“Oh, shit.” Shyka muttered upon the arrival of the Grysk warships.

  “I’m inclined to agree.” Laceeya murmured, swallowing. Her mind and heart raced as she ran through options of how to respond. They couldn’t take on that many enemy vessels in their current state. Not without losing many ships.

  With the current health of her task force, there was really only one option. “All ships, get ready to retreat,” She ordered into the comm. Her entire body felt tense, her fists clenched at her sides. Laser fire continued flicking between the Ethereal and the enemy frigate as she spoke. “Grysk reinforcements have arrived, and we’re not fit to fight them at the moment. Begin loading non-hyperdrive equipped starfighters. Have the remaining fighters cover them and help screen the capital ships against pursuing enemy ships.” She had the grim thought that she’d doomed her people, and led them to their demise.

  Laceeya straightened up, glancing down at the display at the helm station. Pull yourself together, she thought. “Get moving in the direction of the planet now, full speed, and stick together,” She continued. “We’ll give you a more precise vector in a moment.”

  The other commanders confirmed their orders, and Laceeya took another deep breath. She knew they were all in trouble.

  Harax stepped closer to the viewport, peering out. “Senior Lieutenant, focus your fire on the stern and thrusters of the frigate as we pass by.” Harax commanded.

  “Yes sir, I’m on it.” Shyka confirmed.

  “Frenara, what do you have on those Grysk ships?” Laceeya asked, looking out the side viewport at the distant forms of the Grysk vessels as the Ethereal maneuvered. As she watched, her eye caught on where an Audeenaxu fighter was blown into shrapnel by a TIE Interceptor. But in turn the Interceptor was hit by a ferocious volley from another enemy fighter, and its ion engines detonated and it went up in a ball of flame. Laceeya pressed her lips tightly together from the sight, a hollow feeling in her stomach. Other pilots were also dying in the battle as well, she knew.

  “Three ships, Commodore. A heavy cruiser, and two light cruisers.” Frenara said into her thoughts as he worked his controls at the sensor station.

  “Understood.” Laceeya said darkly. Her task force could take on those ships alone under normal circumstances, but in their current state they were vulnerable, especially if the Audeenaxu ships joined the fight. They’d been wounded and their mobility crippled by her task force’s attack, but they still possessed a lot of firepower.

  She looked over Frenara's shoulder at the additional details of the Grysk warships. The heavy cruiser was around 950 meters, just longer than a Victory-Class. The light cruisers were around 400 meters each, similarly sized to the Ethereal itself but just edging it out in length.

  “I wonder what took so long for those Grysk ships to join the party,” Shyka said.

  Laceeya shook her head. “Maybe they wanted the Audeenaxu to weaken us first, and make sure we’re in a position where we can’t easily escape.”

  “Pretty rude of them to show up without being invited.” Shyka put in, her voice forcibly light. “I don’t remember adding them on the guest list.”

  Laceeya smiled faintly. She appreciated Bren’s humor despite the deadly situation such as the one they found themselves facing.

  The hum of the engines rose as the Ethereal turned its bow to point towards the planet, with Apoyarp throwing additional power to the drives. Sheets of laser fire were still raining from the Audeenaxu frigate as they passed by it, and the ship shuddered from the repeated blasts rattling against the shields and armor.

  “Ensign Frenara, what information do you have on the planet’s rings?” Harax inquired, moving back to look over the sensor officer’s shoulder.

  Frenara hunched over his display. “It appears to be primarily made up of rock and ice, sir,” He stated as he examined the readings on his screen. “Too densely packed for capital ships to-“ He was cut off as a severe jolt rocked the ship. Laceeya braced herself on the edge of the helm console, holding herself upright as laser bolts continued to hammer the hull. An alarm droned noisily, indicating damage to the ship.

  “Hull breach in section 3!” Asmaril called out, the tension evident in his voice.

  “Evacuate that area, and seal it off immediately once everyone is clear!” Harax barked.

