As Jessica glared to her right, Lindsey and Tara laughed. Tara shook her head. “Same old Jessica. Bless her clan with patience, please.”

  Jessica returned her focus to the device that had recorded her message. “Anyway, I’ll see you after your clan has completed their assignment. Tell them to keep you safe.” She winked. “I love you, you scurvy swab.”

  The vid blinked off. Lindsey blew the air a kiss. “I love you too, matey.”

  Her heart wanted to explode with joy. The only thing that kept her together was concern for the woman at her side. “Are you going to be all right, Mom? You’ll be without family for nine long months.”

  Tara was radiant, easing her worries. “As long as my girls are happy, I’m fine. You know what our faith says; loss is part of the cycle. Fortunately, this loss will be only temporary.”

  Tara wrapped her in a hug, and Lindsey began laughing, great peals of childlike delight. She was returning to her clan.

  She was returning to her clan!

  * * * *

  Japohn frowned as Bacoj stabbed a finger at the image of the nearest Tragoom ship hovering in the sky over the landing pad. “I’ll have to be fast and accurate. If I can take off at an angle and hit that ship here, it will knock out a few stabilizers and send them bouncing off one or two more of their ships.”

  Japohn studied the vid and considered. If they’d been detected hiding in their shuttle by the Tragooms’ scanners, there was no indication yet. Tragooms weren’t likely to destroy grounded shuttles anyway. The opportunistic race would be enthralled to get their hands on intact Kalquorian ships. They’d attack only if they had to. Half of the enemy force was hovering over the landing pad now. The other half was firing on the building where the other Kalquorians had fled for shelter.

  He nodded his approval. “Your plan might distract the Tragooms surrounding that building long enough for some of our people who are pinned down to get out.”

  “That’s the idea.”

  Vax’s brows creased with worry. “Won’t the Tragooms notice when you start the engines?”

  Bacoj blew out a breath. Their Dramok was visibly tense with worry. “That’s the trickiest part of this whole thing. I’ll have to ascend the moment the engines fire so they don’t have time to react. Even so there’ll be two seconds of lag between the power up and flight.”

  Japohn grinned, his heart totally in the fight. He hoped they’d be able to take at least one ship’s worth of the enemy with them. “Since they haven’t sent down a party to slaughter us, I’m pretty sure the Tragooms don’t know we’re in here.”

  “It’s the one thing that might make this work.”

  Vax considered. “Fire the engines, ascend immediately, and at the correct angle to drive one Tragoom ship into another. You don’t expect enough of yourself, Bacoj.”

  The three men managed to laugh. The odds he could carry off the plan were not quite impossible, but close enough. Still, any chance was better than none. Japohn clapped a meaty paw on Bacoj’s shoulder. “You’re a brilliant pilot. You’ll make it work.”

  The humor disappeared from Vax’s face. “What if we live through this?”

  Japohn was matter-of-fact. “It won’t be for long. The Tragooms will sniff us out.”

  “That’s the thing that scares me. Being eaten alive.”

  “Give me your knife, Vax.”

  Vax drew his knife from his belt and handed it to Japohn, who looked it over. It was a good blade, sharp, serrated, plain. A weapon, not a kitchen tool or ceremonial piece. He handed it back to Vax. “Don’t be a hero and try to take any with you.” He grasped Vax’s hands over the knife’s handle and touched the tip of it just below the Imdiko’s breastbone tilted upwards. “Like this at this angle. Shove as hard as you can as fast as you can. It’ll be quick. I’ll help you if I’m able.” He pulled the dagger away from Vax’s body, turning the handle towards the Imdiko before letting go.

  Vax’s face relaxed with relief. “Thanks Japohn. I feel a lot better now.” He put the knife in his waist belt, keeping one hand on it as if for reassurance.

  “I’m ready too.” Bacoj patted his own blade, slung on his belt. It too was utilitarian, not showy, with a plain black handle and sharp edge. It would do the job nicely.

  Now that Vax’s worst fears had been addressed, he and Bacoj looked steady. Resolute. Ready to die killing mortal enemies. Japohn felt a rush of pride for his clanmates.

  It was a good way to go out.

  * * * *

  The shuttle Sarod used to take Lindsey back to Earth was very small. There wasn’t even a passenger cabin; just the cockpit and a small storage compartment. Lindsey sat next to the sober-faced Kalquorian, watching the blue-marble planet grow larger on the vid screen. She also admired the steady hand of her pilot, who apparently preferred to manually steer rather than letting the ship’s system do the work.

  His silence wore on her a little. Sarod had spoken little except for polite pleasantries. His expression was careful, not allowing her to guess if he disapproved of her returning to such a low-ranking clan.

  “You make piloting this thing look easy,” she commented. Miss Friendly Conversationalist, that’s me.

  He glanced at her, a pleased look warming his face. “It is for the most part, as long as you’re not doing any fancy maneuvers. This is the simplest vehicle we have that is space worthy. So simple that the pilot can usually work the weapons while evading fire.”

