Fain opened his mouth to speak an instant before a blaring alarm sounded.
Galene scowled at the highly unpleasant shrieking noise. "What's that?"
"We're under attack."
All the color faded from her face. For a moment, Fain thought she might pass out as she placed her hand against the wall to catch her balance.
Worried about her, he closed the distance between them. "Stormy?"
She didn't even react to his old nickname for her. Instead, she grabbed the front of his battlesuit in two desperate fists. Tears swam in her pale eyes as she stared up at him. "Don't let my Talyn fly. Ground him!"
He scowled at her uncharacteristic behavior. "I'll try."
"No," she choked, shaking her head as she tightened her grip on him. Her breathing was labored and panicked in a way he couldn't fathom. He'd never seen her like this before. "You can't ... I-I-I can't ... Talyn has to stay here! On the ground. Do you understand? In the station. You hear me!" She was absolutely hysterical. "He can't fly into battle. Not again! Never ... Never!"
"Shh, Galene. It's all right." Fain pulled her against him and held her close. She was literally shaking like a child. "I'm not going to let your son be harmed. I swear."
And still she sobbed hysterically.
What the hell had happened to Talyn?
Her armband buzzed with the warning, summoning her to take command of the battle. Her breathing ragged, she stepped back to silence it. "I've got to go." When she met his gaze, he saw the terror that ran soul deep. "He's all I have in this universe, Fain. Please, don't let him fly into an attack again! Please! Keep him on the ground. Whatever it takes."
What did she want him to do? Shoot the kid? He had a feeling that was the only way to stop Talyn from doing what he wanted, and given the size and rage-factor of their son, that would probably only piss him off more. "You're his commander. Order him to stand down."
She snorted at that. "He's too much like his father." She glared hatefully at him.
Wiping at her eyes, she pulled herself together to rush to the command center for her post.
Torn between his duty to protect the station, and a need to make sure she was all right, he ran to the hangar bay where his fighter was docked.
Hoping to make it out before he got into trouble with his child, he was halfway to his fighter when Talyn and ten of the Andarion guardsmen met up with him.
Shit. Fain closed his eyes and ground his teeth at the bad timing.
Of course, Talyn headed straight for him. Because, yeah, that was the kind of luck he had. "If you have ships, we can assist."
Effing awesome. Either he angered his son or the woman who held his heart in a merciless grip.
You're so screwed, Hauk.
Talyn sneered at his hesitation, misreading its cause. "We're not going for your throats, old man. We came to defend this station. We're allies who understand that a threat to one is a threat to all. We are Andarion. It's not in us to sit out during a fight. None of my soldiers will shoot down a Tavali fighter."
"That's not what I was thinking. I was merely considering the sheer number of body parts I'm going to have to fortify with blast armor should your mother catch you in a Tavali cockpit."
The slightest bit of amusement quirked Talyn's lips. "She won't hurt you for this. I'm the one she'll beat."
Yeah, right. Not after what he'd just witnessed. It was his balls she'd want on a titanium platter. "What about the doctor's orders?" That seemed like the safest excuse Talyn might buy.
"We're not lifting off from a planet. The G-force in a launch tube won't hurt me. It's nothing like escape velocity."
True, but ...
Fain glanced around the Andarions with Talyn, who waited for orders. If he held Talyn back and let them go, it would impugn his authority with his soldiers. Make him look weak and ineffective. On Andaria, that was the worst sort of an insult to a commander.
She's going to geld me.
But he couldn't bring himself to harm Talyn or his reputation.
Knowing he was screwed, Fain jerked his chin toward his personal fighter that was faster and more maneuverable than most. "She's fueled and ready to launch. I'll assign ships to the others. What's your call sign?"
"Pit Viper."
Horrified, Fain went stock-still at the last name he'd expected to hear. The main reason being he'd thought Viper was long dead.
That familiar sick feeling returned to his gut. "Viper-Ichi?"
A snide smile toyed at the edges of Talyn's mouth before he answered. "Yeah ... nice to finally meet you, Blister."