  Laceeya could feel her heart beating rapidly. Thankfully the Audeenaxu frigate had been facing the opposite direction and it was struggling to turn and follow after the damage it had sustained from its duel with the Ethereal and the bombing runs by the TIEs.

  “Divert all power from the turbolasers into recharging those shields,” Laceeya snapped. “Keep the point defense cannons active, but we can sacrifice the heavy weapons for the moment.”

  “Yes ma’am, shutting down turbolasers.” Shyka promptly confirmed. Her eyebrows were knit together as she determinedly worked her controls.

  “Diverting power now, Commodore.” Asmaril reported.

  Laceeya nodded, taking another look out the viewport. “Apoyarp, watch the speed. We don’t want to outrun our slower ships.” Laceeya warned. Vessels like the Victory-Class and Lancer frigate were notably slower than the top speed of the 546B cruiser. All of the Hand’s ships were in motion alongside or trailing slightly behind the Ethereal, their engines thrusting them forward. Some of the smaller Audeenaxu ships were pursuing, but others, such as the large destroyer that Shadow’s Bane had been pounding away at with its missiles, were struggling to move and keep up due to the punishment they’d received.

  The Grysk ships however, were driving hard at full power after their prey. Laceeya bit her lip, restlessly running her hand over the side of her leg. She felt exposed and vulnerable with the shields down in numerous sections and the hull of the ship taking a beating, including a breach blasted through the hull. They had to get out of here, and soon. She took a deep breath, trying to think of a plan for escape. As she scrolled through possibilities in her head, her task force was skimming over the top of the planet’s ring, the world below now filling the view outside.

  An idea forming, she quickly stepped back over beside the helm, studying the display.

  “Commodore?” Apoyarp asked, glancing up at her.

  Laceeya was silent another moment, her eyes narrowed and lips compressed together as she examined the display. “Lieutenant, I want you to follow this vector,” She finally said, pointing to show the direction she indicated. She continued to map out a route for the Ethereal to follow. “Get this course sent over the rest of the task force, and tell them to follow.”

  “Will that work, ma’am?” Apoyarp asked, looking a bit concerned.

  “Let's hope so.” Laceeya said with a sigh.

  “Ma’am, the Sunbeam reports engine trouble,” Rikal reported. Laceeya stepped over to glance at the sensor screen. With its thrusters losing power, the VT-49 Sunbeam was beginning to fall behind.

  “Give me the comm,” Laceeya said, her mouth feeling dry. “Senior Captain Farwick,” She spoke into the microphone. “Can you grab the Sunbeam with your tractor beam at this speed?”

  He took a second before answering. “It’ll be difficult ma’am, but I think we can do it,” Farwick’s deep voice replied. “It’ll need to keep a straight and consistent path for us to lock onto it.”

  “Good. Commander Cyonne, did you get that?” Laceeya asked.

  “Yes ma’am, I did.” The commander of the Sunbeam’s strained voice crackled over the comm, interspersed with static. The ship had clearly sustained considerable damage.

  “Good,” Laceeya repeated. “Senior Captain, pull the Sunbeam in and magnetically latch it to the hull. All non-hyperspace capable fighters will need to be recovered, so start loading them now.” She wet her lips. “Ensign, what’s the status on those Grysk ships?”

  “They’re moving towards the location that we have to jump from,” Frenara said grimly. “Looks like they’re planning to cut us off.”

  “Understood,” Laceeya acknowledged with a nod. “We’ll just have to get there first.” She found herself unconsciously rubbing her hands over the seam of her pants, repeatedly over and over. She clasped her hands behind her back and squared her shoulders. She had to remain calm and confident for her crew. She needed to be strong for them.

  But inside, she wasn’t feeling quite so confident. She was pretty sure her plan would work, but her fears latched onto the possibility of failure and magnified the worry of it greatly. There were so many people she was responsible for, so many counting on her.

  All these thoughts and fears raced through Laceeya’s mind in a matter of seconds, rushing in like a raging river. Consciously, she clenched her jaw, breathing deeply through her nose as she reviewed the helm display, checking their course.

