The chickens are off-limits, he said. Help yourself to the eggs.
“The Invader Fleet has been spotted in the system,” L’iza said.
It was pure chaos, mogha running every which way as they appeared, the air full of an array of barking as pack leaders organized them in groups, dozens of Korthan scout ships landing among the trees.
The ships were as colorful as the mogha, the yellow coloration of L’iza just one of many. Some were blue, some were red, some were even pink, their swept-back wings traced with their respective color, some a combination of two. The sight of their graceful majesty took Dani’s breath away.
Were all these ships sentient?
D’alla ran from K’vyn’s ship as the last scout landed, rushing between the pack leaders and their groups, antennae straight up in high alert.
C’hase was sticking as close to Dani as she was to him, never more than a few feet from each other, his coat of orange easy to keep track of. Many mogha brushed him with their feather-tips as they arrived, a delight to C’hase as much as a fascination to her, the intensity of the situation rendering the gestures bitter-sweet.
As D’alla escorted several dozen skittish, whimpering and yipping mogha into L’iza’s cargo hold, Dani’s heart ached.
Strong arms came around her from behind and she turned into K’vyn’s chest.
“What we are about to do is extremely dangerous,” he murmured in her hair. “We could die.”
Pulling away, he grasped her shoulders, looking her in the eye. “The safest place will be the Galaxy Ship. I can talk to L’den about granting you asylum—”
“What happens to me if something happens to you?” Dani interrupted him.
K’vyn blinked, but she could feel the truth through the bond. There wouldn’t be much understanding; she’d likely become a prisoner.
“So, there’s no place that’s safe,” she said. “C’hase and I will take our chances with you.”
Dani’s place was with K’vyn. As much as she would have liked to provide a safe place for C’hase—
The mogha’s place is with you, K’vyn said through the bond. Separation is worse than death.
L’iza poked her head out at the top of the stairs.
“Let’s go,” she said.
“C’hase will help keep the mogha onboard calm.” K’vyn squeezed her shoulders.
Bounding back down the stairs, D’alla disappeared into the woods.
Dani blinked. “What about D’alla?”
“We’ll be back,” the hologram said, leaning back into the ship.
“D’alla is staying here until every mogha that wants to leave is on a ship,” K’vyn said, walking up the stairs. “We will get her on the last run.”
Throat constricting, she felt his trepidation through the bond as she boarded the ship. There were only a hundred ways that plan could go wrong—
If the unsteadiness on her feet was anything to go by, the ship had already lifted off the ground, hatch clapping shut in short order.
Entering the cargo hold, K’vyn was right about C’hase. The skittishness the mogha exhibited upon boarding vanished when they saw him. As they greeted and nose-nuzzled with him, Dani left them to it with a smile.
Upon entering the cockpit, her jaw dropped. Hanging above the planet was the largest ship she’d ever seen. Oblong, it reminded her of a whale, but the sheer size of it—
“That’s the Galaxy Ship,” K’vyn said. “She can’t land on the planet’s surface. We’re going to run mogha up to them.”
“It looks alive,” Dani said, breathless.
“She is alive,” K’vyn said.
“That ship is sentient too?”
“Most Korthan ships are sentient,” K’vyn confirmed. He narrowed his eyes at L’iza. “Some are particular about the Korthans that fly or inhabit them.”
“The thought of a cyborg in my systems—” L’iza imitated a full-body shiver. “No.”
“The Galaxy Ship will allow Korthans to reside there, but only entrusts her gemkeys to members of the Korthan Cyborg Corps.”
Gemkeys? What in the stars was he even talking about?
“Incoming,” K’vyn said, game face on.
Stars all around them, too many to count moved closer and closer, until it became evident they were ships.
Did the entire Human Colony Alliance Fleet show up to terraform this one planet?
Triangular fighters poured out of the Galaxy Ship, four of them surrounding L’iza while the rest spread out, eight surrounding two more scout ships on L’iza’s starboard side as they raced to the Galaxy.
“Remember, we are not trying to win a battle for the world,” K’vyn said through L’iza’s comm. “Just trying to save as many mogha as we can.”
“Acknowledged,” a voice came back.
Another ship emerged from the blackness of space, racing into the fray. Triangular like the fighters, it was bigger, shiny red and black coloration beautiful and sinister at once.
“But we can kill as many Invaders as we can, too,” another voice said.
“A’ryk,” K’vyn whooped. “I did not think you’d be here so quickly.”
“I’ve never flown so fast.” This A’ryk sounded out of breath. “Let’s kill these bastards.”
Filled with unease, Dani couldn’t stop the gasp that escaped her when the new arrival barreled headlong through a web of laser fire into the human fleet.
That ship is a Death Angel, K’vyn said in her mind, keeping her distracted as L’iza rushed towards the Galaxy Ship, a group of HCA fighters approaching at break-neck speed. I don’t know any Korthan that has in-depth knowledge of that ship. I suspect A’ryk knows more than he lets on, but there aren’t many Death Angels.
How many sentient ships are there? Never mind how many; how many kinds were there?
We don’t know.
Dani was under the impression that answer applied to both questions—
Then the HCA fighters were upon them, déjà vu setting in as laser fire skipped across L’iza’s hull.
“Check on the mogha,” K’vyn ordered as they approached the Galaxy Ship, the cyborg fighters repelling the humans.
Dani ran to the cargo hold, falling next to C’hase as a bolt jolted the ship into a fishtail, several mogha yelping in startled fear.
I don’t think I like flying, C’hase’s young voice sounded younger, paws over his head. Someone’s always shooting at us.
K’vyn winced as a laser bolt struck L’iza from the side, Dani taking a hard fall.
“You’ve got to block those,” L’iza spat over the comm, her pain and anger intense enough to feel keenly, even through their limited connection.
“Sorry,” one of the cyborgs said.
More Korthan ships arrived, a swarm of oblong silver shapes surrounding the Galaxy Ship.
“About time the Citizen Brigade got here,” L’iza said. “Now the cyborgs can concentrate on escorting the scouts—”
And concentrate they did, L’iza’s escort doubling from four to eight.
The Invader fighter contingent that was shooting at them suddenly had their hands full with dozens of Citizen Brigade drones.