“Where is the other ship?” I asked when I saw that only one of our black beaked ships sat in the hangar bay.
Our pilot swiveled in his chair. “They left with the technology and weapons, Raas.”
“At your orders,” Svar reminded me.
I pressed my lips together and nodded. “Get us out of here.”
“You are sure about leaving the bridge crew alive?” My majak asked as the ramp slammed shut and the engines roared to life.
“The captain who’d only been promoted for this job?” I ground my teeth together as I thought about the imperial military commanders who’d chosen the inexperienced crew for us to easily defeat and the clueless captain and pilot to sacrifice to our unknowing wrath. “They are nothing but pawns of the empire.” I clenched my hands into fists, thinking of the way the Zagrath had used Alana. “More pawns.”
Svar did not speak again as we rocketed off the imperial ship and toward our invisible horde ships, detectable only with our specialized sensors. Even though all of my raiders wore the marks of a successful raiding mission—chests streaked with blood and axes dripping with the evidence of our dominance—the ship was not filled with the chants of victory. We stood with our hands gripping the iron bars above us, but our faces were grim.
This victory was hollow. We’d killed imperial soldiers, but I suspected they’d been fresh out of training. None of them had showed any battle experience. The kills had been easy and without challenge, and now I was almost sure the entire thing had been a ruse and the Zagrath crew sacrificed for a greater imperial purpose. But what was it exactly?
The empire was always trying to eliminate us, just as we were fighting to rid the skies of them. But how would this botched raid do that?
I was running through options in my head when we entered my warbird and touched down, but nothing I could come up with made any sense. I followed my warriors down the ramp, my eyes flicking to the other raiding ships that had arrived before us. Was it the technology we’d taken? Could that have been tracked somehow?
I strode over the ship. The ramp was down, but the engine still hummed. I poked my head inside and my stomach clenched. The pilot was slumped over his console, blood pooling on the smooth surface.
Straightening, I turned to Svar. “There is a Zagrath onboard.”
He flinched, his gaze darting to the side. “Should I sound a red alert, Raas?”
I shook my head. “I do not want the enemy to know we are aware of his presence just yet.” I locked eyes with each of the warriors from the raiding party. “Fan out throughout the ship and find the intruder.”
“Do you want them dead or alive, Raas?” One of the raiders asked.
“I want them stopped.”
Low growls accompanied snaps of heels as they rushed off to hunt down the enemy.
I turned to Svar. “You’re with me. If the empire sent a solider onto my ship, they might be after the female.”
He didn’t ask why the powerful Zagrath empire would concern itself with a single escaped miner, but he was a shrewd Vandar. If the empire had gone to such great lengths for the female, it would be hard to convince him she was who she claimed to me.
I didn’t have time to think about that as we ran through the ship, racing up swirling staircases and down rattling walkways. Above us, the other warriors from our mission were moving just as quickly through other passageways. The sound of our search echoed within the metal maze.
But another sound made my steps falter. A female scream. Tvek.
We were only a few levels away from my quarters, and I pumped my arms by my sides as I ran faster. I leapt from one suspended walkway to another, the hard landing jolting my knees. Svar was close on my heels, the impact of his jump making the floor rattle just as mine had.
I peered up through the dimness. Even though the warriors moving through the ship sent shadows dancing, I could make out Alana. She was facing off with someone dressed all in black—someone who flicked a weapon as he advanced on her.
Jumping from a walkway to a staircase landing, I tracked the battle between the two. Alana was fast, but so was the male she was battling. When she jumped into the air and spun, landing a kick in his chest that sent him flying over the railing, I wanted to cheer. Then just as quickly, she was jerked down, and her hands were scrabbling for purchase as she was pulled over the side.
Svar and I raced up the last staircase as Alana threw a blade that lodged in her attacker’s shoulder. Amazingly, he didn’t let go, and I saw that her grip on the bar was slipping.
“Nice try, Mantis. Too bad you’re out of options,” the male hanging onto Alana’s foot said, as her fingers uncurled.
Without saying a word, Svar slashed at the male, cutting off his arm while I grabbed Alana’s hand moments before she dropped.
She peered up at me in near disbelief as I clutched her small hand in mine.
I swallowed the emotion that thickened my throat. “You were not out of all your options.”
Pulling her up, I wrapped my arms around her. “Are you hurt?”
“Nothing that won’t heal.” She held my gaze. “Thanks for saving me.” Then her eyes slid to Svar, who stood next to me, his bloody axe by his side. “You, too.”
Svar gave her a silent nod, then addressed me. “Your orders, Raas?”
“Send warriors to find the intruder’s body and make sure he’s dead.” I cut my gaze to the dark depths the imperial fighter had plunged into. “You have the command deck until I join you there. I need to ensure that Alana is not injured.”
He tapped his heels in salute, turning and striding off.
I swept Alana into my arms and walked toward my quarters. “Or should
