The Tigrens' Glory (27 page)

“We are meant to rescue the Tigren,”
she said, using the mental connection she had with her Rami rather than risk being overheard.  “
And Glory is meant to be theirs.”

She said no more, just stared at Faron in silence, waiting.  After a few moments his shoulders relaxed and he smiled.  Dav and Ban were only a second or two behind him.

“Thank you,
Amada
,” he said, then pressed his mouth to hers.  A moment later her much more relaxed men had her settled on one of the comfortable stools in front of a display matrix embedded in the viewport.  The Gryphons, Dracons and Katres settled in at their stations, and the room grew quiet.

“We’re ready when you are, Lord Faron,” Tristan said after checking to make sure everyone else was ready.

“Shall we send it through dead center?” Faron asked as he eyed the outline of the jump point in front of them.  He knew that being
meant
to win this altercation didn’t mean they
would
win it, or that all of them would survive the coming battle.  But the knowledge gave him breathing room, allowing him to focus.

“Yes,” Tristan said after getting a quick nod from Faith.  “We’ve reprogramed it to home in on the largest ship it senses on the other side of the jump point.”

Faron waited for Saige to indicate she was ready, then tested the flow of magic coming from her.  “Fire when ready, Admiral.”

“Firing,” Gray announced.  They all watched intently as the missile streaked toward the center of the jump point.  Faron focused on it, then used all the power Dav and Ban fed into him to grab hold of the missile just before it reached the jump point, and pushed it through.  There was immediate resistance.  Faron drew more magic from Saige and pushed harder.  Suddenly, with a strange sliding sensation in his mind, the missile vanished, leaving him feeling off balance.  He reached out with one hand and caught himself against the viewport.

“It worked,” Faith announced her eyes trained on something no one else could see.  “It’s through the jump point and it’s heading straight for the largest Xanti ship.” 

Xi-Kung was exhausted from worry and tension.  His ship had been attacked twice more as they worked their way to the one Door that would take them back to their home galaxy.  He’d been forced to run both times, barely escaping the second time.  Careful evaluation of the recordings of all three attacks had revealed that both Queen Narliq-Li and Queen Zarnia-Te’s ships had worked together in each attack. 

He hated having to run, but his first and most important duty was to warn his queen, Xaqana-Ti, of the other queens’ betrayal.  His ship crippled and vulnerable, they’d finally reached the Door to safety, and it was their turn to jump.  He sat on the bridge waiting impatiently for the various protocols to be completed before, at long last, they entered the Door and jumped.

The first thing he saw through the view screens when they arrived on the other side was an enormous explosion. 

“Send the message packet to our Queen immediately,” he ordered the communications officer.

“Yes, Commander,” the male replied even as he obeyed the order.  “It will take several hours to reach Xantara at local speed.”

“Understood,” Xi-Kung said.  He took a moment to study the two dozen or so ships waiting to use the Door on this side.  “Captain, identify which of those ships belong to our Queen.”

“There are three,” the Captain replied, having already performed that task the moment they concluded their jump. 

“Do we know who fired…no…it doesn’t matter,” Xi-Kung said.  “Fire on the other ships immediately.”

“With pleasure, Commander,” the Captain said enthusiastically.  Xi-Kung turned to the comm officer.  “Order our brother ships to fire on all ships not belonging to Xaqana-Ti.”

“Yes, Commander,” the comm officer replied, the fingers of his
makina
already flying over the control board.

Faith gasped, her eyes wide.  “Oh crappola!” she exclaimed breathlessly.  Her eyes widened further and she took an involuntary step backward, then another, stumbling against Tristan’s console, her mouth opened in shock. 

“Faith?” Tristan asked, waiting until she turned toward him.  “What’s happening?”

“Um...well...I’m not sure exactly,” she said.  She glanced back out the viewport.  “There are fifteen Xanti ships left.  No, make that eleven.”  She winced.  “Ten.”

“Ten?” Garen asked, trying not to bark. 

Faith nodded slowly, a wide grin spreading across her pale face, her hazel eyes sparkling.  “The missile hit one ship and blew it up.  Then another ship that had just come through the Door started firing on the other ships…they’re all bunched up close to each other waiting to go through that Door, so it was like shooting fish in a barrel.  Then the other ships started firing back.”  She looked through the viewport again.  “Um…well, there’s only four left now.”  A pause.  “Okay, make that three.”

