Reclan was shocked at the sound of laughter that echoed through the canyon. It was the laughter of two men–Vanbrook and Darvik. She looked up from the cave where she was tinkering with Doc's wiring to see the two men walking down towards them. Vanbrook had a large, goat-like creature slung over his shoulders, and the two were smiling with the joy of the hunt.

  As they reached the cave, they immediately began setting up a small fire out in the open and creating a rough spit from timber they had cut from some of the larger shrubs in the area.

  "Well, looks like that went well," said Reclan.

  "Yeah," agreed Vanbrook. "Looks like maybe the mountains are a slightly more hospitable place than the rest of the planet."

  "That's good to know," said Reclan with a nod.

  "Any luck with your projects?" asked Vanbrook.

  She shrugged. "Well, Doc's legs are just going to be a little weak until he gets to see an actual robosmith. It's been nothing but silence on the radio," she said, jerking her thumb back towards her comm unit.

  Just then, the unit buzzed to life. A voice came through. It was faint at first, but grew in clarity as it spoke. "Talon Squad, hello, come in, Talon Squad. This is the Wingspan."

  Reclan scrambled over to the unit to respond. "Triflin, is that you?" she said.

  "Yeah, it's me," said Triflin. "You guys are alright?"

  "Yes, yes," said Reclan.

  "Sorry, we weren't able to locate you," said Triflin, "I'm afraid we were parked on the opposite side of the planet, Talon Squad, and were unable to reach you for some time."

  "Why'd you do that?" said Reclan.

  "Oh, there was a mutiny. It was a whole thing," said Triflin nonchalantly. "We'll explain later. For now, can we come and land the Wingspan at your location?"

  "A mutiny!?” exclaimed Reclan. “You’ll have to fill us in later. Right, landing zone… yes, you should be able to land here, but there are some seriously large predators down here."

  "Well, the Wingspan has some seriously large guns, and we have to land somewhere," said Triflin.

  "Fair enough," answered Reclan. "Hone in on our position, and then land in the plains just south of our position."

  "Will do," said Triflin. "We'll be there shortly."

  ***

  Aboard the Wingspan, Hunt found himself on the bridge with Drixen, Triflin, and Dekken. He looked hard at Dekken, who had a hard time meeting his eyes.

  "You're back in command now, Admiral," said the Raki. "If it's your pleasure, I'll return to the brig myself."

  "Chief Officer Dekken," said Hunt. "You are one of my finest officers, which is why I can tell you what I can't tell the crew, at least not directly. I've done something unforgivable here. I've taken sailors out into the aether against orders and without their consent. I am hopeful that time will prove me right in my decisions, but to you I will admit that I am riddled with doubts."

  Dekken nodded, and Hunt continued. "However, this is no time to allow our petty differences to get in the way of the mission. So tell me, Dekken. You know the full story. Can you follow me?"

  "To the very ends of the aether, Admiral," answered Dekken.

  Hunt smiled wanly. "In that case, please report to the engine room. Who knows what kind of trouble Drilby managed to start up while we were imprisoned."

  Dekken snapped a smart salute. "Yes, sir. I'll make sure that we're ready to make the next jump. Just tell me when and where, sir."

  Hunt nodded. "Thank you, Officer Dekken."

  A few hours later, the Wingspan had managed to traverse the surface of the planet and landed in the northern tip of the open plains just south of Talon Squad's position. Having been warned about the dangerous creatures living in the lake, Hunt sent a sizable security team along with the engineers who set up the water pumps.

  Shortly after they arrived, Talon Squad rode down out of the hills in their ATUC. Hunt stepped down out of the Wingspan to greet them.

  "Welcome back, Talon Squad," he said.

  "Sounds like you had quite the adventure," said Vanbrook.

  "Nothing compared to yours, I'm sure," said Hunt. He began to sniff the air curiously. "Do I smell roasted meat?"

  Vanbrook grinned sheepishly. "We weren't sure how long we were going to be down here," he said. "If you'd like to try some, it's not bad. A little tough from being a mountain climbing species, but not bad."

  Hunt shook his head. "I think I'm alright for now, Specialist. Now, where did you say the shuttle was?"

  Vanbrook rubbed the back of his neck. "Whatever's left of it is just a short way south of here."

  "Well," said the Admiral, "we'd best go pick up what we can. I've lost a few sailors already. I prefer to lose no more than absolutely necessary."

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  The cargo ramp of the Wingspan was lowered and Reclan drove up and parked the ATUC in the hangar, strapping it down for flight. Talon Squad settled back into their regular quarters shortly thereafter. The engineers got to work setting up the water pumps in the lake’s edge and soon as there was enough water taken on that the Wingspan was ready to fly again. The first task now complete, the Wingspan made a short trip and was soon parked by the busted and overturned shuttle.

  Accompanied by Talon Squad, a team of engineers was dispatched to see what they could do about the situation. The shuttle was largely stripped on the inside. Many cabinets had been torn open by anxious beasts or beaks. Things lay scattered all around the deck and sides. Talon Squad and the engineers got to work securing everything aboard the shuttle.

  After a few hours of tinkering, the engineering team managed to get the thrusters partially back online with the help of spare parts from the Wingspan's workshop. "If only we had a decent support ship along, we'd have had all the pieces we needed and more to get this thing fully functional again," said Dekken. "For the time being, however, I think this will have to do."

  Firing up the thrusters, they managed to take the weight off of the shuttle. The engineering team's ATUC was used to pull the shuttle back into the hangar where it was parked, locked down, and set to be repaired shortly.

