R iot ran to the rear of the ship, where she was greeted by a frantic Doctor Miller. The doctor’s usual friendly visage had been replaced by a mask of horror .
“What is it, Bubbles? Spit it out,” Riot said, half-angry, half-frustrated. “What’s wrong ?”
“I think … I think you’d better see, there’s … hundreds … hundreds of them.” Doctor Miller turned on her heel and speed walked to the bridge of the Valkyrie . “I was about to hail General Armon, when Evonne alerted me to their presence .”
By the time Riot and the doctor had entered the bridge, Riot was pretty sure she already knew what they were going to find. Everyone except Wang and Rippa followed them .
“Evonne, show Riot what you showed me,” Doctor Miller instructed .
“Immediately,” Evonne answered back .
At once, the front window of the Valkyrie came alive with a display of space. Even as the image relayed information to Riot, she found herself disbelieving what her eyes were seeing. Hundreds of Karnayer ships floated in orbit above Hoydren, with still more exiting light speed .
Riot recognized the small, maneuverable Scarab fighter ships that were capable of locking on to other space ships and tearing through their hull to unload a crew of Karnayer soldiers. Accompanying these vessels were dozens of transport crafts just like Riot had seen Alveric escape in not more than a half-hour before .
Finally, a massive Karnayer destroyer with black spikes protruding from the hull in varying angles filled the screen .
“Well, had I known he had an army that size, I might have been nicer,” Riot said out loud. “Ketrick, I think we’re going to need more coffee .”
“We’re going to need more ships,” Vet said to no one and everyone at once. “A lot more ships .”
“Evonne, how long until they can attack?” Riot asked .
“If they continue to travel at their current speed, they’ll reach Hoydren in the space of ten minutes. Based on the information of tactics used by the House of Karn, they will begin their bombing runs five minutes thereafter .”
Riot gave herself the space of a heartbeat to be surprised. She’d known Alveric would come quickly, just not this quickly .
The next heartbeat had to be spent in action. There was a list of things that needed to be done, people to contact, orders to dole out, and defensive positions to man .
“Rizzo,” Riot started, rattling off orders as fast as her lips could relate what her brain was telling her needed to be said. “Get us back to the Savage capital. Vet, contact Colonel Harlan on the screen. Sunshine, tell SPEAR we need them to send everything. Evonne, tell Wang and Rippa I need them on the bridge as fast as their legs can move. Ketrick, do whatever you need to do to convince the Brutes to join the fight .”
Everyone besides Ketrick ran to obey. Rizzo ignored the state of his gore-soaked armor and immediately went to the pilot’s seat at the front of the ship, starting the engines. Doctor Miller and Vet hit their chairs at their command consoles, following Riot’s orders as fast as their fingers would allow .
Ketrick stood beside Riot with a strange smile on his face. He and Vikta had been on the fringe of the gore splatter from the Devil’s Hand. Purple splashes decorated his large shoulders and the vest he wore. His red eyes looked deep into Riot’s .
“You’re very attractive when you order me around,” the Trilord prince whispered. He winked at her, then raised his voice to a normal speaking volume. “I will stay and speak with the Brute clan once more, but my place is in the sky with Vikta .”
Riot went from being annoyed to being entertained, to being worried all in the space of a few seconds .
“What are you talking about?” She motioned to the screen with both hands. “There are hundreds of ships that will be here within minutes. We need you to stay with the Brutes and get them to come and fight. We’ll need all the help we can get .”
“The Brutes are not the only faction that has yet to enter this war. I told you before, I am a judge with the ability to speak with the space serpents. Vikta and I will find them and gather a force,” Ketrick said as if he were telling Riot what he wanted ordered from a drive-thru menu. “This planet belongs to the space serpents just as much as anyone .”
“What are you talking about?” Riot rolled her eyes as an image of Ketrick trying to communicate with an army of dragons raced across her mind. “We stick to the plan, we — ”
“I’ve got Colonel Harlan ready,” Vet said as Doctor Miller reported the same about General Armon at the Bulwark .
Wang and Rippa rushed onto the bridge, the former clean and out of his armor, the latter in her tight grey uniform, looking at the screen in front of her, wide-eyed .
“Go and lead, do what you do best,” Ketrick said. He leaned in as if he were going to hug her, but put a hand on her shoulder instead. “I’ll keep my comm on .”
Why do relationships always get in the way of things? Ugh, I hate feeling feelings, Riot thought .
“Go and be careful,” Riot said through gritted teeth. “We have a date to keep when this is over .”
Ketrick flashed her a grin and ran from the bridge .
If anyone had heard Riot’s last words to Ketrick, they didn’t say anything. At this point, they had to suspect, if they didn’t already know. At least that’s what Riot told herself. She bottled her emotions and steeled herself for what was coming next .
“Rippa, contact Admiral Tricon. We’ll need the Grovothe if we’re going to get through this alive. Wang, you said something about epinephrine shots not too long back. Those are going to come in handy if we have hours of fighting ahead of us.” Riot didn’t skip a beat as she turned to Vet. “Put Colonel Harlan on the screen, then get Evonne up and running. Right now having robots run the world is looking better than staring down a horde of Karnayers. Oohrah !”