Suddenly the room was filled with cheers and shouts of relief.  Faith was pulled up close to Tristan’s chest and hugged so tightly her ribs creaked.  The celebration didn’t last long though.  There were still three Xanti ships out there.

Faith quickly made adjustments to the number and placement of the remaining ships, surprised when they grouped themselves together again.  “They must all be on the same side,” she said.

“Probably,” Tristan agreed.  “They’re apparently unaware of our jump point, and that’s all that matters.”

“Let’s send more missiles through,” Garen said.  “If we can destroy all three before we jump, so much the better.”

“I think we can control two at a time,” Faron said.  “Launch them a few seconds apart.”

“Send one for us to start with,” Maxim said.  “Then two, if necessary.”

“Let us know when you’re ready,” Tristan said. 

Faith barely listened as she kept her eyes trained on the Xanti ships.  They’d moved a little apart from each other, but they were still very close.  As she watched, two missiles popped through to the other side of the jump point, then immediately curved toward the Xanti.  Three seconds later a third missile followed, then two more. 

“Enough,” Faith called before Tristan released any more.  The first three had wiped out the entire group, making the last two unnecessary.

“There are no more Xanti ships on the far side of the jump point,” Faith said.  “At least, none that I can see,” she amended.

“Order the
Eyrie
through,” Tristan told Gray, who acknowledged the order before transmitting it to Captain Rolin. 

The atmosphere in the Pinnacle was much more relaxed than it had been a few minutes earlier, but they weren’t done yet.  They still needed to get to the other side of the jump point, then cover it while the rest of the task force joined them.

They watched as the
Eyrie
moved into the jump point, then engaged its jump drive.  Moments later Faith confirmed the
Eyrie’s
arrival visually, seconds before the
Eyrie’s
confirmation transmission was received.  A few minutes later the
Eyrie
gave the
Ugaztun
the all clear to jump.

As soon as the
Ugaztun
finished its jump Faith visually scanned for enemy ships before turning her attention to the Door.  “I don’t see any other Xanti made Doors around here,” she said after she finished marking it.  “The number of ships that were waiting to use it makes me wonder if it’s the only one in the area.”

“We’ll leave a cruiser here to keep an eye on it,” Tristan said.  “They won’t need to see the ship to know when something’s coming through.”

“Anyone want some good news?” Jon asked.  Every face in the Pinnacle turned toward him.  “We’re less than half a day’s travel from Xantara.”

“You’re right, Admiral,” Garen said with a grin.  “That is good news.  And, considering the depth of the Xanti’s paranoia, it explains why there’s only one Door in this area.”

Faith started to turn toward Jon with a smile when she caught something from the corner of her eye and turned back.  “A Xanti ship just came through the Door,” she said tightly, reaching up to mark the ship’s location.

“I can see it,” Gray said in surprise.

“We’ll take it,” Olaf Gryphon said.  Everyone watched as the Xanti ship turned toward them, then stuttered off course as its hull peeled open, exposing the interior to the unforgiving vacuum of space. 

“Two more coming in,” Faith said, marking the location of two Xanti ships speeding toward them from the opposite direction.

“We can see those too,” Jon said in confusion.  “Do you think they aren’t using Blind Sight because they’re so close to home?”

“It’s possible, but knowing what we do about the Xanti, I doubt it,” Garen said as he sent balls of fire into the Xanti missiles streaking toward them, causing them to explode long before they reached their target. 

The Xanti ships stopped when their missiles were destroyed.  For a long moment they remained motionless.  By the time they turned around it was already too late.  Within seconds of each other both ships went up in white flashes of incandescent fire, courtesy of the Katres and the Dracons.

“Either Blind Sight has ceased to function, or they’re so startled to see us they forgot to engage it,” Faron said.  “Somehow, I doubt it’s the latter.”

“So do I,” Garen agreed.  “I don’t want to take any chances though.”

“Don’t worry, Highness,” Faith said.  “I’ll keep my eyes open.”  Garen smiled his thanks, then turned back to the viewport. 

