"I failed." The admission burned on the way out. "The Ascendant escaped. Marshall got away. And the Möbius..." She had to force herself to continue. "Father, the Möbius was damaged. One of the particle cannons is destroyed. Four levels breached. Ten crew dead. And it's all my fault."

  Her father's expression didn't change. He listened in silence as she continued, the words tumbling out faster now, a confession she hadn't known she needed to make.

  "I had everything positioned perfectly. The blockade, the ground forces, the assault ship blocking the only exit. And he still escaped. A scavenger rammed my blocking vessel to give him an opening. Someone sacrificed their life to help him, and I don't even understand why. I don't understand any of this. I was supposed to bring the Ascendant home. I was supposed to justify my actions against Red Scar, with Gildmarch. And instead I've made everything worse."

  Silence followed her outburst, requiring every ounce of resolve not to break down to the man who had always been there to comfort her fears. General Abrelle's face remained impassive, his expression giving nothing away. Sarxon waited for the rebuke, or the cold assessment of her failures, or the disappointment she had been dreading since the moment the Ascendant vanished.

  Instead, her father's voice came through the connection soft and measured. "Sarxon. Listen to me carefully."

  Something in his tone made her straighten despite herself.

  "You need to transfer back to Earth. Immediately. Use whatever excuse you need to give your crew, but do it now."

  Sarxon blinked, not comprehending. "Father, I can't abandon the Möbius. The damage⁠—"

  "The Möbius is no longer your concern." His voice hardened, carrying an urgency she rarely heard from him. "After this incident, the Emperor will demand accountability. The Red Scar Empire is already calling for your execution. The political situation is deteriorating faster than you realize."

  "But if I return to Earth, I can continue the hunt from there. I can⁠—"

  "You can disappear." Her father cut her off, his expression intense through the blue light of the projection. "Earth is outside the Emperor's direct reach. The local factions there will continue their operations, but without your mirriform aboard the Möbius, you become difficult to find. Difficult to punish."

  The implications settled heavily over Sarxon. Her father wasn't suggesting a tactical retreat. He was telling her to abandon her command, her ship, her career—everything she had worked for since graduating from the Academy.

  He was telling her to run.

  "I can't protect you much longer." His voice dropped, carrying a weight that seemed to age him further with each word. "If you remain in Oridian space, I won't be able to stop him from handing you over to the Red Scar for retribution. And even if I could..."

  He paused, something flickering behind his eyes. "War is coming, Sarxon. I can feel it building. The Ascendant's appearance is already destabilizing everything. Soon, every empire will be preparing for conflict. The fragile situation we've maintained for generations will break down."

  Sarxon let out a breath that was almost a laugh, though there was no humor in it. "The Ascendant was supposed to be the key to ending all wars. The tenth Maker built it as a vessel of peace." She shook her head slowly. "Instead, it seems to me like it's going to cause the greatest conflict since the Maker wars themselves."

  "It seems that way to me as well," her father replied, the sorrow evident in his tone.

  They sat in silence for a moment, both trying to adjust to this sudden new reality.

  "I love you, Father." The words came out before Sarxon could stop them, carrying more vulnerability than she had allowed herself to show in years.

  "And I love you." General Abrelle's voice softened, the military commander fading for just a moment to reveal the man beneath. "Be careful on Earth. Get clear of our people. Once the emperor realizes you're gone, he'll send them after you. And the other factions won't forget that you've spent years working against them."

  "I understand."

  "Go now, Sarxon. Don't delay. Every minute you remain aboard the Möbius increases the risk."

  She wanted to say more. Wanted to tell him about the fear coiling in her chest, the grief already building for the life she was about to leave behind. Wanted to ask if she would ever see him again, ever walk the halls of their family estate on Delvran, ever stand beside him at another military ceremony pretending she didn't wish things were different.

  But there was no time. And some things couldn't be said, even on encrypted channels.

  "Goodbye, Father."

  "Goodbye, my darling little girl."

  The connection terminated. Her father's face dissolved into nothing.

  Sarxon sat alone in the command pod, surrounded by silence and darkness and the weight of everything she was about to lose. The soundproofing that protected her conversations also trapped her there, alone with her thoughts, alone with the reality of what came next.