  Throwing a glance ahead of the Ethereal, the planet loomed, filling the entire view. The ship was nearing the upper atmosphere, with a few of the smaller Audeenaxu vessels in pursuit.

  Harax walked up beside her, holding a hand to the side of his head. He nodded as if acknowledging something. “Commodore, the hull breach in section 3 has been sealed off and all affected areas have been evacuated.” He reported.

  “Thank you Captain,” Laceeya said, inclining her head in his direction. She opened her mouth to ask if there were any casualties, but closed it again before speaking. Knowing that wouldn’t help the current situation. “Rikal, give me the comm.” She said instead.

  “Yes ma’am,” Rikal said, tapping a key on her control panel. “All yours, ma’am.”

  “Are all non-hyperdrive equipped fighters loaded?” Laceeya asked the other commanders.

  “The last group just pulled in, Commodore.” Captain Temana of the Paladin reported.

  “Yes ma’am, they are.” Farwick replied. Thankfully many of the Hand’s fighters had hyperdrives and thus could transport themselves, so the relative few that didn’t could get loaded quickly and efficiently.

  “Good,” Laceeya said. “Get ready to follow the course that was sent and enter a low orbit.” She motioned to Rikal to mute the channel and glanced behind her. “Keep us at the max speed of our slowest ships, Apoyarp.”

  “Yes ma’am.” He acknowledged.

  The Ethereal drove towards the planet, its velocity beginning to increase as the effect of gravity began to tug on the ship.

  “Get ready for course change.” Laceeya warned as she chewed her lower lip in anticipation. Her heart was still beating quickly in her chest, propelled by her anxiety.

  “I’m on it ma’am.”

  The bow began to pull back up a bit, still taking the ship lower towards the atmosphere but at less of a severe angle. Laceeya could practically hear the groans of the Ethereal, as extreme forces from the gravitational pull of the planet were exerted upon it as the ship maneuvered at such a high speed.

  “Hull temperature rising.” Asmaril reported tightly. Laceeya clenched her teeth. If any of the ships had sustained too much damage, the strain of suddenly being thrown into orbit at this speed could prove disastrous.

  “Junior Lieutenant Felayun, start plotting a hyperspace jump,” Laceeya said. “Doesn’t need to be far, just get us out of here.”

  ”Understood, Commodore.” Felayun replied.

  “Grysk warships are launching starfighters.” Frenara warned.

  “Changing course again now, ma’am.” Apoyarp reported.

  Laceeya nodded, watching as the bow leveled out. The Ethereal and the other ships of the task force were burning just into the highest level of atmosphere, rocketing at a tremendous speed. Despite the thin and practically nonexistent air at this level, the velocity of the ships still created friction. The shields coruscated brilliantly, and she could feel as the deck vibrated slightly beneath her soles.

  A few streaks of spectrum lasers flicked between the Hand’s ships, originating from the remnant of Audeenaxu vessels behind them.

  “”Hull temperature is continuing to rise, but we’re not in danger yet.” Asmaril called out.

  “Changing course again.” Apoyarp said over the creaking noise. The Ethereal adjusted its vector to angle up slightly, and the sky began to darken and the stars started to brighten. The strain on the ships eased as they successfully achieved a stable low orbit.

  “Entering a low orbit now, ma’am.” Apoyarp said. “Continuing to gain speed.”

  “Good, thank you Lieutenant.” Laceeya responded absently with a sigh, her focus on the display. Entering orbit of a stellar body in combat was generally not advantageous, allowing a ship no maneuverability and limited ability to respond to attacks. But if done right in this specific situation, it could save them.

  Having guessed their intentions of escaping, the Grysk ships were in space, following along with a shorter route that they expected would allow them to reach the jump point prior to the Hand’s ships.

  “What’s the status on the other ships of the task force?” Laceeya asked.

  “They’re following along with us ma’am,” Frenara said, studying his sensor display. He looked up at her. “We’re gaining ground on the Grysk warships. They’re falling behind.”

  With the Hand’s ships orbiting the world of Tryquata, they were sailing along at an incredible speed, arcing around the planet far faster than the Grysk ships in space could manage.

