Chapter 4

My people have always been creatures of the deep places. On Quall, the desert does not forgive those who build upward—the sand storms that roll across the flats will strip a structure to its skeleton in a single season. So we learned, generations ago, to build downward. Our structures are modest things on the surface: low, wind-worn facades of pale sandstone that a traveler might mistake for natural formations, even a few beautiful spires and community centers. We keep our real treasures and our true selves below. Ritual spaces, dining halls, the archives of our laws and grudges, all of it lies safe beyond the reach of orbital scans or the clumsy boots of Ciberling mercenaries. It is where we live and sleep during the hottest seasons when the surface is is unbearable. There is a lesson in this, and it is a lesson the Ciberlings of Danje never understood.

The Ciberlings build up, and out, and above. They celebrate their architecture as an extension of their will to dominate. Their capital, Arken, is visible from orbit, a dizzying array of towers and stone plazas, all arranged in a circular pattern, mathematically optimized to maximize the sun’s reflection and, I suppose, their own sense of importance.

There is a kind of mutual loathing between our peoples. A rivalry that once might have produced poets or war heroes but now only produces saboteurs and assassination attempts. The origin of the feud is lost, which suits both sides fine, because now it is about everything and nothing at all: water rights to a passing comet, mining access to an asteroid field, historical grievances that nobody could actually prove.

The Systems Alliance, distant, rich, always too busy to care, yet somehow omnipresent, made a brief show of mediating between us. They arrived in gunmetal ships with the flags of a dozen core worlds stenciled on their hulls, delivered pronouncements in the heavy diplomatic dialect, and departed within a week, having declared our systems “of comparably trivial economic value.” They left behind a set of barely enforceable treaties that neither side honored, but both found useful as propaganda. Even now, I could almost like the Alliance, if only because in declaring us equally unimportant, they finally gave us something we could agree on.

But the Ciberlings had one crippling flaw, and it was the reason I am alive, the reason our people have survived at all: they loved what could be seen. Their entire history was a performance staged under a thousand spotlights. Their power was in parades and martial displays and the names of their ancestors inscribed on the facades of public institutions. Our power was in the fact that we didn’t need anyone to know we had it. The surface could be taken, burned, glassed to nothing, and it would not matter; by the time the enemy stood atop the ruins, we would already have dug deeper, or tunneled elsewhere. There are more than a hundred abandoned sublevels beneath the capital of Quall. Many are booby-trapped or filled with gas that kills slowly over years, but those are only the ones we want the Ciberlings to find.

I suppose this is why I despised Akima Ciberling before I ever laid eyes on her. Everything about her was designed to be witnessed: her face on recruitment displays, her name carved into public monuments, her reputation as the sharpest point of Danje’s spear. I studied her the way you study a wound that won’t close—not with admiration, exactly, but with the kind of focused attention that looks almost like it. Her weaknesses were things I had memorized long before I could confirm them: the overcommitment, the hunger to be seen as the dominant force in any room, the blind spot for anything that happened outside an audience’s view. She could not conceive of being struck from somewhere no one was watching. And she knew me too, in her way. The first time we crossed blades she had a rifle on me and a full pack of her wolves at her back, and she waved them off… Gunning me down and killing me quickly was not something she was capable of wanting. She wanted the bloodshed. She discarded her rifle, drew her sword, and engaged in her lustful wish fulfilment to slay me up close, to make me feel every cut, and to flay my pelt in front of her entire team. Afterward, breathing hard, she told me I was “full of fire when backed into a corner.” Coming from her, that was practically a love letter. That battle was interrupted and we would not see the end of our rivalry that day.

We shared a solar system, which meant we shared moons, gas clouds, ore belts, and the question of who owned what had never once been answered peacefully. Neither side could finish the other. Too many of our ships circled Quall for them to overwhelm us, and Danje had ringed their planet in anti-ship batteries so dense our fleet couldn’t get close. They were right that we were small. They were wrong that we were finished. Every system has one flaw. Ours was the desert. Theirs was people - and people can be bought.

