“Guards are taken care of,” Adelaide said as she reappeared with a mild limp. She draped a bloodied hand over Taylor’s shoulder with a pained wheeze while shoving one of the stolen pistols into his hand.

  “You’re back already?” Taylor stammered with surprise

  “Tough bastards sure put up a fight,” She said managing a wincing smile as she wringed droplets of blood from her hand. She handed the other pistol to Liz as her mother approached with a scolding expression, her hands on her hips as she looked over her daughter.

  “I certainly hope you didn’t hurt those poor men too badly,” She said shaking her head with a disappointed sigh. She pressed her hand against her daughter’s side and frowned when she flinched.

  “You took a nasty blow from a stun baton,” she coldly assessed.

  “Yeah well you should see the other guys,” Adelaide told the others with a wincing chuckle. “Unfortunately I may have to take it easy for a little while. It hurts a little to breath.”

  “That’s alright,” Liz said as she checked the charge on the plasma pistol. “You’ve done enough. We have a fighting chance now.”

  “You know mother I never imagined you’d ever help me escape from the brig,” Adelaide said as she pulled away from Taylor and into her mother’s waiting embrace. This very well could be the their last precious moments together.

  “Oh please, I helped your father out of the brig once or twice we were dating,” her mother reminisced in a small moment of levity.

  “I can’t believe we’re actually working with some Syn,” Adelaide added with a final note of hesitation as she watched Liz and Taylor slid open the glass door to the cell of the Syn they called the Navigator.

  “We’ve been fighting them long enough. Maybe it’s about time for a little cooperation.” Her mother said.

  The Navigator shrank back from the glass door of his cell with bristled feathers as Liz gestured for him to get a move on. He defiantly snapped his beak and hissed at her. What did this human want?

  “Let me try,” Taylor said as he put himself between Adelaide and the Navigator. He raised an open hand and slowly showed the Syn his wrist tablet. “I mean you no harm,” he reassured the Syn as he produced a spherical hologram with a few button presses and a swipe of his finger. It was a star chart, something the Navigator stared at with wide eyed appreciation. The Navigator crept closer.

  “Agra,” Taylor carefully enunciated with a jab of his finger at the Meridian Core Cluster. He pressed his fingers together into a passable representation of the Navigators arrowhead shaped ship and made swooping motions towards the star chart. “Agra is here.”

  The Navigator couldn’t help but shriek with delight as he finally comprehended what was happening. He rushed Taylor and clapped his clawed three fingered hands around the young man’s shoulder and shook him with a delighted whooping cry.

  “What about the others,” Taylor said casting his wary expression back at Liz as the Navigator continued to celebrate his freedom. She followed his uneasy stare to the four remaining Syn soldiers who watched with docile interest from where they clustered against the acrylic glass of their cell.

  “They come with us,” Liz asserted with a curt nod. “I don’t think Agra would appreciate us leaving them behind.”

  Liz walked up to the glass and the Syn followed her, grasping curiously at her hand as she waved the keycard Patricia had provided against the locking mechanism. With pistol in hand took a step back and held her breath as the door slowly swung ajar. The Syn tapped and sniffed at the unlocked door before staring quizzically at Liz with their bright red eyes.

  “Come on now follow me,” Liz gestured with both hands. One of them shoved open the door with the palms of their clawed hands. Liz jumped back, and then slowly repeated herself with a nodding motion of her head. “Follow me,” she said with an approximation of an encouraging smile.

  “Follow?” One of the Syn parroted with a snap of their beak.

  “Follow!”

  The Navigator stared at her aghast as the four Syn soldiers continued to repeat her words with obvious excitement as they stumbled over each other to answer her call. Taylor looked on with a wistful expression as he watched the black feathered Syn enemy soldiers join them outside the cells.

  “Can you imagine how things could have been if we’d just gotten along from the start?”

  Liz shook her head with a somber frown.

  “The fighting was inevitable. It’s best not to dwell on impossible dreams.”

  The Navigator was running. Shrill alarms blared around him as he was driven forward by the humans who’d freed him. His kin, the soldiers, bounded between the walls and floor with spirited energy as they enthusiastically joined the sprint as if it were a game.

  “Shit!” Liz exclaimed as she stopped abruptly. She slammed against the wall for cover with her pistol raised. The others joined her and the Navigator followed their example. His kin struck poses as though they too carried the small human projectile weapons.

  “They caught on to this escape of ours quicker than I thought they would,” Adelaide cursed as she craned her neck in the direction of the distant shouts and stomping of boots.