Minsid hell. His son was the archenemy he'd once put a fierce bounty on with The Tavali. They'd faced off many, many times in battle.
Until about seven years ago when the Porturnum, at Fain's direction and under his direct command, had ambushed Viper and brought him down in one of the worst firefights Fain had ever been in.
Now, he understood why Galene had broken down the way she had. They'd blasted Talyn's ship apart with a weapon Darling had specifically designed for the trap they'd laid. How the hell Talyn had survived it, only the gods knew. Nothing but genetic fragments should have been left of him.
That alone said it all about his son's superior skills as a pilot.
Talyn leaned forward to whisper, "Don't worry, old man. I never told her who shot me down. I'm Andarion. I don't hold grudges in war. We're soldiers. We know when we don the uniform what we're risking." Talyn stepped back and turned toward the young major who'd approached him on the Storm Dancer. "Reaper, you're with me. No heroics."
Reaper. The other pilot Fain had been hell-bent to send to his maker.
And he was just a kid now. He must have been an infant in that firefight.
Pain racked him hard while he watched Talyn's uneven gait as his son headed for the fighter Fain had been flying when he'd brutally assaulted Talyn and no doubt given him that limp.
Worse? He'd meant to kill him that day.
In that moment, Fain wished Galene had shot him in the head on his arrival. Anything to save him from this pain and knowledge.
How could I have harmed my own child?
Disgusted with himself, he was headed toward Dancer's fighter when he heard someone let out a shrill catcall whistle.
"Own that walk, Sexy Baby T!"
Talyn stopped midstride.
For the first time, Fain saw the boy really smile, at the sound of Morrtalah Deathblade's voice. "Morra!"
As soon as she reached him, Talyn gave the extremely tiny female a fierce hug.
The green-skinned Phrixian was so small, she looked like a toy doll in Talyn's massive arms. She buried her hand in his braids and kissed his cheek before she finally released him.
Frowning, Talyn glanced around the bay. "Where's Qory?"
"Still en route to base. He won't arrive for a few more days." She tugged at Talyn's Andarion flightsuit. "Don't worry, precious. I'll make sure and keep that cute bottom of yours intact for Lish and your mom."
Fain watched the easy way the Phrixian interacted with his son as they crossed the bay to their fighters. She even held on to Talyn's pinkie and swung his arm as they walked. He envied her that casual friendship. The ability to make Talyn's stern features soften ever so slightly as they bantered. It was obvious Talyn liked her a great deal.
Sighing with regret, he showed the other Andarions to ships before he climbed into Dancer's fighter that had been delivered a few days ago when his brother had agreed to stay here and help him get settled back in.
When Fain called for clearance, he realized Galene had taken control of the battle. The sound of her voice in the background did the strangest things to his breathing. Her voice was deeper than most females'. And she'd always liked to issue orders to everyone. It had driven her siblings crazy. Made his older brother furious to be around her. Keris couldn't stand it and had bitched anytime Galene visited.
Strangely, Fain had never minded. He'd always liked the fact that she was open and quite
verbal with her needs and wants. There was no guessing with her. No games.
And as was evidenced by the hole in his chest, she didn't pull punches. With her, he'd always known exactly where he stood. I have to be a sick bastard to find that charming. Yet he did. It was one of the best things about her.
Not wanting to think about that, he launched with his squadron and did a quick search for Talyn's position. His heart raced as he realized his son was already in the thickest part of the fighting.
Sheez, no wonder Galene had been so insistent Talyn stay out of the battle. Had he intentionally gone for the worst of it? There was no other explanation for how much heat the boy was already taking.
Without thinking, Fain headed straight to Talyn's side to try and protect him as best he could. At this point, League fighters were everywhere. Of course, some of that was probably due to the assault Venik had made the day before on one of their outposts. The Tavali leader was using this war for his own profiteering. Until now, Fain hadn't minded. But as he saw his son narrowly escaping a blast that would have killed him had it made contact with his ship, he was resenting the hell out of it. Especially when it dawned on him that none of Ven's children were in this fight. Two of them were tucked in the command center with Galene, and Ven's daughters and their crew were safely across the galaxy. Not even Ven was out here for the battle.