  “This has weapons?”

  “The bare minimum and very primitive. You never know when you’ll run into a hostile situation. Just enough to discourage attack while making an escape.” He spoke in his own language and a small vid appeared before Lindsey’s face. “Here’s the viewer vid for targeting. You move the stick for aiming, and push the button to fire.”

  He demonstrated, moving the lever with a button positioned on its tip. When he let go, Lindsey grasped it and maneuvered it so the vid showed her what she was targeting. It was a simple system.

  She told Sarod, “Just like a video game. So easy even an Earther can do it.”

  He grinned at her and sobered again, studying her face. “I hope your clan knows how lucky they are.”

  Lindsey was tempted to pat his muscled shoulder, so wistful was his rumbling baritone. “I know how lucky I am. They’re wonderful men.”

  “They’d better be.” At Lindsey’s frown he rushed to explain. “Forgive the protectiveness. Mataras are precious to us.”

  Lindsey did pat his shoulder then. “You’re going to make some girl very happy.”

  Sarod looked so delighted she almost laughed out loud. “Thank you, Matara Lindsey.” He was much more relaxed after that.

  * * * *

  “Here we go,” Bacoj told his clanmates. He tapped in the command and the shuttle’s engines hummed into life.

  The two seconds it took for the ship to cycle up into full ignition were the longest he’d ever endured. He knew the Tragoom ships’ sensors alerted the enemy the instant the Kalquorian shuttle came to life. He was counting on surprise to keep them from reacting in time.

  Then the shuttle jerked into the air. It wasn’t a pretty takeoff, but Bacoj was looking for quickness, not grace. The shuttle careened straight for the nearest Tragoom attacker.

  With a deafening boom, the shuttle shook violently, throwing Vax backwards from where he’d been kneeling between Bacoj and Japohn’s seats. The dim lights failed, and the scream of gravity dampers and ship stabilizers filled the young Dramok’s ears. The sense of vertigo was overwhelming, and since the computers miraculously remained online, he was able to see the enemy vessel he’d plowed into was flying erratically, taking his shuttle with it.

  “We’re hooked onto the Tragoom ship. I can’t break free,” he shouted to his clanmates.

  His eyes widened as he saw the path the fused ships were taking. Before he could warn the other two to brace for impact, the Tragoom ship ricocheted off another of the attackers and smashed into a second ship. Then there was the sense of extreme vertigo again, and the sensation of lifting out of his chair as the still locked-together ships fell.

  They hit the ground with force, and Bacoj had only an instant to register crushing pain on his legs before all stopped and a sightless, soundless void fell over him.

  * * * *

  Sarod frowned at a vid that looked to Lindsey like nothing more than neon blobs on a background of light blue. He punched commands into the control panel, changing the pictures faster than her eyes could register.

  He said, “I’m getting some strange heat signatures and power readings from the base. Everyone should have cleared the area by now.” More quick commands. More blurring pictures. Suddenly he growled, “Tragooms!”

  Lindsey’s heart lurched. “Are any of our people still down there?”

  Sarod brought up another vid, and Lindsey gasped to see many strange ships that looked haphazardly cobbled together hovering over the parking lot that had served as the Kalquorian landing pad. More Tragoom ships crowded the air over a three-story office building, but they were moving away from it, joining the other group. A few dots of life blurred from the building towards the dubious cover of trees. Only Kalquorians moved like that. There was no way to tell if her clan was among them.

  Sarod’s fangs were fully extended, giving his speech a lisping quality. “About a dozen of our shuttles are on the ground. The gurlucks waited until they outnumbered us to attack.” He thumbed the com and shouted in staccato bursts of Kalquorian.

  “Is help coming?” Her fists were white-knuckled. Tragoom ships had again reversed their course, now chasing the running Kalquorians.

  Sarod’s fingers flew up and down the panel in a blur, bringing up readouts, most of which she couldn’t make sense of. “It will take about ten of your minutes for our forces to arrive. At least someone was able to put up a fight. Three Tragoom ships are disabled and on the ground.” He grinned savagely.

  “Those five ships are chasing down the men on foot. Can we do anything?”

  He nodded. “If you’re up to distracting them.”

  Lindsey looked at the weapons stick and the small vid before her. Like a video game. Except my clan is at stake if they’re still alive. “This is my targeting monitor right?”

  Sarod nodded and concentrated on his own instruments. “That’s it Matara. We’re within range now. Fire whenever you have a shot.”

  Lindsey got the rearmost Tragoom ship in her sights, taking careful aim. Her Buddhist upbringing made her uneasy to fire, but damn it, the men she loved were in danger. She pressed the button. An explosion bloomed on the ship she fired at, and it lurched, dropping down like a stone before it managed to catch itself, pulling back up with a drunken list.

  She’d fired on other living creatures. It was surreal, especially because there was no sound of the fight in the shuttle’s cockpit.

  Sarod grinned ferociously, and Lindsey felt the alien surge of answering bloodlust. “Excellent! You scored a direct hit with some damage.”