  “What do we do now?” Taylor said in a hushed whisper.

  “There are too many of them. We’re going to have to find another way to Navigator’s ship,” Liz said as her fraught gaze drifted upward as she grasped for a solution. There she saw the sealed hatch to a maintenance passage.

  “You!” she suddenly said pushing past Taylor and Adelaide to address one of the Syn Soldiers. The one she’d singled out stepped forward eagerly. The Navigator watched with interest as she wordlessly bent her knees and gestured for the soldier to emulate the way she had her hands cupped together. The soldier copied her posture and fumbled with how to precisely weave his clawed fingers together.

  “Good enough,” Liz said as she took a step towards the soldier who dutifully maintained his stance to allow her to climb closer to the hatch. She was close, not quite within reach of the hatch with their assistance.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  “Up,” Liz motioned hit her hands knit together. Taylor and Adelaide could only look at her with awe as the soldier to a moment to process the request and complied. They lifted her higher so that her fingers finally wrapped around the handle. The hatch fell open and she swiftly pulled herself up inside. She gestured for the others to follow which they quickly did. The Navigator hesitated for a moment as the soldier blinked at him then relented and allowed the soldier to assist him. That was their purpose after all even if it meant physical contact was necessary in this case. He crouched in the cramped compartment as the humans stared down at the soldiers who remained in the corridor below. The sounds of voices were quickly approaching.

  “Come on now,” Taylor encouraged. The soldiers seemed to silently convene then together eyed the distance between themselves and the small circular hole in the ceiling. One after another they leapt right up to the open hatch and with flailing claws dragged themselves up inside. Liz sealed the hatch behind them. A dark gloom immediately swallowed them, the humid air hot and heavy. The sounds of machinery almost drowned out the sounds of the alarms blaring outside. Feathers bristling, the Navigator hissed discomfort as the humans spoke to each other in hushed whispers. They must have been debating where to go next. Adelaide pointed down a pipe choked tunnel and began to crawl in that direction. The others did not object and followed her. The Navigator knew he had no choice but to do the same despite his misgivings about tight spaces. He looked at the soldiers waiting behind him and spoke to them before he’d even thought about what he was doing.

  “You follow me,” he said giving a slow carefully enunciated order in the clicking tones of the sacred tongue. This he knew to be blasphemy and yet seeing the humans communicate so readily with the soldiers had troubled him deeply. These were his kin he reasoned with some envy. If they were to speak then it was only right that they spoke his tongue not theirs. Quintek was a soldier and spoke the sacred tongue readily enough. Why shouldn’t these soldiers? He repeated his order again and motioned for them to follow. One then another repeated his order back to him with perfect pronunciation. Quite pleased with his first lesson the Navigator entered the tunnel with what he could only describe as pride swelling in his chest.

  With a loud thump Liz kicked open another maintenance hatch. Tubes and cables poured out as she squeezed her head and shoulders down into the vacant hallway. Red flashing lights signaled lockdown protocols but the alarms had been silenced and there was no sign of anybody. She dropped down into a crouch with her pistol raised. Adelaide soon followed, stumbling as the pain in her abdomen returned with a vengeance.

  “Damn it,” She swore as she rubbed her side. Taylor landed beside her with a thud, the Navigator soon after. The prissy Syn preened his ruffled feathers with a disgruntled snap of his beaked mandibles. One of the Syn soldiers hung for a moment from the open hatch before unceremoniously plummeting to the floor with a pained squawk. The others did not make the same mistake.

  “We’re close,” Liz said as she studied a map posted on the wall. “The hanger should be just down this hall.”

  “Wonderful,” Adelaide groaned as she took a step around the corner and right into General Marco Crozier. His hard eyed gaze narrowed as he advanced with his pistol drawn. He surveyed her accomplices with an eyebrow raised, noting the motley group of Syn and SMCAF personnel. Liz raised her own pistol in response and yet the General only considered her like the rest with a passing glance. His attention snapped back to Adelaide.

  “Lieutenant Anson that’s far enough,” he said as he squared his shoulders and growled authority. Gone was the old man. This was the general she remembered. She raised her hands in deference, frowning as she shrank back like a scolded child.

  “Did you really think you could escape so easily? Certainly you must realize that you will not be allowed to leave this station alive.”

  Adelaide raised her head, defiance flaring to life in her eyes as she put on a smug grin.

  “Are you here to talk me out of this General?”