That was bullshit. Fain had never put anyone into a fight he wasn't willing to participate in himself. That was the move of a politician, and War Hauks were anything but.
Something proven more than true as he watched Talyn's brazen skills. He was both proud and horrified by how fast his boy maneuvered in battle.
Just don't get hurt, kid. Galene would definitely cut his balls off this time.
*
Galene ground her teeth as she watched the massive war exploding on her battle screens. There were three hundred Sentella-Tavali fighters and eleven Andarions against five hundred League pilots. That would have been bad enough, but this was the first time Talyn was in a fight that she was directly commanding. And it was taking everything she had to keep herself together and focused. To not scream in terror every time someone came near him.
She could kill both him and Fain for this!
And this was exactly why she'd never once attended any Ring match her son had been in. She couldn't stand it. Not after watching the brutal brawls Fain had barely walked away from when he'd been a boy. Even now, she could hear his mother berating him for showing mercy by not killing every opponent he faced in the Ring.
"You shame your lineage, Fain. Keris wouldn't have allowed that coward to live after that pitiful display."
Glaring at her in complete defiance, Fain would spit out his bloody fang guard. His response to her condemnations had always been the same. "And Keris isn't a Ring champion, Matarra. I am."
Now, as Galene again watched Fain fight, she was consumed by sheer terror while he maneuvered to take a blast that was aimed for Talyn. A shot that landed dead on Fain's fighter.
I don't want to care. She didn't.
Yet ...
She was every bit as choked up and nervous watching Fain as she was for Talyn.
Please be okay. She didn't want to watch him die. But the fighting was brutal. Mechanically and by rote, she called out orders and sequences while trying to keep herself from making this personal. Both Fain and Talyn were highly competent warriors, relying on her to stay calm and emotionless. To treat them any differently was an insult to both. And it could get them killed.
But as she saw a cluster of fighters descend on Fain, her entire body locked up with fright. Worse? Talyn flew straight into the thick of it to help his father.
*
Fain cursed as his controls short-circuited from the blasts he'd been taking. He rebooted the targeting system--not the brightest thing to do in a fight, but he had no choice. Nothing else was working. He was being hammered so much, his head and body were bouncing all over. While his dampners came and went, his shields were holding. However, they wouldn't be able to take much more without cracking and leaving him with his ass in his hands.
As his systems came back live, an alarm blared, letting him know he was about to be fired on. He aimed for his attacker, then paused as he realized it was Talyn.
Payback's a bitch.
For a full minute, he couldn't breathe as he stared at his son and waited for him to fire and end his life.
An instant later, Talyn really did take the shot.
CHAPTER 6
The blast of Talyn's shot lit up the darkness. Fain braced for impact. But rather than striking his ship, it narrowly passed him by and went straight into the League fighter he hadn't even known was there.
Fain gasped as he realized Talyn had just saved his life. Unbeknownst to him, the League pilot had held him completely dead to rights.
He watched Talyn peel off after another fighter. "Thanks for the assist, Viper."
Talyn didn't say a word. Not until the fight was done and they were both back in the bay.
Fain went over to him to shake his hand and thank him for it personally.
With a furious glower, Talyn brushed past him. Then, he stopped and turned back.
He shoved his blast helmet into Fain's chest so hard, it would no doubt leave a bruise. "Just so you know, old man. If I'm going to kill you, I'll do it face-to-face. Warrior-to-warrior. I'm an Andarion, not a pussy coward who takes a cheap shot against someone who can't fight back when they're under fire and wounded." And with that, Talyn headed for the hallway to his quarters.
Hurt and embarrassed even though he knew he deserved Talyn's verbal assault, Fain sighed heavily. He should be used to his family rejecting him. With the exception of Dancer, it was all he'd ever known. And it was why he was so fiercely protective of his little brother. Why Dancer, alone, held his full trust.