My name is Kiara Quall, I planned this mission myself, and I would see it through myself. A small squadron, mine to command, crossed three days of sublight travel to reach operational range of Danje—arriving to find their vessels sparse, their response time measured in hours we intended to use.

The Ciberlings Empire would have laughed at a frontal assault. They were not laughing at what came instead. One hour before we crossed into range, the underground resistance they had publicly denounced as terrorists quietly deactivated the polar batteries. Getting them the weapons and resources to do so was not easy, but it all came down to this. The sacrifices they made in blood would not be made in vein.

“All ships have cleared the warp aperture, Captain,” said one of the bridge crew.

I addressed the gray and white furred Amber Krowen man in the captain's chair next to me on the bridge. He glanced my way and said, "My lady?"

"Set a high orbit over the capital, Arken,” I said. “Direct the other ships in the task force to follow. This operation has commenced." I couldn't help but be proud of myself. Usually, there would be bright flashes of light from the surface rail guns that could've caused us some real trouble, but it was quiet this time.

The captain nodded at his ensign pilot sitting in front. "You heard what Kiara said. Move us into an orbital pattern over Arken. All stations to full combat alert and keep our landing craft updated in real time."

Our command ship’s engines flared, a rocking force pressing us into our seats as the long, smooth hulk angled toward Danje. Behind us two enormous personnel carriers loaded with numerous drop ship shuttles followed. Two other escort vessels guarded the rear. We had to keep our task force number small, or else they could have detected us coming hours in advance. This had to be a surprise attack.

My fur stood on end as I suppressed a shiver of excitement. If our plan worked, this could be the end of the war.

“Carriers reporting they’re ready to launch. Communications suggest Danje craft are being launched to intercept. The nearest vessels have been signaled to return to Danje, but their estimated time is several hours.”

“Perfect,” said the captain. “Launch the invasion force. Capture the Ciberling palace.”

I walked over to one of the tactical stations and tapped a few keys on the touchscreen. A camera feed appeared with a rear view behind us, showing the two carriers behind us. Along their sides and underbelly, I could see white plumes of steam and smoke as dozens of smaller ships detached from them and began turning away from the superstructure with thrusters firing toward their destination. The carrier vessels looked almost naked with half of its body detached. It was quite something see witness those numerous tiny ships making up one large structure. The cost of these two carriers, and the years to build them, would hopefully pay off tonight.

Our weapons were older, our ships slower, but they were ours. The Systems Alliance would have little use for us in their war against the Sun Jin Empire. Our fleet was a relic by their standards, but maybe when the fighting was over, there would be a place for us somewhere in their order. A support role. Something. The thought of a command position in their ranks surfaced briefly before I let it go. I would miss the smell of this place. I would miss the desert.

"Commander, what sort of resistance will our soldiers face on the ground?" asked the ensign.

"We're sending two-thousand soldiers armed for night urban combat. Our strategic analysis suggests they can’t mobilize enough manpower fast enough to counter them," I replied.

“And their air force?”

I worked the tactical panel until the rail gun batteries on the side of our command ship had adjusted. “Many of their smaller interceptor patrols are already closing in on us. But the facilities they came from...”

“Weapons ready to fire, my lady,” called out a tactical officer from across the room.

“Engage objective targets,” I commanded and felt the ship shudder from a weapons volley. Railgun accelerated slugs streaked away from us, cutting through clouds, and into Arken’s atmosphere. The cascades of light in the night sky when they crashed against military bases around the outskirts of Arken. We couldn't see from here what destruction we'd caused, but our coordinates were supplied by the Ciberling anti-government resistance movement. Our quick strike would make this invasion easier in the short run, yet it served both our agenda and theirs: one enemy helping another. Enemy of an enemy.

This was never meant to be a long-term military occupation. We knew their navy was probably on its way back to Danje in order to oppose us, and we didn't know how long their defenses would remain down. The plan: get in, snatch the royal family, and take them away to Quall. We were sure that the ships wouldn't fire on us if they had their royalty aboard.

“Commander,” said the pilot, “We've got someone trying to communicate with us from the surface.”

