beeped. Were they really? I tried to turn it off and ignore it. It wasn’t working. I woke up with a start and answered. “Korolyov?”

  “Rus,” the voice said. Did I even know them? It wasn’t sinking in who they were. I rubbed my eyes.

  “What, what is it?” I asked. “You know what time it is?” It was pitch black out, the moon still high.

  “Lacy’s in labor,” Niko said to me. “Something’s wrong. They won’t let me in to be with her.”

  I heard screaming in the background, and a cold shiver sent an emptiness through my soul I’d never experienced before.

  “I’ll be there right away.”

  “You’re in the field. You can’t come. I—I needed to talk to someone.”

  I grabbed my boots and slipped them on. “I’ll get clearance. I am coming.”

  I slapped Malaki’s rack, and she was awake, staring at me and then reacting as I had boots on, ready to move.

  Niko’s silence scared the shit out of me. “Niko,” I said. “Can you move her, get her to Rise?”

  “No, they already said. Doctors won’t risk it.”

  “Hang in there,” I told him, then Malaki. “Helo,” I mouthed. “Now.”

  “Rus?”

  “I’m out the doo—tent flap right now,” I said, running for it. Malaki was right behind me.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Something’s wrong with Lacy. I’m taking what I can and heading for Rise. We’ll pick up Jim and Alba on the way.”

  “You’re out of your mind,” came her reply, but she didn’t try to stop me.

  Who do I need to clear it with? I asked Apex internally.

  If you want to take a helo, you’ll have to clear it with Malaki’s father. No one else would have pull like that over what you’re doing here.

  “You don’t dare,” Malaki said. This time she did stop me.

  “Either I do it, or you do it, but your father is getting a wake-up call.”

  “Rus—”

  “Just meet me there, get whichever is best prepped. I’ll talk to him even if I have to go wake the CO myself.”

  “Okay, good luck.”

  That I knew I needed. He had said…if I needed something of vast, vast importance, I could ask for it. To me, nothing was more important than an unborn life, especially an unborn life of a part healer of Lacy’s standing. Not everyone knew that, though. I was sure the general knew everything about all my close fireteam. Partners, too.

  I walked fast, closing the distance between me and the officer’s bunks. I needed someone else with me, someone I had no right to ask for help, but I was still going to do it.

  He was standing there before I even got to his door. “I should be sleeping,” Mage Baron said, eyes blinking, yet his backpack was in hand.

  “You’re with me?”

  “Something about the connection you and I have, and I can’t work it out. I would be very wrong if I ignored what was going on.” The mage started walking in the other direction, towards the helo pads. “You contact command, get us some clearance, and I’m with you.”

  I sucked in a breath, tapped through my ID numbers, and then, with a slight hesitation, got hold of General Canlas.

  “Malaki?” His panic came through.

  “She’s okay, sir. I’m sorry, I need permission to take a helo from the base to Rise and OOF.”

  “You realize that isn’t something you should ask me for, right?”

  “I’m taking Mage Baron with me.”

  “Well, that you might need permission for, not just from me. The Living Earth track every activity, every movement of their higher-ups.”

  Higher-ups? “I wouldn’t ask if it were not of the utmost importance.”

  “Son,” he said. I felt like I would get a beat down, a telling-off worth more than that. “Everything to you feels like it’s of the utmost importance. You have the world’s weight on your shoulders, and I don’t know why.”

  “Niko’s fiancée is in labor. Something is wrong, really wrong.”

  “Oh.” He paused. “If I recall correctly, she’s a scientist and a mana healer, right?”

  Scientist, I hadn’t known that. “Yes, sir,” I said.

  “Then you had every right to call me. I’ll get you clearance from the Living Earth. Take whatever bird you wish.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “Rus,” he said. “Mage Baron might not be able to do much after what he did for the wall, for you. He’s already spent his mana reserves, but he’s probably her best chance. The Living Earth won’t risk their elders for this. He can’t do anything but advise.”

  Higher-ups and elders? I didn’t know what he meant. Mage Baron wasn’t that old, was he? “Aim high,” he said and cut comms before I could finish the motto, at least out loud. Fly fast. Fly home.

  My HUD went off with several notifications in a moment, and the whole base lit up.

  “Well, you sure disturbed a hornet’s nest,” Mage Baron said.

  “I guess I did.”

  Malaki was waiting for us on the helo pads. “There are no birds here for us,” she growled. “Nothing I can take, anyway. Ours are out, rotation, you know that.”

  “General said we can take what we need.”

  “Anything?”

  I nodded at her and watched her eyes drift across the lot.

  An engineer walked towards us. “Orders are in. You’re free to take two of the older SAR 17s. They’re just coming in off rotation now.”

