The Andros Pak was on close orbit, circling the depot at fifteen thousand feet, watching for any sign of movement as the shadow of the Great Island moved fully past and the bright burning sky returned in full force. She would have preferred to have had at least another skimmer for backup and overwatch while they were loading the Andros, but needs must when the fires fly.
She had the teens back topside, keeping an eye on the twins, particularly Brennan, who was working on one of the old military skimmers stored in the depot. From what she’d seen, it was in decent enough shape for being an obsolete hunk of material, but she didn’t know much about skimmers beyond how to fly one. The boy had the reputation as a fanatic flyer and, if the rumors were to be believed, a natural sail hand.
For all their notorious reputations, Mira was well aware that the twins were also rumored to be competent in what they did. It was just that most of the time what they did was cause no end of trouble for their guards, many of whom were cycled through from the Cadre ranks.
She’d never pulled that duty, thank the burning skies, but that didn’t stop those who did from bitching loudly and often about the siblings.
Mira did know, or had known, she supposed, Kayle Scourwind. Really only in passing, but they’d met and exchanged more than a few words in their day. Kayle was from the academy class just ahead of hers, and one of the youngest to ever make Cadre. Some whispered that he’d been coasting on the Scourwind name, but she didn’t buy that for a moment.
Honestly, the only thing that interested her about the twins was Kayle’s Bene. The Cadre Armati was a tricky beast to master. To get one to link to you was basically the prerequisite to be considered for Cadre training. If an Armati wouldn’t accept you, you were done right there, no point in further training.
Beginners were generally a bigger threat to themselves than anyone else, and yet the Bene had responded smoothly to Brennan and with a precision she’d only seen with a badged Cadreman before.
She could see the prince twitch occasionally, glancing around. Mira knew the symptoms.
The Cadrewoman walked over slowly, silently, and came to a stop right behind Brennan.
“Hear something?”
“What?” Brennan asked sharply, glancing at her warily and then looking around again.
“Whispers in the back of your mind? An itch where your skull meets your neck?” she asked.
He instantly reached up to scratch the very spot, then yanked his hand back guiltily.
“What do you know about it?”
She glanced down at the Armati on his belt. “Bene is speaking to you. Listen. Do not ignore your Armati. She’s been fighting longer than your family has been in existence.”
He gripped the ancient weapon instinctively, and looked up and around sharply.
“I don’t understand …”
“You’ve no training, so of course you don’t,” Mira answered, considering him for a while. “Stick around, though, and I’ll see about fixing that.”
“Why?”
Mira chuckled at the suspicion dripping from his tone. “At least you’ve some brains in that damn skull of yours.” She paused for a moment, then continued, “And as to why? Because I owe your brother one.”
She was about to say more when Gaston’s voice rang loud and clear over the comm line from the Andros.
“My lady, we have movement on the haze,” he said, “large movement.”
Mira swore.
She knew she’d been poking the fates with a sharp stick when she’d started feeling optimistic.
“Clear. Gas,” she responded instantly, backing away from Brennan, “we’ve a team in the vault. I’ll recover them. Get down here and loaded.”
“On my way, my lady.”
“Everyone,” Mira called, circling her hand in the air, “we are leaving! Get packed and ready to load. Prioritize the selection, food and survival kit first. We may have to leave some of it! I’m going to get the below team.”
Everyone snapped into action, and Mira sprinted for the lift, cursing her luck with every step.
CHAPTER 14
The four teens watched the sudden furor of activity erupt around them for a single moment before Brennan turned to his sister with a questioning look. “Lyd?”
“I don’t know,” she answered uncertainly. “If we stay with them, it’s a risk. On our own isn’t much better.”
Brennan nodded, putting it out of his mind for the moment as he turned back to the Fire Naga. If they had to run, or fight, he intended to have something better than an ultralight skimmer on his side this time around.
“I want the weapon pods loaded,” he said firmly. “Can you find them?”
Lyd smirked, turning to the local interface and calling up the depot’s database with a flick of her hand. It only took seconds for her to locate the munitions section. “Grab a hand truck. We’ll need it.”
“Right,” Brennan said, then glanced at Mik and Dusk, who were still looking on with a bit of a stunned countenance. “You two in? You can just leave, you know. They’re not after you.”
The other two siblings exchanged glances, then instantly shook their heads. They didn’t have anything to go back to.
“We’re in,” Mik said.
“Grab another hand truck,” Brennan ordered. “We can load this thing in one trip, working together.”
The foursome all grinned and quickly rushed across the depot, weaving in and out of the other workers who were hurrying about on their own.
Gaston deftly let out the slack on the light sails, settling the bulk of the Andros Pak to the ground in the middle of the cleared area around the depot. Men were already rushing out to drop the lower plank and fill the corsair’s holds with the latest haul from their raids.
On the ground, he no longer had line of sight to the approaching signals, but he had a good idea of how fast they’d been moving and how far away they still were. He was worried, though, as the legion had more than a few skimmers that could outrun the Andros if push came to shove, and many of those were armed fighters that could easily drop the larger ship in a fight.
They were on a schedule now, and it was tightening around their throats like a noose.
He rose from the controls of the interior command deck and stomped out to the topside deck, leaning over the gun rails.
“Hey, you lot, pick it up! We’ve a legion inbound, and they don’t look like they’re here to sightsee!”
He didn’t bother waiting for a response, instead pushing himself back upright and glowering around at the deck crew. “And that goes double for all of you! I want our projectors checked and all the rigging eyeballed for any snags. When the Andros lifts off, we don’t want any delays.”
Men and women scrambled in all directions, seeing to the maintenance of the ship under Gaston’s watchful eye. He couldn’t help but smile at just how overqualified he was for the job he was doing. He’d been in charge of the most secret operation the empire had conducted for generations and designed the deadliest warship anyone had ever conceived. Yet here he was, overseeing a rogue corsair and honestly enjoying every moment of it.