Page 54 of Vindicated

I locked eyes with him across the chaos of pulsing light and wailing consoles. "Time for you to prove you are the battle chief you claim to be."

Something sharpened in his gaze, and he began barking commands. He ordered new evasive patterns to be transmitted to every ship in our horde, and the warbird banked hard to one side beneath us, the whole deck tilting enough that I had to grip a console to keep my footing.

We dove beneath the Zagrath vessel's belly, and I spotted enemy fighter jets pouring from its flanks like disturbed insects from a hive.

"Deploy our fighters," Zarn ordered, and it wasn’t long before our Vandar fighters joined the swarm of darting ships.

The warbird shuddered again and again as weapons fire found its mark, each impact rattling my teeth. Then came heavier, duller impacts that didn't match the rhythm of photons blasts. Trepidation slid cold down my spine, instinct reacting before my mind had fully caught up to what I was hearing.

"Multiple reports, Raas," Dawz said from a nearby standing console. "Enemy vessels are attaching to our hull and cutting through."

My first thought was not of my ship or of the battle raging between the fighters. It was of Athena, who was unarmed with her friends in my quarters. She had no clue there could be enemy soldiers crawling through the warbird and no way to defend herself.

Zarn drew the axe strapped to his back, his expression ferocious, but I caught his arm before he could move.

"You need to lead the battle," I told him. “Battle strategy is your gift, brother, more than mine."

Surprise flickered across his face before it settled at determination. He clenched his jaw and gave a short nod, already turning back to give more orders.

“Majak,” I said, already moving toward the weapons rack mounted near the command deck's entrance and plucking the battle axe I kept there. “You’re with me."

He fell into step without question, snagging a double-sided axe of his own, and together we hurried from the command deck, boots pounding against the steel floor as the ship lurched from side to side with every new impact.

I forced myself to think of the larger battle raging, even as one thought pulsed louder than all the rest and drowned out even the distant echo of blades striking blades.

Athena. She should be safe in my quarters. There was no indication that the room behind the steel doors belonged to me, so there was no reason for it to be targeted by the enemy, but I had learned from the Vandar who’d come before me not to underestimate the cruelty or cunning of the Zagrath.

"Status on the breach points," I demanded as we ran, and Dawz checked the device strapped to his wrist without breaking stride.

"Deck fourteen, Raas. Starboard hull." He glanced at me. "Not close to your quarters. Not yet."

Not yet. The words offered little comfort as we descended through the ship, the emergency lighting drenching everything in crimson, as if the steel was already soaked in blood. Raiders sprinted past us in both directions with leather kilts slapping their thighs and their axes drawn.

“Now enemy soldiers reported on deck twelve,” Dawz called out, checking his device again as we rounded a corner.

Closer to the corridor that led toward my quarters. My hands tightened around the hilt of my blade, my strides lengthening. Every instinct told me to go to her first, but that made no tactical sense. Deck fourteen was closer. I might be a warlord enthralled with a beautiful woman, but I was still the Raas of a Vandar horde.

"We clear deck fourteen first,” I said, forcing steel into my voice even as every instinct screamed at me to run straight for Athena instead.

Dawz said nothing, but I caught the curious look he gave me before we rounded the final corridor and ran straight into Zagrath soldiers.

Chapter 46

Athena

Darkness engulfed the room, and everyone screamed. My own heart hammered so hard against my ribs I could feel it in my throat, and for one terrifying moment, there was nothing but blackness and the groan of the ship as it was bombarded by enemy fire.

Then the lights flickered back on, softer than before, the amber lights replaced by dim red ones. It was enough to see by and enough for me to see the fear etched on every face around me.

"Get farther away from the glass!” I yelled, waving my arms as more red beams painted a stripe across the black sky from the enemy ship to ours.

We all scrambled back from the wall of windows just as the entire ship pitched hard to one side, sending Hal stumbling into Vallia and both of them grabbing for the edge of the low black table to keep from falling into the large cushions.

Another shudder rolled through the floor beneath our feet, and I was glad I wasn’t watching the suspended bridges twist and flail across the central chasm of the ship. Worse yet would be crossing one as the ship pitched from side to side.

"We ran from one Imperial attack straight into another," Hal muttered, his skin a sickly shade of green. “This is intolerable.”

"The Vandar will save us," Vallia said, though her voice wavered enough that I wasn't sure if she believed it or was only trying to convince herself. "Lorken wouldn't have brought us aboard if he couldn't protect us."