Part 10 (2/2)

Torn between his duty to protect the station, and a need to make sure she was all right, he ran to the hangar bay where his fighter was docked.

Hoping to make it out before he got into trouble with his child, he was halfway to his fighter when Talyn and ten of the Andarion guardsmen met up with him.

s.h.i.+t. Fain closed his eyes and ground his teeth at the bad timing.

Of course, Talyn headed straight for him. Because, yeah, that was the kind of luck he had. ”If you have s.h.i.+ps, we can a.s.sist.”

Effing awesome. Either he angered his son or the woman who held his heart in a merciless grip.

You're so screwed, Hauk.

Talyn sneered at his hesitation, misreading its cause. ”We're not going for your throats, old man. We came to defend this station. We're allies who understand that a threat to one is a threat to all. We are Andarion. It's not in us to sit out during a fight. None of my soldiers will shoot down a Tavali fighter.”

”That's not what I was thinking. I was merely considering the sheer number of body parts I'm going to have to fortify with blast armor should your mother catch you in a Tavali c.o.c.kpit.”

The slightest bit of amus.e.m.e.nt quirked Talyn's lips. ”She won't hurt you for this. I'm the one she'll beat.”

Yeah, right. Not after what he'd just witnessed. It was his b.a.l.l.s she'd want on a t.i.tanium platter. ”What about the doctor's orders?” That seemed like the safest excuse Talyn might buy.

”We're not lifting off from a planet. The G-force in a launch tube won't hurt me. It's nothing like escape velocity.”

True, but...

Fain glanced around the Andarions with Talyn, who waited for orders. If he held Talyn back and let them go, it would impugn his authority with his soldiers. Make him look weak and ineffective. On Andaria, that was the worst sort of an insult to a commander.

She's going to geld me.

But he couldn't bring himself to harm Talyn or his reputation.

Knowing he was screwed, Fain jerked his chin toward his personal fighter that was faster and more maneuverable than most. ”She's fueled and ready to launch. I'll a.s.sign s.h.i.+ps to the others. What's your call sign?”

”Pit Viper.”

Horrified, Fain went stock-still at the last name he'd expected to hear. The main reason being he'd thought Viper was long dead.

That familiar sick feeling returned to his gut. ”Viper-Ichi?”

A snide smile toyed at the edges of Talyn's mouth before he answered. ”Yeah... nice to finally meet you, Blister.”

Minsid h.e.l.l. His son was the archenemy he'd once put a fierce bounty on with The Tavali. They'd faced off many, many times in battle.

Until about seven years ago when the Porturnum, at Fain's direction and under his direct command, had ambushed Viper and brought him down in one of the worst firefights Fain had ever been in.

Now, he understood why Galene had broken down the way she had. They'd blasted Talyn's s.h.i.+p apart with a weapon Darling had specifically designed for the trap they'd laid. How the h.e.l.l Talyn had survived it, only the G.o.ds knew. Nothing but genetic fragments should have been left of him.

That alone said it all about his son's superior skills as a pilot.

Talyn leaned forward to whisper, ”Don't worry, old man. I never told her who shot me down. I'm Andarion. I don't hold grudges in war. We're soldiers. We know when we don the uniform what we're risking.” Talyn stepped back and turned toward the young major who'd approached him on the Storm Dancer. ”Reaper, you're with me. No heroics.”

Reaper. The other pilot Fain had been h.e.l.l-bent to send to his maker.

And he was just a kid now. He must have been an infant in that firefight.

Pain racked him hard while he watched Talyn's uneven gait as his son headed for the fighter Fain had been flying when he'd brutally a.s.saulted Talyn and no doubt given him that limp.

Worse? He'd meant to kill him that day.

In that moment, Fain wished Galene had shot him in the head on his arrival. Anything to save him from this pain and knowledge.

How could I have harmed my own child?

Disgusted with himself, he was headed toward Dancer's fighter when he heard someone let out a shrill catcall whistle.

”Own that walk, s.e.xy Baby T!”

Talyn stopped midstride.

For the first time, Fain saw the boy really smile, at the sound of Morrtalah Deathblade's voice. ”Morra!”

As soon as she reached him, Talyn gave the extremely tiny female a fierce hug.

The green-skinned Phrixian was so small, she looked like a toy doll in Talyn's ma.s.sive arms. She buried her hand in his braids and kissed his cheek before she finally released him.

Frowning, Talyn glanced around the bay. ”Where's Qory?”

”Still en route to base. He won't arrive for a few more days.” She tugged at Talyn's Andarion flightsuit. ”Don't worry, precious. I'll make sure and keep that cute bottom of yours intact for Lish and your mom.”

Fain watched the easy way the Phrixian interacted with his son as they crossed the bay to their fighters. She even held on to Talyn's pinkie and swung his arm as they walked. He envied her that casual friends.h.i.+p. The ability to make Talyn's stern features soften ever so slightly as they bantered. It was obvious Talyn liked her a great deal.

Sighing with regret, he showed the other Andarions to s.h.i.+ps before he climbed into Dancer's fighter that had been delivered a few days ago when his brother had agreed to stay here and help him get settled back in.

When Fain called for clearance, he realized Galene had taken control of the battle. The sound of her voice in the background did the strangest things to his breathing. Her voice was deeper than most females'. And she'd always liked to issue orders to everyone. It had driven her siblings crazy. Made his older brother furious to be around her. Keris couldn't stand it and had b.i.t.c.hed anytime Galene visited.

Strangely, Fain had never minded. He'd always liked the fact that she was open and quite verbal with her needs and wants. There was no guessing with her. No games.

And as was evidenced by the hole in his chest, she didn't pull punches. With her, he'd always known exactly where he stood. I have to be a sick b.a.s.t.a.r.d to find that charming. Yet he did. It was one of the best things about her.

Not wanting to think about that, he launched with his squadron and did a quick search for Talyn's position. His heart raced as he realized his son was already in the thickest part of the fighting.

Sheez, no wonder Galene had been so insistent Talyn stay out of the battle. Had he intentionally gone for the worst of it? There was no other explanation for how much heat the boy was already taking.

Without thinking, Fain headed straight to Talyn's side to try and protect him as best he could. At this point, League fighters were everywhere. Of course, some of that was probably due to the a.s.sault Venik had made the day before on one of their outposts. The Tavali leader was using this war for his own profiteering. Until now, Fain hadn't minded. But as he saw his son narrowly escaping a blast that would have killed him had it made contact with his s.h.i.+p, he was resenting the h.e.l.l out of it. Especially when it dawned on him that none of Ven's children were in this fight. Two of them were tucked in the command center with Galene, and Ven's daughters and their crew were safely across the galaxy. Not even Ven was out here for the battle.

That was bulls.h.i.+t. Fain had never put anyone into a fight he wasn't willing to partic.i.p.ate in himself. That was the move of a politician, and War Hauks were anything but.

Something proven more than true as he watched Talyn's brazen skills. He was both proud and horrified by how fast his boy maneuvered in battle.

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