  “Good,” Laceeya sighed. The plan was working. Tapping her fingers nervously, time ticked past while the Imperial ships drove onward. “Get ready to pull out of orbit on my command. Junior Lieutenant, how are those hyperspace calculations going?”

  “Almost complete, ma’am,” Felayun called. “Finishing as we speak.”

  “Great work, Felayun.” Laceeya complimented. Maybe they could make it out without any more losses, she thought hopefully. “Have those sent to the helm and the other ships when you’re done.”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  The seconds dragged by, seemingly taking forever, as Laceeya waited for the moment they’d make their move. The lush planet below, so full of life, looked beautifully serene and peaceful. She felt a pang of guilt. The Varquak were down there, with the Audeenaxu and Grysks terrorizing their system with warships. There’d been no sign of the Varquak’s small defense fleet, leading Laceeya to assume it had been destroyed. Her task force had come to provide aid, to fight off or destroy the hostile invaders.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Now they were abandoning the Varquak, leaving them to the mercy of their conquerors. But she had no choice. If her task force stayed, they may be destroyed themselves, and the Varquak would be no better off, with no chance of Laceeya’s forces coming to their aid in the future.

  “The Grysk starfighters are pulling ahead of the capital ships,” Frenara said, his voice tight. “They’ll reach us shortly before we’re clear of Tryquata’s gravity well.”

  “Got it.” Laceeya replied, trying to work moisture into her dry mouth. “Thanks Frenara. Shyka, have your gunners stand by to fire on incoming fighters.”

  “Already on it, ma’am.” Shyka said, giving Laceeya a little smile.

  “Preparing for course adjustment now.” Apoyarp said, his hands on the controls ready to bring the ship out of orbit on a new vector and head towards open space.

  Rikal gestured to Laceeya, indicating a call on the comm. She hastily stepped over, and Rikal pressed a key to reopen the channel.

  “Commodore,” Senior Captain Farwick greeted her. “We’ve received hyperspace jump coordinates and are following your heading from the rear. The other ships have all shifted to the new vector and are close behind you.”

  “Good, thank you Senior Captain,” Laceeya replied, breathing a sigh of relief. “All ships, we’re exiting orbit…now,” She nodded to Apoyarp as she spoke, and he immediately put her commands into action. “Prepare to make the jump to hyperspace once we‘re clear of the planet’s mass shadow.”

  “Commodore,” Frenara called to her. “We’ll be in range of the Grysk vessels for a few moments before we make the jump.”

  “Got it, thanks Frenara,” Laceeya replied, pursing her lips. “What are the shields up to?”

  “I’ve managed to coax a bit of life into them, but we’ll need more time to recharge them fully,” Asmaril explained. “They can’t handle any prolonged fire at the moment, but they should hold long enough for us to escape, ma’am.”

  “Understood, good work Ensign,” Laceeya said, turning to again speak into the comm. “We’ll be coming under Grysk fire for just a few moments before we can make the jump to hyperspace. All ships frigate size and smaller, including fighters, shield yourselves behind Shadow’s Bane and the Ethereal.”

  She received a chorus of acknowledgements from the speaker, as the ships began to reposition themselves. The Ethereal cut back on power for a brief moment just to help allow three of the smaller VT-49s to take cover behind its larger brethren.

  Arranged in a tight group, the Hand’s ships continued to cut across space, driving towards freedom.

  “About to enter the edges of Grysk weapon range.” Frenara warned, hunched over to closely watch his display screen and control board.

  Laceeya nodded silently, wetting her lips. She found herself drumming her fingers on the side of her leg. She sighed internally. Fidgeting with her hands was a habit she just couldn’t help. “Angle the shields towards the Grysk ships,” Laceeya called to Asmaril. She stepped back over to the comm station. “Be sure to present the narrowest target profile to the Grysk vessels.” She spoke into the comm.

  The threatening forms of the Grysk warships were growing in size. Lasers began to fly toward the Ethereal and the other ships from the enemy ships.

  “Shyka, return fire,” Laceeya snapped.

