"My squadron has made contact with a number of other freely roaming sailors,” said Drixen from the grate by Hunt’s cell. “They are ready to follow you again, Hunt."

  "Excellent," said Hunt. "But I want you to hold off for the time being. At the very least, we ought to let Drilby take on water. It'll need to be done anyway."

  "Fair enough," said Drixen. He slipped away and went back to his quarters.

  Meanwhile, in the squadron's wing, meals had just been delivered to the imprisoned pilots. The deliverer of said meals was one of Hunt's loyalists and sat down with them.

  "It's all over the ship," he was saying. "Drilby doesn't know what he's doing. It all might have worked out if Dekken had stayed in command. Frankly, I might have gone along with it if he had. But the lieutenant doesn’t have much experience as a spacer all that long and it shows."

  "That'll work well for us," said Drixen, who had just taken a seat after making his way back to his quarters.

  The sailor shrugged, "I hope so. It's a shame what happened with those sailors during the first mutiny. I really don't want to see any more bloodshed.”

  "The admiral's working hard to avoid that," said Drixen.

  The sailor nodded. There were a number of shouts coming through the hallways.

  "Let me go see what's up," said the sailor.

  He stepped out into the hall and flagged down a passerby. He had a brief conversation with them and then returned, a grim look on his face.

  "Sounds like the team that was sent to set up the pumps to take on water got eaten," he said.

  Drixen looked at him in horror. "Eaten?"

  "Yeah. Some kind of creature came out of the jungle and swallowed the first sailor whole. Managed to nab another one while they were running back to the Wingspan," said the sailor.

  "Well, where was their protection?" asked Drixen.

  "He didn't send any,” said the sailor. “We're short-staffed and he thought a few guys could handle it."

  "The fool," said Drixen.

  "Yeah, yeah, but here's the thing,” explained the sailor. “Discontentment is at an all-time high. I think our opportunity's now."

  Drixen made his way back to the panel that had been removed from his bedroom wall. "I'm going to go talk to Hunt right away."

  ***

  Once Talon Squad was sure that the beasts had given up their pursuit, they found a relatively flat surface underneath a rock overhang and set up a rough camp for the remainder of the night. Reclan created a rough fence of drones set to zap anything that approached the opening of their newfound hovel. Doc and D’Jarric sat up to keep their late-night vigil. Doc set up a travel-sized strategy game to help the two pass the hours.

  In the morning when Talon Squad awoke, they took stock of the contents of the ATUC and whatever items they had on their person.

  "Well, it looks like we've got access to water and we've got purifier pills to make it potable," said Vanbrook. "The real question is, what are we going to eat? There's not much in the way of rations aboard the ATUC. Maybe a small party of us can go hunting."

  "I gotta stay behind and work on Doc," said Reclan. "I've been thinking about the wiring issue and I might have some ways to tweak his situation some. I want to make sure that I'm here in case the Wingspan finally comes through on the radio."

  "Okay, how about it D'Jarric?" asked Vanbrook.

  D'Jarric shook his head. "I am no hunter. Perhaps I can stay and work with Fremig on his Talpaertan. He has been teaching me Drakmundi in turn and I feel I am starting to get the hang of it."

  Vanbrook turned grudgingly towards Darvik who shrugged. "Might as well scout out the area, right?"

  The two men trotted up further into the mountains. They had taken shelter in a kind of valley or canyon that sloped up towards the peak of a mountain. It gave them an easy enough path to walk, though the grade of the ground consistently climbed before them.

  Eventually, they reached a small shelf land that was part way up the slope and dotted with vegetation. The vegetation was small and scrubby, with no obvious fruits or soft leaves that might make for a meal. Though if they were here long enough, Vanbrook imagined they might try any and everything.

  Darvik walked over to an edge of the bluff and was looking out as Vanbrook studied some of the fungal life that was growing up under the shade of a shrub. He considered plucking them and bringing them along but decided that while they were more likely edible than the scrubby plant life, they were also even more likely to be toxic–possibly even fatal to the touch. So he turned and looked at Darvik's back as he continued to stare out over the face of the mountain and into the jungles.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  "Well," said Darvik, "this is it."

  "What's that?" asked Vanbrook.

  "It's your opportunity. Shoot me now. Or just push me. I'll fall into this ravine and you can tell everyone else I just slipped. And there you have it. Justice served."

  Vanbrook shook his head. "Do you want me to lie and say there's no part of me that would enjoy that?"

  "No," said Darvik, "I just figured that if you were going to, this would be the time.”

  “Why aren't you trying to kill me first?" asked Vanbrook.

  "I don't want to kill you, Van," said Darvik. "If it was in my power, I'd like to give life back to those I've taken it from, except for possibly Hoon-Kra."

  Vanbrook nodded. "Well, you can rest easy knowing that I'm not letting you live for your sake so much as I am for Rai's."

  Darvik smiled. "So, after all this, that's where we stand. We're not going to kill each other after all."

  "I suppose not," said Vanbrook.

