Arwen gave me a soft smile. “I know you’re worried too, about what to expect down there,” she said. She knew me well enough to understand how my mind functioned. I would’ve loved to have her as a mother, if I were ever to experience the traditional family model—if I’d had the presence of real parents in my life.
“I don’t know what to expect,” I said. “I dread the thought of having to kill Perfects.”
“We may not have another choice,” Deena said. “And it’s not our fault. This is the situation we’re dealing with, and this is the best we can do.”
“Besides, you have the whole of GASP by your side,” Arwen said. “Whatever you need, we’ll do our best to help. Phoenix will be manning the comms line, ready for your instructions. He’ll guide you through the islands, too, if you need additional guidance.”
“Once our people surrender, you’ll have a very brief window of time to do what you have to do,” Phoenix continued. “While you and Araquiel set the explosive charges, Amal and Amane will work on the mass memory wiper, and Rose will manage the prisoner evacuation procedures.”
“With a shock collar around her neck? How’s that going to work?” Angelica asked, slightly confused.
Phoenix grinned. “Amal gave them all the operational codes for those things. They won’t be a problem. Once Rose is in with Derek and the others, they’ll be ready to do their part. It’s all about timing.”
“That’s why Amal didn’t give Derek the codes already,” I reminded Angelica. “They need to be in the diamond dome. All of them. They’ll escape together at once, after we do our job.”
I felt surprisingly optimistic about all this. Knowing how dangerous fate could be, in general, I didn’t dare to voice this optimism. I kept it to myself, fueling me in our endeavor to infiltrate Strava and pretend we were still part of Ta’Zan’s army.
I looked at Uriel, Deena, and Angelica for a brief moment. They all smiled and nodded, signaling that they were ready for takeoff. We were already dressed for the part, in dark blue silk tunics that matched those we’d seen in our video memories. I shifted my focus back to Arwen and Phoenix.
“I think we’re ready to go,” I said.
“Good. Then hop in, and we’ll see you after we win this,” Arwen replied, beaming at me.
I’d already made a promise to her, though she didn’t know it. I was going to do whatever it took to keep her daughter, Kailani, safe, and to bring her back to Calliope and her parents. Under no circumstances could I allow Ta’Zan to get his hands on her and exploit her powers. I couldn’t bear to think of Arwen suffering while her daughter languished in that diamond dome. No. I’m getting you your daughter back, Arwen, because you gave my life back to me.
“I will see you soon,” I said.
“Wait…” Arwen sighed, and wrapped her arms around me, taking me by surprise.
Her embrace felt warm, and it filled me with more determination than I’d thought possible. She didn’t hesitate to hug Angelica, Deena and Uriel. The girls teared up. I figured this was the value of family and love—something we’d not been destined to have, and yet, we got it anyway. I only hoped our brethren would get a chance at such things, too.
One by one, we moved into the shuttle and settled in the pilot chairs. Four sets of controls and commands were needed to operate it once we had to force its course toward Merinos. Outside, Arwen prepared the interplanetary travel spell. I’d yet to fully wrap my head around swamp witch magic, but I did appreciate the principles upon which it functioned.
I made a note to myself to study this stuff in greater detail, provided I survived the oncoming mess. This wasn’t going to be easy, and I was well aware that one or more of us might have to die—sacrifices needed to secure the mission and make sure the others took it to the very end. I was, in fact, ready to give my life, as long as it led to Ta’Zan’s death and the salvation of the Perfects.
As the shuttle trembled, engulfed by the spell’s golden light, then took off and shot through the sky, the four of us braced ourselves for what came next.
“We’re in for a heap of trouble. You know that, right?” Uriel muttered, as the shuttle shuddered and groaned, breaching Calliope’s atmosphere.
It quickly settled, smoothly sailing through the vacuum of cosmos, shooting past the stars and nearby planets as it headed toward the Meahiri galaxy, home of our Strava.
“Yes, but we’re getting our world and our lives back,” I said. “I think it’s worth a scuffle or two.”
They all chuckled, but I knew that we were on the same page. Together, we were going to take our maker down and give our people the freedom to forge their own paths through life—peacefully, and not at the expense of others.
Rose
My pulse drummed in my ears.
We’d synced our watches, and we knew we were two hours away from Ta’Zan’s deadline. Amane had already given me the tiny scrambler and explained what it was for. It was neatly hidden beneath my skin with a quick, last-minute surgery, just to make sure it wouldn’t be found. I knew I’d asked my dad to keep the details of our operation to himself for a reason…
My parents and the other prisoners had already been aware that Ta’Zan might have ears on the dome, so they’d been careful with how and when they talked—the collars didn’t allow for much conversation about rebelling against him, anyway.
Even so, it was better to be prepared than to be caught by surprise. The scrambler sure wasn’t going to hurt us, especially with the comms blockers down—Ta’Zan knew he was at a temporary disadvantage there, and he wasn’t going to let that slide.
With clammy hands and a permanent knot in my stomach, I found Ben in his chamber and brought him into the main hall, as the rest of our “initial” crew gathered around us.
Our bags and weapons were piled up in a corner. We had no use for them, for the time being. We were going to surrender, and we would be lucky if we managed to sneak anything inside our hidden pockets.
There was a certain sense of doom weighing on our shoulders. We had a plan, but it still felt weird. We’d circled and infiltrated the colosseum before, fighting tooth and nail not to end up its prisoners. Yet now, we were doing exactly what we’d tried so hard not to.
The rogue Faulties, led by Herakles, along with Rakkhan and his Draenir, huddled to the side, watching us quietly, their eyes wide and filled with curiosity and concern. Araquiel was by Herakles’s side, his lips pursed and his arms crossed.
“Everyone ready?” I asked, my voice breaking. I cleared my throat, hoping I’d sound a lot more confident the next time I spoke.
The first line of surrender consisted of myself, Ben, Kailani and the rest of our original crew, along with Douma, the Faulty twins and Raphael. They all nodded. Behind them, Draven and Serena, Lumi and the others in their group also confirmed they were ready, as the second line of surrender, according to our plan.
“You all know what you have to do. From prisoners to trusted Faulties and wayward Perfect children,” I added, giving Amal and Amane, then Douma and Raphael a soft smile.
Kallisto raised a hand. “Are you seriously leaving me behind?” she grumbled.
“You’re safer here with Leah and Samael. We’ll tell Ta’Zan we lost you after we heard about the deadline,” I replied. “If you go back to him, the Perfects won’t let you live.”
“Or, if they do let me live, they’ll torture me until I beg them to kill me.” Kallisto sighed. “Yeah, I get it. I just wish I could help you more.”
Amane squeezed her shoulder. “You’ve done enough already, and you know you’ll be out there with the Draenir and our rogues when the time comes. That’ll be enough, trust me.”
“We’ll be okay,” I said, trying to reassure them all. “It’s risky as hell, and there are some unknown variables that might mess with our calculations, but we’re perfectly capable of adjusting to and overcoming anything. We’ve proven that much.”
