For Xaleyp, it was another boring trip through hyperspace spent sitting in his quarters. After the second day, and countless times of resisting the urge to talk to Mian, he grew restless but didn’t know what else to do. The gym on one of the lower levels proved useful for the first day but even that grew stale. Evangeline—he would have to remember to call her Eve—still hadn’t come to see him, nor had she given him any indication of what she wanted to talk about, but just the thought of it gave him at least something to look forward to.

His mind frequently returned to what the Chancellor told him, that they wanted to dismantle the current galactic order. Maybe the man hadn’t put it in such fiery words as those, but the meaning was the same, and, regardless, Xaleyp wanted to be a part of it. Maybe then he would be able to protect those he saw fit, those who had been forgotten about under the incompetent leadership he’d been forced to follow, those like Lina.

He laid back on the bed, one leg flat against the smooth sheet and the other bent at the knee, tossing a small silicone ball against the wall, letting it bounce off and come back to him. Each repetitive bounce brought him closer to some semblance of peace. At least so he thought, until a chime sounded at his door to indicate someone was there.

“Come in,” he called out, still bouncing the ball.

The door hissed open and revealed Evangeline. She glanced around the room, perhaps checking if he was alone, before entering and sitting in the chair at the desk. Her eyes followed the path of the ball for several moments without speaking, and one of her feet quickly but quietly tapped on the floor.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything important,” she finally said, tearing her gaze off the ball and staring at him. “I really need to talk to you, if you have a moment.”

“What about?” he asked. He caught the ball and sat up, crossing his legs and staring at her.

“This is going to sound strange, and you’re going to think I’m completely mental when I say it, but something told me that I could trust you. Just a weird feeling I had, you know?” Her words were fast and jumbled together, her arms gesticulating wildly as she spoke. When she saw the look of confusion on his face, however, she stopped and slowed down, as if trying to carefully choose her words. “I’m not who you think I am. I mean, I am Evangeline Plenskach, that much is true, and I did use to be in the Arcadian military. But my father is Castellian Nevermoor, cousin of Lissinius and distantly related to Tober Delargivic.”

Xaleyp didn’t know what to say. He simply sat there, tapping a finger on the ball and pursing his lips in thought. She stared back at him, her mouth open in an expression that told him she was waiting for him to answer her. After several tense, quiet moments, she took a deep breath and shook her head.

“I wanted to talk to you to warn you about what’s coming, or rather, that they know that we’re coming. It’s not going to be as simple as it seems, and a lot of people are going to get hurt, possibly die, because of us.”

“I’ve watched too many people die in front of me to worry about a few more.” Xaleyp’s voice was filled with an ice that he didn’t intend for, but he knew deep down that he meant the words. “I’m not going to call off this mission just because of some cryptic warning you give me without any facts to back it up. This needs to happen, or…”

“Or what?” Eve leaned forward in the chair, clasping her hands together and intertwining her fingers. “What is so important about this that you need to do it, even at the risk of innocent lives?”

“Because innocent lives have already been lost. They need to be avenged, and this is how I can do that.”

“And what do you think will happen once you complete this mission with Secretary Nevermoor? The Arcadians will just roll over and say, ‘Oh, well, better luck next time?’” She scoffed and sat back in the chair, throwing her hands up. “You are perpetuating a never-ending cycle. They do something, you need to get revenge, then they need to get revenge. When does the violence end? How many people need to die before you say enough’s enough? Where do you draw the line?”

“The Arcadians drew the line when they killed Lina!” Xaleyp’s voice echoed in the small room, and he threw the ball away, letting it bounce off the wall and disappear into one of the corners. Eve flinched at the noise but otherwise remained impassive at his outburst. His breathing was heavy and ragged as he stood there, looking down at her. “They started all of this to begin with, and I’m going to be the one to end it, no matter what it takes.”

“All I’m saying,” Eve said, keeping her voice calm and steady, “is that violence is not always the answer, and sometimes it’s harder to forgive than to take revenge. But it is important to remember that sometimes forgiveness is what we need in the galaxy, not revenge. I’ll leave it at that. I delivered my message, so it’s off my conscience, and you can do what you wish with the information. I’ll see you in the hangar when we’re heading for the surface.”

She took a deep breath and stood, turning smoothly to the door and walking out without waiting for him to reply. In the silence that was left with her absence, Xaleyp considered her words. She was right, he knew that much, even if he didn’t want to admit it to her face—regardless of how long he knew her. There was no chance that the Arcadians would take a high profile kidnapping laying down, but if it got him one step closer to avenging Lina…

No, the Arcadians started this with their reckless attack at Vertyn, with the destruction of the Royal Carrier, with the murder of Lina. This mission to abduct the secretary was just a stepping stone putting him on the path to revenge. He would be a harbinger of retribution, no matter what it took.