  “Incoming missiles.” Frenara warned.

  “I’m on it.” Shyka responded, issuing commands to her gunners.

  The laser cannons fired at the multiple missiles that were speeding towards the Ethereal and the other ships, but the bolts stopped short of hitting them. Small explosions dotted the space in front of the large projectiles.

  “Looks like dibbers, Commodore.” Frenara explained. Laceeya winced. Upon closer inspection, clusters of many tiny missiles could be seen traveling ahead of the larger ordnance, shielding them.

  “Concentrating fire on them…” Shyka said. The ship shook slightly as Grysk fighters swept past and poured laser fire into the shields. Thankfully Asmaril had managed work some magic to recharge them, but they were still far from full strength.

  “How long until we can make the jump to hyperspace?” Laceeya asked intently.

  “Almost there ma’am,” Apoyarp reported. “Less than 30 seconds.”

  Laceeya nodded, clenching her jaw. The shields should hold out that long. She turned her attention back to the approaching missiles. Finally the laser blasts had eliminated the dibbers, and were striking the large and heavily armored missiles that had been hiding behind them. A large explosion blossomed where one of the missiles detonated after precise shots from the Ethereal’s gunners penetrated its thick armor, just before it could strike the hull.

  But the Grysk ships had launched many consecutive fusillades, clearly using all the firepower they had to try and stop the Hand’s ships before they could slip from their grasp. One of the huge projectiles made it through to impact the Ethereal’s starboard side of the bow. A violent tremor ran through the deck, and Laceeya steadied herself on the side of Apoyarp’s console, her pulse racing.

  “Shields critical in section 3!’ Asmaril called out tensely.

  “Almost clear of the gravity well…” Apoyarp said.

  Laceeya gestured to Rikal to reopen the channel to the other ships. “Make the jump to hyperspace immediately once you’re clear of the gravity well,” Laceeya ordered. “We’ll follow.”

  “We’re clear of Tryquata’s mass shadow, ma’am.” Apoyarp stated, looking up at her.

  “Hold off for just a moment,” Laceeya ordered, holding up a hand. “I want to make sure the other ships make it.” She chewed her lower lip nervously. They were almost there…

  Moving up alongside the Ethereal, the rest of the task force and starfighters disappeared one by one with a flicker of pseudomotion as they leapt into hyperspace. Bursting from their launch tubes, another round of several large missiles from the Grysk ships were arrowing towards the Ethereal, again shielded by clusters of a dozen dibbers each.

  “Jump now!” Laceeya snapped. Apoyarp pressed a couple buttons on his console and the stars blurred into long streaks of light. The view ahead morphed into the tunnel of hyperspace. Laceeya exhaled heavily in relief, wilting slightly from the stress. They’d made it. She took another few deep breaths as she leaned wearily against the edge of the viewport, inhaling and expelling the air from her lungs slowly, trying to calm her racing heart.

  That had been too close, and it had proved to be costly. Laceeya had seen multiple of the Hand’s fighters destroyed, and she knew there’d been plenty of others lost that had escaped her view. She gritted her teeth, closing her eyes tightly as she thought about all the lives cut short because of the Grysks. Hatred burned inside of her. So many lives snuffed out, futures that would never come to fruition, because of the evil blot on the universe that was the Grysks.

  Laceeya tried to work some moisture into her mouth, swallowing. But it didn’t help the hollow feeling she felt. “Captain, were there any casualties from that hull breach?” She asked as she turned to face him, dreading the answer.

  Harax’s expression darkened. “There was, Commodore. Three injuries, and one death.”

  Laceeya pivoted slowly back around to gaze into hyperspace. “Understood.” She managed, not yet finding the courage to ask who it was. Walking forward right up to the viewport, she stared out, trying to lose herself in the mottled swirl of stars. For whatever reason, the deaths were hitting her particularly hard today. She’d seen far too many brave warriors die, sacrificing themselves for the good of others.

  And sometimes…sometimes it was just too much for her.. The loss of those under her command was even more painful. The overwhelming guilt of feeling that she should have protected them weighed on her.