“What about our troops?”

“The front line's almost at the city; the rear half is just entering atmosphere. They should reach their LZ in about three minutes; but it seems not all of the anti-air defenses were as compromised as we’d hoped. Some are still online. No serious opposition yet. Twenty enemy fighters are still five minutes out, but we have thirty-five ready to intercept them.”

I nodded to the pilot. “Put the comm up on the main screen.”

A smaller window opened up on one side of the main view screen. There he was the black-furred Danjian wolf head, pierced ears, and yellow eyes. His body was a faded grey, teeth bared as if in a snarl, but I knew he was keeping his cool to save face. All that, but he wore a loose white button up dress shirt. He wore a ballistic vest over it, likely at the request of his personal guard detail. Classy, capable of reasoning. He was drenched in shadow and sitting in the dark room, face lit by the jittering light of his screen. It was some sort of info pad as opposed to a mounted computer screen.

This was the patriarch of the Danje royal family - I had seen him before. He was the hero of their people, seen on their media and of course seen in negotiations and communication with my own family. Unlike his daughter, Krieg was a decent man. He understood the value of the little things like prisoner exchange, decency in rules of war, and humanitarian relief. Akima would rather slaughter a vessels crew but leave one alive - sending the ship limping bank home knowing that Quallian maintenance teams would spend weeks scrubbing the stains of blood from the halls.

“Krieg Ciberling,” I said, arms crossed. “I presume you've called to negotiate your surrender?”

He growled back an answer, “I don't suppose it was a coincidence that extremists targeted our defensive networks at the same time as your arrival.”

“Oh? Was there an attack, on your defensive networks? That explains why it was so quiet.”

“My navy has orders to return to Danje in the hour. That'll make the numbers ten-to-one against you.”

“Then we'd better move quickly,” I responded firmly, taking a deep breath before looking him in the eye.

“Lady Quall, what exactly do you intend to accomplish? You’re playing a risky game with your dropships and bombing our military stations so quickly after a close surprise attack. Terrorists have disabled our orbital defenses. Your plan was brilliantly devised, and I commend your tactical prowess, as always, but how do you expect to defeat the entire Ciberling Empire in a single hour? You have no chance of occupying Arken.”

A smirk formed on my lips as I saw his expression. “Let's just say I now know where you are in the city.”

He shook his head at me as he glanced over his shoulder. He must have been wondering how I knew what the northwest corner of the second level sub-floor left-wing bunker of his family palace looked like. Years of research, study, and knowing my mortal enemies.

“Relax, Krieg,” I said calmly as he turned back to me. “I don't aim to harm either yourself or your family.”

“Then what do you want, Lady Quallian?”

The answer lay within my own thoughts, but it wasn't one that I could easily share.

“I intend to bring you and your family back with us to Quall for your crimes,” I informed him.

“Good luck trying,” he replied sharply. “We are all spread across the planet.”

The ensign gave me a thumbs up and nodded my way. He had managed to track Krieg's signal and would direct our ground forces on Arken.

“Captain,” another officer declared. “Danje fighter craft are in attack range."

"Begin defensive maneuvers. Open fire with all weapons and advise our fighter wings to launch an attack on them close to the larger vessels," I commanded while leaving the comms open. I wanted Krieg to be sure who was leading this operation.

"Copy that, Commander. Ground forces have launched their assault at the new coordinates."

Krieg peered his eyes and held the tablet closer to his face. "Kiara Quall."

I turned towards him. I knew where this was going. Now was the part where he would attempt some form of negotiation, make a deal, try to deceive me. Something. We truly had the jump on him. We had only arrived minutes ago and we were already in such a close position over his city, over his livelihood. His defenses were neutered, and all he had left was informational warfare to buy time.

"I know who you truly want. I know why you are personally overseeing this mission." He spoke slowly and firmly while his gaze remained fixated on me.

"Oh really?" I put my hands on my hips. “What will you say now to stall next?”

"I'll give you Akima," he said calmly. "I know she is the reason this whole operation was initiated."

