The hum of the ship filtered through Tamiyo’s boots as she sat cross-legged on the floor of the central room in The Ghost of Mandachor. Raine had learned enough that Tamiyo felt confident allowing her to fly solo, so Tamiyo was preparing to actually accompany the team on a mission for the first time. She sat straight, internally running diagnostic on the new neural link they had installed. It would be their first time trying it in the field, so she wanted to make sure it worked right.

  A sharp twitch sparked behind her right eye. Not pain, more like a flicker, a missed step. She winced, then blinked it off.

  Elias leaned against the wall nearby, watching her with a half-amused squint. “Were you trying to wink at me? You’re supposed to fully close your eye for that.”

  Tamiyo muttered, “Just a minor fluctuation. Probably a grounding error in the cortex anchor.”

  His demeanor flipped more serious. “Oh, everything alright?”

  She didn’t look up. “I think so.”

  Another flicker.

  Elias moved over to sit behind her to take a look at the link. He synced his tablet up to the connection that was plugged into the base of her skull.

  Inelius, hunched beside a console on the other side of the bay, glanced over. “First field test is still a risk, maybe Elias should tag along. If anything in that link starts frying neurons, we’ll need him nearby ASAP.”

  That got everyone’s attention. Veolo, stretched out along a bench with one leg draped over the side, opened one eye. Soren looked up from where he was securing his rifle harness. Violet looked over with concern, raising one eyebrow silently.

  Riza was still as a statue, and more than silent. Her presence almost drank sound. “It’s the Conservatory,” she finally said. “We don’t know what we’re walking into.”

  “Hey,” Elias said, looking at her with a smile. “It’s hardly the first time you and I have fought the Conservatory before. Plus, Tamiyo needs to be positioned away from the frontline to keep her line of sight anyway. I’ll stick with her, stay out of the line of fire, and keep her safe while I monitor the relay.”

  There was a pause while everyone weighed the options.

  Aurania stood near the main holo-table, arms folded. Her expression was unreadable.

  Finally, she said, “Tamiyo, have you ever been in a firefight before?”

  Tamiyo shook her head. Not that she’d be shooting anyone herself, she just had to keep eyes on everything.

  “See?” Elias said. “If she ends up freezing, she’ll need someone to cover her.” He briefly looked at Tamiyo, “No one would blame you for freezing, combat is scary.”

  “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” Aurania said. She thought a moment more, then looked at Riza.

  Riza gave a subtle shake of her head.

  Aurania looked back to the group with a hard expression and said, “Elias comes.”

  Soren gave a quiet grunt that might’ve been a laugh.

  Elias finished tweaking the neural link and stood to go sit with Riza, smile on his face.

  He seemed to be in good spirits, they all did. The progress towards saving Nox and the hope of finding more answers on Piria was a huge morale booster.

  The Ghost of Mandachor descended toward Piria’s surface with a slow, calculated glide. The planet stretched out in a shimmering pale basin below them, like a cracked mirror dusted in bone-white salt. No jagged canyons or scorched ridges like Philos, this region was deceptively calm. Wind whipped thin lines across the flats, carving shallow patterns that looked almost too symmetrical to be natural.

  The landing struts hissed as they touched down. A distant ridge loomed to the west, barely breaking the monotony of the horizon.

  Tamiyo glanced through the viewport and exhaled. “Doesn’t look so bad.”

  “Honestly a little boring compared to the last planet,” Amalia said.

  As Soren breached out the starboard hatch, Tamiyo quickly walked up to the cockpit. “Good landing!” She said to Raine. “Take care of her while I’m gone!”

  Raine turned and gave a thumbs up with a big smile. “Go on, have fun with your fancy link thing.”

  Tamiyo laughed and said, “Will do,” then turned to follow the team down the ramp.

  The salt crust crunched beneath her boots, light and powdery. The air here was dry, sharp, and strangely still. It reminded her of a hospital somehow. Sterile, empty, waiting.

  From their landing site, they could see the remains of the research lab in the distance, tucked against a low ridge. The building’s structure had weathered the centuries surprisingly well. Tarnished metal plating, a collapsed antenna, and a cracked solar panel array were the only real signs of damage Tamiyo could spot. There didn’t appear to be any signs of movement.

  Aurania brought the group to a halt just before the descent path curved downward toward the site.

  “Riza, overwatch,” she ordered. They’d done this a hundred times or more. If anything even sneezed at the group, the sniper would see it.