  Laceeya stood incredibly still at the viewport, lost in thought with her hands clasped tightly together behind her back to stop them from trembling as the adrenaline from combat fizzled out. She needed to pull herself together, she thought. It wasn’t proper for the crew to see her this way. She needed to be strong and steadfast.

  Yet something in her had just snapped from the loss of life. It was overwhelming.

  A hand touched her shoulder, and Laceeya jerked back, startled and jarred out of her thoughts. Shyka stepped forward to stand beside her.

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you,” Bren apologized, giving Laceeya a worried smile. “You’ve been standing up here for ten minutes and I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.” She murmured.

  Laceeya blinked twice. It had been ten minutes? “Oh,” She replied. “I didn't realize it had been so long. I’d better go check on a few things.” She started to move, but Bren put a hand gently on her arm to stop her.

  “It can wait for a couple minutes. Harax said he’s taking care of everything,” Bren said firmly. She narrowed her eyes slightly, peering with concern at Laceeya. “What’s going on Laceeya? You’re not acting like yourself.” She said quietly.

  Laceeya met Bren’s gaze for a moment, before looking back out the viewport. There was clearly pain behind her glowing red eyes. “I don’t know,” She finally replied, shaking her head minutely. “All these deaths…and we didn’t even free the Varquak,” She paused, before turning to look Bren in the eyes. “I hate them,” She murmured. “The Grysks. They’ve caused so much death and suffering.”

  Bren took a moment to answer. “I know. We’ll stop them.”

  “They keep popping up in more and more places,” Laceeya said. “Gaining more and more power.” She gestured with her hand. “I doubt the Audeenaxu would be at Tryquata without the Grysks pulling their strings.”

  “Yeah,” Bren agreed. “You’re probably right about that,” She was quiet for a few long seconds. “Look, if you need some time I’m sure Captain Harax can take care of everything here.” She murmured, her expression concerned.

  “No,” Laceeya snapped. “Sorry,” She winced at her sharp tone. “The crew need me here after a battle like that. It wouldn’t look good for their commander to run and hide in her room.” But she certainly wanted to do that. She felt so weak. Someone of her rank shouldn’t be so easily affected by the death of those she led. Part of being a commander was knowing and being able to accept that people sometimes died for the greater good. “I don’t deserve special privileges just because I’m in charge.”

  “Okay,” Bren said uncertainly. “You made the right call back there. Back when I was in the Empire, there were a ton of commanders whose inflated opinion of themselves wouldn’t have allowed them to call a retreat. You’re smart enough to know it’s a bad idea to fight on the enemy’s playing field and while we’re weak. If you hadn’t made that quick call, a lot more of our people would’ve died.”

  “Thanks Bren.” Laceeya replied, trying to give Bren an unconvincing confident smile that she didn’t feel at all. “I’d better go check a few things, we’ll be exiting hyperspace soon.”

  Bren rested a hand on her arm, and leaned in a bit closer. “Hang in there, okay?” She said softly. “I’m here if you need anything.” She gave Laceeya a warm and reassuring smile.

  “Dropping out of hyperspace in one minute.” Apoyarp called out. “We’ll reposition and calculate the next jump.”

  Laceeya turned to face back towards the console. “Got it. Thanks Apoyarp.” She replied.

  “No problem, Commodore,” Apoyarp said. He cocked his head slightly to the side. “What’s our heading?”

  Laceeya pursed her lips. “Let’s put a little more distance between us and Tryquata,” She said slowly. “And then we’ll stop and assess damage and go from there,” She paused, considering. “Might as well head in the direction of Renthass.” She said, raising her voice so Junior Lieutenant Felayun at the navigation console could hear.

  “Yes ma’am.”

  “Make sure the other ships get the memo.” Laceeya reminded them. “And order all fighters to be loaded.”

  Less than a minute later the vortex of hyperspace was replaced by the view of space, the bright tightly packed stars filling the sky. It was a beautiful and quiet sight. But it didn’t show the threats that lurked among the countless stars and planets around them, Laceeya mused bitterly.

