I woke up inside my cockpit to the faint creak of cooling metal and the soft hum of the reactor idling behind me. For a second, I forgot where I was.

  Then I noticed Lexi’s bra hanging off my control stick.

  I let out a slow sigh.

  I should really make a rule. No sleeping with the enemy.

  Crazy shifted on my chest, letting out that low, broken sound that passed for a crow. His wings fluttered like he thought we were flying again. Every time I zipped down a line, he did that—flapping like he was part of the machine.

  “Easy, buddy,” I muttered, scratching under his feathers.

  Through the cockpit glass, I spotted Carl standing on his mech’s shoulder, radio pressed to his ear. He was pacing, swaying slightly, probably still riding whatever was left in his bottle.

  “Light,” I said quietly. “Focus on what Carl’s saying.”

  “Yes,” Light replied instantly.

  “Just sum it up.”

  Carl’s voice crackled faintly through the filtered channel.

  “He’s discussing supply ships,” Light said. “Drop sequence soon. They’re setting a base here.”

  I closed my eyes and leaned my head back.

  “Great,” I muttered. “The quicker that gets done, the quicker this mission ends.”

  I unbuckled and clipped Crazy into his harness, then grabbed the zip line. As I descended, he flapped his wings again, like he was trying to beat gravity.

  Carl slid down his own line a moment later, boots hitting the sand hard.

  “Squad! Gather up!” he yelled.

  The sad excuse for a squad drifted in from their tents and mechs. Frank lumbered over first, rolling his shoulders. Tamala followed, quiet and alert. Lexi came last, her eyes locking onto mine for just a second—sharp, warning—telling me without words to keep last night quiet.

  Carl looked us over like he was counting body bags before he spoke.

  “Supplies are inbound,” he said. “Drop ships will be coming down shortly. Our job is simple—no harm comes to those ships while they land.”

  He glanced toward the horizon like he expected the sand itself to start moving.

  “So far, the Dragons seem to have backed off this spot. No signs of any other starfighters doing flybys either.”

  He paused, then continued, voice rough and tired.

  “Once we set a base here, our mission is done. After that, we have another mission.”

  My jaw clenched a little. Another mission already. Of course.

  “Commander Vincent will be giving us orders personally,” Carl added, eyes drifting toward me. “Guess he also wants to talk to you, I take it.”

  Some daddy-and-son time.

  “Oh man,” I said, loud enough for the whole squad to hear, “your great leadership inspires me. I was hoping you’d be my dad.”

  Carl’s stare didn’t change. “We can make that happen, son.”

  Frank laughed. Both girls sighed like they were already sick of this.

  “Alright,” Carl snapped. “Enough joking. Load up and stand guard. Get in your coffins.”

  We split off.

  Lexi walked beside me toward my mech, casual like she hadn’t left her bra in my cockpit like a flag.

  “Hey,” she said quietly. “We were just fooling around last night. That’s all it was.”

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  I nodded. “Yup. Agreed.”

  She watched me for a second, testing something in my face.

  I paused, deciding I should be straight with her.

  “I did enjoy the time with you,” I said. “It’s just… we can die tomorrow. You can die tomorrow. We gotta keep feelings in check.”

  She punched my arm like it was nothing.

  “That’s what I wanna hear,” she said. “Maybe I was wrong about you.”

  Maybe she just wanted a one-night stand. Or maybe she wanted to see if I’d get stupid and start caring. Either way, it didn’t matter. Caring was a weakness out here.

  “Well,” she said, stepping toward her zip line. “Load up. Be safe… Unit One.”

  “You be safe too,” I replied.

  I grabbed my zip line and rose back into my cockpit. Crazy fluttered again as we climbed.

  We stayed posted. We waited.

  Time crawled. Heat climbed. The horizon shimmered. My radar stayed mostly quiet, and the silence felt wrong. Every soldier knows that kind of quiet. It’s the kind that shows up right before everything goes loud.

  Then the first drop ship appeared.

  Sand blasted outward as it descended. Worker bots spilled out the moment the hatch cracked, moving like insects with

  a purpose. They hauled long slabs of metal, locking them together fast, building walls around the spot like it was nothing. Watchtowers rose next, some with mounted blasters on top—manual weapons that would need bodies behind them.

  More drop ships followed.

  Then mechs came down in their own pods, defensive units to guard the new base.

  They really didn’t want the Dragons taking minerals from this area.

  I could care less. To be honest, it would’ve worked in my favor if the Dragons had stopped them. Dragons didn’t want our planet. Pirates did.

