I took a wide set of stairs two at a time, hoisting myself up and bursting onto the command deck. “What the tvek is happening?”
Taan held the sides of his console with both hands to keep from being knocked off his feet, craning his neck to look back at me. “We’ve arrived at Carlogia Prime, Raas.”
I looked at the wide view screen and the planet, fronted by what looked like a fleet of imperial battleships, dull-gray and hulking like square-shouldered sentries. “Along with half the empire.”
“It was a trap, Raas.” Taan gripped the console so tightly, I could see the white of his bones. “When we reached Carlogia Prime and fired a warning shot across the bow of the single Zagrath ship orbiting the planet, these ships appeared from behind a moon.”
“The Carlogians set us up?”
Taan shook his head. “Doubtful. I suspect they were unaware of the fleet hidden behind the moon. The ships didn’t appear on our sensors until we fired.”
I clenched my teeth. “Not a bad ruse. Sometimes I forget that not all the Zagrath are fools.”
“We’re trying to retreat but the horde ships have been divided by the fleet, so we can’t use the amoeba defense or attack pattern. And because there are so many battleships, they’re able to fire indiscriminately.”
Another blast rocked me almost off my feet. “So these are lucky hits?”
“They pegged our location when we fired, but we’ve since moved position so they are firing blind.”
“But still hitting us.” I growled at the damage we were taking and the fact that we’d been outsmarted by our enemy. But most of all, I was angry at myself for being distracted and away from the command deck when we’d reached the planet.
I stomped over to the platform and braced my arms on the railing, berating myself for my weakness. I was not some fresh-faced apprentice who’d never been with a female before. I was a Raas of the Vandar—battle-scarred, ruthless, unrelenting. I should not allow one female, no matter how alluring, to distract me from my mission. But Juliette… Again, my pulse quickened, not from the battle, but from thoughts of her.
“Any word from the bounty hunter ship?” I asked, my gaze fixed on the imperial ships and the red laser fire firing from the dark underbellies of their massive battleships.
“Nothing, Raas,” my majak said, staggering over to stand next to me and grabbing the rail to stay upright. “They were always going to arrive after us.”
I glanced over my shoulder at a communications officer. “Send a message on an encrypted channel to the bounty hunters. Warn them of the ambush.”
“Should I tell them not to come?” he asked, his fingers dancing across the dark surface of his console.
“Don’t bother. Corvak would come no matter what we said.”
He gave a single nod and returned his focus on his screen.
When I turned back, lowered my voice so only my majak could hear. “Have the female taken from my quarters to the hangar bay. I want her ready to escape if this does not work.”
Taan gave me a sharp nod. “What is this, Raas?”
I squared my shoulders, with my legs set wide. “We need to get on the outside of the ring of imperial ships.”
“They’ve surrounded us with laser fire,” Taan said. “The only way out is through, and we’ll most likely sustain more damage than we can withstand.”
I studied the arrangement of the ships and the pattern of their firing. “Because they’re working off the assumption we’re inside their blockade.”
Taan furrowed his brow. “We are.”
“But we’re using our invisibility shielding. They can’t know that for sure.” I hurried over to the communications console, nudging the officer out of the way. “This might not work, but it’s worth a try.”
While my majak returned to his console, ordering Juliette to be escorted from my quarters, I sent a message in Vandar on one of the internal encrypted channels used by our network of horde ships. Holding my breath, I peered at the viewscreen and waited. I wasn’t disappointed. Soon, concentrated Vandar weapons fire appeared on the far side of the battleships, arching through the air and pounding the enemy ships.
Taan gaped at the screen. “It looks like it’s coming from a large ship—a lead ship.”
“Our ship,” I said, pointing to a pilot. “Now that they’re distracted and think they’re being attacked by the lead horde ship from behind, get us the tvek out of here.”
“Yes, Raas.”
The ship pivoted away from the battleships, skirting the smaller ships behind us and deftly flying through the ring of imperial vessels. Once we were outside the line of fire, I sent another message to the horde ships, ordering them to disperse and regroup with us for the amoeba attack formation.
I returned to the platform and Taan rejoined me. “Now we can show the empire what happens when they try to trick the Vandar.”
Taan shook his head, giving me a grin. “Just when I think you can’t surprise me anymore, Raas.”
“This should hold them off until the bounty hunters arrive, or any other hordes that might have intercepted the distress call.”
“No need,” one of the tactical officers called over the beeping consoles and loud voices. “Another ship just dropped into orbit.”
“The bounty hunters?” I asked.
“Affirmative. But they aren’t alone.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Juliette
“What do you mean leave?” I stared at the Neebix apprentice as he stood in the arch of the doorway.
The ship shook, and Baru twirled the fur of his tail around one finger. “Orders from the Raas. You’re to be taken to the hangar bay in case we need to get you to an escape shuttle before the ship blows up.”
“Blows up?” Fear iced my skin, the remaining droplets of water on my wet flesh chilling me to the bone. I glanced down at the gauzy dress I’d found in the back of a drawer, a pale-green swirl of fabric that I’d assumed was
