Page 2 of Silver Slayer

"Fifty-one still unaccounted,” Ruze answered.

I exchanged glances with Truxxet and Brunnex, and for a fleeting moment, I saw understanding pass between us. Therecognition that our old hatreds were small things indeed when measured against what unknown horrors lay beyond our world.

I closed my eyes briefly, willing the memories of my captivity to stay buried. The pain, the humiliation, the endless suns-rises under Uri's control. These were thoughts I did not want to entertain.

When I opened my eyes again, the vast emptiness of space filled the viewport. Somewhere out there were more of our people, more humans, more beings from countless worlds. All taken against their will.

Brunnex’s voice was unexpectedly quiet. “The Gorken… I am sorry that happened to you.” The words were stiff, unused to sympathy for a Huren. I met his gaze, surprised by the lack of malice.

“And I, for your clansmen who perished when the Gretolics destroyed your home in the Jurigon Mountains.”

A tense silence settled before Truxxet spoke, his eyes fixed on the viewport. “My brother was taken from the Trisess Forest. One suns-rise, he just vanished. I pray to the Spirits he is on that Lizordian ship and on the way back to Valose.”

For the first time, I saw not rival warriors, but males hollowed out by the same darkness that had consumed me.

"It would seem the stars have aligned us against a common enemy," I said quietly. “The Gretolics, the Natookie, the Gorken... they've all taken something from each of us. Our homes. Our clansmen.”

My fingers unconsciously traced the faded scar at my throat where Uri's control collar had once burned. “Whatever bloodfeuds existed between our clans pale against what these alien races have inflicted upon our kind.”

Brunnex nodded, his expression grim. "I never thought I'd fight alongside Huren or Trisess, but after I witnessed the Gretolic craft destroy my home with a beam of light, and then those Mayrans in the Jagot cells..." He trailed off, his scales flickering with remembered rage.

"What lies beyond the clouds of Valose is larger and more dangerous than we ever imagined," I said. "And we are small indeed if we remain divided."

Brunnex opened his mouth, but didn’t get the chance to respond. The ship jerked beneath us, slamming me hard against my seat’s restraints, a shock that drove the air from my lungs and left my vision strobing white at the edges. My head snapped forward, then back, the world pitching sideways as the vessel groaned and shuddered beneath the assault. My eyes whipped to the viewport, and my breath caught at the sight beyond.

A veil of shifting light undulated across space, a living pulse where there should’ve been nothing but stars. It writhed, hungry and impossible, colors bleeding across its surface that I didn’t have names for. Every ripple warped the space around it, moving unnaturally and surging with malevolent intent.

"What in Helios is that?" I cursed.

The craft lurched again, harder this time. The restraints bit into my flesh as the ship tilted sharply. Warning lights flashed across the control panels, bathing Ruze and Tyrk's faces in a harsh glow as they fought with the unresponsive controls.

"Gravitational anomaly," Ruze barked, his fingers flying across the console. "It's not registering on any of our sensors."

Tyrk slammed his fist against a panel that had gone dark. "It’s acting like a power disruptor field. We're losing primary systems!"

"Reroute to auxiliary!" Ruze shouted.

"Already tried! The quantum buffer's completely offline!"

Their words blurred together, a jumble of tech jargon that meant nothing to me, but the tension in their voices cut through the noise like a knife. We were in serious trouble.

The ship spun violently as another wave of force slammed into us. I clenched the edges of my seat, muscles coiling tight, bracing for impact with whatever this force might unleash. Beside me, Truxxet murmured a prayer to the Spirits, each word a desperate plea. I caught a glimpse of Brunnex. His scales had blanched to a ghostly silver, reflecting the fear that gripped us all.

"Can you break free?" Ruze called out, though I already knew the answer from the grim set of Tyrk's jaw.

"Negative," he growled. "The anomaly's magnetic signature is scrambling our navigational array."

The viewport became a fractured nightmare. Stars were pulled thin like silver wire, then coiled into molten spirals. The void buckled, splitting open to reveal chasms of a lightless, suffocating black that seemed to pull at my vision.

A high-pitched whine filled the cabin as the ship's systems strained against the pull. The deck plates beneath my feet vibrated with increasing intensity, then the anomaly swallowed us completely, wrapping us in its strange embrace. For a moment, everything went quiet. The universe held its breath,suspending us in unnatural stillness while chaos paused around us.

Then we were through, and a planet loomed ahead, materializing as if from nowhere.

"Where did that come from?" Brunnex hissed between clenched teeth.

Ruze's hands moved frantically over the controls. "Engines offline! Steering unresponsive!"

"Brace for impact!" Tyrk roared, abandoning the useless controls to grip his harness.