My feline ear twitched involuntarily as I pondered over Krieg's words. I stared at him for several seconds, considering if he was actually telling the truth. Could it be that we had missed something? What if we only had one hour before his family members scattered again? Would I be okay with taking just Krieg back to Quall? How could he willingly sacrifice his own daughter to our justice? He was surely aware that she'd put up a good fight against capture and meet him on the Quallian side in case of a rescue plan. Was this his contingency? To send us home with a poisoned pill... But this was Akima we were talking about. A brief memory of her ruthless claws slicing through Quallian troops crossed my mind. Krieg was the head of the family, the greater target, but Akima… if both Krieg and Akima had me pinned under fire and I had only one bullet, one clear shot, she is the one I would bring with me to the afterlife, no questions asked.

“If it were going to be her or me then I’d let you take her, but of course you know that after taking her, and leaving me here, I’d launch total war on your people. I would level your planet in order to bring her home. Of course, you can take me instead, but I know you want her after what she’s done to your people.”

The captain walked up to my side and stood beside me. “We’re here to destabilize their leadership,” he said softly to me. “We’re almost at his gates. We need to take Krieg with us.”

Thoughts continued to swirl my head. What would my father think if I took Akima over Krieg? Would he understand? Would he see it as an opportunity to use her as a prisoner, a bargaining chip, to manipulate Krieg and the Ciberling Family into peace? Of course the objective is both, but … what if there’s only time for one?

“Where is she,” I asked firmly. On the main part of the view screen I watched the battle between the fighter craft. We appeared to be winning. It wouldn’t be a long battle. I’d give them maybe two or three more minutes.

“Kiara,” the Captain said.

I didn’t let him finish. “This is my operation. I want them both, but it's most likely if they're not together we wont have time to take both and only enough time to take the least fortified of the two. In the long run we can use her to manipulate their people.” I took a long breath and looked at the Krowen captain. “Besides, if we can only take one, which would you prefer be left behind to lead their people. Can you imagine Akima ruling Danje?” I scoffed at him, amused, but he didn’t share my amusement.

“Do we have a deal, Kiara?” He grinned baring his teeth.

“If this is a trap or a trick, Krieg, I’ll end everything you know.” I tried my best not to bare my own fangs in frustration. He knew something. He had some plan, I knew it. If worst came to worst I’d have a plan for him too. I’d make good on my threat.

“I’ll send you the coordinates. They’re to the entrance of a bunker. The bunker is under the palace, but the entrance is on the other side of the city.”

The captain stared at me with his mouth a little open in disbelief. He couldn’t believe I was doing this. "Commander?"

"Risk we get none, or guarantee we get at least one," I said to him quietly so Krieg couldn't hear.

"That's if they really are separated in the first place," he pleaded. "They could all be in the exact same room and stalling for time."

“Send the coordinates, Krieg,” I pointed at him staring hard, “and pray for your life that you’re telling the truth.”

The transmission finished and I headed back to the tactical station.

“What are you doing, Kiara?” The Captain trailed me.

“Dividing our forces,” I said with frustration in my voice. “We still want them both. The primary objective is Krieg’s bunker, but if there’s a chance to take Akima as well, we’re taking it. I’m amending the plan.”

“What if he isn't telling the truth? That's a classic technique - his whole family could be hiding alongside him. We'd risk sending half of our troops in the wrong direction to find nobody. We'll be putting them into an impenetrable bunker filled with hundreds of their soldiers that holds the home field advantage.”

“We’re still sending a thousand soldiers into each side. Splitting our numbers, yes, we’ll suffer more losses, but if there’s a chance that they are scattered then this way we can cover more ground. That's why we're still trying to find Krieg, do you think I actually trust him?”

“We only brought enough firepower to breach his fortification. Are you sure we can afford to divide them?”

I typed a few commands into the control panel, then raised my chin to at him with a glare. “I've made my decision.”

“Captain!” shouted the pilot, looking our way. “We have new warship contact signals from Danje’s moon. We should've detected them earlier, but their signature was blocked from view.”

“How long will we have?” I asked in a grumble.

