The door to the bridge slid open smoothly, the soundless movement not pulling anyone’s focus. Myro stepped up behind me, placing a gentle hand on my hip as we assessed the situation. Now was the critical moment, the moment we needed to succeed or none of us would be walking out of here alive.
Heart thundering in my ears, I took in the bridge. There were actually more than twenty men, but they all were focused on the massive portal before them, eyes darting between instruments and computers and the looming golden planet we were preparing to land on.
If it wasn’t the color of the two beings I cared most about in this Mooridian universe, I’d be pretty fucking sick of gold by now. Planet. Walls. Ceiling. Their chairs... I was starting to be really happy they wore regular clothing, with regular colors. It was still overkill, but at least grey uniforms and dark jeans broke it up.
We had timed it perfectly. Our plan had been to get in, take control, and get the hell out of here. Unless my boys’ theory was correct and I was some kind of superhero on their planet, landing was going to be a death sentence.
Hell, taking the bridge was likely a death sentence.
The boys stepped in front of me, their glares obviously commanding me to stay behind them. I wasn't going to argue. I was good with a knife, but a knife was not a gun.
Myro and Fey had barely stepped around me when they opened fire, the four men that stood on either side of the Captain’s chair fell with a single shot to the head. They looked like dominos.
"What in the world...?" The voice of Fey's father that I had heard before rose as the bridge erupted into disarray. Yells of confusion, soft screams of shock, and grunts of anger all rose as Myro and Fey shot again, firing at any Coxians who rose from their seats, turning with their own weapons already drawn. I couldn’t see much of what was happening around the broad backs of my boys, but I could imagine it well enough.
The room somehow exploded into even more cacophony. Clamping my jaw together, I dropped to my knees, searching for some way to help. Looking between their legs, I thought I saw an opportunity. No way was I going to let two boys get all the glory for themselves.
Knife between my teeth, heart thundering in my ears, I crawled along the side of the walls, hustling toward the feet of the closest Coxian. No one noticed me there on the floor, and I congratulated myself on being small. As I approached my target, who was rising to his feet, his own gun in his hands, I strengthened my resolve.
Time to teach these Coxians how scary humans really are.
The guy didn't even see me; he was so focused on the boys and their guns behind me. I spared them a quick glance, noting how well Myro was defending the weakened Fey, fighting off anyone who came close with fists and feet.
I couldn't tell how much of the blood covering their faces and arms was from others or themselves, but I had to trust they could handle it. Now, I needed to do my part.
My muscles coiled as I grabbed the knife, sliding it through the air and slamming the blade into the back of the Coxian's ankles. The blade slid along flesh, tendons and bone, spraying blood over my hands. The guy screamed in a way I’d never heard before, truly sounding alien for the first time since I’d started this wild ride. He fell dramatically, arms in the air and the scream fading to a hiss as he crumpled.
No one turned, they just moved closer to Myro and Fey as they let round after round fly. Luckily, the boys had scooted back into the hallway enough to use the small entryway as cover. The computer console above my head exploded as bullets rained down, blood spraying over me as more Coxians screamed in pain and death.
I didn't turn. I didn't dare. I didn't want to see if one of my guys had fallen. I continued forward, Coxian blood on my tongue from the knife, the taste bitter as I reached the next Coxian and took him down. He fell equally dramatically, making me feel as though I was far more competent than I likely was. Even though I’d been successful with my kills so far, I had to remind myself that I was small, human, and crawling around on the ground in order to make these kills.
As I was scooting like a beetle to my next target, everything went silent.
Silent, except for a laugh that didn't sound sane. To me, the mad man's laugh sounded similar to Ambassador Murray as I’d de-cocked him. It held that same maniacal twist of insanity, and I froze, glancing back, sure that Myro and Fey had completely lost it.
They were still standing, thank god, but they weren't the ones laughing. Their eyes were glued somewhere in the middle of the bridge, and I swept my own across the room to land on Fey’s father. He was grinning in a way that matched the evil laughter, and I suppressed the urge to hide.
"My son," the voice began as the laughter ended, Fey's father's true insanity taking hold. "I should have known that Myro was not back on Earth, the guy doesn't have the guts. At least I would have thought so before now. Did you two really think that you could take me down? That you wouldn't be discovered?"
He laughed again, but I froze against the floor, lifting my eyes to the guys who weren't even looking at me.
Two. He had said two. He didn't know I was here.
Giving the knife a quick wipe down on my disgusting and tattered shirt, I clamped it between my teeth again