  Darvik's eyes changed somehow. Softened. "Van, I don't expect you to want to spend any more time with me. I don't expect you to ever want to look at me again, but I do have to ask, will you ever be able to forgive me?" There were tears in Darvik's eyes now.

  Vanbrook was taken aback, not expecting this kind of behavior from the Darvik he knew, even the Darvik he had known years ago. He looked at him seriously.

  "Let's not push it," he said, turning away.

  Vanbrook had a hard time meeting Darvik's eyes after that, but they continued their hunt, skirting around the tableland on the small shelf that wrapped around the side of the mountain they had climbed.

  Quietly rounding a corner, they spotted some creatures up on the cliff-like mountain's face. The creature resembled a kind of reptilian goat, with a flat, armored plate on its forehead that tapered up into a horn off the back of its head, reminding Vanbrook of a bird with a crest of plumage. The creatures appeared to be roughly three to four feet at the shoulder and well muscled.

  "There we go," said Vanbrook. He took Doc's rifle, which the robot had lent him for the sake of the hunt, and shouldered it, kneeling and taking his time. But the beast was nearly a hundred yards off and Vanbrook's shot went high. Sufficiently spooked, the goat lizards leapt nimbly up the mountainside and out of view.

  Darvik tried to stifle a laugh.

  "What?" asked Vanbrook.

  "Nothing,” lied Darvik. He shrugged. “I’ve always been a better shot than you. Let me have the rifle."

  Grudgingly, Vanbrook handed him the rifle.

  The two continued on. There were plenty of twists and turns along the face of the cliff. Eventually, they came to another herd that had no idea of the new dangers. Darvik shouldered the rifle, took aim, and fired. The round went right through the vitals of the goat lizard, which stiffened and then dropped, tumbling down the steep cliffside onto the shelf.

  "That was closer than the last one," said Vanbrook suddenly.

  Darvik gave a short derisive laugh. "Come on," he said, "just help me clean the thing."

  ***

  All across the Wingspan, sailors loyal to Hunt casually began to box in Drilby's armed sailors. In the brig, a sailor walked in and nudged the sleeping guard with the barrel of a rifle. The guard awoke with a start, a flurry of emotions crossing his face. Anger, indignance, shock, and fear all made a play for his features, which settled on a grim resolve as he put his hands up in the air.

  No sooner had the guard been neutralized than a panel burst off the wall next to Hunt's cell. Drixen, Kaihla, and Kiflin burst through. They had all been armed by Hunt's loyalists. With the brig now taken over, Drixen punched the button to let Hunt, Dekken, and Triflin out. Kiflin embraced her twin brother as additional side arms were handed out to the freed prisoners.

  The party made its way to the bridge swiftly, passing a number of scuffles and aiding Hunt's loyalists wherever they found them. Hunt led the charge as they climbed the bridge tower, but rather than finding a locked door at the top, they were greeted by the sailors who had already taken the bridge on Hunt's behalf.

  Drilby sat sullenly in the command chair, a number of pistols trained on him. Hunt stepped up to him, but refused to address him directly. He turned to one of the men guarding him and said, "Get this man out of my chair and out of my sight. Put him in the brig and put two guards who can actually stay awake in charge of him."

  As Drilby was shuffled out of the room, Hunt sat down in his chair once again. He swiveled over to the comms control panel and addressed the entire ship.

  "Attention all crew," he said. "This is Admiral Hunt. I am once again in command of the Wingspan. Drilby has been neutralized and I expect full loyalty from this point forth. As it has been made clear that this is a dangerous spot to take on water, we will now be seeking out Talon Squad who should have more information about the surface of the planet. May Providence shine on us all."

  ***

  Many hundreds of light-years across the galaxy, Farbin circled around the Dragon's Maw that had been completed over Koomia. It was nearly ready to be turned on, and he'd be able to speak to the Council once more. Anxious as he was to hear what their wishes were, his last interaction with Hagan had been strange. The Counselor had sounded frightened. Farbin did not believe that fear was an emotion the Council was capable of. Yet, here he had been sent to a new world, not to conquer it, but to make an alliance with it. The situation was quite the riddle to Farbin, who had little else better to do in his new form than to float across the aether considering riddles.

  A communication came through. It was his newfound ally.

  "World Serpent Farbin, this is Lady Trilia," she said. "My people are telling me that the dragon's maw appears to be nearly complete. Is this true?"

  Farbin made a face of displeasure. Trilia should know nothing of his proceedings, but he was unfamiliar with the strange biological technologies that the Koomites used and supposed that he had been spied on, evidently with some success. He would not forget the insult. These strange beings, neither flesh nor machine, and their impossible, heretical, faster-than-light trees did provide something of a mystery for Farbin. More than that, they provided a future enemy that he looked forward to destroying.

  "Yes," Farbin said, seeing no reason to lie. "The dragon's maw is nearly ready. When it is, the full force of the Drakmundi army will be ready to join with the Koomites in tearing down the useless governments that comprise this corner of the galaxy."

  He ended the communication without further pleasantries or any fanfare. His time was coming, and the galaxy would rue the day. Griffonia in particular.