Page 70 of Triplets for the Barbarians

I still have a moment or two left with the other.

Finally, I breach the access door and lock it behind me with a loud thud. I pull the safety bar down for good measure, then bolt up the metal steps, out of breath by the time I reach the top.

“There you are, baby,” I mutter as I get behind the controls.

With the coordinates still fresh in my head, I start punching the numbers into the targeting panel—a touchscreen with vivid blues and greens that ripple outward under my fingertips. I look at the screen, the computer system automatically switching to that particular section of the sky.

It’s a ground view from the nearest observation tower, of which there are plenty still active on Sunna. Most of them are on a public frequency, so both sides of the conflict can access them at the same time, but it’s my turn to make good use of this.

“Okay, where the hell are you?” I whisper, my gaze fixed on the view while my hands work the long-range weapon’s controls.

I have two joystick-like handles to work with. Overhead, the Sky Tribe jets circle. I can see them through the domed roof made of reinforced diamond glass and steel. They fire at me. Each laser hits the tower and heats everything up on the inside. I’m practically boiling, sweat drizzling down my face as I struggle to focus. It’ll be a while before the laser melts through, but I might get cooked alive first.

“There you are!” I gasp as I see the behemoth rising on the screen.

It’s a weak and grainy picture, but I recognize the starship’s profile as it takes off, its nuclear engines glowing green before my eyes. It’s far away, about eight hundred miles, if not more, somewhere to the west. I see stony mountains rising behind it, but it’s the ship I’m interested in. The computer system locks onto the massive target.

The enemy keeps firing at me.

It’s so hot in here that I can barely breathe.

“Come on!”

I flip the caps off the shooter buttons and give it everything I’ve got. The screen shows me laser bolts shooting across the sky. Long-distance rays that look like avenging angels as they fly through the heavens and head straight for the crossfire’s center.

Boom.

The brightest light I’ve ever seen flashes before my eyes. It’s brighter and prettier than what happened above Pearl City and just as devastating. My heart unravels as I watch the starship explode into a billion different colors, come apart, and crash back down into the hot arms of Mother Sunna.

I can almost hear the devastation from whichever control tower the Sky Tribe was using for this operation. I can almost hear the brakes squealing and the boots scraping as it all comes to a sudden halt. As their defeat becomes painfully obvious and impossible to deny.

It’s done.

I almost can’t believe it. But it’s done.

The war isn’t over yet, though. The jets are still firing at this tower. Cursing under my breath, I pull and yank the controls back onto the sky above me. I let her rip, dozens of laser shots dancing until I slice through their planes and bring them down in roaring flames.

The explosions rumble somewhere just off base, the ground shaking relentlessly as I manage to get up from my seat.

It’s so fucking hot; I need to get out of here before I’m steamed like a lobster. If I get out of here, however, the Sky Tribe troops will grab me and do unthinkable things to me. I’m not even sure if Fadai and Yossul are still alive out there. I doubt anyone will have mercy or be willing to listen to what I might have to say.

Their leaders may be dead, but the Sky Tribe mercenaries are hyped up, switched to blood mode, and ready to kill anything that moves, anything that isn’t wearing their precious uniforms.

How ironic would it be for me to perish just as I’ve accomplished my single greatest objective?

Six years ago, I envisioned myself dying in a conflict somewhere on Earth. Now, I stand here by this thick metal door, wondering if I’m ready to die in another conflict that isn’t of my making. If I’m ready to die for something I never even started. It would’ve been the same back home, truth be told. I was fighting in wars I’d had nothing to do with in the first place for causes I believed in. It’s been the same on Sunna, too.

Maybe this was always my calling.

Maybe this was always going to be my end. The last page of my book is splattered with blood and glory. Perhaps Sapphire City is still standing. Perhaps they’ll get word of what happened. With the starships destroyed and their supreme leaders dead, the Sky Tribe officers may be swayed into sitting down at the negotiating table once again. I don’t know.

“Fadai. Yossul,” I whisper as I place a hand on the door.

The laser heat has spread through the entire metallic structure of the tower, and it feels hot against my palm, but I leave it there, wishing, wondering, hoping.

“JEWEL!” Yossul’s voice cuts through the chaos of my thoughts, through the riot unraveling outside. “JEWEL!”

My eyes pop open. I remove the safety latch and unlock the door with rushed movements, desperate to survive. As soon as it swings open, I’m welcomed into a different picture.

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