  Riza nodded silently and peeled off, climbing toward an outcropping overlooking the facility.

  The rest moved in.

  Inside, the lab was dim and lifeless. Dried dust covered half-collapsed workstations, cracked glass, and faded markings. Tamiyo recognized the chaotic scribblings on the walls from her translation work with Soren. Her pulse quickened, feeling the reality of being in the field with the team.

  She and Elias moved toward the central console, and she quickly got it operational. Light bloomed through the cracked holo-projection, flickering but stable. The system was older than anything she'd worked with before, but the translation database she had built worked wonders.

  “Alright we’re in,” Tamiyo said. “Extracting data now. We’ll have to decrypt this one too before we can get anything useful.”

  Aurania nodded. “Good, get it quickly and let’s get out of here.” She stood near the main entrance, close enough to cover the team but far enough to intercept any threat coming through the primary doorway. Her posture was relaxed, but she scanned methodically. She had opted not to bring a rifle this time, instead relying on her axe and a massive handgun that Tamiyo would likely need two hands to hold up.

  Elias was crouched beside Tamiyo at the central console, tablet balanced on one knee, glancing between her neural output and the lab’s flickering display. He looked calm, collected, like this was just another day, except he had a gun in his hand.

  Inelius had positioned himself near a half-collapsed terminal on the room’s north side, half-hidden behind broken shelving. Violet leaned against a wall opposite the main console, and Veolo was slowly pacing along the right flank of the chamber while Soren paced the left.

  Amalia had taken up a spot near the back exit, rifle slung low and fingers absently drumming against her thigh. Her stance was casual like usual, but her eyes were sharp, flicking between the door and Tamiyo every few seconds. She was always lighthearted, but she didn’t let it keep her from being prepared.

  “Extraction at 60 percent,” Tamiyo told them.

  Time stretched, filled only by the soft buzz of the holo-display and the distant groan of aging metal settling around them.

  A crackle came through comms from Riza. “Conservatory dropship inbound, coming in quiet from high altitude. ETA forty-five seconds. Engage?”

  Everyone froze.

  Aurania hesitated, then finally said, “No. We’re close. They don’t know we’re here, we finish this and get out clean.”

  Tamiyo swallowed. Her palms were sweating inside her gloves. The relay pinged again, 70 percent. So close.

  Several minutes passed, and anxiety grew thick.

  90 percent.

  And then something shifted in the signal. The data stream cut off with a high-pitched whine only she could hear.

  “Chingada madre,” she let out.

  Soren looked over with a tight but amused expression. “Was that Spanish?”

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  She let a frustrated noise out, half laugh, half scoff. “Yeah, I’ve been studying more about Earth since I met you.” She stood up and looked at Aurania. “They severed the fucking stream.”

  Aurania looked back at her, head tilted slightly to the side. “Welp, should’ve had you shoot them Riza.” She turned to face the door that led deeper into the facility. “Form up people and safeties off, let’s go get some.”

  Although nervous about the impending fight, Tamiyo couldn’t help but feel the excited energy from the group. Soren moved up near Amalia, and a second later Veolo joined them, almost bouncing with anticipation. The group formed up, Tamiyo and Elias at the rear, and progressed through the door.

  Soren took point, rifle shouldered and eyes scanning every intersection as the team moved through the fractured corridors of the facility. His steps were quiet but confident, each one placed with a soldier’s precision. Veolo stayed just behind him, one hand on his back for coordination and her rifle in the other, barrel to the ceiling. The hallway ahead opened into a long chamber where structural support beams had buckled and sagged with age. Despite the decay, the room was still operational, lights flickered low overhead, and fresh scuffs marred the floor.

  They weren’t alone.

  Tamiyo had never seen Conservatory soldiers before, but she recognized the aesthetic all the same. Heavy white combat armor built for durability, not stealth, there was a clear emphasis on both intimidation and resilience. Each one looked like a mini-tank on legs. Their faces were completely enclosed in their helmets, and the thick chest plating also showed signs of advanced augmentations, something cybernetic possibly.

  Thick plating ran along their arms and legs as well, with ballistic mesh where they needed to bend. Something about their gauntlets looked technical, Tamiyo could see small cords beneath the plates but she couldn’t tell for what purpose.