  As they were boarding, Vanbrook saw a flash of yellow in the foliage as the jungle tyrant lurked nearby and scowled. "I'd like to tell the gunners to blow that thing to smithereens," he said off-handedly.

  "What would be the point in that?" said Darvik. "Survival is one thing, hunting is another. But that beast is just living the life it was made to live."

  Vanbrook huffed, but he took what Darvik said to heart. Concerned that such expeditions would be more detrimental than helpful, Hunt didn't allow the sailors to walk around on the surface of the planet. Though he may have been more concerned about the safety of the ship, he made sure that everyone got a chance to walk around on the outer deck of the Wingspan if they desired to breathe some fresh air before heading back out into the aether. As soon as the salvaging of the shuttle was complete, they prepared for their next journey. Hunt gave the order, and the Wingspan returned into orbit around the planet.

  ***

  The dragon's maw flickered to life, the lights humming gently, and the open aperture in the middle shifted subtly from empty aether to a mirror-like surface. Farbin faced it. His massive spaceship of a body hovered menacingly just beyond the portal as he reached out to the council.

  "World Serpent Farbin," said Hagan's voice. The fear that had been present in their last encounter seemed to be gone, and Farbin had to wonder if he had imagined it.

  "Councilors," responded Farbin. "As evidenced by our conversation, the dragon's maw is complete at Koomia. Tell me, what are your wishes?"

  "That you would conquer the galaxy," said Hagan. "We are eager to have a rematch against Griffonia. But speak first with your partner Trilia. Given the distance you traveled, it may be wise to subdue the local area before traveling further."

  "If it is your wish," said Farbin.

  "It is our wish," snapped Hagan. "Also, it will give us a chance to test our new shields."

  "New shields?" asked Farbin. It had been some time since there had been any true innovation on the part of the scientists who developed their ships.

  "Indeed," replied Hagan. "Our losses at Griffonia taught us something. We must improve our technologies if we are to remain the greatest force in the galaxy. The shield bubbles you are familiar with will remain in place, but additional shielding that hugs the exterior of the craft–much like the Griffonian Navy's ships–is now in place as well."

  Farbin couldn't suppress a smile. "This is most excellent, Councilors," he said. Previously, his desire to destroy Griffonia had been more aspirational than realistic. Now he could nearly feel the hot fire of their ships exploding on the skin of his face as he anticipated the reality of the matter. Yes, he would crush this corner of the galaxy. Then Griffonia. Then perhaps he would turn his attention towards the Koomites.

  ***

  Hrake sat across the table from Dhraka, sipping his cup of rakka tea. The two had become accustomed to sitting together as part of their morning routine. A few of Hrake's other officers joined him from time to time, but somehow they always seemed to be busy in the mornings, leaving the two of them to enjoy a quiet cup together.

  "How are you enjoying Griffonia?" Hrake asked.

  "It is nice," Dhraka replied, "but it is not home."

  Hrake nodded. "Does the life of a spacefarer not suit you?"

  She shrugged. "It is good to see the galaxy, but it is better to be home."

  He nodded again, musing over this. "It is hard to say when we will be home again," he said, "though I think the tolerance for the current situation is wearing thin. No doubt each faction would like to have some representation on Griffonia, but it seems unlikely to me that the current situation will remain as it is for long."

  Just then, Hrake's comm went off. Seeing that it was the Prime Minister, he answered it immediately. "Prime Minister Skritka," he said. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

  "To nothing good, I'm afraid," said Skritka. "We've gotten some intelligence from our agents on Koomia. Rumor has it that Farbin may have flown there, and it's quite possible they are gathering a fleet even as we speak. I need you to report to the Keep at your earliest convenience so that we can discuss the matter further."

  "Understood," he said, already gathering his cup and preparing to leave. "I will be there immediately."

  ***

  After spending a few hours familiarizing themselves with the details of the mutiny and updating the Admiral on their misadventures on the surface, Talon Squad retired to their quarters. They found themselves engrossed in a dice game around a table in Vanbrook's room. Vanbrook rolled six twelve-sided dice into a vacuum table designed to counteract the lack of gravity and scrutinized the results.

  "Oh, I see two ones," Reclan observed. She took the dice away and handed him three four-sided dice in their place.

  "Hey, I know how to play," Vanbrook protested. "You don't have to do that for me."

  "Oh, I just enjoy it," Reclan replied. She rolled six of her own dice and five of them came up as ones.

  "Oh, allow me," Vanbrook offered. He plucked the dice up daintily one by one, replacing them with the smaller dice.

  "Okay. So where are we even heading now?" Reclan asked, still sulking about her poor roll.

  "We ought to try to head towards Drakmund. Only we have no idea where that is," Vanbrook admitted.

  "Show me stars," Fremig interjected. He had been standing behind Darvik, watching the proceedings, but hadn't been able to understand the game yet.

  "What's that supposed to mean?" Vanbrook asked.

  "Show me stars, find Drakmund," Fremig repeated emphatically.

  Vanbrook nodded.

  "Oh," stammered Reclan, her eyes widening with realization. "Come on," she urged, "we have to go see the Admiral."

  "Look, I'm sure your next roll will be a little bit better, Rec," Vanbrook said, trying to reassure her.

  "Forget the stupid game," Reclan dismissed. "We have to go show Fremig the star map. He's going to help us get where we need to go."

  D’Jarric smiled and nodded. Darvik and Vanbrook's eyes slowly widened as the two dualists realized what the others were talking about.

  "Yeah, we have to go see the Admiral right away," Vanbrook agreed.

  Reclan rolled her eyes and flung her hands in the air. "Why didn't I think of that?"