Dynah Battleship, Third Quadrant, Andromeda Galaxy.

Amaryah

The ship buzzed with activity, everyone scuttled around busy with one task or another. They were on The Dynah, as it currently sped toward the first quadrant. Her stomach was a ball of knots. She'd been visiting the library and meeting with Mara to discuss what she should expect, she didn't want any big surprises. She wanted to be an asset and not a hindrance to her unit. Mara had helped her immensely with information that she'd wanted to know, apparently, she had an unending patience when it came to discussing battle. The serious and intimidating warrior was warming up to her as they spent more time together. Her smiles were still a rare thing though.

Mya was currently with Nezerra who paced a room in the medic bay. She'd been busy helping Yavik prepare for any casualties that would occur during the attack and had been caught unawares when Nezerra stomped into the, gripped her arm and dragged her way.

"I can't believe they still want to treat me like a youngling!" she walked the length of the small cubicle.

Mya watched warily from the corner of the room, allowing Nezerra to vent.

"I want to be in the battle, I want to defend my home." she spat a curse and turned toward Mya, "Can you talk to him about this?"

Mya inhaled sharply; this was not a fight she wanted to be involved in. "Nezze, you know he's trying to keep you safe... and you're head of negotiations and resolutions, you could be needed on the ship."

Nezerra eyes narrowed, "I can fight, very well... and... well...Quang can take care of it."

"Quang?" Mya's interest was piqued, it was the same Vorreth that she'd seen her talking with at her post-mating celebration.

Nezerra looked down, suddenly coy, "Yes, he is the emissary for his home world, our ally. He can step in for negotiations if need be."

Mya hummed in agreement, taking note of the change in Nezerra's demeanor when speaking about Quang, "Talk to Azazel about it, if he convinces Mara then you're good to go."

Nezerra groaned and flopped into a soft chair near a resting pod, it skidded backwards from her weight, "I am just as capable as all of them, and I am going to fight this time no matter what."

Nezerra shot up from her chair and left the room as Mya was formulating a response. She sighed and shook her head. She'd tried to have the conversation with Zogan about his little sister and it had not gone anywhere. He believed Nezerra was safest on the ship and Mara was worse. She wanted Nezerra at home safely with their parents. But Mya knew that Azazel was the only one who could sway the ruthless lieutenant and she was certain that if Nezerra got to him he would find a way to get her onto the battlefield with her sister's blessing.

She left the cubicle and rejoined Yavik relaying the situation to him, he immediately responded with a suggestion that she go to Ravanna.

Mya smiled, "How are you and Ravanna?"

She couldn't resist meddling, she just had to know.

Yavik's fimbriae gave a little jig, and his cheeks dusted a dark pink, "We are well."

Oh, he is so cute and easy to read, thought Mya, her smile spreading as she worked on organizing the medical supplies before her. "Is he treating you well? Is it official yet? Did you-"

Yavik laughed, "He is really something, very different I'll tell you that."

"But...?" prompted Mya, her cheesy smile still in place was mirrored by Yavik who had learned a great deal of expressions from her.

"But he is amazing, we are not official ... I am still getting to know him," he paused in his work and turned toward Mya, "he has difficulty opening up."

Mya could only imagine, Ravanna was quiet and reserved, but she suspected that he had a lot of love to give if prompted by the right person. She hoped Yavik could be what he needed but above all she wanted them both to be happy. They were so different, Yavik with his bubbly, and infectious optimism. Ravanna with his stoicism and quiet brooding. Perhaps they would be just right for each other and balance out the other.

"I know, but make sure that you are happy... in all that you're doing, okay?"

"I will, you are always there to remind me of that." They both worked in silence for a time.

"You are truly a great friend to me Mya." said Yavik as he moved to the back of the large room to check on the healing tanks. The same type that had nursed her leg back to perfection.

Her heart squeezed, "And you are that and more to me Yavik."

They quickly finished their work as an overhead hologram chimed, it was almost time for lunch. They then headed to the food station to eat their fills.

It took five days to reach the gateway to the Ajal world, Seethkar. It was before the ship in a swirling mass of dark gaseous clouds, they spiraled towards each other in a ravenous cycle.

"We're going to fly into that?" asked Mya.

She was in the control room and peered over at Zogan from her seat beside Azazel. Zogan's eyes were fixed on the holograms before him searching for threats, his fingers moving rapidly across them entering in commands. He sat in the center of the room surrounded by holograms and panels; seated warriors orbited him at their workstations. He was dressed in his formal commander suit, and to Mya he looked extremely tempting in it.

"It's the only way to get close to their world without detection, they won't be expecting it... we hope." whispered Nezerra, she was adjusting the transmitter before her, her team clustered around her workstation hard at work in their booths as they all communicated with the present allies.

They were joined by many other species, two of which Mya had encountered already, the Qai and the Vorreth. She hadn't met any of the others yet as communication was being primarily carried out over the transmitters.

Mya'd just completed her training sequence for the day and had taken up residence in the control room to help Azazel's weapons command team. Since she'd shown an affinity for air warfare she'd begged and found a way to weasel onto the team. Azazel snorted when he noticed her, his eyes shining with approval. She itched to learn as much as she could, and as always, her blood sang when she got her hands on machinery of any kind. Their team set up was right next to Nezerra's.

"Brace for entry." Zogan's voice came over the speakers throughout the ship.

A loud series of beeps sounded and there was a whooshing sound as the engines were powered up. Mya snapped her eyes to the hologram before her and scanned for threats. According to the holos nothing waited for them on the other side. Hopefully, the systems were accurate in the face of the energy of the gasses before them.

