《No Moon》 The Legend, The Rumor ¡°...You want me to what?¡± Vree asked, tail twitching despite himself. ¡°We have two humans coming aboard,¡± Commander Ryyt repeated himself colt. ¡°As our senior xenobiologist, I am putting them in your charge.¡± ¡°I specialize in plants,¡± Vree said helplessly. He had heard the stories about humans just like everyone else, and believed almost none of it. ¡°What am I supposed to do with humans?¡± ¡°Learn about their culture,¡± the commander shrugged. ¡°And their biology. Everything you can. The Pride Council needs to know how much truth there is in the rumors.¡± Probably none, Vree thought grimly. Rumors were always exaggerated, usually beyond understanding. ¡°Why me?¡± He asked, hoping for a way out of this mess before it got started. ¡°I never deal with sentient creatures. You remember the tak-ra incident, sir.¡± ¡°I do,¡± Ryyt sighed. ¡°But you¡¯re still the ranking xenobiologist on the ship, and your impressive military record suggest that, should any of the stories be true, you will be able to defend yourself.¡± Well that was promising. Vree glared, But to no avail. One of Ryyt¡¯s striped ears twitched. He knew Vree too well. He could never resist a mystery, and humans were the biggest mystery there were.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°When do they arrive?¡± ¡°In one solar hour, give or take.¡± Damn him. No time to prepare or anything. ¡°Can they do anything useful, or are they soldiers?¡± ¡°Human-Nerea is an environmental specialist. Human-Amir is a xenotechnology specialist. They both have some combat training, but they are scientists before soldiers.¡± Ryyt handed Vree the file on his desk and sat back as Vree flipped through it quickly. There was more information than he could read before the humans arrived, but he could study it while they settled in. ¡°I take it you accept?¡± Ryyt asked when Vree laid his ears back and glared at his commanding officer. ¡°I can find someone else but you¡¯re the best fit.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ll do it,¡± Vree muttered, and closed his fingers around the file. ¡°I want hazard pay any time I have to go to shore with them, and any time there might be hostiles in the area. Double if the ship is breached or there may be fighting of any kind.¡± ¡°Pessimistic, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Only if the stories aren¡¯t true. If they are, you¡¯ll be glad I only asked for this.¡± That made Ryyt snarl a laugh and he waved a dismissal. ¡°Fine, Fine. I¡¯ll arrange it. And Vree, I doubt the stories are true.¡± ¡°So do I,¡± Vree shrugged. ¡°But you never know. Where will they be?¡± ¡°Dock five. And Vree?¡± Vree turned and cocked an ear to show he was listening. Ryyt gave him a fangy grin. ¡°Yes sir?¡± Vree said cautiously, sensing the commander¡¯s wicked sense of humor. ¡°Try not to let them eat you. Dismissed.¡± The door closed in his face before Vree could do more than hiss his displeasure. Try not to get eaten indeed! Red Sun
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is there,¡± he pointed out, even as he punched in a request for urgent information into his padd and hoped one of the information lackeys could get back fast enough. The was the biggest of the Carriers, and an army in her own self. With backup, there was almost nothing that could touch her, and she had backup. ¡°And an escort of destroyers.¡±
, the , and the with most of the rebellion fleet to back them.¡±
. If they had enough help, they could probably take the and her escort before help could arrive.
was the second largest Carrier in the fleet. Carrier was smaller, but more heavily armed and faster. If they and their convoy of destroyers could make it to the , they could end the war for good.
.¡±
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roared to life under the hands of a madman who might just save them all. ¡°We¡¯re heading into the Black.¡± Deep Water and Scales With an almost-delicate sound, the floor vanished, and Human-Amir plunged straight down with a shout of surprise, only for more water to pour from the ceiling atop him in a torrent. Humans could swim, but not well enough to withstand hundreds of gallons of water thundering down. Vree lunged for the water, but two of his crewmates grabbed him before he could actually make it. He struggled against their hold, but they held fast. They were exploring an abandoned base, and the humans both insisted on coming along. When asked, they simply said they were curious. Now one of them might be dead. ¡°The human is drowning!¡± he snarled and hissed at his crewmates, ears flat against his skull and teeth bared. ¡°Let me go, damn you!¡± ¡°That water is near a hundred meters at least,¡± Ript told him, panting with the effort of holding him back. He was smaller than Vree, but he had help, and Vree did not. ¡°You will sink like a stone and both of you will die.¡± ¡°We will find a way!¡± Vree struggled harder. ¡°Humans are difficult to kill and swim well!¡± ¡°Humans are, but you are not human!¡± Bitt said from the other side. ¡°and you can barely swim in still water. Perhaps-¡° The argument was interrupted by the sound of pounding feet behind them. Vree looked over his shoulder in time to see Human-Nerea shoot past them at a run. She hardly paused to yank off her light dress and kick off her shoes before she took a running dive into the torrential water. Fizzt wasn¡¯t quite fast enough to grab the crazy, naked, human, and then she was gone under the surface. ¡°To the water¡¯s edge,¡± Vree commanded, and shrugged off the other two who had loosened their grip in shock. As much as he hated to admit it, they were right. He could not swim, and there was no use in dying without a cause. ¡°Find a way to turn off the water.¡± The water overflowed its containment and was rising quickly, but their humans had yet to reappear. Ript joined Fizzt at the control panel. Vree tugged Bitt towards the clear tank, and the lower levels to try and see if their humans were still alive in there somewhere. Clouds of white bubbles obscured their view, but Vree peered through them anxiously nonetheless, his tail lashing with anxiety. He liked both of the crew-humans and did not want to see them dead so soon after meeting them. ¡°Got it!¡± Ript called, words heralding the end of the downpour. Just in time, as the water was halfway up Vree¡¯s thighs and would be above waist-height on a human. There was a river flowing out the door, but it didn¡¯t seem to be lowering the water level any. ¡°Can you see them?¡± ¡°No,¡± Vree replied glumly, although he kept looking nonetheless. ¡°How long can humans hold their breath?¡± ¡°Four minutes is average,¡± Fizzt spent the most time talking to the humans. He was younger than much of the crew and found the humans to be more interesting than alarming. ¡°Human-Nerea said more, sometimes but we were interrupted before she could clarify.¡± Vree sighed, and stared into the tank, wondering how long they should wait before giving up. As the water cleared, something large flashed red and white though the dark water. It was barely visible through the water-splashed synth-glass, but it flashed again and Vree took a hurried step back. Scales. ¡°There is something in there,¡± he called, and ran up to the surface to try and get a better look. ¡°A large marine creature with scales.¡± ¡°Did you see blood?¡± Ript wanted to know, and Vree shook his head, relieved that he did not. ¡°Or movement? Anything?¡± ¡°No, I- wait!¡± he stared into the water, and then scrambled back when he did indeed see movement, heading quickly for the surface. ¡°Look out!¡± Belatedly he realized that, with a meter of water covering the floor, the creature was certainly not contained to just the pit anymore. Whatever the scales were, it would be lose very shortly. He need not have worried. ¡°That sucked,¡± Human-Amir said bitterly when his head broke the surface and he finished coughing up water. Vree immediately hauled him up and away from the potential danger, because the scaled creature was still in there somewhere. ¡°So that pit goes a long way down, for future reference.¡± Human-Nerea was next to appear, but she raised a hand to stop Vree when he went to lift her out. ¡°I¡¯m alright,¡± she said calmly, but Vree was already moving when he saw the white-and-red just below her. ¡°No, I¡¯m-¡± ¡°You¡­ have a tail,¡± he said dumbly when he had the human suspended over the water by the waist. She flicked her tail, and her fins flared open, dripping water Her markings turned out to be thick bars of red and white, and were decidedly marine in nature. ¡°And scales.¡±A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°I know,¡± she sighed, and now that he listened, her voice was different as well. As if her vocal cords were producing more frequencies, layered together, than they normally did. ¡°We need to talk about my species classification. Put me back in the water, please, and watch my spines.¡± Spines. She did have spines that flared out along her dorsal and sides. Obedient, and somewhat shocked, Vree put her down. She stabilized herself with ease, more at ease in the water than she ever was on dry land. ¡°Is this really the place?¡± Human-Amir asked wryly, although he looked much better now despite still being entirely soaked to the skin. ¡°Or the time?¡± ¡°We ought to see what¡¯s down there, and now the water is aerated,¡± Human- human? Nerea said reasonably. ¡°I already have my scales on.¡± ¡°Well, okay. Be careful, yeah?¡± Amir dug in his pocket and tossed a small, waterproof light to her. ¡°Don¡¯t know what else is down there.¡± ¡°If it can take me on in the water, I deserve to get eaten.¡± Before Vree could say anything, she vanished underwater with the light. ¡°What¡­?¡± Bitt found his voice first, and Vree was sure his muzzle looked just as confused. Humans had scales? That came out in water? ¡°Nerea is a mermaid,¡± Amir said like it explained everything. When he realized how little that meant to them, he explained further. ¡°She can tell you more, but if she gets submerged in water, her tail and gills appear, along with some other stuff. She saw me go under and came down to get me.¡± ¡°You were under for six-point-eight minutes,¡± Ript said dumbly. ¡°You have never beat your time of three-point-two. How¡­?¡° ¡°She kissed me,¡± Human-Amir was clearly feeling alright, because he moved over to the control panel and began examining it. ¡°Kiss of a mermaid can save a man from drowning.¡± ¡°Is¡­ is that a trait of her kind?¡± Fizzt asked cautiously. ¡°Like the scales?¡± ¡°You mean did I know she could do it?¡± the human asked vaguely and pressed a button. The tank above them shifted away and let light flood into the room. ¡°I mean I knew she was a mermaid. There¡¯s a couple Others around. I¡¯m an Other too, although what I can do is mostly learned, not inherent like hers.¡± This was all entirely new to Vree and he stared at their human, who gave him a slightly apologetic shrug. ¡°Are these¡­ Others¡­ a differing species?¡± Vree found his voice after several minutes of blank confusion. No one ever mentioned this in the reports! This was completely new information to the Alliance as a whole, as far as he knew. ¡°Some,¡± Human-Amir said casually, still focused on the control panel, which he was rapidly taking apart. ¡°Mermaids started out human but got changed into something else and breed true. Fae look human when they feel like it. Vampires are dead, but they were human before they died. Sorcerers- I¡¯m a sorcerer- are human but have magic. It¡¯s complicated.¡± ¡°Magic?¡± In reply, Human-Amir snapped his fingers together. A flame, orange-red and so hot Vree could almost feel his fur curling away, burst into being in his palm. It danced across his fingertips looking for something to burn. Vree stifled a yell of surprise, but only just. Behind him, Ript started to hiss. ¡°I cast spells. Pretty much fire-exclusive in my case. Nerea¡¯s stuff is mostly just related to what she is. The songs and the kiss and all.¡± This was more than Vree could handle. Humans were bad enough, but now they had this¡­ ¡®magic¡¯, also? Perfect. Just perfect. ¡°It just goes straight down,¡± Human-Nerea reappeared, red hair dripping. ¡°Looks like this is filtration for the ship¡¯s drinking water, but the filter at the bottom is jammed shut.¡± She hauled herself out of the water and looked around with a sigh. ¡°My shoes and dress are gone, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Will you be okay barefoot?¡± Human-Amir stripped off his coat and gave it to her. It was long enough to fall to his knees and would cover her completely. ¡­if she had legs again any time soon. As if to answer Vree¡¯s thought, the human lifted her tail out of the water. Moments later her scales fell away and vanished, leaving human skin in their place. In seconds she looked completely human and stood. ¡°Should be,¡± she said calmly and smiled up at Vree. He only blinked at her, just about at his limit for human oddity for the day. ¡°Did you explain?¡± ¡°Some.¡± ¡°How much?¡± ¡°The existence of Others. That you¡¯re a mermaid and I¡¯m a pyromancer. About the kiss. Thanks, by the way.¡± ¡°Any time, but hopefully not often. Vree, are you alright?¡± No, Vree was not alright. Vree was very confused. Explanations could wait until after they got back to their own shop, but¡­ ¡°Do we reclassify your species?¡± he asked, because it was the only thing he could think to say. ¡°Don¡¯t bother,¡± Nerea seemed pleased by the answer. ¡°Others are almost entirely human-base. Unless someone tells you, just assume we¡¯re all human.¡± ¡°Well there¡¯s Blaec¡­¡° Human-Amir started, and Human-Nerea rolled her eyes in the human sign of exasperation. ¡°Lord Petros doesn¡¯t count,¡± she said pointedly. ¡°Lord Petros is nearly thirty thousand years old and does whatever he wants.¡± ¡°Who¡­ or what¡­ is Lord Petros?¡± Vree was sure he would regret asking as he ushered his humans out of the water-filled room. ¡°We are going back to the ship.¡± ¡°But we aren¡¯t done exploring!¡± Human-Amir protested, but knew perfectly well that Vree would carry him if he made a fuss. Human-Nerea seemed content to go, but she was missing footwear, which often made humans uncomfortable. ¡°Lord Petros is a dragon,¡± she said, and let Vree lift her onto his shoulder when they came to the hallways. There were sharp bits everywhere and her feet would be cut if she walked. ¡°He is very old, very powerful, and none of the rules apply to what he can or cannot do. You probably won¡¯t meet him, but if you do, use his title, not a species moniker.¡± ¡°He¡¯s friends with my grandfather,¡± Human-Amir said casually. ¡°The Empire is very polite when Blaec wants something. Last time I saw him, he was about the size of a destroyer.¡± A human destroyer was nineteen human-kilometers or more. The thought of a creature that large was enough to make Vree¡¯s tail flick nervously and his fur bristle ¡°And this Lord Petros can look human when he cares?¡± he asked, just to be sure. ¡°Yeah, often enough. It¡¯s not like he can fit inside most ships anymore. And Evelene is human-sized.¡± ¡°Who, or what, is Evelene?¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Human Nerea said from his shoulder, using her new vantage point to examine the ceiling more closely. It was covered in half-rotted wiring and she was too curious for anyone¡¯s good. ¡°Evelene is the First Mermaid. Well, technically one of three, but she¡¯s the only one still alive. It¡¯s been a long time, you know?¡± No, Vree did not know, thank you very much and he wasn¡¯t at all sure that he wanted to know. But he was a scientist, and the lure of new knowledge was more powerful than his own self-preservation. ¡°You will have to explain all of this.¡± Carrier Pacifica
Pacifica is, as all the Carriers are, named after one of Earth¡¯s Seven Seas. She is the largest, and most powerful of all seven Carriers, and is very nearly the size of Old-Earth¡¯s moon.
Pacifica¡¯s travels are in fact carefully curated to place her precisely where she is needed most.
Pacifica is a world unto herself. A titanic floating colony, the Pacifica carries nearly fourteen million humans and human-others, and nearly eight million more alien and full-blood Others. At full capacity, she is capable of carrying nearly three times that number, but rarely has been called to do so.
Pacifica¡¯s Core is powered by a truly remarkable piece of engineering, said to be the creation of a dragon (likely Lord Petros) a Djinn, (possibly Lord Al¡¯Mudhib), and a god. (Possibly Poseidon).
Pacifica has been in flight, these eternal flames have never wavered. They produce a truly staggering amount of power, sufficient to keep the Pacifica and her sisters aloft with no need for other fuel.
Pacifica travels. There are, of course, thoroughfares for vehicles, gardens, recreational events and schools of all sorts.
Pacifica offers a towering array of apartments, each with their own breathtaking window to the outside of the ship, for every Senator in residence. These apartments are virtually identical in layout and design in the interest of fairness. They are generously sized, but have a maximum occupancy of five, including the senator themselves. This is to ensure that the richer worlds do not take more room than they are due, thus crowding out poorer, or newer senators. These apartments are the property of the Imperial Government, and when a senator is replaced, their quarters go to the next from their world to be voted in.
Pacifica speaks truly to the wealth housed within her walls. Designers, artists, and creators of all kinds swarm to Pacifica, eager to make their mark among the most powerful beings in the Human Galactic Empire. The markets of Pacifica are thick with shoppers, tourists, and residents going about their business. Because so many of Pacifica''s residents are galactic officials, there is an entire subsection of the market that caters to robes of state, and several businesses offer a wide array of collected clothing that can be rented for the many glittering events that punctuate Pacifica''s social circle. These businesses are particularly popular with new-world Senators, who do not have the financial means to furnish their own wardrobes.
Pacifica are truly impressive. Capable of destroying a moon, or a planet with several well-placed blows, Pacifica is a terrifying symbol of military power. Even without the swarms of fighters she carries within her vast space-ports, ready to fly at the defense of their home, she is a formidable force to be reckoned with. So immense are her hangers and space ports, that Pacifica is capable of housing nearly a hundred destroyers, the devastating war ships of the Empire, within her belly, to deploy whenever the need arises. Most often, however, these destroyers act as her honor guard, floating around her, ready to attend the Imperial Will.
