Page 46 of The Commanders' Mate

“Go ahead, Commander.” The voice in my ear was clipped, no doubt the warrior was stressed and heavily engaged in orchestrating the fight going on just out of my sight.

“Ion blasters and rail guns were ineffective. Do you have electromagnetic, computational and radioactive data readings on the target?”

“Affirmative. We’ve got it all. Transmission to Prillon Prime is nearing completion. Transmission to I.C. will be complete in the next five minutes.” Intelligence Core Command was significantly farther from my present location than Prillon Prime.

“Make sure you send data to the rest of the fleet commanders. Do it now. I don’t want this data delayed. The Hive might have another ship like this out there, ready to attack the Fleet.” If I.C. had something to say to me about this later, I’d deal with their wrath. The fleet commanders had a right to know what we were up against out here.

“Yes, sir. Working on that now.”

Relieved the comm officer had not argued, I sagged in the pilot’s seat, suddenly exhausted. No more secrets. No more surprise attacks by the Hive. Every fleet commander out there would know what to look for. My mate would be protected, and so would the rest of the fleet.

“You need anything else, Commander Karter?” I was speaking to Kaed now, and I trusted him to know what I was really asking. I might die out here, and I needed his blessing. I needed to know that he understood my choice. “I’m going to make sure this fucking ship can’t hurt our mate or anyone else.”

I counted to twenty as I waited for his answer. “Ronan, do what you have to do.”

He knew what I was thinking. Nothing was working. My standard weapons were not causing any damage to the Hive structure. But I had an idea. A crazy as fuck idea, but it was all I had. With reinforcements too far away to help now, the Karter would not survive until their arrival, not with this weapon operational. And without the battleship to protect them, the smaller vessels would be hunted down and picked off one by one. Captured. Assimilated into the Hive’s army. Unless I could destroy this weapon.

The prototype fighter I flew carried enough ordnance to destroy a small planet. All I had to do was figure out a way to get clear of the blast. And if I couldn’t? Well, the Hive ship still needed to be destroyed.

Nothing else mattered.

The Hive ships above me scanned once more before moving on.

No eyes. No ears. Just sensors.

“Commander Phan, retreat. Get your fighters out of there.”

“Understood. Battle squad leaders, you heard the commander. Clear out and head for the Karter.” Chloe sounded breathless, as if she’d been running a marathon, not flying a fighter. But I understood the physical demands of fighting in space. She was tough.

“Negative. Lead them away from home. Evacuations are not yet complete.” I gave the order, not Commander Karter. It had only been a short time. There was no way all the civilians were off the battleship.

“Lead them away, Commander Phan. I’ll have something special waiting for them.”

“Copy that, sir.” Chloe sounded excited, and I smiled as dozens of Coalition fighters zipped over my head in a flash of silver light, almost too fast to see with the naked eye.

I waited in silence, expecting to see Hive fighters in pursuit, but none followed.

“They’re letting us go. No pursuit, Karter. I repeat, no pursuit.” Chloe sounded confused. I was too, until my ship rumbled beneath me.

“They are activating their primary weapon,” I reported the news with nausea rolling in my gut. Of course, the Hive would pull back their ships. They were about to blow the entire battlegroup to pieces.

“Altering course,” Chloe said.

“No.” I unbuckled from my seat and slid to the back of the small ship, to the storage racks. This ship wasn’t big, but every last inch was loaded with weapons and explosives. “Stay clear of the blast zone. Keep the fighters clear.”

She heard me. Thank the gods. “How long?”

I checked the timer on my wrist. “Three minutes. Maybe four.” I put one foot into the leg of the blast suit and pulled. The other. Zipper. Mask. Gloves.

If I could get out of range of the initial burn of the explosion, I might make it. “When it’s over, come looking for the unconscious idiot floating in a space suit.” I had no doubt, even if I survived the explosion, it would probably knock me out, at least for a few minutes. I’d have one hell of a headache for a while, but hopefully, I’d live. With Erica in my life, I very much wanted to do just that.

Chloe laughed, which made me grin. “Idiot hunting is one of my favorite games.”

“With mates like Seth and Dorian, that’s what I figured.”

“Watch your mouth, Warrior.” That was Dorian. I figured he’d be out here. He was one of the best pilots in the fleet. “That’s my mate you’re insulting.”

I chuckled and activated the timed detonation device on the first set of explosives. The I.C. didn’t like to share. And we’d not only copied the Hive tech we scavenged from The Colony, but advanced it. The self-destruct setting on my ship, once activated, was irreversible. “I would never insult your perfect female, only her choice in mates.” Activated number two. “Must have been slim pickings on the Karter when she arrived.”

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