“Oohrah!”
Again, everyone rushed to obey. Rizzo, having waited to offload Ketrick, closed the cargo bay ramp and headed back to the capital city of the Savage Trilords. Vet put Colonel Harlan on the screen, then ran with a crazy childlike grin on his face to bring Evonne to life .
“Colonel,” Riot said, placing her war hammer by her command chair as she took a seat. “I’m assuming you’ve heard the news ?”
“Roger that.” Colonel Harlan was sitting in his own captain’s chair aboard his cruiser class vessel, the Titan . “I’ve been in contact with SPEAR, but General Armon wanted to speak with you directly. We’re currently holding a defensive position above the Savage palace. What’s your ETA ?”
“We’re only a few minutes out. Rizzo is punching it as we speak. I have General Armon waiting on the comms now,” Riot said as the Valkyrie took off like a bullet over Hoydren’s dark, jungle-like planet. “We’ll see you soon .”
“Roger that.” Colonel Harlan stared with stern eyes through the screen. Behind him, his crew shouted to one another. “We’re enough to hold the line until the cavalry comes, believe that .”
“More than enough,” Riot said. The screen went blank. A moment later, General Armon’s familiar face appeared where Colonel Harlan’s had been a moment before .
“Riot,” the general started, “we’ve received the news from Colonel Harlan. The fleet is preparing to leave now. We’re bringing everything we’ve got. We need you to hold out for us, buy us those hours we need to get there. We’ll give these sons of guns the fight of their lives .”
Both relief and determination coursed over Riot. She was relieved to hear the General was bringing the weight of their resources to bear on the fight. The underground bunker called the Bulwark housed more than a dozen ships of their own. Still, even with the advanced weapons and modification, would that be enough? They would still be outnumbered seven, maybe eight, to one .
Determination gripped her heart at the same time. She was a soldier. If this is what had to be done, then she was the one to do it. It was time to put her money where her mouth was. She was the best in her world, or any other. With her crew behind her, Riot would find a way to succeed, no matter what the cost to herself .
“Riot, are you there?” General Armon’s buzz cut, square jaw, and deep stare seemed to soften for a moment. “You and the colonel will find a way .”
“We’ll be waiting for you when you get here,” Riot agreed .
General Armon nodded, then ended the transmission .
“I’ve got Admiral Tricon,” Rippa said from her seat as her fingers maneuvered around the holographic display that popped up above her desk. “Should I put him on ?”
“Do it,” Riot answered. When had warfare become more about conference calls than pumping rounds into the bad guys ?
Admiral Tricon’s short, stocky frame popped up on the monitor. He was shouting orders to someone off-screen as he appeared. Riot loved listening to every word coming out of the Grovothe’s mouth. “We’re not leaving them to face the Karnayers alone. I understand we’ve only just received the confirmation to ally with Earth but their forces are on Hoydren, and that means that’s where we’re going !”
Riot waited for her turn to speak .
The grizzled veteran turned his scarred face to her a moment later. “It’s good to see you, Riot. I heard you’re about to have a Karnayer infestation .”
“That we are,” Riot said, making a mental note to use a line like that at some point during the fight. “We wanted to extend an invitation your way. We’re going to make a party of it. There’ll be cookies, punch, and even a photo booth to dress up in and take goofy pictures .”
“We’ve only just received permission to count Earth among our allies,” the admiral answered back. “The powers that be are still deciding whether to vote in Hoydren and the Trilords to the alliance or not. Whatever that answer will be, I’m not going to wait. Our human allies are being attacked, and whether they are being attacked on Earth or Hoydren makes no difference in my book. We’re en route. Buy us two hours. We have a full squadron of fighters ready to tear into the Karnayers .”
In a few hours they could be dead .
But Riot silenced the voice in her head that whispered thoughts of fear and doubt. They were going to hold out. They had to .
“Roger that,” Riot said over the screen. Despite the hour, she couldn’t help smiling. “It’s good to see you, Admiral. I’m looking forward to teaming up with you again .”
“As am I.” Then Admiral Tricon spat another series of growl-like orders to someone off-screen before the monitor went black. “All available mech units are to be piloted—that means all of them !”
“All we have to do is hold out for a few hours,” Rippa said quietly as if she were convincing herself it was possible. “Admiral Tricon will be here then, and a few hours later, General Armon will arrive .”
Riot understood what Rippa was doing. She, too, was running through the odds of their survival against hundreds of Karnayer ships and ignoring the outcome .
“Evonne, I need everyone on the bridge ASAP,” Riot said. “Congrats on your new body, as well. I was going to say you deserved it, but truth is, you just bugged us enough .”
“Thank you,” a voice said from behind Riot. “I’ve just notified them .”
Riot turned in her seat to see the robotic body Vet and Doctor Miller had created for Evonne standing on the bridge. Her long, raven-black hair was perfect, as was the rest of her fair complexion .
A grinning Vet appeared behind Evonne. Doctor Miller rose from her seat with a smile as she looked over their work .
Wang ran onto the bridge a moment later, googly-eyed as he took in Evonne’s new form .
“Let’s focus, people,” Riot said, looking out through the window of the ship as Hoydren’s lush vegetation raced past them. “It’s time to go to work .”