Page 25 of Einar

“Frackyeah!”

Myanswering cheer sounds off the same time as all my other brothers in response toSlavic’squestions.

“Einar, you have not been off the ship lately, so grab one of the smaller shuttles andIwill take the other.Bikar, as usual, you have the comms.Falon, get to the engine room;Ido not want any mechanical malfunctions on this run.Ruarc, you are in command whileIam off the ship, andMurgul, keep our weapons hot.Youknow better than anyone these bugs rarely travel alone.OnceEinarandIhave the ship secured, you all are to hard dock theZenithnear their back cargo hold.

Afterthe ships are sealed securely together, you know the drill.Bikar, instead of helping load the cargo this time,Iwould prefer you stay here on the comm’s at all times.UnlesstheVelgriddixdetection system is down, you know they can probably see our ship as clearly as we can theirs.Theymight merely be trying to lure us closer in order to claim the bounty on each of our heads.”

Slavicturns and leaves after issuing his orders, the automatic doors opening for him as they detected his biosignature, and ignoringBikaras he shouts with a grin, his lips pulling around his tusks.

“Areyou not gladIam one of the best comms specialists there is?!”

Falon,Ruarc,MurgulandIall groan in unison.Itis not the first time we have heardBikarboast about his skills, and it will not be the last.Theannoying blightisexceptionally talented…not thatIwould ever tell him so.Hishead is already big enough as it is.Noneed to over-inflate his ego.Shootinga final glare atBikarandFalon, and with a nod atMurgul,Iturn and exit the room, ignoring the swoosh of the door asIpass through it.Mymind is already focusing on the task before me.

Frackyes, looting.

Itis a pirate’s life for me.

Ijustacquireda new pair of axes that needed to be broken in.CrackingVelgriddixcarapace would be the perfect thing to do it with.

ChapterEighteen

EINAR

Settlingmy bulk into the pilot’s chair,Iwiggle around trying to get comfortable.Thingsare almost too small for me, which is part of whyIdo not go on raids as often as the others.Mebeing the only medic we all have access to is another.Iam always on standby to make sure my brothers have access to the best medical care we can procure.

Mylarger body makes fitting into shuttles and smaller spaces a pain in the backside.Thanksto theimprovementstheAynardid while myLife-Giverwas pregnant with me, my body is larger than all of my brothers.Moreoften than not, my mass creates more trouble for me than it resolves.Iam still not sure what those frackin fairies were thinking to make their expert healer so large, but they did not ask me.

Grabbingthe yoke in front of me,Iease the shuttle out of the bay and into the vastness of theVoid.OnceIhave cleared theZenith,Iactivate the cloaking mechanism and then double check that it is fully functional before leaving the safety of theZenith’slarger cloak.Reachingover,Iflip a switch to initiate the navigation panel and look over the coordinatesBikarpre-programmed into the shuttle one more time.Assuredthat they are fully loaded and correct,Icheck the fuel cells and comm systems.

Thesound ofSlavic’srough voice on the comm confirms that he has left theZenithas well, and he is checking our comm links, too.

“Einar, are you with me, brother?”

“Rightbehind you.Iwill take the bottom bay and you take the other.”

“Soundslike a plan.Arewe going to keep any prisoners alive forMurgulto play with?”

“Dependson how much funIam having, or ifIhave any restraint left once we secure the ship.”

Ihear the soft snick of the communication line cutting off.Slavicis not one for idle chitchat.Maneuveringaround theVelgriddixship, we check for any sign of a trap.Itwould not be the first timeBikarfound what appears to be an easy target only for it to be a ploy to lure unsuspecting beings in.Thesebugs have infiltrated every portion of this solar system, and have done so by being suspicious, vicious, and highly intelligent.

Falonshould be working on disabling the thrusters on theVelgriddixship.Ihave no doubt that he almost has it done and when he does…

Thefun will begin.

Asoft ping on the console is my signal fromSlavicthatIam free to proceed toward the lower cargo dock while he infiltrates the main one.Guidingmy shuttle around,Ifind the hatch for the cargo deck on this rust bucket of a ship and extend the docking cable.OnceIknow the connection is solid,IpingSlavicto let him knowIam attached and proceeding with the next step of the plan.

Launchinga bit of malware into the ship next to me,Icut the power to the engines and the majority of their systems.Aslight lurch is the only sign that their power is shut off.Then,Ioverride their backup security protocols and open the hatch to their lower dock asImove the shuttle over soIcan just step from it into their cargo hold.Extendingthe docking sleeve,Imake a pressurized hallway of sorts.Mybrothers would never let me live it down ifIgot sucked into the vacuum of space becauseIforgot to set the atmospheric shield to move from one ship to another.

Whythank you for making it so easy for me to get inside your piece of shet ship you nasty bastards.

Grinningto myself,Iunwedge myself from the pilot’s chair and move toward the shuttle door, grabbing my ‘new to me’ axes asIgo.Justas the shuttle door opens,Ihear alarms start going off all over the bug’s ship.

Frack!

Slavicbeat me on board by a tic, not thatIhave any intention of letting him know that.Justbecause we are grown does not mean there is no sibling rivalry still.

Theslide of a door snags my attention, andIwatch in anticipation as three bugs rush into the cargo bay.Steppingout of the shuttle, the door automatically closes behind me.Mybiosignature leaving the vessel initiates an automatic lockdown.EvenifIshould fall in battle, the bugs will not be able to scrap the shuttle.Mybrothers will be able to retrieve it or it will explode if theVelgriddixmanage to get the door open and then step on board.

---