Still, it cut soul deep that he'd disappointed his son.
Again.
All he'd ever wanted was what others took for granted. Friend or blood who wouldn't turn on him and make him feel like utter shit to be near them. Why was it so hard to be around others?
As he left the hangar, he met Galene in the hallway. Cursing silently in his head, he couldn't wait to hear what he'd done to piss her off, too. How much he'd disappointed her.
"Are you all right?"
The concern in her tone shocked him. "Um, yeah."
"Sure you don't want to see a medic? You took some harsh fire."
Terrified of the concern he heard in her voice, he drew up short. "What kind of shapeshifter are you? What have you done with Commander Batur?"
She scoffed at his question. "Fine, asshole. Not like I really care." With angry strides, she took off after Talyn.
"Well, you're just pissing off everyone today, aren't you?"
He grimaced at the Hyshian assassin as she came up behind him. "Don't start on me, Jayne. I'm not in the mood."
She held her hands up in surrender. "Sorry." She cocked her head to stare at him with an unsettling intensity. "So what went wrong with the two of you, anyway? Did you really love Omira that much?"
Fain pulled the small ring off his pinkie and handed it to Jayne. Everyone, including Dancer, assumed it was Omira's, and he'd never once corrected them. But the truth was when Omira had figured out who it originally belonged to, it'd driven her into the arms of a human. To this day, he could hear her cursing him for keeping it, even though he'd never once cheated on his wife.
At least not physically. And he'd done his best to keep his heart loyal to Omira, too. It wasn't his fault that it'd refused to leave Galene's hands.
When he'd left Omira after he'd caught her in bed with her ex, that tiny ring and the clothes on his back were the only possessions he'd taken with him.
He knew the moment Jayne deciphered the Andarion writing in the band. Her eyes widened and she let out a shocked gasp.
Shaking her head, she sighed. "Like father, like son." She returned the ring to him. "You need to s
how that to Lena."
He returned it to where it'd rested on his hand since he was eighteen. It was all he owned that he'd fight or die to keep, and many sentient beings had learned that lesson the hard way. "Why? So she can finish ripping my heart out? No, thanks. I've done enough damage to both of them. Best thing I can do is just stay out of their way and let them live as if I don't."
Jayne caught his arm as he started past her. Scowling, she pulled her hand back to see it covered in blood. "You're hurt?"
"Not the first time. Won't be the last." But as he started past her, the floor slanted. Next thing he knew, that fetid bitch known as gravity rose up and slapped him hard across the face.
*
Fain heard the monitors a split second before he opened his eyes and saw them. That he expected. What he never thought to see was Galene holding his hand.
I have to be dead.
He grimaced at her as she reached to call for the doctor.
"Don't move, Fain. You have a massive head injury."
It must be bad. Even Talyn was standing in the doorway and had to move aside for the medics to come in and check him.
But honestly, to have them there, with him, he'd take the injury. For the tiniest moment, he allowed himself to pretend that he actually had a family that loved him.
He had a sort of brotherhood with The Tavali, but it wasn't the same as a real blood family and he knew it. End of the day, they wouldn't weep to see him gone. Wouldn't give his death much more than a passing too bad thought.
The last time he'd felt like he truly belonged to someone had been in Galene's arms when they were kids.
Never since.
Even now, he could still see her young, bashful face as she pressed her cheek to his and held his naked body close to hers. "I love you, Fain. I live only for the day of our unification when everyone will know exactly how much you mean to me. I shall scream it through the streets. Fain Hauk is my husband and I love him more than anything!"
Laughing, he'd rolled and pulled her body over his. "And I shall tattoo your Batur lineage all the way down my arm so that everyone will know that you mean more to me than even my own revered family heritage. A War Hauk I may be, but it is a Winged Batur who owns me. Mind, body, and soul. Forever."
Fain glanced down at his left arm to the hand Galene held. Heat stung his cheeks.