“Sure enough.”

  “Monitor anything unusual in between us and the fleet.”

  “Gotcha. We’re taking care of our cleanup, but we’ll be good to go before long.”

  “Casualties?”

  “We got a handle on most of those we lost. Recovering now. A little regen time, and they’ll be good as new. Four missing, but we’re not giving up.”

  “Nor should you.” Cando acknowledged Amayas, who stood in mournful silence beside Michael. “I’m sorry about that man and his son. Saving them was never really an option.”

  Amayas shaded his eyes.

  “I understand, Colonel.”

  Cando returned his focus to Hiro.

  “Status on Cromartie?”

  The third Swarm ship had not made a push to join the fight or jumped to worm, as Cando predicted.

  “It’s strange,” Hiro said. “She remains above Pinchon but has moved about two kilometers north and is holding position.”

  “Elevation?”

  “Half a kilometer.”

  “Kara, take a look at this.” The holo laid out the ship’s silhouette above the city she used to call home. “What’s the difference between where Cromartie used to be situated and where it is now?”

  “They moved from the corporate cluster to Dywan.”

  “What’s Dywan?”

  “It’s an informal name for the city’s primary residential district. Three-fourths of the population lives there. It’s half the island.”

  “I see no strategic sense,” Ham said. “If they wanted to hold the city hostage, they would not have moved north. They could strike at the biggest targets where they were.”

  Cando rested his arms against his chest.

  “What’s your theory?”

  “They’re unsure of their next move. If they had the ability to tether back to their universe, they would have done so after we took down the other ships. Perhaps they’re buying time, hoping we don’t attack while they sit above a population center.”

  Cando shook his head.

  “Buying time? Maybe. But you don’t know Swarm. They won’t accept defeat. Period. Every battle where we’d gain ground, they’d come back at us harder than before.”

  “I remember the Battle of Long-Ma,” Paul said. “We took the plateau. Pushed them out entirely. We made the mistake of thinking they retreated.”

  “Yes,” Hiro added. “Our combined units killed fifteen thousand FGs. The rookie Talons wanted to celebrate. They didn’t understand.”

  “What happened?” Kara asked.

  “While we reinforced our defenses on the plateau, which had been a critical part of their supply line, the so-called ‘retreating’ forces flanked us. They entered the town of Suisya, which we had fortified on our way to Long-Ma. They arrived with a strike force of Legions followed by grounders. They knew we’d have to pull forces from Long-Ma to beat them back, which we did. They killed half the population before we slaughtered all their grounders.”

  “In the meantime,” Paul said, “Long-Ma became vulnerable. We lost it in weeks. The Swarm sacrificed entire units to create a diversion.”

  “Chinois never used the word surrender,” Cando said. “It must have ripped at his gut to call it terms. If we weren’t in space, we’d still be fighting. Swarm sacrifice themselves by the thousands because they’re fighting for something greater. God and Church. To surrender is to betray God and Church.”

  Paul sighed. “There’s no greater shame.”

  Ham massaged his temples.

  “And I thought Chancellors were fanatics. That’s why the Talons couldn’t beat the Swarm.”

  “Plus, they were a hundred million strong. The bodies never stopped coming at us.”

  “Cando, if that army ever crossed the divide …”

  Kara felt goosebumps of the worst kind.

  “It won’t happen,” Cando said. “We’re going to lure that ship away from the city and be done with them.”

  Michael interjected from Crowfoot.

  “Then let’s do it, and we can be home in time for supper.”

  The Minister’s casual demeanor did not play well. Ham and Cando looked away, but Kara caught the frustration in their eyes.

  “I appreciate your enthusiasm,” Cando said, “but millions of lives are at stake if we play this wrong. Do you have a proposal?”

  “We take Crowfoot, Scylla, and Hermes. We jump in together and surround them. We don’t ask them to surrender because apparently that ain’t their gig. But what choice will they have? They know we’re carrying the ball, and now we’ll have a second warship ready to stick it up their crotch.”