  Marco matched her grin with one of his own. He relaxed with a mild chuckle as he twirled the pistol in his hand to present it butt first to Adelaide. She took it without speaking.

  “That’s what I’ll tell them,” Marco said. “I’ll say that the Daughter of Devils refused to listen to reason and took me hostage. Your demands are simple. Let us leave or the old man gets a bullet in the head.”

  Adelaide tackled him with a hug as the others stood by trying to process what had happened.

  “Thank you Uncle Marko,” Adelaide praised with laughter of her own.

  Agra stood pressed against the panoramic bridge windows of the auxiliary cruiser Vikrant watching the cloud cloaked sphere of Meridian Prime slowly spin beyond the pointed prow of the 4th composite group flagship. The last formation of triumphant shuttles flitted by to another elated cheer of the crew managing the helm and consoles behind her. A plethora of status display screens filled the tiered amphitheatre overlooking a holographic display of fleet operations. The Vikrant sailed ahead of a line of a dozen SMCAF ships loitering in low orbit above the rocky planet below. Quintek stalked the aisles between the occupied stations stooped low with clawed hands folded behind his back. Nervous and wary glances followed him as he paused occasionally to peer inquisitively at the multitude of monitors.

  “What is this?” he hissed as he loomed over the shoulder of a trembling man seated behind a console containing a multitude of levers and dials. Several displays showed charts and diagrams depicting the ship and its ringed path over a simplified profile of the planet.

  “We are making constant adjustments to stay in orbit,” a young woman answered with a polite if discomforted smile. Quintek turned to her with his oval beaked head tiled to the side expectantly. The woman pointed at a screen to redirect his uncomfortable hawkish stare.

  “Is that how we remain motionless in space?” he asked taping the monitor with a clawed hand.

  “We are actually in constant motion,” she said gesturing forward with her hand, “accelerating forward faster than we are falling. Too fast and we shoot off into space. Too slow and we fall. These throttles control the bow thrusters should we need to decelerate and these the aft if we need to speed up.”

  Quintek acknowledged her explanation with only a low throaty hum of apparent understanding before moving on.

  You shouldn’t be scaring them like that,” Agra admonished in his mind. He shot an annoyed glance up at where she continued to stare longingly out the window.

  You shouldn’t want to speak with her,” was his frustrated reply. Her refusal to elaborate on what she and the Matriarch had discussed was as aggravating as her sudden change of heart. Quintek sensed that all she wanted now was to meet the Matriarch despite his ardent protests. Agra said nothing more before a whistle sounded and the bridge crew turned to acknowledge

  “There you are darling, our hero of the hour,” proclaimed the voice of Margret Singh as she stepped onto the bridge with her entourage. They joined her in starting the round of applause that slowly spread to the rest of the bridge crew. Many were still hesitant to celebrate the Syncline in their midst. Agra didn’t care. She basked in their adoration with her head held high.

  “Captain York informs me that all 248,562 of his grateful men have been successfully evacuated from the surface without casualties and in record time,” Minister Singh said as she stepped down into the depressed center of the bride. There was another round of applause. “Humanity will forever be in her debt,” she concluded with a smile as Agra strode up beside her.

  “It was my pleasure Minister,” Agra said with a low bow. "I look forward to seeing what we may accomplish together."

  The Minister smiled appreciation though her gaze remained fixed on the holographic fleet map. She manually adjusted a series of knobs and put up a spinning projection of Meridian Prime, zooming in on a grainy live feed of the surface where the Syn swarm still amassed in ordered groups. Quintek took a step forward as he sensed Agra’s happiness falter.

  “What is this?” Agra asked confused as she studied the projection. Her red feathers bristled beneath her gray wrappings as Minister Singh was presented with a small gray suitcase bearing the SMCAF eagle.

  “Thank you,” the minister said as she opened the lid. Inside was a small control panel. She glanced up from the device with a pleasant smile, pulling a simple necklace out from around her neck with a knowing nod to one of her entourage. The man strode up to a console and spoke into it with a demure tone.

  “Phase two authorization has been given. All crew without proper protection must vacate observation spaces. Prepare for 50 megaton surface blast.”

  “You promised that nobody would be harmed,” Agra demanded as horror dawned on her face. The Minister took the key and slotted it into place in the box.

  “I told you that I didn’t expect you to fight our battles,” she said as she turned the key. The light in the bridge dimmed as the windows darkened.

  A flash of brilliant light silently bloomed on the surface as the sound of Agra’s anguished cry tore across the stars.