“Arlo, are you seeing this?” Luther asked.
I checked the radar and noted the thousands of registering Stin craft. “They don’t mess around.”
“If I was buying them, I’d have to take the warranty,” R11 joked.
“You and me both.” The fact that Stin had created an entire robotic fleet in under two days worried me. If Stin considered you an enemy, I doubted there was much you could do to defend yourself. I kept this to myself, worried it might be listening in, despite R11’s assurances.
“Killer, Pilgrim, we’re going to lead the Stin fleet deeper in system before we hit FTL,” Trid said through the comm system.
“Roger that, Trid. On your mark.” I guided the Racer to the target on the radar, moving away from Stin. There was something about the AI that unsettled me, and it might have been Jinx’s story about Preclude back on Earth. Relinquishing control to a computer system was never a good idea. Stin was proof of that. But he’d helped us.
He had given me command of their gateway drones at their homeworld of Dutis, along with instructions to kill them on the way out. It was a lot of power. More than one man should ever have. I hadn’t told my team about it, mostly because we had enough on our minds. I would when the time arose.
The Stin fleet numbered over two thousand. We only had four of the Darlor Pursuers, and our two Racers. Even so, I wasn’t sure if it would suffice.
“Arlo, I’m checking the route Trid passed us, and it’s not bringing us to the outpost at Biks,” Luther said.
“Where’s it lead to?” Jade asked.
“Some other system. Look.” Luther sent us the information, and I used my left dash screen to access it.
We were only twenty minutes from jumping to faster than light, and I wasn’t going to do so blindly. “They’d mentioned some other allies.” I hit the communicator, reaching out to Trid. “Where are you taking us?”
“I told you we had two stops to make. The Kvan are willing to help. We’ll stand a much better chance with their Sabres on our side.”
“Okay, I’ll ask more questions next time.” I was getting tired of Trid and his lack of proper communication lines. It seemed like he was keeping secrets, and that didn’t work for me. We had enough of that behavior on Earth.
“Varn, did you hear that?” I’d tagged him.
“Loud and clear. Going to the praying mantis world,” he said.
“Don’t call them that,” I suggested.
“Do the females bite the heads off their mates?” Luther asked.
“Let’s hope these aliens aren’t like that.” Varn laughed, and I heard Aster cut in.
“Why don’t you mate with one and find out?”
I ended the chat. We gathered at the rendezvous, the Stin fleet spreading out in lengthy clean lines.
I counted down with the rest of the ships. One more stop, and we’d be moving for the Velibar outpost of Biks.
Pilgrim’s FTL drive took over, and we raced for our destination.
We arrived in three days’ time, and it was nothing more than a fly-by. The Kvan Sabres awaited our arrival, and I counted seven of them. The ships were massive things, twice the size of Earth’s Defenders. They were probably closer to the length of the Squids we were about to fight, and seeing them lifted my spirits.
“I wish we could see their home,” Jade said. “I asked one of them on Refuge about their planet.”
“What did they say?” Luther asked.
“That it was lovely. Warm and comfortable. When the radiation ice storms come, they burrow underground, staying below the surface for a spell.”
“How long is a spell?” I inquired.
“Either a year or a decade. Maybe somewhere in between.” Jade laughed.
“A decade! That’s one hell of a storm.”
“Their system has a lot of asteroid visitors. Space dust that comes from a neighboring system with heavy levels of radiation. The meteors bring ice storms with them, and it’s necessary to hide out until the levels decrease. The Kvan said they have technology to assist this, but nothing to completely eradicate the deadliness of the events,” Jade said.
“Have they considered moving?” R11 asked. “Getting a condo by the beach?”
I noticed that R11 had returned to his jovial self after the day among the Stin.
Jade continued filling us in with what she’d learned. “A large portion of Kvan live on the Sabres, choosing to live among the stars over hiding underground.”
“We’re glad to have them with us.” I stared at the planet. From here, it looked welcoming, an inviting respite from the cold darkness of space. But we couldn’t afford the luxury of a visit.
As I thrust my Racer closer to the fleet, I thought about the end of Space Race. The Squid arriving to destroy the Boardroom. How easily it had dispatched the Defenders. If Jade and Luther hadn’t managed to bypass the vessel’s shields, we’d have been invaded. Right now, Earth would be under their control.
The thought fueled me, but the message from my grandfather was still nagging at the recesses of my mind. Could I trust him? Did the apology mean he was operating under duress or guilt?
“Are you prepared for what’s to come?” I asked my crew.
“Aster and I will lead a ground assault with Zonrial. You and Jade are releasing the bombs, and Varn will work on the drone station with Trid. The Stin will cover all fronts, defending against the Squids. When we have the Hidan township secured, the Sabres will descend, scooping up Zonrial’s people.” Luther listed the actions off, and I nodded along. There were so many moving pieces, and far more unknowns, but I was confident we could win this battle. It might not secure the war, but we’d take what we could get.
“Any word from Post, Barnes, or Bryson?” I asked R11.
“Captain,