Black Scales and Open Spaces The ballroom came to a stereotypical screeching halt as the hard-edged, snarling voice cut through conversation like a knife. Immediately, five officials converged towards the Thraxxis ambassador and her mate. The tripedal creatures were new to the Alliance after their crushing defeat, and prone to forgetting that they were no longer the most dangerous thing in any given room. Vree watched the whole thing in mild astonishment. He was only here at the invitation of Human-Amir (who apparently held a much higher rank than he thought, although no one would tell him precisely what that rank was) and was doing his best not to offend anyone. ¡°Crap,¡± Human-Amir spat. He grabbed a passing official by the arm before the man could bolt past him. ¡°Tell Lord Al¡¯Mudhib that the Thraxxis have offended Lord Petros.¡± The official blanched white and took off at a run. Vree turned alarmed eyes on the rising confrontation. Lord Petros? Human-Amir spoke of him in cautious, respectful tones, but this was the first time Vree actually saw him. He was tall for a human, Vree decided warily, but did not look terribly odd otherwise. He had the black hair and brown skin of a desert human, and toxic-green eyes. His garb was appropriate for the fine evening, and he was unornamented, and unarmed. The humans were talking fast, two attempting to hustle the Thraxxis away, and three more falling over themselves to apologize to the man himself. ¡°What is the problem?¡± Vree asked Human-Amir quietly. His human friend was decidedly nervous and uncharacteristically jumpy. ¡°Is there danger?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know, but whatever has Blaec mad enough to threaten is serious business,¡± Human-Amir muttered. He nudged Vree towards the door. ¡°We¡¯re too close, if this gets messy.¡± Lord Petros held up a hand and all three attending humans immediately fell silent. The woman on his arm, almost certainly his mate, offered them a smile but it looked cold, even to Vree. ¡°If the ambassador from Thraxxis has something to say, he should say it,¡± the man¡¯s voice snapped like a cut cable, and hissed oddly even from a distance. ¡°What precisely did you mean by your comment? The one regarding my wife, and your eagerness to study her kind.¡± ¡°Oh hell,¡± Human-Amir went a sickly sort of grey. ¡°They brought Evelene into it. They¡¯re gonna die. We are way too close.¡± He pushed at Vree more pointedly, and Vree noticed more humans ushering others out every available door. Anything that had the humans running was bad business. Humans didn¡¯t run from much, including things that were actively trying to eat them. Vree went for the door at a quick trot and resolved to find out more about this Lord Petros, and why the humans were so careful around him. They were too far to hear more of the encounter, but when Vree looked back over his shoulder, he realized that the officials had abandoned their mission and were pounding for the doors at a run. The Thraxxis, apparently, had not gotten the message. The ambassador¡¯s spines were raised threateningly, and her mate stood steady just behind her. Thraxxis did not run from much either and were, in fact, nearly incapable of backing down from a fight. Unfortunately for them, this was a fight that nothing could possibly win for them. With a snarl, Lord Petros changed from a tall human, into a mountain range of black scales. Vree¡¯s legs turned to jelly, and he grabbed for the wall, eyes fixed on the spectacle before him. His humans had told him about dragons. He had seen pictures, and recordings. He had read everything the humans had to say on the subject. Nothing could have prepared him for the sight before him now. The ballroom could easily fit a human destroyer within its cavernous hall. It was designed as a place to build such ships, before the humans turned into a place for events like this one. The gala took up barely a tenth of the space, even with all the ships of state housed within. It was barely big enough to accommodate Lord Petros in his true form. His tail coiled around the hall and the tip lashed furiously. For all his immensity, his great bulk never so much as touched any of the parked ships. Vast black wings stayed furled, but they rustled and shifted, and still nearly brushed the ceiling. It was sheer luck that Vree and Amir were near the doors already, or they might have been crushed by accident.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Nineteen kilometers of dragon had a very particular sound. The bone-click of scales and the furnace-rumble as he took slow, angry breaths. The rustle of wings that looked like fine leather and were tipped by blackened wing-claws that would have torn the ceiling apart if not for the dragon¡¯s delicate care. Fire glowed between the scales of his throat and flickered behind his teeth. ¡°Say it again,¡± the creature hissed. His voice was like a volcano erupting, and the sharp scent of burning metal filled the hall. ¡°Dare to face me now knowing what I am. Dare to threaten my great Treasure once more in my presence.¡± A scrap of white glittered in the corner of one of his eyes, Lady Petros, unconcerned by her husband¡¯s transformation and apparently accustomed to this behavior. Vree stood frozen, unable to move and shivering. His hindbrain screamed for him to run, but his legs refused to do so. ¡°I always forget how big Blaec is when he¡¯s like this,¡± Human-Amir whispered. He clutched at Vree¡¯s arm, as shaken as Vree himself, which was oddly reassuring. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I saw him at full size.¡± ¡°Is he going to-¡° Vree didn¡¯t know what he was going to say, but he got an answer nonetheless. The dragon¡¯s head snapped down like a snake. His jaws came together in whump not unlike a ship crashing into solid rock. The Thraxxis vanished without so much as a mark on the floor to show what happened to them. ¡°Well, that happened,¡± Human-Amir said shakily. ¡°I hope Grandfather will talk him down, or the Thraxxis are going to have a bad time.¡± ¡°Grandfather?¡± Vree managed to hiss out the word between his chattering teeth, his eyes fixed on the dragon. When the humans said how big he was, Vree just assumed they were exaggerating. Humans did that sometimes. They were not exaggerating. ¡°He is referring to me,¡± a lone human walked past Vree, in the traditional dress of their home world¡¯s desert. ¡°If you intend to stay, Grandson, do so quietly.¡± ¡°Yes Grandfather,¡± Human-Amir said, surprisingly obedient for once. The old human nodded and forged down the stairs, calm and deliberate. Human-Amir followed him, and Vree did the same, although his instincts screamed at him to find somewhere to hide. ¡°Grandfather Al-Mudhib is a djinn,¡± Human-Amir told Vree at a whisper, once again using a word that Vree did not know for a being that he had never heard of before. ¡°He¡¯s as old as Blaec, or maybe older. Neither of them know which of them is more powerful. If they fought, they might rip a hole in reality.¡± Black spots floated across Vree¡¯s sight, and his hearts pounded out of sync. Just the thought of that kind of power¡­ ¡°Blaec,¡± the ancient human said, without raising his voice. Vree marveled at his calm, considering what just happened. Of course, if he was as powerful as Human-Amir said, he had little reason to be afraid. ¡°I trust the insult to your honor has been satisfied?¡± ¡°I am undecided,¡± the dragon said, although he seemed to coil in on himself. In a matter of moments, there was a human where once a dragon stood. His mate, still unruffled, curled her arm into the crook of his arm . ¡°The insult is satisfied, and yet the threat to my Great Treasure remains. How do you suggest I answer it?¡± ¡°With fire, as always. How else?¡± ¡°And the peace?¡± ¡°Leave peace to the humans. You and I are kindled for other things.¡± Vree never knew what made him do it, but he stepped forward, despite Human-Amir¡¯s whispered protests. ¡°Lords,¡± he croaked, and knelt when they looked at him. Before he dropped his eyes, he got a glimpse of Lady Petros¡¯ smile. Hopefully that meant he wasn¡¯t about to die. ¡°Our alliance is hard-won. I beg you¡­¡° It wasn¡¯t his nature to beg, but these beings were gods compared to him, and there was no shame in groveling to gods. ¡°Please, let us have the peace we fought for,¡± he continued, speaking to the floor because it was less likely to eat him. ¡°I am not human, but I know some, and while your people are fierce in war, they love peace. Please let us keep what little we have won.¡± ¡°That was very eloquent.¡± Soft human hands lifted Vree¡¯s chin and he discovered Lady Petros smiling down at him. She was lovely, for a human, and all in white, with black scales decorating her throat and ears. Her husband¡¯s scales, Vree realized. ¡°You argue for peace for a people not your own,¡± she murmured. There was a burr in her voice that Vree recognized from Human-Nerea. Lady Petros was a mermaid. The First, if Human-Nerea was to be believed. ¡°More gracefully than those practiced at it, and even though you are afraid.¡± ¡°Peace is important,¡± Vree laid his ears back nervously and tucked his tail against his leg, let it lash and startle them into crushing him. He didn¡¯t like having the attention of these great beings on him alone. ¡°Important enough to say something. More important than fear. ¡­please don¡¯t eat me.¡± She laughed and turned her eyes on her husband, who immediately bent at her slightest touch, immense power at the whim of his beloved mate. ¡°My love, I am never from your side. I will pass the word to my nieces, and all will protect them. Let this alliance have its peace.¡± Lord Petros wavered. Vree tried not to breathe. It might change his mind. ¡°As you will, my Treasure,¡± Lord Petros bowed to her wishes and pressed a kiss to her fingertips that made her smile softly up at him. ¡°I will withhold my fury, for now.¡± ¡°Thank you, Lord Petros,¡± Vree said shakily, and started to breathe again, although not without a rattle of his teeth, betraying his terror. He might just survive today after all. ¡°As you say, Blaec,¡± Al-Mudhib said agreeably. He folded his hands into his sleeves and Vree dropped his eyes back to the floor. He didn¡¯t know what a djinn was, and he didn¡¯t want to. ¡°Shall I go and reassemble the guests? ¡°Might as well. And you¡­¡± Lord Petros fixed his gaze on Vree. Vree resisted the urge to shrivel into the floor. It seemed very welcoming, if somewhat barren of places to hide. ¡°Vree, Lord Petros,¡± Vree said to the stone floor. ¡°From planet Ha¡¯reet, of the Fetar system.¡± ¡°My wife is right, Vree of Ha¡¯reet,¡± Lord Petros said thoughtfully. ¡°You argue eloquently for peace. Join us at our table. I wish to hear your thoughts on other things.¡± Vree gripped his own tail and tried not to cut and run. He thought he could hear Human-Amir snickering behind him, and rather hoped the human would accompany him, if only so that Vree could hide behind him. This was not what he had in mind when he came to this party! Screams in the Dark ¡°It¡¯s not an adventure if you don¡¯t nearly die.¡± ¡°This is a terrible idea.¡° ¡°You just need to get into the spirit of things,¡± Human-Amir said. Vree might have given his words more weight if they weren¡¯t being shot at. ¡°Adventure is a longstanding human tradition.¡± ¡°You say that as if I am supposed to find this enjoyable,¡± Vree muttered, and laid his ears back so they wouldn¡¯t get shot full of holes. ¡°There is nothing enjoyable about having a shipload of pirates attempting to board our ship so they can kill us all.¡± ¡°Tradition,¡± Human-Amir repeated. He stole a look over their scant cover, more professional than Vree expected for a scientist, but humans lived to surprise. Human-Amir was no exception. ¡°I see four of them at the bend in the hallway. How far do you think you can throw me?¡± ¡°Throwing you seems like a poor decision on both our parts.¡± ¡°Come on. It¡¯s hypothetical. How far?¡± It was never hypothetical with humans. They asked this sort of question before they did something stupid or worse, talked others into helping them. Vree did not want to be the person who helped the human do something stupid. Human-Amir was still waiting expectantly and Vree hissed at him. The sight of pointed canines and Vree¡¯s barbed tongue did nothing to sway him. And he just nodded pointedly towards the pirates. Vree popped up to get a look for himself. The pirates were right where Human-Amir said they were, tucked down where they would be difficult to shoot and more so to root out by hand. If they had grenades¡­ They did not have grenades. There was no point in wishing for them. ¡°I could throw you about ten meters without difficulty, but less in this hallway,¡± Vree decided when he ducked back down. A blaster bolt sizzled the spot where his head had just been. ¡°How far do I need to throw you?¡± ¡°See? I knew you would get on board. You have great night-vision, yeah?¡± Human-Amir didn¡¯t wait for an answer. He leaned over Vree to fire several shots into the light-fixtures. The hallway went dark and the pirates hollered their confusion. ¡°Okay,¡± Human-Amir braced against the steel plating of the wall, checked his gun, and tucked it into the holster on his hip. ¡°Throw me at them.¡± ¡°This is a terrible idea and I will not encourage you,¡± Vree growled in his face. ¡°Why are you trying to get me killed? Your grandfather will chop me into little pieces and send me into the Void.¡± ¡°Not if this works.¡± This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°The chances of this working are less than ten percent.¡± ¡°Higher than I thought. Throw me!¡± Vree debated, but he could hear the pirates. They were calling for backup. ¡°Fine, come here,¡± he gave in. Human-Amir grinned, and let Vree get a good hold on him. ¡°If you get killed, I am going to find some way to bring you back and explain to your grandfather that this was all your idea.¡± ¡°Ask Lord Petros. He knows a bunch of Hel¡¯s priestesses. Now!¡± What that meant, Vree didn¡¯t want to know. He turned all of his considerable muscle to making his human fly. Human-Amir launched with a satisfying yell of elation. He also lit on fire mid-air. Fortunately for him, the pirates were just as startled by the flying, flaming human hurtling at them as Vree was, and it didn¡¯t occur to them to go for weapons until too late. Heat rolled over Vree and made his fur curl, but he charged in anyway, a blaster in one hand, and the other free for his metal-tipped claws. Human-Amir had two pirates down by the time he covered the scant distance and was fighting a third. Frixst were covered in heavy scales, however, and they liked fire. Of course, nothing liked blasters, and Vree shot it four times even as he batted the fourth, a small mammalian creature Vree didn¡¯t recognize, into a wall. It screeched and scrambled back to its¡¯ feet. The Frixst went down, and Vree ducked when Human-Amir vaulted over him into the mammal. It shrieked, but died quickly. When he stood up, Human-Amir was more serious than Vree usually saw him. He glowed with flame that died when the human closed his fists. A scream unlike anything Vree ever heard before echoed down from the engine room. Vree clapped his paws over his ears to block it out, but to no avail. Ringing, whistling sonics reverberated through the metal of the ship and seemed to come from everywhere at once. ¡°Nerea,¡± Human-Amir said as the scream died down. He grabbed a blaster off the floor to replace his empty cartridge. A second scream followed the first, with distinct overtones of outrage. ¡°Oooh she¡¯s not happy. We better go back her up.¡± Vree was not sure he wanted to go in a room with the angry Human-Mermaid, but Human-Amir was already trotting down the hall, wary eyes darting about in case any more enemies presented themselves. It was so rare to see humans acting as the apex predators they supposedly were. Vree watched with interest, and caution, as his friend displayed a whole set of hunting instincts Vree never knew he had. Well, he knew. he read the docket on humans after all, but this was his first time seeing the change from ¡®cheerful explorers¡¯ to ¡®Human Galactic Empire¡¯ himself. A great many rumors and myths about humans made more sense now. Human-Nerea turned out to be perfectly fine, although mussed and annoyed. There were a significant number of dead pirates on the floor, and Human-Nerea picked her way through them carefully, her bare feet graceful and silent on the metal floor. ¡°You okay?¡± Human-Amir questioned, while surveying the dead pirates. There was no question that they were very dead indeed, but also that there were probably more where they came from. ¡°We heard you scream.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a difference between screaming, and Screaming,¡± Human-Nerea said smugly. She finger-groomed her red hair back into a tail. ¡°You?¡± ¡°The big scaly ones are fine with fire, but less fine with blasters. We¡¯re good.¡± The two humans moved into a hunting formation almost by instinct and without disrupting their conversation. Vree noticed that some of the pirates bled heavily from the ears and put Human-Nerea¡¯s Scream into his mental file of ¡®things his humans could apparently do that no one previously knew about¡¯. He also noticed that, despite being larger and stronger than both of them, he was in the protected position of the formation. Without asking he nudged Human-Amir out of the way so he could take the lead. If there were more pirates, they would be getting far more than they expected. But first¡­ ¡°I am not throwing you at enemies again,¡± Vree said firmly, and was not reassured when both his humans only laughed. Warning Lights ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m hoping you will spontaneously combust¡± Vree¡¯s ears perked up at the words. Those were Very Bad words when it was Human-Amir saying them. Sometimes things he looked at actually burst into flame and then nobody was happy. Well, sometimes Human-Amir was happy. But usually nobody else. Sure enough, when he looked over it was to the sight of his humans, both of them irritated and verging on angry. The reason became immediately clear. A spine covered Rowl sat across from them wearing a very superior expression. ¡°Rowl are strong,¡± the creature, whose name was Mikket, If Vree remembered right, said, and looked down his snout at the two humans. ¡°We are fast and train from hatching in combat. I do not see why your pink species is so feared.¡± The Rowl were from a far-edge planet in the alliance. They didn¡¯t meet many humans. Vree hurried to repair the damage before Human-Amir got annoyed enough to actually light the offending creature on fire. Usually he was a reliable diplomat, but humans tended to be unreasonable about their apparent helplessness and, as Human-Amir sometimes said, ¡®had no chill at all¡¯. Vree was dubious about the translation, but took it to mean that his humans could, and would, fight absolutely anything that seemed to need fighting. ¡°Rowl-Mikket,¡± he said just as Human-Amir opened his mouth, a decidedly evil gleam in his eyes. ¡°I am very well-versed in human customs. Would you join me at my table?¡± Human-Nerea giggled and the tones of her laugh reverberated over each other. She was just as angry as Human-Amir, but she showed it differently. ¡°We promise not to kill him, Vree,¡± she said soothingly, with a sweet smile that promised all sorts of unpleasant things. Vree was not soothed and didn¡¯t believe her for a moment. ¡°He asked a question. Curiosity is a good thing, is it not?¡± Not when it got one of his humans mad enough to start fires in a pressurized ship it didn¡¯t, but she knew that perfectly well. Probably they wouldn¡¯t kill him. Murder was bad for alliances, and the Human Galactic Empire gave every appearance of encouraging their fledgling alliance. Of course, they might get into the ship¡¯s wiring, make sure his environmental settings were never correct and shoot all his laundry out the airlock. Vree was still doing damage control for the poor engineer who made the mistake of explaining very clearly how humans simply did not have the intelligence required to handle Ha¡¯reeti technology.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Human-Nerea¡¯s teasing comment, combined with her odd voice, and Vree¡¯s alarm, seemed to clue the Rowl into his danger. He looked between the two humans, bristling (Human-Amir) and smiling (Human-Nerea), and stood with every air of casual disinterest. Vree would believe it, except the Rowl stank of sudden alarm. ¡°Curiosity is a good thing,¡± he said carefully and nodded to Vree. ¡°I would enjoy seeing your research.¡± ¡°Not going to hear it from the source?¡± That was Human-Amir at his most troublesome. ¡°No, no don¡¯t let us stop you. Go read papers on us. Come back when you have better questions.¡± Rowl-Mikket straightened in offense, but Vree dropped a heavy hand on his shoulder. The hint of claws suggested strongly that the conversation was entirely over. A stern glare did little to silence his humans, but that was fine as long as they behaved. ¡°They seem like nothing much,¡± Rowl-Mikket commented as Vree propelled him towards a table on the other side of the room. ¡°Small and soft. No spines. Not even claws like your people.¡± Vree just poured a mug of spicy liquor and slid it over to him. The Rowl raised a brow, but took the drink. ¡°Humans have very little visible weaponry, it¡¯s true,¡± Vree said carefully. Now was not the time to muddy the waters with offense, but Rowl-Mikket needed to understand. ¡°You are familiar with the Yritti?¡± ¡°In passing.¡± ¡°You know of their mental talents?¡± Yritti had a wide verity of surprising abilities that were difficult to judge at a glance. Mostly the more warlike races left them alone, as they were also very fond of brutally murdering anyone who offended them. Rowl-Mikket cocked his head and nodded Vree onward. Vree poured his own drink. Sooner or later people would realize how scary humans were, but that day was not this one. ¡°Human-Amir is pyrokinetic,¡± he explained calmly. It wasn¡¯t the most complete term, but it would do. ¡°Human-Nerea is a shapeshifter with sonic abilities. You heard some of them when she laughed, earlier. Some humans are not human at all, but merely appear human. Never assume anything about them.