With each breath he took, an image seemed to reappear before his eyes, as if goading him on and convincing him he was on the right path. Lina sitting in the dorm, laughing with him. The explosion and the door shutting her out of the transport. Her disappearing in a cascade of metal and dust and fire. Then, finally, the last message he received, and the last wave goodbye she would ever give him. Fresh, hot tears came to his eyes as each memory came and went in a cycle, like a stream left on repeat. His fingernails dug into his palm, and he wished that he had the ball—or anything, for that matter—to squeeze or hit or throw, something to unleash his frustration.

While Xaleyp was still attempting to get his breathing under control, a message came through on his CAM from Ardus.

Willing to accept any interruption to his thoughts, he hurried out the door, not worrying about the fact that he was wearing a pair of sleep fatigues. The halls were empty, and he quickly found his way to the lift and the bridge. When the door opened, the area appeared no different than the last time he visited a few days prior, and the Director was standing off to the right, looking over a technician’s shoulder. As the door hissed shut once more, Ardus looked up and excused himself, patting the sitting man on the shoulder as he walked away.

“Xaleyp, good to see you so quickly.” The Director walked up and shook Xaleyp’s hand before half dragging, half leading him to the center of the bridge. “Now, like I mentioned, we need to go over a few things. Specifically, what kind of security we expect.”

They walked to opposite sides of the hexagonal table in the center of the room, and Ardus pressed a button to make the familiar spire-like fortress appear in midair. Ardus flicked his finger over the image and shrink it, showing the surrounding land and the edge of the city to one side. A few boxes appeared, one at the city wall, one at the fortress, and another coming from off of the picture. Before Xaleyp could ask, Ardus began explaining what each meant.

“Now, this one is for the guard post on site. About a hundred guards throughout the complex, constant patrols, but pretty lax during guard shifts. They change around the same times every day: six in the morning, two in the afternoon, and ten at night. Hit during one of these times, and there should be enough confusion for your team to sneak in unnoticed.”

Xaleyp found it difficult for him to concentrate after the conversation he had with Evangeline. If the Arcadians already knew that they were going to be attacking, what did it matter when they attacked anyway? Besides, how could she just act like Lina didn’t matter so easily? He lightly shook his head to clear, hoping Ardus wouldn’t notice, and grasped the edge of the table with both hands.

“There’s also a security force on standby for threats at potential high value targets around the planet able to respond to any threat within half an hour. Of course, Nevermoor Hold is one of the closest HVTs, so they can respond within five to ten minutes. About a thousand soldiers on constant standby, so be ready for a fight.”

He flicked the image closer to the last box from off screen, and it shifted the view to the spaceport in New Alexandria.

“Now, there’s a military airbase just outside of the spaceport. They have two frigates and a destroyer stationed there at all times. If things begin to look really hairy, they’re going to deploy these. Your goal is to get in and out before they think about deploying them, otherwise we might as well say goodbye now. Any questions?”

Xaleyp shook his head, unsure of what questions to even ask.

“Then onto the plan. You’ll be taking enough Nova starfighters for your squad to get into the planet and meet a group of God’s Machine in a small town outside the fortress. Should be a few hundred in all. They’re going to harry the guards to give your team the opportunity it needs to get in unseen.” He moved his hand through the image and brought it back to the fortress. It zoomed in to enlarge the area and a small circle showing a tunnel door sprouted from beneath the building. “This here is the sewer entrance on the west side of the mountain. It’s what your team is going to use to infiltrate the compound. It will lead you directly to the kitchen—” the image moved and highlighted the path to illustrate the point “—and from there, you will ascend to the top office, where Secretary Nevermoor will be holed up. Once you have her, a transport will meet you at the window, where you will have a very short window to get her on and yourselves out. Sounds simple enough, right?”

“Easy for you to say.” Xaleyp looked over the tunnel as if he had any inkling of an idea of what to be looking for. “You’re the one who’s going to stay nice and cozy up here. I’m going to be down there getting my feet wet in incredibly hostile territory.”

“Well, being in my position has a few perks.” He flicked the screen to bring up an image of a woman. She had dark chestnut hair with graying roots, and her cheekbones were prominent under her aged eyes. Wrinkles ran around her face, disappearing into her lips. “This is Lissinius Nevermoor. She’s the one that you’ll be capturing and bringing back here to the Starkiller and extraction to Siatia. Any last questions?”

“I don’t know.” Xaleyp’s eyes danced over her face as he tried to think if there was anything else he wanted to know. Truth be told, having never done this before, he didn’t even know what he should know. Then he considered what they had encountered when he first went to Arcadia with Seth, Redman, and Mian. “How are we supposed to get past the blockade into the planet?”

“Ah, that’s my job to worry about.” Seeing the look of confusion, Ardus felt the need to elaborate, albeit somewhat begrudgingly. “It will be handled, and you will have plenty of time to sneak in without them being any the wiser, don’t worry. Now, if you don’t have any other questions, I would suggest you get your team assembled and to the hangar. We’re here.”

As he finished the sentence, the ship jerked out of hyperspace and revealed the planet of Arcadia with the familiar rings and blockade around the outside.