  “They will fight to the death, starting the instant we appear. That much firepower over the city will produce enormous collateral damage. We lost the element of surprise.”

  Ham entered the fray.

  “Is there anything we can offer to lure them from the city?”

  “You promised Ajax time to transfer men to Cromartie, if they agreed to jump away. A minute later, we destroyed them. Rather, I destroyed them. Cromartie’s Captain will not trust us.”

  “Then perhaps the direct approach is all we have, regardless of what may come of it. If we try …”

  Hiro interrupted. “New signal. Three thousand kay off the AN’s flank. Message coming in.”

  He threw open the audio for all to hear.

  “Attention, fleet. I am Capt. Shin Wain of the Charybdis. I have been monitoring your situation. How might we help?”

  “Confirm, Hiro.”

  He analyzed the transponder and nodded.

  “It’s her.”

  “Open the channel,” Cando said. “Captain, this is Col. Cando Aleksanyan. We’ve been expecting you. What is your status?”

  “I have a crew of twelve, but we are fully armed. We’ll be more than happy to destroy this last vermin.”

  “Hold position and wait for further instructions. Aleksanyan, out.”

  “Three warships,” Ham said. “Perhaps we can bargain, after all. Rather than surrounding them, we agree to monitor their status from orbit. Allow them time to tether. We remind them what they witnessed and how quickly we can jump on top of them. Once they move, we finish what we started.”

  “Why would they ever accept that deal?”

  A new voice entered the fray.

  “I can tell you,” Amayas said. “Tethering is a new technique that requires enormous precision. Simply stated, a ship jumps from Point A to Point B. If the ship moves too far off Point B and attempts to tether, it will have to make significant navigational corrections. I believe that’s why they haven’t been able to jump. Mehta was listening to them through the Bluebirds. I suspect he can confirm their troubles.”

  “I forgot about the damn drones,” Cando said. He spoke to the Hermes Captain. “Mehta, is the Inventor right?”

  “I don’t know. I heard them trying to reprogram this thing they called a Splinter adapter. It was mostly over my head.”

  “What have you heard since we destroyed Ajax and Stilton?”

  “They’ve been quiet.”

  “Come again?”

  “A few are talking, but none of it makes sense.”

  “What do you mean? Another language?”

  “No. Like a code. I think …”

  Cando snapped his fingers.

  “They realize we’ve been listening, or they suspect as much.”

  “The code is very strange, Colonel.”

  “How so?”

  “I wasn’t good in school, but I know about poems. Their Captain is reading a poem to the crew.”

  “Poetry?” Michael said. “They got called into English class in the middle of a fight?”

  “Quiet, Michael.”

  Cando shared an uneasy moment with his fellow Talons.

  “Mehta, can you forward the audio?”

  “Give us a minute. Some of these systems are new to us. OK. I think we’ve got it. Here’s the audio.”

  The sound was muffled, like listening between walls with a glass to the ear.

  “Boost the signal, Mehta.”

  “Working it, Colonel. Here. How about this?”

  It wasn’t crystal clear, but it didn’t have to be.

  “… ten champions assembled, in death they walked, upon the smiles they resembled, their hearts languished but full, fifty-one charged to the left, forty to the next, in flights of joy they spoke of life, dropped not from grace but engaged in glorious strife. So rode the four mighty steeds, that they …”

  All the faces on the holos appeared mystified, matching Kara’s response. However, the three Talons nodded in unison.

  “This is troub …” Cando started, but Exeter Woolsey raced to Michael’s side, breathing as if he had sprinted a mile.

  “Attack orders,” he said. “Those are attack assignments for FGs.”

  “Good ear, Colonel,” Cando said. “He’s right. When Swarm commanders believe they’re being monitored, they fall back on code using variants of poetry and lyrics from worlds they’ve Converted. That voice must be their Captain.”

  “Yes,” Mehta confirmed. “His name is Javier Felixx.”

  “He’s about to launch a ground assault on Pinchon.”