  She counted ten adversaries in almost identical armor, each carrying rifles that looked more advanced in design than what their team had with them. An 11th enemy looked more advanced, and he had a large handgun holstered on his thigh. His armor wasn’t as bulky, built more for mobility it seemed, but the way he carried himself told her he was in charge. He still had the same white aesthetic with black accents like the others.

  Everyone took a knee in cover as they trained rifles on the Conservatory soldiers. But a moment later, the leader turned and faced them, he knew they were there. He didn’t order any of his men to take cover.

  He lifted one hand up, palm towards them. “We don’t need to fight,” he said calmly. “I’m sure none of us want casualties today.”

  Tamiyo’s heart was pounding, it was one of the most tense situations she’d ever been in.

  No one moved for a few moments.

  “Aurania?” Soren asked, rifle still trained on the enemies.

  She held a moment more, then quietly said, “Tamiyo, if this goes sideways, send in the Rods of God.”

  “Copy, Boss,” Tamiyo said.

  “Soren, Veolo, forward,” Aurania said, and she advanced with them. Everyone else held position.

  Elias guided Tamiyo up away from the rest of the team so they wouldn’t catch stray bullets. She still had a good view of everyone in the room. She activated the targeting overlay, and her vision adjusted. Faint silhouettes of the enemy team highlighted, transmitting everyone’s position to Riza. Anyone Tamiyo had eyes on, Riza could zero in on through solid walls from 1,000 or more yards away, color coded for friendly or foe.

  As Soren, Veolo, and Aurania approached, two of the Conservatory soldiers moved forward to put themselves between their leader and their adversaries. Soren and Veolo did the same, providing protection for Aurania. Everyone kept their rifles at a neutral position as they approached, but the tension was thick enough to swim through.

  The lead figure took a step forward. “I am known as Sable,” he said. No rank, no title. Just a name. “And you—” he pointed toward Soren, “—are not what I expected.”

  Soren said nothing.

  Sable’s tone stayed calm. “I saw you move on Philos. Cutting across that ridge. Not many humans move like that. Most things don’t either.”

  The way he said it, Tamiyo recognized the tone all too well. This human didn’t even see the lacravida as people, or Inelius, or her for that matter.

  “I wasn’t aware I left an impression,” Soren said flatly.

  “You did.” Sable let the silence linger. “That wasn’t training. That was augmentation.”

  No one answered.

  He took a few steps forward, unhurried. Then he looked around at Soren’s allies, palms facing up in a casual assessing way. Tamiyo got a very uneasy feeling at the way he seemed to linger his gaze on her a moment longer than the others.

  “Why do you surround yourself with these disgusting creatures?” Sable said casually, as if asking why the sky was blue. “You are human, a very fine specimen of human at that. Wouldn’t you rather be among your own kind?”

  Soren didn’t even hesitate. “I already am,” he said. His voice was dripping with venom.

  “You invited us to speak as if you think you have the upper hand,” Aurania spoke up. “You seem an intelligent… creature, Mr. Sable.”

  Sable stared back at her, but did not answer.

  “I would caution you against fighting us,” Aurania said. “We’re protected by The Ghost of Proxinara, I’m sure you’ve heard of her.”

  That caught his attention, and he tipped his head slightly to the side. “Riza Emberfell?”

  “One and the same,” Aurania said.

  Sable was quiet for a moment.

  Then one of his soldiers spoke up, the one standing in between him and Veolo. “I think they’re bluffing, sir. I know what Emberfell is supposed to look like, she’s not in the room.”

  Tamiyo heard Aurania chuckle slightly, but she didn’t clarify.

  “All I hear is a bunch of big talk from a bi-pedal milk cow,” the soldier said.

  Veolo made a tch sound, and said, “And all I hear is a bunch of whining from a bi-pedal bitch.”

  The air cracked.

  The soldier made a move, fast and aggressive, like he thought intimidation was the same thing as control. But Veolo had already planted her back leg, and she drove all her weight behind her hoof, slamming it straight into his chest.

  The impact was brutal. The Conservatory soldier flew backward, smashing into a support column with a metallic crunch that shook the dust from the ceiling.

  Everything happened at once.

  Aurania opened fire with her massive handgun. Soren put himself between Veolo and the enemies, and they both returned fire as all three of them moved backwards towards allies.

  “Light em up,” Tamiyo said.

  A moment later, one of her red-highlighted targets felt the business end of Riza’s cannon. A hole in the wall exploded inward as the round breached through, and the man’s body slammed down into the concrete floor at an angle.