  Lindsey targeted another ship that had broken off its pursuit to swing around on them. They would kill my clan, she thought and fired.

  The enemy ship disappeared from her screen, and she uttered an animal-like howl of triumph. “I think I got another one!”

  Sarod laughed, his dark glee filling the cabin. “You did. The whole group is breaking pursuit and coming after us. I’m getting us out of here.”

  Lindsey turned to him, her thumb hovering over the firing button. It twitched, eager to unload more destruction. “We can’t leave our people!”

  Sarod shook his head as he turned the ship away from the remains of the base camp. “We aren’t able to fight the Tragooms, Matara, not in this little shuttle. We could only give the attacked a chance to escape.”

  An insistent beeping sounded in the cockpit, and a red light flashed three times before dying out. “What’s that?”

  “They fired on us. They missed, but that was a little too close.”

  A disembodied voice spoke the guttural Kalquorian language, and Sarod answered. “Defenders are on their way. Eight minutes until they engage the Tragooms if the cowards don’t run.” He scowled at his readouts. “They’ve broken off their chase. We should be safe now.”

  But what about my clan? Will the Tragooms go back and finish the job at the base? Lindsey asked, “Can we go back and hit them again?”

  Sarod shook his head, his disappointment evident. “They’ll be looking for us now. We’ll have to sit back and wait.”

  Lindsey realized she was still clutching the weapons stick. She made herself let go despite wanting to scream at Sarod to take her back, to let her save her clan. She realized she was ready to kill for them, wanted to kill for them, and it was a sobering thought.

  “I’ve never tried to cause someone’s death before,” she murmured out loud.

  Sarod patted her shoulder like a beaming father. “You did well. Your Nobek will be proud.”

  If Japohn is even alive. Never had eight minutes ticked by so slowly.

  * * * *

  “Bacoj, can you hear me?”

  Japohn’s deep rumble and the gentle pressure of his hand on his arm pulled Bacoj from a black world of nothing into a black world of agony. Grinding weight and pain on his legs drew a long groan from his throat. He tried to move but his legs were pinned.

  Overhead there was a tremendous creaking. “It sounds like the roof of this thing is caving in.”

  Vax answered in a thin voice. “It probably is. I’m betting that Tragoom ship is lying on top of us.”

  Bacoj concentrated on opening his eyes wide, trying to see his companions. He’d never known such unremitting darkness. “Am I blind or is it just dark in here?”

  Vax again: “We have no lights. All power was lost in the crash. Are you hurt?”

  “I’d say so. The control console is in my lap. I think both legs are busted.”

  Japohn’s hand remained on his shoulder, a small bit of comfort Bacoj welcomed. “I believe your side of the ship took the brunt of the crash. You must have lost consciousness for a few minutes. I thought you were dead at first.”

  It would have been a mercy if you were. Bacoj heard his Nobek’s thoughts as clearly as if he’d spoken them. They were in a fix, all right.

  Conversation helped him cope with the pain. “What about you two?”

  “I’m pinned in my seat too, but I don’t think I’m injured badly.”

  “I broke my other arm.” Vax sighed. “Bacoj?”

  “Yes?”

  “Maybe piloting isn’t for you after all. At least not when I’m on board.”

  His clanmates’ laughter exploded in the darkness. Bacoj gasped against the pain hilarity brought. “No jokes. It hurts to laugh. Any idea what’s going on outside?”

  “No, but I could open the hatch and see.”

  Japohn demurred. “Tragooms would get you Vax, and I can’t stomach the thought. Let them force their way in and find us already dead before they can have the honor.”

  Bacoj tried to shift to a more comfortable position. Lances of agony shot through his legs and he sucked a breath in between clenched teeth. Nausea roiled his stomach. To distract himself he said, “I wonder if any of the others got away.”

  “If not, it wasn’t for a lack of trying. You did an excellent job, my Dramok. Our deaths will be worthy of praise.”

  Bacoj managed a smile at that. He thought he might have done well, and that eased his fears. It wasn’t such a bad way to go, dying with the reassurance of his clanmates at his side. Best of all, his Lindsey was safely on her way to Kalquor, heading to a life of privilege and comfort. The thought eased him more than anything else. He hoped she would find a clan who loved her as much as he did.

  Have a good life, my love. Be happy.

  * * * *

  Lindsey started as a frantic beeping sounded from the console.

  “Here come the fighters,” Sarod said, cold satisfaction in his voice. He brought up the vid showing the oncoming single-man ships that had caused so many Earther casualties during the war. Dual-purpose, they could fight in a planet’s atmosphere or in space.

  Lindsey’s eyes widened as the fighters flew over the shuttle, their speed turning them into silver streaked blurs. Within a breath, they were out of sight again. “They’re moving fast. Can we go back to the base now?”

  “We’re better to stay out of range until the fighting’s done.”

  Kalquorian speech burst over the com, and Sarod made a disgusted sound. The disappointment on his face made Lindsey’s heart squeeze tight.