  She allowed herself thirty seconds. Thirty seconds to feel everything she couldn't show the crew—the grief, the fear, the anger at a universe that had brought her to this moment. Thirty seconds where the mask could slip entirely, where tears could gather at the corners of her eyes without anyone to witness them.

  Then she straightened her uniform. Composed her features. Became the High Commander once more.

  The pod unsealed, and she stood and stepped in front of it. Commander Ashe looked up from his station, a question forming on his face that he was too professional to voice.

  "Commander." Sarxon's voice carried across the bridge, steady and controlled. "I need to attend to a personal matter. The bridge remains under your command."

  "Understood, High Commander." If Ashe found anything unusual in her tone or timing, he gave no sign. "Is there anything specific you need before⁠—"

  "No." She was already moving toward the exit. "Continue repair operations. I'll be in my quarters."

  She hurried to the nearest transit alcove and activated it, shifting back to the part of the Möbius nearest the transfer chamber. A pair of crew members in the area noticed her, their faces registering concern, no doubt wondering why their commanding officer was leaving the ship at a time like this.

  Sarxon had to force herself not to run to the transfer chamber. Instead, she forced confidence into her stride as she crossed to and entered the unguarded chamber.

  She approached the depression in the shape of her body and paused, thinking about what she was leaving behind. The Möbius, the ship she had commanded for five years, the vessel that represented the pinnacle of the Umbral Empire's might. The career she had built, the reputation she had earned, the legend she had for a fleeting moment been certain she would become—all of it fading with each passing second.

  She thought about what waited ahead. Earth, with its primitive technology and the operatives who would hunt her. A life of hiding, of surviving, of searching for a way forward in a galaxy that had decided she was no longer useful.

  Sarxon pressed her mirriform into the imprint in the bulkhead.

  Light filled the chamber, green and blinding, geometric patterns cascading across her vision as the transfer field engaged. She felt the familiar paralysis spread through her limbs, the strange sensation of her consciousness separating from the mirriform.

  The last thing she saw before the light consumed everything was her own reflection in the chamber's polished walls. A woman in Umbral uniform, her face composed and her eyes steady.

  A High Commander retiring her command.

  As the light swallowed her whole, one last thought crept into Sarxon's mind.

  Evan Marshall. The Earther who had somehow done what she could not—escape, survive, keep moving forward despite everything arrayed against him. Their paths would cross again. She was certain of it.

  And when they did, he would die.

  Thank you for reading Toy Starship! For more information on the next book in the series, please visit mrforbes.com/toystarship3

  OTHER BOOKS BY M.R FORBES

  Want more M.R. Forbes? Of course you do!

  View my complete catalog here

  mrforbes.com/books

  Or on Amazon:

  mrforbes.com/amazon

  The Starship In The Stone (The Starship In The Stone)

  mrforbes.com/starshipinthestone

  When Thomas heard the cries for help, he didn’t hesitate to do the right thing. It was his chance for redemption.

  Until everything went wrong.

  The cave should have been deserted. The perfect place to hide. Instead, it’s crawling with soldiers and engineers working to unearth the impossible:

  Excalibur.

  Deep beneath the mountain, she’s waited centuries to be found. Not a sword in the stone, but a starship. And according to the onboard AI, Thomas is the only one who can command her.

  Now he's on the run across a galaxy more astonishing and treacherous than he ever imagined, where magic and technology intertwine and ancient powers lurk in the shadows. Relentlessly hunted and hopelessly lost, he needs to learn fast if he wants to survive. Only his greatest challenge isn't training to pilot a starship. It's accepting that he, of all people, is responsible for reigniting the hope of a fallen kingdom.

  King Arthur’s legend may be complete, but his is just beginning…

  Starship For Sale (Starship For Sale)

  mrforbes.com/starshipforsale

  When Ben Murdock receives a text message offering a fully operational starship for sale, he’s certain it has to be a joke.

  Already trapped in the worst day of his life and desperate for a way out, he decides to play along. Except there is no joke. The starship is real. And Ben’s life is going to change in ways he never dreamed possible.

  All he has to do is sign the contract.

  Joined by his streetwise best friend and a bizarre tenant with an unseverable lease, he’ll soon discover that the universe is more volatile, treacherous, and awesome than he ever imagined.

  And the only thing harder than owning a starship is staying alive.

  Wraith (The Convergence War)

  mforbes.com/wraith

  A retired captain. An experimental starship. A war like no other.