“It looks like we have some time; probably about thirty-five minutes."

“And the status on the assault?”

“Our field commanders have divided the battalion. The units already on the ground are facing strong resistance as they try to take control of the palace while the drop ships that were rerouted are making their way to the new coordinates. It should take them less than five minutes.”

The captain gave me a stern look. “And then who knows what kind of opposition they’ll be up against once they reach the bunker beneath the palace. It could take them another five minutes just to get there.”

“Maybe there's some form of underground transport between those two points,” I suggested, thinking out loud.

“Or it might all be an elaborate ruse,” he snarled.

"I can feel you staring at the back of my head, Captain," I muttered at the screen.

He slammed his fist on the console. “These men are under my command! This mission is my responsibility! You're sending them into a death trap!”

I leaned over the console and turned my head to look at him. “You’re Amber Krowen, aren’t you?”

He said nothing, jaw tight, brow furrowed.

“Naval warfare is in your blood. When you fell in love with your wife on my home, I welcomed you and your expertise. It’s why you’re here.” Something in his posture softened, just slightly. “My people are Quallian. You’ve stood next to us. You know what we are.” I let that sit for a moment. “Let us do what we do. If you want to keep your command when this is over, hold yourself together and trust your soldiers to do the same. The prize is worth the risk, and I only brought the best.” I stepped closer and put my hand on his shoulder. “That includes you. I need you here, on this bridge, running this strike ship.”

The room filled with a tense silence as we waited, counting seconds. The forces on the ground were draining into the palace in search of Krieg, while the secondary team was attempting to invade the launch facility on the opposite side gigantic compound.

"Captain," the pilot of our vessel spoke up in our direction. "The approaching fleet has launched an assault squadron of interceptors. Estimated time to interception is fifteen minutes. We will not be able to outmatch them."

The Krowen captain took a long breath, and nodded at me, accepting what I said. “Things don’t always go to plan, like you said. Have to eat the most cake leaving as little of a mess as we can, right?”

I nodded, and he and turned to the pilot.

“We were running out of time,” said the captain to the deck operators. “We were planning for at least an hour but now must operate in a new crunch. Like Kiara said, we can try to bite off as much as we can before we retreat. What's the status of team two at the space center?" He asked.

A distorted audio crackled over the speakers, and an individual could be heard breathing heavily. "We have taken control of the primary palace operations, but can find no trace of royalty here," said the field lieutenant. "My unit is almost done breaching the launch command center now."

"Speed it up lieutenant. We are short on time," I urged him.

“I know about the new developments, give us ten minutes and I'll order a withdraw. It should take them ten minutes to arrive at the carrier group.”

I cut in with my words. “You, yourself, need to be back at the carrier group in ten, lieutenant.”

I could hear him gave a few orders on another communication line for his forces already at the palace to board their transports. “It'll be speedier for us if our transport meets us at the launching area for extraction. We’ll have our team examine this facility as we move through. We can make it to the command room in no time. Give us one minute.”

We waited. It was a long calm. A tactical overlay showed the approaching interceptors, and our fighters in a defensive posture near the strike group.

“Ma'am,” said a subordinate to me. I faced him while trying to remain composed. “A shuttle has broken free from Arken and is now flying out of atmosphere.”

“They are fleeing!” shouted the captain.

The radio started up again with the voice of the lieutenant coming over winded and tired.

“Lieutenant, do you know something about a launch from this area?”

“Yes, Captain. A shuttle took off from the neighboring launchpad and we found Krieg.”

“Good job, lieutenant,” started the captain. “Take him into cus-”

“He’s DOA.”

The words hit before I could process them. “What happened?” I stepped toward the console. “Was there a firefight?”

“No ma'am. We found his body on entry. There's a lot of blood. Look like close quarters combat.”

The question then arose in my mind: who was on that shuttle? I deliberated for a few moments before issuing an order. I was determined not to give in or leave empty-handed.

“Orders, ma'am?”