  Despite the spectacular view of space, filled with dense clusters of brilliant stars and clouds of nebulae, it did little to cheer her up.

  “Commodore?” Frenara said, getting Laceeya’s attention. She walked over to stand beside his console.

  “I’m still confused about the way the Grysk ships arrived at Tryquata,” He said, his brow furrowed. “They just…appeared. The readings I got were completely different from normal arrival from hyperspace. I’ve been looking over them again and again and comparing with other data, and I’ve come to the conclusion that something else is going on.”

  Laceeya frowned, her curiosity piqued. “Show me.” She said, moving closer to peer at the display. Frenara pulled up the sensor data, comparing it with a reading of typical data of ships exiting hyperspace. Sure enough, it didn’t match up. “You’re right,” She sighed. “It’s like they weren’t there and then…” She trailed off, an ominous thought finally popping into her head.

  “Ma’am?” Frenara asked, his forehead lined.

  “They just appeared…” Laceeya murmured, staring off into space. She looked back at him. “A cloaking device.” She said darkly, the pieces falling into place in her mind. “I should’ve realized it sooner.“

  “That…that would make sense given the data,” Frenara agreed grimly, studying the data again.

  “Shit,” Laceeya muttered. “This is bad news,” She turned around. “Captain, Senior Lieutenant.” She raised her voice and called out, beckoning them over.

  “Commodore?” Harax asked, walking over.

  “Ensign Frenara and I were reviewing the data of the Grysks‘ arrival at Tryquata,” Laceeya told them. “He noticed from the data that their arrival wasn’t consistent with ships typically dropping out of hyperspace,” She took a deep breath. “We’ve come to the conclusion that they were not, in fact, exiting hyperspace but rather were deactivating a cloaking device.”

  The others were silent a few seconds before speaking. “I see.” Harax said heavily.

  “Well, shit,” Shyka said. She looked up at Laceeya. “Ma’am,” She corrected herself, then sighed wearily.

  “Exactly what I said.” Laceeya put in.

  The others’ faces all displayed levels of concern. “That’s a dangerous weapon for them to have in their arsenal.” Shyka said.

  “Agreed,” Laceeya said with a nod. “We’ve seen them use cloaking technology in the past, but it’s never been common. After Frenara mentioned it, my brain put two and two together, and realized the Grysks may be developing the cloaking devices at Kwenast. Zan’parrar said they were after some sort of crystal in the mines, and I’ve read from information provided by the Grand Admiral that certain cloaking devices use Stygium crystals. It’s an incredibly rare material, and that could explain why their operations there are so important.”

  ”That does make sense,” Shyka said slowly. “I assume the Grysk ships positioned themselves to appear as if they were dropping out of hyperspace when they deactivated the cloak?”

  “That’s my guess as well,” Laceeya agreed, inclining her head in Shyka’s direction. “They must not have wanted us to know they had cloaked ships in the area in case any of our vessels escaped.”

  “The ability to cloak more of their vessels has the potential to be used to devastating effect, Commodore,” Harax put in, his tone grim. “This information is most disturbing. If it’s true that the Grysks are building new cloaking technology at Kwenast, we have to put a stop to it.”

  “No argument here,” Laceeya said, holding up her hands. “But after we poked our nose in there last time, I expect they’ve reinforced the system with additional forces, if it’s an important installation like that. Zan’parrar already told us they’d brought in more ships, but if it really is this big of a deal, I bet they’ll be bringing in as many ships as they can.”

  “Plus we know they have that frigate equipped with a gravity well generator,” Shyka added. “If we arrive to find more ships than we can handle, we could be trapped.”

  Harax rested a hand on his chin. “We must do something, Commodore,” He insisted. “Perhaps Vice Admiral Ilcunor and his fleet could accompany us to strike at the facility.”

  “We’ll have to confer with him about it,” Laceeya said. “But I agree. High Command needs to be notified about it regardless. I’ll send a message back to Nyar Three next time we drop out of hyperspace.”

  “Yes ma’am.” Harax acknowledged with a brisk nod.

