Page 69 of Rebels Rising

‘Yes, Captain,’ he acknowledged, hurrying from the room. With the enemy ship approaching even faster than anticipated I’d used up any moments we had to spare.

Addy returned with the others barely a click later, their faces sallow and tense. I held up a finger to ask them to wait as I connected to the ship’s intercom.

‘Soldiers, this is your captain speaking. The enemy are on our tail and are fast approaching. They will be on us within a turn. We will not be engagingwith weapons. Instead, we will be commandeering their ship. All volunteers must remain with the children. Everyone else, ready for battle. Let’s show these bastards what we’re made of.’

When I ended the connection an alert popped up on the holo-screen, replacing the intercom’s interface. Large, flashing images that took up the entirety of the wall as our scanners tracked the progress of the enemy ship, a warning that our time was running out. The enemy was almost upon us.

I turned to address Julius first. ‘Are our weapons on standby?’

‘Yes, Captain. Everything is set up and ready to fire.’

‘Perfect.’ I turned to Eloria. ‘Are you sure you can do this?’

‘If you get those shields up I can do what needs to be done. They’ll never catch on.’

I nodded my appreciation then faced the rest of the bodies in the room.

‘Ready?’ I asked them.

‘As we’ll ever be,’ Cadmus responded as Reece’s jaw ticked nervously.

‘Okay, then. Follow me into the web. Let’s see if we can all communicate inside or if it’s just me, Bromm and Cadmus.’

I settled myself back in the chair and gestured for the others to do the same. Bromm took the seat to my left while Cadmus took the one to my right, scuffling for a moment with Adara before ultimately winning out. My lips twitched in amusement before I could stop them, but I didn’t think anyone saw. Adara eventually sat beside Reece on the opposite side of the holo-table, leaving the remaining seat for Xander when he returned.

Without further ado, I closed my eyes and connected my mind with the ship’s interface.

CHAPTER 21

Tormik

Ipicked my way carefully over the myriad of tiny, wayward limbs, desperately trying not to step on fragile little fingers and toes. It was a magical event. Every last child was sleeping, the cafeteria was completely silent, but it was a delicate, precarious balance. If anyone so much as breathed wrong and woke a single child up, that would be it. They’d all rouse, we’d all be stuck with hundreds of crying, needy little bodies while we scrambled to comfort, soothe, feed, and change them.

Volunteering in the makeshift nursery may have been a rewarding job in some ways, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t hellish. It was akin to the horror stories from the Forbidden Planet, my race’s old home that we’d abandoned due to the dangers it posed. A warrior race we may have been, but even we could only take so much before we’d snapped.

It had come at a most opportune moment as well with the enemy closing in on us from all angles. We were going to have to work damn hard to ensure the kids remained calm and quiet, though I had a feeling Artemis would know the best way to ensure that. Unfortunately, she was busy performing her duties as our captain, so it fell to us to keep things controlled and contained.

My eyes connected with Foryk’s from across the room and I held in a wince. I imagined my own expression mirrored his, with pinched features tight with anxiety. There were so many lives on the line and Mother had chosen this moment to break down. His concern for her matched mine, though I was sure his was more about the chaos she would cause whereas I was more worried about her wellbeing. Her mental state was deteriorating, and while I didn’t blame her, her actions could very well destroy everything.

I’d checked on her earlier to make sure she actually was resting and had found her asleep, curled up in a ball and hugging a pillow to her as if it could replace Father. My heart clenched even now at the memory of that sight, but I was glad she had listened as was getting the rest she needed.

Unfortunately, it had come at a most inopportune time. We were all hands on deck, and she wasn’t even aware of what was happening. I was loathe to wake her, but someone needed to fill her in.

Just a few more clicks, I kept telling myself. Let her sleep just a little bit longer. I would go to her when we couldn’t wait any longer.

A crackling over the ship’s intercoms preceded the voice that came next. Everyone stopped moving to listen as Artemis informed us of what was coming and our instructions. I didn’t think it was possible, but the hush in the room quietened even further into an almost sentient, oppressive being. My skin felt itchy. My protective instincts screamed at me.

I was out of time. I needed to talk to Mother.

When the other volunteers began moving once more, I picked my way over to Foryk. Disgust twisted my stomach as I approached, though I kept my face placid and locked those emotions away for the time being. Now was not the time to broach the subject of my ire, but instead to work together for the better good.

He met me with his own stoicism, though he raised a single eyebrow to indicate his curiosity over my choice to advance. It took everything in me not to punch his eyebrow right off his face, but that wouldn’t be beneficial to anybody so I refrained.

It hadn’t helped assuage the betrayal the first time my fist had connected with his flesh, either.

I leaned in close, holding my breath so I wouldn’t have his scent filling my nostrils, so I could speak in low tone that wouldn’t disturb the sleeping children. ‘Mother doesn’t know.’

His inhale was sharp, understanding alighting behind his eyes. He tipped his head to the side, indicating we move towards the exit. I followed, torn between relieved that I didn’t have to give him my back and insulted that he had so easily given me his.

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