The ship shuddered violently, and Mya gripped the arms of her seat. The lights flickered off and more loud beeps pierced the silence in the room. When they came on again Mya blinked. The screen panel wrapping around the front and sides of the ship showed an asteroid field. Hunks of rock floating in a lazy swirling formation before their ship host. It was littered with pieces of metal and objects that were wholly foreign to Mya. Lights of reds and blues swirled in the distance.

In the midst of the swirling mess before them was a planet. It looked a rusted red, with lines of orange light cutting a swirling design on its surface. It glowed like earthly fires. But it was something closer to lava that ran freely over the surface of the world – according to the reading Mya had done on her journey. Her eyes travelled over the planet. It was not a sphere, its shape showed that a third of the world had been ripped away. Mya gulped; they'd finally reached their destination.

************

She stood in the gear room with her team, Azazel, Mara, Zogan, Ravanna and two other warriors she'd been trained with. One of which was a female Nvit – Aishmi, who'd gone against the grain of her species and like Mya had excelled in her training sect. She pulled on her camouflage power suit. It fit her snuggly, its texture reminding her of the scales on her kyeet. Her limbs instantly felt more powerful and lighter. They would not be wearing their heavier armored suits, their planned path not allowing for such protection, it would slow them too much. She clicked her space suit cylinder between her upper shoulder blades.

This time she was allowed to choose her own weapons, and she chose carefully. Claiming the powerful but lightweight blasters, her favorite daggers and sword she strapped them to her hips and thighs. Her eyes caught on a glove, it was lined with silver-red metal and as she examined it her finger swiped over a raised knob, her eyes widened as four-inch-long claws flicked out from its fingertips. A wicked smile spread across her face; this was definitely hers.

The atmosphere in their room was loaded with anticipation, everyone was ready for this to be over, to get on with their lives, to live in peace again. The war had been ongoing for ten years, Mya could not even imagine the loss and devastation that had been caused by the scourge that was the Ajal and the Zon. Her heart ached for the children and families that had been torn apart by their senseless greed, and even though she'd only found her new home some months ago she was ready for it all to end too.

All teams of warriors were to assemble in the conference room of the ship, with allies joining in via comm broadcasts. Everyone dripped with weaponry and various colors of the armor suits of other teams each indicating function and rank. Mya stopped near the raised dais in the center of the room, Zogan and Mara stood on it, Mara taking a military stance, eyes sweeping the room - assessing the warriors no doubt.

Zogan was now in his combat wear, the same hooded form that she'd seen in the sanctuary, but his family crest snake-beast slithered down the length of his sleeved arms, in a swirl of deep glowing blue. It showed the same on Mara's, Azazel's, and Mya's. Pride burned in her chest. To be a part of such a strong family, and to be mated to such a magnificent male, one who stood for his people and those were unable to protect themselves. She was honored to be his partner.

The low murmurs in the rooms quieted as Zogan began to speak.

"You know why we are here," he looked down at them all, his voice was sharp and measured capturing the attention of all gathered, "The Ajal declared war ten anums ago, and we have been slow to answer...many have suffered, lost family and friends and for this I apologize." There was a heavy pause, he walked the length of the raised platform as he spoke. "This here is our answer, this is our chance at redemption... our chance at revenge. This is our voice," he turned, his eyes wholly black, his voice gone guttural, "We will make sure that it is heard, loud and clear."

Loud howls and ululating filled the room. Mya joining in, caught up in the simmering rage that swept across the crowd. When it quieted down Mara took the time to list each team and their purpose in the world waiting for them, ensuring everyone understood their role with Zogan offering input. The crowd listening raptly. This was the last time for now that they would all be together, safe, in the conference room. Hopefully, the next time would be to celebrate the end of the war.

In the control room she strapped into her seat once more, everyone's eyes were glued to the panel screen that revealed the littered space before the ships. Its holograms and projections showing the location of their allies and the absence of enemies. The pilots were carrying them deftly through the spinning asteroids and junk, making the complex maneuvers they carried out seem easy. The ship carried out the movements smoothly, perfectly honed works of engineering.

Seethkar rose before them, a giant misshapen planet. The ships were shielded, no detection was supposed to be possible, although, somehow, they'd been found out on the Zon headquarters, so everyone held their breath as they descended into Seethkar's atmosphere. Orange thin clouds swirled around and over the screen, and soon an arid, rock strewn land came into view. There were rivulets of the red-orange liquid flowing across the surface. The atmosphere of Seethkar was not accommodating to any of the known life forms within the Andromeda galaxy. The Ajal had completely destroyed it with their mining and poisonous emissions. They dwelled underground, in a complex city that tunneled toward the core of their planet.

The Dynah sailed over the land below, a steady low beeping sounding throughout the room. The surveillance – monitoring for threats. The ground soon gave way to a large swirling mass of metal projecting from the dirt. It reached into the air like a spear with a disk paced on top. A landing pad for airships.

Azazel flicked up a switch before him and typed in a code. The holograms before him switched from a soft white to a red that illuminated the shadows of his face. A soft whirring sounded and then a long beep. Mya watched transfixed as a small glowing light shot from their ship and charged forward, heading straight towards the landing pad. Its impact was silent as it disappeared into the metallic shape. Her forehead creased in confusion.

Nezerra whispered, "Wait for it."

A small smile was on the princess' face, her eyes fixed onto the screen.

A large white bubble bloomed from the structure and grew to encompass the dirt around it too. Mya shielded her eyes as the bubble burst and a wave of light spread from it, the ship rocking in its wake.

When she looked up again there was nothing where the landing pad had stood, only a large crater in its place. Poisonous atmospheric gasses streamed into whatever was underneath the ground. The ships zoomed forward, weapons ready and descended into the world waiting below.