“The
Vyand
is through the jump point,” Jon announced.   Moments later the Katres’ ship moved into position covering the front of the
Ugaztun
.  Several minutes after that, the
Ala Lahoi
took up her position on the port side of the
Ugaztun
, while the
Eyrie
covered the starboard side.  With the
Ugaztun
fully covered, the tension level in the Pinnacle eased significantly.  There were still a lot of ships that needed to come through the jump point, but each one would add to those guarding the
Ugaztun
, and the women aboard her. 

“Three more Xanti ships are approaching,” Faith announced, marking them as she spoke.

“Wait just a few moments before attacking them,” Jon called, his hands racing across the control board in front of him.  “I want to try something.” 

Everyone waited tensely as the Xanti ships grew larger through the viewport.  “I just hit them with a sensor pulse, and confirmed that their Blind Sight systems are activated.  And, look at them—they aren’t making any evasive maneuvers.” he said.  “They think it’s working, but it’s not.”

“All the better for us,” Faron said.  “We’ll take the one on the left.”

“We’ll take the middle one,” Olaf said, while Maxim Katre claimed the last one.  Moments later there was nothing but a swath of debris where the Xanti ships had been.

“How are you feeling, Saige?” Lariah asked.  The Lobos had used the most magic so far.  Magic that was channeled through Saige.

“I’m getting tired,” Saige admitted. 

“Do you need to go lay down?” Faron asked, immediately worried.

“In a little while,” Saige said, smiling up at her Rami.  “Give me another half hour, then I’ll take a break.”

“Take as much time as you need, Saige,” Garen said.  “You’ve earned it.  Besides, the rest of us would like to squish a few more bugs anyway.”

“
Squish
?” Maxim asked, frowning at the unfamiliar word.

“One of Lariah’s technical terms,” Val said.  “It’s much like
squash
, except that
squishing
is performed with a horizontal motion, whereas
squashing
is done with a vertical motion.”

The male Lobos, Katres, Gryphons and Falcorans all stared at Val for a moment before shrugging or nodding solemnly.  Made sense to them.

Summer stared at Lariah with wide eyes, biting her bottom lip hard in an effort to contain her reaction.  Lariah winked back, then turned to stare out the view port, letting her hair fall forward to cover her face as she fought to hide a sudden case of nervous hiccups.  Saige covered her mouth with both hands and coughed until she nearly choked, earning her several concerned pats on the back from Faron and Dav.  Aisling took a deep breath, then held it until her face turned a bright shade of magenta before blowing it out, bending over and wrapping her arms around her middle, tears streaming down her face.  Faith snorted, then clapped a hand to her mouth and swallowed hard. 

Aisling broke first.  It was Faith’s snort that did it.  After that, she just couldn’t hold it in any longer.  Her mouth opened and bright peals of laughter filled the room.  Saige was next, with Summer and Lariah right behind her.  Faith was last, but that was only because it took her a moment to catch a breath of air.

The men stared at the women in blank surprise, then exchanged confused and concerned looks with each other.  Val arched a brow at Garen and Trey, then looked significantly at Lariah.  Garen bit back a grin as understanding blossomed.  He leaned over and whispered something in Lariah’s ear that had her turning redder than Aisling, though she didn’t lose her smile.  If anything, it got wider.

Chapter Twenty Three

Glory looked around the dream valley, wondering where the Tigren were.  There was something very important that she was supposed to do, but she couldn’t remember what it was.  She turned around, searching as she called out to them, but there was no sign of them, and no answer.  Finally she sat down on the cool grass, placed her hands on her knees, closed her eyes, and relaxed her body. 

It took a lot longer than expected, but eventually she was able to sense a faint trail that she was certain belonged to Kyerion.  She stood up and followed it.  She tried to go fast, but her dream body continued to drift along rather slowly, refusing her efforts to speed up.

After a while she looked down, shocked to see how transparent she was.  Below her, she saw the room filled with hibernation tanks and
remembered
.  She gasped and turned toward the area where the Tigrens’ tanks had been, wondering how she could have forgotten.  She’d released them though, right?  She thought so, but maybe not.  Everything seemed so vague and distant.