  Sable moved much quicker than the others. He tried closing in on Veolo and Aurania, but Soren put himself in the middle. He grabbed Soren’s rifle and controlled the barrel to avoid being hit. Soren let go, and for a moment, the two brawled hand-to-hand. Soren was much larger and stronger, but Sable moved with lightning-fast reflexes.

  After several traded blows, he caught Soren’s wrist in his grip. Tamiyo saw the advanced armor glow as it charged something up in the gauntlets, and a moment later, Soren let out a low grunting scream as electricity coursed through him. Bolts danced outward from his armor, the strong current looking for somewhere to go.

  Then Sable delivered a powerful open palm to Soren’s chest that had some sort of repulsor tech behind it. Clad in armor, Soren was well over 800 pounds, but he still flew backwards over 10 feet before landing on his back and skidding up against a wall.

  Tamiyo still saw Soren slowly moving, but he didn’t get back up right away.

  Gunfire erupted across the chamber as Violet, Amalia, and Inelius laid down suppressive fire to cover Veolo and Aurania’s retreat. The Conservatory soldiers answered with disciplined bursts, moving in tight angles and trying to box them in.

  Tamiyo ducked low as sparks sprayed above her from a shot that clipped the corner of her cover. Her HUD flickered with rapidly shifting outlines, enemies repositioning, one of them ducking behind a console, another trying to flank through debris.

  Then— BOOM.

  A massive round tore through the wall just past the far-right pillar. One of the Conservatory soldiers vanished from Tamiyo’s overlay, a red signature blinking out as his body slammed sideways, flung like a ragdoll.

  Riza was dialed in.

  Tamiyo grinned.

  With Veolo safe, Aurania now advanced mid-field. She was surprisingly agile, and spun her massive axe up from the floor and carved an arc through the air that slammed into the side of an advancing soldier. He tried to block with his rifle, but it didn’t matter. The blade split it clean, and then she kept moving. Two steps, pivot, drive. She was a whirling wall of momentum, shouting something Tamiyo couldn’t hear over the noise.

  The building shook again as another body vanished. Riza was hunting.

  Tamiyo pivoted up to make sure Riza maintained visual on everyone—

  And the neural feed stuttered.

  Her vision warped, outlines jittered, and a low whine buzzed through the back of her skull like a tuning fork pressed to bone.

  “Shit,” she hissed, fingers flying to adjust the relay.

  Elias dropped to a crouch beside her and quickly tapped through his tablet. “Link’s overheating, feedback loop in the targeting buffer. Hang on—”

  He reached over and physically jostled one of the spinal nodes just enough to reseat it.

  Her vision cleared. Tamiyo blinked as the data refreshed, solid and sharp again.

  “There we go,” Elias said, smiling as a fresh red outline locked into her HUD. “Come on. Let’s show those SERC bastards what you’re capable of.”

  Tamiyo gave a quick nod, the smallest smile tugging at her mouth.

  She looked back to the field, and for a moment she couldn’t find Aurania. Tamiyo turned slightly and caught a glimpse of motion to the left, Aurania had circled wide, somehow gotten behind several of the Conservatory soldiers. One of them never saw it coming. Seven-feet-eight-inches of angry lacravida drove the axe down like thunder.

  Tamiyo saw the man split in half at the waist. The torso collapsed in a spray of sparks and blood, legs folding where they stood.

  Her stomach twisted at the sight, but she forced her focus back up—

  Where is Sable?

  She scanned her overlay. She couldn’t find him. She had no line of sight.

  Her pulse climbed fast. Had he fled? Slipped away in the chaos?

  Then Tamiyo froze.

  Sable emerged from the pillar to her left.

  Everything moved in slow motion.

  The man was in front of her, his palm reaching toward her face. She saw all of the conduits along the palm of his glove, where the electricity would discharge from. She was terrified, but he was moving too fast for her to dodge.

  She thought of Soren, hoping he was able to get back up. She thought of the friends she had made over the past few months. How they had grown into family. She thought of Walter. The moment dragged on for an eternity.

  Then suddenly, Elias’ arm shot in front of Tamiyo's face.

  Tamiyo saw electricity charge through the man's advanced armor again. She heard Elias scream and felt something tear in her soul.

  Tamiyo's past was filled with trauma. She had started to heal from some of it. A lot more, she still had blocked out.

  But the sound her friend made—the way his body jerked.

  She didn't think she'd ever be able to forget that.