¡± He still dreamed of a mountain of black scales and the heat of a dragon¡¯s flame. Lord Petros left a very lingering impression. Vree sincerely hoped to never meet the dragon, or any other dragon, ever again. Rowl-Mikket considered that in silence for a while. ¡°Shapeshifters?¡± he asked slowly and eyed Human-Nerea. She was joking with one of Vree¡¯s scientists and seemed unbothered by the incident. Human-Amir was watching him and winked when he caught Vree¡¯s eye. He also flashed his teeth in a clear threat display towards Rowl-Mikket. ¡°They have psionic abilities, and other tricks?¡± ¡°More than I can easily explain. We still have no complete list of what they can or cannot do. They all have both insatiable curiosity, and a truly astonishing ability to survive what should kill them.¡± Vree adored his humans, but he spent a great deal of time pulling them out of situations mostly of their own making and frequently dangerous. These days, he was happy if all they did was light something on fire. Last solar week, it was pirates. The pirates learned how dangerous humans were. Not that many of them were still around to tell the story. ¡°Thank you for the warning,¡± Rowl-Mikket said at last. Vree could tell he had made an impression and was glad. ¡°One of my missions on this ship is to learn more about the humans. Will you supervise?¡± ¡°Of course. And you are welcome to see all of our public data on the matter as well.¡± ¡°My thanks, ...and thank you also for keeping Human-Amir from lighting me on fire.¡± Scientific Examination ¡°I am not sure that your presence will improve my presentation,¡± Vree said, battling weariness. Bad enough that he was expected to attend a convention of the greatest minds in xenoscience. Worse that he was expected to present something to them! ¡°It will be long, and likely boring to you.¡± ¡°First off,¡± Human-Amir said, laying across Vree¡¯s bed because Vree couldn¡¯t get him to use a chair, ¡°You¡¯re always forgetting that I¡¯m a xenotechnology specialist. I like science conventions. Second, your presentation is about humans. Don¡¯t you want one there?¡± That was, in fact, precisely what Vree did not want, thank you very much. Skies only knew what his humans would think was appropriate. Although it was true, they were both scientists themselves. Perhaps they would behave. And perhaps Vree¡¯s home-star would turn blue and the Great Mother Desert would turn into a lush jungle. ¡°Absolutely not.¡± Human-Amir grinned up at him, folded into an unlikely contortion that could not possibly be comfortable. ¡°You know you can¡¯t stop us, right?¡± he asked cheerfully, and tilted his head at Vree like a cubling. ¡°We want to cheer for you.¡± ¡°I do not want to be cheered for. And get out of my bed!¡± + As it turned out, Human-Nerea also wanted to go to the convention, but was promptly carried off by a group of scientists who were studying groundwater on different planets. Vree hoped she actually came back, or he would have to go get her, and he would rather not. The presentation was, in short, a shipwreck. Oh, it was going just fine until Vree got to the part about humans and their astounding array of abilities. Most of them concealed those abilities carefully, and really, there was no telling just how many of them could do any given thing. Unfortunately, they were really very good at hiding their tricks, and very few of the scientists in the room were inclined to believe him. There was laughter, and Vree tried valiantly to rally. He had expected some disbelief. His claims were outlandish to anyone who didn¡¯t know a human or six.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Human-Amir, however, took offense. Very strong offense, in fact. Too fast for Vree to stop him, he marched himself up onto the podium beside Vree, and smiled brightly at the crowd. Of course, he knew perfectly well that teeth-showing was a threat to most races. He did it anyway. Or maybe because of that specifically. Vree wasn¡¯t sure. ¡°Hi everyone!¡± he said, and ducked Vree¡¯s grab for him with nimble dexterity. ¡°My name is Amir Al¡¯Kazafer. I am a human. I am also classified as Other, subclassification, Pyromancer.¡± And then he set himself on fire. The room erupted into chaos. Vree buried his head in his hands and tried unsuccessfully to remind himself how prestigious this invitation had been, and that at least they believed him now. ¡°Human-Others as, as the name implies, are human, and something else,¡± he tried to continue gamely. Apparently, his calm helped the room at large to settle, because the screaming tapered off somewhat. ¡°As Human-Amir helpfully demonstrated, he is classified as Other for his magical ability, see my recent paper on Human Magic if you have questions, or see me after this presentation, which stems from Nonhuman decent.¡± ¡°A lot of us are Earthbound,¡± Human-Amir said cheerfully, and began making shapes out of fire to amuse himself. Pens scribbled notes furiously every time he did something new. ¡°That is to say, from Earth, or appeared within Earth-history presumably from the planet. Not all Others are Earth-origin, however.¡± Vree took the cue and desperately tried to salvage the situation. He had seriously hoped not to be the one to explain djinn and dragons to the galactic community, but it appeared that he was not getting a choice on the matter. ¡°Djinn are, according to human history, beings of smokeless fire and may well be interdimensional in origin,¡± he explained, and Human-Amir helpfully illustrated a djinn¡¯s form with his fire. Vree wished he would stop. ¡°Dragons are, at first sight, much like winged lizards, but are in fact shapeshifters with absolute mastery of their physical form. They often have the entire range of human magical abilities, with variations dependent upon age and species.¡± He was going to have to do a paper on dragons. Lord Petros would probably want to be there for the presentation Vree would really rather he not be, but he wasn¡¯t about to tell the dragon what he could and couldn¡¯t do. The rest of the presentation went as smoothly as could be hoped, which was not at all, and Vree took it as a win that no one had yet tried to kill his human. Then again, Human-Amir was still on fire, and that did have a way of dissuading attack. No one really wanted to see what he could do when he felt the urge to be more than a nuisance. Towards the end of the presentation, Human-Amir let his flames die out and satisfied himself with offering off-handed comments regarding whatever Vree was talking about that moment. Vree was seriously contemplating killing him, and damn the consequences. By the time he managed to wrap up the whole disaster, there were a dozen prestigious xenobiology experts clamoring for his attention, and Human-Amir was looking very pleased with himself indeed. Vree did his best to answer their questions and wondered how exactly he had gotten himself into this mess. Human-Amir was just smug. He waved cheerfully from his seat and laughed as Vree tried to answer twenty questions at once. Red Meeting ¡°Excuse me, Captain Pelegrine?¡± ¡°That¡¯s me,¡± Tusca said, slightly surprised that someone was adresssing him. Mostly people didn¡¯t know him on sight and the ones that did mostly weren¡¯t all that polite. ¡°How can I help?¡± The speaker was a young man who looked about seventeen. He had a bag over his shoulder and his clothes were clean, but old. His hair was dark and his eyes were blue, and his smile was shy. ¡°I¡¯m looking for work,¡± the kid said, and bobbed his head nervously. ¡°I heard you were- was hiring hands onto your crew.¡± The slip up was honestly what caught Tusca¡¯s attention. There were a thousand accents swirling around them, but this kid¡¯s was as fake as relabeled spacer hooch. ¡°I am,¡± he said slowly, and looked the kid over. ¡°What can you do? I don¡¯t need a cabin boy.¡± ¡°I¡¯m good with electronics,¡± the kid said, and shifted in place. ¡°Very good. I can fix most anything, and I¡¯m not a bad hand running a science station.¡± The accent was getting worse. Tusca sighed and felt the stabbing of his concience under his ribs. A kid this pretty, and he was, for all that Tusca didn¡¯t do men, and definitely didn¡¯t do children, was going to find trouble in a hurry. Bad trouble, probably, since he was obviously a runaway too. ¡°Answer me two questions,¡± he decided, because he couldn¡¯t bring himself to let someone worse than him take this kid in. ¡°First, how old are you? And don¡¯t lie to me. I have eyes.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The kid considered it anyway, but that thought withered under Tusca¡¯s expectant gaze. ¡°Just seventeen.¡± About what he thought. Not a surprise, but still damn young to sign aboard. ¡°Alright,¡± Tusca allowed, and resumed packing supplies into a travel crate. ¡°Second question; did you really think the fake accent would work?¡± The kid winced and laughed at the same time, which was not the most comfortable expression. ¡°I thought it might be better than the alternative,¡± he said, and now that he had dropped the accent, Tusca could see why. The kid¡¯s real accent was as Imperial Core-Educated as they came. Whoever he was, he came from a whole lot of money. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to put anyone off. I really do need a job.¡± Well, shit. Tusca sealed up the crate, sat on it, and looked around. There were half a dozen other ships in the market. All of them were looking for people. Spacers always were. The Black was dangerous. ¡°Why my ship?¡± He asked as the kid shuffled his feet, awaiting Tusca¡¯s word. ¡°The Kreel is over there. Better living, if you don¡¯t mind a long haul ship. And the Gyrefalcon is a booze-running ship, if you want excitement.¡± ¡°I just want a job,¡± the kid shrugged uncomfortably. ¡°I¡¯ve heard you¡¯re fair to your people even when things are lean, and that you mostly stay out of trouble. The Kreel was hit by pirates twice last year, and the Gyre has a record as long as my arm.¡± ¡°You a hacker?¡± Tusca tilted his head. That was a lot of information for someone casually looking for a job. A hacker could be a very useful addition to his crew. ¡°We¡¯re not a Science ship, and I have an engineer already.¡± ¡°I can hack,¡± the kid assured him, brightening. ¡°And I can tune up your electronics if your engineer doesn¡¯t know how. I don¡¯t know if it helps, but I also speak nine languages fluently, and another five well enough to get by.¡± Kid made a good case for himself, even if he was really too young for all that. ¡°Alright,¡± Tusca resigned himself to keeping an eye on a teenage runaway. At least it sounded like he really did have some useful skills. ¡°One last question. What¡¯s your name?¡± The kid grinned, all enthusiasm and bright success. ¡°Luka. Luka Gol.¡± ¡°Well then,¡± Tusca said, and shook his hand firmly. ¡°Welcome to the Wavedancer, Luka.¡± Red Baron ¡°Surrender the Imperial Prince, and your ship can go free. You have ten Galactic minutes to make your decision.¡± The comm crackled off, and Captain Tusca leaned back in his chair with a sigh. He rubbed a hand over his face and then leveled a stern gaze on his sheepish science officer. Who was, apparently, His Imperial Highness, Lukas Rayhan Goliat, Crown Prince and Heir to the Human Galactic Empire. ¡°Luka, when this is over, you and I are having a long conversation about the things I need to know about my crew,¡± he said flatly, and Luka winced. Tusca took pity on him and turned to the scanning officer. ¡°Do¡¯, how many of them are there?¡± ¡°Thirty-two,¡± Dorinda reported dutifully, and leaned over to smack the back of Luka¡¯s head. ¡°You lie to us again and I¡¯m gonna whoop you, prince or no!¡± It was a crime to strike the Imperial Personage, but Luka only yelped and ducked when she went to whack him again. ¡°Sorry! Sorry! Stop hitting me, Do¡¯!¡± She cursed at him creatively in Spanish, but she did stop hitting him. Tusca hid a smile. Do¡¯ was the Ship Mom, and Luka was their youngest crew member. She would calm down eventually. ¡°How can you be so calm?¡± Ah, there it was. Tusca turned in his chair to examine Graat. He had four non-humans on his ship, and Graat looked the part. All white fur, lizardy face, and kitty ears. Of course, he was also nine feet tall, which sort of took away from the ¡®cute¡¯ factor. Ha¡¯reet were powerful fighters, but Graat was a scientist, and somewhat timid in the face of adversity. He was, however, a very fine navigator. When he wasn¡¯t panicking, anyway. Tusca supposed he could forgive the panic. His ship, the Wavedancer, wasn¡¯t a battle ship, and definitely wasn¡¯t prepared to take on thirty-two heavily armed pirates. ¡°I assume they have weapons on us?¡± he asked his gunners. Their names weren¡¯t actually Left and Right, but the twins were utterly identical, and stood nearly seven feet in sock-feet. Tusca loved taking them with him on negotiations. ¡°And tell me who is who today.¡± They liked to switch places on him. He could tell them apart, but neither of them knew that yet, and he was saving the revelation for a good moment. ¡°All the big stuff and most of the little stuff,¡± Left reported dutifully. He had a black eye at the moment. Probably thanks to his twin. ¡°I¡¯m Left.¡± ¡°they also have communications blockers on us,¡± Right called. He leaned back in his chair and pointed out the viewscreen at one of the smaller ships. ¡°See there? The dish on that one? Super illegal. Can we get one?¡± ¡°If you can find one that¡¯s fixable or works for less than a thousand Imperial, we can get one,¡± Tusca allowed, and heard Graat yelp a protest. ¡°Captain!¡± ¡°What? Looks useful.¡± ¡°We first have to survive this,¡± Graat reminded him forcefully, his furry mane standing on edge. ¡°You cannot believe they will release us, even should we agree to their terms!¡± ¡°Which we¡¯re not doing,¡± Tusca said with a reassuring smile to poor Luka, who looked very pale at the thought. ¡°Impie prince or no, you¡¯re one of ours.¡± ¡°Got a plan?¡± Do¡¯ asked tentatively. She was tough, but it was bad odds. ¡°We can¡¯t fight this one out.¡± ¡°We¡¯re gonna run for it,¡± Tusca told her, and caught the eye of his pilot. ¡°Carlito, will you be offended if someone else flies this one?¡± ¡°Does it matter if I am?¡± Carlito asked in reply, and shrugged helplessly. ¡°I¡¯m not a combat pilot. I mean, maybe I could get us clear, but it would be pure luck if I did.¡± ¡°Good. You¡¯re on copilot until I tell you otherwise,¡± Tusca told him, glad his crew was being professional. They didn¡¯t have time for clashing egos. Not now when time was of the essence. ¡°Right, get Roja up here.¡± Right turned to follow orders, and Do looked Tusca over speculatively. ¡°Roja is a doctor.¡± ¡°Best there is. Time check?¡± ¡°Four minutes and twenty-four seconds,¡± Graat said. His fur had gone from puffy to ¡®got caught in a hair-dryer¡¯ and his eyes were white all the way around. ¡°Captain, you cannot possibly believe we can escape. The moment we try, they will blow us from the black.¡± They would try, anyway. People were always underestimating humans. Tusca smiled, just a little. ¡°What do you know about Earth, Graat? About Earth-history, specifically. Early nineteenth century.¡± ¡°It was before you left your home-world,¡± Graat said warily, clearly baffled by the question. ¡°Other than that, nothing.¡± No surprise. It was ancient history. Tusca hadn¡¯t actually expected him to know anything about it. ¡°There¡¯s a story from that era,¡± he explained casually. ¡°See, it was our first World War, and aircraft were still real new to our race. Not good. Prone to lighting on fire or dropping out of the sky, and that was before they got shot up. But there was this pilot. Better than anyone else. Arguably the best in the world at the time. They called him the Red Baron.¡± ¡°Does this have a point?¡± Dorinda wasn¡¯t the patient sort. She turned to Graat. ¡°The Red Baron turned into a sort of title for the best pilot in the air- or in the black. Generally, there¡¯s only one and they always fly the same colors. A red ship as tribute to the first Red Baron. Tusca, why the story time? I don¡¯t see where-¡°Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. She cut herself off and her mouth dropped open just as Roja walked in. The doctor took in the bridge with his usual unflappable calm, and then the viewscreen, with the timer counting down the seconds. ¡°Why do we have an army after us?¡± he asked, and leaned his hip against Tusca¡¯s chair. At this angle, Tusca could just barely see the red swirls of Roja¡¯s tattoos under his sleeves. ¡°And why am I here, and not downstairs in the MedBay?¡± ¡°Do you remember,¡± Tusca said, and turned to face him. ¡°What I said when I hired you?¡± No one ever claimed the doctor was stupid, ad he chuckled, eyes crinkling at the edges. ¡°You said if I ever got within spitting distance of the helm, you would shoot me in the head, and fire me out the airlock.¡± Oh good. He did remember. That was nice. It was a long time ago. ¡°Consider that revoked.¡± Roja eyed him, all humor evaporating away. Without another word, he turned and walked purposefully towards the helm. ¡°What-¡° Graat still didn¡¯t understand. Tusca flashed him a hard grin. ¡°Captain?¡± ¡°You¡¯re gonna want to hold onto something,¡± he advised even as Roja yanked the cables out from the helm¡¯s console and twisted several of them together. ¡°No one flies like the Red Baron. Crew, until we¡¯re out of this, Roja is in charge. He tells you to do something, you do it. No hesitation. No questions. Just do it.¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± they called, although he heard plenty of doubt there too. ¡°Are you serious?¡± Carlito said as Roja tore the ship apart, and did something mysterious with the wires. ¡°You¡¯re tearing apart the auto-flight assist!¡± ¡°Yup,¡± Roja confirmed from under the panel. ¡°Time?¡± ¡°Two minutes, nine seconds.¡± ¡°Good. More than enough. Flight-assist is too slow,¡± Roja said, and popped up from under the console with a twist of wires his hand. To everyone¡¯s¡¯ surprise, he reached up behind his ear and pried off a skin-colored tab, revealing a socket that went straight into his brain. The frayed wires went in, and he winced as electrify crackled across the metal socket. ¡°Hate doing this raw, but there¡¯s no time to install a proper plug.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t know you had a cerebral socket,¡± Tusca commented as Roja quickly adjusted the console to his preferences. Some pilots had them, although Carlito didn¡¯t. No wonder Roja turned off the auto-flight. His own mind was faster. ¡°Guess I should have known.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t do my kind of flying without an implant,¡± Roja muttered, shoved his sleeves up to show the ancient-style red airplane tattooed down his arm, backed by a brilliant red-and-yellow starburst, and curled his hands around the controls. ¡°Strap in. Don¡¯t want to scrape you off the ceiling later.¡± He didn¡¯t wait for them to do it, and slammed a button. Music pounded out of the speakers, fast and loud enough that Tusca could feel the beat vibrating through his chair. For a minute he didn¡¯t understand, and then he saw Roja¡¯s finger counting the beats. He was tracking time dilation with the music. There was always some, from the jump-drives in every ship, and sometimes from the ships themselves. Plus, the almost-unnoticeable patches that lingered, unseen, in space. The sort of thing that a pilot could track, and use to their advantage, if they knew how. He was going to have to pay Roja more after this. Assuming they survived it. The ship kicked forward and spun in a tight barrel-roll one way, and then the other, somehow shaking most of the auto-targeting leveled on them. Tusca held on tight to the arms of his chair as the shot directly towards the waiting ships, and flipped open the comms. ¡°All crew, strap in!¡± Better late than never. ¡°What in the name of-¡° Graat was the closest and Tusca wondered if the Ha¡¯reet knew he was leaving marks in the steel of his console. Probably not. ¡°What is he doing?!¡± That was fair, honestly. No one flew like this. It was the kind of expertise that came with a very particular pairing of insanity and a few seconds of genuine foresight. No Red Baron was really sane, but they were the best, and sometimes that was all that mattered. Shipkiller missiles tore at them, leaving ionized trails behind. Any one of them was enough to wipe out their little ship. A dozen would drop a destroyer. ¡°On my mark, drop the shields,¡± Roja yelled over the music, his hands flying across the console. ¡°All of them at once. Do¡¯, get ready to blast communications open at exactly four-ought-nine-six-omega.¡± ¡°Ready!¡± Left yelled back, although he glanced at Tusca, who nodded shortly. He might not know what Roja was up to, but he trusted their doctor and no one outflew a Red Baron. ¡°On your mark!¡± ¡°Do¡¯?¡± ¡°Ready!¡± ¡°Hit it.¡± It was suicidal to drop the shields, but Left did it on Roja¡¯s command. Less than a heartbeat behind him, Dorinda flipped the communicators on. Tusca didn¡¯t hear anything. The frequency was far out of human range, and even Graat tilted his head, expecting to hear something that never came. The missiles quivered, sputtered, and turned back on the ships that fired them. ¡°Luka, I want full power from all the engines, but don¡¯t fire them yet. And keep those shields down!¡± ¡°Roger!¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good trick,¡± Tusca muttered to himself, and tried to control his stomach as Roja sent their ship into the pack of ships, sometimes so close that their hulls almost scraped together. One of the bigger ships was nearly the size of a moon, and came at them fast, cannons blazing. Almost imperceptibly, the music fell out of time with Roja¡¯s tapping finger. Anything that big produced gravity of its¡¯ own. Not much, but some. Enough, apparently, for a truly incredible pilot to slingshot around the massive ship, and into open space before anyone could stop him. Graat was praying in his native tongue. Tusca couldn¡¯t really blame him. He sort of felt like praying too. Cannons blazed around them on every side, and somehow Roja managed to spin the ship between the shots without even letting the hull get warm. ¡°Can we put the shields up?