  “No! What?” Kara jumped back. “Why?”

  “We can’t allow them to land FGs. They’ll kill everything that breathes just because they can. Captains Wain and Jarrod, my Nav will send you coordinates. We need to jump within the next minute. Hiro, any movement from Cromartie?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Paul, set coordinates to flank that ship. Michael, I know you want to be part of this, but I need you to hang back. Collect the last of your people and await further orders. Have your people stand ready.”

  “Gotcha.”

  “I’m sorry it’s come to this, Kara. An aerial battle will kill people on the ground, but it’s going to be much worse if FGs are set loose.”

  “I’ve plotted coordinates,” Paul said. “Dispatching to Hermes and Charybdis now.”

  “Good.” Cando tapped into the shipwide comm. “All fighters, be prepared for worst-case. It’s about to turn ugly.”

  “We’ll be ready for a coordinated jump in thirty seconds.”

  “Thank you, Paul. Ham, I may need you to take over if I misjudged.”

  “How so, Colonel?”

  “We’ll see. We’ll …”

  “New signal arriving from the surface,” Hiro said. He swiveled around. “Cromartie’s Captain.”

  Cando took a deep breath. “Paul, hold the count at fifteen. Hiro, open the channel.”

  “To the forces who watch us from orbit, congratulations on your cowardly ambush which took the lives of five hundred servants of the Holy Risen Church. Your reprehensible strategy gave you a victory you will never repeat.

  “I am Capt. Javier Felixx of the Swarm Battle Cruiser Cromartie, and my voice will haunt your dreams to the end of your days. Their screams and pleas for mercy will also torture your soul.”

  Cando cursed.

  “Paul, resume the countdown. Warships, prepare to jump.”

  “The Grace of God and his Right Hand, the Empress Chastain IV, command us to account for the loss of our brothers and sisters of the Swarm Crusade. Thus vengeance is commenced. The Scorpion will poison the unclean.”

  “Five seconds,” Paul said.

  Flashes erupted from the Cromartie. Far below, a rosette of explosions spread across several city blocks.

  “Aperture formed,” Paul announced. “3.6 seconds to Pinchon.”

  Kara dreaded what she’d see on the other end.

  Scylla emerged face-to-face with Cromartie, five hundred meters from her bow. The other warships held position astern, one starboard, one port.

  Before Cando gave the order to open fire, before Kara dared to look down at the damage, Cromartie formed an aperture.

  “We’ll return one day,” Capt. Felixx broadcast. “You will always wonder when and where.”

  It jumped to worm, but nothing like any of them saw before. The aperture turned red as Cromartie entered, then the ship appeared to reverse course and dissolve.

  “They tethered,” Amayas said. “It’s the only explanation.”

  Kara looked outside and felt nauseous. Smoke rose in black plumes for a kilometer in every direction. Flames poured out of residential towers and business complexes. The strikes were random; it was horrible but not the total desolation she feared.

  “Capt. Cortez,” Cando said. “You need to take charge of the fleet. Capt. Wain and Harrod, wait for his orders.”

  “What’s going on?” Kara asked as Hiro and Paul left their seats.

  “Michael,” he said. “I request Col. Woolsey for this duty.”

  “I’m there,” Exeter said. “Minister, I need every platoon under my command.”

  Kara’s chest tightened.

  “What is happening? I …”

  Hiro threw open a new holo illustrating the problem.

  “They’re on the ground. Hundreds. Drop ships from Cromartie.”

  “They’ll kill in the name of God, the Church, the Empress, the fucking Scorpion,” Cando said. “They won’t stop until we take them down.” He hugged Kara. “I’m sorry. I never thought this day would come.”

  She saw their combined looks of dread and resolution.

  “What? What are you planning to …?”

  “They wouldn’t be here if we never came,” Cando said. “We opened the door. We have to finish them. I need you in C&C. Captain, you used to work with the KumTaan and the local government. Yes?”

  “In a manner of speaking.”

