Page 62 of Craze

Emergency Evacuation Maneuvers.

I haven’t a clue what it will do, but the ship lifts and begins to close the ramp, arcing away from the other Battledagger.

I tag Ranger’s body with a shield. It catches him off guard for a moment, then he slings his gun over his back like it doesn’t weigh a thing and turns toward a munitions facility. “I will solve this. Just go get Craze and the others so we can get off of this blasted fucking moon!”

“Yes, sir!”

He squints back at me but keeps moving. It doesn’t bother him because I know he isfree.

“Where is Craze?” RamBash asks.

I close my eyes and pull up the map, then send the Titans the visual signal over our network. “I want him pulled out howeverwe have to, and everything he tags. And not one thing must be left standing on this planet, do you understand?”

“Bossy,” Tangle mutters. He winces and takes a knee. “I apologize.”

“Oh, for the love of fucking Pete.”

“Who’s Pete?” Macabre challenges.

“Figure of speech.” I glower at him because this is not the time. “I, Commander Navi of acquired Fierynn Battledagger Six take Tangle, RamBash, Macabre—”

Axe steps into the hangar and hooks a thumb over his shoulder.

“And Axe,” I continue, “to be Bonded to me.”

They drop to their knees.

“And I release them from servitude forever so that they may be free.”

The Titans get up, squirm, and rub their heads like something feels strange.

“You good?” I ask.

Macabre gives me a look that has just a hint of a smile. “Fuck yeah. Let’s level this rock.”

They head for the cockpit with my friends and leave me standing on the hangar deck. A Solcrue backs into the room and fires down an adjacent hallway. I turn to shoot them and find it’s Jeela dressed in a new suit of armor.

The ship banks, and my splay alerts me that autopilot has disengaged.

“What happened to the one we got you?” I ask her.

She grins, and my stomach turns and the blood in her pointy teeth. “Been wanting to do that for so long. You think Rochir was the first to use me? Stars, no.”

The red alerts switch off, and I sigh with relief. Through a window, I watch explosions shred the other battledagger andever vessel and vehicle left in the landing area. Ranger whoops from down the hallway.

A moment later, he returns as the cargo deck glows green with a gravity beam. “Immediate threats neutralized, Commander. Macabre is on final assault, once Craze has been picked up.”

Jeela sees him and skirts the opening floor to crash into him. “Ranger!”

He staggers back a step. “Uh, hi.”

“You saved my life as a teen. Don’t you remember?”

He studies her for a moment, recognition slowly dawning on his face. “Holy shit, kid! Wow, well, you’re not a kid anymore, are you?”

Ranger returns her embrace. “I actually wasn’t much older than you back then. Looked a little less worse for wear than I do now, anyway.”

As they catch up, Craze rises into the hangar atop a pallet. Four more float up with him. Then the floor closes and the beam dwindles until everything settles into the floor. Locks engage, holding the parts in place.

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