¡± Right called anxiously. ¡°Those blasts are real close.¡± ¡°Not until we Jump. Luka, are those engines hot?¡± Roja replied, his focus entirely on his task. To his credit, the prince didn¡¯t hesitate. ¡°Ready!¡± he reported in, only a little frayed at the edges. E was doing good, for someone with no combat experience at all. ¡°When-¡° ¡°Now!¡± The stars blurred around them, and then they were ripping through space-time and into the smoothest Jump-transition Tusca could remember experiencing. Perfect piloting to the last. He didn¡¯t even care where Roja was taking them as long as it was away from the guys with guns. ¡°I owe you a pint,¡± he said when it became apparent that none of the enemy ships had managed to follow them. ¡°Maybe even two.¡± Roja laughed and carefully pulled the wires out of his head. He casually turned the Jump-Auto on and stood, not even dizzy despite the areal acrobatics he just put their ship through. Everyone else was decidedly green around the gills. Even Tusca felt off, and he spent years as a fighter pilot himself. ¡°You owe me a raise,¡± the doctor replied cheekily, and patted Luka¡¯s cheek as he headed back for his MedBay now that the danger was past. ¡°Don¡¯t worry kid. We¡¯re not gonna let anything happen to you. Captain, I assume the ban on touching the helm is back in place?¡± ¡°Damn right it is. Spitting distance or farther at all times.¡± Roja was the best pilot in this galaxy and any other, but Tusca knew that sooner or later, the urge to do the thing overwhelmed even the most sensible pilot. Roja was not the most sensible pilot, even if he was the best there was. Go fast! was in his blood. Sooner or later, it would get him killed. ¡°Ah well. It was fun while it lasted,¡± Roja only chuckled, because he understood. There was a reason he was a doctor now, and not any of the things he had been when Tusca met him. The doors slid shut behind him, and Tusca looked around at his stunned crew. ¡°That,¡± he said casually, ¡°is what it means to fly with a Red Baron.¡± Behind him, there was the ominous sound of someone getting sick. Tusca sighed, and caught Carlito¡¯s eye. The young pilot looked at his ripped-apart console with the air of someone who wasn¡¯t sure that what he was seeing was real. ¡°Where did he send us?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t- I don¡¯t know,¡± Carlito said, and timidly took his seat back. ¡°How- I mean-¡° ¡°Start with where we¡¯re going,¡± Tusca commanded, and looked over at Luka. ¡°And you, you get over here and explain to me how exactly I got the crown prince on my ship without knowing it.¡± Nobility and Flames ¡°Who are you to your Empire?¡± Vree sank down onto the bench next to Human-Amir and gazed out at the stars. They were currently facing a beautiful nebula, and he was not surprised that Human-Amir had chosen this spot to read. Human-Amir marked his spot in his book and leaned back on his hands. ¡°My younger cousin will sit the Galactic Throne,¡± he replied quietly, and Vree wondered if it was healthy not to be surprised at such a revelation. ¡°His father is the brother to mine. Twin, actually. I¡¯m¡­ seventh or eighth in line for the throne.¡± ¡°You do not know?¡± ¡°My sister is due to have a baby any day now. Since she¡¯s older, her baby will be higher up the line than me when he¡¯s born,¡± he explained casually, as if it was a matter of no importance. ¡°I¡¯m excited to meet my new nephew. I¡¯ll probably take a week or two to go see everyone. You should come.¡± ¡°Me, why?¡± Vree cocked his head curiously. ¡°I thought your breeding rituals were private.¡± ¡°They are,¡± Human-Amir chuckled. ¡°And so is birthing, usually, but we encourage people to meet our young so that everyone pack-bonds with them before they stop being cute and start being obnoxious.¡± ¡°Does that happen quickly?¡± ¡°As soon as they get real mobile, they¡¯re trouble. Very cute trouble, but trouble.¡± The way he said it made Vree wonder whether this was a universal-human thing or a Human-Amir thing. Suns help him, he was starting to talk like them. He would have to decide later whether this was good or bad. ¡°I would be interested in meeting the new cub in your Pride,¡± he decided after some thought. ¡°I have never met a human cub.¡± ¡°Yeah, we keep them pretty close to the family for the first fifteen years or so,¡± Human-Amir admitted. ¡°Hamid, the new baby, he¡¯s gonna have a lot of opportunity, but he would be a valuable hostage too, and our family knows that.¡± ¡°Would you not be as valuable?¡± The seventh in line for the throne, cousin to a prince, that seemed like someone valuable to Vree, but maybe he was wrong. ¡°You are a prince yourself, are you not?¡±Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Technically, I¡¯m Duke-Lord of the Kahzafer system, and the surrounding asteroid belt. That¡¯s why I took the name Al¡¯Kazafer when I came here.¡± ¡°Is that less title noble?¡± Humans were so strange. Vree wondered how they kept it all straight. Where he was from, it was just Pride and Pride Leaders. Certainly, they were large Prides, sometimes spanning the whole of a country, but Prides, nonetheless. Anyone could challenge for Pride leader if they wanted, but mostly people didn¡¯t. ¡°Lower down the line,¡± Human-Amir said with a shrug. ¡°If- sky forbid- if something happened to my uncle and his family, my father would take the throne. Sahina and I would be the heirs, Crown Princess and prince respectively. Little Hamid would be a prince too.¡± ¡°So you will not rule unless a great deal goes wrong,¡± Vree could put those pieces together for himself. ¡°But that will not happen, and so you are not a prince. But what are you doing out on a research vessel on the fringe of the galaxy?¡± ¡°I keep up with the work for my Dukedom,¡± Human-Amir said, and considered how to explain for a while. Vree watched the stars slowly drift past and wondered how differently Human-Amir saw the nebula. ¡°But xenotechnology is my specialty, and I¡¯m doing important work here. The Empire needs eyes out here that it can trust, and my uncle asked if I wanted this opportunity.¡± ¡°Your uncle, the Emperor.¡± ¡°My uncle, the Emperor. He knows I¡¯m a pyromancer, and that I have some combat training to go with the science. He figured I would be alright out here.¡± Humans. Humans and their strange family dynamics and their frankly confusing politics. Vree had no less than seven papers under review for publication. Somehow, he had become one of the leading experts on humans and their customs, biology, and political structure. Human-Amir laughed at him every time Vree got a new invitation to speak to rooms full of scientists much more qualified than he was. The last time, Human-Amir came with, and cheerfully provided himself as a demonstration for Vree¡¯s talking points. Vree got a commendation from the Ha¡¯reet High Pride Counsel for that speech. He still didn¡¯t know what to make of that, either. And Lord Petros seemed to think he was interesting. Vree tried not to think about that at all, and answered any questions the ancient dragon-lord had for him. There were lots. He did his best and hoped he never met the dragon in person ever again. Or any other dragon, for that matter. One was enough. ¡°Should I be using a title for you?¡± he wondered, already considering his next scientific paper. Somebody ought to figure out how human pack-bonds worked, and that someone was probably going to have to be him. ¡°You told me to use a title for Lord Petros, not a species moniker.¡± ¡°I would rather you didn¡¯t use my title,¡± Human-Amir said thoughtfully. ¡°No one really knows who I am, or who my family is. That helps keep me safe.¡± ¡°Does Human-Nerea know?¡± ¡°Oh yeah, but she¡¯s direct-line from Lady Petros¡¯ older sister. She¡¯s as noble as I am, in her way.¡± Why. Why were humans so sun-cursed complicated. A fire-spouting human and a who-knew-what shapeshifting human, and both of them noble and all of it complicated. ¡°Humans,¡± Vree only sighed, because really, that one word wrapped up all his feelings on the matter. Human-Amir just laughed, and began explaining the complicated dynamics of what made someone nobility. Red Prince ¡°Teach me to fly.¡± Roja looked up from his microscope to see Luka leaning on his exam table. The young prince looked a little unsure of himself, but all too eager. ¡°If I get near the helm, Tusca will shoot me,¡± Roja replied frankly, and carefully took the slide and set it into his small preservation chamber. ¡°I would rather not get shot, thank you.¡± ¡°But I¡¯ve never seen anyone fly like you,¡± Luka persisted, and leaned forward. ¡°Teach me to fly.¡± ¡°No one flies like I fly,¡± Roja told him frankly, and pulled another sample out. ¡°Even if I wanted to teach you, and I don¡¯t, you aren¡¯t a precog.¡± Luka looked down at the table. Something about the way he did it caught Roja¡¯s eye, and he focused on the young prince. ¡°Luka?¡± ¡°I¡­ might not have been honest when I said I wasn¡¯t an Other,¡± Luka said reluctantly. He was a fidgeted, and Roja handed him a broken scanner to fiddle with while he got his head in order. ¡°I have some tricks I kept quiet.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± Roja finally took his attention off his project, genuinely angry, although probably not for the reason Luka expected. ¡°Luka, if you have non-human genetics, I need to know about it. Hell, I could have poisoned you by accident and never known why you were reacting badly! Dammit boy, I knew you were a royal as soon as I ran your blood. You could have told me!¡± Luka wilted under the scolding. Poor kid, he really was young, and Roja didn¡¯t have a very high opinion of whoever had raised him, royal or no. He needed a lot more hugs than he got as a kid. ¡°I¡¯m one-sixteenth dragon. It doesn¡¯t show in bloodwork.¡± Roja dropped the slide in his hands and stared at Luka. Luka winced and turned the broken scanner over in his hands nervously. ¡°How did no one know about this?¡± Roja finally got his mouth to work, although he was still waiting on his brain. ¡°The Emperor is human.¡±Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°Mostly,¡± Luka said shyly, and seemed to be trying to hide behind his own shoulders. It wasn¡¯t working. ¡°There was a big scandal five generations back. The Emperor married a commoner and made her Empress Royal.¡± ¡°Is that why they called him the Dragon King?¡± ¡°Ah, no. that was because he was the first emperor to reach out to the dragons as their own independent government,¡± Luka shrugged, apparently more comfortable with his family¡¯s history than he was about fessing up his own issues. ¡°¡­although he did it by reaching out through the Empress Royal.¡± That was more complicated than Roja was really willing to touch. He had the important part. ¡°Alright,¡± he sighed. At least it was hard to poison a dragon. As far as Others, dragons were among the hardest to kill. ¡°So, part dragon. What does that have to do with my teaching you to fly? Are you a precog?¡± Precognition or something similar was requisite for a truly incredible pilot. There had to be something to push them from the edge of ¡®impressive¡¯ to ¡®amazing¡¯ And Roja wasn¡¯t about to waste his time with any less than amazing. ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± Luka admitted, and held up the broken scanner in his hands. ¡°but Assha Resatsat passed a few gifts down to her children.¡± Electricity crackled over his fingers and into the scanner. It lit up as if it had never been broken. ¡°You¡¯re a technopath,¡± Roja said quietly, and examined the scanner when Luka handed it over. He would be lying if he said that didn¡¯t change things. A technopath, if they were powerful enough, didn¡¯t need a crew. They could do everything from engines to communications all from a single console. It might be enough to counter the precog he didn¡¯t have. ¡°How powerful are you?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a reason I went into engineering,¡± Luka smiled faintly. ¡°I can fix almost anything that uses electricity to function.¡± ¡°How are you with electrical currents?¡± If he could sense when electricity wasn¡¯t moving at the right speed, he could track time dilation. ¡°Not bad, but I¡¯ve never really tried to mess with them. Normally my problem is that electricity isn¡¯t going where it¡¯s needed.¡± Roja leaned back in his chair and gave the idea serious thought for the first time. ¡°Alright,¡± he said at last, and held up a hand to hold back Luka¡¯s exuberance. ¡°Convince Tusca. If you can get permission, and I will be talking with him about this, I¡¯ll consider it.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Luka launched himself almost over the workstation and threw his arms around Roja¡¯s shoulders with all the excitement Royal training somehow hadn¡¯t killed off. ¡°Thank you!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t thank me yet,¡± Roja cautioned, although he did hug the young prince. ¡°You still have to talk to Tusca.¡± ¡°I will,¡± Luka promised cheerfully. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to him. Thank you so much!¡± One more enthusiastic hug, and he was gone, darting out the door towards the bridge. Roja watched him go and shook his head, although he couldn¡¯t contain his smile. Stronger souls than Luka had tried to talk Tusca into smarter things and failed. If he could talk the captain into flying lessons, he was a better diplomat than Roja thought. Who knew? Maybe the prince would be the first Royal Red Baron. Packmates ¡°This is the Wavedancer, requesting permission to dock. We need to make some quick repairs.¡± Vree looked on as Captain Ryyt allowed the small, ragged ship to dock in their largest hanger where it could be watched. Beside him, Human-Amir perked up and might have taken off at a run if Vree hadn¡¯t grabbed him first. ¡°My cousin is on that ship!¡± Human-Amir protested and wiggled to get loose without success. Vree had a good hold on him and would not be letting go without reason. ¡°Fine. Come with. You¡¯ll like Luka.¡± Vree considered. On one hand, he did generally like humans. On the other, he seemed to recall that Human-Amir¡¯s cousin was the Crown Prince of their Galactic Empire, and that this could mean a great deal of trouble. He still hadn¡¯t forgiven Human-Amir for the ¡®throw me at the pirates!¡¯ incident, and hoped this wouldn¡¯t be another. ¡°Should we be bringing soldiers?¡± he asked his human carefully, and pointedly ignored when Human-Amir wiggled again. ¡°Is your cousin not-¡° ¡°He¡¯s getting some life experience,¡± Human-Amir said, and seemed to realize the problem. ¡°Oh, no. They¡¯re not pirates. Smugglers, I think, but they¡¯re nice. Luka writes to me about them.¡± ¡°Do they know who he is?¡± That could be very important. He would rather know in advance before he said the wrong thing to the wrong people. ¡°Maybe? Don¡¯t out him unless he says it¡¯s okay. Like me, his safety is in people not knowing.¡± Vree considered some more and then set Human-Amir back on his feet. ¡°Should we call Human-Nerea?¡± ¡°Nah, she¡¯s doing a thing.¡± ¡°A thing?¡± Vree asked warily, since the word ¡®thing¡¯ was good cause to be very nervous about his humans and their activities. ¡°What sort of thing?¡± Human-Amir started to laugh, which was not at all reassuring. ¡°That cute engineer from section B. She had her ¡®gonna get some¡¯ smile on.¡± That did seem like a problem in the making, but before Vree could ask farther, they came to the hanger, and there was a whoop of glee from the newly landed ship. Human-Amir, in a display of dexterity he usually pretended he didn¡¯t have, ducked Vree¡¯s reflexive grab and threw himself across the room to catch a young human up in a crushing hug. They were laughing and play-fighting, and Vree left them to it. It was good to see his human so happy. Their packs were very important, and Human-Amir didn¡¯t see his very much. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. The crew was very small, and Vree approached them slowly enough for them to take his measure. It was clear that some of them were what Human-Amir called Others. One stood nearly as tall as Vree¡¯s own three meters. Another had living vines snaking around her and blooming in her hair. And then there was their lone Ha¡¯reet, who looked how Vree often felt when dealing with humans. ¡°I¡¯m Tusca,¡± their captain introduced himself politely with a little head-bob that suggested their Ha¡¯reet tried to teach them manners and mostly failed. ¡°Thanks for letting us land. We¡¯re hurting a little.¡± ¡°You know how I fly,¡± another human complained. His clothing bore a red cross on both sleeves at the shoulder. Their doctor then. ¡°You knew I would tear apart the console.¡± ¡°Yeah, but we will have to fix it before Carlito can fly again.¡± ¡°Bitch bitch bitch.¡± The interaction, and the smiles that followed, told Vree a great deal about the small crew and he relaxed substantially. Clearly, they were crazy, humans always were, but they were also a pack, and that was good. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were in town,¡± Human-Amir was saying as he and his young cousin approached, still play-fighting a little. ¡°Introduce me, brat.¡± ¡°Bossypants,¡± the young human said, and smiled brightly up at Vree. ¡°Amir told me all about you, but it¡¯s nice to meet you. I¡¯m Luka.¡± ¡°A pleasure,¡± Vree said dryly, and carefully shook the proffered hand while wondering exactly how his life had gotten to this point. ¡°I am Vree, Third-Commander of this ship and our human liaison.¡± ¡°He¡¯s great,¡± Human, Amir proclaimed, and let his cousin drag him over to meet the rest of the crew. ¡°Even if he does scruff me all the time.¡± ¡°You need scruffing sometimes,¡± Human-Luka replied with a grin. ¡°You got the stupid when you left home.¡± Vree watched them go, content that, for the moment, his human was in good company with his younger packmate. The crew¡¯s frazzled Ha¡¯reet came to Vree¡¯s side and gave him a proper head-cock, with his ears lowered submissively. Vree responded by grooming his ears politely and rumbled subvocal approval. Stuck on a crew of humans. Vree couldn¡¯t even imagine. ¡°I am Graat, of Whitefur Pride,¡± the Ha¡¯reet said once greetings were done. ¡°Third-born.¡± ¡°Vree, of Ridgemane Pride,¡± Vree replied, and kept a wary eye on his human. ¡°First-born. I don¡¯t wish to leave them without supervision.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t blame you,¡± Graat said sincerely, and ran his claws through his fur, which explained why it was standing on end around his ears. ¡°Human-Luka promised we would be safe here. Is he correct?¡± ¡°He is packmates with Human-Amir,¡± Vree shrugged. ¡°We are as much a diplomatic ship as anything else, and we deal with the Empire. Your ship is safe here, and no one will ask closely what it does for work.¡± ¡°A privilege of Human-Luka¡¯s Pride-bonds?¡± Graat asked delicately. If Vree didn¡¯t know what he did about Human-Luka and Human-Amir, the question wouldn¡¯t give it away, but he did. ¡°Yes,¡± he said honestly in answer to the spoken question and the unspoken one. ¡°But also because we know how humans are, and you are one of our own people.¡± ¡°You have my thanks,¡± Graat murmured. ¡°Also-¡° Whatever he might have said was lost as Vree¡¯s instincts blared and he grabbed for Human-Amir on reflex. Just in time. Human-Luka began cracking with lightning, and parts of the shoddy little ship began rearranging themselves, presumably at his direction. Human-Amir struggled and fussed, and Vree held him fast, because really, he would probably run right into the danger if Vree let him go. Why were humans always like this? It was all of them; he would swear to it. Or, perhaps, just one, since the whole crew rounded on the doctor, who looked both sheepish and defiant. ¡°What?¡± he protested defensively under the suspicious eye of his captain and crew. ¡°He was like that when we found him!¡± Vree only sighed and let Human-Amir run off to play with his cousin some more. If he got fried, it was his own fault. Humans. It was always something. Red Sky ¡°I still think this is bad idea,¡± Roja said frankly as he settled himself in the pilot¡¯s chair with the ease of someone who spent most of their life at the helm of a ship. ¡°Strap in.¡± Luka slipped into the copilot¡¯s chair and looked over at Roja even as he did as he was told. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Flying isn¡¯t just something you learn,¡± Roja told him, and brought the little shuttlecraft to life quickly. It was heavily modified because Captain Tusca was paranoid and wanted to make sure his flyers could perform if they ever needed more than one ship to get out of a bad scrape. Roja approved. It meant he didn¡¯t have to teach Luka to fly with the whole crew watching. ¡°It¡¯s your heartbeat and your air. You feel the helm under your hands every moment you¡¯re awake and dream about it when you¡¯re not.¡± ¡°Is that why the captain banned you from the helm?¡± Luka asked quietly. Roja didn¡¯t answer until they were clear of the Wavedancer and heading for a nearby asteroid that was big enough to have several smaller ones around it. It would be a good place for Luka to learn basic maneuvers. ¡°Because you love it so much?¡± ¡°No kid,¡± Roja murmured, fingers itching to do what he did best. To open her up and push until she broke, or didn¡¯t. Him versus his own skill and the Black in a flyer he leased from the captain and modified until it barely resembled what it started as. ¡°He banned me from the helm because he knew what I am. Probably saved my life by doing it.¡± ¡°How?¡± One simple word, but it was a complicated question. Roja flew them into the asteroids as he tried to figure out how to answer. ¡°No Red Baron has ever lived past fifty,¡± he said at last. ¡°Most don¡¯t make it past thirty. They get shot down, or they push their abilities, or their ship just a little too hard. I¡¯m the oldest in more than a century.¡± ¡°You turned thirty-two last month,¡± Luka said quietly. He was starting to see the cost of being a Red Baron. Good. It might keep him alive a little longer. ¡°How did you become the Red Baron?