I watched as my crew raised their weapons, checking the surroundings. A field, though, looked like it once held wheat was nothing more than barren land of dead grass. Crows circled us like vultures waiting to pick us off the moment we collapse. I shuddered and glanced at my crew. They were looking up at the sky. Good, they’re alert.

  “Captain Becha? What is this place?” Terrance muttered. “The crows aren’t acting like crows.”

  “That’s because this planet doesn’t have vultures—these are their vultures, not the ugly birds that we’re used to back home.”

  “Cadence has it right,” I replied. “This planet is called Xaniax-21. We’re right in the middle of Praetorian.”

  “So, how do we get out of here?” Terrance gestured to the endless field. “There’s nothing.”

  I sighed. “Well, first of all, we need to get our bearings. Then, we walk until we reach the end of the field and blend in.”

  “Right, right. So, which direction are we going to walk?”

  I pointed towards the direction away from the sun. “That way,” I said. Then, I turned to Terrance. “Keep alert. Don’t die. We have until the sun sets to find a shelter, or a ship.”

  He nodded, his expression serious. The cut over his eye, he got from the fight, had finally stopped bleeding.

  I raised my head and turned to the rest of my remaining crew. Solan, Brie, Krys and Trent. “Come on. We’ve got work to do.”

  ***

  The walk through the dry grassy field was like trying to step through a live minefield. Holes were dug every other foot, too small to be a rabbit, too shallow to be a mole. I thought maybe a badger. The blades of grass were sharp, making entirely too much noise as we wade through them.

  Finally, we made it to a small shelter, just as the last dying light dimmed out.

  The shelter wasn’t much. It was a little larger than a shed but a lot smaller than a barn. It didn’t have any necessities, but it had a roof and a door. For the moment, at least, it would keep them out of sight until the morning light.

  “Everyone gather up!” I called out, making sure that my voice cut through the ramble of conversation and concerns. “We’ll be sleeping in shifts. We’ll each have four hours. In that time, we’ll have enough sleep to get through to see us off this planet.”

  “And what then?” Krys demanded. “We have to make them pay.”

  “You think we’re in any condition to do that right now?” I challenged. “To get off this planet, we are going to need our ships back. And then, we’ll take one of theirs to replace the one they destroyed. But we’re not killing innocents over this.”

  “These people…” she gestured angrily to the door, “they are not—“

  “These people who are living their lives on-planet, are not the people who shot us down and took our destroyers.”

  She closed her mouth, scowling silently, half her face hidden beneath purple curls. She tightened her grip around the handle of her gun, then turned away.

  I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. “Their base has to be nearby. Before the sunrise, we need to make sure we’re on our ships and out of there. The Zadriel is our priority. The rest of them, if we can get them too, is added bonus.”

  “What’s on the ship?” Solan asked.

  “Cargo,” I told him with practiced confidence. “And we have until the next sunset to deliver.”

  Stolen novel; please report.

  “How dangerous is it?” Trent’s voice was a near whisper. His adjusted his black jacket draped over his figure. His sharp features defined by the orange sun’s glow.

  He had good instincts. It was why I requested him on my crew.

  “The cargo, or the people?” I asked, raising an eyebrow, and my eyes met his.

  “The cargo.”

  I let the question sit for a minute before responding. “The cargo is not dangerous. It’s not a weapon or anything like that, but it is valuable. And…” I sighed, already feeling the fight drain from my body, the adrenaline finally dying down, “I suspect it’s why they took the ship in the first place. The rest, the destroyer fleet, was to make sure we couldn’t fight back.”

  Trent hesitated, his mouth open and closing, looking for the words. His thumb ran over the ridges of the gun, as he thought. I waited. Then, he spoke. “Claude? Where do we need to deliver it?”

  I looked at him, my face set like stone. “Tol’an 5.”

  The silence that followed sucked the air out of that room. They’d all heard the stories. War, Tyranny, and the visitors that never left the planet. It made the Ranax looked like a spa retreat.

  ***

  We left just as the first light peered over the horizon, tired but ready to go.

  We found her on the far edge of the field almost an hour later. Krys pulled out her binoculars and peered into what appeared to be a base.

  I looked through the binoculars to take a look myself. They were carrying cargo in and out of the ships. Some were small, others looked like big enough boxes to contain anything but food or resources.

  “Let’s get our ship back. We have about twenty minutes to grab what we need. It’s a tight window, but between them loading and unloading whatever they’re stocking, we have time to grab our ships and leave. Fire your weapons only if completely necessary. We don’t want to start a galactic war.”

  They nodded in agreement, a silent reminder of what was at stake.

  “Let’s go.”

  We made our way on to the base. The gravel beneath our feet crunched with each step, announcing our presence. I prayed silently that they’d be too busy to hear us. I pointed to the doors, where a large metallic lock hung. It was closed but not locked in place. They had left in a hurry.

  The ships were unguarded. We each took back our ships and turned the ignition. The moment the engines spurred into life, guards burst through the doors and blocked our path.

  “You’re not going anywhere with those.”

  I almost laughed. They’d been waiting.

  Before I could say anything, Krys was already out of her vehicle, her gun aimed directly at the guards.

  “Back up before I shoot!”

  The bigger guard lunged towards her, missing as she side-stepped the attack. He took out his own weapon, the glowing red dot sat between her eyes. “You can’t beat me, lady. You don’t have the muscle.”

  She span on her heels, and fired her first shot, hitting him in the shoulder. He screamed and fired back. It missed her by less than an inch, grazing her left ear. She fired again, squarely in the chest. He clutched his wound, falling to the ground. The other guards rushed towards us. As if she had just realised what she had done, she scrambled back into her vehicle, and the engine burst into life. The roar echoed across the base like an alarm waking the dead.

  “I suggest you move out of the way,” I said, speaking through my intercom. “Unless, you would like to be run over.”

  They hesitated but remained rooted to the ground. I shrugged.

  “All right then.”

  I slowly inched towards them, the wheels scrunching on the stones. The Praetorian soldiers looking up as we slowly approached them. I flicked on the switches on the dashboard and set the destination. I really should have checked the cargo to make sure it was still there. Too late for that now. “Five seconds,” I warned again. “Are you sure you don’t want to move out of the way?”

  They remained rooted.

  “Four…”

  The leader held his gun with shaking hands and pointed it towards me. “I will shoot you.”

  “Bullet proof glass, moron.”

  I changed gear, up to second. The rest of the militants moved out the way, panic now spread throughout the base. The leader inched out of the way, only a little. I smiled.

  Then, flashed the lights three times. Our signal we have always used on these missions. Our engines roared into life and we took off. My ears popped as we broke above the clouds, and then up to the nearest space station.

  I held my breath, walking towards the cargo bay. I prayed the large container was still fasten to the ship walls. It was. Then, I frowned, stepping forward as my eyes fixed on the crooked lid on top of the box. Someone had opened it. My blood ran cold. I slid the lid off the rest of the box and looked inside. It was untouched, except for a small device attached to the top. A tracker. I snatched it from the modified booster and carried it into the trash shoot and pushed the button. Next time, they won’t see us coming.