  “Who should be taking them out?”

  “We can cope without them for a little while,” he said. “Just bring them back fast.”

  “Easy peasy,” she said, but she moved. I’d only seen them once in action with the Black Bears. This, however, was a much older model.

  “Team will prep,” the engineer said. “Flight Control is working out your route. Trust us.”

  Justin walked towards us groggily, wiping at his eyes, with Silao beside him and the rest of his fireteam and mine. “What now? Where are we going?”

  “You got orders?”

  “Direct from General Canlas himself,” he said. “We’re to escort you.”

  “Thirty min prep in one!” Malaki shouted. “Move, move, move!” She wasn’t just letting the Engineering team prep the helo, though; she was right in there with them, and Justin joined her. It really was a short, minute once-over.

  Mage Baron moved to stand by my side with Silao at his. “I don’t have much experience with pregnancy,” he said. “But if she’s in that much trouble, I’ll do what I can.”

  “Pregnancy?” Silao asked.

  “Niko?” Ren asked at the same time.

  I looked at her as tears brimmed in her eyes. “I know nothing about babies,” I said. “How long have we got to get there?”

  “Could be minutes or hours,” Ren said, her hand instinctively drifting to her stomach. We’d all seen Lacy and Niko together and watched her grow. He had leave for a couple of weeks while she was to give birth, but no one expected anything like this.

  “Let’s hope Lady Luck is on our side,” I said.

  Malaki glanced at me. “Route’s in. We’re going to need more than Lady Luck.”

  Apex, what do I need to know?

  We’ll need fuel. They plan to let you fly the fastest route possible. We’ll be refueling in the air.

  I met my best friend’s eyes. “We can do this.”

  “For Lacy.”

  “Exactly.”

  Ren blushed as she looked at Mage Baron. “May I?” she asked, offering her arm.

  The mage didn’t bat an eye; he took her arm, and together they walked to the SAR 17.

  “That man has spark,” Silao said.

  If only he knew how much. Apex snickered on the inside.

  I had to laugh at that myself.

  “You okay with this?” Malaki asked me as we both stepped to the helo.

  “I’m not qualified, but I’m okay with it,” I replied.

  “If anything, a little overqualified.” Malaki laughed.

  “Wait,” a voice called from behind us. We both turned.

  “Shit,” Malaki said. “That’s the helo’s pilots.”

  The two men ran towards us, and I straightened my back, ready and willing to defend, taking her if I had to.

  “Pilot Adama,” the first said, a little breathless. “She needed repairs, but she’ll hold.”

  “Repairs?” I asked, my stomach churning.

  “They were scheduled for today. You’re taking our only helo, and yes, she needed some work.”

  “You say she’ll hold, though?”

  “Never let me down yet,” Adama said. “It was after FA Canlas’s strict break that we took much more care of them. She’ll hold, but she is flying a little wonky to me. You might not notice the difference. I did.”

  “You been flying her long?”

  “Four years,” he replied.

  “Then I’ll trust you. She’ll hold,” Malaki said, much to my surprise.

  “Wait, you’re trusting someone else?” I faked my heart giving out.

  “When you pilot for as long as they do, yes. We’re taking their bird out, not some ancient wreck they dragged up for extra support.”

  Adama patted her arm. “She will do you proud. Go light on the cyclic, though. If it’s your first time in this model, she reacts faster than you think.”

  Malaki stood proudly. “I will.”

  “DP Oct,” he said, and I shook his outstretched hand. “If you need them, use them.”

  “Thank you,” I replied.

  Justin was the one who shouted next. “Mount up! We need eyes in the sky.”

  “Aim high,” Adama said to our backs.

  “Fly fast, fly home,” I finished.

  Malaki didn’t even run a visual check over the SAR 17. This really was unlike her. She hopped in the pilot seat, and I was beside her, and she started the fastest takeoff I’d ever seen.

  I tapped my wrist to the central control, connecting to the comms. “Flight Control, this is Dizzy101.” She flicked buttons left and right. The engine fired, and the RPM was mounting. “Locking in a flight path. The checks are all clear. Green in one mic.”

  “Hear you loud and clear, Dizzy101. FC has eyes.”

  I recalled being in the SAR with Trevor and Casey, and I slipped my shirt off.

  “You don’t need to,” Malaki said.

  “I’m not being put on the spot. If they’re needed, I need control.”

  “Wait till we’re in the air,” she said.

  I nodded and waited. Goosebumps spread across my skin as the RPM ramped up. This was one powerful helo.

  “How fast can we get there?” I asked her.

  “You know how fast,” she said. “We’ll fly as fast as possible, as safe as possible.”