¡± ¡°The same way everyone does it,¡± Roja shrugged, and switched the main controls over to the copilot seat. He could take control if he needed to, but now it was Luka¡¯s show. ¡°You ever flown before?¡± ¡°Just little personal craft.¡± ¡°Atmo-bound or in space?¡± ¡°Atmo only.¡± Atmo flying was different. For one, there was a definitive down. Not all humans did well in a 3D mindset, but the few that did could outmaneuver almost anyone, just by operating on a different axis than the other guy. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°Okay, well, this isn¡¯t that different,¡± Roja told him, even though it really was. For a first lesson, most of that didn¡¯t matter though. ¡°The controls are pretty much the same, and the only gravity you need to worry about is if we¡¯re planetside, and right now, we¡¯re not.¡± Slowly, Luka took control of the ship. Roja had to give him credit. It was a smoother transition than he actually expected. Apparently, his young friend was a reasonably capable driver. That was useful. A quick refresher on the basics and they could probably skip right to the fun stuff. As Luka got used to the way the ship handled, Roja kept an eye on his dials, and listened to the tiny, ever-present voice inside that whispered possible futures. For now, all it had to say was that Luka would have to screw up spectacularly to cause any trouble, and to be fair, he probably wasn¡¯t going to actually hit the self-destruct by accident. Roja flipped the safety cover down over the button anyway. No harm in being careful. ¡°You were telling me how you became the Baron,¡± Luka said when they were zipping through space, and in and out of the asteroids. Roja kept his hands on the controls, but he would know about it before Luka crashed them and didn¡¯t worry too much. ¡°You just said ¡®how anyone does it¡¯ but no one did it but you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not complicated,¡± Roja shrugged, and leaned over to nudge Luka¡¯s hands into a better grip. ¡°Like this. See how you can feel the engines in your fingertips? No, it¡¯s not complicated to become the Baron. But it is hard.¡± ¡°So how do you do it?¡± ¡°You outfly the current Red Baron.¡± He still remembered that flight. Unlike most, he hadn¡¯t actually challenged for the title. He was just excited to fly, and to feel the press of time on his mind and the engines under his hands. That his chosen course was through an abandoned space-station littered with still-active mines and half-active defenses was¡­ not a fluke, but certainly the product of youth and arrogance. And then there was a red ship behind him, and chatter on his comms. The other pilot made the universal gesture for bring it on and Roja accepted, wrapped up in the thrill of Go Fast! and how close is too close. With his precognition screaming death in every direction, he blazed a path through the old station. It wasn¡¯t until he got out on the other side, a full second before the red ship, that he listened to the chatter and found out who the red ship actually belonged to, and found out who he had just out flown. No one expected the blaze of flames that erupted from the red ship, or the scream of rage that echoed over the comms for long minutes after the ship was nothing but rubble and space dust. And just like that, Roja was the new Red Baron, witnessed by a dozen ships who came to challenge and were shown up by a dumb teenager who hadn¡¯t even known what he was doing. ¡°Was it hard?¡± Luka wondered, breaking Roja from his thoughts as he slowly got a feel for the ship and got more confident, spinning them in circles and pulling tight, hairpin turns. It was harder when there was something to hit, but here in open space, it was practice, and practice was good. ¡°To outfly him?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t even know I did it,¡± Roja admitted wryly. ¡°I was seventeen and stupid and loved to fly.¡± ¡°I¡¯m seventeen.¡± ¡°Yeah, but you¡¯ve got a long way to go before you can challenge for the title,¡± Roja chuckled at the look Luka gave him. ¡°We¡¯ll get there if you turn out to be any good at this.¡± He was. Roja could already see that painful love of flying that the best pilots were never without. Their ship¡¯s helmsman had it too, but Carlito would never be a Baron. He was too enamored with the stars rushing past and couldn¡¯t feel the ship under his hands. ¡°For now,¡± he continued, and shifted a little more control over to Luka. ¡°Let¡¯s see how fast this box of bolts can really go, huh?¡± I Am Human Everything hurt. Amir opened his eyes as the door to his cell slid open, but didn¡¯t try to sit up. The beatings from the day before, or at least he thought it was a day ago, time was difficult in a windowless cell, had left him with cracked ribs. Breathing was agony, and the rest of his injuries would make themselves known the moment he moved. Beating. Electrocution. Drowning. Exhaustion. Starvation. Dehydration. They even tried to burn him, not that fire would ever be his enemy. He murmured a prayer in his grandfather¡¯s language and wondered if he ought to use his Wish to get out now, while he could. But no. Rescue was coming. Vree would never give up on him, and even if he did, Luka wouldn¡¯t. He just had to survive long enough for them to get to him. The worst of it was that the torture didn¡¯t seem to be personal. They weren¡¯t asking questions. Didn¡¯t care about anything except their machines, and what a human could survive when it really came down to life or death. Curiosity. Damn it all, Amir was a scientist himself, but this¡­. this wasn¡¯t science. ¡°Get up,¡± one of the aliens, fridd, he thought, commanded shortly in accented, clicking Common. Its mandibles rattled together when he still didn¡¯t move. If they wanted him, they could come get him. ¡°Retrieve the specimen.¡± Amir bit down a scream when they hauled him up and dragged him off down the hall to their horrific testing chambers. Pain made his vision go white, and he felt one of the cracked ribs break through as they wrenched his arms back. ¡°So, what is it today?¡± he rasped, on his second day without water, throat like sandpaper and so dizzy he probably couldn¡¯t have stood if he tried. ¡°You haven¡¯t tried cold yet. On second thought, don¡¯t. I hate being cold.¡± In the beginning, he tried to fight back. After the first two died, they put a collar on him that would electrocute him if it got too hot. Not a bad way to contain a pyromancer, all things considered. His djinn blood never did like electricity. ¡°Hold the specimen steady,¡± the leader said. Amir couldn¡¯t tell if it was made or female. Maybe fridd had no designation. Some species didn¡¯t. They were built like towering hairless apes, all raw blue skin with patches of dark hair here and there. Their heads were that of giant spiders, and he still wasn¡¯t sure how they spoke around their mandibles ¡°Begin recording.¡± It turned away. When it turned back, Amir¡¯s heart stopped in his chest, and fear left him shaking, covered in cold sweat. Panic made him struggle, but the collar kept his most dangerous abilities locked away. It snapped warningly when he tried anyway, and the convulsions robbed him of whatever strength he had left.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. The air shivered as the fridd powered up a heavy saw, made for cutting industrial steel. It whined as the blade got up to speed, and Amir struggled to get away. To no avail. The two fridd holding him were far stronger than he was and wrenched his arm into position. ¡°We will remove the limb at the wrist joint,¡± the fridd with the saw said loudly as it moved in on him, the air screaming around the sawblade. ¡°Specimen shows resistance to flame. Cauterize wound with electricity to prevent premature death from fluid loss. If it survives, we will move to the next joint up, and remove remaining- what is this?¡± The air rippled with watery heat mirages, silver and wavering as it glimmered in a perfect sphere that left the floor blackened in a ring. Amir¡¯s skin burned, hot and itchy like it always did when he set himself on fire. But the collar hadn¡¯t activated a second time, and still the heat under his skin continued to grow. Small sparks glittered through the air, here one moment and gone the next, only to reappear again a moment later. Without thinking, Amir let the sparks weave between his fingers, leaving streaks of red-sheened-gold wherever they touched his skin. Maybe he had more of Grandfather¡¯s blood than he thought. ¡°It burns!¡± one of the fridd howled and leapt away, hands smoking where they touched Amir¡¯s skin. Moments later, the other one leapt away as well, bulbus eyes flickering wildly as it tried to put out the small flames that ignited cloth and hair alike. ¡°The restraints! Lock it down!¡± ¡°It¡¯s too late for that,¡± Amir told them distantly with a steadiness he shouldn¡¯t have. The collar fell off his throat, smoking wildly, only to burst into flames the moment it hit the floor. ¡°It¡¯s much, much too late.¡± They tried to run, but not fast enough. Flames roared up around Amir, deep, angry red, and so hot that the three fridd vanished as waves of blistering heat rolled off his skin. When the flames settled, there was nothing left but piles of ash and bone, and the melted slag of the saw they were going to use to cut him apart. The fire raged inside him, and then all he could see was red. Smokeless fire rolled off his body, leaving red-gold waves across his skin that slowly faded back to his natural tan. The fridd kept coming, first in ones and twos, and then a wall of bodies and clicking mandibles sharp enough to bite through cloth and flesh alike. Amir fought with flames, and then with anything that came to hand. He didn¡¯t remember finding a long, barbed knife, but somehow it was in his hand as he cut deeply through blue skin and spread blue blood down the sleeves of his shirt. He did remember one of the fridd throwing a chair at him, a last-ditch effort to keep him back. He remembered blasting it away, a twisted pile of sharpened metal that buried itself in the chest of another enemy. Bodies trailed in his wake as he made his way to the bridge, the panels under his feet warping with each step as heat radiated off him. The captain was waiting, with an honor guard of twelve. They died before they could take more than a step towards him, washed clean by fire that erupted at his slightest thought. ¡°What are you?¡± the captain clicked as Amir advanced on him, flames wreathing him, and fury glowing from the fiery pits where his eyes were supposed to be. ¡°We thought you were human!¡± Amir raised his hand, armed with a blaster he didn¡¯t remember picking up. ¡°I am.¡± Survivor

Survivor

It was the worst-case scenario, and the one Vree was dreading. Human-Amir had been kidnapped nearly a full galactic week ago, and they had only just found the ship that had him. It was putting out a distress beacon across every known frequency, which was very odd for such a heavily-armed ship. Usually fridd went down fighting. It was a matter of honor for the lethal warrior race. If they died in battle, they went to their god¡¯s right hand. Dangerous creatures. Vree¡¯s own people tangled with them occasionally, but the fridd only rarely got their collective heads together enough to be a significant problem. ¡°Take them,¡± Vree said shortly at the doors to the airlock. ¡°Find Human-Amir if possible, if not, find out what they did with him.¡± ¡°Sir,¡± the soldiers replied with crisp head-bobs. Their heads and large ears were shaved in the patterns of their troop, and they carried their heavy, polished body-armor like it was nothing. They were ready for action. Vree was proud of them. They were some of the best Ha¡¯reet had to offer, and they looked to him to lead them. The doors slid open. Nothing could have prepared Vree for the carnage on the other side. Bodies littered the floor, some burned beyond recognition, others soaked in blood and other fluids. No few were killed with what was clearly improvised weaponry. Everything from a sharp-ended screwdriver, to something that looked like it might have started off as a metal chair. It did not resemble a chair anymore, blacked and twisted by impossible heat. Bodies were everywhere. The full crew detail spread out in groups of two and three blue-skinned bodies, their huge, corded muscles limp in death. Their terrible mandibles, a weapon in themselves and devastating, hung loose below ranks of unseeing bulbus eyes The ship was utterly silent other than the faint hum of life support. Vree had a deep, sick feeling in his stomach. There were always stories about humans and what they could do when their lives were truly at risk, but he had discounted most of those as exaggeration. Certainly humans could be dangerous when they wanted, but wanton massacres?The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Certainly not. He should have listened to those stories more closely. The bodies continued as they stalked through the halls. Here and there the walls showed signs of intense heat damage. Wires were melted together, and no few of the Fridd were nothing but bone and greasy ash. It was a nightmare. The worst of all the rumors and stories, and wild imagination. Vree remembered the Thraxxis War, and the death it brought, but even that wasn¡¯t as bad as this. When they came to the bridge, they found Human-Amir. He sat on the stairs up the captain¡¯s chair with a long, barbed knife in one hand, and a blaster in the other. Fire danced over his skin, red and menacing, and reality seemed to bend inward around him just a little. Just enough for an aura of wrongness to radiate off him. Blood spattered his clothes, the red of his own, and the clear blue of the Fridd pirates who lay dead around him. ¡°Human-Amir?¡± Vree trusted his human and knew that, generally speaking, Human-Amir would rather cut off his own hand than harm Vree. There was nothing general about this situation, and he approached his human with the utmost caution. Human-Amir looked up at him, and Vree forced himself not to step back when unholy red eyes, deep pits of flame and nothing else, fixed on him. He resisted the urge to bolt as all that wrongness circled him even though Human-Amir did not move. In fact, he wasn¡¯t even breathing, although he was clearly alive. Vree tried not to wonder what that meant for his human friend. ¡°We came to find you,¡± Vree said carefully, and didn¡¯t move. He knew when a predator was watching him, waiting for weakness. If he spooked Human-Amir now, the human would kill them all. ¡°Your family will be glad to hear you are safe.¡± Human-Amir blinked once, slowly, and Vree blinked back, the slow, lazy blink of one who was in safe company. He let his ears fall backwards, relaxed and comfortable, even as his tail flicked back and forth, white-furred and a frequent source of amusement for his human friend in months past. The flames faded into nothing, and when Human-Amir blinked again, his eyes were back to his normal human-brown. He took a long, trembling breath, and then another. ¡°I made kind of a mess,¡± he said as Vree let himself relax, and pretended his heart wasn¡¯t beating like a propeller-blade. ¡°They- they were going to- they wanted to find out how much a human could survive. They had my arm, and this big saw-blade- I fought, and they just kept coming. I think- I think I killed them all.¡± He trailed off and his eyes flickered from brown to flames again. His hands shook and he dropped the knife to the metal floor with a shudder. Moments later, the blaster followed, and he ran his bloodstained hands over his pants reflexively. Vree stepped forward against all good sense and wrapped his arm around Human-Amir¡¯s shoulders. The human tensed like a wire, and then went limp against his side, exhausted beyond measure, injured, and shaking. ¡°Come, my friend,¡± he said gently, and did his best to ignore the bodies all around them as he guided his human back towards the air lock. ¡°You survived, today. Let us get you home.¡± Red Heart ¡°Let me go.¡± Luka met Tusca¡¯s eyes with steely resolve. For someone barely eighteen years old, the kid had a backbone to put most war veterans to shame. ¡°Absolutely not,¡± Tusca replied, feeling much older than he was. He looked at the viewscreen, and the pirate ship that was waiting on a reply. The same pirates that Roja had gotten them away from just a few months earlier. That ship outgunned his in every way. There was no chance to fight, and less chance to run without the Red Baron to get them clear. ¡°Luka, pirates don¡¯t keep their word.¡± ¡°But they have Carlito and Roja,¡± Luka said, and Tusca saw a crack in his almost-perfect mask. He understood, and everything in him was screaming to find some way out. Some way to steal a win when so much was against them. ¡±Tusca, one life is worth two. You know that.¡± ¡°And if I thought for one damn minute that they would honor that deal,¡± Tusca said, lying through his teeth, ¡°I would consider it. But Luka, you¡¯re not a space rat, you¡¯re a prince, and you can¡¯t be risked.¡± ¡°I¡¯m ordering you to risk me,¡± Luka was ready to fight for what he wanted. Unfortunately, what he wanted wouldn¡¯t get him what he wanted. ¡°I¡¯m telling you that my life isn¡¯t worth theirs!¡± ¡°And I¡¯m telling you that it doesn¡¯t matter, kid,¡± Tusca said, and stood to pull the distraught teenager into a tight hug. ¡°Luka, pirates don¡¯t trade hostages. If we try to negotiate, if we get them back, they¡¯ll kill us all. Roja and Carlito, they know that.¡± ¡°But I can kill their ship!¡± Luka offered. He was grasping at straws, and Tusca didn¡¯t have the heart to shut him down cold like he ought to. ¡°If I get onto their ship, one touch and the whole thing goes dead.¡± ¡°If you go on that ship, they¡¯ll kill Roja and Carlito. Kid, they don¡¯t want just you, they want our cargo too,¡± Tusca sighed, and closed his eyes, hurting already for the loss that was to come. He flew with Roja in the war and for many years after. ¡°The moment we go to unload it, they¡¯ll level us all, blow the Wavedancer, and, if you¡¯re very, very, lucky, they¡¯ll keep you alive for ransom. If not, you¡¯ll die with the rest of us.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know that.¡± ¡°I do,¡± Tusca said, and sank into his chair. ¡°Luka, this isn¡¯t the first time I¡¯ve seen situations like this. It¡¯s not even the first time I¡¯ve been in one, and I learned the same lesson you¡¯re about to.¡± ¡°I can call for help,¡± Luka offered, but they both knew no help could get to them before time ran out. ¡°Can any of them get here fast enough?¡± Tusca asked anyway, because, if anyone could get them back up in time, it would be the Crown Prince of the Human Galactic Empire. ¡°Anything, from a courier ship, to a Carrier. Absolutely anything?¡± Luka flinched like he¡¯d been slapped, and Tusca¡¯s heart was breaking. Soon, they would have to tell the crew why Carlito and Roja weren¡¯t back from a supply run. Soon he would have to tell his crew that two of their number, two of their family wouldn¡¯t be coming back at all. ¡°No,¡± the young prince whispered ashamedly. ¡°No, the nearest is fast, and she¡¯s close enough to get here in minutes, but-¡° ¡°¡¯But she¡¯s not close enough, and she¡¯s not fast enough to get here in time, even if I stall,¡± Tusca said. He pulled a bottle down from the cabinet he usually kept locked. ¡°The pirates will hear any call for help. I just hope we can get out of here before they blow us.¡±This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Something deadly came over Luka¡¯s gaze. Something that reminded Tusca that this wasn¡¯t an ordinary teenager in front of him. -¡°How do we handle this?¡± he asked, forcing down all the heartbreak that Tusca knew was swamping him. ¡°How do we- how do we tell the others?¡± ¡°They all grew up in the black,¡± Tusca said, and picked up the shimmering green glass bottle on his desk. The one he only ever broke out when he lost one of his crew. It was the best money could buy, and his heart broke a little more every time he poured out a round. ¡°They already know what happens when pirates take hostages. It was only a matter of time before you found out too. Come on.¡± The whole crew was waiting on the bridge when Tusca walked in with Luka on his heels. Do¡¯s face went ashy grey when she saw the bottle in Tusca¡¯s hand. She and her husband had been with Tusca as long as Roja, and they lost crew more than once in that time. The life of a small-time smuggling ship was dangerous. Sometimes they paid for it in lives. ¡°Pirates,¡± he said without preamble, and looked around at his small, loyal crew. ¡°You all know what happens when pirates take hostages, but if anyone has ideas, now¡¯s the time.¡± Silence answered him, broken only by Do¡¯s quiet tears, muffled by her husband¡¯s shirt. Carlito was her nephew. ¡°Okay,¡± he said, and took his chair, the bottle in a place of pride, fully visible. ¡°Do¡¯, put me through.¡± The pirate captain didn¡¯t look like the sort to take a kid and a doctor hostage and offer a ransom he didn¡¯t intend to pay. He looked like the type to fly a desk and argue about political red tape for hours. Tusca met Roja¡¯s eyes and saw the moment his old friend noticed the bottle at Tusca¡¯s side. ¡°Ready to play ball?¡± the pirate asked in a deceptively cheerful voice. ¡°I see you still have the kid, and you haven¡¯t unloaded your cargo for us to collect.¡± ¡°No, I haven¡¯t,¡± Tusca said, but he wasn¡¯t paying very much attention to the captain anyway. ¡°And I¡¯m not going to.¡± Roja could slip any cuffs ever invented by man or Other. If it wasn¡¯t magic, it wouldn¡¯t hold him. But that particular party trick was a secret. Arguably, the one Roja played closest to his chest. It had saved them a dozen times, not that most of the crew knew it. Now it would save their little crew one last time. ¡°Activate emergency self-destruct on Doctor¡¯s Authorization,¡± Roja yelled into the ship¡¯s computer as he slipped his cuffs and lunged for the control console. He yanked off his ever-present necklace of prayer beads, and the little crystal that hung from it. Three more pirates ran to stop him, and Carlito threw himself bodily in their way. All four men went down in a pile even as half a dozen more rushed in as their captain shouted orders. None of them were fast enough to keep Roja from scanning his medical ID into the main computer. ¡°Scan for Thraxxis-modified Spanish Influenza!