Endgame (Sirantha Jax 6)

Movement catches my eye, but I can’t nail down where the shadow came from. Then March touches my mind tentatively. Jax? His thoughts echo with exhaustion, anger, and fear, though not for himself. I skim his mind, seeing just how long he’s been awake.

But at least they’re here. Safe. Relief surges through me in a tidal flood. Until this moment, I didn’t realize how worried I was that Imperial forces had snatched them up to be used as leverage against us, crippling the resistance before we get off the ground. While they might not connect Vel immediately, I’m high-profile. ONN has kept an eye on my involvement in case things got interesting…as they tend to when I’m around. And everyone knows about March and me. So while he’s here, he’s a target.

Get Sasha and meet me at the back doors, I tell him.

On my way. He mutes his emotions, holding explanations for a more appropriate time. I glimpse a number of things in his head, but it’s not clear. I lack March’s aptitude for skimming information quickly and efficiently.

I tap the comm to advise Vel, “I found them. They’re on the way down.” Then I spin, retracing my steps.

“Copy that. I will be waiting in the shuttle.”

“Don’t start it up until we arrive.”

The house seems spooky, with all the electronics shut down; it’s so quiet I hear each whisper of movement. At first just noise, then they become shadows, then shapes. Sasha stumbles, and I reach out for his shoulder. To my surprise, he doesn’t shrug away. Maybe he’s just tired and disoriented.

“Glad you’re safe,” I whisper to them both.

“We’ll talk later,” March says.

Sasha mumbles and follows me to the shuttle. I signal Vel as we approach, and the rumble of the thrusters sets the greenery on fire in the field behind. That’ll leave a huge clue, assuming the Imperials ever find this place. I wonder if we should burn it all.

Sadly, I’m not kidding.

I help Sasha into the back of the shuttle, and March follows. Then I swing into the seat beside Vel.

“Do you think we need to torch the place?” I ask.

Vel checks readings, whether other craft show on the sensors. “That would draw more attention, I think. Most of their attention is well occupied to the south.”

“Is there anything left in the house that could help them find you?” March asks.

“We scrubbed it thoroughly, wiped all the data.”

“If it was my op, I’d blow the place. With luck, they associate it with the other strikes and consider Vel a victim, not a culprit.”

I glance at Vel. “What do you think?”

“A bold plan, not without risks. Do you feel up to a firefight, Sirantha?”

I nod, glancing back at March in inquiry. “Are you sure you want us doing that with Sasha on board?”

“I don’t want to be here at all,” he mutters.

“It’s not Jax’s fault. Don’t take it out on her for what I did.”

I blink, certain I can’t have heard the kid right. “What’d you do?”

“Uhm.” In the dim glow from the instrument panel, Sasha looks chagrined. “Well, maybe I crushed some engine parts so our ship couldn’t take off.”

“Mother Mary. Why?”

“Because he wants to join the resistance,” March snaps. “It looks glamorous when you’re twelve.”

“You wanted to stay, too, Dad. So I made it work out for both of us.”

Yeah, I’m not getting in the middle of this for a billion credits. I listen to them argue while Vel takes us up.

Eventually, March swallows his anger and answers the question I’ve almost forgotten I asked. “Weapons hot, Jax. I trust you.”

With his nephew’s life—that’s what he’s saying. No pressure. I bring the guns online and target the house. I hate living dirtside, but this is the first time I’ve blown up a building over it. That thought is almost enough to make me laugh, despite the sitch.

Once he reaches sufficient altitude for us not to be caught in the shock wave, Vel gives the go-ahead, and I tap the panel. Beams of light arc toward the structure; impact offers both demolition and fire. I shoot several more times to make sure the destruction’s catastrophic. Since it’s not raining, the house should smolder until there’s nothing left but wreckage.

“Sorry,” I murmur to Vel.

“I have indemnity.”

I cut him a look, but he’s amused, not irritated. Which is excellent. I can only deal with one angry male at a time. It’s a good rule of thumb.

“That was epic,” Sasha says, watching the destruction down below.

March quiets him, but I’m glad the kid’s not scared. If he was as timid as the turn before, I’d be swimming in guilt right now.

“Incoming.” Vel wheels the shuttle.

“How many?” I ask.

“Six, fifty klicks out.”

I ponder. “Are we fast enough to outrun them?”

“Aw,” Sasha objects. “Blow them out of the sky!”

A few more comments like that, and I’ll start liking this kid. I flash him a smile while Vel checks the intercept course. March’s tension radiates until I feel it like a hot spot on the nape of my neck.

How mad are you? It’s a test to see if he’s still in my head.

Very. But not at you. I should’ve seen this coming. He’s there, wrestling with frustration. This is ten kinds of fragged up.

I know you’re scared for Sasha, but we’ll keep him safe until we figure out a way—

There’s not going to be a way, Jax. We’re stuck for the duration.