  “We need fuel.”

  Mage Baron poked his head through the central column. His words came through on comms. “I’m talking to the medic team with her now. We need to get there as fast as possible. No stops.”

  Malaki and I traded glances.

  “We refuel in the air.”

  “Mal, that’s a lot—”

  “If we have to do it, we’ll do it. We’re not landing.” She changed channel fast. “FC, we are all green.”

  “Clear for takeoff, Dizzy101.”

  Malaki took us into the air, and I slid back into the seat. My nodes locked, the world of the drones filtering through. All of them. This had twelve drones. There was no way I’d be able to take them all up, but the fact they were there and they responded to me…it was something to think about if I needed them for any reason, for any reason at all.

  “How’s it feel?” Malaki asked.

  “Fucking cold as usual!”

  Then heat spread through the cockpit, and I turned. “Can’t have you catching a cold, can I?” Mage Baron said and winked.

  “As long as it’s not sapping your energy,” Ren said. “I can throw him a blanket.”

  “I’m good,” Mage Baron said and dipped his head to her. “Thank you, though.”

  Our route really was direct. We were heading out and fast, with Justin sitting right beside us. This wouldn’t take long at all.

  I watched our fuel ticking down; this reminded me of that very first time out with Justin, and I couldn’t help but panic slightly.

  “Dizzy101, this is Sensa.” The general channel flicked to life. “You are approaching the refuel location. We are waiting.”

  “Sensa, this is Dizzy101, right on time. We are approaching low fuel status.”

  “Sensa, this is Red7. We’ll take the lead,” Justin said, and I saw Malaki flinch. “Dizzy101 can watch. It will help her.”

  “You never done this before?”

  “No, sir.”

  “First time for everyone, Dizzy101. Red7, we copy that. You’re up first. Just so Dizzy101 understands. We’ll drop in right in front of you. Extend your fuel rod on my mark. We’ll let our hose loose. You just need to hit that target nice and steady. We’ll do the rest.”

  Malaki switched over to Justin. “You got this?”

  “Ain’t my first time, but yes, we got this. We have to.”

  Malaki kept holding our course until the plane dropped into view before us.

  Justin eased forward. When Sensa asked, he extended his fuel rod, and they dropped their hose.

  The hose swayed, and it looked virtually impossible to hit that, but Justin connected to it like the pro he was.

  A minute later, he’d detached.

  “Dizzy101, you’re up.”

  “We need the fuel,” I said. “Or we are landing.”

  “We’re not landing.” Malaki extended our fuel rod and made her move to connect to that hose.

  The hose swayed more now than before. “Slight wind.”

  “I know. I’ve got it,” she spat back.

  And she did. We connected to it, and within seconds, our tanks were filling and then full.

  “Dizzy101, perfect. Detaching now. Aim high. Fly fast.”

  “Fly home,” Malaki replied.

  Sensa banked out of the way and dropped out of sight.

  “That really was good,” Justin said over comms.

  “Thanks,” Malaki said, and she looked at me. “Would you mind taking over for a bit?”

  I shook my head and took hold of the cyclic as she passed control to me. “You okay?”

  “Just need to stretch my legs differently. I’m okay.”

  She let her pedals go and did indeed stretch them out. “Feel good?”

  “Yeah, I was tensing up a lot there. Just needed to feel free for a bit. Give me ten minutes.”

  “Err,” I said. “I’m good. Rest for a bit.”

  Ren popped through the center a while later and handed her a drink and a snack bar. “You need this, and so do we.” She gave Malaki an extra set for me. “When you’ve time.”

  I let out a groan, and so did my stomach. “I can hand feed you.” Malaki laughed.

  “No,” I said. “Eat. I’ll get mine soon.”

  She did, drinking down profoundly and letting out a belch.

  I laughed, and so did Ren. “What? Damn, protein shakes always give me g—”

  “We got contact,” Justin said through comms. We all heard it.

  Malaki almost dropped her drink. Sliding it away in seconds. “Red7, what have you got?”

  “Looks like skellies,” Silao replied. “A lot of skellies!”

  “We’re not ready for this,” Malaki said. I handed her back the controls.

  80

  I gave Malaki a glance. “Maybe not in this helo, but this helo is ready for them.”

  “Eyes in the sky!” Justin said. “They are moving in.”

  “How many?”

  “Ten packs,” Ren said. “Watching them now.”

  “Silao?” I comm’d directly to him. “Ready?”

  “Ready. They’re not getting near us at all. You connected?”

  “Yes, they’re different.”

  “All four?”

  I felt for the drones controls across Aug-World, through my nodes. Four windows came into view. Then six, then ten, then twelve. “All twelve.”