¡± With that, he smashed the crystal underfoot, and gave the captain a terrible, dark smile. Sickly yellow gas coiled up around his boot and started to fill the room far faster than it ought to. Tusca knew Roja had the capsule, his last resort in this very sort of situation, and pretended he didn¡¯t know. Every spacer was due their precautions, and if Roja needed to kill a ship, Thraxxis-modified flu would do it. ¡°Modified Spanish Influenza detected,¡± the computer blared, and the whole pirate bridge lit red. ¡°Emergency quarantine and self-destruct activated. ¡°Activate distress beacon and transmit everything!¡± the captain hollered, and Tusca swore. Without a pilot, the Wavedancer was limited to his crappy flight skills, and that wouldn¡¯t be enough to get away from a pilot fleet. ¡°Captain¡¯s auth-¡° The explosion was soundless in the vacuum of space, but it felt like it should have been loud. Tusca dropped his head into his hands and gave himself a precious two minutes to grieve for his crew. His family, who had died to save them. ¡°We¡¯re gonna drink for them,¡± he said when those two minutes passed, and there was no choice but to rally. He sat himself in the pilot¡¯s chair and began warming up the console. ¡°And we¡¯re not gonna let their deaths go in vain. Graat, make us a course. I don¡¯t care where to as long as it¡¯s not here. Luka, shields. Left, Right, weapons. Alejandro, I need full power from the engines. Go.¡± They went, and he was proud of them. ¡°Captain?¡± the dread in Do¡¯s voice was bad. The way it cracked with tears was worse. ¡°We have company.¡± Ships cracked into being all around them, portalling through Jumps in answer to a distress call of one of their own, and the tantalizing prize that was the Crown Prince. Outgunned, out-manned, out-piloted. ¡°Move,¡± Luka said, voice absolutely steady despite the pain of his friend and his mentor dying before his eyes moments earlier. ¡°Let me fly.¡± Red Ship ¡°Move,¡± Luka elbowed Tusca out of the way, a fierce, furious expression on his face. Before Tusca could say anything, the prince settled himself in Carlito¡¯s empty seat. Electricity crackled across the console, and he wrenched open a cerebral socket that Tusca didn¡¯t know he had. ¡°When-¡° he started, and made for his chair, because he knew that look and he wanted to be strapped in for whatever came next. ¡°You-¡° ¡°You gave Roja permission to teach me,¡± Luka said with a coldness to him that he must have learned before he ran away from home. ¡°He taught me. Can¡¯t do our kind of flying without one.¡± The ship groaned and the crew called their worries or curses as suited their natures. Luka ignored them as wires snapped free all over the bridge and wired themselves into his console. Soon it was a spiderweb of glittering wires, and Luka fitted a small plug onto the nearest coil and plugged himself straight into the ship¡¯s control center. Then he flipped on the comms. ¡°I am Lucas Rayhan Goliat, Crown Prince of the Human Galactic Empire,¡± he snapped, Imperial accent crisp as he bit the words off with a viciousness no one could miss. The pirates on the other end stared at him, and Tusca smoothed his face of any expression. If Luka thought he had a winning play, well, it wasn¡¯t like Tusca had anything better to offer. ¡°You are currently in violation of eighteen Galactic laws including murder, and guilty by your own admission of more than that. If you do not vacate this area immediately I will personally and with great pleasure, blast you out of the goddamn sky.¡± He flipped the comms again, and Tusca could only stare at him as electricity crackled around them again and the web around Luka pulsed. The ship rumbled, and Luka smiled coldly. The pirates, apparently, weren¡¯t smart enough to take the hint. Weapons began to power up, and their own shields flickered on in time to block the first few salvos in a bright splash of silent light. Then they were moving. ¡°Captain?¡± Do¡¯ was white-knuckled in her chair as a coil of wires jacked into her console on their own. ¡°Luka¡¯s in charge,¡± Tusca decided as his ship shot forward, dodging between blasts like Luka had grown up a fighter pilot. ¡°He says to do something, you do it.¡± ¡°Yes captain,¡± Left replied for Do¡¯, his hand tight on his twin¡¯s shoulder. Right was focused on his console, but they all knew there was nothing he, or anyone else, could do. Luka flipped the comms back on as the pirates began to circle around them. ¡°Galactic control,¡± he said shortly after keying in a short code from memory. ¡°Alpha-Delta-Eta-eight-four-two, by the sign and Order of the Imperial Throne. I want an open channel to every Galactic ship in range.¡± There was loud silence over the comms, and for a moment Tusca wondered what was going on. Then; ¡°Yes, your Imperial Highness,¡± The comm tech sounded rattled. That was telling in and of itself. Comm techs were known for their unreasonable control during transmissions. To shake one of them was a feat in and of itself. Luka dropped the shields suddenly as one of the other ships got just a little too close. Lightning blazed along their hull and leapt to the enemy ship in a long bolt that left an ionized trail behind it. The other ship shuddered violently, and Luka¡¯s hands danced across the controls. Tusca wondered how he could split his attention in so many directions at once. Flying, controlling the Power no one knew he had, and broadcasting all at once. Speaking of that broadcast¡­ ¡°This is Luka Rayhan Goliat, Crown Prince of the Human Galactic Empire,¡± Luka said crisply with the air of a perfectly groomed orator. ¡°My ship is under attack by self-declared pirates. With this broadcast I am including my exact location, and the identifying information of the attacking ships. Anyone who brings me proof of destruction will have my personal thanks, and all that goes with it.¡± He flipped the comms off again. Tusca stared at him. ¡°Did you just put a bounty on them?¡± he asked incredulously. The ship Luka had zapped trembled furiously and tried to dart back into the pack that was after them. The moment it got close, lightning leapt from hull to hull, and those ships began to tremble too.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Moments later, the first ship went dark, completely dead in the water. The others followed quickly, infected by the small ship. ¡°Yes, I did,¡± Luka said darkly, and yanked hard on the helm controls. They pitched planetward in such a steep corkscrew that the hull began to warm. ¡°Let¡¯s see how many of them stick around to find out what happens in the next fifteen minutes.¡± ¡°Boy, if you don¡¯t stop the spinning, I¡¯m gonna puke on you,¡± Do¡¯ yelled from her station. She was clinging to her chair and her dusky skin was decidedly green. ¡°If you gotta, you gotta,¡± Luka replied, and didn¡¯t stop their tight dive even as they hit atmo and the heat picked up. ¡°I¡¯ll deal with it if you do. Graat, you alive?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Graat somehow rallied enough to speak. Tusca was proud of him. ¡°What do you need?¡¯ ¡°The exact density of the air layer directly over those mountains.¡± Why-¡° Graat cut himself off and scrabbled for the nearest screen to pull up the information. Cannon blasts rained down around them, and if Tusca didn¡¯t know better, he would think it was sheer luck that kept those blasts from touching their hull. ¡°Scanning now.¡± He might have thought that anyway, except that every time one got a little too close, more of that lightning crackled around them, and somehow, they managed to be anywhere but in the line of fire. Information glittered down a cable from Graat¡¯s station to Luka¡¯s, and up the wire to his brain. ¡°Got it. Left, throw our altitude up on the screen. Graat, I want a countdown to that thicker air layer. I can¡¯t afford to calculate it myself right now.¡± Numbers flashed up on the screen, bright and counting down fast. Six minutes. ¡°Do¡¯, how close on our asses are those guys?¡± ¡°Less than a thousand meters and closing!¡± she might be green, but neither Heaven nor Hell would keep Do¡¯ from fighting for her family. ¡°Hope you have a plan!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got better than a plan,¡± Luka said. Tusca caught a glimpse of his eyes and swore mentally while checking the straps on his chair. He knew that look, but the last time he saw it was in Roja¡¯s eyes right before the Red Baron slingshotted a whole fleet around the outer edge of a black hole, nearly killed them all, and won a war. ¡°I have science. Right, prime our inertial dampeners and fire up the anti-gravity field we use for cargo transport.¡± ¡°You had better be sure about this,¡± Right muttered, and hurried to do as their prince asked. ¡°Priming.¡± ¡°How long?¡± ¡°Three minutes to full power.¡± ¡°Good. I got it from there.¡± The mountains, and the invisible layer of air that surrounded them, plunged into view, black and ice-capped and looking like nothing so much as teeth. Luka wove them in and out of the icy peaks directly above that thicker layer of air that he somehow knew would be there. It was all a ploy. A play for time, and a reply to the message sent out under royal authorization. Of course, time was ticking down, and they couldn¡¯t run forever. What happened next was pretty spectacular from any angle, but honestly, the pirates got the best view. The wires around Luka lit up like a thunderstorm and channeled across his hands as suddenly their engines twisted all the way around and emptied the full force of their fury against that heavy-air layer. So quickly after that, that it might as well have been the same moment, Luka threw on their inertial dampeners and the anti-gravity field through the whole ship. The effect was a shocking sense of weightlessness as all the force of their speed emptied into the dampeners, and the anti-gravity kept the crew from turning into chunky salsa on the view-screens. The speed boost was, frankly, impossible. Tusca fought to keep his monkey brain from losing its¡¯ shit as all the Gs that came with that kind of inertial change translated directly into more force for the engines to push against. Without a technopath holding the ship together by sheer will, they would have ripped apart. They might have anyway, except, well¡­ Probability got a little weird with a Red Baron at the helm. ¡°Luka, we got a lot of company,¡± Do¡¯ yelled even as they blasted straight through the swarm of pirates on their asses and into open space. Jump-Holes ripped themselves through the fabric of space in every direction and ships roared out. Tusca swore when one of the Galactic Empire¡¯s feared space stations appeared with a smoothness that spoke of a whole lot of money in one place at one time. ¡°Boy, that is an Imperial Carrier. What in the hell-¡° ¡°It¡¯s not an Imperial Carrier, it¡¯s the Imperial Carrier. Specifically, it¡¯s the Pacifica.¡± Luka said wolfishly and reached for the comms one last time, slow like he hadn¡¯t just defied four or five laws of physics at once. The viewport flickered and revealed the face of a regal man with thick, greying hair. ¡°Hello Father.¡± The Emperor of the Human Galactic Empire looked at his son and heir, and then at the stunned crew who nonetheless rallied behind their youngest crew member. He sighed and ran a hand over his face, amused, fond, incredulous, annoyance apparent on his face. ¡°Do I want to know?¡± he said at last, and Luka grinned as explosions lit up around them, the result of a great many pirate ships losing the impossible fight against physics and an angry technopath. ¡°Probably not,¡± Luka told him, and looked over his shoulder at Tusca. ¡°Captain, you mind if we dock? I¡¯ve¡­ kind of made a mess of the ship.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± Tusca said dryly, and wondered how in the hell this had become his life. ¡°Might as well have them paint it red while we¡¯re at it, huh?¡± Luka laughed, and the rest of the crew began to relax by inches. ¡°And here I thought I would be banned from the helm like Roja was.¡± ¡°You are¡± Do¡¯ said before Tusca could reply. ¡°You come near that goddamn helm ever again and I swear all hell will rain down on you!¡± The Emperor didn¡¯t seem to know whether to laugh or go beat his head against a wall somewhere. Tusca could sympathize. ¡°Your mother¡¯s hanger is open to you,¡± the Emperor said at last, and nodded to someone they couldn¡¯t see. ¡°And Lukas, the mechanics will stand by with cans of red pain.¡± Red Palace Tusca wasn¡¯t really sure what was going to happen next. On the one hand, the pirates who were after them, and their apparently-stolen-very-illegal-and-also-valuable cargo. If they made it out of this, he was gonna kill Kongee. Sky-damned bottom-feeder either sold them out or lied to his face when Tusca asked about the ¡®just a few crates¡¯ that the barely-legal businessman wanted them to move. The Imperial Carrier Pacifica. The flagship of the Human Galactic Empire, and the home of their royal family. She was the largest human ship ever created and was so big she didn¡¯t need artificial gravity. Rumor had it that she was created by a dragon, a djinn, and a god all working together, but no one knew for sure. How was this his life? The hanger Luka flew them to was luxurious in a way that spoke of truly extravagant taste. The floors were white polished stone, and it was utterly sleek. Here and there, a few uniformed officers went about their work, but they ignored the Wavedancer, despite the flickering glances that betrayed their curiosity. ¡°What do we do, here?¡± Do¡¯ was the one to ask the obvious question in the room as Luka set them down and began extracting himself from the ship¡¯s wiring. ¡°Luka-boy, this is¡­ a lot.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Luka reassured her with a smile, and carefully closed up his cerebral socket. ¡°I might have run away from home, but that doesn¡¯t mean I stopped being the Heir. The only person on this ship who outranks me is my father.¡± ¡°You mean His Imperial Majesty?¡± Right pointed out incredulously and leaned on his twin¡¯s chair. Left looked as stunned as Tusca felt. ¡°The Emperor of the Human Galactic Empire? The most powerful person in the galaxy?¡± ¡°He likes caramels and old-earth movies, and onions give him gas so bad it should count as a weapon of war,¡± Luka said irreverently and startled a laugh out of everyone. He cracked a wry smile. ¡°And yes, he¡¯s all those things too, but right now, the only person he¡¯s likely to be angry at is me, and probably he won¡¯t be too angry.¡± ¡°Reassuring,¡± Graat muttered from the navigation console, and looked over at Tusca. ¡°Captain, shall I have the crew come out?¡± ¡°Might as well,¡± Tusca sighed, and pushed himself out of his chair, still somewhat rattled from their abrupt, albeit short, tussle with pirates, and Luka¡¯s surprising start as a Red Baron. ¡°Have everyone meet down in the hold.¡± ¡°You know you¡¯re not getting arrested, right?¡± Luka asked as he walked beside Tusca. The rest of the crew filtered out of their rooms, and Tusca felt the startling lack of Roja and Carlito sharply. ¡°And if you were, I would make sure Father pardoned you.¡± ¡°Nice to know,¡± Tusca said dryly. ¡°What should we expect?¡± ¡°Father will be disappointed at me. One or two of the Consul may shout a little. Duke-Lord Holland may see if he can get me disinherited. He doesn¡¯t like me much.¡± ¡°Imperial politics.¡± Tusca wanted none of this. ¡°Any chance you can get us clear of this Carrier and out of here before we have to deal with any of that?¡± He was half-joking, but if Luka really could¡­ But no. the young prince shook his head wryly. ¡°I could,¡± he confessed, and rubbed the back of his neck before peeking at Tusca out of the corner of his eye. ¡°But well¡­ the politics are bad, but my mother is on this ship, and if I don¡¯t at least say hello while I¡¯m here¡­¡± Ah. Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Tatiana Viktoria Maria, was a force to be reckoned with. A powerful voice for any cause she believed in, the Empress was one of the most outspoken Royal women in centuries, and her oldest child clearly took after her. ¡°I feel like we should dress fancy,¡± Do¡¯ muttered, and leaned on her husband¡¯s arm. Alejandro smiled faintly, but when he glanced over, Tusca nodded a slight reassurance. Alejandro was quarter-ogre and one of the least human people on the ship. Fortunately, ogres were heavily family-oriented, and tended to do well in a small crew, especially as crew-protectors. ¡°Meetin¡¯ all these important people.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t help,¡± Silvie muttered, although she probably didn¡¯t have much to worry about. Luka¡¯s counterpart, she was their cook, and also a specialist in botany. The crew never ate so well until she signed on and turned the mess-hall and her room into greenhouses for fresh produce. Her hair was green under the harsh ship lights, but Tusca never felt the need to ask what type of Other she was. Probably Fae or Elvish. Dryad maybe. It didn¡¯t matter unless she tried to eat someone. ¡°They won¡¯t care how we look. We¡¯re space rats. No one cares about rats.¡± ¡°Rat is good eating,¡± Left protested, and Right snorted a laugh. It figured, really. They were good-old home-grown human, but they were also former street-kids themselves. ¡°Don¡¯t knock rat.¡±The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°I do not want to be eaten, please,¡± Graat said faintly. He was the only actual alien on the ship, and sometimes felt it keenly. Fortunately, pretty much everyone adored him, and his confusion was frankly adorable. ¡°Being eaten is unpleasant and messy.¡± ¡°No one is getting eaten,¡± Luka said, or tried to through his snickers. Tusca took a moment to look him over. Barely eighteen, Luka was tall for his age, and had the beginnings of good muscle, thanks to the twins training him in combat, and his eyes were bright with intelligence. ¡°Father does not eat human meat, and Blaec probably is not on board.¡± ¡°Oh sure, no big,¡± Do¡¯ said incredulously and reached over to smack the back of Luka¡¯s head. The prince yelped and ducked, but Do¡¯ was a good shot. ¡°Oh, do not worry everybody, the great Lord Petros, the oldest dragon in existence, who I happen to be on first name basis with, probably will not eat you because he is not here today. Probably. You are not reassuring!¡± ¡°Sorry, sorry!¡± Luka said, but everyone was laughing a little as the ramp began to lower and white light spilled into their small, banged-up ship. ¡°I promise no one will get eaten, alright?¡± ¡°That is an ambitious promise, my son.¡± The voice was royal, female, and very amused. Empress Tatiana was stunningly beautiful. Her hair was pure silver despite her relatively young age and coiled around her head like a crown. Her clothes were simple, but made of the very best materials available. Her cape alone was worth more than the Wavedancer. Her necklace would buy a dozen brand new Imperial destroyers. But her smile was warm, and when she opened her arms, Luka flew into them. The contrast between them was sharp. The empress in her dark blue and silver gown, and her son in ratty, but clean, hand-me-down clothes. Luka was quite a bit taller than his mother and lifted her off the ground as she laughed and held onto him. ¡°Put me down!¡± she demanded, and Luka did, although he also bent and pressed a kiss to her cheek when she presented it for kissing. ¡°Darling, you have grown so much. I hardly recognized you when your transmission came to us.¡± ¡°Good living,¡± Luka told her, and tucked her hand into his arm, unconsciously reverting to the manners he was brought up with. Tusca fought the urge to fall on his face in front of the Empress, and did bow with the rest of his crew when Luka walked her over to them. ¡°Mother, may I present Captain Tusca Pelegrin and the crew of the Wavedancer. Dorinda and Alejandro Duardo, Josias and Edin Armon- we call them Left and Right- Graat of Ha¡¯reet, and Silvie Fashavel.¡± ¡°Please be welcome to the Pacifica,¡± the Empress said when everyone was introduced, and reached out to take Dorinda¡¯s hands in hers. Do¡¯ froze, somewhat stunned and unsure of herself. ¡°Please, there is no need for formality. You are caring for my son when I could not. I thank you, deeply.¡± ¡°It was our pleasure, ma¡¯am,¡± Tusca spoke for the crew because he was the captain, and also because he was probably the only one who could manage actual words right now. The Empress nodded him on as she led them out of the hanger bay and through the halls. He wondered how she could possibly find her way around the huge ship, and supposed it was mostly practice. ¡°You raised up a good boy. We¡¯re glad to have him.¡± Empress Tatiana only smiled and showed them into a sitting room that, while fancy, was significantly more comfortable than the sleek, polished hanger and the corridors outside. Of course, the flooring was sheets of Old Earth marble, the real stuff, and gold glittered on door handles and hangings. The paintings on the walls were of people Tusca recognized out of textbooks, and the buttery-soft leather of the chairs was probably valuable enough to buy a mansion in a good city on a good planet. When they were settled, uncomfortable and shy, but at least sitting down, servants buzzed around them, bringing drinks and food. Luka served his mother almost automatically, and she kissed his cheek when he handed her a fine porcelain cup of tea. ¡°How long will you be here?¡± she asked, not quite tentative, but with softly-hidden longing. Tusca hid a wince. Empress she might be, but this woman had missed her son. ¡°At least until I have had a chance to see him.