My eyebrows twitched, the bridge of my snout furling before I could stop it. Krieg is dead. “All units pull back.” The words came out steadier than I felt. I hadn’t seen this coming. Neither had Krieg, I’d wager. So the captain and I had each been half right—Krieg wasn’t in the palace bunker, but he was exactly where I’d said Akima would be. They stayed together after all. Why not break in opposite directions? There hadn’t been anywhere else to go. The space center was their only way out. Maybe that was the disagreement—maybe Akima had her own ideas about where to run, and Krieg paid for it. Either way, he was dead, and with him went every plan we had built around taking him alive. What that meant for Danje, I didn’t yet want to think about.

“Get into your transports and return to the carrier group." I spoke firmly and with restraint despite my anger. Everyone fell silent after my words.

After a few seconds of silence, the captain exhaled deeply. "It doesn't look like it made any difference how we split our forces; Krieg wasn't intending to be taken alive, and Akima isn't at any bunker either, are they? We won't be able to overtake that shuttle, will we?"

"There's no way we can do it with what we have," I said shaking my head. "Prioritize all dropships return and secure docking.” I watched the shuttle in the far distance. Just a dot of engine exhaust now. There is no way we could catch up to it. I eyeballed it, the small spec barely able to be seen with the naked eye. And then it happened - a slipstream jump. The shuttle was gone.

We received news from our dropship teams. All were off the planet's surface. Most were already docked by this time. We'd be out of here right in time to outrun the Danje interceptors.

“Now what, Kiara?” The concerned captain moved over closer to me near the tactical weapons console again.

I took a deep breath and entered some more commands into the panel; the display highlighted the bombardment torpedo bays as they were activated.

“What are you doing?”

I was still frustrated, disappointed, and honestly - enraged.

I took a deep breath, the weight of my decision pressing down like a leaden shroud. The torpedoes were primed, their destructive potential pulsing through the ship’s systems, and I felt the tremors of fear clawing at my insides. What if I didn’t act? What if Akima was still out there, rallying forces against us? The thought sent a jolt of adrenaline coursing through me. If we let her escape, the consequences would be catastrophic, she’d unleash chaos, and the war would drag on indefinitely, swallowing more lives in its relentless grip.

“Ma’am, are you sure?” The captain’s voice broke through my turmoil, but it only fueled the fire of my determination. I couldn’t afford hesitation. I had to believe that targeting the command center would cripple them, that it would be a decisive blow. I envisioned the palace, the heart of their operations, reduced to rubble, while ensuring the surrounding neighborhoods remained untouched. It was supposed to be a clean strike, a precision attack that would echo throughout Danje and send a message.

My finger hovered over the console, trembling with the weight of my choice. I could almost see the maps in my mind. The layouts of the capital buildings, the strategic points I intended to hit. But beneath that calculation, a gnawing dread emerged: what if I miscalculated? What if the collateral damage extended beyond my intentions? My heart raced as I recalled the faces of innocents, families caught in the crossfire of my decisions.

But time was slipping away, and I couldn’t linger in uncertainty. I pressed the button, releasing the weapons. I watched, breathless, as they fell toward the surface. The explosions erupted, two fiery blooms against the gray canvas of the city, and I felt a sickening twist in my gut.

The capital complex, my target, transformed into an inferno, engulfing everything in its wake. I had aimed for surgical precision, but as the flames licked the sky, I realized I had unleashed a storm of devastation far beyond what I had intended. The realization washed over me like ice water. There would be countless casualties, lives extinguished in an instant because of my choices.

As the smoke billowed into the atmosphere, I knew this moment would haunt me. The screams of the dying would echo in my ears, and I would bear their weight like a shroud. I had promised myself it would end the war, that this act would bring about peace, but deep down, this didn’t feel right…

The return trip home was quiet, and there were no glorious victory cheers or excited parties. Just quiet. Was the war over? Was the cost too heavy? Bombing Arken, the capital of Danje, even while trying to limit the damage to the command centers, ended up killing significantly more people than I ever intended, and believe me when I say this - it would become the single greatest regret of my entire life. Not entirely because of my actions, and the death I caused, but because of the hell I hadn’t realized I had just unleashed.