  “You can return to your other duties now, Captain,” Laceeya said.

  “Very good, ma’am.” Harax replied, pivoting on his heel and walking away.

  “You did a great job catching this, Frenara,” Laceeya complimented him. “This intel is incredibly important, and it would’ve been easy to miss.”

  “Thank you, Commodore,” Frenara responded, giving her a grim smile. “I knew something was off when I first saw them appear.”

  “It’s always good to trust your instincts,” Laceeya said with an attempt at a reassuring smile. A moment later, she slowly strolled back up to the viewport, with Shyka following to stand beside her. They stood in silence for a minute before either spoke.

  “As if things with the Grysks weren’t bad enough already,” Shyka grumbled darkly. “I don’t like this at all. Hard to shoot people when you can’t see them.”

  Laceeya nodded silently, her eyes forward. It didn’t bode well at all.

  As the activity of the Ethereal began to calm down, diagnostics were run and the fighters were loaded. Shyka conversed with her weapons crew, checking over the status of all the associated systems. She made sure some minor repairs and adjustments were underway, recalibrating a few targeting systems that had been knocked out of alignment.

  Sitting back in her chair, she felt exhausted from the battle, despite its brevity. Shyka glanced over at where Laceeya sat in her command chair, with her chin propped in her hand and crimson eyes blankly staring forward. She wasn’t sure how Laceeya managed the stresses of command. Shyka was sure that she couldn’t handle it in Laceeya’s position.

  Frowning to herself, Bren checked the ordnance count, continuing to surreptitiously steal looks at Laceeya. When they’d spoken earlier, she hadn’t been acting like herself. She seemed especially distant, and that was worrying.

  After a fierce skirmish such as the one they’d just engaged in, where people died, Bren knew how hard it was on Laceeya. She carried so much guilt and responsibility. And to make things worse, she felt guilty over the fact that they hadn’t freed the Varquak, the mission they’d set out to accomplish, leaving her feeling like she’d sent all those people to their death for nothing.

  Bren sighed, pursing her lips. She wished she could help shift some of that burden off Laceeya’s shoulders, and help share the load. Bren wished she could help Laceeya to truly understand how great of a commander she was.

  For Laceeya’s sake, Bren dreamed wistfully they could be far away from war and death. She wanted to see her happy and free from all she struggled with. She got to see moments of joy and excitement and love that Laceeya experienced, but Bren really worried about the toll that war and command took on her. Her biggest fear was that one day, something would happen that would push Laceeya over the edge.

  One day, Bren thought, one day the two of them would be far away, somewhere peaceful and safe. Yet that didn’t seem likely any time soon, Bren thought darkly. What seemed likely was that they’d be fighting the Grysks and the other threats of the Chaos for an indefinite period. Laceeya’s sense of duty was too great to abandon the fight, and Bren felt the same way.

  Remaining in her command chair, Laceeya sat as still as a statue. Bren wanted to walk over and hold her, to do something to help. But that probably wasn’t the best idea on the bridge. So she sat at her station, diligently completing a few more tasks after the battle and continuing to throw worried glances over in Laceeya’s direction.

  As she tapped buttons and checked status lights, Bren contemplated the costs of war, the effect it had on people. It took a toll on Bren, but she knew it took a far heavier toll on Laceeya. Years of constant conflict wore one down, years of killing and witnessing friends and colleagues being killed. Experiencing the horrors of war, seeing the suffering things like the Grysk’s conquest caused to groups in the Chaos.

  The few bright spots they had were each other. Bren had Laceeya, and they both had their friends on the Ethereal. The bonds they formed were strong, there was even a sense of family and shared struggle between those on the Ethereal that Bren only knew from passing.

  And the bond forged between Bren and Laceeya was unbreakable, a closeness and trust and love far beyond what Bren could have imagined.

  Bren exhaled softly in impotence as she peered over at Laceeya, who was still staring absently at a display on her command chair, her mind clearly elsewhere.

  One day, Bren vowed, one day they’d escape from war and death. One day they’d be at peace.