Page 2 of Naga General's Mate

The planet’s surface rushed up to meet them, forests and mountains taking shape through the clouds. The pirate vessel wobbled, smoke trailing from its wounded engines.

“They’re setting down in the Kiral Valley,” Lors announced.

“Prepare ground teams.” Brivul’s eyes narrowed. “These pirates thought they could prey on our people. Time to show them the error of their ways.”

The ship’s internal comm crackled. “Ground teams standing by, General.”

Brivul felt the old familiar surge of pre-battle focus sharpen his senses. “I’ll lead the assault myself.”

“Just like old times, sir?” Cantos grinned.

“Better.” Brivul checked his weapon. “This time we know exactly where our enemy is.”

The drop ship’s bay doors hissed open and released the scent of Nirum’s pine forests into the cabin. Brivul slithered down the ramp, his tactical armor gleaming in the planet’s twin suns. The crashed pirate vessel lay ahead with smoke curling from its engines.

“Nia, take the left flank. Lors, right. Keep them boxed in,” Brivul commanded.

“The civilian transport landed too close,” Kev reported through the comm. “Two hundred meters from the pirate vessel.”

Brivul’s jaw tightened. These pirates had forced his hand—no orbital strikes with civilians that close.

“Cantos, get your demo team in position. When I give the signal, breach their cargo bay.”

“Copy that, General.”

The forest’s undergrowth crushed beneath Brivul’s powerful tail as he led the advance. His body moved with practiced efficiency, each muscle coiled and ready. The familiar weight of his plasma rifle settled against his shoulder.

“Contact!” Fikleo’s voice crackled. “Pirates deploying defensive positions!”

Energy bolts sizzled through the air. Brivul dove behind a fallen tree trunk, bark splintering around him as return fire peppered his position.

“Suppress that turret,” Brivul commanded. His eyes narrowed as he tracked movement near the pirate ship’s boarding ramp. “Lors, two tangos trying to flank your position.”

“Already on it, sir.”

Lors’s rifle cracked twice. Two pirates dropped.

“Nia, status on the civilian transport?”

“Passengers are secure but scared. Pirates can’t reach them through our covering fire.”

Perfect. Brivul raised himself up, towering over the battlefield. His blue scales caught the sunlight as he unleashed a burst from his rifle, forcing a group of pirates back into cover.

“Cantos, now!”

The explosion rocked the pirate vessel’s cargo bay. Through the smoke, Brivul spotted his demo team rushing the breach. The pirates’ organized defense began to crumble.

“Push forward!” Brivul’s voice carried across the battlefield.

His team responded with skilled precision, years of fighting together evident in their coordinated advance. Brivul watched his team push forward, forcing the pirates to retreat deeper into their damaged vessel.

“We’ve got them cornered,” Lors called out. “They’re falling back to—”

Something felt wrong. The pirates didn’t fight like cornered animals. Brivul’s combat instincts, honed over countless battles, screamed a warning.

Movement caught his eye. A flash of metal through the trees—a smaller ship, barely visible behind the main vessel. His senses registered the threat a heartbeat too late.

“Secondary vessel!” he roared. “Get those civilians—”

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