  As the new mech squad dropped in and spread out, one last pod slammed down hard enough to shake my cockpit.

  I didn’t need radar to know who it was.

  My father.

  His mech was huge. Armored like a fortress, loaded with weapons like he expected to fight a whole army alone. I watched it stand in the sand like it belonged there, like everything belonged to it.

  I already knew I’d have to kill him one day.

  I just had to figure out the weakness in that mech first. It had to have one.

  Vincent’s cockpit opened.

  He ordered us to gather up.

  We zipped down. The new squad formed up quick. Carl stood front like he suddenly remembered how to look disciplined.

  “Well well well,” Vincent said, voice smooth as poison. “Looks like I don’t need to shoot you all out of an air lock.”

  Nobody laughed.

  “You won your first mission,” he continued. “Was it luck… or was it because you have my son by your side?”

  He let that hang there for a beat, then smiled thin.

  “Well, let’s see if your luck lasts.”

  He stepped forward, boots crunching sand.

  “Your next mission,” he said, “is to defend a small city east of here. There’s already a squad holding the line, but Lutara fighters keep doing flybys. We’re expecting an attack soon.”

  That made my stomach tighten.

  “Defend a city,” Vincent continued, “and keep your heads attached to your bodies. That’s all I ask.”

  Carl snapped a salute like his life depended on it, because it did.

  “We won’t let you down, boss!” he shouted.

  Pirate talk. Dumb stuff they say to each other.

  Great.

  Vincent turned slightly and waved toward a supply crate.

  “We brought some good food,” he said. “Go eat. Rest. Then head out at night. Night will be best to hide from the fighters.”

  “Sounds good,” Carl said.

  The squad started to fall out, already moving, already thinking about food and sleep like that would save them.

  Then Vincent lifted a finger.

  “Not you.”

  Carl hesitated, then nodded. The others walked away, Frank last, giving me a look like he still wanted to knock my teeth out. Lexi glanced back once, eyes dark, then kept walking. Tamala didn’t look back at all.

  Vincent waited until we were alone, until they were out of view and out of earshot.

  “Well,” he said, “good work, son.”

  “Please don’t call me son,” I replied.

  He didn’t look offended. He looked amused.

  I stared at him through the heat waves.

  “You killed my half brother like he was nothing,” I said. “I don’t think a real father would do that.”

  Vincent’s eyes narrowed slightly, the first crack in his smooth mask.

  “He had it coming,” he said. “If it wasn’t me, it would’ve been the Supreme Leader. He was stealing from the guild.”

  He paused, then his voice softened just a hair, like he wanted me to believe there was something human left in him.

  “I didn’t kill him just because he failed me,” he said. “He was my blood. Of course it was hard. I raised him since he was a baby.”

  He started to say more.

  His mother. His life. His pain.

  I lifted my hand, slow.

  “I don’t care about the sob story,” I said. “I’m here to help you win this war. The sooner this ends, the more lives we save on this planet. After that, I’m out.”

  Vincent’s jaw tightened.

  “You can’t just leave,” he said.

  “I’m sure I can find a way.”

  He studied me for a long second, like he was trying to decide whether I was useful or dangerous.

  Then he reached into a compartment and pulled out a small chip.

  “This town you’re going to,” he said, “there’s more to it.”

  I didn’t move.

  “There’s a classified nuclear core being built there,” he continued. “Extremely top secret. You need to guard it when you get there. It’s still being worked on. Once it’s finished, a ship will pick it up.”

  I took the chip slowly.

  “Why not tell the squad?” I asked.

  “Because,” he said calmly, “I’m testing you.”

  I laughed once, sharp and bitter.

  “So if a missile hits it, it’s my fault?”

  “The enemy has no idea where it is,” Vincent said. “You do. You’re the only one. If anything happens, I’ll know who to blame.”

  Of course.

  He was building a trap with my name on it.

  He handed me the chip like it was nothing.

  “This will ping a map,” he said. “It’ll show you the warehouse it’s in.”

  “Great,” I muttered, taking it. “Thanks.”

  I turned to walk away.

  “Lock.”

  I stopped and looked back.

  Vincent’s voice dropped lower.

  “Please,” he said, and it almost sounded real. Almost.

  “Don’t screw up and play around with fire. I’d hate to bury another son.”

  I stared at him for a long moment.

  Then I turned away without answering.

  Crazy shifted against my chest. I felt his warmth through the harness as I kept walking.

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