Well, yeah. March told us how to wreak havoc in those strategy sessions. According to his advice, we chose our targets and bombed them simultaneously. We just didn’t think he’d still be on world when the foolproof plan when into effect. Oops.

“Projected intercept in four minutes,” Vel replies after he finishes analyzing the drone trajectory. “So no.”

“Then let’s hold here. I don’t want them any closer to the base.”

Moments pass in tense silence, then the six drones appear on my screen. I miss the gun-pit interface. I’m not as adept on the console, but I’ll get better. I have to. I put the pressure from my mind. I can’t think about how much is riding on me right now. But Mother Mary of Anabolic Grace, I’ve never fought with a kid on board.

Stop it. You can do this, I tell myself. It’s only a couple more than you took before.

Relax, March says silently. I trust you.

His faith permits me to shoot the first one clean. Five to go.

The drones scramble, swinging up and away. I wish the shuttle had automated defenses. Next time, maybe I’ll take Constance and download her into the nav panel. I bet she can shoot faster. More accurately, too. Vel swings us around, but he’s not as experienced as March. We take a hit in the maneuver, glancing across the bow. The impact rattles us.

The shuttle doesn’t have shields. Its armor will take a few more hits before we’re crippled. Time’s ticking while I fumble locking on the target. It’s harder with March and Sasha aboard; the stakes are higher, and I feel like my hands are all thumbs. My head fills with fear that the shuttle will go down here, in the middle of nowhere, and we’ll be stranded.

They’ll find us.

I’m truly worried about March and Sasha. Now I understand how he felt about going into battle with me. Vel and I, we’ve fought together for turns. I trust he can handle his business. I know March can, too, but not with his kid in tow. He’ll always protect him first, maybe sacrifice himself if push comes to shove.

This sucks.

Clumsy on the controls, I take out another one while Vel spins us away from the remaining four. More shots come in hard, and only a sharp altitude drop gets us away from the barrage. I’m tired, terrified, and not on top of my game.

Don’t choke, Jax. Not now.

“I can help,” Sasha says. “This will be easy. They’re not big.”

My hands are shaking. “Go for it, kid.”

Leaning forward, he narrows his eyes on the drones, their lights showing him how to strike. Then he slams all four of them together; they explode like fireworks, bits of metal cascading down. He doesn’t even have to gesture. The shuttle doesn’t rock. That’s some fragging impressive control. No wonder he took the blue ribbon.

“Way to go,” I say, sitting back from the weapons console. Cold sweat trickles down my spine; that was closer than it should’ve been. “You saved us, Sasha.”

March is ominously silent.

CHAPTER 14

“So are we part of the resistance now, like when I fight the evil overlords in Rebel Alliance XVI?” Sasha has chattered all the way to base. “This is like the mission where—”

“Can you sit in the cockpit and run a diagnostic for me?” Vel cuts in. “I must be sure the shuttle sustained no lasting damage.”

“Sure. I mean, I can, can’t I?” The kid glances at March for permission.

“Find me after you’re done,” he says tersely.

I offer Vel a nod of thanks. Sasha needs to be distracted while his uncle tears me a new asshole. I can tell he’s furious; I’m just not sure why. At the house, he didn’t seem this upset with me. He doesn’t speak as he follows me from the hangar. Behind us, the doors have sealed, hiding our energy emissions once again. The next few hours will be crucial as it’ll reveal whether Imperial troops detected our movements.

After a little thought, I lead the way to my quarters. Nobody else needs to hear this, and he requires privacy to yell at me. Sure, he could do it in my head, but it doesn’t have the same impact for a thunderous scold. Once we reach my room, I step in and seal the door behind us. I don’t take a defensive posture, just brace and wait.

“What the hell were you thinking?” he demands.

“Which time?”

“When you let my kid take on the enemy!”

“I thought it was better than dying. I was choking on the guns.” I don’t explain why; it seems to me if he was in my head, he knows. I was too worried about their safety. For once, I couldn’t compartmentalize.

“Then you should’ve given me the controls.”

“That would’ve taken too long. By the time we swapped seats, the shuttle would’ve taken a hit to put us on the ground, and we’d have been stranded. How is that better?”

“You’re not his mother, Jax, and you don’t get to involve my son in war games.”

“That’s why you’re mad?” I ask in reflexive surprise.

“What did you think?”

“Because you’re stuck here with the shit hitting the fan.”

He lifted his shoulders in a familiar shrug, dismissing that suggestion. “That was all Sasha. You had nothing to do with it…and I knew you were on a tight schedule. I’m worried about being stranded during wartime, but not angry.”

“I’m sorry I used Sasha without your permission,” I say. “But you could’ve said no.”

“Then he’d think I didn’t trust him to control his TK. He’s made such strides that I don’t want to undermine his confidence. He’s just about a normal kid these days, and I…”