  When the research starship Galileo vanishes without a trace, the powers-that-be are quick to bury the incident, eager to prevent escalating tensions that could lead to war. As a former POW, Soren refuses to give the ship up for lost.

  His daughter is one of the missing.

  Taking matters into his own hands, Soren starts pulling strings and calling in favors, determined to launch a clandestine mission to bring Galileo home. When an old friend offers him a ship for the operation, he expects a rusty relic headed for the scrapyard.

  Instead, he's given the Wraith—an unfinished, experimental starship with plenty of potential and just as many problems. A marvel of engineering…if his crew can keep her running.

  They’d better.

  Because Galileo’s disappearance is just the beginning. War is coming to the Federation from the most unlikely of places.

  And Soren may be the only one who can stop it.

  Forgotten (The Forgotten)

  mrforbes.com/theforgotten

  Complete series box set:

  mrforbes.com/theforgottentrilogy

  Some things are better off FORGOTTEN.

  Sheriff Hayden Duke was born on the Pilgrim, and he expects to die on the Pilgrim, like his father, and his father before him.

  That's the way things are on a generation starship centuries from home. He's never questioned it. Never thought about it. And why bother? Access points to the ship's controls are sealed, the systems that guide her automated and out of reach. It isn't perfect, but he has all he needs to be content.

  Until a malfunction forces his wife to the edge of the habitable zone to inspect the damage.

  Until she contacts him, breathless and terrified, to tell him she found a body, and it doesn't belong to anyone on board.

  Until he arrives at the scene and discovers both his wife and the body are gone.

  The only clue? A bloody handprint beneath a hatch that hasn't opened in hundreds of years.

  Until now.

  Man of War (Rebellion)

  mrforbes.com/manofwar

  Complete series box set:

  mrforbes.com/rebellion-web

  In the year 2280, an alien fleet attacked the Earth.

  Their weapons were unstoppable, their defenses unbreakable.

  Our technology was inferior, our militaries overwhelmed.

  Only one starship escaped before civilization fell.

  Earth was lost.

  It was never forgotten.

  Fifty-two years have passed.

  A message from home has been received.

  The time to fight for what is ours has come.

  Welcome to the rebellion.

  Hell’s Rejects (Chaos of the Covenant)

  mrforbes.com/hellsrejects

  The most powerful starships ever constructed are gone. Thousands are dead. A fleet is in ruins. The attackers are unknown. The orders are clear: Recover the ships. Bury the bastards who stole them.

  Lieutenant Abigail Cage never expected to find herself in Hell. As a Highly Specialized Operational Combatant, she was one of the most respected Marines in the military. Now she's doing hard labor on the most miserable planet in the universe.

  Not for long.

  The Earth Republic is looking for the most dangerous individuals it can control. The best of the worst, and Abbey happens to be one of them. The deal is simple: Bring back the starships, earn your freedom. Try to run, you die. It's a suicide mission, but she has nothing to lose.

  The only problem? There's a new threat in the galaxy. One with a power unlike anything anyone has ever seen. One that's been waiting for this moment for a very, very, long time. And they want Abbey, too.

  Be careful what you wish for.

  They say Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. They have no idea.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  M.R. Forbes is the mind behind a growing number of Amazon best-selling science fiction series. Having spent his childhood trying to read every sci-fi novel he could find (and write his own too), play every sci-fi video game he could get his hands on, and see every sci-fi movie that made it into the theater, he has a true love of the genre across every medium. He works hard to bring that same energy to his own stories, with a continuing goal to entertain, delight, fascinate, and surprise.

  He maintains a true appreciation for his readers and is always happy to hear from them.

  To learn more or just say hello:

  Visit the website:

  mrforbes.com

  Send an e-mail:

  michael@mrforbes.com

  Check out his Facebook page:

  facebook.com/mrforbes.author

  Join his Facebook fan group:

  facebook.com/groups/mrforbes

  Follow on Instagram:

  instagram.com/mrforbes_author

  Find on Goodreads:

  goodreads.com/mrforbes

  Follow on Bookbub:

  bookbub.com/authors/m-r-forbes

 

 

  M.R. Forbes, Möbius (Toy Starship Book 2)

 

 

  Thank you for reading books on GrayCity.Net
Share this book with friends