¡± Luka closed his mouth on his reply as everyone scrambled to their feet at the commanding voice from the door. Emperor Nelius Hector Gaius was a tall, strongly-built man. His hair was grey-streaked black, and there were small lines around his eyes that only added to the sense of power about him. Luka was his spitting image, although the teen looked decidedly unfinished next to his emperor-father. ¡°Father,¡± Luka said, and let his father wrap him in a quick, tight hug. The sight of the affection helped ease Tusca¡¯s mind somewhat. Royalty they might be, but they were parents too, and somehow preserved a small family in the midst of the overwhelming pressure of who they were. ¡°I am sorry to cause any difficulty. As you can imagine, our position was¡­ not good.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± the Emperor replied dryly, and turned his gaze on the crew. Tusca felt the immediate urge to sink thorough the floor and not come back. ¡°We saw the last of it. Should I ask who precisely thought it was a good idea for you to learn to fly like that?¡± Silence filled the room, their recent losses suddenly very sharp. Tusca looked down at his hands and heard Do¡¯ sniffle into her husband¡¯s shirt quietly. ¡°We¡­ had some trouble earlier,¡± Luka spoke up. Tusca was proud, and glad. The knot of sadness in his throat was still too big to speak around. ¡°A business deal went bad. Very bad. Several of the crew were captured and¡­ and did not come back. One of them was Red Baron, Roja Cortez. The other was Carlito Bernard, Do¡¯ and Alejandra¡¯s nephew. They died to give us the chance to get out.¡± ¡°I am sorry for your loss,¡± Empress Tatiana said gently, and rested her hand on Do¡¯s shoulder, the touch of one mother to another for all that Carlito wasn¡¯t Dorinda¡¯s son. ¡°They will have memorials with every honor and grace they are due.¡± ¡°That¡¯s real kind of you, Ma¡¯am,¡± Do said, and shared a small, sad smile with the Empress. ¡°We all know the black is dangerous. Sometimes that danger gets the best of us. I need to call Carlito¡¯s mama. She¡¯ll be real proud when she hears how brave he was.¡± ¡°Would you like to use my personal line to call her?¡± Empress Tatiana asked genuinely and lifted a hand in invitation after a quick glance at her husband, who nodded gravely. ¡°I understand that your ship is in the hanger for repairs. I insist you use one of mine to see your family, or bring them here if you prefer.¡± She guided them out of the room and Tusca felt a little weight lift off his shoulders. This was going far better than he expected. ¡°Now,¡± the Emperor said and seated himself so everyone else could sit as well. ¡°Tell me the story, from start to finish.¡± Child of my Kind ¡°Grandfather?¡± Vree looked up from his book at the sound of his human¡¯s voice, cracking with genuine surprise. Human-Amir was supposed to be resting and was instead insisting on spending time lounging in his family¡¯s apartments in the hours before the Naming of his newborn nephew. The sight of a tall man, dressed in the robes of one of Humanity¡¯s desert people, embroidered with deep shimmering flames, was somewhat unexpected. Al¡¯Mudhib. One of the Seven Djinn Kings. The last time Vree saw this particular being, he was casually discussing the complete destruction of a species that dared to offend him with a dragon who was as old or older than Humanity itself. Vree flattened his ears and tried very hard to hide behind his book. It didn¡¯t work, there was simply too much of him, but he tried anyway. ¡°You were kidnapped,¡± Al¡¯Mudhib said in reply to his grandson¡¯s surprise, and came over to examine Human-Amir carefully, tutting over his injuries. ¡°Why did you not spend your Wish?¡± Wish? What was a Wish? This must be yet another oddity of Humanity¡¯s Other community, and now Vree was wishing for something to take notes. ¡°I didn¡¯t know if I would need it later,¡± Human-Amir admitted, as shamefaced as he ever got, and polite under the eye of his many-times-great grandfather. ¡°I thought about it, but I decided to save it instead.¡± ¡°You would not have had a later if you died, foolish boy,¡± Al¡¯Mudhib scolded him, and snapped his fingers imperiously. All of Human-Amir¡¯s injuries healed all at once, and he was suddenly in clothing very nearly as fine as Al¡¯Mudhib¡¯s himself. ¡°There. And you-¡° Vree remembered that he was trying to be a chair and did his best not to scramble for cover when Al¡¯Mudhib¡¯s eyes landed on him. He did not want to find out what a djinn was, please. Human-Amir was bad enough when he was killing entire crews of pirates, and this great being was infinitely more powerful. ¡°Sir,¡± he replied, and got to his feet, ignoring his trembling knees while he did it, and dropped his head politely. His official job at this event was to represent his people, and wasn¡¯t that just a slammed door on the tail. ¡°Greetings from Ha¡¯reet, and my congratulations on your new grandkit.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so polite,¡± Human-Amir grumbled resentfully, but he sounded amused too. ¡°You make me look bad.¡±This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Vree flicked an ear at him but kept his eyes on the floor, offering no challenge-gaze whatsoever. ¡°You are polite,¡± Al¡¯Mudhib commented with something like approval. ¡°And you do well at keeping my fool of a grandson out of trouble. I am told that you were the terror of your ship while seeking his rescue. I do not hold you responsible for his capture.¡± Vree tried not to breathe a sigh of relief. Vree definitely breathed a sigh of relief. He did not want Human-Amir¡¯s terrifying grandfather to do something terrible to him. The old not-a-human looked like the vindictive sort. It was probably for the best that Human-Amir killed all of the pirates who carried him off. Whatever his grandfather did to them would certainly have been worse. ¡°Well,¡± he said at last, and clamped a hand on his grandson¡¯s shoulder preemptively. Human-Amir wiggled somewhat, but Vree was pleased to see someone else scruff him for once. ¡°Shall we go and meet the new child?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to drag me,¡± Human-Amir protested as his grandfather propelled him down the long hallway with Vree trailing after them for lack of anything better to do with himself. ¡°I want to meet the baby!¡± ¡°You always need to be scruffed.¡± Human-Luka appeared out of a nearby door, for once garbed in a sharp-cut suit, the garb of a human royal, with a long red scarf around his throat rather than the tie most humans chose. He bowed his head politely to Al¡¯Mudhib and came in for a hug from Human-Amir. ¡°You look better,¡± he commented, and came for a hug from Vree as well, who scent-marked his head in return but refrained from grooming his hair. ¡°Hullo Vree.¡± Alright, so maybe Vree was inclined to adopt Human-Luka too. He seemed much better-tempered than Human-Amir. How much worse could he be? ¡°Hello, Imperial Highness,¡± Vree said, and chuckled when the young prince scowled playfully up at him. ¡°When you told me that Carrier Pacifica was large, you failed to mention that it is the size of a moon.¡± ¡°I thought you saw her after the Thraxxis War,¡± Human-Amir pointed out, and wiggled away from his overly-tolerant grandfather. ¡°I mean, from a distance. I was on the India for that.¡± ¡°I was on Occupied Ha¡¯reet, defending my Pride.¡± They entered another sprawling set of apartments, these rooms filled with a number of people who looked very much like Human-Amir and Human-Luka. Human-Amir made straight towards a happy, although tired-looking, woman who might easily have been his twin for how much they looked alike. ¡°Hi Hina,¡± He said, and kissed her cheek before making something he called ¡®grabby hands¡¯ at the tiny bundle in her arms. ¡°Baby. Gimme.¡± ¡°Wretch,¡± the woman, who could only be his older sister, Sahina and the mother of the child in question, said, and surrendered her tiny kit with only a little hesitation. ¡°Remember to support his head.¡± ¡°It hasn¡¯t been that long since I held a baby,¡± Human-Amir complained, and cradled the child in his arms before returning to Vree¡¯s side to show off his tiny, cooing prize. ¡°I remember when Maggie was born. Lookit Vree. He¡¯s the cutest little bug.¡± The child was indeed adorable, as baby animals tended to be, and Vree leaned down to blink slowly at the child. The baby peered up at him through blue eyes, and immediately sneezed on his snout. ¡°Definitely related to you,¡± he told Human-Amir, while wiping his nose carefully. To Sahina, he bowed the human way. ¡°Congratulations on your kit. He is indeed adorable.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Sahina beamed, and watched as Al¡¯Mudhib claimed the baby next, ignoring Human-Amir¡¯s protests that he wasn¡¯t done. ¡°Now all he has to do is survive our family.¡± Red Throne Luka closed his eyes and forced himself to breathe. The cameras would be rolling any minute, and he still didn¡¯t know what he was going to say. ¡°Be brave. Be strong,¡± his mother said, her face covered by a black veil. He almost couldn¡¯t see the red of her eyes, or the tears on her cheeks. An Empress through and through, she mastered herself, and straightened proudly, unbent despite her terrible grief. ¡°He always knew you could do it.¡± ¡°But never so soon¡± Luka whispered, and tried not to think about the hole in his heart. If he did, he was going to start crying again, and that was not the image to project. Not now, with so much riding on the next few minutes. ¡°It was supposed to be years. Decades even.¡± ¡°Sir, we¡¯re ready for you,¡± one of the cameramen caught his attention, and Luka nodded tightly. He stepped onto the podium, and tried to smile for Amir when his cousin squeezed his shoulder. Just out of sight, Vree watched, kitty-lizard face twisted in concern. They had arrived minutes after Luka himself and barely left his side since. Their presence helped. Of all his cousins, Amir was his favorite, and the one who understood why he needed to spend a year in the dregs of their empire, learning about his people. ¡°Sir?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± he dragged his attention back to the cameras, and the anxious faces behind them. ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡± ¡°When the light turns on,¡± the cameraman said, and signaled someone behind him. ¡±Three¡­ two¡­¡± The light went on. Luka struggled not to break down with the entire Galactic Empire and all their allies watching. ¡°My name is Luka. I am eighteen years old, and six solar hours ago, I was a prince.¡± he said, struggling to get the words out through the lump in his throat. ¡°Six hours ago, I was in bed, when I got a call from my mother that I hoped never to receive. Six hours ago, my father was murdered.¡±If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. His throat burned as he spoke the words he had been dreading, as if saying them made it all real. His father was dead. ¡°Not only him,¡± he continued, because forward was the only way to go and if he stopped, he wouldn¡¯t be able to start again. ¡°Fourteen thousand, two hundred and nine of the best our Empire had to offer, aboard the Galactic destroyer, Australia were lost with him, at the hands of an unknown assailant.¡± The Australia was one of their most powerful destroyers. No, she wasn¡¯t a Carrier, but she was still a force to be reckoned with. And something had destroyed her even before the Emperor could get to his escape capsule. Luka wondered if he had even tried. Emperor Nelius Hector Gaius was not the kind of man to run while others died in his name. ¡°To everyone who had family aboard the Australia,¡± he said, and felt tears growing in his eyes. His throat and chest burned as he kept the tears from falling. ¡°I am so terribly sorry, and I grieve with you. This is a blow we did not see coming. It will not go unanswered.¡± Beyond the cameras, he could see Tusca and his crew. The people who had become a second family to him over a year of living and working together in the hard life of those who scraped out a living in the Black. They had pushed their little ship to breaking to get him to the Pacifica so fast. ¡°My sister is without a father. My mother, without a husband, and they are not alone among the families who have lost so much to this attack,¡± he said, anger straightening his back as he accepted the mantle that he always knew would be his someday. It weighed heavily on him, and he struggled to stand under the burden of the immense history that now rested on his shoulders. ¡°But while this attack has taken much from us, it will not bring us to our knees. So I stand before you now. Before the Human Galactic Empire, and our allies. Before the people who murdered my father and stole fourteen thousand two hundred and nine precious lives from us.¡± He gripped the pedestal until his knuckles went white and let his mask crack. All his pain and anguish spilled out for everyone to see. His rage, and the deep knowledge that he would never see his father again. ¡°To those who thought the death of Nelius Hector Gaius would cripple us, I say this;¡± he said, with his mother to one side, struggling not to cry, and his cousin on the other, absolutely still in that way that Amir always was when he was trying to keep it together. ¡°My name is Lukas Rayhan Goliat. I am Emperor of the Human Galactic Empire, and we will not be defeated so easily.¡± Push Me, Push You Vree was not having a good day. ¡°Look out!¡± He ducked at Human-Amir¡¯s shout just in time as fire roared past him, engulfing the nearest pack of aliens before they could overwhelm Vree¡¯s protected spot. Seeing an opportunity, Vree waited until Human-Amir¡¯s fire faded, and then took several precise shots with his blaster. The invasion, which began with the murder of Human-Luka¡¯s emperor-father, was fully underway. Ships, as massive as any human destroyer, appeared in droves, attacking key targets, pushing ever-farther into the territory of the Human Galactic Empire. The humans rallied, and forced them back, but there was no question that, for once, humanity had found an opponent able to fight them on even footing. They called themselves the Houm, and they bred so fast that they needed habitable new worlds to call their own. Their numbers and power rivaled that of the humans and dwarfed that of nearly every other race. Fighting them was an insurmountable challenge, that even the greatest cultures of Vree¡¯s home galaxy could not face. Humanity, being who and what it was, took the loss of their emperor as a personal challenge. They emptied their worlds into the black of space, each ship a floating battle-point as they met the attacks with their own. The Alliance watched, and trembled as the two titans battled, each determined to shatter the strength of the other. The last time Humanity had poured out her army, it was in defense of her allies. Now, with the war brought to their home front, and having taken a terrible blow, the humans were rising to the cause. All seven Carriers were turned out, sometimes in pairs, sometimes alone, great beacons of destruction and accompanied by armadas of destroyers. The human general, LaShan, had told the Alliance that the force sent to face the Thraxxis was a battalion, but until this time, the truth of that statement was never truly seen. The Empire, as it turned out, had trillion upon trillion of humans sheltered within their galaxy, and those trillions, enraged by the driving loss of their own, were angry. The Hoem, however, had trillions of their own. They gained ground and lost it. Won battles, and lost them, and somehow, even with the humans and their brutal fleet released upon them, held their own. Vree was, naturally, somewhat in the middle of things, and not terribly pleased about it. ¡°These guys just don¡¯t give up,¡± Human-Amir said as he threw rolling balls of fire down the walkway. They were defending an outpost that was supposed to contain vital information for the Empire. It was too valuable to lose, but they were badly outnumbered. Vree was beginning to get concerned, even with the more destructive of his human¡¯s abilities unleashed. ¡°Come on!¡± ¡°Would you, in their position?¡± Vree asked and dropped his ears flat just in time to save them from a particularly good shot. Human-Amir snapped his fingers and wreathed the walkway in flame long enough to buy them both time to reload. ¡°They are getting more accurate.¡± ¡°Not the point!¡± By the time the alien invaders were down, Human-Amir had ducked down into Vree¡¯s shelter, a blaster in one hand, and a fireball in the other. His face was dusty and dirty with soot, but his mouth was set into a stubborn line that Vree knew well. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°How many of them are there?¡± the human demanded, more offended than actually questioning, and peered out of their cover before firing several precise shots down the walkway. ¡°They¡¯re trying to take the command center.¡± ¡°They must not be allowed to do so,¡± Vree replied, and reached for his belt, and the grenades that hung there. For once, they were properly armed for the occasion. A pleasant change from their usual affairs. ¡°Are you ready?¡± ¡°Yup.¡± ¡°Good.¡± As one, they swarmed out of hiding and onto the walkway, trading shots and blasts of fire as they pushed forward, soon joined by Human-Luka, and several of his bodyguards. The bodyguards looked decidedly stressed that their emperor was in the line of fire. Human-Luka, garbed in close-fitting black pants and a striking red jacket, looked decidedly furious. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be here!¡± Human-Amir scolded his younger cousin even as he unceremoniously shoved the young emperor behind a pile of crates. Vree approved, pulled the pins on two pulse grenades, and hurled them down the walkway. ¡°You are supposed to be up in the tactical center!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not hiding while other people do the fighting!¡± Human-Luka snarled back, fierce, and unexpectedly alarming against the explosions of Vree¡¯s grenades. ¡°They think they can steamroll over us and take what they please. I refuse to allow it!¡± ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be a figurehead! A symbol,¡± Human-Amir said, and pulled out a second blaster for Human-Luka, who took it, checked the charge, and opened fire like he was born with a blaster in hand. ¡°Like a flag, but more annoying!¡± Human-Luka glared at him and picked off a few of the bolder Houm who ran at them. ¡°I refuse to be that sort of ruler.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be a dead sort of ruler if you get killed!¡± ¡°Well then I won¡¯t have to explain it to Mother, will I?¡± ¡°Oh you little sh-¡° ¡°We need to get to better cover,¡± Vree interjected before Human-Amir could begin cursing in earnest. Now was not the time, and this was not the place. ¡°Human-Amir, if you do not mind.¡± ¡°Yeah, I got it,¡± Human-Amir grumbled, and braced himself. ¡°We ready to move?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Human-Luka confirmed, and reached his hand towards the doors. Electricity danced over his skin and Vree stifled a hiss. He did not know that Human-Luka was Human-Other, and clearly a different classification than Human-Amir. ¡°Door will be open by the time we get there.¡± Vree, knowing humans a little too well at this point, saw no reason to doubt him. Humans tended to be at their best in the most unlikely situations. His faith was proved when Human-Luka slapped a hand down on the metal plating beside them. Another snap of static brought all the formerly-deactivated turrets online. They immediately began firing on the Hoem, and forced the oncoming wave of bodies back. Of course, it couldn¡¯t last, but the respite was more welcome than Vree liked to admit. Human-Amir stepped out of cover, lit himself on fire, and sent a huge, rolling wall of flame down the walkway. Screams of panic echoed off the walls as it forced the Houm ahead of it and left those who were not fast enough dead in its wake. Human-Luka snapped his electrified fingers demandingly. The doors glided open as if they had never been locked. Vree was not particularly surprised, but did file away this strange new human ability for later. If they survived this, maybe Human-Luka would explain it to him. As soon as they were all through the doors, they slammed shut again, and everyone took a minute to catch their breath. Vree eyed his humans, decided they were intact, and got to work reloading his blaster with fresh charge-cartridges. ¡°Where to?¡± Human-Amir asked, and tossed a box of cartridges to his cousin, who took a handful and passed them to his bodyguards. ¡°Do we have reinforcements coming?¡± ¡°The worst of our nightmares turned out for the occasion,¡± Human-Luka confirmed after a glance at his comm. He looked up as the doors slid open again. Vree tensed, ready for a fight, but no. It was a tall, powerfully built human man, followed by several dozen very pale soldiers, whose eyes glowed an eerie red from under their ancient-style helms. ¡°Hello, Lord Tepes.¡± ¡°Lukas,¡± Lord Tepes said, and offered a nod of respect to Human-Luka, but did not bow. ¡°Dracula Coven stands ready to repel these invaders from our home.¡± Red Mission ¡°I¡¯m not taking the Pacifica,¡± Luka said, mouth set in a mulish line as he regarded the map of the Human Galactic Empire. It hovered over the table, brilliant in its complexity and color-coordinated to show their forces, and the attacks they were barely holding off. ¡°She¡¯s unwieldy.¡± ¡°She¡¯s a Carrier,¡± Duke-Lord Fal¡¯Hasheen protested with a very superior sort of expression. He was a thin, nervous sort of man, who dressed in the finest he could afford in an effort to impress his betters. ¡°Of course she is unwieldy. Power does not need finesse.¡± That was the sort of thinking that got rulers killed. Luke sighed, and didn¡¯t correct him. Duke-Lord Fal¡¯Hasheen had almost no actual influence, and was here because his ability to organize evacuations was, oddly, unparalleled. Also, he was of a low enough House that giving him an important job would keep the more difficult players occupied complaining about him, and hopefully out of real mischief. The life of a young ruler was complicated. Luka started his reign early, and unexpectedly, and now he had to convince these powerful people that he was capable of taking his father¡¯s place. The thought of his father burned painfully. Luka tried not to linger on the memories of his father, sitting in the chair he himself now occupied. ¡°Power requires finesse.