  “Can you contact them? They don’t have the weapons to fight Swarm, but they can warn citizens to stay inside and lock their doors.”

  “I’m a criminal to them, Cando. I …”

  Amayas intervened.

  “I know who to contact. I visited many of them yesterday and this morning. They’ll listen to me.”

  “Thank you. Michael, there are only eleven Talons, and three have never fought the Swarm. I need as many as you can spare in addition to Exeter’s platoons.”

  “My people have been training for years. We’re ready to rock.”

  “Not as much as you think. They have Force Drums. Aeternans don’t. It might take ten of yours to kill one of theirs.”

  “I’ll send waves against those fuckers. They’re mortal, right?”

  “Very.”

  “Then they won’t know what to do with us. I’ve been out of the game for nine years. Been itching to jump back in myself.”

  “Negative. You need to stay on Crowfoot. You can coordinate with your people through Occip. Work with Ham. Please.”

  Michael’s shoulders sagged, but he agreed. He blinked thrice, and his irises glowed red.

  “Kara, I need you and Ham to work as a team.” Cando kissed her. “We don’t have time to talk about this. They’ll kill thousands. Don’t worry. I’ll be back. I’m still dreaming of that farm.”

  31

  R OYAL KNEW MORE ABOUT LUCK than anyone. When he was a teenager, he walked away from an ambush, the only survivor among thirteen Green Sun. He discovered his immortality – a nifty twist considering he’d been shot twice in the head point-blank. He crashed into the ocean off Mangum Island and drowned, but a Splinter and a fortunate maneuver by a submarine plucked him from the depths.

  Luck of the worst kind dropped him into the middle of a war, where he died many times – occasionally with intent. Yet it allowed him the freedom to kill without burden or moral reservation. Death became a joy. He learned to walk hand in hand with luck, for it always rewarded him at the most inopportune moments.

  Shoot me, stab me, cut me open. Just don’t burn me.

  He embraced that mantra, and luck appeared to have listened.

  Until now.

  They almost made it. The second his two-man Legion passed through the Ajax cascade barrier, Royal added another improbable escape to a list pages long. He set the controls to veer away from the combat zone. He heard Lucian in his helmet confirming his own successful launch. Legion consoles had a simple user interface.

  “When we’re clear,” he told Lucian, “we’ll contact the …”

  The comm disconnected when a new star formed all around them.

  Ajax disintegrated.

  Royal didn’t have time to prepare for the concussion, which threw the tiny fighter into a barrel roll. The console flickered, and the onboard AI warned of potential decompression. Royal reached over to the next seat and checked Moon’s helmet, which he had snapped into place before launch.

  “Hang on, kid. I’ll get us out of this crap.”

  Moon was conscious, sporting a weak smile. His breaths fogged up the glass.

  It was the last detail Royal noticed before something kicked them both in the ass. They fell forward as far as their straps allowed. The roll turned into a spin.

  When Royal came to his senses, he looked aft and saw twisted metal where the engine used to be. Debris from Ajax killed the little fighter.

  I can make this work. As long as we have comms …

  He had nothing. The consoles were dead.

  He banged on them. He called for the AI. He tapped his helmet and tried to signal Lucian.

  Nothing.

  Nothing.

  The only good thing, more or less? They were back on course. Hokkaido stared at them dead ahead.

  Shit.

  This was worse than falling over Sai-Por City, drowning at sea, or dying inside a fiery pond on Huryo.

  Think, asshole. Think.

  He opened the combat analysis tool in his helmet and threw open a holo. He ran his armored fingers through the panel until he was able to assess the ship’s velocity and distance from the upper atmosphere. He couldn’t be sure the numbers were accurate in these conditions. They told him enough. He had no way of slowing her down.

  “Hey, kid, how you doing over there?”

  Moon managed a thumbs-up.

  “That’s beautiful,” the boy said.

  “What?”

  Moon pointed toward the cracked glass.

  “I’ve never been in space before. It’s so beautiful. Isn’t it, Royal?”