¡± That was Lord Dracula Tepes. Uncle Vlad, to the royal children, for all that they couldn¡¯t call him that in public. Unlike Duke-Lord Fal¡¯Hasheen, Dracula knew the art of ruling well, and had held his power longer than almost anyone could remember. He was, according to legend, the first vampire. ¡°Without finesse, power is easy to abuse. Abuse of power very often leads to dead rulers.¡± ¡°The Pacifica is our flagship,¡± Duke-Lord Holland complained. He was the leader of the Merchant¡¯s Party in the Imperial Parliament and made no secret of his dislike for Luka. He was also old enough to be Luka¡¯s grandfather, and thought that Luka was too young to rule. If he saw weakness, he would take advantage. ¡°It is inappropriate for the Emperor to take another ship, particularly in these trying times.¡± His beard was entirely grey, very thick, and looked like nothing so much as a dead old-earth raccoon stuck to his face. Although, Luka supposed, it did serve to hide the red of his nose and cheeks. Duke-Lord Holland was a heavy drinker and liked to pretend he wasn¡¯t.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°It¡¯s also inappropriate for the Emperor to lead in battle,¡± Luka replied shortly rather than try and argue him around. He had the authority to overrule Duke-Lord Holland and intended to do so whenever he got the chance. ¡°But I¡¯m doing that as well. In fact, I intend to be the pilot.¡± ¡°What?¡± Holland yelped, almost drowned out by Fal¡¯Hasheen¡¯s yelp of protest. ¡°No. Absolutely not! We have a great many skilled pilots-¡° ¡°But none of them were better than Red Baron Roja Cortez, who taught me to fly,¡± Luke said pointedly, and tugged on the sleeves of his long, red, robes of state. He hated the fashions of court, and meant to change those too, if they survived all this. ¡°With his death, I became the Red Baron and so I remain. Unless someone manages to outfly me before it is time to go, I will pilot this mission.¡± ¡°I know how you fly, but much as I hate to say it,¡± Amir said from across the table. Vree, as always, was at his side, and still looked befuddled at being invited to this meeting. ¡°I actually do agree with Holland. The Pacifica is our heaviest hitter.¡± ¡°But she¡¯s slow,¡± Luka sighed, and called up a map of their forces as they presently sat. The Carriers were spread far and wide, and the destroyers even more-so. ¡°This plan relies on my buying enough time for their entire fleet get there. If we don¡¯t get all of them, this will start all over in a few years.¡± ¡°I know you are the only bait that might entice them,¡± Vree said, tail lashing and ears flat against his head. ¡°But this plan does not seem wise. How will reinforcements know when to come to you? How will they arrive in time?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll handle that,¡± Amir said to his tall alien friend, and met Luka¡¯s eyes with a faint smile of mutual understanding. He was their secret weapon, and Luka had never appreciated his cousin more. Without his help, this whole plan was dead in the water. ¡°I have a trick or two up my sleeve.¡± ¡°Are you sure you want to use it for this?¡± Luka had to ask. It was too important not to, even though Amir had offered in the first place. ¡°There are other ways.¡± ¡°But not better ones,¡± Amir said, and waved him off over the sputtering of Holland and Fal¡¯Hasheen, who were not, and would not be in on the secret until the time came to execute the plan. ¡°But we have to keep you, and me, since I¡¯ll be with you, alive. What ship will you take, if not the Pacifica?¡± Luka had an answer ready, firmly decided on his chosen ship. ¡°I¡¯m taking the China,¡± he told his counsel of war. ¡°She¡¯s powerful, well-armored, the most advanced of our destroyers, and she¡¯s fast enough for me to actually fly her.¡± ¡°But she¡¯s not as heavily-armed as the America.¡± Duke-Lord LaShan was a tactical genius and one of the best generals to ever serve the imperial family. Luka admired him and was probably more flattered than he should be that the dark-skinned general was taking his plan seriously. ¡°Nor as heavily armored as the Antarctica, nor as fast as the Britain. Why the China?¡± ¡°I¡¯m taking the China,¡± Luka said with a smile that made Lord Tepes chuckle darkly, and his Duke-Lords stare, ¡°Because she¡¯s red.¡± Red Shield ¡°Hey Luka?¡± It was Left, closely followed by his twin. The two hulking gunner/musclemen were uncharacteristically unsure of themselves as they stepped into Luka¡¯s office, watched closely by a clearly-disapproving doorman. They probably wouldn¡¯t have been allowed in at all, but Luka gave explicit orders that any of his crew had access to him at any time. They were family. They taught him, and protected him, and joked with him when times were lean. The least he could do was treat them the way they deserved. ¡°Come in,¡± he said, and stood to clap them on the backs the way he always had. The familiarity seemed to help, because they loosened up a little. It probably helped that he was wearing a soft shirt and workout pants, in defiance of the royal norm of High Fashion All the Time. He was used to hand-me-downs, canvas, and leather. He wasn¡¯t about to let a host of high-mannered attendants bully him into uncomfortable scratchy clothing for the sake of the no-one who would see him doing paperwork in his office. His father¡¯s office. The pain in his heart yawned open, and he might have given into it if he was alone. His eyes still burned from the tears he couldn¡¯t afford to shed in front of anyone else. Besides, it would alarm Left and Right, and they looked plenty alarmed already. ¡°Something to drink?¡± he offered, and was surprised when they shook their heads, identically uncomfortable as they sat on the couch across from him. ¡°Alright. What happened?¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± Right said, and glanced at his twin, and then at the floor, and then at Luka. ¡°It¡¯s, uh¡­¡± ¡°We have a favor to ask,¡± Left picked up, and immediately wouldn¡¯t meet Luka¡¯s eyes. ¡°Sort-of an Emperor-Luka kind of favor, not a you-Luka favor.¡± ¡°Anything I can grant,¡± Luka told them sincerely. He already had plans for his crew. Plans for giving them the things they worked so hard to get, and never quite managed. ¡°Although if you want to marry my sister, you¡¯re going to have to wait a while, and then convince her it¡¯s a good idea.¡± That finally broke the ice a little, and they laughed. They hadn¡¯t met Lucia Therese Magdalene yet. They had no idea what trouble the young Princess Royal could cause when she put her mind to it. Luka couldn¡¯t wait to unleash her on the Court. ¡°It¡¯s about the mission we¡¯re not supposed to know about,¡± Left said, and ducked his head when Luka stared at him. ¡°We don¡¯t know the details and all, but Amir, he called our little misfit family together. He said you¡¯re off to do something dangerous, to save us all.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Luka made no bones about the fact that it was, to almost everyone, a suicide mission. The more people who thought he was putting himself on the line, the better. He needed the Hoem to take the bait. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t tell you more about it.¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t figure you could, but see,¡± Right took up the story this time. ¡°We¡¯ve gotten a good look around here, and we met some of your Guard.¡± ¡°They¡¯re good guys,¡± Left said, his voice so similar to his twin¡¯s that it was hard to tell them apart. ¡°Tough. We fought with some of them a few days ago, down in the Lower Cantina. They ain¡¯t half bad, all things considered. Not great, but not bad.¡± ¡°But they¡¯re Core-raised,¡± Right agreed. ¡°They don¡¯t know what it¡¯s like, fighting for your life when you¡¯re cold, and hurting, and hungry.¡±Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°We do,¡± Left told Luka. It was true. They did. Born in the slums of a backwater port, they never had anything come easy, and fought for everything they ever had. ¡°And now you do too, because you flew with us and all.¡± ¡°That was the point of it,¡± Luka told them quietly. ¡°To get to know the real people. The ones who don¡¯t ever see the inside of a Carrier, or meet the noblility. To see where our government works, and where it doesn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Rot is easy to spot from underneath, and hard to see from the top,¡± Right summed up neatly with an approving nod. ¡°Now see, we¡¯re not the brightest, or the best¡­¡± ¡°But we know you,¡± Left said sincerely. ¡°We fought with you and broke the law with you. You¡¯re our little brother.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why we want to watch your back,¡± Right finished before Luka could voice any of the things that raced across his mind. ¡°We figure you have some sort of Royal detail that looks out for you specifically. We want in.¡± ¡°The Royal Guard usually calls for years of service in the military, and more years of training after,¡± Luka told them carefully, touched by their desire to watch over him in this den of people they didn¡¯t know, and didn¡¯t trust. ¡°Tactics, as a group and singly, learning how to protect your assigned ¡®package¡¯, maybe with your lives.¡± ¡°We know. That¡¯s where the favor comes in,¡± Right said, and leaned forward. ¡°We¡¯ve got something. Something that no one really knows about, and we don¡¯t mostly use ¡®cause we never had to.¡± ¡°We¡¯re telepaths,¡± Left added, and straightened proudly. ¡°Limited to each other, but there¡¯s nothing and no one that¡¯s managed to block us yet. So if you went somewhere with one of us, and got in trouble, the other of us would know and could bring help.¡± ¡°Or you could have us both and know that you can trust the people at your back,¡± Right continued the argument seamlessly. ¡°But we¡¯re not military. Never have been. So, we need you to get us into to the training.¡± Luka held up a hand to stop the flow of words so he could take a moment to consider their offer more seriously than he had at first. On the one hand, they didn¡¯t have the training that most of the Guard had. On the other hand, he knew what they could do, had seen it personally, and could trust that they would do absolutely anything to keep him safe. And the telepathy, especially if no one ever knew about it but the three of them, was tempting beyond words. It might be the difference between life and death. If he personally sponsored them into training, they would get the chance they wanted. ¡°The trainers will be harder on you than any of the others,¡± he warned them, and saw them both brighten. ¡°They will do their best to wash you out. They might try to hurt you. You will have no friends, and no help. You will probably be separated most of the time.¡± ¡°We figured,¡± Left said firmly. ¡°It can¡¯t be worse than the streets.¡± ¡°We figure the Core-boys probably think going without a meal or three is bad business,¡± Right grinned wolfishly. ¡°And that fifty kliks is a long way.¡± ¡°That if you¡¯re hurt, or cold, or hungry, or scared, you can¡¯t fight.¡± ¡°We talked to some of the boys down in the cantina after we were done brawling,¡± Left continued, and had the grace to look somewhat sheepish. Luka had been in a brawl or two with them. He knew who started the fight, and who finished it. ¡°They told us about the training. So yeah, we want in.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Luka agreed quietly, and kept his hand up to stave off the bear hugs he knew were coming. ¡°I can get you in, but only the best make it to the Emperor¡¯s Guard. You have to do that part yourselves.¡± ¡°We can,¡± Left promised, and grinned. ¡°Those Core-boys won¡¯t know what hit ¡®em.¡± ¡°I believe in you,¡± Luka told them honestly, and stood so they could jump on him properly, as they always had after a victory. ¡°Have you already talked to Tusca?¡± ¡°Cap¡¯n approves,¡± Right said, and lifted Luka off the ground with a hug so tight his ribs protested. ¡°He likes the idea of some of ours watching your back. Silvie¡¯s already talking her way into the kitchens. ¡®Do is terrifying your household staff. You aren¡¯t getting¡¯ rid of us that easy.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad to have you,¡± Luke said, touched beyond words to know that his family, the found-family that was little and broken and still so good they made his heart hurt, were determined to stay close. ¡°I¡¯ll look after the others while you¡¯re gone. I promise.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll hold you to that,¡± Left said, and clapped his back one more time. ¡°When you¡¯re done with your papers, you come down to the ship and have dinner with us all? You can bring your Ma and sister if you want. Bet it¡¯s been ever since they had home cooking.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be there,¡± Luka assured them, and could only laugh as they left the same way they entered, boisterous, large, and walking like they ruled the world. He couldn¡¯t wait to see how the poor Training Commander handled them, but he thought that maybe, just maybe, the shock would be good for the stoic old man. Red Sea Vree stood on the bridge of the Human ship, China, and tried to figure out what in the Suns he was doing. In only a short Galactic year, he had become the confidant and friend to a great many humans, among them, their young Emperor, and his family. Human-Amir thought it was the height of hilarity and started to snicker whenever Vree tried to ask him about it. Human-Luka, who scolded him roundly for trying to use his title, also thought it was funny, and insisted that emperor or no, he intended to keep his friends nearby. Humans. They would pack-bond with absolutely anything. Aliens, enemies, even cleaning robots with no personality at all, but who had buttons that seemed to be in the shape of a smile. And once they had bonded with something, they would stay bonded with it until death or betrayal. Sometimes not even then. And now Vree, who somehow ended up in the Emperor¡¯s pack, was watching as the entire Hoem Fleet, thousands of ships powerful beyond reckoning, appeared out of hyperspace. An empire of their own, and capable of taking on the great, sprawling, human galaxy. ¡°Looks like they took the bait,¡± Human-Amir said quietly as they stood to Human-Luka¡¯s left. ¡°Here they come.¡± ¡°Now for the fun part,¡± Human-Luka agreed, and stood. ¡°Give me ship-wide comm-address please.¡± He was surprisingly calm, and quiet in this moment. Vree almost felt as if he was waiting for something. As always, the young human refused the more extravagant Imperial fashions in favor of a dark sleeveless vest over a long red tunic. He rolled up his sleeves, revealing a new tattoo of an old-Earth aircraft, backed by an Imperial Carrier. Vree had seen it before, and suspected it had something to do with Human-Luka¡¯s status as Red Baron. Whatever that was. Humans were very strange sometimes, and a great long history of wildly conflicting traditions. ¡°The comm is yours, Imperial Majesty,¡± one of the techs reported politely. ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°All hands, brace for maneuvers,¡± Human-Luka announced over the comms as he plunged the connector into his cerebral port. ¡°Open a line to Galactic broadcast. I want all our allies to see this. Vree had not known Human-Luka had a cerebral port. He was not sure what to make of it. Human-Amir smirked in the way that really wasn¡¯t all that nice, and promised a great deal of trouble in the immediate future. Human-Luka smiled in a way that suggested the trouble was very near at hand, and that he intended to make it a great deal worse than it already was. Vree did not know that a human Imperial destroyer could pivot like that, and definitely did not know that it was possible to spin one in a corkscrew, dodging missiles and laser fire, while skimming so close to the enemy fleet that sparks flew as pulse-shield met pulse-shield. He might have left deep claw-marks in the steel of the guard-rails, which was somewhat better than the humans who scrambled off the bridge, decidedly green and sick-looking. Human Imperial destroyers were huge. Nineteen kilometers or more, by human reckoning, and powerful enough to take on a small armada by themselves. Human-Luka flew it like it was a one-man fighter with a little extra weight in the back. Vree was starting to understand exactly why Human-Luka insisted on flying the ship himself. Surely there were few who were his match in skill. But no matter how good he was, the China was badly outnumbered, and eventually their blazing run cane to a close as the Hoem fleet cornered them. The wreckage of a destroyed planet loomed around them, shattered in a long-ago war the humans waged against their own.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°Surrender the Emperor. This Galaxy is ours.¡± The Hoem were large and powerful. Their red skin was marked with rank-patterns, denoting their importance among their people. Their muscles bulged, and their tails curled up over their heads, barbed and toxic. An empire of their own, that needed the space to expand and grow. It was sheer bad luck that the next nearest galaxy was that of the humans. Vree was really very glad that his own home lay farther off, shielded behind the humans¡¯ sprawling empire. ¡°I believe the situation is not what you believe it to be,¡± Human-Luka said confidently as the Hoem, wearing a uniform that suggested a very high rank, attempted to stare him down. ¡°I am Lukas Rayhan Goliat, Emperor of the Human Galactic Empire. I am prepared to discuss the terms of your surrender.¡± ¡°Surrender? You are alone,¡± the Hoem said, rows of fine, needlelike teeth showing as he gave a threat-display that made Vree hiss at him, determined to protect his young friend even against this unstoppable force. ¡°You are vulnerable.¡± ¡°I am the Emperor of the Human Galactic Empire and I am never alone,¡± Human-Luka said, and showed his teeth in a threat-display to match the Hoem¡¯s, and with satisfaction rolling off his skin. ¡°Bring in the tides.¡± Human-Amir, at odds with the rest of the crew in their spotless uniforms, joined Human-Luka, confident in a way that made Vree¡¯s fur bristle in alarm. Something was about to happen. Something big. ¡°Hang onto your tail, kitty-lizard,¡± he said quietly as he stepped to Human-Luka¡¯s side. ¡°Now is time for the old magic.¡± Before Vree could ask what was going on, because the humans had been decidedly quiet about their plans, even to him. Human-Amir straightened, centuries of history on his shoulders and a legacy he rarely spoke of burning within his eyes like golden flame. ¡°I wish,¡± he said quietly, but with a sense of ageless power echoing behind his words. ¡°That the entire fleet of the Human Galactic Empire was here. Right now.¡± Nothing happened. The Hoem started to laugh. ¡°Is that all?¡± It asked, caught somewhere between hilarity and incredulity. ¡°Destroy them!¡± The Hoem Fleet opened fire, bright energy weapons lighting the black of space like celebration fireworks. Vree straightened proudly. This was a warrior¡¯s death. If this was to be his end, at least he would die among friends and allies. And then, everything seemed to slow, as time sank through honey, crystal at the edges and thick. Al¡¯Mudhib appeared as a glowing nebula, lit in towering columns of red and yellow light that seemed to burn without smoke. Stars shone where his eyes were supposed to be, and his smile showed the black of Void, where nothing but Nothing dared to exist. ¡°Your wish is my command.¡± The words boomed from everywhere, baying hounds and roaring fire. The scent of sand so hot it was nearly glass, and impossible, overwhelming power. And then time exploded, soundless but for the shockwave that left Vree¡¯s fur on end, and his lungs struggling for breath as he fought to keep his balance against the whirl of too-hot raw energy that washed over him like an invisible supernova. And then space erupted into shining silver-white as Carrier Pacifica burst into existence just above them, her great energy-canon already primed, her powerful shields more than enough to block the Hoem¡¯s Fire in silent, colorful splashes of light. ¡°Carrier Pacifica here,¡± the comms crackled with a human voice. General LaShan, Human-Luka¡¯s First of Generals. ¡°Ready to fire on the Emperor¡¯s command.¡± Human-Luka smiled a smile of deep, deadly satisfaction. Another explosion shook them and the Hoem. The fleet rocked, children¡¯s toy boats in a pond as devastating power shook them to the core. ¡°Carrier Caribbean, here and ready,¡± the new ship reported in, professional, and sharply accented. A third explosion, and a fourth produced two more of the great moon-sized ships that were the Human¡¯s greatest weapons. With them came hundreds, thousands, of the powerful destroyers, each as big or bigger than the China and bristling with charged weapons. ¡°Carrier Arctic here,¡± one called in proudly. ¡°Ready for action.¡± ¡°Carrier India here,¡± the next one echoed. ¡°Give us the word.¡± ¡°Carrier Mediterranean reporting in,¡± voiced a third as another soundless explosion rocked the ships back like an oncoming tide that threatened to overwhelm them. ¡°Ready to rumble.¡± ¡°Carrier Golfo De Mexico, ready,¡± the next called, accompanied by a cloud of smaller ships that darted forward to surround their emperor¡¯s craft. ¡°Carrier Atlantica here,¡± the last and final Carrier, nearly as large as the Pacifica herself, and already unleashing her waves of fighters to form a blockade. ¡°Ready for the Emperor¡¯s command.¡± Vree clenched his hands on the rail as the human fleet burst into existence, the thrum of Old Magic burning a shiver over his skin even as more and more ships appeared, born by a force that could not be explained and could not be stopped. Human-Luka squared his shoulders, at once very young, and unbearably aged, and with the light of ancient warriors in his eyes. He looked out over the fleet that faced them down. At the destroyers of the Hoem. At their fighters. At their frigates. And he smiled, terrible and unstoppable. ¡°Open fire.¡±